basafritters

Albedo

Unlike some others, he isn’t alert enough to the rumours that circle through Mondstadt to know when someone’s been talking to when he’s not around. He doesn’t pay attention to rumors (though, if they mention you, he will admittedly listen anyway just in case…), since they’re usually some form of factually incorrect biased assumption. Not worth his time or energy. Instead, what he has is the other close connections he keeps. 

Klee loves you. Adores you just as deeply as she would any of her other caretakers– except Albedo. Siblings will always be loyal to one another in the end, even if she isn’t aware of the complicated mess that unwillingly connects you and Albedo. She loves to update him on your coming and going when he returns from Dragonspine, including if anyone was being ‘extra nice’ to you. While he feels a small hint of guilt at using his kid sister as an unknowing informant, kids simply have a way of telling even the darkest of secrets without meaning to. 

As for his other information… Kaeya has a sharp eye. Perhaps not sharp enough to understand the murky depths of what Albedo feels for you, but enough so to understand there’s some sort of infatuation occurring. It’s dangerous enough to be aware of, but not to interfere with (yet). He loves to tease, both to Albedo alone and with you present. Yes, you were on a date he recalls… or perhaps, a frequent guest at your workplace has been leaving gifts at the counter with letters addressed to you… Nothing outwardly gets a rise out of Albedo, and he thinks himself incapable of feeling something as petty as jealousy towards strangers who know very little about you. After all, many of his observations have proven that humanity has a natural draw to companionship, often led by physical attraction. Still, when he thinks of your reactions (ones he’s yet to elicit from you…) he finds himself gripping his pens unnaturally tight. He’s not fully sure. And so, his interest in you deepens.

It doesn’t take much to ward off threats to his ‘research’ (you), but for the most part he keeps himself uninvolved with the menial pests. A complement here, a flirtation there– as long as you don’t show signs of reciprocation or overt discomfort, he won’t interfere. He trusts he’d catch you before it went any further. As for if his intervention is deemed necessary… let’s just say, the Knights of Favonius will soon be instructed to conduct a raid and arrest on that suitor’s home. Something about dangerous alchemic mixtures that only Albedo seems to understand the seriousness of, or that some other evidence of illegal behavior was found. At the very worst, they disappear off one of the many wooded trails surrounding Mondstadt city, never to be seen again. He’s very neat about it. 

Childe 

Even when he’s not with you, trust that some poor lackey has been tasked with following you and noting down every single interaction you have. When they inevitably must return to Tartaglia and present the information that someone seemed overly interested in you, they fear for their life when the Harbinger rises from his seat. Childe needs to take a walk around the block to cool off. Or rather, a walk around the block and a quick stop to this ‘rival’ and make it known that your affections belong to him… but if they’re willing to fight for you, he’s more than willing to name a time and place! In fact, he proudly boasts his want to fight for your hand– why not do things the proper way? While Liyue might have different customs, he was raised in a culture that valued duels as a way of settling conflicts just as well as a contract would. Just know that he doesn’t believe in giving pity to his opponents, and unless the circumstances are phenomenal, he fights to kill. 

By the time you notice something’s changed, Childe is already approaching you with a fresh coat of red staining his clothing and hair. If he’s in a foul mood, he may bring home a small trophy of your (failed) hopeful suitor, but otherwise he’d simply lift you up into his arms (or over his shoulder if you’re unwilling) and safely back to his supervision. The rest of your week would be spent decaying by his side in his stuffy office at Northland Bank, or practically trapped in the house he’s made into a temporary resident while in Liyue. No more wandering for you until he calms down back to normal. 

Rosaria

Sure, she might not be omnipotent, but Mondstadt is a rather talkative city. Everyone knows everything about everyone– it isn’t hard to keep a keen ear out for any mention of your name in passing conversation. Barely a day passes before word of undesirable flirtations make their way back to Rosaria, who spends almost no time at all before ultimately deciding to nip the problem in the bud before it spins out of her control. 

