#future angst

“Ah. Y/n, dear! I thought Miko was supposed to be collecting these?” 

There, sitting behind the desk, is Mrs. Albert, smiling as brightly as the sun. Her curly gray hair frames her rounded, wrinkled face- giving her the vibe of a grandmother who is about to offer you either butterscotch or one of those little red candies wrapped in those strawberry wrappers. The older woman was just as sweet as she appeared, which made Y/n feel the slightest bit guilty when she would dread one of the long-winded stories, Mrs. Albert never fails to tell.

“Hello Mrs. Albert. I let Miko go off to draw something she saw outside. She was too excited to say no, I’m afraid.” Y/n gave an airy but clipped laugh. “I told her I would bring her the papers for her host parents.”

“You’re too easy on that girl.” Mrs. Albert teasingly chastises, “Though, I guess I can’t blame you. That girl is the first exchange student you’re in charge of, it’s no wonder you’re so lenient with her. It reminds me of how I treated my baby, Samuel. Did I ever tell you about Sammy? He was such a delightful boy. He was heartbroken when he never got his quote…” She teeters off, the solemn look now on her face doesn’t suit her. Y/n had heard this story before, but it isn’t often that it comes up, nor is it often for ‘Sammy’ to be brought up at all. Not that it isn’t understandable as to why.

Quotes- a subject Y/n always loathes hearing about. 

The thing about everyone’s quotes is that they link people to each other- your other half, according to many. Most people receive their quotes sometime at 18 years old, a few will get them younger, and even fewer never get them at all. Many times, if a person does not receive their quote, they don’t live for much longer- whether it be due to the societal pressures that they failed to meet, due to no fault of their own; or they have some kind of accident. Long story short, if you don’t get your mark by your 19th birthday, you spend the rest of that year mourning and wondering what will become of you. Not to say everyone without a quote dies, but they are a particularly rare find, that’s for sure.

On top of that source of dread, each quote comes in the native language of wherever your partner is from, so once people get their quote, they are either thrilled and/or they hit the books to understand their other half’s language. Meaning that with the gibberish printed on Y/n’s arm, she’s cursed with the unknown regarding some so-called soulmate. 

“I’m sorry, dear. I shouldn’t mention quotes. I know you don’t like talking about them.” Mrs. Albert looks at her, a level of pity swimming in those big, brown eyes behind those glasses she adorns. She pats Y/n’s hand comfortingly, looking at the long sleeves she wears, even in the midst of September in the middle of Jasper, Nevada.

“Don’t worry about it, Mrs. Albert. I’ve been living with my quote for about 7 and a half years now. I’m ok.” Y/n smiles, knowing she didn’t mean any harm. “...About those papers?”

“Oh! Oh, yes. Let me grab those for you, dear.” She jumps up and walks over to one of her filing cabinets and quickly snags one of the multiple files out and hands it over. How she keeps track of where all of those papers are is baffling, but Y/n supposes the years of practice have definitely helped. “Here you are.”

“Thank you.” Y/n keeps up her smile and nods at the older woman. “You have a great rest of your afternoon, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Have a good night, Y/n. And be careful- I’ve heard that those street racers have been causing more trouble recently.” She calls out as the young woman leaves the office.

“I will!”

As she closes the door to the office, the smile on Y/n’s face slowly fades and she takes a deep breath, trying to brush off the snaring emotions surrounding her quote. After another breath, the woman rights herself and begins making her way down the hall, Y/n sifting through the papers in the manila folder, ensuring all of the papers are there. Her progress report and reviews from her teachers didn’t spell out anything good even so early into the year. All subjects but art, music, and english were less than adequate.

I’m going to have to talk to her about her grades again. 

“Alright, Miko, I have your papers fo- Miko?” Exiting the front doors, Y/n looks around for her student, only to find her running off down the sidewalk. “Miko!” She takes off after her, cursing herself for not working out more. 

This girl is gonna kill me.

Miko finally stops to peek around a corner, and the woman slows to a stop and leans against her own knees, heavy breathing covering up any sounds around her. After a moment of steadying her breath, she looks to the girl on her left, irritated, “Miko, I told you to stay on-”

“Shhh!!”

“You did not just shush me, young lady.” Miko gestures to whatever is so important that she ran over for, revealing a giant robot and a boy. A very familiar boy. “Jack Darby! You get away from that thing this instant!” Y/n yells, making both the teen and robot jump and look to her and Miko’s direction. She runs up to the boy, looking him over for any possible injuries, and pulls him behind her next to Miko.

“What?! He should totally go with!” Miko looks at Y/n, who keeps her eyes on the visibly bothered robot, like she’s crazy, and argues that he should do the opposite.

“Absolutely not! We don’t know what that thing even is!”

“Scrap.” The blue robot looks to Jack and then to the other two, standing up from her previously kneeling position when she had been speaking with the teenage boy, her tone obviously exasperated, “I have to bring all of you with me.”

“Excuse me? I am not going anywhere, and neither are these children. You wanna abduct someone for whatever wacky robot thing you have going on? You leave these children out of it.” Y/n crosses her arms, looking up at the blue and pink being before her, not willing to step down- much to the distaste of said robot.

“I don’t have time for this-” The bot raised her hand to the side of her head with quite possibly one of the most bothered expressions Y/n had ever seen on a human or anything else. “Bee, you need to come back… the kid is fine, but we’ve run into a couple of issues.”

“Did you not hear me? You can’t just-”

“Oh, I heard you, but I can and I will.” Apparently done with what Y/n can only assume was some kind of phone call- that or this was not only a giant robot but a crazy one at that. “I have orders and you’re now part of those orders because you were nosy.”

“We’ll act like we never saw you, not that anyone in their right mind would believe any of us if we told them we saw a giant robot lady that wanted to- what? Take us to some government facility and lock us away because of seeing whatever kind of prototype you are?” Y/n argues back, left hand on her hip and her right pointing up at the mech accusingly, to which the mechanical woman’s jaw falls agape before screwing up, insulted.

“We weren’t made by humans, and you are wasting my time. I have better things to do rather than argue with some woman who’s putting a hitch in today’s plans.”

“Oh, well I’m so-”

A yellow Urbana 500 with black racing stripes drives up behind Miko and Y/n and revs the engine, making the woman jump and the teen whirl around, excited to see yet another possible robot. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Y/n weighs her options. If she tries to take the children with her, it is possible these robots, while they may not have shown any aggressive or violent responses, it couldn’t be confirmed that they wouldn’t, if there was any opposition. The safest option was, unfortunately, to go with the kids and keep them as safe as possible. No matter how much she didn’t like this. 

“Ok… alright.” Another deep breath in and out. The kids are what’s important right now. “We’ll come with you, but these kids stay as safe as possible.”

“That was the plan.” The dead tone rings through the alleyway, continuing to irk the only other adult present, but before Y/n could say anything, the metal woman transformed into a motorcycle, having Jack move around her, reluctantly getting on and Miko enthusiastically hops on with absolutely no hesitation. “Get in Bee, and we’ll meet you back at base.”

And then they were gone, leaving Y/n frustrated and clenching her fists with the other vehicle behind her, probably another transforming thing- hopefully with less attitude. Grumbling about the behavior of not only the bot, but the reckless behavior of the children as well, she turns around and awkwardly half-smiles at the yellow and black car- all of the frustration draining out of her.

“I don’t suppose there’s a person in there whose, like, codename is Bee, is there?” The bright lights of the car flick on and off a couple of times before the right side backdoor opens, confirming her fear. Letting out a quiet groan, Y/n walks to the awkward door, hoping there is a human ‘at base’ to help explain what the hell is going on. Getting in, she looks at the empty driver’s seat, then notices hair sticking ever so slightly above the passenger seat. “Oh, thank god. Another person. What is going- How many children exactly are you lot abducting?!”

A series of beeping, whirring, and whistling is the only response Y/n receives from the car’s radio as said child shyly smiles up at her. “Hello. Bee says we aren’t being taken, but someone named Optimus needs to see us after what happened yesterday.”

A moment’s pause settles over the car before Y/n leans back in her seat, rubbing her hands across her face, the car finally beginning to move and quickly pick up speed, “What exactly happened yesterday?”

