Archive of Our Own

Thoma hummed to himself on his way down the sidewalk, pedaling his bike casually and slowly under the humid sun of summer. His bike pulled along a light, tiny trailer, in which sat an assortment of baking supplies.

Thoma was on his way to the Kamisato household; he knew he was close by the way the houses around him suddenly became more well-kept, and the lawns more well-manicured. Around another corner, and the houses grew larger and larger.

He smiled, then, as he saw one of the biggest houses on the street. It was painted a very pale blue that was nearly white, and at some times during the day it blended in with the sky. Many modern-styled windows decorated the front of the house, accenting the beautiful details on the similarly-styled balcony, door, and roof. It was a very modern house made to have Inazuman details (like the shingles on the roof that stuck out far from the walls).

Across the street were an assortment of other modern houses, but Thoma didn’t care for them as much as the Kamisato’s mansion. He pulled up in the driveway with his bike, and left it leaning against the garage before heading towards the front door.

He knocked on the door with a cheerful smile, and was even more pleasantly surprised when Ayato was the one answering.

“Morning, Thoma,” Ayato bowed in a friendly way.

“Mr. Kamisato,” Thoma greeted with a grin.

“What can I do for you?” Ayato leaned against the doorframe.

“Well, I noticed yesterday that your fridge was full of microwave meals, and decided that you could probably use some fresh baked goods. Have you eaten lunch yet, by the way? I could make you something,” Thoma offered.

“That sounds lovely,” Ayato smiled. “Let me help you bring your stuff in.”

The two men walked down towards the garage together, standing awfully close, sending sunny smiles each other’s way. They each grabbed a load from the tiny trailer, talking about their day. Ayato was talking about how he’s applying to a new business internship and taking extra times to study for his business degree, and Thoma updated his friend on how nannying was going.

“Hey boys!” Ayaka’s light voice suddenly called.

They looked at the street where Ayaka was driving back home with Yoimiya, Lumine, Amber, Collei, Layla, Xiangling, Yun Jin, and Nilou in her convertible, all stuffed and sitting on each other’s laps as if the law was a joke (it is). As a popular girl at her school, it might not surprise many to learn that this was only half of her friend group.

“We’re having a girl’s hang out today!” Ayaka pulled into the driveway.

She was 17, and loved showing off her driving permit to her friends, who were almost all about her age but without the money or time to use a car or get a permit. When Thoma came over to visit her brother, 20 year old college-attending business-intershipping Kamisato Ayato, he often saw her hanging out with her girls.

“Thoma!” The convertible’s populace called.

“Hey guys!” Thoma laughed.

“I’m starting to think they love you more than me,” Ayaka laughed as she parked right outside the garage door.

“He is here basically every time we come over, and he’s very nice,” Amber pointed out.

“And he can cook, unlike either of you,” Collei jumped in.

“Rude!” Ayaka smiled as she stepped out of the car. “Anyway, Thoma, what sort of chore did you come up with to hang out with Ayato?”

“I didn’t come up with it,” Thoma blushed. “You actually needed help, and as your friend, I’m helping. It’s not just to see him.”

All of the girls paused in the middle of hopping out of the car just to send a knowing glare his way. They were well aware of his little crush on Kamisato Ayato.

“A week ago, your excuse was that one singular lightbulb was flickering once. You replaced all our lightbulbs,” Ayaka rolled her eyes. “And remember in winter when Ayato mentioned it was cold and you, for some reason, decided to redo the insulation in our walls? That was a three-month-long project for a guy who could’ve just worn a blanket!”

“Simp,” Yoimiya whispered loud enough for most of them to hear.

Thoma flushed scarlet, having overheard her comment.

“...Anyway, now that you’re all here, I guess I’ll have to stay a bit longer to cook more things—” Thoma changed the subject.

“Not subtle~” Xiangling sang.

Thoma and Ayato thus continued into the house, where they set the cooking supplies in the kitchen. Thoma was interacting casually with Ayato, but his heart fluttered when they stood near, his face grew warm when their hands or hips brushed as they helped unpackage the contents of Thoma’s bags.

“You can go work now, I’ll start cooking,” Thoma insisted to Ayato.

“Alright. Don’t overwork yourself,” Ayato nodded and went to sit at the dinner table in the other room, within Thoma’s line of sight.

The thing was, Thoma had a big ass crush on Ayato. Ever since Thoma moved to Inazuma from Mondstadt, Ayato was the only boy who lived relatively nearby that was willing to put salaries aside and become friends, they’d been incredibly close.

Thoma always found ways to see Ayato. The girls were right when they pointed out that he came over every time they were there, and that he was always doing it under the pretense of ‘something important’, when it was really just an excuse. Thank the archons Ayato hadn’t figured it out.

His top excuses were that he was visiting Ayaka (used 60% of the time), doing some kind of cleaning (25%), cooking or helping with any kind of food (15%), or yard work (9.8%). That extra .2 was saved for the sole time he admitted accidentally that he wanted to hang out with Ayato.

Let’s check on Ayato’s point of view on all of these visits:

It’s always to visit Ayaka, Ayato sighed, re-reading the same paragraph of his book. He’s definitely hitting on her. He was particularly stressed and saddened these days. He knew, deep down, even though he tried to push it away, that his crush was going after his sister.

He didn’t know what to do. Thoma was his only close companion besides his sister, and he had been there for him ever since he moved to Inazuma. He was amusing, kind, and extremely handsome. He could do everything Ayato couldn’t. He had comforted him when he was struggling with a failure on his path to his chosen career, and he had been there at every single one of his parties and celebrations.

It’s like Thoma was a solid, undeniable part of his life. He couldn’t let him go.

But he was ever so confident that Ayaka would take him away soon.

It was why he had recently been searching up internships at businesses, delving deep into volunteering sessions, and heading away from the house whenever he could. He couldn’t bear to see Thoma, the man he loved but would inevitably lose.

Thoma was oblivious to it all. He thought everything was advancing slowly, but certainly surely. He was confident that if he hung out more with Ayato, the bubbly happy feeling he always felt would pass to Ayato as well. He hoped that soon, they’d get together.

“Hey, I’ve finished,” Thoma called after an hour of preparing the dough for various baked goods. “They’re in the oven.”

“Perfect!” Ayaka called as she walked into the kitchen. “Wanna join us in a TCG game?”

“Sure! Is Ayato coming?” Thoma clapped the flour off his hands.

“Ayato? He left a few minutes ago,” Ayaka frowned.

Thoma glanced over her shoulder towards the couch where he’d been seated. He was indeed gone.

“Huh,” Thoma shrugged, acting indifferent.

He really wished Ayato wouldn’t keep randomly disappearing. He wanted to see those deep eyes, his styled misty hair, his perfect cheekbones, how his eyelashes gracefully accentuated his perfect eyebrows. He wanted to see him every day.

“Well, come along,” Ayaka put up a smile. “Your deck is still here from the last time you forgot it.”

Thoma then followed Ayaka upstairs to where the girls sat in a circle on Ayaka’s room’s floor, laughing away and snuggling together. There was a large tray of snacks that Thoma had arranged earlier.

“Our final player has arrived,” Yun Jin noted.

“The Girl Gang is complete,” Nilou added.

