#https-heizou

albedo treasures you more than he cares to admit verbally. it shows in all of his acts of love through physical means, lingering touches and making sure you're warm whenever you visit him on dragonspine. he hates you visiting him as much as he loves you - it's merely because it puts you in extreme danger every time. there's the temperatures, the wildlife, the lack of oxygen and of course, there's the monsters lurking around every corner of the inhabited mountain.

as the chief alchemist for the knights of favonius, there's always a warrant for albedo's life one way or another. the fatui are eager to stop his research - or steal it, maybe both.

there's a silence except for the howling winds that circle the snowy mountain. you're struggling to breathe, to get the sharp air into your lungs as you lowered your sword slowly. not far away, your boyfriend is finishing off the final fatui soldier, blood splattering onto his sleeve before he turns to face you. is it just you or does albedo look even more beautiful right now? you furrow your brows in confusion. albedo looks like he's seen a ghost, colour flushing from his face when he rushes forward. your knees give way under you and he barely manages to catch you in his arms, kneeling as he lets you lay against him. "bedo, love?" you mumble, unsure as to what's happening. you can hear the roar of your blood in your ears, your heart is beating whilst the adrenaline still pumps through your body. albedo hushes you softly, pupils dilated when he looks at your wound. "h-how do you feel?" his voice cracks when he asks the question, a gloved hand applying pressure to your side. you wince, the adrenaline is starting to fade and you feel faint. there's a cold sweat glistening on your forehead when you look down at where albedo's hand is, seeing the blood seep through your clothing. it's albedo's turn to watch your expression drop, your world starting to spin and mix together when the adrenaline is gone and you're aware of what happened. it feels as if there's a lump in your throat but when you try to cough it up, only blood spills in a small trickle out of your mouth. "love-" there's another cough, the blood is running down your jaw as albedo's hands start to shake. he has no means of saving you out here, you're nowhere near camp and he can't leave you here while he gets help, "i want to go home..." your voice is weak, trailing off and albedo isn't sure if he should let the tears brinking his ocean coloured eyes fall as your breaths become raspy. chapped lips open and close, trying to find the words to reply to you but all he can muster is a weak "we're going home, dear" when your chest ceases to rise again. his breathing is jagged, clutching you close to him as if you’ll disappear for good when he lets go.

aether clings to you like ivy to a brick building. you give him hope in this search for his twin sister - one he's beginning to think is failing, day by day. you reassure him, that bright smile and sparkling eyes setting him on the right path. he's certain he would have gave up ages ago if it wasn't for you. but aether realises that he is constantly in danger. you love to adventure with, crossing the rolling hills of mondstadt and gawking at the grand mountain peaks of liyue that pierce through clouds.

it was only so long before he faced the repercussions for so willingly letting you travel with him, tearing his hope away in the blink of an eye.

"a-aether?" your voice is wavering, aether is confused. you've been travelling with him for so long now, what could possibly have scared you about some hilichurls? but he turns to face you, blade at the ready - ready to protect you. his eyes fall on the arrow lodged in your chest, your eyes wide in fear as you stare at him in panic. it was already too late to protect you, he'd failed himself. aether drops the sword in his hand, paying no mind to how it clutters on the gravel below you both when he's rushing forward to ease you to the ground. you're stable - awake but for how long? you're in shock, it's going to fade and you'll succumb to the blood reddening your attire. aether swears lightly under his breath, unable to look you in the eyes out of pure guilt; this was his fault, he hadn't protected you. now not only had he lost his sister, he'd lost his partner too. "it hurts to breathe," you mumble, your eyelashes are fluttering gently. the sun behind aether is starting to burn at your eyes, "aether why are you crying?" the blond isn't even aware of the salty tears that glisten in the sunlight when they roll down his cheeks, dripping off his jaw and onto your shoulder where aether has laid your head onto his lap. it's comfortable, just as it always is. on days where you needed a break from walking, aether would often let you lay like this under a nearby tree. the thought makes aether choke out a sob. you smile sadly. "you can't leave me too," your hand cups his cheek, thumb weakly stroking at the tearstained skin when he hiccups, "no, this isn't fair." there isn't civilisation for days and he can't keep the arrow lodged in your chest nor does he have the means of stopping the blood if he pulls it out. aether is at a loss, unable to do anything while he watches the damage done to you internally take you from him beneath his own hands. "hey, you'll find her." you sound so certain, just as you always do and aether watches that positive spark die from your eyes when your breaths turn to rasps and he finds himself yelling at your body - at the sky, at anybody! he yells and yells, hoping someone listens to his cries for you to wake up. wake up, please.

heizou believes that of all the cases he's cracked, you're his favourite. he's read every line written into your skin as you age, the blemishes that litter your body and tell tales untold. you were his favourite mystery but now he had you like a stained glass window, beautiful and on display. although as a detective, heizou has destroyed many more lives than he is keen to admit. his suspects have families - lives, presumably before he has them in jail or worse, life sentence.

their families are hurt, angrily in denial that their own blood could commit such vile atrocities. heizou took something precious from them, what was stopping them from doing the same to him in an act of revenge?

heizou is more than used to his routine of coming home to you, being able to drown in the comfort of your arms after a long day of work. he's disturbed by the front door being open but albeit it's the peak of summer in inazuma, the humidity is drowning you, especially if you're not native to the islands. you're not quick to greet them when he steps in however, in fact he can't even see you. the house is untouched but the silence is deafening. "i'm home," heizou calls out, brows knitting together when he doesn't hear you chime his name back excitedly, "love?" the silence is killing heizou, it's unlike you at all but then he hears it, the meek sound of you calling his name out back. it sounds like you're in the bedroom and with a relieved smile, heizou finds himself heading to find you. but verdant eyes fall on the red smeared on the walls, staining the bedsheets and pooling around you. the relief is gone and his body is tense with dread as he drops the case files he'd been holding, quick to kneel with you and hug you close when you reach for him. "what happened?" his voice is panicked, he's barely breathing when he feels your blood soak through his clothes. he's searching you for your wound, shaking, "love, answer me." your chapped lips open but nothing seems to come out, you feel cold to the touch and all you can do is stare up at heizou. you knew the moment you was attacked that this was it for you but your biggest fear wasn't death, it was heizou. it was your witty detective, keen and full of intuition that he prides himself in; it was whether you'd see him one last time before your heart put in its final beat. heizou doesn't take your inability to speak lightly, letting out a flurry of curses that makes your brows furrow in distaste. you wasn't fond of him swearing when he got stressed but as you watch a tear fall down his cheek, you know you can't argue about his tongue anymore. he has every right to be mad when your bloody hand reaches up for him, the warm palm of his hand quick to grab your hand and coat his fingers. "i love you," you mumble, raspy and heizou is quick to shake his head - conserve your energy, "don't cry please." "you're not allowed to leave me," he chokes out, his lower lip tugged between his lips as his spare hand presses on your wound to try stop the bleeding. you wince but heizou doesn't lighten the pressure in fear, "i'll find who did this." your lips curl up at his words and heizou leans to press a kiss to your forehead, which is clammy and covered in a light sheen. by the time he pulls away, he's the only one left breathing in the room. heizou's shaking hands cup your cheeks, eyes darting around the room when he doesn't quite know what to do. he's used to this - the blood, the smell, the touch of a lifeless body but not when it's you. not when it's the love of his life. he wails in anguish, the taste in his mouth bitter when he swears revenge on whoever took you from him.

kazuha took his time warming up to you when you first met. you didn't blame him, you'd heard the tale of his late friend from captain beidou when you first came onboard the alcor. but your patience with him warmed his heart quicker than expected, leaving you inseparable as you travelled with the crew. even on land, kazuha was joined to your hip. he claimed he was there to protect you and that excuse expanded tenfold when you started dating.

he should have never taken his eyes off you, simply searching for firewood shouldn't have consequences like this.

when the last treasure hoarder falls limp to the dusty ground, kazuha finds himself enveloping you in his arms, eyes frantically scanning your face for signs of pain. you're unresponsive, eyelashes shut but your breathing is shallow while your body fights the unexpected blood loss. "fuck," he whispers, much out of his comfort zone when he's trying to find exactly where your wound is. your blood is staining his skin, getting under his nails where it'll haunt and remind him of what happened for weeks, "y/n? love?" your brows knit as if you can hear him but he's unsure if you're just reacting to the pain. your body is most likely in shock and kazuha is running out of time before the shock fades and you're left in excruciating pain until your last breath. the thought makes kazuha feel sick. he was gone for at least ten minutes, how did he lose you so quickly? he shouldn't have told you to stay at camp by yourself. you'd offered to go with him but kazuha trusted you'd be safe without him, even just for a few minutes. his face turns sour at his own thoughts. how foolish had he been to think you'd have been safe without him? "i-i love you," he stutters out, voice cracking as he presses a kiss to your head, burying his nose in your hair when he tries to blanket himself in your scent - begging to the archons that he'll wake up in bed, "come on, let's go back to the alcor, beidou will get help." he's speaking to you in the softest of tones, his voice hushed as to not disturb the silence of the countryside - or attract more unwanted attention. carefully, kazuha raises himself to his feet with you in his arms. he sees tomo in you for a moment, forcing himself to swallow when there's a suffocating lump in his throat. by the time kazuha has stumbled back to the alcor, beidou rushing over with her face void of colour, your heart is no longer thudding against your ribcage. kazuha will never again hear your heartbeat when he lays his head on your chest or feel your pulse in your wrist when he grabs hold of you.

wanderer figured it was foolish to fall in love after all he'd gone through. what was love when you've been betrayed so many times before? when the archons have so harshly ripped the ones you love away from you? he likes to scowl and shun the premise of love until he met you, an adventurer from the guild assisting in vahumana darshan commissions. you would stubbornly strike conversations up with him, following him as he walked away until he finally caved and would reply.

