#mafu.fic

it’s not as if venti were completely oblivious to his own emotions, he understands what’s going on when he notices his heart fluttering when you’re around. when you smiled at him, it was as if his heart were beating right out of his chest. his music so clearly and beautifully graced the air, drowning out his own whispered confession of love. if he were to say it loud enough for you ears to pick up, how would you look back at him? as if fate itself were turning its head and laughing at him for falling so helplessly in love with someone he only considered a friend until recently.

to all but the archon himself, such melancholy tunes played on his lyre while sitting on the hands of a statue made in his likeness were simply meaningless and carried little to no weight whatsoever. the sky was clear, allowing him to gaze ever so wistfully at the constellations in the night sky as he thinks of you. maybe he’d find yours, reaching up and tracing the connections of the brightly shining stars with his finger. he knows he’s nothing more than a god fallen from grace, and not even you knew of the gnosis that had been taken from him. venti’s heart ached at the idea that he may never be able to scream out his love for you due to his own doubts.

yet right now, in the dead of night, he could sing of the love residing deep within his ever-beating heart. with a final song to confess to the night sky, he sings and plays so softly that it’s difficult to hear. even with that, his voice is so soothing and comforting as he sings out the love that had plagued him for a long time now. as he finished his song, he noticed the smallest amount of tears dripping from his face as he finally let out the pent-up emotions. even if he presumed you were far away, he hopelessly hoped that his voice would reach you. your beautiful smile and laugh were etched in the archon’s heart, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

if xiao met the same fate as those he once held dear, he hoped he could at least let out his love for you. it brings him peace that he can protect you as the last yaksha of liyue. he often finds himself separate from society for their own sake, his karmic debt often drawing closer the demons he swore to kill. yet, you stayed close to him despite the immediate danger you often faced. sometimes, he would find the tears pricking at his golden eyes as he reminisces the life he wished he could have lived with you. it would have been a peaceful life full of happiness and love beyond compare, surrounded by his fellow yaksha.

even with that, the light of your smile never passed him by. silently watching over you from afar during the lantern rite, he was torn. xiao wanted nothing more than to join you in the crowd, but what if you got separated from him? would he have the courage to hold your hand? those doubts landed him sitting atop a building and watching from a distance, silently hoping you’d turn around and notice his affectionate observations. as hundreds of lanterns gently floated into the air, he found himself once again fighting the urge to join you in the crowd. it would only be a matter of time before the fireworks begun, maybe then he’d have the opportunity to stand beside you and welcome in a new year.

in the bitter cold of the night air as the first of the fireworks exploded into the inky dark sky, you saw him next to you. xiao smiled gently, not saying a word as the landscape was illuminated with the bright and lively colors of the fireworks. his hand in yours, welcoming a new year together with a kiss. the one thing that couldn’t be heard beneath the explosions of color that could outshine the brightest star was his voice, saying three words he never thought he’d say again. “i love you”

he had fallen for you without a care in the world, allowing it to grow as the days go by for no reason besides the idea that he has nothing to lose by falling for you. kazuha’s heart felt as if it were bursting with love and passion whenever he looked at you. it was a whirlwind type of romance, one in which both parties involved were constantly sharing knowing glances and giggles, overly affectionate with a passion that will surely burn itself out if given enough time.

but it didn’t. he never once doubted his love for you, in fact he was quite open about it. it was bound to make others jealous, the way he was constantly sending letters with gifts when he was away on various travels. whenever kazuha was away from you, he found himself missing you exponentially more as the days went by. oftentimes, he only wanted to return to the place he belonged, in your arms. he doesn’t really enjoy being all alone, so he’d take your hand and hold it ever so tightly. you’ve always been what guides him and gives him peace of mind. your smile was like a guiding star in the darkest of nights, always there to light the way despite the circumstances.

kazuha never truly “confessed”. his actions alone indicated his love for you, and he one day just began saying he loved you. it came so naturally to him that he could never overthink it, like a second nature. those three words flowed so naturally out of his mouth with that beautiful and soft voice of his, it just felt right. what began as simply a lighthearted summer romance had quickly grown into a love that would stand the rest of time, despite any struggles the two of you may face. if nothing else, you’d face it together.

