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Cyno doesn’t consider himself to be a vain person. His choice of clothes is generally based on functionality, not on appearance. Still, he finds himself standing in front of his mirror for the fifteenth time, eyeing his own reflection from top to bottom. Around his feet, clothes are strewn all over the floor. He does not look forward to cleaning up the mess, but he really has more important things to worry about at the moment. With a groan of frustration, he checks his phone. Kaveh still hasn’t responded to his distress calls, and the clock glaring back at him painfully reminds him that Tighnari will come pick him up any minute now. This outfit will have to do.
As if on cue the bell to his apartment rings. After a last glance at his reflection, Cyno rushes to answer the intercom. “I’ll be right down,” he promises before Tighnari can so much as greet him.
“I can also come up if you’re not ready yet,”, Tighnari’s voice crackles through the speakers, distorted by static but unmistakeable.
“No need.”
If Cyno has any more time to reconsider his choice of what to wear he might never leave his apartment. Winter has taken a hold of the weather in the past few days, so Cyno grabs a coat to throw over on his way out. He doesn’t bother buttoning it up yet as he grabs the bag he’s placed next to the door, lest he forget to bring it with him.
Tighnari’s cheeks are tinged red from the cold, and Cyno feels momentarily guilty for not inviting him up as he steps out of his apartment building. Perhaps a little time to warm up would’ve been good for him.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he apologizes, a shiver running through him as a gust of wind blows right through his clothes. He leans in to press a kiss of greeting to Tighnari’s lips.
“It’s fine,” Tighnari waves him off with a smile. The colour in his face makes him look even cuter than usual, and as so often Cyno is struck with disbelief that this gorgeous man is actually his boyfriend. He must have accumulated so much good karma in his previous life.
“I’ve never seen those clothes on you before,” Tighnari notes, giving him a once over that somehow makes Cyno feel self-conscious all over again.
Tighnari has an incredible poker face and even after dating for four months already, Cyno still is unable to decipher him at times. He has opted for a very simple outfit, a dark grey button-down and black slacks. The most exciting part of his outfit is the golden necklace Tighnari gifted him for their one month anniversary, mirroring the design of Tighnari’s earring. Everything else about it is rather plain, but Cyno figured that that meant he couldn’t go wrong with it… right?
“I can go back up to change?” he offers cautiously.
Tighnari’s eyes widen and he shakes his head. “Don’t you dare! You look amazing,” he assures Cyno, and there is something in his voice. Even with his coat open Cyno suddenly doesn’t feel cold anymore.
“A shame my parents are expecting us,” Tighnari sighs, sounding as if he is talking to himself more than he is to Cyno.
Tell them I’m sick and we’ll come over another day, a traitorous voice in Cyno’s head wants to suggest but he squashes it with no pity. There’s no way he will back out, even when Tighnari eyes him like that.
“We should get going or we’ll miss our train,” Cyno says, as much to Tighnari as to himself.
Casting a glance at his watch, Tighnari curses. “Damn, you’re right.”
On the way to the station, Tighnari tells Cyno about the plant that’s been discovered in the rainforest by a researcher from his alma mater. He is rather excited about the prospect of getting his hands on some samples, since it exhibits characteristics that could be helpful for the medicine he’s currently working on. His voice soothes Cyno almost enough to forget all about their destination. He can just pretend they’re on one of their usual weekend dates and he’s not heading to the tribunal that will decide his future with Tighnari.
It is unusual for Valuka Shuna to only have one child, but perhaps that’s what has made Tighnari’s bond with his parents all the tighter. Almost a decade after moving out, Tighnari still goes visit them for brunch every other Sunday, and their family group chat is perpetually active. To say that Tighnari is very close with his parents almost is an understatement, which means that their approval or disapproval might very well determine if their relationship can last. The stakes are high for this meeting, which doesn’t exactly help ease Cyno’s tension.
On the train, he keeps fidgeting with the rings on his fingers, with the creases of fabric in his coat, with the strings of the bag he’s carrying—anything that is within reach, really. In fact he is just one step away from bouncing his leg when Tighnari’s hand envelops his. They are just sitting quietly next to each other, and Tighnari doesn’t acknowledge the gesture with words. Instead he squeezes Cyno’s hand once and smiles at him knowingly.
