lyn

“How long has it been like that?” His voice reaches your ear drum, concerned filled as his gaze trained on the bruise on your arm, the one you had been intending to keep out of his vision but got distracted. You stilled for a moment, eyes widening for a fraction before you instinctively covered your forearm with your other hand, cursing internally at yourself upon realising you’ve eliminated the option to pretend to not know what he meant, by hiding it. The crease in his eyebrows deepened at your action, his eyes flickered with something darker, something more alarming than concerned when he realised the familiar look in your face, the one that clearly says “I’ve been caught.”

Before you could move to react, to stand up and put your hands out as if casting a protection spell to shield yourself from his scolding, the man had been faster than you are, as predicted by your guts when you knew there was no chance of escaping in the first place. He hands flew to rest against your shoulder — but ‘resting’ would be a false statement, a misguided narrative, a lie to paraphrase things as peaceful, hiding the panic now washing over you because of the force he’s putting in just to keep you seated as he stood up, closing in on you with full intention of getting his answers now, peaceful or not.

“I-I was planning on telling you-!” You stammered out, beads of sweat decorates your forehead as you lean into your seat, as though creating distance would save yourself. You close your eyes shut, ready to hear his reprimands. You could swear you hear him frown, hear his thoughts before he even lays them out for you to listen, and he does end up saying them out loud, brutally so, “Why do you always do this?” He sighs, pulling his hand away from your shoulder to pinch the bridge of his nose, his eyes closing shut in frustration, “Can’t you just let me take care of you?” He continue, his voice firm and scolding as he chides you for what has continuously happened over the courses of your relationship together. “Why are you always pushing yourself?”

“It’s just a bruise-“ you cut in, desperate to fend for yourself and for justice to prevails, only to realise it was a mistake as soon as it came out of your mouth. Tension fills the air, as you both fell silent, his eyelids opening as his glare intensified, “just a bruise?” He repeats, emphasising on your words as you flinch at his tone. “Isn’t that worse? ’just a bruise’. And yet, you were keen on hiding it from me.” He pauses, his tone now has changed to border-lining on demand for answer rather than just scolding you, “- Won’t you enlighten me, as to why you are so secretive over ‘a bruise’?.”

You swallowed the lump in your throat, eyes averting from his as guilt began washing over you. It’s not like you purposely intended to hide it, as per his accusations— you simply.. forgot..? That should be believable even for yourself. If only not for the fact that you did move in a way that favour your clean arm more, now that your mind scrambles for excuses to offer. A loud sigh from him snaps you out of your thoughts, the rustling of his clothes as he stood straight, moving away from you. Your body straightened, wide eyed as fear starts creeping in, that maybe, maybe this has been his last straw, the straw that broke the camel’s back as he pull away from you, his expression unreadable and his shoulder slump.

“Where- are you going?” You ask, your voice coming out strained as your eyes follows him, up until he disappears behind the kitchen wall, and the sound of the refrigerator being opened is the last thing you hear. Your body slumps against the couch, frustration over your own actions coursing through your mind as you starts to chew on your stubbornness, before a sharp, cold sensation presses against your right cheek, receiving startled jolts from you. You glance up, and there he is, his eyes sharp as your eyes met, but there’s a slight twitching on the corner his lips, clearly holding back a smirk at your surprised look.

He rounds the couch easily with his long legs, stopping before sitting down beside you. The sudden change in weight causes sinking in the cushion, making you stumble forward into him, as he took advantage of the moment. He pull you flush against him, his thick arms wrapped securely around you, as his other free hand presses the cold bag gently against the bruise on your forearm.

“Because you asked for it, sweetheart.”

“And if I ask for you to love me, can that be done too?”

“Whatever it is you want,” he took her hand in his, and brought it up to his lips, placing a tender kiss to her knuckles as he held her gaze in place, “I’ll make they come to you, Schätzchen. Even if they’re impossible to have, they will all be yours.” He continued, his tone soft as he gaze into her eyes. And for a moment, it truly felt like this man is capable of making her wishes comes true—at the flick of her finger, if she does as much as, ask for it.

Her eyes widens in surprise for a fleeting moment, showcasing a rare twist of emotions within her before she quickly mask it with her usual smile, one that hardly reaches her eyes but does its job to keep others fooled—well, others, but him. Regardless of who it fooled, it didn’t matter to her as long as she’s in the list, too.

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#Author note: have fun !! Rewrote this favorite piece of mine a year later because it needs its redemption. I hope you guys enjoy it

The room was suffocatingly quiet, save for the sound of their shallow breathing.

