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💌
We’re all mature adults
ft. kabuki over humans
” 왜 자꾸만 널 가두려 하는건지 “
–
“I highly doubt this is a good idea.”
“Come on, pleaseee??” Hu Tao clasped her hands together and whipped her head down into a bow. Cyno sweatdropped and peeked into the teacher’s lounge once more. There were four people in the room. Y/n, Scaramouche, Beidou— and a pink haired teacher he didn’t recall meeting before. It was still relatively early, and each teacher was minding their own business before the day started. “Do you really want to make everyone else watch those two stare at each other with gooey eyes for any longer?”
“Tao.. Let’s not pressure mr. Mahamatra too much.” Nilou added with a nervous curve of her lips. The silver haired teacher sighed in defeat, adjusting his glasses. “Most teachers know of the plan except for ms. L/n and mr. Raiden so you shouldn’t have any misunderstandings. Now to and save the day!!” The brunette pumped a fist up.
Cyno silently prayed for his life while entering the excessively large room that felt even more larger today with the Liyue student’s insistence. Without even reminder, the two students by the door quickly disappeared somewhere to not get discovered. The moment the toe of his footwear touched the ground, he could feel a stinging gaze on him that lasted a good two seconds. He didn’t know the reason for, but the calculus teacher in Inazuma seemed to have something against him ever since— he didn’t even know.
“Morning Cyno!” A chirpy voice greeted by the coffee machines. “Morning.” He greeted back. Beidou and Yae glanced at each other, before the pink haired woman smirked and arose from her seat on one of the couches by the window. “I’ll head out to get ready for my first period’s exam. Have a lovely morning ~” She announced before disappearing through the door. Cyno gulped subtly upon feeling a piercing gaze meeting his own before the taller teacher subtly brushed against his shoulder and walked out.
Y/n opened a packet of sugar from the bowl, carefully tapping the contents into her cup filled with steaming brown liquid. Cyno grew slightly concerned upon seeing at least six more empty packets that were tossed into the trash before that one. “Coffee?” She offered. He cleared his breath. “That would be nice. And that reminded me.” She grabbed another cup and held it under the machine. “Do you know why the coffee called the police?” Y/n turned to him with a knowing smirk.
“Because he was mugged.”
Both spoke at the exact same time. Cyno suppressed a smile while the other teacher stifled with laughter. “Psh.. I saw that one somewhere.” She chuckled. “You better not make fun of coffee jokes. Or else you’ll get roasted.” That was her last strand before she covered her mouth with a free hand and made a poor attempt to swallow down her laughter.
“Huh— ow..!”
However, while she was moving, her hand slipped from her grip on the cup that the coffee machine was pouring steaming liquid into. Y/n instinctively yelped and let go of the cup, shaking off the hand that got burning coffee poured onto it.
“Are you alright?? Bring your hand to the sink.” Cyno gently grabbed her wrist, where the redness hadn’t crawled up to yet. He led her over to the sink nearby the coffee machine, turning on the cold tap since the burn didn’t seem that serious. Instead of freaking out, Y/n somehow found the situation even more funnier.
“L/n, stop laughing— you just got burnt.” Her coworker sighed. “Hehehe… I guess I’m bad at heated discussions.”
“…”
“….?”
“Pfff—”
*incoherent sounds of wheezing laughter*
The two barely held onto the counter while half choking on their breaths from how hard they were laughing. Mind you, they were grown adults that could smoke and drink. Beidou shook her head with a smile, subtly glancing towards the indigo haired teacher to observe his reaction. Satisfied with the result Cyno’s hard work brought, she took one final sip of her own drink before shortly standing up.
No one but herself noticed Scaramouche who was holding an empty can of instant coffee in his hand. The can was a metal husk of what it once had been, its once sleek curves now crushed and distorted under pale knuckles that ceased to show signs of letting go anytime soon.
☆
“Hey, quit smoking on school grounds and go back to class.”
