They swear the air on their lungs disappeared. Their gazes locked towards each other, frozen.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

No one knows who will make the first move .

A few more moments of silence, the girl sighed and dropped her sword down. Breaking the eye contact she slowly walked towards the tree infront of him and slid down with her eyes closed. Leaning her head back at the trunk.

Soon Pantalone snapped out of his dazed and looked over to the girl who looks frustrated, noticing her eyebrows pushed together.

"Take off that coat, Regrator. Your going to die from the heat. This is not Snezhnaya." She mumbled, staring at the coat he was wearing. Noticing the black fur scarf she gave him years ago, sewed at the edge of the coat.

Pantalone flinched slightly at the title. He could here the slight hatred and annoyance on her voice. He hates it...

Nodding slowly, he took off the white thick coat. Folding it neatly over his arm as the silence took over the the area once more.

The atmosphere was dark and gloomy.

"How have you been?" Pantalone started, glancing at the girl who was now playing with the grass.

Glancing at him for a split second, she shrugged. "I'm fine. I've been better."

Pain striked him.

'She loves Liyue now... What about Snezhnaya?'

"How about you?" She asked back. Finally looking at him.

There was a slight hint of coldness at her gaze. Pantalone sent the girl a small smile, nodding this time.

"Doing good aswell... But it would have been better if you were with me..." He told her, mumbling the last few words. Inaudible for Y/N sadly.

She nodded.

"I missed you..." He mumbled.

Y/N's head snapped up, hearing his words.

She wanted to laugh...

'You ignored me for months... And now you are saying you miss me. This has to be a joke'

But instead she kept quiet.

Instead she just nodded, "Me too." She painfully admitted.

His eyes shined with hope.

"But."

"But...?"

She sighed, "I haven't forgiven you."

His eyes saddened, "Why?"

"You ignored me for months, before I accepted you to be part of the Fatui. Then you just-- Acted like I don't exist anymore!" She yelled out, her fustration reaching her limits.

Standing up she pointer her finger at him, "You weren't the friend I knew before... He disappeared... The boy I met years ago is no longer here. You've changed...",

Pantalone sighed walking closer to her, "I'm sorry... I really am! I just wanted to fit with them, for them to accept me like how the Tsaritsa did-- I didn't mean to hurt you..."

Y/N's light blue eyes started to gloss, her eyes watering. Letting her tears freely fall and closed her eyes from shame.

The man's heart broke at the girl's state, the corner if his eyes watering a bit aswell.

Placing his gloved hands to her cheeks, cupping her face while his thumb wipes away the trail of tears down her cheek.

"I really am sorry... Please, give me one more chance... Go back to Snezhnaya with me. I'll prove it to you. Prove to you that " He told her, pressing his forehead against hers.

Snapping her eyes open when she heard those three words.

'Love?'

Oh how she wished she could say it back, but she knew... She knew she can't say it... Not yet atleast.

She sighed and leaned her head on his chest, Pantalone's arm slowly wrapped behind neck and the other on her waist. Hugging her.

"Give me time... That's all I ask. I don't know for how long, but please..." She whispered to him.

Pantalone nodded, his heart beating faster being this close to her once again, and fluttering from hope.

"I'll give you time, as long as you need. Days, weeks, months... Well not a year... I can't wait that long. I would have ran back here in Liyue and carry you back to Snezhnaya by force." He joked letting out a soft chuckled.

Y/N couldn't help but laugh aswell, a smile growing on her face as she hid it against his chest.

'Well atleast a bit of his humour is still in him.'

"Hello, I'm Hell... So... I don't fucking know what is happening. I slept for one night and overnight it got over 200 reads... Answer me for real...

Well I'm not complaining? 😏 I'm near 1k reads within 3 days, thats cool... It will be better if it happens to tonight 🤫

Well anyways, thanks for reading!"