It’s fine. You don’t have to worry, they’ll love you. He doesn’t have to say it for Cyno to understand. Now he only needs to believe it too. Weakly, he smiles back. Even if he’s not convinced he is grateful for the faith Tighnari has in him.
Four stops before they have to get off Cyno’s phone vibrates in his pocket. Expecting Kaveh to have finally taken pity on him—albeit way too late for his opinion to actually matter—Cyno checks the notification. He indeed has a new text, but it’s not from Kaveh.
a.h.> One piece of advice. Do not be yourself. If you love Tighnari, no jokes.
Cyno swears he’s never asking Kaveh for help again. He just can’t keep his mouth shut around that roommate of his, and Cyno is not going to suffer from his unsolicited opinions again.
--
Tighnari’s parents live in an apartment in the suburbs, in a quiet neighbourhood. The city center is exhausting for Tighnari, with his advanced hearing, and Cyno assumes that his parents are similarly sensitive to noise. Even now, on the weekend, there aren’t many people up and about. They walk past two parks and five bakeries in the span of the ten minutes it takes to get from the station to Tighnari’s parents’ place. Cyno is already starting to understand why Tighnari loves spending his Sundays here.
All the nervousness he managed to push down wells up again when Tighnari slows to a halt in front of a four storey building. Tighnari has not let go of Cyno since the subway, and Cyno is eternally grateful for it. Tighnari’s hand might very well be his lifeline right now.
Standing on the doorstep Tighnari turns to Cyno. “Ready?”
“Ready,” Cyno lies.
Tighnari eyes him sympathetically, seeing right through Cyno as he always does. He presses a quick kiss to Cyno’s lips, then he turns and presses the bell.
Tighnari’s parents await them at the doorway. The moment Tighnari sees them, his expression brightens with a fondness Cyno has no seen before. Sure, Tighnari’s face has a way of going soft when he looks at Cyno but this is different. This is family. A fondness spreads through Cyno he didn’t expect amidst all his tension. He only gets a moment to enjoy the feeling however, then Tighnari’s parents are done hugging their son and turn to him instead. He automatically straightens his back, standing up as tall as he last did during his final exam at the academy.
“So, you’re Cyno,“ Tighnari’s father says. His hair is a brighter shade than Tighnari’s, looking closer to lime than to green. His voice is deeper than his slim frame would suggest, but it holds just as much warmth as Cyno expected. “We’re glad to finally meet you, after all we’ve heard about you from Nari.”
Only good things, please only good things.
“Baba,” Tighnari whines, and if that isn’t a new experience. “Don’t embarrass me, please.”
“We would never,” his mother promises with a smile. “We’re just excited you’ve finally decided to introduce your boyfriend to us. But come in, it’s cold outside!”
It really is, but at least as long as they were standing in the staircase, Cyno could blame the colour on his cheeks on the cold. Inside the warm apartment, he finds that all his excuses quickly disappear.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Cyno says, his voice sounding too mechanic to his own ears. He holds his hand out with the bag he brought along. “This a bottle of Mondstadt wine. Dawn Winery is supposedly one of the finest wineries there is.” He had agonized forever over what to bring as a present but ended up settling on wine. It is the classical choice when invited over, after all.
“You wouldn’t have had to,” Tighnari’s father says but he accepts the bottle with words of gratitude. “Why don’t you boys go ahead already while we sort out the last few dishes?”
Grateful for the reprieve Cyno follows Tighnari down the hallway into what he assumes to be the living room cum dining room. He barely even takes notice of the decoration around him, too preoccupied with all the conversation topic options he has mentally prepared.
“You okay?” Tighnari quietly asks, tucking a strand of Cyno’s hair behind his ear. It is a small gesture of affection he started a few weeks ago, and it always makes Cyno melt a tiny bit.
“I’m fine,” Cyno assures him. “Your parents seem very nice.”
Tighnari smiles at him, one of those rare smiles full of warmth. Where his expression before was one reserved for his parents, this one is reserved for Cyno. It never fails to make Cyno feel light-headed to be at the receiving end of this expression. If they were in his apartment, or Tighnari’s, he’d lean in to kiss Tighnari silly, but he is too afraid that Tighnari’s parents will walk in any second. A full display of PDA on the very first meeting might be taking it a bit too far, even if Tighnari’s parents seem very liberal. As if on cue, Tighnari’s father appears in the doorway, carrying a steaming bowl of safron rice.
“Food is ready!” he announces, ushering them towards the table that’s already been decked out in cold appetisers.
