* / 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐔𝐏

it would be a lie to say that she was over it. she isn’t. she still cannot get over the fact that her father had sent her away like she was worth nothing to him, to the kingdom, nothing but a bargaining chip that completely disregarded the years of training and dedication she had put into preparing to rule the kingdom. 

don’t get her wrong — she adores her brother. the little boy isn’t the one at fault here. no, her resentment is laid solely on the shoulders of the father who had tossed her aside and the mother who had done nothing to stop him. hence why she had agreed to come back to the kingdom for a visit (when had it stopped being home to her? was it when she had begun to realize that seojun was not shallow, incompetent, witless, like she had unfairly accused him of being? was it when she had dared to consider that maybe, maybe, she could be happier there, rather than miserable?), accompanied by her betrothed, as per her parents’ demands. there were some books she had hoped to retrieve, in any case, and seeing her brother would never be a bad thing. 

but this whole trip has been rather strange, as though she’s a cog out of place. there are subtle differences that have left her off-kilter, so when seojun had suggested a picnic out on the grounds, she had accepted much more readily than usual. he, at least, has not changed over the journey and in the castle.

as they settle down, lunch unpacked and blankets spread on the ground, she pauses before she takes a bite. “i never thought i’d say this,” she admits with a small frown, “but i almost miss your kingdom.” 

     so he plans nice dates and casual hangouts for them to chat and get to know each other better. despite it being a strategic move for their kingdoms, or something like that, he knows that it will be much more pleasant for the involved parties (i.e. the two of them) if they were at least friends. 

     (and it will be uh ... less awkward in the future when they have to wed and give birth to an heir, yadda yadda. you know.)

     it feels like a lot of work considering they’re literally, practically married. he’s doing this for them but he hates that both of their parents are on their backs too.

     (a better kingdom, a better future, yadda yadda. he hasn’t listened to them much as of late.)

     either way, seojun thinks that he and hyejin have come to a mutual understanding and appreciation (more on his part than hers, he’s sure) of each other as of late. their conversations are no longer as stilted or as awkward anymore, and it doesn’t feel like pulling teeth when they have to meet everyday. he’s been looking forward to talking to her, considering she had been set to be queen and it’s kind of fun picking at her brain for thoughts of the future. if anything, he’s happy to have her by his side if it means smooth sailing for the sake of his kingdom. which he loves very much, but would much rather not take part in running. 

     he had held out hopes of his parents giving birth to a younger brother for him, because they had always been understanding of his passions that lay outside the realm of ruling. but they were growing older and with his mother’s recent health issues, seojun knew that he had no choice anymore. 

     the idea for a picnic had been his own idea, thinking that it would be nice to get out of the castle at least. he had had a feeling that hyejin was not as happy to be home as they both had thought she might be, and that thought is confirmed with her first words once they’re settled comfortably on the plethora of blankets he had requested. just because they would be sitting on the ground did not mean that they should be uncomfortable while doing so. 

     he doesn’t respond straight away, having busied himself with one of the rolls that the kitchen staff had given them and he’s examining it carefully. he’s not doubting their skills or thinking that they were going to poison him—that would be considered treason of the highest standard—but more considering how nicely it had been cut. popping a piece into his mouth, he chews quietly as he mulls over her words. 

i’ll take you to a place covered in flowers ; yuki @moondvzed

the cold weather is usually a good reason to stay in doors, and most people heed the chill in their bones to find solace in a warm drink and their blankets. evenings out better spent relaxing in a favorite sweater and perhaps putting on a movie. 

but sometimes fooled find themselves out in this weather. 

yuto is rather proudly a fool, both self proclaimed and called by others in his life enough times that he has decided to live to his fullest as a fool. it’s not a bad living, he just kind of exists the way he wants to and people work around that. eventually he found those who like his particular way of existing. one of them being the star eyed boy who he’s currently sitting beside. 

“have you ever skated?” he questioned, speaking for one of the first times since they got to the ice rink. what’s a better winter activity than going ice skating, after all? it’s not like the weather outside isn’t cold enough they had to find a place where it’s also cold inside. a double cold situation. 

he snorted at his own thoughts, bending over again to continue lacing up his skates. it’s been a while but he still knows how. 

yuto isn’t sure the two of them have ever skated together. he’s pretty sure they haven’t, after all he is pretty sure he’s never seen hyunggu skate before. yuto, though he hasn’t in a while, use to play hockey back in japan with some friends.  during baseball offseason it would be a fun activity that they could do on days of lighter training sessions. 

     “yeah i’ve skated before,” he responds easily, leaning down to carefully tie his laces and double-knotting them to make sure that they didn’t come loose. he had only ever really been seen as graceful and he wasn’t going to trip and fall on his face today. nope, not happening. he’s been skating before but he’s lying if he was to say that he’s done it a lot. 

     but he’s been rollerskating before and he was good at that. and he knows they’re similar enough. also he has skated before with some friends and he had just kind of looped around for fun as they chased each other around the rink. it had been a really fun time but he wouldn’t say he had really gained any skills in skating from that. they were really just fooling around with each other even though it’s a pretty good memory for him too. 

     anyways.

     it’s been a while though, and hyunggu is not as confident as he would like to be. especially in front of yuto, who he only ever wants to show that he’s confident. skating is not dancing, even though they can both somewhat be thought of as that. it still makes him a bit nervous, especially since the next thing that yuto says is kind of random but also a bit alarming at the same time. 

