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fallingdownhell · 1 year ago

Note

i love your recent posts but can i request hurt/comfort genshin impact xiao, wanderer, cyno where like they get into an argument about the reader being weak or something like that

although they didn't mean it, but after a few days after the argument, they see reader like training hard for them because of the fight.

Mhh, always. You know I love me a good dose of angst! And I'm sorry, but I only included two of the requested characters, because otherwise this would haven gotten way too out of hand and too much to read. Hope you're okay with that.

Characters Included: Xiao; Wanderer

Content: gender neutral reader; angst; comfort; hurt/comfort; established relationship; arguments between them and reader; shouting and cursing at reader in wanderer's scenario; Kunikuzushi/Kuni is being used for Wanderer

Word count: 2,2k words

Enjoy the read!

Xiao

You have to understand him. He's just looking out for you!

There is a clear, natural difference in strength between you and him!

He's an adeptus after all, and you're just a human! Sure, you possess a vision and you know perfectly well how to utilize it to your advantage in battle, but he's still your boyfriend! Let him be worried about you!

Honestly, he really just had your best interest and saftey in mind when he approached you one day, offering to train with you and possibly make you stronger, since he noticed your form to be a bit lacking when he watched you train.

The problem was, he told you exactly what he was thinking, no filter whatsoever. Which in turn caused you to get a bit defensive with him. That didn't sit right with Xiao, because in his eyes, he was only trying to help you.

This then resulted in a huge argument, where neither of you wanted to back down against the other.

"(Name), for the love of the Archons. Can't you see I'm only trying to help you here?"

"By berating me and telling me all the things I'm doing wrong? Without offering any advise at all? Yeah, great help.", you scoff as you turn your back to your boyfriend, trying to resume your exercise in peace. You were hoping that he would get the hint, to leave you alone. But he didn't.

"I'm really only looking out for you. You lack basic knowledge with the sword and you lack stamina as well. You're moving around too much, you make so many unnecassary movements. The hold you have on your weapon is too loose. Anyone could easily knock it out of your hand. Also-!"

"Okay! I got it!", you suddenly burst out as Xiao keeps on listing the things you're doing wrong in his eyes. It not only frustrated you, but it also made you feel so inferior.. to him and basically everyone else. You know that everyone starts out at some point. Everyone has to learn from the beginning. So why is he being so mean to you? Shouldn't he be more supporting of you as your boyfriend?

"I get it. You've made your point very clear."

You speak again, while Xiao just stares at you, mouth still hanging open. He didn't expect for you to raise your voice like this. You were usually so soft spoken.

You stared into each others eyes for a few more seconds, before you let out a sigh and placed your sword back into its sheat.

"I'm going home.", you announce as you go to grab your stuff. You collect everything and put it in your back, leaving without taking another look at him.

Suddenly, Xiao got the feeling that he made a huge mistake. Not only by "helping" you out with your training, but also as he let you go like this without having a talk with you, but something told him to let you be for the time being.

.....

Well... did he regret letting you just go like that. It has been almost a week since he last saw you, because you refused to call his name like you usually did on a daily basis.

And he was afraid of seeking you out himself, since he feared to only further sour your mood with an unannounced visit from his side. But he wanted to see you again so badly...

When the one week mark was reached without hearing anything from you, Xiao has had enough. He needed to make sure that you were okay. He was certain you would have called his name if you were in mortal danger, despite the argument at hand, but it's better to be safe than sorry. He needed to know you were still alive..

So, he teleported to your home, waiting for a few seconds in front of the door, gathering courage, before knocking on the door. He waited and waited, but nothing happened. He knocked again, but still nothing.

Xiao was about to leave again, scolding himself in his head, because of course you wouldn't open, you obviously didn't want to see him right now, when he heard noises coming from a bit further away.

Deciding to investigate, he followed the noises. And what he saw did shock him a bit..

He saw you, standing in a circle of training dummys, practicing different moves and tactics. He could tell that your hold on the blade has gotten better over the week you have been apart. In fact, everything he had critiqued about your skills seems to have improved...

Have you been training relentlessly this entire time??

This made him feel even more bad about this entire argument. He wanted to help you, not make you overexert yourself like this, just to prove something to him..

Deciding that it was finally time to talk, he approached you. You heard the footsteps coming your direction and turned towards them. Surprised to see Xiao there, you stopped in the middle of your session, facing him.

