Albedo

Unlike some others, he isn’t alert enough to the rumours that circle through Mondstadt to know when someone’s been talking to when he’s not around. He doesn’t pay attention to rumors (though, if they mention you, he will admittedly listen anyway just in case…), since they’re usually some form of factually incorrect biased assumption. Not worth his time or energy. Instead, what he has is the other close connections he keeps. 

Klee loves you. Adores you just as deeply as she would any of her other caretakers– except Albedo. Siblings will always be loyal to one another in the end, even if she isn’t aware of the complicated mess that unwillingly connects you and Albedo. She loves to update him on your coming and going when he returns from Dragonspine, including if anyone was being ‘extra nice’ to you. While he feels a small hint of guilt at using his kid sister as an unknowing informant, kids simply have a way of telling even the darkest of secrets without meaning to. 

As for his other information… Kaeya has a sharp eye. Perhaps not sharp enough to understand the murky depths of what Albedo feels for you, but enough so to understand there’s some sort of infatuation occurring. It’s dangerous enough to be aware of, but not to interfere with (yet). He loves to tease, both to Albedo alone and with you present. Yes, you were on a date he recalls… or perhaps, a frequent guest at your workplace has been leaving gifts at the counter with letters addressed to you… Nothing outwardly gets a rise out of Albedo, and he thinks himself incapable of feeling something as petty as jealousy towards strangers who know very little about you. After all, many of his observations have proven that humanity has a natural draw to companionship, often led by physical attraction. Still, when he thinks of your reactions (ones he’s yet to elicit from you…) he finds himself gripping his pens unnaturally tight. He’s not fully sure. And so, his interest in you deepens.

It doesn’t take much to ward off threats to his ‘research’ (you), but for the most part he keeps himself uninvolved with the menial pests. A complement here, a flirtation there– as long as you don’t show signs of reciprocation or overt discomfort, he won’t interfere. He trusts he’d catch you before it went any further. As for if his intervention is deemed necessary… let’s just say, the Knights of Favonius will soon be instructed to conduct a raid and arrest on that suitor’s home. Something about dangerous alchemic mixtures that only Albedo seems to understand the seriousness of, or that some other evidence of illegal behavior was found. At the very worst, they disappear off one of the many wooded trails surrounding Mondstadt city, never to be seen again. He’s very neat about it. 

Childe 

Even when he’s not with you, trust that some poor lackey has been tasked with following you and noting down every single interaction you have. When they inevitably must return to Tartaglia and present the information that someone seemed overly interested in you, they fear for their life when the Harbinger rises from his seat. Childe needs to take a walk around the block to cool off. Or rather, a walk around the block and a quick stop to this ‘rival’ and make it known that your affections belong to him… but if they’re willing to fight for you, he’s more than willing to name a time and place! In fact, he proudly boasts his want to fight for your hand– why not do things the proper way? While Liyue might have different customs, he was raised in a culture that valued duels as a way of settling conflicts just as well as a contract would. Just know that he doesn’t believe in giving pity to his opponents, and unless the circumstances are phenomenal, he fights to kill. 

By the time you notice something’s changed, Childe is already approaching you with a fresh coat of red staining his clothing and hair. If he’s in a foul mood, he may bring home a small trophy of your (failed) hopeful suitor, but otherwise he’d simply lift you up into his arms (or over his shoulder if you’re unwilling) and safely back to his supervision. The rest of your week would be spent decaying by his side in his stuffy office at Northland Bank, or practically trapped in the house he’s made into a temporary resident while in Liyue. No more wandering for you until he calms down back to normal. 

Rosaria

Sure, she might not be omnipotent, but Mondstadt is a rather talkative city. Everyone knows everything about everyone– it isn’t hard to keep a keen ear out for any mention of your name in passing conversation. Barely a day passes before word of undesirable flirtations make their way back to Rosaria, who spends almost no time at all before ultimately deciding to nip the problem in the bud before it spins out of her control. 

By the time you see her next, nothing seems amiss quite yet. She’s still as aloof as always, yet adamant to keep you within her line of sight. You only begin to notice the small peculiarities once you return to the parts of your day to day schedule that, normally, Rosaria would be far away during. Your coworker who once shared flirtatious banter with you refuses to even look at you, and soon, they switch professions altogether. All that’s left for company is Rosaria, who finds herself by your side in the after hours on your way back home. Rarely does she accompany you in the daytime, which you first took as a sign of vampirism (a running joke, before it eventually ran dry). It’s at night when she’s lurking by your front door, or in taverns where you get drinks with friends. 