heizou is a naturally flirty person, using that to his advantage to conceal his true feelings for you. being a detective, he was naturally able to read people, yet he could never truly understand what was going on behind those eyes of yours. really, it was such a nuisance to hold these feelings in. alas, it was a hinderance to his work. sometimes he wondered if you could hear his heart beating out of his chest whenever you were around, surely it wouldn’t take much to realize what’s going on here. he’d need for you to simply let him in and he’d be the happiest man in teyvat.

it really doesn’t take a detective to figure out he loved you, it was quite obvious really. how many words at minimum would it take for you to notice his love? even with heizou attempting to hide the feelings in his heart, the summer days spent with you made his feelings soar. sitting on the beach and watching the sunset together, he really couldn’t be happier. he knew he was helplessly in love with you, warmth creeping onto his face every time you smiled or laughed because of him.

so here he was, singing and dancing in the warm sand with you under the sun’s fading light. the crashing of the waves on the shore drowned out your voices, but he hadn’t a care in the world. with his hands in yours, your laugh as the both of you fell into the cool water, he couldn’t be happier. even if both your clothes were now wet, you didn’t care even one bit as his lips met yours.

ever since the day he met you, he feigned indifference and rudeness to hide his feelings for you. he was a perfect example of using his naturally intimidating demeanor to hide the love he held for you. a puppet made without a heart, you had given him all the more reason to continue living. the nameless wanderer was so into you that he couldn’t help but smile to himself after any interaction with you. of course, he wouldn’t be caught dead smiling over you. just like magic, he was immediately done in by you without your knowledge.

he wanted to hate you as much as he pretended he did, that much was true. even after he warmed up to your presence, he wanted to stop acting like his true self around you. he wished he could just shut you out again, yet he couldn’t stop wondering if you felt the same. he assumed you did, based solely off of your words and actions without even the slightest verbal proof. with every single touch of his puppet body, his heart beat out of his artificial chest. maybe he had known you in his past life, maybe his heart broke knowing you wouldn’t remember him.

KAFKA •

her love is something violent and horrific hidden behind a pretty mask. she knows she’s a beautiful woman, but she’s already got such a large bounty over her head that it barely matters to her anymore. what’s just one more kill to bring you closer to her? she’s a traditional type of yandere, obsessing over even the smallest detail related to you, memorizing everything from the exact tone of your hair and skin to every single reaction you’ve had to everything she’s ever said or done. everything you like or dislike, she has it memorized. she’d send gifts to your location, though deranged in nature. she’d send you severed and bloody, half rotted limbs torn from her victims with hearts carved in them and your initials together. she knows she’s dangerous, as if the multiple guns and katana she keeps on her person at all times wasn’t enough of an indicator of that. anyone she wants erased from the equation will be gone in an instant, and she would only hesitate for a second to betray her comrades for your sake.

BLADE •

oh, bladie. oh dear, sweet, bladie. how can someone possibly be even more violent than kafka? well, blade doesn’t even try to hide it. he relishes the fact that you’re scared of him, half the time he smiles at all is the deranged giggle he lets out as blood splatters all over his body and clothes. it would clot in his long hair, and he wouldn’t even bother to wash it out until it begins to rot. he doesn’t want to gross you out, just to remind you that you belong to HIM. someone talks to you for even just a little too long, they’ll be gone before the end of the day. he doesn’t enjoy killing in front of you, he doesn’t want his poor baby to see how violent he can get, but he at the very least implies such violent acts of love and passion to you with the blood on him. he’s a stoic man, but he still manages to smile every time he ends another life out of passion for you. he can’t die, so it’s not like it matters if you try to fight back. he will always be back, and you just can’t run from him.

SILVER WOLF •

she chooses the stalker, parasocial route. seeing as she’s a hacker who just views life as a game, this is no different. how much of your affection can she win? how long until you block one of her accounts, and how long until she just begins to stalk you from another one instead? everything from your social media accounts to your damn search history, she has access to it all, so don’t try posting for help because she’ll just delete it. you don’t know how she does it, every time you deactivate an account and make a new one to make it harder for her to find you, she always does. she’s saved all the pictures you post, hell, she’s even made alternate personas just to talk to you sometimes. it’s creepy. she gave up the act of pretending she didn’t always want to see you on her timeline pretty quickly when she realized her obsession with you.

