#genshin impact reader insert

[lyneira]

♡ I'm home ♡

-> How the genshin men react when you say "i wanna go home" and you go to hug them saying, "I'm home now :)"

archetype imagine!

A really silly, random and specific prompt, but I just found it so sweet

Thinks you're so cute

Kaeya, Lyney, Heizou, Baizhu, Thoma

He would let out a warm laugh out of amusement at your action. 'What a cutie', he'd think as he would begin to stroke your head dearly with his charming smile plastered on his face. He would then lean his forehead against yours, your noses softly grazing each other's, and would gaze lovingly into your eyes. His eyes would hold you gently, shining with his uttermost affections for you. He appreciated that you viewed him that way. "You're mine as well, and I'll always be there when you need me"

Would be caught off guard

Albedo, Ororon, Kinich, Cyno, Tighnari, Alhaitham

He might be surprised from the sudden gesture as he isn't used to receiving such affection (nor having to deal with it). But he'd definitely hug you back, knowing how much you felt for him as he felt the same for you, even if he might show it differently.

"I hope you find it comfortable here", he'd say with a small, reassuring smile, leaving a chaste kiss to your forehead.

Grows a stronger sense of protectiveness over you

Wriothesley, Neuvillette, Zhongli, Childe, Ayato

He'd lightly chuckle at the gesture, but nonetheless, your sentiment would leave an impact on him. He understood just how vulnerable you allow yourself to be with him, how safe you felt with him, and that your words were simply another form of, "I love you". Of course, there was no doubt that he felt the same for you too.

If he was your home, you can bet your bottom he was gonna shield you from any possible danger, as well as take care of you with all his might. There would be no way he'd let any harm to come to you.

And he would vow this to you by wrapping his hand over your head, sliding his arm around your waist, and pulling you in close, so much that it felt like he was enveloping your entire frame into him. He'd then whisper tenderly into your ear, "As long as I'm here, nothing will hurt you"

-

Specifically, for guys like Childe and Ayato, this sentiment would be incredibly significant to them. I consider them family men, so for you to already think of him as something so important as home means everything to him. The moment you mentioned him with "home" his sense of responsibility and duty shot through the roof. He'd be beaming with pride with your sentiment, both happy and honored that you consider him something so dear and important. He would rub circles on your back as he would then think of the future, blissfully imagining how you two would build your own home together with the biggest smile on his face.

He's speechless

Wanderer, Kazuha, Xiao, Diluc, Dainsleif

They would have never thought they could feel so warm from such a small, seemingly silly gesture. All this time, looking for a place to belong to, he realized something - you were his home too. No words could describe all of his sentiments at once, but when he cups your cheeks and looks into your eyes, you'd be able to understand everything. That rare, vulnerable look in his eyes that was only reserved for you would tell you his innermost feelings he held deep in his heart. You are the most precious thing in all of Teyvat to him. Thus, he would convey this to you with an intense, passionate kiss.

You're too adorable, he can't-

Venti, KAVEH, Itto, Gorou

Good gosh they would think you're the SWEETEST. That's how much you meant to him? You think of him as you're home? He'd become so overwhelmed with love that he would give you the biggest, warmest embrace in return. I see Itto and Venti definitely spinning you around while squeezing the life out of you. You would have activated their cuteness aggression with this gesture. You may even be met with a flurry of sweet kisses all over your face as a way for them to release these feelings you've given them.

On the other hand, Kaveh would become the most emotional. It would hit him the hardest since he didn't quite have a home all for himself. He'd be getting teary eyed and his lip would be quivering, unable to hold back the emotion that is currently overwhelming him. He would return your embrace and bury his face into your shoulder, letting his tears flow freely into your warmth. You were his home as much as he was yours, and with his voice shaking, he'd bawl, "I love you so much, y/n...I'm glad to call you mine"

a/n: back from another hiatus, sorry for going MIA again 🙃

© 2023 lyneira. PLEASE DO NOT COPY, PLAGIARIZE, OR REPOST MY WRITING ONTO OTHER PLATFORMS

[the-original-skipps]

|| Yandere Hacker!Scaramouche x Reader ||Headcanons || Genshin Impact ||

so I was watching hoyofair and this came up so I thought I’d do a quick something mehehe I mean I did spy scara before so might as well continue the tradition

cw: mentions of cyber stalking. privacy breach. slight mention of violence involving firearms.

Hacker!Scaramouche has your phone and laptop/computer bugged with his own personally made virus, which basically acts as a listening device. He can also remotely access both devices without you even knowing.

Hacker!Scaramouche who basically knows everything about you. He can hack into the government database to find out any personal information you have. Any records, all the names of your family members; he can just find out with a tap of his finger.

Hacker!Scaramouche knows your whereabouts at all times, a tracking software installed into your phone which you’ll never find. You can be in any part of the world and he’d still be able to find you. You don’t have your phone with you? Not a problem, he’ll just assess the satellite and look for you.

Hacker!Scaramouche who because of the virus on your phone, he pretty much listens to you go about your day. In this day and age, a person’s smartphone is an essential tool after all and he knows you’d always have it with you. He can be going about his day and your voice would be heard from this headphones. What you’re saying as you browse the internet, your personal mumblings - he hears them all. Especially the phone calls you have with other people.

Hacker!Scaramouche knows your current interests and wants. He knows you have that item in your basket on your shopping app that you’re putting off buying. So, he makes things easier for you and buys it for you. He’ll have it delivered straight to your house. A little gift from him.

Hacker!Scaramouche who has access to your phone’s photo gallery. He saves all the pictures you’ve taken into his own personal computer and phone. The pictures of the food you’re about to eat, the pretty scenery of the sky - they’re all backed up and saved. Though, he has a special folder for pictures with you in it.

Hacker!Scaramouche can hack into any security camera in any part of the world. He has a live stream of the security camera feed running in front of your house/apartment so he’d know when you’re home. He also keeps watch in case you bring any visitors home. If you do, a simple facial recognition program is all he needs to know who they are and if they’re a threat to him.

Hacker!Scaramouche who spends majority of his time behind a screen but isn’t afraid to come in person when needed. This new person you’re seeing? He already knows who they are and where they live. He’ll ruin them - drain them of their assets, enter false criminal records; anything to get them away from you. If they don’t get the message, a gun to the face will be sure to change their mind. 

[mayaree-darling]

who's to say what's real or fake// Genshin SAGAU

from aree: impostor au but you actually are the impostor? but ofcourse theres a twist. I think i'll call this FakeGrace!Reader. This was just going to be a headcannon post but ended up a whole fic plot

warnings: themes that all come with the sagau tag (yandere, lots of religious talk, cult, etc.)

word count: 2k~

You end up on Teyvat and immediately the characters recognize you as their Creator; of course you're their Creator - you have the same face, name, and voice. You go through the ordeal of getting to know all the characters all over again and they in turn love you as the god they’ve been waiting for all this time.

You decide that well, this is the world and characters I spent blood, sweat, and tears building (even if it was behind a screen) so might as well help out and do what needs to be done. The people come to you for their problems and you find that they're not as difficult as when you were simply a player. Maybe a minor dispute here and there between the NPCs, but now the vision holders and the Archons ask for your thoughts on how to go about political matters concerning their nations. Even Snezhnaya has signed a peace treaty with the other nations as a show of good faith to the Creator (even if you know for a fact its a temporary one).

All has never been better.

Until another Creator appears in Teyvat, and this one bleeds gold the way their stories foretold. In a way you do not.

The vision holders are torn. Yes, you are an impostor, and they want to hate you for tricking them, but at the same time haven’t you only shown them love? Haven’t you been patient with them and understanding despite being thrown into a world you’re unfamiliar with?

But with careful coercion from the other god, they have to choose to follow their true Creator. You decide to take pity on them and step down from your position yourself, choosing to live with the Aranara who have gladly taken you under their wing (fake god you may be, you are still a friend of the forest, and the forest always remembers its friends).

The Archons tell their new Creator that you are no more. They pretend to not hear when the Creator says they should have brought your head with them, maybe just a bitter reaction for finding out that they have been serving an impostor all this time (the Archons are lying when they say they do not feel sickened at the idea of hurting you, and disgusted at this new God's words)

It soon becomes clear to the people of Teyvat that this new Creator is not you - none of the patience or kindness you had showed them. This new one thinks helping their people is below them, even laughs at some of their problems. They chuck their duties as a god to the vision holders and spend their days leisurely, wining and dining on the best food, expecting to be waited on hand and foot. And at first it was fine, the characters understood. Maybe their Creator was just enjoying the fruits of their labor for once (although in the back of their mind, they can't help but compare you - you who worked tirelessly to attend to everyone even when they’d almost beg you to take a break). The characters tell themselves that they just need to get used to this new god, their true Creator. It will all right itself in time. Even as the Creator acted more like a child by the day, calling for the punishment of characters for the simplest of things. It’s fine. It’s fine.

It didn't take long for their will to break.

The God of Wisdom is called as such for a reason. Nahida may be younger compared to the rest, but she is braver than most. She simply tried to impart a fraction of her wisdom, softly suggesting to the Creator to show mercy for their people who were gravely punished for things they did not do.

This Creator was not you. They did not have a drop of patience that you had, nor any love for their creations. Their god saw this as nothing but an act of treason. How dare a mere Archon tell them what to do? She dares to question who the Creator can and cannot punish?

The silence is deafening in the throne room as the Creator calls for the death of Lesser Lord Kusanali and the destruction of Sumeru. If it is mercy she asks for then it is the last thing she and her people will receive. The other Archons agree past gritted teeth, the sin of Khaenri’ah weighing heavy over their shoulders still.

Nahida had been banished to Sumeru before the order was given, so the Archons make their way to the Nation of Wisdom to tell her of her sentencing, hoping to beg her to ask the Creator for their forgiveness.

This can't be how it ends. Are they to spend their lives in fear of the god they so revered?

They enter a forest emitting divine energy in search of their friend, hearts heavy, but they found something else.

They found you. They found the Creator they loved once upon a time.

They seemed to have caught you mid-conversation with Nahida, and to their surprise (and resentment) the Tsaritsa; they can only assume that the god of Snezhnaya has informed you first of Nahida's fate. The Wanderer catches sight of them and stands in front of you in protection. You don't even bat an eye. You swallow hard and stand, Nahida's hand enveloped in yours, and the other gods would be lying if they say they did not feel jealousy strangling their lungs.

With a steady voice, you tell them that should they take one step against Nahida, you will meet them halfway. If they decide to send Sumeru to hell, they will have to go through you first. You will do everything you can to stop them, and if Sumeru falls then you fall with them.

They don't have to look at the others to make up their mind. There's a beat of silence but first it's Morax, and Beelzebul and Barbatos and then Focalor, and they are on their knees, heads bowed low.

It is only right to show respect to their god, after all. How could they be so blind?

Validation of their actions comes soon after as you let go of Nahida's hand and tell the Wanderer to stand aside. You do something that tyrant of a Creator that sits on a glass throne would never - you kneel before them and hold out your hand.

"Why are you all kneeling? Stand up. I am no longer your god. But I hope you will have me as a friend. Will that be alright?"

There are tears in their eyes as they let out stuttering laughter. Yes, this is their god. Their god with so much love and compassion and a heart that does nothing but bleed for them. A heart that does not ask for them to bleed.

You are their god. You are their true Creator. Golden blood be damned. All that gold has done nothing but blind them.

Eventually, you all end up on the forest floor. You accept the role of a friend as promised, and catch up with them. The Archons are almost in tears as you listen to their stories earnestly, squeezing their hands in sympathy as you listen to the pain they've been through under the rule of their so called Creator (they really should find a new title for you, the god that sits on your throne has sullied your rightful name). At one point they stop telling you stories of their mistreatment, unable to see your face be any sadder than it already was. They take to retelling your stories together, reminiscing better days - because is that not what they have done all this time? Think about the lovely you for every wrongdoing the other god had done in your name?

As you laugh and smile with them and their stories and their company, the idea burrows through their mind without your knowledge, taking root, and they refuse to let it go. Wouldn't it be so much better if it was always like this? Seeing your smiling face with them, a person that deserves to be called a god even more so than all of them combined. Knowing you were safe from harm, not having to defend yourself, especially from them under orders from a tyrant. Knowing you loved them the way they loved you.

It was all better with you.

When you weren't looking, the Archons gave each other knowing looks and curt nods in understanding.

You are their beloved Creator.

As a peaceful silence falls over you, they watch as you smile sadly, their hearts breaking to see such an expression on your face. In a soft voice, you apologize for not being able to do much to help them. When you lift your head, golden resolute eyes meet yours.

"You’ve done enough, Your Grace. Let us handle the rest."

You may have laughed at the old title, but the Archons are hell bent in returning it to you. Although it hurts them to say goodbye, they know it’s only for the moment. Soon, you will be with them. Back in your rightful throne, as you have always deserved.

Nahida is the youngest, and so they decide to spare her the carnage. The rest know she is no fool, they don't need to tell her what they had planned for her to know what happens next. She does not fully agree in the others' decision, yet she stays in Sumeru, promising to make sure you do not find out. Word travels fast to the other vision holders in the form of a breeze from Barbatos. Barely anyone had disagreed with the notion of removing the rejected god from the throne, and those who were hesitant at first changed their mind after hearing how you were ready to go down with Sumeru. Morax and the Tsaritsa lead the rebellion.

A god is only as powerful as the people who worship them. By the time the Archons arrived in the throne room, the Creator had no one to hide behind.

They made it a spectacle. They spin a tale for the people that the god they so worshiped was an impostor who had switched bodies with their rightful god, which explains the gold blood that should be yours. They say you were patiently waiting for them all to come back to you, to remove this impostor from your throne. You were ready to accept them all, they just needed to get rid of this filth that dared destroy your name. The Creator - no, the Impostor - is horrified when the people accept this story so easily, but they only have themselves to blame. Who cares what they have to say to defend themselves, although it’s not like they can anyway - how can they when their tongue was cut off?

Teyvat was silent as gold painted the streets of Liyue Harbor. Teyvat no longer cares for golden blood, not after all the blood and tears it had taken from its people. After all, a golden soul stands ready to take back their rightful place.

Your followers thought it had all been worth it - the pain, the hardships, the blood - to see you smile the first time you set foot outside Sumeru after what felt like years to them. And yet, despite the joyous occasion, you hesitantly turn to them and ask a question not even Irminsul would answer you.

"What happened to the Creator?"

You would be lying if you said the soft smiles each of them gave did not unnerve you as they all said the same thing, like a joke everyone knew all except you.

"We simply removed the Impostor from Your Grace's presence."

They are thankful that you are blinded by your love for them to see the gold shine on their hands. You do not ask about the shimmering streets either. Liyue was the city of gold after all, was it not?

For now, their biggest concern is your acceptance that they are your equal, but that can easily be fixed. You are their friend now, but someday you’ll be their god again. Slowly but surely. They will sit you back in your throne. They will kneel before you again. They will give you the reverence you so deserved.

It will all be yours.

You're their wonderful Creator, after all. Maybe not to you right now. But you always have been for them.

They’ll start from calling you Your Grace. You’d be too kind to tell them off over and over.

You always had been good at adapting.

You had gotten used to it then, you’ll get used to it again.

✨ Masterlist ✨ 

Taglist: 💛@anime-allover  💛@faeriessky  💛 @prksolon 💛 @dai-tsukki-desu

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine and belong to their respective creators. Their portrayal is merely my own interpretation of them and may not be accurate to their intended characterization. I stake no claim to the original works, only to the ideas and plot of the fictitious stories I’ve written them into.

[heliosdream]

Alpha!Capitano x Omega!Reader

Heyo, this is a small (fluff?) story for Genshin Capitano. I ended up enjoying him in Natlan and wanted to write for genshin character for a while that I finally wrote this small thing. Please do enjoy!

Just a note, reader can be read as any gender!

Perhaps you remind him of someone? Captiano seeming kept his eyes on you at every waking movement while you worked. Or maybe it wasn’t his gaze you felt so intensely? No your mind was made up, it was his gaze… every time you neared his table to drop off a refill of his liquor, he would puff up… appear bigger then he already was. You weren’t unaffected, but you knew better then to engage with The Fatui, no less a Harbinger. Eyes watching him down another glass of top shelf Fire-Water, then watching him hold the glass up, asking for another. One of the other barmaids promptly grabs another glass for him and walk over, a swing her hips as she serves him or tries to. A harsh No chills the bar as he refuses her.

Alphas like him would always get their way…

A sigh and annoyed hm you would walk towards him with another glass which he took. A deep and raspy growl of approval from his throat hitting and vibrating in your eardrums. Bowing quickly and walking back to the bar, a hand over your chest feeling the intense beating. Your coworkers eyeing you with questions… it was obvious he was trying to gain your attention… as an omega your body seemed to purr at it. Distracted He had walked over, ready to pay his tab, a couple of thousand mora. That masked face turning towards you and slowly placing a small ring in front of you.

“Scented, little Omega.” His rough voice growls out as he leaves a very pricey ring with his scent for you. Coworkers huddle around you gasping at the ring, a call for you to put it on coming from them. All curious if it fit, you could tell by looking at it that it would be a perfect fit.

Slipping it on without know you had just agreed to be to his wife.

[thomine]

noceur

thoma x reader, 2.6k words

miraculously surviving a near death experience should be celebrated except everyone reminds you that you came back wrong. everyone except... the person doing laundry with you late at night. [ noceur: a person who stays up late at night. ]

general audiences, comes back wrong trope, brief mentions of skipping meals, human resource malpractice, hinted mentions of abuse, blood and injury, near death experience, requested, not proofread

links: read on ao3 ⁎ read on sqw ⁎ author's notes ⁎ prompt list (closed)

note: this was completed during ficwip's retreat weekend! :D

The moment you open your eyes, memories of the previous night flood in.

Chinju Forest was shrouded in perpetual night as always. Luminous blue flowers decorated the river as tall trees let for a spectacular show of spotted moonlight. A beautiful scenery for a run, but you were not running for leisure. Your journey to find your missing father had turned into a chase.

Hilichurls loaded their bows and aimed as you fumbled your way deep into the forest. You tripped on a root and an arrow almost landed on your hand if not for your roll to the side. Before your escape, one of the monsters smashed your femur with its bat. It should have been fatal. It should warn you to return, but the adrenaline worked too well. When you fell, that pain shot through your body like the release of a tensed string. Whiz. Something cold pierced your right shoulder.

You didn't die immediately, of course. You wouldn't let yourself. Your father was still out there. Monsters were not match with his combat prowess, but it was useless against the tricks of the forest from curious bake-danuki or powerful yokai. You had to find him because he promised to tell you about your mother when the time was right. You had to find him because he would never abandon you either.

But even when the monsters left after having their fun, you stayed still. Not a single muscle could twitch.

As you laid, choking on blood and paralyzed by pain, the full moon shone on you like a limelight. You seemed to have drawn a presence, thick and soft fur covering your eyes like a mother's kiss. Accompanying the wind's timeless melody, a voice hums a familiar lullaby…

Beastly creature, no known keeper… Head to toe of fearful features… Plagued by longing like a fever… In solitude, world so blued, full of non-believers…

You sit upright, eyes squinting from the sunset. Raising your hand to block the light—

Wait… You have full rotation on your right shoulder. You can move your leg with no pain.

And the sun… You turn your head to see that you're not in Chinju Forest. Instead, you're a few centimeters beyond the toji gate guarding the entrance. A few hundred meters in is the rock where your search took a turn for the worse. It's surprisingly clear despite the foliage.

A shout runs across the sky. It is faint, but gets louder. The voice calls your name. Soon, you hear rushing footsteps—wooden sandals on cobblestone paths—but it's only after long minutes that a face emerges from the distance. When the lady notices your figure by the gate, you see the relief in her wrinkly smile as if she's standing in front of you. If you remember right, she's the head maid.

"You were missing for 3 days! Thank the shogun the guard on patrol found you," she cries, but as she nears, her light steps morphs into stomps. "Who do you think you are? Running off into the dangerous forest by yourself and making everyone worry? Your father already caused so much trouble with his disappearance, but they say you take after him so—"

She gasps, stepping back with wide eyes full of apprehension. Her hands cover her gaping mouth.

Is there something on your face? You tap your cheeks, your mouth and nose. Nothing stands out to you. Is it your teeth? Did you eat something disgusting and it's stuck in your teeth? Why does she look at you like you have an extra limb!

But her fear vanishes as rage takes over.

"You will compensate everyone for the work you abandoned. Quick, get on your feet." She grabs your wrist while her other hand covers her nose. You try to protest that your search was supposed to only be a day's affair, you definitely didn't plan to go missing, but your vocal chords are strangely strangled. "We have a lot to do before you meet the Lord. Taking a bath being the first."

Doing laundry was not the worse fate of a Kamisato servant, but it was proving to be just that.

The stench of aged bacteria freezes you in place and you still have a few meters to reach the basket of dirty clothes. Thankfully, the Kamisato Estate can afford strong detergent, so the broad pail of soapy water you've prepared fills the room in a clinical aroma peppered with artificial flora scents. You would have complained of its pungent scent if it was not the lesser of two evils.

No one liked laundry but it was an annoyance at most before your disappearance. This new experience was seriously shaking your sense of self. It didn't help that three days after your return, you bent a metal spoon while helping in the kitchen. Just yesterday, you freaked a colleague with your "glowing eyes". The room wasn't even that dark.

You hear your name. It is not said harshly. The surprise compels you to turn your head, apprehension on high.

"Still doing laundry at this hour?" Thoma, the housekeeper and once your close friend, says.

The strong smells of the laundry room must have rendered your senses numb. Usually you'll notice someone sneaking up to you. Guess your empty stomach twisting like a child throwing a tantrum is also an issue.

"Sir Thoma," you greet, giving a quick bow. You try to hide your frown as you do. When the head maid instructed you to do laundry at night, you hoped it decreased your chances of bumping into him. Not that you had—this is the first meeting since your return—but you wanted to be cautious. So much for your efforts. "It shouldn't be strange to see someone washing clothes at the end of the day."

"End of the day?" Thoma chuckles, lightly shaking his head. "It was the end of the day a few minutes ago. I believe you should be asleep at this hour." he continued.

"Did the head maid report of my absence?"

"Surprisingly, she reported a full house."

"She must have saw me take a nap and counted me in," you say closer to a statement than a question. "Either way, you shouldn't fret over a humble servant's duties."

"Why be so formal? I know we haven't seen each other in weeks, but that wouldn't make us strangers."

He walks pass you to pick up the laundry basket. Some soiled pieces fall as he lifts it, but he effortlessly bends and places them back, uncaring for the way it grazes his clothes.

"Please, there is no need." You snatch the basket from him with both hands, pressing it against your body for extra support. You aren't at your full strength and you're not going to make a fool of yourself. "I rested well so I have enough energy to get this done."

However, the proximity send a blast of stench that threatens to burn your lungs. You can't help but free one hand to pinch your nose. The basket tilts. Thoma is the reason why nothing spills on the floor.

"See?" He's almost smug about it."I think my help is very reasonable."

With one tug, he brings the basket at an angle and the clothes drop into the pail with minimal splash. Then, he grabs a chair and a washboard to start scrubbing.

You grab another stool from the stack he took his, placing it on the other end of the pail. In the silence, or as quiet as a night with singing crickets can be, you and Thoma scrub each piece of cloth. To focus on the task, you try to narrow on his scent.

His shampoo is undoubtedly the one people of Inazuma are raving about. Lauded for its strong and lasting aroma, evident by how its mint can rival the smell of dirty laundry at this hour. Still, an earthly and musky odor lingers on him. It is the scent of other canines. It's a mix only Thoma can pull off—

Wait, so what? You dig your hands deeper into the pail of cold water, as if that can cool the warmth in your face.

20 minutes in and you start the feel the effects of hunger. Your hands are shaking. You barely scratch the cloths against the washboard, but that's better than tearing it.

Another 10 minutes and Thoma leaves to change the water. You take a nap, hoping that can help you pull through.