By the time you see her next, nothing seems amiss quite yet. She’s still as aloof as always, yet adamant to keep you within her line of sight. You only begin to notice the small peculiarities once you return to the parts of your day to day schedule that, normally, Rosaria would be far away during. Your coworker who once shared flirtatious banter with you refuses to even look at you, and soon, they switch professions altogether. All that’s left for company is Rosaria, who finds herself by your side in the after hours on your way back home. Rarely does she accompany you in the daytime, which you first took as a sign of vampirism (a running joke, before it eventually ran dry). It’s at night when she’s lurking by your front door, or in taverns where you get drinks with friends. 

She’s watchful. Even more dangerously, she listens. Even if you were to briskly touch hands with an attractive stranger, Rosaria would find out one way or another. Even though you can barely understand her and her strange behaviors, it seems she knows you well enough to tell when someone’s caught your eye. Something you do alerts her of it, every single time. You suspect it’s the rumors that lead her straight to them, and suddenly they scurry away from you with a fear you can only imagine was forced onto them by the unordinary nun. 

In truth, Rosaria knows the stain on your reputation that she’s causing. But by this stage, she doesn’t care. To associate herself with you would mean it would happen sooner or later, and it might as well happen now. The world is vile. Herself included. She’s selfish, and she’d like to covet you for herself– romantically or not doesn’t matter. As long as she can have her passing conversations, her brief interactions, her illusion of companionship (but not friendship… this is something much deeper than such a superficial concept). Injury isn’t even necessary to send your suitors running. The mere threat of it, or the threat of a watching shadow following them home at night, is enough to have them running far from Mondstadt’s streets and away from you. 

Diluc

Truthfully, he wouldn’t have any way of knowing unless he overheard the rumors that someone was pursuing you while tending the bar at Angel’s Share. He doesn’t trust even the staff of his estate with the knowledge he’s utterly obsessed with you, and he’s far too inept to know how to listen through Mondstadt’s grapevine. What he can get is simply bits and pieces of drunken conversation or taunts that Kaeya passes on in between rounds of wine. 

He’s relatively tame when it comes to competitors for your affection– there’s not much he can do to them without breaking his own code of justice. It’s not worth sending them running or burying them deep into the ground. Not for something as simple as admiring you (something anyone would do… he’s aware he’s not the only one who stares at you). The only thing he can do, aside from brooding like a petty teenager, is to force himself to become more ‘brazen’ with his affections. Of course, for Diluc, this usually means simply conversing with you directly more, and perhaps mentioning once or twice that you look nice that day, in that lighting, or when your hair is a particular way. Though, at his absolute worst, he might consider letting the Darknight Hero give them a scare (he’d feel terrible abusing his code of justice for days after… but the new attention you give him when asking where your ‘friend’ went would make it even just slightly better). 

Scaramouche

Like Childe, he has no shame over sending agents to watch you. There’s no time in the day when you aren’t being watched by a minimum of two or three Fatui grunts (given that you’re not in private alone with Scaramouche), and everything you do comes back to him in overly descriptive reports. When he hears of an ‘overly-friendly’ or ‘salacious’ encounter with practically anyone, it’s an immediate death sentence for them. Some agents will take care of it at the risk of their own life, meanwhile you’ll find yourself barred from wandering too far from his side for at least a two or three months. He’s petty and insecure like that.

Trust that he’ll repeatedly bring it up for the weeks after, snapping at you about how ‘he bets you wish you had run off with that tramp’ or something else featuring somewhat outdated language. Of course, no amount of reassurance (faked or not) will cure this. It’s unsure what he wants, given that not even he knows. He’s annoyingly complicated and hard to read when it comes to these things (entirely a repercussion of his feelings for you, as it’s an unknown territory that makes his head spiral out of any normal thought patterns). 

