lamentation | r.aiden ei

3

The soft slam of your front door makes you jump, as Sara leaves back to work after dropping you off and doing a quick welfare check. You sigh, head drooped slightly, and you go into the kitchen in hopes of stress eating your way from the thoughts that plagued your mind. Your little 'show' in the elevator had been very poorly thought out— grabbing Ei the way you did? Yeah, no wonder she called you a murderer.

But you weren't a monster...right?

It hadn't been your fault that Makoto—

Your eyes squeeze tight, a grip on the handle of the fridge tightening further. You shouldn't be thinking these horrible thoughts. You shouldn't be thinking about her. She's...gone now.

But fuck, that was so hard for you to accept.

Another sigh, and now your head is against the cold refrigerator. The sound of its quiet motor nearly puts you at ease. The soft and barely noticeable thrum of a vibration here and there. And then your phone is going off, and you're pushing away from the fridge and over to the small device on the table.

The contact reads YELAN.

Willing, you answer and raise the phone to your ear: "Hey, what's up?" Forcing down a gulp, you nearly stab yourself at the crack in your voice.

"Bad time? Has the Y/n been crying?" Your silence gives way to a 'oh', and a few beats of silence before her smooth voice is traveling over again. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No really," You breathe, walking from the kitchen as a whole and instead opting to waste away in the living room. "What's up, why'd you call?"

Yelan hums. "Can't call a friend now?"

"Not when that friend fucks you weekly." Yelan laughs and you hear a few rustles on her end as you lay down on your couch.

"About that..." She clears her throat. "I have a date next week."

You grin wider than you want to admit. "No shit, really? Who's it with? Do I know her? Is the Yelan ready to lock it down?"

"One question at a time," Yelan breathes, and you can hear slight nervousness in her voice. "Remember that really monotone theater employee?"

"The chick with white hair?"

"Yeah, her names Shenhe." Yelan confirms, you want to ask how she figured this out- but she's already telling you by time you tune back in. "I asked Ganyu about her. Turns out they're like- cousins."

Your brows raise. "Damn, really?"

"Yeah, and it shocked me too since Ganyu never talks about her family besides her siblings." You opt to lay your phone on your chest, putting Yelan on speaker as she continues. "So anyway, I kind of asked Ganyu to put in a good word for me—"

"Wingwoman."

"Yeah, wingwoman," Yelan hums. "So then I go in today to see that weird rom-com with Yanfei, and while she goes to fill up our drinks; Shenhe stops me as i'm paying and point blank told me the time and place of where to meet her next week. And then she gave me her number."