It was quiet for a few seconds as he arrived in front of you, and when you couldn't take it anymore, you decided to speak up again.

"What? Here to berate me even more?" It sounded way more sarcastic and hurtful than you had intended it to, and you saw Xiao flinch the slightest bit at your words, but you didn't back down from them.

"No..", Xiao answered weakly.

"I'm here to apologize." His words left you surprised, not expecting this at all.

"I didn't realize how much my words were hurting you. That was never my intention, (Name). I.. I'm just worried about you. There is a clear difference in skill, after all, but I shouldn't have been like this to you. I sincerely apologize for the way I treated you."

You have been with Xiao long enough to know two things. First, he was being completely honest with you. You could tell by the tone in his voice and the way he tried to look into your eyes, while also trying to avoid them at the same time, feeling embarrassed about being this vulnerable with someone.

Second, you knew just how hard it was for him to be honest and vulnerable with you. Saying this must have caused so much for him to do, yet he did it anyway.. for you.

For a second, you stood there and stared at him, before sighing and walking over to him, wrapping your arms around his body in a warm, comfortable hug. He did not hesitate for a second before doing the same, having missed this feeling dearly for the past week.

"I don't mind you helping me or giving me advise.. but maybe don't be so brash and insulting about it. Okay?"

He nodded, promising you to be more careful with his words from now on.

Wanderer

You sighed with relief as the Ruin guard in front of you collapsed and shattered into its parts, the cut on your side hurting a bit when you breathed, but it wasn't bleeding too bad, so the wound must not be too bad, either.

You were usually not that easy to surprise, but for some reason, you overlooked that particular ancient machine, resulting in it getting a hit on you before it was taken down.

Though, you were not the one responsible for taking it down. The actual reason was flying in from behind it, your boyfriend, Kuni. And while you were smiling at him, wanting to thank him for his help, he had a scowl on your face as he landed in front of you.

"What the hell were you thinking, Idiot? You would be dead now if it weren't for me being here!", he shouted as soon as he landed, not letting you get a word in.

You were taken aback by his harsh words and tone, staring at him, which only made him even more agitated.

"The hell? You don't even have an excuse! How can you be so fucking careless? I know you're weak but I wouldn't have thought of you being this stupid as well!"

You heard each and every single one of his words, and they all stung right in your chest. You were aware of the difference in power between you two, but that didn't mean you were incompetent with your polearm. You've trained long and hard to get to the point where you are now, and you were proud of yourself for it.

When you looked into his eyes again, you could see a bit of shock behind them, like he was surprised himself that the words actually left his lips.

You waited a few seconds, to see if he would apologize to you or take them back, but nothing came. Kuni's pride hindered him from doing the right thing..

"I see. If that's what you think of me, I won't be in your way again."

The words sounded cold when they left your lips, and Kunikuzushi flinched ever so slightly when hearing them, but you didn't react to it. Instead, you turned and walked away from him without acknowledging his presence any longer.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Where are you going?", he shouted after you, but no response. Then, he chased after you, but when he noticed that you were still ignoring him, he gave up on it, figuring that it would be best to leave you alone for the time being.

Surely, you would come crawling back to him soon enough... right?

....

Two weeks.

The incident has happened two weeks ago. And for those two weeks, he did not hear or see anything of you, whatsoever.

He was so sure that you wouldn't even survive a week without him before coming back and apologizing, but it seemed like he was wrong this time.

And he hated to admit this, even to himself, but.. he missed you. Missed your stupid, cheerful smile, your laugh and the way you always made his day better, just by spending time with him.

After about a week and a half, he began to think, that maybe, this time, he was actually the one in the wrong. That maybe, he took it too far with his words this time around.

Maybe.. he should be the one to apologize to you.

And yet, it took him a few more days to overcome his stupidly high pride and actually follow through with his thoughts.

Nahida, who knew all about the situation from Kuni himself, smiled and nodded proudly as the puppet went to leave the Sanctuary of Surasthana.

He first searched for you at your home, but you couldn't be found there. Then, he went on a stroll through the city, hoping to run into you along the way, but that too, proofed to be without success.

His last hope was the adventurers guild, and that someone hopefully has seen you there.

And luck was on his side this time, as some other members told him about how you have constantly been taking commission after commission for the past few days.

Feeling his worries for you rise again, he went to the locations given to him, hoping to find you there.