“Um…”

Liz gets up and sits up next to me. "I think so?" Liz begins playing with her fingers. I notice she does this when she's nervous and anxious. So I take her hands and put them in my own. "Do you?" Liz asks as her finger gently traces the line inside my palms.

"I do."

"What would you like to name them?" Liz asks, now leaning herself onto me. "Luke, Clementine, Wanda, Taylor, and Clove are my top five. "Wanda, huh" I hear Liz mutter to herself. I nudge her. "Gotta problem with the name Wanda?" Liz lets out a wide grin. "No, I think it's one of the most beautiful names ever. It's one of my favorites." One baby name down, then. I think to myself, "Glad we could agree." I peck the top of her head.

I see Liz thinking. "Do you believe in soulmates?" I open my mouth to answer before remembering how I felt for the longest time that Naomi was my soulmate. "Yes, I do. But I believe everyone has multiple soulmates. I believe I've met one already." I pause when I see Liz raise an eyebrow. "My ex." Liz frowns. "Don't get me wrong; I still think she is one of the worst people ever. But I wouldn't be where I am right now without her."

I watch Liz's pretty face think about what I said. "I completely understand what you mean. I feel like I've already met one or two of mine. I don't hate them. But you're right. I think meeting soulmates helps you on the path to your future soulmate. Hopefully, one who you want to share a life with."

"Couldn't agree more, Liz."

The movie has officially become background noise to us.

Liz giggles. "Do you believe in Zodiac signs?"

"Nope!" I say, popping the 'p' "Do you?"

"Only if they work."

"Okay. Let's see." I think about what to ask. "Dogs or cats?" Liz gives me a look. "Plants." I dramatically roll my eyes. "No sass, Coffee Girl!" Liz shames me as I watch her hand fall onto my knee, softly rubbing the area.

"Do you like your job?" Liz asks, rubbing my leg. "I do. It's nice. It's cool to know you're a constant in your regulars lives, as weird as that sounds. Also, meeting new people can have surprising outcomes." I pull Liz's hand up to my lips. "Plus, I make a pretty good ass coffee."

"Yeah, the coffee from your shop is better than some unpaid interns." I laugh at her matter-of-fact statement.

I think of a new question. "Oh, I got one!" Liz looks at me excited, waiting. "What was your gay awakening?" Liz's mouth drops. She was not expecting this. Liz crossed her arms. "Nu-uh. Next, please."

"Oh, come on! That's not fair. If you tell me yours, I'll tell you mine!" Liz shakes her head no. "Come on. Is it super embarrassing? I promise I won't make fun of you! If I tell you, one of mine will tell me yours?"

"Maybe." That's the most I'm going to get.

"This is a judgment-free zone we're about to enter, right?" Liz uncrosses her arms, smiles, and squeezes my thigh, letting me know she's here for me. "Linda Cardellini as Velma in the live-action Scooby-Doo movies. Also, the Hex Girls in the animated Scooby-Doo movie!" I get out as fast as possible.

Wait, I'm seeing a pattern here.

Liz covers her mouth to push back a laugh I know she has in the chamber. I see the ends of her mouth curl up. "Is that why you're favorite color is orange?" There it is. I get up from the couch in shame. "Agghhh," I groan.

"Y/N, you know I'm kidding." I stop and pout away from Liz. "I'm sorry. You were being vulnerable with me! I'm sorry." I can hear her smile through her apology. Liz wraps her hands around my stomach and rubs. I instantly feel myself feeling better. How does she do it?

"So, are you gonna tell me yours, Miss?" "Maybe someday," Liz whispers into my shoulder. I know I can't get it out of her, so I pull my phone out, turning to Liz. Within seconds of opening Spotify, I put on Dancing Queen by ABBA. I place my phone on the coffee table before asking for Liz's hand to dance. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"  Liz curtsies. I take Liz's hand and pull her toward me. Chest to chest. My hand slides down to her lower back. "There's always a good time to dance, and who doesn't love ABBA." Liz follows my lead as silly as this dance is becoming. But she's smiling and letting herself have fun. That's what today was about.

"You know I did ballet for years?" I look at her, surprised. Why should I be? She's one of the most beautiful beings on the planet, plus she's a model, for god sake. "Care to bust out those moves?" Liz comedically shakes her head no. I push my forehead to hers, singing along to the lyrics. Liz looks into my eyes. "I can't believe this song is about you," I say to watch her emerald orbs roll.

_

Liz and I are both laying on the floor, letting the sweat take us over. After Dancing Queen, my playlist really did hit us with Lady Gaga, Kate Bush, Queen, Harry Styles, and many more artists, so we couldn't help but groove out. "That was so fun! I can't remember the last time I had an impromptu dance party." Liz says in between pants. "Correct, you are Chase. Correct you are." "Oh, shit, look." I peer up to see Liz point to Gone with the Wind. "It's over? Damn, I was just getting into it!" I don't need to see it, but I feel Liz rolling her eyes at what I just said. She needs to stop doing that. They're going to pop out one day. Liz crawls herself towards me. "Hardy har har." Liz positions herself above my face to face.

"Are you gonna kiss me or just stare? I've recently heard it's insulting to stare." I smile to myself for being such a smart ass. "Well, I wasn't going to kiss you, but since I don't want to be rude." Liz leans down and kisses me. I kiss her back, slowly picking up my pace. I feel her push harder against me. I hear a small moan escape Liz's lips when I come for air. I pull her face forward and attack her lips again.

Before I know it, I'm the one letting a tiny moan slip out the side of my mouth. Liz responds by moving herself on top of me, straddling me. Liz starts kissing down my cheek and neck, moaning, making goose bumps zap down my body. I feel her slightly under my hands as they start working their way up under her shirt. Her toned body feels so good. Is this all from gardening?

I moan into Liz's head as she reached my collar bone. "Fuck Liz" She keeps moving her body further down. Her hands are working their way up my chest. One hand softly brushing my neck. I go to remove her shirt but stop.

"Liz?" She looks up at me. "Yes, my Coffee Girl?"

"Do I have your consent?" Liz nods. Not good enough. "I need a yes, Liz."

"Yes, Y/N Y/L/N, you have my consent. 100%." Liz smiles and starts attacking my chest and body again. In response, I rip her shirt off her body and see what only my drunk eyes have seen. Oh my god. I left hickeys all over her chest too. Liz's eyes follow mine. "Like what you see?" Her bare chest with my marks? Yes!

I smirk. "I love it. Come here." I scoop Liz up, making her laugh as I carry her to the bed. I gently put Liz onto the bed. Within a second, she rips my shirt off as I kick off my shorts. Liz goes to remove her shorts as well, but I grab her wrist and put them above her head. "These stay right here. Okay, Miss? You gonna be good for me?" Liz nods. "I don't want to have to punish you." I wink.

I spread Liz's legs as I kiss my way up her body. I hear Liz whimper as I go past her knee and up her thighs. I look up at her eyes shut, lips puckered in. I keep going before stopping at her shorts. I hover my mouth over where clit is and wrap my mouth around the area. Letting my mouth soak her shorts. I suck in feeling her.

"Please take them off!" The model below me moans. I oblige, wrapping my fingers in the hands of her shorts. I slowly peel the shorts down her legs. Just as I thought. Liz isn't wearing any panties, and she's dripping for me. I look up to Liz, red in the face. "So naughty!" She groans. "Shut up and fuck me!"

"Oh, so is that really how we're going to do this? You've been warned, Chase." I back up and position myself off the edge of the bed. Liz looks a little confused before she realizes. I grab her legs and pull her towards me. Without warning, I dive my tongue straight into her clit, moving my tongue up and down as fast as I can, only stopping to harshly suck on her clit. Liz moans loudly explicits as I pick up speed. I feel Liz's hands grab onto my hair. I pull my mouth away and scold her, "what did I say? Hands stay above your head!"

Liz looks down at me, pissed, but obeys." Liz can't see my hands, so I take advantage and begin moving my index and middle finger over her folds. Her legs shake in response, and my fingers are dripping wet within seconds. "Do you want this baby?" Liz whimpers out something I can't quite make out. "I said do you want this?" I continue teasing.

"Y-Yes pleas-e!"