was it foolish to fall in love or rather was it foolish to place his fragile trust back in the hands of the archons?

his ears are ringing, was mawtiyima forest always this loud? no, it's not even loud - it's silent. the silence is buzzing in his ears, driving him insane as he watches you cough blood onto the dirt. you'd been tasked with clearing out the treasure hoarder camp within the glowing forest - but wanderer isn't stupid. to let you do that alone? he'd be a mad man. but now he isn't too sure if he should have tagged along. would it have hurt him less to find out you'd passed away out on a commission through the guild? or is it hurting less to watch as you splatter that precious red that you humans rely on all over the ground? wanderer finds himself barely able to utter a word. that's rare, he usually has something to say in that stark, rude tone he never explicitly dropped. it made him cold, it stopped people approaching and getting close. why didn't it work against you? "w-why are you looking at me like that?" you croak out, pupils dilated and staring at him in concern. he's as pale as the snow on dragonspine but the tip of his nose is a pink hue as tears well up and sting at his widened eyes. he's not crying, he refuses to cry - he puts it down to not having blinked for a while. so he blinks but you're still hunched over, impaled by a polearm before him. he finally moves forward, kneeling carefully to the side of you as you let out a choked sob, your hands gripping his cold ones tight in yours. he's confused, what did he do to deserve it this time? he didn't ask for this existence in the first place. cursing under his breath, his eyes land on your sword on the floor. it's worn, getting dull and wanderer questions if you was unable to protect yourself properly. no. he didn't protect you properly and the archons saw an opportunity, another jab at his curse of an existence. his eyes dart between you and the blade, then the polearm that isn't welcome where it is. you wince, hiccuping as you wail into the silence of mawtiyima forest. your vision is falling hazy in between the blur of your tears and you're struggling to keep your eyes on your boyfriend's familiar face. "no, no, no - don't go," wanderer panics. it's the first thing he's said since he offered to join you on this commission, "don't leave me, not you too." you let out a sad laugh, coughing blood once more as your breaths get shorter with every one you take. wanderer feels sick, the tears are falling down his cheeks and he can't deny them anymore. there's a last breath, raspy and suffocating before your body falls forward into his arms, limp like a doll. wanderer screams out into the night, hands clutching at the guild's uniform you would proudly wear. how many more times was he going to witness someone getting hastily robbed from him?

xiao keeps his distance, even as your beloved boyfriend that you struggle to be away from for extended periods. you were stubborn, believing he didn't have to succumb to his karma as an adeptus. no matter how much he would shuffle away, he could guarantee you would shuffle after him until he no longer moved away. you still gave him his space - you knew you could find him at wangshu inn.

or if you really needed him, in the midst of the night for a multitude of reasons, you could say his name.

there's a lump in xiao's throat, what the fuck happened? one moment he knows he hears your hurried screams of his name, there's a shrill panic in your tone and he's alert in seconds. he thought you was perhaps in danger but when golden eyes see how you're leaning back on a tree, blood soaking your shirt - and your blade, he realises the danger is gone. and in all of your stubbornness, you had defeated the danger alone but put your life on the line as a result. you smile at him weakly, his footsteps silent as he rushes over to your side. "i got it, don't worry, love." you sigh, tilting your head back on the bark. xiao scowls, you're losing consciousness from the blood now, it's starting to pool beneath you and run down the cracks of the bark behind you. this isn't a minor injury and yet you hadn't called for him sooner? "we need to get you out of here - morax- zhongli- he can help," he barely breathes in between his words, swallowing at the tight feeling in his throat when your eyes are closing, "keep your eyes open, please." his beg falls short of no one's ears other than his own and the stars above. xiao stops breathing himself, holding his breath when he hurries to press the pads of his fingers to your neck, your wrist, anywhere he can try find a pulse. but there's nothing, your body is still warm and xiao pulls you flush to his chest when tears begin to fall down his cheeks. "keep.. them open. please." he repeats in a whisper, nudging his nose against your head as he buries his face into your hair. he's begging in hushed whispers, words disappearing into the strands of your hair in silent prayers.

kaeya was the one who chased you first, lisa's darling library assistant. he'd never spent so much time in the library in his life, other than crepus' own library at the winery but he wasn't much fond of that collection. he isn't much fond of the knights' collection either, reading the same book every day. jean occasionally entrusts you to handle matters in the valleys of mondstadt, to which kaeya is quick to always interfere and say that he'll go with you.

history will always repeat itself until the lesson is learned and an innocent soul has to face the reality.

thunder booms over head, followed by a distant crack of lightning that illuminates the dark sky above mondstadt. kaeya is stood, motionless as he looks at you. his eyes are distant, there's a vacant look about him when the blood is running down your bare legs and mixing with the rain. you're both soaked but your clothes are staining red where a mitachurl's axe caught you in the side. the blood is coming quick and heavy, there isn't time for kaeya to get you back to the city. this scene is familiar when you fall to your knees in the mud, hands holding at your side for pressure. suddenly, your hair is a bright shade of red. is kaeya about to stand and do nothing for a second time, when history is repeating himself right in front of his very own eyes? he swallows but it's difficult, rushing to your side. you're losing consciousness but your eyes are scanning his face. the sun kissed skin, the worn leather eyepatch and his messy blue ponytail that now looks like waterfalls cascading around his face. you smile at the thought. you should visit the waterfalls of mondstadt when the weather picks up so you can gawk at them. "baby?" it comes out of his mouth, barely audible above the rain, "say something - are you okay?" you almost throw back a playful retort but your vision is darkening around the edges and you're grasping to what sight you have left to look at kaeya. your vision blurs when tears threaten to spill - are you scared? you open your mouth to speak but nothing comes out. kaeya's gloved hands cup your face, pressing his forehead against yours. "stay with me, love, i can't lose you," kaeya's frantic and his words are jumbling when he panics, "we'll stop the bleeding and take you to sister barbara-" kaeya pauses when he notices you haven't blinked despite the rain falling onto your face when he pulls his forehead away. there's a distant look in your eyes, the light has faded and he can't feel the hot, struggled breaths you was taking against his skin anymore. a flurry of angered swears leave his lips and he's careful when he carries you bridal style to the dawn winery. it's the first place he thinks to take you, back to his brother who can't bear to see kaeya stood in the rain again with blood drenching his clothes from the long walk to the winery's front door.

name: leila

age: 22

pronouns: she/her

species: human

vision/weapon: geo catalyst

job: dancer at the zubayr theatre

love interest: n/a

home country: sumeru

known relatives: nilou (sister)

known nicknames: nilou often calls her 'lele' and leila in return calls her 'nini'

claimed emoji: 💎

lore. leila is the twin sister of nilou, a renown dancer of the zubayr theatre. leila is also a dancer alongside her sister and they often do performances together. leila is a close friend of kaveh however she doesn't have many other friends.

leila did attend at the akademiya and graduated from the rtawahist darshan, specialising in astronomy and the stars. this is reflected in her attack styles. she however went straight back to dancing with her sister.

whilst nilou is a talkative young lady, leila is much quieter and will keep her head in astronomy books. both sisters are prone to helping out everyone they can however leila is less likely to be the one that the people around zubayr theatre will go to.

further lore is wip.

notable songs from her playlist. run - onerepublic. scars to your beautiful (acoustic version) - alex g. habibi (albanian remix) - ricky rich.

voicelines.

hello: "my apologies, i didn't hear you approach - i've been reading this book on stellar structure all morning. i'm leila from the zubayr theatre. for today's performance schedule, please speak to my sister."

chat: darkness: "people live in fear for most of their sorrowful lives. how will the stardust in us shine, if we keep fearing the darkness our whole lives?"

chat: nap: "nilou isn't around, is she? can you watch my back while i take a quick nap?"

chat: performances: "sometimes my sister and i perform late at night. it's more time friendly for our spectators but i wish i could spend those moments under the stars."

when it rains: "it's raining... we best lay low until the rain stops. it's impossible to use the stars to navigate in this weather."

when thunder strikes: "is this necessary? can't we hide indoors until the storm passes? what? me... scared? of course not! let's keep moving."

when it snows: "snowflakes are like the stars, they are all unique and not one is the same. in a way, settled snow is like a frozen cosmos within our reach."

when the sun is out: "this weather is perfect for performing but... it gets me all sweaty so quick. if only i could take a nap instead."

when the wind is blowing: "make sure you don't lose your balance! here, hold onto me."

good morning: "good morning. i didn't expect to see you here this early. hm? oh, i like to watch the sunrise before my daily perfomances. you should join me next time."

good afternoon: "it's lunch already? collei stopped by this morning with her homemade pita pockets, have you tried one before?"

good evening: "nilou and i are about to perform, are you staying to watch?"

good night: "my sister says it's good to let your frustrations out before you sleep so remember that the stars will always listen to your troubles should you speak to them."

about leila: sweet tooth: "i can never say no to sugary foods. it's awful, really. i need to eat healthy for my work."

about leila: astral performance: "the akademiya long shunned the performing arts before lesser lord kusanali's release so i made a habit of going out to the avidya forest to dance. there's no one to judge you, just you and the stars. to perform to them is the highest honour."

about us: travelling: "you've travelled all over teyvat, right? im so jealous... can i perhaps join next time? i'll have to request a month's leave from the theatre but i'd like to witness the stars from the highest peaks of liyue - you know someone who knows good locations? even better!"

about us: constellations: "i'd like to teach you some of the constellations. hm? well the stars are a great source of navigation on your travels, you can always count on them to get your bearings. i'd hate for you to get lost before you get to see one of my shows."

about the vision: "i got my vision during my first performance under the stars. i vowed that night that i would dedicate my life to performing with my sister. i'd been so lost on the path of my life before then. i like to think the geo archon listened to me."