The group of boys who were leaning against the wall turned to see the owner of the voice. Y/n crossed her arms with an unimpressed look. The toe of her sneakers were slightly dampened with snow in the process of walking to her car and back, which she shivered at the feeling. Thinking she was another student, they went back to laughing at a joke one of them made. Irk mark slowly growing on her head, the art sighed.
“Kids, there’s perfectly free air all around you. I won’t report you guys, so just get back inside.” She stood her ground. Finally realizing she was a teacher, a few of them rolled their eyes while others simply ignored her. Y/n’s lower eye twitched ever so slightly.
Before her mouth opened to speak again, the boys immediately tossed their vapes into the trash nearby and scurried inside. She blinked in confusion— hearing footsteps following soon after. “What are you doing out here.” Turning around, Y/n snorted in realization that her coworker probably scared those teenagers back inside. “Left my charger in my car. You?”
“Catching stray dogs.” He scoffed while glaring at the direction the last of the students scampered into to avoid as though they saw the devil himself approaching from behind the art teacher. Despite being favoured by many students, it was evident that Y/n was notably disrespected almost equally. A good handful of students took advantage of her forgiving and loose nature. Scaramouche sometimes massaged the bridge of his nose in frustration while watching her let herself get trampled over the very students she was meant to guide.
“They ran like they saw death itself.” She joked with a teasing grin. He tched. “You’re not getting fired over yelling every once in a while.” He reminded her nonchalantly.
“Brr.. Cold cold cold!! I’m going in.” Y/n shivered dramatically before jogging towards the entrance herself. Scaramouche wordlessly followed suit at a lazier pace.
“See you at lunch—”
“Where do you think you’re going L/n.”
He grasped onto the neck of her jacket with one hand just as she was about to naturally walk away. Y/n laughed awkwardly and shrugged her arms up. “Don’t know what you’re talking about~ Awe, did you miss me that much—”
“You’re going to clean up every last flake of confetti that shit out of the exploding letter you left this morning at lunch.”
“…Hey, it’s cat shaped confetti. I spent the entire night hand making them.”
“….”
“Exactly.”
Scaramouche lightly pushed her forward with a huff as she laughed and regained her balance. The middle aged office lady smiled at the sight like an elderly lady gazing at a young couple, recalling her own days of love. They reminded her of careless teenage couples she witnessed almost every day despite both being very mature adults.
“Ah.. The semester is already ending soon. I’m still so used to teaching a class all year along, I won’t get familiar not seeing my classes.” Y/n admitted as the two teachers made their way through the hallways. Scaramouche sometimes forgot that she was an elementary school teacher at one point— actually, for longer than she worked here. “I’m technically not educated to be teaching high schoolers but the district got desperate for teachers.” She shrugged. “Well, what’s so hard about whisking brushes and making pencil marks I guess.”
Brush strokes that created hours’ worth of masterpieces and pencil markings that made people question their right to even hold a pencil in their hand she was talking about.
“Bye bye~” She wavered before headed back in her class that was bustling with chatter. Scaramouche followed suit shortly after.
☆
“And then what happened??”
“Ahem, of course— being the right hand of justice, Oz deftly warded off the infiltrators of the Endless Kingdom of night with everlasting bravery.” Fischl proudly explained with crossed arms. “Thanks to his lack of trepidation, the kingdom was secure and justice was brought upon the traitors.” Oz quietly chuckled on the side.
“My, it’s a shame I was not there to witness such an era of Immernachtreich myself.” Y/n smiled while leaning into her palm. There were no counsellors who could take on Fischl currently due to lack of staff. The district was actually growing desperate at this point. The moment the school found out she took a child psychology course at one point, they decided it was the equivalent of her being a physiatrist. “Fear not! Thy shall have testimony on the future of Immernachtreich. From the bittersweet cycle of life to the glorious peaks we shall hit.” The blonde dramatically flipped her hair.