“Lettuce begin,” Collei said as she nibbled on some lettuce.

“Cyno is a horrible influence on you,” Amber laughed.

“Why do you even hang out with those annoying neighbors, anyway?” Layla questioned.

“Well, the Sumeru part of town is very large,” Collei said. “And the closest people that are my age happen to be those four. I couldn’t even bike to your or Nilou’s house! They’re so far.”

“I don’t understand how you handle that Tighnari-Cyno combo. Sarcasm and jokes? Plus the bickering of the other two,” Nilou looked exasperated. “I can put up with Kaveh, but Alhaitham…”

“I have no idea who any of these people are,” Yoimiya stated.

“Yeah, talk about something non-Sumerians can understand,” Lumine huffed.

While the girls talked, they all set out their decks before them. Thoma just followed their actions absentmindedly. He was a bit distant: his brain was off thinking about Ayato, and he didn’t process any conversation because of it.

After a while of topic-switching, everyone was ready.

“Alright, here’s what’s up,” Ayaka began. “Thoma, listen. Stop daydreaming about my brother.”

The girls laughed and Thoma flushed, sitting up straight and blinking around at the crowd, entering reality once again.

“We’re all playing at once, because why not,” Ayaka continued. “All the normal rules apply, and you fight just one person. The thing is, you can switch between which person you're attacking whenever you want. All summons will do damage to everybody at the end of the round. If you die, you’re out.”

“Sounds fun,” Xiangling grinned.

“Hell are you eating?” Lumine looked disgusted at what she held in her hands.

“I mixed the lettuce, carrots, and sausage together, and put some cheddar on top, then dipped it in my applesauce, and sprinkled it with pepper flakes that I keep in my pocket,” Xiangling explained.

“Xiangling,” Thoma finally spoke. “I, as a baker and sort-of-chef, am disgusted.”

“I, Xiangling, as a future professional chef, am delighted,” Xiangling retorted, taking a bite of her slush.

“I think Thoma’s opinion counts more,” Yoimiya offered. “He graduated high school.”

“I will graduate, soon,” Xiangling huffed. “One more year.”

“Poor Amber and Collei will be the only ones left after the rest of us graduate,” Ayaka noted.

“Luckily Collei started making friends with that Sucrose girl,” Layla yawned.

“Right!” Amber grinned. “I got them to start talking. They’re going to be great friends! And then we’ll have a sweet trio.”

Thoma was slowly starting to block them out again.

Where was Ayato? Why had he gone the moment Thoma was done and had hours of free time just for him? Why did he always do this? Thoma shook his head. No, Ayato was just busy with his internship search. Thoma decided not to be mad at his crush just for attempting at a future.

But he couldn’t help it. He was disappointed.

How come he came over every three days (ish), and for the past week he’d only seen Ayato for a cumulative two hours? It used to be so different. Ayato still acted as he did: charming, amazingly hot, handsome, kind, gentle, graceful- but he was gone. Thoma couldn’t see as much of it as he used to.

He decided then, while sitting in a circle playing TCG on steroids with a bunch of high schoolers, that he’d try even harder to see Ayato. He’d see him everyday without fail.

That would surely send the message to Ayato, right? Thoma was stuck with this crush for years on end. He couldn’t even take a joke about romance without blushing and thinking of Ayato immediately. He begged to the archons: let Ayato stop avoiding him.

“Thoma.” Lumine tapped Thoma’s shoulder from his right. “Come back to the land of the living.”

“Huh?” Thoma blinked.

“You just got attacked,” Lumine explained. “You’ve gotta keep track of your health.”

“Right, yeah, sorry,” Thoma nodded apologetically.

“I swear, this kid,” Ayaka rolled her eyes.

“He’s older than you,” Amber laughed.

“He’s the lovesick desperate one, I’m at least somewhat mature,” Ayaka reassured.

“Tell that to your juicy little romance with-”

Xiangling’s mouth was slapped over by Ayaka’s frantic hand. When she realized she was practically leaning on Yoimiya so that she could reach the Liyuean, she blushed and retrieved her hand. All the girls except Yoimiya eyed her amusedly.

“Anyway,” Thoma tried saving his friend. “Who’s turn is it?”

—

The next day, Thoma lay around in his bed, having no nannying jobs that day, and no dirty part of his house left to scrub. He sighed, and then remembered his pledge he made yesterday: He’d try to visit Ayato every single day. Smiling to himself at the thought of the older Kamisato sibling, he took out his phone.

Kamisatos:

Thoma: Hey, Ayaka! Could I hang out today?

Ayaya: I’m going to the mall later with Shinobu, Yoimiya, and Kokomi. Wanna wait for that?

Thoma: Sounds fun. I’ll be there

Ayaya: Perfect. I’ll tell them you’re coming

Thoma: Thanks!

He couldn’t help but wonder where Ayato was. Could he have been reading the conversation, but not participating? Maybe his phone was off, maybe he was still sleeping. No, it was already 8 in the morning. Ayato was way too productive to be still sleeping.

Thoma shrugged the feeling of doubt away. He knew Ayato was just busy. He rolled out of his bed, and got dressed to bike over the the Kamisato household.

Ayato, actually, wasn’t busy. He sat staring at the group chat in his bed. Scrolling up through the past messages, he noted that he hadn’t participated in any conversations since last week. Setting his phone down on his bedside table, he stuffed his face in his pillow, then groaned and sat up. He just remembered he had an application paper to write.

He could really use a Thoma Time to handle all his stress. Back in the day when they’d hang out in a pillow fort despite being seniors in high school, giving each other hairdos and messing around with video games.

But he couldn’t allow himself to hang out with Thoma. He didn’t want to torture himself, or ruin Ayaka’s life. He wanted his sister to be happy, too. If her happiness stemmed from Thoma, then he’d help her in any way he could to get him. Even if it killed Ayato.

“Archons,” Ayato muttered, stretching as he stood.

When Ayato heard the doorbell ring a few minutes later, he felt shivers cascade down his spine. It must’ve been Thoma. Quickly, he closed his door and opened his laptop, pretending to be super preoccupied. He didn’t want to greet Thoma like he usually did, not anymore. Not like yesterday, when Thoma had smiled at him so warmly, when their hands had brushed unloading groceries.

He wished he could.

“Ayato,” Thoma’s voice called from outside his room.

Shit, he came to see him before going to Ayaka’s room.

“I know you’re in there,” Thoma teased, ever lighthearted.

“I’m busy,” Ayato responded.

“Busy enough to hide from me?” Thoma asked. “You always say hi.”

“Sorry, there’s just this paper I’ve got to write. I’m concentrating,” Ayato cringed at his own words.

“I could help,” Thoma offered.

He was too good for this world.

“And before you say no, I’m already coming in, because I suspect Ayaka is still telling her friends that I’m joining them,” Thoma opened the door.

Archons, he was so perfect. His messily-perfect morning hair tied in a tiny ponytail, his bright red hoodie that only made his vibrant olive eyes glimmer more than before. His casual way of standing, as if he was just another part of the family, of the house.

Thoma walked over and sat on the bed with Ayato, their bodies awfully close. Ayato shuddered. He couldn’t handle it. The urge was too strong to hold Thoma closer, to play with his hair like he used to. But he shouldn’t, he couldn’t.