Kaeya

He’d find out eventually. Kaeya tends to lurk around hotspots for rumors and secrets, and when he does figure out someone’s been lurking around you, he’ll have to admit he’s a bit impressed by the audacity. Everyone in Mondstadt knows well that he’s pursuing you, and even passing travelers could get the idea that he was interested in you. It’s simply just another thing he’ll have taken care of and brushed under the rug before you ever even suspect something was amiss. Be it false imprisonment, tainted reputations, or even a simple and mature conversation about not coveting what belongs to others. Nothing he can’t handle and nothing you need to worry about. 

Raiden Shogun (+ Yae Miko)

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

There’s two versions of it: the affection he gives roughly eighty-four percent of the time he’s interacting with you, and the remaining percentage that’s reserved for private nights when he’s feeling wistful, sad, and perhaps a bit too inebriated. 

Regarding the first, he’s just plain annoying. Toying with you for the sake of his own entertainment seems to be his favorite pastime and his favorite treat, though the exact form of it would depend on what uniquely manages to get under your skin. To him, bringing you to the point of yelling and trying to hit him is a form of affection– it’s him granting you his full and constant attention. What is almost always paired alongside his taunts and clever comebacks is some form of his body against yours, be it holding hands, holding waists, leaning into one another, simply standing ominously behind at an incredible close proximity, suggestive comments whispered into your ear– as long as he’s taking up your space in a way you find impossible to ignore, he’s satisfied. Although, innocent physical touch seems to still be a point in need of improvement. He finds your reaction funny when a hand slips a little too low down the back, or when he reaches over to grab something and ends up pinning you to a surface. He’s a nuisance. 

The second form of it is a lot harder to understand. It’s a sight reserved only for the private, and preferably when he’s alone. When not in public together, he seems to relax on his physical affections. Almost the entirety of Kaeya’s being is made up of performance, but when he lacks an audience… he’s more serious, and much more brooding. When he gives you affection, if at all, it’s more careful. It feels riskier for him, as if he’s keenly aware that now it’s more for him and his wants rather than as a way to stake a claim on you in front of others. Some part about wanting something, especially something as vulnerable and heart-exposing as a partner, doesn’t sit well within him. He doesn’t kiss you, or hug you in this state. It’s fleeting bits of contact here and there. 

Unless he’s both sad and drunk past his limits. Once again, he refuses to kiss you in this state, but as for hugging? It’s less quick hugs and more deep embraces, where he holds you suffocatingly tight without saying a single word the whole evening. It might be when his conscience is starting to get to him, or he’s thinking far too much about a childhood he’s sworn to never discuss. 

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

Preferably, only if it’s absolutely necessary. In this case, that translates to only direct threats to your safety. As much as he’d enjoy going further than that, it’d take an awful lot of effort to clean up every disappearance and in-custody deaths if he operated on a much more lackadaisical policy. Sure, there’s some sort of delight in imagining himself as a villain luring you into his trap and cutting down those who dare to ‘save’ you, but in practical terms, it’s just much of a hassle. He much prefers letting nasty rumors through the grapevine do the work for him. 

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

There’s two versions of this. In one scenario, you wouldn’t be ‘abducted’, but through various means, are roommates with Kaeya. Truthfully, that’s the closest I think he would ever come to ‘abduction’. If you didn’t move in totally willingly, then perhaps through some unfortunate circumstances like your current lease fell through and you were evicted, and he had plenty of space in his barely-used home in the city. He wouldn’t force you (perhaps light coercion and aligning the proper dominoes to fall… but not forcefully). If you really didn’t want to, he wouldn’t push it. There’s always alternative ways to subjugate you to enduring his company for hours at a time. 

In the circumstance where you do live together, he wouldn’t be much overtly controlling either. He needs you to be compliant. A few suggestions here and there, comments off handedly that linger in your mind and bring you to a mindset where you’re more easily led around. Nothing like keeping the doors locked, the windows barred– none of that. He needs you to believe that he has no hand whatsoever in your autonomy and freedoms. You decide to come to him on your own conclusions when you need help. You decide to come to him on your terms when you need comfort. There’s no need to lock you in a room with him if he can lay a few thorns here and there, so you naturally need to come running in his direction. 

