Gender Nuetral Reader X Yoimiya DISCONTINUED for now..

ch.6] Ignite

cred to @iwashi008 on twitter for the fanart above :]

(A/N)

I've decided to make this fanfic a sort of sweet june love fic, so I'm aiming for the whole thing to be on the short side, but if you've read my Jirou fanfic you know I suck at that lmao- so uh, wish me luck ig TvT

The game had almost ended, and Yoimiya was only one point ahead of Itto. At some point their competition had outshone both you and the kid on Itto's team, causing you both to retire to the sidelines and sit idly by to watch the sparkling entertainment ensue. It was hot, and in a brief break from the speed with which this past day and a half had flown by, you recalled exactly why it was that you despise this season. Still, watching Yoimiya throw herself fully into such a small and childish game with an exuberance and fun-loving stupor that only she could hold higher in her head and heart than whatever worries she may have. She was effervescent- both in spirit and in appearance, with the thin sheen of sweat that was laden over her dark freckled skin. Either way, you chose to believe that this luminescent quality was a result of the fact that she had a little bit of sun in her. Slipping beneath her dirtied fingernails and weaving in and out of her nerves. Some sweet, honey-like, scorching light. This was something you were not used to, hiding in the shade of Liyue streets as you were used to doing each and every day, but you could admit that you enjoyed the change.

The game seemed to be at a brief stall, neither opponent worn out quite yet but both still tossing their small objects with unearned vigor and smack talking like to each of them the other was the only thing standing in the way of them and saving all of Teyvat. You weren't bored of this stall, per-say, but you figured if your attention drifted off for a moment you wouldn't miss too much, so you waved to Yoimiya and excused yourself verbally before slipping around the small crowd. You followed the rocky surface of the cliffside along the beach for a few feet until you heard childish cheers fade a bit.

You sat yourself down in a sandy nook, and stared out at the open water, barely able to make out the faint coastline of Guyun Stone Forest. You and Beidou used to play there with her little posse of miniature neighborhood fans as an escape from her judgmental home. And later, slipped away to those cliffs with Xinyan to cheer her up with a private concert, away from her bullies. She was the only one you'd ever sing in front of, and always said you rocked. Though she tended to label just about anything as 'totally rock and roll', so you never let it engulf your wavering performance ego too much.

Growing up, your few friends always had a certain bravado, like the two of them. But whenever you'd had a little crush, or admired someone as more than just a friend, those people had tended to side with the more reserved, troubled crowd. So, as you felt the hot sand send shivers of heat all the way up to your reddening cheeks, and recognized the burning signs of attraction, you were surprised.

Because this Yoimiya character, the Queen of the Summer Festival, and the empress of fireworks and energy; this firecracker who'd sparked your interest before you'd even spent a full day in her hometown, and who seemed to hold an endless capacity for fun, wasn't all too much like those you'd blushed over in the past. Yet here you sat, retroactively embarrassed for tripping over your words and feet around her, and unable to retract the image of her determined grin from the front of your mind's big flat screen tv. The beginnings of a new crush had always been bothersome to you in the past, but this time you couldn't help but feel a little excited. 

Maybe that was because you knew that the feelings couldn't last, as you'd be out of here as soon as the festival ended. Or maybe it was because you knew you'd be spending the monopoly of your time until then in her ebullient presence.

You teased a splash of ocean water towards you with a fingertip, the hydro vision on your side shining as you did so. It swirled in your palms, and you watched with great admiration. You'd always venerated water. With it's great potential for power, and even larger potential in terms of windless tranquility and homemaking for the untrammeled mysteries of our world which preferred remain hidden in it's murky and mystical depths. Yet you wondered:

How powerful could it really be when met with the sun. Realistically, you figured it would engulf it, or be dried up. But the optimist in you hoped that maybe, just maybe, they would ignite. And something new would become of them.

You leaned forward, tipping over into a crawl towards the water-met beachside. And you lifted your head to glance back at the group formerly of you. They had all sat down, and were giggling as they took turns spitting watermelon seeds into the encroaching waves. They must have finished with competition and reunited in the name of food. Xiangling would've liked that premise.

You sat back and smiled, letting the water in your palm rest and soak back into the sand, making it's way back home. You turned away from the mountainscape of Liyue and headed back to Yoimiya and her friends.

"Yay! (y/n), come sit by me." Yoimiya called, waving and patting the sand beside her, orange popsicle sticking out of one side of her mouth. You giggled and jogged over.

This way, you thought. Something new may become of me here.

(A/N)

yes I fully headcannon that Yoimiya has freckles. and now you do too. you have no choice in the matter (also as is probably clear by now- I am updating by no schedule atm, so sincere apologies to my 1 reader. ily man XD)