#maybe you bring zhongli to meet him and zhongli knows what legacy is and is like 'what the hell' | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

intangibly-here · 3 years

Text

it’s a fact (that i want you in my life)

various (diluc, kaeya, xiao, zhongli)

- scenarios; 6.8k words - gn!reader - fluff & angst - hurt/comfort - warning: description of injuries/blood, mild cursing

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is it really so hard to be understood?

[argument & reconciliation scenarios]

title from mckay, jeff bernat - angel 2 me.

requested by @nanana-kashi

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❥ diluc

it’s a chilly evening, as always.

you trod down the dusty path, steps kicking up clouds of dirt and sending pebbles skidding as you walk. the dim glow of street lamps illuminate the edges of your figure, passing under them on your stroll returning home. you take carefully measured steps past the countless rows of grapevines, past the stone walls of the building’s perimeter, and arrive at the polished front doors.

the dawn winery is quiet in the evening, only the chirping of crickets filling the silence, whereas servants would fill the air with talk and work during the day. fishing out a key from your pocket, you unlock the door with a click.

all that meets you when you enter is more silence. empty again.

diluc has always been a busy man. he’s a hard worker, as are all of the people that surround the two of you are, and he carries the heavy weight of an entire legacy on his shoulders. recently, however, he’s been especially illusive, managing the angel’s share during waking hours and working undercover as the “darknight hero” so to speak throughout the evenings.

while it’s not out of the ordinary for diluc to work nights on end, it is unusual that you haven’t caught a glimpse of him at all, between visiting the angel’s share during his usual shift or roaming the paved streets of mondstadt. even asking charles himself remained fruitless.

“my sincerest apologies, but i haven’t seen him. i’d thought he was with you.”

it’s even more unusual that he hadn’t told you a word of what he’s been up to. were you that untrustworthy?

you close the door with a resigned sigh, removing the bow that’s been strapped to your back and resting it against the wall across from the entrance. your pull your gloves off, the mahogany leather of it reminding you of ruby eyes and stiff clothing. they drop into a box rested on a nearby shelf. the unsettling silence closes in around you, and for a moment, you breathe in a strikingly painful loneliness. it fills your chest uncomfortably, like it’s carving out a hollow space in-between your ribs, gnawing at your heart. then, you breathe out, and the discomfort dissipates. no, he trusts you. you know you both do.

even so, something shifts wrong inside you without diluc here.

you’re not sure how to feel about it.

you minutely fiddle with your ring, cool silver pressed against warm skin, finger tracing the simple engravings carved into it with care. it’d been your request for something subtle, away from the flashiness of blinging jewels and rare stones.

he’ll be back soon.

you say this, turn the words over and over in your head just as you turn the ring on your finger, but you know better than that. you had truly believed it the first day, but then the first day bled into a second, a third day into a fourth, a fifth, sixth, seventh—

and now you stand here on the eighth day by the arching doors, inside the enormous mansion, cold and disappointed and alone.

you shake your head, chastising yourself internally. it’s no use worrying yourself down over it. dropping the rest of your belongings in a pile by the foot of the bed, you scratch the back of your head and turn to the bathroom. best to run yourself a shower and get to bed quickly. the whirring of crickets and fireflies keep you company ‘till the sound of splashing water erases the quiet.

you’re toweling your hair off, foggy wisps of steam trailing behind you as you leave the bathroom, when you hear the resounding click of the front door.

diluc?

leaving the towel hanging around your neck, you walk to the entrance room where the man you’ve been waiting for stands upright, glancing at you when you enter. it only lingers for a second, before darting back to his own hands.

“welcome home.”

“thanks.”

the clock ticks in the heavy silence.

“not going to say anything?”

he lifts his head up to face you properly for the first time in a week, confused. fiery red hair shuffles with his movements, and he releases it from the confines of his hairtie. “what is there to say?”

you take a deep breath, shoulders rising, then falling again. you fiddle with your ring again. “we haven’t seen each other for days, and there’s nothing you want to say?”

“...” he purses his lips.

“i’ve been looking for you.”

diluc looks away. “..i’ve been busy.”

your stare turns frostier by the second, the beginnings of a bonfire starting inside you. oh really now? just an ‘i’ve been busy’? “busy enough that you couldn’t spare even a second to let me know that you were doing okay?”

he bristles at your chilly tone, hackles rising, and body turning sharply away, apparently preoccupied with hanging his coat up. “i don’t need you to fret over me like— like this.”

the words have you suddenly losing all your temper, leaving behind only the dredges of a deep-seated sorrow.

“am i not allowed to worry about my husband?”

his untold frustration seems to only grow at the dimming fire flickering out in your eyes, and his eyes narrow. still, he stays silent, a brooding look on his face. it wars with the thinning desperation you unconsciously let yourself show tonight.

“ —even if you won’t tell me what you’re up to, why won’t you see me at all?”

the loosening hold on your emotions is gripped tight once more at the deafening silence not unalike how it were even without him. your face is drawn neutral once more, and you turn to make your way back to bed.

“..alright, diluc. goodnight then.”

seems like tonight was a lost cause as well. you trail through the hallways, pausing before the door to the study. you enter against your better judgement, something pulling at you to not do this— but really, did you have to listen to that voice? something curls inside you, hurt and tired. that voice never helped with anything anyway. diluc’s still drifting, far, farther away from you and you’re still alone.

(you know your emotions are getting the better of you, but you just can’t help it. how are you supposed to handle something you’d never dealt with before?)

standing before a relatively smaller bookcase, you reach up to pull out a book rather carelessly—

diluc opens the door, a regretful nervousness on his face and brow furrowed, to see the heavy wooden shelf tumble onto you. his eyes widen, and he lunges forward.

thud.

you blearily blink your eyes open a couple times to dim spots floating across your vision. two distinct voices murmur somewhere in the vicinity of the room. last you remember, you’d left diluc at the front door... and went to pick out a book for the study.. and oh.

so you’re recovering now, you’d assume.

you trace the bandages on your head with sublime caution. the door clicks shut, bringing you out of your thoughts, and you tilt your head on the pillow. red. it’s diluc. he’s in his casual attire, plain white top and black slacks, but is still so stunning. maybe even more so than his regular clothing.

diluc whips where he was staring at the door towards you, eyes wide and hand flying to his face. it’s flushed a brilliant crimson pink.

oops.

snapping out of his daze, diluc rushes to your side and kneels by the bedside. your mouth opens to protest his actions, then pauses, and closes again. it’s about time you receive an explanation. you two are past unnecessarily polite formalities. he grasps your hands in his calloused ones like a lifeline.

“i’m so, so sorry, my love.” he stumbles over his words, almost like he’s choking them up from the bottom of his heart. maybe he is. “i didn’t want to get you caught up in the— the incompetence of the knights, and all the troubles that come with cleaning up after them.”

he glances away at the floor, gazing somewhere you can’t reach him.

“...all it brings is sorrow.”

he takes a shaky breath, and his eyes glisten from underneath his mussed bangs. his hands tremble in yours, and your eyes soften. you run a hand through his hair in a silent gesture. continue when you’re ready. it’s alright.

“a-and so i didn’t tell you, didn’t go to find you. there was a really— really unexpected gathering of abyss mages, and i didn’t want you to get involved. but you’re right— i shouldn’t need to hide it or avoid you because of it. i’m—”

he chokes back a sob, wiping furiously at his eyes, and for a moment, it reminds you of how he was before everything happened. how bright he was. how open. but it’s of no importance any longer, and you brush the stray thoughts aside. mature or not, cheery or not, he is still diluc. he is still the man you love.

“it’s okay, love. it’s okay.” you shush his sobbing gently, cupping his face in the palm of your hands. “i forgive you. i always will.”

you nudge him up from the floor and into downy bedsheets, nestling him in front of you. encircled in your embrace, diluc huddles closer to you, sniffling all the while.

“when the bookcase fell on you, i was so scared. i— i thought you’d...”

he trails off, face buried in the crook of your neck. you can feel him pressing his cheek into it, nuzzling closer. you lean your head against his in a comforting manner, i’m here love, and the heavy conversation peters into a soothing silence. you both move in tandem with your breathing, intertwined and floating in the newfound peace.

“..’m love you...”

but a whisper in the (welcomed, for once) silence, diluc drags out the mumbled syllables childishly, probably embarrassed from the entire ordeal. you press a warm kiss to the top of his head and smile for once, affectionately, softly, sweetly—

“love you too, diluc.”