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

Contrary to the persona he flaunts, Kaeya is sensitive to rejection. Why else does he refuse to show his true colors or wants? The last time he chose to be truthful, he lost the only family he had. Giving into his own wants and possibly angering you (or causing you immense fear) to a point of no return is the last thing he’d want to do. He lost his brother that way, and he refuses to lose you that way too. All in all, the answer would be no. 

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

He’s frightened of just how vulnerable desire is when it comes from a place of genuine want and not easily ignorable lust. Like previously said, he also fears rejection that might stem from any honesty. As a result, he puts all his effort (twenty four hours, seven days a week) into maintaining the silver tongued mask that he uses on others, including you. Even if you managed to break down your own walls and ask for him to do the same while spilling your heart’s truest feelings and vulnerabilities, he’d refuse to waver. There’d be no hesitation on his part. He’d be the same as he always was, though internally delighted to have new leverage on you. 

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

Depends on what severity. For the most part, he’d be hot and bothered. He likes when you argue back and get snippy with him. But if your little rebellion is causing genuine harm to yourself, or is just outright a hazard of its own? He’d shut it down promptly and harshly. 

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

Nowadays, everything is a game to Kaeya. Politics, relationships, warfare– it’s all just a game that he likes to maneuver at his own leisure. Pursuing you? It’s both a game of cat and mouse, but there’s a little more at stake here than in other lesser circumstances due to his feelings. He enjoys watching you try your best to ignore him through your day to day, or to express your agitations to your friends and companions, and he enjoys swooping in at just the right moment to watch you adapt to the sudden surprise. 

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

Should you ever try to defy Kaeya and end up in grave danger, be it at the wrath of a monster that prowls the wilderness surrounding Mondstadt or trying to trek up Dragonspine on your own just to test if he’ll really come and get you– he’ll be colder than ever. No response to jests or snide remarks. He’d deal with the threat with an alarming swiftness (a reminder of the true extent of his strength), throw you over his shoulder, and bring you back home to patch you up. 

Every little thing would feel off about him. He’d set down the medical solutions too harshly. He wouldn’t speak. He’d try to touch you as little as possible. Any subsequent attempts to leave would quickly stop, and you’d find yourself lectured harshly about your own insecurities and flaws (an alarmingly detailed and accurate list reflecting just how well he knows you from his observations…). It’d pick at your own strength, your own autonomy, and everything from the truth of your outside relationships (secrets you weren’t supposed to know, like your best friend talks ill of you to others, or how you would have been fired from your job had Kaeya not intervened) to every flawed opinion you’ve ever held. 

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

In his wildest dreams, you and him would be life partners spending your weekends sleeping in and fully enveloped in each other’s company. You’d cook together, you’d eat together, you’d sleep together, you’d be in every waking moment of his life so he’d never have to think about the most dreaded parts of himself ever again. 

In practice, the closest to that he’ll get is you staying by his side, perhaps not without a little bit of coercion, but he’s willing to settle for it regardless. He cares about you, much more than he’s comfortable with. And holding onto that feeling with the hopes it’d fizzle out proved to be impossible. Now, all that’s left to do is keep driving you into his arms and hope that one day, you’ll find him an invaluable part of your daily routine. Even if you hated him in that future, he’d settle for watching you sleep in the early morning before work, and bringing you home food and gifts and taking you out to town and showing you off. He just needs you in his life. 

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

He’s not a particularly jealous person at all. Should you have any interest in someone else? It’s easy enough to send that person running. Pay off a Treasure Hoarder to corner them on a street and threaten them, get them drunk and blabbing about secrets they shouldn’t have mentioned, spread a nasty rumour that they were caught doing condemn-able acts. Easy! And should anyone have any interest in you? Kaeya makes it clear enough every single day of his life that he fancies you, and is head over heels. The first thing he goes for on his breaks is you. The first thing he talks about is you. When he enters a room and you’re there, it takes only three seconds before some part of him is wrapped around you, and the citizens of Mondstadt know better than to challenge Kaeya’s claim on you. 