Alhaitham stood still, his face an unreadable mask as you pressed the cold metal of the gun against his temple. His calm demeanor only served to stoke the flames of your anger, your fingers twitching around the trigger. You couldn't believe it had come to this.

"You mean you're actually going to kill me?" Alhaitham asked, his voice as steady as ever, as he look down into your eyes.

"I mean just that." Your jaw clenched, the weight of the situation crashing down on you as you gripped the gun harder. The barrel trembled against his head, betraying, your inner turmoil.

"Well, go ahead." His eyes, those sharp, aquamarine piercing eyes, bore into yours, amused. He wasn't scared. In fact, he looked almost... certain. Certain that you wouldn't do it.

Thousands of thoughts raced through your mind. Each question, each doubt gnawed at your resolve, pulling you in opposite directions. You had been trained for this moment, prepared to take down anyone who stood against the agency, no matter the cost. But no amount of training could have prepared you for him.

Alhaitham, the man you had fallen for.

The same man who now stood as your target.

"Pull the trigger." His words cut through the silence, calm and deliberate. He could see the hesitation growing in your eyes, the tremor in your hand as your heart warred with your duty.

“I’ll do this my own way,” your voice shook as you pushed the gun harder against him, trying to convince him—convince yourself, that this was something you could do.

But it wasn't. Your hand quivered as you choked back the wave of emotions threatening to break free. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. You never asked for this. How had it come to this? How had the man you loved become the enemy? He was wanted by your agency for crimes you still couldn't fully understand, but the orders were clear: he had to be eliminated. And it had to be by your hand.

"You won't do it." Alhaitham's voice was soft, almost pitying. He didn't move, didn't try to take the gun from you. He didn't need to.

"You can't pull the trigger," he said, his hand reaching up to gently caress your cheek. His touch was soft, his thumb brushing away the tears that had begun to well in your eyes. His lips curled into that familiar, infuriating smile—the one that used to make your heart flutter, that used to make you feel safe.

But now? Now, that smile only made you feel sick.

"You can't pull it because you love me," he said quietly, his words sinking deep into your heart. And he was right. You hated how right he was. You hated that even now, with the gun in your hand, you couldn't bring yourself to end it.

Your shoulders slumped in defeat, your grip on the gun loosening as you pulled it away from his head. The shame hit you like a wave, drowning you in its cold embrace. You took a step back, your vision blurring as the tears you had been holding back finally fell.

Alhaitham sighed, the sound heavy with disappointment. He rubbed his face, looking away from you as though you were no longer worth his time. "That was pathetic, Y/n," he muttered, his voice laced with disdain. "I thought you had more pride than this."

He turned to face you, his sharp gaze cutting into you like a blade. "If you had kept that strong front from earlier, I might've actually considered this experience worthwhile," he said with a cold smirk.

You stood there, your heart shattering under the weight of his words. The man you loved was gone, replaced by the cold, calculating person standing before you now. And you couldn't take it anymore. The pain, the shame-it was all too much.

The sound of the gun clicking echoed through the room. Alhaitham turned to you, his eyes narrowing as he half-expected you to aim it at him, your tears fueled by fury.

But what he saw was something far more devastating.

You had turned the gun on yourself.

"But I can kill me," you whispered, your voice barely audible as you pressed the barrel against your own temple.

His eyes widened in shock, the mask of indifference cracking for the first time.

"Y/n-"

Alhaitham x reader

Trigger warning! Death! Angst! No comfort!

His library is a mess. His study table has stationary scattered all over them, Some must've rolled away under the table amidst of chaos. This scene that behold you, is probably a leftover from the nights where Alhaitham, who could not put his mind at ease decides to work to in an effort to solve the issue that has rendered him restless.

It has been a fair share of time since you step foot into his library out of your own free will. You made a silent oath to yourself that you'd only approach his study when you are brave enough to face reality. But really, until when can you deny things that has happened? Kaveh stood silently in the hall, watching you with concerned gaze as you stood infront of the door. From the corner of your eye, you caught Kaveh’s expression tight with concern. He didn’t say anything, but the way his gaze softened as he looked at you told you everything. He understood. The tension between him and Alhaitham had always been well-known, yet in his eyes now, there was no trace of bitterness. Only shared grief. Taking a deep breath, you pushed the door open.

The light wood scent fills up your nose almost as soon as you open the door to the room. It was always a small envy of yours, tucked away deep within your heart that Alhaitham had access to afford such luxuries. To spend it all toward the place he spent most of his days when he was still...alive. The accident is still fresh in the back of your mind. They all believed he died so…easily. It was difficult to swallow such information. when all you want to do is deny it.