About an hour or so later, he spotted you at the location of the third commission you took, standing next to a defeated ruin drake while facing another one head on.

He had half a mind to rush over and take care of it for you, but something in him told him to let you handle it yourself. So he watched with bated breath as you easily took care of the machine, letting it fall to the ground while you remained completely unharmed.

That's when he really realized what his words might have caused for you. You are by no means a sheltered human, you're capable of defending yourself, and very well so.

As you were checking the defeated drakes for useful stuff, he came out of his 'hiding spot', walking directly to you. You noticed him approaching but chose to ignore him still. In fact, you've noticed his presence in the middle of the fight, but decided not to call him out and see what he would do.

When he arrived, he just stood next to you in silence for a while, watching you. But when you still wouldn't acknowledge him, he decided to speak up.

"(Name)... I... I'm sorry..", he mumbled quietly. He felt embarrassed, not used to acting like the bigger person, but he was in the wrong here, so he had to do this, no matter what.

The words out of Kuni's mouth caught you by surprise, your head swirling around to look at him, finally.

Kunikuzushi didn't know what else to say right now, so he stayed silent, hoping you would understand how difficult this was for him right now.

"..I'm not weak.", you answered him quietly as well, fully facing him now, but your posture and tone seemed a bit more open and calmer now.

"..I know."

He may not be the best with words, but somehow, you always understood what he wanted to say, anyways. It has always been this way between you. It was one of the many things he loved so much about you.

And that's how it was this time, too. He quietly thanked the Gods when he pulled you into his arms again, holding you for the first time in what had felt like an eternity.

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reshinless · 25 days ago

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"huh? oh thank you baby but what's this for?" you tilted your head as your boyfriend handed you a yellow bouquet.

he wasn't the type to gift you randomly, especially with how responsible (or irresponsible) he is with his money—you were sort of at a loss for words.

"flower lady told me something." he hummed, as he sat down beside you, watching your fingers inspect every little petal of the yellow sunflowers, and flora alike in the bundle of love.

"mhm, and what would that be?" you inquire, admiring the big sunflower in the middle, a subconciously sweet little smile appeared on your face, cheek to cheek.

"yellow flowers are gifted to people you want to spend your life with." he awkwardly fiddles with the strings of his sweatshirt, he didn't think too much of it when buying it though. only thing he had in mind was how much you deserved it.

"aww!" you couldn't help but throw him into a hug. it didn't matter whether or not it costed a lot, the fact he thought of you while looking at pretty little flowers was enough to you.

tagged characters are who I imagine this with but I wrote this originally for sunday :)

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chastiefoul · 1 year ago

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"hey my friend over there thinks you're cute" ft. genshin characters

characters: wanderer, childe, diluc, alhaitham, xiao, ayato, and kaeya a/n: based by this video!! | but except you're already a couple genre: just fluff and an easy read

wanderer

he just sighed in exasperation, the corner of his lips twitched a little in amusement. “yeah? tell them i’m not interested,” he said. “mean!” you called him out before he grabbed your waist pulling you closer. “i already have a really handful—i mean beautiful lover here with me,” he said with a smirk. “jerk,” you chuckled. “you love me.” he pulled you into a kiss.

childe

“baby you are so cute,” he laughed, slightly leaning his head back. you followed suit with your giggle as he hugged you tight. “but you forgot to add hot, rich, and sexy,” he said. you rolled your eyes, “and very cocky too,” you added with a slight chuckle. “mhm and i think they’d be into that as well.” childe’s eyes twinkled with mischief, kissing your cheek.

diluc

poor diluc just stared at you blankly, not sure what kind of reaction you’re trying to get out of him. however before long he just let out a smile seeing how happy you looked, “i’m not sure if ‘cute’ is the best way to describe me, (y/n).” you laughed. “what are you talking about? you’re the cutest man i’ve ever known,” you said, intentionally exaggerating to get a certain reaction—as diluc blushed. there it is. until he realized it himself, you’ll keep the fact that diluc is so very adorable to yourself. though to be fair, this is a side of him that’s reserved for you and you only.

alhaitham

like diluc, he had a poker face, as if thinking deeply. “are you calling me cute?” he asked finally. you chuckled at the delayed reaction, “yes alhaitham, i am calling you cute.” he seemed to be thinking again, “why can’t you just say it directly?” you pouted at his dull response, “hey let me have my fun once in a while!” alhaitham let out a soft laugh he’s been holding, pinching one of your cheek gently. “you’re cute.”