     “we can!” he responds in stride, not letting yuto see that he was a bit nervous about it. just the way that yuto moved around the rink showed that he was probably pretty good at skating and probably a seasoned skater. so he guesses the other might want to lead him around, maybe. hopefully he wouldn’t appear to be entirely hopeless though. “or, i guess i can try,” he laughs, covering his mouth with his hand. 

childe. also known as tartaglia, eleventh of the tsaritsa’s harbingers. from the beginning, he had found the other to be refreshing. unabashedly in love with the idea of battle, charming and brash and yet sly in all the ways that he can appreciate. it’s an interesting juxtaposition, he thinks, the child (aptly named, he often muses) within and the honed killer. not so different from the person he thinks he, himself, has grown into. 

rex lapis. morax. prime of the adepti. god of war. god of contracts. the geo archon. zhongli. he has gone by so many names, and yet the one that he had returned to using for this life, after he’d chosen to retire and hand over his gnosis, is the one that he had used with guizhong, all those millennia ago when they had founded the guili assembly. there are so many facets to his own identity that seeing it in a mortal, each side so wholeheartedly embraced is… captivating. and unusual. 

childe is fascinating. childe adapts well to many things, including the culture in liyue and the way that things change around him. but it will never cease to amuse zhongli that two thin wooden sticks can be his undoing. 

“shall i ask for alternate utensils?” he offers to the orange-haired foreigner, his lips curving up very slightly at the corners.

     he had had quite a bit of fun, raising osial and attempting to bring down the city of liyue.

     thankfully (?) though, that plan had been thwarted by the qixing and the tsaritsa had also managed to get the gnosis. he’s still a bit salty over the whole ordeal, considering all the strings he had pulled to get to the exuvia and obtain said gnosis, only for everything to be pulled out from underneath his feet. and some more strings had needed to be pulled for him to be allowed to stay in the city, considering some citizens (and adepti) had been witness to it all.

     but there’s one certain adeptus—the prime if one will—that he was even more surprised by. one that had helped pull said strings for him to be allowed to stay.

     honestly, childe is unsure of what zhongli’s underlying motives may be and what promises he must’ve made (perhaps that he would keep an eye on the harbinger) but he’s not going to ask as the information was never offered. even he knows when he should pry and when he should keep his curiosity to himself. 

     it’s almost strange for him to be able to conduct fatui business the way that he always had, as if he hadn’t tried to destroy the entire city just a few months ago. it’s even stranger, almost, that he’s sitting in this restaurant with the exact god that he had tried to steal a gnosis from a few months ago too. 

     and even stranger? the fact that he’s managed to master the language spoken in liyue to almost native fluency and yet? yet he cannot master these stupid sticks. 

a warm weight against his side.

the gentle rise and fall of her body against his as they watch the movie in front of them in silence.

all of it brings him an immense amount of comfort for some reason, and he finds that he is, well, much happier than he had thought he would be at this moment in life. for a long time, the only thing that had really captured his interest was the apprenticeship to hone his sorcery skills. that, and the (definitely illegal) tattoos that he’s been subtly doing under the table for the past year or two. 

despite the way that they quarrel over nothing at all — he’s still sure that eunbyeol does it on purpose — he finds their relationship amusing, refreshing, and… well, rather different from what he’s used to. the way eunbyeol treats him reminds him of seojun, and regardless of how much he claims to hate his cousin, the truth is well-known that seojun is one of the most precious people in his life. 

and eunbyeol? well, they haven’t been dating for that long, but she definitely brings something to his life that he hadn’t really had before. you could probably call him sappy, or even a sucker for pain. “who’s your favourite avenger?” he asks her idly as iron man appears on the screen, his lips curling up at the corners. 

     originally, she had only agreed because she was sure that he would do something that would turn her off and she could say good riddance and then stay single for the rest of her life, be the disappointment that her parents had always said she would be. not that their opinions mattered anymore, but it was just an offhanded thought.

     you’re born alone and you die alone, after all.

     but now, she’s kinda rethinking those thoughts. if only because yejun makes her feel like she’s worth something to him. like she’s special just for being in his life. and while neither of them are the best at showing affection, there’s just something about being with him that makes her feel like she’s actually living her life again, instead of just existing. 

     gross.

     either way, they’re six months and strong and she’s had enough mental breakdowns over the fact that if she had been asked about their relationship six months ago, she would never have believed they could make it past one month, let alone six. 

     and if someone had told her that she would be watching marvel movies while willingly cuddled up against his side, she would’ve laughed in their face and told them that was impossible. yet here she was, making the impossible possible. it was disgusting and cheesy, yet she wouldn’t change a single thing about their relationship and how it came to be. it’s nice to have someone who she can be herself around, even if herself is kinda annoying. purposely so. and he deals with it and even goes along with her, so she really can’t be upset.