When Tighnari’s parents are done bringing out all the dishes, the tabletop is barely visible anymore. There is no way they are going to finish even half of the food between the four of them.
“We might have gotten a bit excited when Nari told us he was going to bring you along this weekend,” Tighnari’s mother admits sheepishly.
The food is delicious, and Cyno says as much, but after a brief exchange of pleasantries, silence falls over the table. It must have been just a handful of seconds, yet Cyno feels as if it stretches on forever. Tighnari tries his best to function as a calm anchor for Cyno but Cyno can tell that he is nervous as well. He wants his parents to like Cyno while simultaneously worrying about Cyno liking his parents. For all his usual confidence, he is surprisingly vulnerable in this situation.
Al-Haitham’s words resound in his head like a warning—do not tell jokes—but they are swiftly ignored as Cyno’s mouth moves on its own accord before Cyno can stop it.
“I hear you’re a computer scientist?” he asks Tighnari’s father.
Tighnari’s father, in the middle of helping himself to more Tabouleh, looks at Cyno in confusion. His gaze darts to Tighnari as if to ask his son what he has been telling Cyno, for Cyno not to know that he’s an entomologist. Cyno’s pulse is thundering in his ears, and his palms are sweaty. He feels vaguely sick with all the attention on him. He is already regretting the joke but his only choice now is to press on.
“Well, you deal with bugs every day, right?”
The entire table falls stunned silence, broken only by Tighnari’s groan right next to him. Tighnari has told him that his jokes are bad countless times but Cyno always assumed he was just too proud to admit that he also found them funny. Right now, Cyno isn’t so sure anymore and his heart sinks into his stomach. That’s it. Now he’s done it. He has embarrassed Tighnari in front of his parents. He has failed the family trial and Tighnari will have to break up with him.
Damn, Al-Haitham was right, Cyno’s brain unhelpfully supplies and if that isn’t the most painful thought of all.
Cyno is already mentally plotting how to erase all traces of his existence and go into hiding when suddenly, Tighnari’s father bursts into deep, bellowing laughter that resounds from the walls. Tighnari groans again.
“Baba,” he says, half pleading, half warning.
Tighnari’s father ignores him, focussing on Cyno instead with a brilliant smile. “You must be teaching choir then.”
Cyno is feeling too heady from the sudden relief that Tighnari’s family has not thrown him out of the apartment.
Cyno is still too heady from the sudden relief of not having been thrown out of the house that he actually does not manage to connect the dots. Instead he just blankly looks at Tighnari’s father, who thankfully doesn’t let him dangle for long.
“Since it’s your job to make people sing.”
Oh. Oh. Because he is a detective!
With sparkling eyes, Cyno looks first at Tighnari’s father, who is chuckling to himself, then to Tighnari, who has his face buried in his hands. “I knew you two should’ve never met,” he complains but Cyno can see the smile from between his fingers, belying his disgruntled tone.
Cyno feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders, and despite all the scowling, the tension has eased from Tighnari’s shoulders as well.
“Mama, when is your expedition to The Chasm starting again?”
Cyno perks up at the mention of The Chasm. Just last week his department had sent over officers to assist the Liyue Milileth to combat the Treasure Hoarders trespassing despite the Chasm having been sealed off. Cyno himself had been asked to join as well, but it would have meant at least a handful of months away from Sumeru City—and thus Tighnari. It might have been a smart career move, to network with a foreign police department, but Cyno isn’t ready to be away from Tighnari for so long, especially with how new their relationship still is.
“There’s been some delays with the paperwork, so it has been pushed back by a few weeks,” Tighnari’s mother sighs, then turns to Cyno to explain. “They’ve discovered fossils of marine creatures deep within The Chasm, and since we can’t possibly allow miners to retrieve them, my team applied for a special excavation permit with the Qixing. It’s been a long process but we eventually got a positive response, so now we’re preparing to head out.”
“It is a good thing that the fossils are of little interest to the Treasure Hoarders that have been swarming the Chasm. They just don’t appreciate their sedimental value,” Cyno says matter-of-factly.
It takes a second for his words to sink in. Tighnari’s father is the first one to react, then Tighnari’s mother follows, and Tighnari is last.
“Please stop,” he pleads but his father is laughing and his mother is laughing, and yeah, perhaps Cyno can do this.
There is hope for his relationship with Tighnari yet.