Briefly, you dream of tricolor dango. As you sink your teeth in the snack, you taste a hazy rendition of milk tangled with the unique sweetness from sakura blooms and snapdragons. It's Thoma's signature dango. Another bite can't hurt but you're ripped away, a rude awakening by something tapping your head—

You nearly jump at Thoma. Fear flashes across his face and for a second you're back to the incident of last week. Blood on your nails. A terrifying scream. You didn't know you held them that tightly. Ruckus and chaos before the head maid stepped in and declared a new law for you.

Your stomach grumbles. You deserve it.

After mumbling an apology, you dive into work. Now you have to avoid thinking about how you wish he wasn't here and how you smell the sweet snack from your dreams.

Finally, after an hour and a half, both of you see the bottom of the laundry basket.

"This can't be a normal day's wash," he leans back and groans, wiping his face with his upper arm. "It is making me reconsider bathing twice a day," he jokes, probably noticing your uncanny quietness.

You offer a reserved toothless smile. Some colleagues say your "fangs" make you look terrifying, and scaring Thoma again is the last thing you want.

"No wonder laundry is always done in teams," he adds.

"Sir Thoma," you slow your pace of washing, most of whatever little energy you have directed to thinking of how to phrase your concern. "Why aren't you asleep? I don't take you as a noceur with how you have to wake up at the crack of dawn. Are you here because you pity me?"

"I was on my way to the kitchen when I saw you."

"I didn't know you eat supper."

"I don't. I was going to make a meal for you."

You pause, head hanging low. Thoma was the only person you willingly avoided, and yet…

"I heard the chefs were told not to cook dinner for you, which explains why I didn't see you in the dining hall."

"For a good reason," you say as you resume washing, showing him a delicately wrung towel. "This is only possible because of the head maid's orders."

"Still, it shouldn't be the way to do things."

"So you do pity me."

He calls your name, lovingly yet firmly.

"I don't pity you. I care for you." Thoma places his hand on yours, gently lifting it out of the soapy waters. Your nails are to"I couldn't sleep properly ever since you disappeared. I'm really glad you're back."

You pull your hand away, tucking it behind your back, and look at the floor. Your sharp and odd looking nails are harder to ignore with his as a clear comparison.

It doesn’t make sense. Your colleagues are always giving excuses to the head maid to avoid working with you. What you see in the mirror is a familiar face, but everyone points at you to claim otherwise. How could Thoma look at you in the eye and say the exact opposite?

"Thoma, I don't know if the person you're searching for is in front of you."

His face is scrunched by deep thought. Anxiety squeezes your chest as you wait for his response. Despite your new senses, you still can't read minds.

"I have a few questions for you then," he starts. Your heart sinks, although you fully expect suspicions. "Your father was a guard of the Kamisato Estate, yes?"

"…Yes?"

"You have a very close relationship with him but hardly know anything about your mother."

"Yes."

"You lived and served the Kamisato clan since birth, yes?"

"More like since I was a baby."

"And you wouldn't say no to my tricolor dango, would you?"

"What?"

He dries his hands by wiping on his attire, then unwraps a square box and reveals pink, white, and green glutinous balls pack neatly in a grid. It's messy in presentation, each ball being of a different size. Some are deformed to make way for others. It can't ever pass standards to be served to the Kamisato siblings. Still, there is a waft of freshly melted sugar and you feel heat emanating from it. That's what matters to you.

"Sorry, it's a bit squashed—Don't give me that look. I know you smelled it."

"I thought I was crazy!"

He hands it over as you try not to drool. You excuse yourself to wash your hands before returning, ready to ravenously finish everything.

"I'd have you know I would be insulted that's your criteria of me as a person under normal circumstances ." You chomp on a ball, closing your eyes to indulge in it. It's better than your dream, the flavors richer than you remember it to be.

"So what makes this not a normal circumstance?"

"This is too delicious. More chewing, less talking."

"See?" This time he's smug about it. "You're still the same person I know."

He grabs the remaining clothes in the basket and dumps them in soapy water. He doesn't start immediately though, his eyes lingering on you enjoying his dish.

Is there something on your face? Maybe you have dango around your mouth. Do you look silly gobbling his food? Why does he look at you like that? Fondness in his bright green eyes pairing with a smile so genuine it makes you giddy.

You hope your erratic heartbeat is not echoing in the room like how it is in your head. The detergent is suddenly more manageable than Thoma's scent.

He finally returns to the laundry, splitting the remaining amount in half. That prompts you to share your last tricolor dango which he accepts. With his hands buried under the water, he opens his mouth for you to plop a ball. With the box emptied, you join him, able to scrub with newfound strength.

"I can cook you something tomorrow. What would you like to eat?" he asks after swallowing the sweet.

"You'll be going against the head maid's orders. I don't want to cause you trouble."

"It's more trouble to deal with a hungry and irritated you than an angry head maid."

You did almost hurt him today…

"I'll try to do the laundry earlier too," you comment when he yawns, throwing the last cloth into the pile of cleanliness. "I'll be in bed before you so you have no excuses to make midnight trips to the kitchen."

He smiles and you mirror him, teeth and all.

"Great. Then we can definitely get it done on time for a good night's sleep, right?"

You don't protest, an answer of itself. A warm fuzzy feeling tumbles in your chest at the thought of doing laundry with Thoma tomorrow.

Once everything has been cleaned and hung, you bid him goodbye.

As you pass by a window, the bright full moon catches your eye. In the distance is the canopy of Chinju Forest. You recall that terrifying night. Your eagerness to reunite with your father. The strange comforting presence just before you awoke.

The wind sings that lullaby.

The last verse creeps into your mind as a distant memory of your mother singing to you.

But the wait will not make you weaker… Dream a dream little dreamer… Soon you shall meet with your seeker

additional note: as you can tell i'm not the best songwriter out there... thank you so much for requesting this! i know it's deviant from what you requested, but i hope you like it nonetheless!

[fanfictwins]

SAGAU Liyue - Holiday Special 2024

Summary: “A Christmas surprise party with a Liyuean twist — the perfect gift planned for you by the two young girls who wanted you to feel more at home. How could you NOT have fun with it?”

Word Count: ~10.4k

The pleasant fragrance of mixed herbs, similar to the bunches of purple and white ones held in your arms, hit your nose as you stepped through the doorway of Bubu Pharmacy, the figures of two small girls by your side. With the variety of medicinal herbs stored within its walls, it was no surprise that it smelled great whenever you visited, no matter whether morning, noon, or night.

“Your Grace…? Why, I certainly hope you’re not here because you require my aid?”

Your gaze rose from the herbs to see Baizhu with a smile on his face, subtle surprise etched into his expression. Changsheng matched his gaze, raising her head up to better look at you.

“Oh, I’m fine, doc. I was just helping Qiqi with her wildcrafting.” You lifted your arms up just so, showing off everything you gathered with a proud smile, as the aforementioned zombie raised her own arms up to place the batch of herbs she collected on the counter. “I had to climb along so many cliffs and mountain peaks, but I got ‘em! I didn’t let a single one I saw go unplucked!”

Baizhu seemed to get more surprised, but it quickly melted into a calmer smile. “You needn’t exert yourself like that, Your Grace, but I thank you for your assistance. It’s much appreciated.”

You handed the herbs to Herbalist Gui, who visibly jolted when your hand brushed against his during the exchange. He excused himself so quickly after that he almost tripped and dropped the bundles everywhere, but managed to get away with everything held tightly in his arms and a flustered look on his face. It wasn’t anything that you weren’t already fully used to at this point.

“Aw, there’s no need to be so formal with me. In fact, if you ever need some rare or hard-to-get ingredient, you can always ask me. It’s no trouble at all! I like helping you and Qiqu out, honest.”

“Hmm… then I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Your Grace, you worked really hard today!” Yaoyao piped up, drawing your attention to her and her bright smile. “I think you deserve a break! We can handle anything else that comes up.”

You lightly exhaled. “Huh? I know I said I did a lot, but I’m actually not that tired-”

“I insist! In fact, I’m sure my master would love to sit down and have tea with you. It’s been some time since you’ve personally visited her, right? She still talks a lot about the last time!”

“I… guess I can go see her, then?” You were still smiling, if a bit confused now, but you waved off the four as you began to leave. “I’ll see you all around. Don’t get into too much trouble, ‘kay?”

The moment you were out of sight, down the pharmacy’s stairs, Yaoyao turned to her friend.

“You got everything written down, right?”

“...mmm, yeah.”

The zombie slowly took out her notebook, flipping it open to the newest page, which was filled with scribbles. Her handwriting made it hard to make out some words, but a closer look made most of them legible enough to read; some of the words were bigger than others, emphasizing their importance, but the biggest one was centered almost in the middle — “Christmas”.

Yaoyao smiled brightly, gently taking the notebook out of Qiqi’s hands and holding it up as she looked at it. “Perfect! Now we can make sure to tell everyone about everything we learned!”

“And what’s this about?” Baizhu peered down at the girls from his spot behind the counter. “Scheming behind Their Grace’s back after getting Them to leave? That’s not very nice.”

Changsheng scoffed. “It’s downright rude!”

“It’s for a good reason! Well… sort of.” Yaoyao turned the notebook around to show the doctor its pages. “While we were gathering herbs, Their Grace started telling us about Their home, and They mentioned this one celebration… “Criss-miss”? That’s how They pronounced it. And, They seemed a bit sad when talking, so I’ve decided that we should throw Them a “Christmas party”!”

Qiqi raised her arms in the air, mimicking Yaoyao. “Party…!”

“Oooh…” There was a hint of interest in Baizhu’s smile. “That sounds quite nice.”

“Yeah, and everyone can help make it a big surprise!” Yaoyao closed the notebook and gave it back to Qiqi. “So forgive me, Dr. Baizhu, but I have to borrow Qiqi for a bit. We’ve a lot to plan!”

“Very well, but stay safe, you two!”

The doctor called out as the two girls set out, hand in hand as they took the first step towards their goal — throwing the Divine Creator a surprise “Christmas party” with the other vessels.

- - - - -

There was always one thing on the top of your to-do list whenever you visited Liyue, and that was making a trip to Wanmin Restaurant. Even when the other restaurants tried to catch your attention, you usually passed them by; they weren’t bad at all, by any means, but there was just something about Wanmin that dragged you back in for a meal whenever you were in the harbor.

And Chef Mao never complained about the big boost of business he got after one of your visits.

“Chef Mao!”

You smiled at the man as you approached, the delicious scents wafting from the restaurant’s kitchen already invading your nostrils from half a street away. You were able to identify some of the restaurant’s dishes by scent alone, but there were also new ones you weren’t familiar with.

“Your Grace, it’s an honor!” Chef Mao smiled at you from his spot behind the counter. “Are you having your usual today? I always stock up on extra ingredients whenever I hear you’re around.”

You let out a long hum. “Maybe… but I’m also feeling kind of adventurous today…”

The sight of a familiar panda-esque bear poking his head out around the corner of the doorway to the kitchen cut off your train of thought, your smile reappearing as you turned towards him.

“Oh, Guoba! Hello!”

The bear flinched at being spotted, hurrying back into the kitchen and leaving you staring at the spot he had just been in. You couldn’t ignore the clanging of metal that soon followed from inside the kitchen, before hearing a familiar voice exclaim, “They’re here?! Right now?!”, which in itself was followed by the restaurant’s head chef stumbling out of the kitchen, Guoba on her heels.

Xiangling looked a bit unkempt, dusting herself off before looking at you with a smile.

“Your Grace, it’s an honor!”

Like father, like daughter.

“Xiangling, are you…” You gave her a once-over, taking note of the various splatters of colorful spices and sauces decorating her from head-to-toe, like an abstract art-piece. “...okay?”

Her smile became sheepish as she followed your gaze, looking down at herself briefly before looking back up at you. “Aha… yeah, I was just… surprised you’re here. I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Oh… sorry for the surprise. I just wanted to get some lunch.”

Xiangling nodded. “Then I’ll get right on that! The usual?”

“Actually, something smells really good in the kitchen. What’re you cooking?”

“Uh, it’s… um… I’m kind of just working something new out, I…”

Xiangling averted her eyes, her gaze looking at everything but you before it ended up on Guoba, asking him for help. The bear lightly flinched, his own eyes widening as he babbled incoherently.

“Oh, Your Grace.”

The cool tone of Shenhe’s voice cut through the air, cutting off Guoba and almost forcing your attention to shift itself over to her. Her hands held a large wooden crate that leaned against her body, the contents no doubt too heavy for any mere mortal to lift despite the ease at which the woman in front of you was handling it, and you watched as she calmly looked at Xiangling.

“Here. I gathered everything you said you might need for your secret dishes.”

That made you look at Xiangling again. “Oooh, secret dishes?”

The head chef looked ready to pass out, before she quickly shook her head and calmed down.

“W-Well, you see…” Xiangling fidgeted before she sighed, only to perk up moments later as an idea entered her head. “Actually, I could use your help. Yaoyao recently told me that you told her about this thing called “Christmas”...? And she mentioned a few dishes that are supposed to be made for it, but I’m struggling to figure them out since all I’ve got are the names of the dishes.”

“You’re… trying to make Christmas dishes?”

Xiangling nodded. “Yep! Because, you know… it’s food from another world! Your world! I’d really like to learn how to make dishes from your home, Your Grace! I’m sure they’re super tasty!”

That made perfect sense to you.

“You don’t need to be nervous asking for help, Xiangling. I’d be glad to give you a hand.”

“Thank you, Your Grace!”

You ended up sitting down at one of the nearby tables — even though it wasn’t necessarily a quiet hour for business, one table quickly became cleared up once you needed it — after your order was made with Xiangling right by your side, the chef eagerly listening as you told her all about some of the more common Christmas dishes that came to your mind between bites of your lunch. You tried your best to explain the dishes as much as you could, sparing no detail.

The variety was wide, from baked ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, candied sweet potatoes… even if you never personally had some of the dishes you listed out, you still named them and described what you had heard they were like.

“Oh, and there’s usually a roasted turkey.”

Xiangling blinked, an interested glimmer in her eyes. “Turkey?”

“Yeah, it’s… a kind of bird. I don’t think Teyvat has anything quite like them, though… oh!” You raised your utensils up, pointing at Xiangling. “There’s this one dish called a “Turducken” that some people have, where you stuff a chicken into a duck, then stuff that duck into a turkey.”

“So it’s a… three-bird roast?”

“Yep!”

“That sounds interesting… and I could do the chicken and duck part, but without a turkey…”

“I think some people use a goose instead of a turkey.” You lightly tapped your chin with your utensils. “Even in my world, turkeys are only available and easy to obtain in certain areas.”

Xiangling thought for a moment, before a smile returned to her face and she nodded.

“Alright, I think I can do that… no, I definitely can do that! I’ll make the best Christmas dishes ever! I can’t wait to try them myself! Thank you so much for all of your help, Your Grace!”

“It’s no problem.” You laid your utensils down on your empty dish, wiping your mouth off with a napkin before you stood up. “I just hope you allow me to taste-test them when you’re done.”

Xiangling let out a slight laugh, looking away nervously. “Y-Yeah, of course you’ll be able to!”

You gave Shenhe a word of thanks as she collected your empty lunch dishes, and gave Chef Mao and Xiangling a hearty wave goodbye as you left, only making it past the neighboring shop before a horde of people rushed by you. You glanced over your shoulder to see them all queuing up at the restaurant, and sighed from knowing that you were the sole reason for the lunch rush.

Xiangling loudly exhaled the moment you were out of sight, her whole body relaxing at the same time. Guoba copied her movements, before smiling up at the young girl and babbling briefly.

“Shenhe!” Xiangling’s cheeks puffed out a bit as she looked up at the tall woman. “Please be more careful! I’m lucky I was able to get some advice out of it and that Their Grace didn’t catch onto the plan, but it would’ve been super bad if They found out! It would’ve ruined the surprise!”

Shehne blinked. “...ah, my apologies, but I did state that your new dishes are a secret, didn’t I?”

“You’re not supposed to say that it’s a secret out loud!”

“Ahem, Xiangling! Shenhe! I could use a little help here!”

The two ladies — and Guoba — looked over to see Chef Mao overwhelmed at the restaurant’s counter. They could hear most of the customers asking for “what the Divine Creator ordered”.

“Sorry, dad! We’ll be right on it!”

Xiangling and Guoba hurried back into the kitchen, the clanging of metal starting up again as they began to prep food to serve, and Shenhe returned to the dining area to clean the tables so that some of the customers would have a place to sit when dining on the day’s “popular dish”.

Chef Mao sighed. “...and this is why I make sure to order extra ingredients.”

- - - - -

Even with many pairs of eyes staring at you for almost the entire time you were passing by, walking around Liyue Harbor was usually a peaceful and pleasant experience; the stares you received from the locals were mostly of awe, and they never tried to get into your actual space, instead always keeping a respectful distance that allowed your walk to go without a hindrance.

But those were just the behaviors of the normal folk.

Your vessels were of a completely different sort.

“Your Grace…!”

You had been strolling near the docks, admiring the ships out at sea, only to look in front of you to see Xinyan — who had called out to you — and Yun Jin coming to a stop before you. The two had to take a minute to catch their breath, Xinyan even having to place her hands on her knees.

“Xinyan? Yun Jin?” You looked between the two performers with a concerned frown on your lips, your eyebrows furrowed. “Are you two alright? Why were you running? Is something wrong…?”

The rocker stood up straight with a smile on her face, shaking her hands out as she shook her head. “It’s nothing bad, Your Grace. Whew, I just finished up a real blazin’ performance, so-”

“Halt!”

Your head swiveled in the direction of the shout, seeing the two girls follow suit from the corner of your eye, just to see a couple of Millelith soldiers with gazes solely focused on Xinyan. They came to a stop next to you and the performers, not having to catch their breath like the latter.

The rocker frowned. “Shoot.”

The two soldiers stared Xinyan down, one tapping his polearm on the ground. “Miss Xinyan, you have been charged with multiple fire code violations. You can’t just keep running away from us.”

“The only thing that got burned was the stage I built myself…”

“That’s not an excuse. Someone still could have gotten hurt.”

“Oh, okay… that makes sense.” You smiled at Xinyan. “You were running from the law, huh?”

The sound of your voice, your tone a bit amused, made the soldiers finally take notice of your presence, and the way they were taken aback to realize that it was you made your smile grow just a little bit more. Their eyes went wide, and they seemed to lose any and all strength in their stances — if only for a moment before they corrected themselves, their faces now a light pink.

“Ack- the Divine Creator?”

The soldiers fumbled with their weapons before bowing to you.

“Forgive us for not acknowledging you, Your Grace. It was rude of us!”

“It’s not a big deal, guys. You two are just doing your jobs, focusing on handling crime-”

Your attention briefly shifted itself back to Xinyan, who was clearly trying to tell you something through just her gaze and body posture. Her head made wide turns as she looked between you and the Millelith soldiers, the sparkle in her eyes conveying a plea as dramatic as a rock opera.

“BUT…! You can leave Xinyan to me.”

The rocker pumped a fist at your words, smiling wide once you received her signal.

“I’m sure you have more important matters that take precedence over this situation? I can make sure that Xinyan receives a punishment befitting her fire code violations. Consider it dealt with.”

The soldiers blinked a few times, before glancing at each other.

“Is… is that allowed?”

“It’s the Divine Creator. They should be able to handle it… right?”

They looked back at you after a quiet moment of deliberation amongst themselves, giving you a nod in affirmation. “Very well. We shall leave this matter in your capable hands, Your Grace.”

You continued to smile as you watched the soldiers hesitantly leave, casting glances over their shoulders at you before they disappeared out of your sight, before you looked at the performers.

“...I’m surprised that that worked. I didn’t think they’d accept that I have any authority for this.”

“But it’s a good thing it did!” Xinyan smiled. “Thanks for helping me out, Your Grace!”

Yun Jin hummed as her head tilted. “What kind of punishment would you even give Xinyan?”

You thought for a moment, putting a finger on your chin, before you smiled again.

“Eternal banishment?”

“Aw, shucks.” Xinyan continued to smile brightly, even as faux disappointment laced itself into her voice and a small chuckle escaped her lips. “Ain’t that just a bit too harsh, Your Grace?”

You snorted, rolling your eyes before focusing on the rocker again. “I suppose so. Just be more careful, okay? I doubt you’d actually end up hurting someone during a performance, but still.”

“Since you’re the one saying to, Your Grace…”

You shared another small laugh with Xinyan before noticing Yun Jin perk up, her eyes widening as if she had just had a sudden thought, and you found her red eyes looking right into your eyes.

“Oh, Your Grace, if you have the time, we actually require some of your help-”

“Well, now, what’s with all the commotion here?”

With the suddenness of a cheap indie jumpscare, a familiar figure popped up from between your little trio, springing onto her feet with her usual smile plastered on her face. The question of when she had snuck so close was wholly forgotten as Xinyan, Yun Jin, and you reacted appropriately.

“Wha- Hu Tao!” You clutched a hand to your chest. “Are you trying to give us all heart attacks?”

“Oh, no, no no! It’s far too early for you three!” The unwavering smile of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor director did little too soothe you, especially when she winked. “But… if you’re ever feeling unwell, Your Grace, I hope you’ll choose our humble business to make your exit a smooth one!”

“Director Hu, I highly doubt Their Grace will require our services anytime in the near future.”

“Hehe, you can never know~!”

The director was, of course, accompanied by the parlor’s consultant. His golden gaze moved from his boss to you, a hint of fondness softening the stoic expression displayed on his face.

“Zhongli!” You smiled at the sight of the consultant, Yun Jin and Xinyan greeting him with a bow and a wave respectively. “Am I to assume you two are currently on another advertising kick?”

“Yep, yep!” Hu Tao nodded. “New clients are always guaranteed, but we still must make sure all potential clients know exactly where all their farewell needs will be dealt with the proper respect.”

You hummed before looking at Zhongli. “And how many future clients have you two convinced?”

“The director… managed to get plenty of attention towards our business.”

Hu Tao playfully laughed. “Hey now, only time will tell how many clients take up our offer.”

You snorted and shook your head. “You… are certainly a handful, Hu Tao.”

“Mmm-hmm! But enough about me! What’s been going on with you three? While passing by, I couldn’t help but notice that you three all seemed to be having quite an interesting time together.”

“Just saving Xinyan from the Millelith, I suppose- oh!” You swiveled on your heel to face Yun Jin once more. “Right, you were asking for my help with something? What do you need from me?”

Yun Jin perked up again, seeming to remember she was about to request something before the shock of the funeral parlor’s staff arrival interrupted her, and nodded. “That’s right, Your Grace. I was just going to ask you about… I believe it’s called “Christmas” music? Yaoyao told us about it recently, and we were interested in learning more about it. We hoped that you’d help with that.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah!” Xinyan sported a brief look of confusion on her face before she also nodded, a smile appearing on her lips. “It sounds mighty interesting, Your Grace! I’d love to learn enough to perform music from your world! I’m sure there're plenty of rockin’ tunes you could tell us about.”

It took you a moment to process what they had said.

“You guys… want to learn about Christmas music?”

“Oooh!” Hu Tao leaned over your shoulder. “Music from Their Grace’s world? Count me in!”

Your gaze moved between the three ladies — the rocker, the opera singer, and the poet — who all stared back at you with interested gazes, before it flickered over to Zhongli, whose demeanor was more alert than it usually was around you… which you honestly should have expected; that he of all people would be interested in learning more about you in any capacity was no surprise.

“Uh… I guess I can teach you guys the songs I know? But don’t expect me to write down any of the melodies or anything. I have no skills in musical notation, especially if it’s just from memory.”

Xinyan waved her hand in dismissal. “You can just sing them for us, Your Grace.”

“Wha- wait, what? Me, sing?”

“To hear the Divine Creator sing…” Zhongli mused to himself, arms crossed with a finger held up to his chin. “...that would be quite the honor. It would make Glaze Lilies full-bloom, no doubt.”

You let out a weak laugh. “I-I’m not too sure about that…”

“Aw, come on, come on!” Hu Tao grabbed onto your shoulder, leaning in even closer, her face inches from your own. “Some people would find the chance to hear you sing worthy to die for!”

