♡

"are you really going to deduct his points?" itto asks although already knowing the answer, a cheeky smile on your face as he voluntarily gives his pork cutlet to you since it's your favorite. the two of you are in the special operations unit (SOU for short) cafeteria about to enjoy your lunches, having already put your supplies away earlier and concluding the training. "your acting was pretty good, by the way."

"of course," you say with a duh tone, eating your own vegetables as you speak. you ignore his judging look directed at the amount of food he sees that piles on your plate. "he's slow at decision-making and too much of a scaredy-cat. but thanks, your acting was impressive too."

the male in front of you only rolls his eyes at your naturally sarcastic-sounding voice, even when you genuinely mean it. you smile in return as your phone vibrates, looking away and pulling it out of your pocket to check it. "what's that?"

you grin at the sight of your notification. "did you know that the police agency is giving out three apartment units for people in the police force?" you turn back towards itto and brazenly hold up three fingers. "the new location for the units are currently getting developed!"

"holy shit, really?" itto's eyes widen. "are there conditions or something? my sister's dream is to get a newly built apartment unit, but the ones in our area are too old."

you look back to your phone screen to accurately read out the details to itto. "they score every applicant based on... seniority, family size, marital status, and so on and on. but! the amount of arrests and evaluations matter the most."

"gosh, you'll win the unit for that for sure then," itto says mid-chew with rice in his mouth. you're not sure if he realizes that he's feeding your ego, but you take the compliment giddily anyways. his mouth opens to continue talking, but another sudden ringing of your phone interrupts him.

the phone screen surprises you when you notice that it's childe, your detective and highschool friend, calling you. itto sends you another questioning look at your contact name for him ("I'm His Lifesaver") and you whisper in explanation, "he's a friend of mine." you pick up the call and bring the phone to your ear. "what's up?"

"hey," he greets from the other side of the phone— you can't help but grin yet again from the sound of his voice. however, his tone sounds much more serious than it usually is and he gets on right away with what he needs to say. "your name came up during an investigation. you're training new recruits, right?"

oh, you idly think, blinking in small surprise. you definitely were not expecting that type of question. "yeah, why? did something happen with one?"

"actually, the guy we're investigating bought some drugs from a brand new SOU recruit," he replies. you assume we means him and teppei, an older friend of you two that is also a detective. itto nudges at your shoulder when he spots you jump a bit from bewilderment in your seat. drugs? from a special operations unit recruit? you can't believe what you are currently hearing. "for real? wait, what's the name of the recruit?"

childe hums for a bit before answering with a "uh, i think it was a lee parker?", and surprise takes you over even more. that was the guy you and itto had just trained! "well anyway, you'll probably get a notice soon. we don't really understand the drugs that were sold, but i wanted to give you a heads-up, kiddo."

you snort, unaware that you're still leaving the co-worker in front of you in the dark about the situation. "oh, don't kiddo me— but good job anyways." a natural sinister type of smile from an idea appears on your face. "if i were to uncover the organization behind it, that would be my arrest right?"

you can hear that childe was walking on the other side of the phone, now pausing at your words. "what are you talking about? i just wanted to let you know—"

without any more words to say to him, you abruptly hang up the call and place your phone down onto the table. you sigh out in deep thought, carefully thinking about what you should do next.

what were you supposed to do next? the obvious choice felt like to investigate the recruit yourself, even without superiors, and ask him about the drugs plus what drugs specifically, but if he was seriously selling drugs then that might've resulted into a lot of paperwork.

... but you were also dead-set on that apartment unit. having a noisy family and neighbors all your life made you want a space for yourself desperately, and helping your detective friend would definitely help you get that new unit.

"alright then, itto," you say finally with a firm decision in mind, while also pointing at him with your fork as you talk. "i'll be back very quickly, so watch my food." you pause a bit before continuing. "i don't want anyone laying a single hand on my pork cutlet."

"wait, it's more important than your food?" he asks dumbly, watching in surprise as you actually stand up with your phone in hand. you nonchalantly wave to him as you leave the cafeteria, walking outside and back towards the abandoned building that was used for training.

you enter the building and push open the heavy doors, treading through the dark hallways and up the grimy stairs. every corner seems to be filled with dust and smudged soot. however, the recruits should still be at their stations due to ongoing training, so you suppose parker is still at the infirmary even with failing his TMP. you stop at the correct floor and look down one side of the hallway, walking back towards where you remember the temporary medical room was and attempting to look through the soiled door windows.

the door windows are naturally faded with more specks of dust due to old age. you have to step closer and squint through the glass to see if parker is still inside, maybe cleaning up his supplies or talking to a superior.

you can't really tell at all what is going on; there are two figures in the special operations unit uniforms on the ground and on top of each other, and wait— were they seriously wrestling right now? did they get into a fight about something? you also immediately spin around when you hear footsteps behind you, spotting itto with his hands calmly in his pockets.

"relax, i told everyone not to touch your food," he says, responding to your look of what-the-hell-are-you-doing-here with his own what's-up-with-you? look. you step away a bit as he walks to your side and peers through the door windows as well, confusion then evidently seen on his face just like yours. "what are those punks even doing?"

after his words you instantly burst open the right door and step into the room, a glare on your face at the figures on the floor. you call out, "recruit lee parker!"what was with his audacity to play around on the ground after failing an important SOU training?

itto gave you a perplexed look after none of the wrestling figures answered, and he stepped forward to your side. he called out as well, "hey you two, what are you doing?"

a few moments passed by and nothing happened again—jesus christ, you were seriously starting to get pissed off. you took a step forward to break up the fight when a familiar voice from one of the figures cried out, "help me! p-please!"

you stopped your movement. was that parker? why didn't he just answer earlier? you opened your mouth to speak, to scold him again—

—only to step right back when the figure on top stood up, curling his fucking back at an angle a normal human could not have been able to bend to at all.

both you and itto's eyes widened by the near tenfold as the figure looked at you two upside down, pupils incredibly shrunk to a small dot and blood all over his mouth. you rushed to take out your gun from the holster as the human—no, what the fuck even was that?—growled animalistically, twisting his back towards you.

"what's wrong with him?" itto whispered in a frozen state similar to yours, stepping back as you moved your figure in front of him as some sort of protection. you held out your gun in front of you and pointed it at the zombie-like person, keeping a careful and serious eye out for him with your finger on the trigger.

"parker, stay right where you are," you coldly warned. parker was still on the floor where the person was on him, and oh hell, was he eating him? his neck was bloody and red as he scooted back against the wall, looking at you with extreme panic on his face.

at that moment, as you looked at parker's face, your whole body froze once again.

because shit, if that monster-like person or whatever the fuck that is was a regular human before, then you couldn't shoot him— there would be major problems if this was something you could cure.

you immediately tossed your gun to the side as the zombie lunged inhumanly fast at you, your reflexes kicking in as you gripped his shoulders to maintain distance from him even as he harshly backed and pushed you into a wall. the back of your head and your back itself hit roughly against a mirror, making it shatter onto the floor with shards splaying out in all directions. the zombie-like person's bloody hands seized onto your shoulders as well, growling loudly and continuously with every breath. you didn't even have time to breathe a sigh of relief, trying your best to block the zombie from biting you as itto quickly grabbed the back of his shirt and threw his figure to the ground. itto reflexively picked up a foldable chair and used it as a shield while the zombie scrambled up to latch onto him.

as quick as you could, you grabbed the medical cart and wheeled it right into the zombie's bottom figure. he screeched out in pain and you felt yourself sweat at how inhumane and cruel he sounded, itto also flinching from the sound as he helped you push the cart into the zombie.

