#no one lie to me and tell me that Xiangling and her old man didn't cook for Lantern Rite

[xwindboundxmagic]

Ethan made his own meal for Lantern Rite, there wasn't anything wrong with Liyue cooking, but knowing that Xiangling's cooking is prepared for the rite and he had a massive distain for her cooking. "...."

[caro-bug]

How (not) to woo an exorcist

Xingqiu has strange methods in winning his best friend's heart. It's just a matter of time for them to backfire.

Contents: Fluff; slight angst; I mean Qiu thinking he doesn't deserve love; he gets exposed; love confessions; Xingqiu is bad at feelings; Chongyun takes the initiative for once; there's an oblivious grandpa too.

He shouldn't be doing this.

Xingqiu sighed quietly, sneaking a glance at Chongyun from behind his book. The white-haired boy however paid him no mind, staring at the opposite side of the lake with his beautiful, bright eyes. He was probably looking for signs of spiritual activity. Since the awaiting entity was strong enough to withstand his pure yang energy, it was probably wreaking havoc all around the place of their destination. Thus, even for inexperienced bystanders, it should be fairly easy to spot it from afar.

Expect... There was never an evil spirit to begin with.

"It sure is a lovely evening to spend at Sal Terrae. It's really beautiful this time of the year." Said an older man, hired to bring them to the island with his boat. "But there's a lot of dangerous monsters around here too. What brings you two to this place anyway?"

Before his best friend could even open his mouth, Xingqiu shut his book loudly, successfully cutting him off.

He respected both Chongyun and the gentleman stirring her boat. But showing just a bit of disrespect and telling one white lie was the only way to keep his best friend from experiencing just another disappointment, right?

Right?

"Actually, we are on a duty to deal with certain creatures living around here." He explained, a confident smile on his face. "So rest assured good mister. Me and my Dear Chongyun are well prepared to fight any monster we may be meeting at our destination."

Well, none of these claims was an absolute lie.

"If things don't work out, Xingqiu is obligated to buy me dinner at Wanmin restaurant." Says Chongyun, mindlessly dipping his hand into the cold lake water "Which would be nice, if he stopped ordering me spicy food on purpose."

"But I just want you to gain some resistance for the spices! And I know that you actually like the taste of the jueyun chillis too! It's just like with Xinyan's performances... You're pretty cute when you let yourself loose."

"You know I don't like it!" Chongyun sent his friend a look of disapproval, however as soon as he comprehended the word "cute", he turned back to face the water, faint blush now covering his cheeks. "And... Is cute really the right word for you? I wouldn't call destroying Xiangling's entire restaurant cute."

"Agree to disagree. Besides, those adorable stunts of yours are nothing your best friend can't afford to pay for, my dear Chongyun," said the young heir with a caring, yet amused smile on his face.

As the other boy groaned, the old fisherman smiled to himself, looking at the horizon in front of him. The sun was already setting, spreading Its beautiful, fiery aura among the sea of blue, white, and pink clouds.

Young friendship truly is a wonderful thing. He thought, accompanied by the two boys' bickering, as he sailed into the sunset.

*** 

They were supposed to start at midnight.

Because that's when the evil spirits were supposed to show up, right? At least that's what Xingqiu has read in many books of his. That's why he told Chongyun that if their target doesn't show any signs of activity during the daytime, they should just wait for the night to come. In the meanwhile, they could sit, just watch the sunset together and-

No, It didn't end up like that. Not at all. Instead of going along the perfect scenario Xingqiu had in his head, Chongyun just had to take a walk around the area and fight off the monsters that would be a big nuisance if they met them during the exorcism. 

But... That's what Xingqiu liked about Chongyun. The pure passion he had for his profession, and his desire to make his first ritual perfect was both cute and admirable in hydro vision user's eyes.

"I... I think these are all monsters in the area." Chongyun panted heavily, his face red and sweaty after an exhausting fight. "I think I..."

Seeing his friend stumble on his own feet, Xingqiu panicked. He quickly rushed up to Chongyun, catching him in his arms just as the rather was about to fall on the ground.

"Take a deep breath, Yunyun. We're gonna cool you down." Xingqiu murmured, stroking his friend's hair while carefully sitting down on the sand. Hopefully, the cold breeze coming from the lake will help Chongyun recover in no time.

"Why are you helping me right away...?" The claymore user asked under his breath. "Don't you usually sit down and enjoy the chaos?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Xingqiu smiled innocently, while handing his friend a water bottle. "Now drink up. I don't want you to zone out on our- I mean, your first real exorcism!"

Probably because of his current state, Chongyun didn't question Xingqiu's little slip-up. Instead, he just emptied the bottle given to him, before once again collapsing on his best friend's lap.

"That's right, Yunyun. Take a deep breath."

