turning your head to look at him, you nudged his arm gently and asked, “that was a big sigh, what’s up?”. your friendship with childe often consisted of you going about your own thing, with the tall man inviting himself along with a string of excuses as to why he had to be by your side. not that you were complaining, of course; his lighthearted personality was a welcome addition to your day, and if you ever ran into trouble while he was with you, rest assured he’d protect you like his life depended on it.

tartaglia’s blue eyes stared out at the sea, deep in thought and worry-stricken. “why don’t you like me?”, he asked quietly, his gaze not wavering from the ships he so intensely watched. you were unsure if he was talking to you or thinking aloud, so you simply responded with a ‘huh?’ to try get him to clarify his question.

sitting up straight, the man’s eyes met your own with a seriousness you hadn’t really seen him possess before. “why don’t you like me, y/n? am i not good enough for you?”. what did he mean? of course you liked him, he was a close friend of yours by now, growing on you with each day you spent together. maybe your reclusive attitude towards him blurred the lines a little, but surely he couldn’t think you disliked him because you liked to tease him? you knew of his friend, zhongli, that he often spoke highly of, who reminded you a lot of yourself, so how could he have misunderstood your actions and not his?

setting your tea down on the bench next to you, you matched his posture and gazed at him with concern. “what makes you ask that, childe? of course i like you, we’re friends right?”. you hoped he thought of you as considering him a friend, at least. maybe you’d been too hard on him, making him feel like he wasn’t welcome to join you. you struggled to calm the worries circulating your mind on his perception of you now, clinging onto his words to understand where he was coming from.

the ginger paused for a while, the term ‘friends’ swimming around his thoughts. was that all he was to you? a friend? “no, i mean…”, he trailed off, breaking eye contact with you to rest his face in his hand momentarily. “.. i know we’re friends, y/n.. i meant..”.

reaching your hand over to reassuringly squeeze his forearm, you kindly beckoned him to continue. you had a gut feeling of what he was hinting at, but.. surely not. what would a rich, successful, handsome man like childe like a standoffish person like you for? he would be better suited to a more upbeat person than yourself in terms of a relationship, not a sluggish person he’d have to constantly reassure and drag out.

tartaglia liked a challenge though, and he loved being pushed to new limits to win you over. at least, he did until recently. more often than he’d like to admit, he’d thought of you as a lover, mentioning you in letters to his family, describing you to zhongli with a hearty smile, even being reminded of you while seeing young couples walking around liyue. but his time in liyue was running out; he had to move onwards to other nations for work eventually, and not knowing where you both stood in terms of a relationship nagged him.

exhaling deeply, childe began again, looking down at his palms, “i like you y/n, like… more than a friend. i thought it would be obvious by now..”, he trailed off with a breathy chuckle before continuing, slightly quieter. “i’ve been trying to hint at it for ages now, but i was afraid you didn’t see me that way, so.. i wanted to know how you felt.”. it was odd to see him this nervous, so you could tell his words were genuine. it was painful in all honesty; you knew he’d soon be leaving to continue onwards with his career, and knowing that made you long to stay with him.

as you were pondering how to respond to him, tartaglia snook a quick look at you before placing his hands down on his thighs, hoisting himself up to walk away. you couldn’t let him leave though, especially not in a state like this. to him, he had just bared himself to you, something he was far from accustomed to, in an attempt to let a weight off of his shoulders before he left on his mission to inazuma, embarrassed and ashamed by his feelings.

grabbing his arm and jumping to your feet quickly before he could get away, you stopped him, though he wouldn’t dare to turn and look at you. “what? just forget i said anything, okay? if you’re going to reject me, i’d suggest doing it quickly so i can move on.”, he gritted his teeth, clearly again having misunderstood your silence and getting defensive.

you responded with nothing but a tight embrace, wrapping your arms around his waist from behind. you could feel all the muscles in his back were tense. his head dropped in defeat.