"Good girl!" I slowly slide my fingers in. The sounds escaping from Liz echo off the walls. "You're being so such a good girl!" I quicken my pace, placing my thumb on her clit, rubbing in a circular motion. I work my left hand up Liz's thigh stopping at her hip giving her a squeeze and a push. I run my mouth over her thighs and the top of pussy. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Liz go to grab my hair before stopping herself, gripping the sheets below her, balling them up in her hands' white knuckles and all. "Y/N- fuck baby- I-"

I decide to take my chances and add a third finger. "Fuck!!" She pushes her legs up towards herself, allowing me to position myself deeper into her."Go ahead, baby cum for me!" I watch as Liz gasps for air. Her mouth moves, but nothing comes out.

"Cum for mommy!" And just like that, Liz, let's go. I watch her green eyes roll back on her pretty pink face before they come back to look down at me. Her heavy breathing returns as she comes down. I softly slide my fingers out as I look back at her. I put my fingers up to my mouth, licking them. "So sweet." I wink at the gorgeous woman in front of me.

"Come here." Liz weakly lets out as her breathing begins to go back to normal. I oblige her by crawling up the bed to lay down beside her. I close my eyes and kiss her flushed cheeks. When I open them, she's staring right at me. Her eyes are holding in more than she's telling me. But it looks like pure love or lust.

Liz pulls herself into me. We are now stomach to stomach. Legs wrapped around one another. "So, how bad was it?" I huskily whisper. Liz smiles and kisses me "so bad I definitely didn't just have one of the best orgasms ever." I kiss her ear "damn, guess I better try again." Liz giggles. She has no idea how big of a grin I get hearing her laughter. "Maybe another time, Coffee Girl. I'm still recovering... ya know from how awful it was!" A smirk falls onto Liz's face. "Understandable." I lean in and kiss the girl I've officially fallen for.

_

I rub my eyes open, and to my disappointment, I'm alone in Liz's bed. "Liz?" Escapes my lips with a groggy tone. No response. I try again but louder, "Liz?" This gets a response because the bedroom door flies open with Liz on the other side, back in her t-shirt and shorts. "Coffee Girl!" She squeals, jumping onto the bed. "I was beginning to think you'd never wake up!" Oh my God, what a fucking cutie this one is.

"I don't even remember falling asleep. How long was I out?" "Almost two hours," Liz says nonchalantly. My mouth drops. "Liz! Oh no! Today was our day! Why didn't you wake me up I-"

"Y/N. Don't worry about it! You look too peaceful and pretty to wake up. It also gave me time to answer my team and people in greater detail."

Oh, that's good. Right?

"Plus, I ordered us some dinner. I was going to make it, but I remembered what you said, and oh boy, you're right. I don't have any food! So come on, get up and dressed. If you want, that is." Liz winks and leaves me alone in the bedroom to freshen up and get dressed.

Once I'm done, I walk out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. "Jesus, Liz, it's only us two!" I say, shocked at the amount of Mexican food I see in front of me. You would think a house party is about to happen. "I know it's a lot! But I wasn't sure what your favorite dish was, so... tada!" Liz throws her arms out, shaking her hands. "You're such a dork! Thank you for this, Liz."

I look into Liz's eyes, seeing the care and love in them. I once again thank Liz for her thoughtful choice for dinner and be sure to shower her in kisses before I begin stacking my plate. I don't mean to, but I make a quick comment about food waste, but Liz assures me that won't happen.

I don't know where in the hell Liz got the food from, but it has officially become my favorite spot! I can't explain it, but it's like a five-star meal wrapped in that hometown Mexican restaurant your family loves. You know the one.

Liz and I finally finish our meal only after I made sure to thank her and tell her how much I love this place's food a hundred more times! Liz goes to take our plates, but I stop her from leaving the table. "You cooked, so I clean." "But I-" "I can't hear you, Liz. You're too busy not wanting to clean these dishes." I walk myself into the kitchen and put all the food away so Liz can have leftovers. After that, I begin to clean the dishes.

"Fine." Liz pushes herself off the dining room table, playfully pouting as she shimmies her butt to the living room, ensuring I'm not missing the show. I watch the beaut sit on the couch, turn to me give me a goofy smile before drawing her attention to the tv. I glance at Liz as she sucks her lips into her mouth; she appears nervous, scrolling through the TV.

_

I close the fridge door. Everything has been cleaned and put away. I smile to myself at a job well done. A job I haven't even done to my place in who knows how long. Sure, I tidy it up when I have Max come over, but nothing like what I just did for Liz's kitchen.

"Y/N?" I look at Liz on the couch with my phone in her hand. I tilt my head confused. "Yeah?" I carefully make my way to Liz. "You have two missed calls from Max." "Oh shit," I reply, worried and confused. It's not like Max to call me. I sit next to Liz as she watches me call Max back. On the screen, Liz has a movie called Martha Marcy May Marlene paused at the beginning.

After a couple of rings, Max answers.

M: "Dude, where the hell are you?"

Y/N: "At Liz's. Why?"

Liz looks at me curiously. I shrug.

M: "Dude, hello, movie night. As in tonight is the night you finally watch the MCU. Wait, did you, Liz!? You slut, omg!"

I slap my hand against my forehead.

Y/N: "Shit, dude, you're right. I'm sorry. Fuck. I'm in the city, and yes, Liz's! But I can be there."

Liz turns her head away from me and turns the TV off.

M: "Whoa, Y/N, if you're with Liz, this can wait!

Y/N: "Are you sure?"

M: "Hell yeah! But look, I'm probably just gonna chill at your place till you come home, that is if you do come home."

Y/N: "Yeah, that's cool. Once again, I'm sorry, Max, it slipped my mind."

M: "No worries. Just want you to be happy. Later whore."

Y/N: "Yeah yeah."

Max ends the call.

I close my phone and turn toward Liz. "Sorry that was-" Liz cuts me off. "I know. I heard. I'm sorry, Y/N. I didn't mean to steal you away from Max." The look in Liz's eyes is a look of guilt.

"Hey, don't apologize and say that. You didn't steal me away. I've enjoyed every single second with you. Even holding you while you let everything out this morning. I'm the one that lost track of time, plus Max is my best friend. They understand. So put the movie you were going to show me back on." I go to grab the remote, but Liz stops me. She places my hand in hers. Liz goes to speak but stops herself. Thinking about what to say.

"Y/N." I don't believe my name has ever been spoken as softly as it just was. "Look at me." Liz places two fingers under my chin and lifts them, so our eyes meet. "Earlier, I asked you for a day together—just one. And you've done way more than you even realize for me since then. I genuinely appreciate it." Liz clears her throat. "I thank you. I just want you to know that everything we said to one another remains. I do feel you and want to continue to feel you."

Liz looks away. I can feel the word coming.

"But." There it is. She turns back to me."Like I said earlier, I have a lot going on that I need to figure out before I want you to become more a part of my life."

What the heck does that mean? Does she see a future with me?

"So within the next couple of days, I'm going back to London." Liz sniffles and swallows the tears she's trying to keep in. "Before I leave, during my stay, and after, I want to be in contact with you. I don't want to lose any part of what we've built up till now. Yes, I know everything between us has happened super crazy soon, but I like it. I know, or at least I hope you feel the same Y/N. I'm not trying to say goodbye to you or anything; I am trying to make you understand."

A single tear falls from Liz's face. My hand instinctively wipes at the trail on her face. I listened to every word that dripped from Liz's mouth. A part of it hurts, but yes, I understand.

I cup Liz's face and pull her into a slow passionate kiss. Liz wraps her arms around my body as our lips part. "I understand. I do. A part of me doesn't want you to go, and I wish you could just tell me everything you have inside of you, but I can wait. I know that's what the underlying question is."

I push our faces together, feeling the tears fall from Liz's eyes onto my cheeks. "Okay. So this is super awkward now because we just said all of that, and now I feel like that's my cue to leave." Liz and I giggle at the obvious yet painful observation. "Let me help you get everything," Liz says, getting up and wiping the tears away.

Liz POV

Within what feels like a minute, I have a tote bag full of Y/N's clothes from last night, two Tupperware containers full of Mexican, and a fruit roll-up all packed up for her to take. "Are you sure you want me to keep this?" Y/N says, flaunting my t-shirt and now grey sweat shorts.

"Yes! I want you to be comfortable and have something to remember me beside the memories for now." I look Y/N over. "Plus, you look ridiculously hot in such a simple outfit."