Once his friend finally closed his eyes, Xingqiu allowed himself to stare. To stare at Chongyun's usually pale, now bright red face. Stare at his white, fluffy hair. It reminded Xingqiu of mountains and mist, or wintery clouds. Even Chongyun's eyelashes were like snowflakes, making him look like a good spirit, or some beautiful, heavenly being who descended to Teyvat from Celestia.

There's no way Xingqiu wouldn't fall for such a beautiful, cute, and determined person like Chongyun.

Feeling a blush and a lovestruck smile spreading on his face, Xingqiu forced himself to look away, and instead focus on the sky. The sun was long gone, leaving nothing but a faded light blue aura at the edge of the horizon.

Seeing more and more stars appearing in the sky, Xingqiu smiled.

"Chongyun, my dearest, are you not cooled down yet? The sunset was a few hours ago. Midnight will come before we know it. "

"Maybe I would've stood up already if you didn't stare at me like that."

"Excuses, excuses!" Xingqiu's nose crunched as he turned away, trying to hide a tint of red spreading across his face. "Well, if you need it, grab your popsicle, and let's look for-"

"Xingqiu."

The blue-haired boy blinked, looking at his best friend in confusion. Chongyun wasn't the type to talk much, let alone interrupt anyone. So then... Why did he do that? And with such a serious tone too?

"...Yes, my Dear Chongyun?"

"We... Aren't here for the exorcism, right?"

Xingqiu laughed.

"Of course we are, silly! Why would I show you the leads if that wasn't the case?"

"Well... Remember when I went to The Wuwang Hill as you recommended? You know, with Lumine?

Ah, yes. The Wuwang Hill incident... What Xingqiu was planning to be a "friendly" date, turned into a fiasco because his love interest was too impatient and oblivious and went there with a famous Traveler instead.

"What about it?"

"I... I talked with her about the apparitions you gave me intel about. And... She told me to change my source of information."

Xingqiu's palms got sweaty. He slowly detangled them from Chongyun's hair. Chongyun, whose head was still resting on Xingqiu's lap, stared at him intensely. These ice-blue, cat-like eyes would one day be death to Xingqiu.

"You... Don't believe me Chongyun?"

The Cryo Vision user finally averted his gaze.

"I... I just connected the dots and figured that you wouldn't make so many silly mistakes when looking for leads. Thinking that an actual ghost is hunting a scary tourist attraction? Unlike me, you're to smart for that..."

"I..."

"Why are you doing this?"

It got silent. Despite being in a position many people would consider romantic, Xingqiu didn't find the situation romantic at all. Chongyun was resting on his lap, so what? That dreadful conversation was inevitable considering Xingqiu's controversial wooing methods. And despite being aware of it from the start... Xingqiu just wasn't ready.

"I just... Don't understand it. Are you making fun of me? Or do you just wanna hang out? You know I would never decline hanging out with you, so why-"

"I was stupid."

"...Huh?"

"I... I wanted to give you hope. To see your eyes shine with determination, to seem like a good, helpful friend who does more than ramble about his books, to buy you dinner so I can cheer you up after failing to find evil spirits..."

Chongyun stayed silent.

"I know it's selfish, but I just wanted to... Go somewhere far away and spend lantern rite alone together. To blend in with the other couples and get scared by the actors on Wuwang hill. To watch the shooting stars together."

And just as Xingqiu said that, he noticed something with the corner of his eye. A shooting star.

"And here they are... Too bad the mood is now ruined, huh...?"

He was crying. He was shaking like a leaf. Yet his voice seemed distant and neutral. Maybe the thought of Chonyun leaving him was so obviously inevitable that he already accepted it.

And just like he expected, he felt his best friend's weight disappear from his lap.

What he didn't expect was Chongyun's hand gently caressing his cheek instead.

"I... I probably should be mad at you. But I'm not. I really, really like you Xingqiu, so... You don't need to deceive me like that to spend time alone with me, or watch the shooting stars... Or... Blend with... The other couples."

Xingqiu felt his heart flutter in his chest, as he shyly raised his gaze at Chongyun's loving eyes. The exorcist, although clearly embarrassed, used his thumb to gently wipe his reddened, tear-stained cheek.

And then Xingqiu smiled. Purely, genuinely, and Chongyun felt the Yang energy in his body rise.

But when Xingqiu was the cause, he didn't mind.

"... The meteor shower just ended."

"Oh."

Xingqiu's small laughter-filled Chongyun's ears, as the other boy wiped his tears away with his sleeve. "It's alright though. My wish has already been fulfilled anyway."

"Huh? What was your wish then?"

And this time, it was Xingqiu who cupped the exorcist's cheek. And just like that, Chongyun was sure what kind of answer his best friend was about to give.

"To be able to tell you how I feel about you, my dear Chongyun."

"..."

"... I love you."