FIREFLY •

ᯓ✿ VENTI

it’s not like the anemo archon really knows his way around love despite having lived for thousands of years. for him, it was as simple as the spark between the two of you had faded. he had grown apathetic towards you, even emotionless at times. it wouldn’t take a genius to realize what was going on. the love that once resided in his eyes when he looked at you was replaced with a look of pain. he didn’t know how to leave a relationship, but he doesn’t want to hurt you more than this drawn-out and dead romance already has. he’d find himself sipping on some wine, reminiscing the time before the love had faded. he misses those days, but he couldn’t force himself to fall for you again.

ᯓ✿ XIAO

he swore to protect you, but his devotion only weighed more heavily on his psyche as time went by. what was once pure love and passion became hurt. it stung to meet your eye, even more so when you cleaned and bandaged the wounds he may have sustained in battle. he told himself it was to protect you from getting hurt, forcing himself to shut down his emotions and subsequently kill his love for you with his bare hands. playful banter was replaced with arguments in which so many hurtful things were hurled at each other. sometimes he really did look at you with pure hate in his eyes, regarding you as nothing more than a nuisance and hinderance to his job of protecting the people of liyue.

ᯓ✿ KAEDEHARA KAZUHA

the various things he had written for you would gather dust in his room, having gone to waste as his whirlwind romance ended silently. he realized he no longer loved you when you kissed him and he felt nothing. his heart had once fluttered whenever he was near you, but those butterflies in his stomach had simply fluttered away. he’d find himself wondering if it was love at all, choosing to categorize it as a temporary infatuation to justify his growing apathy towards you. he’s quite literally free as the wind, so it wouldn’t take much to simply leave. he’s not going to force himself to be with you when he feels nothing. the love had simply faded with no rhyme or reason.

ᯓ✿ SHIKANOIN HEIZOU

he’d spend more time at work when he realizes he’s fallen out of love. the excuse for avoiding you is that he’s just busy with work, when in reality he’s often just pacing around his office, figuring ways to break up with you painlessly. whenever he’d say he loves you, it was strained and forced, obvious that he didn’t mean it. he had loved you at one point, but his forcing himself to still be affectionate despite having fallen out of love with you is simply exhausting. it’s all he could do to avoid you and the way you hadn’t seemed to stop loving him. maybe he’d start seeing other people behind your back and fall for someone else the same way he had with you.

ᯓ✿ WANDERER

regret is a fire that can’t be satiated. it could have- should have been anyone else. he never deserved this. and yet, you loved him regardless. he swore beneath the moonlight to protect you with all he had to give, yet he threw it away in an instant.

anaxagoras was a man without need for romantic love. it’s truly more than difficult to fall in love with someone when you’ve closed yourself off entirely from the world in a desperate effort to save what feelings you had left. single eye fixing on you as he ripped out the thing keeping him alive in place of a heart, he had nothing else to lose. apathy was his greatest strength. he felt nothing as he tore the coreflame from his very flesh simply to end what little life he had left, all the chrysos heirs were destined to die anyway— and he was no different.

there was only one problem, anaxagoras did love you. he buried those feelings deep within his mind to protect himself. the way he shivered beneath your touch, allowed himself to be vulnerable around you, there was a reason he simply couldn’t pinpoint.

until now, that is. not until he stood, watching the people he had sacrificed himself to protect, even if they were all fated to die anyway. he had shared the secrets of the gods, and he now had to pay the price. there was no choice. yet there you stood anyway, in pure shock. even looking upon you now, his nonexistent heart skipped a beat. perhaps this suffering was retribution for ever having let someone in at all. as his body faded into golden dust, his last seconds were spent embracing you and pressing the gentlest of kisses to your cheek.

and just like that, he was gone. dissipated into nothing but glimmering gold dust on your hands.

as the bitter cold winter melts into a pleasant spring, the head of the kamisato clan found himself falling for you. the sakura bloomed once more as they always did as the days got a little warmer, but the dreamlike weather only seemed to remind him of you nowadays. ayato always considered himself to be somewhat of a loner behind closed doors, never truly able to confide much in any one person. yet, you just turned his whole world upside down the second you became a part of it.