"And here I thought you didn't want me." Y/N clearly teases, but it still stung just a little bit. I watch her slip on her vans and look around for her phone. "Already in the bag, Coffee Girl." I slip the tote over her shoulder and kiss her on the cheek. This fucking sucks. "Okay, as I mentioned, a car is already downstairs waiting for you. Just tell the driver where you need to go. Call or text me when you get home!"

I open the door for my girl. She, in her own sulky way, exits the apartment door. I grab her wrist and spin her around to face me. "Y/N, thank you so much." I pause. "I meant everything I said on the couch, okay? I feel you." A flush of pink shines over her face. "I know you did, Liz. You know everything I said and did today, I meant with my heart. I'll text you when I'm home." Y/N shuffles her feet to move but doesn't; instead, she plants a kiss of pure bliss. "I feel you too." With that said, I watch her walk down the hall and into the elevator, out of sight but not out of mind.

Y/N POV

As I reach the lobby, it hits me what a bittersweet moment this is. I exit the elevator, still lost in thought about everything with Liz, before I hear my name from a voice I don't recognize.

"Miss Y/N?"

I look up to see the doorman of the building. Does he know my name? "Yes?" I hesitantly ask. The man looks at me, confused. "I said I hope to see you again, Miss Y/N." That's when it hits me.

A very drunk Liz and I, hand in hand, enter the building. We walk straight past the doorman before Liz turns us around. "Mr. Madison, I'd like to introduce you to Miss Y/L/N, a special friend of mine."

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Y/L/N." Mr. Madison extends his white-gloved hand to me. I promptly take it and begin shaking his hand. "Just call me Y/N next time you see me." I realize I have yet to stop shaking Mr. Madiosn's hand. "I'm shaking your hand too long." I awkwardly let go and bid him farewell, following Liz into the elevator.

"Mr. Madison?" He nods. "Thank you for being so kind," I say to him as I exit. Once I step out, I am meant by paparazzi, but I realize they're not for me because why would they be? A rush of flashes goes off as someone enters the building. Liz lives here and is a model, so it would make sense that other people like her would too.

After watching the paparazzi do their annoying thing. I find the car and the driver Liz told me about. Miss Y/L/N?" I shake my head yes. I go to enter the car but first. "And you are?" The man smiles. "Mr. Bronson." "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bronson. Please call me Y/N." The man agrees and helps me into the car. Once he gets in the vehicle and routes us to my place, I let out a breath I had not realized I was holding. Mr. Bronson told me he texted my friend to let her know I was secure.

Throughout the drive, I made small talk with Mr. Bronson. I asked him multiple times to give me his first name, but he refused, not in a mean way, just in a nice formal way. It turns out he has a wife and two kids. I apologize for taking him away from them tonight. He calms my worries and says the amount he gets paid; he makes sure to make it up to his kids. I asked him if he was our driver last night, to which he replied yes. He said he made sure to give us privacy the previous night, so I embarrassingly got the picture of what he meant. Small talk is something I don't do anymore, so having it with new people is nice.

_

Liz POV

I returned to the couch after Y/N left. It hits me what a bittersweet moment this is. I'm beyond thrilled with everything that happened between us, but it hurts knowing it might be a long time till I can see her again. Plus, I still have to face everything I've been ignoring. I'm lost in thought about everything with Y/N.

My phone next to me lights up. It's a text from Mr. Bronosn telling me the package is secure. I chuckle and blame his son Billy for that phrase. A man as old as Mr. Bronoson should not be using that vocabulary. I send him a thank you text and ask him to ensure she enters her building without a problem.

I put my phone down on my coffee table and decided to distract myself with some trashy TV. I go to grab the remote, but a set of knocks from my door stop me. I cautiously make my way over, unlocking and opening the door.

"Robbie?"

Y/N POV

Not too much longer, and we're out in front of my building. Mr. Bronson opened my car door for me before I even had a chance to protest. He helps me out and makes sure I have everything with me. I thanked him for the ride, and he responded by giving me his card, letting me know that he'll be there anytime I need a ride. He waits until I enter the elevator of my building to leave.

During the ride up, I text Liz letting her know I made it home. I don't immediately get a response back, which saddens me a bit, but there's nothing I can do about it. The doors open, and I make my way down the hall to my apartment. Through the New York thin walls, I overhear Max playing one of her Marvel movies.

"What are you doing!?" I shout as I fling open my door, scaring Max and making her throw her popcorn in the process. Thank goodness I don't have a dog. It would be going to town right now. "WHAT THE FUCK, Y/N! I wasn't expecting you for a couple more hours!" Max walks up and hugs me before jabbing my arm. "Don't do that again!"

Max takes notice of my new outfit and tote bag. "Well, it looks like you really did more than spend the night. New clothes, food, and a tote!" Damn, putting the whole lesbians move to fast thing to work." I would go to argue, but Max nailed it on the head.

"Once again, Max, you're always right." Max throws up some finger guns and begins cleaning up the mess I made her cause. I put the food away and threw my dress from last night in the wash. Max finishes picking up the popcorn, throws it away, and sits herself down on my couch, making herself at home. "Come sit and tell me everything, Y/N!" I plop down next to Max and look at the TV. "Hold on. You're watching this one again?" Max looks up and sees what I see a guy in a black catsuit fighting a dude with a metal arm."Okay, I don't need your judgment. Besides! We were supposed to start on these movies tonight!" I roll my eyes. "Who's right! Come on, Y/N, say it!"

"You are." Max pumps her fist. "Always." Max grabs the remote, exiting this movie, and goes back to a film called Captain America: The First Avenger. "We are going to start from the beginning. We will enjoy this movie, and then you will tell me everything that happened with Liz! Everything."

_

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. I lost count of how many times I asked Max how they did the body transformation stuff. Also, I thought the guy named Stark's first name was Tony. But Max told me to wait. Whatever that means. I'm so sad about Bucky. Why did they have to do him like that? Max also told me the next movie isn't her favorite, but she loves Brie Larson, so since I'm surprising, not tired after a war movie, we decide to jump into it when I decide to check my phone for the millionth time.

Still no text back from Liz.

"Nothing?" Max asks. I shake my head no, and she leans closer to me. "Who knows, maybe she just fell asleep." I like Max's ability to look at things differently. "Now tell me everything before we watch Captain Marvel!"

_

I do just that. I tell Max everything. I tell her about the bits of the night I can remember. The hickeys. The garden. The missed phone calls. The movie and dance party. I brush over the details about Liz and my sex romp because that's for me. I tell Max about dinner and more.

When I finish, Max just looks at me, stunned. "What?"

"The whole time you talked, you had the biggest smile on your face. You've fallen for her! Haven't you?" I blush, and Max sees it. "Oh my God!! My freaking Y/N finally got back out there and gets the one! This is amazing, Y/N. Tell me her name again; I wanna stalk her Instagram."

"Elizabeth Chase."

Max gives me a smirk and raises an eyebrow. "You serious?" I give her a look right back. "Yes?" Max goes back to her phone, seemingly satisfied with my answer. "Okay."

"Let's see. Private account. Private account. Fan acc-." Max stares at her phone, frantically scrolling. "Oh shit. That's why!" I turn to Max, very confused. "That's why what?"

"That's why she looked and sounded so familiar at the coffee shop! Oh my god. I can't believe this. My heart-"

"Dude, what the hell is going on?" I try to look at Max's phone, but she moves it away from me. "What did Liz say she does again?" A worried look grows on my face. "Model." "And she has a sister named?" "MK." "Y/N. You have zero idea who you just spent all day with."

Max hands me her phone. That one article I saw this morning is staring at me.

ELIZABETH OLSEN LEAVES NY RESTAURANT WITH MYSTERIOUS WOMAN DAYS AFTER LEAVING SET OF THE DOCTOR...

"Okay?" Max scrolls down the page for me. I see Liz and I, hand in hand, walking into a car. I get hit by a wave of information.

The articles.

The calls.

Her job.

London.

I scroll down the page and start reading the actual article.

"MCU star Elizabeth Olsen seen exiting a NY restaurant with a mysterious woman in hand. Earlier the same day, the pair were seen leaving a state park. This news comes days after Olsen was seen exiting the London set of the Doctor Strange sequel distraught. No one knows when Olsen arrived in NY, but it's clear she arrived alone. Only today was Olsen's fiancé Robbie Arnett seen at Heathrow Airport. Rumors have been flying around Olsen and Arnett for a while now. Is this the end? Who's this mysterious woman? For up-to-date information, be sure to stay subscribed to our newsletter."