"hurry itto, get parker out of here!" you yelled out as loud as you could over the growls and cries. almost as quick as you said it, itto let go of the cart and ran to the collapsed recruit to help him up.

you shouldn't have looked away from the zombie, even just for a millisecond.

the cart was pushed away with brutal strength from the zombie, and you yelped as you felt the zombie reach to grip onto your hand with its long nails. you rapidly punched his other hand away, grunting while pulling both of his wrists high up in the air and expertly throwing him over your shoulder with a kick from your foot. he landed forcefully onto the medical table, making you curse out loud as you tried to flip him over to keep his mouth away to prevent biting. you slammed your fist onto his back with as much strength as you could to keep him still, itto with the recruit on his back running past.

it didn't seem to be enough at all— in seconds, the zombie effortlessly pushed you off and scrabbled to get back at you. you tightly gripped onto each other's shoulders again with another throw of him over your shoulder as you ducked. the both of you fell onto the floor, and holy shit, the zombie got up way faster than you ever could, leaving you to roll under a table as it screamed while clawing at you. you scooted back and reached your arms as high up as you could, holding onto the tips of a metal cabinet and throwing it down harshly onto the zombie that chased after you. with the time of mere seconds you spared for yourself, you spun towards the door and shut it tight behind you.

"[name], are you okay?!" your head turns tiredly towards the voice. itto was slightly down the hallway, sitting next to parker on the floor and most likely tending to him.

you couldn't respond even if you tried to— panting hard and desperately catching your breath and even then the zombie slammed itself with no care in the world against the door behind you. you flinch and spin back around to keep the doors confirmed shut, but it kept his bloody face against the window and growled even more loudly at you.

you don't know what happened, but now it felt like the door windows were crystal clear and the zombie was peering at you with its—god forbid—inhumane eyes.

"what the hell is that?" itto gasped out, staring at the person behind the door. it's bloody figure disappeared as it slid down the door and away from the window's view. "is that a fucking zombie? how in the world did that happen??"

i don't know, you think in the only quiet you have right now—your mind.

was that truly a zombie? all those fictional stories and little fairy tales didn't talk about or have fast, fighting zombies with extremely expert reflexes. you swallow your nerves down and step towards the door to check on the zombie, only to step back as it stood back up and slammed itself so hard against the window again that the glass cracked on the sides.

was it because... of the drugs that childe told you about?

"i'll stay here," you start to say, your voice strangely calm for someone who's currently shaken up. "go get that recruit treated quickly!"

you keep your eyes closely on the door as itto runs down the hallway, recruit on his back, his voice yelling out, "is anyone out there? we got an officer down!" you can even feel cold sweat dripping down the side of your head as the zombie slides down again, away from sight.

that's when you finally first hear something human-sounding from him: a scream of pain.

you waste no time to crack the door open and look down at his body, fallen down completely on the floor as the male figure cries to himself and clutches his chest tightly. his eyes are back to normal and he no longer looks like a zombie, his other hand reaching towards you limply as he starts to fucking talk.

"o-officer," he stutters out with small, pained cries in between. he's visibly trembling. "call an ambulance, please!"

you can't believe it. you don't believe what you're thinking, you don't believe what you're seeing, you don't believe what you're hearing even as other SOU officers come running down the hall and pass by you to take care of the situation.

your theory was right.

the zombie was a human before— he turned right fucking back.

what the hell was going on?

"i still don't believe that you like xiao," lumine straightforwardly states. the two of you are standing at the staircase by your classroom, backs to the wall with her standing beside you. "really? the short guy who bumped into us last week?"

you can't help but giddily laugh, remembering what had happened. "well to be fair, i bumped into him first." it was true, you remember the day like it was just this morning.

both you and lumine walk out of the room at the start of your new semester, full of new classes, new teachers, and especially new classmates and students. she links her arm comfortably with yours as you two walk into the hallway. "holy crap, everything is so confusing. how are you and childe so settled in already?"

you can't help but giggle at her words. you open your mouth to respond when you suddenly feel your shoulder hit someone, and you turn to see a raven green-haired boy's head down to look at a game on a phone. one of his friends yelps out, "noo! i died!"

"sorry! are you okay?" you worriedly ask even as lumine still drags you along. you hold out your other hand to tap on the male's shoulder and he turns to you with a blank look. "hello?" ...what was his name again? "sorry for bumping into you—"

"it's fine, it's not my account anyway," the male calmly responds as his friend cries out something about losing a legendary item. your eyebrows only raise higher in concern.

"oh.. really? i'm still sorry, i didn't see you—"

"oh, forget it already!" lumine sighs out, exasperated as she keeps pulling you along. "you don't have to apologize so many times! and it's not your fault you couldn't see him, he's tiny as fuck!"

"l-lumine?!" you call out in surprise as you walk with her down the hallway. "how could you say that?" she only ignores you, continuing ranting about how rude they were for standing in the middle of the hallway. you turn around to look at the male and his friends while hoping that they weren't too offended.

you watch as the green-haired male only stares at you walk away, his friends hovered around him (and also above him, they're taller) while they hold out their hands with concerned looks, probably telling him not to think about what lumine said. you feel a bit bad, even debating going back to apologize for your friend's words when you see his mouth start to open to say something.

"hey," he calls out, and you can see lumine's head turn from beside you. the look of shock completely cascades over your face when he continues to say, "girl who's tinier than the guy who's tiny as fuck. you should grow yourself some common courtesy, it looks like you really need it."

"i still have no idea why you held me back from socking a punch to his face, that little idiot!" lumine's scoff brings you back to reality. you watch as she sips from a box of strawberry milk while her eyebrows narrow. "and by the way, i was lying about liking childe yesterday. i just wanted to say what that girl would say... you get what i mean, right?" she sighs out when you shake your head with a confused look. "you can drop the act, i know you like childe."

well, you confidently think. unfortunately for her, i'm not thinking about backing down anytime soon. "it's nothing like that, lumi. i was being honest, i really do like xiao."

"arghh!! don't say it again, you weirdo!" she cries out, and you giggle. "what's so good about him anyway?! i honestly don't get your type at all."

"he's cute," you speak truthfully— and technically, you were not lying. "his hairstyle suits him, and the way some of his hair strands wave around his face look really pretty." you do a quick motion with your hands to demonstrate and lumine raises her judging eyebrows at you. "and he always has this attractive red eyeliner on that matches his eyes perfectly, and—oh! and his lean figure fits his motorcycle jacket so satisfyingly to me. it's like he's those guys who are hot, pretty, and cute at the same time, don't you think?"