Was Thoma here just to torture him?

“Applying to such a fancy place?” Thoma smiled. “Ambitious.”

On his laptop sat the internship essay he’d started thirty minutes ago and then left unattended after getting lost in thought about a certain someone. He was applying to Yae Miko’s family’s influential publishing agency. He hoped that the experience from this internship would benefit him when he tried to start his own business, or get hired by a very rich one.

“Here,” Thoma reached over and slid the laptop onto his lap. “You could be more optimistic about yourself. You’re laying out all these exaggerated flaws, but you’ve really got many more skills than listed. How could you not mention your skill with math?”

Thoma started typing away, and Ayato blushed as he read along. It was basically a list of compliments, setting out his skill set perfectly, as if Thoma knew everything he could do and how he could do it.

“There, now they’ll think you’re as confident as you actually are,” Thoma grinned, giving the laptop back. “Don’t sell yourself short, Toe.”

Not the middle school nickname. His heart fluttered, despite how silly it was. It brought back memories.

“Thanks, Tho,” Ayato countered with Thoma’s nickname.

They’d always run around saying their names were Toe and Tho. Everyone was confused because they were pronounced the same. According to them, though, they’d been different: Tho was like Toe without the e, and Toe was more like Tow.

Yeah, you’re probably confused. The neighborhood was as well.

But the point is, they were really close. So close that their inside jokes were impossible to decipher by even Ayaka and Sherlock Holmes working as a team. Now they weren’t… For Ayato, as least. Because his stupid feelings ruined their relationship.

“Thoma, where the hell are you?” Ayaka’s light voice called happily. “We’ve got an hour to hang out until the girls get here.”

“Duty calls,” Thoma grinned, saluting Ayato as he stood.

Off to go to Ayato’s sister, like he always did.

Disappointed in Thoma’s leaving and disappointed in himself for being disappointed, Ayato forced a smile.

“Bye.”

Thoma closed the door behind him, frowning to himself. Why was Ayato so… distant. He didn’t strike conversation, he didn’t react to what he added to his essay. He looked pained.

“Ayaka, what is wrong with your brother?” Thoma asked as he barged into Ayaka’s room.

“Ah, another gay crisis,” Ayaka rolled her eyes.

“Wha- no,” Thoma flushed.

He knew Ayaka had guessed about his crush on Ayato, but he still hadn’t admitted it out loud.

“He’s just acting weird,” Thoma huffed.

“What type of weird?” Ayaka wriggled her eyebrows.

“I- why is your face like that?” Thoma glared.

Ayaka wriggled them more aggressively.

“Nevermind. I’ll confide in Kokomi once she gets here. At least she’s nice,” Thoma waved it off.

“Good, I don’t need to hear you rant about how hot my brother is,” Ayaka shuddered. “You really need a male friend to talk about feelings with.”

“Men suck at feelings,” Thoma argued. “Which is why all my friends are girls.”

“Sure it’s not because you’re gay?” Ayaka asked.

Thoma replied by sitting on the ground, avoiding eye contact with purpose.

“You’re an honorary member of the Girl Gang for a reason,” Ayaka laughed.

After ten minutes of switching from topic to topic, the other girls finally arrived.

“Hey Thoma!” Yoimiya greeted. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Haha, very funny,” Thoma smiled.

“Hi, Thoma,” Shinobu called.

“Greetings, comrade,” Kokomi said.

Thus the girls and gay set off for the mall, leaving a depressed Ayato behind to drown in work. They arrived pretty quickly, shouting along to Party In The USA in Ayaka’s convertible while on the road.

Thoma was used to weird looks at the mall. While he carried most of the girl’s stuff because he insisted, he himself also tried on many funny girly outfits and loved to spend hours in spice stores and exotic food places.

Most people thought he was either a babysitter, a very young father, an older brother, or some kind of crazy playboy who got four girls at once.

“So, Kokomi,” Thoma started when the two sat alone at a restaurant, the other girls off doing a mirror maze or something. “You’re the only person I can trust without being teased, and I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure.” Kokomi sipped on her iced coffee.

“Ayato’s been acting really strange,” Thoma began. “He’s kind of distant. He isn’t trying to hang out with me, he isn’t greeting me at the door like usual, and he’s been disappearing whenever I’m around.”

“Sounds like he’s avoiding you,” Kokomi advised wisely.

“Exactly what I thought!” Thoma leaned forward in his chair. “You get me. But I’m wondering why.”

“That’s a complicated question.” Kokomi tapped the table. “I’d guess because he’s got feelings for you, though, just based on my observations. He’s probably trying to push them away, or he gets too embarrassed around you and wants to be away from that. Though, when you’re in love, you tend to spend extra time with that person. Just like you try to do with him. He’s doing the opposite, which suggests he’s trying to hide his feelings, or tell you that he doesn’t like you back.”

“I never said I like him,” Thoma blushed, blinking.

Kokomi rose a brow knowingly.

“How did you know I liked Sara?” Kokomi leaned back.

“Well, you would blush around her, get kinda shy, hang out with her alot, go out alone all the time-” Thoma stopped. “Yeah, I see what you’re getting at. I can’t try and hide it, can I?”

Kokomi shook her head.

“Could you maybe…” Thoma added. “Not tell anybody?”

“Pretty sure they guessed already,” Kokomi smiled gently. “You’re the least subtle person around. But sure.”

“Thanks,” Thoma blushed.

He then let himself take in Kokomi’s advice.

Was Ayato avoiding him because he liked him and didn’t want to, or was he trying to let him down gently? No, Thoma thought, he’s too confident and brilliant for either of those. But still, he probably shouldn’t rule them out, so he keeps those options at the back of his mind, turning his attention to the other girls as they walk over.

Everything was too complicated. Thoma decided that today, he’d focus on hanging out with his friends. He’d worry about Ayato later.

—

Ayato was excited and sad at the same time. It had been a week since Thoma’s pledge to visit him every day (but he doesn’t know about that), and Ayato had been avoiding Thoma extra hard, pushing him in Ayaka’s direction. Now, a sudden opportunity arose.

An actual job. Not an internship, a real job at a high-up business. It would be hard; he’d have to balance out his studies, manage to still attain high grades despite the added work. He’d have to move into the city far away from his sister… and Thoma. Which was a good thing. A great thing. He knew it was what he needed. He should push Thoma away as much as possible.

Ayato nodded to himself alone on his bed. Yes, he should take this opportunity. Especially when he was guaranteed a spot due to his experiences, and the fact that someone had actually recommended him to the company. There were no downsides.

—

“Twenty mora it’s Thoma.” Xiangling bets when the doorbell suddenly rings.

“Fifty more that he’ll ask for Ayato immediately,” Nilou added.

Just as Thoma stepped into the house, saw the girls, and walked over, he smiled and said:

“Hi ladies! Seen Ayato around?”

“Predictable ass,” Ayaka muttered, then added, “Yeah, he’s not in right now, off with Miko I think.”

“Yae Miko?” Thoma furrowed his brows. “The woman who owns that fancy publishing company?”

“Mhm,” Ayaka smiled. “Wanna join us until he gets back?”

Xiangling, Ayaka, Kokomi, Nilou, and underclassmen Nahida, Barabara, and Fischl were all gathered on the living room floor in a circle, a pile of nail polish and hair ties in the center.