something to share: "it's important that we endure the tough moments in life that come from hard work. if we don't, we fail to see our potential shine in our accomplishments."

interesting things: aranara: "have i ever heard of the aranara? oh... so you can see them too? theyre quite fond of my performances. hm? how can i see them? that's a secret."

interesting things: mourning flowers: "mourning flowers hold such a dark beauty. they bloom where battles have been fought and blood has been shed. it just shows even the most beautiful things hide secrets."

about nilou: favours: "nilou and i are always the first ones the zubayr theatre come to when they have a problem. we don't mind but my sister has a tendency to never know how to say no... i wish she could stand up for herself instead of overworking herself."

about nilou: flower crowns: "when we were children, nilou and i would always venture out of the city to sit on the grass and make flower crowns. she was always much better at it than i was."

about kaveh: "kaveh is a little dramatic sometimes. when we were students, i'd often walk quicker to act like i wasn't with him when he would rant loudly. you know, it's embarrassing to study in the house of daena when he's angry at his roommate."

lyney put a lot of trust and faith into you the moment you'd uttered precious sweet nothings to him and promises you swore you'd keep. the magician was hopeful that for once potentially things were going right, he was landing on his feet if it wasn't for the heavy, nagging feeling working for the fatui left on his shoulders. it suffocated him, no matter how many loving smiles you'd send his way. he could drown every moment in your familiar scent - his home, his four walls but it would never rid him of his actions.

even when he so blindly puts that trust and faith into the auspicious blond traveler travelling teyvat and bringing nothing but destruction in their wake.

a shaking gloved hand reaches out for your silhouette against the backdrop of crackling fires, embers rising into the deep night sky like fireflies. dilated lilac eyes search your facial expressions but they keep trailing that to that blade piercing through your abdomen, soaked in the precious liquid you need so desperately. he doesn't understand - he didn't do anything wrong. he'd followed every rule in the book, he'd been a good man, he swears! yet that look of fear on your face and the hatred in the traveler's eyes... he's lost. the traveler yanks their arm back, withdrawing their sword without another word. no explanation, nothing that could ease lyney's mind as he rushes forward to catch you in his arms, falling to the floor with you when your vision darkens. the loss of the blade in your wound results in a heavier blood loss, nothing is there to stagger the waterfall that leaks through your attire and lyney is desperately pressing his hands to your wound but to no avail. "y/n?" he murmurs, panicked and breathless as he hyperventilates and his eyes burn from tears. your eyelashes are fluttering, lips parted as shallow breaths escape you but no words come out. you do not respond, prompting lyney to continue begging you, "please, hold on, i'm sorry - i'm so sorry y/n-" he doesn't care to know where the traveler disappeared to. the fires roar louder in his ears, competing with the rush of blood that's sending him crazy. he can hear his own pulse thudding, heavy as he watches the light drain from your eyes. words are flurrying from his lips, his voice cracking as he wonders whether begging to the hydro archon will get him anywhere. but it doesn't when your tense shoulders fall limp, your head rolling to the side as one last breath intakes into your lungs. he promised you his work would never affect you. he promised the traveler his eternal loyalty and the concept that he was a good guy. he never lied but when he's sobbing into the crook of your neck, hugging your body close, he can't help but think his entire being was built on a web of tightly knit lies created by the fatui.

zhongli vowed that falling in love with a mortal would be unwise, he knew from the very start when amber eyes as warm as cor lapis landed on you from across the room. it was like there was a pull, a tug in your direction and the benevolent man had no choice but to approach - just like that you had the archon wrapped around your finger, not that you knew. he couldn't tell you, no, that would be even more unwise and he'd already made one grave mistake swallowing pretty moans when his lips pressed to yours in the dead of the night.

but if it had protected you from those who wanted his blood, who wanted him to hurt and his heart to ache, would it have been wise? for then, he would not have to relive this stabbing grief once more.

sal terrae remained one of his favourite spots of his country, with dazzling waterfalls and memoirs of the god of salt - a memory long drifting away - he could spend days here, camped out under a tree and listening to the calm that nature brings. but this is not the sal terrae he remembers, no. not the blood splattered on the dirt ground beneath you or the way there's a small, delicate red river trickling out of the corner of the mouth he'd kissed so many times before. he should have known not to trust the fatui the way he had whilst they were in liyue - specifically that damn ginger harbinger and the bank. he scowls, brows knitting together as he hesitantly takes a step forward. he considers whether you'll yell at him, scream and cry out in anger for his mistakes. after all, perhaps you would have not been pierced in the chest so brutally had he protected you and even more so, if he hadn't lied about his identity. you don't. you gasp out for breath, choking on blood as you cough it up. it dribbles down your chin, an horrific scene. he'd seen many in his thousands of years walking teyvat, he'd seen so much mortal blood it felt like water by this point but seeing your specific blood clawed at his heart. he wishes he could forget the vision, forget the way there are tears glittering as they spill down your cheeks. zhongli feels an immense amount of guilt and he knows the heavy weight of it will drag on his ankles for the rest of his existence. "z-zhongli?" you croak out, your vision blurring as you make out the tall man from where he stands. you reach out, your hand covered in your own blood from where you were just holding your chest. blood seeps through your clothing, the reality is starting to hit zhongli more. he approaches quicker, hands cupping your cheeks as his thumbs wipe your tears. he isn't sure how to comfort you - perhaps he can't. the adrenaline is fading, you're feeling the burn of your wound every time you gasp for breath. your lungs hurt, your head feels light. zhongli wraps an arm around your waist quickly when your knees give in, lowering you to the ground softly. he kneels at your side, swallowing the lump in his throat. "i'm... i'm sorry, my love..." he whispers, unsure if that's the apology he wants to drop right now. you're fading in and out of consciousness, your bloodied hand clutching at his coat as if he's the one who is going to fade away at any moment now. zhongli grimaces, the unfamiliar sting of tears in his eyes as he watches the way your chest doesn't rise again.

childe cherishes you to the point of possession. you're the best thing that's ever happened to him, he'll remind you at least once daily. if it doesn't come out of his mouth verbally, he'll show it in the form of actions, gifts, anything he can consider a love language - you have to convince him that killing people who look in your direction is not a love language.

his wealth brings unnecessary trouble as well as his association with the northland bank. there are many souls in liyue who would crave for an ounce of it, at any means possible.

he doesn't remember ever giving you a reason to leave the front door wide open - not that you need a reason but it's the peak of winter in liyue and you always complain at the thought of heat escaping through cracks in the window. upon closer inspection, the harbinger sees that the door handle is busted, hanging on by a limb. there's a sudden pang of anxiety in his chest, his gloved hand pushing the door wide open. childe is met with the sights of shattered glass and broken pottery, porcelain decorating wooden floorboards. there's a lump in his throat now, making it hard to breathe as he calls your name out and begins to frantically search your shared house. he can hear your whimpers, your soft begs to not hurt you as he approaches the kitchen. there's a bloodied kitchen knife on the floor beside you but his eyes land sooner on the puddle of deep red liquid staining your clothes and the floorboards beneath you. the blood is seeping from your neck, your voice strangled and gurgled when you cough up more blood onto the floor. your fearful eyes meet his blue ones and you choke out a sob. "c-childe- ajax.." you cry out any name you can but it's barely a whisper when you finally realise there's no one else here to attack you. his eyes are cold, his blood running even colder when he grips at the bow in his hands, his knuckles turning white and he swears he'll kill whoever did this to you. he swears that they'll feel his wraith, he'll spill their blood and he'll taint teyvat's ocean with it until they remember his archons forsaken name. when he doesn't respond to his name, you sob once more and he snaps to reality, dropping his bow as he kneels at your side. he peels his gloves off, his hands still warm as he clears your neck to look at your wound clearer. you wince, whimpering and whining at any form of contact as you grow fainter, hands weakly grabbing at childe's clothing. "i'll kill them, i swear baby - i'll make them pay, they'll regret ever coming near you-" childe's tone is sharp, stabbing the solemn air as you struggle to breathe, gasping for your final breaths. you can't even form the words to argue back against him, to tell him that killing people doesn't solve everything. that silence kills him. it sends him insane as he watches you helplessly die in front of him. he hyperventilates, brows knit together in frustration. you were supposed to argue back, tell him he's wrong. why didn't you? he shakes your shoulders gently but you're limp, unresponsive.

ayato is not a man of many words nor actions, you should have seen it coming the moment you married a socialiate, let alone the head of his clan. the man has an image to maintain and that is not limited to the likes of his wife either. you do not mind, heavily avoiding the limelight of inazuma's tabloids. ayato can do many things to protect you from scenarios like that as the commissioner of the yashiro commission.

he could not have foreseen enemy clans using you, his devoted wife against him and he could have not particularly predicated this scenario.

