kazusys

[kazusys]

just… childhood best friend childe/ajax who smothers you with love, dating or not, from buying whatever you want to checking all your crushes making sure they’re people you’re safe to go after.

and when he realizes he loves you— the FLIRTING

guys i need to write about this

[kazusys]

why’d tumblr ruin the quality. anyways

[kazusys]

watching his love… (you)

nursedflowers is my main!

[kazusys]

౨ৎ i can be a better boyfriend than him.

after being stood up again, you call upon your best friend to come pick you up. / fluff / no cw / other: college/modern au (❕) a/n: little appetizer before i work on something big… for @aritsukemo. this isn’t your whole gift/request btw! thanks for being the sweetest! :D

characters included: scaramouche

wc: ~1.1k words

it’s so cold.

the rain is really coming down now, but you still can’t bring yourself to make an effort to cover yourself up. the wet feeling of your clothes sticking to your skin makes you feel as if you’re stuck, turned to stone and permanently inert.

you wondered if your boyfriend, who had stood you up, was worried. worried that you were caught in this weather, worried about you, because even though this is the fifth time he’s done this, maybe he just… forgot. again. because he’s busy. because of his late parties. because he’s out with others, forgetting his loyalties and embracing a stranger more than he’d ever with you.

and to think you dressed yourself up this much, this long— only for the loser you did it for to not even show.

your eyes were so blurred and unfocused that it was hard to process the two feet in front of you and the ceased piercing drops of rain against you.

“you really are stupid.”

the voice makes you tilt your head up. you force words out of your dry mouth. “…you came.”

“of course i did. what else would i have done?” scaramouche scoffs. he then gives a long sigh. “…i told you so. i told you that he was bad news.”

you want to hit him for saying something so obvious and obnoxious now of all times, even if it was true, but instead you nod as he comes closer, draping his coat around you. it was warm and cozy, making you put your arms through the sleeves with a little bit of his help.

you also didn’t respond in any way because of the soft way he spoke those words. an underlying worry and care coated his sentences, a voice you seldom heard him use with others.

he offers a hand to you. taking it, you let him carefully guide you up. then, hand in hand, you walk together to his car.

his grip on yours is firm, but not suffocating; paired with how close you two are under the umbrella, you silently hope that you’re not the only one who’s a bit happy with how things are heading.

“scara?” you wince at the way your voice croaks.

he hums as a response.

“…thank you.”

you see a small smile forming on his face as he nods in acknowledgment.

you slightly roll your eyes. “stop being nonchalant and just say ‘you’re welcome.’”

you feel him peer at you. “you’re welcome. happy?”

having reached the vehicle, scaramouche opens the passenger door for you.

you go to step in before hesitating. “won’t i ruin your sea—”

“no,” he cuts in, “just sit.”

although you feel a twinge of guilt at sitting and dampening the seat, you can’t deny how comfortable it is compared to the bench you were sitting on earlier.

you watch scaramouche enter the car, his form having not escaped the total onslaught of the downpour, although there’s much less on him than you. but there’s enough for you to notice, with how his hair and clothes stick and the way he looks with droplets running down his body.

he near slams the door. you can tell from that that he’s annoyed.

you turn to watch raindrops race down the window as he turns on some music to fill the silence. he keeps it at low volume though, so you take the opportunity to talk.

“i’m sorry. i should’ve believed you sooner when you said that… he was a piece of scum. if i had followed what you said… maybe none of this would’ve happened.”

“not your fault,” he shrugs. “not your fault he’s blind to what’s in front of him. ignorant people like him are hard to change.”

you nod along to what he’s saying as he runs his fingers through his hair.

you’ve always known scaramouche, one of your closest friends, to be attractive. maybe too attractive for his own good. combined with his intelligence and athleticism, it’s a recipe for a big ego.

he’s self aware. but underneath all his bites, you dug out a heart that cares, sympathizes, and (although you don’t realize it yet) beats hard for you.

as the night sinks in, you feel your own emotions surfacing, a soft, soft feeling resting on your own heart.

“your ex was the worst. the most insufferable, pathetic human of his kind.” you heard scaramouche murmur. “don’t believe that any of this is your fault.”

“i know. thank you, again.”

”it’s no problem.” looking outside, you see that you’re already in the parking lot of your apartment building. “come on, i’ll walk you.”

the rain stopped somewhere along the ride, so the earthy scent always following overtook the air as you followed in tow.

it was peacefully quiet going up to your apartment door. although you had lots on your mind, you decided against sharing.

having been elsewhere in your focus, you bumped into scaramouche when he came to a stop.

“sorry,” you muttered, taking out your keycard. “i…”

you pause, trying to articulate something.

“…oh, here. i almost forgot.” you start to take off the jacket he gave you, only to be stopped by his hands on your shoulders, keeping it in place.

“keep it. since it seems as if you don’t possess any jackets of your own given that you were out dressed…” he eyes you subtlety, “…inadequately. check the weather next time, moron. or do you need me to teach you how to use your own phone?”

“i did check the weather for your information, but…” you trail off.

you don’t see it, but his eyes soften as he takes you into his arms, hugging you so nicely that you feel like crying right there. you resist the urge and instead hug him back, the warmth of his body cradling you.

“…stop lowering your standards for dregs like him. you obviously deserve better, so quit thinking as if you don’t.”

your eyes widen at the next sentence he utters under his breath.

“i could be a better boyfriend than him.”

and he leaves your arms, stepping back.

you’re left dumbfounded. it’s as if the world became clearer, more sharpened. you yell at yourself to find your footing.

you tackle him in a hug and less-than-perfect kiss. but in that moment echoed all the hidden feelings you could never express through words to live up to its sentiment.

he cards through your hair as his other hand finds itself at the small of your back, holding you close as the years of pining came to a close.

and as you part, you find yourself wishing you had had scaramouche as your lover much sooner.

©️kazusys — 24/12/24; do not plagiarize/steal, repost, translate, and/or claim any of my works as your own.

[kazusys]

i wish people wouldn’t characterize scaramouche as a brat, period. like, he’s not just a seemingly rude and obnoxious guy, or that because he’s new to human emotions like love he acts like a ten year old!! that’s not his whole character!!

[kazusys]

guys… i don’t usually judge people… but how can some of y’all on ao3 make these diabolical stories about some of the most innocent of characters.

yes, i know— don’t like, don’t read. i avoided it, but that doesn’t mean that i can’t be uncomfortable and talk about it here. WHAT THE HECK. 😭

[kazusys]

shoutout to the scaramouche/wanderer edit compilation that gets me through my workouts

[kazusys]

CRYING BECAUSE I’M SO HAPPY YOU ENJOYED!!! I WAS SO SO SO NERVOUS THAT THIS LOOKED BETTER IN MY HEAD THAN IT DID TYPED SO I’M SUPER ECSTATIC YOU ENJOYED!!! 🤭

i was actually unsure of adding Kaeya because of the logic of it in the game, but decided to go ahead and do it anyways because i felt as if it COULD happen under the right circumstances (BECAUSE I DON’T PLAY THE GAME… LOTSA RESEARCH WAS INVOLVED IN THIS)! so glad i came to that conclusion!!

& the dramatic scene that you liked… I KEPT READING IT SO MUCH BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLT RUSHED & MESSY OH MY GOSHHH but to see you praising it MADE. MY. DAY. YOU ARE SO SWEET OH MY GOSH

(the way you worded ‘kaeya’’s response btw 💀)

did you know that you’re one of the big reasons i write now? i always write with the thought in mind that you might read it and give your thoughts because tbh it is EVERYTHING!! :D

I’M JUST SO GIDDY RN… NEED TO BURN OFF THIS ENERGY SOMEHOW!!

LOVE YOU SO SO SO SO MUCH, ARI!! 🫶🏻

SUM. you’re sent to investigate lyney for being apart of the fatui, but end up finding out that he’s not as bad as you’ve been warned. 4.8k words.

slight angst to fluff/hurt to comfort!

A/N. gift for @aritsukemo ! sorry this took a bit, but hope you enjoy nonetheless :)

PROLOGUE.

IMAGINE… you’ve been hunting down the fatui and come across a magician associated with the infamous organization. you’re quick to come up with an ambition of selling flowers and set up a stand in order to attract his attention and befriend him. after all, magicians do use flowers in their performances, right? right, because it worked. after that one day, he became a loyal customer and friend.

a few months later of slowly building up his (and his siblings’) trust, you find yourself genuinely, despite knowing better, liking the guy for being… well, him. or, perhaps it’s a facade you like. after all, you can’t forget what you know about him and his ulterior motives. nonetheless, the time you’ve been spending with him hasn’t been as unbearable as you initially assumed.

lyney, outgoing and sometimes flirtatious, would unbeknownst to you be the change of the century in your life.