“come back to liyue when you’re done, childe..”, you spoke softly, your cheek flush against his back. “i promise i’ll have an answer for you then.”. and with that you dropped your arms, allowing him to leave, wondering if he would really do as you asked.

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after perching yourself down next to the ruby eyed wanderer, he took a bag that he had slung over his shoulder and emptied out a light blanket. “thought you might need this..”, he smiled gently, draping it over your shoulders to protect you from the cold sea breeze, placing a quick kiss on your cheek in the process.

“what about you, will you not get cold?”, you hummed amusingly, while opening the blanket and hugging it around his torso, taking the opportunity to sit closer to him and share your body heat. while kazuha was more than comfortable being outdoors and cool, you still didn’t want to see him neglect his own needs for your convenience, especially since it was much colder up high in the crow’s nest compared to the main deck.

you sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, glancing up at the twinkling stars above you, holding one another close. it was nice, being able to enjoy one another's company alone after being separated on and off for so long. your relationship with kazuha was rocky in the beginning due to long-distance, but it made the moments you could spend together all the more worth it.

"they say wishing on a bright star brings good luck, i caught one instead.", kazuha whispered under his breath after a while, his face nestled in your hair as he hugged your body like you were the branch a blowing leaf were clinging on to.

chuckling quietly, you tilted your head to look at him, his shining eyes still focused on the stellar scape above you. "did you just mumble a haiku in my ear?", you asked, reaching up to peck his chin softly, snapping him out of his daze.

he focused his attention back to you, lifting his hand to brush any stray hairs from your face before leaning down to meet your lips. "my inspiration runs wild when i'm with you, my dear.". your face broke out into a brighter smile, your cheeks tinging a shade of rosy pink upon hearing his nickname for you, thanking the gods that he wouldn't be able to notice your shyness over something so small amidst the darkness. you could easily imagine the rest of your life with kazuha, never tiring of the way his poetry made your heart flutter.

"i love you, y/n", he added shortly after, almost as if he was listening to your internal monologue and affirming your wishes. if your cheeks weren't already flushed yet, they certainly were now. sure, you had heard kazuha tell you he loves you many times throughout your relationship, but it still never failed to make you swoon.

"i love you too, kazuha..", you responded, sitting up from your slouching position to kiss him again. "..so much more than i'll ever be able to say.". one of his hands met yours and your fingers intertwined, the other placed on your hip as he pulled you in to a tender but more passionate kiss.

"don't worry about what to say, your warmth and time are all i wish for.", he breathed as you parted for air, his lips brushing against yours delicately.

"was that another haiku?" you replied, exhaling a gentle laugh at his charms.

"perhaps..", he drawled back, teasingly pecking your lips quickly. you took your free hand to cup his cheek, staring into his eyes until-

"they're up here!" a voice suddenly shouted from behind you, making you jump in fright and bump heads with your lover who was equally as stunned as you.

snapping your body round to face the unexpected intrusion, only to see the captain of the ship, beidou, turn her attention from the gathering down on the main deck back up to yours and kazuha's cuddling set up.

a teasing smile spread on her face, and you were sure she had sent you an all-knowing wink had it not been for her eyepatch. "oh hello lovebirds, didn't intrude on anything did i? i hope not, this mast may be high up but we can still catch a glimpse of you guys from below.". you hid your mortified expression in the blanket still slung over your's and kazuha's shoulders while he let out an awkward laugh in response, clearly just as embarrassed as you.

she was never gonna let you guys live this down.

