#suddenly thinking of how the archons are like in terms of being parents

[gierosajie]

I feel like if Focalors sees her people as doing no wrong in the eyes of gods, then Venti would see Mondstadt pulling some shenanigans against the ruling powers and would just go "oh haha my people are so amazing, aren't they <3" and lets them do their thing

Like this is the guy that went along with a regular human bard's plan to overthrow a literal god despite being a teeny tiny wisp of a breeze during a war between gods

[whispereons]

Oracle!Reader Part 24

Masterlist - Part 1, Part 23

Warning! My AU is yandere and can involve gore. Sensitive topics appear in this series. This chapter is a bit bloody but not that bad.

In all honesty, you never expected to be the one to say ‘no’ to a proposal. Love wasn't something you frequently chased, and being a heartbreaker was even farther from your mind.

Maybe that's why you laughed so merrily at Zhongli’s face when you rejected him.

Then again, he wasn't proposing his heart, nor his love. Morax, Rex Lapis, or rather  Zhongli was offering an alliance of mutual benefit.

“What's your reasoning for rejecting my proposal? I may not marry you as the Geo Archon, but I'm not undesirable as I am now.”

He takes a moment to think as his fingers taps on his chin. The way the diamond of his iris shrinks and the slight grimace on his face raises a red flag in your mind. 

“You aren’t rejecting me solely due to the fact that I’m not operating as this country’s Archon are you?”

.

.

.

The smile on your face becomes tight as your hand shakes with the unmeasurable amount of effort to not flip him off right there. Just what did you do that could have caused such a stupid reasoning to come from his usually smart mouth?

“What the fuck made you think that I even gave a shit about you being an Archon?” Well maybe you couldn’t hold your tongue, but granted you didn’t really need to either.

The man bristles, but ultimately doesn’t answer your question, choosing to instead repeat the first question. “Why are you rejecting my proposal, then?”

“Because you don’t love me.”

“I could learn to love you.”

“But that goes against the terms and conditions of what a marriage is supposed to consist of.”

This brings Zhongli to a halt as he stews on your answer. With a smaller voice, he continues, “The legalities of our marriage would be decided on what vows we utter during the ceremony.”

“Not according to the Creator.” It’s like saying ‘no you’ in an argument, especially with how Zhongli’s face contorts into clear annoyance. 

“With what proof do you claim that as the truth? Nothing in any scriptures on Teyvat says that.” He seems to realize what answer you’ll give him even before you open your mouth by sighing.

“Because I’m the Oracle.” The self-satisfied smirk on your face is clear as you step closer to poke his chest. “Unless you’re suddenly going to claim that I’m wrong? Should we cut off another limb? Maybe your pitiful rat-tail as an ornament to decorate it.”

He pushes you away by your head, the material of your mask is cool under his fingers as you let him push you back with a laugh. He tsks at your antics and smoothly replies.

“Have you finished laughing? There’s no need to pick at my appearance when I wouldn’t do the same to you, whenever you would have shown me your face once we wed.”

Light laughter calms down into a brief hum as you take in his words. It’s all just a well-timed cover-up for the internal panic that you had at realizing that marrying him would mean being forced to reveal yourself one way or another.

“Fair point. Do you really want a serious answer from me anyway?” The swift conversation turn doesn’t go unnoticed by Zhongli, but he concedes by answering.

“Yes. Your reasoning may bring me more information on the Creator’s personal beliefs, or even aspects of humanity that I failed to learn firsthand yet.”

“Like rejection?” The smart-ass reply is met with an unimpressed stare as he comments. “Humorous, but not incorrect.”

“I wasn’t completely joking when I said that it’s mostly due to the Creator. Marriage in Liyue at least is mostly decided by the parents.” Your chapped lips become a bit more manageable to speak with as you lick them. “I don’t remember mine, and the closest thing you have to a parent is the Creator themselves, or maybe Teyvat?” Which was a weird thought, but you couldn’t really be sure how to view it.

“Therefore your marriage, or at the very least, my marriage, considering that I was personally sent on a mission by them, should be under the Creator’s control and only theirs. My opinion on it shouldn’t matter.” This was how you remembered China’s history worked, so Liyue hypothetically should have a similar system.

Zhongli’s frown deepens at your answer as you shrug your shoulders. As if you didn’t just make this whole answer up so that you can avoid marrying the ticking time bomb that wouldn’t hesitate to murder you in a split second.

Sure, there was increasing evidence that your acolytes gained this weirdly strong attachment to you, but you weren’t betting your entire life on it. The moment the mask was gone, your life was going to follow it.

“Then it seems I can do nothing but accept your teaching. Thank you for enlightening me on a topic that I was unaware about. Can I chalk this up to something you learned about from the scriptures written in Cloud Ret-”

He cuts himself off as he looks down at the bustling streets below the balcony. “Xianyun’s old abode? The one’s written in indecipherable language?”

Damn, you really forgot about Cloud Retainer’s humansona. Just thinking about accidentally running into her during your visit to Madam Ping makes you irritated in advance.

“No, there are other scriptures that the Creator led me to when I was exploring.” You didn’t want Zhongli trying to trace it back to Cloud Retainers introvert cave. In fact, it was more entertaining to visualize Zhongli searching every nook and cranny of Liyue’s vast lands for said ‘scriptures’.

The sun hits your eyes directly from its position as you try to guess the time. It had to be at least 3:30 at this point, right? Just how much time did you have to see Madam Ping before the dinner with Ningguang?

Who were you even kidding, you didn’t know how to tell the time by the sun. You’ll have to ask someone once you finish rejecting Zhongli.

Noticing your far off gaze and attention no longer on him, Zhongli let the petty, unexplainable indignation at the action simmer as he forcefully turned your body to face the door.

“I believe I’ve taken up more than enough of your time. You’d best be on your way to whatever task may be next on your schedule today.”

Now you feel pretty bad about spacing out like that. “Sorry Zhongli, I was just trying to figure out the time-” Your words seemed to go ignored as he pushed you out the doorway.

“Don’t bother worrying.” Is his brief response. The touch and pressure of his hands is firm and reliable in a way you can’t fully describe, before they’re removed swiftly as if he was burned. “Instead, you can focus on relaying your gratitude the next time we meet.”

Before you can question the strange sentence, the door is already slammed shut in your face. The whiplash of his actions settles as you stare at the wood in bewilderment. Instinctive, your feet lead you back down the stairs as you toss Zhongli’s sudden attitude and words in your mind.

Surely you weren’t that rude? You’ve done and said much worse things to him after all. Replaying your conversation yielded no new revelations, so with a sense of unease, you decide to take his push for your departure as his weird version of sulking.

What he expected you to thank him for wasn’t something you were going to worry about now. The sun shines on you, making the mask a bit warmer against your skin as you exit the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. 

If he didn’t bother explaining what you should be thanking him for, then it must be something either very big or very noticeable. Walking past where the balcony was, you look up and can only spot the empty chairs and simple table.

Time will tell, you suppose.

-----------------------

You aren’t completely sure how you expected your meeting with Madam Ping to go, but being stuck inside the temple with your neck being examined carefully by the older woman wasn’t a possibility you had in mind.

“Um, Madam Ping, I’m quite sure Xianyun’s claw marks aren’t there anymore. They’ve long healed at this point.”

“Child, you shouldn’t brush off injuries left by the Adepti so easily. Many can leave varying, strange and frankly annoying effects that can permanently alter your body if not taken care of.”

Sighing, you use your right arm to sip the tea Ping generously made for you, as your left arm was also being examined for any amber fragments from Mountain Shaper.

“You really don’t have to worry. Dr. Baizhu was the one who healed me up, so there’s nothing off about my body.” Ping relents and lets you fix your clothing as she steps away.

It was honestly surprising when she first spotted you and immediately apologized for her Adepti companion's actions. Yaoyao and Shuyu, Xianyun’s youngest disciple, were quick to be corralled away as Madam Ping brought you to one of the smaller rooms for examination.

“It must be an illuminated bird quality to be somewhat violent toward me. Maybe when I meet Xiao, I’ll get an injury from him too.” The joke slips out easily, but when Ping sighs and shakes her head in disapproval, you’re quick to shut your mouth.

“That would be even worse, as the karmic debt can be accidentally seeped into your wound that way.” Each sentence Ping says is clear worry, so you can’t be too annoyed at the slight nagging.

“Even still, I hope you have it in your heart to pray that the Creator forgive my headstrong and stubborn companions.” And here’s the catch. “I’m afraid it hasn’t been long since any of them have been trying this hard to understand humans on a personal level, so they tend to revert into their more proud egos when faced with the unexpected.”

There it was, all the excuses. You were really hoping Ping wouldn’t be the kind enabler that asks the victim to forgive the assaulter under the guise of some excuse. You’ve dealt with more than enough back on earth when bullies actually had abuse and other fucked up shit going on at home. 

Likewise, you weren’t about to put up with it from some ‘illuminated beings’ that had more than enough years to learn how not to be judgmental sad sacks of shi-

“I’ll still properly scold them for you, but it’s the Creator’s opinion that I’m truly concerned about.” Would you get in trouble for punching her? Probably. Yanfei is close with her and the best lawyer in existence.

It wasn’t worth it, you told yourself. It wasn’t worth it to argue with Ping about whether it was okay for the Adepti to hurt you or anyone else, solely depending on how connected they were to the Creator. It absolutely wasn’t worth it to point out how the Adepti’s lack of control over their emotions and harsh judgements couldn’t just be scolded away. And that they definitely weren’t allowed to get away with unneeded violence simply because they’re stubborn.

The building tension as Ping continued to ramble and your death grip on your pants was broken by Yanfei walking in while looking off to the side.

“Granny, I heard you came - Oh. Hello there!”  Yanfei’s casual greeting had you melting back into the oracle position as you smile calmly at Yanfei. 

“Hey, nice to meet you. I was just talking with-” You’re cut off by Ping moving to stand in front of Yanfei and begin to explain and introduce you. Including the fact that the other Adepti attacked you and that you were the oracle.

Well, it’s better than you retelling the story. It’s better to let others lie for you, especially considering the close relations. It’s not like Ping’s way of speaking was fast or overwhelming, it just felt like you would be wrong for whatever reason if you tried interfering.

Doesn’t stop the surge of annoyance, though.

Deciding to just leave as soon as possible and not get into a fist fight with a hidden Adeptus, you move off the bed and walk closer to the duo. Without much trouble, you’re able to slip past them until a hand tugs your wrist quickly before releasing it.

“Sorry, but I just wanted to introduce myself to you before you leave. My name is Yanfei. I'm the top legal advisor in Liyue.” A business card is handed to you as she speaks.

Accepting it, you examine the card to not be rude before stuffing it into your bag. While you’ll probably forget about it, it’s not bad to have it in case you visit Fontaine. Or if things with Ninggnuang get into legal territory.

What actually got your attention was how Yanfei went through the trouble of cutting off Ping to speak personally to you. Could this be the first Adepti related character to treat you with respect as a normal person?

The fact that you’re amazed by basic human decency is pretty fucking sad. The difference in treatment between her and Ganyu despite both of them being half-adeptus is staggering.

“Thank you. Just as Madam Ping explained, my name is Y/N, and I’m an Oracle for the Creator.” At least the old woman didn’t butt in yet. “Yaoyao visited me yesterday to meet her. I just didn’t expect to meet you here as well.”