You took in a sharp inhale as you practically felt the hopes and expectations emitting from the four people around you, and eventually let out a long sigh, your shoulders coming to a slump.

“...fine, but how about we all go somewhere… not so public first?”

- - - - -

The two blue-haired boys in front of you each had a different expression on their face, one of which was a look of concern — though he was clearly trying to keep himself cool at the same time — while the other was fighting to hide the subtle hints of a smirk creeping onto his lips.

Your own face was a perfect display of confusion. “I… I’m sorry? What is this about?”

“Your Grace, I’ve heard rumors of a… a “Christmas” demon! But I’m unfortunately without any knowledge on what type of fiend it may be. I’m going to require your assistance to exorcise it.”

You stared at the young exorcist in front of you for a few seconds before looking to the second son of the Feiyun Commerce Guild, catching him hiding his laughter and disguising a snort that escaped as a cough with a closed fist over his mouth, and you slowly furrowed your eyebrows.

…that explains it.

“Well-” You looked at Chongyun again. “-the only Christmas “demon” I know of is “Krampus”.”

Chongyun raised a hand to his chin. “Such a sinister name… please, can you tell me everything you know about it? I must know as much as I can about the fiend in order to be able to stop it.”

“It kind of depends on who you ask, but, basically, Krampus is a demon who punishes naughty children around the time Christmas is celebrated. You know… the kind of children who cause a lot of trouble for other people, who misbehave and don’t play nice, who lie for no good reason.”

You glanced at Xingqiu, who had gone still with an almost worried smile at your expression.

“He’s covered in dark hair, has horns and hooves and fangs, and a long pointed tongue — oh, and he carries around chains, I think? Sometimes with bells. The punishments he doles out on bad children are stuff like swatting them on the butts with branches… or snatching them away in a basket to who-knows-where. To drown them or eat them… or something along those lines.”

“That… that’s horrible!” Chongyun appeared to actually get a bit heated as you spoke, his hands clenching into tight fists in front of his chest. “I must make sure to stop it before it hurts anyone!”

“Whoa there, Chongyun. Calm down and have a popsicle, ‘kay?” You let your lips curve up into a smile, and put a hand on the exorcist’s shoulder. “Krampus sure is a horrible guy and all… but he’s also fictional; just a character that parents tell their children about to make them behave, to teach them lessons about being nice and stuff. He’s not actually real — well, not that I know of, anyway — and, even if he was, he wouldn’t be anywhere in Teyvat. He’d be stuck in my world.”

Chongyun’s breathing was heavy, his face already flushed, but he managed to take one of his popsicles out and bite into it to calm himself. “Ugh, Your Grace… you could’ve started with that.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.” You let go of Chongyun’s shoulder. “But how’d you even hear about Krampus? I don’t think I’ve told anyone about him before right now with you two.”

“Xingqiu told me about it.”

The guilty party put his hands up in defense as you looked at him. “H-Hey, I was just having a little fun. I honestly had no idea that there was actually a demon associated with Christmas.”

“An unlucky guess then, huh?” You paused for a moment. “...but how’d you even hear about Christmas? Did Yaoyao tell you about it too? It seems like the talk of the harbor nowadays…”

That innocent line of questioning had a greater chilling effect than his popsicle, it seemed, as Chongyun froze at the moment. Xingqiu stepped in and quickly pushed his friend aside, your hand leaving the exorcist’s shoulder to linger in the air. “She did inform us of it, yes. It sounds like a quaint holiday, so it makes sense that a child such as herself would want to tell everyone she knows about it. I admit, it has even perked my interest too, from everything I’ve been told.”

“...huh, that’s nice. I’m glad everyone seems to be enjoying the concept.”

There was something off about all this, but not in a bad way, so you brushed it off for now.

Xingqiu nodded as he continued to smile at you happily. “But now that that’s settled, we should get going. I’m sure you’ve got a busy schedule, Your Grace. We wouldn’t want to hold you up.”

Chongyun blinked, coming back to reality. “Ah, wait-”

“Tsk, Chongyun, you’re still all red. You should have another popsicle.”

The exorcist didn’t get a chance to speak again before Xingqiu stuffed another tasteless frozen treat into his mouth, the latter then hurriedly pushing his flustered friend away down the street.

“It was pleasant to speak with you, Your Grace!”

The two boys soon disappeared into the distance, leaving you standing there alone.

“Uh… bye, I guess?”

- - - - -

Another day, another surprise.

You blinked a few times, making sure that the lady you were looking at was actually there. You didn’t exactly have a history of having hallucinations, but everything had been… bizarre this last week or so, and it wouldn’t hurt you to just check that you were still all there up in your noggin.

“Lady Ningguang?”

“Your Grace, what a pleasant surprise.”

The Tianquan was calm, politely greeting you with a soft smile on her lips, a smile reserved for you and you alone. Her being was a living display of high-class status, the epitome of luxury…

…and she was currently just hanging out at the docks.

You were not someone who could criticize her for it, though; for some people, it was odd for you to be hanging around Liyue Harbor’s docks so casually, as no one really expected to see one of the gods they worshiped watching the ships or examining the goods of incoming, docked ships.

“Uh… so, what’re you doing here? Taking in the ocean breeze?”

Ningguang chuckled. “I simply have business to discuss with Beidou. It’s nothing of concern, but is important enough that I have decided to come see her myself as soon as she arrives.”

“Wait, the Alcor is docking soon?” You perked up, your gaze glancing between the water and Ninguang, who looked at the water herself. “Wow, my timing’s great! Mind if I wait with you?”

“I’d see it as an honor, Your Grace.”

You got into position beside Ningguang, leaning forward slightly as you looked out at the ships sailing across the nearby waters. The operation at the harbor was always so smooth, orderly, and satisfying — you were embarrassed to admit how much time you had spent just lingering around the docks whenever you visited Liyue, being a bystander to the comings and goings of the ships and the people working here. This time, however, you were trying to focus on spotting the Alcor among the other seacraft, assuming its distinct design would stand out among them.

The moment was quiet, aside from the waves and workers, until Ningguang spoke again.

“Your Grace, I’m planning to do a bit of decorating around the Jade Chamber.”

“Oh?”

“I was thinking about adding a tree.”

You paused for a few seconds, before slowly looking at Ningguang. “A… tree?”

“Yes, a tree. Would you have any suggestions for the type?”

Wow.

You suddenly forgot about every tree you have ever known about.

“Ah, hmm… well, it’s your Jade Chamber. You should choose whichever tree you prefer. I know you’ve got good taste, and will be able to fit anything you choose into your amazing aesthetics.”

“I should choose, you say…? Very well.”

You soon settled back into a comfortable silence, continuing to wait on the docks with subdued excitement pumping through your veins, before finally catching the sight of the Alcor making its way over to the docks. It took a while for the ship to actually dock, having to navigate around the multiple others nearby, but the moment that it had, Ningguang and you made your way over to it.

You passed by some of the crew members unloading various types of cargo, before seeing the captain of the ship walk down the gangplank, who smiled when she saw you and the Tianquan.

“The Tianquan AND Their Grace are here to greet me? Something serious must be up, huh?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that!” You smiled. “I just got lucky to be here as you got back.”

“Haha, you flatter me, Your Grace. I’d typically consider myself the lucky one.”

Ningguang shook her head just slightly, her expression more reserved than yours. “Although it’s not of any major concern, I do have something to discuss with you, Captain Beidou. Shall we?”

“Huh, alright.”

Beidou gave you a nod as she walked off with Ningguang to talk, the two women leaving you on your own. You found yourself curious about what they could be talking about, but figured it would be rude to try and eavesdrop or force yourself into the conversation; that, and your attention was finding itself quickly caught by something — or, rather, someone — else that you noticed nearby.

“Kazuha!”

The lips of the wandering samurai turned up into a smile after he heard you call out to him, your form practically bouncing over to him. His eyes followed your movements as he turned to you.

“Greetings, Your Grace.” He gave you a polite nod. “You appear to be in good spirits.”

You waved your hand to the side, before letting it fall to your side in a loose fist. “Aw, I’m always happy to see you. It’s probably impossible to not be; actually, no, it definitely is impossible.”

Kazuha let out a soft chuckle, his shoulders bouncing with the tiniest movements. “Your words today are as warm as the mid-afternoon sun, Your Grace. I’m glad. How have you been lately?”

“Mmm… normal, I guess. Though it feels like something fishy is going on around the harbor.”

“Oh…?”

You held back a snicker. “Get it? Fishy? But, really, I feel like something’s up.”

“That’s troubling. I can lend you my assistance if you desire?”

“Huh? Oh, no!” You waved your hands in front of yourself, your eyes widening just a bit as you continued to smile. “I’m sure it’s nothing big, and, besides, I wouldn’t want to bog down our time together with worries. I don’t see you often enough since you’re always on the road, traveling.”

“Ah, of course. If you’d like to hear it, I’ve come up with some new poetry since we last met.”

“Oooh! Then go ahead and bless my ears, Kazuha.”

The hustle and bustle of the docks faded away as you chatted with Kazuha, intently listening to each and every one of the poetic words falling from his mouth. You even tried coming up with a few poems yourself, but it was difficult to do it on the fly; the praise Kazuha gave your attempts kept you from being discouraged, though some of the metaphors you tried to use felt a lot more poetic in your mind than when you said them out loud. You were in the middle of thinking up how to describe a certain line in your next masterpiece when you realized a lot of time had passed.

You felt a presence approach from the side, and looked up to see Beidou standing there.

Ningguang was nowhere to be found when you gave your surroundings a quick once-over, her elegant presence absent from the nearby crowds, and that meant she must have left long ago.

The captain looked between you and Kazuha, her smile apologetic when her gaze stopped on you. “Sorry, Your Grace, but I have something to talk about with Kazuha. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Hmm? Oh, well… that’s fine. I should probably be going anyhow. See you around!”

You bid the two farewell, seeing them respond in kind, and started walking away from them.

Beidou kept her eye on you until you were completely gone, and she turned to Kazuha.

“Okay, so, there’s this thing called “Christmas”...”

- - - - -

“Please accept my offering, o’ great adeptus, and bless me with your presence this quiet night.”

“...you don’t have to do that, Your Grace.”

The evening air was cool, gentle breezes rolling in from the distance and brushing against you where you stood on the highest balcony in Wangshu Inn. The lanterns from inside and hanging by the doorway cast a warm glow outwards, giving the balcony a cozy atmosphere despite how it faced the dark landscapes of Bishui Plain, the warm hues of the land hidden within shadows.

Your hands held tightly onto a plate of Almond Tofu — expertly and lovingly crafted by your own hands, you were proud to admit — as you smiled at the familiar figure that appeared before you, the sight of the inn’s resident adeptus never failing to bring you joy. The dim lighting made it hard to tell, as well as his usual distant demeanor, but you swore that he was looking a little flustered.

“Aww, why not? Everyone else does it.”

Xiao crossed his arms over his chest. “But you’re not “everyone else”.”

“Hmph.” You pouted, extending your arms out to present the Almond Tofu to him. “Here, you can at least take this. I made it special, just for you. I worked hard to learn the recipe, from the best.”

He stared down at the plate in your hands for a few seconds, before he slowly uncrossed his arms and carefully took it from you. The adeptus continued to stare at the food you prepared while you stared at him, the faintest hint of a blush on his cheeks — you internally cursed to yourself about the lack of decent lighting in this moment — before he finally took the first bite.

You spent just a moment watching Xiao carefully savor your expert culinary craftsmanship, and then looked out at the water and shadowed silhouettes of the nearby mountains, leaning yourself against the wooden railing of the balcony. The wood was cold and rough within your tight grip.

“...you know, everyone’s been acting really strange lately. Not in a bad way, but still.”

Your lips parted as you sighed, adjusting your arms to have your elbows on the railing.

“Even the other adepti are being weird. I tried to visit Cloud Retainer in Liyue Harbor, but Shuyu told me that she was really busy, even though she’s normally willing to take a break to chat with me whenever I drop by. Don’t even ask me how the other two are doing, I spent a good amount of time looking around their domains but wasn’t able to find them. It just feels like… like I’m being left out of something; like everyone is hiding something from me. Something that feels… major.”

You turned your head to look at Xiao. “Would you have any idea why?”

The adeptus briefly paused, his gaze meeting yours after having seemingly moved to you while you were talking, before wiping off the almond tofu around his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I…”

He hesitated, his eyes shifting away from you.

- - -

“As one of the Divine Creator’s vessels, you HAVE to come.” Hu Tao had a wide smile on her lips, her hands clenched together into tight fists in front of her chest. “Besides, it’ll be totally fun!”

The adeptus looked uncertain, his gaze shifting to the man accompanying the funeral director.

Zhongli met Xiao’s eyes with a soft smile, giving him a nod as well. “Indeed. Their Grace seems to also be quite fond of this “Christmas” business. It would be a shame if you did not participate.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Hu Tao nodded frantically, bouncing into the space between the adeptus and her consultant to direct the attention back to herself. “Come on…! It’ll only be the other vessels and adepti there. There’s no need to be all cautious and standoffish about it, so what do you say…?”

Xiao still looked conflicted, his eyebrows furrowed, before soon letting out a sigh.

“...very well. For the Divine Creator’s sake.”

Hu Tao clapped her hands. “Yay!”

“Just make sure to keep it a secret from Their Grace, if you end up encountering Them before then.” Zhongli looked pleased with Xiao’s answer, although he was much calmer than his boss was. “It’s supposed to be a “surprise party”, so try to avoid spoiling its existence at all costs.”

The adeptus nodded, crossing his arms.

“Got it.”

- - -

You couldn’t say for sure what exactly was going on inside Xiao’s head, but the expression on his face made it look like he was having some kind of internal war with himself, a struggle with the proverbial “rock and a hard place” that left him not looking forward to picking either option he was presented with. This was probably the most readable his feelings had ever been to anyone.

“Uh… hey, you don’t have to answer, Xiao.”

The adeptus appeared to snap back to reality, blinking as he looked at you.

You slightly smiled as you pushed yourself off of the railing. “I can kind of assume what’s going on. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't going crazy and seeing something out of nothing.”

Xiao’s lips parted, the softest exhale leaving them. “...I can’t lie to you, Your Grace.”

“Then just don’t say anything.”

You winked at him, your tongue sticking out from your lips. “And you should be busy eating the Almond Tofu I made you, anyways. It’s rude to speak while your mouth’s full, don’tcha know?”

Xiao briefly glanced back down at the plate in his hands, before he nodded.

“...okay.”

- - - - -

“Your presence is requested at the Jade Chamber.”

That was what you were told, but you weren’t able to think of any important reason of why that might be. You had always made sure to greatly distance yourself to the extreme from anything major regarding Liyue’s leadership — no political decision-making or “ruling with an iron fist” for you, even if some folks acted like your word was the single most important thing in all of Teyvat.

The Yuheng and the general secretary both knew that about you very well.

“Is… it for something important? Or does Ningguang just want to, like… play chess with me?”

Ganyu and Keqing shared a brief look with each other, before the former looked back at you, a bit of a nervous frown now on her lips. “It’s… nothing bad, but you should go see for yourself.”

“Here.” Keqing gestured for you to follow after her. “We can escort you.”

You looked down at Keqing’s hand for just a moment, before everything clicked.

The stranger-than-usual behavior of everyone lately… the random-but-very-frequent mentions of Christmas… and now you being requested to such a place as the Jade Chamber practically out of the blue. You even thought about how you couldn’t find a single one of the vessels around the harbor today, despite how you walked through the entire city front-to-back and back-to-front and side-to-side, checking each and every nook and cranny with the hope of finding someone.

You smiled.

“Oh, no, that’s okay. I can get us there quicker.”

You grabbed Keqing’s outstretched hand, the warm hue of her face matching Ganyu’s after you had grabbed the half-qilin’s hand too. Your grip was gentle but firm as you stood between them.

“You- Your Grace…”

“H-Hey, wait-!”

Within seconds, you heard the familiar teleporting sound resonate inside your head before you and your two current companions were warped up onto the platform of the Jade Chamber…

…only to hear a muffled thud accompanying a sudden cold, wet sensation that landed on you.

It felt like a worse version of getting an ice cube put down the back of your shirt.

The powdery substance slid off of the upper-half of your face after you blinked your eyes a few times, which revealed to you that what had just covered you was a thick blanket of snow, and it had also trapped Keqing and Ganyu, turning you three into vaguely self-shaped snow mounds.

You were completely befuddled at this situation.

Snow? At this time of year, in this part of Liyue, localized entirely within the Jade Chamber?

You attempted to shift around, eventually managing to catch sight of the cause of the surprise snowfall. There was a strange machine that almost resembled a snowblower from your world, water being poured into one end and snow coming out of an upwards-chute-like exit located on the other end. The snow coming out now fell softly to the ground, unlike what had just hit you.

The one who created the device crossed her arms, pushing her glasses up slightly.

“Hmph. If the Divine Creator wishes for it to snow, then one shall make it snow.”

“Wow, Aunty Cloud Retainer! You’re amazing!”

Yaoyao looked up at the adeptus with awe, clapping her hands with a bright smile.

You continued to look around — as much as you could in your new form as a snowman — and saw several others lingering about the area, all of which had been mysteriously missing today.

The musicians and performers were all gathered near a small stage that had been set up, doing last-minute checks and practice from what you could tell. You took a few moments to take in the sight of it before you snapped out of your thoughts and focused to hear them through the snow.

Gaming shook his hands out, Man Chai following his lead and shaking his whole body out. “Aha, I’ve been practicing for days and everything, but I’m still getting so nervous all of a sudden…”

“Pre-show jitters, huh?” Xinyan stood on the stage, fiddling with her guitar as she looked down at the Wushou dancer with a slight, unsure smile. “Can’t help but have them myself right now too.”

Yun Jin walked across the stage, her head tilted up to check the decorations hanging up. “Their Grace is so kind, there shouldn’t be any reason to worry… but I can understand the feeling.”

“Hey, hey, just don’t get so nervous you have a heart attack.” Hu Tao had the only smile near the stage free of hesitation. “The business would be nice, but it would be way too inconvenient now.”

There was another section where a buffet had been laid out, Xiangling hovering over the spread with her gaze flickering around to all the various dishes, almost like she was looking for anything that needed any last-minute adjustments made. Guoba stood on a chair next to the chef, putting his paws on the edge of the table as he looked between the dishes and at her with a happy aura.

“I had to make a few guesses here and there about the recipes, even with the advice from Their Grace…” Xiangling furrowed her brows before letting out a sigh. “I hope They like everything.”

“I’m sure They will.” Madame Ping had a gentle smile on her face as she glanced at the food the young chef had prepared. “It all looks and smells absolutely wonderful, there’s no doubt about it.”

Beidou nodded and chuckled. “Now, this is what I call a feast! You outdid yourself, Xiangling!”

“It all sure looks… interesting.”

Yanfei tilted her head, her eyes moving down along the long buffet table as she spoke.

“I… I’m having trouble making out what some of these dishes are, though.”

Xiangling smiled at the reassurances. “Oh, don’t worry. I can explain everything, if you’d like.”

Your attention, however, was soon captured by the main centerpiece of the whole occasion: a beautiful Sandbearer tree decorated with lanterns of all colors, all organized to create the most breathtaking sight you had seen all day. There were actually a lot of lanterns hanging around all over, now that you were conscious of their presence; it almost resembled Lantern Rite, in a way.

Well, a Lantern Rite that was being held on a very miniature scale.

“This is very pleasant.” Kazuha looked up at the tree, his hand over his chest. “I never imagined that a “Christmas tree” would look like this. It brings to the mind a kaleidoscope of Crystalflies.”

Ningguang had her arms crossed, also standing nearby to admire the tree she had put up and decorated to a degree befitting her luxurious aesthetics. “I was informed that the tree was to be decorated in lights and ornaments. I believe Their Grace will be quite pleased with the result.”

“Their Grace has some intriguing traditions from Their world.” Zhongli placed a hand to his chin in thought, his eyes briefly breaking away from the tree. “No wonder They spoke of it so highly.”

By this point, you were getting cold. Way too cold. So cold you felt stiff.

You shook the snow off as you took in a deep breath.

“Okay, that was an experience…”

“Your Grace?!”

You felt two dozen pairs of eyes land on your form as everyone’s head snapped towards your direction, the sound of your voice might as well having been a siren to their ears — your arrival had been expected to be normal, after taking the long route instead of the shortcut you chose to take instead, with some semblance of warning. You smiled bashfully, pulling a now-unconscious Ganyu and Kequing out of their snow piles since you were still holding their hands all this time.

“Hehe… guess I’m not the only one surprised at this surprise party, then?”

- - - - -

Today was the day you discovered how good Guoba and Man Chai made for living Warmies, your once-shivering and soaked body able to warm up and dry off after only a short but sweet cuddle session with them. The party couldn’t start until you were comfortable, after all… as well as until Keqing and Ganyu finally regained consciousness and also got themselves warmed up.

…and the start was unforgettable.

“Behold, Your Grace-”

Truly unforgettable.

“-for one has donned the appearance of a Christmas hero spoken of in tales from your home.”

There, standing in front of you, were some of the adepti, and although the three ladies and Xiao were in their human forms at the party, the other two men were not. That included Moon Carver, the one who had spoken to you first when they approached, who proudly stood in front of you in his stag form… with a glowing red nose — likely made possible by adepti magic, you assumed.

You briefly recalled telling Yaoyao and Qiqi about some stories related to Christmas, which, of course, included “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. Turning slightly away for a moment, you raised a hand to cover the smile slowly growing on your lips as you tried to calm yourself down.

“Yeaaah…” Your voice wavered, you being unable to stop your eyes glancing to and from Moon Carver. “Christmas would’ve been cancelled if not for Rudolph. He’s a… a true hero, alright…”

The snort that slipped from your lips went unnoticed by Moon Carver, the adeptus preening at your approval. The planned festivities luckily continued on before you actually started laughing.

- - - - -

They had only had about a week to prepare, but the musical performance was probably one of the, if not the, best thing you had ever witnessed in your life; most everyone had gathered into a crowd in front of the stage as Xinyan, Hu Tao, and Gaming took their places in the spotlight. You were almost too enamoured with the show to notice how Yun Jin occasionally snuck a couple of glances at you from her spot in the crowd next to you, a smile growing on her lips at your own.

The musicians had taken the songs that you told — or, rather, sang to — them and used them as inspiration to come up with a brand-new Christmas song, complete with Xinyan’s rock guitar and Hu Tao’s iconic rapping. Gaming had even created a special routine to go along with all of it.

“Bravo!” You clapped your hands frantically after the performance finished, a whoop escaping your lips as you cheered. “That was… incredible! I loved it! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

The sense of relief that left the performers’ bodies was noticeable, their forms relaxing as your praise finally casted away all of the tension that had plagued them from their pre-show nerves.

“I’m glad, Your Grace.” Yun Jin smiled. “We only had so much time, but we worked really hard.”

“I can tell.” Your cheeks hurt a little from how much you were smiling, and you tilted your head. “I hope I get to see it again someday. That was way too good to be just a one-time performance.”

Gaming let out a chuckle, a sense of weariness in his tone. “I’d be happy to dance for you again, Your Grace. Just… I still need a moment to calm down from the excitement of the first time.”

“Oh-ho! But I’m ready for round two right now!” Hu Tao pumped her fists as she snickered. “I knew Their Grace couldn’t resist my excellent rhyming skills! I could do this all day, any day!”

Xinyan adjusted her grip on her guitar as she looked back at the stage they performed on. “Uh, I think we may have gone a little overboard with the pyrotechnics, though… even for me, heh…”

You followed the rocker’s gaze to the stage, seeing that it… kind of didn’t exist anymore, with all that remained being a stage-shaped pile of charred wood. Given that three Pyro users had used it for their performance, where they had turned up the heat to give you the show of a lifetime, you should have expected this, especially considering Xinyan’s track record with this sort of thing.

You couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“Yeah, okay, I think one performance is enough for today, then.”

- - - - -

“Wow, I didn’t know you had such an appetite, Your Grace.”

