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Scaramouche could feel his eyes on him again.It was becoming a concern of his how he seemed to know where he was at any given time—almost as if he knew his class schedules and where he wanted to be. If he was any normal person, he’d probably have reported him to the matra weeks ago for stalking.But no, he was much too proud to leave this to the matra. He knew he could deal with any annoyances, so why bother? He even put up this image of an unapproachable, crass, and rude student who only took orders from Lesser Lord Kusanali, of all people. (Though initially unbelievable, the other students have since learned that he does indeed have a direct connection to her and have since stayed away in fear of incurring her wrath, no matter how benevolent she seems to be.) However, no matter what he did or said, Sethos didn’t seem to be keeping his distance. In fact, the distance between them only grew smaller with each passing day, much to his dismay. Ever since Sethos had asked him about his hat, suddenly he decided that approaching him and attempting to be friends was now okay somehow. “Attempt” was the key word here—every single time Sethos would try to make conversation or invite him out, Scaramouche would repeatedly rebuke him or just leave without another word. It wasn’t as if he had to indulge him, right? He was just another human who got in his way.“Hey, Hat Guy! Wait up!” Sethos called out, jogging over and trying to catch up with Scaramouche. “Heeeey!” He waved after him, deftly weaving through the crowd.Scaramouche huffed, rolling his eyes and brushing one of his hat’s tassels over his shoulder. He learned early on that if he couldn’t escape Sethos now, he’d be subjected to his incessant rambling for the next few minutes. He quickened his pace, not wanting to be late for his next class.He attempted to turn the corner and exit into one of the outside hallways quickly so he could zoom away into the branches of the Great Tree (having an Anemo vision served well in times like these), but he bumped into a group of students chatting right outside the double doors. “Scum,” he mumbled under his breath as he pushed past them. Suddenly he felt a tug on his shirt. Just my luck, he thought with a frown.

“Hat Guy! Caught you,” Sethos said brightly, walking side by side with him. He exhaled, wiping his brow. “You really have a knack for walking fast, huh? Where ya headed?” Scaramouche also learned early that simply keeping quiet or ignoring Sethos made his rambling even more unbearable. So, he had no choice but to indulge him in banal conversation.“Class,” he said flatly, eyebrows already scrunched together irritably. “Don’t you have one to get to?”

Sethos sidestepped another pair of students heading down, matching step with Scaramouche. “Yeah, it’s this way too. I think our classrooms are beside each other. Isn’t that such a coincidence?” he chatted. Scaramouche thought about how infuriating it was that Sethos was so good at evading obstacles (AKA people) that he got distracted and tripped on some of the stray branches that lined the stone path. He cursed under his breath. “Yeah. What a coincidence,” he repeated sourly. Pretty sure Nahida had some say in the room assignments this term… maybe I could go mess with the ones for next term.A smile graced Sethos’s face as he kept step with Scaramouche easily. “Guess I’ll be seeing you around a lot more. Hopefully I don’t have to keep looking for you,” he kept going. “You have no idea how hard you are to find. Almost like you don’t wanna be found.”

Scaramouche shot him a sidelong glare. Was he really so oblivious to his attitude towards him? “Some people prefer their own privacy, I’ll have you know,” he remarked, shouldering his way into the throngs of students on the second floor and trying to lose him. As he attempted to escape, his hat tipped to one side, nearly falling off. “What the—”Sethos gripped one of the hat’s tassels, eventually holding onto Scaramouche’s sleeve. “Didn’t wanna lose you,” he explained, ignoring the way Scaramouche’s face contorted into murderous rage.

“Listen, if you wanna chat, that’s fine,” Scaramouche hissed through his teeth, fixing his hat and stopping in the middle of the hallway. “But don’t ever pull on my hat or clothes again. Or else I’ll actually get violent.” It was a threat, all right. But for some reason Sethos never took them seriously.Sethos grinned. “Chatting is fine, you said so yourself.” He let go of Scaramouche’s sleeve, stepping closer and almost rubbing it in his face that he got him to say such a thing.Scaramouche balked. “You put me under so much duress I had to go to extreme measures to get you to let go.”

“Ah, but chatting is now fair game. Before you wouldn’t even give me the time of day, and now we’re able to talk like friends!” Sethos crossed his arms triumphantly. “Before you know it, we’ll be hanging out at the Grand Bazaar and having dinner at Lambad’s Tavern— hey, wait! Where are you going?” / Rarely did Scaramouche step outside of his quarters, but whenever he did, it was usually upon Nahida’s request. It was the least he could do, after all. He knew he could refuse, but he felt this strange sense of obligation towards the Archon after she helped him regain his memories and identity.Identity. What a strange thing to feel indebted for returning the weight of his gruesome past. If anything, he should be resentful, but he couldn’t bring himself to hate her. It felt wrong.Luckily, the new show at the Zubayr Theater was enough to push the thought out of his mind for a night. Nilou was the star, of course, her new dance performance swaying the crowd and resulting in thunderous applause. Scaramouche secretly enjoyed watching the shows, even though he’d never admit it. He always wondered what it’d be like to pretend to be someone else, if only for a few hours.He leaned against one of the pillars around the bazaar as Nahida stepped up to offer her congratulations and praise for the performance. There would be a celebratory dinner afterwards, which he also agreed to accompany her to—whether it was as her bodyguard or companion, he didn’t know. She never really specified what his role was when he came along to events like these, and she usually gave him free rein over what he wanted to do. He’d end up stepping off to the side to observe the goings-on of wherever she brought him to. It wasn’t like anyone ever wanted to talk to him anyway, as he was too intimidating, and his eyes could send daggers into anyone who dared to stare too long.Suddenly a pair of hands slid over his eyes. His instincts kicked in immediately, gripping one of the intruder’s wrists and bending his knees, throwing whoever it was over his shoulder and shoving his knee against their neck to subdue them. “Who sent you?”Sethos blinked up at him, bright green eyes filled with panic. “H-Hey, it’s just me!” he said quickly. “No harm, no foul. L- Let me go?”Scaramouche groaned, standing up and off to the side. “What the hell? Did you honestly think nothing would happen?” he snapped. Sethos scrambled to his feet, brushing the dirt and dust off of him. “It was just a harmless joke! I didn’t think you’d throw me to the ground like that— ow,” he grumbled, rubbing his aching hip. “Why are you here, anyway? I thought you didn’t like social events.”A huff escaped Scaramouche’s lips. “Lesser Lord Kusanali has asked me to accompany her today. That’s all.” He crossed his arms over his chest, looking away. “Don’t ever do that again.”

Sethos snorted. “You know, there’s a lot of things you tell me not to do again. Messing with your hat, surprising you from behind, making puns about Sumpter Beasts,” he listed off his fingers. “What’s one thing you want me to actually do over and over again? If there even is one.” He tilted his head.Scaramouche scowled. “Stay away.”

Sethos clicked his tongue. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Why not? All you have to do is just ignore me and go about your merry day without ever talking to me,” Scaramouche pointed out. “Easy enough for a simpleton like you to do.”

“Easy? No way. I dunno why but I can’t get myself to not talk to you. You’re just so… interesting,” Sethos settled. “Not a lot of people in the Akademiya with a hat like yours.” He smirked, taking one of Scaramouche’s hat’s tassels in his fingers. “It looks so fancy, with lots of bells and whistles. Do you ever take it off?”

Scaramouche tugged his hat out of Sethos’s hold, his patience wearing thin. “Even if I did or didn’t, there’s no way I’m telling you,” he scoffed. “You’re just some annoying, disruptive idiot whose presence never fails to make my day worse.”“Ah, but I’m your annoying, disruptive idiot,” Sethos echoed, shooting him a cocky half-smile. “Right? C’mon, you have to admit it, no one else rubs you the wrong way like I do.” He stepped closer, smile growing.

Scaramouche hated that Sethos was a little taller than him, leaving him no other way to look at him than up. He frowned, glaring at him with thinly veiled contempt. “Oh, you’re not the only annoying disruptive idiot in the Akademiya. Or Sumeru City, for that matter. So don’t act so high and mighty.”Sethos clutched his chest. “Oh, you wound me,” he lamented, groaning in pretend pain. “And here I was, thinking I was special.”

“A special piece of shit, more like.”“Hey! That’s foul!”Scaramouche rolled his eyes, a distant ringing of bells signaling the start of the dinner. “Just— stay away,” he said roughly, pushing past Sethos as he headed over to stand by Nahida’s side. Again, not that she required him to. But he felt like he needed to at least show up for her.“Hi, Hat Guy,” Nahida said cheerily. “Did you like the show? You stayed farther away this time.” She handed him a plate as they fell in line at the buffet. “Not to your liking?”

Scaramouche shrugged. “It was fine. The crowd was larger this time, I didn’t wanna scare anyone off,” he said honestly.

Nahida tutted, nudging him goodnaturedly. “You know, if you just tried to make friends, you wouldn’t have to watch from halfway across the bazaar,” she pointed out. “The only person I’m aware of your friendship with is the Traveller, and they’ve been busy lately.”

Scaramouche waved the question off. “You know how I feel about relationships in general.” The answer hung in the air like a thick cloud. “Besides, no one besides you has shared life experience,” he said sarcastically.Nahida laughed. “You don’t need somebody the same age as you, you know!” she replied. “At least someone from the Akademiya. None of the Vahumana students seem to fear you.” She scooped some biryani rice onto her plate and onto Scaramouche’s. “Your so-called scary outer persona might not be so intimidating after all,” she teased.Scaramouche raised an eyebrow. “Since when are you so aware of what happens to me at the Akademiya?” he said in jest. “And no, I’ll have you know that I still work solo on groupworks.”

“By choice.”

“Well, no—” “Hat Guy!”

Scaramouche had to suppress another eye roll. Of course he’d show up at the worst of times. He wiped his face in irritation.

“Ah, Lesser Lord Kusanali! My apologies, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Sethos said quickly, bowing in respect. “I just wanted to talk to Hat Guy.”

Nahida smiled, her eyes curiously darting between the two, trying to gauge what their relationship was. “Oh, of course! We were done talking anyway.” She grabbed some of the Candied Ajilenakh Nuts at the dessert table before saying her goodbyes. “I’ll see you later, okay?” she told Scaramouche, sending him a thumbs up discreetly.Scaramouche turned to Sethos, who seemed way too proud of himself. “And what are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay away,” he muttered, scooping more food onto his plate than he could eat, looking for a reason to keep himself busy.Sethos followed suit. “You left so suddenly! I wasn’t done talking yet,” he said, pouting slightly. “That’s not how you treat your friend, is it?”

Scaramouche shot him a look. “We are not friends.”

“Yet here we are, hanging out at the Grand Bazaar, having dinner together. Friends do that, right?” Sethos asserted. “Told you it was a matter of time before we start seeing each other outside of the Akademiya.”
Oh, Archons above. Save me from this hell.
“First of all, we just happened to see each other here. Second of all, I did not verbally agree to be your friend,” Scaramouche argued. “Thirdly, I wasn’t aware that stalking me meant we were friends.”Sethos blinked. “Stalking you? How am I stalking you?” he asked. “I just happened to be wherever you are!”Scaramouche scoffed in disbelief. “As if you expect me to believe that.”“I swear!” Sethos raised his right hand solemnly. “I swear on my love for Genius Invokation TCG.”“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Scaramouche spat. “Whatever, just drop it,” he said finally, taking his plate of food and stomping off to one of the tables situated at the outer edge. By the sound of quick footsteps, it seemed like Sethos followed him, too. When is he gonna take the hint?!“Ehem,” Nahida said, clearing her throat. She stood between their seats, hands clasped behind her back. Scaramouche jumped a little. “Since when did you get here?” he said testily. “I didn’t even hear you approach the table.”“You both made quite the scene,” she said pointedly, changing the topic and stepping aside to show Scaramouche the long line of hungry guests. “A lot of people got pretty annoyed. It was a long show, after all. You should apologize.” “Not in a million years.” Scaramouche turned his attention back to his plate, which he had belatedly realized was piled up too high with food. There was no way he’d be able to even finish half. Great, just another inconvenience.“So, Hat Guy,” Nahida started. “Who’s this friend of yours?” She noted the way Sethos perked up at the mention of being his friend.

“I’m—”“We’re not friends.”

“Rude!” Sethos retorted. “We totally are friends. We talk everyday.”

“If that was the case, then I’d be friends with the fellow down by the alchemy table,” Scaramouche said sardonically.“Aren’t you?” Sethos asked.Nahida coughed again. “Anyway, I don’t believe I’ve seen you around Sumeru City. Are you from the desert?” she asked.Sethos nodded. “Yes, I’m Sethos, a part of the Temple of Silence. Their leader, actually, ever since my grandpa passed,” he said, relaying his standard spiel everytime someone asked about where he came from. Nahida hummed in thought. “I see. Sethos… So, you’re familiar with the General Mahamatra, I take it?”

“I am.”

“So… how’d you and Hat Guy get acquainted?” she queried. “He’s not exactly open to the prospect of making friends.”“Well, funny story, he actually talked to me first,” Sethos recalled.Scaramouche ducked his face, hiding behind his hat. Archons, it was as if the world was actively conspiring against him.“Really?” Nahida elbowed him a little harder than usual. “How’d he come up to you?”

“I was running errands for some scholars at the Akademiya when I suddenly heard someone calling out to me from the treetops,” he relayed. “It turned out to be him. I had seen him earlier, actually, while I was out doing stuff for some of the aunties. All I knew at that point was that he was from Vahumana and that he was called Hat Guy. Weird name, gonna be honest.” He turned to Scaramouche. “Why does everyone call you Hat Guy?”“Ask your Archon,” Scaramouche mumbled, stuffing his face with food. “She’s the one who entered me in the Interdarshan Competition under that name. Now everyone calls me that.” He propped his elbow onto the table. “Isn’t that right, Lesser Lord Kusanali?”Nahida simply smiled. “But it’s a name befitting you and your hat, isn’t it? Besides, I didn’t come up with it. It’s what the others started calling you after I enrolled you.” She reached over and adjusted his hat so more of his face was showing, patting his cheek. She looked around, spotting some more guests that had arrived. “I have to go and talk to some of the new arrivals. Be nice, okay? Don’t get into any more trouble,” she told both of them, although it was directed more towards Scaramouche than Sethos. “Nice meeting you, Sethos. I’ll have somebody call you if we ever need an expert on King Deshret-related relics or topics.”

Sethos sat up straighter. “Of course! I’d be honored.” He smiled politely as she left, turning back to Scaramouche. “So, Hat Guy isn’t your real name?”

Scaramouche blinked as he tried to recover from the sudden show of affection from Nahida. “Obviously,” he said. “What, you think my parents named me Hat Guy and just made me wear a bunch of different hats to fit the name?”

Sethos bit back a laugh at the thought. “Okay, you’re right. That’s ridiculous.” He took his last bite of food. “It’s a shame I wasn’t able to get more samosas. I would’ve wanted at least a couple more…”Scaramouche glanced at Sethos’s empty plate, which didn’t have much to begin with. Their small spat distracted him from serving himself more food, while he on the other hand had way too much. Nahida definitely got him too much biryani, and there was more curry than he could begin to ingest.He shoved his plate towards Sethos. “Here. Take some. I won’t be able to finish it anyway,” he said. “Don’t think this changes anything,” he added quickly. “I just don’t wanna waste food and you look too much like a kicked puppy. It’s pathetic.”Sethos’s mouth curved into a grin. “So you can be nice to me!” he exclaimed. “I knew you weren’t all meanness and cruelty inside.” He took the plate, taking some food and sliding it back to him. “By the way, you and Lesser Lord Kusanali seem really close. Like she’s the only person you let in your inner world or whatever. I heard that you had a direct line to her, but I guess it never occurred to me that it could be true.”If only you knew... “It is a bit hard to believe. At the end of the day, she is an Archon. Not like I have much say about what she wants me to do,” Scaramouche said. “And I owe her a great deal. So it’s the least I can do to repay my debt.”

“Really? What did she do for you?” Sethos asked, taking a bite of food. “Must’ve been big. You don’t seem the type to feel indebted to anyone, even an Archon.” He licked his lips, tongue swiping a stray piece of rice and sauce.

Scaramouche scowled. “At least close your mouth when you chew so you look less like an uncivilized member of society.” He crossed his arms. “And I wasn’t aware this was an interview. You don’t need to know that.”

Sethos inched his chair closer to Scaramouche’s. “Not an interview. I just wanna know more about you,” he said earnestly. “This is the most we’ve talked without you walking away after all.” He paused. “And, if there’s anyone to blame for our connection, it’s you. You were the one who talked to me the day we met, remember?”Scaramouche inched his chair farther. “I was trying to be mean. It’s what I do.”

“Being mean is not a hobby.” Sethos leaned forward, smiling softly. “You’d do better to be nicer to people. Having friends isn’t a weakness, you know.”The corner of Scaramouche’s mouth twitched. “What do you know about weaknesses? Humans will be humans. They lie, cheat, betray each other, and die. That’s all there is to it.” He huffed, standing up. “This conversation is over. Don’t bother following me or I will drop kick you to the floor again. And this time it won’t be just your hip that hurts.”He turned and left, ignoring the way his chest ached at the thought of leaving Sethos alone with that stupid pout on his stupid face. / It had been a month since their last interaction, which was strange. Normally Sethos would try to talk to Scaramouche at least once a day when he saw him in between classes or even at the end of the day after classes. But ever since Scaramouche pushed him away at the premiere of the Zubayr Theater’s new show, it seemed to have worked. A little too good, in fact.Scaramouche should have been elated. But he wasn’t.Why wouldn’t he be? The main cause of his headaches was gone. No more useless chats, no more overly upbeat attitude, no more string of curses to recite in his head every time Sethos was talking. If he was being honest, the first few Sethos-less days were paradise. He was able to mind his own business and study for the upcoming exams in peace, coming and going without worrying about being stopped to talk about the new specials at Lambad’s Tavern or the underground TCG tournaments at Caravan Ribat.But then a week went by. No Sethos.Another week. Still, no sign of Sethos.Three weeks, and Scaramouche had started to go crazy.Why was he still looking for him? It wasn’t like he missed him or anything, that would be insane. Scaramouche didn’t miss people. He missed their absence, because it meant they wouldn’t be around.But the way he felt about Sethos’s absence in particular made his stomach churn. It felt… weird. Unusual. Somehow he felt sick, even if he was perfectly fine.It was a new feeling, and definitely an unpleasant one. He found himself searching for Sethos’s purple and gold clothes, his bushy brown hair, his twin braids, his bright green eyes. Something’s definitely wrong with me, no matter what Nahida says. I feel broken, he thought. He sighed, closing his book and returning it to the library shelf he had gotten it from. He wasn’t going to be able to study like this. He already tried yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. All attempts were futile. He would find any sort of purple or green accent and start thinking about Sethos. Seriously, this was not healthy.He slumped out of the library. If he was Sethos, where would he be? He had to give it to him—finding someone who didn’t want to be found was hard. His nose scrunched in concentration… where would he encounter him? To his surprise a lot of places came to mind immediately. Maybe he paid more attention to his time with Sethos than he initially thought…There was one place he knew Sethos spent his spare time. It wouldn’t hurt to check there, right?

He padded his way, almost defeatedly, towards the top of the Akademiya. There was a small set of gazebos near the entrance to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, often unoccupied due to how far they were from most other common areas. It was there where he first saw Sethos bringing around boxes for some of the professors at the Akademiya and where he first attempted to tease him. It wasn’t his first time seeing Sethos, not at all. He’d noticed a new face at the Akademiya a few weeks before their first encounter. He was hard to miss, even then—with his brown, bushy two-toned hair and tan skin, he definitely looked like someone who came from the desert. His purple garb also made him stand out against the cool toned green of the Akademiya students’ uniforms, making him easy to spot in a crowd. He didn’t pay him mind back then, but he just kept appearing. He guessed that he was the Akademiya’s new errand boy. Scaramouche himself had been one once, back when he had nothing to do but mope and think too much. Nahida enlisted his help to deliver letters and parcels (“It’ll help you learn how to use your Anemo vision!”), and since he really didn’t have anything better to do, he took it upon himself to do just that. Even after Nahida enrolled him under Vahumana (what a complete and total ironic twist), he still found himself shouldered with delivery jobs. It was completely monotonous and a huge waste of his time but the repetitiveness gave him a routine to follow, at least.One day he found himself perched on a tree branch on an idle day, just a few steps away from the entrance to the Sanctuary of Surasthana. Who else to watch walk by than the new errand boy, Sethos?In all honesty he could’ve come up with a better taunt than calling him a “busy bee”. They didn’t even have a lot of bees in Sumeru, so it would’ve been more of a lighthearted joke than an insult.But then came the unexpected—he actually invited him to lunch. Him. A total stranger who just called him out for no reason. 
“I’d say you’re no errand boy at all. You’ve got a more important role.”
 
“I’d say that you’re no student either. You’ve got a more important role.”
 Scaramouche found himself disappearing into the leaves, heart beating fast. Important role? Him? Impossible. He’d already given himself a second chance to live life as normal as possible, avoid meaningless social situations, guard himself from the trivialities of human emotion. It’s what got him in this big mess in the first place. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again.If it meant living his life on the sidelines, so be it.Eventually he trudged his way up the inordinately steep ramps that circled the Great Tree, wondering absently why he didn’t just fly there like he usually would. The hot afternoon wind had buffeted his hat back and forth, making for a tedious walk. Whatever, he was just here to see if Sethos was where he thought he was.It embarrassed Scaramouche to admit that the feeling in his stomach doubled when he caught sight of Sethos’s brown hair. What was he so nervous about? It wasn’t like they had never talked before… The circumstances were definitely different though.Sethos sat on a bench that lined one of the gazebos, pencil in between his fingers and a book open on his lap. He was studying for the upcoming exams, probably, seeking a quiet area so he could focus.

Surely he wasn’t studying this whole time? Who needs to study for a month in advance?Scaramouche stood in front of him, startling Sethos into dropping his pencil. “Agh! Hat Guy!”“Where have you been?” Scaramouche demanded. “It’s been a month since you’ve last annoyed me. Don’t tell me you’ve been studying this whole time, because it’s a lame excuse and I won’t believe it.”

Sethos picked up his pencil, confused. “What? You told me to leave you alone, remember?” he said in disbelief. He shook his head and started packing up his things, shoving them into a satchel. “Look, I get it. You obviously have a problem with friendships, and people, or humans, whatever, but you looked so lonely. I wanted to be your friend, so you had at least one. If you’re here to… chew me out, or get mad, whatever, fine. At least make up your mind about how you feel about me, because this hasn’t cleared anything up.”Scaramouche’s heart dipped. Sethos walked past him, nearly out of earshot when—“Don’t leave,” Scaramouche said. “I— I came here to apologize, okay?” He hated the way he sounded, how vulnerable and weak his voice came out. He sniffed, crossing his arms and looking away. Sethos had every right to leave, he knew that. If this was the end of their pseudo-friendship, then fine, he didn’t need him anyway.“Really? The aloof and blunt Hat Guy is sorry?” Sethos said. There wasn’t any malice in his voice, rather it was more curious and gentler, somewhat wary. “What are you sorry for?” he continued, a new lilt in his tone. He was definitely poking fun at me.