"who did this?" his words cut the silence, it's tense and heavy. all that resonates in the courtyard is your desperate gasps for breath, your brows knitted together as you try to recall anything about your attackers but nothing comes of it. there's no one but the two of you around, ayato had long sent everyone on a wild goose chase to find who did this to you. red soaks the white of his sleeves, hanging in the pool of blood you lay in. ayato lets out a shaking breath, there's a tight feeling in his chest. did he feel guilt? potentially. he trusted himself enough to protect you, he swore he'd never fail you. it seems he'd failed himself in that regard too. "i-i... love you..." you whisper shakily, weak and barely audible above the winds of inazuma that blow through the kamisato estate's courtyard. ayato grimaces, a cool hand cupping the soft skin of your cheek. shadowed eyes belonging to that of your beloved husband drink in the sights of your blemishes, your insecurities - the things that he has forever found beautiful. "yes... yes, i know, dear," he reassures softly, his voice cracking ever-so-slightly as he gives you a broken smile, "i love you too." you're beginning to fade out of consciousness, the blood loss taking you in its toll when your chest becomes heavy and you're struggling to find the strength to breathe. ayato coaxes you to keep going, to keep trying for him. just hold on a little longer, he promises, clasping your bloodied hands in his. he does not care for the liquid staining his clothing, it is yours and anything of yours is precious to him. but his reassurances and promises begin to fall on deaf ears when he is the only person left breathing in the courtyard of his home, his sacred sanctuary he swore would be safe for you. it's always been safe for him but as he cries out into the night, exposing his vulnerability in the moment of being alone, he wonders why it could have not been for you, truly.

alhaitham claims he has no reasoning for falling in love. he's a busy man, especially when he's thrust into the role of the acting grand safe following his expeditions helping the traveler free lesser lord kusanali. but between stacks of paperwork and arguing with one particular blond in the house of daena, turquoise eyes find you, another ordinary scholar of the akademiya. he swears he had no intentions of knowing you further than polite words shared as you pass each other in the halls.

is that why months later when he doesn't hear from you while you're out researching in the desert, he decides to go searching for you in a worry he'd never voice aloud?

thick, red liquid is binding the sand together under you, dripping from your open wound across your side. your attire is ripped, the wind occasionally blowing sharp granules of sand onto your exposed wound and causing you to yell out in pain. alhaitham is pale, his eyes wide. he should have trusted his gut sooner when you stopped writing back to him, keeping him updated on your adventures out in the desert. better yet, perhaps he should have just came with you in the first place. there are no polite words shared in the heavy atmosphere as you pant for breath. alhaitham is no better, struggling to breathe at the sight of one of the only people he'd allowed this close bleeding out in front of him. his eyes don't leave your wound, you're way too far from the bimarstan for him to get you help. you fall to your knees and alhaitham follows, his hands fumbling as he struggles to remove his cloak and wrap it around your shoulders. you're in the middle of the desert and yet you're drenched in a cold sweat, hugging his cloak around you tighter. you breathe in his familiar scent, it's warm and hugs you back. it's comforting when the wound burns harsher on your side. alhaitham should have known better than to let you venture into the desert alone, the guilt biting at him aggressively when he pulls you into his chest, burying his face into your hair. he drinks you in, feeling your shallow breaths against the shell of his ear. he listens helplessly as the seconds between your breaths become longer and they become quieter to the point he no longer feels them anymore. he refuses to pull away from you, nuzzling his nose into the crook of your neck as your skin turns cold beneath him. he's in denial, his breaths struggled when your arms fall from around him, limp. just a little longer... he'll wake up and you'll be in front of his desk once more, that wide smile almost rubbing off on him.

cyno warned you the moment you'd figured you had a chance at getting so close to the general mahamatra - he worked a dangerous job and not only that, he himself was a dangerous man. yet you were stubborn, initiating a conversation with him any chance you got. had he been on an expedition recently? did he have any criminal arrest stories to tell your curious mind? cyno could almost chuckle at how much his work did not seem to bother a citizen like you.

he should have held his breath as he ran from the akademiya to treasures street, having been told of a murder happening in broad daylight of sumeru's summer.

"what happened?" "oh archons.." "is she dead?" cyno scowls at all the voices, the questions, the intrusion of a victim's privacy as he pushes through the crowds of civilians. his brows are knit together, trying to comprehend the idea that someone would be brave enough to commit such a vile act in broad daylight like this. a matra tries to stop him, reassuring him the case is covered but cyno shakes his head, pushing further. ruby eyes fall to the body that lies on the ground, half covered by a white sheet. the pavement below is pooled in blood that seeps through the cracks and stains the cream colour of the tiles, soaking into the white sheet being used cover for privacy. he takes note of that familiar anklet around the victim's ankle and it feels as though his whole world just came crashing. "general mahamatra, sir?" the matra from before asks wearily, appearing beside him as cyno is yet to say anything. there's a lump in cyno's throat that won't budge even though he keeps swallowing, he tries to put it down to dehydration in the summer heat but he's never struggled before, "eremites, sir." cyno wanders to you slowly, catching sight of the way your familiar hair spills out from underneath the sheet. he was hoping that the anklet was just coincidence, it was a gift from him when he'd ventured to aaru village one day but that was most definitely your hair - it was definitely your hand that peeked from the cloth. he shakily reaches for it, attempting to keep his calm in front of so many eyes. the voices whisper, gasps and sorrowful when he kneels next to your body in a rigid silence, his knuckles white from his grip on your cold hand. he chews his tongue, hoping you'll wake up and scold him for having such a strong grip and not being more gentle but you don't budge. the sheet doesn't lift, the blood doesn't disappear as if it was a bad dream. he knew you'd be in danger at his side. he has enemies, many of them. ones he has never cared for before, never bothered to utter an ounce of consideration in their direction but the man was very much aware of their existence. you was a weak spot for him, a vulnerable moment with soft, shared kisses and gentle, lingering touches. he should have known. the guilt eats at him, it follows him to bed that night where the empty pillow beside him witnesses his pillow soak in salty tears.

tighnari was head over heels from the beginning. you'd finished your studies in the amurta darshan and had promptly beelined for the avidya forest to gandharva ville, much happier out in the nature than you had been cooped up in the house of daena. if anything, he also saw you as the most dedicated forest ranger in gandharva ville. he loved that particularly.

he related to your need to protect the avidya forest with your life, you was so passionate about it but he didn't expect you to physically use your life to protect it.

there was definitely something protruding from your chest, no amount of blinking was going to make it vanish now. tighnari's tail droops as he rushes to your side, sending one last arrow in the direction of a treasure hoarder, piercing him in the neck. you're alone now, left in a vulnerable state as tighnari eases you against the green grass you've valued more than your own life. "nari?" you ask softly, confused as to why those precious, fluffy ears were flattened against black hair the way that they were. tighnari assumed the adrenaline of battle hadn't fully worn off and you had caught a glimpse of the arrow buried into your heart, which was beginning to slow its pulse as it keeps your body going. blood oozes out of your ranger uniform, something you wore with the utmost pride. "i'm here, love," he chokes out, a sharp sensation stinging at emerald eyes as he pulls his gaze away from the arrow lodged in your chest to those eyes he treasured so much, "you know i love you - right? you'll always... be mine?" your brows knit together, eyes glancing over his face. why does he look so sad? the concept of him reminding you foxes mate for life was nothing new but he always seemed so joyous when he'd remind you - this was different. there's a stiff feeling in your chest and your eyes fall down to it, where tighnari's gloved hand is gently laid around an arrow pierced into your skin. he's not attempting to pull at it nor apply pressure, he is simply keeping his hand close to the thing that meant the most to him - your heart, specifically while it's still beating. "i love you too, nari." you finally realise what's happening, the corners of your vision going dark and hazy as you admire the fox male once more. he'll be the last thing you see, laying on the grass of your home, the avidya forest. he'll be your last comfort, the last thing you smell and touch. you know it was reckless to have put your life on the line in such a way but you would have done anything to protect the forest. tighnari lets out a wail into the calm of the avidya forest, praying that someone hears his cries of sorrow. your skin is cold to touch hours later but tighnari has not left your side, his tail curled around your body with only an emptiness left in his chest in your absence.

albedo often has you admiring the sights of dragonspine with him whenever you take the time to visit him at the summit. on bright, sunny days, depending on the direction you face, you can gaze upon mondstadt, liyue or the ocean. it amazed you, to be surrounded by so many fantastic sights. and not only around dragonspine but the mountain itself hosts the most beautiful scenery. scenes of white snow, pure and blanketing the ground around your boyfriend's camp - it's innocent, wholesome. the snowflakes dance together with each other.

albedo loves to watch you admiring what is so common for him, snow drifting down almost every other day.

"love, it's snow," albedo chimes from where he's jotting down notes from a research experiment he'd conducted earlier in the day. you're sat by the campfire, eyes glazed over as you watch the snowflakes, "the city really doesn't get snow this much?" "the city doesn't get snow, bedo," you comment back, quick on your words and clouds of hot breath coming from your lips as you spoke, "the sentence should have ended there." your wit makes him chuckle under his breath, his gaze falling back to the cursive scribble in his notebook. every time you visited him it was almost like he got to witness your child-like state over and over again, never-ending and yet he cherished every moment of it. he cherished the way that a smile would slowly break out on your face no matter what you was doing when that very first snowflake lands on your sleeve. unfortunately, albedo often keeps you in the safety that is his camp, situated in an alcove not far from the summit of the mountain. it's sheltered and it encompasses the warmth from his fire perfectly. he's never had any qualms with it but he can see how your fingers itch, longing to touch at the cold that settles on the ground only to melt moments later when the sun glimpses from behind grey clouds. he basks in your innocent behaviour and how it glows in the campfire's orange light. with a gentle noise, the blond finds himself raising from his chair, joints stiff - it's only now he realises how long he'd been seated, writing about his experiments while you sat and watched the snow. "you want to go out in it, right?" he asks quietly as he wanders to your side, a cotton scarf in his hands as he wraps it around your neck, "we can't have you getting sick, i can only cook so much goulash." his voice is light, teasing but you're focused on his insinuations that you can in fact go out into the snow that you've been meticulously watching for hours now. he watches the realisation wash over your face, your eyes glittering as you stare at him - it's almost as if you're asking for permission. albedo chuckles, a cloud of breath falling from his lips as he does so before he nods. you've left the warmth of the camp before albedo can even process you getting up from your spot, spinning in circles as you let the snowflakes cover the fabric of your clothing. a faint smile appears on albedo's face, watching your excitement as you giggle in the snow made him fall in love with you even more than before.

aether absolutely loves travelling with you at his side. you're the light of his life, always finding the positives in the stickiest of situations where even he debates whether it's a dead end. this applies to his search for his twin sister, you're convinced he'll find her and you are quick to reassure him that you'll be there every step of the way! but adventuring is tiring and your feet are sore. aether treats you like a princess despite getting pushed around by civilians and archons alike wherever he goes.

it comes as no surprise when he is the one who proposes a campfire for the night, cooped up together on a woven blanket you insisted on bringing with you.