“You suit your position rather well.” Her head tilts slightly to the side, making the Mora decorations jingle. “Although I haven’t met you before, just by your appearance alone I can guess that you’re either-” A finger is raised. “A - you’re not from here. Or B - you don’t have a traditional job.” The second finger joins the first as she takes in your appearance in completion.

“I would put inhuman beings or vision holders on the list, but your aura is completely that of a human, but also not one of a vision holder. In a way, you remind me of the traveler.”

“It does make sense.” You reply with a noncommittal shrug. “The traveler was the first Acolyte, and I’m the first Oracle, so there’s bound to be some uncanny similarities between us.” 

Madam Ping wistfully sighs at the mention of the traveler. “Ah yes, the Hero of Liyue. I was able to gift them that teapot, but what a shame that I don’t have another one to spare for you, esteemed Oracle.”

And here comes the half-praise, half-demeaning words that’s meant to belittle you into feeling worthless while giving meager praise to make her sound generous. 

“There would be no need to, since I intend on enjoying our God’s creations rather than hiding away from it in an Adeptal piece of machinery.” A wide grin adorns your face with canines clear to see, but your voice is as excited as a child’s with innocence clear.

Those that hear you would assume nothing but ignorance at fault, but the ones that can see how your eyes dimly gleam with mockery would think otherwise.

Isn’t it so good that Yanfei is by your side while Ping is in front of you?

The words clearly hit a nerve, as Ping’s smile drops into a horribly wrinkled frown. Yanfei’s teal eyes look between you two with a smile that dissolves into a confused furrow of her brows.

“My apologies, child, I was unaware that you were so deprived of empathy for others that you can reduce the hard work of the Creator’s chosen protectors of this land into a symbol of defilement.” The last few words are scathing as her face contorts into a gruesome mess of sagging skin.

“Granny, I understand why you’re mad but-” Yanfei takes a step forward, but is cut off by Ping raising her hand while stepping closer to you.

“I can now understand why Shenhe, that poor pitiful child, was so conflicted about her emotions toward you. I may not understand why the Creator chose a human of your breed to have that holy position, but I can only pray that this journey teaches you a lesson concerning those that you have wronged in this way.”

“Granny!” Yanfei yells in shock as she moves between you two, “How could you say something like that to them? You’re not only insulting them, you’re also insulting the Creator!” 

She turns around to face you as she shots a grimace behind her at the fuming hag. “I am so sorry about this, you should probably go now.” 

Nodding with a sad expression, you speak in a confused tone. “I-I understand. It was nice meeting you and Madam Ping. I hope we can talk again sometime.” Twisting open the doorknob and pushing it open, you sneak one last peek into the room.

Yanfei has her back to you as she yells on a whisper level. Ping doesn’t look all that pleased until her eyes stray to yours. The smugness practically rolls off you in waves as she scorns at you with disgust. 

-------------------------

It was official.

You were lost.

Looking at the doors and people walking around you, you tried to remember what path you took with Ping. But each door looked the same, with different people rushing in and out.

None of them even had time to talk to you as they wheeled out screaming and bleeding people from room to room. You got glimpses of dressings pressed haphazardly on wounds as you continued walking.

Surely you still had enough time until Ningguang’s dinner?

Trying not to freak out over the time, you continue marching throughout the seemingly endless hallways and avoid bumping into the doctors, nurses and more that rush around you. Eventually you arrive at an area of the building that looks a bit calmer.

You spot a woman wearing a dress looking similar to a work uniform and decide to ask her for directions leading out of the temple. You’re about to call out to her when she opens a door and enters it while cheerfully calling out.

“Thank you so much for all the help despite your busy schedule!” She continues to walk in, giving a half-hearted push to close it. 

Sneakily, you plant your foot right at the hinge of it, making it stop before it actually closes. A sense of déjà vu nags you as you stand outside the room with your head resting against the wall. You close your eyes to listen to the conversation.

“It’s no trouble at all, Daiyu. I always enjoy volunteering to help those who offer sacrifices to the Creator here.” There’s a light tilt to the voice while remaining sturdy, a good indicator that the speaker is who you think it is.

“Even so, as the Yuheng of Liyue, you still have many duties. Much more than you did when you first began to help out all those years ago…” The anxious woman is met with a brief chuckle.

“As I’ve said before, Daiyu, you can call me Keqing during these times. I’m not here as the Yuheng, but as a servant of our God to learn more.” The faint click of heels can be heard as drawers of what you assume are bandages are opened.

“Well, have you finally come to a conclusion? You know about whether self-mutilation is an ‘overdone’ and an ‘inferior’ way of worshiping the Creator?” The question is met with brief silence before Keqing responds.

“I’ve already made up my mind around the same time as Rex Lapis’s death. Self-mutilation isn’t exactly wrong per se, but it should not be our main way of worship. Our bodies were painstakingly crafted by the Creator’s hands and should not be abused. It’s why I’ve strived to keep myself in perfect shape.”

A sigh can be heard with an almost bitter note.

“But humans can not regrow lost limbs. Thus, I do not believe self-mutilation is the best way for humanity to worship the gods. Blood offerings and even human offerings of other criminals can be done, but I believe that self-mutilation should be left for extreme sins and for the Adepti to present.”

With eyes trained to the blood-stained floorboards beneath your feet, you push yourself off the wall. It seemed you weren’t going to gain any useful information from here. 

“The public won’t accept that kind of view that goes against what we’ve been taught for thousands of years. Then again, that never stopped you before - Aw, damn it! There’s barely any medical supplies here, too.”

The tapping of your feet walking away is concealed by the clicking of heels.

“There’s nothing left? Ugh, probably Ningguang again. She’s always doing this stuff.”

But perhaps you should have stayed just a bit longer. 

“The Tianquan?! Oh, please don’t let her know what I said! I quite like my job!”

“Relax, Daiyu, she wouldn’t care about your complaints even if she did hear them.”

“Then why are you frowning like that?”

You never know what you might hear.

“It’s just a bit strange to me. Not long ago she was doing all sorts of planning with an annoyed expression, but this morning she was pleased. She must have either taken care of whatever was bothering her or hatched the perfect, foolproof plan for it.”

----------------------------

Thankfully, you did manage to find your way back to the first floor. (When did you even walk up the stairs?) Most of the people there were rather calm, with incense and prayer rooms decorating this floor. 

The smell was of cinnamon and something with a strong woody scent. The one’s in the prayer rooms had healed scars exposed, either doing a full floor bow or at least on their knees.

If they had them, at least.

It was a gruesome sight if you were to be honest. Some had skin raw red from what looked like boil scars, others with self-inflicted writing carved into their skin. Words like; ‘Holy One’, ‘Savior’, and the most popular one of all: ‘Beloved Creator’ were in some way permanently branding their skin.

The wind blew from a certain hallway, as if Teyvat was trying to finally lend you a hand in leaving this temple of smoke and blood. Taking long strides past the rooms that muttered and screamed at varying levels and intervals, you see a set of wide doors.

WHAM

The whir of a sliding door before it slams into the doorway is all you hear before a hand is wrapped firmly around your wrist and pulling you into the dark room. Your breath is knocked out of you as the soles of your shoes search for purchase.

Your hands reach up to where you were grabbed to dig into the scalp of your assailant before you both fall to the ground from the struggle. 

“Let go of me!” You grit out as the slender fingers continue trying to pin you down. A feminine grunt of pain is heard as you finally manage to push her away, making your assaulter hit the wall.

Like hell! You weren’t just going to leave after being attacked for no fucking reason. Rushing forward, you pin the person against the wall as your eyes adjust to the dark room. Silvery hair can be seen in a tangle between your fingertips as you hold her wrists against the wall.

“Shenhe, what the fuck were you thinking? Are you still pissed at me? I thought we cleared it all up.” With a mix of anger, disbelief and pure confusion, you stare at her face as her features slowly become more defined.

“I just wanted to see you again…” The kicked puppy look is not suiting the bloody bandages wrapped around her left eye. Or what used to be her eye. “I didn’t hurt you this time.”

“Dragging an unsuspecting person into a dark room isn't not hostile either, Shenhe.” She simply stares at you in silence, as if she’s incompetent enough to not understand your words. “We almost fought to our deaths last time we met. How am I not supposed to assume that you’re trying to hurt me?”

Shenhe’s head drops a little bit as her mouth opens and closes repeatedly with no success. After giving her a moment, you sigh with a hint of annoyance and let go of her. “I have to get going, Shenhe. I'm not going to sit and wait forever.”

“I’m sorry.” You glance back down at Shenhe as she sits on her knees with her hands clenched tightly on her thighs. “I’m sorry for hunting you down so insistently while framing you as someone who wronged me on a personal level.”

Could you really accept this apology when you did stab her first for killing those Hilichurls you were friends with? Then again, they did give you liquor while Shenhe convinced herself that you were an evil entity. “Thanks for the apology, but that still doesn’t change much. I spent days in Bubu Pharmacy trying not to die from all the shit you and Yelan put me through.”

“I already heard about it and saw the vivid details of your healing progress while I waited outside your window that day.” Those words alone had you whipping your head around to her as your jaw dropped.

“Shenhe, what the hell!?” She staggers back to her feet with a worrying sway before taking mute steps towards your shocked form.

“A good partner is one who is attentive and keeps detailed track of their lover's affairs and health, correct?” Trying to wrap your head around the twisted logic she presents you with, you bury your face in your hands.

“Yes, but not in the context of our relationship.” You stress as your arm automatically reaches out to stop her from swaying to the ground. With your hand firmly on her arm, you continue to speak. “I know that you don’t really use that word often considering Xianyun’s teachings, but it’s pretty fucking important.”

A sole iridescent blinks lazily at you before her whole body weight is pressing down on you. It’s less of a hug and more like a ‘glomp’. Deciding to hold her by her waist to prevent being crushed by the pure muscle mass that made up her body, her forehead rests on your shoulder.

It’s burning. Definitely unusual for a Cryo vision holder.

“Shenhe? Shenhe can you hear me?” You ask as her glazed over eye stares into yours with no recognition seen in them. Swinging your head around, you finally spot a blood stained coat off to the side.

“C’mon, Shenhe, just work with me a bit to get you back to bed.” You spit out as you carry more of her weight to avoid dragging her on the floor. Thankfully, she helps out by wrapping her legs around your body and despite the slight constriction, you still manage to carry her back to bed.

Dropping her on the bed, you carefully fix her up. Brushing her hair out of her face, pulling the covers back over body, and adjusting the surrounding bandages around her injured eye to fit snugly. 

She did apologize after all, it would be cruel of you to leave a person with a fever and probably an infection a mess on a bed. 

That didn’t mean you were going to stay and nurse her back to health. Ningguang was probably at the restaurant at this point, and you weren’t going to be late for it.

Turning around, you take a quiet step toward the exit until a hand wraps frantically around your wrist.

“You forgive me, right?” Heavy breathing fills the room as her sweaty skin clings to the little contact she has with you. “I apologized sincerely, I’ll do it again if I must.” A trembling eye stares into your soul as her voice breaks. “Please…”

You stare down at the disciple with an unreadable expression until a smile breaks out onto your face. Shenhe’s grip loosens as hope begins to light up. Your other hand gently removes her fingers from your wrist before you whisper.

“Why don’t you sleep on it, Shenhe?”

Her eyes slide shut from pure exhaustion as you walk away and exit the room. After taking note of the room number, you resume your short walk to the exit. A nurse is nearby and just as you pull one of the wide doors open, you lean in to whisper a brief message.