❥ kaeya

sometimes, just sometimes, the personality of kaeya alberich, mister cavalry captain of the knights of favonius, gets on your nerves.

kaeya is sly and sweet-talking, words sharp and lined with double meanings left and right. even at night, tucked into each other and settling into the quiet of drowsiness, teasing words will slip out of his lips and leave you either furiously blushing, firing back at him, or cracking up in full blown laughter— most of the time.

his joking manner is what drew you to him, the way he’s the spark in the room and how he brightens up your life with every passing moment.

it is also what is pushing you away now.

you know you’re being stupid. his joking and teasing is just one of the many parts of the man you fell in love with, inseparable and intertwined. it’s just kaeya being— well, kaeya. and it’s a wonderful part of him that you’d never want him to give up on.

the thought itself doesn’t exactly help when you’re spiraling into a pit of unwanted emotions.

lately, you’ve been heading home late, exhausted and worn out from putting everything into your job during the day. you hadn’t anticipated the rain to come down so hard and in turn didn’t bring an umbrella, resulting in absolutely waterlogged clothes and soggy shoes as you neared the pathway up to your home. today, you’d just like a little soft peace and quiet.

the thought stings like a sharp slap to the face when you open the door to kaeya’s unusually boisterous laughter (usually it’s less... annoying than this...), the room smelling thickly of wine. you can hear the clink of glass against glass from where you’re standing in the doorway.

whenever kaeya happens to consume alcohol, he becomes rowdier than ever; this incident is no exception. you shake your head and sigh. apparently kaeya is sober enough to notice you, because he looks over at you and grins in a telltale sign of mischief.

(not sober enough to recognize your breaking point it seems.)

“kept me waiting long enough, sweetheart! look at poor lil’ lonely me, sitting here with only this wine to keep me company.” he shakes the bottle in his hand, pouring another glass, taking another sip. “don’t you think i deserve a little something? maybe—”

the rest of his words are drowned out in the buzz of your mind, piling on your strained emotions. it’s so much. too much. (it’s unreasonable, you know you know you know, but you can’t stop, won’t stop, it won’t stop—)

does he not see you?

the words fly out of your mouth before you can reign in your haywire thoughts—

“would you just shut up? asshole...”

—anddd you didn’t mean to say that.

the rainwater drips from your clothes and pools onto the floor in a miserable puddle. the shocked look on his face and the thump of the wine botte falling to the floor says enough to send you turning on your heels back into the pouring rain. the door slams shut behind you almost achingly as you run wherever your feet will take you.

stupid stupid stupid! why did you say that! your head throbs in a mixture of hurt, guilt, and confusion. you stumble on rain-sodden ground and stray pebbles as your feet rapidly grow sore, unable to keep up with you anymore.

your legs give up from under you, and you collapse to the ground, face buried in your hands. even if you were tired, you shouldn’t have just shouted at him like that — he didn’t even know what you were upset over! you didn’t tell him!

picking the pieces of your thoughts back together as the adrenaline wears off, you unsteadily rise to your feet once more, knees shaky and weak. it’s as you’re preparing the walk home from who knows where you ran to, you hear a loud grunt from the vicinity behind you.

oh no.

just as you feared, when you turn around you’re greeted face-to-face by a shield-bearing mitachurl that’s likely strayed from its camp. its shadow looms in front of you, crawling forward as it slowly makes its way to you. you scramble for your sword, fingers digging at the buckles of your belt, then realize you had left it hanging on the sword rack at home.

(kaeya...)

the stomping grows closer, like an ominous sign, and you curse under your breath. as much as you’d like to believe you can survive this relatively unharmed, your wobbling legs and unarmed hands say otherwise.

without another moment to spare, the mitachurl dashes forward, swinging its shield as if it were weightless. you put all your effort into dodging its sweeping blows, the embedded stones whistling by your face as you scan the area in another attempt to run—

as you turn your head, the mitachurl charges in from your blindspot, slamming straight into the side of your head.

fuck.

the impact sends you falling backwards in a tangle of uncoordinated limbs and stinging scratches. the throbbing at your temple doubles over, and when you tentatively reach up to touch it, you feel it’s sickeningly sticky. blood. a lot of it.

black spots swim across your vision, and hazily, you think you hear a voice call your name in the distance. whatever it was, it’s soon drowned out by the sound of the creature stomping towards you impendingly.

hallucinating already? you bark out a hysterical laugh in spite of it all, then hunch over in a fit of hacking coughs. red streaks across the dry grass. it burns. you rub at your throat. any further efforts would be futile. you know a hopeless situation when you see one— or in this case, are in one.

thump.

another bruise blooms on your leg, and you wince. closing your eyes, your fuzzy conscious awaits its silence. there’s a swoosh, the raising of the mitachurl’s shield, and you brace your body for the impact—

“love, you— what— i—“

something, someone, lifts you up, up, up. and you’re drifting, carried in gentle arms and smooth fabric. the air grows heavier, the whistling of finely honed swordsmanship hanging in the wind, and the thundering steps draw to an abrupt stop. a familiar voice trickles into your ears, but your mind is sinking sinking...

(it trembles.)

on the edge of your sopor, just before you fall into its depths, you feel a clammy hand clutch yours. it’s warm.

mind empty, the bone-deep exhaustion swallows you, vision fading to black.

you awaken to soft white sheets and bandages looped round your arms. your muscles scream at you when you try to rise, flames of pain crawling up your torso and singing your nerves. a grimace paints itself across your face, and you slump back against the pillows. what had happened again...?

the lock clicks, door swinging open, and you turn your head to face it. kaeya steps in, a tray in hand as he closes the door with a twist of his hand. when he raises his head, his eye widens, and you can see the faint bags under it, red rimmed at the edge. you purse your lips, heart panging in your chest.

neither of you speak when he shuffles to the bedside, setting the tray down on the nightstand and picking up a stray pillow that had fallen to the ground. it must’ve been when you’d just woken up; you hadn’t noticed. he tucks in back into its spot behind your back, propping it to help you sit a bit more upright. he doesn’t retrieve his hands from where they rest on top of yours.

you start, “kaeya, i’m so—”

he doesn’t let you continue, pressing a finger to your lips.

“sweetheart, i should be the one saying that.” he ruffles your hair endearingly, expression both relieved and pained at the same time. “i was drunk and just let you run out there—” he pauses. “i pushed it too far.”

you can feel the start of tears welling at the corners of your eyes, hands trembling and teeth wearing at your bottom lip. “...i still should’ve spoken up. you wouldn’t have known otherwise.”

he smiles warmly, genuinely, the cheerful glint in his eye sparkling at you through glossy eyes. “then next time, speak up, alright darling? we both can learn from this.” you nod, and he cups your face, thumbing the rims of your eyes and the side of your cheeks where rivulets of tears paint transparent rivers.

“may i kiss you?”

there’s a lot more to unpack to your actions, both your physical injuries and mending the worn strings of your minds, but for now—

you nod wordlessly once more and lean in, meeting him in a soft, sweet kiss. he wraps his arms around you in a familiar hug that you’ve sorely missed and pulls back, pressing more small, but equally as sweet kisses across your face.

—for now, this is enough.

❥ xiao

“you need to take better care of yourself!”

xiao rolls his eyes, crossing his arms in protest like a child. he sure is acting like one right now. why is it that he’s only like this when it comes to medicine? every time... you grimace at him, glaring threateningly and shaking the porcelain bottle in your hand. the round pills roll over each other, rattling in the container.

“xiao...”

xiao just huffs and snarks back, turning his face away as if it’d do anything.

“i’m doing fine. adepti don’t need medicine.”

it’s a weak argument, and he knows it. why is he fighting this so much? it’s just taking painkillers. no matter; it’s time to put in the finishing argument.

“it’s from zhongli.”

the statement has him freezing in place, chewing his bottom lip nervously. of course it’s the mention of zhongli that has him finally seriously considering listening to you. petulant kid. can’t believe you’re really dating this thousand-year-old child.

“i—”

he cuts himself off and goes silent for a beat, another argument on the tip of his tongue, but accepts the medicine in defeat anyway. you drop the little jar into his outstretched hand, and he pockets it in a flash. now if it were only that easy from the beginning...

“fine. but you have to stop nagging me so much.”

you can agree with that one.

“alright, it’s a compromise.”

unconsciously, his mouth draws into a pout, and you chuckle, dipping down and kissing his cheek. his face shifts from awkward confusion to sudden realization, immediately stiffening up and stalking off in a mere shadow of his usual cool.

if you spy the pink flushed tips of his ears and the prominent blush on his cheeks as he leaps off the balcony, you keep it to yourself.

so much for taking care of yourself.

“and you were saying?”

the door slides open, frame rattling as the illustrations of one panel swallows the other. xiao in all his midget glory strides in, footsteps careful as he closes the door behind him. a tray is balanced in one hand as he does it, somehow steadier than you’ve ever actually held a tray before. even with two hands. is this an adeptus thing too? expert, perfect, unbelievably infallible tray holding? you can tell from the expression on his face as he makes his way over that something’s tipping him off. he’s definitely grimacing, like he would when you said something unbearably stupid— in his terms of course. not yours.

is he a mind reader too? wasn’t that only a rex lapis thing? like with the prayers?

“you look like shit.”

even worse than earlier goes unsaid. his face is typical frosty-xiao, but his brows are furrowed and disbelief shines in his eyes. guess it wasn’t your thoughts after all. but actually, did you really look that bad?

