18 stuck with you — cherry blossoms !
scaramouche x gender neutral reader
You wake up, and the remnants of last night’s drinking are still rattling around in your skull. The harsh light streaming through the windows feels like a personal attack, and the dull throb in your temples only adds to the misery. You almost don’t remember everything from the night before. Almost.
The kiss. The sight of Mona kissing Scara. Heizou’s arm around your shoulder. Scara’s eyes, watching. The way you rushed to defend yourself.
You try to roll over, but everything feels off. There's this weight in your chest, a weird, almost sticky feeling in your gut that you can’t shake. The weirdness is because of him.
After dragging yourself into the living room, hoping for a bit of quiet before leaving for breakfast, your eyes find the culprit of your headache. Scara. He’s standing by the door, looking entirely too unaffected by the chaos of last night. The cool indifference he always wears is almost infuriating. You were hoping he’d be feeling just as lost as you.
You’ve always known Scara was beautiful. It's one of the reasons you hated him. It’s why the jealousy burned so fiercely inside you for all those years. His sharp eyes and how they managed to cut through everything, the way his features seemed too perfect to be real, it always made your stomach twist. It made you question why he had to exist in your orbit at all.
But now…now, as you watch him, you feel that old jealousy resurfacing. But this time, it doesn’t feel the same. It feels different.
Maybe it was never jealousy at all. The thought makes your heart skip, and before you know it, you’re staring at him.
Your gaze lingers for too long because all of a sudden he looks back at you. His usual detached expression softens for a split second, and you swear a flicker of something crosses his face. A jolt runs through your spine. Heat floods your face. You can’t help it. It’s like you’ve forgotten how to speak.
Remember. Be flirty. Show him you don’t hate him.
"Good... good morning," you stammer.
He gives you a strange look. “Morning?” he says, before walking past you.
Thankfully, the others arrive, and the group starts moving toward breakfast, leaving you in the dust. Your eyes flicker back to Scara briefly, but you immediately look away again, hoping your face isn’t burning as much as it feels. Lumine, who must’ve noticed your awkwardness, grabs your arm and pulls you back.
"Okay, that could’ve gone better," Lumine starts, voice light but teasing, "I thought you liked him? Why were you glaring at him like that?"
You freeze, mortified. “Not so loud!” you hiss, wincing at the noise in your head. “I wasn’t glaring. I was just… staring. I tried being nice.”
Lumine raises an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “Uh-huh. Right. Just staring like you wanted to murder him. I thought you were going to flirt?”
You groan internally, the embarrassment already creeping up.
“That was my attempt,” you say weakly.
Venti, trailing behind, chimes in unhelpfully. “You’re hopeless, Yn. How did Xiao’s awkward ass get a man before you did?”
Xiao, walking beside you, frowns. “What do you mean by that?”
Venti flashes a mischievous grin. “I mean, come on. He can barely string a sentence together, and yet, here we are... take some notes, Yn.”
Xiao crosses his arms, scowling, but you roll your eyes, tuning out the back-and-forth. There’s something heavier on your mind.
"I know I’m awkward," you mutter, glancing down at your shoes. "But I don’t think there’s any point in flirting with him. He doesn’t like me, and honestly, I’m just hoping this feeling… goes away."
Lumine gives you a sympathetic look.
“Even if that were true, there’s no harm in trying,” she points out, her voice gentle but firm. She doesn’t press further, though. Instead, the group continues toward the kitchen, the chatter from the other group filling the silence.
As you enter the kitchen, you scan the room. Mona’s already there, looking completely at ease, her eyes bright and unbothered. It’s a little strange, considering she was absolutely hammered out of her mind last night. You glance at Heizou too and he greets you with a smile, but there's a tiredness in his eyes that makes you pause for a moment. His usual carefree demeanor seems worn.
Before you can speak, a voice pipes up from underneath the table. It’s Yae’s voice, muffled but chipper, and she sounds far too cheerful for the morning after what was a particularly chaotic night.
Childe, who was sitting from where she popped up shrieks and practically jumps from his chair. “Don’t do that!”
Yae ignores him, her voice still carrying across the room. "Guess what I just heard? Apparently, last night, Scara and Mona kissed!"
You freeze. Your stomach does a strange flip. Your eyes instinctively snap to Mona, who is sitting across from you. Her face pales as she blinks at Yae in confusion. “We what?!” she exclaims, her tone high with disbelief.
Meanwhile, Scara, who’d been silently sipping coffee, seems to shrink into his seat, his usual stoic mask barely holding up under the weight of the accusation. He looks like he wants to disappear into the floor.