The door closes shut behind you as the nurse rushes away. With careful footsteps, you walk leisurely toward the Xinyue Kiosk. The burning stares of civilians and soldiers alike are rolled off you in waves.

It was pointless to fight with the puppets when the puppet master invited you to meet her.

A feel like this part took forever. It's just the beginning of my spring break before I have another quiz and exam. So my break is just more studying, wonderful. My editor didn't need to do much considering the small size but I also feel like this wasn't the best of my work. I did write piece by piece every few nights when I got back home dead tired. I really can't wait for this semester to end…. But I'm also really excited to get started on the dinner with Ningguang! Taglist is always open!

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[abyssruler]

THE ADEPTI’S GUIDE ON HOW TO NOT CATCH FEELINGS FOR THE STRANGE MORTAL WHO HAS A MASSIVE CRUSH ON YOUR PSEUDO-DAD

step one: don’t go to the statue for healing

pairing: xiao x fem!reader

summary: ever since you were a child, you had sworn to everyone you’ve ever met that one day you’re going to marry rex lapis, and never once has your resolve wavered. so why is your heart suddenly doing gymnastics whenever that weird adeptus fellow shows up?! he should be helping you get with rex lapis, not trying to be cute with that little happy face he makes as he takes a bite off the almond tofu you made him!

note: fem!reader, slight crack, comedy, reader is a dumbass and xiao is moronsexual that’s it that’s the fic, lumine and hu tao being wingmen, every playable character in liyue appears at some point, reader is the biggest rex lapis simp, and no you don’t know that zhongli is rex lapis

series masterlist

next step

People like to say that you’re a weird kid. You much prefer the term unique. After all, it isn’t everyday that someone makes it their life’s mission to marry their Archon.

Besides, you’ve met plenty of other people you can confidently call weirder than you. Case number one: Hu Tao, aka the Funeral Director’s granddaughter, aka your best friend. Case number two: Chongyun, your local popsicle dealer. Case number three: Xiangling, the trauma-inducer who proved to you that not everything is, in fact, edible and you should most definitely be wary the next time she offers you any food.

And case number four: Xingqiu.

You don’t think that last one needs any sort of explanation. Anyone who’s as filthy rich as him and chooses to spend their time with commoners like you instead of basking in their mora is weird (in hindsight, it wasn’t a very logical reason, but it very much made sense in your ten-year-old brain). That, and he’s a huge nerd, though that can be forgiven since he’s your main source of information regarding your future husband, Rex Lapis.

Which brings you to the conclusion that yes, maybe there’s a little bit of truth in it whenever someone calls you weird, but surrounding yourself with even weirder people cancels the weirdness out in some complex mathematical way. So while they may be, possibly, likely telling the truth, they’re also technically lying.

So, no, you’re not weird. End of story.

“Let me get this straight, you’re trying to hire me in advance as the musician for your future wedding with Rex Lapis?”

You nod, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Of course! Who else would I hire besides the best musician I know?”

“I’m the only musician you know,” Xinyan points out with amusement.

“Details! Once your parents finally get off your back about music, I just know you’re gonna be amazing!” You offer her a high five. “So are you in?”

She stares at your hand for a moment, an unreadable look crossing her face before it smooths out into a wide grin. Her palm slaps over yours in a high five.

“Well, duh! What kind of person would I be to reject a once in a lifetime’s offer of performing in a god’s wedding?” She laughs, slinging her arm over your shoulder. You smile at her easy acceptance, of not calling you weird like the other kids.

Hm. Another one recruited into your band of supporters, aka the only people who actually believe you when you say you’re going to marry Rex Lapis. Excellent.

✧

“Is this really necessary?”

“Of course it is! What kind of future wife would I be if I didn’t at least clean up my future husband’s statues?” you respond, not once pausing in your motions of scrubbing the base of the statue.

Chongyun sighs but makes no move to stop as he sweeps up dead leaves. “You know, if you channeled half as much energy as you did into your studies, you wouldn’t have to constantly beg Xingqiu to tutor you.”

“We’re eleven—wait, actually, I’m eleven, you’re still an eeny bitty kid who’s ten—but back to my point, in a few years’ time my grades won’t matter. Have you ever heard Granny Ruoxin bragging about how she got high scores when she was in school? No. Which is why I don’t have to bother putting in the effort as long as I’m passing.”

“You’re barely passing,” Hu Tao cackles from her seat in the shade away from the sun’s merciless rays, having gotten the easiest task of being the provider of food and cleaning supplies.

You frown. “Well, school’s not really important anyway.”

“Yes it is,” Chongyun argues, ever the voice of reason.

You despair at the lack of Xiangling’s presence. She’d have taken your side. Hell, even Xingqiu and Xinyan would’ve agreed with you. It’s not like grades mattered to a rich kid and a future musician.

Hu Tao suddenly sits up, a look on her face that tells you you’re not gonna like what she’s about to say. “Hey, didn’t the elders finally allow you to attend the Rite of Descension next month?”

Finally, you pause from cleaning the statue. “Yeah, they did.”

Her smile turns positively mischievous. “Doesn’t Rex Lapis give out words of wisdom each year? How about you ask him what he thinks about the importance of school?”

Your jaw drops. “No way! Like I’d ever ask him such a useless question.”

“Oh really? Are you sure it’s not because you’re scared he’ll disagree with you?” she says, egging you on.

Unable to come up with a suitable argument, you concede. “Oh, fine! I’ll ask him that, but you better prepare your apology speech for when I’m proven right.”

✧

Here is how your first meeting with Rex Lapis goes: an incredibly nervous you, the very large, very dragon-y him, and an entire audience’s worth of people at your back, watching your interaction and waiting for their turn to be given wisdom by the Lord of Geo.

It barely lasts a minute. The good thing, however, is that you managed to ask him if he thought school was important with only minimal stuttering, and that he answered.

The bad thing is that Hu Tao does not, in fact, owe you an apology speech.

✧

Within the next two months, your grades skyrocket. Your teachers are all very impressed with your improvement and asked what brought this change on.

“Love, Miss Shu Xian, love has changed me,” you tell your teacher before walking away, feeling like a character from one of Xingqiu’s novels.

“What a strange kid…” your teacher mutters as she watches you place your hand on the balcony’s railings and pretend to look wisely over the surroundings—the surroundings being the large, stained wall of the neighboring restaurant of your school.

✧

“You’ll really do that for me?” you ask, tears forming at the corner of your eyes.

Yun Jin laughs, sounding like an angel sent from above and handing you a handkerchief to dab at your eyes with. “Of course! What are friends for? I promise to sing only the very best songs and dance the liveliest dances of all.”

You blow your nose loudly into the handkerchief. “Don’t pressure yourself! I don’t need it to be the best, even your presence alone would be enough.”

“Ah, but it’s your future wedding, a once in a lifetime event, that would be no time to slack,” she argues, still managing to look graceful even after you’ve ruined her well-embroidered handkerchief with tears and snot. She places her hand on your shoulder. “Now, what has happened? You’re not normally so easily reduced to tears.”

You sniffle. “The usual.” When she purses her lips like a disapproving mother, you’re forced to elaborate. “Just some girls thinking they could pick on the weird kid who wants to marry our Archon. Nothing new.”

Her eyes soften. “I’m sorry.”

You wave her off, forcing out a laugh. “That was no issue. You should’ve seen the look on their faces when I threw a bucket of dirty water at them.” You were in the middle of cleaning another statue, not your fault the nearest thing was the bucket. They should be glad you didn’t hit them with your broom. They should be even gladder Hu Tao wasn’t there to retaliate against them.

“That was a mean thing to do,” Yun Jin says, but the amused smile on her lips tells you otherwise.

You cross your arms. “They deserved it.”

She hums. “They did.”

✧

For your fourteenth birthday, you decide to spend it hunting for geoculus in order to gift them to the love of your life’s statues. Not a very fun activity, especially since it’s your birthday and the gift-giving should be the other way around, but you console yourself with the thought that you’ll have him gift you a pool full of mora in your wedding.

Besides, it’s not like you can throw a party. It’d be very disrespectful to Hu Tao’s grandfather who just passed away, and with your best friend off on a search to find Director Hu’s soul… well, your birthday now consists of you, a bunch of qingxin flowers you picked up on the way, and the three geoculus you managed to find.

Currently, you’re trying to find a way to reach the fourth geoculus without slipping down the mountainside, breaking all your bones, and consequently dying in the process. Why do these things only appear in dangerous and high places? Oh, and now it’s raining. Just your luck.

Life would be so much easier with a vision. Geo, to be exact. No other element would suffice. You might just die if you married the Geo Archon and had, say, a pyro vision instead of a geo vision. Especially since a geo vision would be exceptionally helpful in your predicament right now.

Still, you’ve come all the way up the mountain, a little probability of death won’t stop you. Well, it probably should, but you’re already taking a leap and reaching for the vine that’ll hopefully swing you into the geoculus’s way and into the other side of the narrow gorge. No going back now, not that you ever planned on doing so.

You cling to the vine with all your might while your other hand reaches for the geoculus.

It brushes the tips of your fingers—

The vine snaps.

✧

You wake up to the feeling of your head pounding, scrapes and bruises all over your body. No broken bones though. Thank Rex Lapis.

In your right hand is the geoculus you’d been reaching for. Huh. So falling down to your almost-death wasn’t a waste after all.

Something warm pulses in your left hand. Curious, you unclench your fingers.

Your world falls apart. Tears fall down your eyes in rivulets, sobbing as you curse Celestia and all the gods—except for Rex Lapis, of course—about how awful their sense of humor is. You look down at the accursed object in your hand with betrayal.

A pyro vision.

✧

Hu Tao returns from her self-appointed mission from the afterlife, takes one look at you, your dejected expression, and the pyro vision now hanging in shame by your hip, and she immediately understands.

She points to her own newly obtained pyro vision. “Hey, at least we match!”

✧

“Oh Rex Lapis, please accept this humble offering and exchange it for something more suitable… like, say, a geo vision?”

Nothing.

You continue kneeling in front of the statue with your pyro vision in hand, posing like a man about to offer his firstborn son to the gods in sacrifice.

A few seconds pass. Then a minute, then two, three. Five minutes pass.

You’ve been kneeling for ten whole minutes. Nothing has changed, your vision still glows red. Not even a sign to indicate that he heard your pleas, something like a pebble landing in your head. But alas, there is none.

You hear a snicker carried by the wind from your right. Snapping your head to the source of the sound, you find Xingqiu leaning against the trunk of a tree, a book in hand as he watches your ridiculous display. Sighing hopelessly, you stand up from your position and make your way towards him, storing your vision safely in your pocket ‘cause hey, a vision’s a vision, no matter how displeased you are with its element.

He opens his mouth, probably a greeting, but most likely a quip you’re currently not in the mood to be dealing with, so you speak before he has any chance to.

“Yes, I know, I looked ridiculous.”

He raises his eyebrows at your words. “That was not what I was about to say.”

You lean against the same tree, pushing all your weight into your shoulder. “Then what were you about to say?”

Xingqiu looks away. You follow his gaze and find him staring at the statue of the Geo Archon you’d just been kneeling to moments ago.

“You needn’t be so upset with your vision—”

You laugh. “Because a vision’s still a vision, a sign of recognition from the gods? Yeah, I know. Heard that many times already.”

A crease forms between his brows. “Again, you’ve assumed what I was about to say.” Then he sighs, his expression smoothening out. “No, what I meant to say is that geo or pyro, vision or no vision, it did not change your goal at all, did it?”