xiao

he’s just bashful. “you and your antics,” he shook his head as if tired, but his cheeks still painted with the softest pink. you just chuckled as he approached you and took your hands, “are you mad?” you asked with a smile, because there’s no way he is. he squeezed your hand as a response, a soft smile emerged from his face. you and your antics. xiao loves them so much.

ayato

“well have you told them about my amazing lover?” he wrapped his hands around your waist, pulling you close that your face were almost touching. the sudden intimacy made your heart raced faster. “amazing?” you asked playfully, the biggest smile apparent on your face. he kissed it, turning your lips into a grin. “the best.”

kaeya

he just laughed softly. “i’ve never really had someone call me cute.” he approached you, putting a hand on your cheek as he leaned in to kiss you. “but how funny, i find you quite cute too.” you just chuckled at him going along and flirted back. “so how about a date?” he offered his arm as you took it excitedly. “where to, stranger?” you asked, giddy. he gave you another kiss on the forehead. “anywhere you want.”

part 2 with other characters maybe?

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bedoballoons · 1 year ago

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Something got into me.

Modern au!Genshin boys(up to you) hooking up w their s/o in a ferris wheel fem! reader maybe

Oh god

-💤

Oooooo, I gotta admit wouldn't be my place of choice I'm not the biggest fan of heights >///< but I can't wait to write it for you! I hope you enjoy and you like the characters I picked~

─⊰⁠⊹ฺ🎃𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤⊰⁠⊹ฺ🎃

{༻~Circus fun~༺}

CW: NSFW! MDNI! Modern AU! Heated make outs, semi public, f!reader, blowjobs, handjobs, hair pulling, fingering, riding, grinding, and just overall a fun time on the Ferris wheel (Pet names: Lyney: Mon amour, my love, Heizou: Good girl, Wanderer: Kitten)

(Includes: Lyney, Xiao, Heizou, and Wanderer!)

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

𑁍༄Lyney:

Lyney groaned quietly into your ear, his warm breath caressing the shell of it while he held you tightly, the cart you were in swaying with every grind of your clothed heat against his bulge. This was incredibly risky, you didn't have alot of time before the ride was over and anyone could see you from the top of it, but you'd somehow gotten the ferris wheel all to yourselves and you both had been so flirty all day...

"L-lyney~" You moaned into the crook of his neck, his fingers slipping past the waste band of your pants and down into your undies, where you were more than just a little wet for him, "Mmmm mon amour, so turned on for me aren't you~" His voice was coated with lust, sending a shiver down your spine as you attempted to answer him, "Y-yes, please h-hurry~"

He chuckled, sinking his fingers into your entrance and starting off faster than he normally would, spreading his digits inside of you with ever pump of his hand, letting you fuck yourself on his fingers while staring up at you with glazed over eyes, "Y-you're so beautiful mon amour~" You gasped loudly, trying so hard to keep yourself quiet as your walls clenched around him, "Mnngh, hhh-hh~"

"You're going to have to f-finish for me soon my love~" You heard him, but you couldn't dare respond, your thoughts solely focused on chasing your release. He sunk his digits deeper into your wet cunt and you almost screamed out loud when they hit the most perfect spot, body shaking as you came.

You didn't even notice the ride had ended, you were entirely focused on how he licked up your wetness from his fingers with a smirk and that all to knowing gleam in his eyes. He definitely wasn't done yet...

𑁍༄Xiao:

As soon as the cart stopped at the top of the ferris wheel Xiaos lips crashed into yours, hands hurrying to pull you into his lap...he didn't know why but he was so impatient, your body was calling to him and the idea of only having a short time was more than appealing. His tongue slipped into your mouth, fighting yours for dominance as he groaned in delight and silently swore to himself he'd do this more often.

You on the other hand could barely keep up, the tent in his pants that was right between your legs...making you feel hot all over and lack of air from his never ending kiss making your heart race with excitement. You pulled away to catch a breath, but he was quick to go to your neck instead biting down are your skin and leaving delicious marks like he did to show others you were his.