“You know,” Scaramouche said dismissively. “The whole… calling you an idiot and pushing you away thing. You’re not dumb.” He refused to meet Sethos’s eyes. It’d just make him feel all the more tingly and weird. “And… I’m sorry for being a crappy… friend.”Sethos hummed, stepping closer until he was right in front of him. “Just that? What about all the times you called me annoying?” he pushed, lips already curling into a smirk. “That deserves an apology too.”

“You are annoying. I’m not apologizing for the truth,” Scaramouche retorted easily. He couldn’t help but look up at him, blue meeting green. “And I’m not saying all of that again. So you better have listened.”

A small laugh erupted from Sethos, whose cheeks were dusted a soft pink. “You’re really funny, you know that?” he said softly. “I honestly have been avoiding you, and no, not just because of exams. Well, partially, yes, but that’s not the point. I’ve been trying my best to be patient and to be your friend, but you always pushed me away. That night at the Zubayr Theater… it made me realize that maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. If you really hated me that much, fine, I’ll just leave you alone.” He scratched his neck, looking away shyly. “I didn’t think you’d go so far as to find me.”

Scaramouche shoved him slightly. “Shush. It’s already embarrassing enough that I’m even here.” He tilted his hat to hide more of his face, walking with Sethos. “Not a word of this to anyone, alright?” he added, feeling heat pool in his cheeks.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. Me, the only person Hat Guy has ever apologized to? I feel like a million Mora,” Sethos chirped. “Besides, you called me your friend.” He pushed the brim of Scaramouche’s hat up, shooting him a grin as their eyes met again. Scaramouche scowled, cheeks growing redder by the second.

“No, I said I was a bad friend.”

“Yeah, but then that means you’re my friend and I’m your friend. Which means we’re mutually friends.”“Whatever. Sure,” Scaramouche relented. That prickly feeling in his gut disappeared, leaving only a different prickly but more fluttery feeling. It didn’t feel as anxiety-inducing, but still…They made their way to the main floor of the Akademiya, heading towards the entrance. “Uh, I still have something to do here,” Scaramouche said, interjecting the somewhat comfortable silence between the two of them. “I’ll see you around, I guess.”

Sethos waved slightly, another dazzling smile on his face. “See you. Do you think we can grab lunch together sometime?” he asked, reminiscent of their first meeting. Scaramouche’s chest tightened at the thought.“Maybe,” he mumbled, looking away again. “Buzz off. I’ll see you when I see you… Sethos.” He didn’t have time to see Sethos’s face light up in sheer happiness before he ran back up to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, a single question on his mind for Nahida. / Scaramouche entered the Sanctuary without much resistance. The guards already knew who he was at this point anyway.“Lesser Lord Kusanali?” he called out, walking down the pathway to the middle where she was currently situated. She was surrounded by scrolls and books and screens made of Dendro, showing off three-dimensional figures of what looked like new buildings for construction at the Bayda Harbor as she floated in the midst of it all. She looked up, waving her hand and dissipating the Dendro energy before floating down to the ground. “Hat Guy,” she said. “What’re you doing here? Something on your mind?”Scaramouche rubbed his arm, not knowing how to answer. “Well, yes, I guess. I have a question to ask,” he admitted. “Don’t laugh.”

Nahida raised her eyebrows. “Since when did I laugh at anybody who asked questions? As the God of Wisdom, I welcome anyone who has the courage to seek answers.” She hopped off the platform, heading over to where he was standing. “Ask away.” She smiled kindly.Scaramouche huffed. “It’s not the kind of question you’re expecting,” he murmured. “Um, how do I… how do I, uh, be a good friend?” His cheeks felt hot again, just like earlier.Shock was evident on Nahida’s face, her mouth falling open. “Oh. It’s… that kind of question.” She thought for a while before snapping her fingers in recognition. “Is this about—?”“Yes. It’s about… him,” Scaramouche forced out, raising a hand to stop her. “Don’t say his name. It makes this feel more real than it already is.” Who knew Sethos could cause such emotional turmoil?Nahida bit her lip, suppressing a smile. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re making friends! I told you it’d be good for you,” she gushed. “Well, what have you two been up to? I haven’t seen you two spending time together since we watched that play.” She clicked her tongue. “It wasn’t very nice of you to leave him behind. He looked so upset. Did you say anything to him?”Scaramouche’s pulse quickened. “I may have been harsher than usual,” he began slowly. “But I apologized. I know, big step,” he cut in before Nahida could speak, “but now that we’re on speaking terms again, I don’t know how to… you know, keep him around. Or just, be nice. He said all my insults hurt him, but he also seems to like rebutting me, and that’s a little confusing.”The archon hummed in thought. “I mean, jokes like that are okay every now and then. You mentioned he liked playful banter, so as long as it seems fine, you have nothing to worry about. Be a bit more mindful about what you say, at least,” she suggested. “Maybe try getting to know him. Ask him questions about what he does and what he likes. Do you know his favorite food? Favorite color?”

Scaramouche, to his surprise and slight concern, already knew what his favorite food was. “He mentioned he wanted to get lunch at Lambad’s. Said they made the best shawarma wrap in the city,” he recalled from memory. “It was back when he first started trying to make conversation. I don’t know why I still…” He faltered. No use thinking too deeply about it.Clearing her throat, Nahida clapped her hands. “I think you have a pretty solid answer. Just be yourself. He wanted to be your friend, so he must like you to some degree,” she assured him. “Even if I can come off as rude and ungrateful?” Scaramouche joked emptily.“Yes, even if you come off as rude and ungrateful,” Nahida repeated, patting his arm. “Just knowing you apologized—I’m so proud of you. You’re gonna have friends in no time.” She smiled. “Any other concerns?”Scaramouche shook his head silently. 
… he must like you to some degree.
That was enough to send a jolt up his spine. “Thanks. I, uh, I’ll update you I guess,” he said, leaving before Nahida could discern anything else from his attitude. She was infuriatingly perceptive like that. / It was lunch rush, and the streets were bustling with hectic energy. Scaramouche clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to shake off the nervousness that grew with every step he took towards the tavern. He had agreed to meet Sethos there after their morning classes, and even though Sethos seemed excited to meet him outside the Akademiya for once, Scaramouche’s stomach was running laps.This shouldn’t be as nerve-wracking as it felt, but it was. And it was, again, strange.The tavern came into view as he headed down past the Adventurer’s Guild, spotting Sethos’s unruly brown hair as he waited by the shawarma stand. Of course.“Sethos,” he called out, the name still foreign in his mouth. “You’re here early.” He stood beside him, watching as the attendant sliced meat off the rotating spit.

Sethos chuckled, teetering on the balls of his feet. “Well, I wanted to be first so I could get it hot and fresh,” he said. “Still not used to you calling me by my name. Feels nice, after you calling me an idiot so many times.” He shot him a cheeky grin.

Scaramouche rolled his eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m still learning how to be a good friend,” he mumbled. It had been a few days since they made up, and Scaramouche found himself looking forward to their small hangouts. Even if they would just exchange notes, the interaction would be enough to lift his mood for the day. Suddenly it felt as if the world was dull before he paid attention to Sethos, he thought absently.“You want one? I can buy it for you,” Sethos offered. “A favor for a friend.” He handed over the Mora before Scaramouche could speak up. “You can pay me back with a coffee.” He grinned conspiratorially, taking his order.“Too much coffee isn’t good for you, you know,” Scaramouche drawled. “There have been an increasing number of reports of people getting intense heart palpitations after drinking coffee. Aren’t you worried that’ll happen to you?” He took the shawarma wrap from the attendant before sitting down with Sethos at one of the street-side tables, taking a bite. “Mm, this isn’t half bad.”

Sethos took a bite too, nearly downing half the wrap in one go. “I’d never take you somewhere bad,” he said defensively. “It’s our first lunch together! I wanted to take you somewhere nice and budget-friendly.”

They still had some time before their next class, so Scaramouche took Sethos up on his repayment scheme of coffee for the shawarma, getting one for himself. He took his coffee black with no sugar, while Sethos added two cubes of sugar and some milk. “Mm, Puspa Cafe has amazing coffee,” Sethos mused, taking a generous sip. “How’s yours?”Scaramouche shrugged. “It’s fine. It’s coffee,” he said. “I prefer tea, but the shop I buy it from stocks their tea from Chenyu Vale. I prefer Inazuman varieties more.” He bit his tongue. Another remnant of his past, huh?

Sethos hummed. “Inazuman tea. Huh, I don’t think I’ve ever had any.” He set his cup down, leaning forward in his seat. “How does it taste? It can’t be too different from the tea we get from Chenyu Vale.” He stared at Scaramouche intently as he waited for an answer.Scaramouche couldn’t  handle the intensity of his gaze, but he couldn’t find it in himself to look away. “It tastes more… roasted, like they’ve chucked the tea into a pan over the fire. It also doesn’t have the same kind of bitterness that the Chenyu Adeptea leaves tend to have, it tastes lighter and not as full-bodied,” he said. “That’s one of the more clear differences. The subtler ones are easier to tell once you’ve tasted them side by side.”Sethos tilted his head. “Huh. Okay.” He paused for a while, drinking his coffee. Scaramouche started to sweat. “Did I… say too much?” he asked warily. “Oh! No, not at all,” Sethos said quickly. “I was just… well, one of the uncles I run errands for is Inazuman. He moved to Sumeru back when he was young to study at the Akademiya. His niece visits every now and then from Narukami Island, so I was thinking of asking if she could bring some tea back for you. I’d cover the expenses of course.” He shot him a small smile, hands curling around the coffee cup. Scaramouche blinked. “You’d do that for me?” he asked incredulously. “That’s— I mean, why? You barely know me.” If this was how Sethos viewed people he hardly knew he had a good chance of becoming a scam victim. Sethos’s eyebrows knit together. “Do I have to? You mentioned you liked Inazuman tea, and it just so happened that I had a way to get you some. We’re friends now, right? It’s what friends do.” He moved to pat Scaramouche’s arm reassuringly. “And I’m sure I’ll get to know more about you in the future. Unless you get tired of me,” he joked. Scaramouche’s arm felt tingly. “Don’t count on it,” he mumbled softly. “I’m not going through all this effort just to get rid of you. I may be mean but I’m not a sadist.” Not anymore, at least…Sethos giggled. “Hey. You’re actually being nice. That’s so cute.”Scaramouche leaned back in his chair, repulsed. “Cute? I am not cute. Wh— How dare you even insinuate I am cute.” Him, the Balladeer, the former owner of the Sixth Seat of the Fatui Harbingers, quite possibly one of their most terrifying members, was cute? Even if that wasn’t who he was anymore, the juxtaposition of the two in his head gave him whiplash. Sethos laughed even more. “I mean, okay, not cute, but definitely nicer than you give yourself credit for. You say you’re mean—and, yeah, you are, but not like you actually mean what you say. You still do your best to run errands to the best of your ability, so you do want to be a good person. I think,” he rambled. “Does it make sense?”Scaramouche raised an eyebrow. “What, are you psychoanalyzing me now?” he scoffed. “I’m mean because I want to be mean.”Sethos wagged his finger at him. “Because you don’t want anyone to get close to you,” he said. “Exhibit A.” He pointed to himself. “Not even you can deny that.”Scaramouche rolled his eyes. He couldn’t deny it, and even if he did, Sethos would just argue his point to oblivion. They were both stubborn like that. “Fine. Sure. You win.” He hid his face behind his coffee cup as he took a huge gulp. He didn’t see the way Sethos smiled after him as he stood to pay for their coffee. / Scaramouche fiddled with the note for what seemed like the umpteenth time. His eyes had scanned each word twice, thrice, over and over, looking for any hidden meaning, for any other way he could’ve somehow prevented it from happening.  
Dear Hat Guy,

Sorry about missing our coffee date. I got an urgent summons from the Temple of Silence, so I had to leave ASAP. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but don’t miss me too much. I’ll be fine, trust me!

I’ll be back before you know it.

Your idiot,

Sethos
 It was a simple letter, but reading it made Scaramouche’s gut churn. Just two months of being Sethos’s friend and suddenly he got anxious over the thought of being without him for just a few days? Archons, he sounded like a wreck. A taste of true human care, concern and attention and suddenly he grew too attached—he could practically feel his old self laughing at his futile attempts to pretend he didn’t miss Sethos. He found it at their usual meeting spot, which was at one of the gazebos near the Sanctuary of Surasthana (yes, that one). They made plans to meet up that day since they’d both been swamped with schoolwork the past week, and Scaramouche would never admit it, but he’d been looking forward to it more than he thought he would. He knew the reason Sethos would leave it there was because no one else stayed there but them, and Scaramouche would know something was amiss immediately if he didn’t show up.He groaned and leaned against the Great Tree’s trunk. The sight of the empty gazebo was too much for him, so he did what he did best and fled into the upper branches of the Great Tree, just shy of the Akademiya’s highest level. His feet dangled over the rest of Sumeru City as the sun started to set, the streetlights across the outskirts of the city beginning to glow. His eyes looked past them for the forest, then the distant peaks of Caravan Ribat, and even further to the desert. He had no idea where the Temple of Silence was located. He just knew it was somewhere in the desert, which was big enough that he could walk a straight line and never encounter a living soul—besides maybe the occasional desert fox. Judging by the very nature of the Temple of Silence, it’d be impossible to rely on trial and error to find Sethos. He’d have to wait.He knew the mental load would be unbearable. It was already hard to spend a few days without Sethos, and now he couldn’t even come find him and drag him back by force.
Drag him back? For what? It’s not as if he’d leave you forever.
The idea that Sethos could disappear was… terrifying. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. Entertaining the thought just sent him in a downward spiral that he hasn’t had since… since—He shook his head. Stop it. You’d do better to stop pitying yourself. He wiped his face, rubbing the exhaustion out of his eyes. He seriously needed to get a new hobby.  / Sethos winced as the wooden cart rolled to a bumpy stop by the entrance to Caravan Ribat. He put a hand to his side gingerly, feeling the thick bandages wrapped around his waist. He had gotten a little cocky, maybe a touch careless, and sustained a nasty cut from some of King Deshret’s rabid followers who demanded that the Temple of Silence hand over all confidential information to possibly summon him. He wasn’t going to let them intimidate him, so he fought them off along with the rest of his members. They fled eventually, but not without wounding him—pretty badly, too. He also got cut on his cheek, but the pain in his side made it seem like an insect bite more than anything. Despite that looming threat, the thought that Hat Guy would’ve missed his note and worry about him ghosting him occupied the back of his mind. He knew they’d grown close and were friendlier than before, but a small part of him was still scared that this would give him an excuse to distance himself. Things were already going so great—it’d be terrible if it ended this way. He paid the cart driver a few hundred Mora for his trouble and slung his pack over his back carefully. He tugged his shirt down over the bandages, not wanting anyone to make too much of a fuss. A lot of the Caravan Ribat regulars already knew what was going on, so he wanted to leave quickly without much fanfare. Just as he was about to leave, a sharp tug on his sleeve stopped him in his tracks. “Where do you think you’re going?”
I’d know that voice anywhere. 
Sethos turned around. “H- Hat Guy?” he asked in disbelief.“You left me with just a note, I didn’t even know where you were, and to top it all off, you come back with bandages around your stomach?” Hat Guy ranted. His eyes narrowed. “Don’t bother hiding it. I can tell you’re hurt, you’re limping.” He pulled Sethos’s shirt up, revealing the white gauze. His frown deepened as he saw the blood starting to seep through. Sethos drew a blank. “You’re— you’re here? How’d you know when I was coming back? Wait, what are you even—” he stuttered. He was too in shock to register that Hat Guy literally pulled my shirt up—Hat Guy’s scoffed. “I came here everyday asking for you. I happened to catch your arrival today just as the cart rolled in from the desert,” he said, as if it was obvious. Then his eyebrows knit together, staring at Sethos’s face a bit too long than what would be deemed normal. “Wait.”Sethos took a small step back. “What’s wrong?”Hat Guy leaned forward, taking Sethos’s chin in between his thumb and forefinger. Sethos swallowed thickly as Hat Guy stepped closer, enough that he could feel the heat of his breath on his face. He moved Sethos’s jaw back and forth and inspected his face with great care. “You even have a cut on your cheek. Tsk.” He let go, crossing his arms. “You’re coming back to the city with me for treatment. No excuses,” he added as Sethos prepared to object. “You promised you’d be fine, and here you are sporting two wounds. Unacceptable.”“O- Okay,” Sethos relented, cheeks burning bright red. He found that he couldn’t say no even if he tried. / The way back to the city from Caravan Ribat was quite arduous, especially since Scaramouche insisted he help Sethos walk back instead of hitching on a cart. While yes, Sethos was wounded, Scaramouche trusted himself and his abilities more than a bunch of hired mercenaries if they ever encountered any enemies. Vissudha Field wasn’t known for being a dangerous area, but he couldn’t take any chances. Not when Sethos was already out of commission. “How’d they even hurt you, anyway? Your Electro vision should’ve given you an edge,” he wondered out loud, silently cursing the Electro archon for her negligence even though it wasn’t her duty to protect Electro vision holders anyway. Sethos smiled wryly. “Well, when an ally is held hostage, you don’t get a lot of options,” he said. “I tried to save him but in the process, I got cut, badly. It was… much worse when it was new. Our medics had to work fast to make sure I didn’t…” He trailed off, although both of them understood the implications. Scaramouche stayed silent. He didn’t know what to say and was afraid he’d say something insensitive, so he just kept an eye out for any immediate danger. He could sense a tension in the air, but he couldn’t tell if it was an enemy or a change in the chemistry between the two of them. 
Chemistry?
An arrow whizzed by Scaramouche’s ear, one of his hat’s tassels ending up torn by the attack. “Give up your money!” said one Eremite, a big burly figure backed up by two other knife-wielding women. “This is the end of the road. Give us what we want, and we’ll let you pass.”Sethos’s hand flew to grip Scaramouche’s sleeve, ignoring the crackle of Electro that emanated off his skin. “Hey, we don’t have to fight. I don’t have much in my pack anyway,” he whispered, fully aware they were both Vision holders, but ultimately not wanting to burden Scaramouche with fending off their attackers. He knew he’d only be a liability, and it’d be better to cut their losses. A small smile graced Scaramouche’s lips as he tugged his arm out of Sethos’s hold. “What, don’t think I can handle them?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m hurt.”“V- Vision holders!” One of the women cried. “Boss, maybe we should—”She barely had time to finish her sentence before a wind blade struck her squarely in the chest, knocking her down to the ground with a loud oof. The other Eremites’s heads swiveled around, backing away at the sight of Scaramouche levitating in the air, his hat transformed into Anemo energy that had started to glow behind him on his back. His grin was dangerous—almost daring them to fight him. “Try me,” he hissed, voice dripping with venom. Sethos could only watch, mouth agape, as Scaramouche made easy work of the enemies. He rushed about in the air, movements light and easy, almost like he was trained to fight. The Eremites couldn’t hit him as he dodged every attack, instead sending a barrage of Anemo blades their way, taking the wind out of their lungs. He floated back down, kicking the big guy off his feet and grabbing him by the collar. The guy could only whimper in pain. “Stay away,” Scaramouche threatened him, “if you value your life.”The enemies spent no time running away, stumbling as they disappeared deeper into the forest. Scaramouche wiped his hands, hat reappearing on his head. He came face to face with Sethos, who was left standing in amazement and fear. “Y- You— wait, you didn’t have to fight them. I mean, I’m glad, but whoa, you were…” He blinked, dumbfounded, biting his lip in thought.Scaramouche sighed, turning away. He couldn’t bear to look at him. “Save it. I couldn’t let them hurt you,” he muttered. I’m deep in it now. Archons, that was too much, he’s going to hate me—“That was so cool, the way you sent ‘em packing! Like, you went in the air like whoosh, and hit them with wind like bam! Then they just fell and— and, wow, you’re so… amazing,” Sethos marveled, eyes wide and bright. His soft smile sent a shiver up Scaramouche’s spine. “Thank you.” He put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gratefully. Scaramouche’s mind came to a complete stop. “I- Idiot. I did what I had to do,” he managed to get out. He made no move to push Sethos away. “Just… buy me some more tea, or something.” Tea wouldn’t be enough, he thought emptily. But if it means receiving a gift from Sethos… I’d gladly accept. / Sethos looked out on the forest surrounding Gandharva Ville. He had a small amount of spare time, so he decided to go and visit Cyno. It seemed counterintuitive to head towards the Forest Watchers’s main base, but something told him he’d be there today. He had asked Collei once he arrived if Cyno was there, and she told him (somewhat shyly) that he had gone out with Tighnari to place some signal beacons near the Apam Woods earlier. If he waited a bit more, he could probably catch them as they returned. Sethos found his thoughts drifting back towards the same person—every waking moment would be spent trying to avoid thinking about him too much, but then they’d spend time together like always and suddenly all he could think about was him. It wasn’t fair—he’d been working so hard to be friends with him, enduring a lot of insults and mean remarks, and now that they actually were (surprisingly with a lot of effort on his part), somehow being friends didn’t quite satisfy him anymore. Like there was a different feeling that enveloped him whenever they were together, and friendship didn’t fit the bill. He had a small inkling of what this feeling was, but he vehemently denied the truth of the matter. As if they could ever be more than friends…Cyno had become one of his closest companions, and even though he could be uncharacteristically unserious for a man in his position, his advice was sound. Besides, what he and Tighnari had was something Sethos had been secretly jealous of for a while now—if someone knew anything about it, it’d be Cyno. “Master Tighnari!” Collei called out as she spotted him arriving, snapping Sethos out of his thoughts. He cursed inwardly. Damn. I was thinking about him again.The Head Forest Ranger trudged up the stairs with the General Mahamatra in tow carrying the old beacons. “Collei, how are those reports coming along?” he asked. “Oh, they’re fine. Um, Sethos is here,” she mentioned, motioning towards him. “He was looking for General Cyno.”Cyno set down the beacons, dusting himself off. “What’s up?” he asked. “Something urgent? Is it about what happened recently at the Temple?”“No, it’s, uh, something else,” Sethos said quickly. “Sorry, Tighnari, do you mind if I steal him for a second?”Tighnari’s tail swished as he shook his head. “No problem. He needs to go work on some of his own reports soon,” he said pointedly, pushing him forward. “Go on.”Cyno glared back at Tighnari. “Nari, you’re embarrassing me,” he grumbled. “You really can’t be a mushroom lover.”Tighnari raised an eyebrow, ears twitching in anticipation. “And why not?”“Because… you’re not a fungi.”Cyno was promptly kicked out of the base along with Sethos for his bad joke, but not without stealing a kiss from Tighnari, who indulged him despite his annoyance. “Now go work!” He chastised Cyno one last time before watching them leave and head back to the city. “So what’s wrong? You’d usually wait for me down by the matra’s office,” Cyno asked as they walked back. “Sorry about getting you kicked out, by the way. Nari— I mean, Tighnari isn’t upset with you, I promise. It’s just that I tried to skip work by heading out with him this morning, and he found out, so he got upset that I didn’t just come over to spend time with him and used him as an excuse.” He crossed his arms, huffing. “I was killing two birds with one stone, for your information. But he still said I should’ve just worked today so we could do something tonight without any other things getting in the way.”Sethos coughed. He wasn’t used to Cyno being so forward about his and Tighnari’s relationship, especially since they were such public figures in Sumeru City. “You and Tighnari must really care for each other, huh?” he cut in before Cyno could keep complaining. “Even though he got mad, he still… kissed you.”Cyno blushed under his headpiece, made even more noticeable with the way his white hair fell over his cheeks. “Yeah, well… he can’t resist my striking good looks,” he joked, pointing to his Electro vision. “Striking. Like a lightning strike.”Sethos gave him a pity laugh. “Haha. Right.”“You still haven’t answered my question,” Cyno said, moving past that awkward moment. “What’s so important that you seek me out?”Sethos’s mouth dried up. Right, the reason why he came all this way. Suddenly he wanted to run away and tell Cyno that he lied and that it was about the incident at the Temple of Silence, but it had been well over a month and the fanatics had more or less been punished for their crimes. “Uh, well, it’s actually about you and Tighnari,” he started, fingering the hem of his shirt. “I just wanted to ask how you knew you… liked him.”The General Mahamatra stopped in his tracks. “What? You, in love with somebody?” he asked incredulously. “Wh— No! No, nothing like that,” Sethos said defensively. “I was just curious! Can’t I be curious how my friends got together?”“So you walked all the way to Gandharva Ville from the Akademiya, waited for a long while for me not knowing when I’d return or if I’d ever head back to the base at all, just to ask me a simple question that you could’ve asked literally anybody else?” Cyno stated, deadpan. “Rhetorical question. Don’t answer. I know you like somebody. Your face says it all.”Sethos pursed his lips in embarrassment. “It’s that Hat Guy, right?” Cyno kept going. “I’ve heard that you guys have gotten close. My last encounter with him was back during the Interdarshan Competition. Gotta say, he’s not the most social guy.” He glanced at Sethos. “What made you like him? Seems like a strange turn of events.”Sethos’s brain went into overdrive, all his memories with him running through his mind like a film reel. “How could I not like him?” he said. “He’s smart, witty, great at fighting, but that last part I only found out recently. He says he doesn’t care about people, but he still takes them into consideration when he goes about his day. “He remembers small things too, like how one of the regular guards at the Sanctuary of Surasthana likes coffee so he buys him an extra cup when we hang out to give to him. He remembered how I like my shawarma wraps, that I prefer salty snacks over sweet, that I like spicy curry, and that I like clear sunny weather the best. “And he… he’s really trying his best to be a good friend. Everytime I say something like ‘I’m dumb’ or ‘I’m stupid’ or anything like that he makes me take it back. Like, really take it back, then he makes me say something more positive so I can get used to thinking better about myself. And he even makes me feel better after I get a bad grade or have a hard time on a quiz. It’s weird because he seems so aloof, but he really pays attention to everything, even a lot of the small details people usually skip over.“I don’t know anything about his past or where he came from because he doesn’t wanna talk about it, but he seems to have a lot of pain surrounding human connections. Which makes me feel so happy that he… um, chose me to be his friend, I guess.” Sethos’s cheeks were burning red. “And, well, he’s… he’s not bad-looking either. Not at all. His hat hides so much of his face but he looks so different without it—in a good way! Like he’s… not human, because no human can ever look so perfect. His eyes are a nice clear blue, his cheeks are so cute and pinchable, even though he’d probably kill me if I ever tried. And he just… I don’t know! My heart beats so fast whenever he smiles, which is rare because he’s always frowning, but when he does, he looks so handsome and— and, um. Yeah. It makes me really happy when I make him smile because no one else can.” He hid his face in his hands. “I’m so done for, Cyno.”Cyno let out a low whistle. “Not done for, you’re toast.” He snickered. “Toast like— like coffee.”“You mean, roast?” “No, I meant toast.”“You’re awful,” Sethos whined, pushing him away. “I literally just poured out all my feelings about my unrequited crush and you made a bad joke at my expense?!”“Poured out your feelings like you pour out coffee?” Cyno asked cheekily. “You gotta admit, you walked right into that one.”