I. THE PLEDGE

that day had been exhausting.

it was late in the afternoon, and you were resting and thinking back on how busy it was today despite being a relatively new business. what, did these people’s lives revolve around plants?

the bell up front rung, making you slowly turn to face yet another customer. however, instead of the usual monotonous feelings sinking in, a wave of energy swept over you instead as you saw him. lyney. the wave quickly passed through and was ushered to fuel your anxiety as you realized that this would be your first time talking to him. it had to go well, otherwise you’d have opened this stall for nothing and would have to put in extra work to seek him out yourself!

you put on a fake (but not as forced as the others) smile. “hello, good afternoon! what can i do for you today?” you recited.

“good afternoon, i was just passing through when i saw your flowers on display… they seem very well-taken care of and i thought i’d stop by. could i purchase a bundle of lumidouce bells?”

those were his first ever words to you, and you’ll never forget them on account of how he looked and sounded to you in that moment.

innocent, but knowledgeable. knowledgeable in the sense of that he knew deeper secrets of the world that people liked to keep hidden, a sort of knowing from what it’s like to kill with your own hands.

“of course!” taking what he requested with an added packet of information (the plant’s watering, environment, etc.), you made sure to handle it with care and professionalism. at least you were reassured in the fact that this was, in fact, not your first time handling botany in both a taking care of and selling view.

as soon as he took them from your hands, the smile he wore seemed to grow a bit bigger. “these are truly lovely… well done! if i’m going to keep coming here, we should get to know each other!”

and you didn’t even need to persuade nor initiate the small talk yourself.

you became acquaintances that day.

despite the supposed luckiness of the day, you were still put in a stupor came night, stuck in your thoughts.

the first-impression he made on you today was likely fake. underneath was a cold-blooded murderer with the darkest intentions. through your rational mind, that’s what you thought. with what you know about him and the fatui already, he’s far from the good-hearted person you spoke with today. but…

…the glinting in his eyes that never faltered from a shine of innocence spoke otherwise.

blinking back into the present and preventing yourself from overwatering the growing bud in front of you, you set down your materials in favor of opening a book and relaxing.

sighing, you let yourself forget for a few minutes or so…

…until you naturally look towards the front of the stand at the sound of the bell. he’s here.

with a now genuine smile, you get up and greet him.

“lyney! wow, i haven’t seen you since— how long has it been?— since this morning! anything new?”

you had a set routine with him picking up whatever he needs for his acts in the morning when there would be more in stock and then simply visiting you in the afternoon if he has the time. and, sure, you weren’t going to lie— you did look forward to it.

you also looked forward to the walks, cafe hang outs, chats, and all your other activities together that you two did.

he gave you his usual charming smile and the taking off of his hat. ”nothing too drastic, but i have come up with a small favor.”

“oh, and that is?”

“would you be willing to attend one of my and my sister’s rehearsals? she’s been wanting to see you again recently, and well, i’d hate to miss out on an opportunity to spend more time with you.”

with a confused combination, your heart clenched from his last couple words (which you already anticipated due to getting used to his oftentimes flirtatious nature) and the mention of his sister, whom you’ve also grown closer to these past couple months.

any mention of just how caring he can be to anyone makes you remember your role and why you’re here in the first place.

with a hard-to-swallow gulp that you hope isn’t apparent, you tilt your head, balancing it on a fist. “how sweet, obviously i’m willing— just tell me when and i’ll clear my schedule.”

”is tomorrow okay with you?”

all throughout the confirmation of the date, your chest felt heavier and heavier, as it did every night heading to rest nowadays. despite it, you kept up an amiable front, which was easier to do while talking with him, making you internally chuckle at the irony of it.

lyney, with his hat still off, made a sort of realization sound. “i almost forgot!”

with a quick flourish of his hand above the opening of his hat, a bouquet of silk flowers materialized, a quite hefty one at that. and he was offering it to you.

“i remembered that you were dissatisfied with the shortage of silk flowers a few days ago, so with a bit of help, i managed to get some in good quality!” he quickly explained.

probably with the help of some fatui members in liyue or something.

“how…?” you ask in an awed voice, careful to watch his expressions.

with a small shake of his head and the putting back on of his hat, he simply replies with a, “a magician never reveals his secrets!”

with feigned exasperation, you reply with an “oh-kay.”

shaking your head and smiling, you get a pastry bag from below the counter. “i got you something, too. i heard you’ve been wanting to try these, so…”

he grinned, “for little old me? you shouldn’t have!” and with a chuckle, he adds, “i appreciate it immensely, but you should leave the spoiling to me, with the prices you’re dead set on keeping.”

you shrug. “it’s affordable for pretty much everyone.”

“i still worry,” he says. “don’t overwork yourself, okay? and…”

he puts his hand that’s not busy holding the pastry bag behind his back, and when he returns it to his side, he’s gripping a bulging pouch. he sets it on the counter.

you open the pouch, your eyes meeting a whole load of mora.

you immediately snap your head to look at him. “lyney, i couldn’t possib—”

“think of it as a tip for all your hard work.” he simply replies. and with that, knowing that you’re going to be dead set on giving it back if he continues to stay, he disappears.

you’re left with a couple thoughts, the most prominent being how on teyvat someone like him could be apart of what he’s in, which turns to the mora and how he got the flowers so quickly and in such beautiful condition, to the said flowers in your hands and the man who brought them to you.

silk flowers… some believe that they symbolize secret love.

and with him in your mind, you let yourself forget for a few minutes or so.

you awoke with a start the next day, checking your mail while going over the day.

a letter arrived overnight, addressed to you from your organization. updates… updates… new arrivals… a request for an update on your end. well, with it being the early hours of the day, you were sure that you had time before the rehearsal to get this over with.

(𝘹.𝘹.𝘹) [initials] 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵. 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘺𝘯 & 𝘤𝘰. 𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘪’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯.

looking back at the stream of words you unloaded onto the paper, you immediately realize something— the person you’re writing this to isn’t just your boss. he’s also a close friend, and will hear you out no matter how unprofessional it may seem.

with that in mind, you put aside your job letter and mentally write a note to yourself to write a more personal one later.

getting up and stretching, you look outside and watch the fully risen sun glisten on every building in its path.

(if only he knew how he glistened in your eyes...)

today was going to be a good day.

that mentality stayed with you up until you arrived at the rehearsal, where a blast of floral scents hit you in the face. then, for some reason, you got the feeling that for sure, today was going to be a good day.

you hear lyney call out your name along with a, “you’re here!” he throws the enormous deck of cards in his hands into the air, and with a quick drag of his hat catching all the cards and a few fancy movements from his fingers later, the cards vanish. he proves this by shaking his hat to the ground, showing that it’s empty with the absent fluttering of the rectangular pieces to the floor. lynette seems to roll her eyes at the dramatic act, joining her brother’s side as they both bow in sync.

lyney simply chuckles as he leads you to a good seat where you’ll be able to see the tricks at their full potential.

that’s when you notice his other brother, freminet. he offered a small wave that you reciprocated, a soft smile playing on your lips. sitting next to him, you directed your attention to the stars of the show.

“well, now that the audience is here, welcome to lyney and lynette's magic show!”

their shows always managed to amaze you. whether it be more acts of one illusion over another or tricks that you’ve seen before, being interesting was never a problem in their hands. in fact, with their separate charms and appealing variety, it’s no wonder they’re so popular in their profession.

the beginning and middle acts were both as wonderful as they usually are, with so many things happening right in front of you that you wonder if you need an eye appointment scheduled.

with the announcement of the final act, lyney takes something offered by lynette. it’s a seed packet. you suddenly recall from a few days ago some words he’d said, only for the conversation to be put aside as lyney began speaking again.

he held the seeds up. “you know, i’ve been thinking about growing my own garden lately. what better time for me to do it than right in front of you all? after all, constructive criticism is good for growth.”

lynette pulls out another packet of the same seeds, ripping it open in accordance with her brother. taking care to spread them evenly, they go on opposite sides of the room and make their way toward each other.

”now, what do flowers need in order to grow? water, yes? well, unfortunately, i don’t have some on me. but i think these cards—” he paused, materializing cards with tear drop patterns into his fingers, “—should work just as well, right?”

after shuffling them around, he began to actually water the seeds, shaking a card which emitted small droplets of water over each patch. glancing over at freminet, you could see that he was in as much awe as you were.

“now, it should be just a few seconds…” looking around, his eyes widened as he knelt down by a certain spread of seeds.

…and with a quick flourish of his hands, a bundle of watered, seemingly brand-new rainbow roses appeared, replacing the seeds they supposedly grew from.

again and again this repeated, until the entire floor was filled with the scent and beauty of the flower, like a garden.

and with a final bow, the show ended.

they will always fail to you in not being interesting.

you and freminet clapped heavily, with his applause quieter, but still enthusiastic.