Few days prior, you visited the akademiya to clean his office, as requested. Students you bump into on your way would look at you with pity, remorse, and some shares glances of guilt between themselves as they whisper away. The scholars, who used to dislike him. Whom, labelled him as arrogant stood on top of a public stage, claiming Alhaitham was once but, a great individual who valued knowledge more than himself. You didn't know whether to laugh or cry, witnessing the change in attitude showcased by the vast majorities of people who were once wholly, against him. But yet, ofcourse. There are those who were always genuine with the companionship they offered.

It came as a choke at first, words sticking to the walls in your throat, silenced as you watch their pathetic play. When the akademiya requested for you to return the documents and thesis he had brought home, it strike fury within you. Not, but a few days had passed after they pretended to mourn over his death, and now they’re pressuring you to hand over the last remnants of his work. It seems even in death, the people of akademiya will never stop to use Alhaitham’s work for their own advantages.

A lump formed in your throat as you stepped further into the room. You hadn’t realized how much time had passed since you last stood in this space, and the weight of that absence hit you with startling clarity. His presence lingered here, woven into every corner of the room. And yet, he was gone. You could almost picture it—Alhaitham, sitting there, unable to rest as his mind wrestled with some problem, some issue that had rendered him restless. It was how he coped when things troubled him. He threw himself into work, into books, hoping that maybe the pages would offer some sort of answer. But now, those same books lay abandoned, their words forever unread.

It felt wrong to let them have it. These papers were the last remnants of him, the final pieces of a mind that had always been a step ahead of everyone else. Giving them up felt like erasing him entirely. A soft knock broke the silence, and you turned to see Kaveh standing at the doorway. His eyes met yours, and for a moment, neither of you said anything. The tension hung heavy in the air. “You don’t have to do this,” Kaveh finally said, his voice quiet, careful. “Not if you’re not ready.”

You looked back at the desk, at the disheveled mess Alhaitham had left behind. The grief that swelled in your chest felt unbearable, the reality of his absence suffocating. But at the same time, you knew you couldn’t keep running from it. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready,” you whispered, your voice barely audible, as though speaking any louder would shatter whatever fragile composure you had left. “But the Akademiya won’t wait.”

Kaveh stepped into the room, his footsteps cautious as though he were intruding on something sacred. He stopped beside you, his gaze flickering to the papers scattered across the desk. “They don’t deserve his work,” he muttered bitterly. “Not after everything.” You nodded, your throat tight. It wasn’t fair. None of it was. But Alhaitham wouldn’t want his work hidden away out of spite. You knew that much. As much as the Akademiya frustrated him, his pursuit of knowledge had never been about recognition or approval. It had always been about pushing boundaries, uncovering truths. Even if those truths were for people who didn’t deserve them.

Alhaitham is the type to think his s/o is overreacting while arguing with them. He's convinced that he's right and would just be humouring you by wasting his precious time on this useless banter.

He had already won before you could lay your case, so why do you keep insisting that he's wrong? Like, why are you overreacting by fussing over a small matter when Alhaitham had already voiced out his reasons? There's no way you're even slightly right.

Alhaitham already connected the points and drew them solved right to the finest detail. He'd just rest his back leaning on the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Stupid turquoise eyes staring directly at you, watching you as you lose your shit in front of him

One crucial point that Alhaitham always forget is, people, grow frustrated when having to explain their point repeatedly to a person who's often said; not up for a debate because they're right. Alhaitham is exactly that kind of person.

So you can only imagine the slight shift of surprise in his expression when he hear your voice crack. Although it was brief because you stopped talking as soon as it happened, it didn't go amiss with Alhaitham. He only began to feel something tug his heart when you looked away from his direction with your head tilted downward, and your fingers lightly touching your eyes.

For once, Alhaitham is taken aback, and his stance begins to waver. Tossing his pride aside, he fast-paced to where you are standing. Although not panic strikened, he dislike being the cause of your tears.

Diluc Ragnvindr

As for Diluc, he'd listen to what you have to say until it involves things he disagrees with such as mending with Kaeya, taking a week off from doing his darknight hero gigs and also letting you help him.

Don’t get him wrong, you are important to him. But some things that you want to happen just does not align or sit well with him, he just genuinely will never be able to find himself compromising for it, so he would rather be straight with you.