“Sure!” Thoma grinned.

What a great distraction from the fact that Ayato was clearly avoiding him.

Thoma sat down in between Nahida and Kokomi. Immediately, he reached into the center and chose a polish he liked.

“Partners?” Nahida’s freshman voice questioned.

“Sure,” Thoma smiled at the younger.

So he took Nahida’s black nail polish bottle (she said she was trying it because her brother, Scaramouche, always used black nail polish) and professionally did Nahida’s nails while the entire party talked.

“Then he skied straight into Razor,” Fischl was saying. “I was aghast at the collision, so much so that I found myself involuntarily laughing.”

The whole group, including Thoma, laughed at the image of the sophomore theater kid group skiing in the first place.

“I remember when Ayato took Thoma skiing,” Ayaka sent an amused look my way while she let Fischl do her nails.

“Please don’t tell this one,” Thoma groaned, teasing.

“So, Thoma wanted to try a snowboard, just to look cool in front of Ayato-”

“That wasn’t why!”

“-And he was absolute ass at it,” Ayaka bit her lip to contain laughter. “I remember watching as he tripped and fell off the ski lift and rolled down the entire hill. Ayato was chasing him on his skis, but he was too slow and hesitant. I ended up catching up to them both and forcing them to the side of the path. Ayato was so concerned when Thoma was taken to the medical center.”

“He was?” Thoma blinked, looking up from Nahida’s nails.

“Of course he was,” Xiangling snorted. “He was always ridiculously concerned for you, before he started ignoring you, that is.”

The group went quiet for a minute.

“Was I not supposed to bring that up?” Xiangling looked apologetic. “I didn’t know it was sensitive, sorry.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Thoma sighed. “He has been ignoring me, and it, frankly, needs to be talked about, because I’m completely lost.”

“Well, this is the exact thing we’re all qualified to handle,” Nilou clapped her freshly-dried hands together. “Let’s all offer our love advice!”

“It’s not love,” Thoma blushed, looking to Kokomi for back up.

The entire group exchanged glances.

“Man’s oblivious to how obvious he is,” Xiangling laughed. “Dude, we all know you’re absolutely smitten.”

“Oh,” Thoma blushed harder.

“Yeah, who doesn’t?” Fischl flicked her hair over her shoulder gently, making sure her nails weren't smudged. “I am years younger and yet I understand your predicament.”

“I knew for years now!” Barbara exclaimed.

Thoma looked at all the knowing gazes sent his way, and decided to fully drop it.

“Fine, I’m crushing on Ayato,” Thoma muttered.

“Finally, he admits it!” Ayaka gasped. “I’ve been waiting for four years! Anyway, back to your problem here, I think we should offer some advice.”

“I already suggested that he was either ignoring Thoma because he wants to let him down gently, or because he doesn’t want to love him but he does,” Kokomi started.

“Perfect,” Nilou nodded. “Now we have to find out which one.”

“I know for a fact that Ayato likes him back,” Ayaka added. “I listened to a three hour rant a few months ago, before the avoidance thing.”

“Yeah. And whenever we get here, he’d always have Thoma up in his room and hoard him to himself,” Xiangling said.

Meanwhile, Thoma finished painting Nahida’s nails, and was flushed very red. The idea of everyone knowing he liked Ayato was daunting. But now he saw how obvious he was, and decided to try and let it go. He capped the bottle and let Nahida dry her polish.

“So there’s no way he’s trying to let Thoma down, right?” Barbara participated as she blew on her nails.

“Yeah, it has to be that he doesn’t want to love Thoma,” Ayaka nodded in all seriousness. “But why?”

“Does he have a diary?” Fischl’s mischievous eyes sparkled.

“No,” Ayaka sighed.

“Yeah,” Thoma said at the same time.

Ayaka blinked a few times.

“What?” she asked.

“Have you never seen him write in it?” Thoma tilted his head as Nahida grabbed Thoma’s hands. “I once found a few journals in his closet, and he’s got this whole diary session he does. I’ve seen it when I was doing other things. He writes in it for ten minutes a day with a blue ball-point pen.”

“That’s awfully gay of you to notice,” Kokomi noted.

“Thanks?” Thoma asked.

“Well, let’s go read it,” Fischl stood.

“Hey, you’re only half done with my hair,” Ayaka protested.

“This is more important,” Fischl stated. “I can always re-do a few braids.”

“Wait, it’s not okay to read someone’s diary,” Thoma quickly argued. “That’s his private information.”

“Aren’t you even a little bit curious at what he wrote about you? Don’t you want to understand his actions and be able to figure it out so you can convince him how amazing you are, and show him that you love him so he doesn’t have to hide his feelings from you? Don’t you want to see him more often?” Nahda’s gentle voice pitched.

She was right. Thoma really wanted to know. But it was wrong, and he respected Ayato too much. So he had a solution;

“What if you go and read it and find the important stuff, then tell me?” Thoma suggested.

“Genius,” Fischl nodded. “Welp, I’m off.”

“I’m coming!” Xiangling insisted.

“Me too,” Nilou joined.

So the three girls set off to Ayato’s room, scourging for his diary. Thoma sat nervously with the rest, watching Nahida do his nails. She wasn’t the best at it, but Thoma didn’t really care if a bit of his skin was dyed red.

“I think, Thoma, that you need to be more obvious with your feelings,” Nahida said quietly. “Why would he try to leave if he loves you? He must think you don’t love him back.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Thoma nodded, still embarrassed about everyone knowing he had a crush.

Ayato frustrated him. He loved Ayato for years now; so desperately that he even swore to see him every day. They were incredibly close friends, and they were inseparable not too long ago. He thought that maybe they were getting close to something more.

He thought the look in Ayato’s eye was unmistakable. But now? If someone really loved someone else, they wouldn’t push them away like that, without any explanation. Right?

He remembered when they’d lay in a field together in the rain, not caring if they’d get sick, relishing the rare downpour that blessed the earth. He remembered them excited to watch a movie that turned out way more boring than the ads depicted, and they talked through the entire thing. He remembered all the times he showed up at the Kamisato house to work on projects that even he could admit didn’t need working on, just to see Ayato.

“But I’ve been pretty straightforward with him, I think,” Thoma added. “I don’t know how he could think I don’t like him.”

“It could be a misinterpretation,” Nahida said curiously, contemplating as she talked. “He could think you were coming over as a friend, or maybe the touches and looks, to him, were meant to tease him. He could, for all we know, think you’re straight.”

“No way,” Ayaka snorted, having eavesdropped. “We’ve gone to Thoma’s house. He had so many sexy boy band posters on his walls that even Ayato should’ve been able to tell.”

Thoma blushed profusely and turned his full attention to Nahida’s painting job.

Suddenly, three sets of feet came rushing down the stairs from Ayato’s room, panting and excited.

“We found the problem!” Xiangling announced.

Fischl opened a tiny plain leather journal, turning to somewhere in the middle.

“The last week or two of entries are all pretty depressing,” Nilou explained. “He thinks-”

Fischl and Xiangling both started laughing before she could finish, like they were trying to hold it in for a while now.

“What’s so funny?” Barbara asked innocently.