I stay silent, holding Max's phone. The rage and hurt I'm feeling is one I haven't felt in- since-

I eye Max, tears pooling in my eyes. "She lied, Max." I whimper out. Max doesn't catch it. "Dude, you're dating the Scarlett Witch!" "Max." Max doesn't hear me. "Omg, she's like top 5-"

"She lied!" Max turns to me, stunned. Max softens her body. "Y/N..." I open my mouth, which has suddenly become dry. "I'm sure she had her reasons" I glare at Max. "Max, she lied about her job. She's engaged! She lied about her fucking name!" I get up and start rushing to put my vans on. "Dude, what are you doing!?"

"I'm going to talk to her. I want her to explain herself." I open my phone. My messages are still sitting on DELIVERED. "She hasn't even fucking opened my text!" I begin snapping at Max. I know this is unfair, but I can't let this happen again. "Y/N, just stop and-"

"Max, I love you. But I can't." I say through gritted teeth. I grab my phone, wallet, and keys. "I'll be back."

I close my door and sprint down to the elevator. Luckily my neighbor Miss. Jones was getting off, so I didn't have to wait. I pull out my phone and call Mr. Bronson, asking him to pick me up. It turns out he doesn't live too far and would be happy to take me back. Thank God.

While waiting, I decided to send a text to Liz. Elizabeth? Lizzie, or whatever the fuck her character's name is called.

"Olsen. We need to talk."

Peters nerves were still on edge after the meeting. It turned out he had more stuff then he thought so he couldn't just go swinging home. As a last ditch effort Mr. Stark had Happy drive him home. He just hoped that you weren't near any windows. When Happy offered to carry some of his stuff inside he refused to which Happy gave him a quirked brow. Once Peter got his stuff in the door he quickly bid Happy a farewell before slamming it and locking it shut. He let out a sigh before walking into the living room a bit more. He expected you to be in the living room but you weren't. 'Huh?' Just as he was about to call out your name he heard a crash. He tenses up and quickly goes into the direction of the noise. Turns out it came from his room. May and you were in it and when he walked in he could see what crashed. 

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" As he looked down he could see his Lego Death Star in pieces on the ground. 

"What happened?" Peter says trying to keep a level head. 

"I finished my set and wanted to put it next to yours..." You say quietly. 

Peter sighs and May looks between the both of them. "I am sure we can fix it!" May says in a hopeful tone. 

Peter walks further into the room and crouches down to pick up the pieces. You immediately follow suit and try to help. "I got it!" Peter snaps which makes you flinch. 

"Okay... Are you sure I can't hel-" "Yes I'm sure." He says cutting you off. 

You nod and decide to leave him to it You decide the best option was to get out of his way so you go over to May and ask. 

"May? Would it be okay if I take a shower?" Peters ears perk at this. 

May nods and gives a small 'Of course.' Before showing her to the laundry room where her clothes have been washed. Peter sighs and sits down criss-cross on the ground. He didn't mean to snap but it took him and his best friend Ned hours to finish this. Now Peter feels guilty. He knows you have a set way of doing things. He wasn't sure if you had a routine yet, but he does know that you only interrupt that routine to take a shower when you are upset, and the fact that he upset you causes his heart to pinch in his chest.

He walks into the kitchen where May has retired to and digs for a tuple ware container to put the smaller pieces in. As he is looking he can hear you come out of the bathroom and the creek of his door shutting but not all the way. He grabs what he needs and heads back to his room. At first he doesn't notice the vacancy of the bottom bunk until he hears the bunk beds creek slightly. He looks over to see that you weren't in the bottom bunk, but the top bunk. He also noticed that one of the blankets were missing. He quietly sighs to himself. When you get upset you like to be in the furthest most part of a room. He can't see you but he is sure that you are probably curled in a ball at the top portion of the bed. He puts all the little pieces into the container and set it aside out of the way. He goes toward the bunk bed and jumps up until he touches the ceiling. He pulls himself up by the fingertips and crawls over the railing. You were indeed in a curled position. He made sure to sit at the foot of the bed with no parts of him touching you. 

"Y/N?" He asks quietly not wanting to upset you further. 

"I'm not mad at you, you know that right?" He says and he sees the blankets shuffle slightly. He assumes that it is a 'No.' 

"I was just a little frustrated... The place I went to stressed me out, but I could never stay mad at you. You know that right?" All he hears is silence. 

"I looked at your Lego set while I was down there. You did a great job!" He says with a smile. 

He sees you poke your head out and look at him. 'She needs positive re-enforcement' He thinks to himself. 

"I was gone for what? And hour? two hours max? You got that done so fast!" He says his smile growing. 

He slowly see you uncurl your self. He feels your foot nudge him. 'Good she is making contact.' He thinks. "How about we re-build the Death Star together?" He asks. You still stay silent but this time you make eye contact. Normally at the Avengers tower you wouldn't be this fragile, but he assumed that since you made yourself forget that you regressed to where you were a year or so ago. He was sure you were being cautious as to not accidentally make him forget.

"Can I touch you?" He asks and you give a little nod. 

He scoot further into the bed leaning his back against the wall. He pulls your feet into his lap and begins to massage them gently. 

"Uh..." He was running out of things to say. 

"You showered right? Your feet are smooth." He cringes and as if you could read his thoughts he hears a giggle. 

"That is super weird to say." You say looking at him. 

He immediately lets go of your feet and you laugh again. "S-Sorry! I jus-" "You are trying to help... Thank you. I know I can be sensitive, but I will try and work on it..." You say and sit up on the bed. 

"It's okay! I shouldn't have snapped. It isn't like it is permanently broken." He says with a smile. You pull your feet out of his lap and lower the blanket so he could see more of you. Peter looks you up and down to see that you weren't in his clothes anymore. He did his best to hide his disappointment. He liked seeing you in his clothes. 'That's weird of me. Why should she be in my clothes when she has her own?' He asks himself. 'But she did look good in my clothes...' He says and a blush comes over his face. 

"Are you okay Pete?" You ask and he nods. 

"H-How about we look through a Journal!" He says and leans over the edge and webbing one of the many journals that were on the bed below them. He webs them and brings them up to the top of the bunk and you laugh. Peter scoots back into his original spot and he feels you scoot next to him. He smiles down at you and begins to read.

No matter where in Teyvat you traveled, you always had to stop and admire the scenery. The lush hills of Monstadt seemed to breathe like a living being as the grass swayed in the wind, and not a cloud could be seen in the rushing blue sky. Dandelion seeds floated in the currents of air that swirled around the hills and cliffs, and you couldn’t help but feel a smile grow across your face.

You turned your attention back to the task at hand; you held your map, looking at the road in front of you. You were headed for the city of Mondstadt, and you only had about a half a day left until you would finally arrive. Your bag was heavy with artifacts and materials that you had gathered on your way north from The Chasm, and you were looking forward to lightening the load at the alchemist.

There was a shout in the distance that prickled the tops of your ears as you walked. You wondered what it could be, as someone appeared around a turn on the path ahead. It was a young man dressed in typical villager’s clothes, and you assumed they must have been from Springvale since that was the town you were passing next on your journey.

“Ruin guard! It’s a goddamn ruin guard!” The villager screamed, swinging his arms as he raced up the path.

You wondered if what he was saying was true, or if he just saw a hunk of metal sitting on the side of the road and assumed the worst.

“Hey, you!” Picking up your pace, you shouted towards the villager.

“Are you one of the Knights of Favonius? Oh please help! I left my cart by the ruin guard!”

“Are you sure it was a ruin guard?” You asked.

“Yes! You can go look for yourself, but I don’t recommend it!” The villager sounded scared out of his mind.

“Okay, I’ll go check it out.” You did your best not to roll your eyes as you walked in the direction that the villager pointed.

You knew that ruin guards were never originally placed near Springvale, and even if they were, the ancient machines would have been taken down by explorers or the Knights of Favonius long ago.

“Be careful!” The villager spoke in a hushed tone as he followed you, as if he was afraid to draw the attention of the supposed ‘ruin guard’.