“Cyno! I’m serious!” Sethos put his hands on Cyno’s shoulders, looking him in the eyes. “What do I do about it? I can’t keep spending time with him knowing I feel this way, because whenever he does something that makes me think he feels the same, it’s just setting me up for failure and I don’t want to end up resenting him over something stupid like that. I genuinely… I want to help him, but I don’t want the way I feel about him getting in the way. He deserves so much more than whatever I can give him.” Sethos closed his eyes, sighing. “I just want to know how to stop… feeling like this. It feels like a lost case.”

Cyno patted Sethos’s hand on his shoulder. “Hey, chin up. Listen, I think it’s great you want to help him, I really do. If Hat Guy takes notice of all those little quirks of yours, chances are he may feel the same way you do. And hey, if he really wants to be your friend, he wouldn’t let something like a crush get in the way of you two. You said it yourself, he chose you. Which is crazy considering he’s like a hermit among the Akademiya’s students,” Cyno said plainly. “And if you decide not to tell him, then think of it this way: you don’t make him happy because you like him. You make him happy because you really care, and you want to see him in a better place. Liking him is secondary.”

Sethos exhaled and opened his eyes again, a weak but resolute smile on his face. “Okay. You’re right. Just being able to help him… Yeah, it’s what I wanted to do anyway. I guess I can like him in secret. Sticking with him means I’ll be able to spend more time with him too.” He took his hands off Cyno’s shoulders, letting out a heaving sigh of relief. “Archons, you can’t believe how long I was keeping that in. I really needed to talk to someone about it.”Cyno clapped a hand on his back. “No prob. If things go awry, you know who to call.” He pointed to himself. “Me.” / “Lesser Lord Kusanali,” Sethos greeted Nahida, bowing slightly. “Thank you for taking time to see me today. I know it was a little last minute.”

While it was his first time stepping inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana, he didn’t have the right headspace to admire the interior and how it probably sucked to be imprisoned in here for five hundred years because his heart was beating a bit too quickly than usual. He walked over to the middle platform, where the Dendro archon was clearing out space for her new guest.“Sethos! How nice to see you again,” she said cheerily. “I haven’t seen you since… well, since we first met at the Zubayr Theater.” She gestured to a small stool she had conjured up. “Take a seat. How are you? Hat Guy tells me he and you have become good friends, but he doesn’t want to go into any more detail. You know how he can be.”

Sethos blushed. He tells our Archon about me? “Ah, that’s right. He’s been doing a lot to be in my good graces ever since we had a falling out,” he said, suddenly terrified that Hat Guy hadn’t told Nahida about their little month-long spat and would get upset that he told her. “Um, did he mention that?”

Nahida smiled knowingly. “Yes, he did mention it. He asked me for help, actually,” she said lightly, as if it wasn’t a mind-blowing revelation that made Sethos’s head spin. “What brings you here? Has the Temple of Silence found anything important?”

“Ah, nothing like that, no,” Sethos said. “Apologies. It’s, um, a bit more mundane than you would expect.” He gripped the strap of his bag nervously. “Hat Guy hasn’t told me, but I was able to catch a glimpse of one of his professor’s class registers, and I noticed his birthday was coming up. I was wondering if you knew what he’d like as a gift.”He already knew he wanted to give him a premium set of Inazuman teas, that much was clear. He’d made good on his promise and frequently ordered a small batch of gourmet tea twice or thrice a month and took note of what Hat Guy did or didn’t like. He really did tend to lean more towards the bitter and strong-tasting teas that still managed to feel light and clean in your mouth. Nahida hummed as she heard what he thought he’d like. “Tea, huh? He hasn’t mentioned anything of the sort, but I trust you if he told you personally. As for anything like cake, he really dislikes sweets, so nothing like that. Hmm… What about something he could use everyday? I think a practical gift would be good for someone like him,” she offered. “I’m sure you can think of something. You two seem to spend a lot of time in each other’s company, after all. I think you might know him even better than I do.” Sethos felt his cheeks grow hot, smiling to take some of the edge off. “Right, thank you. I apologize for disturbing you for asking such a question.”

Nahida waved her hand dismissively. “No need. I care for Hat Guy a lot, same as you,” she said softly. “Although, in some ways, I suppose you make him happier than I ever could. You two have a special connection, I can sense it.” She put her palms together, her hands glowing green with Dendro energy before she conjured up a small globe with the simulacrum of a bird flying around inside. “A peregrine. I find that it reminds me of him a lot.” She winked at Sethos, handing him the globe. “Tell him I wish him a happy birthday, and that he should stop running away so much.”

Taking the globe, Sethos returned the smile, his chest pounding in his ears. “You’re much too kind, Lesser Lord Kusanali. But thank you, I’m sure he’ll love it.” / Scaramouche scrunched his nose as he stumbled again. “Sethos, is this really necessary? I can tell where we’re going just by the fact that we’re heading up to the—”Sethos shushed him. “It’s meant to be a surprise! Really, Hat Guy, it’s fun,” he chided, leading him to the gazebos like it was a normal day. “Just trust me!”Scaramouche hated that he was blindfolded, but to hell with it. Sethos had surprised him with a nice lunch for his birthday, refusing to tell him how he found out about the date in the first place. It wasn’t even his real birthday, just the date when Katsuragi the samurai found him in Shakkei Pavilion. He couldn’t bring himself to change the date, so he just kept it tucked away, never for anyone to know. The only time he’s mentioned it in the past few months or so was when Nahida asked him for it. She wanted to enroll him in the Akademiya to give him something to do, and to help him in his pursuit of humanity. Scaramouche would never admit it, but since obtaining his Vision, his worldview had been thrown into complete disarray. Nahida, ever perceptive, could tell by his blank stares and vacant eyes that whatever was on his mind was something perplexing. She asked if she could enroll him in the Akademiya—“So you can help in the others’ pursuits of knowledge!”—and he couldn’t say no.Had he contributed anything at all? Besides a few surface-level philosophical essays, nothing much. He was afraid to get too introspective. The last time he allowed himself to think too much, he had debilitated himself for at least a couple of days. The mental strain of thinking over the meaning of his existence and what it meant to be human can do that to a puppet who was given a heart under false pretenses, betrayed thrice, and exposed to the truth behind the inciting event that caused him to lose all his initial sense of humanity in the first place. But he digresses. As Sethos led him up, Scaramouche’s heart started to beat faster, another painful reminder that he did have one. “What is this? Can’t you tell me?” he pleaded, pulse quickening in nervous anticipation. Sethos shook his head, even though Scaramouche couldn’t see it. “No, that’s the fun of it being a surprise,” he said. “Just wait.”Finally Sethos stopped, pulling Scaramouche towards the middle of a gazebo, he guessed. “Okay, now you can open your eyes,” he announced, sounding proud of himself. Scaramouche tugged the blindfold off, eyes wide as he saw a rather sizeable gift box on the floor with a card on top. “Oh, you didn’t have to get me a gift,” he said out of habit. “I wasn’t expecting anything…”Sethos smiled as he beckoned him closer. “So I take it the surprise was successful?” he asked hopefully. “C’mere, open it! I wanna see your reaction.” Sethos grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards him. Scaramouche stumbled slightly over his feet, nearly bumping into Sethos. “Hey—” He bit his tongue as he was about to complain, face mere inches away from Sethos. “You… don’t do that,” he stuttered, knees growing weak. Sethos’s cheeks tinged pink as he stepped away—a bit too much, Scaramouche noted. “Open it,” he said again, a little more embarrassed this time. Scaramouche knelt down, taking the card and starting to read it aloud. “Dear Hat Guy—”“Not out loud!” Sethos yelped, clapping a hand over Scaramouche’s mouth. “Just— read it in your head. It’s… I wrote a lot of mushy embarrassing stuff, okay?”Scaramouche raised an eyebrow as he tugged Sethos’s hand off his face. “Not my fault.” He pocketed the card to read for later before untying the ribbon on the box. “Who knew you had a penchant for gift wrapping?” he teased, taking note of the intricate bow. “Oh shush. Just open it.”Scaramouche pulled the ribbons away and opened the box, breath catching in his throat as he marveled at its contents. There was an elegant wooden box with compartments for storing teabags, each compartment already containing a few teas he loved from the ones Sethos had gotten him from Inazuma, like he said he would. But that wasn’t the best part.Beside it was a beautiful blue and white glazed teapot with two peregrines etched along the side, flying together above a rough-carved bamboo forest. There were also two traditional Inazuman-style teacups, glazed in the same manner as the teapot, except they had one peregrine each and the same flower pattern that Scaramouche had on his clothes. There was even a tea whisk and whisk holder, saucers, and a fine tea strainer for any loose teas he might’ve wanted to use. A green glowing orb with a peregrine flying inside sat in the middle of the box, too. Scaramouche was speechless. “Sethos, I… this is— this is too much, I can’t accept this,” he said softly, voice cracking slightly. “This must’ve cost a fortune. I can’t possibly…” His voice faltered, and he swallowed his complaints. “Thank you. So much.” He looked up at his friend, whose smile was so bright and beautiful. “I try my best,” Sethos said nonchalantly, but the grin on his face gave away how he really felt. “You really like it? I know you like tea, so I decided to get you something special so you can really enjoy making it. It wasn’t easy to get custom porcelain made so I tried my hand at it at one of the local potteries nearby Port Ormos. It’s why I went there a few weeks ago, if you remember.” He rubbed his neck bashfully. “The workmanship might not be the best, but the Inazuman uncle who taught me said it looked pretty similar to the ones back at Narukami Island.”Scaramouche’s heart skipped a beat.  He handmade this…? It must’ve taken so long to learn! “You made this… from scratch?” he asked, dumbfounded. “I can’t believe you went through all that effort. I’m just a friend, I… you must have closer friends.” He couldn’t fathom anyone choosing to put in the work for him.“You are my closest friend,” Sethos said softly. “And I wanted to show you how much I care and appreciate you. You do a lot for me too, you know.” He knelt down too, holding Scaramouche’s hand. “I haven’t felt happier than I have been being your friend. We might have started out on the wrong foot, but I have to admit, it feels nice to be taken care of every now and then.” He cleared his throat, looking away. “I’ve been living for others for so long, so… having you look out for me is pretty nice. It makes me feel like I have someone watching my back, so I don’t always have to feel on guard, you know?”Scaramouche’s chest tightened. Sethos really was so selfless, he needed someone to take care of him and to remind him to stop working so hard. He noticed it in the way he’d frequently put others before him, but it did tend to take a toll. Eventually Scaramouche had to force him to take a week off running errands to focus on school, buying him food so he didn’t have to worry about it. It wasn’t a big deal to him at the time, but Sethos must’ve really appreciated the gesture. “Someone has to take care of you,” Scaramouche said, trying to make it sound more sarcastic than it was. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be there to bring me my tea.”Sethos grinned. “You only want me around for tea?”“You did gift me a pretty nice stash and a tea set.”“It’s your birthday so I’ll let it slide.” Sethos squeezed his hand, swinging them lightly. “Thank you. Again. Just in case you don’t believe it.”Scaramouche’s pulse picked up again, his palm warm. “… You’re welcome,” he mumbled. “I should be thanking you.”“So say it,” Sethos said cheekily. “What are you thanking me for?”
For helping me learn what it’s like to trust someone again. 
“Thanks for… the tea, and the gift,” Scaramouche said, an unusual feeling beginning to settle in his stomach. “We should use it sometime.”His eyes focused back on the green orb. “Did… Lesser Lord Kusanali give you this?” he asked, realizing that it had her signature Dendro glow. “You met with her?”Sethos nodded. “Yeah, I asked her for advice on what to get you. So I guess you also have her to thank for this.” He motioned to the tea set. “She also said to tell you happy birthday and to stop running away so much.” His words filled Scaramouche’s heart with lead. “Right.” He bit his lip. “I’ll thank her too.” / 
Dear Hat Guy,

Happy birthday! I know you probably weren’t expecting anything, so surprise, a gift from your best buddy.

To be honest I didn’t know what to give you, but I think this is a pretty good one. I wanted to show you my appreciation for the way you always look out for me and take care of me. (Makes you sound like my mom.)

I hope you’ll let me take care of you the same way in the future. I want to be the one you look for when you need help too.

Your very thoughtful idiot,

Sethos
 Scaramouche lay awake in bed, turning his head every now and then to stare at the tea set that sat on his table. No wonder Sethos made him read the card afterwards. It was so personal and heartfelt, Scaramouche could feel Sethos’s yearning. 
Yearning.
Sethos wanted to grow close to him, wanted to be the one who protects him, wanting to be the one he ran to in times of need. He yearned to be Scaramouche’s confidant, his closest companion. Scaramouche was afraid he couldn’t give him that. He groaned, turning onto his side away from the tea set. He was confused. Why was his heart beating so fast around Sethos? Why did he feel so weak? Why did he want to be around him all the time if all he felt was butterflies in his stomach and heat in his cheeks? Feelings were so disgusting. But he couldn’t help but feel around Sethos. He got up and grabbed a coat, slinking away from the Akademiya dorms to visit Nahida. If anyone could help him, it’d be her. He walked up instead of flying like usual, wanting time alone to think. He hated how Sethos tended to do this to him—it felt pathetic, and every time it happened, he’d just end up shoving it down and trying to forget about it. He thought he’d done such a great job at suppressing emotions for so long, but apparently all it took was some annoyingly cute and endearing little errand boy to send it all tumbling down. 
Annoyingly cute is right. Can’t even go one minute with him without feeling butterflies in my stomach.
He stopped in his tracks, burying his face in his hands as he processed his thoughts, cheeks hot. “Archons,” he mumbled. He was so smitten it wasn’t even funny anymore. The guards at the entrance to the Sanctuary were surprised to see him at this hour of night, but they let him in without question. Nahida was still up (do Archons even need to sleep?), a book floating in front of her as she jotted down notes in midair with glowing Dendro energy. Was it some sort of mental notebook? Scaramouche didn’t want to ask.Nahida looked up as she heard the door creak open, the moonlight streaming across the dark pathway leading to the middle of the Sanctuary. “Hat Guy? What brings you here?” she asked, floating down and dismissing her items with a wave of her hand. “It’s late, isn’t it?”

Scaramouche closed the door behind him, walking over and scratching his arm restlessly. “I, um… I need to ask you something,” he muttered, staring at his feet.

“Well, you gotta look at me first,” Nahida chided. “What’s wrong?”Scaramouche forced himself to look up, meeting Nahida’s inquisitive gaze. “It’s about Sethos,” he admitted, his gut twisting. “I— I find that I can’t stop thinking about him, and that whenever he leaves, my heart— my stupid heart can’t take it and I start thinking that maybe he won’t come back, and the next day we meet up and it’s as if my anxiety was for nothing. And I’m happy, or at least close to happy, until he leaves, and… It’s a stupid cycle and I know I like him but how do I stop myself from feeling this way?” he blurted out. “I want to stop but I also want to be close to him all the time. I want to be the one he looks for when he needs something. I want… I want to be… the only one he looks at…” He scowled, crossing his arms and turning away, his body heating up at the sudden confession. “Listen, Lesser Lord Kusanali, I know this is really dumb and out of your realm of knowledge or something—”Nahida threw her arms over Scaramouche, a smile breaking out on her face and—was she crying? “Oh, Hat Guy,” she whispered. “You’ve grown so much.” She pulled away slightly. “I don’t think I’d have ever expected that you’d come to me for advice for something like this. You’re in love.” Scaramouche huffed, embarrassed at how much he wanted her to keep hugging him, but he tried not to let it show. “It feels… weird.” Him? In love? It was inconceivable. Love was for happy people, for people content with their lives, for people who deserved it.

“You crave genuine human connection,” Nahida kept going. “I don’t think a puppet would want something so carnal.” She smiled softly, letting go and tilting her head. “Have you considered telling him how you feel?”Scaramouche hated how she always managed to hit the nail right on the head. “I’m scared it’ll give him an excuse to distance himself from me,” he mumbled. “I mean, I don’t think he… Well, I have my suspicions. I’m not entirely sure he doesn’t like me that way, but I’m not 100% sure he does.” He could envision Sethos’s smiling face, pink cheeks, bright green eyes easily. The thought that they were directed to him made his heart skip a beat.“I’ve been betrayed so much. I don’t know if I can handle another one.” He closed his eyes, the people he’s loved and lost flashing in his mind. “It’s cruel, you know. I asked to never be born, and yet here I am, simply erased from existence but burdened with the knowledge that I played a part in so many people’s demise.” His voice cracked slightly, and he cursed under his breath. “I know…” He took a breath before continuing. “I know it’s ultimately not my fault, and everyday I try to live for them, live the way I know they’d want me to live, but it’s hard. I can’t… I can’t escape my past, no matter how hard I try. And I’ve tried. It’s not even that I want to be a human, it’s just… I don’t want my past to taint my present.”Nahida held his hand, reaching up to wipe away a tear that had rolled down his cheek. “With emotions like this, you’ve never been more human,” she said encouragingly. “He came by the other day, you know. Asking about a birthday gift. He really does care about you, Hat Guy. A lot more than you think.” She squeezed his hand comfortingly. “Betrayal is not the cards for the two of you. Trust me. Just the fact you’re even here…”The thought of Sethos betraying him put a sour taste in Scaramouche’s mouth. He smacked his lips, trying to rid himself of it. “I… I trust you,” he said slowly. “I trust him too. Surprisingly, I feel like I can trust him with my life.” My life… My life that once used to mean nothing, but with him, it feels like it means everything.Nahida smiled proudly. “Then I think you know what to do,” she said finally, hugging him one last time. “You have the power to change your destiny. I don’t think you two were brought together by fate for no reason. You said you wanted to start living the way your loved ones would’ve wanted you to—you just need the courage to do so, and to start living for yourself, too.”Scaramouche nodded, mouth pressed in a thin line. 
You just need the courage to do so.
Easier said than done, he thought to himself. / A week had passed since Scaramouche’s birthday, and since then, the tea set sat unused on his table. For some reason he couldn’t bring himself to use it.He and Sethos still met up as per usual, but he found himself distracted more often than not, Nahida’s words swirling in his head. 
I think you know what to do.
He did—but actually doing so was harder than he thought.He tried to think of a way to convey to Sethos that he seriously cared about him, and that he valued him as a friend. What could he do to tell him he loved him?Besides, you know, telling him he loved him. He wasn’t quite ready to take that step.The two were once again situated in one of their regular gazebos, the surrounding area quiet. It was the end of the week, so most of the students had gone out or gone home to rest before the onslaught of another grueling week of studying. Since he and Sethos lived in the city, they decided to hang out at their usual spot before grabbing dinner.“Hah, the trek here never gets easier,” Sethos sighed, leaning back against one of the gazebo posts. “It must be easy having an Anemo vision, huh? Being able to fly and stuff. ”

Scaramouche shrugged. “I guess. I don’t think all Anemo vision holders can fly. I think Faruzan—ahem, Madam Faruzan doesn’t use hers to fly,” he corrected himself. “I dunno. If I wanted to know more about Visions, I’d be enrolled in Spantamad.”Sethos grinned, inching closer to him. “Like me?” he asked. “We could’ve been classmates. You would’ve loved that, huh?”“I would’ve snapped earlier, that’s for sure,” Scaramouche raised an eyebrow. “What’re you smiling for? As if you know anything about Visions.”“I have one too, you know!” Sethos turned so he could show Scaramouche the Electro vision hanging on his hip. “I asked Cyno once about his Vision and what he could do with it. We both imbue our weapons with Electro, which is cool that we somehow independently thought to do that. Y’know, having the whole Hermanubis connection and everything.” He waved his hand. “And you shoot wind blades from your hands and fly,” Sethos said as if it was normal.Scaramouche rolled his eyes. “Yeah, really amazing stuff.” He looked down at his lap, noting how close his and Sethos’s hands were to touching. He swallowed. “Sethos, I—”“Hat Guy, I have a question,” Sethos said, blinking as he realized they both started speaking at the same time. “Ah, sorry.”