"no! stop rambling dummy!!" lumine visibly reddens, and you were sure that the last description you mentioned reminded her of her crush. you laughed as she spoke, "he's rude and brash! and super short!"

"hmm, kind of reminds me of someone," you funnily teased as the bell rang, and lumine whacked you lightly on the shoulder. "we should head back to class, that was the bell."

"you're such a fucking weirdo," lumine grumbled as you two walked down the stairs to your class floor. you could only keep giggling in return at her words, holding out your hand to take her milk box to throw away.

yet again, out of your notice and vision there he was; xiao at the top of the stairs, leaning against the wall as he looked down at his phone. his friends freaked out and fumbled from beside him, staring at him with a perplexed look.

"what are you going to do, xiao?" one of them, chongyun, asked. a blush was on his face just hearing you talk adoringly about xiao. "our classmate likes you!"

"what do you mean?" xiao simply replies with the phone still in his hands. "i'm gonna defeat this boss, that's what. that was just the warning bell."

"that's not what yunyun means!" hu tao, xiao's other friend, cries out. "remember when i spat out my drink at burger king at our classmates talking about you and childe?"

"yeah, very clearly," he sourly says. he remembers that they weren't really talking about him though—he was only mentioned when you brought up your crush on him.

hu tao ignores his words while ranting on. "that person already said that they liked you! twice! do you not care, oh-mighty nonchalant god?"

xiao only responds with a, "they have a name you know." he turns his head towards chongyun, motioning towards the phone in his hands. "you're on low health, yun."

the blue-haired male completely forgets about the conversation beforehand as he yelps out, "wait-wait-wait, drink a healing potion! that one! quickly!"

hu tao groans. "you two are so clueless!"

hu tao might be half right... but it seems that nobody notices the tips of xiao's ears blazing red, him standing between his friends looking over his shoulder at the phone. your words are still ingrained into his mind as he has to repeatedly take in your words and realize what you had said over and over again... do you actually like him?

ever since april and spring had started, new students were assigned the duty to clean the classroom once the school day was over so the old students from winter didn't have to do it anymore. unfortunately for lumine, your name was called along with the other names, meaning that you couldn't hang out as much after school anymore. you also felt a nudge on your shoulder from the girl (from burger king) who sat behind you, giving you a thumbs-up and a whispered "good luck!" when xiao's name was called as well. you two were stuck on mop duty while childe and zhongli did dusting and amber and yoimiya were on broom duty.

"we should probably come later next time since we have to mop after the brooms," you spoke awkwardly, gripping the handle of your mop to your chest as you stood beside xiao in the back of the classroom. everyone else seemed to lively clean the room together as you two were quiet, xiao on his phone while you guys waited for everyone else to finish together.

the only thing he said in return was a "yeah." and it was silent once again after that.

then came midterms— meaning the students didn't have to clean after the day was over until midterms were over. you quickly gazed at the questions of your paper as the teacher called out instructions, your hand reaching for your pencil bag until you realized you didn't have the right pen the teacher mentioned beforehand. you calmly scooted to the side of your chair and tapped on lumine's shoulder, who sat diagonally to the left and front of you, and she turned and raised her eyebrow at you.

"oh shit, i don't have an extra scantron pen," lumine silently cursed after you told her your problem. she pondered for a while with a finger tapping her chin. "if you want, i can ask the teacher for you—"

"no-no, it's okay," you quickly whispered with a smile. "i'll just ask around, thank you lumi."

she sent you a worried look and a good luck thumbs-up as you leaned back into your chair. swallowing your nerves, you turned around and asked the girl behind you, "hey, do you have an extra scantron pen?"

she shook her head with a sad look, "sorry, i only brought one. maybe ask kyun?"

well crap, you didn't know who that was. you just simply nod your head and whisper a small thank-you before turning back around with a sigh. even if the teacher would scold you in front of everyone, you would just have to ask her if you could borrow one. it didn't seem like there was another way out of this situation.

however, right as you are about to raise your hand, you see a subtle hand out of the corner of your eye place a pen (the exact pen you needed) at the side of your desk. your eyes can't help but widen in shock— everyone you asked didn't seem to have an extra pen, so how did someone else notice that you needed one?

"xiao!" the teacher calls out, and you turn to look up at him with surprise and a little guilt for getting him into any possible trouble. "what are you doing standing up? we are about to start a test."

"i accidentally dropped something," he calmly replies, holding up his other hand with a pen in it. "i need it for the test."

everyone's eyes seem to fly to xiao's figure, and you freeze up as you definitely feel the eyes of lumine and the girl behind you on you. the teacher sighs as she says something along the lines of ask next time, and motions for xiao to sit back down. when he glances at you as he turns around, your heart literally skips a bit before sending him a thankful look before he walks back to his seat.

lumine's eyes feel like they take a while to leave your face, and for the rest of your test, the only thing you can think about is xiao's sunset eyes gazing into yours— even if it was just for half a second. you couldn't even tell if your warm face would ever cool down until you were done answering all of the questions on your papers.

however, lumine's eyes weren't the only ones on you. hu tao stared at the back of your head in awe, absolute surprised at what had just happened.

xiao, the introvert. xiao, the tsundere. xiao, the quiet, scarily good gamer. xiao, the one hu tao knows very well that doesn't like to interact with people at all, just voluntarily stood up and gave you one of his extra pens. well to be honest— his only pen. xiao had turned around in his seat and ordered hu tao to give him one of her extras, because she "always brings a shit-ton of writing utensils". hu tao could only watch in astonishment when he stood up and put his pen onto your desk, and not only that, but also flat-out lied to the teacher with an excuse.

if hu tao said that she wasn't shocked a little bit, then she would be straight-up lying to everyone's faces.

"it's been a while since we had to clean," you start to say, mopping one side of the classroom with xiao mopping the other side. the fact that it was just the two of you inside with unbearable silence was killing you, and although it would be awkward, starting small talk sounded a bit better than two high schoolers silently mopping together. "how did you do on your midterms?"

"alright," is all he says, and you chuckle nervously in response while continuing with the mopping. you keep your eyes focused on the ground, finally realizing why lumine didn't believe your lie of having a crush on xiao—he's complete opposites with childe. while childe is chaotic and full of life, energy, and fun, xiao is quiet and keeps his hobbies to himself. he doesn't seem to speak up much unless asked to, and he seems to keep an expressionless look on his face. and you told lumine that you were crushing on this guy? whoever believed you probably had their eyes on their ass.

you look up when the front of your mop hits against another one, and meet the eyes of xiao in the process. you guys had finished mopping the room, finally meeting at the same side, but it's like you can't stop laughing to make up for the silence when you're with xiao— a brand new giggle bubbles out of you instinctively.

"we met," you point out the obvious, tapping his mop lightly with yours and then pulling it back to your side with a little aftermath of embarrassment. your head suddenly perks up at remembering something to say, and you let out an ahem before speaking again. "oh and, uh... thank you for lending me your pen last time. it was a lot of help."

speaking of which; you had yet to return his pen back to him. you're about to turn around to go to your backpack when xiao suddenly speaks up too, saying your name.

you don't even have a real crush on him— so why does your figure still, stiffening up at the sound of his voice casually saying your name?