“I guess not,” you mutter.

“Then you need not worry, friend. Rex Lapis’s future affections for you won’t be changed by a mere vision.”

You nod, slowly getting invigorated. “Yeah, you’re right.” Then, you turn a cheeky smile to Xingqiu. “You know, for someone who’s younger than me, you sure are wise.”

“Only a year younger, which is barely much of a difference when compared to—”

“Okay, that’s enough! Just remembered that I need to go to the market today and buy some tea for the elders,” you say, pushing yourself up and rummaging your pockets for mora.

“Oh, let me help. It’s been a while since I last spoke to Pops Kai.”

Finding only a couple of mora, barely enough to buy a piece of bread, you agree. “Fine, but you’re paying, rich boy.”

✧

Alright, you’ll admit that maybe you were overreacting a little bit after you found out your vision was pyro instead of geo, but you’d like to blame that one on the raging concussion you probably had after taking a tumble down that deep gorge.

Anything else that happened after your concussion faded away is a result of deliriousness from eating too much of Xiangling’s strange dishes.

✧

On Hu Tao’s sixteenth birthday, the two of you sneak in a few quick sips of alcohol. Unfortunately for you, this leads to the discovery that you are extremely lightweight. Another unfortunate thing for you is that her birthday coincided with the Rite of Descension that year. The same Rite of Descension that you’ve been religiously attending each year ever since you were allowed to.

A little tipsiness won’t stop you from going to the Rite of Descension, or as you liked to call it, the yearly wooing of your future husband.

Hu Tao accompanies you to the Pavilion where it’s held. You wave enthusiastically to Keqing, who you’ve come to know during all those years. She waves back briefly, but then returns to doing all her busy Yuheng stuff.

You stop near the railing, facing Hu Tao with a serious, if slightly dazed, look. Placing both hands on her shoulders, you lean close. “This is the day I propose. Just watch.”

Her face takes on a gleeful turn. Clapping her hands, she gestures for you to line up on the queue of people awaiting their yearly dose of wisdom from the Lord of Geo. “I wish you all the best. Onwards, oh brave soldier of the heart!”

Significantly encouraged by her words, your slightly tipsy self made your way to the line, waiting patiently for your turn. When you finally reach the front, you pull out the large cor lapis you got lucky enough to win on the market the other day, and with a slightly intoxicated grin, you walk your way to the front.

Cor lapis in hand, you raise it in an offering motion and say quietly, because no one else needs to hear what you’re about to proclaim except you and the Geo Archon, “Rex Lapis, will you marry me?”

Unfortunately, due to the previously mentioned inebriated state, you didn’t quite manage to control the volume of your voice. Hu Tao’s laugh can be heard amidst the silence that ensues after your proposal.

Molten gold roots you in place. Rex Lapis’s eyes all-knowing and just a tiny bit intimidating when directed to your mortal self in full force. It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking of right now since you’re not exactly an expert at reading dragon expressions, so you stand and wait for a few moments for his reply.

However, due to Hu Tao’s laughter and your ridiculous exclamation, Lady Nigguang seems to think this is some elaborate joke. Really now, the lady should know you better. You remember once telling her your goal of marrying Rex Lapis and how she chuckled at you but never once called you strange for it.

Just before the Millelith can arrive to take you away and probably arrest you, Rex Lapis lets out a loud, hearty laugh.

It’s enough to startle everyone within hearing vicinity, including yourself.

“Hah… It has been many years since I felt such keen amusement,” his voice rumbles, carrying on over the crowd and forcing everyone to listen. “For that alone, child, I shall grant you this: return in a few years bearing that same question, and perhaps I shall answer differently.”

To anyone listening, it was obvious that this was just his way of rejecting your proposal and that he would not, in fact, change his mind even in a few years’ time.

To you, though, it meant the world.

Your smile could almost be enough to light up an entire room. “Okay! I’ll hold you to that!”

A woman somewhere behind you gasps at how casually you’re speaking to Rex Lapis, but the rumbling laughter that comes from him says enough. He doesn’t mind.

Cheerily skipping your way out of the sea of onlookers who have their eyes trained on you, you make your way to Hu Tao who’s been watching you with twinkling eyes. She claps your back with a grin, “Whaddya know, a little liquid courage was all it took to get you one step closer to your goal! I’d call this venture of ours a resounding success!”

✧

You wake up the next day with a pounding headache and clear memories of what transpired the day before.

You spend a good few minutes screaming into your pillow.

✧

They’re selling limited edition Rex Lapis figurines at the market today. To avoid the possibility of them getting sold out before you manage to get your hands on one, you’ve decided to camp out right in front of the shop since yesterday.

No one bothers you. After that little debacle at the last Rite of Descension, you’ve become known in Liyue Harbor as the girl who proposed to Rex Lapis. It garnered a few disapproving looks, especially from the old geezers, but unlike your childhood, quite a lot of people now find it funny instead of weird. It’s probably because of how Rex Lapis himself reacted in that situation.

Even the store owner is giving you amused looks as you lay on the cot you’ve set up beside his store since last night. But that was no matter, he was finally opening his shop. Looking around, you find a lot of people standing in the queue right behind you.

You stand up, grinning to yourself as you realized how much of a genius plan this is. You’re first in line.

Figurine in hand and a couple thousand mora broke, you would have missed the identity of the person behind you if you hadn’t recognized their voice. Turning around, you come face to face with none other than, “Keq—”

She quickly shuts you up by placing a hand over your mouth, her other hand holding a Rex Lapis figurine.

Oh Archons.

After dragging you to a less crowded alley, she finally lets you speak. An excited smile forms on your lips. “Keqing! I didn’t know you were a fan!”

“Not so loud!” She shushes you, then she places the figurine in a bag you didn’t notice before, hidden from the world. “And I’m not a fan. I think his views are a little outdated and Liyue could benefit more from a more modernized outlook. But… I do admire his achievements and all he’s done for Liyue.” She sees the knowing look on your face. “That doesn’t make me a fan, okay?”

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say.”

“And even if I was a fan—which I am most certainly not—I’m not like you who would propose to the Geo Archon in front of Liyue’s high profiles.” She places her hand on her hip. “Honestly, I’ve been meaning to ask, but what possessed you to do such an act?”

At the reminder of your mortifying display, a bit of heat creeps to your cheeks. Thankfully, the wear and tear of time has a way of lessening humiliation, especially when said humiliating act is the only thing you’ve been hearing about for the past few months.

“It may have been extremely embarrassing, but I have no regrets! You’ll see, Keqing, one day I’ll invite you to my wedding.”

She sighs at your hopeless delusions. “There’s no arguing with you, is there? Alright, invite me if you will, but I have somewhere to be right now.” You let her go easily. Turning to you one last time, she says, “And don’t tell anyone about this encounter, okay?”

“Gotcha!”

✧

At eighteen, you meet the first person apart from Rex Lapis who’s ever managed to make your heart skip a beat. (For now.)

“Hu Tao, who is that?” you whisper frantically to the newly appointed Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

“Hm?” She looks up from the papers in her hand and follows your line of sight. “Oh! That’s Mister Zhongli. He’s our newly hired consultant. Very knowledgable in history and very, and I mean very, rich. It’s like he creates mora out of thin air, that’s how rich he is.”

Tall, handsome, smart, older than you, and rich with earthy tones and amber eyes.

Oh no.

He was exactly your type.

Almost too exact, considering your type is, well, Rex Lapis himself.

Until today, you didn’t even realize you had a type until you found yourself faced with the handsome consultant—Zhongli, his name is Zhongli. For some reason or another, you think you’ve seen him somewhere before, but that idea was quickly shot down. There was just no way you’d ever forget seeing a person like him.

Another problem is that you never even knew you were capable of being attracted to anyone who isn’t Rex Lapis, Morax, the Geo Archon, or all of the above.

Hu Tao seems to have caught on to your internal dilemma.

She raises her arm. “Mister Zhongli, come over here for a sec!”

“What are you doing?!” you hiss at her, slapping her arm repeatedly before straightening once your new object of interest makes his way over. You try your best to inconspicuously rake your eyes over him. If Zhongli notices your attempt at checking him out, he thankfully doesn’t say anything.

“Yes, Director, did you need me for anything?” he says, and good lord, even his voice held that sort of richness to it that made you want to listen to him talk all day.

Hu Tao smiles that same smile you once likened to a shark, all teeth and ready to pounce at any hint of weakness, which in this case is your quickly developing probably-but-hopefully-not-a-crush on her new employee. “Nothing in particular. I just wanted to introduce you here to my friend.”

Her hand lands on the small of your back as she all but shoves you in front Zhongli. You manage not to stumble as you’re pushed forward, internally clenching your fist and thinking of ways to retaliate against your best friend slash the bane of your existence.

You have to crane your neck up just to meet his amused amber eyes, that’s how tall the guy is.

“Ah, I believe you are the Director’s dear friend? She has spoken to me in length about you.”

You find yourself uncharacteristically tongue-tied. “Y-Yeah.” You then manage to introduce yourself with minimum stuttering.

“Well met. My name is Zhongli, the new consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.” He smiles, looking very regal and wise and infuriatingly handsome and—NO!

You have to stay loyal. Just because a pretty face appeared doesn’t mean you can cheat on your future husband… even if you’re not together yet so technically what you’re doing isn’t actually cheating.

Oh Rex Lapis, please forgive me for this severe case of adultery. I’ll accept any, ahem, punishment you’re willing to give. I promise I’ll bring you the best offering at next year’s Rite of Descension. And maybe you could, you know, finally give me an answer on my proposal—no pressure though!

Zhongli tilts his head ever so slightly like he just heard something funny.

In order to avoid committing anymore acts of cheating, you bid him a hasty goodbye. “It’s been nice meeting you, Mister Zhongli, but I just remembered I have a, uh, statue to clean up! Gotta go!”

You ignore Hu Tao’s knowing look following you as you quickly make your way out of the Funeral Parlor.

✧

“I heard you’ve finally moved on from Rex Lapis,” Xingqiu says in lieu of a greeting.

“I did not! And who told you that?”

He smiles. You’re not fooled by the slightest. That smile is a devil hidden behind the facade of an angel. “Why, our mutual friend Hu Tao did.”

✧

“You know, forcing yourself to clean up every statue of the Geo Archon isn’t going to make the crush you have on Mister Zhongli disappear,” Chongyun points out, watching you work away as you sweep dead leaves into a pile.

“How about you focus on that big fat crush you have on Xingqiu instead?”

He gasps, but your words do their trick in keeping him silent about your not-crush.

✧

Xiangling hands you a surprisingly normal dish when you next see her. “As a gift of celebration for getting your first crush, I made your favorite!”

“I don’t have a crush on Zhongli!”

She smiles. “Hehe, I didn’t say a name.”

You raise your hands in defeat. “Fine. Whatever. Free food is free food.” You take a seat on Wanmin restaurant’s stool and dig into your food.

Guoba pats your knee consolingly.

✧

It takes a good few weeks before you can stand to be in Zhongli’s presence without becoming a heart-palpitating mess. Another few weeks before you can have a proper conversation without thinking about how mesmerizing his eyes are and how nice his biceps look in his snug suit and how much you want to—

Enough!