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while you internally fought your conscience, trying to figure out whether or not you could take this man’s word as gospel, he suddenly jerked forwards and cowered to the ground in agony. you couldn’t just leave him like this, whether he was a yaksha, adeptus, normal human being or something else, it would be cruel.

kneeling beside him, you chewed on the inside of your cheek, trying to figure out how to help the poor soul. you didn’t want to touch him out of fear he may not appreciate it, so you had to hope that some company would suffice. “..xiao?”, you asked softly, interrupting his incoherent mumbling through sniffles and yelps.

in his heart, xiao knew you meant well. it saddened him to see the memory of his former comrades erode with time, the temples and shrines you had been trying to rebuild brought back so many memories, let alone the unwelcome realisation that one day, his fate would be set in stone like the others. so much karma and trauma had built up over his many, many years of life, not many people taking the time to applaud him of his work, and to reassure him that his suffering is not in vain - spare for those he considered family, who shared the burden with him in some form or another. but being vulnerable around strangers wasn’t something he was used to, nor enjoyed.

sighing, you sat down and looked up at the sky. it must be about 10pm by now, and your growling stomach was not happy. fortunately enough, you’d packed yourself a few snacks earlier that day, and reached into your bag, causing xiao to flinch and move a few inches away from you. if he had the energy, he would’ve ran away by now, but was forced to stay hunched over like a lost puppy.

from within your bag, you took out a container of almond tofu. though it wasn’t as chilled or beautifully presented as you usually would opt for, you began to eat. xiao’s head perked up slightly as he caught a whiff of your snack, the sudden craving to indulge in the treat you had in your hands pulling him back over towards you. watching the unusual figure eventually sit beside you like a child schmoozing for candy, you asked him through an awkward mouthful, “what? do you want some?”.

xiao's gaze shifted so he could examine your features from the corner of his eye, not responding to your question verbally, but otherwise pleading for you to just shut up and hand it over already.

sharing food was a pet peeve of yours, but the obvious need xiao had for something to lift his spirits and give him some energy after the whole debacle you'd just witnessed outweighed your own needs, so you placed the container in between you both and ate together.

the scene was endearing, you appeared to be a young couple enjoying a moonlit picnic, but in reality, you were just two strangers that somehow ran into one another.

and as much as you seemed to be settling into the comfortable silence that was xiao's company, you were still feeling dubious about whether or not he was who he clamed to be. "..so, xiao..", you cleared your throat after finishing your half of the meal, turning to face the young man who was savouring the almond tofu generously. "you said you're.. the conqueror of demons? d-does that mean..?".

for the first time in the now almost an hour you had spent together, xiao's golden eyes met yours. his exterior was a lot calmer than before, though the recollection of his self-announcement seemed to rattle him a little. why should he trust you? you might try harm him, go around announcing his identity, or maybe even be a little disappointed? after all, he could see how much you adored the yaksha, and he feared that this meeting would taint the idolised vision you had of him. only a handful of humans knew who xiao was, and he tried so hard to keep it that way.

"if i come back here tomorrow, would you be here?", he asked, his voice still a little raspy.

tilting your head, you slowly nodded in a confused response.

a flicker of warmth shone in the adeptus' eyes as he watched you, "then i will tell you of the battles i fought with the yaksha, and you can decide whether or not i'm being honest.".

from a young age, you had always been infatuated with liyue’s yaksha. you had come across a novel of folklore as a child, detailing how the five foremost yakshas had protected your homeland under the authority of the geo archon, rex lapis. most people didn’t seem to pay as much attention to the demon slayers however; with four of the five having either passed away or disappeared, it seemed that the public’s interest had deteriorated - much like the ancient statues and shrines dedicated to the fearless warriors.

often you could be found by a shrine to the yakshas, taking the responsibility of maintaining them to their former glory as your calling. your most recent endeavour was at a particularly neglected temple a few miles out from your home village; the roof had collapsed in on itself a good few years ago and the timber had grown a skin of moss, leaving the statues and relics within stripped bare to the elements. really, it should’ve been a job for at least four people, but your stubborn nature led you to tackle the problem alone.

with sweat gathering at your brow, your tiring body slumped down to sit on the ground and examine your work. the day had passed in an instant, and noticing how the sky was already dark and gloomy, you struggled to reason how you would be able to make it home safely. though you knew that alatus, the yaksha known as the conqueror of demons, was always defending your homeland from any and all threat, you still got chills whenever you saw fatui recruits dotted around the countryside.

