Read in dark mode for better experience.

A knock at the door made you jump awake. Wiping the drool from the corner of your mouth, you realized you had fallen asleep on your couch. You looked at the clock, cursing when you saw it was past the time you were supposed to meet Thoma.

"Y/n?" A voice called. "You in there?" And there he was.

"Coming!" You called, tripping over yourself, to get to the door. You opened it, and in walked the blonde-haired housekeeper who chuckled seeing your messy hair and wrinkled clothes — the same clothes you had worn last night before he left.
"You fell asleep on the couch, didn't you?" He asked, and you nodded bashfully.
"Sorry, just give me a few seconds, and I'll be ready. Promise." Thoma nodded, already moving to fix the couch cushions.
"Take your time. There's no rush, oh, and here."

You hadn't realized Thoma had been carrying something in his hand until he tossed it to you. You reflexively caught it and smiled seeing that it was your. 
"Grabbed it from Ms. Guuji on the way here. She said your bag of money is waiting for you in your locker too." You smiled.
"Thanks, Thoma!" You rushed off, grabbing a set of clothes before rushing into the shower. Thoma watched as you left, smile dropping as soon as the door closed behind you.

After hearing the shower water turn on, he took out a few miniature surveillance cameras and shivered. The mere thought of placing these in your home and invading your privacy made guilt wash over him, but orders were orders. Besides, these were for your own protection - that's what Ayato had said, at least.

He looked around the room, deciding to place one on the shelf below the TV, making sure the picture of you and your family kept it hidden. He put one on the clock in your bedroom, and one on the potted plant in the dining room. Guilt clawed at him the entire time. This was something that the kind of creeps he wanted to protect you from would do. You trusted him in your house, and here he was setting up cameras to spy on you. He swallowed down his shame as he opened the app on his phone, seeing that the cameras were completely functional. He sighed as he leaned back, closing his eyes and hoping you'd forgive him when the time came. 

"Thank you for waiting!"

You rushed out of the bathroom only to find the living room empty. You groaned. 

Of course, he would've left by now. Who would want to wait that long for...

You were just about to change when the sound of something sizzling made you halt, and soon enough, the smell of something good coming from the kitchen made your stomach growl and feet move on their own.

You poked your head into the kitchen to find Thoma. He hummed a tune himself as he flipped a pancake effortlessly, a plate of pancakes next to him. Noticing you standing there, he turned to you and smiled.

"You hungry?" He asked, and you sighed.
"Thoma," you whined. "Stop doing these things. I don't have the money to pay you for it as Ayato does."
"No need to pay," Thoma said as he finished the last pancake. "I guess I've been doing it for so long that I genuinely enjoy it." This also helped sightly with the guilt that came from spying on you.

You crossed your arms over your chest and turned away.
"Still, I can't accept this," you said. "First, you save my life, then clean my house, and then you make me breakfast even though I overslept and held you up. I just can't!" Thoma smirked as he began to fix your plates.

"That's fine, I guess I'll just enjoy this soft, delicious, homemade treat all by myself. Oh, and you have fruit too?" He asked, pulling strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream out of your refrigerator. "Looks like that will make this even better." You watched as he cut up the berries before delicately swirling the whipped cream on top of the pancakes. He placed a few strawberries ontop of the whipped cream and circled the bottom pancake with blueberries making it look like something from a food magazine.

"But yeah, I guess you could eat those breakfast bars you seemed to be so fond of," he said, recalling that when he cleaned, he picked up numerous wrappers. Your mouth watered as you watched him walk past you with the plate in hand. He sat across from you, setting the plate rather close to you.
"Oh, could you pass me the syrup-"
"Fine!" You huffed, the growling in your stomach matching your loudness. "I guess I'll have a few, but no more after that. I can clean my own house and make my own breakfast." Thoma chuckled in amusement.
"Sure you can."

Once you both sat down, you ate a few bites before speaking up.
"So, Thoma, why do you do all this work anyway. I thought you were Ayato's, right-hand man...or were you his bodyguard?" Thoma nodded, taking a sip of his orange juice before replying.
"Well, yeah, but when we were younger, he often asked me to be his sparring partner if everyone else was too busy. Of course, sparring with him requires a certain level of skill that I learned to match rather quickly, so that's how I earned the title of bodyguard. As for his right-hand-man, I just happened to be the best when it came to managing his busy schedule." You nodded at the explanation, and Thoma decided to ask you a question as well.

"So, what's the relationship between you and Yae- I mean Ms. Guuji?"
"We actually met by chance," you shrugged. "Because of money issues, I wasn't able to go to college and ended up running with a pretty bad group. They thought it was a good idea to steal from the club, not knowing how tight the security was. The gate was closing, and they all managed to slide up under it, but I ended up getting stuck. They left without a second thought, and Ms. Guuji came out. She wasn't mad or anything. She just looked at me and my friends as they ran and asked if they were really my friends. When I told her my situation, she explained that her friend owned that club and offered me a job. She said that while it wasn't the best job, it paid well and would keep me off the streets and out of trouble. I agreed." Thoma listened carefully, nodding when you were done.

"That's Ms. Guuji," he said. "She has a way of knowing people's character with just a look. She must have seen something in you."

"I guess so," you said. "She's pretty much been taking care of me since we met. She says that I'm too naive to do it on my own. Working at the club has really helped. I'm saving up to move to Mondstadt and live a happy life."
"Mondstat?" Thoma's brow furrowed.
"Yeah, it's where I was born. My parents moved us here when I was young, and I've always wanted to go back there."

Before Thoma could comment, you took your last bite and stood up, seeing that he was done and taking his plate with you.
"We should get going," you said.
"Alright," Thoma said, standing up as well. "I'll wash the dish-"
"No, you won't!"

Another short chapter. Sorry.