“No, no, you go first.”“Oh, I was just gonna ask… um, your name isn’t really Hat Guy, right?” Sethos started. “So, what is it? And why do you let people call you Hat Guy instead of your real name?”Scaramouche’s heart sank. Oh, this was inevitable. But… he trusted Sethos. If there was anyone who deserved to know, it was him.“Well… my old name is… my past is riddled with bad memories,” Scaramouche said quietly. “A lot of terrible things happened to me, and I did a lot of terrible things. I wasn’t—I didn’t ask to be born, and I was abandoned by my mother. Some kind people found me, and for a little while, I felt like I had a family.” Even now, he could still feel the warmth of Niwa’s smile as he watched him learn to forge weapons under Katsuragi’s guidance. “My birth name was Kunikuzushi. I was born in Inazuma. It was the name my mother gave me, before she left me on my own. The name my new family gave me was Kabukimono, because I didn’t look like them. It means… person in strange clothing. But it wasn’t meant to be malicious. I… I chose to be called that. And they indulged me.” His mouth grew dry as he recalled the painful start to his long life. Family… It was the first time he thought of them like that.“Then, an accident happened. And my family… they left me behind, but only because they were tricked into leaving. I begged for someone to help, someone who had the power to, and I tried to stop things from getting worse. But all it did was cause me more pain and suffering. Everyone I loved… died. Or left. I never saw them again.” His vision started to blur, but he blinked back the tears. “After that I came across another child, abandoned and left to die, kind of like me. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was sick. Deathly sick. His parents must’ve gotten caught in the accident that took my family too.”

Scaramouche balled his hands into fists as he remembered everything. “The child, he… I would go out and gather Lavender Melons to make soup for us, find clean water, wash him up so he wasn’t dirty. It was obvious that he’d been left alone for some time. I passed by that house so often that I couldn’t ignore him anymore, and m-my heart couldn’t take it either.” His breathing grew shallow, and he gripped the fabric covering his chest tightly, trying to calm himself down. His Vision flashed green as his emotions grew in intensity. “So I took care of him. We became friends. One day I took him to visit the place where my mother had left me, since it was better maintained than his leaking and decrepit house. I left him bundled up on a patch of leaves, and when I came back from scavenging for any food and furniture… he was gone. He died alone.”Scaramouche’s chest tightened, the all-too familiar grief rearing its ugly head. “I couldn’t take it anymore. Betrayal, one after the other. I couldn’t fathom how human beings did it. I couldn’t understand. Life was painful. Life was filled with suffering. Life wasn’t worth living—that’s what I thought. I resigned myself to drifting across the seaside, waiting for death too, until someone found me. Someone bad. Someone who wanted to use me for bad things. And I went with them, because I didn’t think I had any good left in me.”“I was able to escape eventually, but another group of people found me and offered me power. I couldn’t refuse, after all, because it felt like it was my destiny. Suddenly I had a chance to change things. I wanted to prove my mother wrong, I wanted to prove everyone wrong—I was important. I meant something. I was meant for greatness. But I still failed. I was at my lowest point that time. It had gotten to a point where I wished—I wished that I had never been born.” Scaramouche laughed mirthlessly, feeling hot tears streaming down his cheeks. Archons, he had never been so undone by anything in his life. “And by the grace of the gods, I was given a second chance. I had another chance at life to do everything right and to live without regrets. But for a long time… I couldn’t forgive myself. I couldn’t just forget everything that had happened. My life felt like a huge joke. Even after being reborn, I found that I rarely had anything to live for. I couldn’t put my faith in people. I wanted to make my loved ones proud, to be the person they would’ve wanted me to be. But it seemed impossible.” He looked up at Sethos, whose green eyes were filled with concern. Sethos, who not once interrupted while Scaramouche poured his heart out. Sethos, whose hand was now holding his. Sethos, who against all odds, was still sitting there listening to him like he was the most interesting person in the world. “But then… I met someone. Someone who kept annoying me to no end, someone who I couldn’t manage to avoid no matter what.” He bit his lip, fighting back a smile despite himself. “And suddenly I felt like… like I could learn to trust people again. Like I could give myself to someone else. Like… like maybe life wasn’t so bad after all,” he murmured. “I know this probably seems like too much, and I probably look really stupid right now c-crying over something like this—”Sethos pulled him into a hug, Scaramouche’s hat sliding off his head from the sudden motion. “Don’t say that,” he said softly. “You’ve been through a lot. It’s natural to feel strongly about it. It doesn’t make you weak or stupid. Anyone would be brought to tears if they were suddenly confronted by the ghosts of their past.” He rubbed Scaramouche’s back comfortingly, one hand moving up to cradle his head. “Cry all you want. I’ll be here for you.”Scaramouche sobbed silently. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried this much. He didn’t even want to cry, but Sethos felt so warm, so inviting. If there was any time he’d cry, it’d be right now.“I’m sorry—you didn’t sign up for this,” Scaramouche said finally, wiping his nose as he reluctantly pulled away. “You just asked me why I didn’t go by my name.” He managed a teary smile.Sethos chuckled. “Yeah, but I feel like I understand you a lot more now. It must’ve been difficult, going through all of that,” he replied. “I’m just glad you’re in a better place now. That stuff doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is that you’re here, and you’re trying your best.” He held Scaramouche’s hand again. “Just to be clear, I’m the person you were talking about, right?”

Scaramouche rolled his eyes, picking his hat up off the ground. “That’s the only thing you remember?”

“I mean, I’m flattered!” Sethos squeezed his hand, smiling. “I’m happy knowing I helped you out a lot considering you’re usually so emotionally constipated.” Scaramouche elbowed him, face set in its normal frown. “Not fair. I just cried. You can’t call me that.”Sethos laughed, moving closer so they were shoulder to shoulder. “Okay, okay. Fine. So, you have two names? Which one do you consider your real name?” he asked. “I can’t pronounce them, but I remember you mentioned two. Kuni… Kabuki… what?”

Scaramouche scrunched his nose in distaste. “I don’t know. I don’t feel like they fit me anymore,” he confessed. “It’s been so long… I was a different person back then.” He hummed. “Maybe you could give me a name. I like the person I am when I’m with you.”
If there was any person I’d want to be, it’d be whoever Sethos wants me to be. Because he sees the best in everyone—even someone as worthless as me.
Sethos blinked. His face turned red and he hid behind his other hand, looking away. “Wh—you can’t just say stuff like that!” he complained. “It’s so— so forward.”

Scaramouche raised an eyebrow. “What? It’s true. I told you all about how you helped me, and you’re surprised that I like your company?” he retorted. “You’re so hard to read.” He tugged on Sethos’s hand. “I trust your judgment. You can give me a name.”Sethos looked back, cheeks still dusted a light pink as he met Scaramouche’s eyes. “A name is a pretty big deal,” he said slowly. “You’re sure you want me to give you one?”“I already said yes, idiot,” Scaramouche repeated, starting to get impatient. “Don’t make me say it again.”Sethos’s eyes raked over Scaramouche’s face, considering. “Well, should I go with a desert name? Inazuman? A city name? Do you have a preference?”“I’m literally giving you free rein over this. Don’t fuck it up.”Sethos put a hand up. “Okay, okay! Geez. Don’t be so crass.”He leaned in and whispered in Scaramouche’s ear, his breath tickling his skin. The proximity made him up, his heartbeat loud in his ears like it always was whenever Sethos was close to him. “So, how’s that? Pretty good, right?” Sethos said as he pulled away, a triumphant grin on his face. “I was always in charge of naming the Sumpter Beasts back home.” “Great. I share a name with a Sumpter Beast,” Scaramouche deadpanned.

“No! That’s not what I meant,” Sethos whined. His eyes narrowed as he noticed the smile tugging on Scaramouche’s lips and he huffed. “You’re just teasing me at this point.” Scaramouche couldn’t help but chuckle. “Forgive me. It’s just fun to tease you,” he said. He tested the name in his mind. “It’s… a nice name. I like it. Thank you.” He nudged Sethos’s shoulder. “I guess you can stop calling me Hat Guy now, huh?”

Sethos smirked. “Right. What an end of an era.” He flashed him a toothy grin, sending Scaramouche’s heart running round a race track. “Don’t tell anyone about your new name, though.”

Scaramouche blinked. “Why not?” he asked, confused. “It’s my new name, shouldn’t I use it?”

Sethos leaned in, a playful smile on his lips. “I want to be the only one who calls you by that name.”Scaramouche had never felt the desire to kiss Sethos until that moment.“O-Oh,” he stuttered. “Okay.” He went impossibly red. “Who knew you could be such a charmer?” he continued, trying to dissipate the tension-filled air. Was Sethos normally like this? Suddenly he couldn’t remember.“I try my best,” Sethos quipped, winking at Scaramouche.It wasn’t until then that Scaramouche noticed just how dark it had become. “Oh, the sun set already,” he noted, the Padisarahs planted around the gazebo starting to give off their signature purple glow. “These flowers must be genetically modified. The ones around the city don’t look remotely like these.” He fingered one flower’s petals, thinking about how they were one and the same—products of experimentation.“Yeah, but they’re still pretty,” Sethos said. “Even though they’ve been modified. I don’t think it changes anything, it’s still a flower, and it’s just as pretty as the others.” He stood up, still holding Scaramouche’s hand. “C’mon. Let’s grab dinner. My treat.”

“It’s always been your treat. Maybe I should treat you this time,” Scaramouche said, standing up too. The weight in his chest that had been there for so long was surprisingly absent.

Sethos pouted. “But then you wouldn’t be able to buy me coffee,” he said. “And it costs more than buying two shawarma wraps.”

“What if I said I was getting sick of the wraps?” “What?! No way!”  / It had been a week since Scaramouche told Sethos everything about his past. So far, it didn’t seem like much changed between them, but Scaramouche noticed that Sethos tended to be more touchy and somewhat possessive of him and his attention lately. It wasn’t unpleasant, per se—Scaramouche secretly liked that Sethos demanded more of his attention now than before. He also had begun using Scaramouche’s new name in a new, somewhat sadistic manner (ironically), whispering it in a low voice whenever they were alone together or using it in ways that Scaramouche refused to recall lest he end up entirely incapacitated from how embarrassed it got him. It also didn’t help that it sent shivers down Scaramouche’s spine every time.Maybe he did reciprocate some of his feelings after all.Scaramouche still didn’t know what to do about it, though. Letting all his feelings out in a short span of time was already too much for him to handle, but confessing his attraction to someone else? Now that was a new hurdle he had to overcome, but not now. There was a new pressing matter. Lumine was coming to visit Sumeru.Scaramouche squinted as the sun bore down on the pavement. She had said she and Paimon would be at Bayda Harbor by noon, but she was still nowhere to be seen. He sighed. Why’d he even agree to pick her up? The harbor wasn’t even that far away that she needed a guide, and there wasn’t any straightforward path to and fro either. He would rather just fly, but Lumine couldn’t and Paimon didn’t seem like she could for extended periods of time, even though she floated usually. “Hey! Hat Guy!”Scaramouche felt his heart jump before he remembered that Sethos was back at the Akademiya filing through papers for his professors. It wasn’t him who was calling out this time. “Lumine,” he greeted the Traveler, waving to both her and Paimon. “You’re late.”“Tsk, not by a lot,” Lumine replied, smiling. “It’s been a while. What have you been up to since the Interdarshan Competition?” She and Scaramouche started walking north towards the river, hoping to make it to the city before nightfall. “Busy with studying?”

“No, not really. My classes aren’t that hard,” Scaramouche said. “Lesser Lord Kusanali still makes me run errands sometimes. And I’ve been spending time with a friend.” His face flushed at the mention of Sethos, but he hoped the two wouldn’t notice. Paimon floated ahead, a devious look on her face. “Oh? A friend? I didn’t know you were capable of making any!” she exclaimed. “Who? Is it Tighnari? Cyno? Ooh, maybe Layla?”

Lumine shook her head. “I don’t think those three have what it takes to get through to ol’ Hat Guy over here,” she said, thinking out loud. “Hm. Do we know them?”Scaramouche kicked away a pebble that lay along the road as they entered the forest. “No. I think.” He glanced at his companions. “What brings you two back to Sumeru, anyway? Was Fontaine that boring?”

Lumine’s eyes narrowed—she could tell he was changing the topic, but she let it slide for now. “Quite the opposite. Ended up saving the whole nation from drowning, believe it or not,” she said casually, as if it was nothing. “We saw Childe, too. Oh, and the Knave. She was surprisingly helpful, but she did end up snatching the Hydro Gnosis for herself.” She shrugged. “Kinda seems like the way these things go. I don’t know why I expected anything different. We just came back to catch up with our friends, including you, Hat Guy.”Scaramouche laughed, but it came out as more of a cackle. “Arlecchino actually pulled it off,” he said, amused. “Never liked her, but at least she knew what to stand for. As for Childe… did he even do anything important?” He didn’t even bother hiding how he felt about him.

Lumine thought for a while. “Well, he did manage to grab this super big universe-devouring whale’s attention, so I guess he helped a little. Otherwise a lot of people would’ve died. He ended up really incapacitated at the end of it though. His Vision even stopped working, so he had to rely on his Delusion. He’s lucky he’s still alive,” she went on, her voice tinged with concern. “We paid him a visit before leaving. The Iudex was more forgiving than I thought—only gave him a light slap on the wrist since he helped save the nation.”Scaramouche tried to remember what the Iudex of Fontaine looked like. “Right, Monsieur Neuvillette. I think I came across his name once or twice while reading through the Knave’s reports. Nothing so groundbreaking though.”

“You know what is groundbreaking?” Paimon cut in. “The fact that you made a friend independent of us.” She grinned, eyes wide. “So, who is it? Will you introduce us?”Scaramouche rolled his eyes, snorting in contempt. “You just had to ruin the conversation,” he glowered.Lumine stifled a laugh as she winked at Paimon. “No, no, I think she made it more interesting.” She leaned in. “Who’s this friend of yours? C’mon, they can’t be that bad.”Scaramouche couldn’t avoid the way he grew flustered thinking about Sethos, about the way he whispered in his ear, about the way he looked when he said he wanted his new name to be something only the two of them knew about. Archons, he suddenly got way too attractive. That shouldn’t be allowed, ever.“Some errand boy at the Akademiya,” Scaramouche relented, waving his hand dismissively. “He came from the desert. From the Temple of Silence, or something.”

Paimon and Lumine both stopped in their tracks, leaving Scaramouche to walk ahead before he realized he was walking alone. “What? Do you know him?” he asked, suddenly afraid of the answer. Lumine knew everyone. Oh, Archons, she knew who he was, didn’t she? “Well, duh! He’s the one that fought with Cyno over the Hermanubis thingy!” Paimon trilled, nudging Lumine for confirmation. “Right, Traveler?”

Lumine bit her lip, fighting back a wide grin. “Sethos is your new friend? How’d you guys even meet?” she asked incredulously. “Wow, I can’t believe this. This is wild.”Scaramouche rolled his eyes, starting to walk away so they couldn’t see him blush. “Shut up. All you need to know is that we’re friends. Somehow.” There was no way he was telling them everything that had happened between them—it felt like an invasion of privacy. No, it was an invasion of privacy.“Weeeell,” Lumine began, starting to pick up speed, “if you’re not gonna tell us, we’ll just ask Sethos himself.” She gave him a sly smirk.“Do you even know where he is?” Scaramouche contested.“The Akademiya. That’s where he said he’d be the last time we talked.”“... Okay, fine, I’ll tell you. Just—don’t ask him. Please.”“Deal.” / Sethos dusted himself off as he put the last row of books up on the shelves. He’d been enlisted to help out with the rearranging of the library, and him being him, he couldn’t say no. It turned out that Hat Guy had plans that afternoon anyway, so they agreed to meet up afterwards instead. Sethos felt his eye twitch as he heard about Hat Guy having plans, but he ignored it. He wasn’t jealous or anything. They were just friends, after all. 
Mm. Just friends.
He shook it off and told the supervisor he was leaving as he’d finished his part of the job. He took up his pack from the entrance of the library where they’d all dumped their stuff, rushing over to the cafe.

Truth be told, it had taken him a bit to process all that Hat Guy had told him about his past. It was extensive, to say the least. But he felt for him—being abandoned and left behind, being taken advantage of—it must’ve been detrimental to his sense of self. No wonder he’d tried so hard to push Sethos away at first. It made his reaching out after Sethos finally left him alone all the more meaningful.And, he couldn’t lie. It was such an ego boost knowing he’d been able to tear down Hat Guy’s walls at last. The object of his affections. He’s come to accept that fact, which is why he’d been so forward with his advances as of late. It was fun to make him blush and to watch him hide behind his hat. Knowing he had that effect on him was like having a secret superpower, especially since his new name was a secret between them two and them alone.He wasn’t quite sure if Hat Guy was picking up on those cues, though. If he truly was clueless about emotions like he said he was, it was possible he needed a more direct approach. But he’d just learned how to share his past with others, so maybe subjecting him to something like a confession would discombobulate him so much that he’d start avoiding Sethos. And he couldn’t have that, not when they’d grown so close.He was about to turn the corner to the cafe when he spotted Hat Guy’s signature—well, hat. He was walking up from the Adventurer’s Guild with someone else.Oh. It was… Lumine. The famous Traveler. And Paimon in tow. Sethos cocked his head as he slipped behind a building, keeping them in sight. The Traveler was in town? Hat Guy must’ve personally escorted her from wherever she came from, then. His stomach twisted in knots as he watched them walk together.Hat Guy seemed more relaxed than usual, and they were talking quite a lot. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say the Traveler could pass as Hat Guy’s closest friend, but he was sure that honor still belonged to him.He watched as they stopped in front of the cafe. She probably had somewhere to be, and had just accompanied him. He heaved a sigh of relief. Maybe… maybe they were just really, really friendly.He suddenly took it back when Lumine leaned in, whispering something in Hat Guy’s ear before he pushed her away, hiding his face with his hat as he tended to do when he got flustered. Lumine was… smiling, giggling even. 
Fuck.
His hands dug into the wall as he watched them say goodbye. Hat Guy settled into one of the outdoor seats, hiding his face in his hands. Whatever she said must’ve really gotten to him. Hat Guy said he didn’t have any close friends. Was he lying? No, no he couldn’t be, Sethos thought desperately. I’m… I’m still his…He slapped his cheeks. Snap out of it! What are you doing?! Stop being so dumb!

Sethos shook his head, trying to get rid of his intrusive thoughts as he walked out from behind the building towards the cafe. Keep it cool. You’re cool. You got this. / “Good luck, lover boy,” Lumine whispered.Scaramouche pushed her away, immediately hiding behind his hat. “Shut up,” he hissed. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you everything.”

