summary: it’s valentine’s day, and the genshin characters each have their special ways of celebrating.
notes: fluff, one paragraph headcanons
a/n: happy v day!! me and @sierrascribbles did another collab for valentine’s! find her part here!!
Childe
Even thought you’re half convinced Childe’s idea of romance is to lovingly hunt you for sport in the woods, he actually goes all out on holidays (he’s cheesy when he wants to be: all of Liyue has to know that he’s in love with you). Childe has prepared weeks in advance. You wake up to flowers, chocolate, a giant plushie of your favorite animal, and miscellaneous expensive gifts that he knows you’d like. You have to dissuade Childe from buying half of Liyue for you, and instead he settles for dinner at the best restaurant in the harbor, where all your favorite foods are served. The whole place is reserved for just the two of you, so he can pull you onto his lap and press kisses onto your head as he steals bites of food from your plate.
Zhongli
Zhongli has a grand total of two mora to his name to spend on you for valentine’s day. While normally, he would get Childe to act as his personal wallet, it doesn’t seem right to make someone else pay for a present for his lover. Instead, when the day comes, Zhongli presents you with a glaze lily, tucking it behind your ear as he reminds you of his eternal love. Then, he hands you a package of tea bags that he made himself, and explains the properties of each tea; this one will help you sleep easier, and this one is good for relaxation, and this one is just his favorite. Let him brew you a cup someday; he wants the chance to curl up next to you and take in your warmth.
Beidou
Nothing says romance more than being stolen away by Beidou in a little boat, drifting on the waters near Liyue harbor as she feeds you chocolate covered fruit. It’s evening, so the only thing illuminating you and Beidou are lanterns she’s placed around the boat. As night falls and the city glimmers in the distance, she steals kisses when you aren’t paying attention, leaving you flustered and waiting for her next attack. That’s when she pulls out your other present: a small jade ring that she slips onto your hand. It’s hardly a proposal; neither of you are quite ready for that. But in the future, when you’re ready, will you let her put a real ring on your finger?
Albedo
You don’t think Albedo is interested in valentine’s; he’s never made mention of the day, and with his schedule, you’ve hardly had time to discuss plans with him. That’s why you’re shocked when Albedo wakes you up in the morning to breakfast that he made himself. It’s surprisingly good (cooking is another form of alchemy, after all), and seeing Albedo in a frilly apron makes it all the much sweeter. When you’re done eating, Albedo hands you a sketchbook; there are colored sketches of the knights, and your favorite places in Mondstadt. Mostly, it’s full of you, each precise stroke made with love. You can’t stop yourself from throwing your arms around him, and both of you land on a heap on the floor, laughing.
Sucrose
Sucrose spends the whole night before valentine’s day running through potential outcomes in her head, and exploring every possibility of things that could go wrong. She’s never given chocolates to anyone before, and now she’s worried that’s not a good enough gift. In truth, she had went to all the stores around Mondstadt, collecting data on the most popular kinds of chocolate and the best way to make them, and spend days adjusting each batch of chocolates for the smallest of details. That’s why, when she hands you a bag of chocolate (they’re all shaped like… bones? You won’t question it), and you kiss her forehead in return, she almost passes out.
Xiangling
Xiangling is no stranger to valentine’s day; it’s the day where Wanmin restaurant gets crowded with couples and she doesn’t have a minute to rest as she gets all the orders in. Still, her heart flutters because it’s the first time she gets to spend it with someone she loves. Xiangling goes all out with her cooking; all your favorite dishes are there, and she’s placed candles and flowers in the middle of the table. Food is always the best way to a person’s heart, and she hopes this is enough to have yours.
Chongyun
Valentine’s day is a difficult time for Chongyun. Just the thought of doing something romantic with you is enough to make him overheat, and he has to summon ice to cool himself down. All his preparations end up for naught, however. When you give him a hug as thanks for his good luck charm present, his congenital positivity explodes, and he ends up clinging to you for the whole day. Needless to say, Chongyun is extremely embarrassed when he recollects himself, and he apologizes over and over, even when you tell him it was cute.
Xingqiu
Xingqiu has read all about valentine’s day! You have nothing to fear, because he will consult all of his books to plan the perfect date. He takes you out to lunch at an expensive restaurant, and then he has tickets to see a famous travelling troupe. It’s cute to see how Xingqiu lights up with excitement at each performance, and you can’t help but take his hand. He blushes. You’re ruining his plans! He was the one who was supposed to hold your hand first, but, well, he isn’t going to stop you now. That would be quite ungentlemanly.
