★Twisted Wishes★ | Genshin x Twisted Wonderland

💜Ayaka x Rook💜

"Something the matter, milady?"

"Just now, when you spoke, you sounded... normal." Instantly, Ayaka wished she could take back the insult. She wasn't usually this inept with her words. "Ah! Not that you don't normally sound, well, normal. You... it's just, um, you sounded... different from before."

Rook smiled warmly at her, no trace of offense in his expression. "No need to apologize. I know how I sound, and I'm comfortable with it, because it makes me happy to add a bit of beauty into this world."

Eyes softening, he continued, "But I know sometimes we forget to do things because they make us happy, and get caught up in how others feel about us. No matter how strong or beautiful we are, it's tiring to keep up the act." His eyes flickered with unusual sadness for a moment.

Almost involuntarily, Ayaka nodded. That sadness in his eyes—it was always there, she realized, lurking just beyond the notice of passerby.

"In times like those, it's good to relax with a friend and let go of the masks we wear. Because no matter what face you present to your friend, they will always find you the fairest in all the world." He said the last part with determined certainty, a promise rather than a statement.

Ayaka's eyes widened. Some of the sorrow eased from her chest. "A friend. You... would be my friend?" She had "friends," of course. Almost everyone wanted her to be their friend. It was just that no one really wanted to be hers, until now. "Truly?"

For the first time in their conversation, Rook flushed a little. A nervous laugh bubbling from his lips, he looked away and said, "And more, if... if you will allow me."

More. More than friends. "Oh!" Ayaka's face turned the color of the Sacred Sakura's blossoms in spring. Her pleasure soon faded, however, leaving only guilt. "Oh, but you don't understand. I'm—really nothing like you think I am. My sword art is less refined than Ayato's, and my calligraphy took ages to perfect, and each dance I do wears me out for the day..."

"Exactly," Rook agreed. "You try, Ayaka. You try so much, all the time, and that's what I admire—the sweat and tears, not merely the polished outside. The world may see the results, but I see the effort that led to it. That's what makes you so beautiful to me."

"Yes, but sometimes... I wish it weren't this way. Sometimes I'm just..." Ayaka felt hot tears roll down her cheeks. "...so tired. So tired." She lay her head on his shoulder, the words unspooling from her tongue in one long calligraphy scroll.

Before long, she found herself speaking about her mother. Their chess games together, her first win. Her father, how he'd taken her to see the Sacred Sakura when she was little.

How her parents had both died when she was younger, leaving her and Ayato to shoulder the burden of the Kamisato clan. She spoke about navigating the treacherous waters of politics, always with a smile on, because that's what people wanted to see.

Through it all, Rook listened, nodding and blinking the occasional tear from his own eye. Several times when Ayaka was gasping with sobs, he reached out to squeeze her hand or touch her shoulder. The gestures were clear: I'm here.

What felt like an hour later, Ayaka stopped speaking, tear-stained and dimly aware of the fact that she'd said far too much. "What will you tell Vil?" she managed hoarsely, swiping at her cheek in an attempt to erase the evidence.

In an allow-me gesture, Rook reached up and brushed away her tears with his glove. "Our wise Roi du Poison knows many things, but this will not be one of them," he reassured her. "So rest assured, milady."

Ayaka heaved a sigh of relief. How nice it felt to shed the weight of a crushing, aching secret. "I... thank you, Rook. I don't know what to say." She glanced at the clock, feeling pleasantly drowsy rather than bleakly exhausted for a change. "We should get back to our duties. It's getting late."

"Are you... okay now?" At Ayaka's nod, Rook visibly relaxed, taut muscles untensing underneath his uniform. "I'm glad. At the sight of Lady Kamisato unhappy, my heart weeps in agony."

Recognizing Rook's return to his usual way of speaking, Ayaka nevertheless appreciated her brief glimpse into the boy behind the fancy words and clothes. Tentatively, she reached out and caught his sleeve. "One last thing, Rook. I really mean it; thank you. You... you're beautiful too, and I think maybe you forget to see it sometimes."

As he blinked at her, Ayaka forged ahead, not caring anymore if she sounded stupid: "You're so positive all the time, and you're able to see beauty in everything and everyone around you. So, I hope you can look in the mirror today and realize that you're... the fairest one of all. To me."

"I—merci, milady. You're too kind." Rook's eyes glistened with all his unspoken emotions, saying what his words could not.

As Ayaka passed him on her way to the door, Rook lifted her hand to his lips in a feather-light kiss and whispered a few words into her ear. "Please remember if you ever need to take off the mask, even for a few moments, all you have to do is say my name, and I'll be there."

And then, donning their respective masks, the princess and her hunter parted ways and walked in opposite directions down the hallway.

Bonus: Rook's Poem to Ayaka

I am a sunflower,

and you are the moon,

more beautiful than the sun.

Because while the sun burns

when I get too close and stay too long,

the moon shares its light quietly, graciously,

asking nothing in return—

and that is why

I will always turn towards you.

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