Strobe thoughts

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/38657676.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/F
Fandom: 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)
Relationship: Raiden Ei | Baal/Yae Miko
Character: Yae Miko (Genshin Impact), Raiden Ei | Baal
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Rainy Days, Photographer
Raiden Ei | Baal, Writer Yae Miko, she can also write poetry
AWLDSJSKFND, Emo Raiden Ei | Baal, Yae Miko Teases Raiden Ei |
Baal, Raiden Ei | Baal/Yae Miko Fluff, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Not
Beta Read, Indirect Kiss
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2022-04-28 Words: 2,096 Chapters: 1/1

Strobe thoughts
by cloudmiko

Summary

As a photographer who relishes on colorless pictures, she knows that there are a lot more
colors that she hasn’t captured, nor seen.

And she is definitely one of the colors that Ei hasn’t seen before

Notes

i made a playlist for this fic ( ◠‿◠ ) just copy n paste

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6x4YO7RhO6eKHUsA7VmOLK?
si=c9VqmNDLTqGo9ujERiw6Tw

See the end of the work for more notes

It was a rainy day when a chime of snap erupted on the right side of the street, capturing a beautiful
display of colorless umbrellas blooming and pearl-like raindrops that were glossing over the road.
It was, yet again, another colorless frame, but it tranquilized the camera lady nevertheless

Ei is an amateur photographer. She simply enjoys the art of photography and the sound of shutter
that comes from the camera, capturing a serene view of nature’s beauty. But despite the
circumstances that she records each landscape that her purple orbs land on, her pictures had no
color.

Each picture resembled her emotions with her gloomy, over-clouded heart. That is the mere reason
why she takes delight in photography. She captures each corner of the world the way her heart sees
it

Ei is like a withering flower. She is fragile, weak, and delicate. Every part of her shattering into
fragments as days passed by

She put her camera back on her tote bag and quickly pulled out her own umbrella, raising it at the
top of her head as she wandered through the street. Everything looked dull and cloudy, and she
needed to find a shelter before her emotions could even wash over her

She sees a coffee shop hidden in the street, and it is the only shop that was ignited. Ei couldn't care
less if the cafe looked archaic, she just needed a place to camp for a bit until the rain stops

Once she had entered the shop, the sudden smell of coffee and chocolate overtook her, and she
suddenly had the urge to order a simple chocolate frappe to satisfy her cravings. It was tempting,
and she thinks that she wouldn’t be able to resist it any longer if the rain plans not to stop for an
hour or so

Thankfully, the shop isn’t packed, on the contrary, there was only one person keeping themselves
company in the shop, and Ei had to remind herself that staring isn’t nice before she could get a
proper look on the person. She walked to the counter, and firmly ordered a double chocolate chip
Frappuccino. Coffee or a simple piping tea were the only beverages that Ei usually orders, but the
aroma of the shop made her break her composure, and she doesn’t think she regrets it

She picked a table that was farthest from the counter, and sat on the seat where the window was
beside her. She then placed her tote bag under the table and hesitantly took out her camera. It might
be a bit rude if she took a couple of pictures here and there. So instead, she just scrolled through
the recent images that she took, deleting some frames that didn’t satisfy her

Photography isn’t as easy as anyone thinks it is, it’s not just a simple click and shutter. Angles and
lighting are adequate to ensure that your output would be pleasing enough to a viewer’s eye. The
problem that Ei usually experiences were blurry outputs and tilted frames
She was so absorbed in her outputs that she didn’t even notice that her frappe arrived, and oh, the
person she was eyeing earlier came over to her table, how nice.

“Yoo hoo~” A high pitched voice chirped, and Ei turned her head up and saw a pink-haired lady
looking at her with a warm smile, “Perhaps you won’t mind if I sit here?” She asked

As a photographer who relishes on colorless pictures, she knows that there are a lot more colors
that she hasn’t captured, nor seen.

And she is definitely one of the colors that Ei hasn’t seen before

Her long, pink hair that was cascading down her waist is neatly tied into a low ponytail, her bangs
covering her forehead. She had half moon spectacles below her eyes, indicating that this girl is
possibly a writer, and she was wearing a frilly, white blouse and simple jeans. She is divine, to say
the least.

The pink haired seemed to notice this, and she chuckled, “cat got your tongue?”, causing Ei to
stammer “I apologize… I… Sure, you can sit here.” Gods, how embarrassing. Makoto would laugh
at her for acting like a high school girl

The pink haired plopped her strawberry Frappuccino next to her chocolate one, and sat across from
her. Ei had noticed that she has a parchment on her hand, and there was nothing written on it

“Um,” Ei cleared her throat, “Do you need anything?” she asked. There must be a purpose as to
why this lady suddenly wanted to sit next to her, otherwise Ei might call her foolish for wanting to
join an occupied table in a sea of vacant ones

The woman simply looked at her

“I need your name” she said boldly

Ei raised her brows, “Excuse me? What for?” she asks cautiously, getting mildly alarmed
The girl pouted, “You don’t think I'm about to do something inappropriate to you, do you?” She
asks, and when Ei simply blinks at her, she sighs, “How apathetic… I’m looking for inspiration for
my new novel, you see. And perhaps I just took interest in someone who brought a camera in a
cafe”

“Huh?” Ei flushed, she had not expected this

She simply smiles, “You do know it’s disrespectful to bring out such a device without the
permission of the employee, right?”

“I didn't even take a photo” Ei frowned, “I just… reviewed some of my output”

“Under the table?” She asks

Ei nodded sternly, and the other huffed out a breath in amusement

“Cheeky.”

When Ei placed her camera back in her bag, the pink haired again asked, “Can I have your name?”