“so, what did you two think?” lyney asked immediately after standing straight.

you saw freminet glance at you, most likely a signal for you to speak first. “you two always exceed my expectations, and this certainly doesn’t change that. what made you decide to use rainbow roses?”

lyney picked one of the roses up, appreciating its scent. “well, i recently received a bit of info regarding magical acts and their use of flowers and their symbolism, and after picking up a book about it from your stand, i came to the conclusion to use these roses. after all, they are quite a sight to behold.” lyney spun the flower around between his fingers before it disappeared…

…reappearing behind your ear.

with a soft giggle at the action, you ran your fingers over the petals of the flower, feeling your face begin to heat up from the symbolism of it all.

does he know what this action entails? if so, then…

what if?

“you don’t need to put that much effort into your rehearsal performances, you know.” lynette sighed.

“quite the opposite, actually,” lyney adjusted his hat, “if we simply give up on doing our best during our practices, it will very much show to the audience in our actual performances.”

you walk up to the makeshift stage. “do you need help cleaning up?”

lyney gave you a sly, but genuine, smile. “i wouldn’t mind, cleaning up petals can sometimes be tedious to do. but if i’m with you, then it shouldn’t be as bad.”

you look into each other’s eyes until he breaks the silence. “well then, lynette; would you and freminet go pick up dinner? i’ll stay behind.”

she agrees, although a little reluctantly. there’s a small hint of something in her eyes, but you can’t quite place it. “are you sure?”

lyney simply nods and says, “of course,” in return.

so when all is said and done, lynette and freminet leave you and lyney alone in the rehearsal room.

even though you both are supposed to be cleaning up all the flowers, you find yourselves amongst them, side by side, making no effort to do so. with the windows in the back, you can clearly see the sun beginning to set, casting a beautiful sunset through the glass.

it’s simply you and him, sitting in the bed of flowers talking about whatever, because the moment sets something up that’s too perfect for either of you to pass up.

so with the mood set and the words you keep hidden slamming against your closed lips, you open up.

“so… you do know the symbolism of rainbow roses, right?”

with a slight pause and glance your way, you see something not many get to witness, but something you’ve seen plenty of.

lyney’s confident persona slowly melting, leaving behind a more vulnerable person without his coat.

“of course i do,” you hear him take a breath, “passion and romantic encounters. i gave you one for a reason, didn’t i?” you don’t miss the way he tries to regain his aplomb to no avail, as his voice somewhat quivers at the end.

“you did.”

love can do tremendous things to a person. from changing their moral standards to making them change themselves to fit a standard that’s plaintively fickle.

“i came up with the ending act for you, you know.”

“it’s love,” you think to yourself, “that’s making me risk this all.”

you inch your hand closer to his, which is all that’s needed to make contact.

and with unspoken words between you, you both lean in at the same time.

(𝘹.𝘹.𝘹) 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪’𝘮 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘪'𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 ‘𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺’ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘯𝘰𝘵. 𝘪 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.

𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘪 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪, 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘪 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘱, 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯! 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵!

(𝘱.𝘴. 𝘪’𝘮 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘪 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳! 𝘪’𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦.)

II. THE TURN

“what if they’re simply using you? getting close to you for information?”

“my dear lynette, you can fake many things in this world, but pure endearment is not one of them.”

the response comes a week later.

you’re insanely relieved, because with any more of the tension between you and lyney, you may just go crazy.

you both don’t mention the kiss, but there’s still an unspoken step taken in your relationship, with him automatically holding your hand anytime you walk together to kissing the back of your hand every time he visits.

nonetheless, there’s something you both seem to be holding back, and that gets in the way of anymore happening. especially with the absent words about your status together.

you rip open the envelope.

𝙠.

𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.

not a good start.

𝙞 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚, 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙞𝙛 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙞𝙩’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙜𝙤𝙖𝙡.

𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙, 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙡𝙡 ��𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙤, 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚…

your heart sank.

you knew it was coming. it hurt all the same, though, no matter how much you told yourself that you expected this response.

you knew from the start.

and with that in mind, you prepared yourself to begin shutting lyney out until whatever you had for him dried up.

when his usual afternoon visit came around, you almost sighed out loud at the sight of him so happy.

you smiled your regular smile, but made no effort to come closer nor initiate something. instead, you picked up a potted plant and collected your items to fertilize it while asking what he needed.

lyney looked at you for a second, seemingly looking for any sort of tease in your tone. “i… came to spend time with you?”

you nod dismissively. “sorry, could you come back another day? i’m a little busy.”

“… i… could help, i may not be specialized in botany, but i'd like to think that i’m a very good learner!” he smiled.

“… thanks, but, uh… maybe… maybe some other day, okay?”

you watched his smile fall for a moment before it returned, albeit with less enthusiasm. “of course, i’ll… try to see you tomorrow.”

you simply nod.

you have to dig your nails into your palm in order to not go after him with the way his kicked puppy expression immediately flashes onto his face.

you did this the next day. and the next. the nail crescents imprinted into your skin for a bit afterwards made you cringe each and every time.

a week passed.

he only had time to visit you twice, and both times you shot down conversation.

it was the confrontation that truly broke you. it was raining, and even after the last week and three days, he still came. you winced at seeing him, even before he rang the bell.

his hair was ruffled and his clothes were soaking wet, but his eyes carried a look of determination.

“sorry, i’m—”

“did i do something wrong? if so, tell me instead of… of… this!” he cut you off, the pain evident in his eyes.

long silence. you didn’t, couldn’t, answer him. you stared down the floor as the pause stretched on.

“did you get your information?”

your head tilted up to look at him. your heart seemed to be beating too quickly.

“is that why you’re casting me aside?”

you could feel your throat dry up. “what are you talki—”

”you came here to investigate me, didn’t you? i found out a few days after you arrived and was sent to find out more about you as well.” his voice cracked in his sentences.

you listened, but his words didn’t register until after he finished speaking.

he knew this entire time? and yet—

he brought his voice down to almost a whisper. “but after a few days, i—” he stopped himself, shook his head, and looked back up at you.

there were tears beginning to form in his eyes.

“…it doesn’t matter if you don’t feel the same way.”

he waited for you to speak. rebuke him. tell him otherwise. because he sees through you.

but instead—

“i’m sorry, lyney.”

you begin to close the shutter to your stand, but before you fully do, your weaker side gives some hope to the hurt love of your life outside.

“give me a couple days.”

and he leaves, the crestfallen expression he has on his face making you clench your fists once more.

after the exhausting day you just had, a letter was well-due.

although a little miffed at your friend’s response in letter, you knew that he was just looking out for you and the organization. and even though you didn’t fully comprehend the reasons for avoiding lyney, you decided not to ask in order not to be called out for sounding stupid.

(𝘹.𝘹.𝘹)

𝘪 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘺𝘯. 𝘪 𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘪 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦.

𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴? 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘮. 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥!…

after writing a few more sentences, you sighed and sealed the envelope.

looking out the window, you saw that it was raining just as hard as before.

𝙠.

𝙞 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩’𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙭𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙥 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚’𝙨. 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚. 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙? 𝙞 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙨𝙤 𝙞’𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙪𝙢 𝙞𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚…

𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙞 𝙖𝙢 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙞 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙮𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙣𝙟𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚. 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧.

𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣— 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙮𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙗 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝, 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 “𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧”. 𝙨𝙤, 𝙞’𝙢 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙗.

𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪? 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙. 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩?…

so many thoughts were slingshotting through your head.

first of all…

lynette came up to where you temporarily resided in the early hours of the morning and fessed up, apology and explanation mixed together in a fast spiel.

apparently, she had intercepted the original letter you were supposed to receive, coming across it by accident when the original deliverer had lost it to the wind. figuring it out easily who it was for, she copied the handwriting and wrote her own letter out of protectiveness for her brother, whom she thought was out of his mind when he told her that he had fallen for the person he was supposed to be investigating. not to mention the protection of the hearth.

you were stunned, but thinking about it further, you realized that her intentions were pure in spirit. you knew that she cared about her brother and that that care ran deep. perhaps you would do the same if put in the same circumstances, if it meant protecting the person you cared about most to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.

you forgave her. you figured that if she really wanted you two split, she would’ve done something far worse to keep you two apart.

perhaps deep down, she liked the idea of her brother happy, no matter who with.

second of all, the replacement letter.

he was okay with it? being with lyney wouldn’t give as major a consequence as you thought?

you can be with lyney?

after thinking about it thoroughly and finishing your tea, you smiled softly at lynette. she still seemed beat up about the fact that she had caused trouble for one of her friends, even if it was for her brother.

“lynette, it really is—”

“let me teach you a trick.”

you set down your teacup. “a trick?”

III. THE PRESTIGE

”lyney!”

it was the middle of the day, a good couple hours after lynette's visit. after the trick she showed you, she sent you on your way to go look for lyney.

you found him on the bench you both usually shared together, in a spot away from prying eyes where your thoughts were not heard by anyone but yourselves. his head shot up at the sound of your voice. he looked like he’d been crying. but his eyes glistened with something other than tears, a sort of brightness upon seeing you again.

when you reached the spot, you plopped down next to him.