Funnily enough, what makes him jealous are stupid things. When you won’t stop going on and on about something like a novel you read, and how infatuated with the protagonist you are, it has him tightening his jaw just a bit. It’s real people that Kaeya doesn’t care about. But fictional people? It has him just a bit upset that you don’t find him as alluring as the characters in books you happen to read. 

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

Affectionate, but less like a smitten schoolboy and more like a devil you unwittingly made a pact with. On a good note, he listens to you (whether or not you want him to) and picks up all of your small habits, interests, and behaviors. On a worse note, he uses those against you frequently. Lures you in with a candle-lit dinner of your favored food (the bill? Already covered) and showers you in grand gestures fitted to both your preferences and as a statement to the general public (almost never does Kaeya resort to large flamboyant displays of affections in private). And of course, whenever he becomes irritatingly obtuse, that’s intentional. He likes to rile you up by knowing every part of you intricately (that way, he can poke here or twist there and watch your reactions mend to his entertainment). 

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

He’s very forward with it. As soon as he realizes there’s an attraction to you, he feels it’d be a waste to not make it known. Whatever your reaction, he adapts. You push? He pulls. You lean into the flattery? He doubles it. Kaeya’s buying you drinks constantly, leaving flowers and romantic notes at your workplace, constantly trying to take you out to dinner or, ‘at the very least’, to get drinks. 

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

Not especially. He’s guarded around everyone, and you are included in that. Kaeya’s ‘true colors’ are something you’ll never be privy to unless several years of dedicated effort go towards trying to have him break down his walls (something that can also be quickened by getting him wistful and drunk enough… especially on certain anniversaries and after arguments in passing with the owner of Angel’s Share). 

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

He becomes eerily quiet. At first, it appears he’s backing off from you. For a few days, you get the silent treatment and are coldly ignored both in public and in private. Observers would call it just a lover’s spat. This is the only short period wherein you can return to your life before Kaeya inserted himself in it, but it lasts only a few days before things begin to happen. Your belongings are stolen by thieves, your job begins to cut your hours, your rent is raised, monsters seem to throw themselves onto the paths you walk, and everyone in your life begs you to reconcile with Kaeya (the poor man seems so broken-hearted… everyone can tell you mean a lot to him… he’s just a shell of himself… why not kiss and make up?). 

On his end, he’s still mad at you. Childishly upset, though he refuses to let that influence how he operates. All it takes it lining up a few events to have you crawling back to him and apologizing, and he’ll accept it. Paying off Treasure Hoarders to rob your house was well worth it when he has you back in his life, both of you now in foul brooding moods. With you at his side again, he’ll still take a few more days to warm up, but when he does, everything is back to normal as it was before. Chances are you wouldn’t even notice the tighter leash he’s keeping you on. 

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

He doesn’t outright tell you what you can’t do. Kaeya enjoys giving suggestions and leaving implications as to what he prefers you do and don’t do. When you do something he doesn’t like, he tends to correct you like a dog. No, he doesn’t shame you or yell at you. Instead, he gives corrections. Leads your attention towards something else. Redirection can work just as well, if not better, than explicit dismissal. 

He doesn’t want you leaving Mondstadt, for starters. Flirting with others? Not particularly something he minds. Sure, it’s irritating, but he knows you do it just to get under his skin and if he’s still on your mind, then that’s still a win. After all, when you go home, it’ll be with a dramatically disgruntled Kaeya who you have to appease (a scenario he quite enjoys when it comes to the salacious outcome after). Messing with illegal things is a 50/50 with him. If it’s Fatui, he’ll tug harder on the leash he keeps you on. If it’s the Treasure Hoarders or any other small-time ring of petty crime, he doesn’t care. In fact, he encourages it. It’ll give him better leverage over you at the end of the day. He’ll be the one keeping you out of jail. 

