⊱ 𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄 ⊰

"Are you sure you wanna sleep on the floor? There's enough room on the bed-"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

You laughed and laid on your back, looking at the ceiling as your hands rested on your stomach. Meanwhile, Gorou laid with his side pressed up against the floor as he faced away from your bed. You'd said he could stay the night and he agreed through a great amount of stuttering.

"I've never had a guy I actually liked stay in my room overnight," you said softly.

"You did say you've never liked anyone else, though," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but still... It feels kinda weird. A good kind of weird, but... weird."

You turned on your side and looked down at Gorou, seeing him hugging his tail as it was tucked between his legs. You blinked and smiled, your heart spontaneously combusting at the sight.

Fucking adorable.

"Do you always hug your tail when you go to sleep?" You teased.

"I-" His eyes widened and he bit the end of his tail, feeling nervous now that he knew you were looking at him.

"I'm taking that as a yes."

"Stop making fun of me..." He murmured, his words muffled by his tail.

"Okay, okay," you beamed, laying back down as you flicked the lamp off. There was a nightlight plugged in across the room, so the room was still dimly lit. You didn't really want to sleep, but you weren't sure what to do.

"You should've accepted my offer for the bed," you pointed out. "Are you planning on laying there uncomfortably for the next few hours until you pass out?"

He took his teeth off his tail and exhaled heavily, "I guess so... I don't want you to sleep on the floor, and... I don't want to take things too fast."

You didn't realize things were going so quickly until he said it. You assumed it was normal, since you'd gone even further when you began dating Scaramouche. The revelation hit you that other people went at different paces. When you thought deeper into it, you also realized you wanted something slow-paced.

"Sorry, have I been making you uncomfortable? I'm not used to... going slow."

"N-No!" He hastily denied. "Not at all, I just... Need a little time to get used to all this."

"Hm... Maybe the song was too much," you mumbled to yourself.

He turned onto his other side and looked up, seeing only a slight bit of your side profile. Though he couldn't view much, he noticed a look of doubt in your eyes. You were anxious that you'd done too much.

"It wasn't, I promise," he stated. "It was perfect... When did you write it, anyway?"

"Oh, um... Last night."

His eyes widened, "Seriously? In just one night?"

"I was really inspired..." You muttered, embarrassed.

"That's amazing... You must love me a lot, huh?"

"Shut up!" You groaned, turning over to face away from him. "If you say that again, I'll squeeze your tail like that one time in-"

"Hey, don't talk about that!" He interrupted. "I thought we agreed to forget that happened?"

"Yeah, yeah," you rolled your eyes, though a smile made its way back onto your face. "Will you let me touch your tail at some point though?"

"S-Seriously? First my ears, and now my tail?"

"Very seriously."

"...Maybe."

"Yay!" You cheered. "Okay, but really, we should go to bed now."

"Right. Goodnight, Y/n."

"G'night, Gorou. Make sure to let me know if you still can't fall asleep after a while."

"I will..."

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"What the fuck!?"

You were jolted awake by the sound of your mother's booming voice shooting across the room from the doorway. You bolted upright and turned your head to look at her. She was enraged.

"I knew it!" She yelled, pulling at her own hair.

For a moment, you were confused until you mentally woke up and realized Gorou was still in your room. You looked over to the floor, seeing him awake and alert, staring in fear at your mom. He glanced over at you, but you couldn't give him any sort of reassurance. 

"Mom-" You started.

"Is this your way of spiting me?! First was your refusal to admit what you did to Rosa, and now you're having sex with boys!? Do you want to become a prostitute?!"

"Mom, it's not-"

"You really thought I wouldn't see his car!?" She scoffed. "You're ridiculous, Y/n!"

"If you'd let me-"

"Not another word, you absolute whore!" She laughed maniacally. "Pack your things and get the fuck out of my house! I'm done with your bullshit!"

You were in complete astonishment. You'd just woken up and your mind was only now starting to adjust to the situation. She was kicking you out. Tears filled your eyes until they dripped down your cheeks and you choked out a sob. Gorou was internally panicking, unsure of what to do. If your mom wouldn't listen to you, he doubted she'd listen to him either. He didn't want to waste time. Your mother stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her, leaving you shivering from terror with your back against the headboard of your bed.

Gorou jumped to his feet and sat on the edge of the bed, "Y/n? Are you okay?"

You didn't even say anything. You only sent him a glare to let him know that you were, in fact, not okay. He wrapped one arm around you and pulled you into his chest. Your breathing was frantic as you desperately held him, absorbing his warmth. You buried your face into his shirt and sucked in sharp breaths that seemed to stab your lungs with each inhale.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Remember what you did last time? Inhale, count to five, exhale," he whispered softly.

You inhaled shakily. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Exhale heavily. Repeat. After a few times, you were alright enough to talk.

"What am I supposed to do...?" You whimpered.

"...You can stay with me," Gorou said.

You lifted your head to look at him, "Really?"

"Yeah, I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind," he nodded before slipping out of your grip and standing up.

"Wait..." You murmured, reaching out to grab his hand and pull him back. Though you couldn't find the strength to do anything except hold his sleeve.

He was surprised by your actions, but he used his other hand to take yours, "We can cuddle later. Right now, I'm guessing your mom will freak out again if we stay here for too long."

