《Your POV》

"We finally made it," you said in relief, as the two of you stood on a cliff overlooking Liyue Harbor. You were both very exhausted from the long trip, especially you.

Scaramouche glared at the city, he almost looked a little mad.

"What's wrong?" You asked him.

He looked over to you, "Let's just say there's people here I'd rather not run into."

You smiled, reassuring him that it would just be a quick stop and then they could continue their original plan.

As the two of you made your way into the harbor, you noticed people giving you nasty looks. You turn to look at Scaramouche who kept his head down. Was he really that hated? Now you were really curious as to what he did for a living, "Why.. are people looking at us like tha-"

"Just keep walking." He cut you off. It must have been serious. You wondered what you got yourself into exactly..

You finally made it to the door of your friend, the one who might've been able to help. She just so happened to also be the friend looking after your brother.

You gently knocked on the door but immediately, it opened, revealing a tall woman with long black hair. She was beautiful, but always so humble.

"Y/N!" She pulled you in for a hug, "It's been so long! I didn't know you were coming!"

"Hello Lu Wen, it's good to see you," you replied with a smile.

Lu Wen glanced over at Scaramouche. He seemed on edge, "Who's this?"

"That's uh.."

"I'm their boyfriend." He said, without hesitation. You immediately almost choked. Boyfriend?? Since when?? As you thought about it, it would be a good cover story as to why he was traveling with you. So you played along.

Lu Wen giggled, "Oh Y/N, I was starting to think you were never going to find love, yet here we are!"

Though those words did sting a little, you decided to forget about it. You then proceed to ask her where your brother was.

"Tobi? He's-" Lu Wen started. She was cut off by the sound of a child.

"Y/N?!" A little boy yelled, running down the stairs.

When he saw you he immediately ran up to you and gave you the biggest hug. You had to admit, you missed him a lot, "Hi Tobi! I miss you so much!"

He gave you the biggest smile. But then he noticed Scaramouche, making a confused look.

You noticed this, "Oh him? That's my-"

"What is that bad guy doing here?" Tobi asked.

"Bad guy? What on earth are you talking about?" You laughed. Scaramouche looked visibly nervous.

He points at him, "He's a bad guy!"

You stood up, "Haha, kids these days," you turned to Scaramouche, "Sorry.. uh.. sweetie. He has a wild imagination. I'm sure he thinks that about every stranger."

Lu Wen was simply staring at the lovely "couple" in amusement, while Tobi was too busy glaring at Scaramouche.

"Well uhm, Lu Wen, we need to speak with you." You said, directing your attention away from your brother.

♢♢♢

"So let me get this straight, there was a meteorite strike but when you touch them you fall asleep and.. dream about climbing a snowy mountain?" Lu Wen questioned, a little concerned.

You cringed, "Well when you say it that way.."

"That's exactly what's happening," Scaramouche interrupted, "We needed a rock expert to tell us more, we're at a tough point in the investigation. We need you to give us all details you might have on meteorites or the energy concerning it. And we are on a tight schedule so we would appreciate it if you did it quickly."

"Wow~" Lu Wen smirked, leaning over to you, "He's so dominant!~" she teased.

"LU WEN-" you yelled, getting a little flustered, "This is serious!"

Lu Wen shrugged, "Unfortunately, I have no experience working with rocks such as meteorites. I'm sorry Y/N, I really am. I wish I could help."

You sighed, "Well, so you at least know what's making people fall asleep upon touching it?"

Lu Wen turned around, scrummaging through her things to find a book, "Let's see.. it's probably caused by some kind of magic energy. Something elemental perhaps. All I know is that it seems to be a type of cursed energy. I don't know who or what else is causing it, but it has to have an outside force doing it, because normal meteorites don't have such properties."

You backed up in your seat, "So basically, we're back to square one."

Scaramouche stood up, "Thank you for your assistance anyway." He walked out of the room.

Lu Wen watched him leave, "He's quite stiff isn't he?"

"He's not usually like this. I think he has bad memories around Liyue Harbor, I feel bad dragging him into this." You explained.

"I'm no love expert, but for him to go somewhere he'd rather not go just for you, I'd say he really cares about you." Lu Wen smiled.

You did find it odd he agreed to go in despite saying he didn't want to. Perhaps he only wanted the information about the meteorites so they could wrap this up quickly.

"Well, it's been nice seeing you Lu Wen."

"Same to you. Please come visit again! I know Tobi misses you dearly! And I'm sure he'll warm up to your boyfriend sooner or later." She giggled.

The two of you hugged before leaving the room. Upon entering the next room, you could see Tobi staring at Scaramouche very intensely. You rolled your eyes, "Tobi-"

"He's evil I tell you!" Tobi yelled, "He hangs around those guys in masks-"

Scaramouche laughed, almost obnoxiously loud, "HAHA! He's been mistaking me for a thief from one of those children's stories. Kids really are something huh?" He seemed mildly annoyed but you brushed it off. Maybe he just didn't like kids.

You took his hand and walked up to the door, "We'll be off now. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer Tobi, I'm on official business, but as soon as it's over I'll come stay for a while!"

Tobi ran up to you, giving you another big hug. His smile quickly turned to a very serious expression, "I don't trust him."

You laugh nervously, "Okay, good to see you too." You turn to Lu Wen, you both nodding at each other. And like that, you were off.

It had gotten quite dark since you had arrived there. You looked over at Scaramouche, who seemed to be deep in thought, "Hey, don't let it get to you. Tobi has always had a wild imagination."

"It's not that," he snapped, "We still don't have any more clues on the meteorites. We're back to where we started."

You glanced down, "You're right.. what do you suggest we do then?"

"Well, maybe we could-" he began.

"Scaramouche..?"

Scaramouche froze, like he knew the voice that was calling him. You look ahead to see a tall, ginger man staring at you.

"Wow~ ditching work to go on dates? Now I didn't see that coming from you!" The ginger man smirked.