Lumine snickered as Paimon kept asking her what it was she said. “You guys would be so cute together. I swear,” she promised. She was met with a venomous glare. “Just leave,” Scaramouche said. “Don’t you have someplace to be?” Lumine stuck her tongue out. “Yeah, yeah. But I mean it! Good luck!” she said over her shoulder as she dragged Paimon away too amidst her protests. Scaramouche trudged over to one of the cafe’s outdoor tables before sinking in a seat and burying his face in his hands. He did not remember the Traveler being so insufferable. Here he was, thinking telling her would be a good idea so she could offer some advice, but all she did was gasp dramatically as he told his story and poke fun. Archons, he was never telling her anything again. Especially around Paimon. Well, at least he’d be seeing Sethos soon. At that moment he looked up, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips as said man walked over. “Sethos,” Scaramouche greeted him. “Hey. How was your day?”Sethos took his seat beside Scaramouche, settling in comfortably. “It was fine. I got a little freaked out by how high I was because of the ladder, but overall, nothing too crazy. It was actually a little therapeutic, rearranging books. You?” Scaramouche shrugged. “I met up with a friend. She said she knew you,” he said. “Oh, do you want your regular order? I’ll go place it before anything else.”An unknown expression flashed over Sethos’s face. “Oh, sure,” he answered, tone even. Scaramouche squinted. Something was up. “You okay?” he asked. “You don’t seem… okay.” Normally he’d let this pass, but knowing Sethos, he’d be the type to pretend things were fine even when they weren’t. Sethos pursed his lips, smiling wryly. “I can’t let anything get past you, huh?” He looked away. “I, um, saw you with the Traveler before I got here. You guys seemed like you were having a nice time.”Scaramouche blinked. That’s what this was about? He could never tell what set Sethos off, but he guessed that he was probably envious that they spent time together. Not like it was a big deal—didn’t they hang out everyday anyway? “Well, I guess it was fine. She asked me to pick her up at Bayda Harbor,” he explained. “We just talked the whole walk here. It was… a little rough.”“The walk or the conversation?”“Eh. Both,” Scaramouche decided. “She kept asking a lot of personal questions. It tired me out.” Sethos’s face softened. “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”“It’s whatever.” Scaramouche looked up at him. “… Are you jealous?” “Wh— Me? Jealous?” Sethos stumbled over his words. “I have no idea how you got to that conclusion.” The start of a laugh gurgled in his throat before he coughed, running a hand through his hair. “Why would I be jealous?” Scaramouche smirked. Oh, this was rich. He suddenly had one thing over Sethos. And he was going to make the most out of it. “Oh, I dunno. Maybe you thought the Traveler—Lumine and I were closer friends than you and I,” he suggested, shrugging. “And you got worried that you’d be dethroned as my best friend.”He watched in satisfaction as Sethos’s face changed, now seething at the idea before he tried to compose himself. “No! No, not at all! It doesn’t matter that I’m not your best friend,” he said nonchalantly, even though he looked ready to fight something. “Not at all.” Scaramouche leaned in, putting a hand on Sethos’s arm lightly. “You’re starting to look like a kicked puppy again,” he teased. “Don’t worry. I prefer you and your company more.” He stroked his thumb across his skin, delighting at the sight of Sethos’s cheeks turning red. “So don’t be jealous, okay?” He’s so cute when he gets like this. I should do this more often. Sethos let out a small groan. “You’re making fun of me again!” he whined, burying his head in his arms on the table. “Stop. I get it. I’m… I have nothing to worry about.”“You’re what?” Scaramouche pressed, leaning forward. “I’m your… best friend…” Sethos mumbled, looking up and blushing again as he realized Scaramouche had moved closer. “Don’t—don’t get so close,” he yelped. Scaramouche grinned. “Didn’t you want to get close to me in the first place?”“You know what I mean!” Sethos sat up straight, still not tugging his arm away from Scaramouche’s hold. “Just go buy the coffee,” he mumbled, looking away. Scaramouche smiled. This was too easy.  / “I’ll be going back to the Temple of Silence.”Scaramouche crossed his arms, eyebrows knitting together. “For how long?”“I don’t know. Maybe a week,” Sethos said softly.The two stood by the entrance to the Akademiya, a bit off to the side so they didn’t block the way. “Is it the same guys from last time?” Scaramouche asked, frowning.“No. No, nothing like that. I just need to go check on a couple of things,” Sethos explained. “I can’t stay away so long. Ever since I became leader, I’ve begun taking on more responsibilities. Besides being a student at the Akademiya, I also have to worry about how the guys are doing back in the desert.” He scratched his arm like he tended to do when he was nervous about something. “I received a letter yesterday about some things that have gone wrong, so I need to get back and help fix them.”Scaramouche huffed. “Fine. Are you sure you don’t want me there? I can’t—you can’t risk getting hurt again,” he corrected himself. “It just healed.”Sethos absently put a hand over where he got wounded. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “I’ll be careful. Don’t worry about me.” He smiled and moved to hold Scaramouche’s hand but he stopped himself. “I thought you’d like it better if I told you in person since you freaked out last time when I left a letter.” He smiled, trying to lighten the mood.“Shush. I was worried,” Scaramouche muttered. “I don’t even know where in the desert the Temple of Silence is.”

“You’re not supposed to know.” Sethos propped both hands on his hips. “I would’ve brought you if I could.”

Nobody talked for a while. There was a tension so thick you could cut it with a knife—obviously Scaramouche was still worried about Sethos possibly getting ambushed. After all, beating up a group of guys with fanatical tendencies was practically the same as putting a big red target on your back. It was only a matter of time before something happened. Scaramouche was scared he wouldn’t be there to stop it from happening.“Just be careful. If you die, I’ll kill you,” Scaramouche said seriously, even though he felt a wave of anxiety wash over him.Sethos chuckled, shaking his head. “Okay. I won’t.” He let a few seconds pass before he pulled Scaramouche into a tight hug, ducking his head under the hat and burying his face in his neck.Scaramouche froze. This hug was… definitely different from their other hugs. Which weren’t many, but enough for Scaramouche to feel that maybe this wasn’t just a hug you gave your friends. He slowly wrapped his arms around Sethos, pulling him close. He felt Sethos’s heartbeat, his hot breath on his neck. “Promise me,” Scaramouche whispered. “Promise me you’ll come back safe.”Sethos nodded. “I promise,” he replied, his breath tickling his skin slightly. He stepped back, hands on Scaramouche’s shoulders. “I’ll be back before you know it,” he declared, smiling one last time before he left for his home in the city.Scaramouche watched him walk away until he disappeared, that unsettling feeling in his gut resurfacing and threatening to swallow him whole. It was the same as when he left the first time.No, he wasn’t going to let him go alone. He had to protect him somehow. He’d never forgive himself if Sethos got hurt—or worse.He ran after Sethos, ducking behind pillars and crates, eventually hiding behind trees and bushes as he followed him out to Caravan Ribat through the forest. It wasn’t that difficult—he flew most of the way, blending it with the surroundings and keeping his distance but not so far that he could lose sight of him. He watched as Sethos hitched a ride on one of the carts heading out to Aaru Village, following them as close as he could, hiding behind rock formations and occasionally getting pricked by some meddlesome cacti or tumbleweed. The pain was nothing, not when he had to focus—Sethos’s life was at stake.Was he overreacting? Maybe. But he knew this was for the best. If nothing happened, then he could go home and wait for Sethos. If something did happen, then he’d be there to help and knock sense into whoever wanted to hurt his friend.The cart rolled along the sand dunes, leaving tracks in the sand where the road would be. Years of travel had packed it tight that there was no worry of the cart sinking into the sand at all. Scaramouche wiped the sweat off his brow as he sat perched on a cliff overlooking the entrance to Aaru Village. He had a good vantage point and could watch over Sethos as he paid the driver for his service and started trudging along deeper into the desert. Scaramouche had never really been out this far, except maybe during the Interdarshan Competition. Even then, there was a designated area for the competitors, and it didn’t stretch any farther than a few miles from Aaru Village. He hoped Sethos knew where he was going.He continued along the cliff, coughing as the sandstorm started to pick up speed. He untied the sash around his body, putting it over his nose and mouth to keep any dust and sand out. The hat was pretty useful in keeping it out of his eyes, but he kept his head down just in case. It didn’t interfere with his surveillance of Sethos anyway. Sethos had also tied a bandanna round his nose and mouth to keep them covered, but he seemed pretty used to the desert winds, which wasn’t surprising. Scaramouche was glad he at least had some sense of preservation.The cliffs started to lead back down to the ground, so Scaramouche had no choice but to use the harsh wind to his advantage, using the storm and dust clouds to disguise himself. Sethos’s clothes were suited more for desert travel and blended in with the color of the sand, meaning Scaramouche had to pay closer attention lest he lose track of him. So far there weren’t any other people around, besides maybe a stray desert fox or two. He stayed close to the ground since his clothes stood out a lot more—white and blue against sandy brown and orange. It was cumbersome, to say the least, but Scaramouche couldn’t care less.Every now and then Sethos would look around and take note of his surroundings, probably picking up on the fact that he was being followed, but Scaramouche always hid himself well. He didn’t know what Sethos would say if he found out he followed him all the way out here, and he also didn’t want to deal with any of the teasing or annoying he was bound to endure.It was a while before he could make out any sort of structure out of the sand that seemed to stretch miles, but soon they came across what looked like the facade of a building carved into the side of some rocks. That definitely looked like a temple, so it was probably Sethos’s destination. Scaramouche heaved a sigh of relief. He was safe, this time. He didn’t have to worry.But he spoke too soon.Just as Sethos stepped out into the open, a hand reached out and grabbed his cape, dragging him down into the sand abruptly. Scaramouche’s heart jumped in his throat as more bodies appeared, seemingly materializing from the sand and throwing dust into the air, making it hard to see.This was a proper ambush—they knew he’d be coming back. Did they trick him? Was this some kind of revenge?

Scaramouche didn’t have time to think. He had to act fast.He quickly summoned wind in his palm, directing it towards the scramble of people and pulling up, causing them to come apart. The desert storm grew stronger, but he dove in and started pushing people aside with wind blades, shoving them out of his way and even kicking one in the chest.“Sethos!” he shouted, ducking an attack from one random bandit before flying up and slamming another vortex of wind into him, driving him away along with any others that came to back him up. “Where are you!”“H-Hat Guy—oof!”Scaramouche turned to see Sethos double over with a groan, punched squarely in the jaw by someone who looked like their leader. “The King Deshret artifacts,” he demanded, kicking Sethos down and putting a foot on his chest so he couldn’t move. “Now.”Sethos struggled, trying to push the bandit leader’s foot off. His lip was bleeding, and his eye was starting to swell. “N-Never,” he spat, summoning Electro in his hand to shock him. Stunned by the sudden surge of electricity, the bandit leader stumbled, giving Sethos a momentary reprieve, but another bandit waiting to incapacitate him kicked him back down and tugged his Vision loose, leaving him defenseless.Sethos winced as he tried to get back up, but his knee slipped on the sand, offering no purchase. He reached for his Vision, but the bandit kicked it even further away, holding a knife to Sethos’s throat. “You heard the master. Artifacts, now.”Scaramouche saw red.He roared as he lunged forward, taking the lesser bandit by the collar and tossing him aside, knocking him out cold as he hit his head on some rock. His eyes were filled with rage as he moved to handle the bandit leader, who was now wielding some kind of curved sword with a deadly glint. Even in the cool light of the moon, Scaramouche knew that it was him who had gotten Sethos injured before.“You hurt him,” Scaramouche growled, his voice oddly calm. “So what?” the leader snarled. “He was asking for it. All we want is to pay homage to King Deshret, the true leader of the desert and of Sumeru. And he refused us! He withholds important information! And now he studies at the Akademiya?” He scoffed. “City scum don’t deserve to live. Including you.”The bandit leader swung his blade at Scaramouche, who only managed to dodge by a few inches. His foot sunk in the sand as he stepped back, giving the bandit an advantage as he moved in closer. “Give it up, boy! Your Vision means nothing,” he hissed, sidestepping Scaramouche’s Anemo assault as he lunged. Scaramouche tried to fly but the desert wind buffeted him forward, in the reach of the bandit’s swing. He braced for the sting of the metal across his chest—“Ghk!”The bandit leader fell down to his knees, a singular arrow stuck in his thigh. Scaramouche landed on the ground, breathing hard. He turned to spot Sethos, Vision strapped to his hip, bow and arrow in hand. “Leave,” he warned, another arrow aimed at the bandit.Sparking Electro energy concentrated on the tip, swirled with the golden blessing of Hermanubis. “My aim is pretty good. You don’t wanna know where this goes.”The bandit howled as he tried to swipe at Scaramouche with a small knife, but he stepped aside and kicked him in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground, face buried in the sand.The dust settled, finally, and the storm began to calm down too. Under the clear light of the moon, Scaramouche could see the damage—about ten men half-buried in the sand passed out, and the bandit leader bleeding out from the wound Sethos inflicted.Sethos and Scaramouche stood still, catching their breaths. Sethos still had his bow up, aimed at the leader. “Sethos,” Scaramouche said slowly. “He’s not moving. Let’s go before they get up.” He put a hand on his elbow, tugging his arm down. “C’mon. You’re wounded.”Sethos stared at the bandit leader for a while before he let Scaramouche tug him away, the both of them watching that nobody was going to follow them before running off. “I know a safe spot,” he croaked, leading him far away from the mess. It felt like time moved slowly as they trekked through the desert, the earlier storm completely gone. Scaramouche could see a small tent tucked underneath some rock cliffs—that was probably the safe spot Sethos mentioned.Sethos helped Scaramouche into the tent before following him in, collapsing on the floor from exhaustion. “Hat Guy,” he groaned, leaning against a small crate in the corner on some thin rug. He winced, one hand moving to hold his side. “Fuck.”

“So crass,” Scaramouche commented, scavenging through the boxes in the tent. “Are there any first-aid supplies here? At least some ointment?”

Sethos laughed dryly, face still contorted with pain. “There, in the chest,” he pointed out, ignoring Scaramouche’s jab at his choice of words.Scaramouche took the ointment and some cotton swabs, moving closer. “This might sting,” he warned before starting to put ointment over the scuff on his cheek. Sethos jerked away suddenly, grunting. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I’ll stay still.”Scaramouche grabbed one of Sethos’s hands and put it on his shoulder. “Here. Hold onto me,” he said as he cupped his cheek, keeping his face steady. “Don’t move.”He felt Sethos’s grip grow tight as he treated the wound, which was a pretty sizable scrape. It was not as bad as the cut on his cheek from before, but it definitely looked like it hurt more. He dabbed the ointment on slowly, letting Sethos adjust to the sharp pain before putting on more. “I’m not going to say I told you so, but I told you so,” Scaramouche quipped, trying to fill the silence.“I just got beat up and you wanna prove to me that you were right?” Sethos grumbled, looking away. “I didn’t even—I felt like there was someone trailing me but I couldn’t prove it. Are you that good at spying on people?”“I told you I had a dark past,” Scaramouche said lightly, tilting Sethos’s head to the side, forcing him to look at him. He smirked. “I don’t think you should be surprised.” He pulled away, looking Sethos over. “Did you get hurt anywhere else?”Sethos sat up, groaning slightly. “My back, maybe. I just remember getting kicked in the stomach and hit in the back with a stick or something,” he murmured, eyes shutting closed as the pain became unbearable.

Scaramouche clicked his tongue. “Okay, turn over,” he ordered, helping Sethos prop himself up on his side. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed a bruise beginning to bloom on his back, a nasty purple splotch right in the middle of his tunic where there was a cutout. Humans and their silly fashion trends… “It’s strange you’d want to leave such a vital body part unprotected,” he retorted, hand moving to brush over his skin gingerly.Sethos shivered under his touch. “H-Hey, what’re you—” He swallowed, looking back at Scaramouche. “Don’t touch me there. It’s sensitive…” he mumbled, cheeks red. “My cape is covering it usually, but um, it got pulled off when I got ambushed.”Scaramouche licked his lips. “Uh huh. Noted.” He put some ointment on the bruise carefully before lying him back down on the threadbare rug. “Do you have any water stores?”

“My canteen got knocked away, so no.” Sethos looked up at Scaramouche guiltily. “Sorry. I feel… really useless right now.”

Scaramouche rolled his eyes. “Well, hindsight is 20/20.” He stood up. “I’ll go find us some water. Stay here.”Sethos reached out and grabbed his sleeve. “Don’t go,” he begged. “Please. I— I can’t…” His gaze landed on the tent flap that had started to move with the wind, which had picked back up again. Scaramouche sighed. “We beat them and then traveled, like, a good mile or two away. No one’s gonna come,” he reassured him, tugging his sleeve away from his hold.“That’s not—never mind,” Sethos cut himself off, resigning himself to lying back on the rug. He huffed.“What?” Scaramouche demanded.Sethos glared at him, leaning forward. “I don’t think you understand how confused I am right now. You came out here to make sure I’m okay, saved me from a ten-man ambush, and treated my wounds without me even asking for you to do so. You do all this nice stuff for me all the time like buying me coffee, you—you flirt with me, for Archons’s sakes, you make me give you a name because you trust me and so you can disconnect from your dark past,” he ranted, starting to get angry. “Did you honestly think I wouldn’t want you to stay with me and keep me company? I just got assaulted, I’m in pain, and I’m emotionally exhausted. Is it wrong to ask for the person I trust most in this world to just be by my side?”Scaramouche scowled. “You don’t think I want to stay here? The last thing I want to do is to leave you alone right now, but you’re hurt. Severely. And you need water. I don’t know if you noticed, but we’re in the desert, which is notorious for being hot and dry. We’ve been running for the past hour or so and we need something to keep us hydrated. And even before that, you’ve been hiking your way up this stupid sandy place nearly the whole night. So, forgive me, Sethos,” he snarled, “but I actually want you to live so I can continue to do all that stuff you mentioned with you. Okay?”He made to leave again, but Sethos just pulled him back. “Just—forget the water, okay? I want you here by my side,” he insisted. “I’m not going to die from a few hours without water. I want you here, Hat Guy. I— I want you.” He looked up at him, pleading. “Please.”Scaramouche closed his eyes, ignoring the way his heart was beating out of his chest. “Sethos, I…” He knelt down beside him, looking into his eyes. “I want to stay here too,” he said, intertwining his fingers with Sethos’s. “... You really trust me the most?”“Yeah, of course. I mean, you’re my best friend, right?” Sethos said, with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I meant what I said. Everything.” He squeezed Scaramouche’s hand. “You’re— you baffle me, a lot, you know. I don’t even know what you think of me. If I’m just some… some errand boy in your eyes, still. If you only see me as a friend. Or more than friends.” His voice dropped off as he said the last part, looking away. “But even if you don’t like me back, I wouldn’t want to stop being your friend. If I make you uncomfortable, I’ll stay away. I’m not expecting you to return my feelings after all. I just… I just don’t want you to leave.” He glanced at Scaramouche, grip tightening like he thought he’d just disappear into thin air.Scaramouche’s mind felt fuzzy. This was a confession, right? So why did he feel so restless?

“Sethos,” he started, mouth dry. “I— I really do care for you, honestly. Why do you think I followed you out here?” He let out an aggravated sigh. “Look. I know I tease you a lot, and I poke fun, and I say mean stuff to you. It’s only because I—I try to fight my feelings because they can get overwhelming. Every time I see you make a mess with your food, or your hair gets messy because of the wind, or you complain about school, or you make a lame joke—”“I feel like you’re insulting me,” Sethos interrupted, even more confused.“But that’s the thing! Even though you make a fool of yourself all the time, I can’t help but—but fall for you,” Scaramouche said, disgruntled, as if he didn’t like that fact. “Your clumsiness and ability to somehow do things wrongly but end up at the right conclusion is surprisingly endearing.”Sethos blinked. “Wait, so do you like me or not?” he asked, eyebrows knit together.

“I do like you. I just hate that I like you despite you being an utter idiot.”

“So— huh?” Sethos looked lost. “Wait, so—if I’m an—wait—”

Scaramouche rolled his eyes and leaned in, brushing his lips on Sethos’s unmarred cheek softly, one hand on his shoulder. “Does that answer your question?” he cut in, trying not to let his blush grow too much. Sethos froze. “You—” He touched his cheek lightly, as if he couldn’t believe it. “I-I-I guess so,” he stuttered, face turning as red as a tomato. “You can’t just do that! I wasn’t prepared!”“So should I do it again now that you’re more prepared?” Scaramouche lilted, leaning in again as he smirked devilishly.“W-Well, I don’t know,” Sethos said, not sure if he should push him away or pull him closer.Scaramouche shrugged, sitting on his heels before standing up again. “It’s a shame. Now that you’re sated, may I please go out and get us some water? I’m parched.” He crossed his arms, staring down at his annoyingly cute (boy?)friend expectantly.“I would want one more kiss,” Sethos mumbled, barely audible.“What was that?”