Xiangling’s eyes were wide as she looked at your plate, which was piled high with servings from the buffet. There was a little of everything, as you wanted to try all of the different dishes that had been prepared by the chef; some looked traditional, and very close to what you had described to her about, while others clearly had creative choices made during their creation. There were also some traditional Liyue dishes being offered — considering how many people were present at the party, Xiangling really made sure that there would be enough food for everyone to have their fill.

You held your plate carefully in front of you. “I can’t help it. Everything looks so good.”

It appeared that many others also held the same opinion, almost everyone filling up their plates with various dishes from the buffet. There were plenty of options; everyone could eat something.

“What is this…?” Ganyu observed a red jam-like substance in one of the bowls, tapping it gently with the small spoon that was provided for folks to scoop it. “It smells like some kind of fruit…?”

“Ah, that’s Valberry sauce!” Xiangling piped up and moved over to the half-qilin. “Their Grace mentioned a dish made with this type of berry called a “Cranberry”, so I had to find a similar substitute. You should be able to eat it, Miss Ganyu. It doesn’t contain any animal products.”

“What I’m more interested in is that!” Beidou pointed to what-could-be-considered the main dish of the whole spread, her eye and smile both wide. “Now that looks like something real special.”

Xiangling smiled as she made her way over to the captain. “That’s a three-bird roast called a “gooducken”. It’s a chicken inside of a duck inside of a goose. I had to do a lot to get it right.”

Beidou let out a long hum. “Oooh, that sounds impressive! I’ll have a big portion, then!”

“I should try something new too…” Keqing looked between her plate and the buffet, a small frown coming to her face. “...but all that I’ve got on my plate is Golden Shrimp Balls so far…”

“Ah! Chongyun! Qiqi! The cold dishes are over here.” Xiangling directed the two over to one side of the buffet table, waving them over while gesturing to the dishes. “There’s plenty for you to try.”

“Here, I’ll help!” Yaoyao scooped food onto Qiqi’s plate. “This looks good. Make sure to eat it all!”

“Okay.”

Chongyun held his plate away from Xingqiu, his eyes shifting between his friend and the food he was putting onto his plate. “Please don’t try to sneak anything spicy onto my plate this time.”

“Why, I would never.” Xingqiu chuckled, a hand held up in defense. “What a random accusation.”

“Your Grace…” Baizhu eyed your plate as you took a seat next to him, his gaze scanning all of the generous portions you served yourself. “I’m not entirely knowledgeable on how much a god can eat, but make sure not to overstuff yourself. I can’t imagine it’d be good for your stomach.”

“I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises!”

And after stuffing yourself full of Xiangling’s cooking, it felt like a happy mistake in the end.

- - - - -

The party was going well so far; after the performance and initial serving of food, it was nice to see everyone mingling together and having fun. You scanned the area, taking in the groups that the characters formed amongst themselves, before refocusing your attention back on what you were doing: being busy at the “Winter Weather Device” Cloud Retainer built for the occasion.

And snow was actually a lot more pleasant when you weren’t buried under a heavy blanket of it.

“Shenhe, if I ever get into a snowball fight, I’m recruiting you to my team.”

The woman stared at you, seriously. “I would slay all your foes if need be, Your Grace.”

“Aha… snowball fights aren’t that serious, but thanks.”

You continued to pat down the snow you held into a snowball, the cold flakes a higher-quality than what nature ever made. The water used to make them apparently came from the adepti abodes, which, of course, was why the snow was so soft and powdery, like from a fairytale.

“I’m…” Yanfei stood by you, also crafting a snowball in her hands — which shook slightly from the cold steeping into her fingers — at your insistence. “...not sure I see the appeal in this.”

“The appeal is the glory of victory over your foes.”

“...right.”

Yanfei left the snowball she had made in the growing pile by your feet. You watched the younger partygoers play in the snow, stomping around and making vaguely snowman-like structures out of the cold flakes, before you felt someone approach you from behind, and turned to face them.

“Yelan! Hey! I didn’t notice you were here, are you having fun?”

Yelan let out a soft exhale, the warm light of the nearby stone lanterns illuminating her face from below as she faintly smiled. “It’s hard not to have a good time when you’re around, Your Grace.”

“D’aw, you’re just flattering me. I know how you work.”

You snorted as Yelan chuckled at your comment, before a thought struck you.

“Oh! I just realized I haven’t seen you around for a while! Where’ve you been this entire time?”

“Places.”

“Doing what?”

“Things.”

You stared at Yelan for a few seconds, her gaze amused as she stared back.

“...okay, then. Keep your secrets.”

You played with the snowball in your hands, rolling it back and forth between your palms as you briefly pondered all of the mysterious — and probably legally-dubious — things Yelan must have been up to this past week and a half, before you were snapped out of your thoughts by the sight of a wrapped box being held in front of your face. The hand holding it was Yelan’s, the shiny bow adorning the tiny rectangular container bending in the gentle evening breeze that was blowing by.

The box was pushed into one of your hands, the snowball now held in the other.

“Here. For you. I hear giving gifts is a custom for this little holiday we’re celebrating, hm?”

“Where’d you hear about… no, wait, never mind. I’m not gonna get an answer, am I?”

“You know me too well, Your Grace.” Yelan chuckled again, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly as she smiled at you. “If you were anyone else, that’d be a problem. But if it’s you, it’s just fine.”

You had never felt so lucky to be yourself as you did right now.

“I suppose I’ll let you rejoin the rest of the party now. Everyone worked so very hard to put this whole thing together just for you, I shouldn’t keep you from rewarding them with your attention.”

Yelan turned away from you, glancing over her shoulder as she walked away.

“I’ll be watching. May we meet again soon, Your Grace.”

- - - - -

Despite all of the fun you were having, the party sadly couldn’t go on forever.

The daylight soon blended into night, and with it, the guests started to take their leave. The first to go were the youngest of the characters — Qiqi left with Baizhu and Changsheng, Yaoyao with Cloud Retainer, Madame Ping and most of the other adepti. Yaoyao had even started to doze off at that point, requiring her to be carried by Cloud Retainer. Shenhe also left with the latter group.

Then went the next youngest: Xingqiu, Chongyun, Xiangling, Hu Tao, Yun Jin, Gaming… before they left, you made sure to give both Guoba and Man Chai another extra tight hug for the road.

Those who had work the next day soon followed. Yanfei, Keqing, and Ganyu all gave you polite goodbyes as they left, and Yelan vanished into the dark as easily as she had appeared to you.

Beidou left after saying goodbye to you and Ningguang, who simply headed inside of the Jade Chamber after bidding you a good night. Kazhua left with the pirate caption, his farewell another one of his poems that you were unfortunately too tired to think of one of your own in response to.

The harbor seemed to glow below the Jade Chamber as the city’s lanterns lit up in the absence of the sun. You fiddled with the gift from Yelan in your hands, still wrapped up and unopened.

“Your Grace, would I be correct in saying the surprise party was a success?”

You brought your gaze back up from Liyue Harbor and turned to see Zhongli approaching to stand beside you, his arms politely folded behind his back and his eyes focused on your face.

You smiled, giving him a nod. “Oh, yeah! It was so much fun! And I’m definitely going to figure out how to thank everyone for it, especially Yaoyao and Qiqi since they planned the whole thing!”

His lips turned up into a soft smile. “I’m very pleased to hear you say that, Your Grace.”

Your gaze shifted from the man standing next to you to the roof of the Jade Chamber, and you waved at Xiao to come join you and Zhongli. The legendary boy-adeptus had kept his distance from most others during the party, opting to watch from the rooftops as an onlooker rather than an active participant in it, though you were just happy that he was near all the festive energy.

With a sudden burst of green and black wisps, Xiao was at your side.

You looked at the adeptus with an enthused smile. “Sooo… did you enjoy yourself, Xiao?”

“...as long as the party made you happy, then I’m happy, Your Grace.”

You clutched a hand over your heart. “Xiao… you’re too sweet.”

This felt like the perfect ending to a perfect celebration, and as you looked between the adeptus and the Archon, you only felt all warm and fuzzy — it was almost too much for you. Almost.

“Hey, I don’t feel like sleeping just yet. Let’s go for a walk around the harbor together.”

“We’d be honored to, Your Grace.”

[3rdgymbros]

━ 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐞 !

— pairing; scaramouche x reader.

— summary; you are sandrone of the fatui, your ruin machine spoils and scaramouche is forced to carry you.

— notes; if it's lore inaccurate, it is what it is bc i haven't played genshin in years but this brain worm wouldn't leave me alone and i wrote this. please donate to my kofi or consider commissioning me if you like my work bc im broke and need cash. and know that i am mentally smooching everyone who reblogs my stuff.

❋ Your beloved ruin machine, the one you've meticulously modified to perfection, decides to betray you at the worst possible moment. Gears jam, steam hisses, and the giant collapses with you still perched on top.

❋ It must be divine retribution for all your misdeeds.

❋ And Scaramouche, of all people, is nearby to witness the chaos. His first reaction, as is befitting of someone with a terrible personality, is to laugh. Right in your face. It’s like rubbing salt into an open wound.

❋ “So much for being a genius, Sandrone. You couldn’t keep that heap of junk running?”

❋ Your ruin machine is your only form of transportation, and since you can’t walk without it . . . That leaves Scaramouche to carry you.

❋ And you tell him as such imperviously, still trying to hold onto what remains of your pride even though you’re still stuck atop your ruined creation and unable to move without his assistance.

❋ Scaramouche looks as though he’s debating the merits of leaving you behind, but eventually (and with a lot of complaining) he agrees to carry you. Not out of the goodness of his heart (you strongly doubt that he has one), but because, “We can’t waste any more time with your incompetence.”

❋ He doesn’t even ask for permission — the nerve of him! — and just scoops you up like you’re another piece of cargo to be transported.

❋ You are not happy about being carried in such an undignified manner, and you’re going to make sure he knows it. You manage to find fault in everything; scolding him for his pace, his grip, and how he’s crumpling your very expensive outfit.

“You’re holding me wrong! My arm’s falling asleep.” “You’re walking too fast, I’m going to fall.” “You’re walking too slow, hurry up!” “This position is uncomfortable. I should have let the ruin machine just throw me off instead.”

❋ After what feels like hours (but more than likely is only ten minutes), Scaramouche stops dead, turns his head and hisses, “Keep this up, Sandrone, and I’ll toss you into the nearest ravine. Maybe your precious ruin machine can fish you out — oh, that’s right, it’s broken.”

❋ His threat is laced with just enough venom to make you reconsider continuing your tirade. Instead, you purse your lips tight and fall silent, looking as though you’re sucking on a lemon. Despite his anger, Scaramouche doesn’t actually drop you. Instead, he keeps carrying you, muttering curses under his breath.

❋ You’d rather die than say it aloud, but there’s a strange comfort in the way he carries you. His grip is steady and secure, and you notice he’s careful not to jostle you too much, even when you hit uneven terrain.

❋ Scaramouche, for his part, acts like it’s the greatest inconvenience of his life, but there’s an odd softness in the way he supports you.

❋ (Though there’s nothing soft about the way he dumps you onto the ground once you’re back at camp.)

[vsimp]

to warm your heart

pairing: kamisato ayato x reader

genre: blurb, fluff, comfort

tw: mentions of past toxic relationship

w/c: 798

There was something lovely about you. Perhaps it was the way you always wrote him letters and dabbed a light amount of perfume on them. Perhaps it was the way you cooked meals for him whenever he skipped lunch or dinner, or perhaps the way you always seemed to bring a smile to his face when he was utterly exhausted or stressed. Maybe it was something simpler, like the way you said his name, or the way that you laughed so endearingly at his attempts at jokes, even though he was never the best at small talk. Nevertheless, he had grown fond of you and your presence, so much so that he would say that he could see you staying with him for a while, maybe even for the rest of his life.

But things were never really that easy. 

Kamisato Ayato loved you, but you did not belong to him.

It was a cruel fate indeed, watching the person you love be interested in someone else. And he knew that you were not happy with your current situation.

Oftentimes, whenever you would visit Ayaka, he could hear you rant to her about how your current boyfriend had manipulated you and said cruel words to you, only for him to immediately apologize for it. It was a vicious cycle between you two, and eventually, you broke things off with him. But that type of emotionally abusive relationship had broken you, and Ayato could see that very easily.

If he showed you any amount of kindness, you would look at him in surprise, as if you had never expected anybody to treat you with such tenderness. If he gifted you anything, you would wonder if there were any ulterior motives. And if he ever complimented you, you would reject it right away, as if you truly could not believe his words at all.

Ayato did not like to get too close to people, nor did he enjoy small talk and bleak conversations. He liked being alone to do his own things. But he could not leave you alone, not when you were hurting like this. He wanted to hurt those who hurt you, for the sadness in your eyes made his heart truly wrench. He wanted to thaw out your frozen heart, break down your walls so that you could be happy. Even if it were not with him, he wanted you to be happy. And eventually, he realized that this was the pain of love.

Slowly, however, he melted down your walls. He would put in the extra effort to pull out your chair if you needed to sit and hold open the door for you. When it was raining, he would position the umbrella more over you so that you wouldn’t get wet, even if it meant his shoulder would. He even put aside his work when you visited his office, the attention of his amethyst eyes on you, and only you. 

And it was only slowly did he start to see the smile back on your face, to hear the laughter that made his heart flutter. He would take your hand, guiding you through the crowded summer festival to watch fireworks with you. And as the fireworks lit up the skies, he wanted to engrain that moment in his memories. How the light reflected in your eyes, your expression of awe as you subconsciously gripped his hand tighter while watching the explosions of color. 

You pointed at the fireworks. “Look, Ayato! That one was so beautiful!”

“Indeed,” he said simply, his eyes never leaving yours. “It is quite beautiful.”

Your cheeks grew warm when you glanced at him, feeling like he wasn’t talking about the fireworks. It was true, you realized he wasn’t. His eyes met with yours and you felt like the entire world had halted. The fireworks were now just a distant noise in the background, and you only focused on his next words.

“Y/n… the way I feel for you…” he started and gripped your hand even tighter. “I want you to stay by my side. I love you. I have for a long time now.”

He was scared of your reply, but wasn’t expecting that beautiful smile to appear on your face.

“I love you too.”

Your lips met his in a soft kiss, and Ayato finally felt like he was at peace.

It wasn’t going to be easy loving someone of his status. The Yashiro Commission took up a lot of his time and he strived to make his clan prosper. But he was not an incompetent man. He was determined not to hurt you. And he was determined to give you the love you deserved.

inspo song - TVXQ (love in the ice) jap. ver

[reixona]

Aether x Reader (Fluff)

The light in Liyue Harbor shimmered beneath the moonlight, lanterns swaying gently in the evening breeze. The waves crashing against the docks set a soothing and rhythmic melody adorned with the hum of distant voices and soft music drifting from a nearby teahouse.

The night is alive, yet it is strangely peaceful, a rare moment of peace in a world filled with chaos and uncertainty.

Aether walked beside you, his golden eyes scanning the star-filled night sky. Despite his usual confidence, there was something different about him tonight, something quieter. You felt it in the way his steps slowed, the way his gloved fingers twitched slightly at his side, as if hesitating to reach for something just out of grasp.

“You’re quiet tonight,” he mused, turning his gaze toward you.

You exhaled, watching as your breath disappear into the cool night air. “I guess I’m just enjoying this.”

He raised an eyebrow, while curiosity flickered into his face. “Enjoying what?”

“This.” You gestured vaguely to the harbor, the twinkling lanterns, the scent of sea salt and fresh dumplings in the air. “Walking with you. The peace. We don’t get moments like this often, do we?”

Aether hummed in agreement. His life had been one of endless searching, always moving forward, never lingering for too long. Even now, despite the many friends he had made in Teyvat, he was still a wanderer at heart.

But tonight, beside you, something felt different, like, just for a moment, he didn’t have to chase the thrill of the adventure.

The two of you continued along the waterfront, your footsteps in sync with one another. Every so often, a passing merchant or traveler would nod in greeting, recognizing the blonde traveler who had made a name for himself across the land. Aether, the ever humble, simply smiled in return. But his attention never moved too far from you.

As you reached a quieter part of the harbor, Aether suddenly stopped. “Come with me.”

You blinked. “Where?”

His lips quirked up in a small, playful smile. “You'll see it in a bit.”

Without another word, he took your hand and led you up a narrow path winding toward a secluded cliffside overlooking the sea. The ascent wasn’t difficult, but with Aether’s firm grip on your hand, you felt oddly breathless, not from exertion, but from the way his fingers curled securely around yours, warm even through the leather of his gloves.

And when you finally reached the top, the view stole whatever words you might have want to say.

Before you stretched an endless expanse of ocean, the surface, acting like a mirror, glittered with the reflection of the stars above.

The waves rolled gently against the cliffs, creating a song that calms the heart and give peace to the mind.

Aether let out a satisfied sigh. “I found this place a while ago. It’s quiet and away from everything.”

A loving grin began to appear on your lips as you turned to face him. "So, even the Hero of Teyvat needs a place to run"

Rubbing the back of his neck, he laughed. “I suppose I do.” His eyes grew softer as he turned to face you. "But I really wanted to tell you about this."

Your heart began to race in your chest at what he said.

You took a seat on the grass and patted the area next to you. Aether did the same, leaning back on his hands and extending his legs.

You two sat in pleasant stillness, just enjoying each other's company.

Aether's voice became softer when he spoke again after some time. "Ever thought of what lies beyond all of this?"

You glanced at him with your head tilted. “Beyond Teyvat?”

He nodded, his gaze fixed on the horizon. “I used to think of nothing else. I was always searching for a way forward, a way back to… to what I lost.” His fingers curled slightly in the grass. “But lately… I’ve been thinking about what I’d leave behind.”

Your heart clenched at his words. You knew Aether’s journey wasn’t over—that it couldn’t be. No matter how much he cared for the people he met, no matter how many bonds he formed, he was still a traveler. His story was one of movement, of searching. And one day, he might have to leave this world behind.

But right now, he was here. And so were you.

You reached over, your fingers brushing against his before intertwining fully. Aether’s eyes slightly widened in surprise, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he gently squeezed your hand, as if engraving your warmth of your hand into his own.

“If you do leave one day,” you said softly, “I hope you’ll remember nights like this.”

Aether turned to look at you fully, his expression unreadable. Then, after a beat, he smiled—a real, genuine smile, the kind that made your heart ache in the best way.

“I will.”

The two of you stayed there until the night grew late, until the stars above seemed to burn just a little brighter, as if to bear witness to this fleeting, beautiful moment between a traveler and the one who made him want to pause.

[ellitx]

elli...!! i dont know if someone has already done this so feel free to ignore but... what if...

venti is a sex worker and he was hired by y/n. usually his customers would be more experienced, and would lean more on doing rougher stuff, so he was surprised when he met y/n in her house, being inexperienced and kind of shy, asking for just a kiss. her reason being, she never had a boyfriend before and her peers are teasing her for being a virgin and not getting her first kiss yet... so she hired venti for.. experience and practice¿ >/////< then of course things will escalate from there since venti gets attracted to her, so he'll seduce her into giving in to him... hehe... then maybe after that they'll meet more and get to know each other better o/////o

masterlist

fem!reader

word count: 2.3k

It was unexpected.

Really. What are the chances that the sex worker you hired would be someone you know? Especially if it’s a close friend of yours. Sure, Venti throws dirty jokes here and there for fun, but to discover this was his actual job?

You’re not one to judge but it was really unexpected. Never in your life would you ever possibly think he would be your practice partner in experiencing sexual intercourse when you’re a beginner yourself. And you can’t really blame the company when practically Venti was assigned to fulfill your commission.

You sat at the edge of your bed idly, hands over your knees clenched into a fist as you tried your best to quiet your heavy anxious breaths. You really hope you’re not breathing too loudly lest it’ll make more things awkward with him.

You could feel he was gazing at you occasionally but averted when you caught him. How long has it been since you’ve invited him to your room? 5 minutes? Or more than that? Honestly, you don’t know when all your head was fussing about was how to handle this awkward tension.

It’s not like Venti hadn’t been here. He only visited once and that’s it. You pretty much bond outdoors more than indoors. Ah, if only you could talk to him casually like an afternoon Tuesday and it’ll be an easy breeze.

But that’s easier said than done.

You shifted, fiddling with your hands, trying to find the right words for a starting conversation. But Venti was quick to start before you could even open your lips.

“Hey, we don’t need to do it if you don’t want to alright? We prioritize your comfort over the actual thing.”

Oh no.

This doesn’t sound good at all. Does he want to stop it because he doesn’t want to disappoint you or himself?

Your voice came out so nervously.

“I-I don’t mind at all, please don’t stop it because I also feel nervous. If anything…”

You paused, trying to pick up your nerve again. “If anything we should try our best to get through this!”

Wow…

You really made things more awkward than ever, huh?

‘Try our best to get through’? Really? Was that the best you could think of?

Archons, you just want to hide yourself, drown in the abyss of the sea, and never show your face to him ever again.

Your frenzied thoughts were interrupted by a small laughter. Venti was laughing but it was obvious he was holding back from bursting out out of courtesy.

“Haha! That’s so like you! I still can’t believe you’d be so interested in this kind of thing, [Name].”

Well, in the end, he did burst out into a hearty laugh after all. And he wasn’t holding back his tears either. Your face warmed up, the embarrassment becoming a shame, and the shame turned to a playful anger. You huffed, cheeks puffed out with your lips pursed.

“Yae keeps on teasing me how I’m still a virgin...” You mumbled under your breath.

Maybe you should be thanking him instead? Even though you’re mad at him for teasing you at least it eased the awkwardness, somewhat.

He gave you a soft look as he replied, “Are you sure you’re alright with this? With me being your partner?”

You quieted down as you gazed at him. His eyes were soft and comforting, as there was also a dash of reassurance. With Venti, someone who you know very well, being your partner to experience within the world of lust, it’s a safe choice.

You could even ask him questions if you have any concerns which makes contact much easier. You didn’t hesitate anymore as you smiled reassuringly at him.

A simple nod from you was enough to confirm and wash away his doubts and worries.

“Alright. Can you close your eyes?” He requested.

You nodded and waited patiently for his instruction. His finger traced along your brow, making you giggle lightly. His gentle touch left warmth running down your spine. No more than a later, something soft and warm made contact upon your cheeks.

You opened your eyes to see what was it that brushed onto you but Venti’s hand softly covered them, making your vision return to its dark state.

“Sorry, I wasn’t being clear.” His voice was now soft and breathy and you shivered from how his breath was fanning your cheeks. “You can open them once I tell you so. In the meantime, keep them close for me, okay?”

You gave a shy nod as you bit your lower lip. Not knowing what was happening made you so anxious, but with how gentle and caring he holds you against him felt so safe and reassuring.

It seems he understood your situation. So you decided to relax a little, closing your eyes and slowly exhaling while he moved his arms around you.

Soon after, he began to nuzzle at your ear, gently caressing the flesh of your neck with the tips of his fingers. The warmth from his hands slowly traveled towards your body, raising your body temperature up.

Then his fingers stopped over to your lips. He traced them slowly and lightly, caressing them as if memorizing every contour of your lips. A few moments passed by before his fingers touched your lower lip and you let out a gasp of pleasure. Then, the pad of his thumb slowly grazed your bottom lip, causing you to suckle on them unconsciously.

You heard a soft groan and your heart raced, your stomach tightening and your core beginning to become warm. You heard him faintly curse under his breath, and the creaking of the bed signified he was searching for a comfortable position.

Because a second later, one hand was on your hips holding you close to him while the other was parting your lips.

“Can I…?” He asked.

It was obvious what he was asking, and your heart beat faster and faster from his short yet heart-throbbing question. It was racing through the roof, chasing the highs of your adrenaline.

You nodded again. The urge to open your eyes was strong but you resisted, scolding yourself to follow Venti’s words.

It felt so sensual, the feel of his rough fingers pressed against your skin, almost tickling it. And that caused another gasp to come from you, however, something slightly warm and soft was pressing onto your pink lips.