“i want to show you a trick i learned.”

“a… trick?” his voice was sniffly. “do you really thi—”

seemingly out of thin air, you pulled a rainbow rose out from behind lyney’s ear.

“it does matter,” you say, recalling what he had said a few days ago to you. “i share your feelings, i love you.”

a beat.

then, he leans in, pressing his lips to your cheek, then to your own. “it took you awhile.” cue a bright smile.

“i’m sorry i did that to you, i just…”

he links hands with you, the rainbow rose he previously held now being held by the both of you.

he sighed at the contact. “lynette told me everything. please don’t hate her, she really just—”

“i don’t. i forgave her. i understood her intentions well enough.”

there’s a comfortable silence, a breath of fresh air after the tornado.

“i never told the fatui anything.” lyney’s eyes dimmed at the mention of the organization he was apart of. “i gave them roundabout answers and more questions, if anything... and father… she was okay with us.”

“father… you mean the fourth harbinger?” you asked. with his nod, you smiled. “i began giving less answers as time went on as well. after all, i wasn’t really seeking out information after getting to know you…”

you looked at the flower between you two. “my boss said he’s fine with us as well. he,” you laugh a little, “doesn’t trust you yet, but it’s enough.”

you take the rose and tuck it behind lyney’s ear.

“this is the same rainbow rose i gave you, isn’t it?” lyney says softly.

“it is. how’d you know?”

“a magician never reveals his secrets.” he winked.

with a playful roll of your eyes, you come closer to kiss him again.

finally, it was the end of performance.

EPILOGUE.

all the way back in mondstadt, a certain blue-haired man groaned.

another ten page essay about lyney from you. maybe he should’ve stuck with the “i do not approve of this relationship” letter. with every letter he sends “complaining” about it, you seem to be sending letters back that are longer and longer than before.

but skimming over your excited words and retellings of all you’ve done this week with “your beloved”, he can’t help but smile at how ecstatic you seem to be over there.

picnic dates… gifts… afternoon cafe dates… more gifts… walks… even more gifts…

kaeya sighs, cracks his knuckles, and gets a fresh piece of paper to write on.

as long as you’re happy, he’s fine with it.

[kazusys]

— kissing under the mistletoe

kissing genshin men under the mistletoe!

— performance

you’re sent to investigate lyney for being apart of the fatui, but end up finding out that he’s not as bad as you’ve been warned.

[kazusys]

SUM. you’re sent to investigate lyney for being apart of the fatui, but end up finding out that he’s not as bad as you’ve been warned. 4.8k words.

slight angst to fluff/hurt to comfort!

A/N. gift for @aritsukemo ! sorry this took a bit, but hope you enjoy nonetheless :)

PROLOGUE.

IMAGINE… you’ve been hunting down the fatui and come across a magician associated with the infamous organization. you’re quick to come up with an ambition of selling flowers and set up a stand in order to attract his attention and befriend him. after all, magicians do use flowers in their performances, right? right, because it worked. after that one day, he became a loyal customer and friend.

a few months later of slowly building up his (and his siblings’) trust, you find yourself genuinely, despite knowing better, liking the guy for being… well, him. or, perhaps it’s a facade you like. after all, you can’t forget what you know about him and his ulterior motives. nonetheless, the time you’ve been spending with him hasn’t been as unbearable as you initially assumed.

lyney, outgoing and sometimes flirtatious, would unbeknownst to you be the change of the century in your life.

I. THE PLEDGE

that day had been exhausting.

it was late in the afternoon, and you were resting and thinking back on how busy it was today despite being a relatively new business. what, did these people’s lives revolve around plants?

the bell up front rung, making you slowly turn to face yet another customer. however, instead of the usual monotonous feelings sinking in, a wave of energy swept over you instead as you saw him. lyney. the wave quickly passed through and was ushered to fuel your anxiety as you realized that this would be your first time talking to him. it had to go well, otherwise you’d have opened this stall for nothing and would have to put in extra work to seek him out yourself!

you put on a fake (but not as forced as the others) smile. “hello, good afternoon! what can i do for you today?” you recited.

“good afternoon, i was just passing through when i saw your flowers on display… they seem very well-taken care of and i thought i’d stop by. could i purchase a bundle of lumidouce bells?”

those were his first ever words to you, and you’ll never forget them on account of how he looked and sounded to you in that moment.

innocent, but knowledgeable. knowledgeable in the sense of that he knew deeper secrets of the world that people liked to keep hidden, a sort of knowing from what it’s like to kill with your own hands.

“of course!” taking what he requested with an added packet of information (the plant’s watering, environment, etc.), you made sure to handle it with care and professionalism. at least you were reassured in the fact that this was, in fact, not your first time handling botany in both a taking care of and selling view.

as soon as he took them from your hands, the smile he wore seemed to grow a bit bigger. “these are truly lovely… well done! if i’m going to keep coming here, we should get to know each other!”

and you didn’t even need to persuade nor initiate the small talk yourself.

you became acquaintances that day.

despite the supposed luckiness of the day, you were still put in a stupor came night, stuck in your thoughts.

the first-impression he made on you today was likely fake. underneath was a cold-blooded murderer with the darkest intentions. through your rational mind, that’s what you thought. with what you know about him and the fatui already, he’s far from the good-hearted person you spoke with today. but…

…the glinting in his eyes that never faltered from a shine of innocence spoke otherwise.

blinking back into the present and preventing yourself from overwatering the growing bud in front of you, you set down your materials in favor of opening a book and relaxing.

sighing, you let yourself forget for a few minutes or so…

…until you naturally look towards the front of the stand at the sound of the bell. he’s here.

with a now genuine smile, you get up and greet him.

“lyney! wow, i haven’t seen you since— how long has it been?— since this morning! anything new?”

you had a set routine with him picking up whatever he needs for his acts in the morning when there would be more in stock and then simply visiting you in the afternoon if he has the time. and, sure, you weren’t going to lie— you did look forward to it.

you also looked forward to the walks, cafe hang outs, chats, and all your other activities together that you two did.

he gave you his usual charming smile and the taking off of his hat. ”nothing too drastic, but i have come up with a small favor.”

“oh, and that is?”

“would you be willing to attend one of my and my sister’s rehearsals? she’s been wanting to see you again recently, and well, i’d hate to miss out on an opportunity to spend more time with you.”

with a confused combination, your heart clenched from his last couple words (which you already anticipated due to getting used to his oftentimes flirtatious nature) and the mention of his sister, whom you’ve also grown closer to these past couple months.

any mention of just how caring he can be to anyone makes you remember your role and why you’re here in the first place.

with a hard-to-swallow gulp that you hope isn’t apparent, you tilt your head, balancing it on a fist. “how sweet, obviously i’m willing— just tell me when and i’ll clear my schedule.”

”is tomorrow okay with you?”

all throughout the confirmation of the date, your chest felt heavier and heavier, as it did every night heading to rest nowadays. despite it, you kept up an amiable front, which was easier to do while talking with him, making you internally chuckle at the irony of it.

lyney, with his hat still off, made a sort of realization sound. “i almost forgot!”

with a quick flourish of his hand above the opening of his hat, a bouquet of silk flowers materialized, a quite hefty one at that. and he was offering it to you.

“i remembered that you were dissatisfied with the shortage of silk flowers a few days ago, so with a bit of help, i managed to get some in good quality!” he quickly explained.

probably with the help of some fatui members in liyue or something.

“how…?” you ask in an awed voice, careful to watch his expressions.

with a small shake of his head and the putting back on of his hat, he simply replies with a, “a magician never reveals his secrets!”

with feigned exasperation, you reply with an “oh-kay.”

shaking your head and smiling, you get a pastry bag from below the counter. “i got you something, too. i heard you’ve been wanting to try these, so…”

he grinned, “for little old me? you shouldn’t have!” and with a chuckle, he adds, “i appreciate it immensely, but you should leave the spoiling to me, with the prices you’re dead set on keeping.”

you shrug. “it’s affordable for pretty much everyone.”

“i still worry,” he says. “don’t overwork yourself, okay? and…”

he puts his hand that’s not busy holding the pastry bag behind his back, and when he returns it to his side, he’s gripping a bulging pouch. he sets it on the counter.

you open the pouch, your eyes meeting a whole load of mora.

you immediately snap your head to look at him. “lyney, i couldn’t possib—”

“think of it as a tip for all your hard work.” he simply replies. and with that, knowing that you’re going to be dead set on giving it back if he continues to stay, he disappears.

you’re left with a couple thoughts, the most prominent being how on teyvat someone like him could be apart of what he’s in, which turns to the mora and how he got the flowers so quickly and in such beautiful condition, to the said flowers in your hands and the man who brought them to you.

silk flowers… some believe that they symbolize secret love.

and with him in your mind, you let yourself forget for a few minutes or so.

you awoke with a start the next day, checking your mail while going over the day.

a letter arrived overnight, addressed to you from your organization. updates… updates… new arrivals… a request for an update on your end. well, with it being the early hours of the day, you were sure that you had time before the rehearsal to get this over with.