“There was no ‘we,’” Scara mutters, his voice sharp with irritation. “She kissed me. I’m not an asshole to take advantage of a drunk girl.”
Mona slaps a hand to her forehead, groaning in embarrassment. “Oh my god, this is so embarrassing,” she mumbles, her face flushed crimson.
You thought you were done with this, but hearing it said aloud still manages to send a strange ripple through your chest. You knew the kiss hadn’t meant anything, especially with Scara’s angry words from last night. It stings, even though you tell yourself it shouldn’t.
Your eyes move back to Scara. His usual guarded expression is there, but you can see the frustration beneath it. He’s trying to act unaffected, but it’s clear that he’s anything but. You wonder if that’s how you’ve always made him feel. Unreachable.
But Mona’s outburst fades, and the silence that follows feels heavier than it should. You catch Scara’s eye again, and this time, you don’t look away. Neither does he. For a moment, he raises a brow at you, and you swear his lips curve ever so slightly.
“Well, that drama was short-lived,” Yae says, breaking the tension. “Can we milk it any further, or are we done here? What about you, Heizou?”
Heizou, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, speaks up. “We actually discussed how Yn holds no feelings for me.”
Yae sighs dramatically. “Why did we bring you three here, then?”
Diluc, who’s been quietly watching, finally speaks up. “I’m having a swell time.”
“Fuck, finally,” Yae huffs, rolling her eyes. “Alright, whatever. We’ve got another activity, and I’m sure it’ll land you all a place in Paradise.”
“Is this one rigged?” Aether pipes up.
“A little,” Yae grins. “I’ll reveal it at the end. Anyway, we’re doing a Scavenger Hunt! Pairs, but since we’ve got an odd number... Heizou, you’re going solo.”
You wince at that, already guilty for rejecting Heizou’s advances all this time.
“You each get an item to collect. Shells, flowers, rocks, etcetera. Nothing too athletic. Go out and explore, and bring back as much as you can,” Yae continues, casually ignoring the obvious tension.
“But you assigned us flowers,” Scara interrupts, “All the flowers are in the woods.”
“Yes, and?” Yae smiles, unbothered.
“And the woods are up in that mountain,” Scara points out, his voice tinged with disbelief. “You want us to climb that?”
“I don’t like you,” Scara grumbles.
“I love you, too,” Yae laughs. “Moving on, we’ll meet back before lunchtime! Get going!”
୨୧✧
You get paired with Scaramouche, obviously, but unlike the other times you don’t find yourself too mad about it. You both knew no matter how good or bad you did at the game they’d rig it around you both, so you take your time making your way up the trail. Or what you both assumed to be a trail.
You both stood at the foot of the raging path ahead of you, mentally preparing yourselves to walk up it. Scara digs his hand into his pocket and pulls out a handful of gummies.
“I didn’t take you for a sweet tooth,” you murmur.
He scoffs, grabbing your hand with his free one and letting a few fall onto your skin. You try, and fail, to ignore the warmth of his skin upon yours.
“It’s not candy,” he says, walking ahead of you. You stare at the not candy in your palms and then at his retreating back before throwing them back. Anything to help the swirling pit in your stomach.
You don’t talk much. The silence stretches between you, both of you awkward in your own way. You’re searching for something interesting to say, but the words won’t come.
It’s not until you reach a fallen tree that Scara climbs over and reaches a hand out to you.
“Careful,” he says simply.
You take his hand, letting him pull you over, but as you do, your foot catches on a branch. You find yourself pressed against his chest, and for a moment, neither of you moves. He doesn’t pull away until you shift, pulling yourself off him.
“I’m sorry,” you murmur, already embarrassed, but then his fingers brush against your cheek.
“You’ve got dirt on you,” he says, his tone surprisingly soft. “Walk slowly.”
Your cheeks burn as you watch him walk ahead, hoping the shade of the trees is doing a better job than your body at hiding the blush creeping up your neck.
Eventually, you both come across a small meadow filled with flowers. You kneel down, picking a few, letting the petals twirl in your fingers. You hear a rustling beside you, and when you look up, Scara is crouched next to you, holding a flower in his hand.
“Here,” he hums, and before you can say anything, he tucks it behind your ear. A gust of wind carries the petals, some of them landing in his hair, and for a moment, the sight takes your breath away.
“I didn’t think sunflowers grew here,” he mutters, pulling the petals from his hair.
“Leave it,” you say, almost breathless. “It’s pretty.”