After the initial awkwardness that is your first meeting, you find that you actually enjoy Zhongli’s company a lot. For one, he’s very knowledgable, has a good eye for scammers which led to your monthly dose of being scammed decreasing significantly. Two, he’s a gentleman. A true gentleman, not like Xingqiu who’d leave you waiting for hours at a meeting spot ‘cause he got too engrossed in reading his books. Zhongli’s the kind who offers you his coat when it’s cold and opens the door for you to enter first.

And lastly, he’s rich.

Hu Tao wasn’t lying at all, the guy is rich enough to be able to haggle the market sellers into selling their wares for a higher price then buy said highly priced wares. You once asked him why he’s working in a Funeral Parlor when it seems like he’s rich enough to have even his great-grandchildren live comfortable and wealthy lives.

His answer?

“I would like to experience working a normal job alongside the people.”

You didn’t have the heart to tell him that if he really wanted to do that, he should’ve chosen a job where he’d constantly be surrounded by living breathing people, not dead ones.

✧

You didn’t realize it then, but at the age of twenty, you meet the person you will one day be cheesily calling the love of your life.

A person is leaning against the statue of your beloved Archon, blood coating his body and smearing it on his surroundings.

The wounded stranger looks up, a guarded look in his eyes as he supports himself with a spear tipped with jade. Blood drips off a strand of his teal hair and he looks like he’s one step away from death’s door, but even then, there’s no mistaking he could still take you on in a fight and win. There’s brown spots here and there that indicate the blood has dried off, which means he’s probably been here for a while. Or maybe it’s bird poop, who knows.

You should probably help the guy, but you can do nothing but stare in horror at the bloody mess in front of you.

The stranger opens his mouth to speak, but you beat him to it.

“Damn it! Do you know how hard it is to keep that statue clean?! Go bleed out somewhere else!”

the adepti’s guide on how to not catch feelings for the strange mortal who has a massive crush on your pseudo-dad

step one: don’t go to the statue for healing, or you might just meet the aforementioned strange mortal

series masterlist

next step

word count: 4.7k

note: i’d like to clarify that reader is an orphan, which means everything you’ve done so far is indeed fatherless behavior. not much xiao since we’re just establishing your relationships with various characters for future purposes, but starting next chapter he’s gonna be having major appearances. send me an ask or comment if you wanna be added to the taglist! ^^

[kazuhasmaid]

Could you do a part two to reader getting stuck in Genshin with a device with zhongliw venti and someone else that you choose?

how they would react to an isekai'd!reader with a device 📱pt.2

zhongli, venti, ayato, x isekai'd!reader

part 1 of this series

genre: fluff/comfort

wc:

a/n: WHEW i've grown fond of writing more for this scenario, so ill keep accepting more requests for this concept ehehe~ BTW THERE'S ACTUALLY A FEW PEOPLE WHO RECOGNIZED ORV AND I GOT SO HAPPY- and no my laptop still wont let me do read cuts. :/

implied omniscient reader's viewpoint references: just the reader having their phone and having exclusive skills for being the reader who's stayed till the end.

no beta read we die like ayato's parents / lowercase intended

favoritism™ shows.

having your life taken away and suddenly waking up inside the game you treasured for so long, one might count itself as a blessing for having tevyat as the next world you get to live in, that's until you find a shock to yourself that your device is with you? perhaps this was the way the archons in tevyat tend to you, to survive in this world, having records of events that are yet to take events in this magnificent, vast world you've yet to see- not with your screen any longer but with your very own eyes. wait. wait a minute? who's that-

zhongli

finding himself on a stroll to the plains, he hears noises a few feet away from him,

and there he found someone.

this someone was layed on the side of a rock wall, squirming around in what seemed to be an uncomfortable rest as wet mud covered the body.

though he confirmed it himself to make sure this person was alive and well, he carefully approached the person, tapping them on the shoulder, clearing his throat before saying,

"excuse me,"

the former archon took many more attempts to wake up the sleeping person. they fluttered their eyes open and zhongli found himself offering a gentle smile to this stranger whom he just found.

though the stranger was bewildered.

'is this who i think this is' you thought.

all in your amazement that the former archon of liyue, zhongli was right infront of you.

"...erhm, may i help you?" you asked him.

"no no, i was simply wondering how you ended up here.."

"may i be completely honest with you?"

you chose to confide in zhongli, knowing he can be trusted as he does not indulge himself in evil matters, which you know for a fact as the time you spent into lore-diving can now come in handy.

zhongli nods to your question as you begin to tell him how you're not exactly from liyue,

"where exactly did you travel from?"

"...huh, well it was more of hm. maybe you could say that im an "outlander" of some sort" you said this, knowing that zhongli would have more an easier understanding for using this term as the twin travellers were recognized by this title.

zhongli had been open-minded about your situation and had offered you a place to stay under the name of hu tao's business ,food to eat and new clothes to wear, being an archon himself, though the difference between mortals and archon did not stop him from knowing the difficulties that humans go through, let alone someone like you who had woken up in a whole new world will feel shaken at things beforehand.

he walked you through the fields, picking up a glazed lily and handing it to you, needless to say that the gentleman was a great company who spoke interesting facts about the agriculture of liyue and its history.

as you two reached the bazaars and shops of liyue, you had recieved warm welcome and smiles of he liyueans as you were accompanied by zhongli, you felt touched that even as you were covered in mud, all messy and lost, they found theirselves offering you free snacks, free clothing as liyueans were generous towards those who may need help.

you teared up at the gestures the liyueans continued to give you, though zhongli reached his hand towards your face to wipe your tear and smiled at you, chuckling at you, "no need to worry, you're welcome in liyue and will always be."

the day was filled with tours, smiles, and opinions about everything and anything that came into view or mind, it was no doubt- one of the best days in your life.

zhongli had found himself somewhat... upset that the day was coming to an end, so what he does? he invites you to dinner! he found himself oddly warming up to you faster, as he found you as a great company.

sitting at liyue pavillion, you two feasted at what zhongli calls 'liyue's pride' dishes cooked by a number of famous chefs known throughout tevyat.

as you reached for you old clothes, you felt something in its pockets, you had only been in tevyat for less than a day which made you curious as to why or how you had some possession with you.

zhongli watches you reach for the pockets and was curious to this slick rectangular thin.. thing was.

... it's your phone? well. that's peculiar and risky.

the tevyat you know is advancing but not to the point of smartphones being made although explaining this to zhongli that its from the 'outside' world would certainly clear up any dangers.

you open your phone to see the same content as it is though the game is locked, only notes and lore of the characters and locations are imbedded on it.

you turn to zhongli who's face was filled with curiosity,

you didn't hesitate to show the former archon what it did as you knew that he was already understanding.

you showed him your camera roll in which you visit a jewelery store filled with many gems and dazzling stones that he was astounded and had grown fond of, finding himself bewildered that where you had come from, noctilous jades did not sound familiar.

as you move on to other applications, you show zhongli a game in which you must see the differences of quality on the given object in order to pass the level, and as you knew that zhongli was knowledgeful in terms of materialistic quality, he had ascended levels way more than what took you months to get,

you had even shown him the clock app and reminders app in which,

"..you can set up reminders of yourself on the time you have to do something... by clicking this button?"

he was pretty amused and impressed of what this "phone" could do,

to any stranger who crossed the road, seeing these two people interact, anybody can see that his eyes were filled of gentleness, curiosity and amusement of the outlander that he had been blessed to have fallen in his sight.

Venti

wandering around the lake near the bridges of the gate of mondstat, you found yourself washing your face as you had recently figured out that you had.. somehow made it to tevyat, where your favorite characters lived their own stories and life, with that being said, with your phone being with you- you had reviwed every single event that has yet or bound to happen, you still couldn't wrap your head around it until you hear a melodic rythm play past your ears, and to this, you follow the trail of music that lead upon a statue of seven and a ginormous tree.

the lyre player had noticed your presence and made his way down the tree, walking towards you in a friendly manner, giving you a wave.

"well.. hello!" the lyre player smiled at you,

"i dont think ive seen you around in mondstat yet, are you perhaps.. a tourist? or an outlander?"

the quick falter in your facial expression gave it away to him, in which his shoulders slouch down and his gentle expression waiting upon your response.

he, too was aware of what an outlander feels when ending up in a world entirely different from your own.

the adaptations, behaviours, gestures were certainly to be aware of when you're new, and venti knew just what to do, if.. you were up to it.

you introduced yourself briefly as you were cautious of this meeting, you knew what powers an archon holds.

venti took you within the gates of mondstat, showing you what the city of freedom has to offer and the breeze within its walls brought you comfort from the suffocating stress you faced when you just landed, truly the city of freedom lives up to its name.

venti knew everyone in the city, in which he introduced you to?

a place, but not just any place. angel's share.

you refused to enter the tavern as you had nothing to pay with, though the bard only laughed at your statement and told you to let loose as he tells you that he only goes to the tavern when drinks were free of charge, in which you responded with a laugh- letting go of your worries and stresses of being an outlander to the back of your mind and let this moment be filled with hospitality and kindness of the mischievous bard before you.

he shows off his lyre to you, stating it as his "most prized possession" and he turned to you asking you if you had any of the kind. you take out your smartphone, and showed it to him.

"a piece of glass?" he asks.

you turned your phone on and showed him the ropes of how to operate one, he was particularly fond of the rythm games you had in your phone in which arrows were meant to be pressed on the right beat to get a high score of a particular song. he asked you to tell him more about your 'prized possession' in which lead to the midnight of tevyat, letting venti show you the night sky in windrise cliff, in which he handed you a dandelion for the both of you to wish together to.

as you two hiked up, you were in awe of the countless constellations that the view had offered you tonight.

amazement filled the bard's eyes as you've shown him a genuine smile, your eyes glistening, followed by a sniffle as he rubbed your shoulder as if to say that he was there for you in this new experience you were yet to face in the world of tevyat, making your wish with the dandelions, blessed upon the many stars beside the kind bard who'd offered you his company and even his life, though he ought to tell you that some other time.

Ayato

ayato had gotten himself in quite a hassle with the caretaker of the kamisato estate where he was forced to leave his duties and take himself out for a leisurely date as a break from all the piles of paperwork and responsibilities that had been bestowed upon him at an early age after losing his dear parents.

he had yet to think of what to do as for what 'leisure' meant to him until he'd seen a stranger from afar, reaching for the sakura petals that had been fleeting for eternity knows how long,

there he stood staring at you for what seemed to be... unknown.

you had turned around to meet his eyes, a flushed pink resting on his face as you had caught him staring at what he thought to be such a beautiful, peaceful scenery painting that had been brought to life.

the young lord was in awe of you from the very start, he had not made his way in these parts of inazuma and had not known every single person who lived in it, but he was certain to make sure to befriend you.

light robes surrounded your body as you hesitantly walked up to him, never taking your eyes off him.

there, you had introduced yourself before the commissioner who had fumbled around his words before stringing them into what seemed to be a mess.

"w..who.. im.. im ayato, k-kamisato.. ayato."

to this you laughed for a second, wondering why he had reacted this way,

"nice to meet you.."

"may i.. may i accompany you today? that's! that's if i am permitted to."

"oh of course! id been looking to reach out to someone for quite a few days now.."

"really? are you a traveller?"

"no, no.. i just.. i guess you could say that i woke up here.. or.."

"woke up in inazuma? as in strayed? from a ship?"