(𝘹.𝘹.𝘹) [initials] 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵. 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘺𝘯 & 𝘤𝘰. 𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘪’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯.

looking back at the stream of words you unloaded onto the paper, you immediately realize something— the person you’re writing this to isn’t just your boss. he’s also a close friend, and will hear you out no matter how unprofessional it may seem.

with that in mind, you put aside your job letter and mentally write a note to yourself to write a more personal one later.

getting up and stretching, you look outside and watch the fully risen sun glisten on every building in its path.

(if only he knew how he glistened in your eyes...)

today was going to be a good day.

that mentality stayed with you up until you arrived at the rehearsal, where a blast of floral scents hit you in the face. then, for some reason, you got the feeling that for sure, today was going to be a good day.

you hear lyney call out your name along with a, “you’re here!” he throws the enormous deck of cards in his hands into the air, and with a quick drag of his hat catching all the cards and a few fancy movements from his fingers later, the cards vanish. he proves this by shaking his hat to the ground, showing that it’s empty with the absent fluttering of the rectangular pieces to the floor. lynette seems to roll her eyes at the dramatic act, joining her brother’s side as they both bow in sync.

lyney simply chuckles as he leads you to a good seat where you’ll be able to see the tricks at their full potential.

that’s when you notice his other brother, freminet. he offered a small wave that you reciprocated, a soft smile playing on your lips. sitting next to him, you directed your attention to the stars of the show.

“well, now that the audience is here, welcome to lyney and lynette's magic show!”

their shows always managed to amaze you. whether it be more acts of one illusion over another or tricks that you’ve seen before, being interesting was never a problem in their hands. in fact, with their separate charms and appealing variety, it’s no wonder they’re so popular in their profession.

the beginning and middle acts were both as wonderful as they usually are, with so many things happening right in front of you that you wonder if you need an eye appointment scheduled.

with the announcement of the final act, lyney takes something offered by lynette. it’s a seed packet. you suddenly recall from a few days ago some words he’d said, only for the conversation to be put aside as lyney began speaking again.

he held the seeds up. “you know, i’ve been thinking about growing my own garden lately. what better time for me to do it than right in front of you all? after all, constructive criticism is good for growth.”

lynette pulls out another packet of the same seeds, ripping it open in accordance with her brother. taking care to spread them evenly, they go on opposite sides of the room and make their way toward each other.

”now, what do flowers need in order to grow? water, yes? well, unfortunately, i don’t have some on me. but i think these cards—” he paused, materializing cards with tear drop patterns into his fingers, “—should work just as well, right?”

after shuffling them around, he began to actually water the seeds, shaking a card which emitted small droplets of water over each patch. glancing over at freminet, you could see that he was in as much awe as you were.

“now, it should be just a few seconds…” looking around, his eyes widened as he knelt down by a certain spread of seeds.

…and with a quick flourish of his hands, a bundle of watered, seemingly brand-new rainbow roses appeared, replacing the seeds they supposedly grew from.

again and again this repeated, until the entire floor was filled with the scent and beauty of the flower, like a garden.

and with a final bow, the show ended.

they will always fail to you in not being interesting.

you and freminet clapped heavily, with his applause quieter, but still enthusiastic.

“so, what did you two think?” lyney asked immediately after standing straight.

you saw freminet glance at you, most likely a signal for you to speak first. “you two always exceed my expectations, and this certainly doesn’t change that. what made you decide to use rainbow roses?”

lyney picked one of the roses up, appreciating its scent. “well, i recently received a bit of info regarding magical acts and their use of flowers and their symbolism, and after picking up a book about it from your stand, i came to the conclusion to use these roses. after all, they are quite a sight to behold.” lyney spun the flower around between his fingers before it disappeared…

…reappearing behind your ear.

with a soft giggle at the action, you ran your fingers over the petals of the flower, feeling your face begin to heat up from the symbolism of it all.

does he know what this action entails? if so, then…

what if?

“you don’t need to put that much effort into your rehearsal performances, you know.” lynette sighed.

“quite the opposite, actually,” lyney adjusted his hat, “if we simply give up on doing our best during our practices, it will very much show to the audience in our actual performances.”

you walk up to the makeshift stage. “do you need help cleaning up?”

lyney gave you a sly, but genuine, smile. “i wouldn’t mind, cleaning up petals can sometimes be tedious to do. but if i’m with you, then it shouldn’t be as bad.”

you look into each other’s eyes until he breaks the silence. “well then, lynette; would you and freminet go pick up dinner? i’ll stay behind.”

she agrees, although a little reluctantly. there’s a small hint of something in her eyes, but you can’t quite place it. “are you sure?”

lyney simply nods and says, “of course,” in return.

so when all is said and done, lynette and freminet leave you and lyney alone in the rehearsal room.

even though you both are supposed to be cleaning up all the flowers, you find yourselves amongst them, side by side, making no effort to do so. with the windows in the back, you can clearly see the sun beginning to set, casting a beautiful sunset through the glass.

it’s simply you and him, sitting in the bed of flowers talking about whatever, because the moment sets something up that’s too perfect for either of you to pass up.

so with the mood set and the words you keep hidden slamming against your closed lips, you open up.

“so… you do know the symbolism of rainbow roses, right?”

with a slight pause and glance your way, you see something not many get to witness, but something you’ve seen plenty of.

lyney’s confident persona slowly melting, leaving behind a more vulnerable person without his coat.

“of course i do,” you hear him take a breath, “passion and romantic encounters. i gave you one for a reason, didn’t i?” you don’t miss the way he tries to regain his aplomb to no avail, as his voice somewhat quivers at the end.

“you did.”

love can do tremendous things to a person. from changing their moral standards to making them change themselves to fit a standard that’s plaintively fickle.

“i came up with the ending act for you, you know.”

“it’s love,” you think to yourself, “that’s making me risk this all.”

you inch your hand closer to his, which is all that’s needed to make contact.

and with unspoken words between you, you both lean in at the same time.

(𝘹.𝘹.𝘹) 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪’𝘮 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘪'𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 ‘𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺’ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘯𝘰𝘵. 𝘪 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.

𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘪 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪, 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘪 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘱, 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯! 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵!

(𝘱.𝘴. 𝘪’𝘮 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘪 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳! 𝘪’𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦.)

II. THE TURN

“what if they’re simply using you? getting close to you for information?”

“my dear lynette, you can fake many things in this world, but pure endearment is not one of them.”

the response comes a week later.

you’re insanely relieved, because with any more of the tension between you and lyney, you may just go crazy.

you both don’t mention the kiss, but there’s still an unspoken step taken in your relationship, with him automatically holding your hand anytime you walk together to kissing the back of your hand every time he visits.

nonetheless, there’s something you both seem to be holding back, and that gets in the way of anymore happening. especially with the absent words about your status together.

you rip open the envelope.

𝙠.

𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.

not a good start.

𝙞 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚, 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙞𝙛 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙞𝙩’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙜𝙤𝙖𝙡.

𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙, 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙡𝙡 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙤, 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚…

your heart sank.

you knew it was coming. it hurt all the same, though, no matter how much you told yourself that you expected this response.

you knew from the start.

and with that in mind, you prepared yourself to begin shutting lyney out until whatever you had for him dried up.

when his usual afternoon visit came around, you almost sighed out loud at the sight of him so happy.

you smiled your regular smile, but made no effort to come closer nor initiate something. instead, you picked up a potted plant and collected your items to fertilize it while asking what he needed.

lyney looked at you for a second, seemingly looking for any sort of tease in your tone. “i… came to spend time with you?”

you nod dismissively. “sorry, could you come back another day? i’m a little busy.”

“… i… could help, i may not be specialized in botany, but i'd like to think that i’m a very good learner!” he smiled.

“… thanks, but, uh… maybe… maybe some other day, okay?”

you watched his smile fall for a moment before it returned, albeit with less enthusiasm. “of course, i’ll… try to see you tomorrow.”

you simply nod.

you have to dig your nails into your palm in order to not go after him with the way his kicked puppy expression immediately flashes onto his face.

you did this the next day. and the next. the nail crescents imprinted into your skin for a bit afterwards made you cringe each and every time.

a week passed.

he only had time to visit you twice, and both times you shot down conversation.

it was the confrontation that truly broke you. it was raining, and even after the last week and three days, he still came. you winced at seeing him, even before he rang the bell.

his hair was ruffled and his clothes were soaking wet, but his eyes carried a look of determination.

“sorry, i’m—”

“did i do something wrong? if so, tell me instead of… of… this!” he cut you off, the pain evident in his eyes.

long silence. you didn’t, couldn’t, answer him. you stared down the floor as the pause stretched on.

“did you get your information?”

your head tilted up to look at him. your heart seemed to be beating too quickly.