“yes, it’s that bad. now sit up so you can eat.”

whoops.

holding yourself from making any snide comebacks, you move to touch your cheek as you sit up, a little shocked when it actually makes contact with the back of your hand; it feels as though your face was set in front of an open fireplace. a damp towel drops off your forehead, plopping on the blankets. it’s lukewarm. huh, didn’t notice that before.

removing the used towel, xiao sets the tray down on your lap meticulously. now closer, you can see the plates of cold noodles and steaming bowls of jewelry soup sitting on the wooden tray. the smell is incredibly appetizing, as expected of smiley yanxiao, and you take care in preparing to eat the sumptuous meal.

“aw, thanks xiao.”

he turns his head away habitually, too shy to meet your eyes. you can, however, see his fingers subconsciously fiddling with the edge of his sleeve. the sun takes that moment to peek out of the clouds and through the window, outlining the contours of xiao’s face and soften his sharp features. it makes him look almost luminescent, like an angel descended from the skies, and you’re drowning in his being. he’s stunning.

feeling your stare, xiao whips his head back around, narrowing his eyes and nearly growling. like a cat, your mind supplies. your cat.

(and then you laugh at your thoughts, because xiao isn’t anyone’s. you just happen to be by his side for as long as wants you here.

and yours, him.)

“don’t stare,” he hisses, and then you can’t hold your laughter any longer, hacking out laughter at his defensive demeanor. “you- !”

he hastily picks up the pair of chopsticks on the tray, taking a mouthful of mushroom-topped noodles between them and stuffing it into your mouth. you immediately cease your chortling to chew, else you shove yourself into a choking fit.

floating bits of dust fade in and out of the sunbeams falling on the floorboards, as if playing peekaboo with the air. the noodles are perfectly seasoned, mixed with just the right amount of sesame and savory sauce to not be bland, but not taste overpowering. they’re light and easy to swallow, and xiao hands you a cup of tea as you finish your bite; his fingers brush against yours, soft and warm. you sniffle. your runny nose hinders your senses, but you can still smell the faint scent of qingxin blossoms, and a relaxed smile makes it’s way to your face as you take a sip.

this is nice.

❥ zhongli

you’d first seen morax in the midst of a fierce battle.

jueyun karst was as empty as always, save for the presence of several adepti crouching in the shadows, more than the darkness would usually hide. then, as you sat high in the branches of one of the many golden trees in the valley, feet swinging over spikes of climbing amber protruding from the ground, you sensed a change in the atmosphere. the wind whistling through the treetops and over your head shifted sharply, soft gusts transforming into howling gales that had you falling backwards.

cursing under your breath, you gripped the branch tightly, face scrunched in a grimace. by the time the turbulent winds had stopped, your hair blown astray in a hilarious mess and your back rebalanced against the trunk of the tree, a squirming, inky mass of something had appeared, hovering in the air just above the ground. it steadily grew in both physical size and energy, the air humming and pulsing with it’s indiscernible movements, until it towered at the height of the larger trees, far larger than any human could.

you could feel the surrounding adepti grow increasingly concerned, their energy fluctuating wildly, but they showed no signs of movement. why? shouldn’t they be neutralizing this threat? your feet pick up their movement again from where they’d stilled during the storm, swinging back and forth. forwards. the lump of dark energy steps towards the harbor. backwards. another step. forwards. it pauses in its steps, unfurling its wings. back-

thump.

so that would be why they hadn’t moved. almost as if heaving a sigh of relief, the chaotic energy of the adepti lurking nearby immediately deflate, retreating back into a neutral state. oh hoh, a big shot? when a gold-pattern embellished white robe emerges from a tear in empty space, you nearly topple over from your spot in the tree. bingo.

the storm clouds in the sky poured as they fought, the sound of pattering raindrops both filling your ears and serving as a backdrop to the clashing of metal and vicious growls. as you watched him fight, the prime adeptus rex lapis, lithe form crossing blows with the distorted form of an abyssal beast, you knew from somewhere deep in your soul that something was bound to change.

(it was when you were leaping down from the tree to leave, silently thanking him with a glance in his direction, that your gazes interlocked. morax made for an awfully odd sight when he had both a curious spark gleaming in his eyes and a dissolving corpse at his feet. and well, if it got even odder when he invited you to tea, that would be his problem, not yours— even if you had accepted the offer.)

soon after, in the days following that first “meeting”, you’d seen zhongli (as he preferred to be called) in town, lingering indecisively around various stalls both big and small. noticing his dilemma, as a good friend (if you could be considered that; you’d only watched him slaughter a demonic monster and talked over tea once after all) you walked over and helped him out.

multiple tea outings, three bags of mora and several weeks later, zhongli is looking into your eyes— and wow, this is really reminding you of your first meeting, where he was beating the shit out of that thing while you all just sat around and waited for him to be done and— he’s getting closer? please say this is going where you hope it’s going—

evidently you win this time, because zhongli moves forward and presses his (soft, soft, soft—) lips to yours in a breathtakingly warm kiss.

he tastes faintly like the sweet syrup of the almond tofu you’d shared earlier, and the moment he draws his head back to allow you a breath, you pull him back in for another.

your shoes step soundly against polished flooring as you enter the doorway of liuli pavilion, soft chatter drifting between the rhythmic click-clacking of your stride. the waitress greets you politely as you walk in, taking a glance at the clipboard she’s holding, then gesturing for you to follow her.

“based on your attire and the time, you must be the one mister zhongli is waiting for, no?”

to the assenting dip of your head she gives her own in return, leading you through the back doors and to a secluded table out in the open. settled by the railing overlooking the harbor is zhongli, pristine as always, sipping a steaming cup of tea.

he doesn't notice you at first, attention trained on the book lain out on the table, but then you're sliding into your seat with a quiet thank you to the waitress, chair audibly scraping against the pavement, and he looks up. remarkably deep amber eyes meet yours, but then again, you’re not meeting a random passerby now, are you?

(you’re not wooing just anyone.)

or at least, that’s what you’d thought. however, by the time he’s mentioned guizhong for the— what, 5th time tonight? you can’t say you’re completely unfazed. guizhong was his partner in war, best friend, closest companion; of course he would talk about her. it’s only natural now that you’re getting to know each other more.

yeah. natural.

you rest your head on the palm of your hand, leaning forward onto the table. the glass of wine in your other sloshes against its confines. your eyes follow it as the liquid tips and turns over itself, deep mahogany flowing into semi-opaque purples and vibrant reds.

guizhong. she’s an inarguably important part of his very, very long past. you understand this— but really, did he have to talk about her regarding every single thing? it’s as if— as if you were just— just there. you’re missing something. there’s a label for this feeling, you know there is, but it’s only escaping your mind the more you think about it. just what is it...?

“the leaves of this tea have been harvested from wild glaze lilies themselves, then additionally infused with the purified essence of glaze lily blossoms. countless meticulous steps and tremendous efforts must have been taken to execute this brew as splendidly as it was. it is most definitely an exquisite tea befitting of guizhong’s legacy.”

zhongli pauses, then sighs wistfully, a reminiscent expression painted on his face.

“an... unfortunate end she had. time never stops, neither for gods nor mortals alike.”

ah, yes. irreversible, unalterable, set in stone. you’ve heard these words so many times over, no matter how eloquently they’d been reshaped and rephrased. no matter how different they’d sounded every time. no matter how much you wished you could stop overthinking it.

looking less like a new romantic interest and more like a replacement, you chuckle inwardly to yourself as zhongli stares out over the harbor, a new mortal friend to chat with. the thought hits a little too close to home, and oh that was the word you were looking for.

you are just a replacement.

how could you not be? you see how zhongli looks when he talks about her. though he doesn’t say it outright, you know he loved her.

still loves her.

and so, who— no, what are you but just another someone?

and here you were thinking you were someone special. of course you just had to stick your nose somewhere it didn’t belong.

you’d really thought you could keep your head cool in all situations; no, before all this you really had— but suddenly when emotions and love are involved, everything spirals out of your control. vile thoughts crawl up from the depths of your soul, clawing at your rationality and eating away at your want want want.

and so when zhongli turns to look into your eyes again, mixed emotions rise in your heart like bile would up your throat. the wine you’d been drinking all night loosens your tongue, and the words are slipping out of your mouth before you can take them back.