"no.. hm, you've heard of the outlander traveller, haven't you? that's.. kind of what i am. though in my case, im not allowed to go back as this is the second world i have to live in, though i do not complain since this place is filled with stories and knowledge i have yet to grasp.."

you spent the whole day, acquainting yourself with ayato, though his advancements to be acquainted were quite a shock as he had spoiled you through every store you crossed together, ending with bags that you two can no longer hold, these bags holding clothing, snacks, accessories, and trinkets, though you refused the purchases- he couldnt help but to buy it for you anyway! you had given him company and even played a bit of the drums you two had found upon a store, in which he also bought after

though the night has come, he had asked to escort you to your home as bandits often lure around inazuma's night sky, to this you replied,

"shelter? i.. have none if im being honest."

his face falls in concern asking you what you had meant,

"being an outlander had not given me the perfect opportunity to fit in as i have no background in living here.."

"that certainly worries me."

"its alright, ayato.."

"its not and i apologize on behalf on inazuma for straying you away like that, if i had known earlier.."

"it's nobody's fault, don't worry about it ayato.."

"well, may i propose a safe shelter and even a job to keep you afloat? this is all i can offer unless you'd like me to make other proposals to any connections that may interest you."

"that would be very great, ayato. im glad to have met you today."

he offered a kind smile, his eyes filled with gentleness as he met your glistening ones, and to this, you had leaned over to him, his arms instinctively om your shoulders as he had to make sure you were alright.

"thank you for showing me inazuma today, thank you for your company and thank you for showing me great hospitality in a place where i thought id be strayed aeay if it werent for our meeting today.."

ayato had lead you to the kamisato estate in which thoma and ayaka gave you two space to figure things out, you had gotten your own room and had dressed to head off for the night, until you had heard footsteps outside your room.

you see his figure in his sleeping attire, writing up documents, you brew up tea in your room for the two of you, as you knew that this man had done nothing but work his life off to the betterment of inazuma.

you set up tea on his desk and offered your company in which his expression changed to be of relief that he wouldnt be suffering in such silence of tonight.

you had chosen to tell him of your device that had aided you in so many things in the past world you lived in.

he made his way from across the table to sit next to you, his face leaning closer to the screen of your phone, seeing how this app showed recipes of dishes he had yet to try, and needless to say he was quite fond of the game where a business of a milk tea had to grow in terms of advancements made in the shop, recipes to unlock and customers to please, you had also shown him how cameras work in your phone,

"a kamera? ...in your phone? really how many things have been replaced by this device?"

you had shown him how to take a picture, slow motioned videos, time lapses and selfies in which he asked for your permission to try it himself,

motioning his hands to be closer to him as the flash goes off, his eyes never leaving yours as you offered him a smile as you both realized that each other's company had defeated the loneliness you two had been facing all this time has finally receded.

©kazuhasmaid please do not copy, paste or repost. plagiarizing or republishing in a different language will not be tolerated.

[mono-dot-jpeg]

you're my baby [pt. 2] - xiao [ft. zhongli]

summary; one could say that you had a son. others would say they were merely just an adeptus. you would say xiao was both and you weren't alone on that statement.

genre; fluff, slight angst (okay a bit more than slight idk, i tend to go overboard), zhongli being a doting husband bc yes, reader is just the best motherly figure, father! zhongli, archon! reader, established relationship with zhongli, uhhhh aether x xiao? idk take it how you may

masterlist | part 1

word count; 1.1k

a/n; when my tumblr inbox decides to look different, n e ways i recently watched the newest kill count and my anxiety is about to ruin me, so that means more late night writing :) this is vvery much short tho unfortunately but i hope u enjoy nonetheless!! xiao might be ooc???? i have no fucking idea

years and years passed by and of course your small family hasn't aged a bit. however, with that, a lot of things has happened over time.

xiao has grown up very well, although he doesn't visit you as often much to your dismay.

"zhongli honey, have you talked to xiao lately?" zhongli watches as you softly place your teacup down on the table, he can see the frustated yet sad look in your eyes. you missed your son. you wanted to see him again.

"no, i have not. has that been troubling you lately?"

you press your lips in a flat line for a moment before answering, "i wasn't a bad mother, was i?" your voice was hesitant, wavering which was very much an unusual thing for zhongli. "i like to think i was a good mother." you muttered. sure, you had some bad moments, but you only wanted the best for him.

"you did the best that you could, love." zhongli put his hand over yours before holding it. "i'm sure xiao was more than happy to have us as parents. i can assure you that he still loves us."

"he doesn't really talk to us that much anymore though." you frowned. "maybe i should visit him."

"he would enjoy that very much." zhongli gave you a comforting smile as he kissed your hand in an attempt to calm your worries a bit more. "would you like me to come with you?" you thought about it for a moment before shaking your head.

"i think i would like to have some mother and son time with him."

"as you wish, dear." he smiled, his hand still holding yours and pressed softly against his lips.

after your breakfast with your husband, you had went to wangshu inn to find your son.

"good morning y/n! how is your day so far?" verr goldet greeted you happily as you smiled in reply.

"it's been very nice, thank you. may i ask where xiao is?" a fond smile is on her lips, seeing how much you loved xiao.

"he's just outside on the balcony. he might be talking to the traveler that's been going around here lately. so proceed with caution." she joked a bit on the last part, knowing how xiao might just be embarrassed seeing his mom suddenly greet him in front of the traveler you've heard so much of.

you thanked her before walking upstairs to the balcony. you always loved the view, no matter how many times you've seen it in all your years. it made you happy knowing that xiao was attached to this place just as much as you once were. you looked ahead seeing xiao and aether, the two talking peacefully among themselves.

"i think i'm interrupting?" xiao immediately turns at the sound of your voice. aether, much less alert than him, but much more curious than him turns to look at you as well. "i'm sorry for the sudden visit, sweetie." xiao's face scrunches at the nickname.

"mother... no nicknames please.." aether tilted his head in confusion as you see his traveling companion paimon hold her hand against her forehead, much more confused.

"mother? is she really your mom, xiao?" paimon asked.

"in terms of blood, no. but has that ever stopped others from finding family in those that weren't of blood?" you smiled softly, walking over to the trio. "pleasure to meet you, traveler. my husband has told me a lot about you."

"your husband?" aether asked.

"zhongli, of course!" you answered, watching xiao slowly feel more embarrassed with every passing second. "i'm sorry for embarrassing you, xiao. i just wanted to visit you. it's been a while since we've spent time together."

"i didn't expect to see you..." he muttered.

"can you give me and xiao some time alone, traveler? i would like to talk with xiao." aether nodded and left with paimon.

a beat of silence falls between you both as you look a the bright blue color that filled the sky.

"what did you want to talk to me about, mother?"

"i just missed you." you answered, your thoughts calm for a moment as you speak again, "i wasn't a bad mother was i? do i sound too manipulative saying that?" xiao looked at you with wide eyes, why were you thinking about such things? xiao was so thankful to have a mother figure like you. did he not show that enough?

"why would you think that?"

"i...i don't know. maybe it just had to do with a lot of things. i know you're very busy with your duties but it would be nice to see you a bit more as selfish as it might sound." you sighed. "i know we have more than enough millenniums to share time together as a family but i can't help but be worried than you may never come back. you already know that your father has lost his gnosis. i don't know what will happen with me or you next. and i want to spend some time before that happens."

a comforting silence hangs above you both as xiao stands next to you, placing a hand on your shoulder. it doesn't take too long to have xiao start to hug you. you immediately return the hug, softly threading your fingers through his hair.

"i'm sorry you felt this way. i wish i knew, i would visit you more if i did. i'm sorry for worrying you. i really missed you too. i just thought you and dad didn't want me to be so dependent on needing you both for some support."

"my poor baby. there's nothing wrong with needing your parents, that's what we're here for. you don't need to be so independent, sweetheart. we're here for you." you placed a hand on his cheek, rubbing it with your thumb. "i'm more than happy to support you in anything. within reason of course." you laughed, earning a small smile from xiao. "there's my favorite smile from my favorite baby!" xiao groaned at the words but you can see the smile on his face.

"you're worse than dad, you know that?"

"your father is an idiot too then. you were lucky to get spoiled by me. your father never wanted me to give you so much almond tofu whenever you asked for it."

"okay maybe you're better than dad."

"i love your father but he truly is a different breed sometimes."

"you and dad are very alike though."

"we're married for a reason, xiao." he let go of you, another moment of silence coming from the both of you. "so...you and traveller?"

"mom!"

[theodora3022]

"Friend"(Yandere! Kazuha)

Genre: Dark fic

Summary: You trusted him, thought of him as a reliable friend. But it is too late to relise your mistake. Jealousy is a deadly poison indeed.

A/N: Wohoo it is finally here! I just got out of my writer’s block. To celebrate him coming home I am writing some short drabbles. There is more to come in the future, so stayed tuned if that interests you!

Content warning: Possessive and obsessive behaviours, drugging mention, implied female reader(no pronouns) General Yandere content, not proof-read or edited

Word count: roughly 1k

“This hurts me way more than it hurts you.”

The silver moonlight that flows from a narrow window compliments his light-coloured hair nicely, but you could not care less about his looks at this moment. Letting out a quiet sigh, the foreigner started to toy with a chain of keys.

The keys that could unlock the cuffs on your wrists.

“Ironic for you to say that when I’m the one being restrained.” Refusing to meet his eyes, you turned to the wall. Your parents were right, you are indeed too foolish, too naïve to take over the family business.

Kazuha knows you are upset, and you have every right to be. Anyone would feel horrible after someone abuses their trust.

Not to mention said person even locked you up in chains. He knows this is wrong, he does feel remorseful. But he simply cannot just let things carry on the way it was. The samurai has to do something, even if that means being questioned by his morals in his dreams.

The young man still remembered the day he first saw you; it feels as new as yesterday.

The Crux is currently restocking their pantry while Beidou is on business in Liyue, and you are here to discuss the prices of a couple of essentials.

Fair prices, polite tone, even greeted him with a smile when you noticed his curious gaze.

Which is something merchants seldom do.

So when the first mate assigned him with the task of managing the transportation from your shop, Kazuha was looking forward to carrying out his duties.

Even his once-noble family has fallen into obscurity, Kaedehara Kazuha got some aristocratic pride left in him. He knows an affable appearance must be kept up if he wishes to get along with the rest of the crew but to say, friends... Kazuha never considered any of them as potential options.

A well-educated induvial who seems to be interested in literature such as yourself piques his interest quite a bit.

From what Kazuha can tell (by listening in to your conversation with other crew members), you seem to admire their leader Beidou a great deal. So he took advantage of that without guilt; after all, that is how anyone would make friends right? It worked fantastically well, as you would invite him to stay for tea after the errands are finished, just to listen from a "insider".

The way your eyes light up like lanterns at dusk is mesmerizing. There is always the way you lean in slightly with interest, frowning when he wants to save the ending for the next meeting.

Is it so bad to leave you wanting more?

He has to admit that he enjoys your company. You are well-spoken, willing to indulge his poetry rambles, even completing unfinished ones from time to time.

Not that he has any idea how much until later.

“Kazuha, you are no fun.” Filling his teacup once more, you said with a petty pout. Just why wouldn’t he ever finish telling the whole story? He’s for sure doing this on purpose just to mess with you.

You two are friends, not close ones, but on amicable terms, nevertheless. Your merchant parents understand the importance of relations and connections well, so they never said anything against it.

That is what both of you believe until the Samurai suddenly feels this unreasonable urge to be violent when he sees you laughing with another man. As he was feeling indisposed that particular day, so the first mate sent another sailor to cover for him.