“N-Nothing. Um. You can go get water,” he said louder, hiding behind his hands.Scaramouche hummed as he leaned down to leave one last kiss on the top of Sethos’s head before ducking out the tent, his stomach erupting into jittery butterflies.He smiled, despite himself.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was the next day when Scaramouche and Sethos arrived back in Sumeru City. They reported the incident to the matra immediately, and Cyno himself had personally taken on the case. Since it occurred in the desert, it’d be difficult to actually track them down or obtain any pertinent information aside from what Sethos had already told him previously. But he assured them that it wouldn’t be a problem.The walk from the matra’s office to Sethos’s lodging felt loaded. Scaramouche walked beside him, hyper-aware of his presence, but also looking out for any signs of discomfort. They had spent the better part of the past two days walking, after all—Sethos was also recovering from his injuries, and despite Scaramouche insisting they rest longer, Sethos wanted to get back to the city to file a report.They headed down to the suburbs of Sumeru where Sethos stayed, filled with small but cozy cottages suited for families. He couldn’t afford to stay anywhere in the city, but this was near enough and reasonably priced as well. It didn’t take too long to get to the Akademiya, and he’d made a lot of friends with the old uncles and aunties living out their retirement growing flowers and crops, so he had an abundance of vegetables and flowers for his home.Scaramouche tugged the strap of Sethos’s pack higher on his shoulder, sneaking a glance at the other, only to find that Sethos was looking at him too. They both turned their heads, mutually embarrassed. “Um, thank you again,” Sethos said as they stopped outside his house. It was a modest size, not too big. Scaramouche had never been here, but he thought it was decent enough to live in. “I… I truly don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there,” Sethos admitted.Scaramouche unslung the bag and handed it over, their fingertips brushing against each other slightly. His skin felt tingly where they touched. “Like I said, it’s not a problem. I was… concerned,” he said dismissively. “You should see someone else for your injuries. Maybe get some ice, and definitely some more ointment. I can buy them and come back tomorrow if you can’t get out of bed.”Sethos shook his head, a small smile on his face. “Since when were you so caring, Mr. I Don’t Wanna Make Friends?” he teased, slipping his hand in Scaramouche’s easily. A blush tinted Scaramouche’s cheeks at how blatant Sethos was with his affection. “I–I’m not,” he said in jest. “Not usually. But… it’s you, so…” He ducked his head, hiding behind his hat. “I’m not going to say that again.”Sethos pouted, pushing the brim of Scaramouche’s hat up so he could see his face again. “But, ow, everything hurts, I need something to make me feel better,” he whined, playing it up ever so slightly. “I want you to be the one checking up on me.”A small yelp of pain erupted from Sethos as Scaramouche pinched his arm. “Haven’t you heard of the boy that cried hilichurl?” he said, a smile tugging on his lips anyway. “Come on, show me inside so I can help you get settled.”Sethos blinked. “Y–You’re coming in?”“Yeah. I can’t imagine your house is the cleanest, but the ointment needs reapplying and we still have a small amount left,” Scaramouche said as a matter-of-factly. “So, unlock the door and let me in. You wanted me to be the one checking up on you, right?”Sethos coughed, squeezing Scaramouche’s hand before letting go to rummage in his pack. Scaramouche missed the warmth of his palm already… “Yeah. Yeah, of course.” He took out his house key and fit it in the lock, turning and pulling the door open. “After you,” he said, showing Scaramouche in.Sethos flipped a light switch as he stepped in behind Scaramouche, bathing the room in a warm yellow glow. “I didn’t have time to make my bed before leaving, a-and the dishes need washing, but just don’t look at those,” he said quickly, steering Scaramouche away from the kitchen. The house felt more like an apartment, with a kitchenette adjacent to the living room, and a bedroom and bathroom separate. Overall, enough for a single person. It wasn’t too messy, but the couch cushions were misplaced and there were a few papers scattered around the coffee table. “Sit on the couch. I’ll go get us some water,” Sethos said.Scaramouche raised an eyebrow, catching his wrist before he could go any farther. “You’re the injured one, shouldn’t you be the one sitting on the couch?” he asked. “You go sit. Just tell me where the glasses are.”Sethos’s face burned as he complied, pointing to a cupboard above the sink. “There. Uh, the water is in the ice box, but I think the ice has already melted,” he called out, sheepish. Scaramouche rolled his eyes. “Do you even replace the ice inside?” he huffed, noting that the jug of water inside wasn’t cold in the slightest. They hadn’t been gone for that long, and even so, with the insulating nature of the ice box, it should’ve been colder than room temperature at least.“Well, I got bogged down with schoolwork, and errands, and—well, this,” Sethos said, gesturing to his wounds. “So, uh, there probably hasn’t been any ice in that thing for two weeks.”“It’s called an ice box for a reason.”“Sorry! I didn’t have time!”Scaramouche huffed, pouring them both a glass of water each and bringing it over to the couch, handing one to Sethos. “You really do need taking care of,” he concluded, sitting beside him. Their knees knocked together slightly, and he turned away, chugging his water and hoping Sethos wouldn’t notice his pink cheeks.Sethos drank his water too, setting his empty glass down on the small coffee table. “Yeah, that’s what you’re here for,” he said cheekily. “Right?”Scaramouche sent a glare his way. “Okay, but if I wasn’t?” he challenged. “But you are,” Sethos shot back. “And you said you’d come by tomorrow with ice and ointment. So, ha.” He grinned in victory. Scaramouche shook his head and sighed, unable to fight the smile that crawled its way onto his face. “Fine, fine. You win. Here’s your prize,” he said, leaning in and kissing Sethos’s unslighted cheek. “Now turn around, let me put more ointment on your bruise.” Sethos’s cheeks colored, unable to say anything as he turned, stiffly. “You can’t just…” he started, jumping a little as Scaramouche started applying the cool ointment on his skin. “Warn me next time!” Sethos squeaked.“Oh, is the little busy bee sensitive?” Scaramouche mused, a callback to their first meeting. “It’s just ointment. Don’t make such a fuss.” He leaned closer and slipped his hand under the fabric of Sethos’s tunic, spreading it over the purple patch of skin. It had grown a lot since the first time he had treated it, so he made sure to cover everything carefully. “We’re putting ice on this tomorrow,” Scaramouche mumbled, mostly to himself.Sethos shivered under Scaramouche’s touch, every movement of his fingers leaving a trail of heat down his back despite the cooling effect of the ointment. “O-Okay,” he forced out, feeling his blush start to travel down his neck. Scaramouche pulled away, squinting at the redness on Sethos’s neck. “You okay? You look like you’re coming down with a fever,” he noted. “C’mere.” He tugged Sethos back to face him before feeling his forehead, hand sliding under his bangs. Their eyes met, and for the briefest of seconds, Scaramouche could swear Sethos’s eyes dropped to his lips.Sethos swallowed. “I’m fine, Hat Guy, really,” he insisted, brushing his hand away and holding it instead. “Thanks for helping. But you should get some rest soon.” He moved closer, smiling gently. “If you’re taking care of me, I should be able to tell you to take care of yourself too.” He squeezed Scaramouche’s hand comfortingly. “I’ll be alright for one night.”Scaramouche fought back the blush on his cheeks, clearing his throat. “Fine. I’ll be back tomorrow, and if I see you moving around, I’ll confine you to the bed,” he said dryly, standing up abruptly lest he feel the urge to kiss Sethos again. He squeezed Sethos’s hand lightly before letting go. “Be careful.”Sethos accompanied him to the door, huffing. “I will, I promise.”“The last time you promised me something, you got beat up in the desert and I had to help you out,” Scaramouche pointed out.“Geez, way to make a guy feel incompetent,” Sethos retorted. “Just go home. It’s late.”“It’s only 8 pm.” Scaramouche smirked. “If you want me gone that bad, fine, I’ll head home.” He made to leave, but Sethos grabbed him by the wrist, jolting him back and knocking the hat off his head. “It’s not that I want you gone, it’s just…” He trailed off.“Just… what?”“I want to… be close to you a lot,” Sethos confessed. “But we only just figured out that we like each other, so I don’t want to find myself in a situation where I want something from you and you feel forced to give it to me.” He swallowed, the tips of his ears tinged red. “I know you have a history of trauma with human connection, and while I’m insanely glad you’re opening up to me, I don’t want to push my luck. You should set the pace for our… relationship. Whatever this is. We don’t even have to label it yet.”Scaramouche’s heart swelled in his chest. His stupid heart was beating for him. He knew Sethos was a kind and gracious person, but Archons be damned, he was too forgiving. He’d hate to see him being taken advantage of. “You’re very sweet, but I’m not some kind of maiden in need of protection. I can handle things.” He pulled his wrist out of Sethos’s hold. “I’m not saying you need protecting. I’m saying maybe you need some time to figure out what you want from me, and how you wanna go about things,” Sethos reiterated. “I trust you. And I know you trust me too.” He moved closer, nearly pushing Scaramouche against the door. “I like you, Hat Guy. I like you a lot,” he said earnestly. “I wanna do this right.”Scaramouche let out a breath, putting a hand on Sethos’s chest to push him away, but he couldn’t bring himself to. He liked this closeness. “Okay, okay. I get it,” he said quickly, looking away. Sethos was looking at him so intently it made his knees feel like jelly. “Good. I’d hate to be the reason why you stay up at night,” Sethos said, grinning. “Now, go home. I’ll see you tomorrow. You can’t take care of me if you’re tired.” He pulled away, picking Scaramouche’s hat off the floor and handing it back to him.Scaramouche took it and put it on, grateful that it hid his face enough that Sethos wouldn’t be able to make out the deep red on his cheeks. “Goodnight,” he said shortly before nearly running out the door. / Another week passed. Sethos had recovered by the end of the week, and Scaramouche had taken note of how… clingy he’d been. He visited everyday to help him, and by the third day he was sure Sethos was feeling much better, but he managed to convince Scaramouche that he still needed bed rest. Well, who was he to deny him? It was the mandatory weeklong term break, after all. Not like they’d miss anything anyway.Sethos, who for all intents and purposes did not look sneaky or conniving at all, also managed to steal a few kisses from Scaramouche, who obliged simply because Sethos could be a bit too convincing. But so far, Scaramouche had been the one giving them—not because Sethos didn’t want to, but more because Scaramouche was afraid of how he’d feel if he finally received one. If experiencing one got Sethos drunk on the feeling, how else would it feel for Scaramouche who’d been touch-starved for the better part of four hundred years?So, no, he wasn’t afraid of the idea of intimacy. More like, he was afraid of how he’d feel after experiencing it.And he expressed these thoughts to Sethos, of course. He’s always been upsettingly honest and upfront, and while Sethos seemed initially upset, he understood and told Scaramouche to take his time, all the while calling him by his secret name since they were alone. Scaramouche thought it was unfair that he had an edge over him, but he didn’t mind it too much. He did like the name, after all.Classes picked right back up again, and while it was fortunate that their schedules aligned, Sethos found himself taking up more odd jobs lately. Apparently the summons from the Temple of Silence had in fact been real and not a ploy by those nasty bandits, and they were in desperate need of repairs. While they did take on requests from city commissions and other such quests from Caravan Ribat, it just wasn’t enough to cover the costs. So, Sethos being the ever-reliable and diligent person he is, took it upon himself to earn more Mora on the side. Scaramouche did confront him about it and told him to take it easy, but Sethos just brushed it off and told him he’d be fine.“So, tell me again why we’re stuck here at the library researching the effect of Pyro and Electro energy on the growth and spread of certain flora?” Scaramouche asked, arms crossed as he leaned back in his seat. He watched Sethos as he stayed put on the ladder, sliding from side to side as he looked for more reference books.Sethos grumbled, shooting him a withering look. “Because I forgot I had an essay due tomorrow.”“Because you’ve been neglecting your studies.”“Have not.”“Sethos, you’re literally here at the library past 6 pm, with no plan of grabbing dinner even though Lambad’s has that ‘ Buy 1 Take 1 ’ deal on Tahchin that you’ve been looking out for for weeks,” Scaramouche said. “I’d say your priorities are well-placed, but I also know that you would’ve booked it there as soon as classes ended.”Sethos groaned, hopping off the ladder with an armful of books and plopping them down on the library desk with a loud thud, earning him the ire of several other students nearby who were cramming as well. “Sorry,” he mouthed, before turning his attention back to Scaramouche. “Fine, I know I’ve been slacking. But the Temple needs money for the plumbing repairs—”“I wasn’t aware there was a centralized water system running through the desert,” Scaramouche said dryly.“—since we collect rainwater and we also depend on groundwater,” Sethos finished. “Archons, a desert-wide water system would be amazing, but also insanely expensive. I don’t even think it’s worth the hassle.”“I was being sarcastic.” “Just help me out, Hat Guy,” Sethos pleaded. “I’ll treat you to a meal and get you more of the Rainbow Rose and Marcotte tea you like so much.”Scaramouche perked up at that. “... Two canisters each,” he bargained.“Deal.”The next two hours saw the both of them flipping through books for information, and returning even more books because they were useless. Scaramouche, for all his life experience, hated tedious research. Knowing that he had to one day write a paper and defend it was enough to put him in a sour mood, but he pushed the thought away.“Hey, Sethos!” Scaramouche’s head lifted from the passage he was reading to see a couple of Spantamad students heading his way, presumably classmates of Sethos’s. He returned his attention to the book, but kept his ears pricked up for their conversation.“Oh, Alia, Desar. What brings you guys here?” Sethos greeted them. Alia held up two scrolls, waving them triumphantly. “We just finished our essays,” she said. “How about you? Still working on it?”Sethos nodded, smiling ruefully. “It slipped my mind that the deadline was tomorrow,” he said. “Good on you guys for finishing early. I think I’m almost done though.”Desar gave him a thumbs up before clearing his throat. “So, uh, is Hat Guy helping you out too?” he whispered, but it still reached Scaramouche’s ears anyway.“Yeah. He and I are—ehem, um, he and I have become friends,” Sethos said, interrupting himself. Scaramouche felt his stomach twist in knots. “He had some free time, so I asked him to come down and help me.”Alia gushed. “That’s so nice,” she said. “Even though he’s from Vahumana, he still found time to help you with something wholly unrelated. Maybe he’s not as cold as they say he is.”Scaramouche found it odd how they managed to talk about him while he was sitting right there, in earshot. Whatever, not like it was the first time things like this have happened. He’d gotten used to being talked about at the Akademiya, especially since he’s clearly different from the rest.“Yeah, he’s been great,” Sethos agreed. His foot brushed up against Scaramouche’s under the table, like an unspoken sentiment. “Anyway, I gotta get back to writing. Nice seeing you guys.”The two bid farewell, and while they walked away, Scaramouche could feel their eyes on him. So much for human decency.“Classmates of yours?” Scaramouche started, ignoring the way that restless feeling clawed at his gut. “Yeah. They’ve helped me with a lot of homework before,” Sethos said lightly, ignorant of Scaramouche’s current state. “Hm, I just need one more reference for the way Tri-Lakshana creatures react to Electro to get into an enhanced state…”Scaramouche cleared his throat. “So why didn’t you ask them to help you this time?” he remarked.Sethos looked up at him. “Because I wanted your help,” he said slowly. “Besides, this is also an excuse to hang out with you.” He nudged Scaramouche’s foot again, grinning.“You introduced me as your friend,” Scaramouche said with a frown. “Well, yeah,” Sethos continued, tilting his head. He set down his quill. “I thought you said you were uncomfortable with us being public knowledge, so I didn’t wanna say anything unless you were okay with it.”Scaramouche’s chest tightened, and it felt like he couldn’t breathe. He did tell Sethos this in confidence, before he had cleared him for walking around again back at his house. He still didn’t know how to handle their relationship being public, so he asked that they feign being “just friends” around others, but continue whatever they were already doing in private. Even though they were being a bit too affectionate for being “just friends” in public already, it felt like more of a giveaway now that they both returned the other person’s feelings. What if they slipped up and someone noticed just how close they had gotten, more than usual? It didn’t help that they were so recognizable, either. Scaramouche didn’t need any more rumors circulating about him, especially if Sethos was now tied to him.This is… He wasn’t jealous , was he? It was such a base emotion…“I know what I said,” he mumbled, flipping to a different chapter in the book he was reading. “I just… I dunno. Forget it.”Sethos sighed fondly, reaching over and putting a hand over his. Scaramouche recoiled, eyes wide. “Hey, everyone can see—”“The stack of books is high enough that no one is going to see. And it’s not like we never held hands in public anyway,” Sethos reassured him. He held his hand out for Scaramouche to take, waiting for him to accept. “Look, it’s not like I’m embarrassed of you or anything. Heck, if I could shout from the rooftops that I like you, I would. But I know that you don’t want to, so I won’t.” The thought of Sethos going through the streets of Sumeru telling everyone that they were dating sent a weird feeling through Scaramouche’s body. “Definitely don’t do that,” he warned. “But it… well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt if we told some people. Like… close friends.” He slid his hand in Sethos’s gingerly. Sethos chuckled. “Who knew you’d be the jealous type?”“Oh, shush. You’re no different. Remember Lumine—?”“Okay okay! No need to bring that up, please!”They finished no sooner than the clock struck 12 am, and by that time, the lights had dimmed considerably. The House of Daena was only lit up by the occasional glow of the desk lamps, and there were still a few stragglers working on their respective deadlines. The two walked out into the main foyer of the Akademiya, Sethos’s essay tucked under his arm. They stopped by the fountain for a bit as Sethos stretched. “Hah, I hope I don’t forget this tomorrow,” he yawned, twisting his body to relieve him of the ache of sitting for too long.Scaramouche offered his hand. “Here, give it to me.” He lived nearby, and if Sethos wasn’t able to wake up on time, he’d be the one to pass by and submit it for him. Maybe he could find Alia and Desar and ask them to do it too.Sethos blinked. “You sure?”“Yeah. I’m sure.”Sethos smiled cutely, almost like a puppy, as he slid his hand in Scaramouche’s. If Scaramouche thought long and hard he could envision a tail wagging from behind Sethos. “I thought you weren’t okay with this,” he chirped. “But I’m not complaining.”Scaramouche froze. “Wh—I meant the scroll, idiot!”“Oh! Hat Guy! And… Sethos.”The two turned, suddenly face to face with the Dendro Archon herself. “L-Lesser Lord Kusanali!” Sethos choked out, too shocked to even do anything. The two looked like a pair of boars caught in lamplights.Nahida’s eyes flitted back and forth between the two before finally settling on their intertwined hands. She clasped her own together, smiling brightly. “What are you two doing here so late?” she inquired, looking at Scaramouche pointedly, as if to ask When were you going to tell me about this development? Scaramouche cleared his throat, tugging his hand out of Sethos’s. “He had an essay due tomorrow—today,” he corrected himself, crossing his arms. “I was helping him.” Short and to the point—surely she couldn’t glean any more information than necessary?“I see.” Nahida’s eyes narrowed. “So… I heard from General Cyno that you got ambushed in the desert again, Sethos. He asked me if I knew of any new dissident factions that had sprung up. I wasn’t aware of any, but I thought I should do something, so I came here to discuss with the Acting Grand Sage on any plans of action regarding the protection of our own artifacts from King Deshret’s time. Also started investigating any historical attacks from those who worshipped him fanatically.” Her eyes twinkled. “He also told me that Hat Guy over here helped you when you got attacked.”Sethos nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, he did. I’m glad he was there,” he said softly, bowing slightly. His voice took on a more solemn and somewhat disappointed tone. “I would’ve been in a lot of trouble if he hadn’t.”Nahida nodded. “I’m sure.”Scaramouche spared a glance at Sethos, who was staring at his feet. He suddenly felt bad—all Sethos wanted was to hold hands, to be sweet and affectionate. And here he was depriving him of it. Nahida was his guardian now—she had every right to know how much Sethos meant to him.“Um, well, if you excuse me—”“Sethos.”Scaramouche held his hand out, interrupting him. Sethos hesitated before handing him the scroll.Scaramouche shook his head as he put the scroll away. “No, your hand.”Nahida’s eyes glowed with renewed interest as she watched the two interact clumsily. “I take it you two are…?”Sethos reddened as he intertwined his fingers with Scaramouche’s again. “Um…” He glanced at him, waiting for him to say anything.Scaramouche cleared his throat. “We’ve been… dating for over a week now,” he said, feeling his neck grow red with embarrassment. “That’s all.”Nahida skipped closer, grinning wider. “Ever since the desert?” she asked inquisitively. “Aw, you two are so cute.” She put a hand on theirs, a small glow of Dendro flowing out from her palm. “Now you both are under my divine protection as well. I won’t ask about what happened, but I’m glad you two got things sorted out.”Sethos stood up straighter, bowing lower than before. “T-Thank you, Lesser Lord Kusanali,” he stuttered. “You didn’t have to do that.”Scaramouche ducked his head again. “ Nahida ,” he groused. “You’re embarrassing me.”Nahida raised an eyebrow, as if to say Wow, you’ve never called me that. You must care a lot about this. “Okay, okay, I apologize for overstepping. I’ll head back to the Sanctuary. Good luck, you two,” she said without much fanfare, waving goodbye before she disappeared out the side doors.Scaramouche pinched his nose. “Fuck,” he swore. “That was—Sethos, I’m so sorry,” he apologized, looking up at him. But Sethos was smiling at him softly, his gaze full of affection. It sent Scaramouche’s heart soaring.“You’re surprisingly very forthcoming about this,” Sethos observed, swinging their hands lightly. “I just don’t know if it’s because we got caught that you told her about us. That we’re… dating.” His smile grew at that.Scaramouche’s eyebrows knit together. “I was always planning on telling her,” he griped. “Just… Not like this. I guess it’s just good that she was the only person around.” He turned, eyes sweeping over the room to make sure. Sethos moved closer, a little too giddy for his own good. “She even gave us her blessing.”“You make it sound like we’ll get married.”“Oh, but aren’t we?”Scaramouche elbowed Sethos lightly, feeling the start of a blush creep up his neck to his ears. “You don’t know that,” he replied, nonchalant.Sethos grinned. “Don’t I?”Scaramouche rolled his eyes, dragging Sethos along as he trudged his way to the main entrance. “C’mon, it’s late. Go get some rest, lover boy. You’ll be late for class,” he mumbled lowly, sneaking a kiss on Sethos’s cheek before they parted ways.He watched with satisfaction as Sethos stumbled, caught off guard by the pet name. “I’ll get you back for that.”“You won’t.”“I will!” / Sethos didn’t.Hat Guy never gave him the chance to—he always managed to catch him unawares, surprising him with a kiss on the cheek or a small whispered sweet nothing. Honestly, it scared him how different he could be. On one hand, he found Hat Guy muttering things about the troublesome kids running around the foot of the Akademiya that mothers would make him wash his mouth out with soap for, while on the other, he found him mumbling words of affection in his ear right before they separated for class, things that you would definitely not want your mother knowing about.Archons, he was a dangerous man.But he was his dangerous man.The thought made him smile with giddy joy, but he forced it down as he continued running out delivering parcels on behalf of Jut, the spice merchant down at the Grand Bazaar. He couldn’t be caught smiling about Archons-knows-what. He’d just look strange.He focused instead on pushing the cart around, delivering pouches of spice to families and even larger quantities to the different restaurants and taverns littered around the city. He had told Hat Guy about his preoccupied afternoon, and while initially disgruntled (“What am I supposed to do while waiting for you?”) he said he’d kill time at the Bazaar so they could meet up afterwards.Even though he could be brash and rude, he was secretly a really, really caring and accommodating person. Sethos felt a sense of pride bloom in his chest knowing only could see that side of Hat Guy. He finished up his last delivery, eagerly pushing the cart back to the Bazaar. He presumed Hat Guy was there waiting for him already, and he had been looking forward to spending the day with him. He couldn’t imagine being apart from him for even a day anymore.He entered the Grand Bazaar, keeping an eye out for his boyfriend as he wheeled the cart towards Jut’s stall. “Oh, Sethos! Thank the Archons,” Jut said in gratitude. “You’ve been such a great help. It’s unfortunate that Bhai came down with a fever, but I’m glad you were available.” He handed him a pouch of Mora. “Here, your remuneration.”Sethos smiled in return. “Thanks, Jut. Looking forward to the next one,” he said, waving goodbye he jogged away to look for Hat Guy.  /Scaramouche stood by one of the Grand Bazaar’s entrances, the one nearest to the Akademiya. He knew Sethos was quick with his errands, but really, he could only wait so long. He had gotten so bored he had begun counting sheep in his head. He was so focused on counting—ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven—that he nearly missed the sensation of someone tugging on his pants.He turned, expecting to see Sethos, but he was met with a small child instead, not more than six years old at least. The child was in tears, face covered in snot, and was sniffing uncontrollably. Ick was Scaramouche’s first thought. “M-Mister, can you— hic— help me find my m-mommy?” the child sniffled, looking up at Scaramouche with big teary eyes. “I—I was playing with the kitty by the stage and when I turned around she was g-gone,” the child managed before she burst into tears again.  Just my luck , Scaramouche thought miserably. Saddled with a child—one in tears, no less. He looked around, finding that everyone was occupied. And of course, he was the only one otherwise un occupied. He sighed, kneeling down so he was eye to eye with her. “Fine. What’s your name?” he asked. “K-Kyra,” the child gurgled, sniffing again and trying to control herself. “Well, Kyra, your mother can’t have gone far,” Scaramouche mustered. If her mother was a good one, she was probably looking for her daughter too. “I’ll help you. But you have to do something for me.”“H-Huh?” Kyra cocked her head in confusion. “We’re not leaving until you can stop crying,” Scaramouche said seriously. He could not forget the crying baby that kept him up the whole night way back when he still lived around Tatarasuna. He’d spent the whole night cursing whichever Archon decided babies needed to be a thing. “We don’t want your mommy to see you sad, do we?” he said as a lame excuse. He raised his sleeve up to cover his hand, silently lamenting that he had to wipe away her tears and snot. But he did it anyway. Kyra sniffled, nodding her head as she let Scaramouche wipe away her tears. “I’ll—I’ll try, Mister,” she whispered. At least that seemed to help. “You’ll really help me?”“Not like I have a choice,” Scaramouche mumbled under his breath. “Yeah,” he said louder. Kyra reached up, her chubby hands gripping onto Scaramouche’s hat. “Your hat is pretty,” she marveled. She wiped her nose on her hand before pulling on it. “Can I wear it?”“No,” was Scaramouche’s immediate reply. “Oh,” Kyra said, shrinking back down. “Okay.”Scaramouche closed his eyes, trying to maintain control. She’s just a child. Just let her wear the damn hat. “If I let you wear it, will you cooperate with me and stop crying?”Kyra nodded quickly, excited at the prospect of wearing such a magnificent hat. “Yes! I will!” she promised. Scaramouche hesitated, but took the hat off, placing it on Kyra’s head gingerly. “Can you even see under that thing?” he said, the brim bumping into his chin as Kyra looked up at him. “Yeah!” she said brightly. He rubbed his chin, displeased, forcing down a scowl as he stood up. “C’mon, let’s find your mom,” he said. So I can get this over with. “Where did you last see her?”Kyra held her hand out. “Can we hold hands? I don’t wanna get lost again.” Scaramouche made a face. “Do we have to?”“I don’t wanna lose you,” Kyra sniffled, signaling the onset of another crying spell.Scaramouche groaned, offering her his hand. Why did he even agree to help? She reached up eagerly and wrapped her hand around his, her tiny hand dwarfed by his larger one. “I last saw her by the stage. There was a kitty and I played with it for a while before I got lost,” she relayed, tilting her head back and forth. “How do you wear this hat, Mister? It’s so heavy.” The tassels slid against the ground as she did so. Scaramouche frowned. “It’s fit for my head, not for six-year-olds.”“But still! It’s so big,” she added, nearly toppling over from the weight. Scaramouche caught her just in time, sighing exasperatedly. “Keep the hat on, will you? It’s a pain to wash when it gets dirty.” Kyra giggled but did as he said, keeping her head level so the hat wouldn’t fall off. “You’re really sure my mommy’s nearby?” she asked. “Assuming she’s looking for you, yes,” Scaramouche answered, trying to keep an eye out for a woman who looked like she was looking for her child. “And… if she’s not?” Kyra said, suddenly stopping in her tracks. Scaramouche stared at her. “Why wouldn’t she?”“‘Cause she got mad at me when I drew all over the walls, and when I cracked her favorite vase, and when I spilled juice all over the carpet,” she mumbled. “My friends say bad kids get left behind. But… my mommy wouldn’t do that, right?” She looked up at Scaramouche, eyes shiny with tears again. Scaramouche could scream. Oh, this was cruel. How ironic.He knelt down again, holding Kyra’s hands. “Your mommy didn’t put you up for adoption after you did all those things, right?” he started. “Listen, I know your mom got mad, but who wouldn’t?” He winced, shaking his head. Too harsh . “What I mean to say is—she still took care of you after you did all that stuff, right? And she loves you. I know she’s out there looking for you—”“Kyra! Oh, Kyra, there you are!”A short and mild looking woman ran over frantically, taking Kyra into her arms, carrying her. The hat fell off unceremoniously, sending dust flying off the ground. “Sweetheart, where were you? You got me worried sick!” she cried.Kyra hugged her mother back tightly, burying her face in her neck. “Mommy,” she said tearily. “I—I was playing with the cat, and—please don’t put me up for adoption,” she bawled, starting to cry again. “Adoption? Why would I do that?” her mother asked, bewildered. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I’m so glad you’re safe.”Scaramouche took his hat, dusting it off. He was about to skulk off before Kyra reached out and tugged on his sleeve. “Mister, where are you going?” she asked. “Mommy, look, this is the person who helped me find you. He brought me all around and we tried looking for you. He even let me wear his hat, see? It’s so pretty.”The woman put a hand on Scaramouche’s shoulder, face overwhelmed with immense gratitude. “Thank you for helping my daughter. I wouldn’t—I wouldn’t know what I would do if anything had happened to her.”Scaramouche shook his head. “It’s nothing. I’m glad you found us when you did.” He reached out to pat Kyra on the head. “See, I told you your mommy was looking for you.”The woman smiled, hugging Kyra close. “I must know your name. Are you a student at the Akademiya? You look like an outlander.”Scaramouche balked. His name…?“Uh, yes ma’am. They call me Hat Guy,” he said flatly, biting his lip. “Hat Guy?” The woman chuckled. “Peculiar name. Ah, but where are my manners? Allow me to buy you some food as thanks. You have my gratitude for taking care of her.” Scaramouche waved it off. “It’s not an issue, really. Anyone else would’ve done the same.” He turned his attention to Kyra. “Be good for your mom, okay?” He smiled softly, rustling her hair before the pair headed home, leaving Scaramouche standing by himself. He clutched his chest, heart racing. Was that a cruel twist of fate? No, even Celestia wouldn’t subject him to something so… so… mean . Really, a lost child looking for their mom? It was as if nothing had changed. “Hat Guy?”Scaramouche turned, spotting Sethos standing still. “Oh, you’re here.” He looked away, arms crossed. He blinked. “You didn’t see that.”“I did.”“So… what? I helped one kid,” Scaramouche mumbled, rolling his shoulder. “If I said no she would’ve just kept crying and I hate crying kids.”Sethos came up to him and enveloped him in a hug, the same kind of hug he gave before he left for that fateful visit to the Temple of Silence. Scaramouche stiffened under his hold, but eased up a little after a while. “What are you…”“You still manage to surprise me everyday, you know that?” Sethos murmured, pulling away slightly but keeping his arms wrapped around his shoulders. “As if I couldn’t like you even more, you give me more reasons to.” He smiled. Scaramouche turned his head, refusing to meet his eyes. He was already flustered by the citation as is. “Shut up,” he grumbled. “I’m only letting you do this because I’m not emotionally well.”“What? Why?” Sethos asked, suddenly worried. “Do you need to cry? We can go up to the gazebos before dinner to talk.”“Not—Nothing like that,” Scaramouche managed. “I just… the child got lost and was looking for her mother. Felt like I was the butt of a joke.” He pushed Sethos’s arms off his shoulders. “Let’s walk. Being here is suffocating.”The two exited the Grand Bazaar, heading to Lambad’s for dinner. It was still light out, but the sun had begun to set, bathing the streets in pink and orange glow. “I guess I just wanted someone like that when I was left behind,” Scaramouche admitted. “Someone who helped me find my way back. Not like my mother would’ve taken me in anyway…”Sethos slipped his hand in Scaramouche’s. “Didn’t you say you had a family at some point?”“Yeah. Yeah, I guess I did,” Scaramouche said, thinking. “But it’s… they took good care of me, that’s for sure. But you have to understand—being abandoned will always be a sore spot for me. My mother gave me up because she wanted me to have my freedom. But I didn’t need freedom. I just wanted…” Love. “And then everyone else ended up leaving me. Not on purpose, but… It was the reason I was so wicked for so long.” He could feel hot tears welling up in his eyes. Shit. Sethos squeezed his hand. “Hey, we don’t have to talk about it right now. You’re starting to look like you’re gonna cry, and we can’t have Big Mean Hat Guy bawling on the streets of the city, now can we?” he joked, still bringing up a hand to wipe away the tears that threatened to spill over. Scaramouche chuckled mirthlessly, ducking his head again. “Being around you makes me say the stupidest things,” he said, pulling Sethos closer. The knot in his stomach started to unravel. “Will you buy me dinner?”“Well, if you say stuff like that, I might,” Sethos conceded. “What do you want?” He let go of Scaramouche’s hand, sliding his arm around his waist instead. Scaramouche jumped under his hold. “Wh— Indecent ,” he said, scandalized, swatting Sethos’s hand away. “Not in public.”Sethos raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so this is okay in private?” he asked, a frustratingly attractive smirk on his frustratingly attractive face. Scaramouche pushed Sethos’s hand away, holding it instead and keeping it firmly away from his waist. “You know what I mean,” he exhaled, narrowing his eyes and poking his chest. “You’re getting too bold for your own good.”“What can I say? I like being close to you,” Sethos said easily. “Don’t like it? I can always pull back,” he added seriously, just in case it really did bother Scaramouche too much. “It’s not that,” Scaramouche retorted. “It’s more of—well, we’re in public, and it’s so… so… You know.” He gestured vaguely.“No, I don’t know.” Sethos quirked his brow.“You’re impossible. You know what I mean,” Scaramouche muttered. “I’m not okay with… such public displays of—” Affection? Endearment? “—whatever it’s called.” He gestured, once again, unhelpful. “We can spend time in each others’ arms, just not in public.” Sethos shot him a conspiratorial grin. “So we can cuddle back at my place after dinner,” he said, perking up at the idea. “We can even buy some Candied Ajilenakh Nuts to snack on.”Scaramouche gave him a look. “Will that get you off my back about getting so touchy out in the open?” he huffed. “I wasn’t trying to push it.” Sethos pouted. “I genuinely wanted to just… you know.” He gestured lamely, imitating Scaramouche’s earlier attempts to get his point across. “You’re mocking me,” Scaramouche said incredulously. “No! I’m not,” Sethos replied quickly. “But really, if it’s not okay, I’ll back off.”Scaramouche moved closer, their shoulders touching as they continued walking towards Lambad’s. “Like I said, it’s not that. I am—I do look forward to being close to you,” he mumbled. “I don’t know if I want the rest of Sumeru to know just yet. Not because I’m ashamed of you,” he added. “More like… I don’t wanna jinx it.”Sethos paused. “Jinx it?”“Yeah. I don’t know. Every time someone comes into my life and I end up caring about them, they end up leaving, or worse. I didn’t want you to…” Scaramouche trailed off. “I don’t doubt you. But the world works wonders,” he said ruefully. Sethos squeezed Scaramouche’s hand. “I mean, I was a goner if you hadn’t come and rescued me. So, fuck the world, right? Carve your own path, et cetera,” he quipped. “Hell if I won’t do anything about it. I’d fight to be with you.”Scaramouche glanced at Sethos, whose eyes were already on him. He’s never heard him talk so brashly before. “You can’t mean that.”“Of course I do. I like you, remember?”“Eugh. Don’t remind me,” Scaramouche lamented, brows scrunching together as if he was dismayed by the idea. Sethos laughed, pulling Scaramouche closer. “I like you, Hat Guy,” he said. “I like you a lot.” He leaned in, whispering it again, addressing him by his new name before stealing a kiss on his cheek. Scaramouche drew back, immediately hiding behind his arm. “You—” He narrowed his eyes as he tried to calm his angry blush. “I don’t care what everyone thinks. You are evil. ”“Pot calling the kettle black, huh?” Sethos flashed him a cocky grin. “If you can do that to me, so can I.”Scaramouche hated how handsome Sethos was, because for all the embarrassment he was feeling flooding his chest, he couldn’t stay mad. Well, at least he wouldn’t let himself, because pouty cranky Sethos was much clingier than confident, flirty Sethos.But—Archons, this is what he was trying to avoid. Now that he’s been kissed, the feeling was much too great to ignore. He liked it. He really liked it. Not because he liked being kissed, but because he liked that it was Sethos who had kissed him. 
Damn it.
“You are a menace.” Scaramouche glowered at him. “Ah, but I’m your menace,” Sethos reminded him with a smile. / “Did you study last night like you said you would?” Scaramouche asked, walking with Sethos to his class. He had a big exam that day, one that was worth almost thirty percent of his grade. It was for a difficult subject, too, one that most Spantamad students would consider the bane of their life as a student at the Akademiya. Apparently, even the Mondstadtian Lisa, considered to be Spantamad’s most outstanding student, only barely passed while she was still a student.Sethos nodded, still flipping through his notes. “Yeah. I did. But I just realized there was a whole chapter I didn’t read, so I spent last night reading that instead,” he griped. “Man, this subject is so hard. Like, really? Ten chapters for a single exam that’s worth more than the final?”Scaramouche shrugged. “Blame the Spantamad sage for the curriculum.”“I’d rather fail than publicly denigrate the head of my Darshan,” Sethos said dryly.The two headed to the classroom, and there were a few students reviewing outside when they arrived. Otherwise, the hallway was rather empty. “Good luck, busy bee,” Scaramouche said, the nickname sticking after the first few times he’d said it, albeit derogatorily. While it was a bit cringy, Sethos liked it, so it stuck.Sethos smiled and looked around, making sure no one was looking, before pointing at his cheek. “Kiss for even more luck?” he asked, tilting his head and batting his eyelashes.“You look ridiculous,” Scaramouche deadpanned, pinching his cheek instead. “And there are people around. I can’t kiss you right now.” He crossed his arms.Sethos pouted. “But I’ll fail if you don’t.”“Now that’s straight up manipulation.”“Hat Guy,” Sethos whined. “Fine. If I pass, you have to kiss me. If I fail, then—”“No kisses for a week,” Scaramouche finished.“These are insanely unfair terms,” Sethos reckoned. “I only get one kiss if I pass and none for a week if I fail?” “All the more motivation to pass, no?” Scaramouche grinned. “So you better make sure you pass this exam.”“Honeeeey,” Sethos groaned. Scaramouche scrunched his nose at the pet name, not quite used to it just yet. Sure, it fit with the whole bee thing, which he still thought was stupid since Sumeru really didn’t have any bees, but Sethos wanted matching pet names, and he wouldn’t let it go. So he had no choice but to comply.“C’mon, it’ll be a fun bet,” Scaramouche chortled. “What do you say? Shake on it?” He held his hand out. “It’ll be refreshing to not have to be assaulted with kisses and demands for kisses for a week,” he mused, trying to get a rise out of Sethos, who looked like he was fuming.“Fine. It’s a bet,” Sethos agreed, shaking Scaramouche’s hand firmly. “I’ll show you.”“Good. You better.” He glanced at the students, who seemed wholly occupied by their revisions, before leaning in and kissing Sethos’s cheek anyway. “There. More good luck, right?” He smiled and patted Sethos’s cheek, absolutely loving the way Sethos pulled a blank.“Wh—Hey!” Sethos sputtered, eyes wide. “You trickster!”“I think I see Professor Avin heading this way,” Scaramouche interrupted, pinching Sethos’s cheek again. “Better get inside. Don’t forget anything.” He smirked as he watched a stupefied Sethos slip into the classroom, but not before shooting him a glare.Scaramouche chuckled to himself. Teasing Sethos was too much fun. He wasn’t serious about the bet, but he didn’t have to know about that. Maybe he could try to make the most out of the week—after all, testing a man’s patience was a good way to find out what he was really like.An impatient Sethos pushed to his limits. Now that would be interesting. / Turns out, a distracted Sethos does not a passing grade make.Not that it was abnormal to fail that exam, as most of the class did and those who did pass did so by only a few points, but Scaramouche now had to deal with a very cranky, very grumpy Sethos who could not be cheered up even with his favorite shawarma wraps and an extra helping of Tandoori Roast Chicken. “Sethos, c’mon, the food’s getting cold,” he urged, having finished his own meal already.“Mm.” Sethos propped his elbow up on the table, leaning on his hand. He refused to meet Scaramouche’s eyes.Scaramouche huffed. “Look, I’m sorry, I thought it’d be funny. I didn’t think you’d end up severely out of commission for the exam.”“You knew it was important to my grade and you did all that stuff and it threw me off,” Sethos said, upset. “I usually let your teasing slide but this time I can’t. I was really distracted.”“I know. I’m sorry,” Scaramouche said again, not sure what to do. “At least eat something. You skipped lunch to study and it’s nearly dinnertime.”Sethos looked at him, hurt etched on his face. “If you think this is going to make me forgive you, you’re sorely mistaken,” he stressed, taking the food. “It’s a good thing you won’t be kissing me for a week then.”Scaramouche felt a coil tighten in his stomach. “Right. That.” He had just been joking, but Sethos took it seriously. Archons, he had jinxed it, hadn’t he? He’d ruined things already, and it had barely been two months. He knew this was a mistake. He knew getting himself involved with other people again would just hurt him—but this time, it was entirely his fault. There was no one to blame anymore, no Raiden Shogun, no Dottore, just him and his own inability to know when to stop.“Hey.”Scaramouche’s head snapped up to look at Sethos. “What?”“Penny for your thoughts?”Huh? This… had to be a joke.“I thought you were upset with me.” Scaramouche rubbed his arm, a nervous habit of his that he couldn’t shake.“I am,” Sethos said, sending an arrow right through Scaramouche’s chest. “But you look… worried.”“It’s nothing,” Scaramouche said dismissively. “It’s something.” Sethos put down his utensils, leaning towards him. “I may be upset but you’re too important to ignore.”Scaramouche could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He blinked them back before looking away, taking a breath. “You shouldn’t have to worry. I’ll be out of your hair soon. I paid for the food already anyway,” he mumbled, already feeling his fight-or-flight instincts kicking in as he fought the urge to just stand and run away.Sethos called him by his secret name. “I don’t want you gone,” he said softly, putting a hand on his. “Were you thinking I’d want to stop seeing you? I don’t.”
Why not?
“Because I like you,” Sethos said simply. Scaramouche blinked. He wasn’t aware he’d even spoken aloud. “I like you, Hat Guy. That’s not gonna change. Yes, I’m upset, and yes, I’m still not ready to accept your apology, but my feelings run deeper than that.” He inched his chair closer, his thumb and forefinger taking hold of Scaramouche’s chin to make him meet his eyes. “I’m not leaving,” he promised, his hand moving to cup his cheek.Scaramouche glanced off to the side, not wanting to burst into tears at fucking Lambad’s of all places. “I don’t deserve you,” he muttered, voice shaky. I really fucking don’t. “You do,” Sethos replied, his grip on Scaramouche’s hand tightening. “I know you do.” “No, I don’t.” Scaramouche fought out of Sethos’s hold, standing in his seat and leaving, not sparing a single look for him. / “Hat Guy, wait—!”The door slammed shut behind him.“Shit.” Sethos ran a hand through his hair, starting to panic. He didn’t mean to worry him, or to make him think that he hated him. Quite the opposite—but fuck, that probably was the wrong thing to say. Or—ugh. He can’t say he didn’t try. He knew Hat Guy had past experiences with abandonment. While he tried to make it clear that he really wasn’t going anywhere, perhaps Hat Guy’s own fear clouded his rational judgment. Whatever Sethos would’ve said wouldn’t have made things better. But Archons be damned, he was going to fix things if it was the last thing he did.Sethos rubbed his face exasperatedly. He had to go find him.He left a tip for Lambad on the table before scrambling out of his seat and rushing out, trying to spot Hat Guy. He probably ended up flying somewhere, if he wanted to escape that badly. His dorm, maybe? Sethos had to try and remember where it was because he’d only been once.He rushed up Treasures Street towards the Akademiya dorms, which were nearby. They were scattered around the foot of the Great Tree, mostly in small clumps according to your Darshan. The Vahumana ones were located a bit above the rest, so Sethos had to climb up lots of ramps to get there.He arrived, sweaty and exhausted, at what he remembered was Hat Guy’s dorm. It was a small house, smaller than his, even. He’s never been inside since they both preferred hanging out at Sethos’s, but maybe he’d find out what it looked like today.He knocked on the door. “Hat Guy? It’s me. Open the door,” he called out, hoping and praying that he was in there and that he would open up. No one came to the door.“Hat Guy, hey, let me in, please,” he begged, knocking on the door again. Shit. What if he wasn’t there? Where else would he be?Sethos groaned as he leaned against the door, sliding down until he was sat on the ground. He’d fucked this up, hadn’t he? He wanted to be the one good thing in Hat Guy’s life, but he’d gone and ruined everything.  No, no. Airing out your feelings is valid, he reminded himself. Then why did he feel so terrible about it?Sethos hugged his knees, watching as the sky turned dark and rain started to fall. It was strange—it had never rained in the city before. He barely had any cover as he sat against the door and waited, and his boots had gotten somewhat soaked as he continued to wait.He and Hat Guy needed to talk about it. It’s the only way they’d be able to get over this… whatever this was. He knew Hat Guy was in the wrong—that’s for sure. He shouldn’t have done something to distract Sethos and throw him off. He knew this exam was important. He’d watched Sethos study for hours just to have a chance at passing, and he had failed because of him. Was he upset? Yes. Did he hate Hat Guy? No, of course not. He didn’t know it’d happen that way. None of them did. But he couldn’t just let it slide. If he had never told Hat Guy how he felt, he’d end up resenting him for something he wasn’t aware of. And that was unfair for both of them.Hat Guy deserved honesty, even if it was ugly. He couldn’t let him go on like this if it meant Sethos would get hurt. It would be more painful for Hat Guy to find out that what he thought was harmless teasing turned out to be stabbing Sethos in the gut every time. He couldn’t let that happen to him.Sethos smacked his cheeks. Archons, he felt pathetic waiting out here. The rain looked like it was only getting stronger, too. He hoped wherever Hat Guy was that he was safe.He blinked. Oh, for the love of—how could he have forgotten about the gazebos?Sethos stood quickly, bracing himself as he charged out into the rain, making it up there as fast as possible without slipping on the wet tile. He had to get to Hat Guy. / The rain refused to let up. Rain rarely came upon Sumeru City. Usually it was under the Archon’s protection, which apparently included bad weather. But this time it was different.Maybe Nahida could feel that Scaramouche felt like shit and wanted to let him have his own pensive moment somewhere. Either way, it fit his mood.He was huddled under the gazebo—their usual, which while it hurt, was better than being surrounded by reminders of his failed relationship back at the dorm. The tea set, especially, which had a coveted spot on the kitchen counter.How could Sethos think he deserved him? He had hurt the one person he swore up and down to protect, to care for, to love. And he was telling him he was upset , because of him. He did that. No one else. He should’ve stopped. He shouldn’t have kept going with the joke. There was already a set deal, a set outcome, and he should’ve stuck with it. But he kept pushing, and you could only ever push too far before someone snapped. He thought it’d be funny to see what Sethos was like when he was pushed to his boundaries, but even the kindest people can put their foot down and say they’ve had enough. Scaramouche had spent the last hour staring into silence and feeling fat hot tears rolling down his pathetic cheeks. His hat he’d left behind—too many times Sethos had played with it. It was just another reminder that he fucked up, that he ruined his own chance at happiness. Besides, there was no hiding now, not when he’d shown Sethos what he really was.He chuckled mirthlessly. He felt like such a loser. Never in his life did he think he’d cause his own betrayal—could he even call it that? Yes, he could. He himself betrayed Sethos, betrayed his trust and his loyalty.That was the cruelest irony of all.