Sometimes life changes for no reason. The interesting thing is whether these changes are good or bad.
Does waking up in an unknown world with many people who develop a crush on you count as a nice thing?
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“Man, I feel stuffed!”
Paimon nods in approval. “Yes, it was absolutely delicious.”
Rosa lets out a happy chime while playing with the peach you gave it.
“I was surprised how good it tasted myself. Maybe we could ask the chef about the recipe later.”, Aether says as he removes a loose strand of hair out of his face.
“Oh right! Aether, do you want me to braid your hair back the way it was before, like I originally promised? I mean, you look cute with sll that messy hair, but I don’t think that it’s all that practical.”
A slight blush spreads on his cheeks. “That… would be nice, yes.” As you move behind him, he gives you his comb.
Careful not to pull on his hair, you loosen his ponytail and brush through is long blond hair. Just like last time, you can’t help but feel envious of his perfect model hair. Maybe you really should ask him about his hair-care-routine. There has to be some secret to it…
Ten minutes later, Aether’s braids are good as new… or old, depending on how you see it.
Since your group is done with eating, you pack you things and Aether walks over to the cashier to pay for the meal. You on the other hand move towards the exit to wait for your friend there.
At one of the tables you pass sits a tall guy with messy blond hair. The way his red eyes stare into his half-empty cup makes you believe that he must have had a rough day and based on his appearance he must be a playable character too. This makes him the… second playable one you met in Sumeru. Odd that you didn’t run into more by now... Distracted by the depressed guy, you don’t notice the empty cup laying on the ground that causes you to slip once you step on it. Face-first you fly towards the ground. The moment you hit the ground you have to bite your lip to prevent yourself from audibly whining. Tears form in the corners of your eyes. “Come on (Y/N), you are a grown person. You don’t have to cry in a public space. It's not that bad...”
“I’m so- …sorry. H-here, let me help you u-up…” They guy you face-planted right next to slurs and kneels down next to you. As gentle as possible for a hammered person, the blond man helps you stand up at least on your knees. Once your eyes meet, he panics. “Y-you’re bleeding. And… crying. Please- I-…” Tears start running down his face as well.
“Kaveh, what are you doing on the-“, a new male voice stops mid-sentence and lets out a deep sigh, “What. Are. You. Doing?” A silhouette dressed in dark moves into your blurry vision and takes the blond guy by the nape of his neck to put him back onto his chair. “Why are you two crying?”
“(Y/N), what happened?!” This time it is a familiar voice that is speaking. Apparently, Aether is done paying and is now kneeling next to you, worriedly wiping away your tears.
“I am too… stupid to live. You know… the usual.” Taking a deep breath, you calm yourself down and the stinging pain on your forehead ceases. “I am fine, thank you Aether.” Since your vision is better now, you can properly see your surroundings. The blond guy - Kaveh as far as you understood - is still looking as you, crying, and the other guy with the dark clothes and grey hair seems to be extremely annoyed. “Eh, Kaveh, right? Are you… okay?”
“He is. He just had a few too many glasses of wine. If you excuse us…” The grey-haired man – whose name you still don’t know - gives you one last glance before walking away with his blond friend.
You shake your head. Those two were… weird. The guy with the blond hair seemed rather overemotional while his friend had emotionally more similarities with a statue. Surprising that people like them get along… Though, it could be that you are misinterpreting things thanks to your little concussion.
“(Y/N), should I look for someone to check your wound or-“
“Nah nah, it’s fine, really.”
“Hard to believe when you were crying a few seconds ago.”
“That- …That was just because of the sudden fright. Can we please just leave this place? I already made myself enough of an idiot here… Everyone is starring.”
“Fine, but if you start to feel worse you’ll tell me immediately.”, says Aether as he stands up. “We should search for a place to stay at for the night then. I am not a big fan of sleeping on the streets today…”
You nod while doing the same. With that, the two of you leave the restaurant.
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In advance I wish you all a happy New Year and - of course - I hope that you enjoyed reading and stay healthy!