If gazes can do damage, the poor sailor would have been in shambles within seconds, from Kazuha’s stares alone.

He wants you to smile at him, acting all lively and cute with him only. Oh dear, that is a selfish thought. But Kazuha cannot help it, not that he wants to suppress it anyways.

The self-control that he took pride in almost shattered instantly. Luckily, Kazuha could excuse himself from Beidou’s questionable eyes by repeatly stating how unwell this cold makes him feels.

Wandering Samurais likes him would never settle down for anyone when they still got the strength to travel with a blade in hand. It is simply the illness that is getting to him, yes. That must be it.

Until the string of restraint snapped, when he sees you walking into the Liuli Pavilion with a suitor your parents approved for you. Despite you acting somehow overly polite and distanced with the man, Kazuha feels as if he has been threatened.

How joyous would it be, if he were to leave a few marks on someone who dares to tamper with what is his?

Even if he gets rids of this one, there will be more in the future. You had already told him how your parents wish you to use your marriage to booster your influence.

He needs a solution. A permanent, clean one.

It would be too much of a hassle and trouble to target every single person that comes near you. So, the best option is to target you instead.

When Kazuha had Beidou invite you to a dinner occasion on the crux, you did not think much of the situation and came with a few gifts in hand. He hesitated before giving you the beer that contains few extra ingredients, but he knows it would be worth it before long.

“I should have never trusted you.” You spit it out word by word, expressing them in spite as much as you can. You should have known that he is up to no good when he tried to approach you with legendary tales of Lady Beidou. How could he do this?

Now you are stuck in this tiny room in archon knows where after blacking out suddenly, the only clue being you are on a moving ship.

With his current occupation and status, there is little to no chance that he could ever win your parent’s approval. This way, what they think they do not matter.

The fact that you are his spouse would be set in stone by the time you could return to them. It would leave them no choice but to accept him as a son-in-law to save faces.

Kazuha kneels down near you, trying to reach for your cheeks as if he wants to caress them gently with his fingers. The ruby eyes of the young man darken unnoticeably in the darkroom when you decided to distance yourself away from him, as far as possible. But he understands.

You will come around, hopefully. You did like him back then, so why not once more? Even if you never do, he cares too much for you to ever leave you be. Selfish as it sounds, Kazuha would rather sees you unhapplily stuck here with him, than go roaming freely, be happy in someone else's arms.

[cyrelia-j]

[Fic] Deuces V: Trips (Garak/Bashir)

(Again apologies for weird characters, they disappear after "Keep Reading" is clicked)

This got a bit long but I couldn't leave our boys hanging. I'm also debating where I want to go with Ziyal as far as relationships (if any) so we'll see what happens there.

Previous Parts are here:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Summary: AU (no Dominion and some characters who died in the series are alive like Vedek Bareil) Garak and his surrogate daughter Ziyal find themselves on Deep Space Nine for a month on a stopover to Bajor. After a disastrous first date, Julian is determined to make amends and turns to Ziyal for advice.

“Good morning, Miss Ziyal. I’m so terribly sorry to bother you but I had hoped to speak with you about your father. Nothing bad I just… I was hoping I could… I don’t know talk to him. I know he’s been avoiding me and I’m sure that it’s something that I’ve done and he’s just being polite.” Ziyal looks up at the doctor standing in front of her and considers what he’s been saying. It’s true, of course. Her yad’ had hacked into the Station logs using the old Terok Nor codes and a lot of creativity for the sole purpose of planning his activity around Doctor Bashir’s shifts. He’d also ended up fielding a lot of questions from Odo in the security office and as a result found himself “volunteering” to assist with upgrading some of the security protocols to guard against similar incidents in the future. So in the end it worked out exactly as he had hoped anyway.

Ziyal found herself reminding him of that each time he would complain about the work involved and so far three days had passed by without him running into Doctor Bashir even once. Ziyal had listened, grimacing at his recount of the “torture” that was Doctor’s Bashir’s “unforgivably dull and clearly contrived company”, and Ziyal knows if there’s one thing that her yad’ abhors in a date it’s tedium. Worse than the, from the way he’d described it, Doctor Bashir could’ve slotted anyone into the space and had the exact same date; probably had, in fact. She hadn’t been terribly happy to hear that; her yad’ deserved far better than just some fetishist. But she’d thought the doctor had presented a much different picture when they met and there had to be more to it than that. She’s thankful that she may actually have an opportunity to find out.

Her yad’ had said that it wasn’t worth looking into any further but it wasn’t like she had promised to stay out of it, and perhaps if she can get to the bottom of the matter then it would help pull her yad’ out of his sour mood. Ziyal shifts the box of Delavian chocolates and the small bouquet of Bajoran lilacs. They’re both for Major Kira, her yad’ insisting that whether they parted on fair terms or not, a show of remorse was in order for instigating such a ridiculous incident. He’d also suggested she request Major Kira help train her combat deficits which made her sigh but acknowledge that it’s better not to be ill prepared. She only hopes that her gesture will be well received though Major Kira had said that everything was fine between them. “Ask Dukat, how “fine” it is when a Bajoran woman says “fine””,he had said and perhaps there was a bit of a tease at her as well.

Ziyal smiles at the doctor.

“I’d be happy to talk to you over breakfast, doctor. Maybe you can help me too as a matter of fact. I was hoping to find Major Kira so that I could give her this but it doesn’t look like my plan of wandering around the Promenade is working out too well. So I think we can probably help each other out.”

“Absolutely!” Doctor Bashir exclaims looking relieved. “And you know, I have it on good authority that those are some of Major Kira’s favorite flowers. Her mother was quite fond of them if I recall so you’re on good footing there.”

They fall into step to the Replimat, Ziyal not quite sure of how to begin exactly. Her yad’ is always on about diplomacy and tact unless something else is called for but for the life of her she’s always been rather plainspoken. Fortunately, Doctor Bashir seems content to talk more about the Major, filling the silence while Ziyal admits that their tour might have gotten a bit out of hand with Julian’s solemn assurance that Major Kira is a wonderful soul and if she says there’s nothing to apologize for then Ziyal has little to worry about. Though it’s been Ziyal’s experience learned from her yad’ that a little flattery and kindness can go a long way in opening doors or mending strain between acquaintances or friends so there’s always that.

At Doctor Bashir’s suggestion Ziyal opts for scones with jam- one of his favorites- and something called “bangers and mash”. It doesn’t sound particularly appetizing but the onion gravy is to die for good. Yad’ was right, Doctor Bashir has an exceptional taste for food. Well that’s something to build a bridge off of. Ziyal is glad for the heavy breakfast as well, not having realized how hungry she was for the time she’d already been wandering around the various shops. She’s also glad that Julian fills the silence telling her about his childhood traveling with his parents. He tells her about his stuffed bear and his aunt and his crazy relatives and she thinks it must be wonderful to have such a large extended family.

“Oh you say that now,” Doctor Bashir goes on laughing, “but that’s because you haven’t had to bail your cousin Paddy out of lockup more times than there are rings around Saturn. You know the last time he honest to god threw a dolly through a tram? Like my aunt Emmeline says it’s just harmless football hooliganism- that’s er like well, it’s rowdy behavior after one of the football matches… do they have team sports on Cardassia?” Julian is also quite easy to distract with his tangents and Ziyal really doesn’t understand how her yad’ could have had such a poor time with a lively man like him.

“No, I’m afraid not. Well not really, sometimes there are combat exhibitions and actually, the annual poetry competition can get pretty intense.” Perhaps not throwing a… dolly? A doll? Through a tram? A… she didn’t quite follow the translator on that but she can sort of imagine what he means. They might not be as exciting as mass riots but the year before everyone had watched with baited breath as the finalist Kaallen Pod recited a riotously subversive piece subtly linking Archon Mal to the disgraced Legate Khet. The trial that followed was quite a spectacle as well.

“Did you really treat yad’ like an “assembly line Glinn?”” She blurts out suddenly just not able to understand what could have possibly gone on. Julian blanches.

“Oh god… did he… is that what he said?” He looks absolutely mortified and she feels bad but that’s certainly not something her yad’ would lie about for no reason… at least not to her.

“Well ah… Well, yes, yes he did and I hope you understand but I’m very confused right now because I’m enjoying your company quite a bit. I know we’re not on a date of course but surely you didn’t behave much differently than now?”

She looks at him and thinks he slinks a bit further down into his chair looking off at something else before looking back to her. Oh dear. He had. He absolutely had. Was that some sort of strange human custom? Was there simply some cultural misunderstanding? Well no, her yad’ had said it was like the doctor had read some “how to” guide that could’ve been written by Gul Dukat himself but that would be far too unkind of a thing to say. She sees him picking at his scone radiating guilt. She’s not quite sure what else to say to that but he saves her the trouble. She watches Doctor Bashir take a deep breath and sigh.

“I’m not good at this,” he says at last and she finds that a bit hard to believe. According to her yad’, they take bets in the bar to see how quickly he can “I’m not having this discussion with you, you’re my daughter.” Julian sees her incredulous expression and rushes ahead with a wave of his hands. “Not… I mean… I mean I… I talk too much. I say too much. I put people off, I have a lot of trouble knowing what’s too much and you’ve no idea just how long it even took me to make friends here. I didn’t even realize I was getting on everyone’s nerves and you know I’m not good at talking to people like… like a date. I can’t do it so I didn’t, I mean I just… I just ended up working out the same thing like… like a formula with data and numbers and adjustments here and there so I can just... just you know, stick to what I know won’t get me slapped or laughed at and I know that sounds stupid and calculating and I look like some bloody awful bad date robot but I… I like your father and I really didn’t want to risk screwing anything up but it seems I’ve just gone and made an awful mess of things anyway.”

Julian sits back in the chair and Ziyal watches his head go back in dramatic defeat and she can’t help the small smile. He really is cute. Her yad’ really would like this man as he actually is. His sincerity is endearing. He’s passionate, he interesting. But how in the name of the Ancients to get him a second chance is the question?

“You know doctor,” she says with a bit of reproach in her voice. “I think yad’ would like you a lot if he got to see this side of you.”

“I know I’ve already blown it terribly,” he groans into the hands over his face and she nearly doesn’t hear him.

“You don’t think you’re overreacting?” she teases. He sits up and looks at her and then the flowers and chocolates. He smiles back a bit.

“Not any more than anyone else, I suppose.” Ziyal clears her throat at that. It’s a nice gesture. It’s appropriate. Alright so flowers or chocolates would have sufficed but there’s no law against manners as her yad’ would say.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She says playfully. “But as for yad’ well… I might be able to do something there…”

“I would be glad to let Major Kira know that you’d like to speak with her. I believe she’s free this afternoon and will probably be at the gym around 1500.”

“The gym?” Ziyal asks uncertainly, thinking back to that last encounter.

“What better place, right?” Julian asks, and somehow Ziyal thinks that awful incident has somehow circulated around the entire station. Guls, no wonder she was getting those stares and those salutes from some of the junior officers.

“Ah… right… so… so yad’ and I have been meeting for lunch here and it looks like I’ll be busy but I promise he’ll be here. I wouldn’t bother with flowers and chocolates. He likes those but I think your best bet would be to bring something interesting instead.”

“Interesting?” he repeats to her nod. He smiles to himself. “I know just the place.”

