Genshin Ship One-Shots

(1) ThomAya ☁

Five minutes.

Out of the 24 hours that was given to her by life, she only gets to see him for five minutes in the morning every day.

She doesn't know anything about him. Not his name, nor which street his house is located. What she does know is that every time he jogs by their house's front yard, he would slow down to a walk to catch his breath and allow his dog to sniff the bushes that line their fence.

When their eyes meet, he would wave and give her a grin; and like clockwork, she would avert her eyes and focus on the plants instead. And when the dog finally gives him a little bark, he would jog again and leave her line of sight.

This little routine of theirs has been going on for weeks now. Sometimes he would have his hair in a ponytail, other times he would wear a headband. But three things stay constant; the wave, the grin, and the lack of communication between them.

That constant was shattered when he stayed for an extra minute.

"Here."

Ayaka looks up from the potted plants that she has been inspecting when a palm was offered and a voice was heard from above. There, she saw a black hair tie. She cocks her head to the side, confused, which prompted him to explain.

"I noticed that you keep brushing your hair back. I thought this might help."

A flush slowly crept his cheeks when she stared a little too long at the palm outstretched in front of her. And so, she took the offer. She took off her gloves to tie her hair into a quick ponytail, rather similar to the one he sports, she cannot help but note.

"Thanks." Short and straight to the point.

The man in front of her looks pleased, albeit a little awkward. Just like her, he must not know what to do now. This is the first time that they've talked to each other.

She's contemplating whether to continue speaking to him or go back to what she was doing before his disturbance when he opened his mouth.

"So, nice weather huh."

Ayaka snorts. She sees him blush again, even darker than before.

"Are you trying to make small talk?" Her lips quirk to the side, failing miserably at hiding the amusement that coats her voice. He grins sheepishly.

"Yeah. I assume it's not working?" At this, she cannot help but let out a giggle this time. He winced at the sound. To try and save him from further embarrassment, she asks,

"What's your name?"

To this he answers,

"Thoma. My name is Thoma. And this little guy here is Taorumaru."

He tugs on the leash a bit to bring to the front the little, caramel-colored corgi. At the mention of its name, its ears perked up and its tail gave a little wag. She smiles.

"Well then, it's nice to meet you Thoma. And you as well, Taorumaru. My name is Ayaka." She offers her right hand for a shake, and Thoma takes it after shifting the dog's leash to his left hand.

"Ayaka." He repeats, drawling out the last syllable of her name as if he was trying to burn it to memory.

And then they are on their way.

***

For the next few weeks, their routine was altered a bit. The blond man named Thoma would now stay for a total of six minutes so that they could converse. Ayaka found out that they are relatively the same age. He lives a couple streets after theirs, and that he and Taorumaru would circle the entire neighborhood as their exercise. She found out that he enjoys dango and that he has a hobby for knitting and would knit his dog a sweater every month. Most of all, she found out that her heart would do somersaults every time he would lean over the fence to peek at her little plants. She doesn't like it.