"aether," you mumble your boyfriend's name softly as you curl into his side, attempting to count the stars - it's futile but you tried anyways, "what do you think most of these people would do if they knew their archons were among them?" "mondstadt would think it's a harsh prank," he comments from where he's cooking food. there's a strong aroma of mint, chicken, radish with perhaps hints of calla lilies and fish, "imagine diluc's face if he knew it was venti." a laugh comes from you, looking over at the blond with a hint of admiration. he's deep in concentration with his cooking despite them being dishes he's made hundreds of times before - he's sure got the proficiency down at least. he glances at you and his sharp eyes soften. he loves your laugh, he finds it more musical than anything venti could play on the holy lyre or even anything that yun jin performs. to aether, your laugh is explosive and beautiful like yoimiya's fireworks and it's more illustrious than any aranara tale that sumeru could conjure up. you were his partner, a beacon of light and hope as you travel wherever he goes. sometimes he'll joke that you're his shadow, watching his back just as much as he has yours. a smile breaks out on his face suddenly. "what's that look for?" you pout, puffing your cheeks as aether shakes his head, turning back to the campfire. his calloused hands work meticulously on chicken and mushroom skewers and radish soups like their recipes are engraved into his memory. "am i not allowed to look at my girlfriend?" his question flushes your cheeks with warmth that crawls up your neck and makes butterflies crazy in your stomach. clearing your throat, you look away with a dramatic huff, no longer attempting to push aether for his prior facial expressions. aether makes a noise of amusement, holding out a skewer to you, "it's hot, don't burn your tongue." his words echo in your head, ones that would seem patronising to anyone else but to you, they meant the world. you knew that aether would fret over the smallest injuries - just like he did when you managed to get a papercut from a book you borrowed from xingqiu. he merely cared more than you could ever ask for in exchange for the positive aura you carry with you that keeps him sane.

heizou can disappear from days, perhaps even weeks at a time. he remains a hazard to anyone he comes across who aren't aware of his apparent disappearances when he gets a lead on a particularly pressing case. when he is around however, even if his head is buried in case files, he's by your side. he craves whatever touch he can get from you, always somehow finding a way to be touching you. it only gets worse after his peculiar disappearances.

it's no wonder that the next day after he suddenly turns up at your shared house again, a wide grin on his face that he's keeping his hand lingering on your skin.

"could it be premeditated? surely not," the detective mumbles, his face hidden in documents that you're sure his grip is crumpling, "but the change of clothes suggests otherwise - unless it's a case of panic..." "do you speak out loud at the station too?" you muse, one of your hands holding a novel from mondstadt whilst your other hand is playing with heizou's fingers, his hand on your thigh. heizou makes a soft noise, chuckling as he raises his head from the papers finally. "on the odd chance that i'm there? sometimes." he admits, grinning mischievously and you roll your eyes with a light scoff. his attitude to his work attendance was unbelievable sometimes, even more so than his ability to crack cases like they're precious geodes with goods inside of them. you click your tongue playfully, shaking your head as heizou raises the hand you're using to play with his idly, pressing his lips to your knuckles with a chuckle. you try to send him a pointed look, hoping to insinuate that his attitude wasn't acceptable but verdant eyes are looking at you with a teasing sparkle and you sigh, accepting that he was enjoying winding you up over the situation. "how old is that case anyways?" you ask curiously, tilting your head as you glance at your boyfriend. heizou lowers the documents, a drastic sigh escaping his lips. "only a few days but it happened within the tenryou commission," heizou explains, rubbing his temple with his spare hand, "madam kujou sara has the whole station working on it." you gently squeeze the hand heizou is holding, giving him a reassuring smile when he turns his gaze back to you. you knew the case would start eating him alive if he let it, to the point where he'd be mumbling theories even in his sleep. "don't overwork yourself, please." you sigh. it's soft and light, your hot breath fanning over heizou's skin when he moves his hand from yours to your cheek. where would he be without the rational mind of his own girlfriend to keep him in check?

kazuha loves being at sea with the crew of the alcor. captain beidou has been at his side numerous times and helped in his times of need but there is one more thing that kazuha loves more than the salty air of the ocean and that is you. he's known to skip the occasional adventure at sea to stay by your side a little longer, especially around both your birthday and his.

it turns out that when he does return from sea, all he ever wants is a homemade meal and the loving embrace of his partner.

"kazu-" you blink as you stare at the mound in the bedsheets, curled up nice and warm like a kitten - he hums, "was you sleeping?" the silky silver hair of your boyfriend peeks from the top of the sheets, his eyelashes half open as he lets out a small yawn, looking at where you stand at the bedroom door. he sends you a small smile, nodding. "just a nap, my love - what's wrong?" he rests his head back down on the pillows, arms moving to lay above the sheets so that you may see him better. the action makes you smile, leaning on the door frame as you admire him in such a relaxed moment, his voice mildly deep as he wakes up. "i was coming to ask if you wanted dinner," you admit sheepishly, eyes trailing over how his messy hair frames his face when he has it down, specific strands of red hanging above his eyes and catching in his long eyelashes, "are you hungry?" "maybe - can i ask for a hug before you go?" who are you to deny such a request from your boyfriend? you catch the way kazuha grins when you approach the bed, his arms tightly wrapping around your waist and pulling you down to him. you yelp, caught unaware as you fall on top of his body. there's however a few moments of silence as you sink into a calm state of mind, pressing the skin of your cheek to his bare chest when kazuha nuzzles his nose into your hair, exhaling softly. there's a solace that you only get when you're in his company and he can say likewise to you too, when he breathes in your scent and drinks it in like a wine. "i missed you," he comments quietly against your hair, his breath tickling the shell of your ear. a smile cracks onto your face, your eyelashes fluttering shut at his words. you had missed him too undoubtedly when he's been away for so long.

wanderer has had his hands full ever since lesser lord kusanali thrust him into studying at the akademiya - against his will, nonetheless and if someone cared enough to listen to his complaints, they'd hear his whines about the 'awful' work load they give students. it would take a few hours of listening to his sharp wit and grumbles to understand that he despises his academic studies this much because it limits his time with you - the girlfriend he says he "can't get rid of" because you "won't leave his side."

he has lesser lord kusanali promise that she won't rat him out whenever he turns up to the sanctuary of surasthana asking what girls like for gifts, giggles coming from the small archon.

"what the hell does this mean?" he mutters to himself, pads of his fingers pressed to his temple as his eyes scan over the text again. it's not going in, it simply just isn't. he's reread the paragraph ten times now and even though it's definitely in a language he understands and even more so a topic that he's already studied, it's not sticking the way academic materials are supposed to. he groans, eyelashes fluttering shut in frustration. he swears he's a changed man but the patience he has wears thin when it comes to studying. the house of daena is a considerably quiet place for a public library. there's the occasional bustle of students, their arms full of leatherbound tomes as they gossip amongst themselves - whether it is research related or not escapes the man from where he sits. he knows why he's so distraught and unable to focus but celestia forbid if he ever vocally admits it - it's been a few days since he could even see your face. he'd got himself tangled up in preparing for this exam to the point where he'd barely left the house of daena. that would be another thing he is not keen to admit aloud, his determination to receive praise from lesser lord kusanali regarding his efforts. "i knew i'd find you here," that voice... it's so familiar but why? his eyes open, his gaze sharp at whoever dared to disturb him when he was clearly so perturbed by his studies but they fall onto your form, a bag in your hands that smells like fresh pastries, "i passed kaveh on the way here and he voiced that you hadn't eaten lunch, love - so i stopped at puspa cafe." he clicks his tongue, a soft scoff coming his lips as you approach closer to the desk he was seated at, numerous books scattered wide open on differing pages. for someone who uttered nothing but complaints of his position in the vahumana darshan, he took his studies awfully serious. more so, you didn't miss the way his eyes rolled at the mention of the blond kshahrewar alumni who was always too expressive for his own good. "you didn't have to." he mumbles, a little reluctant to thank you but you knew what he meant when a smile crosses your face, placing the brown paper bag onto the desk beside his books. wanderer glances down your body before his arm wraps around your waist, tugging you onto his lap. "h-hey!" you squeak, eyes wide in surprise. he quirks a brow, amused before he rests his chin on your shoulder, returning back to the studying he'd previously struggled with. coincidentally, suddenly the words made sense and weren't so hazy in his mind. "just stay still." he sighs, a hand placed on the small of your back while the other one flips the yellowed pages in front of him. you have no choice but to slump your shoulders, hands idly playing in his hair - a rare opportunity considering he is usually wearing his hat - as your boyfriend continues to study.

xiao promised that auspicious blonde traveler that he'd be at their beck and call if only they said his name. you had no qualms with this, it was a scenario he also had applied to your relationship. at first he hadn't, being too scared of genuinely giving you love and affection to begin with but when he'd warmed, xiao promised to protect you with his life. you do however scold him when he returns back to his room at wangshu inn, some minor scrapes and injuries dotting his pale skin.

he would flinch at the slightest of your touches but there was always some sort of warm feeling resonating deep in his chest when his eyes glaze over how concerned you are in his stead.

