Flustered || Rannett

Catharsis

"Oh? Razor, sweetheart. You're a bit late today, did something interesting happen?" Lisa asks with a teasing smirk.

Fully looking at the, more than usual, disheveled Razor in front of her, Lisa realizes something isn't right. She quickly goes towards him, cupping his face in her hands.

"Are you okay?" she asks, voice full of genuine concern.

"Razor is... fine, but Bennett is not fine," the rough looking boy replies, eyes teeming with confusion. "Bennett... cried."

Lisa, just as confused, questions the boy. "Razor, try explaining what happened to me."

Razor goes on to tell Lisa of the events that led up to where they are now. He started with meeting Bennett on his way to his lesson, and continues on.

"I see, oh you poor boys," Lisa responds with a shake of her head. She fully understood the miscommunication between the two, and was pitying their situation.

"Hm? Razor... does not understand."

"Well, first of all, dear. How do you feel about Bennet?"

"Razor wants to be with him," he replies, no hesitation.

"Anything more specific?"

"Razor likes Bennett's... smell. Razor likes stories. Razor... likes adventures!" he happily exclaims.

Lisa prods further. "Do you understand what love is, dear?"

"Razor knows of love," the scruffy boy responds. He ponders for a moment, as if considering something. "Razor loves Bennett."

With a sigh of relief at the boy's confidence, Lisa replies. "Bennett tried telling you earlier that he felt that way towards you, and I think he believes you turned him down."

Bennett's words finally register in Razor's mind, and he feels like an idiot. He had already been trying for a long time to convey his feelings to Bennett, but he could never communicate them right. And when he finally had his chance, he didn't fully understand what was being said. Razor feels like an idiot.

With that, he's back on the hunt to pursue Bennett, leaving Lisa with an appreciative thanks and a quick hug.

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        I'm huddled under a tree near the bridge outside of Mondstadt. I allow the tears to flow, hoping that if I get it all out today, I'll be back to normal by tomorrow.

        It confuses me, because I was prepared for this. I knew it would come, and yet I'm still reacting as if I did not know what the outcome would be. I swipe my arm across my face to rid myself of tears and snot.

Luckily, Fischl's here comforting me. I tell her what happened, and she makes a face.

"What?" I ask, sniffling.

"It is just... oh, you two idiotic boys are such imbeciles," Fischl says with a sigh. However, she notices how she's left me both confused and even more sad. I didn't understand what she said, which I normally do. All I got was the idiotic part.

"She means that she sees the misunderstanding that happened between you and the wolf boy," Oz says, translating for Fischl. She pats my shoulder.

"Misunderstanding?"

        The next events happen very suddenly. At first, I just hear faint footsteps from afar. The distance between me and the sound are enough to initially muddle my judgement, leading me to believe that it's a civilian or a knight on patrol. But then the noise gets closer and closer, and I begin to recognize the familiar sound.

         Razor.

        I begin to get up, preparing to run. However, I realize running would be useless. He can easily catch up to me, and smelling out my location would hardly be a challenge for him. Instead, I wipe at my face, trying to achieve a laidback look.

Fischl and Oz also notice Razor's approach, and they disappear without me even realizing.

        "Oh, hey! Did your english lessons end early today?" I ask, attempting a normal conversation as soon as he's close enough.

Razor doesn't respond, immediately running up to hug me. We stay like that for a while. Him, locking me in a tight embrace. And me, fighting back tears again.

"Razor is sorry for... misunderstanding," he mumbles softly into my ear. "Razor wants to be with Bennett too, not... just as lupical," I hear him whisper as he rests his head on my shoulder.

It takes me a good minute to process the words that were just said to me. "Oh-?" is all I can manage to say.

"Razor loves Bennett," he replies. With a bit of hesitance, as if choosing his wording carefully, he adds, "I love you."

With that, I return his hug just as tightly. Tears of relief brim my eyes, and I let them fall. I can't remember the last time I've been so genuinely happy.

"I love you too," I mutter into his shoulder. I think back on all my cherished memories that I've made with Razor, and I know having him is the luckiest thing that's happened to me.

Our embrace ends, and we say nothing else. There's nothing more for us to say. We now have as much time as we want to be together and enjoy ourselves. I look at Razor and find him staring at me.

        On the spur of the moment, I lean in and kiss his cheek. I grin, watching as Razor flusteredly touches his face. He's staring intensely at the ground while blushing, and it makes me laugh.

        I'm happy.

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Feel free to leave constructive criticism, and thank you for reading. <3

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Short Side Story:

"So... when will you hold the ceremony where you two destined souls will be bound for all of eterinity?" Fischl asks us as she gracefully hops down from the tree. Oz follows soon after.

Huh, so that's where they disappeared to.

"She means to ask when is the wedding?" Oz says nonchalantly.

"A-Ah, it's not like that yet Fischl," I reply with a laugh. I said yet, and that one word changes the whole sentence.

I look over at Razor and see that he didn't understand what we were talking about. He's still grinning happily though, and I can't help but smile too.