“are you really going to talk about her all night?“

fuck.

zhongli frowns for a fraction of a second, his head tilting to the side in contemplation, then parts his lips and replies:

“is there a problem with it?”

his answer makes you want to throw your head back in hysterical laughter. his energy is completely placid, which actually might make it even worse. he’s genuinely asking. genuinely fucking asking. here your head is, overrun with thoughts left and right, mind fraying at the seams, and that’s what he’s asking? is there a problem? your hand clenches and unclenches, nails digging crescents into the palm of your hand. he has to be joking.

a waiter arrives to change and refill the empty pot of tea, but immediately stiffens at the silent atmosphere. once the new tea leaves have been added and begun to steep, he immediately hightails it out of there, nearly slipping in his haste.

clink.

you set your wine glass on the tabletop. need to sober up after that one. zhongli still looks faintly puzzled, but allows you to do as you wish, and you both watch as steam floats up from the spout of the teapot. pouring a cup of glaze lily tea, your mind taunts, you take a sip to clear your head.

huh. that’s odd.

you pull the porcelain rim away from your mouth, tilting the cup to stare at its contents. nothing is out of the ordinary, and the tea smells as fragrant as ever, but there’s a particular... sweetness to it? if it were any more bitter you wouldn’t have payed it attention, but the brew shouldn’t be.. sweet?

“zhongli, did you add anything to the tea?”

the bewilderment on his face only grows.

“i don’t believe so? nothing other than the tea itself should be present...”

the corner of your mouth quirks down, eyes still inspecting the tea dredges in the cup. then why was the tea... was it really just your taste buds? a foreboding feeling sends shivers down your spine, and it’s building building building—

zhongli’s eyes suddenly widen, and he startles back from the table like a frightened colt. his head whips to the side, spear immediately appearing in his hand, and he draws his shoulder back at a speed you hadn’t seen before. the tip slices through air and hits its mark instantaneously, pinning the waiter from earlier to the wall he was lurking behind. zhongli rises from his seat, the tips of his hair glowing amber, and promptly knocks the man out with a blow to his neck. the waiter lets out a choked sound, then slumps unconscious. a crumpled piece of paper falls from his pocket.

instructions. zhongli understands what’s happened the moment he picks up the piece of parchment. most likely sent because of the swindling incident yesterday. a desperate last-resort attempt at ridding the millelith of a witness.

dexterous fingers begin to unfold the note.

but why implement such an unskilled assassin? they barely had any killing intent whatsoever, else they would have been noticed sooner. there are no weapons other than this dagger on them either... his eyes swiftly scan the contents of the note, and all at once, everything falls into place.

the tea. he should’ve realized it sooner.

the clatter of rattling dishes sounds from behind him, and he spins on his heels, staring wide-eyed—

red red red stains your hand and drips through your fingers, spilling out of your mouth and splattering the ground. red. your throat makes a garbled noise, not unalike the one made by the waiter just moments before, and your eyes dilate out of focus, rapidly glazing over. red.

you collapse in your chair, and all he can see is red.

picking you up carefully in his arms, he closes his eyes (from the red red—) and teleports to the pharmacy.

a single plead hangs in the air.

you jolt awake, hand flying to your mouth and chest heaving anxiously. you can still taste the metallic tang of blood. your blood.

then, as you’re trembling from what could have been a brush with death, firm arms wrap themselves around you, tucking you securely into a warm chest.

“shh... it’s okay. it’s okay.”

a low voice murmurs reassurances to you, cradling you in safety and tranquility. zhongli runs his hand through your hair soothingly, bringing you down from the frantic state you’d awoke to, and now you can recognize where you are. zhongli’s living room. you’re settled on his lap, gathered in his hold, and you can feel his steady breathing against you, a stark contrast to your own labored breaths. it’s when he’s sensed that you’ve regained rationality that he begins to explain.

“you were out for a few hours and collapsed due to the poisoning that was originally intended for my consumption. i sincerely apologize for that. it was an unfortunate mishap.”

his voice is smooth and saccharine sweet as he talks, a deep rumble that you can feel as you lay your face on his chest. he takes it on himself to explain a little further of what happened while you were unconscious, which you are grateful for so you can sort your... thoughts out, from before the interruption.

(while he brushes over the matter of carrying you in his arms rather perfunctorily, it still lights a warm flame in your heart. you want this to work out. desperately.)

when his narration peters out to a natural quiet, the muffled hum of early morning workers bustling about outside, you ask the question that’s been on your mind since the very beginning of your outing.

“is this,” you gesture to him, to you, to the comfort, the hugs, the love, “because of guizhong too?”

understanding finally washes over zhongli’s face in subtle waves, and he gives the most mesmerizingly fond smile to your doubting question. a rich chuckle bubbles up from his chest, the endearing tinge to it only pushing your slight confusion forward.

“ah, so this is what your previous question was mentioning.”

his eyes soften, the smudge of red under them only making the gold of his irises bloom even further. the hazy look in his eyes makes you feel like he’s drifting. you can recognize that well enough.

(drifting away from you, a faint bite of a bitter voice whispers.)

“yes, i did love guizhong. she’d departed from this land all too soon for me to convey it, and it is one of the few things i still regret to this day.”

the words spark a pang in your chest, the sharp, tingling-sour kind that reminds you of unripe sunsettias and overly spiced mint, but you take a deep breath and it fades. you should hear him out. you need to. you want to.

“i retold my memories with her to you because they were... my happiest memories. they were all i had to speak of, other than the redundant miscellaneous knowledge i’ve retained over the years. i’d thought you’d rather hear of happy experiences rather than the long tangents i can run myself off of. i’ve been properly chastised by this incident nevertheless.”

he gently tilts your head up from where it’s buried in the front of his silk shirt, wiping away the stray tears that roll down your cheeks. you sniffle and wait for him to finish speaking, chest already lightening.

“however, remember this— while i did love guizhong, you are not a mere semblance of her for me to retain by my side.”

he calls your name softly, reverently.

“my love, you are not a replacement. the one i’m in love with now is you.”

relief, warmth, and love love love surges in your chest altogether as he smiles gingerly, and you cup his face with your own hands, feeling the heat of his flushed cheeks against your palms.

his lips are plush, soft against your own chapped ones as you draw him into a kiss spelling all the things you couldn’t say out loud. that you were frustrated at the thought of being a rebound for him. that you were terrified at the thought of dying with regrets. that you were unimaginably relieved at his explanation.

that you love him too.

zhongli takes it all into stride, leading your hands to rest on his waist as his own cup the back of your head and nape of your neck. he kisses fully, wholeheartedly, lips moving tenderly against yours, giving back what you’re bringing forward to him, for him, in equal measure. it feels right.

thank you, zhongli.

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zhongyeet-me-to-the-moon · 2 years

Text

Till we meet again part 4

Previous chapter here

Till we meet again Masterlist.

Pairing: childe/foul legacy x reader

Type: story, slow burn rekindling

Warnings: Mentnions of child s*lf h*rming near the end but nothing too graphic

There were a few things different from the foul legacy you saw before, albeit few as they were.

The most noticeable was his lack of speech, degrading to nothing more than a few clicks and squawks similar to a raven or a crow.

The second was the single eye on his mask blinked, maybe it did it before but you never noticed it till now.

The last was the cape, now turned to a pair of wings akin to a moth, still just as deep navy blue, with seemingly the stars shimmering in it when it hit light.

If it was anyone else you would almost call it beautiful. Though it was him, and it wasn't by choice, so it wouldn't be much of a compliment even if you did say it out loud.

The first couple days were horribly awkward, part of your contract was you had to sit and eat with him not just bring his food up. You tried asking what he'd like to eat, but he was still giving you the silent treatment so you just bought what you wanted in double portions.

The conversation wasn't much better with him practically being mute selectively or not. You talked about the few things you did for the parlor, going on "ride alongs" as it were with Hu Tao meeting clients. "To learn the business" was the excuse but truthfully you weren't paying much attention. Part of you saw it invasive since you weren't actually working there.

"I heard about what you did here as well, that you were the one that killed Rex Lapis, summoned osail, no wonder the fatui are on Liyues watch list now." You chuckled at the thought, Childe felt a bit of pride enter him again, but then he recalled the fight with the traveler that left him in this state and it all came back to him his situation.

This fucking sucked.

"Oh the replacement books should be coming in tonight as well. They must've paid a lot for that amount to come so quickly. It must suck not having much to do in the mean time. Zhongli had new ones from the ones you had come in so I hope you weren't in the middle of reading one." He didn't answer again, you sighed in frustration. "Look I know were not exactly on the best terms but I'm trying here ok? Can you at leat do the same?" He let out a squawk in your direction, you rolled your eyes. "Gee thanks."

Giving up you grab the plates and folded the table up, placing it next to night stand as it was really the only place it would fit.

"I'll be back for dinner, try not cause a ruckus while i'm out."

You walked downstairs with a sigh, putting the plates in the small kitchen that the parlor had.

"Hey mopey, how's the patient upstairs?"

You're still not used to how quiet Hu Tao appears. "Going about as well as you think it might." You add.

"Well at least there hasnt been any banging! Must mean they like you." Oof, you scoffed at that.

"Doubt that. He's barely said a word to me since I arrived."

"So it is a he. Interesting."

"Yes and before you try snooping anymore, I'm under contract not to go into details about it."

