#this is so badddd usadjsdl PERFECTIONISMMMM

[claudemblems]

What You Mean to Me | Xiao

Summary: One evening on the balcony of Wangshu Inn, Xiao decides to make his feelings clear to you.

Notes: I feel like I'm actually terrible at being ✨ poetic ✨ but I had this one sitting in my drafts and I thought someone might enjoy it :) I just love Xiao and he deserves all the happiness in the world

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

"Don't you know what you mean to me?"

Your eyes widen as you turn to Xiao who’s sitting beside you on Wangshu Inn’s balcony, his eyes trained on the Liyue horizon. He refuses to look at you, and you realize why when you spot the pink dusting his cheeks, his furrowed brows, and the hands tightly clutching at his heart. You can’t seem to tear your eyes away from the sight. This a side of Xiao you had never been allowed to see before, and it’s one you may never get the chance to see again. You wish you could save the image in your mind forever, a picture for you and you alone.

But your initial shock soon gives way to the realization that you haven’t given him an answer yet. You spend several moments replaying his question over and over again in your mind, trying to make sense of the meaning of his words. When they finally dawn on you, you find your own face growing red, heart fluttering in your chest. You unconsciously mimic Xiao, desperately trying to hide your flushed face from view.

“W-What are you saying, Xiao…?”

He takes in a shaky breath, his previous display of boldness slowly giving way to the shyness you knew him for. “D-Don’t you already know?” he sighed, burying his face in his hands. “Don’t make me say it…”

You open the space between your fingers to peek a glance at Xiao. He’s still too embarrassed to meet your gaze, but little by little, he’s removing the hands guarding his own face. And that’s when your heart skips a beat in your chest.

The setting sun illuminates his golden eyes like beacons of light shooting up through the darkness. His long strands of hair, rustled by the gentle breeze, float towards the sky. His cheeks are the shade of newly bloomed silk flowers, a soft contrast against his white qingxin skin. 

Xiao is the beauty of the Liyue mountains, hillsides, valleys, and adeptal abodes carefully crafted into a single entity. He’s the brilliant blue skies, the flower petals floating through the air from the trees. He’s the expansive sea that you could never fully explore. He’s the lanterns rising in the sky during the rite, carrying the wishes of Liyue’s people far and wide. He is someone so beautiful and intricate and yet so far out of your reach. 

But you would climb every mountain top in Liyue, cross every unruly sea, and challenge every divine being of Teyvat just for a chance to stay by his side forever. 

“Am I really worthy enough to be someone special to you?”

Now it’s Xiao’s turn to stare wide-eyed at you, and you know that he’s wondering if he’s heard you right. His own confession was shocking enough, but to hear one from you right after…

He finally composes himself, and his embarrassment dissolves, turning into a newfound confidence. You can tell that he’s sending you one of his chastising looks as if saying, Don’t think so little of yourself, especially compared to me. He’s told you this a million times before, but you can’t help but wonder if you’re really the kind of person he says you are, if you’re someone that could ever come close to the kindest, pure-hearted human that he sees in his head. He’s just so special to your heart that you cannot imagine anyone outshining him, not even yourself. Is this how he feels about you, too?

“You are the most precious thing in the world to me,” Xiao says, his gaze softening when you finally manage to meet his eyes. “You’re my light in the never-ending darkness. My constant in an ever-changing world. And I would suffer with my karmic debt for the rest of eternity if it meant that I could spend the rest of my life with you.”

His sincerity hits you like cupid’s arrow straight to your heart. “D-Don’t say things like that,” you whisper, covering your hot face with your hands for a second time. 

“But I mean it.” Xiao tentatively a few steps towards you, carefully prying your hands away from your eyes. He doesn’t let go. Instead, he squeezes them once, taking in their comforting warmth. His eyes flitter up towards your own as he makes his vow. “I…I don’t know what I would do without you. You’ve given me happiness when all I’ve ever known is despair. You’ve shown me a world full of life and color. You’ve led me off a lonely path and into a place I can call home. [Name]...” He takes in a deep breath, mustering up the courage to finish what he needs to say. He squeezes your hands once more, and keeping his eyes trained on yours, he whispers his admission.

“I love you.”

His confession strikes a chord in your heart as the perfect answer finally falls on your lips. You tug him close, head pressed to his heart as you give him the words he's been waiting for.

“I love you, too, Xiao.”

Don’t you know what you mean to me?

As he holds you there, hands cradling your head, yours wrapped around his waist, the beating of his heart fills you with comfort. You feel the love radiating from him, and it’s so strong, so sure. It’s in his eyes, his expression, in the innermost parts of his soul. 

Don’t you know what you mean to me?

You lean your head against Xiao’s chest, closing your eyes and smiling.

“I think I’m starting to.”