A heart in need | Scaramouche x Reader

Festival

You immediately recognised the girl. The flying companion, however, had recognised you too.

"You!" A panicked, high pitched voice sounded in your ear. A small finger pricked up in the air in your direction. The Traveler's gaze shot up as they stared at you. They had raised their eyebrow slightly as if trying to figure out what was going on.
"Them..?" She replied, looking at the companion.

"Paimon remembers that face! Back at the factory!" The companion shrieked. The Traveler's face shifted from confusion to a neutral, wary expression as wrinkles appeared on the bridge of her nose. A sword appeared in her hand.
"Hold on." You smile, and hold up your hands weakly in defense.
"I'm not here for you."

"Is that so?" The Traveler clearly did not believe you.

"Sure is. The only reason why we're seeing eachother is because the key is stuck in our-" You paused and quickly corrected yourself.
'-my door to my room. I can't get it out. I'm tired, and I want to just sleep peacefully tonight. Please."

The rumours were right. The Traveler really was lenient. The sword disappeared, though they kept their distance. Paimon, however, opened her mouth once again.
"And why should Paimon believe someone who works with the Fatui? Wait, no, someone who works with a Harbinger!" She spat out the word as if it disgusted her.

"You.. don't really have to believe me?" You were about to ask if they wanted to see your door until you remembered that your Boss was waiting right in front of it. As you racked up your brain for an excuse, Paimon did exactly what you hoped she wouldn't.
"Then, let's see if that key story is true! Ohh, if we find out you're lying...!"

Your focus shifted to the Traveler, whom thoughtfully had been analysing you. With a small sigh, you weighed out your options.
To tell them meant risking a brawl, to not tell them meant... risking a brawl. Weasling your way out of this would be incredibly difficult.

"Alright, uh... just.. don't be shocked. We aren't here to stir up anything. Promise." Paimon began to say something, but you cut her off. Instead, you extended your hand towards the Traveler as a means to greet her properly. She reached out to you as you continued.
"Listen. If we really wanted to do anything bad, would we really have been sleeping here, in this inn, instead of sneaking outside in the forest? So, keeping that in mind, I'm with-"

"They are with me." An arm wrapped around your waist. Another was placed on your wrist. It pulled your arm down, essentially making you reject Traveler's reciprocation to shake your hand. By voice alone you knew that Scaramouche was the one touching you. Within mere seconds, the strained, though somewhat relaxed tone the conversation had turned into one for the worse. The sword reappeared, and this time the Traveler looked ready to attack at any given point, while Paimon automatically floated backwards, almost as if she was hiding behind the Traveler.

"Relax. We really aren't here for any bad reasons." Scaramouche's happy act didn't affect the Traveler. In fact, it only seemed to aggravate her more.

"I was wondering why my dearest [Y/N] took so very long. Turns out it was you all along." Scaramouche pulled you in closer. He had tugged on your waist, and you stood pressed up against him. He took no notice of Paimon, and instead directly looked at the Traveler.

"Why are you here?" Traveler spoke slowly. Their words were said as if it costed her great restraint. Probably to not attack the Balladeer in front of her.

"We've decided to check out this festival tomorrow. My dear wants to go see it. So, who am I to refuse?"

"Your.. what?!" Paimon's shocked squeal surprised the Traveler. They exchanged a look. A blush spread across your face as you began to fiddle with your hands, seamlessly playing into Scaramouche's lie.
"I thought that, since we've left the Fatui, we should take a small vacation to celebrate it.." To your defense, none of it was a complete lie. Both parties seemed near exhausted. The Traveler relaxed. The lean muscles on her arms softened up as she lowered her sword.
It wasn't like there was a good solution for the Traveler to get out of this situation properly, anyway.