"yeah?" you question. is he going to say you're welcome, or something nonchalant like it was nothing? you look at him expectantly while waiting for his answer.

and then out of nowhere: "i thought you liked me."

you completely freeze up as your heart feels like it comes to a complete stop, the mop handle falling out of the palms of your hand as your mouth opens with no words coming out. the male in front of you bends down and expertly catches the mop before it can fall and hit your leg, your figure still in a shocked state.

how did he know? did lumine tell him? there's no way she would— you know that she doesn't want to believe your lie, wanting you to admit your original crush already. besides, even if you really did have a crush on him, your best friend wouldn't be a snitch. xiao just watches as the your startled look turns to one of utter confusion, your fingertips touching when he places the mop back into your hands.

"...huh? w-what are you talking about?" you slowly start to speak, yet another nervous chuckle falling out of your lips. was he really just that good at reading you like a book? not only did he notice that you needed a pen from the back of the classroom, but he found out that you fake-liked him. how did he do it?

you're about to stammer out an excuse when he plainly says, "you yelled it out at burger king a few weeks ago. like this—

"ah! h-haha, uhm!!" you stammer to interrupt him, holding out your other hand to stop him from reenacting what you said before and humiliating you further. "i didn't know you were, er, there..."

oh shit. truly, you ask yourself what have you gotten yourself into? oh goodness— out of all the people you could've chose, why did your brain land on xiao? did it have to be xiao? and why did he have to be at burger king the same time and day as you? where would this even get you?

well... an offer for a fake dating relationship, that's what.

and it brings you unfortunately to now, the two of you as the center of attention the next day in the back of the classroom, because xiao had just carelessly and emotionlessly announced to everyone that you had started dating, on this very day. you didn't know he would— all you did was whisper in his ear, asking him a question about the relationship you two would fake that you talked about yesterday.

the only thing you can do is try to keep a calm smile on your face (and absolutely fail while doing it), spine stiffening up as xiao reaches for your hand and casually holds it in his. even as lumine slams open the door and curses out a "no fucking way!" he still holds your hand up, almost like he's rubbing it in her face in a you were wrong way.

the first thing xiao thinks when he holds your hand is that it's warm—almost like you.

your personality is warm, your aura is warm, even the way you speak is warm. you seem to be nice to everyone even if they were annoying, like the people who kept asking what answers you got after the midterms. you throw people's lunch trays away for them when they ask and you once even told him that you could mop the classroom by yourself, which he declined.

he hates it. he doesn't like how kind you are, and how much of a pushover you seem. you let people walk all over you and don't do a single thing about it. it makes his mind go mad.

... but it kind of makes him feel like someone should be there by your side, to protect you. to play the bad guy and tell people to get lost when they try to order you around.

"sorry if i offended you," you had said the previous day after he had put away the mops, his back to the window and you seated in front of him on a chair. you had just explained the whole situation; about lumine and childe, about the crushes, and why you lied. even the way you fidgeted with your fingers in your lap made him want to look away in disgust, but it was you, your voice, and your hands. it was at least a bit bearable. but xiao could already tell from the way you avoided his gaze that you were thinking about a lot of other things— what to say, what to do, and what you shouldn't do.

"what did you want to achieve by lying?" xiao straightforwardly asked as you finally—and awkwardly—looked up to meet his stare. "you don't care if childe dates someone else? are you really going to back down for your friend?"

"um, it's not like that," you nervously say, then quickly add, "backing down, i mean. but either way, i don't plan on dating someone my best friend has feelings for anyway."

xiao ponders for a moment with a hand in his pocket, keeping his eyes on you until you eventually look away to the side. "does your friend believes your lie?"

you chuckle in response. "ah, definitely not." the male notices that you always seem to be laughing whenever your blonde friend is around or mentioned—you guys must be close. you continue to talk while taking your jacket off, "i'm trying to convince her, but she definitely thinks that i still like childe. i just wish we could get it over with."

he thinks, staring at you pull one of your arms out of your sleeves. for someone who seems like a stubborn pushover, your lying was pretty good—when you were rambling about his looks at the staircase, he almost believed you himself. the tips of ears even turn red at the thought of thinking about it again, but he reminds himself that you were just acting. anyway, what would even be the ideal way to get out of this situation? it didn't seem like just insisting to your friend that you had a crush would continue to work.

"want me to help you?"

"huh?" you look up confused from shrugging off your jacket, then put on a little smile. "oh, this? it's okay, i'm done taking it off anyways."

"what?" xiao raises his eyebrow, and something in him almost wants to scoff from amusement as you awkwardly stiffen up from realization. "why would i help you take off your jacket?"

"t-then what did you mean??"

"you don't care what childe thinks, so it's just lucy that's the problem now, right?" xiao simply asks as he steadily leans off of the wall. taking one of his hands out of his pocket, he runs it through his hair to push aside the hair strands in his eyes, staring at you while waiting for your reply.

"her name is lumine," you slowly speak with your eyes meeting his. "a-and i guess?"

"then it's simple." he steps forward and you stop breathing for a moment— his face is only inches away from yours. you can see every speck of golden red in his amber eyes from here, and count all of his raven-green hair strands from his black hair strands. his scent is sweet— something varying between caramel and honey, but you can't put your finger on it.

well, it's not like you have time to anyway. not when you freeze up at his words; "just go out with me."

"w-what?" you jolt in your chair, abruptly scooting back and looking up at him with a start. "what are you talking about?"

this time xiao finally smiles in amusement. actually, not even a smile— it's practically a small, amused smirk.

"lumine will believe you if we're dating."

end of part one.

"i still don't believe that you like xiao," lumine straightforwardly states. the two of you are standing at the staircase by your classroom, backs to the wall with her standing beside you. "really? the short guy who bumped into us last week?"

you can't help but giddily laugh, remembering what had happened. "well to be fair, i bumped into him first." it was true, you remember the day like it was just this morning.

both you and lumine walk out of the room at the start of your new semester, full of new classes, new teachers, and especially new classmates and students. she links her arm comfortably with yours as you two walk into the hallway. "holy crap, everything is so confusing. how are you and childe so settled in already?"

you can't help but giggle at her words. you open your mouth to respond when you suddenly feel your shoulder hit someone, and you turn to see a raven green-haired boy's head down to look at a game on a phone. one of his friends yelps out, "noo! i died!"

"sorry! are you okay?" you worriedly ask even as lumine still drags you along. you hold out your other hand to tap on the male's shoulder and he turns to you with a blank look. "hello?" ...what was his name again? "sorry for bumping into you—"

"it's fine, it's not my account anyway," the male calmly responds as his friend cries out something about losing a legendary item. your eyebrows only raise higher in concern.

"oh.. really? i'm still sorry, i didn't see you—"

"oh, forget it already!" lumine sighs out, exasperated as she keeps pulling you along. "you don't have to apologize so many times! and it's not your fault you couldn't see him, he's tiny as fuck!"