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

On a scale of 1-10, he’s somewhere between a six and an eight. It depends on the day, the circumstances, and your behavior. For most things, he’s willing to wait as long as he needs to until he gets his desired outcome. That includes many of his interactions with you. Although, that’s not to say he doesn’t get impatient from time to time. He’s only human. When he gets a bit antsy he has a habit of tapping his foot and/or drumming his fingers to both pass the time and to quell all rising irritations.

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

As flirtatious as Kaeya might be, he’s a one and done type of person. If you were to leave him and fully escape, he’d force himself to accept it. He wouldn’t pursue you across nation after nation like others would, or twist your arm to make you return. If you wanted to leave so badly, then it just solidifies one great fact about Kaeya: that he isn’t built for close personal relationships of any kind. If his father left, his brother left, and you left? He’s done with trying to pursue any type of serious committed relationship. The same would apply if you had died. 

And while saying that, it is still true he’d be flirtatious and pursue others. But never seriously, only as occasional one night stands and other forms of quick intimacy that fill the itch in his skin for human contact while still being fleeting enough to avoid attachment. 

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

He wouldn’t feel guilty in the slightest, nor would he let you go unless you managed to fully escape Mondstadt (i.e, his sphere of influence). 

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

Insecurity mostly. Kaeya was a sweet and naive child as Adelinde liked to say, but he unfortunately grew into something much worse. Even still, buried deep within the flashy persona of the cool and suave Cavalry Captain, is that small child that wanted nothing more than to love others and to be loved in return. Most of his flirtations and previous drunken nights of intimacy have been a result of that want, just to feel the temporary high of someone’s skin on his without having to bear his whole heart and take down his walls. With you though, it’s a deeper craving for your affection. Something he can’t fully shake, and thus, needs to pursue the best he can. If it can’t go away on its own, he might as well take the risk and follow the way the current is taking him. 

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

If it’s an intentional act of defiance, he doesn’t take it seriously. Silent treatment and crocodile tears don’t work with him. But genuine terror and sorrow? 

Admittedly, that leaves him stumped. It feels… weird. Seeing you like that pulls a set of chords in him he never knew he had. It makes him feel helpless, and he can’t reach out in fear of making it worse. If it were anyone else, he’d be quicker to his feet. Unfortunately, the added complication is that commonly he would be the source of your fear, anger, and sadness– and how is he meant to comfort you if he’s the problem? And if he himself refuses to leave your side when you’re like this? That’s something even he hasn’t mastered quite yet.

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

Quite a bit. As previously said, he wouldn’t threaten family or friends to stay away from you, or kidnap you in the traditional sense. He likes to see you in your day to day life to maintain the illusion you’re there because you want to be (and that you want him). His actions are all dependent on his readings of you and your personality, behaviors, etc etc. Threatening and killing your family and friends wouldn’t be good for maintaining his reputation nor his golden image he tries to present to you. It’s all about appearances and politics. 

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

Two things come to mind: start a family or coordinate with Diluc. Of the latter, it’d be a long time process due to Kaeya’s watchful eye. Because he lets you move around the city freely, it wouldn’t be too hard to catch Diluc during one of his shifts or simply out on the street running errands. What would be harder would be convincing him of Kaeya’s nefarious courting (regular courting he won’t interfere with… he’s simply too awkward to know what to do) and then figuring out what to do about it. Diluc is a busy man, but if he were fully convinced that Kaeya was masterminding your life for the worse of your health and happiness, he’d make the arrangements to get you out of Mondstadt and on your way to another nation. Why this wouldn’t work with other persons in Mondstadt is simple: everyone thinks too highly of Kaeya or otherwise wouldn’t believe he could be so malicious. And Diluc is the one person who you could collude with regularly and Kaeya wouldn’t immediately meddle with. At first, he likes that the two of you are communicating. It fulfils a desire of his to see you get along and soon, be the bridge for him to make idyllic amends with you as his spouse. In reality, however, he’d get suspicious of his brother. He knows him too well. He’d know if something was off. 