He stares at you for a long second, his eyes unreadable and a fistful of petals in his hands. He ‘s silent before he lets the petals fall into your hair. “Have them,” he says, his voice low. “They’re like you, anyway.”
You blink, unsure what to say.
“How?” you manage to ask, voice shaking slightly.
Scara eyes you for a beat before answering.
“You follow the sun,” he says, standing up and brushing off his pants. “And people can’t seem to get enough of you.”
He doesn’t look back as he speaks, his gaze fixed ahead. After a beat, he adds, almost offhandedly, “Sunflowers aren’t too bad to look at, either.”
You’re left standing there, watching him walk away, his words hanging in the air like a soft, lingering echo.
Maybe you weren’t a sunflower. Maybe you were a cherry blossom instead. Cherry blossoms fall at five centimeters per second, and you’ve been
since the day you met him. Even if there wasn’t any gravity on Earth, you’d probably fall for him eleven times out of ten.
୨୧✧
You both reach the peak, breathless. Neither of you were exactly built for this.
“Rock,” you manage to say, sinking onto it before Scara can even respond. The sweat trickling down your neck probably isn’t doing your attempt at flirting any favors.
He sits down beside you, letting the flowers you picked tumble to the ground. The sun filters through the trees, but you still get a decent view of the ocean. You glance to your left. Scara’s staring at it, the wind ruffling his hair.
Your head spins, but you can’t tell if it’s from the lack of oxygen or because of him.
“Sorry about your mom,” you say, trying to break the silence. It’s also a way to make up for not checking in on him last night. You never did see if he was okay. You probably should’ve.
He chuckles softly, the sound surprising in its warmth.
“Not your fault.”
You fall quiet after that, the words you want to say stuck somewhere in your throat.
“Just spit it out,” he says, leaning back on the rock, eyes still on the horizon. He always knows when you’re holding back.
“If your mom hadn’t paid Mona off, would you have kept dating her?” you ask, the question slipping out before you can stop it.
You expect him to scoff or brush you off, like he usually would. But his answer comes quickly
“It wouldn’t have lasted anyway,” he says, voice low. He picks a flower from your discarded bouquet and twirls it between his fingers. “We weren’t suited for each other. She hated how much I focused on work, and said I was too much. I just wish she’d broken up with me herself, though.”
You nod, his words strangely comforting.
“Besides,” he adds casually, “All we ever did was have hate sex.”
You choke on a surprised laugh, coughing at the suddenness of it. And then…he laughs. Actually fucking laughs. The sound is so rare, you find yourself wanting to drown in it.
“Prude,” he teases, watching you with a sly grin.
You compose yourself, shooting him a glare.
“Not a prude.”
“I beg to differ.”
You roll your eyes, trying to ignore the way your heart skips a beat. Another question bubbles up, one you can’t resist asking.
“Was she your first?”
He’s silent for a beat, then answers with a firm, “Nope.”
“Was she your only?”
He glances at you, brows raised.
“Why do you care?”
Because you like him. Maybe it’s something a little more than that. Something you haven’t dared to admit to yourself yet. The answer is right there on your tongue, but you swallow it down.
“Just being nosey,” you say, trying to brush it off. “Didn’t think you could pull anyone else.”
He shrugs, nonchalant. “She wasn’t. But after her, I stopped having casual sex.”
You scoff. “But I heard you’ve hooked up with half the industry?”
“What tabloid did you read that in?” he smirks. “You know there’s shit other than sex, right? Or do I need to give you sex ed?”
His words hang in the air, the implication making your cheeks flush with heat. You must’ve looked taken aback, because he doesn’t hesitate to press on.
“Half of them were just blowjobs backstage.”
You choke from his words again.
“Shut up,” you muster out before continuing, “Don’t you miss it? I thought you liked…sex?”
His smirk is there before you even have a chance to respond. “Well, yeah. Who doesn’t?”
You stop, unsure why you even care enough to ask. Well, you were pretty sure. You’d thought he’d just shut you out.
“What, spit it out,” He presses, and you almost want to avoid his gaze, but you can’t.
“Wouldn’t someone like you get...?” you murmur, barely above a whisper, feeling the heat rising in your neck.
He stared at you. Then he shifts, almost as if to tease.
“Do I need to explain to you what self pleasure is? Ever heard of mastur–.”
“Shut up!” You cut him off, shoving his shoulder, your heart pounding in your ears. But he just smiles, grins, really. And you can’t help but notice how that smile hits you harder than it should.
How had you gone so long without seeing it?