"I know I know, it's just so frustrating to have such an important secret like this be right under my nose! I can't even talk to Zhongli about what funeral rights to perform if it goes unwell!" She sighs dramatically and goes to sit on the counter your washing the dishes near. "To have a secret wane on the heart so small, let secrets lie till death do call." She laments. You roll your eyes at the poetry. Strange to hear such an eccentric person speak so elegantly, though you've now seen times where she takes her job very seriously with the customers that come in. She's grown on you that's for sure. Partially due to the fact she's the only other person you've talked to since arriving.

"Well he's not going to die any time soon, so get that thought out of your head Missy. I just wish he'd try a little to get along with me."

"Yes Zhongli did mention that this guest wasn't fond of many people, maybe try doing something with him instead of just meals?"

"That's easier said than done Hu Tao, he's under house arrest."

"Oh there's lots of things to do indoors! Board games, play music, painting, maybe buying a kamera and taking pictures outside will help the cabin fever."

"Or remind him of the situation he's in."

"Well it never hurts to try, you haven't seen much of Liyue yourself since being here. Unfortunate since there's so many nice place here. How about you buy some of the things I mentioned before to start!" She takes out a notepad and pencil that she had in her pocket, writing down a list of locations to get the items. "I know this must be difficult for both of you, but you seem nice enough to put a smile on anyone's face. I certainly don't regret meeting you. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you are on good terms with him like he is with Zhongli." You smiled at the reassurance and dried your hands to pick up the list.

"You're sweet Hu Tao thank you. You sure you won't need me in the mean time?"

"I can handle things just fine here. Go out and enjoy yourself for a bit ok?"

You gave Hu Tao a hug goodbye, finishing putting the dishes away before grabbing a basket to put the items in. At some point you got a bunch of copies of papers with Hut Tao and Zhonglis signature so you can give the the vendors to put it on the Funeral Parlors tab. Though you did pay for some of it out of your own pocket, didn't seem right to put it all on them when it's your personal stuff.

It was sunny today, so you planned on having a snack near the docks before it came time to bring Childe his lunch.

Maybe cooking something from the mother country will help lift his spirits a bit.

You bought the items listed, a few board games, some canvases and oils along with a couple sketch books and carol. ( buying the thicker set ones as his current state left his hands not being able to hold much). Everyone was very accommodating for the most part. Though tension did rise a bit when you brought up being from Sneznhneya. You even bought a lute for the heck of it, you had no idea if he played, never did when you were together in 3 years, but you know he does like music. When it came time to go back you had seen a fair share of the Harbour, and walked the top bridges of the buildings to get a better view. It truly was a beautiful city, even if in the distance ships could be seen still picking up debree from the Jade Chamber, shame you couldn't see it when it was high in the air. You always heard it was Liyues prize possession. Maybe when it gets rebuilt you can visit some time.

The last items you bought were the ingredients for Shchi, a cabbage soup you often had when you were sick as a kid. A fond memory. You bought all the ingredients, taking care they were packaged well and the greens won't be squished before making your way back, the sun just beginning to set when you did.

Hu Tao talked while you cooked, you made sure to have enough portions for her to enjoy some as well as the lady at the front desk (who you learned only went by her title ferrylady. Macabe but at least you had something call her i guess?) . You were bombarded with questions about the food from home, for a while your job in that building was all forgotten, it was just two friends getting to know each other. You ladled the soup in two containers and put the basket of the items you bought around your arm and made your way up. You took note of the large packages of presumably books that laid waiting outside the door.

You knocked lightly on the door to let him know you were entering before maneuvering yourself as not to spill anything.

Coming in though, he was sleeping. You set the items down on the bedside table.

You haven't seen him sleep yet in this form, it was peaceful, there was no pensive look in his single eye or frustration. You truly do feel bad with the situation he's in. Out of curiosity you reached to pet the main of hair he had, it was soft like fur, thick and ruley due to lack of care. Does he even have a brush? You never entered the bathroom he had. Eventually though you worried the soup would grow cold so you began to shake him awake. "Childe? I brought dinner, can you wake up for me?" It took a bit more shaking till he grumbled awake, he flinched a bit upon realizing you're touching him, which you removed your hand promptly. "Sorry. The soup would get cold if I had you sleep any longer though."

You stand up, beginning the routine of taking out the folding table and placing the soup and sides on the table. At this point a smaller table that could fit in his bed was brought in since he didn't want to eat at the table with you, so the routine for setting that up also began as he rubbed the sleep out of his...eye, and groggily watched you in silence. Then he saw the soup you prepared and all the sneznhneyan sides along with it. He chirped in confusion.

"Nice right? I thought eating foreign food for so long must not be great for the palette. So I made the simplest recipes I could remember." You put the soup and sides down on his table along with the silverware. He hesitated for second till you stopped watching him and ate yourself.

Archons it was so good. He thought. Memories flooding back of being home with his sibling fighting over who got to help cook and helping wash the dishes with his parents after. He missed home. He didn't think he'd be here this long, he was meant to leave back to Sneznhneya 2 weeks ago. He refused to acknowledge the memories of eating dinner with you so many times before this.

"I bought some board and card games and paints to help pass the time. The books came in as well I just need to bring them in, but Hu Tao thought it might be nice to do something other than reading." You spoke, bringing him out of his daze. He chirped a bit in confirmation that he was listening.

That's process at least right? You still don't really know what he's saying but at least he's saying something.

You both ate in relative silence after that, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as it has been the last couple days now. You picked everything up and and set the items you bought and books on the shelf before bidding him a goodnight.

When you left he just stared at the door for couple minutes, then realized a couple minutes later he was crying. He tried to stop it, putting his hands to his face to rub them away, only to get mad at the reminder he only has one fucking eye now. He scratched at the scabs forming around his mask that he hoped the fur covered, recalling the night before all but taking something to try and cut the damn mask off.

He layed down on the bed, staring up at the new fabric that covered the canopy. He didn't know how much longer he could handle this, the weight of all of this finally settling in now that Zhongli wasn't visiting to give update on his progress to finding a cure. And archons did you being near make everything worse.

He never had regrets for his actions before. But if he just said yes to you buying a house with you, to taking less jobs for the fatui and refused to come to Liyue in the first place, then none of this would've happened. At the moment he wasn't regretting leaving you it was mostly just taking this job, getting so deep that he summoned a God and everything. He laughed a bit how earlier in the day he felt pride. Pride? Fuck. He laughed again, as he always did to try and soothe himself.

Zhongli better come back with an update soon.

.....

#childe x reader #tartaglia x reader #ajax x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #foul legacy x reader

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xcrystalzero · 3 years

Text

finals never end

summary: as finals approach, i would like to imagine that there is something more to college than studying alone in a box for 14 hours a day. so, here's a modern au of the genshin boys as college students.

Characters included: Diluc, Kaeya, Childe, Xiao, Zhongli

Diluc:

- Who are we kidding, this bitch is a legacy at some pricy Ivy League. Hates when people bring it up though since he just wants to be his own person and not rely on his family name to get through things.

- Majors in business because of course he does. Rushed a business frat because it seemed like a good idea. Didn't get a bid and has since boycotted greek life.

- Eventually people find out who his father is and he starts to get bombarded by people who just basically want to use him for networking. Gets approached by girls (and sometime guys) after class like literally every day, asking if he wants to study with them sometime or just "hang out" both because he's hot and because he's rich. He never gives them the time of day but that never stops them.

- Goes to the same school as Kaeya but ignores him every time he tries to talk to him or just come back into his life. Kaeya usually takes it in stride but every else is super confused about how the two of them actually know each other.

- Walks you home from class when it starts to get darker earlier, apparently only because he doesn't have anything better to do. A gentleman through and through.

"Don't you have a meeting right now?"

"You staying safe is more important right now. They'll understand."

Kaeya:

- You know that one guy who is always out partying and who you never see studying but somehow makes the Dean's List every single semester without fail? Yeah, that's Kaeya.

- He's probably like an engineering or hard science major too and all his friends are absolutely pissed when he fucks up the curve every single time.

"You got a 98 on the orgo final???" "What, like it's hard?"

- Not as much of a hoe as everyone thinks he is. He definitely has his fun but he's not that guy who has slept his way through his entire major.

- Surprisingly enough, he's not actually in a frat, he just always knows where all the parties are. He's that guy with a snap score in the millions because everyone and their cousin hits him up every Friday night to ask where the parties are at.

-Generally seen as a really easy person to talk too. Also really good at seeming open with people without actually ever opening up and sharing anything about himself.

- With his very few close friends however, he has some strange hobbies that he's always happy to have someone to share with.

-Will take you on a picnic date about a mile off campus where you guys each way too much cheese and crackers, drink about a bottle of wine each, and watch the stars come out as the sun sets. Give the boy some love. That's all he really wants.

Venti:

-Your local friendly performing arts major who you never find without a huge iced coffee and cuffed jeans.

- He's super involved in a bunch of student organizations from improv to a few music clubs and the like. He's that person that everyone in his major knows and comes to for recommendations about new things that they should try out.

- He's in a band! They play indie songs at rotating bars every Tuesday and Thursday night and go to conferences once a semester for aspiring artists. Also sometimes will randomly perform on the Quad and serenade the random people passing by just trying to get to class.