"l-lumine?!" you call out in surprise as you walk with her down the hallway. "how could you say that?" she only ignores you, continuing ranting about how rude they were for standing in the middle of the hallway. you turn around to look at the male and his friends while hoping that they weren't too offended.

you watch as the green-haired male only stares at you walk away, his friends hovered around him (and also above him, they're taller) while they hold out their hands with concerned looks, probably telling him not to think about what lumine said. you feel a bit bad, even debating going back to apologize for your friend's words when you see his mouth start to open to say something.

"hey," he calls out, and you can see lumine's head turn from beside you. the look of shock completely cascades over your face when he continues to say, "girl who's tinier than the guy who's tiny as fuck. you should grow yourself some common courtesy, it looks like you really need it."

"i still have no idea why you held me back from socking a punch to his face, that little idiot!" lumine's scoff brings you back to reality. you watch as she sips from a box of strawberry milk while her eyebrows narrow. "and by the way, i was lying about liking childe yesterday. i just wanted to say what that girl would say... you get what i mean, right?" she sighs out when you shake your head with a confused look. "you can drop the act, i know you like childe."

well, you confidently think. unfortunately for her, i'm not thinking about backing down anytime soon. "it's nothing like that, lumi. i was being honest, i really do like xiao."

"arghh!! don't say it again, you weirdo!" she cries out, and you giggle. "what's so good about him anyway?! i honestly don't get your type at all."

"he's cute," you speak truthfully— and technically, you were not lying. "his hairstyle suits him, and the way some of his hair strands wave around his face look really pretty." you do a quick motion with your hands to demonstrate and lumine raises her judging eyebrows at you. "and he always has this attractive red eyeliner on that matches his eyes perfectly, and—oh! and his lean figure fits his motorcycle jacket so satisfyingly to me. it's like he's those guys who are hot, pretty, and cute at the same time, don't you think?"

"no! stop rambling dummy!!" lumine visibly reddens, and you were sure that the last description you mentioned reminded her of her crush. you laughed as she spoke, "he's rude and brash! and super short!"

"hmm, kind of reminds me of someone," you funnily teased as the bell rang, and lumine whacked you lightly on the shoulder. "we should head back to class, that was the bell."

"you're such a fucking weirdo," lumine grumbled as you two walked down the stairs to your class floor. you could only keep giggling in return at her words, holding out your hand to take her milk box to throw away.

yet again, out of your notice and vision there he was; xiao at the top of the stairs, leaning against the wall as he looked down at his phone. his friends freaked out and fumbled from beside him, staring at him with a perplexed look.

"what are you going to do, xiao?" one of them, chongyun, asked. a blush was on his face just hearing you talk adoringly about xiao. "our classmate likes you!"

"what do you mean?" xiao simply replies with the phone still in his hands. "i'm gonna defeat this boss, that's what. that was just the warning bell."

"that's not what yunyun means!" hu tao, xiao's other friend, cries out. "remember when i spat out my drink at burger king at our classmates talking about you and childe?"

"yeah, very clearly," he sourly says. he remembers that they weren't really talking about him though—he was only mentioned when you brought up your crush on him.

hu tao ignores his words while ranting on. "that person already said that they liked you! twice! do you not care, oh-mighty nonchalant god?"

xiao only responds with a, "they have a name you know." he turns his head towards chongyun, motioning towards the phone in his hands. "you're on low health, yun."

the blue-haired male completely forgets about the conversation beforehand as he yelps out, "wait-wait-wait, drink a healing potion! that one! quickly!"

hu tao groans. "you two are so clueless!"

hu tao might be half right... but it seems that nobody notices the tips of xiao's ears blazing red, him standing between his friends looking over his shoulder at the phone. your words are still ingrained into his mind as he has to repeatedly take in your words and realize what you had said over and over again... do you actually like him?

ever since april and spring had started, new students were assigned the duty to clean the classroom once the school day was over so the old students from winter didn't have to do it anymore. unfortunately for lumine, your name was called along with the other names, meaning that you couldn't hang out as much after school anymore. you also felt a nudge on your shoulder from the girl (from burger king) who sat behind you, giving you a thumbs-up and a whispered "good luck!" when xiao's name was called as well. you two were stuck on mop duty while childe and zhongli did dusting and amber and yoimiya were on broom duty.

"we should probably come later next time since we have to mop after the brooms," you spoke awkwardly, gripping the handle of your mop to your chest as you stood beside xiao in the back of the classroom. everyone else seemed to lively clean the room together as you two were quiet, xiao on his phone while you guys waited for everyone else to finish together.

the only thing he said in return was a "yeah." and it was silent once again after that.

then came midterms— meaning the students didn't have to clean after the day was over until midterms were over. you quickly gazed at the questions of your paper as the teacher called out instructions, your hand reaching for your pencil bag until you realized you didn't have the right pen the teacher mentioned beforehand. you calmly scooted to the side of your chair and tapped on lumine's shoulder, who sat diagonally to the left and front of you, and she turned and raised her eyebrow at you.

"oh shit, i don't have an extra scantron pen," lumine silently cursed after you told her your problem. she pondered for a while with a finger tapping her chin. "if you want, i can ask the teacher for you—"

"no-no, it's okay," you quickly whispered with a smile. "i'll just ask around, thank you lumi."

she sent you a worried look and a good luck thumbs-up as you leaned back into your chair. swallowing your nerves, you turned around and asked the girl behind you, "hey, do you have an extra scantron pen?"

she shook her head with a sad look, "sorry, i only brought one. maybe ask kyun?"

well crap, you didn't know who that was. you just simply nod your head and whisper a small thank-you before turning back around with a sigh. even if the teacher would scold you in front of everyone, you would just have to ask her if you could borrow one. it didn't seem like there was another way out of this situation.

however, right as you are about to raise your hand, you see a subtle hand out of the corner of your eye place a pen (the exact pen you needed) at the side of your desk. your eyes can't help but widen in shock— everyone you asked didn't seem to have an extra pen, so how did someone else notice that you needed one?

"xiao!" the teacher calls out, and you turn to look up at him with surprise and a little guilt for getting him into any possible trouble. "what are you doing standing up? we are about to start a test."

"i accidentally dropped something," he calmly replies, holding up his other hand with a pen in it. "i need it for the test."

everyone's eyes seem to fly to xiao's figure, and you freeze up as you definitely feel the eyes of lumine and the girl behind you on you. the teacher sighs as she says something along the lines of ask next time, and motions for xiao to sit back down. when he glances at you as he turns around, your heart literally skips a bit before sending him a thankful look before he walks back to his seat.

lumine's eyes feel like they take a while to leave your face, and for the rest of your test, the only thing you can think about is xiao's sunset eyes gazing into yours— even if it was just for half a second. you couldn't even tell if your warm face would ever cool down until you were done answering all of the questions on your papers.

however, lumine's eyes weren't the only ones on you. hu tao stared at the back of your head in awe, absolute surprised at what had just happened.

xiao, the introvert. xiao, the tsundere. xiao, the quiet, scarily good gamer. xiao, the one hu tao knows very well that doesn't like to interact with people at all, just voluntarily stood up and gave you one of his extra pens. well to be honest— his only pen. xiao had turned around in his seat and ordered hu tao to give him one of her extras, because she "always brings a shit-ton of writing utensils". hu tao could only watch in astonishment when he stood up and put his pen onto your desk, and not only that, but also flat-out lied to the teacher with an excuse.

if hu tao said that she wasn't shocked a little bit, then she would be straight-up lying to everyone's faces.