you considered your best route back home, drawing a map of the area in the soil with your fingers, until the snap of a twig pierced the silence, the hairs on the nape of your neck standing up alert. you could feel someone’s stare burning into the back of your head. “please don’t be the fatui, please don’t be the fatui..” you whispered over and over to yourself, timidly turning your head to look over your shoulder.

at first, there was nothing, though the afraid feeling of anticipation lingered in the pit of your stomach. perhaps it was only an animal, right? not quite. a young man emerged from behind a tree, his golden eyes glowing amid the darkness. he was unlike anyone you had seen before: his hair was windswept yet fluffy, and his arms were toned and tattooed. he appeared to be in pain, breathing heavily and irregularly.

“um.. do you-“ you began offering to help, but were forced to bite back your tongue as the mysterious figure brushed past you and into the temple.

his voice was hoarse, like he had screamed and shouted for a millennia. “leave. you shouldn’t be hanging around here.”. he didn’t dare to look back at you as he demanded to be left alone, making your blood boil. who does he think he is, commanding you to abandon the thing you devoted so much of your time to as if he owned it?

typically, you weren’t much of a confrontational person, but it was as though the anger and aggression that radiated off of this stranger infected you as well, driving you to retaliate. “and you are? i happen to be the sole person that cares about this temple nowadays! i’ve been trying to restore liyue’s honour towards the yaksha for a long time now!”.

grinding his teeth, he turned around to face you, his eyes still not lifting to meet your own which were currently shooting daggers at his weakened form. “what would you know of the yaksha?”, he tutted in sickly amusement. “i am adeptus xiao, conqueror of demons, not interested in making your acquaintance. now leave.”. he crossed his arms, choking back a wince in pain.

conqueror of demons? as if you would believe the word of a man that cowered to be the remaining yaksha in liyue? you’d seen it before, delusional fans rallying the streets in praise of those who claimed to be the yaksha, completely blind to the absurdity of their lies.

though when you took a step back, you began to notice the smaller details that xiao possessed. his tattoos, for example, resembled the animalistic forms that alatus was known for, and a mask depicting those of which you had seen in ancient portraits and figures. surely not.. no. but..?

READ PART TWO HERE

feeling the warm, summer sand on your toes, you smiled contently as you waited for your lover, diluc, to join you on the seafront. you both had been in dire need for a break away from the city, and upon the arrival of an ominous note from a certain ‘dodo king’, you shared no hesitation in joining the klee protection brigade to an unusual group of islands. at first, you both had no intention in soaking up the sunshine; the threat of danger was too apparent in your minds, but once you had learned how your whole venture out into the middle of nowhere was a ploy crafted by the spark knight’s mother, alice, you relaxed into the idea of spending some time with your fiery haired lover.

“diluc? honey, are you okay?”, you called out with your head pressed to the door of the makeshift beach hut that the man was supposed to be changing inside. mondstadt’s honorary knight, klee, jean, barbara and kaeya had left the island you were situated on about an hour earlier, exploring the surrounding islands, while albedo and razor hung around minding their own business. with the absence of the charming cavalry captain’s words of ammunition against diluc, you had persuaded him to join you in some seaside activities.

a sigh of grievance came from the other side of the door, “must i come out dressed like this?”, diluc grumbled as he unlocked the door, nudging it open ever so slightly so all you could see were his bright red locks. you had packed a variety of clothes for yourself and the winery owner, but the latter was less than impressed at the thought of going without his usual coat and shirt to cover his now exposed skin.

attempting to peer inside at your lover, your nose was almost trapped in the door by his hesitant retreat of it. “hey! you almost took my nose off.”, you glared at the hut and took a step back. “come on diluc, there’s no one here, you don’t have to worry about anything.”. you didn’t think of diluc as an insecure person, if anything, he was fairly confident in your company. it was just the slim chance of his step-brother seeing him that made him reluctant to enjoy the sun, especially when kaeya was blessed with a smooth, darker complexion than his own fair, prone to sunburn skin.

accepting that he had no way out of it, diluc slowly left the safety of the beach hut and joined you on the sand, shaking his head as he looked at your smiling face, hiding a small smile of his own. “see! its not so bad, you big baby.”, you teased, wrapping an arm around your lover’s waist as you walked away from the hut and over to a pair of deckchairs.