-Offers to play at an event a club you're in is hosting as long as there's free snacks.

- Kind of an alcoholic? Not a partier in the traditional sense, but at least twice a week, he'll host a hangout where he and anyone who decides to show up get wine drunk and watch a shit ton of Gilmore Girls. BYOB of course because there's no way he could afford it on his own. Has shown up to class still drunk before but he's cute so everyone forgives him.

- Impromptu photo shoots all the time with him. Whether its a cute random flower patch, the soft neon signs outside of a boba shop, or graffiti painted onto a building wall, everything is an insta opportunity.

Xiao:

- That mysterious kid sitting in the back of your lecture wearing all black who is both undeniably hot and also exceedingly intimidating.

- Either an animal sciences major because animals are just better than humans, or he's like like history/english and spends a lot of time reading.

- He's that guy who stops communicating after the first day of your group project and you're really worried that they're just not going to finish their work but they end up sending it to you perfectly complete like a week early. Also, will talk/text you one-on-one but dislikes group meetings and group chats.

- He's in a band too! They actually play with Venti and his friends a lot and even though he admires him a lot, he's never gotten around to actually talking to Venti.

- Doesn't let people come over because then his frighteningly large collection of Funko-Pops and anime merch will be revealed.

- Also a dancer! He's not on a team or anything since he had some bad experiences with teams when he was younger, but he heads down to the studio at least 2 times a week just to move and let out some stress. If he offers to teach you sometime, that means he really really likes you.

- Asked if you wanted to go see the Demon Slayer movie with him and then showed up in a black mask and sunglasses because he didn't want anyone to recognize him.

Childe:

- Idk why but he kind of gives off athlete vibes??? Maybe like a basketball player or something?

- A bit of a campus celebrity just in that basically everyone, even if they aren't in the same major or aren't into sports, or just basically have no connection to him, still somehow know about him.

- He's a PR major and that charm is no joke. Some people kind of despise him because of the way he is literally able to effortlessly win over all of the recruiters and just random people he meets. He's extremely well-loved and he knows it.

- He's in a frat but outside of like mandatory events, doesn't spend all that much time with them. When he does party though, he goes hard.

- Doesn't actively flirt with anyone but he's just so charming and amiable that sometimes it comes across that way. Girls are always like "he's so respectful and nice I'm in love with him." He never feels the same way.

- Extremely competitive. Like the most competitive person you have literally ever met. He has to win everything and if he doesn't, he'll just keep trying and trying until he does. Literally the worst person to play beer pong with because he's not letting you go until he wins.

- Asks you to come to his games even though you barely even know the rules. If he does see you in the crowd, he gets way too hyped but plays the best he has all season. Make sure you take the credit for it.

Zhongli:

- That guy in your required philosophy class who argues with the professor. Not in an annoying "I'm smart and want an excuse to mansplain" kind of way though. He's actually just absurdly well-read and wants to discuss things instead of just listening to someone talk.

- People get annoyed with him because he's kind of disrupting class but if you actually listen to what he's saying, his ideas make a lot of sense and are kind of a mind-fuck at times.

- Has an extensive collection of plants at home and somehow manages to keep all of them alive and thriving. Also collects antique tea sets and goes to great lengths to make sure that they are taken care of.

- Probably actually a philosophy or anthropology major. Always has a new book recommendation and he's a darling who actually reads from every genre.

- Spends his free time going to museums in the area or visiting historical landmarks that are close enough to the university. Loves walking everywhere so that he can just take time to enjoy scenery and the like.

- You mention that there's a new exhibit at the local art gallery and he says that he's actually going there that evening if you would like to join him. And I mean, why would you refuse?

A.N. I'm gonna go back to studying now! Hope you enjoyed!

#genshin x reader #childe #genshin impact #xiao #venti #zhongl #kaeya #diluc #childe x reader #venti x reader #zhongli x reader #diluc x reader #kaeya x reader

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reinas-hub · 3 years

Text

"I need you to sit on my lap"

Genre: Fluff/Angst

Yandere!Zhongli x GN!reader

Warnings: Yandere content, mentions of murder, drugging, suggestive content

1/18/22

You were called into Zhongli s' office no matter the reason, you were stressed out of your mind work wasn't being handed in, and if it was always your comrades had to do it for you you had to avoid him you just had too

Finally, you came to the door, holding on to the golden door handle like its the last time you'll touch anything made by humanity that belongs to earth ever again

You twisted it opened and to your surprise, Zhongli, your boss was there, Sitting at his usual spot on his leathered black general office chair, that reserved his place, only he had the ability to sit on it.

The man of deals and finances seemed, slightly angered and displeased by your arrival, you knew you had done something on, you knew what it was but you just didn't bother to cling onto it, you didn't want to overstress yourself, already by the sweat descending down your face, you knew any other sign of stress would lead him to question you, like he always did, the place with the lack of filth, the marble flooring, the gold stripes that separated each white and black tile of marble and the grounds like some chess board You waited in pure patience, you whispered under your breath,

"you can do this..." even though you were not so sure if you were lying to yourself once more, you looked back up, the light shinning through the glass and unto the floor your shadow following behing has the sun hit right unto your pupil

The man of pure legacy sighed and spoke "what was that?"

He noticed the movement of your mouth as you answered: "nothing, sir. Zhongli."

He made a hand gesture directing you to come closer, you followed his muted order as you approached him,

" I give you work for a reason you know? I always share and prepare a cup of tea for you each once in a while, I always question your stay here, I do plenty more, but you just don't seem to get my love for you don't you, starting from you ignoring me, then to you actually pretending as if my death occurred and yet I was nowhere to be found in this cruel world, even though that's impossible, I need you to explain why were you avoiding me."

The answer was, you really didn't have a reason, you felt well treated but compared to the others, you were just seen as a favourite, always getting the attention and stuff who even cared, you got the job well done, you tried to change the topic : "Well sir, I tried my hardest to offer some of my greatest documents I could ever come up with, everything seemed about right to me, please forgive me good sir."

He looked at you with the loss of words, he wasn't even saying anything, he surely was not impressed,

"I can only forgive you only if you do me a favor."

"What is it sir?" You said wondering what could he possibly be talking about.

"I prepared two cups of tea for the both of us, of course I expected you here, even if you were to be absent once more, I would've called the guards and ordered them to come get you and bring you here. I will need you to sit down, so we can actually spend time discussing your absence for all these meetings and work hours, maybe ill give you less work if you can "entertain" me good enough for my pleasure."

You looked back noticing the chairs upfront the desk were gone, the tea still steaming and boiling up small bubbles on a wooden think sheet hard enough to prevent any markings as the cups were white and had flowers, purple and green all over, with what seemed to be berries along side, you asked : "sir, pardon me, but there seems to be no for me to sit."

He looked at you, he didn't expect that answer: "I want- wait, I need you to sit on my lap."

You were shocked: "Sir-" You were cut off

"Now." Zhongli said in an angered voice. You sat on your own boss s' lap, you regretted you existence this moment, right now, right this instance in the present, you were embarrassed

"Why don't we start drinking now?" He said reaching your cup from the front, reaching his arm up to the side, giving it to you, his hand slid down your back.

The first sip made you feel nauseous, tea is a great way to ease the human body, but this fast? It came by at an impossible rate, You felt your eyes wince open trying to not fall back asleep, blinking them on the verge of tears, it was like you didn't sleep for a fraction of how long Zhongli lived for. You smacked your head straight on the desk, you heard your boss laugh menacingly while saying

"Goodnight darling."

You woke up shacking each limb of your body so violently, you were chained up like an animal , The room you were in, dark and terrifying, was the only thing you knew about the place you were in, that you were only in some room, the outsider areas were way to far cold during night hours, footsteps were heard above, you were definitely somewhere with closed walls. The cold blooming winds touched a fragrance of your skin,

You breathed heavily, the man of desires and wealth just drugged you, from something that brings culture towards the people of liyue, the perfume on the ladies, the red and white all over the walls, the clothing, all those things brought culture to liyue.

This game you were playing was dangerous, you were drugged by a god , how would people react to hearing this story, with disbelief of the things they will call lies or with outer shock that such person could lie about something to worship, the sound of a creaking door wincing opened echoed trough your hears, You pretended to be asleep, you kept your eyes opened behind the blindfold just in case, you could slightly se the figure in the brim of the light behind the door that used to be closed through the fabric but not enough to notice its every detail

"Come on now, I know your awake, chains don't move so violently by themselves now do they?"