Venti moved his head forward, softly kissing your lips, nibbling and sucking the soft flesh of your mouth. You were unsure on what to do and how to reciprocate the kiss. Should you lean? Tilt your head? Or open your lips a bit? You decided the latter option is the safest one.

Slowly parting them, you moaned when he gently bit on your lower lip. You clutched onto his shirt, your brows digging deeply into your temple as you calmed the heat running through you. The kiss felt so good that you almost forgot what you were supposed to be doing. When Venti broke the kiss you whined and you heard him chuckling. Even with your eyes closed, you can sense he had that teasing smile painting on his face.

"Venti?" You called when he didn't make any sounds or movements. The said male hummed then the bed shifted. Were you supposed to open your eyes now? But Venti hadn't given you any signals yet. You opted to keep them close and it was good that you did because your face was beet red as you fiddled with your fingers.

"Can we continue the kiss, please?" You asked in a small voice. Venti chuckled at your shy plea.

"Of course."

It didn't take any longer for him to return his lips to yours. You hummed lightly, relaxing against him. He hugged your waist, carefully holding you close. With his hand cupping your cheeks, you wonder if your shyness was being dissolved because of his comforting presence. 

The kisses were short and sweet and Venti would break away for a second and then return to you immediately. Perhaps so you can breathe effectively, but you paid no mind to it because you'd chase after him every time he parts.

This time it lasted longer. You were beginning to adjust to such intimacy that your breathing began to accelerate along with the increasing warmth and tingly sensation in your stomach. The flush in your cheeks deepened when you felt something prodding at your mouth's entrance. 

You fell onto your bed with a soft landing and Venti planted one hand beside your head while still cupping your cheek. He licked your lips, asking for permission, and when you granted him he wasted no time to taste you deeper into the sweet nectar. He tilted his head, kissing you again and again and again but with passion.

Softly moaning against him, you returned his kisses. You clutched, gripped, and held onto his shoulder as you fought back against the orgasmic pleasure. This has been going on for a while and yet, he hadn’t given up yet. You enjoyed each kiss and bite from his tongue and teeth, not stopping until he earned another moan from you.

He kissed you deeper, this time pushing his tongue into you and you gasped. Your legs squirmed, reaching out for something until they locked onto his hips. Venti grunted, one hand moving over to cover your eyes while the other kept your hips against the mattress as he lightly bucked his hips to yours.

Oh god…

For your first kiss, this man feels so good… You whimpered beneath him. A low sound escaped your lips. He chuckled. He doesn’t mind at all, does he?

“Cute,” He murmured, brushing some hair off your face and tilting his head up to look at you with lustful eyes. You blushed again and averted your gaze down. His lips curled upwards. It must be something about you that made you so sweet, like sugar and honey mixed together.

You shook your head and looked back at him. “I-I’m sorry… I’ve never been with anyone… So this isn’t… I don’t—“

As you were rumbling, you were cut off by the same pair of lips that had you instantly melting. You gasped as he took your lips with his, aggressively making you gasp again and causing more goosebumps to pop up on your body.

With one hand wrapped around the nape of your neck, the other still holding your face to his, you heard him whisper. “I told you to close your eyes, didn’t I? Just relax and enjoy, [Name].”

The warmth in his voice caused you to nod, relaxing and feeling his hands glide from your face to your shoulder blades.

His fingers spread over your skin and then glided lower, gliding across your lower back and dipping under the hem of your shirt.

And he kissed you again, deep and soft. The tip of his tongue flicked against the roof of your mouth, sending shivers down your spine.

You whimpered louder, unable to suppress the shy excitement bubbling within you. Your hips begin to squirm again, craving more friction and movement.

His tongue continues to dance between your lips, making you shudder against him. Slowly, he lets go of your lips, kissing down your chin and neck. His lips met the spot where your jawline meets your collarbone and you felt his hot breath on your skin. He nuzzled against you, quietly admiring how pink you were just from a long kiss. You turned your head, keeping his hair from tickling your skin.

A moment passed before his lips started to lick and suck at the area, sending another wave of bliss rushing throughout your entire body. God, is this what making out feels like?

Your entirety was burning hot, your nerves receiving one shock to another, and you felt so wet between your legs. All of these, all of what Venti is doing to you is making you feel an immeasurable pleasure of bliss.

You don’t know what you were doing except to moan and whimper his name out from your pretty mouth.

“Hmm… Venti…”

The said man grunted, his teeth grazing your flesh before biting and sucking your skin. You muffled your screams with your hands. With the darkness and bites combining with each other, it’s difficult to grasp what Venti will do next.

Because by the time you were thinking of it, his lips traveled to your neck and returned to kissing you. After giving you a good long and deep kiss he parted, a small string of saliva following after him.

He gulped his heavy breaths and permitted you to open your eyes. Your whole face was red and sweaty, your lips once coated with balm were now gone and replaced with the dripping of saliva, and your clothes were slightly disarray.

But you’re not complaining.

“You can open your eyes,”

As you obliged his words, Venti was gazing at you deeply. His green optics swirled with a great amount of lust. He hovered over you, his hands slipping beneath your shirt to caress your soft and warm skin so he could remember all areas of your body from his palm alone. 

Through your hazy vision, you can faintly make out some of your tinted balms were all over his lips. It'd be nice to paint his face with your lipstick...

But maybe on another day.

Putting his temple against yours, his breathy voice gave you shivers. “Continue or stop?” He asked.

You too were panting, so occupied by those delicious kisses he fed you that you eventually forgot to answer him.

“Yes or no? If you don’t answer I’ll take that as a no, [Name].” He kissed your jaw, his palm so dangerously close to your breasts that he was already fiddling with the underband of your bra.

Without hesitation, you replied, “Continue, please.”

[the-original-skipps]

|| AN3MO BOYS WHEN YOU TRIP IN FRONT OF THEM. ||

I’m back to continue writing for my favorite anemo boys. The idea just struck me and so here I am. Enjoy!

:Heizou. Kazuha. Venti. Xiao. Scaramouche/Wanderer.

❥ Heizou

"Are you hurt? Cause you look like you just fell in love with me."

You frown in response, staring blankly at him from the ground. He lets out a small laugh as he grabs ahold of both your hands, slowly pulling you up to stand. You look anywhere else but him as you dust off your clothes for dirt. You let out a huff before walking ahead of him.

"I'm already in love with you."

Too bad you didn't look back as you would have seen his breath hitch with shock, his face warming at your words.

❥ Kazuha

"Oh dove, are you alright?"

Kazuha asks, his voice laced with concern as he crouches down to your level bringing his hands to your arms. He looks like he’s the one who tripped instead with how he's staring at you. You sheepishly smile as you return his question.

"I'm fine, Kazuha."

His face remained the same but relief flooded his eyes. He helps you stand up before dusting off your clothes, eyes raking over your body for potential wounds. Your breath hitches as he suddenly rests his forehead against yours placing his hand on your cheek.

"I'm glad you're alright my love."

❥ Venti

"Woahh! Oof-!"

You look to see Venti fall beside you. More like pretend as his timing was just after you tripped. You stare at him in confusion as he lets out an "embarrassed" giggle.

"Looks like we both tripped, ehe." He says as he slightly sticks his tongue out with a wink. You softly laugh at his words before you reach out for his hand pulling him to stand with you.

"I guess we both did."

Venti grins as his grip on your hand tightens.

"I suggest we hold hands to prevent further stumbling."

❥ Xiao

The moment you fell to the ground Xiao quickly gathers you into his arms. Before you can protest in confusion you find yourself back to Wangshu Inn, your orbs meeting with with Verr Goldet as she stares at you both in shock.

"We request immediate assistance."

"Wait, Xia-"

"Now."

Verr shakes off her shock before rushing to prepare a room. You protest as you feel your cheeks heating up from the embarrassment as onlookers look towards you both in curiosity. However, Xiao's grip on you only tightens as he stares down at you with a serious look on his face.

"You're hurt, stop moving."

You could only gulp in response before shyly trying to hide your face against his chest.

❥ Scaramouche/Wanderer

"Ouch"

You cry out in response as your knees scrape against the hard ground. Looking up your eyes meeting with Scaramouche's who just stares down at you blankly. Yet, is that a hint of a grin trying to creep on his face? Before you could comment he lets out a tired sigh.

"Get up"

You huff as you slowly stand up dusting off the dust that may have clung to your clothes, slightly wincing as your knees straighten. You see his indigo orbs flicker towards your knees as he reaches out to pull you by the arm slowly pulling you along towards a rock for you to sit.

"Sit, I'll see what I can do about them."

[mayaree-darling]

Water... Connoisseur?// Neuvillette

synopsis: Neuvillette shares his love for water tasting with the Creator (ft. Paimon and the Traveler)

from aree: this was supposed to be a short funny little thing but as always i can’t keep my mouth shut and now this is 17 pages long

content: Creator!Reader; smol spoiler(?) for and inspired by Neuvillette's story quest and profile/voice over; Reader and the Traveler (and Paimon) have Siblings Energy; I headcanon that the Traveler can see their inventory the way us players can; Pure Crack; Probably OOC Neuvillette

fic length: ~5.3k 

You are the Creator of Teyvat, spending time with the Traveler, Paimon, and Neuvillette. At one point, the Iudex offers for the four of you to take a break in his office and he'll fetch you some refreshments. Almost immediately, you see from the corner of your eye the Traveler and Paimon stutter out that they'll get the drinks themselves, but it's too late. You didn't see what was wrong with Neuvillette offering something to drink - if anything, you're curious to know what kind of drink he'd prepare for his guests. This was your first time tasting what Fontaine had to offer. So you let him go. 

When Neuvillette leaves the room, the traveling duo beside you share a heavy sigh. You turn to them and ask what's wrong. They share a meaningful look. You'll see, they say.

Eventually, Neuvillette comes back rolling a small food trolley in front of him. On top are four silver pitchers and four goblets. Paimon sheepishly laughs, "Here we go."

You step forward - because it's clear to you Traveler and Paimon have no plans on taking initiative - and Neuvillette motions to the pitchers. 

"Each one is from a different nation. I hope that you'll find at least one of them to your tastes, Your Grace. I assure you they are all of high quality, although I have no doubt of it since they are a part of your creation, after all. Personally, I can't say I favor one over the other. I find each one particularly special in its own way, so I must apologize if I cannot give you a recommendation." 

You frown. You... made them? You don't remember something about creating a drink for each nation. Was this a recipe from your old life that only a dragon sovereign could remember? The Traveler clears their throat and mumbles something under their breath. You turn to them questioningly and you watch bemused as their mouth ticks up at the corners.

"It's water." The Traveler looks at everything in the room before their eyes land on you.

You blink. "Excuse me?"

"Haha.. It's just water... The drinks..." If Paimon was standing on solid ground, you think she would be bouncing on the balls of her feet, her arms behind her. When she meets your eyes, she lets out a sheepish laugh. "That's what Neuvillette means by they're from every nation. They're... spring water from different places."

You slowly look at the Traveler and Paimon in turn, hoping for a deeper explanation or for them to tell you they were pulling your leg, but both of them refuse to look you in the eye. Your mouth is opened to a permanent gasp of understanding as you turn back to the food trolley in front of you.

Oh...

"Is there something wrong, Your Grace?" You almost regret looking at Neuvillette. Although he doesn't usually show his emotions, it's almost like he can't help but show you how dejected he looks. To put it simply, it felt like you kicked an otter to the curb, sad puppy eyes and everything. You half expect it to start raining outside that instant. "I can arrange for the Melusine to make something else, if you'd like. I'm sure they'd be honored to -"

"NO! No. It's okay. It's fine, Neuvillette. Thank you for the offer, but it's fine." You shoot a frown at the duo, who have taken to plastering themselves on one of the many sofas in the room, intent on letting you handle the water situation. You breathe in and take a step forward, taking one of the goblets. "You said each one is special, right? I'm sure they'll taste... nice..."

You pointedly ignore the Traveler as they grumble once more (you pretend you didn't just hear Paimon say "no it won't"). You look at each of the pitchers and pretend to be thinking hard about your choice. It's kind of hard to make a choice now that you know they're all just water. Your only saving grace is you know where they came from.

"I think I'll start off with... Sumeru!" Neuvillette all but beams at your decision and picks up the selected pitcher. You're glad he did because you didn't know which was which. You pray to Nahida that you didn't make a bad choice (the God of Wisdom has yet to fail you since your descent and you hope that she has your back this time, too.) Holding out your goblet, you watch as Neuvillette fills the cup half way, almost hoping there's a telltale sign of a difference (or it's a different drink altogether).

It's just water.

"A wonderful choice, Your Grace. This particular water comes from Apam Woods of Sumeru. You'll find the taste to be rich and complex. Despite usually having to take the time to savor it to fully appreciate it, I'm sure Your Grace will have no problem distinguishing its special flavor, which is unlike any other."

Did he have to put the pressure on you like that? 

You laugh sheepishly as you fight to give Neuvillette your best thankful smile. Taking back the goblet, you stare at your drink, deciding your best bet was to examine it if you were going to "savor" it. Maybe it was a different color? No, it's still translucent in nature. Swirling it a few times, it doesn't appear to have a thicker viscosity as it sloshes around your cup. As for the smell it was- 

Wait. Huh?

"It's fragrant," you mumble. Only when you hear yourself clearly do you realize the room is silent. Looking up, you see Neuvillette staring at you, and behind you, even the Traveler and Paimon have taken an interest in your exchange. All eyes are trained on you, watching your reaction. You look back to Neuvillette as he lets out a hum.

"It's... fragrant? I must say, even I have never thought to discern its smell. For a moment, please," Neuvillette steps forward and takes a goblet for himself, pouring water from the same pitcher. He pulls the goblet up to his nose. "Hmm. As I thought. It seems I am unable to smell this fragrance you speak of. How interesting."

"Wait. If you can smell it..." You turn to Paimon as she looks at the Traveler. When they look at you, their eyes are expectant.

Surely, you can...?

Looking at Neuvillette, he gives you an encouraging nod. You raise the goblet to your lips and take a tentative sip. And then another. And then... another? You lower the goblet, and then turn to the Traveler.

"It tastes like flowers." You know you and the Traveler share the same incredulous look. You can just feel the disbelief and confusion pulling at your face. Looking at Paimon, she's just as confused, head in her little hands. "When I focus on it, it's floral. Kind of like... tea? Like herbal tea, just less strong. It could even be perfume."

"Marvelous," you look at Neuvillette, and it's clear to you he does not sense the growing bewilderment you and the other two are going through. He smiles at you softly, and you don't have the heart to tell him that water isn't supposed to have a flavor. "I don't seem to recall anyone else sharing my taste for water. But I must say - even I am unable to perfectly put a name or a description to the flavor I experience. It's almost always a feeling."

"WAIT! Waitwaitwaitwait! I wanna try, too!" Paimon rushes to your side and takes your goblet in her hands, ready to drink it. You hear Neuvillette clear his throat and turn to him as he fills the other two goblets with Sumeru water. Paimon lets go of your goblet and goes to take one for herself. You see the Traveller stand up and grab one too. "Is it different from the one we had before? Wait, but it's from the Apam Woods, too..."

The Traveler and Paimon take a big gulp at the same time, licking their lips and savoring the taste before eventually they click their tongues in unison.

"Nope." The Traveler laughs, almost amused and defeated at the same time.

"Nothing's different. It's the same water as last time!" Paimon stomps her little feet in the air. "Are you pulling Paimon's leg?"

"Of course not. However, I am curious. If it is fine with Your Grace, I would love to hear more about what you can taste," If you were honest, you didn't want any more of the spotlight on you - being the Creator, you've had enough of that. But Neuvillette seemed so happy in the moment you couldn't possibly refuse him. 

"Well, besides smelling and tasting like flowers," you take a sip, letting it roll on your tongue. "It also has this sort of herby aftertaste? But only when I focus on it. Kind of like basils? Or rosemary? I can't tell you for sure what kind, but it kind of tastes like that."

When you turn back to them, you're surprised to see Neuvillette looking at you in confusion. Did you say something wrong?

"He doesn't know what those are, dummy," The Traveler sighs. You watch as they take a metal shaker out from their inventory and start preparing a drink of their own. Paimon watches on, excited of drinking something that wasn't just water. "They don't have those here in Teyvat, remember?"

"Traveler, I implore you to watch your words. Was it necessary to call Your Grace as such?" Neuvillette frowns. 

The Traveler shrugs and you both share a secretive smile. "They prefer that over 'Your Grace', though."

Neuvillette turns to you with concern. "Is-is that true, Your Grace? Why would you prefer that name? I can't quite say I agree with that decision but- "

"It's fine, Neuvillette. I forgot you didn't know any of those herbs, so I'm sorry for that. Just know the water tastes like it has a bit of herbs or spice to it." You shake your head with a laugh, thinking of a way to change the subject. "Anyway, can I taste the other ones?"

Neuvillette almost visibly lights up at that and takes another of the pitchers, filling your emptied goblet with more water.

"This one is from Inazuma's Konda Village. For its mouthfeel, I find it quite placid." Neuvillette looks at you expectantly. You're reminded again of a puppy, or in his case, an otter. A very cute otter. As you put the goblet to your lips, you have half a mind to gift him a seashell.

You take a sip and almost immediately spit it out. In an instant, Neuvillette is by your side, throwing the goblet halfway across the room. Before you realize it, you're in his arms and he has half a mind to bolt out the room to get you to a healer until you stop him.

"WAIT! Wait, Neuvi, just calm down-" you descend into a coughing fit.

"Your Grace! What's wrong? Is it poison? Were you poisoned?! Oh no, Paimon can't look-" 

"That's preposterous. I prepared the drinks myself," he says that, but Neuvillette talks like he's suddenly doubting himself. 

"You sure you don't need to get healed?" the Traveler frowns in concern, turning your face this way and that, looking for signs of poisoning.

You shake your head again and swallow down another cough, clearing your throat. "No, no, I don't need a healer. I wasn't poisoned. I just wasn't expecting to suddenly take a shot of sparkling water." 

The Traveler blinks, there's a pause as it sinks in, and suddenly they stand up and head back to the food trolley. They pick up the shaker they unceremoniously left when everyone panicked and resumed making their drink.

"Traveler, are you gonna make medicine for the Creator?" Paimon floats around you in concern. 

"You guys can stop panicking. They're not gonna die," the Traveler sighs and looks at you with a face that can only be described as 'Are you for reals.' "I think they were just surprised with how the water tasted."

You motion for Neuvillette to let you down, which he does albeit very hesitantly. You merely laugh at the concern on his face and give him a pat on the back to reassure him that no, the Creator was not going to die on his watch just because of a bad drink of water. 

The Iudex frowns hard looking at the pitcher of Inazuman water. "You called it... sparkling water? Pardon me if I'm wrong, but am I to assume water from Inazuma has different visual properties? Does Your Grace see something we are unable to? And if so, does this difference have an effect on the taste?" 

You shake your head again for what seemed like the thousandth time, before you stop and think about it for a second. You head to the food trolley and pick up Paimon's empty cup. Pouring Inazuman water from the pitcher, you watch as normal looking water fills the goblet. The normal fizzle of bubbles you expect from a carbonated drink is not present, even as you swirl it around. 

Before Neuvillette can stop you, you take a sip of it again. You hear him stifle a gasp. His hand is on your shoulder, ready to bring you to Sigewinne at record speed if needed. But you weren't mistaken - it really does taste like sparkling water. Weird. You turn to Neuvillette and try to look as reassuring as possible.

"So, back from... where I came from, we have this drink called sparkling water. It's not that it was particularly, uh, sparkly, but it did have a lot of bubbles. The water from Inazuma here looks like regular water, but it does feel like sparkling water in your mouth," you explain slowly. The look of doubt doesn't leave Neuvillete's face. "It's also not deadly for us, just like how this water isn't. I mean, you like drinking it, right? That means it's fine for consumption." 

He visibly eases up at your words. He reluctantly lets go of your shoulder with a shaky exhale. You kinda feel bad for making him so worried. Eventually, you watch as he calms down from the panic earlier and suddenly he's back to his stoic self, unable to resist his interest in your water tasting experience.

"So this so-called sparkling water... what does it feel like? May you explain? I'm afraid I cannot quite imagine it." Neuvillette looks to be deep in thought and you laugh softly. He really was into water tasting. 

"Oh? Paimon thinks Mondstadt has something similar."

The Traveler pauses from taking a sip of their new drink - Boreal Watch, you remember it's called - before opening their inventory. They scroll through a list of ingredients before taking out a single bottle. The bubbling liquid is a familiar sight. "They call it Fizzy Water. I used it to make drinks at Angel's Share once. Feel free to drink this, Monsieur Neuvillette. Master Diluc gave it as a freebie."

Neuvillette takes the bottle with a nod of thanks. He examines the packaging for a moment, pops the bottle open and takes a swig. There's a pregnant pause before he turns his back to you, takes his goblet and spits out the drink into it out of your line of sight. The three of you don't have to look at each other to know the expression the others have; Paimon sounds like she's close to tears from holding in her laughter. 

When Neuvillette turns to you again, you give him a small smile, ready to comfort him, before he drops to his knee in front of you. You try to pull him up by his arms but he just holds on to your hands.

"Your Grace, please allow me to apologize for making you go through that."

"H-hey, I didn't mind you literally spitting it out, come on now, I basically did the same thing if not worse-"

"No. Not that, Your Grace. I also apologize for that, yes, but I refused to swallow that drink down no matter the cost." He's staring at you dead in the eyes and he looked so serious it was unnerving. "I'm apologizing for letting you drink the water from Inazuma. Had I known that is what you would experience, I would have skipped offering it to you as a refreshment." 

"Please stand up. Don't worry about it. It's not that big of a deal," you pull on his arms again and he doesn't resist, standing back up. "I told you it's a normal drink from where I'm from, right? I was just shocked because I wasn't expecting it."

"Do you mean..." Neuvillette visibly cringes, much to your amusement. "People from your old land... like? To drink it? How... eccentric."

"So do those from Mondstadt, Monsieur Neuvillette," you turn to the Traveler in disbelief that they'd say that right now, but all they give you back is a devious grin peeking from atop their cup as they take another sip. "Dawning Dew was a bestseller."

Paimon clears her throat as she collects herself. "It's kind of funny that Neuvillette can't feel the fizziness when he's drinking? He said that he can feel what he drinks, not taste it. Paimon wonders what's up with that."

"What's Konda Village water like for you, again?" you hum.

"If I had to put a word to it," Neuvillette thought about it for a second. "Placid."

"Placid? That's one way to describe something." Paimon shrugs. 

"Yes, that was how I would have described it," Neuvillette shoots a glare at the bottle of Fizzy Water and another concerned look at you. "After current events, I can't quite say the same."

Paimon was right, though. Placid was definitely a different way of describing things. Placid meant... calm? Or tranquil? You definitely didn't think that's how you'd describe Inazuma. Wait, Inazuma? And that feeling of sparkling water...

"Is it possible... You think it's 'placid'... because your mouth has gone numb?" you gape at Neuvillette.

He stares back at you blankly. The silence in the room is deafening. 

“Maybe… don’t drink that for a while. Not until you’re ready again,” you offer.

“Agreed.” Neuvillette nods stiffly. 

“Alright!” you clap your hands and turn back to the food trolley. “What’s next?” 

To your surprise, Neuvillette’s hand wraps around your wrist as you manage to grasp the next pitcher's handle. He looks just as surprised as you do that he’s holding on to you. 

“Neuvi…llette?” you blink at him.

“Forgive me, Your Grace,” he lets go like he was burned, but he doesn’t exactly move away. “But we can stop here if you so wish.” 

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean to say is,” Neuvillette coughs into his fist, thinking hard about his next words. “Although I wish to learn more about the different tastes Your Grace can experience, I must admit I am unable to guide you nor accompany you in your journey, per say. Should there be something wrong with the following water samples, I can only watch and listen like the others, but not help until much later.”

You nod slowly. 

“It means he’s concerned, dummy,” a voice calls out from behind you and you roll your eyes.

“Yeah, I kind of got that, thanks for the heads up,” you groan.