Xinyan
Xinyan’s busy performing the day of valentine’s. So while you’re disappointed, you try to support her, anyways. She hands you tickets to her performance, and you promise to come see her. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to catch a few moments with her when she’s done. But then, when you arrive, Xinyan yells to the crowd that all of the love songs she’s performing are dedicated to her lover. As the crowd gets swept away in the music, you realize she’s looking straight at you: you’re the muse to every long song she’s ever written. When the performance is over, you’ll run into her arms and receive a bunch of sweets, but for now, you can only smile.
La Signora
There’s one thing about the sappy holidays that La Signora loves, and it’s the chance to show off to everyone that you belong to her. Red roses are delivered to you in the morning by a nervous Fatui agent, and a stream of similar extravagant presents follow you throughout the day. It’s when La Signora shows up to take you to dinner that she gives you your final present of the day: a stunning necklace that she refuses to tell you where she got it from. You already know she’s part of the Fatui, but La Signora would prefer to keep someone as precious as you away from the more shady aspects of her job. Still, as her lips brush your ear as she reaches around your neck to fasten the necklace, she wants only to kiss you right there and then.
Scaramouche
Valentine’s day is a stupid holiday, and anyone who buys into it is a desperate fool: that’s what Scaramouche flatly tells you, anyways. He’s never celebrated it, and he’s never planned to, but then you came into his life. Suddenly, Scaramouche finds himself struggling to put something together for you. It’s absolutely baffling that you told him you didn’t want anything lavish, you just wanted him. It’s not like he can just gift himself to you; you already have him, even if he refuses to admit it out loud. So, with a few threats here and there, Scaramouche has a beach reserved for you, where he’s prepared a candlelit picnic for your pleasure. You’ve turned him into one of those lovesick, desperate fools he’s always hated.
Qiqi
Valentine’s day hardly seemed like the sort of thing Qiqi would be interested in, so you’re surprised to learn that she’s prepared a gift for you. Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out a pressed flower bookmark and hands it to you silently. You pat her head and tell her that you love it, and Qiqi gives you a smile. What she forgot to tell you was that she made another bookmark, just like yours, so that whenever she looks at it, she’ll remember you.
Ganyu
Now that Ganyu finally has someone to spend valentine’s day with, she’s determined to make the most of it. No overtime for her! She’s going to get off work early! She’s going to spoil you during valentine’s, and no one is allowed to stop her! There’s a certain thrill in catching you in a hug when she sees you, and holding hands under the dining table, during hours she would normally spend working. Her heart trembles when she pulls out her present for you; it’s a bracelet, inlaid with delicate, iridescent gems. She slips it onto your wrist, and you kiss her in return. Ganyu wishes for nothing more than this moment with you to last forever.
Keqing
Keqing has a recipe for homemade chocolates with a special fruit drizzle perfected. She’s also planning to pick up freshly cut flowers before she meets you on valentine’s. Still, something is missing. This isn’t good enough; she wants to give you more. So, the week before valentine’s day, she starts knitting. In every spare moment, you can catch Keqing feverishly working at her project, until, on the day of valentine’s, she presents you with a fluffy scarf. It’s in your favorite color, and she’s blushing as she wraps it around you. It would be a shame if you got sick or something, you know? Don’t ask how long she spent making it!
Razor
Razor didn’t even know what Valentine’s Day was until the day arrived; why were so many couples strolling around Mondstadt? The minute you tell him, he feels awful that he didn’t prepare anything special for you. You explain it’s not a big deal, but he can’t just leave it at that. He wants to show you how special you are to him. So, he takes you for a walk in the woods until you reach a grotto of flowers. It’s a place no one else knows about but him and his family, and now you. Razor quickly makes a flower crown for you to wear (Klee taught him how), and when you lean in to kiss him on the cheek as thanks, he turns red and freezes up.
Diona
As your honorary little sister, her job is to scare off any potential suitors that dare look in your direction (especially Diluc)! She hisses at anyone with what she dubs “bad intentions” on valentine’s. At the end of the day, she shyly presents you with a present of her own. It’s a special bottle printed with orange cats that keeps drinks cold for hours on end. It’s not a big deal or anything! She definitely didn’t spend weeks saving up to get it built! But if you go to the Cat’s Tail when she’s working, she’ll give you a drink on the house to keep cold in your new bottle.