As you rounded the corner of the hilltop, you blinked. There, sitting in the middle of the grass, was the signature metal husk that you had seen many times during your travels; many times, but never in these parts of Mondstadt.

“What the heck? You were right!” You exclaimed.

“Sssh!” The villager quickly responded. “You’re gonna wake it up!”

“As if your screaming wouldn’t?” You snapped back, and he responded with intelligible grumbles.

“I think the bigger question is how it ended up on a well-traveled path so close to Springvale. Did it just appear out of thin air?” You pondered out loud, approaching the giant hunk of metal. “And how did nobody see this before us?”

That was when it blinked to life.

At the sound of machinery creaking, your stomach dropped like a stone into a pit. The beast began to shudder, its light turning on inside, and your entire body filled with dread.

You definitely forgot to tell the villager that you weren’t one of the Knights, you were barely even a civilian when it came to strength.

“Run!” You exclaimed, “Alert the Knights of Favonius!”

You didn’t bother to turn around and make sure the villager had escaped; you could hear the scuffling of his feet against the dirt path fade into the distance, but you didn’t move an inch as the ruin guard climbed to its feet.

So, you had to think fast.

Looking around you, you noticed that the ground was slanted and at the bottom there was a steep drop. Beside you was the hill that blocked your view of the ruin guard previously. As the ruin guard began to walk, you noticed it had only a quarter of its health left.

You smirked, a plan coming together inside your head.

“Let it pour!”

You cast your hydro spell, and clouds formed above the ruin guard as it approached you. Instead of rain, an entire wave poured out of the clouds and crashed down onto its metal body with a piercing whoosh. Your spell drenched the ruin guard and the ground around it, and the attack damage showed up as a small ‘1’ that hovered in the air briefly.

Yes, a ‘1’.

It was ridiculous; rumors of the 1 DMG explorer have been circulating ever since you began your adventures. Despite being a seasoned traveler and skilled with your weapon of choice, the damage you dealt in attacks was so close to nothing that you couldn’t kill a slime with them.

You were the weakest fighter in history.

But, thankfully not the dumbest.

You brought your hand out, quickly casting your second spell. Despite having the weakest elemental bursts in history, you had two key advantages.

One of which was virtually nonexistent cooldown, allowing you to cast spells over and over without needing breaks.

“Freeze!” As soon as you spoke a sheet of ice grew across the drenched soil and enveloped the ruin guard.

Yes, the second advantage was your ability to use multiple elements.

All of them, in fact.

You watched proudly as the ruin guard lost its footing on the ice and fell to the ground with a crash. The ice around its body shattered, but at this point nothing could stop it from sliding off the cliff and down to the rocks below.

When you heard the booming and screeching noises of its armature tearing apart from the fall, you raced around the sheet of ice to the edge of the cliff to make sure it was dead. And sure enough, its parts lay scattered across the rocky field below.

Breathing a sigh of relief, you heard someone approaching along the path at an incredibly fast pace. You hid, running to duck behind some bushes. You casted a dendro spell, vines and leaves sprouting from the ground to further conceal your location.

When the person arrived at the cliff, their vibrant red hair glowed in the sunlight. You blinked; the striking red ponytail reminded you of someone you used to know.

“Damn, I must be too late.” The red-haired murmured, his voice deep and soothing. He walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the destroyed ruin guard.

“Too late for what, Diluc?” Your eyes snapped towards a blue figure standing on the other side of your fight scene. He had wavy dark blue hair and perfect olive skin, and donned luxurious clothing that revealed his toned chest.

You didn’t know what surprised you more; the way the second man had approached undetected, or the venom in his voice as he spoke.

“Kaeya.” Diluc spoke with disdain before turning around to face the other man. “I should have known you’d respond to a call like this.

“Come on, now, I’m sure you’ve been catching onto this pattern of events.” Kaeya responded, brushing his ponytail over his shoulder.

You peered at the two men, Kaeya and Diluc, as their tense discussion unfolded.

“There’s certainly someone behind these odd appearances of monsters, but it seems the Knights of Favonius are just as clueless as I.” Diluc responded.

Your interest was piqued; this was the first time you had heard of anything like this happening, but apparently it has happened enough times that the Knights of Favonius and whatever organization this Diluc worked for were interested in it.

“But as for the person who destroyed this ruin guard, I don’t think they were behind it.” Diluc added, before being cut off by his blue-haired rival.

“Who said it was one person?” Kaeya smirked. “I see evidence of a hydro spell being cast before a cryo spell here.”

“I didn’t specify how many people there were.” Diluc responded tensely.

“Person implies singular, which means one person.” Kaeya added, taking a step towards the bitter redhead. “Unless, you’re just trying to hide the fact that you didn’t notice this.”

“You haven’t even seen how they destroyed the ruin guard.”

“Oh, from what I can see here, they made it slide off the cliff.” At Kaeya’s retort, you could hear Diluc let out something more similar to a growl than a sigh. Things were beginning to get heated between the two as Diluc took another step towards Kaeya.

You don’t know what overcame you at that moment. In the years to come, you’d never understand what exactly drove you to do what you did.

You jumped out from where you hid to stand between the two men.

“Come on, boys, calm down.” You spoke in an unusually bold tone for yourself. “Red’s right, it was one person.”

“Who are you?” Kaeya was quick to question you. Diluc was still standing there, his mouth agape.

“I’m just a person.” You responded.

“Were you behind this?” Kaeya was quick to add. You gave him a confused look.

“No, I’m as clueless as you two are. Ruin guards are never this close to springvale.”

“You can use multiple elements?” Diluc finally spoke up, asking a question that you could finally give a solid answer to.

“Yes. All seven, to be exact.”

“I’d like you to come with me.” Kaeya’s tone shifted quickly as he now spoke firmly, his surprise fully masked by an authoritative tone. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing you as you stood there.

“No thank you,” You responded. “I don’t really have that kind of time on my hands.”

That was a lie. You were an explorer after all, and you spent most of your time wandering wherever your heart desired.

“That wasn’t a question.” Kaeya’s voice dripped with venom as he reached out for you.

“Hey, stop it!” Diluc exclaimed, angry at Kaeya for acting so rashly. He was worried that Kaeya would scare you away, and he was right.

“Sorry, I gotta go.” Before Kaeya’s hand could latch onto your arm you drew a teleporter crystal out of your pocket, clutching it tightly in your hand as you began to warp. “See you later boys.”

And with that, you were standing by the teleporter outside of the city of mondstadt. You fell to your knees, a wave of nausea taking over your body.

“Oh god, I’m gonna puke.” You groaned, holding a hand over your mouth. You hated teleporting; the travel sickness made it unbearable for you.

“I certainly hope I did not come here just to see you throw up.” A voice spoke from behind you. You looked up, squinting through the tears that had gathered in your eyes from the nausea.

Albedo was standing there, carrying a large bag that was slung over his shoulder.

“Hey, Albedo.” You paused, trying to recover from the nausea. “Why’d you come to the teleporter?”

“Well, I’m in charge of babysitting Klee for an entire week, so Jean gave us some teleporter crystals in case she wanted to go anywhere.”

“Oh? You brought the fire child with you out here?” You asked. “And is this why you wanted to meet near Mondstadt this time?”

“Yes, I hope you don’t mind.” Albedo responded.

Your nausea began to settle so you peered around him at the small child jumping around waving a stick in the air. You smiled at how cute Klee was, but then you noticed the stick was on fire.

“Um, Albedo-” You raised one hand to point at Klee. He turned around, and sighed.

“Klee, be careful.” Albedo jogged towards the young girl, hurrying to stop her from spreading any more of her flames.

You laughed, climbing to your feet as you watched Albedo try to put the flame out that Klee was waving around. When he finally got her to calm down, he turned back around to talk to you.

“So, shall we get to trading?” He asked. You nodded, summoning your bag full of objects you’d acquired.

The two of you sat down in the grass across from each other, while Klee played off in the distance.

“Firstly, I think your weapon is fixed and better than ever.” Albedo spoke. “I’m quite proud of my work this time around.”

“Great! I’m so excited to finally start doing some damage!” You squealed, watching as Albedo pulled your weapon out of the bag. It came folded up, and could unfold using intricate hinges that Albedo designed himself.

“Next time you let me tinker with it, I’d like to see if I can infuse the blade with each of your elements.”