"it's been a while since we had to clean," you start to say, mopping one side of the classroom with xiao mopping the other side. the fact that it was just the two of you inside with unbearable silence was killing you, and although it would be awkward, starting small talk sounded a bit better than two high schoolers silently mopping together. "how did you do on your midterms?"

"alright," is all he says, and you chuckle nervously in response while continuing with the mopping. you keep your eyes focused on the ground, finally realizing why lumine didn't believe your lie of having a crush on xiao—he's complete opposites with childe. while childe is chaotic and full of life, energy, and fun, xiao is quiet and keeps his hobbies to himself. he doesn't seem to speak up much unless asked to, and he seems to keep an expressionless look on his face. and you told lumine that you were crushing on this guy? whoever believed you probably had their eyes on their ass.

you look up when the front of your mop hits against another one, and meet the eyes of xiao in the process. you guys had finished mopping the room, finally meeting at the same side, but it's like you can't stop laughing to make up for the silence when you're with xiao— a brand new giggle bubbles out of you instinctively.

"we met," you point out the obvious, tapping his mop lightly with yours and then pulling it back to your side with a little aftermath of embarrassment. your head suddenly perks up at remembering something to say, and you let out an ahem before speaking again. "oh and, uh... thank you for lending me your pen last time. it was a lot of help."

speaking of which; you had yet to return his pen back to him. you're about to turn around to go to your backpack when xiao suddenly speaks up too, saying your name.

you don't even have a real crush on him— so why does your figure still, stiffening up at the sound of his voice casually saying your name?

"yeah?" you question. is he going to say you're welcome, or something nonchalant like it was nothing? you look at him expectantly while waiting for his answer.

and then out of nowhere: "i thought you liked me."

you completely freeze up as your heart feels like it comes to a complete stop, the mop handle falling out of the palms of your hand as your mouth opens with no words coming out. the male in front of you bends down and expertly catches the mop before it can fall and hit your leg, your figure still in a shocked state.

how did he know? did lumine tell him? there's no way she would— you know that she doesn't want to believe your lie, wanting you to admit your original crush already. besides, even if you really did have a crush on him, your best friend wouldn't be a snitch. xiao just watches as the your startled look turns to one of utter confusion, your fingertips touching when he places the mop back into your hands.

"...huh? w-what are you talking about?" you slowly start to speak, yet another nervous chuckle falling out of your lips. was he really just that good at reading you like a book? not only did he notice that you needed a pen from the back of the classroom, but he found out that you fake-liked him. how did he do it?

you're about to stammer out an excuse when he plainly says, "you yelled it out at burger king a few weeks ago. like this—

"ah! h-haha, uhm!!" you stammer to interrupt him, holding out your other hand to stop him from reenacting what you said before and humiliating you further. "i didn't know you were, er, there..."

oh shit. truly, you ask yourself what have you gotten yourself into? oh goodness— out of all the people you could've chose, why did your brain land on xiao? did it have to be xiao? and why did he have to be at burger king the same time and day as you? where would this even get you?

well... an offer for a fake dating relationship, that's what.

and it brings you unfortunately to now, the two of you as the center of attention the next day in the back of the classroom, because xiao had just carelessly and emotionlessly announced to everyone that you had started dating, on this very day. you didn't know he would— all you did was whisper in his ear, asking him a question about the relationship you two would fake that you talked about yesterday.

the only thing you can do is try to keep a calm smile on your face (and absolutely fail while doing it), spine stiffening up as xiao reaches for your hand and casually holds it in his. even as lumine slams open the door and curses out a "no fucking way!" he still holds your hand up, almost like he's rubbing it in her face in a you were wrong way.

the first thing xiao thinks when he holds your hand is that it's warm—almost like you.

your personality is warm, your aura is warm, even the way you speak is warm. you seem to be nice to everyone even if they were annoying, like the people who kept asking what answers you got after the midterms. you throw people's lunch trays away for them when they ask and you once even told him that you could mop the classroom by yourself, which he declined.

he hates it. he doesn't like how kind you are, and how much of a pushover you seem. you let people walk all over you and don't do a single thing about it. it makes his mind go mad.

... but it kind of makes him feel like someone should be there by your side, to protect you. to play the bad guy and tell people to get lost when they try to order you around.

"sorry if i offended you," you had said the previous day after he had put away the mops, his back to the window and you seated in front of him on a chair. you had just explained the whole situation; about lumine and childe, about the crushes, and why you lied. even the way you fidgeted with your fingers in your lap made him want to look away in disgust, but it was you, your voice, and your hands. it was at least a bit bearable. but xiao could already tell from the way you avoided his gaze that you were thinking about a lot of other things— what to say, what to do, and what you shouldn't do.

"what did you want to achieve by lying?" xiao straightforwardly asked as you finally—and awkwardly—looked up to meet his stare. "you don't care if childe dates someone else? are you really going to back down for your friend?"

"um, it's not like that," you nervously say, then quickly add, "backing down, i mean. but either way, i don't plan on dating someone my best friend has feelings for anyway."

xiao ponders for a moment with a hand in his pocket, keeping his eyes on you until you eventually look away to the side. "does your friend believes your lie?"

you chuckle in response. "ah, definitely not." the male notices that you always seem to be laughing whenever your blonde friend is around or mentioned—you guys must be close. you continue to talk while taking your jacket off, "i'm trying to convince her, but she definitely thinks that i still like childe. i just wish we could get it over with."

he thinks, staring at you pull one of your arms out of your sleeves. for someone who seems like a stubborn pushover, your lying was pretty good—when you were rambling about his looks at the staircase, he almost believed you himself. the tips of ears even turn red at the thought of thinking about it again, but he reminds himself that you were just acting. anyway, what would even be the ideal way to get out of this situation? it didn't seem like just insisting to your friend that you had a crush would continue to work.

"want me to help you?"

"huh?" you look up confused from shrugging off your jacket, then put on a little smile. "oh, this? it's okay, i'm done taking it off anyways."

"what?" xiao raises his eyebrow, and something in him almost wants to scoff from amusement as you awkwardly stiffen up from realization. "why would i help you take off your jacket?"

"t-then what did you mean??"

"you don't care what childe thinks, so it's just lucy that's the problem now, right?" xiao simply asks as he steadily leans off of the wall. taking one of his hands out of his pocket, he runs it through his hair to push aside the hair strands in his eyes, staring at you while waiting for your reply.

"her name is lumine," you slowly speak with your eyes meeting his. "a-and i guess?"

"then it's simple." he steps forward and you stop breathing for a moment— his face is only inches away from yours. you can see every speck of golden red in his amber eyes from here, and count all of his raven-green hair strands from his black hair strands. his scent is sweet— something varying between caramel and honey, but you can't put your finger on it.

well, it's not like you have time to anyway. not when you freeze up at his words; "just go out with me."