"X-xiao~" You whispered his name in between soft gasps and he couldn't contains himself, his tent rubbing against your clothed heat as wetness seeped through your thin clothes onto his pants, "God you know I love it w-when you say my name~"

"M-make it say it louder~"

𑁍༄Heizou:

Heizou chuckled softly, watching you maneuver yourself between his legs despite the restrictions of the tiny cart, honestly he couldn't believe you'd offered to do this at all, given the fact it was in public and very time sensitive...but he was more than grateful, after all he'd been thinking of your pretty little mouth on him all day~

"Remember darling, you gotta be fast with this. Don't want anyone finding out what we are up to now do we~" He kissed the top of your head, seeing the delightful blush creep onto your cheeks as you nodded, shaking hands undoing his pants zipper and carefully releasing his dick from its prison. You looked up at him as you kissed the tip, letting your tongue graze it slowly while he moaned rather loudly, you almost told him to stay quiet...but you were so high up, perhaps no one could hear anyways.

You took him into your hot mouth, sucking as hard as you could while your hand pleased the rest of his length, you could taste his precum on your tongue and hear his struggled groans ringing in your ears. You loved pleasing him, especially when his hands found their way into your hair, pushing his cock farther into your mouth until it was hitting the back of your throat.

You hummed happily, the vibrations alone making him quietly curse in ectasy, "That's my g-good girl, keep going, j-just- like that, mmm~"

𑁍༄Wanderer:

Wanderer groaned deeply into the crook of your neck, his fingernails digging into your hips as he thrusted up into your wet pussy that clenched around him so perfectly, he couldn't care less if someone caught what you were up to, all he wanted right now was to see you lust drunk face and your cum around his cock. "M-mmnh, look at you kitten, so desperate that you begged to do this h-here of all places, how dirty~"

You moaned loudly, eyes opening for a split to scan the ground below and make sure no one had heard, but Wanderer had other plans, his length roughly bucking into you so hard the stars in the sky above you disappeared, head thrown back as waves of pleasure washed over you. "Pay attention to m-me kitten, I don't give a fuck who sees us~"

You couldn't catch your breath to respond, air knocked out of you as you came around him, your walls tightening around his dick so perfectly that as he road out your high he came too, filling you as the ride started back up again. "W-way to c-c-close."

"So much f-fun though kitten.."

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

◥(•̀￦•́)◤☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 ☾𖤓~Happy kinktober~*⁠.⁠✧

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lavenderchqn · 25 days ago

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synopsis — 4NEMO idol dating scenarios pairing — idol!aether, venti, xiao, heizou, kazuha and wanderer x gn!reader warnings — reader is also an idol in heizou's and wandy's; venti is feeling melancholic (me2, dw king); xiao is in the trenches, a very minor panic attack in heizou's, just regular sad stuff happening in the setting of wanderer's and genuine chaos wanderer but what's new with him; heads up for kpop related language, that's all I think? notes — I have officially called the 4nemo fandom wispies as an homage to the venti wisp, we have to deal with my mistake now.

The time for your weekly live was nigh. For the past few months, you had taken it upon yourself to spend a few hours streaming some work on Friday. Although it was abysmal to even think about working on a Friday afternoon. Having it be a stream made you more motivated to work.

Ever since becoming a manager of 4NEMO, you had to grab onto anything to not procrastinate. The role expansion from a producer to a producer-manager hadn’t been treating you kindly. Not to mention it had been a sudden decision, due to their previous manager leaving suddenly after the death of a close friend. You couldn’t have left the boys on their own.

“Good afternoon, Chat.” You opened your stream the same, just like always. Your camera was turned on, showing your business casual self to hundreds of fans. Another perk of forcing yourself to work under the watchful eye of Whispies — the lovely fandom that was here to support the boys.

“What are we doing today, [Y/N]?” You read the chat message out loud that’s been swimming in the sea of hellos and wishes for productive work. “Just regular stuff, I have some emails to answer. Everything I don’t want to come to on Monday… I guess”

After the initial stream preparations and deciding on the theme of Lofi music accompanying you for the journey, you made sure to remember to put your camera on full screen. If there was one thing you didn’t want to happen, that’d be catching a lawsuit for sharing sensitive information.

“Gonna work now.” You turned to the camera, putting a fist slightly in the air. “Fighting, everyone.”

With that, you were off — your timer running down from an hour. Very quickly after your first stream, with the decision made alongside your fans, you had all settled on a Pomodoro method. You would work for an hour, taking care of everything possible and having a short break. It would most often turn into a quick Q&A section.