there's a sharp wince that leaves his mouth through gritted teeth when you wipe the cut on his cheek. a frown adorns your face and xiao feels a stab of pity that you were once again nursing his wounds like a disappointed mother. he was starting to seriously debate if there was anything he wouldn't feel extreme guilt over when it came to you, you truly were too good for him in his eyes. "what are you thinking about?" you ask quietly, watching his brows knit together in a slight confusion, "your eyes always look so pitiful when i do this, love." xiao makes a soft noise in return, golden eyes flickering away to avoid eye contact. he'll look anywhere but you, not keen on how well you read him like a book even during his worst moments. even when it works against him, he treasures that you know him well. he's never been explicitly good at communicating - he might as well start writing his feelings on parchment - and your coincidental skill of just being able to read him fit that perfectly. "you care so much despite-" you click your tongue, a little irritated as your eyes turn sharp on your boyfriend. xiao sighs, tilting his head away when he feels you wipe the damp cloth across his cheek again. "someone has to care for you when you're off gallivanting being the hero in everyone else's story." your words tumble out without second thought. he's always at the ready when it comes to that blonde traveler's life or even yours and yet, nobody is at the ready for his own life. he knew that you was always going to be the one that cared and protected him when he didn't do it for himself. you were his home to come back to, the warmth of a fireplace and the golden glow of an oil lamp in the corner. you were the one who attended to his every scratch and cut, the one who placed kisses on his bruises and claimed your kiss was 'magic.' a small crack of a smile appears on xiao's face, his head nodding as he leans to press a delicate kiss to your lips.

kaeya may have his bad habits of occasionally slacking his work sometimes on the premise that he gets to spend time with you however when he does bury his head into the paperwork and commissions - only after you nag him - it becomes a challenge to get time together. if you even remotely complain, kaeya will cheekily shove back in your face that it was you who nagged him to get his work done.

he makes up for the time he loses with you while he's away at work, whether it be candlelit dinners over a bottle of red wine or picnics in the mondstadt summer sun, he's sure to cherish every moment he gets.

"that one looks like a bird." you comment, index finger pointing at a cloud as it floats past, light and fluffy in appearance against the blue backdrop of the sky. kaeya grins, shaking his head. "how in teyvat did you get a bird from that?" he asks curiously, glancing over at you with an eye so blue it challenges the tides of teyvat's oceans. you pout at the thought that kaeya hadn't seen the same outline of the cloud that you had, puffing your cheeks. "well... there's a wing and if you look over there that's a beak..." you're explaining it so vividly, hands waving around as a form of expressing yourself but kaeya isn't looking at the clouds. he's drinking in the sparkle in your eyes, the smile that widens on your face when you spot another cloud - this time you're certain it's a fish! kaeya lets out the occasional hum of encouragement, giving off the impression that he is most certainly listening to you but all it takes is one glance in his direction and you can see the half dazed look in his eye, swirling with distant dreams; ones where you have a family, a glittering ring on your finger and perhaps even a house in the city. "are you even listening to me?" you huff, a heat flushing up your neck and to your cheeks when your boyfriend doesn't pull that lovedrunk gaze away from you. a chuckle leaves soft lips, one of his gloved hands lacing with yours. "uh-huh, yeah, something about beaks and wings..." kaeya finds it adorable when you roll your eyes, looking away in a flustered state as he props himself on his elbows, leaning closer to you, "the clouds are pretty but you are much prettier." "kaeya i swear to-" he cuts you off, tutting with a cheeky grin. "swear to who? barbatos?" he hums, pressing a kiss to your head when you roll into his chest, hoping he'll give it a rest if you just comply and wrap around his finger, like you always do. and unsurprisingly, he does give in. he hooks an arm around your shoulders, keeping you close as his gaze finally turns up the faint hue of orange that the sky is fading into, the clouds dusted rosy pinks when the sun begins to set. he knows that soon the two of you will have to walk back down the cliff, back to mondstadt where you'll share a night curled up in bed for the first time in days before kaeya is back to work the next morning. in retaliation of these thoughts, the tips of his fingers press into the flesh of your upper arm more than usual and his brows knit together in a way he hopes you don't notice. but your eyes are closed, your face falling peaceful when you've drifted asleep to the rhythm of your boyfriend's heartbeat.

moonlight floods through the open window, you’re indifferent about shutting the curtains when night falls. you like to gaze upon the moon in its fullest, admiring it in all of it’s peaceful serenity. to begin with, your boyfriend was reluctant to let you keep the curtains open. he complained, claiming that the brightness of the moon would keep him awake.

scaramouche would not explicitly say it out loud but he didn’t mind the loss of sleep when he sees you gazing out of the window, your eyes soft as you drift into another realm inside your head. he has objected that you love the moon more than him - you giggled in response, of course your boyfriend would be jealous of the moon.

you’re restless and not even the moon is comforting you. you shuffle amongst the silk sheets, rolling onto your back to see the form of your boyfriend. he’s staring up at the ceiling. you wish to reach out, touch him but he’s probably on such high alert in his current thought process. if you would ask, scaramouche would simply say he is scheming. it’s usually enough to put you off prying any further, you do not need the details of what the harbinger gets up to.

swallowing the lump in your throat, you slide over to scaramouche’s side in a futile attempt to curl up against him so that you may finally fall asleep. at the slightest touch against his arm, scaramouche is budging away from you. a scoff leaves his lips when he realises it was you.

“don’t touch me while i’m trying to fall asleep.” he mumbles, a little snarkily but you have dealt with him long enough to know that he doesn’t mean an ounce of what he says. you roll your eyes.

“you’re hardly trying for starts, the ceiling isn’t that interesting scara.” your eyes are beginning to burn, begging to be closed so you may drift off. scaramouche catches the way your eyelashes are fluttering, barely lowering as if fighting to keep your eyes open.

“i’m counting seelies or whatever the fuck that saying is.” scaramouche knows damn well what the saying is but the words leave his mouth in a mutter anyway as he tilts his head back on the pillows.

“just let me put my head on your chest and i won’t bother your counting any longer.” you sigh, just wishing he’d stop being stubborn for five minutes. scaramouche groans, uttering a ‘fine’ as he hesitantly watches you rest your head against his chest. the contact makes him tense, the muscles in his stomach tightening when you drape an arm across the region.

scaramouche is by no means warm, in fact he is naturally cold - perfect for summer nights like these. as you exhale in mild content, your eyelashes fluttering shut at the cherished contact with your boyfriend, scaramouche wonders what he did to deserve someone as patient and kind as you. you deal with him with little to no qualms - not even about this forsaken job he ended up with.

when he assumes that you have fell into a slumber long awaited, scaramouche lowers his arm around your shoulders and he tangles his lanky legs with yours. a sigh leaves his lips but as he closes his eyes, he misses the smile that crosses your face.

© https-heizou 2023.

the house of daena is pristine, it has been since before your creation - since before the creation of your own boyfriend, in all of his current glory as the acting grand sage of the akademiya. this title comes much to his distaste, it leaves a bitter sting on his tongue when he's made to utter it and he would grimace whenever someone referred to him as such. that's why it had became your favourite thing to shove in his direction half pointedly when you were tired of the level of sass that could come from the man's mouth sometimes.

and at this current time, he's drafting his resignation for the aforementioned position. he's much comfier in his role as the scribe, you can see that in the way he carries himself through the akademiya. you also see the way he's physically pained to sit in the incredulously large chair in the sage's office - after all, why the hell did it need to be that big? alhaitham makes a distressed noise as he runs a hand through silver strands of hair, his brows knitting together as he falls at his wit's ends trying to word his resignation to his liking. that is ultimately why you - as his loving partner - whisk away to hide in the bookshelves for a few minutes.

alhaitham has his reasons for keeping the relationship secret - one of them being that emotional, loud blond roommate of his - and so do you, so neither of you have qualms about the situation. even more so, it's a bit of fun adrenaline to spice up your otherwise bland life as a scholar. you're not entirely sure if alhaitham would agree with that. regardless of his opinion, he has your body trapped between himself and the bookshelves as he buries his face in the crook of your neck. alhaitham is by no means one for public displays of affection but he's starved, his fingertips twitching as they brush against the leather bound tomes behind you.

your hands run through his hair, sifting through the silver locks as you rub the pads of your fingers on his scalp in short, soothing motions. alhaitham doesn't make a sound - nothing out of the blue - but his breath hitches against your skin and a smile is drawn on your face at the small gesture. you press your lips to the soft of his hair, letting out a low hum.

"haitham," you mumble quietly, a whine eliciting from you when he pulls his head away, leaving your hands to fall to his shoulders, "kiss me."

you're a little short of demanding, your lower lip poking out as you give the emotionless male puppy eyes in an attempt to convince him. it's risky, the house of daena is a public library and the central hub for the akademiya's internal activities but you frankly don't care. you want alhaitham; his touch, his familiar scent, the taste on his lips. it seems to be a lingering thought for him as well as his eyes trace down to your lips.

"if i kiss you right now, i won't be able to stop." he's quite honest with his response - he's aware of his self restraint when it comes to anything regarding you.

you lean up with a wicked smile that alhaitham can only begin to wonder what it stemmed from, locking lips with the the scribe in a heated attempt at getting any form of closure. between soft pants for breath against each other's lips, alhaitham manages to hear your barely legible "then don't."

there are secrets that only the books know, stories that pages whisper in hushed tones.