She’s watchful. Even more dangerously, she listens. Even if you were to briskly touch hands with an attractive stranger, Rosaria would find out one way or another. Even though you can barely understand her and her strange behaviors, it seems she knows you well enough to tell when someone’s caught your eye. Something you do alerts her of it, every single time. You suspect it’s the rumors that lead her straight to them, and suddenly they scurry away from you with a fear you can only imagine was forced onto them by the unordinary nun. 

In truth, Rosaria knows the stain on your reputation that she’s causing. But by this stage, she doesn’t care. To associate herself with you would mean it would happen sooner or later, and it might as well happen now. The world is vile. Herself included. She’s selfish, and she’d like to covet you for herself– romantically or not doesn’t matter. As long as she can have her passing conversations, her brief interactions, her illusion of companionship (but not friendship… this is something much deeper than such a superficial concept). Injury isn’t even necessary to send your suitors running. The mere threat of it, or the threat of a watching shadow following them home at night, is enough to have them running far from Mondstadt’s streets and away from you. 

Diluc

Truthfully, he wouldn’t have any way of knowing unless he overheard the rumors that someone was pursuing you while tending the bar at Angel’s Share. He doesn’t trust even the staff of his estate with the knowledge he’s utterly obsessed with you, and he’s far too inept to know how to listen through Mondstadt’s grapevine. What he can get is simply bits and pieces of drunken conversation or taunts that Kaeya passes on in between rounds of wine. 

He’s relatively tame when it comes to competitors for your affection– there’s not much he can do to them without breaking his own code of justice. It’s not worth sending them running or burying them deep into the ground. Not for something as simple as admiring you (something anyone would do… he’s aware he’s not the only one who stares at you). The only thing he can do, aside from brooding like a petty teenager, is to force himself to become more ‘brazen’ with his affections. Of course, for Diluc, this usually means simply conversing with you directly more, and perhaps mentioning once or twice that you look nice that day, in that lighting, or when your hair is a particular way. Though, at his absolute worst, he might consider letting the Darknight Hero give them a scare (he’d feel terrible abusing his code of justice for days after… but the new attention you give him when asking where your ‘friend’ went would make it even just slightly better). 

Scaramouche

Like Childe, he has no shame over sending agents to watch you. There’s no time in the day when you aren’t being watched by a minimum of two or three Fatui grunts (given that you’re not in private alone with Scaramouche), and everything you do comes back to him in overly descriptive reports. When he hears of an ‘overly-friendly’ or ‘salacious’ encounter with practically anyone, it’s an immediate death sentence for them. Some agents will take care of it at the risk of their own life, meanwhile you’ll find yourself barred from wandering too far from his side for at least a two or three months. He’s petty and insecure like that.

Trust that he’ll repeatedly bring it up for the weeks after, snapping at you about how ‘he bets you wish you had run off with that tramp’ or something else featuring somewhat outdated language. Of course, no amount of reassurance (faked or not) will cure this. It’s unsure what he wants, given that not even he knows. He’s annoyingly complicated and hard to read when it comes to these things (entirely a repercussion of his feelings for you, as it’s an unknown territory that makes his head spiral out of any normal thought patterns). 

Kaeya

He’d find out eventually. Kaeya tends to lurk around hotspots for rumors and secrets, and when he does figure out someone’s been lurking around you, he’ll have to admit he’s a bit impressed by the audacity. Everyone in Mondstadt knows well that he’s pursuing you, and even passing travelers could get the idea that he was interested in you. It’s simply just another thing he’ll have taken care of and brushed under the rug before you ever even suspect something was amiss. Be it false imprisonment, tainted reputations, or even a simple and mature conversation about not coveting what belongs to others. Nothing he can’t handle and nothing you need to worry about. 

Raiden Shogun (+ Yae Miko)

“You seem lost.” From between her lips, a puff of smoke is exhaled, and the cigarette is offered to you– enticing, yet with heavy consequences should you take it. Though, considering your current company, you fear you might be too far gone to care for consequence. You take it, pressing it against your own mouth. The taste of Kafka’s lipstick is bitter, an unknown flavor, but distinct. 

“I don’t understand why you had to do it.” 

“Elio said it had to, so it had to. I would’ve thought you’d been able to piece it together by now.” 

“Did you have to abandon her?” 