on his lips was the pleasant taste of milk tea, a drink that preparing seems to remind ayato of you as well. the recipe you had given him that added a few ingredients was much better anyway, or maybe it was just because it was your recipe. it’s such a simple matter, but it’s one that meant the whole world. everything from your smile to your eyes set his heart on fire. it’s certainly a sight to see the trusted head of the kamisato clan hiding his blushing face when you’re around, becoming clumsy and nervous.

rumors spread like wildfire among socialites, that much is obvious. ayato just couldn’t help but wish the things whispered about you and him were true, it’s all the same meaningless gossip anyway. the world just wouldn’t have it that way, dooming his feelings to be left unexpressed unless he got the courage to confess for himself.

you were her best friend, someone who helped shoulder the burden of the stress of running a society. the divine priestess was a mess behind closed doors, but it adds up in the best way. holding your hand until hers falls off, kokomi wished she could just tell you that she loved you. yet, she didn’t want to ruin your relationship. the poor girl is already stressed enough without the worry of tarnishing the bond you had with her.

those three words she dreaded so much were such a waste of time when said time could be spent on much more important matters. you knew the hints she had been dropping, pretending not to believe the things she said. it’s only in that way she’s feeling so down lately, but nothing seems to change.

maybe she’d confess during a quiet nighttime walk on the beach. the sound of the crashing waves gave her strength to say the dreaded three words she wished she’d never have to say to someone who might not feel the same.

she nearly froze when she saw you in the crowd during one of her performances. beneath the colorful lights and melodic tune she moved her body to, she was just a girl helplessly in love. the world just fell away when she saw you standing there, watching intently. it’s a rule for performers to not make eye contact with anyone in the crowd so as to not break immersion, but she couldn’t help but look you in the eye as her smile grew.

nilou’s heart was pounding so fast it was as if it were barely beating at all. such beautiful colors swirling around her as she danced, the performer was so infatuated with the idea of you watching her that it felt as if you were the only person in the crowd. at least to her, you were the only one who mattered.

every breath she had taken, every second of her life had led to this moment. time had brought her heart to you, and nilou wouldn’t trade it for the world. just the way you looked at her had her mesmerized, something inescapable. not that she would mind even one bit.

furina de fontaine isn’t exactly one to hide her feelings. tea parties with the former god have always been fun, but more so now that she’s free to express herself. the bittersweet taste of tea in her mouth is familiar, reminiscent of the bittersweet love she feels for you. the sun’s rays beamed through the open window, letting in a refreshingly cool breeze that cut through the warm spring air.

just like sunshine, you were always there to brighten up her day. like the desserts she found herself enjoying, you were so sweet! you reminded furina of all her favorite things, so it would be absurd for her not to love you with her entire being. the only thing that didn’t make her think of you was the bitterness of the tea she drank. sometimes she enjoyed it without anything to sweeten it, the bitterness balancing out the sweet of her desserts.

the electro archon’s knowledge that you were dating her best friend and the only person who truly understood her would destroy her from the inside out. though her puppet gave a look of indifference, the deity residing within said puppet was anything but. if she could even begin to live up to her citizens’ expectations of her, then would you love her the way you loved the kitsune? ei knew she shouldn’t be so jealous of her only true friend, but she would give the whole world to be the one holding your hand, kissing you, taking you on dates, sharing her snacks with you. having you be just out of her reach was somehow astronomically more painful than the idea of never having met you at all.

the goddess of electro’s love for you was similar to the ideal she ruled over, eternal. the day she finally worked up the courage to confess to you despite your feelings for someone else, a thunderstorm raged outside to signal her inner turmoil. in her artificial throat remained the words she had wished to say to you, but went silent the second they tried to leave her mouth. a love language of averted eyes and avoidance had become the status quo between you and ei, rather unfortunately. if she could tell you how she felt, would you truly understand the weight of the words and what they meant?

for the sake of conversation, could she read your body language? it’s ultimately the best she’d ever get when it comes to you, so it’s best for ei to simply let go and watch you drift away from her. as painful as it would be, it would be for the best. her feelings for you would never truly fade as time went by, the sting of her unrequited love seemed to only grow. loving you from the sidelines had become ei’s unfortunate fate, always making herself cry when she thought about it at the wrong times. she would love you endlessly for the rest of her time living, just say it’s over and let her turn off her feelings and retreat back into her meditation.