Her story of Oz defeating a riot of traitors to protect the palace gates was actually the story of the girl’s counsellor stepping in to stop a group of kids who tried to gang up and destroy her sand castle when she was younger. Y/n’s eyes tinted with a sense of nostalgia, feeling as though she was staring into a mirror when she looked at the student in front of her. But Fischl’s way to cope things was rather creative. Instead of sulking and losing hope in the world, she drowned herself in an endless sea of boundless imagination to both trap and free herself.
Many adults around her were concerned for her, who was now sixteen. However, the teacher in front of her listened to her mindless rambles and returned it back.
Personally, Y/n found no need to rush the girl into growing up. There was still time and no one knew what the future would bring to people. Rushing and forcing an unfinished clay into the kiln only results to whatever was placed half done in hardening and unable to be molten further into what it could’ve been. And when the clay is finished, the creator will look at it disappointed, before it is ultimately either collecting dust and cobwebs, or smashed.
Even if she never got out of the phase, it didn’t hurt anybody. Well, maybe she would have a hard time blending in with the world. Either way, Y/n had confidence in Fischl. And the girl felt it.
She never liked adults much. As much as it sounded childish, all they ever told her was to focus on her studies and get out from her daydreams. But Oz and now her art teacher were two of her favourite people in the world. The blonde had a lightbulb go on in her head as though she remembered something. She cleared her throat and turned to Oz.
“Sir Oz, if thee would have the goodness to acquire the writing instruments I have left in the royal carriage?” Fischl flashed her counsellor a look with a microscopic nod. The darker haired male caught onto the code signal they had made earlier in the car and nodded back. “As you wish, mein fräulein.” He dipped his head and strolled his way back to the car parked outside, fully intent on taking his sweet time. Y/n took the two’s small interaction to take a sip from her water bottle. “Apologies for the delay in our conversation, we shall continue on.”
The teacher smiled with closed eyes. “Of course. Hmm… May I inquire how my lady would be settling in the academy these days?”
“It’s so great!! I even made three new friends—” The blonde cleared her throat, flushed slightly. “I mean.. ahem, Everything has been wondrous up until now. Everyone appears welcoming and I have made a handful of acquaintances.” She fixed herself as Y/n grinned. “That sounds good! So, anyone you’re.. Interested in?” The h/c haired teacher raised her brow teasingly as Fischl flushed for the second time, coughing while averting her gaze. Y/n’s eyes brightened. “So there is! Tell me tell me, what’s he like— or she?”
When it came to anyone else’s romance life other than her own, Y/n had a habit of turning back into a giddy teen girl she never had the chance to be.
“Erm…” Her green eye awkwardly tried to find a place to look. She snapped back into reality. This was about her teacher, not herself. “That— that is an inquiry for another tea time!” “Hehe, alright.”
“But I do have an inquest of my own, professor.”
“Hm? Go ahead my lady.”
“Do you have any romantic interests yourself?” She finally shot the question half of the school was wondering at this point. The teacher pondered for a while. “Mmmm, not at the moment. Why?” “Simply curious. A fair maiden of your beauty and kindness would surely have quite the handful chasing after you.” Y/n laughed heartily. “You make me blush. But to be honest…” Fischl’s eye glistened as she leaned in.
“..I’ve actually never been in a relationship in my life.” The blonde blinked at the confession. She had at least expected the art teacher to have dated a few times with how pretty she was.
Men are blind.
“How it be??” She muttered to herself. Her teacher snorted at the response, quickly regaining her composure. “When I was in highschool, I was focusing too much on my studies to even think about the idea. In college, I just didn’t find anyone who clicked with me you know?” Y/n’s eyes softened at the memories. “I don’t want to burden my romantic partner with my lack of experience even if I were to date now. Plus, I like teaching anyways. I’m not sharing all those starbucks gift cards I get at the end of the year with anyone.” She stuck her tongue out jokingly while Fischl watched with an unreadable look in her eye uncovered by the eyepatch.
“..What if your partner was also someone with lack of experience, and shares a similar career?”
“Hm… That would depend. Why the sudden interest?”
“I—it was merely the curiosity of a learning disciple.”
“Alright~”
☆
As usual, Y/n was home before her roommate. Since it was finals season, he arrived back home even later as of recently which made having dinner together a rarity.