“If I am honest,” Neuvillette’s voice is soft, you’d even be confident to say it’s like he only wants you to hear. “I feel like a scientist watching my latest test subject. Fascinated, and yet should a problem arise, useless.”

“Hey, don’t say that,” you frown at him, but the expression easily slides off your face when he faces you (damn those sad otter eyes). Eventually, you offer him a soft smile. “If I really considered this as life threatening as you think, I would have stopped after the first pitcher. But I’m genuinely having fun, alright? So don’t worry too much about it.”

He doesn’t look quite convinced. You have been telling him to calm down a lot this entire time. When he opens his mouth to dissuade you, you beat him to it.

“I should thank you, you know.”

“Excuse me?” Neuvillette gapes at you. “I almost rushed you to a healer just a moment ago, Your Grace. I have done nothing to earn your gratitude.”

“That’s the thing, though, thank you for taking care of me this entire time, Neuvillette. You’ve been looking out for me every time we’re together, so thank you,” without thinking it over, you close the distance between you two and hug him. When you pull away, he’s intent on not looking you in the eye. “Thank you also for introducing me to water tasting. Never thought the day would come but here we are. It really is quite fun.”

“I see…” Neuvillette says, before abruptly turning around, giving you a clear view of his reddened ears. “Pardon me for a moment, Your Grace. I just… need to recollect for a moment.” 

Before you can say anything else, he leaves your side and goes to get your goblet he threw earlier in a panic. He kneels down and picks it up, but instead of heading back towards you, he just sort of holds it, turning it around in his hand mindlessly. You watch, jaw slightly open, until you feel a presence behind you. 

“I think you broke him.” 

You turn to the Traveler with concern. “Yeah I think so, too, should I be worried?” 

You both turn to Neuvillette, seeing he’s still busy with his goblet, before looking back to each other.

“I bet 500 mora he’ll go back to normal if you make yourself another drink.” 

“It’s not really a bet if we agree on the same thing, though?” 

You clear your throat, hoping to catch Neuvillette’s attention as you turn to Paimon. “Paimon, mind if I borrow your cup for now? We can share if you need it.”

“No, that’s okay. Paimon’s had enough of water. Paimon will share with the Traveler!” Almost on cue, the Traveler offers their drink to Paimon. 

The moment you lift the next pitcher, Neuvillette is by your side in an instant, your goblet and his safely set aside for washing later. “May I do the honors, Your Grace?” 

You offer your goblet as he holds up the pitcher. He pauses.

“Promise me we’ll stop if things get… awry.”

You smile. “You said it yourself, right? This is water prepared by the Iudex himself and made by the Creator themselves. I don’t doubt for a second that it’s not safe.” 

Neuvillette shares your smile softly before pouring the water into your goblet. Third time’s the charm, right? You take a sip and… raise an eyebrow.

“It’s salty. Huh.” you take another sip. “Sort of metallic, too. That’s pretty close to the same thing but, yeah, I’d say it’s rather salty.”

“Salty? That’s quite strange.” Neuvillette double checks that he’s holding the right pitcher. “This water is from Liyue, particularly from Qingce Village. I know of the water from Liyue to have an enduring aftertaste, but I must say I was not expecting it to be salty.”

“Me, too; for Liyue I was kind of expecting it to have an earthy kind of taste. Whatever that tastes like, I don’t know, but I was ready for anything besides this,” you take another sip. “Can’t say it’s all that bad, though. I feel like I’m at a beach.”

“Only if you’re actively drinking the sea water.” 

You don’t even bother looking behind you. “I said it ‘felt’ like. I didn’t say ‘taste’ like. Get your facts straight.”

Looking up at Neuvillette, you realize he’s only watching your reactions. He smiles softly when he finds your attention on him. Not wanting to be the only one “enjoying” the drink, you offer your goblet to him. He looks at you, slightly alarmed, but when you make no move to take the goblet back, he reluctantly takes it. He turns away from you as he drinks. 

You hear the Traveler clear their throat behind you. When you go to look, their eyebrows are raised at you. They look to Neuvillette and then to you before scoffing. Oh… was it that intimate an action?

“A-anyway,” you clear your throat as Neuvillette hands the goblet back to you. There’s a small pleased smile on his face. “What do you think of when you drink water from Liyue?” 

“For me,” Neuvillette closes his eyes for a few seconds, careful of what to say next. “I always thought it had a poignant touch to it.”

“Poignant?” What did you think of when you thought of poignant? Swirling the water around your cup, you recall a story quest. Liyue, salt, and water are key factors in its plot. A sad smile overtakes your features. “Ah. Yes, I guess poignant would be a good word for that. Salty is the right word, too.”

Neuvillette tilts his head to the side at your sudden change in demeanor. “Your Grace?”

“It’s nothing. Just thought I’d visit an old friend sometime.” you tilt your head back as you down the rest of the cup. “Anyways, I think I need something else to wash that off.” 

“Ah, yes. I suppose that does come with consuming salty foods.” Neuvillette nods. “Would you like a different drink? Something aside from water, I mean.”

“Actually, water is good for washing off salt, so I thought I’d ask for more water.”

He holds up the last silver pitcher. “We have Mondstadt left, if you would like to give it a try right now.”

“How would you describe it?” you ask, but you’re already holding out your goblet.

“This particular batch is from Cider Lake.” Neuvillette fills your goblet a little more than usual, most likely to fully cleanse the salt from your palate. “Besides having a crisp and clear feel, I also find that it warms the heart.”

“Oh, wow, guess Venti’s got it nice going for him,” you lift the goblet to your lips and drink.

“I’d be bold enough to say it’s the only thing nice going for him.”

You almost spit out your drink for the second time this day. You turn to look at the Traveler, but they’re busy having a debate with Paimon. That means that the person who said that was-

Neuvillette takes the goblet from your hands and drinks. When you look at him, jaw hanging open still from disbelief, you watch as the corners of his mouth tick up.

“Are you allowed to say that?” you whisper. The Traveler and Paimon don’t seem to have heard, but you sure as hell did.

“I just did, did I not?” He offers a small smile that borders on innocent if it wasn’t so conspiratorial. “I have faith that the Creator will not spread rumors about me, I hope.”

You don’t know if you’d still call it a rumor when he so blatantly did it in front of you, but you end up laughing. You put both hands up as a show of surrender. No way in hell were you telling on the dragon sovereign of Fontaine.

“So, as for our final drink,” Neuvillette offers the goblet back. “What do you make of water from Mondstadt?”

You make a show of finishing the cup all in one go. “Out of all the ones we tasted, I think this has got to be my favorite so far.” 

“Oh? Is it that good?” Neuvillette watches you keenly, awaiting for more details. 

“Yep. It tastes like water.”

Neuvillette chuckles softly, but when you simply offer him a smile, his smile drops. “You… are not joking?”

“Nah. It’s exactly as you say - it’s crisp and clean. It’s how water tasted like back from my world,” you hum in delight. “It doesn’t remind me of anything else but the pure taste of water. Can’t put my finger on whether it’s distilled, mineral, or tap water, all I know is that it’s water for me.” 

“Hmm. Although I want to say it’s rather an anticlimactic ending, I can’t say so. I leave today with the knowledge that there is still a water sample we can similarly taste.” Neuvillette smiles to himself once more. “But that’s enough of that. I believe I’ve put you through enough for today, Your Grace. Thank you for entertaining me and my hobbies.”

“I had fun! Make sure to call me next time you get a new sample, I’d love to have a taste.” You beam at him.

Neuvillette stares at you for a moment - was he waiting for you to tell him it was just a joke? Sure seemed like it - before his smile was back, relieved. You can almost see his little otter tail waving around. “Of course. I already look forward to it.” 

“Are you done now?” 

You take a step back as Paimon suddenly steps into the middle. Her little frown does little to make you feel bad. If anything, it has the opposite effect and you laugh. Her frown deepens at you as you rub her little head. 

“Yeah, yeah, we’re done. We can get a meal now.”

“Woohoo! We're getting meals, plural. Where are we going to eat? Paimon wants some Fontainian Foie Gras!” you follow the fairy as she heads out the door, excited for the prospect of food. And then you pause as you remember.

“Ah, wait. Before we leave. Just one more thing.”

You head back to the food trolley and grab Paimon’s goblet. You make a beeline for a corner in Neuvillette’s office. You noticed earlier there was a small drinking fountain. Gathering enough water into your cup, you take a sip. You turn to Neuvillette.

“Oh my gosh, it’s sweet.”

＝＝✿＝＝｜✧••❀••✧｜＝＝✿＝＝ 

❀BONUS❀

The Traveler and Paimon share an exasperated sigh for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past week. Ever since the water tasting incident, the Creator and Neuvillette have taken to going around Teyvat, trying out different waters straight from the spring of each nation. 

"Why do we have to visit each nation? Paimon thought you could just have them delivered straight to your office!" Paimon leans on the Traveler's head, tired from floating around so much. 

"Appreciating the nation from which the drink came from is part of the experience, Paimon." Neuvillette swirls the water in his goblet, offering it to the floating fairy, who only takes a look at it before cringing away.

The Traveler and Paimon share another look. They know he just likes the opportunity to bond with the Creator over their appreciation of water.

"Are we going back home after this?" Paimon groans.

"I can make you some Sticky Honey Roast if you guide us to Snezhnaya?" You take another sip from your goblet, one made from pure magical ore.

("Your Grace deserves only the finest things, even if it's only dinnerware and the likes," said Neuvillette. "I may also add that a traveling merchant said that drinking from a crystal goblet highlights the taste of the refreshment, as it is free from the taste of metal usually found in a standard cup." You don't mention that you notice he has a matching goblet, right next to a pile of books on his desk. Embedded on it is a familiar seashell.)

In an instant, Paimon is by your side, eyes glittering with determination. "If you cook three Sticky Honey Roasts for Paimon, Paimon can take you to Kh'aenriah."

You lower your goblet and hold out a hand. "Two. And I'll throw in a Squirrel Fish if you find a lake where we can drink from."

"Deal." Paimon takes your hand and you shake on it.

The Traveller flops to the ground and sighs.

They knew they were going to be the one to look for that lake.

✨ Masterlist ✨

Taglist: 💛@wonpielle 💜@shikanosn

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine and belong to their respective creators. Their portrayal is merely my own interpretation of them and may not be accurate to their intended characterization. I stake no claim to the original works, only to the ideas and plot of the fictitious stories I’ve written them into.

[heliosdream]

Ice and Wine

Kaeya x reader

Hey wanted to real quick drop some warnings here cause this is smut

Public sex (in Diluc tavern), Edging, Eating out, over stimulation, pet names (He calls reader little snowflake 4 or 5 times as well as good girl and bad girl), light face humping, slapping(once), biting.

Reader is referred as female and works for Diluc.

Please do enjoy and let me know if you think it’s good or what I could improve on.

“You taste like the sweetest of wines.”

Kaeya’s voice rang out from between your thighs. Legs hoisted up on his shoulders, thighs spread for his eyes to feast upon. He had you, laying on top of the bar, back arch, crying his name over and over. Slow kisses from your wet core to your inner thigh. A tease he was, ever so softly nipping at the skin of your inner thigh.

“I’m looking forward to this, my dearest little snowflake.” A chuckle coming from his lips as he kisses back down towards your aching core. His lips kissing your puffy ones before spreading your pretty cunnie for his tongue, he wraps it around your clit pulling it. Your hips buck, head thrown back and your hands find themselves in his hair; pulling out the stupid hair tie and throwing it on the floor.

“Such a reaction my little snowflake” He says with a chuckle as he lifts his head up. Light blue eyes watching you in sick satisfaction.

“Can’t handle a little teasing? My poor girl… you can handle one more orgasm…” a needy cry on your lips as you buck your hips again, his hands quickly grabbing your sides stopping you.

“Bad girl, what a very bad girl you are. You better tell me, or you wouldn’t want your Boss walking in here, find you and see you dripping wet on his bar top would you.” Another sharp whine and a muffle of no finally came from your lips. Kaeya gives your thigh a soft little slap and gets himself back to your wet cunt. His tongue back into your weeping hole, one hand still on your hip and the other at your pussy. Long dexterous fingers start to play with you, two at first, spreading them, scissoring them making you clinch around them. He was leading you towards your 14th orgasm for the night… and you were close… oh so close.

“That’s its, come for me, pretty snowflake. Let me taste you on my face.” *His tongue and fingers switch spots, fingers playing with your clit, teasing, twisting, and rubbing. His tongue going as deep as he could while, he has you rock your hips fucking yourself on his tongue and face. You couldn’t take it any longer, a moan leaves your lips as you come hard on his face. Kaeya pushes you up onto the bar where you could sit and catch your breath, your eyes trained on him as he licks his lips tasting your release, a soft groan following after it.

“You never disappoint Little Snowflake, truly tasting like the sweetest of wines. It’s almost tempting to go for one more taste.” You shake your head, already exhausted from your day at work and then this on top of everything.

“Ah ah ah, don’t you worry I would never do more then what you are able to do.” He grabs your waist and pulls you down for a soft kiss.

“Let’s get you home”

…

Diluc walks into the tavern, he was only going to be there for a moment, mostly grabbing some paperwork to take back with him to Dawn winery when he spots… water… or something like that on his bar. His eyes narrow in annoyance as he silently curses Kaeya out in his head, knowing well what he did was crossing the line.

[thomine]

truthful rumours

cyno / reader, 1.3k words

shouldn’t the rumour be dead after frequently hounding others that it was fake? he’s not wrong, but things are… complicated.

general audiences, secret relationships, repost.

notes: work tag :: beta'ed by the lovely @/andromeda-nova-writing when this was posted, lol.

“I love you.”

The man can’t look at you. His hands bolster a bouquet of roses and padisarahs to shield his face. Instead of aiding his claim, it steals your attention. To have the flowers pruned and arranged probably cost more than the average spent by a customer in Puspa Cafe.

It takes a minute of silence for you to remember you haven’t given him a reply.

“I’m sorry,” you begin, pushing the bouquet away. You want to address him but can’t recall his name. It has only been a month since he arrived, and he’s barely even conversed with you. “I appreciate the effort, but… I can’t return your feelings.”

He’s jumpy, frantic, and you almost feel apologetic as he freaks out. Something behind you catches his eye, hardening his gaze. The anxious boy you saw flies out the window. Before you can turn to confirm what it is, his question throws you off.

“Is it because the rumours are true?”

You scrunch your eyebrows in perturbation. You’re just an ordinary employee of Puspa Cafe. It doesn’t sit right with you that you’ll be involved in rumours. Hardly anyone remembers your name unless they’re filing a complaint. But, there is someone whom you’ve grown close to that constantly has murmurs and secrets attached to his name.

You give him a quizzical look. “What rumour?”

“The rumour that you’re dating the general mahamantra.”

Shouldn’t the rumour be dead after frequently hounding others that it was fake? He’s not wrong, but things are… complicated. 

“Putting your feelings aside, what makes you think that?” You didn’t mean to sound accusatory, but he pulls himself back as if you’re some desert scorpion ready to sting.

“Well, he walks you home when you end your shift…” he mutters, looking down. It’s the third time someone raises your walks home with Cyno to start prying into your love life.

“Okay, but we live near each other and there have been reports of increased criminal activities. I don’t think anything about it is inherently romantic,” you chide, hands on your hips. You wonder if whatever caught his eye before is still there, listening to the conversation.

“Then let me walk you home, since there’s nothing inherently romantic about—”

“Wait a minute,” and you place both hands in front of you to create distance. “I think you should think before you speak. Just a minute ago, you confessed you had romantic feelings for me and I rejected you.”

He nods, blankly staring at you. Your point completely misses him if not (or at least you hoped) it would slap him across the face. 

“Aren’t you a storyteller?” you jeer, “If you harbour romantic feelings and walk home with that person then it’s obviously romantic? I’ve already rejected you, so anything romantic involving both of us would make me… how do I put this… I’ll be uncomfortable.”

“But how can you be so certain that the general mahamantra doesn’t possess romantic feelings for you?” His eyes glint with mischief.

You blink, taken aback at the conversation’s progression. Usually people drop the topic once you’ve explained, as nonchalantly as you can, that every act is proof of your close bonds with him and shouldn’t be understood otherwise.

It is expected that he’ll push you to a corner though, you did provoke him. Luckily, you’re prepared. Perhaps a little too well, many nights spent pondering.

It’s hard to pin if your hesitation is due to your faith in your answer—10 reasons why anyone can be certain Cyno doesn’t like you romantically. It’s an arsenal you don’t want to use. Saying it out loud feels like admitting that maybe, even if it’s slim, Cyno probably doesn’t like you as much as you believed.

There are pockets of truth in your lies at the end of the day. Like how the routine of walking home together is for your safety, and how your house is a road away from his so it won’t inconvenience him unlike the new employee.

You hear your name being called. What perfect timing; you guess Cyno has been listening all along.

“Am I interrupting something?” he says with crossed arms, his menacing aura clashing with the pride of the new employee. There seems to be a second conversation in the way their gazes fight.

The new employee hides the flowers behind his back after lowering his head. “I suppose it is late,” the new employee says. “As much as I’d like a reply, whatever suits your boat. I just… hope you’ll give me a chance if the rumours are false.”

Cyno grunts. His slightly scrunched face indicates he has a comment, but he remains quiet. When his rival leaves, he looks at you, eyes unwavering.

“Ready to head home?” He asks.

The answer to the new employee’s question is at the tip of your tongue. You push it aside to reply, but it leaves a bitter taste. 

“Yeah. Sorry if you had to wait.”

“Not a problem.” 

The cafe has been void of customers since 30 minutes ago. It’s a different situation when you step out behind Cyno. Eyes watch both of you as you maintain distance no matter how much you want to grab his hand.

You’ve escaped an interrogation, which is enough questioning for a tiring day. Anyways, you have the answer you’ve swept aside to entertain.

After all, how long has it been since Cyno did something you couldn’t explain through the views of friendship?

“I love you.”

Even in the dimness of the night, you can’t deny the weight of Cyno’s gaze on you. True enough, you meet with his red eyes. They glimmer under the banners of moonlight slipping through the dense canopy. It’s the gentlest stare you’ve come across, a refuge compared to a citizen’s look whenever you’re out with Cyno.

It takes a minute of silence for you to remember you haven’t said it back. However, they’re stuck in your throat, fighting for space with laughter that wants to burst from your chest.

“I refuse to believe you like me that way,” you tease instead, a giddy smile plastered on your face as you titter. The prior event flashes in your mind like a film, and the current irony amuses you. “I mean, shouldn’t you be freaking out after telling me how you feel?”

He doesn’t seem offended. It can be hard to tell without noticing the subtle changes in his expressions, but he replies calmly.

“This isn’t some badly written romantic comedy so, no, I shouldn’t and wouldn’t be freaking out. We’re not children anymore.”

You giggle, not wanting to guffaw and attract unwanted attention, ending this pleasant moment.

“I mean it when I say I love you,” Cyno whispers, taking your hand. You gasp at the sudden contact, but the shock dies when you remember only the trees and critters are your audience. “I don’t know how you would reply to his question, but I didn’t want to hear it.”

You interlace your fingers with his. “I didn’t want to say it either. Sometimes, I’m too convincing.”

He bends to pluck a sweet flower before passing it to you, “I’m sorry I can’t say it more or do more to show it.”

You take a whiff of its scent and want to tuck it behind his ear—

There’s rustling of the bushes. You drop the flower. It crunches as Cyno swiftly adjusts his grip on your hand. He spawns his spear while you prepare a series of explanations for your close proximity with him if anyone inquires. From holding your hand in preparation to run to preventing you from fleeing too far from him in fright.  

After a beat of silence, he keeps his spear. The sparks in the atmosphere from elemental usage dissipates. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

“Cyno,” you say as you tug his hand. Although there were plenty of anxieties built up over years—after falsifying every action to the point you almost believed the hole you dug was your grave—his words are a wave of reassurance, and even if brief, it’s all you really need. “It’s okay, I understand.”

You lean in and kiss him on the cheeks in the cover of the night. The warmth on your lips tells you enough.

“Just promise me that you’ll be safe,” you add.

“I will be.” He lets out a tiny breath. “But you—”

You gingerly press your index finger against his lips.

“I’ve lied to others for years now. Although, yes, at times I fall prey to my own words, but you’re always there when I need you, right? Like now. You don’t have to worry.”

It’s sad to hide, but what else can be done when falling in love with someone who has a dangerous vocation? Even if it breaks your heart that every moment together means proportionally long hours spent rationalising and seeing everything as an act of friends in case anyone asks; even if it means years of silent stares and glimpse of affection; you think it’s worth if he doesn’t have to worry that his enemies will go after you.

After all, don’t you love him?

author's note: another repost from an old blog! i didn't read through it at all. um. i remember this so i guess it wasn't too bad! i can afford not to look it over... right...

[fanfictwins]

SAGAU Mondstadt - Holiday Special 2023

Summary: “When you told the Spark Knight about holidays from your home world, you never expected it to turn into such a big deal. But who are you to argue with having a holly, jolly time?”

Word Count: ~9.8k

“Master Jean! Master Jean!”

The door to the Grand Master’s office was shoved open, almost slamming into the wall, as the Spark Knight burst into the room, excitement radiating off of her form like heat off of flames. She came to a stop in the middle of the office, almost toppling over from the weight of her backpack.

“Can we please have a “Christmas” festival? Pretty please?”

“Klee…!” Jean looked up from her desk, her eyes widened. “You shouldn’t be-”

Her words were cut off at the sight of you appearing in the doorway to the office, your demeanor a lot more calm than Klee’s. You entered the room, an apologetic smile displayed on your lips.

“Oh, Your Grace!”

“Sorry for the intrusion, Jean.” You looked at the Acting Grand Master for only a moment before you shifted your attention down at Klee. “Hey, I know you’re excited, but you shouldn’t just barge into Jean’s office without knocking first, Klee. Remember what I told you about good behavior?”

“Oops. That’s right… sorry, Master Jean.” Klee looked down at her feet for a moment, before a smile returned to her face as she looked up at Jean. “Klee’s just super excited about Christmas!”

Jean furrowed her eyebrows, confusion appearing in her frown. “Christ… mas?”

“Mmm-hmm!” Klee nodded her head. “It’s something Their Grace just told Klee about!”

Your smile shifted into something more sheepish when Jean looked towards you again. “I was just talking to Klee about some… winter festivities from where I’m from, and she seems to have gotten a bit excited about Christmas, in particular. I honestly should’ve expected this, heh…”

“It sounds really, really fun!” Klee began bouncing on the balls of her feet. “There’s a big tree, and lots of presents under it, and this old man named Shanty Cloths who likes eating cookies!”

“His name is Santa Claus, Klee.” You stifled a chuckle at the excitement on Klee’s face, before looking over at Jean again. “But, yeah, she wants to experience the magical joys of it herself.”

The Spark Knight took a step closer to the desk, looking up at Jean with hopeful eyes.

“Oh, can we please have a Christmas festival, Master Jean? It’ll be so amazing, and fun!”

Jean blinked a few times, an unsure frown on her face, before she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Klee, but we can’t just put on a whole new festival that we know nothing about, especially with such short notice. It’d likely be a complete disaster, and I’ve already got a lot on my plate as is.”

The smile on Klee’s face slowly vanished, her form appearing to deflate. “Oh…”

You looked between the Spark Knight and the Acting Grand Master, your own smile fading as you focused on Klee — her crushed enthusiasm didn’t sit well with you — before you spoke.

“...you know, it’s not impossible. You can still experience Christmas, Klee.”

Jean looked at you with confusion. “Your Grace…?”

“Can Klee really?” The Spark Knight perked up as she turned towards you, her eyes widening with hope again. “It sounds so fun! And I want all of my friends to experience Christmas too!”

“Your Grace, I don’t mean to doubt you, but…”

Jean placed a hand on her chest, looking at you with worry in her gaze.

“It really would be near-impossible to put on a festival like this.”