As for the first one, ask to start a family or otherwise make it a repeated declaration. While Kaeya can admit he likes the idea of making a baby, and it gives him a jolt to think about watching the drip in the aftermath, he wouldn’t actually want a baby or any kind of family. There’s a mental block between the association of him and fatherhood, one that would take years to break down. It’d rattle him enough for you to slip away while he was distracted. And if a baby ever came to be, you’d have plenty of opportunities to run off while he spent the whole night staring over the crib, fully engulfed in his own muddled thoughts. 

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

Not intentionally. If he were too rough, or accidentally knocked into you, or even let his control of his Vision waver enough, he’d panic. Him hurting you reminds him far too much of past experiences in childhood, ones that he’d rather not think about (his gaze always drifts unintentionally towards the direction of the winery when he does). Brute strength never was his style. 

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

He’s in a weird place mentally. He’s a weird guy. He adores you, but doesn’t want to admit it as a genuine fact (though he will for the sake of flirtation or dirty talk). You’re so much better than him, and sweeter, and he often feels like he could hibernate for decades with his face buried in your neck. But a mental barrier simultaneously keeps him from indulging in fantasies of domesticity. Also known as, his weird thing about vulnerability. 

And because he thinks so highly of you and has the insistent thought of loving you with his whole heart (something he tried to push away and drink away at first), it’s his plan to keep pursuing you until something changes. He knows you too well now, and isn’t it a waste to just let that expertise sit? When you pull away, he knows exactly how to chase without you snapping. It’s a dance to him, one he intends to finish with you in his arms. 

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

Several months, at the least. Years at the most. He’s used to having a quick attraction to people, and usually going to bed with them does the trick. It’s easy intimacy and he doesn’t really feel anything deeper than surface level desire. There’s no want or need to learn their preferences. He doesn’t need to know the order they get dressed in the morning, or how they arrange their serveware, or the pitch in which they sneeze. But with you? When he starts to feel himself staring much longer than is superficial physical desire? He needs to take a walk. 

It takes, at the very least, over a year for him to actually pursue you. He does everything to try and put it to rest. He ignores it, and finds excuses to avoid you but all it does is increase his longing and trick him into learning your schedule. Then, he drinks it away but ends up thinking about you as he’s deep in a random stranger at two in the morning. He’s a mess when it comes to you, while you’re none the wiser. Then, he decides he needs to find a way to you, just to see what will happen, and it spirals from there. Being in closer proximity to you is a drug he needs more and more of it, and soon he’s up to his chin in trivia about you. 

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

“You seem lost.” From between her lips, a puff of smoke is exhaled, and the cigarette is offered to you– enticing, yet with heavy consequences should you take it. Though, considering your current company, you fear you might be too far gone to care for consequence. You take it, pressing it against your own mouth. The taste of Kafka’s lipstick is bitter, an unknown flavor, but distinct. 

“I don’t understand why you had to do it.” 

“Elio said it had to, so it had to. I would’ve thought you’d been able to piece it together by now.” 

“Did you have to abandon her?” 

She falls silent at the question. Instead, Kafka leans forward on the railing of the balcony, fetching another cigarette from her pocket. Above you, the hotel’s balcony is covered by an awning–the only thing keeping you both dry from the rain. It falls fast to the street several dozen floors below, and the distance seems to call to you. 

“Destiny’s Slave said it had to be.” 

With a click, she lights the cigarette. 

“I wish you hadn’t done it.” 

“I wish I hadn’t either.” 

You wondered how Stelle must’ve felt. You wondered for hours, pacing the hotel room waiting for Kafka to return from Herta Space Station. Silver Wolf stopped by every half hour, at first out of duty, and then out of genuine worry that you might’ve been on the verge of causing harm to someone. 