© https-heizou 2023.

he’d first seen you before you’d even considered the amurta darshan. you were obsessed with nature; all the fauna and flora that there physically could be. you spent so much of your time studying in the avidya forest, it wasn’t particularly rare for tighnari to stumble across you while he was doing his patrols. in fact, you were becoming a highlight of his patrols. tighnari couldn’t help but flatten his ears to his head when he turns the corner and you aren’t sat under the same usual tree you always were. the next day you’d be sure to be there, apologising profusely to the fox as he’d became just as much a part of your routine as you had his.

you found him fascinating, albeit maybe perhaps of his ears and the fluffy tail that protudes from his lower back but also because whenever he stumbled upon you, he was keen to speak to you about your studies. he was like a walking encyclopedia and you loved it. if there was a mushroom variant you wasn’t particularly strong on, you could guarantee tighnari was. after a few meetings with him, you started to purposefully sit in spots that you knew was on at least one of his patrols. you was hoping he’d never noticed.

meeting almost daily, the two of you realised you’d never exchanged your names. you always referred to him as ‘the fox’ to your friends at the akademiya and tighnari would refer to you as “the student” to the forest rangers at gandharva ville.

“beautiful day for studying,” the familiar voice mused in a playful tone, causing your head to shoot up from your books, “what’s the topic today?”

a smile graced your lips at his arrival, his ears perked and tail swaying in the breeze. your eyes drifted down to the books surrounding you, especially the one on your lap. your smile turned sheepish, letting a little laugh out.

“actually, i’m preparing my first thesis - i chose my darshan the other day and i’ve been up to my head in classes since.” you sighed loudly and perhaps a little dramatically. tighnari quirked a brow, one of his ears twitching in curiousity; so that’s where you had been these past few days.

“oh? congratulations, that’s a big achievement,” he grinned, finding himself sitting in front of you on the grass, “which darshan did you choose?”

your cheeks flushed with heat that you blamed on the sumeru heat but it clearly wasn’t the reason. you averted your gaze from tighnari embarassedly, clearing your throat. you were officially fully aware that tighnari was an alumni of the amurta darshan, he was still the talk of the school with them referencing his works. he’s your elder now officially and that made him slightly more intimidating.

“o-oh - uh,” your obvious shift in mood made a smile crack at tighnari’s lips. he knew exactly what darshan you’d choose from the moment he met you, “i’m officially an amurta student.”

you announced it with an ounce of pride, lifting your chin high to which amused tighnari. he wasn’t stupid - not that you’d ever claim him as such. he just wanted you to hear you say it himself, his ears tingling at the words.

“i knew the answer. i just wanted to hear you say it,” he chuckled, running his fingers through his tail fur as you stared at him, flabbergasted, “did you truly think i’d help your studies in the avidya forest’s specific flora if you were going to run off to any other darshan?”

he found the sheer embarassment on your face funny but he wouldn’t voice it right now, it’d only make your fever and racing pulse worse and he didn’t want to carry you back to gandharva ville with all of your books.

“well…” your voice trailed off, fingers nimbly fidgeting with the pages before you. you huffed a little, your stubbornness coming through as tighnari looked down at you proudly. you avoided the eye contact but tighnari didn’t mind.

“can i ask for your name now?” he hummed, his question causing you to finally give him your completely undivided attention. you felt yourself starting to smile again. unbeknownst to you, he found your smile contagious and within seconds, tighnari was also smiling.

“y/n.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

“y/n never wants to study with us anymore,” your friend poked your shoulder, the voice teasing as the rest of your friend group laughed, “we’ve been replaced!”

she dramatically threw her head back, the back of her wrist to her forehead in an “oh the agony!” moment. you rolled your eyes promptly, continuing to study from tighnari’s notes he had given you.

“when do we get to meet the lucky man?” another friend perked up, causing you to choke on oxygen momentarily. you sent a death glare across the table at him.

“there is no lucky man - it’s just more peaceful to study in the avidya forest than listen to dumb and dumber over there bicker all the time.” you nodded your head to the twin siblings, sat looking ever-so-innocent. they couldn’t fool an archon though, all they have ever done is cause mischief and chaos for everyone.

the truth is tighnari had started invited you to gandharva ville. as sumeru entered winter, the avidya forest was prone to less humid thunderstorms and more simple rainstorms with a freezing temperature. he would hate to see you get caught in one at random and freeze to death so why not come sit in his hut? at first it was mildly awkward. tighnari would sit over his desk, grinding up herbs and plants for remedies and incantations while you studied, the hut almost deadly silent other than the sound of a wooden mortar and pestle in tighnari’s gloved hands.

you wouldn’t admit it, especially not to your friend group but you spent a lot of your so-called ‘studying’ watching tighnari. you would watch the way his tail swayed in a rhythm, his hands working meticulously on a remedy that he had recently ran out of - or perhaps he was marking collei’s homework for the week and his ear was twitching occasionally. you loved the way he’d reach up and rub his ear, pulling it down sometimes as if he was grooming it.

tighnari would chuckle to himself as he watched you leave gandharva ville, your books hugged to your chest. he knew you were unaware but he knew perfectly well that you was watching him during your time in his hut. he figured you’d understand his kind well enough considering your intricate knowledge of fauna but he perhaps underestimated how much you knew on foxes. this is exactly why he’d cunningly got you researching and studying foxes, a cheeky smile on his face as he’d passed you his notes on his kind that you accepted happily.

the more your eyes scanned the yellowed pages, the more you realised exactly what he was putting you through. the characteristics of bushy tails, big ears and superb senses… it was all tighnari. the words all began to drown out your friend group’s quarrelling at the table. your tongue poked the inner of your cheek, holding back a smile at the thought that tighnari had done this on purpose. closing his notes, you began gathering your belongings with a new found urgency to speak to him.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

gandharva ville was ever busy on its feet, forest rangers rendezvousing at previously confirmed locations before they set out on their patrols for the day and the odd scholar scratching down notes into their parchment. despite the weather being beautiful and just the right temperature, you couldn’t spot the one person you was looking for. the occasional forest ranger would greet you as you passed, wide grins on their faces as they recognised you. you’d politely smile back, continuing towards tighnari’s hut.

but behind the leafy curtain, there was no forest watcher you were searching for. your brows knitted in concern, finding yourself frowning as you glanced over his belongings. he didn’t usually patrol at this time of day - in fact, this was usually the time of the day he’d be discussing collei’s studies with her.

“y/n?” the melodic hum of the young girl drifted from behind you, waltzing you around on your heels to meet eyes with her, “if you’re looking for master tighnari, he recently left to deal with a withering zone just north of gandharva ville.”

“alone?” you quirked a brow as she nodded. that sounds incredibly stupid of him, you think as you bid farewell to collei and began walking to where tighnari should ultimately be. you had stayed clear of withering zones, always sticking to the paths when traversing through the avidya forest and it was always because of the warnings tighnari would reprimand you with.

hugging the top layer of your student robes closer to your body, you couldn’t help but feel a sudden chill amongst the air. a sudden rainstorm? surely not. you frowned, catching sight of some dark fur on a nearby branch. your fingers plucked at it, holding it up to confirm that it belonged to the man you’d been searching for. was he in danger? you looked around, scanning the area for any more hints or signs that tighnari was here.

you took notice to how dry the grass was, crunching beneath your every step as you clutched tighnari’s fur in your fist. there was the sound of a bow amongst the darkness, followed by the occasional groan and frustrated grunt. a silence followed. it was like warmth washed over you, bringing over a fever as humidity returned to the area and the grass coloured lush green, the flowers flourishing once more. had that been a withering zone?

in the distance there sat a figure on the grass, shoulders hunched and defeated. his ears were flattened, bloody hands hugging his tail close.

“tighnari?” you whispered. his ears lifted, perked as you hurried over to the male, “are you okay?”

he smiled, grimacing somewhat as his gaze finds your worried eyes. he raised a hand, waving you off as you start searching his body in attempt to find where the blood came from. it certainly wasn’t from the terrors that lurk in withering zones which could only mean tighnari was injured. tighnari’s tail twitched in his hands, awkwardly looking away from you.

“it’s just a scratch, i promise y/n,” he chuckled meekly, clearing his throat as he scanned the surroundings, “although, could you help me back to gandharva ville? it certainly isn’t safe to stick around in the wild with the scent of blood.”

and so you lifted the male up, wrapping one of his arms around your shoulders as you both stumbled back to gandharva ville in the most ungraceful manner possible. the height difference between the two of you most definitely did not help. he’d been out long enough now that gandharva ville was basically empty - people were sleeping by now and you’d narrowly avoided the night patrols. you could feel tighnari’s muscles relax when he realised he could make it to his hut without people seeing him in such a fragile state; hell, it was killing him to allow you to see him like this.

tighnari was quick to settle onto his bed, groaning out as he finally let his tail drop and you could catch the gash he had on his side. you scowled, surveying his hut that you had been in many a time now. you figured you’d know it well enough, wandering subconsciously to his desk. tighnari watched, a little perplexed at what you could possibly want by his desk but he watched you tiptoe, fingertips dancing and gripping at a vial of cream on one of the highest shelves. your spare hand was holding your weight up against his desk and tighnari swallowed the lump in his throat.

he wasn’t sure what he found more attractive in the moment, your stubborn attitude unwilling to ask for his help reaching for something or the fact you’d just grabbed the correct vial from the numerous ones on his shelves. he hadn’t even taught you about any of them let alone include you in his remedies.

“how did you know which vial-” you cut him off with a laugh, helping him shrug off his cloak so you could look closer at the wound he’d acquired from being so stupidly bold into thinking he could handle all these withering zones alone.

“i usually end up watching you work when i’m here studying,” you mused but you were embarassed to admit it to him directly, “i remember the time a forest ranger came in with an injury on their calf, you used this one - i can’t forget it because the vial is so pretty.”

tighnari hummed, chuckling despite it hurting him. you shot a glance up at his face to catch him already looking at you as you applied the cream. you was about to question what made him laugh - perhaps a little defensively as you’d just let out some considerably embarassing information but tighnari spoke first.