“Shhh!” You spoke, eyeing Klee in the distance who didn’t seem to be paying attention to your conversation. The fact that you could wield all 7 elements was a secret, your 1 point damage being well known.

“Oh, my apologies.” Albedo gave an awkward smile.

“This is why I ask to meet outside the city.” You responded. “But elemental infusion sounds cool.”

“Yeah. Anyway, here’s some Mora from the items I couldn’t use and ended up selling. I thought you could use some money.” Albedo tossed a bag of coins towards you. You caught it in one hand, feeling the weight of the coins.

“Thanks, you know I’m always short on Mora.” You let out a small laugh. “And here’s the stuff I found when traveling.” You dumped out the contents of your bag, artifacts and crafting materials spilling out across the grass in front of you.

“You can have all of it, including this catalyst I’ve been using in the meantime.” You tossed the shiny artifact on top of the pile, and Albedo’s eyes widened as he stared at it.

“Is that a five star catalyst?” He questioned.

“Yup. I spent a lot of time enhancing it, but its damage is still 1.” Albedo snorted at your reasoning for tossing a five star weapon aside.

“Incredible. At this point, how is that even possible?” He questioned.

“I honestly have no idea. I’m relying on the physical damage from this scythe to save my life. I nearly died making my way here, you know.” You responded.

“What happened this time?” Albedo asked, knowing you’d had many brushes with death even in the past couple of years you two had known each other.

“This active ruin guard just suddenly appeared by springvale. It was so scary!” You answered.

“How on earth did that happen?” Albedo questioned, remnants of surprise brushed across his calm face.

“I don’t know, but apparently it has happened more than once.” You responded, then you sat up straight. “Oh! Speaking of, two people who arrived at the scene later were nearly fighting with each other, and one was one of the Knights of Favonius!”

“That does sound unknightly.” Albedo commented.

“Yeah, I wonder if you know either of them… I think the blue one’s name was Kyle?”

“Kyle?” Albedo responded. “I haven’t heard of a Kyle.”

“Oh, the red one had a weird name… I think it was Luke?”

“Oh.” Albedo immediately made the connection. “You must be talking about Kaeya and Diluc. Those two are known for disliking each other.”

“Oh, so you do know them!” You responded.

“Yes, Diluc is the owner of Dawn Winery, and Sir Kaeya is the Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius.”

“Oh! That’s why Luke looked familiar.” You spoke, realizing that Diluc was a Ragnvindr.

“It’s Diluc.” Albedo corrected you.

“Deh Luke?”

“Diluc.”

“Duhluke?”

“Almost.” Albedo sighed.

“I’ll just call him Red.” You gave up. “So these two, they have some sort of rivalry?”

“I don’t know,” Albedo responded. “I think they might simply dislike each other, it doesn’t seem to be much more than that.”

“I see.” You nodded, before looking down at your pile of loot. “So, you think you can take all of this junk?”

“I wouldn’t call it junk, and yes I’d gladly take all of it. Albedo gave you a smile as he began to pick up the items and place them into his bag. You helped him, throwing the artifacts and ingredients in one by one.

When you were done, Albedo tied the bag shut and set it beside him, grunting with its weight. The two of you sat there, just enjoying the bright and beautiful landscape.

“You’re always welcome to travel with me, you know.” You spoke, turning to look over at your white-haired friend.

The tiniest hints of a blush graced Albedo’s cheeks as he looked down.

“I know. I’ll take you up on it, someday.” You nodded at Albedo’s response, understanding that his desire was to be at dragonspine with his research.

“Klee is hungry!” You heard the young girl shout from across the hillside.

“Okay, okay. Would you like to head back to town and get some skewers?” Albedo shouted towards Klee.

“Sounds delicious!” She responded, running towards the two of you.

“I guess it’ll be goodbye for now.” Albedo spoke, a twinge of sadness showing through his tone. You nodded, standing up from your place in the grass as Albedo did the same and stepped towards you. He leaned in, wrapping his arms around you in a gentle embrace.

“Be safe out there.” He spoke softly into your ear, giving your torso a squeeze before backing up and reaching to take Klee by the hand.

“Goodbye pretty lady!” Klee exclaimed, waving to you as she walked back down the hill with Albedo. You could hear the white haired Alchemist chuckle, meanwhile you felt the heat rise in your face from Klee’s innocent compliment.

~~~

Back at the Knights of Favonius headquarters, Klee was on a sugar high from grape juice and bouncing all around the front foyer. The Acting Grandmaster Jean stepped out from her office at the sound of commotion, knowing that it meant Klee had returned.

“How was your day with Albedo?” Jean asked.

“It was fun! We went outside and met a pretty lady who could use more than one element! I wonder if it’s pyro like me, or geo like big brother!”

Albedo immediately bristled at Klee’s words.

“I’m sure Klee doesn’t know what she’s saying…” Albedo responded. Jean nodded, completely brushing Klee’s words aside.

Meanwhile, around the corner of the stairwell, a bemused Kaeya leaned against the wall as he contemplated the young girl’s words.

~~~

Now that your pockets were lightened, you walked back along the path towards Springvale while the sun set behind the hills. You thought about Albedo saying that Diluc was the new owner of Dawn Winery, and your curiosity began to get the best of you as you took a branch of the path that headed towards the vineyards.

As dusk grew to night, you could spot the winery manor’s lights in the distance and it brought a smile to your face. You looked up and saw the stars twinkling in the clear night sky, and everything felt perfectly peaceful in this beautiful region of Mondstadt.

Something caught your attention from the corner of your eye; a figure dressed in black darted across the path up ahead, and you could see just enough to make out a hint of red hair.

‘Is that Red…?’ you thought. ‘Where could he be going at this time?’

Your footsteps fell silent as you followed this figure through the darkness. He seemed to be in a rush to get somewhere, heading at a nearly inhuman speed, so you had to pick up your pace in order to avoid losing track of the elusive figure.

When he reached a rather spacious field, you were nearly caught up to him so you thought this would be the ideal time to try to stop him.

“Hey! Where are you going?” You shouted, and he immediately stopped running and turned around. To your affirmation, you saw Diluc, the owner of the winery and someone you wouldn’t expect to be rushing across the countryside in the middle of the night.

You finally caught up to Diluc who somehow still seemed elegant after all of that running.

“Oh, it’s you.” Diluc spoke, his eyes widening in the darkness. “What are you doing out here?”

“I saw you running so I was wondering what you were up to…” You responded awkwardly. “Is it more of those randomly teleporting monsters?”

“You’re exactly right.” Diluc responded. “Someone spotted geo slimes in this area, when historically the only slimes here have been hydro or cryo.”

“Oh? That’s very strange!” You responded.

“I normally investigate things alone, but given your abilities…” Diluc trailed off for a second. “Would you like to join?”

You knew Diluc was referring to the fact that you could wield all seven elements.

“Um, about that…” you trailed off, unsure of how to tell him about your weakness.

“Watch out!” A familiar voice shouted from behind you. You whirled around to see Kaeya pull out his sword and swipe down a geovishap hatchling that had been hurtling towards the two of you.

“Kaeya!?” Diluc exclaimed, his tone noticeably more irritated than it was only a couple of seconds ago. “What are you doing here?!”

“Saving you two, apparently.” Kaeya quipped, unwilling to admit that he had followed you all the way from Mondstadt.

Diluc was about to respond with a retort of his own when a crashing noise rolled across the field and drowned out any sound the three of you could make. Rocks hurtled through the air as the roar of a beast echoed out into the night.

“What the hell is that!” You exclaimed, scared out of your mind. You were the weakest, after all.

“That’s a primo geovishap!” Diluc shouted, his voice barely audible over the rumble.

“And a horde of hatchlings!” Kaeya added.

The once green meadow became blotted out with the brown and black tones of the geovishap. There had to have been dozens of them hurtling across the ground, as if nothing could stop them. And then, it looked like a mountain growing from the horizon. You didn’t quite understand what you were seeing, until you spotted the signature claws and spiked arms of the Primo Geovishap.

“Oh Archons.” You felt faint; this was your first time seeing a Primo Geovishap in person and was very much not the time to faint. You tried to steady your balance as you watched the beast rise from the ground in the distance.