You closed you eyes as he pulled off the blind fold, The room was so silent, you could hear your own heartbeat pump up your cold blood, He grabbed you chin harshly,

"Not going to answer huh, after breaking one of my tea glasses, I may need to lower your salary just to pay it off, now wouldn't that be just great, but fortunately you are with me now, I can take care of you for eternity, for ever!" He shacked your head at a quick pace side to side

"I know your awake , don't try to fool me." He paused, there went your heart beating louder then how loud it betted in the span of your birth up to now

"Hmm why so stressed, are you having a nightmare that results in you having a such loud beating heard." He laughed at his own joke

"Such actions need consequences," You didn't know it but a table was right to your side, he picked some tool as he stabbed it to the side of your neck. He took it out

You opened your eyes on the verge of tears,

"Ah, finally, about time you stop being so naïve." He said, you replied:

"Sir why am I here."

"Why, so that I can have you all to myself of course, do you think that when a being finds a lost treasure with a high value, that could be so easily stole, do you think they will show it to the world?"

"Sir-" he sighed as he spoke once more

"Its m4st3r to you"

Its been one month, of escaping, getting captured so much that people though you were a criminal that got the attention of a god, rumors went on at the speed of light, each person who saw you were to scream as you cried for help they did nothing but push you away,

Morax always had to pull you away thanking the citizens of liyue for finding you, those moments of freedom only occurred three times before you got caught once more, Today was the fourth time, The man of contracts was pacing around the room as he looked at you wincing your eyes opened, what you last remembered was being at Childe s' house, you looked at the room that was now a dungeon and not some fancy room that spoke for its price in being expensive,

There layed childe s' body passed out always wincing his eyes opened with a gag stuck in his mouth . He grabbed childe by the collar then to grab him by the hair on the back of his head, he bashed his face unto the floor while placing the top of his bot unto the top of his neck and at the edge of his scalp, he took out the sword from its holder on the wall near the fireplace, heated it up with the fire from the wood in the fireplace and pointed it to his head, nearest to the forehead then his own foot (zhongli's)

Zhongli spoke out, "Darling, how many times do I have to tell you, not to hang out with foolish people, Now you leave me no choice but to kill this man right upfront of your very own eyes, just so you know what happens when you hang out with men who aren't me." He bashed the sword and its blade in his head, blood came squirming out, Childe had no freedom whatsoever to say anything,

You screamed childe's name in terror, you tired to reach up to him but couldn't,

"It hurts me more to see you in pain than kill this imbecile but, you just never learn, He threw the sword covered in heated blood and took a knife, he heated it up the same way as he did with the sword s' blade from before,

"Scream once and Ill cut deeper" he said, He approached you and demanded your arm, while hesitating, you ended up by giving it to him, He slit a line on your arm

"Ill write my own name in wounds, just so people know you are perfectly taken, just so that there's no more accidents." you whined in pain,

He spelt out each letter of his name slowly, making you suffer. You whined in pain with a louder voice from the burns and the cuts, he slapped your face and said: "Didn't I tell you to shut up already, love?" Time passed by, you were about to pass out,

"And -I" "Darling, I'm so disappointed in you, all this wouldn't have happened if you didn't run out and disobey me. now Ill bring you to our room so that we can sleep together and tomorrow for the rest of the day you'll be speeding your day here, alright?"

He took the chained attached to your neck and dragged you up the stairs and out of the basement till you reached your bedroom, He pushed you in bed and there you two cuddled for the rest of the night as he was whispering sweet words to your ears.

You woke up, finally warmed up enough till the point you aren't twitching and shacking to death because of the cold breeze, but that didn't change the fact that being wrapped in zhongli's arms were pretty uncomfortable , he tightened his grip just so that he would feel you move in any case of you trying to run off, he had one leg in between yours wrapped with your left as you were sleeping on your side, there was nothing you could do, you sleeping with him was possibly just a way to get you to stay, and not run off from whatever way you went last time in that basement.

Many rules were plastered in your brain, you had to keep them up and obey, if you didn't do so, a punishment will await you. You always had to wake him up if you needed to get something , he'll mostly likely carry you there, you didn't know whether he did it for fun or your sake of not running off even though he's just right behind you.

What ever the reason was you couldn't care less, its not like as if you even asked to be here, Your wounds on your upper arms was bleeding tremendously, Zhongli had this habit of never taking care of anything that had to do with being purposely hurt from him until the next swung of dawn and the slightly soothing breeze of morning came at their arrival.

You slowly started to wake up, you didn't want to wake him just yet, you were barely functioning and it wasn't even morning, the sun wasn't up at its glory, just emptiness was in the sky.

You looked behind you back through the window, just small piece of stars were there, nothing else, the moon wasn't in the sight of view, you tried to move off of this uncomfortable position but ,

he woke up..

You didn't know whether to be scared and conflict in panic or to act normal,

"Darling why wake up so early its barely morning...?" He said with a dark toning voice,

You couldn't reply, and if so, you didn't even know what to reply with, not when you know that this man has killed his own wife, just for you

You sit there, sitting up in shock, starring at the body of Zhongli s' dead wife. He got up putting is slippers and walked to the door,

"I'll go get you something, yesterday in your sleep you were coughing really badly, I'm afraid you'll have to take medicine from now on, I cant tolerate you to be sick at hours like this." He opened the door and closed it shut, and there he was finally gone.

The windows boarded with something that you'll see on the other side of any window in some prison, pretty much bars of metal preventing you specifically to do something with such irresponsibility that you may have done to get away once.

You sighed underneath your breath trying to function, if you were to leave the bed he'll ear you, if you were to whine, cry, scream for help he'll ear you, all those things were against the rules, distractions were forbidden.

You couldn't do this anymore, The door winced open, you were lost in your though for long, long enough that he could prepare a bowl of soup that he gently placed on the your nearest night stand, closer to you, You were scared that things could go to a turn and that drugs would be in there, like how they were in your tea that you didn't expect to contain such filth, He went back to the other side of the bed, the door was still locked from the outside, only he had the key to it, nobody else, not even the well trusted guards, only he knew about this.

"Eat up, its not that hard now isn't it?"

#zhongli x you #genshin impact #genshin impact smut #genshin smut #zhongli x reader #zhongli x y/n #genshin #zhongli

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restlessfandoming · 4 years

Text

“ice fishing” (pt. 6: FINAL) (chilumi fic)

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5]

“Childe invites Lumine to the annual Snezhnayan holiday dedicated to the Tsaritsa. There, she meets his entire family, and all the conflict that comes with them.”

[Fic Masterlist] // [AO3 Link]

“ice fishing” (pt. 6: FINAL)

The lightning cleared and floating before them was Tartaglia: complete in his Foul Legacy Transformation.

“What...what is that?” Alexei gasped out in disbelief.

Tartaglia’s cyclops eye glinted in his direction, and before another word was uttered, he rushed towards Alexei. Tartaglia brutally grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up in the air.

“This,” the Harbinger garbled, “is true power. Your cowardly toy is no match.” With his other hand, he grabbed the black market delusion—still sparking with immense Electro energy—and tossed it away, like a child’s toy.

Alexei’s dangling feet weakly kicked around. “Come on, Ajax…,” he managed to strain out. “Are you going to kill me? Your brother?” His hand grasped Tartaglia’s monstrous armored claw around his neck. “I thought...I thought you loved your family.”

There was a brief moment where neither of them moved. A tiny smirk crossed Alexei’s face, believing he had convinced his brother to let him go.

But Tartaglia’s grip tightened.

“You,” he said loudly above Alexei’s desperate sputtering gasps, “are no family of mine.”

He turned and threw Alexei out of the room, through the hole in the wall the eldest brother had created earlier. There was a loud THUD as he landed on the ground below, followed by a painful groan.

He’s still alive? Lumine wondered in shock.

Upon hearing that his brother lived, Tartaglia flew out of the room as well, his dark galaxy cape billowing behind him.

Lumine ran to the edge of the room, looking down at the two brothers in the snow. Alexei was on his back, coughing, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. Tartaglia slowly stalked towards him.

“You were never strong enough, Alexei,” Tartaglia said. “You were never going to be strong enough. You were always a coward.” He raised his hand up. “And now? You will die like a coward.”

Massive amounts of Hydro energy began gathering on the ground, forming a large circle around Alexei.

“May the gods never forgive you.”

From the ground, the Hydro energy formed into a whale, a grandiose being that blocked the moonlight, casting a dark shadow that loomed over the home.

The whale cried out—a long, deafening tone—before it came crashing down. Tidal waves rippled through the snow, water flooded the ground. Lumine raised her arms to shield her face from the torrents of mist raining down.

When her arms came down, Tartaglia was there, in front of her.

Without thinking, she scrambled backwards, an innate fear spreading through her veins. She knew when entering Foul Legacy he became even more unpredictable, uncontrollable than normal. They had nearly killed each other the last time she had seen him in his transformation.

He floated towards her, slowly still, and Lumine forced herself to stop from continuing to back up.

“Lumine…” His voice was still distorted, and it sent chills up her spine hearing her name being called from that voice.

Then, there was a flash of lightning, and the armor dissipated. Childe was back.

He stumbled for a second, then fell on his knees weakly.

Lumine came to his side right away, wrapping her arms around him, supporting him so he wouldn’t collapse.