Looking back, becoming friends with the fans had only done you wonders. By being established very quickly into the career of 4NEMO, they had nothing but support for the time your relationship with Aether has been announced. Oh, that had been a rollercoaster of a day. And let’s be real, the stream of that week’s Friday had been the most viewed one on your channel.

An email here, an email there… You were absolutely swarmed with emails. Just what on earth was Venti doing to need so many emails answered.

You put your head in your hands, sighing. “I am going to kill you on Monday, you dick.” Whispering to yourself, trying to give away as little as possible. For the sake of the fans, you just couldn’t threaten to murder one of their beloved idols. Especially not Wanderer’s or Xiao’s… If that were the case, you probably wouldn’t even make it to Monday.

Having decided to calm yourself down with a sip of water, you notice the timer of your phone going down to zero. What a lovely timing, you thought.

“Alright, everyone.” You turn to the camera, your phone in hand. “An hour has passed, it’s break time.”

The excitement in the messages is apparent. Some fans show up to the stream just for the questions-and-answer segment. At the very least, it’s what the statistics say. You don’t blame them whenever that happens. If you were in their position, you’d probably share the enthusiasm for the possibility of learning more about your favourite music artists from a reliable source.

“What question do you want to start with?” You ask eyes on the chat box. The first question had always been the one to set the tone for the rest of the section.

The Chat in question goes into chaos with far too many questions at once. Some of them instantly get deleted by moderators for not abiding by the rules… some of them are unhinged, to say the least. Why of all things they’d want to know the foot size of Kuni’s— Wanderer’s. You had promised to call him by his stage name, you should do that even when thinking.

In an instant, one of the questions pops out to you. “Can you sing your favourite Chimes’ song for us?” You read it out loud. It was the first week that this would’ve made sense. Last week the newest album of 4NEMO came out, featuring solo member songs for the first time.

You put on a thinking face, fully aware it’s just for show. Ever since starting the work on said album, almost a year ago… It was given which of the songs would be your favourite.

“I’m no singer, but I could try…” You answer, fully prepared to start singing ‘The Road Not Taken’ by your lovely partner. There’s so much encouragement from the fans, that it’d be a shame not to try. “Don’t laugh at me once you hear it though! It was your idea, guys!”

Taking a deep breath, you prepare yourself. You imagine the intro part with its beautiful guitars and piano notes. You even mimic playing the guitar.

“Traveling in the nights you've left me in…” Surprisingly, your voice is magnificent for this. You’re surprised at yourself for how good you sound. “I feel you in the last blow of wind…”

“Even nowhere I can find you out,” You start swaying, imagining your partner singing the song next to you. “The answer is not far off now…”

You’re so into the song in your head, that you don’t even realise the door to your room has been opened. Don’t notice your lovely partner coming into the frame, shushing the screaming chat. He’s about to make you aware of his existence.

“This journey of ours has been bittersweet…” You stumble back to reality when you realise the voice you’re hearing isn’t yours. Looking around, you finally notice Aether standing right next to you. You roll away from him, surprised to the core.

“Oh my gosh, you scared me!” You shout, hands at your chest. “What are you doing here?”

“The voice of an angel summoned me, of course.” He winks at you, still in the frame. “How are you, my Love?”

“Fucking floored, mate.” You slump down into your chair, embarrassed at the situation. “I didn’t even know you were home.”

“I just got back… I’m so fucking sore.” He sighs, stealing one of the other chairs in your office and taking a seat. “Remind me to kick Ven in the balls for such a rigorous practice session on Monday…”

“We’re live, Aether!” Not only was he threatening one of his group mates on a live… he was also destroying his established angelic persona.

Let’s just say… Venti was not happy on Monday, with either of you.

It’s close to 1 AM right now. The final concert of their latest tour came to an end around an hour ago. It happened right here, in Mondstadt… his home. The group's biggest tour, one that allowed them to travel all across Teyvat. Looking back, as the leader… and the initiator of the group, Venti should be ecstatic. It’s an enormous achievement no matter how you look at it. He got to perform with some of the closest people in his life and travel the world ending it with a chance to sing right in his place.

… And yet, at the same time… he’s feeling a little empty. For the longest time, this was their major goal. Now that it has been achieved, what’s more for 4NEMO to work towards to. That’s all that’s on Venti’s mind during their ride to their apartment complex. He’s silent for the entire duration — something that isn’t unacknowledged by the other members.