“you’re just like collei.” tighnari said no more and you decided not to press on the matter if it meant you got to avoid talking about how you watched him. you dressed his wound in a bandage, fingers working ever-so-gently to avoid hurting the fox.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

“i’d rather kiss fungi.” collei puffed her cheeks, her lips pouted as you laughed at her response. you’d pulled her to sumeru city for the day with tighnari’s permission. collei couldn’t contain her excitement but she was a little hesistant on the matter, unsure if she should spend time away from her studies. you assured her that one day wouldn’t halt her progress forever and you even promised to teach her some things on the way back to gandharva ville, as her senior of course.

“why not? i thought he was pretty cute.” you giggled, raising your drink to your lips as you tapped your fingers on the table, looking around at the bustling streets of sumeru city for another possible suitor for collei.

“like how you find master tighnari cute?” her question threw you off guard, your eyes widening and the drumming of your fingers suddenly stopping. collei’s smile turned into a tight, smug grin that had you glaring in her direction.

“who says i find tighnari cute?” you huffed, letting out of a dramatic sigh - with sounds included, “kids these days.”

collei simply wouldn’t drop her grin however as she watched the way you looked away sheepishly, the tip of your nose dusted a rosey hue of pink. you were pouting your lips ever-so-slightly and your eyes wouldn’t stay locked on one thing for more than a few seconds. you could deny it all you liked but collei knew otherwise. she had been in master tighnari’s hut while you were also there studying, she hadn’t missed how you sneaked glances in his direction while he questioned her on her homework.

“collei?” a male voice chirped up, oddly a little familiar to you as you both turned in his direction, “tighnari let you leave gandharva ville?”

“oh! mister cyno!” collei beamed at the general mahamatra, leaving you even more flustered than you’d been before, “aha, yes he did - on terms that y/n teaches me too.”

cyno’s gaze flickers to you and you hold your breath, he was incredibly intimidating to you. you’d seen him multiple times around the akademiya on the way to your classes and all you could ever think was how you didn’t want to end up on the bad side of his polearm. yet collei knows him and even more so, he knows tighnari. he catches on to how stiff you’ve turned in his presence but his gaze only softens minorly. so this is the girl that tighnari will not stop yapping about in his letters? he isn’t surprised at all. he’s spent many nights drinking with tighnari and he’s heard the intoxicated ramble about tighnari’s quote-on-quote ‘ideal type’ more times than he can count his genius invocation tcg wins - you fit the ramble perfectly.

“so this is y/n.” cyno hummed, wondering if he could stir tighnari’s awful babbling even more by involving you. you quirked a brow but nodded regardless.

“it’s a pleasure to finally speak to you, general - i mean, i see you around the akademiya sometimes.” your words slowly turned into a mumble, scoffing mentally at how you struggle with social situations like these. especially when the focus was on you.

“when you’re actually there,” collei pokes with a teasing tone, “you spend more time in gandharva ville i swear.”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

you had expected all the days and nights writing theses to take its toll on your body but not like this, you sighed as you sprawled out on your bed. your whole body ached as if you had studied yourself to death but today you had submitted your final thesis - the one that determined everything about your time at the akademiya. you’d spent countless all-nighters in the house of daena, buried in books that you could barely skim through with your current attention span.

you simply wanted to sleep for months, perhaps years however that would not be wise if you were about to assume position as a scholar. you’d worked so hard for this, it’d be wrong to suddenly hibernate your life away in celebration of it. despite your mild joy at the situation, you couldn’t bring yourself to celebrate. your body simply would not move, lacking energy you’d have any other day. as much as you wanted to celebrate, you wanted to see tighnari and tell him about your final thesis more.

it had been months since you’d visited gandharva ville and with tighnari’s lack of presence outside of the avidya forest, you hadn’t ran into the fox at all. your fingers twitched suddenly, as if craving the male’s company. you scowled, turning your head to admire the night sky outside of your window. he most likely wouldn’t even be awake right now even if you did drag your sorry ass out of bed but it had been too long since you walked barefoot along the grass on your way ro gandharva ville, basking in the sounds of nature.

you didn’t truly grasp how much you’d missed these minor feelings until you was doing them again, retracing your steps to the familiarity of gandharva ville. fireflies danced in the clammy air of sumeru’s night, summer barely around the corner as temperatures began to rise again. you hadn’t even reached gandharva ville when you landed sight on someone amongst the leafy greens of the avidya forest and he too noticed you. there was a flush of warmth running through your blood like a spur of energy, heart racing at the sight of him again. there was no conscious decision as you ran towards him, grinning at the sound of his laugh as he hugged you tight, the two of you almost toppling over at the force of your hug.

“well look who it is,” tighnari teased, a hand on his hip as you awkwardly separated from the hug, “isn’t it amurta’s newest scholar?”

“how did you know?” you tilted your head, watching how his ears twitched and lowered slightly.

“did you forget that i know cyno?” he hummed and suddenly you remembered well enough, “not only that but disappearing for months? i could only assume you were in the stages of your final thesis.”

tighnari would not admit it to you but the past few months had been nothing but living hell on him. he craved your presence daily, still checking every spot you had been known to perch at on his daily patrols - even going as far as taking both the morning and evening patrols in hopes of seeing you. he knew you could just as easily turn up at his hut but he figured you’d spend your time in a much quieter spot like the ones he met you at but he never found you. there was never even a sign that you had been there.

so he began desperately writing to cyno about you, asking if he’d seen you around the akademiya by pure chance. tighnari couldn’t bear the idea that something awfully had happened to you even though he knew you had studies to prioritise. something could have happened to your family, anything. he had to be reasonable. little did tighnari know, cyno had already been keeping his watchful gaze on you from across the house of daena or puspa cafe. he kept his eye on how you’d work yourself to death to finish your final thesis - he kept those details to himself however. tighnari was becoming an avid worrier about you, fidgety at even the slightest mentions about you. the least he could do was hold his tongue on things he knew would spiral tighnari completely out of control.

“i definitely did not forget that you knew cyno.” you muttered, looking down at the ground between the two of you. tighnari’s tail swished in amusement. of course you’d forgotten when you had so much studying on your hands.

tighnari wouldn’t know how painful the months were for you, on the other hand. he wouldn’t know how you piled yourself in books only to lose focus the second you pulled apart the pages. the text looked nothing like his handwriting, you’d think, slamming it shut in a futile attempt at keeping tighnari alive in your memory. if you could focus on a book for more than a few words then it wouldn’t be long before your thoughts drifted away, daydreaming of a much simpler time when you would sit on the grass with tighnari and bask in the sunlight.

you thought back to the times he’d mentor you - except he never liked to call it that because he never wanted to take the role of your mentor. you recalled all the patrols you’d tagged along on, your feet aching but you couldn’t care less as long as you had tighnari with you. all so you could watch his tail wag as you walked, his ears turning at the slightest of noises. he was always so aware, ensuring he never got you into danger once. because what would tighnari do if you’d got hurt under his protection? he couldn’t grasp how guilty he’d feel at the mere thought of it.

the silence between you both was deafening other than the small huffs of breath you took from your run to him. tighnari’s sweaty hands clenched the fabric of his cloak just as you played with the hem of your skirt, the two of you blurting out “i missed you” at the same moment. taken back, the two of you let out nervous laughs.

“y/n can i be honest with you?” tighnari asked in light of the situation. you nodded, the rate your heart was going at could break your ribcage, “i really like you - and i want something with you but-”

“foxes mate for life and that’s a big commitment for a human?” you finished his words, a lump in your throat as tighnari’s eyes met yours. he looked bewildered, brows knitting.

“yeah… i- how did you know?” he stumbled his words a little. you hadn’t exactly rejected him so he couldn’t feel down at the bottom but his ears flattened in worry that you caught onto quickly.

“i borrowed your notes once and you’d left that specific part highlighted unlike the rest,” you studied him just as much as you studied his works, you mused to yourself, “i really like you too, nari.”

he didn’t know which part in particular had made his ears perk up as quick as they did or made his tail wag as if it was caught in a windstorm but he admired you more than he had ever done before - not only that but you called him by his nickname. not tighnari and certainly not master tighnari as collei had once got you to jokingly call him but nari. your face met the material of his clothing once more as he pulled you back into his chest, his arms tight around you. he buried his face into your soft hair, drowning himself in your familiar scent that he’d been longing for so long.

at that moment, tighnari couldn’t care about the rustles of nearby bushes or the splashes of a frog leaping through a puddle not far from your feet. he simply cared about your touch and warmth at his fingertips.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

you hummed, tapping your pen against your lips as you re-read the text in front of you again. it must have been the fifth time you had read the same sentence but it wasn’t quite sticking. you were growing frustrated, after all this particular textbook was key to your ongoing research into the origins and scientific families of the kalpalata lotus.

“i can almost hear the cogs turning in your head.” his voice chimed as the leafy curtain of his hut lifted, the fox stepping out into the sunlight with a wide arm stretch. you’d risen early to accompany collei and some forest rangers on a patrol in tighnari’s place, letting him sleep longer than he usually gets. after the patrol was over, you’d opted for sitting outside his hut with your studies instead of hovering over his desk.

“can your brilliant hearing read this damn sentence for me?” you replied with sass, too tired for his taunting this early in the morning. tighnari chuckled, brushing your hair back with his hand before he placed a kiss to your forehead.

“it’s not even midday and you’re like a boiling pot of water on a stove, dear.” tighnari could tease you all day if it was permitted but he knew your boundaries. you sighed, exasperated as you realised you’d began to overwork yourself again. the pen you was holding found its way onto your parchment and tighnari’s lips curled into a smile as you wrapped your arms around his waist.

“you know, i could always do with a research partner.” you mumbled into his stomach. tighnari raised a brow, running his hand through your hair.

“is this your way of inviting me to do a research project with you?” you nodded wordlessly in response to his question, listening to his hum as he pretended to debate your offer, “i don’t see why not. not many scholars get to say they’ve released work with their partners, after all.”