“It’s okay.” You chuckled, and shrugged your shoulders. “Christmas is actually just a one-day holiday. Sure, there’s usually a build-up of festive energy a few weeks before it, but it doesn’t actually last more than a single day. While Klee keeps calling it a festival, it’s not really one.”

“Oh…?”

“So, Klee, do you think this would work for you?” You looked down at the Spark Knight, a smile on your lips. “We take part in a few traditional Christmas activities together over the next couple of weeks, and then finish it all off with a big ol’ Christmas party at the end. What do you think?”

“Yay! That sounds perfect!” Klee smiled brightly. “Klee can’t wait! There’s so much to do!”

You turned your attention over towards Jean. “Would that be okay, Jean?”

“That… should be fine, yes.”

“Great!” You clapped your hands together as you looked at Klee. “Then let’s get started!”

- - - - -

There were crayons littering the table as Klee readied herself, the young girl in red practically vibrating with excitement where she sat, and she held a crayon tightly in one hand with a piece of paper laying in front of her. She looked up at you, her eyes wide and sparkling with pure joy.

“Okay, first things first… I suppose we need to actually figure out what to do.” You looked down at Klee with a smile. “And who to include. As fun as it would be to have the entire city celebrate Christmas this time, it’s not very realistic, so… we’ll need to figure out a smaller list of people.”

“Oh! All of Klee’s friends have to experience Christmas!” Klee began to draw, switching crayons when in need of a different color.  “Like Big Brother Albedo, and Master Jean, and Kaeya, and-”

Klee continued to list people as she drew on the paper, before she lifted it up to show it to you.

“Is this okay, Your Grace?”

It was a cluttered drawing, filled with Klee’s artistic interpretations of people you knew well: the playable characters of Mondstadt — your “vessels”, as they often described themselves to be.

You nodded. “That seems good. Those are the people that I’m also closest to in Mondstadt.”

Klee set the drawing aside, before she grabbed another piece of paper and one of the crayons closest to her on the table. She tilted her head to continue looking up at you with a bright smile.

“Okay, but… what do people do for Christmas, Your Grace?”

“People do a lot of things. There’s no one right way to celebrate Christmas, Klee.” You grabbed a piece of paper and a crayon for yourself. “I’m pretty sure that you’re already familiar with some winter activities that align with Christmas, such as playing in the snow and making sweets, eh?”

Klee nodded and turned her attention to her paper, beginning to draw some winter scenes.

You twirled the crayon in your fingers a bit, before you chuckled. “And, since you’re helping to bring the joy of Christmas to everyone, I suppose that would make you Santa’s Helper, Klee.”

“Santa’s… Helper?” Klee blinked, curiosity flooding her widened eyes. “What’s that?”

“Well… it’s a person who helps Santa Claus spread Christmas cheer. Santa’s only one person, and he has the big job of delivering gifts to all the good children of the world, so he relies on his helpers to make sure that everyone is having fun during the weeks leading up to the big day. As this is the first time Christmas is being celebrated in Teyvat, Santa’ll appreciate all of your help.”

Klee let a wide smile appear on her face. “Whoa! So Klee gets to help Santa?”

“Yeah! And I just know you’ll do a great job, Klee!”

“Oh! And Dodoco too, right? She can also be Santa’s Helper?”

“Of course! The more, the merrier!”

“Yay!”

The Spark Knight clapped her hands in delight before she continued drawing, and you found yourself glancing at her pointed ears, your smile softening, before you started to draw as well.

Ah.

How fitting.

- - - - -

It felt crowded, having so many people in one area.

The playable members of the Knights of Favonius — from the Acting Grand Master to the Knights’ maid — lined up before you inside of the Knights’ headquarters; most had a look of curiosity or confusion on their face, and some even had concern painting their facial features.

But Klee was bouncing on the balls of her feet, standing next to you with a big smile on her face.

“Oh, Klee?” Albedo looked at the Spark Knight as he noticed her behavior, the curiosity in his eyes growing just slightly as he did. “You seem to be in rather high spirits about something…”

Klee nodded. “Uh-huh! ‘Cause it’s time for “Secret Santa”!”

The concern present in the audience was fully replaced with confusion and curiosity.

“...”Secret… Santa”?”

“Yeah! It’s gonna be part one for celebrating Christmas!”

Noelle put a finger to her chin. “Oh? I’ve never heard of “Christmas” before…”

“If it’s something to celebrate-” Amber looked up at Eula. “-then it’s gotta be a holiday, right?”

Eula nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yes, it must be some kind of festivity.”

“So…” Mika placed a hand on his chest in relief. “...it’s not an emergency? Thank goodness…”

Lisa let out a hum as she looked over to Jean, who had a lack of surprise on her face unlike almost everyone else present. The librarian let her lips turn up into a subtle smile. “Well, you seem to have an idea of what Klee’s talking about, Jean. Mind enlightening the rest of us?”

Jean looked from the Knights towards Klee, and then looked at you. She looked a little stressed out — which was, unfortunately, normal — so you decided to explain the situation in her stead.

“Amber, Eula, you’re both right!” You smiled as you looked over all the Knights. “Christmas is a holiday from another world. I told Klee about it, she wanted to celebrate it, and so here we are!”

“A holiday from another world…” Kaeya had a look of interest in his eye. “How intriguing.”

Amber raised her hand, bringing attention to herself as you looked at her. “What’s it like, Your Grace? It’s probably different from any of the holidays that we have here in Mondstadt, isn’t it?”

“Eh…” You thought for a moment, putting a finger up to your chin. “...Christmas is mainly just a time to gather with loved ones to give gifts, eat good food, and… well, just spend time with one another. That’s the simplest way I can explain it, at least; does that make sense to everybody?”

Lisa chuckled, the smile on her lips softening. “Sounds like it shares quite a few similarities with some festivities we have. I think everyone here gets the picture that you set up, Your Grace.”

“Good! So, as Klee said earlier, she wanted to do something called “Secret Santa” with you guys.” You looked over the group of Knights, taking in all of their faces. “It’s an activity some workplaces do around Christmas, so having the Knights — well, the Knights that’re vessels — participate in this particular one seemed pretty obvious, especially when I told Klee about it.”

“What kind of activity is it, Your Grace?” Jean still looked a bit frazzled. “As much as I’d like to help Klee and you celebrate Christmas, having so many Knights occupied at once would be…”

“Don’t worry, Jean.” You sent a smile to her, hoping to reassure her worries and sooth her stress even a little. “This activity won’t take long. Basically, everyone participating will have to pull out a name from a hat — all the names of the participants will be written on slips of paper — and have to get them a present before the Christmas party that’ll take place in a couple of weeks. Oh, and you can’t tell anyone else the name that you pulled. That’s the “Secret” part of “Secret Santa”.”

“We…” Mika averted his gaze nervously. “...need to get a present for someone else?”

Sucrose fiddled with her fingers. “Based on a random drawing…?”

Amber smiled, her hands clenched in front of her. “Oh, that sounds like it could be fun!”

“Yes, but it could also be quite a difficult task-” Eula glanced around at the other Knights before looking at Amber. “-if you happen to draw someone that you’re not that well-acquainted with.”

“Well… I know that I just said you can’t tell anyone else who you pulled, but since I won’t be participating in the actual activity, you can come and ask me for gift ideas if you struggle with coming up with your own. I’ll be able to keep the secret.” You scanned the Knights with your eyes, a smile still on your lips. “So… is everybody in? You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to, but the more people that do, the more fun it’ll be. Just don’t feel pressured to, okay?”

The Knights glanced around at each other briefly before looking at you and Klee again.

Albedo nodded. “Very well. I see no reason not to, especially if Klee wants us to participate.”

Sucrose glanced at Albedo, before giving a short nod towards you as well. “O-Okay…”

“You can count on Eula and me to join too!” Amber smiled at Eula, the Spindrift Knight giving a slight nod, before she looked at you again. “It sounds like a lot of fun, so we couldn’t miss out!”

Lisa hummed. “...I have no objections either. This doesn’t seem like it’ll be too much work…”

Noelle straightened her posture when your gaze traveled over to her, her hands folded politely in front of her. “If that’s what you desire, then I’ll join as well. It… does sound like fun, I admit.”

“A-Ah…” Mika still looked a bit nervous as he nodded. “Alright, I can do it. I’ll try my best…”

“I suppose that if everyone else is joining, it’d be a downer if I didn’t.” Kaeya had a smile on his lips, a glimmer of amusement in his eye. “So you can include me as a participant, Your Grace.”

Jean let out a sigh. “...okay, I’m in too.”

“Yay!” Klee clapped in delight, smiling brightly. “All of Klee’s friends are joining!”

It took no time at all for the slips of paper bearing all of the Knights’ names to be created, all of which were then dumped into Klee’s hat, the Spark Knight having offered it to you happily. You tossed it like a salad for a few seconds, mixing them together, before handing it back to Klee.

“Alright, everyone. Make sure to choose one slip of paper, and keep the name a secret.”

The sight of Klee going around to each of the Knights, each one reaching a hand into her hat and grabbing a slip of paper, was heartwarming, in a way; the young girl in red was giggling as she received smile after smile from the Knights when she offered her hat to them, and the air in the room felt lighthearted as everyone received their targets for the activity. Some of the Knights were quite good at keeping who they got a secret — looking straight ahead with poker faces or a casual smile — while you noticed some of the others glancing around, likely at their targets.

“Everyone has a slip?” You saw everyone nod in response to you, a piece of paper in one of their hands that they put away safely. “Good. Then you’ve all got until the party to get a gift for whoever you pulled, and don’t be afraid to ask me for help if you need it. You’re all dismissed!”

Your attention was pulled away from Klee putting her hat back on by two figures you noticed approaching in your peripheral vision, and you looked up to see they were Mika and Sucrose.

“...need help, you two?”

Mika and Sucrose looked at each other for a moment before focusing on you.

“Yes, please, if you will.” Sucrose adjusted her glasses as she averted her eyes from you, her ears twitching a bit. “I’m afraid that I’m… not quite sure what to get for who I pulled, s-so…”

“Neither am I.” Mika rubbed the back of his head, also averting his gaze from you. “I’ve never really interacted too much with the person I pulled, and I’m afraid I might make a bad choice…”

“It’s okay.” You smiled and glanced between the both of them. “We’ve got plenty of time before the party, and I’ll make sure to help the both of you pick out good gifts for your respective pulls.”

Sucrose let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks so much, Your Grace. I’m sorry if this is a bother…”

“Yes, thank you very much.” Mika smiled slightly. “I hope that I’m not being a bother, either…”

You let out a chuckle, placing your hands on your hips. “Don’t worry, you two will never be a bother to me, and I offered to help with picking out gifts for a reason. It’s what I’m here for.”

The sensation of someone tugging on your sleeve caught your attention, and you looked down to see Klee looking up at you. You smiled at her before you looked at Mika and Sucrose again.

“I’ll meet up with you guys later to pick out gifts, okay? Just try and give it some thought by yourselves first, and then I’ll go over it individually with each of you in a few days’ time, okay?”

Mika and Sucrose nodded, looking a little relieved, as you let Klee drag you to the next activity.

- - - - -

“J-Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle… all the… way…?”

“It’s okay, Barbara. There’s no need to get so stressed.”

You were both amused yet concerned as you watched Barbara try to memorize the Christmas carols you told her about; you could see how tense her shoulders were, and could hear how her voice shook ever so slightly as she gave the carols a go, the melody enchanting yet unsteady.

“Your singing’s the best, Miss Barbara!” Klee sent a bright smile up towards the shining idol of Mondstadt, her eyes sparkling. “The Christmas carols sound so pretty when you sing them!”

“Ah, do they…? I feel like I’m singing them all wrong…”

“Don’t worry, you only just learned them.” You smiled at Barbara, trying to reassure her, even just a bit. “And caroling is going to be a group activity. You won’t have to sing them alone, ‘kay?”

Barbara blinked a few times, her eyes widened with surprise. “Huh?”

“Yeah! Like me, for example. I’ll be singing with you!”

“...h-huh?!”

That somehow seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as evidenced by how Barbara clasped her hands together, the nervous aura around her only growing instead of lessening. Her form began to tremble a bit where she stood, your smile faltering as her breathing began to quicken as well.

Klee tugged on the deaconess’s frock. “It’ll be okay, Miss Barbara! Klee will be singing too!”

Barbara snapped out of it as she looked down at Klee. “Oh, you’ll be singing as well?”

“Mmm-hmm!” Klee nodded, letting go of Barbara’s frock and instead placing her hands on her hips. “And all of our friends are going to too! So you don’t have to be scared, Miss Barbara!”

“...you make it seem so easy.” Barbara’s eyes flickered towards you for a second, before she closed her eyes and let out a breath. “I can’t help but feel nervous, but I’ll try to get it together.”

Klee giggled before turning towards you. “How many Christmas carols are you gonna teach us, Your Grace? Klee isn’t sure how many everyone’ll be able to learn before we have the party…”

The Spark Knight had a point that you thought about for a moment; there was only so much time before the Christmas party, and everyone had a limit to how many carols they would be able to memorize before then. It would be best for you to just stick to a few of the simpler ones this year, especially since you were the one who had to teach them to all of the party guests.

“About… three or four, I think.” You nodded to yourself, and refocused your gaze down on Klee, who was still smiling up at you. “I’ve taught you guys “Jingle Bells”, so… maybe I can also teach you guys “Deck the Halls”, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, and… also “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. I think that’d be a good selection for Mondstadt’s first official Christmas celebration.”

You looked over at Barbara, who appeared to be a little calmer now as she did a few breathing exercises. “They’re all on the simple and repetitive side, so learning them should be very easy.”

“That sounds fine.” Barbara nodded, determination in her gaze. “I’ll do my best, Your Grace.”

Klee bounced on the balls of her feet happily, her hands raised. “Yeah, we’ll do our best!”

“Ah, keep your voice down, Klee.” You chuckled. “We’re outside, but still near the Church.”

“O-Oh, right, hehe.”

- - - - -

The kitchen smelled like heaven, the countertop covered in several types of Christmas goodies of varying quality; it was like a dessert buffet with all kinds of cookies, cakes, candies, and more.

“Thanks again for helping us, Noelle.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure, Your Grace.”

Klee overlooked the counter from the step-stool that she stood on, an excited glimmer in her eyes. “Wow…! There’s so many treats! Do people really get to have all of this for Christmas?”

“Of course!” You picked up a chocolate chip cookie, which was still warm. “Sweets are a huge part of Christmas, like leaving out milk and cookies for Santa on the night before Christmas.”

“Is that like sharing wine with Barbatos during Weinlesefest?”

You paused for a moment, taking a bite of the cookie in your hand before you shrugged, a smile on your face. “Yeah, I guess it’s similar to that. Santa loves cookies like Barbatos loves wine.”

“Your Grace, will this be satisfactory?” Noelle’s soft voice guided your attention back over to her, her posture being straightened just slightly when your gaze landed on her form. Her hands were politely folded in front of her, bringing some of your focus to her apron, which was unsurprisingly as clean as it had been at the start of this baking session. “I can continue baking if you’d like.”

“No, no… this’ll be good for now. I just wanted Klee to see what some Christmas goodies were like.” You finished the chocolate chip cookie in your hand, and wiped your hands on your apron, dusting off some of the flour that was on it. “But, since we’ll definitely need these sorts of treats at the Christmas party later this month, would you be up to make more when the time comes?”

“Anything for you, Your Grace.”

Noelle gave a small bow, before she turned her attention to cleaning the kitchen.

“Hey, Klee… do you think we should build gingerbread houses at the party?”

“They make houses out of gingerbread for Christmas?” Klee looked up at you with wide eyes, her mouth open in awe. “Wow, that must take a lot of gingerbread. Do people live in them?”

You held a hand up to your mouth, stifling a laugh and taking a moment to compose yourself before you shook your head. “No, Klee, they don’t. Gingerbread houses are small, kind of like dollhouses, and decorated with icing and candy. Building them is half of the fun, and then eating them afterwards is the other half of the fun. Oh, showing off your house to others is also fun…!”

Klee turned to look at the wide array of handmade candies on the counter, clearly contemplating how she could use them as decorations. Her focus was only broken when you began picking up plates of the goodies you made with Noelle, her gaze moving to the smile you kept on your face.

“Come on, Klee. Let’s clean up. We don’t want to make Noelle do all the work, right?”

“Okay!”

“H-Huh? Ah, Your Grace! That’s not necessary!”

- - - - -

“So, you’re saying that I’m supposed to write a letter to some strange old man that I don’t even know and just… get what I want?” Diona scoffed, placing her hands on her hips and turning her head away. “That sounds totally ridiculous, like some scam that a boozehound would fall for.”

“Aw… no, it’s really true!” Klee clenched her hands in front of her chest. “Their Grace said so!”

Diona looked at you from the corner of her eye for a moment, before she let out a “hmph”, and turned her head to face you and Klee. “Well… I guess that Their Grace wouldn’t lie, so… fine.”

The sounds of cats lazing about and cards being shuffled surrounded you and the two children as your group settled at one of the tables in the Cat’s Tail, though it was considerably less lively than normal due to it being around noon. Klee and Diona both had paper and crayons sitting in front of them, as well as an envelope for each of them to seal their letter when they were done.

“So…” Diona furrowed her eyebrows. “...what exactly are we supposed to do?”

You looked between the two young girls, chuckling with a smile on your lips. “Writing a letter to Santa is easy. All you have to do is write down what you want; just… list it all out on the paper.”

“And this “Santa” guy will make it happen?”

“...eh, try to keep it small-scale, Diona. Santa gives gifts, he doesn’t destroy anything.”

Diona grumbled to herself, her tail thumping against the cushion of her seat in annoyance, but she eventually started to write on the paper in front of her. The Spark Knight also got to work on her own letter, filling her paper with color as she scribbled out what she wanted for Christmas.

And, after they were done, they folded their letters and put them into their envelopes.

“Alright, now you just need to address them to the North Pole.”

Diona and Klee looked at you, curiosity in their eyes, before Diona raised an eyebrow.

“...to where?”

“The North Pole. That’s where Santa Claus lives, and where his workshop is located.”

Klee began to write the address on her envelope — simply “The North Pole”, in big bold letters — while Diona continued to stare at you, an unconvinced frown making its way onto her face.

“How exactly are these gonna get to Santa, anyway? He’s in a completely different world.”

“I’ll deliver them myself.” You carefully took Klee’s letter once she handed it to you, your fingers clasped around the envelope. “No postal service in Teyvat could get there, but I can handle it.”

“...okay.” Diona scribbled on her envelope and handed it to you. “But I still have my doubts.”

You held the two letters carefully, and chuckled again as you looked between the two kids.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Santa will deliver!”

- - - - -

The gloves on your hands did little to keep out the cold, already covered in a layer of snow as you patted the icy substance thoroughly in your quest to form the base of your future snowman.

Dragonspine was a scary place — you would never traverse it alone in your current state — but the scenery at its edges was just the right amount of “winter wonderland” for you, and the sound of the younger Mondstadtian characters in the surrounding area only bettered that atmosphere.

“Your Grace, you should be careful. Sheer cold can be harmful, even to you.”

Albedo was standing by your side, completely unfazed by the cold; this place was pretty much his natural habitat at this point. His voice held slight concern, though his face remained calm.

“Huh? Nonsense, I’m fine. I ate some goulash before coming here; it’ll keep me warm.”

“You’re shivering, Your Grace.”

“...okay, fine.”

You moved over to the small fire that was built nearby, noticing that Bennett and Fischl were already there; the former was completely drenched and shivering as he huddled close to the fire, while the latter and her night raven familiar were completely fine. You reached your hands out to the fire to warm yourself, your fingers feeling a bit better, and looked over at Bennett.

“What happened to you?”

“Ah…” Bennett smiled, a hint of embarrassment laced within it. “Well… I just, uh…”

“He who has been born the most unfortunate suffered a great moment of slither-” Fischl caught your attention, her tone of voice confident. “-and was plunged into the beck of this biting berg.”

You stared at Fischl for a moment before shifting your gaze over to Oz.

“...the unlucky fellow had slipped on the snow and fell into the river.”

“Oh…!” You raised a hand to your mouth, covering the growing smile on your lips as you stifled a laugh. “Yeah… I guess your bad luck would spring up like that. Are you having fun, though?”

“Huh?” The adventurer tilted his head. “I… guess so?”

“Then that’s all that matters!”

Your attention shifted to Klee and Razor when you noticed them approaching the fire, sticks and stones in their arms. You even spotted some pinecones sitting within Razor’s stash of materials.

“We got the things for the snowman, Your Grace!” Klee bounced with each step, only coming to a stop in front of you. Her feet slid a bit from the snow. “And I found this really cool stick! Look!”

Klee adjusted the items in her arms, before holding up a stick with one hand.

You had to admit: it was a really cool stick.

“This good?” Razor held out his stash of materials to you, allowing you to look over all of it; he had a lot more in his arms than Klee did. “We hunt for what you said, and… this is what we find.”

“Of course!” You nodded, looking up at Razor with a smile. “You both did great!”

“Ah… good.”

Razor looked pleased with your praise; if he had a tail, it would definitely be wagging right now.

With a supply of materials now at your disposal, you began to work with the others to decorate the snowman; the base was all your doing, so you stepped back to let the others take the lead.

“Ore of the darkest night shall make quite a pair of eyes, would it not, my dear companion?”

“Klee’s stick can make a good arm! Oh, it’s hard to reach…”

“Let me, Klee. And this other stick can complete the pair.”

“I… do like this?”

“A pinecone for the nose? Neat! Gah, the rocks for the buttons keep slipping out of my fingers.”

The smile on your face grew as you watched the others work together to form a masterpiece.

“Wow… it looks amazing, everyone!”

It was a jumbled mess, but it was a real product of togetherness; each part was placed on by a different person to make a whole creation — small chunks of iron for the eyes, a pinecone as a nose, sticks for the arms, and rocks for the buttons. It was a shame that you didn’t think to bring any clothes for the snowman to wear, though, but that didn’t hinder the final masterpiece at all.

You and the others took in your combined creation in silent glory for a bit, and then you spoke.

“...so, has everybody had enough snow for today?”

There was a resounding “yes” from the group, and you shifted your gaze over to take note of their current conditions: Bennett had icicles starting to form on his damp clothes, Razor kept his arms close to his body as he shivered like a wolf pup, Fischl denied feeling cold — although Oz pointed out that she had complained earlier about not bringing warmer clothing to this outing — and Klee mentioned that the snow dampened the effect of her bombs. Albedo just appeared to be ready to go whenever everyone else was; he was clearly the one least affected by the cold.

“Then let’s head back to the city for some hot cocoa! Who wants whipped cream and sprinkles?”

“Oh! Oh! Klee does!”

- - - - -

“I’ll take a Gray Valley Sunset, Master Diluc!”

“You… do not need to address me as “Master”, Your Grace…”

“Aw, why not? Everybody else does!”

You planted yourself onto one of the barstools as you watched Diluc get to work behind the counter, the tavern being just as lively as it was most nights; luckily, most of the Angel’s Share patrons were too drunk to pay any attention to you, granting you a rare moment to just relax.

“My, you look rather tired, Your Grace.” Kaeya was sitting on a barstool next to you, leaning on his elbow. “I assume Klee has been dragging you around in her excitement this past week?”

“Yep!” You nodded, immediately grabbing your drink when Diluc placed it in front of you on the counter. “But I don’t regret telling her about Christmas. I’ve been having a lot of fun with all of it.”

The barstool on your other side squeaked as someone sat upon it, and you noticed a bard clad in green leaning into your peripheral vision, a smile set on his lips and a twinkle within his eyes.

“Oh? “Christmas”? What might that be, Your Grace?”

“A holiday from another world. I told Klee about it, and she’s been absolutely obsessed.”

“Ah, so that’s what you’ve been doing these past few days.” Rosaria was sitting on the other side of Kaeya, an alcoholic beverage already securely in her hand. Her expression was set in her usual disinterested frown, though the way she kept her eyes on you showed otherwise. “I heard that Barbara almost passed out when you requested her to sing… “Christmas carols”?”

You let out a short nervous laugh, before starting to drink your juice; it was cold and sweet.