“Hat Guy.”Scaramouche froze. He blinked his eyes back into focus as he was met with a dark shadow looming by the entrance to the Sanctuary, dripping wet with rainwater. “You’re here,” Sethos said, relieved, jogging over to take refuge from the rainstorm.“What’re you doing here? It’s pouring!”“You’re here too.” Sethos sat down beside him, tugging his bushy hair over his shoulder and squeezing it dry. “I’ve been looking everywhere. I should’ve known you’d be here. I waited at your dorm for like, an hour.”Scaramouche looked at him. His poor Sethos was… looking for him. A traitor.“Why?” Scaramouche really couldn’t think of any valid reason. Sethos was good, and nice, and everything he wasn’t. “I like you,” Sethos said, his bright green eyes reaching the depths of Scaramouche’s soul with sincerity. “I meant that. When you ran away, I… I felt terrible. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken it so hard. You didn’t know how upset it’d get me, and I…” He fell quiet, undoing his braids too. “I didn’t expect you to leave. I thought…”“I didn’t want to,” Scaramouche choked, fighting back a sob. “But I hurt you, Sethos. I hurt you even though I said I wanted to protect you. What kind of person does that?” He met Sethos’s gaze, expecting to see contempt, but there was nothing but pure concern. The feeling that ripped through Scaramouche’s chest was visceral.Scaramouche let out an aggravated sigh. “Look, I—I know you think I deserve you, but I don’t. You’re too kind and nice and generous and I’m—I’m awful. Mean. I insult people. I don’t know how to get people to like me, hell, I don’t even know how you ended up liking me. Sometimes I feel like I tricked you.” Scaramouche wiped his nose, starting to feel like Kyra back when she found him at the Bazaar. “You think I’m this wonderful person but it’s just the facade I’ve gotten so used to putting on in front of you.”“Hey,” Sethos cut in, slipping his hand in Scaramouche’s. “You’re—Well, I was about to say you’re not mean, but you are.”Scaramouche snorted. “Gee, thanks.”“Awful, no. Not at all. I don’t think so, at least.” Sethos rubbed his thumb in comforting circles on Scaramouche’s hand. “I don’t know if I deserve you too, you know. You’re insanely smart, witty, quick on your feet. You’re a good fighter. You have so much compassion in you, even though you say you don’t. Heck, you helped that kid before. You notoriously hate kids,” Sethos went on. He smiled at Scaramouche tenderly. “Like I said, I’m willing to fight for you. For us. If it means convincing you that we deserve each other then so be it.”Scaramouche bit his lip, his breaths shallow. “You really think that?” His voice cracked.“I do.” Sethos turned to face him, holding both hands now. “I really do. And you know how bad I am at lying.” He managed a smile.“You are a terrible liar,” Scaramouche agreed, finally flicking his eyes up to meet Sethos’s. “I’m sorry I ran away. I couldn’t face you after what I’d done.”“I’m sorry, too. I should’ve known how it sounded for me to tell you I’m upset,” Sethos replied, squeezing his hands for reassurance.“You can’t have known. I didn’t even know I’d react that way,” Scaramouche exhaled. “And it’s not your fault. I know I went too far. Never apologize for being upset.”Sethos moved closer, leaning his forehead on Scaramouche’s. “Okay. If you say so,” he whispered, cupping his cheeks and wiping his tears away. “Don’t cry.”Scaramouche’s eyes raked over Sethos’s face. Handsome, irritating, kind Sethos. He was his. Still his.Scaramouche’s breathing grew even as he leaned into Sethos’s touch. “...I really, really hate crying.”Sethos laughed softly, a light, twinkling sound. “Who knew the emotionally constipated guy would hate crying? Didn’t see that coming at all.” Scaramouche smiled. “Mm. Can we… go somewhere else? I think the storm is passing,” he asked. “We should dry you off too.”“Yeah. I don’t know if you noticed, but I was shivering the whole time,” Sethos said lightly, pulling away. “So uh, this might be a lame request, but can we cuddle? Like actually. For… body heat.”“You just wanna cuddle, period,” Scaramouche pointed out.“Okay, yes, but,” Sethos started, tying his hair back as best he could in a messy ponytail. Wet, curly hair was not easy to work with. Scaramouche entertained the thought of braiding Sethos’s hair sometime. “I might get sick if you don’t warm me up.”“Fine. Let’s go back to my place, I’ll make you some tea,” Scaramouche relented, standing up and tugging Sethos to his feet. “Huh. Maybe we can fly there. Might be faster and safer than trying not to slip down the wet ramps.”Sethos blinked. “F-Fly? Like you’ll carry me and we’ll—” He swallowed. “I, uh, I’m really afraid of heights,” he admitted.Scaramouche raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry. Just hold on to me, and you’ll be fine,” he assured Sethos, leading him to the edge of the landing. “Really? Heights?”“Don’t patronize me, I can’t fly like you can.” Sethos took a deep breath, peeking over the edge before stepping backwards. “Oh Archons, okay, fuck, I can do this,” he mumbled, mostly to himself. Scaramouche thought it was cute. “What, you don’t trust me?” he teased, holding out his hand. “C’mere.”The rain had weakened, but visibility was still low. Scaramouche had flown this route multiple times anyway, so it shouldn’t have been a problem. Sethos moved closer, hesitating but holding his hand. “How do I..?”Scaramouche rolled his eyes before he took Sethos’s hands and maneuvered his arms so they wrapped around his shoulders. He wrapped one arm around Sethos’s waist, hand settling on his hip. “Like this. If you just stay steady we’ll be fine. My dorm’s not that far from here—vertically speaking.” He turned to look at Sethos, not noticing how close together their faces were. Sethos gulped. “That’s… reassuring,” he said uneasily. He held onto Scaramouche tightly, settling in his hold. “Don’t drop me.”“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Scaramouche replied, before gripping Sethos’s waist securely and launching himself off the landing.Sethos let out a small scream, huddling close to Scaramouche as they flew through the air, propelled by Anemo blades spinning behind them. “H-Hat Guy, you—” Another scream ripped through Sethos’s throat as they ducked past the Great Tree’s branches. Sethos buried his face in Scaramouche’s neck, refusing to open his eyes. “Just tell me when we’re there!” he shrieked, utterly terrified.Scaramouche could only laugh. Sethos, for all his bravado, was a big scaredy-cat when it came to heights of all things. “It’s ironic that you’re dating someone that can fly then,” he shouted over the howling wind. The rain had started to pick up again, buffeting winds against the two as Scaramouche tried to look for his dorm from above. “Out of all the times you chose to not wear your hat, you really chose during a thunderstorm?” Sethos yelled, letting out a small yelp as Scaramouche dived down. “Warn me when you do that!”“Sorry!”The two landed clumsily on the platform by Scaramouche’s dorm, with Sethos’s knees buckling under the stress from flying so high. Scaramouche tried to keep them both steady, but his foot slipped on the wet pavement, and they both fell onto a puddle, splashing water on both of them. “Oh shit,” Sethos cursed, the two lying down on the ground.Scaramouche probably would’ve gotten inordinately angry back in the past—the rain was cold and pelting on the skin, the puddle was muddy, he was drenched to the bone—but all he felt like doing was laugh. He laughed: a real, stomach-hurting laugh, the kind that makes you gasp for air, one that he hadn’t had in centuries. He let himself feel the pleasant pain in his gut, not even caring that his hair was getting dirty, that his clothes were soaked, that the rain was falling in torrents. The whole situation was silly—but he’s never felt more carefree.It’s funny, really. Earlier he’d been sulking all alone, and now here he was, caught in the rain with his beloved.Sethos propped himself up on his forearm, staring at Scaramouche like he was an alien.Scaramouche wiped away the rain from his face, sitting up with a lopsided smile. He knit his eyebrows together as he noticed Sethos staring. “What? Is there something on my face?”“Your laugh.”Scaramouche brushed his bangs out of his face. “What about it?”“It’s beautiful,” Sethos breathed. “I’ve never heard you laugh like that before.”Scaramouche’s heart fluttered. “It’s not a big deal.”“You’re always… chuckling. Or cackling.”Scaramouche raised an eyebrow. “Cackling. Really? Like a witch?”Sethos rolled his eyes. “I didn’t know what an appropriate word would be, okay?” He sat up too, getting to his feet and holding a hand out for Scaramouche to take.Scaramouche held his hand, pulling himself up. He stumbled slightly, bumping into Sethos, rendering them chest to chest. “Ah. Sorry,” he mumbled, eyes dropping to his lips unconsciously. He looked back up at Sethos, hoping he didn’t notice. The rain kept pouring, drenching them both. Sethos was absolutely wet, clothes sticking to his skin, hair flat against his back. He smiled, tenderly, almost lovingly, if Scaramouche allowed himself to think that.He’d never looked better.“No need to apologize,” Sethos hummed, barely audible over the rain pounding onto the ground. “Hey, Hat Guy?”Scaramouche’s breath caught in his throat. “Yeah?”“Can I kiss you?” Sethos asked, eyes locked on his. The world stopped. Scaramouche knew the rain was still falling, the wind still blowing, and yet the only thing he could see was Sethos.“Yes,” Scaramouche breathed, feeling hot under the collar despite the rain sending a sheer cold down his spine. Or maybe it was the rush from seeing Sethos’s pupils dilate ever so slightly as he leaned in, closer.Scaramouche’s eyes slid closed as he waited for the feeling of Sethos’s lips on his.“A-AH-CHOO!”Sethos let out a ridiculous sneeze—it was a loud, gaudy thing, throwing him forward and bumping his forehead into Scaramouche’s. “Ow!” Scaramouche yelped. “Sethos!” he grumbled.“Sorry,” Sethos sniffled, wiping his nose. His face was burning red. “Oh my Archons, I—Fuck. I’m so sorry. That was so embarrassing.” He hid his face in his hands, stepping back. “Shit.”Scaramouche scrunched his eyebrows together, wiping off whatever snot had landed on his face. Eugh. “Okay, we should really get inside now,” he said finally, grabbing Sethos by the wrist and dragging him under the small roof for the doorway. “You’re gonna get sick.”Scaramouche unlocked the door, leading Sethos inside and turning on a light. It wasn’t a big space—there was a small kitchenette along one wall with a bar counter and stools, a study desk, and a bed tucked into the corner with a small closet. The bathroom was separate from the rest of the room. Overall, enough living space for one person, if rather cramped. Scaramouche was never one for unnecessary items anyway, so he didn’t mind much.Scaramouche grabbed a clean towel from the bathroom, tossing it to Sethos. “Here. Go clean up in the bathroom before you keep dripping water everywhere,” he told him. “I have some spare clothes here…” He rummaged in his closet, handing him a jinbei set, which were lightweight and airy garments from Inazuma consisting of a short-sleeved wrap top and short pants. “Old habits die hard,” he mumbled, cheeks reddening as Sethos looked them over, puzzled. “Just put them on so you don’t get cold.”Sethos nodded, still too flustered to say anything else. He ducked inside the bathroom, trying not to get water everywhere.Scaramouche padded his way to the kitchenette, preparing tea for the both of them. He started heating up some water in a kettle, scooping tea into the strainer and preparing the teapot. He drummed his fingers on the countertop, pensive. He couldn’t stop thinking about Sethos leaning in, about how he was ready for a kiss—a real, proper one. The way Sethos looked at him before he leaned in, the way his eyes seemed to reach deep into his own soul… Scaramouche bit his lip. He still wanted to kiss him.But that was normal, right? If you were in love, it was natural to want to kiss your significant other. They’ve already been exchanging kisses on the cheek, surely this couldn’t be more different.Scaramouche wiped his dripping wet hair off his face, exasperated. No, it was different. He knew ever since Sethos kissed him on the cheek for the first time that while it was nice, it wasn’t what he wanted. He craved Sethos’s touch. He wanted him, to drink him up, to taste him.He shook his head. He was getting a little too deep into it. And yet…“Um, Hat Guy?” Sethos called out, jolting Scaramouche out of his thoughts. “Yeah?” he replied.“I, uh, I don’t know how to put this on.”Scaramouche blinked. He was going to have to help, wasn’t he?He headed over, knocking on the bathroom door. “Let me in.”“Wh—I’m barely clothed!”Scaramouche groaned. “Do you want my help or not?”There was a pause before the door clicked open. Sethos stood by the sink, shirtless, thankfully with the pants on. His old clothes lay at his feet in a messy pile. “Um, here,” he said, handing the shirt over to Scaramouche.Scaramouche tried not to stare as he held the shirt up for Sethos to slide his arms in. “Yeah, Inazuman clothing can be complicated,” he said airily. “Turn around.”Sethos did as he was told, giving Scaramouche a good look of his tan, broad back laden with scars and different bumps. Scaramouche’s eyes narrowed as he helped him put on the shirt. “Face me,” he instructed, and Sethos followed suit.Scaramouche stepped closer to tie the ribbons on each side of the open wrap shirt, his fingers brushing against the skin of Sethos’s abdomen slightly. “Your back is disgusting,” he noted, looking up at Sethos as he tied the top together deftly. “I told you to take care of yourself.”Sethos grimaced. “I know. They’re old wounds, I promise,” he said, eyes trailed on Scaramouche’s face.Scaramouche was unaware of Sethos’s eyes on his, focused on fastening the knot securely. “Mhm. What got you, tigers?”“No. Well, once. But it was on my arm,” Sethos said, pushing his sleeve up and showing the remnants of a gnarly scratch wound on his bicep. “The ones on my back are from Eremites, some overactive Fungi, an aggressive desert fox or two. I have a knack for getting into trouble out there in the desert.” His voice softened, all the while taking in Scaramouche’s features.Scaramouche looked up at him, face unreadable. “And you said I was crazy for wanting to go with you before,” he said with a smirk. “Looks like you need more taking care of than I thought.” He fixed the top on Sethos, adjusting the fit before stepping back and admiring his handiwork (and perhaps Sethos in the clothes, too). “There. Now get out, let me get dressed.”Sethos’s nose scrunched up. “Okay, okay. Can I have a towel at least?” Scaramouche nodded, heading over to the bathroom and tossing him one before shutting the door. He stared at himself in the mirror. Yes, his hair was definitely muddy, and his clothes even more so. He took off his outer haori and gloves, chucking them into his dirty laundry basket. He made a face as he tugged at his skin-tight undershirt, which clung onto him even more than it already did, the wet fabric serving to outline every curve of his body. He undid the obi around his waist before he remembered he had forgotten to get clothes. He cursed, stepping back outside to grab some. He met eyes with Sethos, who had sat on his bed and was now toweling his hair dry. “Don’t bother. I’ll help you,” Scaramouche called out as he took a matching set of robes from his closet.Sethos looked up, eyes transfixed on Scaramouche. “O-Oh. Okay.” He swallowed thickly.Scaramouche looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. “I can practically feel you staring, Sethos.”“Sorry,” Sethos squeaked, averting his gaze. “You—I mean, um, you’re wearing, well, um…” He clapped a hand over his eyes, the tips of his ears glowing red with embarrassment. “I’ll stop staring.”Scaramouche shook his head as he smiled slightly. “What? You know I wear this shirt under my robes,” he said breezily, walking over to where Sethos was sitting. “What difference does it make now that it’s the only thing I’m wearing?”“Well, I—it’s, uh, a little sheer, no?” Sethos fumbled, looking up at him through his fingers. Scaramouche shrugged, tugging Sethos’s hand away from his face and holding it. “Does it bother you?” he asked, leaning down and tilting his face towards Sethos’s. Sethos swallowed, cheeks hot. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, no words leaving his mouth.Scaramouche chuckled. “Okay, that’s enough teasing.” He kissed the top of Sethos’s head, lingering longer than usual before heading back to the bathroom. “Once the kettle starts singing, steep the tea, will you?” he called out, hearing Sethos hum in assent before he shut the door behind him. That was… fine, right? Not too much? He had to ask Sethos once he was done changing.He tugged off the shirt with much effort, but slid out of his hakama easily. His shoes and socks, while completely soaked, peeled off his feet without much hassle. He quickly washed his hair clean in the bath, getting rid of the dirt before he finally got changed, slinging a towel around his neck.He exited the bathroom, finding Sethos pouring tea into the teacups he had gotten Scaramouche for his birthday. “Hey, the tea’s ready. Which one is this?” Sethos asked, bringing the teacups over as Scaramouche sat on the edge of the bed.“The Naku Weed one,” Scaramouche answered, taking the teacup gratefully. He warmed his fingers up as he wrapped them around the cup, inhaling the fragrant smell of the tea. “What I did earlier was fine, right?”“Hm? Which one?” Sethos asked, sipping a little from his cup.“Earlier, when I walked up to you in just my undershirt. Was it too much?” Scaramouche murmured, hoping he didn’t sound too worried. He sipped some tea from his cup too, feeling the hot liquid travel down his throat.Sethos shook his head. “It was fine. As long as you don’t distract me from doing anything important,” he said, setting the cup down on the bedside table. “I’m not too upset about what you did anymore. I was more worried about you than my grade.”“Sorry I ran off.” Scaramouche stared into his teacup. “I was too impulsive, I should’ve listened to you.”“I get it. It’s okay,” Sethos said softly, patting his shoulder. “Trust me when I say something like this isn’t enough for me to stop hanging out with you.”Scaramouche tilted his head, looking up at him. “Really? What will get you to stop hanging out with me?”“Why do you wanna know?”“Curiosity.” Scaramouche mustered a smirk. “Isn’t that what the Akademiya always tells us to do? Go forth and feed your curiosity?”Sethos rolled his eyes, taking Scaramouche’s teacup and putting it on the table beside his own. “If you must know, I haven’t really given it much thought. I don’t think you’d ever do anything so bad that I’d want to distance myself from you. Not that I’ve seen, anyway.” He unslung the towel from his neck. “You said you’d help dry my hair?”Scaramouche appreciated the change of topic. “Yeah. Sit on the floor,” he instructed, summoning Anemo in his palm, similar to the wind blades he used to fly, but not quite as large. “Can you grab the brush on my table?”Sethos did so, settling on the floor and leaning back against the bed in between Scaramouche’s legs. “What’re you gonna do?”“You’ll see,” Scaramouche said, letting the wind blades spin like a miniature fan. He moved it from one side to the other, the wind serving to dry Sethos’s hair quickly. He brushed through his curly hair, careful not to snag on any knots too much. Scaramouche’s own hair had always been short and straight, so he didn’t know what to do, but he thought he should do something nice for Sethos since he went through the trouble of finding him and making him feel better.Sethos hummed as he let Scaramouche run his fingers through his hair, leaning into his warmth. “This feels nice,” he mumbled. “You should do this more often, honey.”Scaramouche snorted. “You’d get too spoiled and I’d end up having to do it all the time,” he quipped, dissipating the Anemo blades in his hand. “Do you still have your hair ties?” Sethos took them off his wrist and dropped them into Scaramouche’s palm. “Even tying it back? I’m flattered.”“I’ll do you one better,” Scaramouche said as he started braiding Sethos’s hair, taking two sections that started at each temple and joining them down the middle. “Your hair is fluffy,” he noted, tying off the two braids and gathering the rest of the hair into a low ponytail at the base of Sethos’s neck. “Feels nice.”Sethos chuckled, letting Scaramouche finish before he tilted his head back, looking up at him. “It’s common for desert dwellers to have curlier hair. It’s normally more frizzy than fluffy, but I think it’s because of that trick you did to dry it.”Scaramouche’s hand slid from Sethos’s hair to his jaw, thumbing his cheek softly. “Yeah. Now you look like a Sumpter Beast.” He leaned down to kiss Sethos’s forehead, ignoring his grunt of dissent before patting the seat beside him. “C’mon, back up here. I need to talk to you about something.”Sethos followed suit, tilting his head. “What’s wrong?” he asked.“Nothing’s wrong,” Scaramouche replied. “It’s nothing bad, or anything like that. I just… Back in the rain. You asked if… if you could kiss me.” He felt his breath catch in his throat. “Before you sneezed and ruined the whole thing.”Sethos winced. “Yeah. I’m sorry about that.” He scratched his neck, averting his gaze. “It would’ve been a nice moment.”“It would’ve been,” Scaramouche agreed. “I, um, I did say yes.”Sethos looked back up at him. “You did,” he said slowly.Scaramouche’s heart was running laps. “Don’t make me ask.”“Ask for what?” Sethos felt a grin tug on his lips.“You know what I mean,” Scaramouche sniffed. “But just one, okay? I might… It might be too much for me.” Sethos nodded, leaning closer. “Just tell me when you wanna stop,” he murmured. “Unless, you know, I’m that good of a kisser that you don’t want to.” Scaramouche rolled his eyes, snorting derisively. “Have you ever even kissed someone?” he taunted. “Sure have.” Sethos grinned lopsidedly, tying Scaramouche’s stomach in loops. “Why, haven’t you?” “No, of course not.” Scaramouche crossed his arms. “Do I look like the type of person to go around kissing people?”Sethos thought for a while. “No, not really. But you do look like the type to go around kissing me,” he bantered, cupping Scaramouche’s cheek. “Would you like to confirm or deny?”Scaramouche leaned into his touch, eyebrows knitting together. “You’re impossible.”“Impossible to resist?”“More like, it’s impossible for you to stop talking.”Scaramouche tilted his head forward before Sethos could reply, his lips brushing against Sethos’s lightly. He felt a spark of Electro travel through his body, alighting his every nerve, sending his senses into overdrive. He inhaled deeply, taking in Sethos’s scent of sweat and rain and something deeper, something richer, almost like the desert flowers he had brought him once. Sethos’s hand on his cheek pulled him closer, their mouths sliding against each other as they deepened the kiss. Scaramouche fought back a soft sigh, loving the taste of tea on Sethos’s lips. He put a hand on Sethos’s shoulder gingerly, fiddling with the collar of his shirt.Scaramouche had half a mind to move even closer, to engulf himself in Sethos’s arms and stay there for eternity.Sethos let out a soft sound, thumbing Scaramouche’s cheek as he moved against his lips, drinking in more and more of him. Scaramouche reciprocated, teeth grazing against Sethos’s clumsily as he tried to do the same.“Eager, are we?” Sethos mumbled against Scaramouche’s lips cheekily, nipping at his lower lip.Scaramouche reddened, unable to find the words to reply. Instead, he leaned in for another kiss, knocking their teeth together as he brushed his lips against Sethos’s again. “Shut up,” he grumbled, his arms moving up to rest on Sethos’s shoulders.Sethos let out a breathy chuckle, one that rendered Scaramouche weak in the knees. “Gladly,” he replied, leaning forward and capturing his lips in another kiss.They stayed like that for a while before Scaramouche felt his heart start to beat a bit too fast. “Sethos, wait,” he panted, pulling away and putting a hand on Sethos’s chest to steady himself. He could feel his stomach twisting into knots again. “I—That’s enough.” He rested his forehead on his, trying to ignore the way Sethos fixated on his kiss-swollen lips. “Sorry, it feels like I’m about to vomit.”Sethos laughed, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m not that bad of a kisser, am I?” He brushed some of Scaramouche’s damp bangs to the side, slightly worried.“No, not at all.” Scaramouche winced, pushing Sethos away as his grin grew. “Don’t let your head get too big, idiot. It was my first kiss so I have no point of comparison,” he hissed.Sethos smirked. “No, you already said it. I’m a good kisser,” he declared, flopping onto the bed. “The one, the only Hat Guy has deemed it so.”Scaramouche shook his head, reaching over for his teacup for a sip. “You’re ridiculous.” Sethos moved, laying his head on Scaramouche’s lap. “No, I’m yours,” he said playfully, looking up at Scaramouche with a small smile. “Only yours.” He held up his hand.Scaramouche huffed before sliding his hand into Sethos’s. “Yeah. Sure,” he relented, smiling into the teacup. “I’m yours, too.”