⊱ 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 ⊰

[This is a Modern AU, but people who are part animal still exist.]

"How many times do we have to say we're not identical?"

"You just said that in sync," Ayaka giggled.

"I have brought your beverages!" You grinned as you set down the drinks you and your friends ordered. "What'd I miss?"

"Not much. Just Childe and Thoma being twins again," Ayaka smiled, taking a sip of her tea.

"We're not twins, m'lady," Thoma sighed.

"No, you definitely are," you replied, sitting beside Kazuha and putting his cup down last. "For you, sir."

"Thank you, Y/n."

"Anything for my favorite," you beamed.

"I thought we were all your favorites," Childe pouted as he sat across from you.

"I was kidding," you rolled your eyes. "Anyway, how are you guys feeling about school?"

Childe choked on his coffee and you moved off the seat for a moment in case he spat it out at you, but he managed to swallow it. After a short coughing fit that attracted the attention of a few nearby customers, he spoke.

"Y/n, I told you not to mention school during Summer!"

You stifled a laugh, "Well yeah, but it's next week, shouldn't we start preparing?"

Ayaka had the decency to answer your question, "I'm quite prepared. I have all of my supplies ready. I'm not excited, though."

"You went school shopping without me?" You asked.

"We went together as a date," Thoma said.

"It wasn't a date."

"Wait, it wasn't?"

"No," Ayaka laughed.

You finally let out a chuckle since you couldn't hold it back anymore, "That would've been really sad...! Imagine your first date being shopping for school supplies. 'Oh my god, babe, these notebooks look just like us! We should get a matching pair!'"

Childe and Kazuha laughed while Thoma and Ayaka were whispering to each other, probably arguing about the misunderstanding. You were wondering when they'd get together, but honestly, you were starting to doubt it'd happen if Thoma counted shopping as a date plan.

"Ahem, anyway..." Thoma cleared his throat. "Just pretend you didn't hear that, please."

"Pfft, okay," Childe replied. "Thanks for the drinks, by the way, Y/n."

"No problem," you shrugged. "I know you all are broke, so I have to spoil you."

"I'm not-"

"Except for Ayaka, but she's sweet enough for me to treat her by choice."

"Thank you."

"So am I just gonna have to pay for my own? I take back my thanks," Childe huffed.

You narrowed your eyes at him, debating in your head whether you were going to pay for him or not. You tilted your head a bit before making a decision.

"Yeah, I'm not paying for you."

"Damn. I see how it is..."

"You're rich and a lot of the time, you're not even nice to me. What do you expect?"

"I'm nice!"

"When you're not trying to fist-fight me, maybe."

"Hm..." Kazuha suddenly hummed.

Curious what he was thinking about, you looked over to him and noticed he seemed to be staring into space, gazing past you. You waved your hand in front of his face.

"Kazuha? Earth to Kazuha?"

He snapped out of his daze and made eye contact, "Sorry. I just saw Gorou enter."

"Oh no," Thoma chuckled, resting his head in the palm of his hand while he propped his arm up on the table.

"Wait, what!?" You whispered, suddenly conscious of your volume. "Where is he!?"

You hurriedly glanced around the room until you spotted him. He was at the counter with Kokomi and Teppei. It looked like they were going to pass your booth, so you switched over to sit with Childe.

"Hide me!" You pleaded.

Childe panicked and threw his scarf over your face while you sank down into the seat, trying to avoid further suspicion. Gorou was obviously aware something was off when he saw your entire friend group and a random person with a scarf over their face. It was clear that it was you. Gorou stopped by the booth and stared at you for a moment, which you didn't see since your face was covered.

"...You're trying to hide from me now?" He questioned.

You didn't respond, instead sliding under the table as you withered in embarrassment.

"Ahaha, she's not having a very good day..." Childe spoke with an incredibly forced laugh.

"Yeah... I'm sure it's going terribly," he said sarcastically. "If you're going to act like this during the school year, Y/n, it seems like I won't be needing to worry about having any competition."

You climbed back onto the seat and grabbed the scarf, pulling it off your face while you glared at Gorou.

"Don't worry, I'll be at the top of my game this year."

"That'll be all the more satisfying when I win."

"Don't be so sure, dogboy."

He walked away to join his friends and you let out a small cry, holding the scarf over your face again.

"I'm always surprised to see Gorou acting so competitive toward you," Kazuha sighed. "It seems you get under his skin quite easily, Y/n."

"I hope I do!" You suddenly exclaimed, throwing the scarf back to Childe. "He deserves it!"

"I still believe you're misjudging him," Kazuha mumbled.

"Yeah, right," you crossed your arms over your chest. "He's always been like that. Mean and competitive."

Everyone else at the table shared a glance, which you took note of. You switched over to your original seat and angrily sipped your drink until it was half empty. After you were done, you finally broke the silence that had loomed over the table.

"I'll pay for your drink, Childe."

"Oh, thanks!"

"But I'm still judging you for wearing a scarf when it's barely even cold yet."

"Fair enough..."

━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━

"Did you stop to talk with them?" Kokomi asked.

"Yeah. Y/n was trying to hide behind a scarf," Gorou rolled his eyes, annoyed even by the thought of your strange behavior. "Like she really thought I was that stupid."

Kokomi giggled, "She really bothers you, huh?"

"Yes! And it's not funny..."

"I'm sorry, it's hard not to laugh when your tail is sticking up like that."

Gorou blushed and held the menu in front of him, using it to cover his face. He forced himself to calm down so his tail would return to normal and continued browsing the options of what he could order. Meanwhile, Kokomi and Teppei had a quiet laugh together.

"Stop laughing at me," Gorou grumbled.

"Sorry," Teppei apologized with a smile.

"Hm... What are you both ordering?" Kokomi queried.

Gorou didn't respond until he gasped after finding Tricolor Dango on the menu, "Tricolor Dango!"

Her smile grew as she observed his excitement. His ear twitched and his tail wagged not-so-subtly, displaying his feelings clearly if his expression didn't do enough already. 

"Alright then. Teppei?"

"I'll probably just get soba noodles," he shrugged. "Only a small bowl, though. I'm not too hungry today."

She nodded and looked back at her menu, "Oh, they have Bird Egg Sushi here!"

"Yeah, they make it really well here," Gorou nodded.

"Why didn't you tell us about this place sooner? It looks really nice, and it's not too expensive," Teppei pointed out.

"Because this is where Y/n usually goes, so I try to avoid it."

The way he said your name with such disgust was amusing to both of them. Honestly, they were both hoping he'd get along with you at some point, though they never told him that since he would've gotten irritated.

"You guys find my pain so funny, don't you?" He sighed, seeing their subtle smiles as they sat across from him.

"...Just a bit."

"Kokomi...!" He whined.

"It is a little funny," Teppei admitted. "You always say you hate her, but then she's all you focus on when school's in session."

"He's right."

"Yeah, because she's so infuriating!" Gorou insisted, his tail standing up as his anger escaped him. "It's not my fault she's always trying to compete with me! I'm just returning the favor!"

"You just went up to her without needing to, though," Teppei mentioned.

Gorou groaned in frustration, "Can't I just dislike someone without you questioning me?"

"Hm... Maybe."

"I'm guessing that's a no."