-EXILE ; Dottore x M!reader.

𖦹

Though you must admit, his plan was quite smart.

Everything was in order, and everything went smoothly for him. It's amazing how everything just falls into place for him. He was never the outgoing type, but he spread rumors like a wildfire.

"You're going to confess to Sohreh  this evening, right?"

"I saw the way you looked at Sohreh, Y/N."

"How can a guy reject a girl like Sohreh?"

Stupid rumours.

"Good luck, Y/N."

Those were his last words to you. Those words stayed in the back of your mind for years on end.

You didn't just get kicked out of Sumeru Academy; you got kicked out of the entire nation.

All because you were set up.

All these years, your goal was to prove to yourself that you were better than him in every way possible. To be his exact opposite. Everything he did, you didn't. Everything you did, you made sure he didn't. You'd blame everything, yet everything was caused by him.

You didn't want to admit it, but it was partly your fault. You chose to befriend someone who was friendless for a reason. 

You and him were the same. Your dangerous experiments intrigued him, while you listened to his oddly fascinating endless rants. You never once complained about his wild tests on animals. Heck, he even tried experimenting on people, and you kept those secrets hidden.

Sohreh, on the other hand, was just a friend. You'd often get close to people in the Akademiya to gain access to higher-level resources. She was mostly in charge of accessibility to certain materials in one of the factions within Darshan, Amurta. She was just another person to take advantage of, but not to the point where you would kill her.

 Her plans of confessing to you somewhere in Mawtimya Forest were leaked, and you knew about it a week before she confessed.

"My sincere apologies, Sohreh, but... I only see you as... a friend."

You informed her a day before, in the House of Daena. Your voice was calm and soothing, carefully chosen to prevent any... overreaction. You watched as her expression fell. She said she understood and hoped that you two could still continue being friends.

She died the next day. 

He and his research team found her, and all the evidence pointed to you.

You didn't dwell on it much initially, but it was painfully obvious that he was responsible, not you. The more you reflected on it, the more your rage built. By the time you ascended to the 10th rank of the Fatui Harbingers, your resentment toward him had become utterly consuming.

But not to worry, he probably died years and years ago. Hopefully, it was due to some obscure illness he was researching, leading to his own infection and a prolonged, excruciatingly painful demise. Heh.

You also heard that he got expelled too. But unlike you, he was sent to the desert. Knowing him, he probably immediately stayed overnight in those ancient ruins, exploring old secrets. Fucking nerd. 

When comparing yourself to him, who was better? He got expelled, losing his only source of access to materials at the Akademiya. You were certain he struggled to find new sources of materials anywhere. You, on the other hand, did struggle after being expelled. Sure, you weren't very successful at first, but look at where you are now.

You placed your bitter coffee on the table and looked outside. Snezhnaya was at its peak season; the snow falling was lighter than it had been a few months ago, and you could see people walking around. Though the scenery and atmosphere were beautiful, you preferred to stay in the comfort of your warm office.

You sighed and turned your gaze back to your desk. Pierro had assigned you the task of managing a project involving the Fatui soldiers in Inazuma and Liyue. The objective was to devise a strategy that would place the majority of organizations in both nations under your command. There are 43 organizations in Liyue and 23 in Inazuma, half of which are secretive and not officially recognized by the Liyue government or the Raiden Shogun.

Altogether, there are 66 organizations. This would obviously take at least half a year to manage.

To be frank, you'd prefer to focus on your other project, which involves analyzing the timing and impact of potential future disasters caused by Khaenri'ah. However, Pierro insisted that this project could wait.

And another thing: you have an important meeting tonight. Usually, you'd always skip these meetings, but since every Harbinger will be in attendance, you guess it's something important. Actually, you've never met the higher-ups among the Harbingers, at least not those ranked 5 and above. The Captain, Doctor, Damselette, Knave...such peculiar names.

You leaned back in your chair and stretched out your back. After all the all-nighters you'd pulled to finish work, your posture had suffered, and you were plagued with back pain. Sighing, you grab the papers and head for the door. You glance around your messy office and shrug it off. A clean space used to be a priority, but these days, you're far too busy to stop and tidy up.

With a soft creak, you step out of the warm comfort of your office.