Genshin Impact Café AU
Childe X Fem Reader
Young Y/N L/N, born to a wealthy and well known family within the Tokyo district of Japan, moving to Kyoto and away from her family after her father plans an arranged marriage she did not wish to commit to...
You were working in the kitchen as per usual, Childe sometimes popping in to say hello every once in a while.
Today was mundane. Incredibly mundane. If it wasn't thanks to Childe keeping you company you were pretty sure you'd have fallen asleep from pure boredom. There were barely any customers today, allowing all of you to just relax and chat for a bit.
Shenhe and Yun Jin tried to cure their boredom by wiping down tables, soon all of them being practically spotless. Hu Tao simply teased Chongyun, showing him scary ghost videos that she could find on YouTube. He however, swallowed down his fear and watched them silently, causing Hu Tao to smile a bit.
"It's so quiet today, you might even be able to hear my footsteps." Childe sighed in a deflated mood, leaning against the door frame leading to the kitchen where you were. "I never thought I'd say this but I miss having customers come in…"
You were quickly cut off when a males voice could be heard at the counter. A very familiar one at that. "Does Y/N L/N work here by any chance?"
You felt yourself freeze in place, unable to remove yourself from the cooker. How did he find you? Is he looking for you? Your throat started to close in on you as your s/c skin started to pale greatly, almost as if you miraculously became sick on the spot. Childe watched with slight concern while Shenhe came in to notify you.
"Hey Y/N, a man wanted to see you. Must be your dad or something I don't know." You felt like passing out. Everything around you was practically spinning at this point, however you quickly swallowed down your anxiety and marched out of the room. You had to face him, tell him to leave or something.
In the far corner of the cafe, a man sat at the table nonchalantly. It was no doubt him. His h/c hair was slicked back smoothly, his attire one of formality like always. His expression is cold and serious, almost making you want to run and hide in a corner somewhere. But you had to face him, especially now that his eyes were locked with yours.
You purse your lips and made your way closer to his table. "Father." You managed to squeak out, keeping your hands held together in front of you while you stared at him. The tension was so thick between the two of you that you wouldn't be surprised if others within the room could see it.
"So this is where you chose to work. Quite squalid don't you suppose?" He spoke cooly, eyeing you as you took a seat in front of him. "I came here to see if you'd reconsider. Considering you're my only heir for the company." This made your stomach twist, of course he wasn't here to apologize. It was always about that damn company in his eyes, you meant nothing to him.
"No and my decision is final. Now if that's all you have to say please leave." You spoke stoically, ignoring how his hands tensed on the table, anger clearly seeping into his blood. "Did you ever consider that what you're doing is selfish?"
You froze, turning back to the man who had now stood to leave. "What?" Your brows furrowed at the man before you walked closer, your heart practically being crushed. "What I've done is selfish? What about you! Yeah sure because not wishing to be forced into a loveless marriage is selfish! Stop thinking about your business for once and realise you tore this family apart."
You continued to shout at the man, finally having enough. How dare he call you selfish after all of the things he did to you. God, he threw you out for his business, his fucking business. "Now I see why mother left, you're nothing more than an entitled asshole!"
A slap echoed in the cafe, practically ringing through the whole place.
Your face stung painfully and tears threatened to spill from your eyes. Your father's gaze was one of pure anger and disappointment. All of his hard work had come to nothing as he stared down at his disappointment of a daughter. He felt anger seep through his skin as he stared at your shocked expression. He wasn't selfish for what he did. He refused to believe such a lie, especially coming out of your mouth of all people.
"Never speak like that to me again young lady. I'm signing that paper for you whether you like it or not. I gave you a chance and this is the consequence." With that he left. He left you once again, anger and hate heavy within your heart.
Childe was the first to come over to you, frowning as the tears finally escaped your eyes. Your muffled cries within his chest as everything finally came crashing down as to what happened. Nobody spoke a word, unable to form anything but pure shock.
They knew you were never comfortable speaking of your home life but they never knew it was this bad. Childe remembered how you looked at different families wishfully, was this why? Did your father never love you?
"Hey Y/N, sh it's okay." Childe ran his fingers through your hair comfortingly while you tried to stop your tears, your face flushed with humiliation. "No it's not okay Childe! I'm being forced to marry a man I've never even met, god it's like I'm not even seen as human to the world anymore!"
Childe's heart felt like it was being crushed by someone's hand, almost as if they had a firm grip on it and never planned to let go. He could hear your shallow breaths as he held you close to his chest, kissing your crown softly while you tried to calm down. He was going to try and get you out of this mess no matter what. He hated seeing you so broken like this, it pained him.
You just hid your face, holding onto the man tightly, almost afraid to let go in case he left you too. You don't know what you'd do if you lost yet another person. What if he left because of all this? You kept it under tight wraps for so long, not wishing to burden anyone with your problems. How did they manage to escape like this?
You were ashamed. Your throat felt incredibly dry and your eyes hurt from the tears along with where your father slapped you. Perhaps he was right, maybe you were the selfish one.
You kept everyone from knowing what was truly bothering you just so they wouldn't leave. Just so you could keep them closer to you for longer. It felt like such a selfish reason now that you've thought about it - You hated it. You hated how your father may have been right. You hate how the man you despise so strongly still has control over your life and everything that you do.
"Here." Yun Jin smiled softly, handing you a glass of water which you took gratefully. Everything was still silent, tension still thick within the cafe while many of your colleagues held concerned expressions. Childe seems to be the main one. He however went to get some ice for you, seeing how the side of your face began to bruise from the sudden slap you received. He swore to himself that if he ever saw that man again he'd break his nose personally. Your father or not.
"Hey you alright? You seem pissed." Chongyun hummed to Childe, watching as he looked through the kitchen for some ice. "Really? I didn't notice." Childe spoke sarcastically to which Chongyun rolled his eyes. "As much as I want to punch him, you know you can't, right? That guy is a very popular business owner in Japan."
He was right but Childe was smarter. He knew people, much stronger and wealthier people within business. If needs be he would have your father's business crumbling to the ground within a few mere days. "Quit the evil glaring, I'd rather you don't melt the ice." Chongyun snatched the bag and went to give it to you, leaving Childe alone and to his own thoughts. He knew exactly who to get involved with and so he dialed them.
"Tsaritsa, I need a favor."
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