“It’s incredibly ridiculous,” Fischl laughed more. “I can’t believe the obscene misinterpretation– how could he make such a mistake?”

“Stop with the suspense, tell us!” Ayaka insisted.

“Basically,” Nilou glared at a still-laughing Xiangling. “He thinks that Thoma is in love with Ayaka.”

“Huh?” Thoma blinked. “I- how?!”

“He thinks that every time you come over, it’s to see her, because inevitably, whenever you visit, you spend the betterment of your time with Ayaka,” Fischl explained, flushed with laughter.

“That’s only because he pushes me out of his room!” Thoma insisted. “I’d spend more time with him if he didn’t force me out.”

“This is so hilarious,” Ayaka was laughing along with Fischl and Barbara now. “I didn’t think he was capable of this much stupidity.”

“Don’t insult him like that, I’m sure there’s an obvious reason for the mistake,” Thoma shook his head.

“Still defending him?” Kokomi rose a brow.

“This isn’t the point,” Nilou sighed. “We have to save him from his stupidity! We need to show him that Thoma likes him. Someone’s gotta run up to him and tell him that they heard Thoma fantasizing about Ayato kissing him or something.”

“I can do it!” Xiangling grinned. “This’ll be great.”

Thoma really wanted to hide his face in his hands, but they were still wet with polish.

“I don’t know if one mention would change his mind,” Barbara interjected. “My sister was helpless for Lisa, and when I told her Lisa liked her back, she denied it and told me to stop messing with her. They only got together when Lisa confessed.”

“We can still try, though,” Xiangling insisted. “And if it doesn’t work, I guess we just have to get Thoma to confess?”

“No, no way, never,” Thoma frantically shook his head. “I am not confessing to him any time soon.”

“But you’ll let us confess for you?” Ayaka smirked. “Coward.”

Thoma huffed but didn’t take the bait, focusing on blowing his nails dry.

“Nahida, want me to do your hair now?” Thoma asked.

“I want to do yours first,” Nahida insisted.

So Thoma let Nahida undo his ponytail and start twisting it into a bun which she then decorated with twigs (she had a ton in her pocket??). Before she was done, the door opened.

The entire party ceased their scheming as Ayato stepped into the household.

“Oh, hi,” Ayato’s eyes immediately focused on Thoma’s.

“We’re doing makeovers,” Ayaka explained.

“How does that involve twigs in Thoma’s hair?” Ayato asked.

He seemed normal, just like always. Completely average and friendly. But then, Thoma predicted, he’d randomly disappear.

“He’s a woodland fire elf,” Nahida exclaimed. “I’m a plant elf. Qiqi’s a certified ice elf, and Scaramouche was made a dark wizard a long time ago.”

“You’ve got a whole world going,” Fischl noted. “Mayhaps I participate?”

“You can be a lightning mage that takes care of the aviary,” Nahida decided knowledgeably.

Despite how she seemed to be very aware of the world and on-point with her predictions and advice, Nahida was very childish. Thoma wondered if all her knowledge was just repeated from things she’d already heard, and maybe she didn’t understand what it actually meant.

“Oh, and Ayato can be Thoma’s forbidden-romance water elf boyfriend,” Nahida added.

Nevermind. She was very smart and knew exactly what she was doing.

“Ah, well,” Ayato blushed a bit, along with Thoma. “I was already made an astral dragon by Ayaka a long time ago…”

“That was when we were kids, must’ve been at least five years ago,” Ayaka rolled her eyes. “I think this new role would suit you better.”

“Mhm,” Ayato glared at Ayaka. “Anyway, I’ve work to do. Have fun, Thoma.”

“Yeah,” Thoma replied quietly, watching Ayato walk away with full attention.

“‘Yeah’? That’s all you’ve got?” Kokomi giggled once Ayato left.

“Leave me alone,” Thoma teased. “I couldn’t think of anything else to say.”

“Archons, you’re gay,” Ayaka dragged a hand down her face.

“Anyway,” Xiangling sent a meaningful smile to the whole group. “I’ll be heading up to talk with him.”

“What if you… didn’t?” Thoma stopped her. “I mean, we’re fine like this, right? We still say hi and look at each other and hang out a bit, so I don’t know if you really need to tell him I like him.”

“Absolute coward,” Ayaka waved Xiangling up the stairs.

Xiangling disappeared, and Thoma waited with shallow breaths until she returned.

“Barbara was right, he needs more convincing,” Xiangling sighed dramatically. “He said he didn’t believe me after I finally got him to respond. He insisted I was pranking him because ‘Thoma is too good for me anyway, there’d be no way he could like me.’”

Thoma didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

“Also- he mentioned he’d be leaving anyway, and that even if Thoma liked him, they wouldn’t see each other again, so it wouldn’t matter,” Xiangling added.

“What?” Thoma’s eyes were wide. “Leaving? How? Why?”

“He got a new job at Ningguang’s company,” Xiangling looked neutral. “He has to move to the city.”

“This is bad,” Ayaka frowned.

Thoma was definitely, incredibly disappointed. So much so that he even felt the gentle prickle of tears threatening his composure. Ayato was leaving? But Thoma had spent years dreaming about him, wishing to be near him, and making excuses to come and visit whenever he could, as often as he could.

He couldn’t just up and leave. That wasn’t right. There had to be a mistake.

The whole room had gone silent, most everyone watching Thoma’s expression collapse. After a moment of trying to not unreasonably cry, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Ayaka.

“I’m sure it’s fine. You can still visit him whenever,” Ayaka reassured.

But to Thoma, it still moved him to rather intense emotions.

“Hey, I have a crazy idea…” Barbara spoke up.

Everyone turned to her, and she blushed from all the attention.

“Um– what if you tried to, I don’t know if this is too stupid or something, but… what if you tried to get a job?” Barbara gained a bit of confidence and turned to Thoma. “I don’t know you too well, but I know that you love Ayato, I can see it. You’ve enough motivation to give it a shot. What if you got a job at his business? You could carpool there every day, talk each afternoon on lunch break, and have new work topics to discuss.”

“Yeah…” Nilou nodded. “That would work!”

Ayaka grinned, turning to face Thoma again, her hand still on his shoulder, but her grip tightened with determination.

“This would allow you to see him more than ever!” Ayaka encouraged.

“WAIT! Hear me out…” Xiangling looked too excited. “What’s more romantic than a surprise? You could not tell him anything, and then one day show up at his work, flashing your new badge! He’d be so confused and thrilled he’d HAVE to admit his feelings!”

“Okay… but logistically, how does Thoma get a job as a fancy business employee without the college and experiences Ayato has?” Kokomi asked.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Ayaka brushed it off. “We have quite the connection. I know Yae personally, and Thoma knows people too.”

“I do?” Thoma broke his silence.

“Yeah! You know Kokomi, Kokomi’s really close with Gorou, Gorou knows Kazuha well, seeing as they’re dorm buddies. Kazuha is basically Ningguang’s son! And if you know Kazuha by this extent, then you know Scaramouche, because he’s his boyfriend. Scaramouche is Raiden’s son, making him Yae’s son, and Yae is the second CEO,” Ayaka listed off.

“Isn’t that a bit of a stretch?” Thoma asked.

“Nah, not in the business world,” Ayaka responded. “Now that we’ve got connections, all you need is the proper training.”