"Oh... Right..."

You could hear faint yelling from downstairs; probably your mom calling someone and telling them about what you supposedly did. A loud bang was heard in the middle of it, causing you and Gorou to flinch. He saw the horrified look in your eye and felt terrible that this seemed to be a normal experience for you.

"So what do you want to bring with you?" He questioned, going over to your closet and opening it. "Do you have a bag somewhere?"

You glanced at the clock and saw that it was two in the afternoon. You hopped out of bed and ducked down to see under your bed. You grabbed a giant empty bag and got back up, ready to stuff anything you could inside it. You started with clothes and a few other things, such as your hairbrush and electronics. You finally decided that you were done, with only one item left to take.

You placed your dog plush in the bag and ran out, pulling Gorou behind you.

━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━

"Wait... actually? PFFT, REMEMBER THAT TIME WHEN YOU TOLD ME ABOUT THE PLAY AND-"

"Shush!" Gorou hissed, putting his hand over his brother's mouth. "Now's not the time, Shirou!"

"Fine, fine," he rolled his eyes and Gorou removed his hand.

"I knew you two would get together!" Hina squealed, clapping her hands together. "I had a feeling you'd be the cutest couple!"

You smiled awkwardly and nodded to be polite, but the atmosphere was very uncomfortable, and you were not in the best of moods because of what had just happened. Maybe if you visited under different circumstances, you'd be more willing to put up with whatever was going on.

"Again, this is really not the time..." Gorou sighed.

"Of course, my apologies," Hina smiled. "What brings you here, Y/n?"

"...Um, I was hoping I could maybe stay here for a while... I got kicked out."

She gasped, "What?! What happened?"

"I'd rather not talk about it right now," you said quietly, your voice just above a murmur.

"That's alright," she replied. "You can stay here for as long as you want! You can even sleep in Gorou's room."

"Mom, we have a guest room-"

"Shh."

You furrowed your brows, "You'd let me stay in his room? Aren't parents supposed to be worried about that?"

"Honey, I know you and my son. You're not going to be doing anything," Hina chuckled.

"Well... I'll take the guest room anyway," you decided.

She nodded, "Go ahead and take your things up, then."

You carried your bag up and Gorou showed you to the guest room. He entered with you, intending to help you unpack, but you immediately sat down on the bed and heaved a sigh. The room was rather bland, with no wallpaper or paint and a few scattered pictures of flowers here and there. The bedding had floral designs on it as well.

"How are you doing?" He asked, sitting down beside you.

"I think we both know the answer to that," you muttered, kicking your legs back and forth as they dangled off the bed. "I just... What am I supposed to do? I can't stay here forever, and I honestly doubt my mom will let me back."

"Well, you could go to the police about it... I'm pretty sure it's illegal for her to kick you out in the first place."

"I can't go to the police," you responded, looking over and making eye contact. "I don't have any relatives that live near here, so I'd probably be tossed back to Mondstadt like a package or something... I really don't wanna go back there."

"Then... You can live here," Gorou said. "My mom said you can stay for as long as you want, and she meant it. You could be here for years, as long as you follow her rules."

"Oh god, you make that sound so intimidating," you laughed bitterly as you laid your back on the mattress.

He laid next to you and half-heartedly smiled, "It's not too bad. Mainly just chores and stuff. She'll treat you like a guest for a while, though, so you don't need to worry about that yet. She'll yell at anyone who isn't tending to your every need."

"Oh, that sounds like something I could get used to," your lips twitched upward for a moment before falling back into a frown.

He turned his head and gazed at you, "Do you wanna share your thoughts?"

You contemplated it for a moment, biting the inside of your cheek. After a short while, you sighed and closed your eyes.

"My sister would've stuck up for me."

"Ah... I remember you telling me about her."

"Yeah. Her name was Rosalyne," you said. "She was usually pretty mean to other people, but she was nice to me. She protected me from people who wanted to bully me, and from my mom. She'd always listen to me and make me feel heard even when no one else was paying attention... At a certain point, though, she started going by Signora and she made me call her that, too. I'm still not sure why. She was kinda distant after that, but I just guessed she didn't like her birth name. As a kid, I was really disappointed since I thought her name was pretty."

"She sounds like a good sister," he replied.

"Yeah, she was," you exhaled, staring up at the plain ceiling. "I just... I hate that when you lose someone, it doesn't matter what happens. You could achieve something you always wanted, you could go through something really traumatic, you could reach a milestone in your life like getting married or having kids, but... It'll always be bittersweet, 'cause in the moment, you're ecstatic and you feel like everything's going right. Then later, you remember whoever you lost and think about how they weren't there to see everything you accomplished. And I... I just think about how she didn't get to see the person I turned out to be. Would she even like me?"

Tears started slipping past your eyes and you reached up, covering your face as you choked out quiet sobs. Gorou's eyes were glossy just looking at how upset you were. He wasn't sure how to comfort you, though.

"I'm sure she would love who you are. And she would be proud of you for all of the things you deal with. I know it's hard to lose someone, but you have people who will stick with you and help when you need it."

You hesitantly pulled your hands from your face and looked over, your voice hardly higher than a whisper, "...And you're one of those people...?"

He moved to lay on his side and reached over, caressing your cheek with his thumb, "Of course I am."

You smiled, "Thank you."