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Accidents happen, don’t they? Well, the funniest ever had poured upon you and your superior. Well, it should’ve been funny that is — because Scaramouche was glaring at you with those intimidating violet irises of his that you’d secretly come to adore. As terrifying as he was in the heat of battle or when he’s not off-duty, the pretty boy had a few perks and physical attributes you’d grown to be intensely fond of, unbeknownst to him.
It was the big things at first — his big hat that he wore. You wondered if it was heavy on his head, and if it were, he must be incredibly strong to have it on while still being able to carry on his duties swiftly and as efficiently that result way beyond your comprehensiveness and capability. He was not a Sixth Harbinger for nothing.
Then you’d began to notice his less noticeable traits that most Fatui officers wouldn’t dare stare at him for — his hair that bounced with every step, the little tail that stayed slightly longer than his other strands and stopped at the base of his neck, his beautiful purple orbs that shone with a glint that you couldn’t decipher. It was as if his behavior changed in seconds and you could barely keep up. It was then that you’d began to become more aware of his personality off work where you’d see him lounging out and about and just drinking a glass of apple cider. You didn’t really take him to be the type to be a fan of the beverage, but you shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions either.
In taverns where he laughed freely and joyously or on late nights as the wind blew high while he sat on a boulder with a gentle gaze towards the sky did you finally realize this was not The Balladeer, the Sixth Harbinger — this was Scaramouche.
You could’ve been imagining things. This was your boss, after all. A man who mercilessly strikes down his enemies without a moment wasted, lying through his teeth to get what he wanted and needed to serve the Tsaritsa. Yet the very same man who committed crimes and shed cold blood sat lonely on a hill atop, your eyes watching him in silence as he breathed in all the fresh air he could take in now before he jumps back into the battlefield.
It was only when you’d started to pick up on his little minuscule habits that you’d realize you were slowly, but surely falling for this man. His upper teeth nibbling at his bottom lip every time he’d get agitated before throwing a nasty look at anyone who talks to him; or that habit of his where his forehead would wrinkle in annoyance when someone interrupts him when he speaks; and how could you ever forget his hands constantly intertwining with one another and playing with his own fingers to relieve stress?
These little things you’d noticed about him were the reason for your attraction and it was almost scary how much you actually observed him from a distance without fearing any consequences for looking at him without his permission.
Well, it wasn’t that you weren’t scared, but it was if you had a feeling he wouldn’t actually snap at everyone who looked his way like he did on a daily basis to his underlings on a mission that would nearly fail.
It was by a fortunate chance that you were asked by Scaramouche himself to accompany him on a mission that was recently handed to him — a very important mission so you could only bear so much pressure on your shoulders when he’d come to you expecting proud results after this seemingly most arduous of tasks.
You didn’t know why he’d picked you out of all the agents within the organization. There could’ve been better participants who could easily and efficiently carry out his orders without a hitch yet you, a lowly underling with no outstanding abilities that could’ve piqued his interest, was chosen by the man himself.
Was he going to scold you in private because he’d actually noticed your lack of shame in disrespecting his privacy with your incessant staring?? Or was he going to ditch you in the middle of the mission in an attempt to dispose of you?? It wouldn’t even be an attempt, actually — he had the power to do so!
And your naivety led you to this situation now.
The rain poured hard and the thunder struck loud. Stuck in a ghost town because of your horrible navigation sense. Scaramouche had trusted you with the map (or at least that was how you saw it) and you both led yourself to this gloomy, dark scenery.
“(Y/n),” you flinch as you heard him address you — you didn’t really want to see what kind of face he was making right now, “where are we?” He asked so calmly that it made you nervous.
Traversing Liyue was a foreign task to subdue, not to mention, you’ve never even been to Liyue before! You were just grabbed — whoosh! — straight up from Snezhnaya to Liyue you go.
“Uh…” You gulp down the nervous bile that was slowly starting to clog your throat. Looking around just a bit more and seeing nothing but tall dark trees that loomed over you both with blue wisps that lit up the pathways (and honestly weren’t much help), your eyes flitted over to meet Scaramouche who glared at you. “... we may or may not be lost, My Lord.”
Well, it was fun while it lasted.
He narrowed his eyes at you, your body instinctively reacting in fear as you impulsively jumped back with hands raised to rest on the top of your head to protect your skull. You waited for a little more but you were only greeted with silence and looking up, the Harbinger only gave you this annoyed look, his hands still beside him.
He wasn’t going to hit you? Nor punish you in any way?? You almost felt you could cry from happiness having escaped his wrath.
“What are you doing?” His voice was clear as always, unshaken by the fact that you two were lost.
Your lip quivers as you respond, slightly ajar by his lack of murderous intent at the moment. “I—u-uhm…” You couldn’t just tell him that you expected him to kill you!
Scaramouche scoffs, shaking his head. “No matter. We’ll have to find someplace dry. We wouldn’t want you getting sick.” And just like that, he went his merry way forward to anywhere but where you both are now.
You stood still, your shoes glued to the grass as you blush at his choice of words — did he mean that in a way that he cared secretly for his underlings!? Your heart beat erratically at this newfound—
“I wouldn’t want a deadbeat on my watch. If you die, that’s on you. I’d rather not have a coughing idiot trailing behind me.” He added quickly and that might’ve pooped on your dreams a bit, but it was progress, wasn’t it?? He was indirectly telling you to take care of yourself!