“Holy shit, this is just like Legally Blonde,” Xiangling asked.

“Yeah! If some air-headed fashion designer could get into Harvard, then you can get a job at a fancy business!” Nilou exclaimed.

“Yeah, but Legally Blonde is a fictional movie,” Thoma applied logic.

“Yeah, well reality is simply an illusion, and illusion is a synonym for fiction, thusly your life itself is also fiction,” Fischl slapped logic in the face.

All the girls looked excitedly at Thoma, waiting for him to make a decision. Thoma looked at all their hopeful faces, and couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to work with Ayato, to see him every day. He felt his heart jump.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

—

“Morning, Thoma,” Ayato greeted.

“Hi, Ayato!” Thoma responded cheerily.

He was walking up their main path, having brought nothing with him, which was quite unusual, Ayato noted. Usually he’d bring some kind of food or cleaning equipment. He must not be here for work, then?

“I thought I’d stop by to see you,” Thoma smiled.

“Oh, well, I’m quite busy, you see— with my new job. I’ve got to prepare a lot,” Ayato said. “I’m sure Ayaka would love to see you.”

Ayato noticed the slight way Thoma’s face fell and recovered.

“I’m not here for Ayaka,” Thoma stated. “I wanted to talk with you.”

“Oh,” Ayato nodded, thinking of ways to push Thoma in Ayaka’s direction.

“Why can’t we hang out like old times?” Thoma asked.

Because you’re in love with my sister, and I’m leaving for the city in a few days, and am never going to burden you with my presence again.

“Sure, we can talk,” Ayato invited Thoma inside, unable to say no to the man.

So they went to Ayato’s room and they hung out, just like when they were younger, before Thoma had a crush on Ayaka and Ayato had to push his one and only crush away.

“After I complete at least a year of work there, I may be able to rise further. This will be enough experience to be considered impressive to future customers of my own future business, but I thought I’d try for more,” Ayato spoke about his new job, because it was the only thing he was comfortable speaking about. “I plan on at least reaching a high position, right under the CEO.”

Thoma smiled genuinely, like he was happy for Ayato. Which he was, because he has always been. He wished Thoma loved him, because then they could be happy for each other, genuinely. But he liked Ayaka. This dumbass genuinely thinks this is true.

“Hey, are you okay?” Ayato noticed the shift in Thoma’s attentive expression.

“Yeah,” Thoma frowned gently. “I guess I’m just… sad you’re leaving, is all.”

Ayato sighed. Of course he’d be sad. But Ayato was doing what was best for both of them, or so he thought, anyway. He studied Thoma’s face, and let his eyes meet the blond’s.

He leaned in close, and was incredibly close to taking both his hands to force a smile on Thoma’s face. He was very close to laughing and saying, ‘You don’t need to frown, I’ll always be here’. But he stopped himself, twitching away from Thoma, when he remembered that he wouldn’t be there. He’d be away for months in the city.

“Don’t worry about it,” Ayato said instead; “You could always call me— and you have Ayaka. She’ll be here for you.”

“But what if I don’t want…” Thoma sighed, looking away. “Just don’t disappear forever, okay?”

Ayato wanted to question what he was about to say, but he thought better of it. There was no point in giving himself false hope.

“Of course.” Ayato smiled and took Thoma’s hand, which wasn’t uncommon for them. Thoma looked up at Ayato, nodding in agreement with his words. The two hugged, and Ayato thought he might burst from longing. “I’ll call you, alright?”

—

The conversation left Thoma even more determined to make this plan happen. He went back to his house with a bittersweet smile on his face. Ayato was leaving, but he’d only be gone for so long before Thoma showed up.

With every step, the plan seemed to build itself up in his mind, hoisting his confidence high enough that his smile turned to a grin. He knew he could do it. Ayato was leaving tomorrow, and the girls had already begun planning for a while now. Soon, he’d be invited to Ayato’s house for whatever this “training” is that Ayaka mentioned.

He entered his house without any sadness left. He convinced himself that all he had to do was believe in the plan.

The next day, Ayato left. Thoma was there, waving him goodbye. He wasn’t sad anymore; no, he was ready. He didn’t let Ayato see that, though. He kept his smile hidden, because he didn’t want the blue haired boy to know about his plan.

Right after he disappeared, Ayaka dragged Thoma inside the house.

“Already?!” Thoma exclaimed.

“Yup, your training is a-go. I’ve been busy gathering everyone… but don’t worry, I work fast,” Ayaka grinned.

“Who is ‘everyone’?” Thoma questioned as the door closed behind him.

“You’ll see.”

From every corner imaginable shadows emerged. When the lights turned on, Thoma was greeted with Ayaka’s inner circle of friends, all ready for action. Over 20 people were paying full attention to him.

“Alright. I’ve got you a few things,” Ayaka began, turning to Thoma. “I’ve got Eula and Jean, one the owner of an allied corporation and one the Director of the Mondstadtian sector of the business, recommending you to Ningguang and Yae Miko. I’ve recommended you as well, using my own connections. I’ve even got Kazuha leaving a few hints of you being a great businessman around his mom’s ears.”

Kazuha waved from the crowd with a smile.

“Now, we just need to get you fully confident, and ready for a job interview. Let the training arc begin,” Ayaka clapped.

“Training arc?”

“Just go with it.”

So, like every training arc, we’re going to have a montage that progressively shows the main character’s improvement. Unfortunately, this training arc is just a day long, so it’ll be short.

Thoma worked, raptly, with two of Ayaka’s friends, Kazuha and Scaramouche. Both of them were sons of the CEOs, so they knew them best. Explaining briefly what both of their mothers look for in interviews, Thoma took many notes, memorizing what they said.

Then, he moved on to discuss wooing, for some reason. The girls were intent on making sure that Thoma knew how to properly flirt with Ayato just in case he doesn’t give in so easily. A lot of laughter followed.

Further in the evening, Thoma was busy learning the ways of business. Members of Ayaka’s group like Kokomi, Yelan, Yanfei, Hu Tao, and Noelle were well-versed in the language of working with big companies. Together, they taught him how to work around tough people, deliver coffee properly, and appease higher-ups.

Nearing the end, the group gathered to describe the entire plan chronologically.

“So first, we get you an interview, but that’s basically already settled with all your recommendations,” Amber kneeled over the paper decorated with ghost, avocado, and rainbow scribbles bordering a murder-plot-style planning board. “Then, you flash all the new info you’ve learned from us to impress the interviewer, who’ll let you in regardless, again, because of your recommendations.”

“Once you get the job, you’ve gotta move up the ranks in order to even see Ayato,” Collei continued for her friend. “So you use all the cool information Yae and Ningguang’s sons have taught you to seem like you really know the CEOs. Prove your devotion, and with all your cool street cred, you’ll be promoted in no time.”

“Then, you make sure to get close to your work associates, and mention that you know Ayato. They’ll take this to the gossip mill and the CEOs will find out, especially Yae, seeing as she’s the head of Gossip Inc as a side gig,” Kokomi added, jokingly.

“They’ll then, seeing your good behavior, try to reward you by offering you a position near Ayato,” Sucrose continued, although much quieter than the others.

“I’ll do what I can to get her to make this happen,” Keqing interjected.