“is that why you’re casting me aside?”

you could feel your throat dry up. “what are you talki—”

”you came here to investigate me, didn’t you? i found out a few days after you arrived and was sent to find out more about you as well.” his voice cracked in his sentences.

you listened, but his words didn’t register until after he finished speaking.

he knew this entire time? and yet—

he brought his voice down to almost a whisper. “but after a few days, i—” he stopped himself, shook his head, and looked back up at you.

there were tears beginning to form in his eyes.

“…it doesn’t matter if you don’t feel the same way.”

he waited for you to speak. rebuke him. tell him otherwise. because he sees through you.

but instead—

“i’m sorry, lyney.”

you begin to close the shutter to your stand, but before you fully do, your weaker side gives some hope to the hurt love of your life outside.

“give me a couple days.”

and he leaves, the crestfallen expression he has on his face making you clench your fists once more.

after the exhausting day you just had, a letter was well-due.

although a little miffed at your friend’s response in letter, you knew that he was just looking out for you and the organization. and even though you didn’t fully comprehend the reasons for avoiding lyney, you decided not to ask in order not to be called out for sounding stupid.

(𝘹.𝘹.𝘹)

𝘪 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘺𝘯. 𝘪 𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘪 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦.

𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴? 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘮. 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥!…

after writing a few more sentences, you sighed and sealed the envelope.

looking out the window, you saw that it was raining just as hard as before.

𝙠.

𝙞 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩’𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙭𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙥 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚’𝙨. 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚. 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙? 𝙞 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙨𝙤 𝙞’𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙪𝙢 𝙞𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚…

𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙞 𝙖𝙢 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙞 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙮𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙣𝙟𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚. 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧.

𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣— 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙮𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙗 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝, 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 “𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧”. 𝙨𝙤, 𝙞’𝙢 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙗.

𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪? 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙. 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩?…

so many thoughts were slingshotting through your head.

first of all…

lynette came up to where you temporarily resided in the early hours of the morning and fessed up, apology and explanation mixed together in a fast spiel.

apparently, she had intercepted the original letter you were supposed to receive, coming across it by accident when the original deliverer had lost it to the wind. figuring it out easily who it was for, she copied the handwriting and wrote her own letter out of protectiveness for her brother, whom she thought was out of his mind when he told her that he had fallen for the person he was supposed to be investigating. not to mention the protection of the hearth.

you were stunned, but thinking about it further, you realized that her intentions were pure in spirit. you knew that she cared about her brother and that that care ran deep. perhaps you would do the same if put in the same circumstances, if it meant protecting the person you cared about most to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.

you forgave her. you figured that if she really wanted you two split, she would’ve done something far worse to keep you two apart.

perhaps deep down, she liked the idea of her brother happy, no matter who with.

second of all, the replacement letter.

he was okay with it? being with lyney wouldn’t give as major a consequence as you thought?

you can be with lyney?

after thinking about it thoroughly and finishing your tea, you smiled softly at lynette. she still seemed beat up about the fact that she had caused trouble for one of her friends, even if it was for her brother.

“lynette, it really is—”

“let me teach you a trick.”

you set down your teacup. “a trick?”

III. THE PRESTIGE

”lyney!”

it was the middle of the day, a good couple hours after lynette's visit. after the trick she showed you, she sent you on your way to go look for lyney.

you found him on the bench you both usually shared together, in a spot away from prying eyes where your thoughts were not heard by anyone but yourselves. his head shot up at the sound of your voice. he looked like he’d been crying. but his eyes glistened with something other than tears, a sort of brightness upon seeing you again.

when you reached the spot, you plopped down next to him.

“i want to show you a trick i learned.”

“a… trick?” his voice was sniffly. “do you really thi—”

seemingly out of thin air, you pulled a rainbow rose out from behind lyney’s ear.

“it does matter,” you say, recalling what he had said a few days ago to you. “i share your feelings, i love you.”

a beat.

then, he leans in, pressing his lips to your cheek, then to your own. “it took you awhile.” cue a bright smile.

“i’m sorry i did that to you, i just…”

he links hands with you, the rainbow rose he previously held now being held by the both of you.

he sighed at the contact. “lynette told me everything. please don’t hate her, she really just—”

“i don’t. i forgave her. i understood her intentions well enough.”

there’s a comfortable silence, a breath of fresh air after the tornado.

“i never told the fatui anything.” lyney’s eyes dimmed at the mention of the organization he was apart of. “i gave them roundabout answers and more questions, if anything... and father… she was okay with us.”

“father… you mean the fourth harbinger?” you asked. with his nod, you smiled. “i began giving less answers as time went on as well. after all, i wasn’t really seeking out information after getting to know you…”

you looked at the flower between you two. “my boss said he’s fine with us as well. he,” you laugh a little, “doesn’t trust you yet, but it’s enough.”

you take the rose and tuck it behind lyney’s ear.

“this is the same rainbow rose i gave you, isn’t it?” lyney says softly.

“it is. how’d you know?”

“a magician never reveals his secrets.” he winked.

with a playful roll of your eyes, you come closer to kiss him again.

finally, it was the end of performance.

EPILOGUE.

all the way back in mondstadt, a certain blue-haired man groaned.

another ten page essay about lyney from you. maybe he should’ve stuck with the “i do not approve of this relationship” letter. with every letter he sends “complaining” about it, you seem to be sending letters back that are longer and longer than before.

but skimming over your excited words and retellings of all you’ve done this week with “your beloved”, he can’t help but smile at how ecstatic you seem to be over there.

picnic dates… gifts… afternoon cafe dates… more gifts… walks… even more gifts…

kaeya sighs, cracks his knuckles, and gets a fresh piece of paper to write on.

as long as you’re happy, he’s fine with it.

[kazusys]

so apparently albedo likes eating spiders. hm

[kazusys]

”this lyney fic is good, but i think you mischaracterized lynet—”

— my prediction of a comment when i post the almost 5k words lyney fic

[kazusys]

how to write dramatic scenes without overdoing it. hmmm

[kazusys]

when i look at all my works and see my writing style and format morph 😭

[kazusys]

EDIT FOR @aritsukemo

(nursedflowers is my main!)

[kazusys]

calling all lyney fans. making a big fic for y’all. :)

[kazusys]

I FINALLY GOT TIME TO READ THIS… I’M SO SORRY ARI!!

but

you owe me fluff

like… an INSANE AMOUNT

or I might write it myself?? stop breaking my heart & not providing bandages?? /j (I LOVE IT DON’T WORRY)

okay okay LET ME BREAK THIS DOWN!

obviously spoils underneath the cut! (for both pt. 1 & 2)

so, i began reading this a few days ago only to be interrupted after reading just a few sentences of the story which was such a huge mistake on my part. the first sentences literally grabbed my eyeballs, and i regretted starting it and not finishing it until just a few minutes ago. SO MANY KUDOS TO THAT GIVE ME POINTERS

AND THEN THE CUT TO HIM AND US!! i thought that that whole scene was super clever.

i REALLY love the beeping addition! it just keeps you on edge while reading, especially when the argument escalated in there— i began reading faster to give it the effect i supposed you were adding, and it really genshin impacted the story for me!

oh and the ending… OH THE ENDING…

after i read this, i realized that this was a part two and went over to the first part and

and

oh my goodness 😭

you characterize scaramouche SO well, because in every little action, i can imagine him doing it. it’s never overdone in your works, and that’s a pretty amazing feat!!

i really love how he switches from “hating” us in the first part to still missing us despite everything that’s happened, because deep down inside i really do think that even though we did that to him which probably affected him SUPER heavily, he still wanted us with him while he rotted through the rest of his days.

having never taken antidepressants before, and most likely never will after reading this lol but someone inform me more please, you sounded very smart describing all these different things going on in this fic, you little genius!

i am a SUCKER for idol aus. plus angst? AH

ari stop outdoing my expectations every single time i read your works i swear the next time i read one of your works i will start breathing tears

PLEASE KEEP WRITING STUFF LIKE THIS, IT’S LITERALLY SO INSPIRING AND I COULDN’T ASK FOR MORE PLEASE DON’T STOP ILY AND YOUR WORKS SM THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ARIIII ‼️

A Mid-Night Snack | Kunikuzushi

Music Artist Kunikuzushi x Idol Reader

Warnings: Major Character Death ( Kunikuzushi ), suicide, depression and bpd are implied, drugs are referenced and used ( Kunikuzushi takes antidepressants and ends up overdosing on them ), severe hallucinating ahead ( Everything that happens in this fic does not actually happen ), Scaramouche is used a stage name, Kunikuzushi as his real name, modern au ahead, also nasty topics such as vomit and blood are used as descriptors towards the end. With all that said, please enjoy this at your own volition and risk!

