𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 [G.Impact x Fem! Reader]

𝐗𝐗𝐕𝐈; 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡

Going to work still under the effect of a potion wasn't perhaps your best idea. You let yourself fall on the desk covered haphazardly by papers, giving up to tidy up and read the documents.

Deciding early that you'll leave to Kaeya the rest of work, you let your mind wander. That man, the one that blocked your path, was someone you knew. You felt your heart throb with remorse. You should have known it. Anyone that was associated with the Fatui couldn't live with the luxury of a happy life and you were no exception.

If you accepted that deal you would've become a traitor, that ever-present fact was choking you. You took a pile of letters from your figure, choosing to  distract yourself somehow instead of drowning in your own misery.

You examined the letters, searching through the senders' names.

Thoma hasn't written me for a while, you noticed, clinging to the thought of the first thing that crossed your mind like a lifeline. Has he already left? you thought, putting the letters back in their place when you noticed the absence of the name you were looking for.

Eventually, minutes turned into hours and the time came for you to leave the headquarters. You walked to the centre of the city, leaving behind the sense of confinement that the Grandmaster's office gave you. Embracing the moment of freedom you sought, you took refuge near the cathedral, away from the crowds and ordered a non-alcoholic drink.

"Ah that guy". The plaza was oddly desolate and, not knowing what to do, you contemplated the cityscape unfolding in front of you from the High Plaza as you leaned on the railing. You took a sip from the drink you ordered earlier "He could've been more gentle on me..." 

"...Oh?"

You jumped at the sound from behind you, realising that you weren't alone with your thoughts as you gripped on the bottle like a lifeline. You turned towards the direction of that voice, gazing at the man standing in front of a little juniper tree.

"....Did you come out of that bush??" you asked louder than you expected. "Didn't you say that you were with Aether?"

Thoma apologized with a little smile, rubbing sheepishly the back of his neck. "Sorry, sorry..." he chuckled "I saw you zoning out and I couldn't resist. Anyways, did something happen? You looked quite... worried" he glanced at you with a weird look.

At this point you were starting to miss the letters you and Thoma exchanged. "Well..." you smiled, remembering the events of a few days prior "A friend of mine recently dueled me while training and I ended up getting hurt"

"Oh... Are you feeling better?" Thoma asked with a worried expression.

In front of the concern filling his emerald eyes you almost felt bad for lying. Almost.

However you had no choice but to involve your fellow knight in the situation, having that little escapade of yours being ruined by that Punisher. You ignored the lump on your throat while clinging to the conviction that even if your lie would be exposed they would interfere.

 "Yeah, don't worry" you smiled warmly. "Though... I'm glad that you managed to come here" you made a brief pause, coughing lightly in order to change the cadence of your voice. "I mean- I was starting to think that the Commissioner intended to keep you in Inazuma"

Thoma's gaze lost itself in the horizon as his lips curled upwards in an unconscious smile."My lord has been kind enough to let me go for a few days to Mond with the traveller" he sighed "but I feel bad for leaving the estate..."

"...are you sure that you're not talking about the master of the house?"

He didn't reply. At the silence you glanced at him to make sure that you didn't go too far with the teasing. His expression however could be labelled as the epitome of  speechless "I knew that you were bad with alcohol but..."

You suppressed a groan at Thoma's words, embarrassment washing over you in the memory of that night in Ritou. The memories were dull but you recalled how you ended up getting drunk on the dock with a few glasses of sake,  maybe after seeing some sailors' drunken cheerfulness or maybe because of homesickness. And, much to your chagrin, Thoma ended up listening to your drunken nonsense while dragging ypu, a stranger, to the nearest inn. You didn't remember when it started. you were pretty sure that at some point you must've looked like a newborn duckling following its mother around considering how you ended up sticking close to him, following him through Inazuma city both for work and for giving you a tour.

"I thought we agreed to not talk bout it..." you fakef a pout "Is this how you treat me?". Albeit your attempts you couldn't hide the goofy grin that crept on your lips. You were glad that the two of you ended up exchanging letters.

"We agreed on what?" he stifled a playful smile as you surrendered to the teasing.  A brief silence fell "are you free tomorrow?"

You fell silent, seeming absentminded. You shouldn't have dedicated yourself to leisure. You were a knight: you swore with an oath your utmost devotion and loyalty. But it was futile, that dept was something you couldn't settle and you were already in their hands.

"My schedule should be clear" you hid your troubles under a smile, noticing his expectant look. Thoma beamed, offering to go at the night market out of the city's walls. Even if it was going to backfire, you needed a distraction.

Walking by his side, you accepted his invitation while letting yourself forget your worries. Perhaps in another life you wouldn't find yourself trapped in those strings.

However, all you could do was deceive yourself in the illusory present.

Hi everyone :'D if you're wondering why this update got postponed to the greek calends it's because I ended up messaging with the chapters. I usually have one or more unpublished chapters but I had some problems with chapter 29 ;-; plus I also kinda felt bad for ending this part like this