‘No, he wasn’t, but positive thinking!’ You slapped yourself mentally.
“O-Of course, My Lord.” You stammered, tripping slightly as you neared him.
The rain had dampened you from head to toe, your clothes sticking to you. You nearly let out a disgusted yelp at the squelching noise with every move you made, but kept it in because Scaramouche might actually have your head if you started complaining. You turned to your superior and noticed he was as dry as before the rain even started pouring. How? Well, the answer lies with his big hat. How convenient!
It hadn’t even been two minutes before he paused midway, with you stopping right behind him. You looked over his shoulder to check what was in front that had halted the trip back to where you both came from and surprisingly enough, there was a cliff. Below the cliff was a long way down below — and you two would have jumped in since it wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway with one of you already being wet but you doubted Scaramouche would appreciate diving into a body of water without a spare of clothes.
Oh god — that looked so… far away. Sure, water could save you two when you two jump in but this triggered your fear of heights bad . You swallowed the fear down, not wanting to break in front of your intimidating superior.
He sighs, violet pupils turning left and right before flitting back down as he leaned slightly forward. “There’s no way else to go but down.” He muses.
You stiffen — no way, was he actually going to jump down? You expected him to be a bit more stuck-up with being wet and being dry!
“W-We’re jumping?” You quizzed, still flabbergasted by his decision.
Scaramouche raises a brow, sensing your tone of voice that seemed to be laced with hesitance and fear. He looks at you with a glare, crossing his arms. “What, are you too chicken to dive in?”
“N-No, My Lord, it’s just—”
“Then you go first.”
HUH!?
“W-What?!” You sputtered, backing away as he continued to stare at you with boredom glinting within those lush purple eyes of his. “But I couldn’t possibly—but—how could I—??” You stammered, tripping over your words as you inch away from the cliff.
Scaramouche frowned at you disapprovingly. “And whose orders are you following, (Y/n)?”
You felt your heart rate pace quicker. You admired him, really, you did — but him pushing you to do this was a little too much!
“Tick tock, tick tock—if we’re doing this, now is the best time to do so.” He mocked you from the sidelines.
“B-But—!” Your pupils dilated at the sight of the faraway waterfall that paraded on the lake — what if you jump and you hit that large stoned arena?! You’d die! You shut your eyes tight, completely washed over by fear. “I can’t…”
Scaramouche stared at you with disappointment, scoffing. “Had I known one of my less avid underlings were this incompetent, I would’ve asked them to kick you out long ago.” He icily speaks through gritted teeth. “You should quit the Fatui, dear. It’s best you do if you’re going to be this scared of everything.”
Your cheeks felt like it was being pricked by a thousand needles, your eyes finally wetting with tears and not rain. Your heart ached, longing for his approval. But he was right — what were you in the Fatui for, if not for being a burden to him and to your co-Fatui agents? If you retire now, you could’ve saved hundreds of lives from dying in a mission because of your naivety. Your body shook from the cold and the numbing fear that nipped at your skin, your arms hugging yourself to provide what little amount of body warmth you could give.
Scaramouche eyed your trembling form, releasing an irritated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. He rolled his eyes and walked over to you, standing close enough just where his hat covered you and him from the hard rain. Like an umbrella being shared between two people.
“A good Fatui Agent learns from their mistakes,” you paused, your tear-stained cheeks and red nose visible as you looked at him with curiosity, all the while sniffling; Scaramouche groaned mentally at having to comfort his underling who had such a soft heart. “... don’t lose hope here, soldier. If you give up now, then you’re no more than a fool with guts.” He gave you an expectant expression, hoping you caught what he was trying to say. “And if you got under my wing, then I know you’re capable of way bigger things than this.”
Your eyes widened at his sudden gesture of encouragement. “My Lord…” You gawk at him, completely awe-inspired.
Scaramouche steps a little closer, noticing your shoulders were still getting hit by those pesky raindrops, scoffing as he did so. “Like I said, I don’t want a deadbeat.”
Your eyes glimmered with happiness, trying your very best not to hug him. Keep your boundaries intact, he was still your boss no matter how he treated you. You hastily wiped away those tears, smiling confidently as you felt a newfound strength blossom at the core of your heart.
“Let’s jump.” You tell him.
Scaramouche gave you a raise of his brow, taken aback slightly by your sudden change in behavior but still quietly applauded you for your guts.
“That’s the kind of attitude I wanna see.” He chuckles, grinning slyly. He positioned himself on the cliff, knees bent as he counted. “Three, two, o—”
You interrupt immediately. “But can we stay here for a while?”
Scaramouche nearly doubles forward at your sudden intervention, forcing all the gravity to bring him back to the safer part of the cliff before shooting you a nasty glare. “What? What do we need to stay here for?”
You awkwardly rub the back of your head, cheeks blush with a rose color. “P-Personal desires, My Lord.”
You were glad he didn’t ask further than that. But he still told you off for demanding so much from him and was lucky to have caught him in a moderately good mood, otherwise he would’ve stranded you here.
And under his large hat, you two share an umbrella to keep you both from the rain.