"I don't think that's for you to decide." He would start being sharp tongued when you keep pressing on matters he dislikes speaking of. A bad habit of his but he'll never admit it. He would try his best not to dismiss you completely and wants to ensure you, what you are feeling is important to him.

Tragically for Diluc, his main problem is the fact that he forgets he has to be vocal about it. And not just stood there while staring into your soul with his eyebrows furrowed, the idea of you not understanding his thoughts completely leaving his mind.

So, when your voice starts wavering from confident to doubtful, Diluc realised something was wrong. His body would automatically release all the tension he was holding in, his expression softened slightly as he discards his own ego and reaches out for your wrist. His warm hand fills you with comfort almost immediately as he gently pulls you closer to him.

I'm not sure where this whole story was going but I tried my best to wrap things up nicely. I do apologise for any grammatical error or bad narration that makes anyone experience displeasure with my writing.

Writing has never been my area of expertise but I am trying my best with everything I have tried to write.

in the middle of the night and you are trying to convince Alhaitham to let you join a dangerous mission newer scholars has to participate in order to gain experience.

"As I've said before, no." Alhaitham stood firm in front of you, Arm crossed across his chest. His unwavering confidence nips at your patience the longer you spend trying to force your reasoning into his thick head as to why you must personally attend to the commission the Akademiya had tasked to the newer scholar in your team.

"Alhaitham, listen. I know that other senior scholars have way too much free time on their hands and that they should be the ones to watch over newer ones but I am also capable-" He sighs, eyes closing. Alhaitham begins to walk away from you, tinkering with books and the historic decor he has. With the sudden movement he made, you find yourself pacing after him like a child.

Or to be more accurate, like a young scholar chasing after her mentor, listening to his speeches while he stacks book after book onto her. God, what a nightmare. A sense of Deja Vu that makes the hair on your skin crawls. And it did.

"Why can't you just listen? It'd make a good opportunity for me too. I get to practice my knowledge in the real world instead of in some old boring office." Frustration grew inside of you. You already knew Alhaitham wouldn't willingly agree to something that could potentially risk your life but the fact that he flatly refuse your idea as if it doesn't worth being pondered over? unbelievable.

"I am listening. Although applying your knowledge in the outside world is far more preferred for many scholars as it does help with developing your skills faster,"

"Then I can go?!" You beamed. Accidentally cutting him off. You truly believe you had finally succeeded in convincing him.

"... I'm not finished. It doesn't mean you have to put yourself on the bridge between life and death. So my answer's still the same." He continued. As soon as he finished your expression slowly turn glum.

Just before you could feel the rejection setting in for the second time, a bright idea popped into your head. ".. why don't you follow me then?"

"I told you, I can't. As the acting grand sage I have multiples matters to attend to at the Akademiya. If I had known you'd insist as volunteering for the mission, I wouldn't have granted it approval in the first place." Alhaitham raises his hand.

Doing his usual gesture where he's staring right into your eyes and swing one hand out while the other stay crossed across his chest. It took every ounce of willpower in you to not roll your eyes over how annoying he looks with his as-matter-of-factly expression.

"If the mission is so dangerous why are you leaving it in the hands of the newer schoolars.." You mumbled your words but it proves that nothing goes unnoticed to Alhaitham especially when it's you he's facing.

"Because I like to see the world burn." his nonchalant-ness had you worried. You slowly backs away from him, opting to drop the topic. Maybe you had been too pushy with him earlier. ".. don't..?" until now you've never understood why people always complains over how hard it is to tell whether Alhaitham is being serious or not.

Over the time you've spent with him, he had always been somewhat of an easy-to-read man. Straightforward and honest to you. Oh but now? now you're sweating because his comment relating to arsonist paired with his serious expression makes you wonder if you should prepare for the day when an unknown fire broke out somewhere in the Akademiya thus burning the entirety of Sumeru city down.

Maybe you'd find your boyfriend standing on top of it all with an unhinged smile and maniac laughter coming from him screaming burn burn burn!

But ofcourse, all your fantasies were interrupted by the very same man. "I'm joking, Y/n." your expression must've told him everything you were thinking about seeing how he's quick to admit he wasn't serious.

"so then.. can I go?" you repeat your question. Continuously asking him until you finally get him to say yes. Alhaitham sighs in pure defeat. It's starting to look like you are not the only frustrated one here.

"Y/n.. Let's just sleep for now." he grabs your forearm gently, pulling you to your shared bedroom after having had enough of your persistent attempt on changing his mind regarding the matter that was so important to you. He still doesn't see the importance of you joining them if you can just stay at the Akademiya and learn with him instead.