“Once you work near him, you jumpscare him at his office with roses and a corpse.” Hu Tao tried to be helpful. With a glare from her sister, Ganyu, Hu Tao sighed and added, “Or without a corpse. And without a jumpscare. Just walk up and be romantic like a boring person, I guess.”

“And then he’ll pick you up, swing you around, and kiss you, as he’s always dreamed,” Nahida finished.

“Probably not,” Thoma blushed heavily at the image.

“He will if you apply your flirtation skills properly,” Albedo said as if it was a scientific fact.

The group was quiet for a bit, analyzing Thoma’s face, as well as deep in thought about the plan. After a few minutes, most of them seemed satisfied with their thinking process.

“Well, that’s that. We should probably leave Thoma to study all his new information,” Ayaka interrupted the quiet, which was much welcomed.

“Alright. Let’s leave him be,” Kokomi stood up to leave.

“Wait—” Xinyan spoke. “Anyone up for a pillow fight?”

—

After waking up in a pile of bodies and pillows, Thoma snuck out of the Kamisato household the next morning, his notes in hand and a smile on his face. He was ready to begin his study session.

The entire day was spent memorizing everything that the group had insisted was useful. He knew all the information he could about the CEOs, their wives, and their children: he understood the in-depth details of how to publish, maintain, and ship books (because the company is a publishing company. And bc it was an interesting topic. Who wouldn’t want to publish a book?). He knew some basics of flirting, too. He felt ready.

Ayato wasn’t.

He was overwhelmed, stressed with many complicated new assignments flooding his to-do list. He was laying on his apartment sofa, trying not to think about how much he missed Thoma. He wanted him there, but he knew he shouldn’t.

In his fragile state, he decided to become a certified workaholicTM to avoid emotions, as one does. As he’s sorting through his mail from that morning, trying to finish up that task before he started his main douse of actual work, he came across a box slapped with the Komaniya Express label, which was one of the other businesses he thought about interning. It was in close competition with Amazon, after all.

Opening the package with his handy dandy pocket scissors, it turned out that inside was a tiny box of chocolates.

“Thanks for all your hard work! <3, -anonymous,” it read, in a woman’s handwriting.

Ayato felt his heart sink. Thoma always used to hand make him chocolates. Ignoring what was probably a love declaration, he found himself glowering at the chocolates for over twenty minutes, his brain lost to the caramel waves decorating the chocolate sea. He felt like one of those pieces of salt, hanging on to the sides of the pieces only barely.

Ayato shook his head and threw the chocolates away, focusing on his work. He was officially a certified workaholicTM. There was no time for stupid, useless things such as probably-love-confessions and deep metaphors that he could’ve elaborated on for a few more paragraphs.

But shit. Thoma was on his mind.

He really missed him.

—

“I’ve received a suspicious amount of recommendations from my superiors about you,” The interviewer states. “Even the CEOs sons have recommended you. They told me to watch out if you were to come by.”

“Ah— I have many friends,” Thoma smiled sheepishly. “But I do believe they recommend me well. I’ve been very devoted to many different tasks I perform for my current work.”

Just as the girls had said: talk about yourself and your achievements as much as possible, but not in a narcissistic way. Make sure to mention infinitely how dependable and reliable you are. Be confident.

“Alright,” they wrote down some notes on a laptop. “Well, as you know, you’re applying to a publishing company. Why?”

“Well, I’ve always been interested in publishing a book myself, to be honest,” Thoma laughed. “Even though it was a cookbook. I was still curious how publishing works, and that’s when I realized that maybe applying to a place like this would be a good step forward.”

“Alright, you’re in,” the interviewer announced.

“Huh?” Thoma was thoroughly surprised.

“Yup. I just got the call to let you in,” the interviewer closed their laptop. “These connections you got, man… they’re insane. This interview isn't even really useful. You were getting in regardless.”

If getting a job was always this easy, Thoma suspected he could’ve already been a CEO himself.

“Well, thank you!” Thoma shook their hand.

“No problem. You’ll be working on the third floor, in this cubicle.…”

After that, Thoma got to work. He spent a week at the company, working as hard as he could, using all the advice he’d been taught. As instructed by the Girl Gang, he made sure to look impressive to as many superiors as possible. He flashed his connections where he could, but not too excessively as to look egotistical.

Not too long into working, a superior approached his cubicle.

“I don’t know how you impressed them so much after just a week. You must be a genius, or an absolute expert in this very specific field,” they began.

Hah, none of the above. Thoma just had a ridiculous group of over twenty friends who called him every night, advising on any problems he said he had difficulty with that day. Taking their advice in mind, every day he became better at his new job.

“But regardless, you’ve been promoted to manager. The newbies these days are running up the ranks fast… we had a guy just yesterday already move to Director from Head Manager of the Region,” the guy sighed. “If only life had been so easy for me.”

Thoma’s heart skipped.

“Director?” he asked.

“Yeah, it’s a high position, right above the regional managers. There are seven of them,” they picked at their nails. “Guy was named Ayatt or something,”

“Ayato,” Thoma nearly whispered, a smile growing on his lips. “How far is the director position?”

“For you? Well, you’ve gotta get to Manager, which you just have today. Their full title is Manager of the Quadrant, meaning you’re the manager of a quarter of one region. Then, next comes the Manager of the Region. There are two of those. Then Head Manager of the Region, meaning you govern every detail of the entire region. That spot’s empty now, because Ayatt moved up to Director, which means you don’t only manage the managers, but you’re on the main council below the CEO. They get to vote on company policy and things,” the helpful friend rambled. “Anyway, I’ve been escaping my work long enough. Report to your new position in an hour.”

And they left.

“Ayaka,” Thoma called a second later. “Get the girls on.”

“On it,” Ayaka said through the phone, immediately hanging up and starting a facetime.

Once the entire Girl Gang was assembled, Thoma spoke through the very laggy screen.

“I’ve been promoted. Don’t celebrate. I’ve got new news,” Thoma said quickly, before cheering could overwhelm the speaker. “I'm the manager. Ayato is Director. I’ve got two positions to ascend to in order to be on Ayato’s level, but I just learned that there is only one director per region… I’m stuck in the Inazuma region. There’s no way around it.”

“Well,” Kokomi spoke up first. “You could just try to get an assistant position to his position.”

“Yeah!” Xiangling’s very glitchy voice struggled to get through. Suddenly, her image disappeared, and a second later, she logged back in. “Bad Wifi. Anyway, yeah! And—” incoherent mess “—sorry, my bear’s eating my phone. You could show up to his office and be all like, ‘Director Ayato, I’m your new assistant!’ all sexily.”

“That was a lot of struggling to explain one stupid idea,” Ayaka sighed. “I do kind of like the appearing suddenly part, though.”

“Alright… I’ll see what I can do. I first have to–”

“Wait!” a new voice interrupted.

Keqing’s avatar popped on screen.

“I’m an assistant to Ningguang herself, I know how to be an assistant, trust me,” she said, and Thoma could tell that she was in her work office as she spoke, based on the background. They were probably in the same building. “It’s hard, but not as hard as reaching Manager of the Region. You can directly ask to be an assistant from that manager position. All you need to do is reach it, and then you can skip Head Manager of the Region and Director entirely by simply becoming his assistant.”