By the time you and Scaramouche make it back down, your heads are clearer, and the afternoon sun is already at its peak. Lunchtime. Scanning the scene, you both realize you’ve managed to collect more of the required items than anyone else.
“We got distracted,” Venti mutters, holding up the single, sad shell he and Aether managed to gather.
“It’s no matter,” Yae waves him off with a dismissive flick of her hand. “This whole thing was rigged anyway.”
Lumine, ever observant, scans the group. “Aren’t we missing a few people?”
“Oh right, I completely forgot,” Yae laughs lightly, tapping her chin. “Heizou and Mona took off while you were all busy with the game.”
You’re a little taken aback by the news. You’d been hoping to talk to Heizou again before he left, but now... you’re not so sure. Maybe it’s better left unsaid. You’ve probably hurt him enough as it is.
Scaramouche’s reaction to his ex leaving couldn’t be more different.
“Thank the Archons,” he mutters, clasping his hands together in exaggerated relief, causing Kazuha to shoot him a bemused side-eye.
“Anyway,” Yae interrupts, snapping the group’s attention back to her, “Back to the show. Let’s see the results.” She glances around at the gathered group, raising an eyebrow. “Good grief, did any of you actually try? The one couple we rigged was the one that won.”
Xiao speaks up dryly. “You told us to collect rocks.”
“Yeah, and those,” Yae hums, tapping her chin and gesturing toward the small pebbles in Kazuha’s palms, “Are definitely not rocks. Never mind that, though.” She raises her voice slightly, a playful smirk tugging at her lips. “The pair who collected the least will be spending the night on this island, while the rest of you get to go to Paradise.”
She feigns a gasp, dramatically sweeping her gaze across the group. “Congratulations to everyone except Scaramouche and Yn! You two will be spending the night here on this hell island, while the rest of us head to Paradise... including the crew!”
The others around you celebrate, but your thoughts are elsewhere.
Tonight, everyone will be gone.
And it will just be you and him.
[00:00:00] GOODBYE INTERVIEW ONE
YAE: So, how does it feel to go home empty handed?
HEIZOU: Honestly, I got the closure I needed.
YAE: But not the lover you wanted?
HEIZOU: [LAUGHS] It’s alright. I get it. But yeah.
YAE: Anything you would’ve done differently?
HEIZOU: [QUIET FOR A FEW MOMENTS] Probably have gotten to know Yn a bit more. I would’ve saved a lot of money on snacks they didn’t actually like.
YAE: What a gentleman! Great send off. We’ll miss you, Heizou!
HEIZOU: [SMILES] I’m sure you will, bye.
[00:32:10] GOODBYE INTERVIEW TWO
YAE: So…how are we feeling girl?
MONA: I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU GUYS LET ME GET SHITFACED ON TV!
YAE: [LAUGHS] It made for great television, how are you feeling?
MONA: So embarrassed. But I’m glad I came and put on a show. Any publicity is good publicity.
YAE: And what about the ex you left on that island? Any regrets about him?
MONA: Oh believe me, a lot. But, I shall just carry on with my life! I’ve embarrassed myself enough on this hell island.
YAE: [LAUGHS] Fair enough. Any jealous feelings towards anyone else on the island?
MONA: [ROLLS EYES] You know what you’re doing. I’ve lost enough fans from trying to kiss Scara. I’ll say no comment.
YAE: Well, I tried folks. Goodbye, Mona!
- me googling where sunflowers and cherry blossoms grow and then realizing it isn’t that deep so just pretend for me okay thanks
- scara taking an edible to try and flirt he’s so real
- peep the lyrics in scaras story like YN OPEN UR EYES but yeah at this point yn is coming to realize scara might like them back 🤭
- kinda insecure about this chapter so pls lmk if u liked 😣 pls comment or send me an ask if u enjoyed i need motivation 🤗
- comment on the MASTERLIST if i can use ur user as a fan in the au!
notes — i’ve gotten like 8 hours of sleep in total last week i’m lowk goin thru it guys i hate college 😭 pls send me asks about swy or anything i need motivation i’m bashing my head into da wall as we speak
synopsis — after the disaster that was the live award show, where you and scaramouche got into an argument on stage after both of your groups got a tie for top artists, your guys' PR teams have been in shambles trying to scrape up your mess. that's when the idea to send you both off with some other idols to a remote location for a survival dating show to mend your public image comes up. before you know it your bags are packed and you’re on a plane to a remote island. the only obligation is you need to end up with scaramouche at the end of the show, whether you end up liking him or not doesn’t matter to your managers as long as the show’s ratings stay high. whatever you do in between to get there is up to you!