Ever since last night— she couldn’t tell if things between them were even more awkward or solved. Well, she certainly didn’t feel uncomfortable around him. But she didn’t know how Scaramouche felt about the situation.
She couldn’t come to conclusions on why he even started to avoid her in the first place. The most reasonable candidates were that he either found her insufferable all of a sudden, or family problems again. If it was the latter, she would’ve probably heard from Yae. Now thinking of it.. It had been a while since she spent much time with Yae or Ei. Mentally placing it on a checklist, Y/n tossed her tote bag somewhere onto her bed and flopped onto it.
Finally, her eyes let go of its strength and shut together. Her thoughts felt like a messy room she needed to clean but kept procrastinating. Everything certainly had a place to go if it ended up out splayed out on the floors, but the owner simply didn’t know where to start due to the overwhelming piles of mess. The teacher bit the inside of her cheek and flipped so that she was laying on her stomach instead.
She felt guilty about last night. This was her own problem to deal with, Scaramouche didn’t have to share the burden with her. After the whole sob session was over, she woke up to find out that he had even bothered to add an extra lock onto the door while she was asleep. Right— she didn’t even thank him properly today since he left before she did. E/c irises gazed all over the place, not knowing where to place them.
There were many times she wished she wasn’t a chronic liar by nature. It wasn’t like her lies had a purpose to deceive others of her true intentions, but more like an over exaggerated sugarcoating. Placing layers and layers of a different coloured paint until it’s barely visible even if you squint.
But she simply didn’t know where to begin picking up the pieces of the shattered porcelain. Instead, she threw everything into a presentable box— hopefully to fix it later, and placed the box under the spotlight it as the original work. It had been past twenty years since then. Y/n placed an arm over her eyes, darkness falling over her vision. She didn’t want to look at anything.
If she withstood just a few more years until university.. Would things have changed? Would her parents truly have changed?
Would father still be alive?
She shook her head rapidly to rid herself of the thoughts. What has happened…. Has happened. Nothing can be reserved in this story of life no matter how desperately you pray to whatever being in the third person’s seat.
Everything felt like it was going to pile up on her until she drowned in it. Her mother being top on the list, followed by everyone’s off behaviour these days. One thing good about being the person who ignores everything she doesn’t feel the need to deal with, is that people simply assume she’s blind to her surroundings. Of course she saw the way her students often huddled up and snickered amongst one another while glancing towards her direction. Even the other teachers glancing at her with shared smiles only she didn’t understand.
No… You already made a waterworks show yesterday, don’t cry again. Your mascara is expensive.
Y/n placed pressure in her stomach, but soon almost choked due to the small hiccups that forced their way out.
A meow at her door took her attention.
She shook her head and got up, opening the door that was emitting small scratching noises. Kabuki’s blue eyes stared into hers, sparkling in the dim room light. With another long meow, he pushed his face into her ankle as she picked the feline up. Y/n sat on the edge of her bed with Kabuki in her arms, who started making biscuits on her thighs. Even the tiny pressing feeling from his small paws felt numb at the moment.
“Kabuki…” She breathed out shakily. The said feline mrrphed, ears flickering. “Do you think Scaramouche would mind if I moved out?”
Kabuki’s fluffy tailed swayed side to side— mindlessly nuzzling into her fingers affectionately. Of course, he wouldn’t understand. His loud purring sent small vibrations through her fingertips. “My friend said she has an empty room in her apartment. I’ll make sure he feeds you every day even if I leave, okay..?” The feline blinked as a warm drop of liquid hit his dark pelt softly. “Scaramouche looks too attached to you for me to just take you. I’m not that mean.” Y/n shuddered another whisper out. Her hand running through his soft fur stopped, unable to shake off the trembling.
“I’m going to get another leg day running from my problems..”
——
A/n aint no way mirae consistently updating 🤯
I decided to finish notes before moving onto my other fics 🐺 (hopefully) weekly updates from now on
Happy new years 😋
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