“I can just ask?” Thoma questioned incredulously.

“Yeah. I started with nothing, but you’ve got the deepest connections I’ve ever seen,” Ganyu added from her office. “You could easily use them to get a good recommendation. If you never mention your name, you could become an assistant anonymously, and Ayato wouldn’t know you until you walk in on your first day of work.”

“That’s perfect! What’s more romantic than the secretary who brings the coffee to the sexy boss who slowly falls in love with their impeccable wit?” Nilou exclaimed.

“Except they’re already in love, so it doesn’t count,” Amber mentioned. “We’re past the crush phase.”

“They’re just in a… wooing phase, I guess,” Yun Jin contemplated.

“Anyway,” Xiangling’s garbled voice spoke again. “This sounds perfect! Go ahead, try and get a secretary/assistant job!”

“Alright,” Thoma nodded with determination.

“Another successful Girl Gang meetup,” Mona concluded.

“You have never even spoken in these things,” Ayaka rolled her eyes. “You don’t get the concluding sentence.”

“How dare you insult my magical companion in such a manner!” Fischl barked.

“Fine, sorry, Fischl’s theater friend Mona Megistus,” Ayaka said with a grin. “Thoma. Get on it. And update us at any moment! You know we need this gossip!”

“Soooo juicy!” Hu Tao decided to contribute.

“Thanks, guys,” Thoma said. “I’ll make you all proud.”

“Thanks for the nails, you got me a compliment from Scara!” Nahida managed to announce just before the facetime was closed.

Smiling to himself, Thoma leaned back in his office chair. This was going nicely.

While yes, abandoning his normal life to chase after love wasn’t probably the healthiest thing to do, he was determined, because he knew that Ayato loved him as a fact, and he knew that it was a misunderstanding without a doubt. He was ready to be with Ayato. He wanted to see his smile again. He wanted to hug him without Ayato’s awkward tension.

—

It couldn’t have been another week before Thoma reached the position he needed. Once he told his friends that he was officially one of the Head Managers, which had had an opening since one of them had been promoted to fill Ayato’s previous position, the plan moved smoothly ahead.

A day later, Thoma was ready to move towards Ayato. Apparently, Ayaka had pulled some favors, and got Jean to push for her fellow Directors to be more open for assistants, and got one herself, just to prove the point. With the directors suddenly seeing the bright side in assistant, some hired up to five. Ayato, just like the others, started searching.

His current secretary was readily pumped full of information about Thoma from, yet again, connections. Amber got Eula, her best friend and crush since she was five and Eula was seven, to convince the secretary about Thoma’s qualifications.

“Damn, you’re flying,” the previously-superior who’d announced his promotions last two times approached him. “You’re now assistant to the region’s Director. Congrats.”

“No need to sound so sad,” Thoma laughed. He’d become friends with the guy. “Now you get my position.”

“By logic, yes. But actually, no,” they smiled a bit. “I’ve got the opposite of your fabulous connections. I’ve got a bad reputation. Lost my last two jobs, see, due to my bad attendance rates. Wasn’t my fault I got a chronic illness! But life’s life.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Because you know what? I’m your friend. Which means I’m a connection,” Thoma grinned, still giddy about seeing Ayato so soon. “I’ll speak to some people. You’ll get my position. I know it.”

They smiled, genuinely, abandoning their previously classic pessimist attitude.

“Thanks, man.” they turned and left, and Thoma felt fully satisfied. Doing good things was always satisfying.

“I got it!” Thoma exclaimed into his phone a minute later.

A chorus of ear-destroying screams of pure joy shattered any chance of a future where Thoma wasn’t deaf erupted through the speaker, startling the poor worker who’d been dropping off papers in Thoma’s private office.

“You have your present, right?”

“And your sexy voice we practiced?”

“Don’t forget our flirts!”

“He’s plenty in love with him already, he won’t need flirts.”

“Don’t forget to walk at a normal pace!”

“You were made to be an assistant! This is perfection!”

“GET YOUR GAY ON, THOMA! WE’RE CHEERING!”

“So proud of you!”

Thoma felt near tears at all the positive encouragement.

They finally all calmed down (which took understandably long. Imagine living it up during boring ass summers only surviving between daily bouts of mentions of progress on some random guy’s love life? Him actually getting the job is a big celebration for many bored fangirls), and Thoma readily described his entire plan.

All there was left to do was set it in motion.

—

Ayato was growing a bit more depressed than usual. His amazingly healthy status as Certified WorkaholicTM wasn’t doing him good, and the desperate desire for Thoma grew every day. He felt that maybe he should try some therapy, and maybe get a boyfriend or something to distract himself. Nope, that second option was very unhealthy, he reassured himself.

Something would change soon enough that would make his life better. He knew it.

So when his door suddenly opened without a knock, Ayato was hopeful for something life changing. And there it was. Thoma stood there, holding a tiny bouquet of flowers, a shiny badge on his chest that read Director’s Assistant: Thoma.

“Hello, director. I’ll be your new assistant,” Thoma said cheesily.

“How…” Ayato’s breath caught in his throat.

“A few connections,” Thoma laughed. “But it was worth it. Now I don’t have to come to your house everyday to try and see you.”

“What?” Ayato, who’s thoughts had been manipulated by his own convincing, was aghast that Thoma even wanted to speak to him still. “You were just coming to see Ayaka–”

“She’s down bad for Yoimiya, Ayato,” Thoma broke the news to him.

Ayato processed this very slowly. Thoma came over and pulled a chair up to face Ayato. The director was seated on the other side of the desk, but Thoma dragged a chair around so that they were facing each other without any obstruction blocking their view.

The Director felt light. Like all the dark, heavy work that had plagued him was lifting off his shoulders. When Thoma’s hand gently laced with his, he felt a smile grow on his face, for the first time in a while. He always used to smile at Thoma, it was instinct. But now the tension from the avoiding phase of his relationship was gone, and he could smile carefree.

Then he was laughing. He was laughing at his stupidity, his pain, his useless suffering, the irony, in his pure gratefulness for Thoma’s existence. Thoma suddenly joined in, a soft chuckle turned to a full laugh. Ayato hadn’t laughed that hard in a while.

Through the glass walls of the office were many curious gazes, it seemed their laughter broke through the sound-proofing… they didn’t care, however. They laughed until they couldn’t, because it simply felt so good.

“I’m glad you came to find me. I always loved seeing you whenever you came over,” Ayato admitted, smiling. “Holy shit, I love you, Thoma. You’re incredible.”

Thoma blushed and grinned, happy to see Ayato happy, and infinitely embarrassed that the plan was working a bit too well.

“I want to see you every day from now on, okay?” Thoma insisted.

“How about every morning, too?” Ayato smirked.

“O-oh—” Thoma blushed.

“I’m kidding. I’m just happy,” Ayato brushed it off.

“Okay,” Thoma nodded. “Though, I wouldn’t mind waking up with you…”

“You've become more confident,” Ayato noted, dusted with pink. “I can’t believe how happy I am. I feel like I’ve been suffering uselessly for way too long. How stupid could I possibly be?”

“You’re not stupid. You’re just dumb,” Thoma poked his boss’s nose. “I love you, Kamisato Ayato.”

“I love you so much, Thoma. I’m so dumb.”

“Yup.”