"w-what?" you jolt in your chair, abruptly scooting back and looking up at him with a start. "what are you talking about?"

this time xiao finally smiles in amusement. actually, not even a smile— it's practically a small, amused smirk.

"lumine will believe you if we're dating."

end of part one.

“ah, o-okay. that makes sense.”

kazuha won’t be able to stop thinking about it now. he didn’t expect himself to be so affected by you calling him your husband even though it was for pretend, and yet here he was pondering the idea of you being his wife… not going to lie, it did sound nice…

“quit dazing, it’s starting to get creepy,” you joked, as you two entered your shared apartment. he’s been acting like this since you went out for brunch, you thought, was he that uncomfortable by what you did?

taking a deep inhale, he blurted out through a sharp exhale, “call me your husband again.”

“eh? erm, okay? so… what did you think about our meal earlier, dear husband?”

fuck. it sounded better than kazuha hoped. today was probably the most he’s smiled lately. it was alarming how he got a high from hearing you refer to him by that title. he couldn’t explain it. for once, he was speechless. if could try using simple words, he’d say it just felt right to hear you call him so

“it’s got a nice ring to it, no?” he smiled, as he circled his arms around your figure and pulled you to his chest to get a better look of your reaction to what he said

childe (tartaglia)

call him your husband, you’ll get his attention. call him your hubby, you have him wrapped around your finger. time, location, and context didn’t matter; call him either of the two, and you have him looking at you

“yeah, baby?”

currently, you were at your class reunion and you were having the time of your life until you heard a classmate—who disliked you throughout highschool—whisper into everyone’s ear how she didn’t think childe was your boyfriend and theorized you only said so to save face that you were still single

now you weren’t easily irritated, things don’t easily get under your skin. however, she crossed the line, so you didn’t back down when she decided to put you on the spot to prove her point

“a classmate wanted to meet you,” you replied. your eyes told a different story, though. thank god, childe caught on quick when you glanced to your promise rings then to the classmate you told him about in the past

“you must be y/n’s boyfriend, right?” she asked, as her friends snickered at what was about to happen, “it’s nice to finally meet you! she never really told us you!”

“i’m her husband actually,” he corrected, quite patronizingly. he slung an arm over your shoulder then raised his left hand to show off the simple band he swiftly shifted to his ring finger earlier. “happiest day of our life. isn’t that right, doll?”

you nodded. thankfully, you were convincing enough for her to back off and receive a few whispers from the other attendees for her behavior and failed attempt to embarrass you

when she was out of earshot, you muttered a small, “thank you,” to your boyfriend. he promptly responded to it with a soft squeeze on your arm and a comment you didn’t expect

“anytime… though, i have no problems making the whole ‘i’m your husband’ shtick real, doll.”

you shook your head and shrugged. “nothing… just wanted to see what you were cooking for us, bro.”

“…”

…’bro’? he had to stop cutting the meat to fully process that what he heard wasn’t a product of his imagination. huh, since when did you call him ‘bro’? why? you always referred to him as ‘baby’ or your ‘pretty boy’… but ‘bro’? really? again, why? have gone mad?

“you okay? you’ve been standing still for more than a minute there, dude.”

heaven have mercy on his soul he felt like he had been shot for the second time. first, ‘bro’; and now, ‘dude’? he tried to rack through his brain for any clue behind your odd behavior, alas, nothing appeared. you two weren’t in an argument, he hadn’t done anything to irk you, and today wasn’t anything special

“stop making that face, baby. it’s going to get stuck if you continue to do that!” he heard you coo, as you cupped his face and pecked his lips before resting your chin on his shoulder. “i’m sorry… i just wanted to prank you… thought it’d be funny… guess i was wrong.”

kazuha pouted. “you’re mean.”

gorou (ゴロ)

he was taken aback, sure, but he wasn’t necessarily offended or appalled. he was leaning towards being more perplexed by what was happening

it all occurred when he bumped into you on his way home from his last meeting. if he was a puppy, his ears would’ve perked up and his tail would’ve wagged enthusiastically at the sight of you. “y/n!” he yelled, not thinking twice before dashing towards you with a charming grin

“‘rou!” gorou felt his heart quicken at the nickname. “are we still on for tonight, dude?” eh?

his face visibly scrunched up at what you had called him. he couldn’t understand what brought on the sudden change. why did you say ‘dude’? you normally call him ‘baby,’ he thought. however, he didn’t bother to address it since he was too preoccupied admiring your face

“of course, puppy. i wouldn’t miss the chance to spend time with you!”

he’d let this slide more than once. and each time, it added onto his frustration over the fact you refused to use the affectionate petname you gave him. he couldn’t control it. it drove him mad! it felt like you were actively friendzoning him despite already being your boyfriend of two years

his ire showed when he woke up beside you that saturday morning after sleeping over your place the night before. he was trying to love you up the way he usually does, but your antics kept getting in the way. eventually, he had enough and took matters into his own hands

as he cupped your face, he looked deep into your eyes and softly requested, “call me baby… now.”

“but dude—“

“no, ‘baby’!” gorou interjected

⩩ DILUC.

You're the only one that Diluc loves spending time with. What's more, he's always the one who tells you to stay with him a while longer. Whether in the tavern, at the Dawn Winery, just relaxing or hanging out together. If others require the presence of Diluc, they will be the ones who have to make an appointment with him. But in your case, he'ill be the one who will go in your search without wasting any time. Don't you see something strange there?... Well, according to you, it's just a privilege of being best friends!

The only person who can get the warmest smile from Diluc is you. With other people, be it customers, co-workers from the tavern, his own maids... they all see the more professional and distant side of this man, and are already used to it. Therefore, when they see from afar how smiling he is when you are around him, everyone is surprised and they know that there is something else that Diluc hides. Of course, his feelings for you! At this point, everyone knows it except you. He is very cute, isn't he? But that's normal, if he didn't smile with you, you would be doing something wrong as his best friend!

Not to mention all those times you managed to make him blush like never before. In these situations you think that he suddenly became ill. That's strange, yes, but the situation could happen. “Is everything okay, 'Luc? You have a fever?” You ask peeking out to a better observation of his face, but he doesn't make it easy for you. Diluc clears his throat, covering his face from the side in an attempt to avoid your gaze. All you can see is the back of his gloved hand, so you resignedly sit up with a slight pout. “Everything's fine, no need to worry... just give me a second.”

Or when you sit on one of the benches of the vineyard, enjoying the presence of the red-haired man and the night breeze, being lit simply by the moon and the various streetlights that decorate the building from the outside. By then, you tend to be very sleepy, and you can't help but tilt your head heavily, resting it on Diluc's shoulder as you close your eyes. At times like that he can only look at you out of the corner of his eye and try not to move much so as not to disturb your slumber, sometimes surrounding you with that same arm to hug you and push you against his chest so you can get completely invaded by his comfy warmth.

Once during this moment he couldn't help himself anymore. You looked beautiful under the dim light of the streetlights illuminating your face, your slightly split lips, breathing calmly while you leaned on him. “I love you...” He whispered, completely unaware that you were still in a lucid moment. You hummed, snuggling closer to him, which caused the boy's heart to stop and his cheeks to fiercely redden. “I love you too, you are the best friend anyone can have.”

