𝘿𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙇'𝙎 𝙎𝙉𝘼𝙍𝙀 ! genshin impact

────── 02.

C H A P T E R  II .
ʰᵉ ʷʰᵒ ˢᵉᵉᵏˢ ᵒᵖᵘˡᵉⁿᶜᵉ

【✧】

YOU DIDN'T LIKE HOW HE LOOKED AT YOU.

Pantalone eyed you like an object, a glittering commodity that had the blessed privilege of catching his interest. His gaze lay on you heavily, weighing you down with impure inquisitiveness and a craving for knowledge. Despite the clothing that wrapped around your figure snugly, you still felt like you'd been laid bare in front of him, to merely be another test subject dissected by his probing eyes.

You found yourself shrinking back, leaning as far as the threadbare cushions of the couch allowed. The air was dense with tension, weighted and slow as it coalesced inside your lungs like thick sludge, unwilling to let you inhale the oxygen you needed to breathe and speak. 

Your uninvited guest finally spoke up when you weren't sure that you couldn't take anymore of the stagnant silence. 

"You have a lovely school." He stated, his signature smile still tugging at his plush lips. 

You returned the gesture, an awkward laugh bubbling in your throat like a pot of boiling stew. "Thank you, sir. What has brought you to my humble establishment here today?" 

A flash of disapproval flickered in his irises. "I thought I'd already requested you to refrain from calling me 'Sir'." 

You noticed your slip up far too late. Hot embarrassment pulsed in your cheeks as you lowered your gaze, words and syllables suddenly feeling unwieldy on your tongue. "My deepest apologies, s- Pantalone. It was an honest mistake on my part."

"You need not apologize, my dear. It does sound rather lovely when you say it." He hummed complacently, rapping his slender fingers on the chair's spindly armrests. The many rings on his gloved hands sparkled in the early sunlight, highlighting gems of deep lapis and the highest quality silver wrought into ornate designs and shapes. 

Your traitorous heart seemed to beat faster at his words. You shook your head rapidly to clear your mind of the mortifying ideas that began to sprout, choosing instead to focus on the worn patterns printed on the couch's rough fabric.

Pantalone let out a brief chuckle, rich with something decadent that you couldn't exactly pinpoint. "Perhaps I have an inkling of suspicion why Tartaglia has been so protective of you." 

"He has?" You blurted out without thinking. 

He seemed amused at your plight, displayed as his eyes curved into crescent moons. "He has been so insistent when it comes to you, _____. He must be the one who recruits you. He must be your leading Harbinger. With all the fuss he was making, it was far too tempting to not investigate."

You gripped the loose fabric of your sweater tightly, a somber expression quickly overtaking your flustered state. "So he hasn't given up yet." 

"I am afraid not." Even though you were sure he meant to sympathize, you could still hear the notes of giddiness within his tone.

You pressed your lips into a fine line. This was just a game to him -- something fun to keep him entertained, if only for a mere few minutes. Your obvious discomfort and hesitation meant nothing to him. He would not help you reject the Eleventh Harbinger's constant invitation, even if you had begged on your knees. You should've known that from the start.

A sigh lingered fleetingly in the atmosphere as you stood up, an air of finality and closure encompassing your figure. "Please tell Ajax -- no, Tartaglia -- that I have no plans on joining the Fatui, now and forever. Would you like me to show you the way out?" 

"Ah, don't be in such a rush. I have stated before that I'm here on my own volition. I do not take orders from Tartaglia, only those who hold higher power over me." 

"I'm aware, but you're beginning to get on my nerves. Please leave."

You yelped when you were suddenly grabbed harshly by your wrist and tugged down to his eye level. Gone was the amicable aura that he had once donned; in its place was a bone-crushing, fearsome miasma that salivated for destruction like a ravenous beast. Pantalone's smile felt sickeningly sweet as he reeled you in closer, until your faces were barely inches away from each other.

"Your steadfast nature is admirable, but I'm afraid I'm not as patient as your ginger admirer." He enunciated balefully, sliding a gloved finger from your temple to your jaw. 

You could barely react when his hand wrapped around your chin and squeezed it tightly, creating small indentations in your cheeks.

"I don't like disobedience, любимый."

Pantalone let his threat linger a moment longer before loosening his vice grip, mercifully allowing you to pull yourself free. You stumbled back onto the very couch you had just stood up from, brushing your throbbing jawbone with shaking digits. You were almost certain that it would leave a nasty bruise.

In one swift movement, the ravenette had extracted himself from the chair and moved to the doorway. The door itself had been propped open already by a lax arm, displaying the field of white that stretched beyond your vision; it had started snowing harder from when you and the Harbinger had begun talking, to the point where the onslaught of snowflakes concealed any other buildings or structures from view. 

The snow reminded you of Teucer, and you briefly wondered if he'd managed to get home safe. You would never forgive yourself if one of your students had gotten swept up in a snowstorm because of you. Your focus was, however, quickly diverted back to the foreboding man a few paces away from you, his black cloaked figure starkly contrasting the ivory outside.

Pantalone looked back at you, his piercing, dissecting gaze glittering with an inexplicable emotion. "I suppose this is where we bid farewell. It was a pleasure to have met you, _____. The Fatui, as well as I, are always willing to accept you into our ranks."

And just like that, he was gone. 

The jingling of the ornaments that dangled from his coat and his parting words still tarried in your mind, even long after his departure. 

━━━━

[ i'm sorry this chapter is a bit rushed </3 couldn't help it tho i'm way too excited for the next chapter LMAO :DD also!! pantalone calls u "darling",, tried my best to find gender neutral pet names but most lean towards either fem or masc so i'll be using them both ]