She falls silent at the question. Instead, Kafka leans forward on the railing of the balcony, fetching another cigarette from her pocket. Above you, the hotel’s balcony is covered by an awning–the only thing keeping you both dry from the rain. It falls fast to the street several dozen floors below, and the distance seems to call to you. 

“Destiny’s Slave said it had to be.” 

With a click, she lights the cigarette. 

“I wish you hadn’t done it.” 

“I wish I hadn’t either.” 

You wondered how Stelle must’ve felt. You wondered for hours, pacing the hotel room waiting for Kafka to return from Herta Space Station. Silver Wolf stopped by every half hour, at first out of duty, and then out of genuine worry that you might’ve been on the verge of causing harm to someone. 

Was she afraid? She’d have no memories, you were told. Everything you’d ever done with her cumulated to nothing but the set up for a pawn to be used by Elio’s great future. Kafka had done her part, certainly, and she was the girl’s favorite. But you loved her. You loved her so much, as if she were made from your very skin and you only felt nauseous imagining how scared she’d feel when she woke up with a Stellaron deep inside her. 

Beside you, Kafka tries to gently settle her hand on your shoulder. It’s shrugged off quickly.

“Don’t touch me.” 

“You know the rules. So do I.” 

“I begged Elio. I begged him not to let this happen, not to let her go.” 

“You know just as well as I do how stubborn he can be. The script says she’ll find her way back to us, some day.” 

“You can’t be alright with this.” 

She exhales, smoke rising into the air. 

“I only do what I’m told.” Then, she turns, with something of a sly grin. “And with some harmless fun on the side to pass the time.” 

The joke isn’t funny. She must know it, but times must be desperate considering you’ve shrugged off every invitation for intimacy since Elio showed you the script. Kafka didn’t need to agree to this, and yet she did. She chose to be the one to abandon the child you practically raised together. 

“I miss her. I miss her so much.” 

“Give it time, dear. She’s strong. She’ll get into trouble, but nothing she can’t get out of.” Her hand guides your face towards hers– and you let her. Even when she sounds somber, her face betrays nothing. It’s the way she’s always been. Is she grieving too? Or does she lack anything beneath that pretty face?

“She’ll be back. So, why don’t we enjoy this temporary time alone, hm? Relax a bit.” Kafka plants her lips against your cheek, then against your jaw, and further into the crook of your neck. As much as you’d like to pretend there’s passion in it, you can’t tell her true intentions. Is it boredom that draws her to you? 

In her spare hand, the cigarette continues to burn. You jerk away, and she pauses, pulling back by only a fraction. A cool breath is blown onto the newly forming bruises, but you put the sensation out of mind. It’s a method of distraction, and only that. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“What’s wrong?” You mock. “Stop acting like this isn’t… like you didn’t just leave my kid.” 

Kafka has enough sense to withdraw at least, and an uncomfortable gap grows between you two. The rain is cold, and the thin sweater you’d put on does little against the wind. You knew what would happen today, and yet nothing could’ve prepared you for the sinking dread of knowing it had truly happened. The reality is always harsher than the expectation.

Stelle wasn’t yours in any traditional way. But you taught her what she knew. You told her stories, you brushed her hair, you mended her clothes when she returned from a mission. 

“Kafka,” you begin carefully, “I don’t think I’m staying with the Stellaron Hunters.” 

Nothing is said. Her cigarette returns to her lips.

“I have to know she’s alright.” 

“You have a bounty, you know.” She reminds you. 

“And?” 

“It’d mean a lot of trouble if the IPC picked you up. Don’t put Bladie and I through the hassle of getting you back.” 

Between your fingers, you twirl the cigarette she gave you. Then, you drop it over the side of the balcony. You lose sight of it quickly, and you don’t care to search for it as you turn around to face the glass door. Kafka doesn’t stop you as you slide it back, and pause at the threshold.

“Elio’s script doesn’t need me, does it?” 

The pause is all you need to know. You step through the door, back into the cold dark hotel room. Kafka watches from the balcony as you gather your things, the only sound being that of the rain falling outside. Once your things are packed neatly, you place down the burner phone Silver Wolf provided you at the beginning of the mission. It sits on the bed like flowers over a grave. 

You never were that much of a Stellaron Hunter. Not like the others. Your specialties were only needed to ensure no one died of infection or malnutrition– but medicinal expertise was a common commodity these days, and they’d find a workaround easily. 

Turning back to the balcony door, you meet her eyes. Goodbye isn’t as hard as you expected it to be. Was that how she felt? 

“I’ll see you. Eventually.” You say, before slinging your bag over your shoulder and heading towards the door.