my my, look at you

in your junior year of high school, eren realizes he has feelings for you, he immediately went into doubt. what if you didn’t feel the same way about him? you guys grew up together, what if you only saw him as a brother? or if your friendship is ruined? he couldn’t imagine what would happen, so he decides to keep it to himself.

of course, eren isn’t the best at hiding things. his other friend, Armin, grew suspicious of him when the brunette was suddenly acting awkward with you out of nowhere. he studied his expressions, body language and listened to his voice, watching out for sudden voice cracks or nervousness and thus, confronts him on his weird behavior.

eren has no way out (especially since his ears turn red when he lies) and has no choice but to tell the truth about his feelings. Armin already had a feeling, yet felt happy when his friend finally admitted it

“Y-You knew?”

“Of course i did, our entire friend group knows, well, except Y/N.”

and they came up with a ‘plan’ but in reality, it was just armin trying to encourage his friend.

eren decided to tell you the day before spring break. he thought it was best since he would have a week to sulk in his room and no face you until school was back in session. 

he found you exiting the library after school and right when he saw you, he felt his throat tighten and his cheeks heat up. if it hadn’t been for you calling out to him and waving, he would’ve turned on his heel and walked in the opposite direction.

and he ends up in the current situation, walking you home from school. he did this on a daily basis, but this time was much more nerve wracking than he can remember.

“eren?” your voices calls out to him, eyes fixated on the male who seemed to be too tense. “are you okay?”

he jolted in place, clearing his throat and looking at you quickly. “yeah, of course I’m okay! why wouldn’t i be okay? do i not look okay?”

“uh..kinda? you seem tense or like something is on your mind. it seems like I’ve been doing the talking this whole time. am i bothering you? do you not like walking me home or something? it’s okay I won’t get mad.”

“no!” he suddenly shouts, murmuring an apology when he notices the look of shock on your face. “no, that’s not it at all.”

“then what is it? Because you don’t sound really convincing..”

eren licks his lower lip, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. he lets out a sigh, his heart beat ringing in his ears, the sound drowning out the passing of cars just down the street. can he really do this? is this really the best choice?

“Look Y/N.. I’m being serious it’s not that at all. It’s something else.”

The facial expression you had was enough for him to continue.

“the truth is.. I had some time to think about it and..” he trailed on, averting his gaze. “i like you.” he blurted.

 “I’m sorry if me saying this ruins our friendship but I just wanted to get it off my chest because I.. I love you. you’re an amazing person and truth is, i feel like myself when I’m around you. I just feel as if your personality goes great with mine and you’re the only person I ever felt this close with. I love being around you. I love hearing you talk about things you saw on the internet or the gossip you hear on campus. I love your laugh, I love the way you get embarrassed when a snort comes out. I love the way you get shy. I love how you don’t take shit from anyone, including me. I love you just as you are, you’re absolutely perfect.”

your jaw went agape, your mind suddenly going blank. the few seconds of silence was enough for his brain to register that it was a rejection.

he closed his eyes, breathing through his nose and nodded. “i get it, it’s okay if you don’t feel the same. if you don’t want to see me or talk to me anymore after this, I understand that as well.”

still silence.

“hello?”

nothing.

“are you going to say anything?”

“i like you too.”

he gasped, eyes and mouth wide open. “you like me too?”

a laugh slipped past your lips as you nod, twiddling your thumbs, eyes watery at the heart warming words he just told you. “I do yeah.. i was actually going to tell you during break, it sounds like a coincidence huh?”

“an amazing coincidence.”

-

A bouquet of flowers on the first day. The next day, a beautiful Cor Lapis necklace that took many years to make even one copy. After that was a trip to Liuli Pavillion where he told you to pick out anything you wanted, that dinner was on him.

But in reality, it was actually on you. 

You noticed that your husband, Zhongli, had a bit of a habit, or a problem, whichever you preferred to call it. Working as the Consultant for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor should’ve given him a decent amount of mora for every payday but apparently not. 

Whenever the conversation about him not having Mora would come up, he’d laugh it off with a wave of his hand and said, “Come on darling, let’s not waste our time on such insignificant matters. Let us enjoy what we have now.”

And of course, you can only imagine how many excuses he could make. It even came to a point where you had a chat with the director, Hu Tao, but she told you she paid him very well, sometimes a bit extra at times since she knew about his infamous spending habits. 

So where did all his mora go? No one knows. 

“1,300..” you mutter underneath your breath, rummaging through your pouch that held your money. You close the tie and lightly bounce the bag in the palm of your hand by the ends. You chew on the inside of your cheek, eyes fluttering shut only to reopen when the door to your office opened. 

A man holding a box walked over to your desk and placed it down on the wood, a grunt emitting from his lips once he let it go.

“I’m sorry but... I didn’t order anything. I think you might have the wrong person.” You state, motioning to the yellow box with your free hand. 

“You’re Y/N right?” he asks and in return, you nod. “Well, then this is for you. It’s a gift and the sender left a card inside.” Who would gift you something? Well, two people come to mind.

Hu Tao and Zhongli.

The Wangsheng Director usually gave you your gift upfront, enjoying the reactions you gave her that made her cheer with glee.

Once the man left, you took the lid off a peered inside. The first thing that caught your attention was a white card with writing on it. You hum and grab it, reading over the words.

I was enjoying my walk through the harbor during my break and came across this and immediately thought of you. It’s beautiful, right? A fine blue vase with the carving with intricate details of the flowers that hail from Liyue. I know how much you adore the Glaze Lilies and Qingxin Flowers, so I had an old friend fetch them for me but of course, I compensated them for their good deeds. They should be delivered to our home before the sun sets over the mountains today. Now for the price… Please, my love, don’t worry about it. I promise it’s not worth your time to be wondering about an irrelevant thing.

Zhongli

“Zhongli,” you mutter, reading the last word with a sigh. You place down the card, the faintest of smiles growing onto your lips. “So that’s why I was running out quicker than usual.” Your fingertips glide over the vase, the smoothness bringing you a source of comfort. He truly was something else and had the audacity to spoil you always with your own money. 

These were all wonderful gestures but you always wondered, what did he do with his money? That could be a conversation for next time. All that matters is that your husband wanted to spoil you, who were you to say no?

Maybe you can return the gesture with his mora.