“Looks like we’ll have to work together to get out of this one.” Kaeya spoke smoothly, as if none of this apocalyptic situation phased him.

“Great…” Diluc grumbled, taking out his claymore.

“Um… I know this isn’t the best time t-to mention this,” You stuttered, “But my attack damage is 1.”

“One what?” Diluc asked.

“1 point.” You responded, earning a snort from Kaeya.

“There’s no way.” Kaeya responded.

You let out a sigh, taking out your scythe and unfolding it to swipe an electro attack at a hatchling that had rolled nearby. The signature ‘1’ floated up through the air, and you could swear you heard Diluc wheeze.

“You have all seven elements... For what?” Kaeya began to laugh.

“This is a serious situation, shut up Blue!” You responded. “My health is really weak too, one hit from a Mitachurl and I’m a goner!” You added.

“Why does this have to happen to me?” Diluc sighed.

Your conversation died out, now that you were surrounded by enemies. The three of you needed to work together, but you knew about Kaeya and Diluc’s disdain for each other. As the two men on either side of you readied their weapons, you looked around nervously at all of the tiny devilish geovishap hatchlings.

“Cool it!” Kaeya shot an ice attack towards one, and Diluc infused his claymore to beat down another.

‘So Blue does ice, and Red uses fire…’ you thought to yourself, deciding to at least help with elemental reactions.

“Let it pour!” You cast your water spell, making it rain onto two of the energetic hatchlings. You then turned in an arc and swiped at them with your scythe a couple of times, dealing much more damage thanks to the base stats of your weapon.

“Don’t get frostbite.” Kaeya spoke as he let out another attack, and you noted that he could cast his elemental attack in relatively quick succession. This one froze the geovishaps in place, dealing extra damage.

You let out a sigh of relief as the hatchlings were defeated in one hit.

“Hey thanks, one hit wonder.” Kaeya responded.

“One hit wonder?” You asked.

“One hit and you’re dead, but at least you can wield all seven elements.” Kaeya spoke as he effortlessly swiped at another hatchling.

“Asshole.”

You decided to help Diluc this time, spotting how his skill was three attacks in quick succession. You used a cryo spell this time, hoping to increase the damage he dealt.

“Red, hit them after me!” You shouted, casting a cryo spell.

“Got it!” Diluc responded.

Your signature ‘1’ floated into the air, followed by nearly 10,000 in Diluc’s pyro damage doubled by melting the ice. You cast cryo again, and Diluc swiped a second time with double the damage, and then you cast your spell a third time, but Diluc jumped up into the air, spinning with his blade before coming down and striking several hatchlings. His flaming sword came a little too close to you for comfort, and you felt the need to speak up.

“Watch it, Red!” You shouted, fearing for your life.

“Yeah, be careful.” Kaeya pitched in while in the middle of an attack combo against another hatchling. “One wrong move and she’s dead. Neither of us have shields or healing abilities, either.”

The three of you continued fighting, while you tried to add elemental combinations wherever you could. That was when you spotted Kaeya’s burst, which froze enemies in quick succession.

“Boys, I have an idea for crowd control!” You shouted. “Can we try to work together?”

You didn’t get any response from the two, but you decided to go for it.

“Kaeya, use your burst!” You exclaimed as you simultaneously summoned your area of effect water attack once again.

“Don’t get frostbite!” He exclaimed, shards of ice swirling around him. They instantly froze all of the hatchlings in a wide radius around you, dealing more damage since you had made them all wet beforehand.

Knowing this as his chance, Diluc swung down with his fiery claymore, shattering the ice and killing several hatchlings at once. It was incredible; the monsters were frozen and melted several times in succession thanks to these two insane fighters.

When Diluc had exhausted his skill, you used your electro spell to superconduct electro damage through the rest of the frozen hatchlings.

“Burn!” Diluc exclaimed, sending forth a flaming Phoenix. You dodged just in time, jumping away from its fiery wings as it swept across the landscape causing all sorts of elemental reactions and killing the last of the horde.

“Be careful! That shit is hot!” You exclaimed, feeling the warmth of Diluc’s flames on your face.

“Then get out of the way!” Kaeya snapped. “Combat is no joke.”

“Neither is that Primo Geovishap.” Diluc cut in, just in time for the huge monster to let out a roar in the distance. “He probably isn’t happy we killed all of the little ones.”

“Well, I’m getting the hang of these combinations and I think we can make this work.” You spoke breathily, not used to this kind of physical exertion.

“It’s difficult for most teams of four to defeat a monster of this caliber.” Diluc commented.

“Okay, don’t remind me.” You sighed.

“Watch out, it’s coming straight for us!” Kaeya exclaimed. He didn’t even wait for you to begin moving — he swiftly hooked one arm around your torso and clutched you to his chest as he jumped to the side.

It was right on time too; the Primo Geovishap hurtled straight towards where you had just been standing seconds ago.

“This one is fast!” Diluc exclaimed.

You, on the other hand, were feeling just ever so slightly distracted as you remained pressed into Kaeya’s bare chest.

“You’re really warm, for a cryo user,”

“You’d better focus, one hit wonder.” Kaeya spoke, releasing his grip on you. “We don’t want you to take any attacks from this guy.”

You looked up at the towering monster, failing to notice the slight pink hue on Kaeya’s face.

“Come on, let’s hit it with all the combos we’ve got!” You exclaimed.

You used electro then hydro in quick succession, slowing the Primo Geovishap down with crystallize but failing to do any more than a single DMG point per hit.

“Cool it!” Kaeya added his own elemental skill, and the Geovishap slowed down even more.

“Hah!” Diluc grunted, swiping with his elemental skill once again. You cast hydro three times in quick succession to match his attacks, but you could feel yourself getting out of breath.

“Okay one more time, let’s go!”

You cast hydro, then kaeya used cryo once again. As Diluc swooped down with his fiery claymore, you quickly added anemo to create a lingering firenado that surrounded the Geovishap and did continuous fire damage much greater than anything you could achieve on your own.

As the firenado faded, the Geovishap jumped out to do one more attack. It was significantly slower than the first time, so you turned around and legged it away from the monster. Diluc came in with a flashy sword attack once again, and the Geovishap became distracted once again.

The three of you repeated your classic succession of attacks twice more, and you began to sweat from exertion. After Diluc used his flames once again, he shouted out at the two of you.

“Get out of the way!” He exclaimed, and you immediately knew he was going to cast another pyro spell so you quickly cast a dendro one. Vines shot out from the ground, wrapping around the Geovishap and slowing it down even more. This time, his flaming Phoenix caused far more damage, and it was continuous until the flames completely ate away at the vines.

“Almost there!” You exclaimed, noticing that it had barely any health left.

You swung with your scythe several times, and it ate away at much more of the monster’s health than your elemental attacks did—but only about 200 each time. Combined with Kaeya and Diluc, you finally were able to defeat the monster.

With a defeated roar, the monster fell to the ground and disintegrated into dust. A ley line blossom sprouted up from its corpse, and you turned to look at your two partners in crime. You fell to your knees as soon as the monster turned to dust; your endurance was completely worn out.

“Hey, I guess we made a pretty good team.” You spoke, still trying to catch your breath after the intense combat.

“Don’t ever call us a team.” Diluc quickly responded.

“I have to admit, it was fun.” Kaeya cut in, bringing a smile to your face. “But you're the biggest liability I’ve ever seen.”

Your smile disappeared.

“Can I… at least open the ley line blossom?” You asked.

“Sure,” Kaeya answered.

“I don’t care for rewards.” Diluc added, giving you the okay to pick up what you pleased from the battle.

You stepped across the dusty ground and unlocked the blossom, briefly admiring the loot before returning to the conversation between the two men.

“It’s fairly late,” Diluc turned towards you as he spoke. “If you have nowhere else to stay, you are welcome to spend the night at the Dawn Winery.”

You smiled at the kind offer; you couldn’t remember the last time you slept with a roof over your head.

“Why, thank you Diluc.” Kaeya responded emphatically.

“I didn’t mean-“ Diluc cut himself off as he seemed to think through something in his head. “Whatever, you can come too.”

You didn’t know what was between these two men that made them so hateful of each other, but you did know that Mondstadt was four hours away at a brisk walk and the paths were littered with monsters at this hour of night. You stepped quickly to catch up with Diluc, who was already on his way back to the winery.

~~~