—

“No no, you don’t understand, Ziw, I’m sure that wasn’t some playful euphemism. I’m sure that I’m meant to pique his curiosity with something unique, notperverse.” Julian watches as once again the Bolian helpfully holds up an odd three pronged device with an ancient motor and something that looks like it utilizes some sort of outside power conduit. Ziw had let him know that three hundred years ago Cardassian ajan’yas were quite popular both on and off world amongst those looking for a little excitement. The Bolian, Ziw Tralar owns a darkened shop behind an eclectic curtain known only as “Forbin Project”. The place- which Julian has no idea how it keeps in business- is a strange assortment of old print books and antiquities that Ziw has gathered and traded from all manner of customers from the alpha quadrant and some he even claims from the Gamma quadrant and mirror universe. The mirror universe is Ziw’s clever name for Kirk’s other world that Julian’s had the unfortunate chance to visit.

But if there is one thing that can be said about the strange little shop- aside from the smell that Quark claims scares away his customers a few doors down and Ziw claims if anything draws them over to the bar- it’s the wide assortment of interesting things that he’s collected and tends to sell at obscenely low prices. This from Nog who had acquired a highly valuable Ferengi “courtesan novel” written by some famous writer who Nog said wrote such vivid descriptions of oomox that they’d been banned on three provinces on Ferenginar for over a century. That was really more than Julian ever needed to know about Nog’s tastes in literature but supposedly he’d traded the old text to his father to get out of a month of helping at the bar.

Julian had the afternoon free and, cognizant of the time had practically raced over upon raiding his few pithy stores of latinum, has been in the shop ever since while Ziw has been plying him with one sex toy after another.

“Look,” Julian says pushing the device back across the counter. “I don’t want to seem ungrateful. You’ve spent far more time with this than I could expect but I’m not…” He’s about to say he’s not just trying to get Garak into bed except that’s not entirely true. He absolutely is trying to get Garak into bed but he’s not trying to give that impression. Besides, from what little he’d gathered on their date- and God it really was precious little thanks to his stupid “script” that he’d barely gotten to know him at all- he really did want to get to know Garak better and see if they might not have chemistry elsewhere.

“I’ve got it!” Ziw interrupts his thoughts slamming a metal cylinder between them. Julian takes one look at it and is about to protest when Ziw’s hand goes up. Julian notes the “X-Ray” ring on one finger wondering as he always does if the thing really works. “Ah tut tut dirty mind. This is actually meant for your finger, Doctor Pervert. Actually it’s meant for two fingers. I’ll show you. It’s great. You’re trying to snag a guy. That’s your deal. Watch and learn and be amazed.” Ziw insert a blue finger into each side of the cylinder. Julian looks at it seeing the woven slats like some ancient basket weaving. And then he watches as Ziw tries to pull his fingers out to no avail. His eyebrows raise impressed.

“They’re stuck,” he observes.

“Not just stuck, see these are modified from some old Earth joke I read, guy that sold this to me explained it like this. So the old Earth jokes were easy. They released when you press in and loosen the weavings. Real basic, simple principle but some Vulcan somewhere out there had a sense of humor and made his own variation. Called it a “meditation cylinder” and see it’s not so simple.” Ziw pushes his fingers together and the cylinder still gets tighter. Julian’s mouth opens and he looks at Ziw, a smile starting to curve his mouth.

“And surely there’s a way to get out of it. I can’t imagine you’d have stuck your fingers in there if there wasn’t.” Ziw grins back with a nod and closes his eyes. Julian watches as he turns his fingers so they’re running up and down and he watches the trap slowly slide off the top finger. Then he turns his other hand down breathing slowly, deeply, and lets it drop back to the counter.

“Simple right? Just like a Vulcan, see it reads your calm. Thing goes off body tension and heat, don’t quite know how it works but any tension it feels in your muscles in, out, doesn’t matter. Only comes off when you’re perfectly relaxed and then it’ll drop off. No worries. Don’t know why they ever stopped using them on Vulcan with their students. Well maybe they never caught on.” He shrugs looking mischievous. Julian loves it. Garak won’t just find this interesting... he’ll have to agree to let Julian take him on a real proper date if he wants to know the trick to get out! “So tell me what you think it’s worth to you.” Ziw sighs deeply when Julian starts going for the latinum. “Come on, doctor, latinum? Right a man can’t live on trinkets alone but latinum is so dull.”

“I’m sorry, but you know I don’t have a whole lot of artifacts I’m willing to part with.”

“You telling me all that planetary exploration and you don’t have anything? All the “garbage” you always complain about your family shipping you?”

Julian thinks about it a moment, long and hard. It isn’t like he looks for things to stuff in his pockets during away missions... not like cousin Paddy at least. Which reminds him of one of the last weird little parcels his cousin had sent him. “Fell off the back of a freighter” he’d said and Julian knew better than to argue.

“I’ve got a case of bubblegum I suppose.” It wasn’t like he could chew it while he was working anyway; Nurse Jabara said his smacking lips made him sound like an ornery horse and Nurse Hortak tended to jump when the bubbles popped. Very unprofessional. Well, he supposed it was for a noble cause.

“The pink kind, right? The pop kind?”

“Right.”

“Good good. Never could get the hang of that stuff. Need another chance at it i think. Alright, doctor, you got yourself a deal.”

“Wonderful!” Julian stops. “Well it’s almost three already. Please tell me I can bring it by in the morning. If i miss my chance now...”

“Yeah, yeah,“ Ziw is already waving him off. “Not like I don’t know where you work, right? First thing, don’t forget, go get him get out.” Julian is about to snatch the trap when Ziw pauses him, fishing under the counter a moment. “Box, can’t give a guy a gift without a box. S’how civilizations fall I hear.” He puts it in a nearly perfectly sized little gift box with a green bow. “There you go, knock him dead, all that whatever...” Julian takes it gratefully and practically runs to the Replimat just hoping that he can fix this properly.

—

He’s a little late, but Garak is thankfully still there waiting on his daughter and easy to spot. Julian’s first thought is that he looks like a watermelon- a delectable watermelon that he’d like to sink his teeth into. Or sink teeth into him; he decides that would be perfect. Garak is wearing a dark green striped tunic and a dark pink, reddish vest over it. Of course he would look stylish. he’s a tailor, after all. Julian’s rather thankful they’re doing this in the Replimat. It’s easier here. He feels much more like himself here and well... well he could’n’t possibly mess this up worse so if Garak thinks his actual personality is a complete wreck he’ll be in the same spot he was in earlier anyway. Julian can see Garak looking around and almost nervously wipes his hands on his uniform. This was so much easier when there was a plan, when there was simple series of subroutines from A to B. This? This is terrifying. Maybe he should just ask him to give Cindy a kiss and see where that goes. Right. Brilliant idea, that.

“Garak!” Julian calls out tempted for a moment to just play dumb and pretend that he had no idea that Garak was avoiding him but that hardly seems productive. He steels himself, seeing Garak’s face snap to a grin that looks just as much a grimace of pain. God, he really screwed this up.

“Ah, Doctor Bashir! My apologies, we haven’t seen much of each other but I did want to thank you for a lovely evening and a delightful sampling of creative delicacies. You really must tell me what some of those recipes are or where you’d gotten them. But another time, I think. I’m meeting Ziyal here you see and though she’s running a touch late I expect her here shortly.”

“She’s ah... She’s not coming,” Julian says, a nervous hand behind his neck. “She and I may have had a bit of a chat earlier and… um… May I... may I sit down a moment? I promise I won’t stay long though I completely understand if you tell me to get lost I’d just... I’d just like a moment of your time.”

Garak looks like he really is considering the first option but he motions for Julian to take a seat.

“Right, thank you. Thank you so much,” Julian breathes out in relief. At least that’s one part down. “I wanted to apologize for the other night.”

“Apologize?” Garak says in surprise; if Julian didn’t know otherwise he really would believe him. “There’s nothing to apologize for, doctor. You were gracious to show me a delightful evening and again I only regret that I had to leave early.”

“S’pose it was better than you faking a heart attack,” Julian remarks dryly.

“Why doctor! Do you really think I would engineer such a deception?”

“No, you’re much too clever for such an obvious rouse considering I’m CMO of the station but... but what I’m trying to say is that I’d really like a chance to make it up to you. A real chance I mean to ah... to show you a proper date... properly... without the ah...”

“Excruciating flow chart seduction?” Well ouch. Julian’s pretty sure he doesn’t actually wince.

“Yes,” he agrees. “That.”

“You’ll forgive me, doctor, but I really don’t know if that’s such a good idea. I have a lot of work to do with Odo and-”

“Ah but ah.. .!” Julian interrupts presenting the box. “That’s why I er... I brought you something to sweeten the pot,” he says sliding the box over with a nervous smile. Garak does look genuinely surprised this time and Julian really likes that look on his face. “I may have run into your daughter earlier this morning and she said that you liked interesting things, so when I saw this in Ziw’s shop. Oh! Ziw Tralar is the Bolian who owns “Fornby Project” which is a delightful shop that I well anyway I saw that and I thought you’d like it.”

Garak has picked up the woven metal cylinder turning it over in his hand.

“I must admit I’m not quite sure what it is. Is this a human... device?” Garak asks, rubbing his thumb over the weave.

“It’s a meditation cylinder,” Julian explains with a big smile. “Vulcan, in fact. You see you insert both your index fingers at either end up to the knuckles and it... helps you relax based of your energies.” Not entirely a lie. Julian’s leg jitters a bit under the table. “Would you like to... give it a try?” he suggests hopefully. Garak looks at him a moment, some unreadable expression, but he looks almost amused as he does as Julian suggests. “Right, just like that,” he says nodding encouragement.

“Now that’s fascinating!” Garak remarks as he tries to pull his fingers out but can’t. He looks at Julian with that smirk and a speculative tilt of his head. He tries a few more times to free his fingers but can’t.

“There’s a trick to it of course,” Julian supplies, trying to keep his legs still. He really can’t. He’s far too excited.

“Of course. I suppose you’ll be willing to tell me... for a price?” Garak asks coyly and Julian nearly swallows his tongue at that look. Alright, so he’s probably painfully transparent but he’s already nodding like an idiot.

“Yes I’m... guess it was pretty obvious but well, I guess I just wanted to ensure that you would say yes.” Well, if he says no Julian will still tell him how to get it off. He’ll just be absolutely crushed when he does.

“Yes?”

“To another date.” Julian licks his lips nervously. Garak’s hands have gone still and he’s looking at the device calmly. He’s quiet a moment and Julian is about to cave and just tell him but then Garak finally continues.

“Alright doctor, but this time we’ll do this on my terms.” He looks up at Garak and there’s an expression there that nearly stops his heart. God it’s piercing. “After all, I think it’s safe to say that you’ve been somewhat thoughtless and... naughty. Wouldn’t you?”

“Yes... oh... oh absolutely,” Julian answers, the drop in Garak’s pitch melting him.

“Good then,” Garak agrees standing up.

“Wait, but don’t you need to-” Julian’s eyes nearly pop out of his head when he sees the device clatter to the table all of a sudden, Garak pocketing it with the most sinfully smug grin.

“Twenty one hundred hours, my dear boy,” Garak practically purrs as he turns to leave, Julian still in shock, mouth open like he’s trying to catch flies, his aunt would say. “Oh and doctor?”

“Yes?!” Julian coughs. That was far too loud. “Er... yes?”

“Don’t mask your scent, doctor, he says with a subtle scent of the air. “I’m rather fond of it.”

Julian is certain if he nods any harder his head is going to pop clear off. So help him he’s not screwing up his second chance!

(Part 6 is now up HERE)