A/N: It's officially January 3rd where I live so Happy Belated New Years and Happy Birthday to my gloriously written shnookums Wanderer! To celebrate his birthday, I've decided to do a part two to my former-drabble-now-fanfic 'A Boring Experiment'! I'm seeming to have a pattern in trying new things with him so like my other Kunikuzushi fanfic, this is completely new ground for me. That said, I hope you can still enjoy. ( Also this is a gift for the one who enjoyed my little drabble i wrote on a whim and requested a part two of it! )

Part One: A Boring Experiment | Part Two: A Mid-Night Snack

Tagging: @nursedflowers / @kazusys

Beep. Beep. Beep.

 "Lately, a new all boys group going by the name of 5WIRL seems to be on the rise to stardom! In only two weeks their debut album, 'Alone With The Wind', has already charted as number five in The Billboard Global 200; an astonishing feat that has only ever been accomplished by the solo artist Scaramouche!"

 "Speaking of him, a new shocking piece of evidence has urged police to reopen the case regarding the sudden and tragic death of world-famous idol Y/n L/n. It has officially been revealed that L/n had a high dosage of prescription drugs in their system by the time of their death which have made police believe drove them to jumping."

"Furthermore, it's now being suspected that their death was not actually a suicide but instead a cruel setup. By who, you may wonder? Well, it's obviously none other than the love of their life Scaramouche himself! More about our thoughts after this commercial break—!"

With the click of a button the radio fell silent, allowing the quiet that once trespassed into the bedroom to seep back in. A groan of the one who was disturbed is as brief as their stretches as they sit up, their purple hair flopping in disarray around the sides of their face as they check the clock. It reads 3:12am.

It felt odd to wake up at such an hour seeming as it’s usually the time he's falling asleep. It pulls another groan out of him, but this one was wrapped in frustration rather than drowsiness. It was always a challenge to get to sleep in the first place let alone get back to sleep, especially after—

A growl rumbles through his core, interrupting his thoughts. Its origins are the center of his stomach; a consequence of deciding to lay around in bed instead of making dinner last night.

He decides his next move rather quickly; he might as well get a snack.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He's in the kitchen in another five minutes and snacking on some instant ramen in the next. He doesn't bother going back to his room, finding himself too famished to do anything except stuff his face—which he inevitably does.

His elbow brushes against the counter that he leans on as he raises the cup in his hand, lifting a large portion of noodles up with his wooden chopsticks in tandem, before immediately bringing it to his mouth and relishing in its bland taste.

 "Hmg...Kuni', is that you? Why are you up?"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He turns at the sound of the familiar voice—the sweet symphony of his beloved’s wrapped in the raspiness of sleepiness—and, upon turning, is greeted with the sight of your drooping eyes boring into his own.

 "Got hungry," He simply mumbled, his tongue feeling like a paper weight in his mouth. He tried his best to ignore the feeling.

You slowly walked up to him, your feet thudding against the floor as if being dragged down by an anchor. You reach him after ages, and when you do, he lifts his arms up and allows you the space to dip under them and slug your arms around his waist. As if your head weighed one thousand pounds, it immediately flops forward and collides with the soft fabric of his sweatshirt. Kunikuzushi immediately cages you, and after that, resumes his eating.

 “Don’t get food on me,” You warn, though you’re too tired to convey your words in a properly threatening way. Even if it did, his reaction would’ve been the same; rolling his eyes heavenwards.

 “Don’t insult me. Unlike you, my food actually goes into my mouth.”

The room fills with silence again after that...not really. Periodically, a series of slurps fill your ears; a product of your boyfriend being too eager to stuff his face which ultimately results in him having to suck up a long trail of ramen in one go. You don’t mind the sound though. In fact, you actually find the obnoxious noise pleasant and you’re sure that if it continued, it’d be able to serenade you back to sleep..

Then again, you’re so tired right now that a blow horn would probably have the same effect on you. The only thing you can imagine having the opposite effect on you right now would be—

A loud gurgle cuts through all other micro-noises in the room, its animalistic growl devouring any other sound and swallowing it whole so that when it fades there’s complete silence. A heartbeat of time passes before you finally open your eyes again, peering up at your boyfriend with a kitten-like gaze when you do. He exhales in an exasperated manner yet his arms lift regardless. You take the opportunity to slip from him, your grip loosening around his body until it fades altogether, allowing him to walk past you.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

You were in the dining room now—if you could even call it that. Really it was just a cheap, foldable table the two of you shoved in the corner of the open kitchen along with some chairs.

You sat across from each other. Kunikuzushi—long finished with his cup of noodles—staring absentmindedly as you demolish the freshly-microwaved ramen cup with vigor. He watches in silence. His eyes follow the journey of your utensil as it twists and wraps the yellow strands around it until it’s sturdy enough to lift into the air before traveling slowly upwards. He catches every little twitch of eagerness your lips make before they finally open and allows the delicious, soft food into your mouth at last where he hears a loud crunch!

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He blinks, the sharp noise forcing him from his daze and back to reality. His face then tightens, scrunching up from perplexment and overall discomfort at what he had just heard. You catch his expression by chance and noticing it has you looking up, your own look of confusion painted on your face.

 “What’s wrong?” You question, still chewing on the huge bite. He doesn’t answer you and simply stares at you with a narrowed gaze. It earns a scowl from you and another loud call of his name, “Kuni’!”

 “I can hear you,” He quickly snaps, “No need to yell.”

You can feel the end of your brows twitch, agitated by his tone and overall comment. Kunikuzushi notices, but doesn’t speak on it and instead listens to your soft munching until it eventually ceases.

 “If you heard me then you should’ve answered,” You grumbled, already preparing your next bite by forcing your utensil to twirl once again, “And you get an attitude when you were the one giving me strange looks.”

 “..Anyways..nightmares aren’t usually a common occurrence with you unless..” You find yourself hesitating to ask your question and decide to calm your nerves with another bite of food.

You bring your utensil up to your lips again, this bite is bigger than the last and you can see the thick, white steam admitting from each yellow strand. It singes the delicate skin of your lips when it gets near and you have no choice but to take the time to gently blow the steam away. It’s in that little time that you finally work up the courage to continue.

 “..Have you taken your meds?” You whisper the question into the darkness, your eyes glued to your noodles, too scared to watch his reaction take shape—to see his lips dip into a frown and his eyes darken with annoyance.

 “Yes, I took ‘em before I went to bed,” He grumbled. The lack of vexation in his voice coerces you to glance up at him. He simply looked exhausted, nothing more. It was a sight that was as surprising as it was relieving. You found yourself staring for longer than you probably should’ve. Kunikuzushi’s eyes quirk up and he catches your gaze, frowning when he does so. It’s only then that you realize how unconvinced you likely looked in that moment.

Alas, it was too late to fix your face because the damage had already been done. The love of your life was already looking away and flicking his hand, saying,  “You can go check if you want. I’m sure you know the exact number of pills I had in there.” 

His comment was deep with scorn and though his eyebags and lazy tone hid it well, you could tell you had hurt him to some degree. It made your heart sting, made your frown grow three times bigger, but you stood to your feet regardless. You might as well.

A moment of silence passes as you make your way to the kitchen, passing the table and ultimately him as you slowly make your way over to the specific cabinet near the fridge where the two of you kept all your bottled remedies. You reach for the handle and quickly realize that you had accidentally brought your noodle cup with you, seemingly too hungry to part with it. It makes you pause only for a moment, though, and ultimately, you switch hands, grab the handle, and swing the cabinet door open.

Medications of all kinds sit in the same place you had left them it seems, there varying lengths and thrown around locations making the small space seem like a mini junkyard. You scan each bottle, briskly reading the description of those whose initial appearance matched the particular bottle you were looking for only to quickly move on upon reading the first couple letters. You do that for some time, reading bottles, moving bottles, and even restarting the process once or twice…but it seems what you were looking for was nowhere to be found. It had completely disappeared. 

 “Kuni’,” You called. Having long set your cup of noodles aside and are now gripping both cabinet doors, which are both now wide open, by their knob handles. You hear his raspy hum—his sign of acknowledgement—and it’s then you finally say, “Where are the pills?”

Beep. Beep. Beep.

 “Should be on the second shelf,” He replied, “Well they aren’t,” You retorted.

 “Look again,” He tells you, “I’ve looked through the cabinet, like, three times already; they’re not in here,” You told him. 

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep!

 “I put the bottle back in the cabinet after I took one, it should be in there,” You heard him say. You could tell he was agitated. It was especially clear in his next words, “Do you think I’m lying?”

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

 “No,” You tried to say as sincerely as possible despite raising your voice. Though past experiences have made you doubtful, you do vaguely remember him convincing him to take them the other night and him getting up to go and take them.

Did he hide them then? The thought sits at the back of your mind, but you try to ignore it. Unfortunately, your subconscious suspicion must be blatant in your voice—more so than your heartfelt sincerity—because the next time he spoke, it was with the same irritability as before.