Ei knows that this strange lady has no bad intentions, but she is troublesome. Beautiful she might
be, but Ei might need to put her foot down soon when she crosses below the belt, “Raiden Ei” she
says

The girl simply smiled when she pulled out her quill and ink bottle, Ei observed how the other
dipped her quill to the ink bottle and wrote her name gingerly. She’s gentle all while carving her
name to the parchment finely, and Ei had a strange feeling of wanting to capture it

When she realized that she was staring, she quickly took her chocolate Frappuccino and drank it.
She felt awkward just sitting there while the pink haired was doing something. She eyed the other’s
drink and blurted out, “What’s that made of?”

What Ei had just said was out of character, really. She knew what was Strawberry Frappuccino
made of, she just needed to create a conversation
As if on cue, the pink haired girl grinned, “If it isn't obvious, it's strawberry mousse and clotted
cream. Do you wish to try?”

“No, thank you” Ei says, her face heating up in embarrassment. But then the pink haired laugh and
Ei stared at her. She suddenly saw an explosion of soft hued colors

a ribbon of halcyon.

Is this how love at first sight felt? She didn’t believe in such a thing, but Ei studied the way she felt
herself suffocating just by looking at the lady in front of her. It was an understatement to say that
she is allured by her beauty, her milky appearance was simply something Ei shouldn’t see

She doesn’t deserve to see.

“Really,” The girl tried to stifle her laugh, “If you do wish to taste it, then go for it. Though you
should give me something return”

“Which is?”

The girl looked down, and Ei realized that the pink haired girl was staring into her compact piece
of jewelry that was on her chest. The locket that caused her pain, yet caused her ecstasy somehow

“You wouldn’t mind, right? If I asked the story of your locket?” she asked softly, almost like a
whisper. Ei sighed, knowing she’ll regret this soon enough

“My twin sister gave this to me,” Ei said, trying to keep herself steady. “It was before she departed”

The pink haired seemed to take the hint, and she smiled softly, “It's beautiful”

Ei looked at the other with a small smile as she fiddled on her locket, “Isn’t it?”

She nodded, then pushed her strawberry Frappuccino towards Ei, “Taste it for me, yeah?”
“You haven’t tasted it yet?” She asked as she sipped on it

It was wonderfully sweet, just like any normal strawberry would taste, but with creamy milk
blended well. Ei was about to take another sip until she remembered it wasn’t her drink

The pink haired smirked, “I merely ordered it so it could complement yours. I was under the
impression that you’d take a picture, but I guess my theory was proven wrong,” making Ei frown,
she must be mental for ordering a drink just to test if she’ll capture it or not

“I’m not really fond of eating sweets on a rainy afternoon” she continued, then looked at Ei, “Do
you fancy a dinner tonight? My treat”

Ei stammered, she had no plans for tonight, but she wanted to spare some time alone

Again, with the pink haired lady’s sharp eye, she seemed to notice this

“Just tell me if you don’t want to, I really don’t mind” She says as she tuts, “But do call me if you
fancy another meet up?”

This time, Ei nodded, but asked. “Can I get your number, then?”

To her bewilderment, the other laughed mischievously, “No, of course not”

Well, if that wasn’t hypocrisy…

That little rejection hurt Ei a little, if she’s being honest. The girl took a sip on her strawberry
Frappuccino and hummed in acknowledgment, “Hah, this is surprisingly tasty”

Ei simply nodded, screaming internally that they just had an indirect kiss. When she looked up,
however, she could see that the pink haired girl carried on writing
This time, it wasn’t an awkward silence that streaked through the atmosphere, it was peaceful. All
was quiet except the rain softly pattering on the window, the rustle of parchment, and the
employees brewing coffee. Ei savored the chocolate syrup that was dribbling on the cream that was
on top of her Frappuccino, licking her lips in satisfaction

She hasn’t felt gleeful for a couple of weeks, it was all travel around Teyvat and capturing
endearing sceneries that she never realized how much she missed her own nation

It took several minutes before Ei realized that the pink haired kept stealing glances at her with a
smile before continuing to write on her parchment, and Ei suspected that she was probably writing
a story about her (the purple haired was slightly irked that she never asked for her permission)

When Ei had finished on her Frappuccino, the rain seemed to stop, and the girl finally looked at
her fully with a pretty smile, a genuine one.

“I’ll be going now, it was gratifying meeting you, Ei”

Before Ei could even ask her name and mention their next meet up (which she suddenly had been
looking forward to), she already stood up and left the cafe

Ei immediately pulled out her camera and adjusted the lens, not bothering to care about policy
anymore

Facing it in the window beside her where she can see the pink haired walking freely under the
rising sun, she clicked the shutter button

She stared at the finished output. For once, it was colorful and fascinatingly beautiful. There were
droplets of raindrops that remained splattered on the window, and a vague figure of the pink haired
girl’s back, the skies that were once so dull and grey suddenly glowing with the sun around. It was
a mixture of blue, yellow, and pink

When Ei smiled and put her camera back in her bag, she could see a ripped piece of parchment
across from her. In spite of it looking like it got teared up, it was folded neatly

She took it and there was a number written to it, probably her contact number. Once she had
opened the folded parchment, however, there was something written on it
 "My quill could write

For a thousand people

But it never smiles about them

The way it does for you"

your ever-so lovely, sagacious Yae Miko

"Miko" She muttered under the breath. Ei liked the way her name rolled off her tongue

Miko is one of the colors that Ei has never seen before. And Ei is willing to warm up just for her.
She doesn't know why, but she lets herself be. They just had a small talk in the cafe, after all..

End Notes

The poetry is made by Courtney peppernell :D

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