You'll never see his expression change so fast. With a resigned sigh, he looked away from him to the stars. 'You're never gonna learn, right?'

And by the time he can't hide it anymore, he'll repeat that phrase. “I love you” He is trying his best not to blush and not to take his gaze away from yours. “Oh, I know, I love you too!” you respond by looking away to continue your thing. He sighs, grabbing your wrist so you turn and focus his attention on him once more. “No, I mean... I love you... Uh... Not like friends...” He's starting to get nervous, but he doesn't let go of his soft grip on your wrist. You turn around, looking at him with a new expression, more hurt. “You don't see me as a friend anymore?” That was the last straw. He pushes you closer to him. His eyebrows are furrowed and a slight blush is traceable on his face. “Damn it, y/n! I'm in love with you!”

That's when your lips form a little 'o' of astonishment. Now all of his previous actions made more sense to you. He has always loved you, no matter how ignorant you were about it. But that doesn't matter anymore, you're very happy that you feel exactly the same way about him.

⩩ ITTO.

We all know that this boy is very proud of himself, but if anything compares to his greatness, it's you. He loves to show you off to his gang, being as loud as possible, which makes you sometimes embarrassed when he flatters you in front of everybody. “Hey! What's that face for? Head high, little one, let everyone know who you are! The number two of the gang, because of course you'll never be as cool as me... I'm kidding. Don't be mad at me, please.” Always so chaotic that he makes you smile in any situation.

Itto always has just enough money to eat and make ends meet, but he doesn't mind sharing a little of his earnings. He only does it with you tho! He will even share you desserts that he likes the most just to make you smile. “Look, you can have this piece, it looks bigger. Let no one say that the magnificent and number one Itto is not a charitable soul! And only for you! did ya hear me? For. You!”

Oh no! in his last shower, the paint you put on his horns last time disappeared. Whenever that happens, he comes to you to paint them as you want again. He will let you do what you want with them. Fancy a black color, or maybe a pink one with pastel blue touches? “Hold on, hold on — I have another idea! Why don't you put your name all over my horns? This is how you mark territory! oh wait —” wow, that was pretty cheeky.

He literally can't keep quiet. That is why he says out loud things he's thinking! Things like “oh archons, you are precious”, or “if we were a couple we'd be unstoppable” and it will leave you thinking “is it for me? nah.” He takes advantage of these moments when he can't keep his mouth shut to see your reaction, or see if you feel the same way. But since you think they are not directed at you, you will simply remain silent, leaving the oni completely devastated.

It's over. He is not going to shut up anymore. If you don't get direct hints from him, it's your problem, not his. “Yo, y/n” will start off calmly, but soon the excitement will invade his body and his mind. “Have I ever told you how good we look together? I'm sure I have, but you just ignore me... hah... well, whatever, I love you! And if you don't get it I'll say it louder, I LOVE YOU! I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU, Y/N!” at this point he is screaming, leaving you completely stunned. Some birds flew out of the tree branches, you would swear that all of Inazuma has heard it. But you couldn't be happier.

⩩ KAZUHA.

His feelings for you are very strong, even if his attitude shows otherwise. He can be indifferent in some situations, but it's because he has great self-control. That's why Kazuha thinks he should get carried away a bit if he wants you to realize his love for you.

He will dedicate haikus to you, almost all with the main theme of love and pure feelings towards another person. What Kazuha can't understand is... if he's dedicated those lines to you, why are you acting like the topic isn't with you? Don't you understand that those lines are only capable of coming out of a true love affair?

Sometimes he looks for you inside Beidou's ship to see the night sky together while you all sail calmly. For him, these are precious moments and he absolutely hates to be disturbed while you both are having a moment alone. Kazuha literally becomes a bit passive-aggressive when someone interrupts your peace. Any situation in which your well-being is at stake, however minimal, will upset him as well. He can't help but get pretty protective...

This boy will bring you various gifts when he goes out for a walk alone. Whenever you don't accompany him, you end up with a detail of his part, just so you know that you have not left his mind for a moment. And if you don't get this, he will tell you himself. “Look, I brought this. This flower looks young and delicate, just like you. It is impossible not to think of you, if every thing worthy of admiration reminds me of you.” Well that's because you're best friends, it's normal, right?

Until one day it becomes impossible to keep his feelings to himself... and Kazuha must let them flow as he has always wanted, freely. “y/n. there is something I must tell you. oh, it's nothing bad. I will accept whatever you answer.” Now that he has your full attention, it's his long-awaited moment to talk about his feelings, and this time, he must go straight to the point, so there will be no risks that you do not understand what he wants to convey. “I'm deeply in love with you.” he seems so calm when he admits it, but inside his heart is beating faster than you think.

you tried to stifle your laughter and hide your amusement from the conclusion he came up with, wanting to be serious with him, to explain to him that he can't possibly buy any and every single thing that reminds him of you, not when everywhere he looks, he finds a way to associate every little thing to you.

for example, he bought you a burrito blanket because he saw you all wrapped up in your blanket the other day and thought you looked like a burrito. he saw a limited edition hellfire fountain pen and he's scrambling to the shop's counter, buying a couple of said pens all because he remembers you losing your pen in class yesterday. he’s strolling through town and sees the latest drops on majolish and immediately goes “mmm, mc would fuckin rock this. and this one. oh, this one is in mc’s favorite color. this one too.” and before he realizes it, he’s bought you an entirely new wardrobe, and maxed out lucifer’s credit card that he ‘borrowed’. you worry that one day he might look up at the moon and his brain finds a way to connect it to you, and he’s looking up ways to aquire the moon and maybe a few stars just in case, all for you.

“you don’t like ‘em? ”

holding his face in your hands, him looking up at you in an adorable pout, eyes glassy and looking so betrayed at your speech about his influx of gifts.

“mams, i love them, okay? i appreciate them all, but at this rate, in the next week or two i'd just find myself buried in a mountain of your gifts!”

he glances at the six full boxes of random objects he's bought you the past week and envisions you buried under all of them, which leads him to hug you tighter.

“yeah, fair point. but what am i s’posed to do when i see stuff that i know you'd like, hah? or when i see stuff that are exactly like ya, beggin’ me to take ‘em home?”

he gets the plushie that he says looks like you from one of the boxes you brought, and hugs it, as if comforting it from your rejection. you roll your eyes, snuggle on his lap and steal the plushie from him.

“i don't know, take a picture of it or something and send it to me? like a normal person would,”

you squeeze his cheeks. “i’m not saying to stop buying me things, okay? i love receiving things from you, and it melts my heart to know that you're reminded of me everywhere you go. but just... not too much, okay?”

he blushes furiously when you pepper his face with kisses, but still proceeds to continue the neglected puppy act. “d’ah, fine! only one gift a day, then.”

“what? no, one gift a year! y’know, for my birthday!”

“yer askin’ too much of me. one gift a week it is.”

bonus !

it's been a pretty peaceful week after the confrontation with mammon. no more random gifts handed to you in the middle of the day, no more finding pretty boxes resting on your study table or your bed. but every few minutes or so, your d.d.d would continuously blow up with message notifications.