 “You think I’m lying,” His earlier question comes out as a firm statement and has you just about wincing upon hearing it. Kunikuzushi looks back at last and his eyes lock with your discomforted expression—a rather audacious look to have on your face in his opinion, seeming as you’re the one accusing him of doing wrong.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Seeing that your previous plan of diffusing the situation—and his anger—failed miserably, you move on to your next one, going on to ask in a cautious tone, “Why are you getting so worked up anyways? All I did was tell you that your medication wasn’t in the cabinet.”

 “Unless…Kunikuzushi, did you actually—” You stop yourself from letting the full sentence slip out, but it was futile. The rest of your question weighed heavy in the silence that followed, lingering in your boyfriend’s ears—his mind—until he finally exploded.

 “I took the fucking pills, aright?! I took them last night and then put them back in the cabinet! Them being gone now has nothing to do with me!”

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

  “I didn’t mean it like—” “Bullshit. You know exactly what you meant!”

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! 

 “Do you even think I took them? Because I did. You know why? Because someone wouldn’t stop bitching about it!” His screams bounce off the walls before reaching your ears. The volume has you flinching away from it.

You’re sure that if your neighbors weren’t out of town, you’d have a noise complaint taped to your front door come morning..

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

His voice suddenly dips, evening out to his normal tone yet still holds his anger as he spoke, “I’m not a child. I’m capable of doing things without you having to constantly keep up with me,” He turns his head away from the entranceway—from you—deciding to direct his glare to the table instead. Having such an intense gaze off of you felt like a drop of water in a desert; relieving. It allows you to breathe and move at last, albeit with trepidation, and you do so, slowly making your way over to him.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! ………..Beep.

You make it up to him relatively quickly even with your turtle-paced walk. You stop right behind him, but he doesn’t acknowledge the newfound proximity and continues to keep his back turned to you. You don’t feel disheartened by this. If anything, you found this a blessing. After all, it’s much harder to keep your voice from wavering when you have daggers pointed your way.

 “I’ll admit, for a moment, I did doubt you” You began, your hands reaching out for him, your shoulders relaxing when he allows you to slide your hands onto his shoulders. You grip at them, tenderly squeezing and massaging the tensing flesh underneath your fingertips as you continue on to say, “Even so, I believe you now. I mean, why else would you get so upset otherwise, right?”

Kunikuzushi remains silent so you assume that’s his way of giving you the green light to keep going. You take the chance, leaning in to plant a kiss to his scalp before muttering into it.

 “I don’t see you as some helpless kitten, but I just..I worry about you sometimes.. A lot of the time, actually. I always am. I never intended to come off as bossy. I do try to stress the importance of taking your medication and following up on your appointments with your therapist, but that’s only because I want to ensure you’re okay.” 

 “That still doesn’t give me a pass for my actions, though, and I hope that you’ll be able to forgive me. If not immediately, then maybe after some cuddles and a good night’s sleep?” You’re full on leaning into his back now and you’re certain that at this point you were likely leaning all your body weight onto him. It wasn’t entirely on purpose. In fact, you’re pretty confident in your assumption that those noodles digesting in your stomach had sucked away the little energy you had in you and were the cause of this, but you didn’t really mind. Not if he didn’t. 

 “I’m going to bed,” Is what he mutters instead of an apology for his overreaction—not that you expected one from him anyways. You stopped expecting and hoping for things like that a long time ago, as sad as that may be.

He sits up and you begrudgingly straighten up yourself. Too tired to even hold your head upright, your head droops as if it weighed the same as a sack of jewels. Having no choice but to stare downwards, you watch as the chair legs move back and his knees straighten out as he stands up. You slide back, allowing him space to walk past you. He does just that, but before he’s completely out of reach, he swings his arm back and hooks your fingers with his. It’s then that your eyes open to what he really said, or rather, what he wanted to say but couldn’t bring himself to.

 “I’m sorry. Let’s go to bed, please.”

You squeeze his hand once and never let go; silent proof of your acknowledgement and acceptance. Kunikuzushi, feeling your grip warming his hand, steps forward..only for his knees to suddenly become jelly underneath his skin.

His legs buckle for a mere moment before he collapses, ultimately dragging you down with him. Your descent is short, yet you still stare at him as if you two had just fallen off the side of a mountain and managed to survive the fall unscathed; bewildered and fearful.

 “Are you okay?” Your lips move faster than your brain can process what just happened. Your limbs do too, your free hand coming up to cup his cheek. Kunikuzushi leans into your touch instinctively only to soon after peel it away from his slicken skin; a contradicting action, one of many that made up the person you loved.

 “I’m..” He meant to say fine, but slurred incoherency replaced the word instead. It made your brows furrow, made your worries grow sky high, but as you fixed your lips to ask him more questions, he suddenly leaned against you and it was then that you finally realized the problem.

Your poor baby was tired—no, exhausted. So much so that he could barely even walk.

You sigh—more so out of relief than anything else—as you force yourself onto your feet once again. You help him up, and despite the feeling of him leaning against you feeling like a boulder crushing you, you slung his arm around your shoulder before beginning to walk step by step to your safe haven—the place you both often yearned for when you wanted to escape from the world; your shared bedroom.

In a matter of minutes, the two of you were wrapped under the gentle heat of thick covers while your heads were caressed by the soft plush of your pillows.

At last, you two found peace. You especially felt relaxed at the warmth of the noodles you ate earlier feeling like a fireplace in your stomach, though it did little to improve your overall circulation. Nevertheless, it fueled your drowsiness, gave you a push as you crept to the edge of the hill of sleepiness, just about tipped you off the edge that led down to the bottomless abyss you’ve come to call dreamville.

But how could one properly sleep with their goodnight kiss?

 “Goodnight, Kuni..” You whispered, eyes just barely open as you lazily craned your head upwards. Kunikuzushi, as if having read your thoughts, was already leaning in.

You meet at a point and your lips connect and grow slick in an instant by each others’ saliva. His mouth starts tingling, quickly spreading to his tongue. It felt as if someone had spit already chewed up food into his mouth. It forces a grimace onto his face that’s barely visible even when he pulls away. In the end, as you turn on your side, he tries to swallow down. He struggles. His saliva feels like a soggy chunk of ramen, but he manages to succeed. Unfortunately for him, the taste lingers, and in the end, he forces himself to ignore the sickening feeling and taste altogether.

He grumbles out a similar phrase of wishing you a peaceful night's sleep, finding himself licking his lips as he does so. His tongue brushes along his lips, swiping up the thick slick that coats it. With his eyes closed, he doesn’t notice its color and though it burns his tongue and makes him want to vomit just like your kiss did he, again, pays it no mind. Though his reason this time was because he simply had no other choice, too tired to even open his eyes.

He begins drifting off to sleep. His strength fades first; starting from the tip of his toes and slowly making its way up to his face—which felt as if it had been splashed by a bucket of water. It felt damp, just as it did earlier when he woke up. Was it sweat? If so, how long had he been sweating?

....He’ll find his answers tomorrow, surely.

His body seems to fall asleep before his mind could catch up, and because of that, he remained awake despite his eyes and sense of touch having long left him. It feels weird—discomforting even—to feel so numb and only be able to hear the slow thumping of his heart. Though it was still a paradise when compared to his sleep paralysis moments he’d have at times.

All things must come to an end at some point though, good or bad. This is no exception. Slowly, the beat of his heart slowed to a point a turtle could beat it in a race before it stopped altogether. What quickly followed that was his fade in consciousness—which felt as though he was falling down a deep, clean hole. Nothing to grasp at, nothing to feel.. Nothing to guide him but the eerie sense of weightless chilling his bone marrow.

And just before he hit the bottom he heard your voice, suddenly felt your touch, and it was as if every negative thing that was happening to him in that moment had vanished..

 “No matter what happens, Kuni’, I’ll always love you and stay by your side. I’m not going anywhere, so please, sleep without worry so that when you awake again, you’ll be able to properly relish in the sun.”

………………….Beep………………….

 “Tonight, many are mourning the depressing news regarding the worldwide music sensation, Scaramouche—real name Kunikuzushi—who was found dead in his vacation home this morning.”

 “They say that friends of the artist had grown concerned due to his sudden drop in communication and decided to pay him a visit after he missed an important get-together that had been planned months ahead of time. When they arrived at his vacation home, they found that all the lights were off and the door unlocked which spurred them to investigate and eventually find him dead in his bed, choking on his own blood and vomit.”

 “It is reported that his cause of death was caused by severe overdose likely triggered by the chewing and ingesting of Amitriptyline. With the discoveries made so far, Police suspect his death of being a suicide and that he had to be dead for at least a few days before he was discovered.”

 “It causes many to wonder; could his sudden death have been related to the Y/n L/n case? Possibly driven by his own guilt? Or did his now missing manager have something to do with this? More about our thoughts on tonight's talk show after this commercial break!”

Dividers were made by me, pictures used are from Pinterest, post formatting is inspired by @xxsabitoxx