“My...my mother,” he whispered between heavy pants. “Let me...let me see her.”

Lumine nodded, and together they crawled to Galina’s lifeless form.

Childe sat there, still as a statue, his blue eyes impossibly dark as he looked at her. Then, he closed his eyes, and put his head on Lumine’s shoulder.

She felt water on her shoulder. He’s...crying. One of her hands softly stroked his hair in comfort.

With her other hand, she took Galina’s hand and held it.

If only...If only I was strong enough. If only the Unknown God hadn’t taken her powers away. Lumine was certain she could have healed Galina.

She remembered purifying Dvalin’s tears. That was a while ago…But maybe...now…

Lumine closed her eyes focusing on her hold with Galina.

She pulled any magical energy from every corner of her body, imagining sending it through to Galina.

She thought of the light of the sun’s rays, the warmth of a fire. She thought of Aether, the familial love of clear skies, clouds, and wings. She thought of her friends—Jean, Lisa, Venti, Zhongli, and countless others—how they were meadows of flowers and warm blankets on cold nights.

And most importantly, she thought of Childe. The sweet, honey taste of love; roaring fires of passion; calm ocean waves of tranquility and understanding.

Her chest felt like it was glowing, her heart was resonating with happiness and love.

…

...

There was a gasp of air.

Lumine and Childe both looked up. Galina had her eyes opened, taking in deep breaths of air.

N-no way. Lumine thought in disbelief. I actually did it?!

Galina sat up, looking around the room in shock, before turning to Childe and Lumine.

A small smile broke on her face. “Ajax?” she asked.

The color drained from Childe’s face. “You...you remember who I am?”

“Of course,” she said. She chuckled. “How could I forget my son?”

Childe let out a shaky laugh. More tears leaked from his eyes.

Galina’s own eyes widened. “Oh my goodness! Ajax, what’s wrong?”

Childe let go of Lumine, and collapsed in his mother’s arms.

Lumine’s own eyes began watering at the sight of their reunion.

Without her noticing until it was too late, however, the sounds of the mother and son started fading out, and the room spun around Lumine. Energy was quickly leaving her body.

The healing took… a lot of power… she realized sluggishly. Too much, maybe. But it was all worth it.

Then, she blacked out.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Lumine opened her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy, as did the rest of her body. Sunlight streamed into the room, and there was the faint smell of flowers. She was in bed, alone, in Childe’s room.

She tried sitting up, but every single muscle ached as she shifted her body, and she fell back in pain. She let out an exasperated sigh, and tried once more, excruciatingly slow, until she finally was able to sit up, her back resting against the mountain of plush pillows behind her.

She didn’t have much time to think to herself, before the door opened. She turned, expecting Childe, but instead found Galina there.

“Oh my! You’re awake!” she greeted cheerfully, she set down a bowl of soup on the table next to the bed, before sitting down on the edge next to the traveler. “How are you feeling, sweetie?”

Lumine blinked at her. “Oh, uhm, fine. A little sore.”

Galina smiled. “Do you need anything? Would you like anything to help with the pain?”

The blonde shook her head. “How long have I been out?”

“Hmmm,” the mother put a finger on her chin, thinking. “I think around a month?”

“A month?!”

“Oh yes, it seemed like an eternity! Every single one of my children have been so worried!” she answered, her eyes twinkling. “Ajax especially.”

Lumine’s cheeks flushed slightly. “Where is he?”

“No worries, they’re all downstairs eating lunch; I can go get them whenever you’re ready.” Galina looked at Lumine’s bedridden hair. “Let me fix up your hair first, darling.”

Galina hummed to herself as she softly brushed through the Outlander’s golden locks. Lumine could’ve fallen back asleep right then and there.

“My children have told me a lot about you,” Galina said. “You sound quite incredible, Lumine.”

“Thank you.” Lumine smiled. “Your children are all quite incredible themselves.”

“Yes, they are all so sweet. Despite everything that’s happened.”

“They are all very strong in their own ways.”

“And you may be the strongest of them all, Outlander.”

Lumine’s eyes widened and she turned to protest.

Galina gently put a finger on her lips and one on her own mouth. “Shh. I haven’t said anything about what happened that night. But what I do know is that I saw you. Healing me.” She tilted her head. “That is no ordinary magic of Teyvat.”

“You’re not...You’re not suspicious of me?”

She laughed heartily. “Of course not! You saved my life. Cured me of my illness.” A soft smile. “You’ve even managed to capture the affections of Ajax, which I didn’t think was possible.” She turned Lumine back around, continuing to brush her hair. “Ever since he was young he was obsessed with fighting, and getting stronger, protecting his siblings. I was so worried he’d never find love. But I’m so glad he found someone. Especially with that someone being you. How lucky!”

Lumine’s face heated up even more. “I’m glad I found him too.”

“He seems much more peaceful than before. Full of love. So, thank you, Lumine.” Galina turned her around. “All done!” She looked over the traveler. “Wow, you truly are stunning.”

“Th-thank you. Thank you, Galina,” Lumine said, sincerely.

Galina kissed her on her forehead. “No matter what happens, you’ve got a family here, Lumine.”

Family. Lumine’s eyes watered.

Galina rubbed Lumine’s cheeks, in a tender motherly way. “I’ll go get the rest of the family so they can all see you’re awake now.”

As she left the room, Lumine let a few tears fall.

Family. Family. Family. Her heart chanted.

When she found Aether, she was going to bring him here. And here, they’d find things they’ve never had themselves: a father, a mother, little ones. It was a future Lumine absolutely looked forward to. And she knew Aether would love it too.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When the family crowded into the room, Lumine was swarmed with tight hugs and cuddles from Tonia and Teucer; Anthon and Misha stood to the side of the bed, just as excited to see her awake and well. Feliks and Galina stood a little further back, and Childe stood in the doorway, all watching with a smile.

The elders had told the children that Alexei had done some bad things and needed to go away for a long time—no telling when he would be back. The children were sad, but they understood. The real, dark truth would be told when they were older. But for now, they were children, who didn’t need to know. All they knew was that their mother was no longer sick, and the family was whole again.

Feliks seemed a lot more cheerful than before, the dark circles gone from under his eyes, his posture now a lot more upright. He kept an arm around Galina constantly now, afraid to let her go.

After a while, Galina shooed everyone from the room, and the door closed, leaving Childe and Lumine alone.

Childe still stood at the door, regarding Lumine from afar. Her golden eyes waited on him.

What’s he thinking…?

Eventually, he came to her, pausing, before collapsing on top of her, arms winding tightly around her.

“I thought I had lost you,” he said quietly.

“You’re going to have to try a lot harder to get rid of me,” Lumine joked as she wrapped her arms around him, hand running through his hair.

“Never,” he breathed. He pulled himself up, his eyes seemingly looking straight into her soul. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Thank me? For what?”

“You know for a while I was completely dumbfounded by what happened. I had no idea how my mother was healed.” He closed his eyes. “But then I thought about it, really thought about it. It had to be you,” he said. “No one else in the world could’ve done it.” He opened his eyes again, softly looking at her.

“I…” Was she going to tell him? Who she really was? Would he trust her? Turn her into the Tsaritsa?

He has to know. her heart murmured. If you love him, he has to know.

“Yes, it was me,” she told him. “I...I’m not from here. I’m not of this world. An Outlander.” She took a deep breath. “That was...a fraction of my power. I was banished here, powerless for many years. I’ve been slowly gaining my powers back, while trying to find my brother.”

Childe’s brows furrowed slightly. “An Outlander…”

“Are you...is that...bad?”

“No, it’s just...everything makes a lot more sense now.” He laughed. “Of course I’d fall in love with an Outlander.”

Lumine rolled her eyes. “And I fell in love with a Harbinger.” She suddenly remembered something. “Is it true? You told Teucer you would quit being a Harbinger to join me on my adventures?”

Childe’s eye twitched. “Tonia and Teucer…” He let out a sigh. “If it were that easy...I would love to.”

“Oh…” Lumine found herself disappointed. What did I expect…?

Childe noticed her expression. He sat up, pulling Lumine up as well. He held her hands. “Tell you what. One day...I will absolutely join you—devote myself to you.”

Lumine’s face flushed. “You don’t have to—”

He kissed her hands tenderly, silencing her. He then proceeded to slip a ring off his pinky finger, and put it on her ring finger. “It’s a promise.”

She looked down at the ring, heart racing. But she was overjoyed. “It’s a promise,” she echoed.

Childe kissed her. “I love you, Lumine.”

“I love you, Childe.” Lumine kissed him back.

With the ring on her finger, the two had vowed their love, happiness, and family—all for the future, together, one day.

[t h e e n d]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

scene with the rings inspired by the amazing @majunju as always <3

thanks for reading everyone! <3

onto the next fic we go!

#genshin impact #genshin childe #genshin lumine #genshin tartaglia #childe #lumine #tartaglia #childe x lumine #lumine x childe #chilumi #lumichilde #genshin impact fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #me

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