“Oho?” Venti’s interest peaked as he leaned closer to you, the twinkle in his eyes having grown at the mere mention of your musical exploits. “If you need someone to sing for you, Your Grace, you’ve got the three-time winner of the “Most Popular Bard of Mondstadt'” title at your service.”

“If you want to carol with us, you’re totally free to, Venti!” You smiled at the bard before letting out a sigh, and you set your drink on the counter. “But, even though it’s been fun, we’ve still got to tackle the issue of preparing the Christmas party. Klee’s been looking forward to it since day one of our festivities, but I’m not sure where to begin with it. We’d need a place big enough for all of the guests, and we’d need to decorate it. Then there’s the food too. It'll be a lot of work.”

“So you need a place for the party?” Kaeya took a hold of his own drink, bringing the cup up to his mouth. “I’m sure the Knights would let you use their headquarters for the party, no problem.”

“The Knights of Favonius Headquarters…?” You thought for a moment, before you shook your head. “No, that wouldn’t work. Plus, I’d feel like it’d be… distracting to the Knights not invited.”

Rosaria sipped her drink. “Perhaps the Church, then? I doubt the Sisters would refuse you.”

“Absolutely not.” You hardly hesitated as you answered, and shook your head again. “The idea of having a Christmas party in the Favonius Cathedral… doesn’t exactly feel all that right to me.”

“Agreed. The Church is a bit too serious a location for such an occasion.” Venti nodded, placing his empty cup on the counter; if you were keeping count correctly, he had just downed his fourth drink. “I’d say this tavern is home to a much more suitable atmosphere for a joyous celebration!”

“...well, while Angel’s Share would be able to serve as a good space for the party-” You let your gaze wander around the tavern, taking in the sight of the many customers already drunk at their tables. “-it’s not really the type of place for a Christmas party to be held. I mean, maybe it would work if it was an adult-only event, but this party is gonna have people of all ages in attendance.”

The sound of Diluc clearing his throat caught your attention, and you looked towards him.

“Your Grace… if you’d so like, you may use Dawn Winery’s manor for your party.”

You perked up as you listened to Diluc, your lips turning up into a bright smile.

“Oh, that’ll be perfect! I love you, Master Diluc!”

The sound of glass shattering rang out from behind the counter, the remains of a glass on the floor as alcohol seeped into the wood. Diluc stood by the mess, a cleaning rag held in one hand and emptiness in the other; the warm tavern lights made you uncertain of the flush on his face.

“A-Ah! I’m sorry, Master Diluc!”

You continued to apologize to Diluc as he bent down to clean up the broken glass, his face now hidden by his bangs as he kept his head tilted down. Kaeya was trying — and failing — to hold back a chuckle, and Rosaria just silently sipped on her drink, her gaze averted from everything.

Venti let out a whine, his hand tightly gripping your sleeve as he tugged it. “Oh, that’s just not fair, Your Grace. You can’t say something like that without blessing me with such words too…”

“I-I just got excited by what Diluc said!” You glanced at Venti briefly, your eyes widened, before you looked at Diluc again, your face warm. “It’s just… thanks for letting me use the manor…?”

“It’s fine, Your Grace.”

Diluc stood up after he finished cleaning, his head turned away from you as if to allow him to continue hiding his face; even so, it was still obvious to you that he must still be embarrassed.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, but just be more careful next time.”

You let out a relieved sigh and nodded, smiling at him.

“Will do, Master Diluc!”

- - - - -

You couldn’t help but take in a deep breath as the pine tree was set up in the manor, your hands on your hips as your chest expanded. You took a moment before you finally released the breath.

“Ah, the sweet smell of nature…”

It was a few days before the Christmas party was scheduled to take place, and you were doing some early decorating — namely, the big stuff that couldn’t wait until just before the big event.

And that included the tree.

“So…” You looked over at Diluc, who stood beside you. “I’m assuming that there aren’t already ornaments available to decorate with, but we can make do. Oh! Maybe we could have everyone make ornaments at the party and then decorate the tree together? That’d be super festive! But, in the meantime, we could at least put some popcorn on it right now to start, so it isn’t just bare.”

You were met with nothing but silence as Diluc looked from the tree to you.

“People put… popcorn… on trees for Christmas?”

“Wow! It’s so tall!”

Klee ran up to the tree, her head tilted all the way back as she looked up at it.

“Of course! The bigger, the better!” You walked up to Klee and gently nudged the Spark Knight away from the tree. “We’ll have to keep any and all fire hazards away from it, though. Okay?”

“Okay! Klee will be super careful!”

You looked back at Diluc. “Thanks again for letting us have the party here. It’s really so perfect!”

“It’s no problem, Your Grace. Just let me know if you need anything else.”

You felt as if you were a kid again as you ran around with Klee and got things set up, sharing the experience of choosing what should go where and what looked best with the young girl in red. You even decorated some of the exterior of the manor, not just the interior, though, due to the size of the building, you and Klee could only really work with the entrance outside the door.

In lieu of strings of Christmas lights, lanterns and Crystalflies were used to light up the desired area. The lanterns hung up on the wall, blending into the natural look of the manor — when the daylight faded, they would definitely stand out more — and the Crystalflies were caught in the vineyard, just to be gently guided to rest on the poles near the front door, their wings fluttering.

“...we’ll probably need to guide these little guys back here just before the party.” You watched as the Crystalflies fluttered their wings again, unable to stay still for long where you placed them. “I don’t think they’ll just… stay here for the next few days. They’re itching to fly again, that’s clear.”

There was a Crystalfly resting on Klee’s cap, only flying away as she tilted her head up.

“Do you think we’ll be able to find them again?”

You nodded. “Of course we will! These Crystalflies like Dawn Winery as much as the people of Mondstadt do. You can always find them around here somewhere, fluttering about the grapes.”

The Crystalflies resting on the wooden poles flew off into the vineyard, one by one, as you and Klee continued decorating. You wrapped ribbons of different colors — red, green, and white — around the poles, and draped some down from the balcony above, trying to make it coherent.

“...this place definitely says, “there’s a party here”, at least.”

“It looks great! And it’s so pretty!” Klee bounced on the balls of her feet as she looked up at the ribbons, before she looked at you. “Is there anything else to do before the party, Your Grace?”

You thought for a moment.

“Well… I think we’ve done everything we can right now. The tree’s main decorations can wait until the party, and the popcorn will be prepared tomorrow, but, besides that, everything else is ready. The manor’s staff are helping to take care of the food — and being compensated for their time by Diluc, of course — and Noelle will take care of the desserts for the party later. We’ll help her with that when the time comes, but, for now, we’re done. Why, still want to decorate more?”

Klee put a finger to her chin, before she began walking around to inspect the work you and her had done. The Spark Knight took in the sight of all the decorations you had put up, everything in the interior and the exterior of the manor, and her eyes sparkled as her gaze scanned over all of it. The decorations were a bit generic to be honest, only the presence of the — currently bare — pine tree making it clear that Christmas was what was being celebrated, but it was a good effort.

You worked with what you had, and during the party, it was sure to come together fully.

“Klee thinks it’s perfect, Your Grace! …but, um… maybe we could hang up more ribbons?”

Yeah.

This would all come together nicely.

- - - - -

“I’m so sorry I’m late! I had some trouble getting here…”

Bennett had an embarrassed look on his face, his form slumped over as he stood in front of you. His hair was ruffled up, some sticks and leaves poking out, and his clothes were slightly burnt, which made the water dripping off of him to form a puddle under him more noteworthy.

You smiled slightly at him. “I can see that… but, don’t worry, you’re not late at all.”

“H-Huh?”

“Ah, the man cursed with misfortune has arrived before the Prinzessin?”

You and Bennett turned to look at Fischl as she approached, Oz and Mona accompanying her.

“Hmph, this is truly a most unexpected eventuality, though not one unwelcome.”

Mona looked at Bennett with interest, her gaze scanning everything from his singed clothing to the water at his feet. “I must admit, it’s very unusual. I’d say you had a rare stroke of luck, but…”

“...what?”

Bennett looked between them and you, before rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

“I’m so confused… my invitation said that the party started an hour ago.”

The adventurer dug through his pockets until he eventually pulled out his invitation; the paper was completely drenched, though the ink was just legible enough to still be able to be read.

“But our invitations say the party will start soon.” Mona pulled out her own invitation, and took Bennett’s to compare the times. “See? Your invitation shows it starting a whole hour early.”

Bennett took his invitation back. “That doesn’t make any sense, I…”

You gained a slight sense of pressure as everyone turned to look at you. “Oh… I put an earlier time on Bennett’s invitation to account for his bad luck. You know… so he’d get here on time.”

There was a slight pause, everyone staring at you as you stared back at them.

And then Bennett let out a groan.

“Ugh, that’s so embarrassing…!”

“But it’s also quite smart.” Mona smiled at the unlucky adventurer. “You’d likely be suffering out in the wilderness right now if Their Grace kept the correct time on your invitation, wouldn’t you?”

“...y-yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Hey, I’m just glad you’re here on time, Benny.” You smiled and gestured towards the manor’s entrance. “Why don’t you all head on inside? There’s some refreshments set out already, and it seems like everyone else will be arriving soon enough. I’ll be out here greeting them, of course.”

Fischl looked at Bennett, whose embarrassment was still cooling off. “Let us continue forward, accursed companion. It would be wise to preen thyself before the rest of the due guests arrive.”

“Right.”

The two members of the Adventurer’s Guild headed inside the manor with Oz following behind them closely, the familiar taking care when he flew past the ribbons that adorned the entrance.

“Um, Your Grace?” Mona caught your attention, a hesitant look in her eyes. “If there… happens to be any… leftovers at the end of the party, will the guests be permitted to take some home?”

“You can take as much as you can carry.”

“Oh, thank you ever so much, Your Grace!”

- - - - -

“A party held at Dawn Winery… with no alcohol? You’re so cruel, Your Grace.”

Venti had slight disbelief on his face, even with his lips turned up into a smile, while Diona had hers turned up into a smug grin, her hands on her hips in triumph as she stood next to the bard.

“Well, I think Their Grace is only showing how great They are by keeping that stuff away. Why do you boozehounds always need alcohol to have a good time, anyway? It’s funner without it!”

“Diona’s right. At least, when it comes to this occasion.”

The bartender let out a chuckle at your approval, her smug grin growing towards the bard.

“Besides, this’ll be the first Christmas you’ll experience. You should experience it sober.”

“...not even a drop, Your Grace?”

“You’re gonna have to go dry tonight, Venti.”

Diona walked into the manor with a proud gait, her tail and head held up to the sky, as Venti let out a whine, his shoulders dropping. He only lasted like that for a second before he perked up.

“Alright, Your Grace. I suppose going through a party without wine won’t be so bad…”

“Oh, is this a “no alcohol” kind of festivity?”

You turned to see Kaeya making his way up the path leading to the manor, a trio of his fellow knights — Albedo, Klee, and Sucrose — walking right behind him until they stopped near you.

“Yep. There’s non-alcoholic apple cider and grape juice instead.” Your gaze wandered down to the wrapped gifts in each of the Knights’ arms. “You can go and put the presents under the tree for later. The gift-giving will happen after everyone arrives and gets settled into the jolly vibes.”

Venti eyed the gifts. “Oh-ho? I wasn’t aware that there’d be presents at this party.”

“It’s for “Secret Santa”!” Klee held her gift up for Venti to see. “All the Knights are doing it!”

“And, don’t worry, all the non-Knights will also be getting gifts too-” You put a hand to your chest and smiled. “-courtesy of me. It wouldn’t be fair for some to get presents here and others to not.”

Sucrose adjusted the wrapped box in her arms. “W-Wow…”

Albedo hummed. “A gift from the Divine Creator would be quite an honor. I’m almost jealous…”

“Oh, there’s no reason to feel that way.” You shook your head slightly at him, the smile on your lips softening. “All the gifts you’ll find under the tree are labeled from “Santa”, not me, so nobody is really getting a gift from the “Divine Creator”, okay? Now get on inside and enjoy yourselves.”

- - - - -

There were a few more greetings you got through — Barbara and Rosaria who arrived together, and Razor who arrived alone — before the last guests arrived: the other invited members of the Knights of Favonius — sans Noelle, who arrived hours before the party began to help prepare.

“I hope you’re all feeling merry!” You greeted them at the entrance to the manor, a smile still on your lips. “Because with all of you here, the party can finally start! Oh, it’s gonna be so fun…!”

“Apologies for taking so long, Your Grace.” Jean shifted the presents she carried in her arms, putting a hand to her chest. “I had some last minute duties that I had to attend to before being able to leave for the evening, due to so many of the Knights having to attend this party tonight.”

“It’s fine, no biggie.” You waved Jean’s concerns off. “I’m just glad you’re all here at all!”

Amber held up the wrapped gift she was holding to bring attention to it. “And we brought our “Secret Santa” gifts with us. Is there someplace that we should put them for now, Your Grace?”

“Under the tree.”

“Under the…” Eula raised an eyebrow in question. “...tree?”

You nodded. “There’s a pine tree set up inside; it’s called a “Christmas tree”. You put gifts under it until it’s time to hand them out and open them. It’s a classic Christmas tradition, a real staple.”

“Oh my, how quaint.” Lisa didn’t have a gift in her hand, which explained why Jean was carrying two in her arms. “Everything you say about Christmas just makes it more and more interesting.”

“I’m glad!”

Jean, Lisa, Amber, and Eula went inside at your gesture, with Mika tailing them.

Mika looked at you with a bashful smile, his present held carefully in his arms, and he glanced between you and it before his gaze settled on it. “T-Thanks again, for helping me, Your Grace.”

“Of course.” You lightly patted Mika on the back. “Now, come on. Let’s join the others.”

- - - - -

‘Twas the night of the party And all through the manor, The atmosphere was hearty And it was quite banner.

…and that was enough rhyming for now.

Though it took everyone a quick moment to familiarize themselves with what a Christmas party was like, it didn’t take long for the party to really start. Klee’s enthusiasm was a driving force for everyone else’s, especially anyone who might still have been hesitant about the whole thing.

The tree was finally decorated aside from strings of popcorn, the ornaments the product of a group activity where you helped everyone make their own; the branches were filled to the brim with unique creations that would last to the next time that a tree would need to be decorated.

You could hardly compliment Noelle and the manor’s staff enough for all their work on the food, and neither could anyone else. You swore Noelle would faint from how red her face had gotten from the praise, the Knights’ maid continuing to be modest about all the effort she had put in.

The various gingerbread houses were fun to see; everyone had varying ideas on what it meant to build a gingerbread house — some went with a more “normal” appearance with their designs, while others took more creative liberties with their edible materials. Diona had even based her’s on her own house, with little gingerbread people of herself and her dad put on the frosting lawn.

And then caroling was an experience.

Barbara and Klee helped you teach everyone else the carols you had picked out. Venti picked them up quickly — which you expected — and Rosaria opted out of caroling altogether — which you also expected. Diluc also preferred not to sing, as did Mika and Sucrose, but everyone else laughed their way through the carols, the sound of their voices together being not too shabby.

The most anticipated event of the party, the gift exchange, happened when everyone was finally settled in, and the Knights went around to give each other their gifts. The anonymous part of the identities of the givers fell apart during that part, the receivers gaining surprise at learning about who had served as their Secret Santa alongside the gifts themselves, though the biggest of the surprises had to be Mika’s and Sucrose’s when they realized that they were each other’s Santa.

The remaining party guests got a gift handpicked by you.

You kept your mouth shut as they all tried to figure out who had actually gotten them the gift — Kaeya, Albedo, Klee, Sucrose, and Venti also keeping quiet about it for you — and just let them question each other. The joy among the confusion was what really made it feel special to you.

When the gift-giving came to a close, you surprised the younger Mondstadtians with stockings to hang over the fireplace. Klee, Diona, Razor, and Fischl each got to put up their own stocking, but you helped Bennett with his, as having it accidentally get caught on fire would be a downer.

You still had extras, though… just in case.

And when the sun began to set in the distance, the party soon came to a quiet end… kind of.

“We gotta leave milk and cookies out for Santa.” Klee guided the other younger characters to the table that had been set up near the fireplace, where they set down a plate of cookies and a glass of milk upon the wooden surface. “It’s sorta like sharing wine with the Anemo Archon.”

“And then our hosiery hung above the embers shall be filled with his largesse on the morrow?”

“Yep!” Klee nodded towards Fischl, a smile on her face. “That’s what Their Grace told Klee.”

“But it won’t happen unless you’re all asleep.” You looked between the five youngsters. “Santa doesn’t come when you’re awake. He only comes to leave presents in the middle of the night.”

Diona’s tail flicked behind her. “That sounds kind of fishy, but if that’s what you say, then okay.”

“So…” Razor thought for a moment. “...Razor and friends go to sleep now?”

“That should be easy.” Bennett rubbed the back of his head before he stretched his arms out above his head, a smile on his face. “It’s been pretty exciting all day, so I’m a bit tuckered out.”

��Diluc’s been kind enough to have prepared rooms for you guys tonight.” You gestured towards the staircase and towards the second floor of the manor. “So feel free to get settled in, okay?”

“Yay!” Klee clapped her hands together. “Let’s go to sleep so Santa will come!”

You watched as the younger characters headed upstairs, disappearing from your sight, before you turned your attention to the other guests. The adults were all getting ready to leave, either gathering up the presents that they had gotten or grabbing leftovers to take home with them.

“I’d say have a safe trip, but I’m sure your group is the safest it could possibly be.”

The characters not staying at the manor — meaning everyone but the youngsters who were staying the night, Diluc who lived here, and Noelle who was staying to help clean up — were going to be heading back to the city, the majority of the group being comprised of vessels that were members of the Knights of Favonius. You knew anybody would feel safe with all of them.

Jean looked at you, her eyes tired despite her smile. “Apologies for not staying for longer.”

“It’s okay. I know you guys can’t just all be away from the city for long at the same time.”

“But we should definitely do this again sometime!” Amber had a smile on her face, still full of energy despite how late it was. “It was so much fun, Your Grace! This holiday was a blast!”

“I agree.” Eula held both her and Amber’s gifts in her arms. “It was quite the get-together.”

You waved to the group as you watched them leave the manor and start their journey towards the city, the Knights forming the edges of the group. Barbara was within the protective circle of the group with Mona right by her side, the astrologist carrying much more than she arrived with in terms of food. The only one not in the group was Rosaria, who left a bit earlier on her own.

The group soon vanished into the dark of night, the manor now much quieter than before.

You let out a small sigh as Venti approached you, and briefly glanced at Noelle and Diluc as they — and the manor’s staff — got busy cleaning up the party before focusing on the bard.

“Well, Your Grace, I’d say this party of yours was a huge success!”

“I’m glad it was!” You gestured for Venti to follow you. “Now, mind helping me fill the stockings?”

“Oh?” Venti raised an eyebrow as he followed you over to the fireplace, an interested glimmer in his eyes. “I thought Santa was supposed to be the one to fill those once everyone was asleep?”

“Spoiler alert: Santa is more of an… idea, rather than a real person. Don’t tell the kids, though.”

“So, that’s how it is, huh…?”

Noelle handed you the bag of prepared goodies as she passed by, the action of it exchanging hands seeming like more of an instinct as she focused on gathering discarded wrapping paper.

The bag was like a smaller version of Santa’s bags in your eyes, and you sifted through it to begin sorting the items into each stocking, taking great care to divide everything in it equally.

“Of course. The magic of Christmas is all about children’s hopes and beliefs… oh!”

You grabbed a cookie from the plate near the fireplace and stuffed it into Venti’s mouth.

“Here, eat a few. It’s “proof” that Santa visited.”

Venti grabbed the cookie out of his mouth, coughing a bit before he chuckled. “Thank you for this honor, Your Grace. Though you could be a bit more gentle when feeding me, you know.”

“Less talking, more eating, Venti.”

It didn’t take you too long to fill the stockings with treats and items tailored to each youngster’s interests, and along with the Christmas tree, the stuffed stockings hung over the fireplace made the perfect little holiday scene, something that felt so foreign in this world yet so familiar to you.

So the party was done, with the kids into bed, And the Creator’s smile was on their face, spread. For a spoken last joy, with the bard to their right— “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

[rosepeta1z]

A slice of sweets

A/N: this is a very very late happy birthday fic to Wanderer/Scaramouche. Fluff, you call him Scaramouche, small tiny tiny mention of throwing up and gagging. I think that’s it.

Word count: 853 words

Scaramouche hates sweets, but for you, he’s willing to suffer and try.

Today was Scaramouche birthday.

It was just another normal day for him. To him, there was no reason to celebrate his birthday. It was no big deal, especially to him. It was just a waste of his time. He had other things to do. If anything, he just wanted peace and quiet for the whole day.

That would be his birthday wish.

So, why were the students in the akademiya bothering him and trying to give him sweets and cake?

He almost gagged when a poor student went up to him when he was just hiding out in the wild and gave him a small sweet. Anyone could tell it was so sickeningly sweet. He simply gave the sweet a grimaced look and shook his head, giving her the small sweet back.

“I don’t do sweets. Take it for yourself, I don’t need or want it.”

The girl that was trying to be nice gave him a sad look, simply nodding her head and walking away seemingly embarrassed.

Maybe he was a bit too straightforward, but he just couldn’t stand sweets! There was nothing in the world that could make him eat them.

Hours passed by, and the same thing would happen over and over again. People from the akademiya would somehow find him and offer him the same thing over and over again.

Sweets, cake, sweet, cake. He felt like throwing up just by how many times he had to smell and look at the sugar filled stuff they gave him. That, and the fact it was starting to really annoy him now.

—-

After all of that, he finally found a place he could sit and just relax. It was a big tree that gave a nice shadow that cooled him down a bit. It was refreshing and relaxing. This, was his birthday wish.

….

Or was it really? He laid his hat on the side and stared at the sky in deep thoughts.

Were birthday wishes even true? I mean, sure, peace and quiet seem nice. But that’s not his actual wish.

His actual wish was to spend more time with you. You were one of the students in the akademiya, and he was quite fond of you. Unlike the others. You talked a lot, but you didn’t talk a lot where to the point you would blow his ear off from how much you’d talk. You talked the perfect amount, your choice of words fascinated him, the way you talk, the way you look when you talk. Everything about you was perfect to him.

He chuckled at his own thoughts. When did he start thinking about stuff like this? He wasn’t used to it.

Right when he was deep in thought, he heard a branch crack near him. He glanced around him before his eyes laid on a figure. It was you? How’d you find him? Before he could collect himself you walked up to him with a sweet smile on your face. The smile that he secretly loved to see everyday.

“Hey, Scaramouche! Happy birthday, I heard from the other students that you were around here so I thought I’d stop by to give you my own little gift for you!”

You presented him a small case of a slice of cake. It seemed sweet. Too sweet.

But how could he give up a cake you gave him? There’s no possible way that he could.

He stared at the cake, then at you, then at the cake once again. He cleared his throat and managed to crack a small smile before raising his hands to take the cake from you.

“Oh, cake? …Thanks. I’ll be sure to eat it. Though, you really didn’t need to do this much for my simple ‘birth’. It’s not necessary one bit.” He muttered, he bit back what he wanted to say about sweets and how much he hated them. But for you, he’ll accept it. But, don’t expect him to actually eat it. Nope.

“Nonsense, I did it because you’re my friend and I care about you! So much so that I made a cake for you. How about you try it? I wanna know what you think about it.” You happily said as you took a seat down right next to him. You seemed more happier than him for his birthday.

“Eat? This cake?” He so desperately wanted to say ‘absolutely not’, but…for you.. he guesses he could make an acceptation just to see you happy. Even though he hated sweets with a burning passion.

He didn’t want to waste any more time stalling, so he quickly took a bite of the cake and swallowed it as quickly as he could so he couldn’t get that taste of awfully sweet sugar. He almost gagged but put on a straight face for you.

Your eyes sparkled when you saw him try it and give a thumbs up. He knew it would be worth it.

At the end of the day, he did managed to spend more time with you and form a stronger bond. It turns out, birthday wishes do come true.