Was she afraid? She’d have no memories, you were told. Everything you’d ever done with her cumulated to nothing but the set up for a pawn to be used by Elio’s great future. Kafka had done her part, certainly, and she was the girl’s favorite. But you loved her. You loved her so much, as if she were made from your very skin and you only felt nauseous imagining how scared she’d feel when she woke up with a Stellaron deep inside her. 

Beside you, Kafka tries to gently settle her hand on your shoulder. It’s shrugged off quickly.

“Don’t touch me.” 

“You know the rules. So do I.” 

“I begged Elio. I begged him not to let this happen, not to let her go.” 

“You know just as well as I do how stubborn he can be. The script says she’ll find her way back to us, some day.” 

“You can’t be alright with this.” 

She exhales, smoke rising into the air. 

“I only do what I’m told.” Then, she turns, with something of a sly grin. “And with some harmless fun on the side to pass the time.” 

The joke isn’t funny. She must know it, but times must be desperate considering you’ve shrugged off every invitation for intimacy since Elio showed you the script. Kafka didn’t need to agree to this, and yet she did. She chose to be the one to abandon the child you practically raised together. 

“I miss her. I miss her so much.” 

“Give it time, dear. She’s strong. She’ll get into trouble, but nothing she can’t get out of.” Her hand guides your face towards hers– and you let her. Even when she sounds somber, her face betrays nothing. It’s the way she’s always been. Is she grieving too? Or does she lack anything beneath that pretty face?

“She’ll be back. So, why don’t we enjoy this temporary time alone, hm? Relax a bit.” Kafka plants her lips against your cheek, then against your jaw, and further into the crook of your neck. As much as you’d like to pretend there’s passion in it, you can’t tell her true intentions. Is it boredom that draws her to you? 

In her spare hand, the cigarette continues to burn. You jerk away, and she pauses, pulling back by only a fraction. A cool breath is blown onto the newly forming bruises, but you put the sensation out of mind. It’s a method of distraction, and only that. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“What’s wrong?” You mock. “Stop acting like this isn’t… like you didn’t just leave my kid.” 

Kafka has enough sense to withdraw at least, and an uncomfortable gap grows between you two. The rain is cold, and the thin sweater you’d put on does little against the wind. You knew what would happen today, and yet nothing could’ve prepared you for the sinking dread of knowing it had truly happened. The reality is always harsher than the expectation.

Stelle wasn’t yours in any traditional way. But you taught her what she knew. You told her stories, you brushed her hair, you mended her clothes when she returned from a mission. 

“Kafka,” you begin carefully, “I don’t think I’m staying with the Stellaron Hunters.” 

Nothing is said. Her cigarette returns to her lips.

“I have to know she’s alright.” 

“You have a bounty, you know.” She reminds you. 

“And?” 

“It’d mean a lot of trouble if the IPC picked you up. Don’t put Bladie and I through the hassle of getting you back.” 

Between your fingers, you twirl the cigarette she gave you. Then, you drop it over the side of the balcony. You lose sight of it quickly, and you don’t care to search for it as you turn around to face the glass door. Kafka doesn’t stop you as you slide it back, and pause at the threshold.

“Elio’s script doesn’t need me, does it?” 

The pause is all you need to know. You step through the door, back into the cold dark hotel room. Kafka watches from the balcony as you gather your things, the only sound being that of the rain falling outside. Once your things are packed neatly, you place down the burner phone Silver Wolf provided you at the beginning of the mission. It sits on the bed like flowers over a grave. 

You never were that much of a Stellaron Hunter. Not like the others. Your specialties were only needed to ensure no one died of infection or malnutrition– but medicinal expertise was a common commodity these days, and they’d find a workaround easily. 

Turning back to the balcony door, you meet her eyes. Goodbye isn’t as hard as you expected it to be. Was that how she felt? 

“I’ll see you. Eventually.” You say, before slinging your bag over your shoulder and heading towards the door.