“i’m only doing this for you,”, the tall man said while sitting down in his chair. “as soon as anyone comes back, i’m going back inside and getting changed.”. you playfully rolled your eyes as a response before reaching into your beach bag to take out some sunblock, walking to stand behind diluc.

before you could even think about putting the lotion on him, he turned around in protest and snatched it from your hands. “hey! you need protection from the sun or you’ll end up as red as your hair.”, you reached over to snatch it back but he only held it further away from you.

“let me help you first, come sit.”, your lover smiled, getting up and gesturing for you to take his place. once you were comfortably seated, you enjoyed the view of the ocean waves rolling up to the shore as your lover gently massaged the sunblock onto your back, pressing a quick kiss to the crown of your head before walking around to your front, crouching down in front of you. there, he carefully streaked a stripe of sunblock on your nose and under your eyes, laughing softly as he admired you.

most people in mondstadt saw diluc as cold and intimidating, most of his critics being the mothers of the children whom diluc refused to pursue, though your relationship wasn't yet public outside of your close relations. but in this moment, you saw genuine happiness, warmth, love in his eyes. you hadn't known diluc prior to his father's death, so you'd only ever known him as the affluent, standoffish gentleman that he presented himself as, but with time, you began to see the softer, sweeter, more genuine side of the redhead that you came to love.

"alright, your turn.", you got up, switching places with your lover, and took your place behind him. "but first, to get this unruly mane out of the way.", you ruffled his long, scarlet hair before loosening it from its usual updo.

tilting his head back to look up at you, diluc narrowed his eyes at you in a mocking hurt manner, "i thought you liked my 'mane'?". lightly pushing his head back upright, you exhaled in amusement and reassured him while gathering his hair in your hands, tying it back in a bun.

you began lathering the sunblock onto his shoulders and the nape of his neck, like how he did for you just a few moments ago, his milk white skin shimmering in the sunlight. you finished off your job covering the man's back by placing a tender kiss between his shoulder blades.

pulling you into his lap as you returned to your spot in front of him, diluc's nose scrunched at the feeling of your fingers on his face painting on more sunblock. "i'll leave your chest and legs to you, don't want you getting the wrong idea.". your jibe rendered the man speechless, his face making its way to hide in the crook of your neck to hide how flustered you made him, yourself included in the shock of your own words.

nevertheless, you both got up to finish prepping yourselves to venture out beyond the confinement of your parasol, and before long, you were dragging your lover towards the ocean with every intention to completely soak him.

"oh? what's this?" an amused voice snapped you both out of your splash fight, "master diluc and y/n.. playing like little kids? who would've thought we'd spot such a scene.". kaeya.

diluc immediately tensed up and crossed his arms over his chest, you both turning around to see your group of friends watching you both, spare for klee who was already kicking off her shoes to come barrelling into the water to join in.

your eyes darted between the two, kaeya's visible eye curved as he smiled in contrast to diluc's stoic stare. barbara linked arms with the honorary knight and fled the scene, whereas jean cleared her throat. "klee, kaeya, let's leave y/n and diluc, okay? let's go grill these fish we caught.".

kaeya heeded jean's suggestion, smirking at you both as he left. klee, on the other hand, pouted up at you, "please please please let klee play with you mx y/n!". darn it, those puppy eyes tugged at your heartstrings as you glanced back to diluc, shrugging to see what his response would be.

seeing how your face was full of hope, as well as klee's, diluc groaned before nodding in approval. "fine, but you better not splash me.", he pet the little girl on the head, jean sharing your smile from the sidelines before leaving you in peace - or rather lack there of - with the spark knight.