in her own time, ei would stop taking control of her puppet so often when you were around. those sparkling purple eyes were replaced with something lifeless and pained indifference towards you.

to embrace someone’s drifting heart and force herself to smile would always be difficult to the kitsune. hiding her love for you behind a flirty and caring mask, how long would it be before she cracked and forced herself to simply say she loved you despite your dating the electro archon. she knew she wasn’t much more than a subordinate of said archon and the holder of the gnosis, but that love for you refused to go away. miko often found herself forcing the feelings down just before she said something that would even hint ever so slightly at her love for you. with that heart of hers that seemed on the verge of just breaking from the sting of seeing you with ei, avoidance was the best she could do. the day she met you, she became dizzy and frozen and simply held her breath before she said something that would ultimately embarrass her.

oh how miko wished it was her, why were you even with ei when the guuji-sama was right there? she was a better match for you than the electro archon anyway, that much was obvious. even then, it was just a useless fantasy she couldn’t help but hold onto out of a pained desperation that you would be hers one day. she could treat you so much better than a puppet whose master was barely ever present anyway, right? every night, miko is the one you’d be talking to you until you fall asleep, shopping with you and buying your favorite foods just to see that beautiful smile grace your adorable face again. as long as you were happy, she supposed she could find a way to move one eventually. your happiness and satisfaction were always exponentially more important in the eyes of the kitsune. sure, it would be nice if you could just love someone who was more than willing to sweep you off your feet with her naturally flirty personality. alas, it just wasn’t the right time. you clearly loved ei, so there was just nothing she could do.

watching helplessly from the side as you seemed to love ei more and more as the days went by, that was the life miko was relegated to. how could she truly grow to adore the world around her when it all seemed to remind her of you? the least she could do in this situation is bottle up those overly convoluted feelings that no one ever truly wants and try to forget about them. when you looked at her, what was it behind your eyes that you longed to see within her? her poor heart simply shattered when she found out you were with her best friend when she had loved you for so much longer. such is retribution for falling so helplessly in love with you. why couldn’t she just tell the truth so you didn’t have to lie?

is this once more a cruel dream? finding yourself onstage under the lights as he watches from the shadows, eyes nearly glowing with malice. a voice ever so recognizable was yours, singing your aria the way you were taught by the man in the shadows. his silvery hair shining in the moonlight as he snuck into your room as was nightly tradition, observing from the corners of your room enshrouded in shadow. in your deepest of sleep, he sings to you and appears in your dreams. such a beautiful voice which calls to you from the darkness, attempting to dispel the stories you’d heard of him.

the phantom only shows himself when he’s absolutely certain you’re alone, emerging from behind the large one-way mirror in your dressing room that was adorned with a beautiful framing and often decorated with flowers you’d receive. as the moon shone through the windows of your quarters, it reflected on the man and made him look almost so heavenly he was sure to be a figment of the imagination. common and often baseless gossip claimed the phantom was of draconic origin, all who had seen his true form turning away and recoiling in fear.

his power over you grew stronger yet, his angel of music. with every leading role and aria in the operas you performed, you found yourself turning to him to teach you. his voice had become a comfort. he had taught you to sing from the day you joined the opera as a meaningless ensemble cast, now watching with a dangerous pride as you performed. oftentimes, he said he loved you while you slept so soundly in your bed, unaware of his piercing and possessive gaze. what he called love for his angel of music would be coined as obsession to the outside observer’s eye. in all your fantasies, you always knew he was the one you desired despite having know real knowledge of him. not his name, only his face and voice.

it’s only three words often used in daily conversation, but it becomes something entirely new when strung together and said with true meaning. furina often felt as if she wasn’t truly deserving of love, having played the role of a god while being a lowly human for hundreds of years. she was but a liar, a fraud. after being given a vision by the dragon sovereign himself for the hundreds of years of suffering and lies, she tried to enjoy her now mortal life to the best of her ability. one thing she had desired for many years was someone to love, being unable to date someone due to her false immortality. they’d simply die long before the true archon was killed to make her mortal.

but you were different. never once did you hesitate because of her past. was this what real love was supposed to feel like? you never felt like the artificial affection she had to contend with as a public figure. sensationalized, no one really knew her desires, dislikes, and who she was behind the mask. well, no one but you.