“Venti, what’s on your mind?” Kazuha asks, his voice sleepy. “You’ve been silent ever since the concert ended. Surely the resident yapper would have something to add?”

“I’m doing absolutely fantastic, Kazu!” Venti forces himself to be energetic. If he could, he’d just turn around and go nap… following in the footsteps of Aether and Heizou, who are asleep in their seats. “Just… taking the entire day in.”

“I see.” Kazuha smiles, turning around and settling into his seat. “Make sure to take care of yourself, whatever is on your mind.”

Xiao and Wanderer don’t engage in the conversation, most likely too tired to participate. At the very least they don’t comment on Venti’s unusual behaviour further. As much as he appreciates them not prodding into his thoughts… he wishes they would. Just this once. Just so that he doesn't have to be surrounded by all those voices. It’s just… difficult to come up with anything. It’s very loud inside his head. Far too loud.

Venti gazes out of the car window, watching Mondstadt’s familiar streets blur past as they head back to their apartment complex. The city is quiet at this hour, bathed in the soft glow of streetlights, and yet it feels strangely distant to him. He should feel at home here, in the place that had shaped so much of his identity as both an artist and a person, but tonight... it’s just like any other city, just one of the many they’d visited on the tour.

It doesn’t get better even when the car stops at the entrance to the apartment complex. With the help of Xiao and Wanderer, they all manage to lead their sleepy companions to their flats. Oh, one of the perks of being well-established - being able to sleep in a place that you don’t have to share with anyone.

Now that he’s left all alone, prompted to head on to have his deserved rest by the two other awake members, he finally feels the exhaustion enter his body. Had it been any other day, Venti would most likely have taken a bath and had a glass of dandelion wine… Not tonight though.

As soon as he opens the door to his apartment, he gets reminded of your presence in it. Your shoes are right next to his slippers… Multiple of his oversized jackets that have gotten borrowed for eternity by you… He’s home. Actually home… and not in an all-inclusive hotel.

It’s for the better. Venti thinks there would be no way for him to fall asleep after a night like this in a stuffy hotel. Truth be told, he’s unsure if he will manage it tonight at all. He feels the immense need to distract his thoughts somehow, anyhow.

That’s how he ends up on the balcony, his phone in hand. He’s starting a live at almost 3 AM in the morning… He prays that Xiao and Wanderer have joined the other three in going to sleep. Venti would rather not have to deal with their teasing the next time they meet.

In no time a bunch of Wispies are joining, concerned messages pouring into the chat.

“It’s going to be a short one, don’t you worry lovelies…” He says, his voice hushed. Despite coming so late at night he’s unsure if you’ve fallen asleep yet. Venti predicts you must be out, given the lack of attention he’s been given.

“To all of you who were at tonight’s concert…” He starts, eyes looking out into the distance.” I hope you got back safely. Safety is a priority, after all.”

Thanks to a sudden force of wind, Venti’s hair flutters around his face as he continues to speak, his voice soft and calm despite the rush of thoughts in his head. He wasn’t sure why he decided to go live, maybe it was the strange emptiness that had settled in after the concert — something he couldn't explain to his bandmates but perhaps could share with his fans. They’d been with him from the start, after all.

“To everyone who came tonight... thank you,” Venti continues, his fingers absentmindedly fidgeting with the ends of his braids. “You guys made this tour special. Ending it in Mondstadt, my home... it was like coming full circle. But... now that it’s over, it feels strange, y’know?”

The chat instantly floods with responses — some fans expressing their love for the group and their music, others showing concern for his wellbeing. Venti smiled faintly at the screen, feeling the warmth from their concern, but he wasn’t ready to dive into his deeper thoughts just yet. Not here, not now.

He sighed and leaned against the balcony railing, the cool night air helping to clear his head. The lights of Mondstadt twinkled in the distance, casting a soft glow over the quiet streets. It was peaceful, and yet, inside him, there was still this gnawing feeling of incompletion.

“I guess it’s funny,” he chuckled softly, “we’ve been working toward this tour for so long... and now that it’s done, I can’t but feel a little lost. Like, what’s next? What should we work toward now?” He paused, letting the words sink in as he read through the chat. Some Wispies echoed his sentiment, sharing their own experiences of feeling aimless after reaching a big goal. Others reassured him that whatever came next, they’d be there for him and the group, regardless of the route they took.

Venti took a deep breath. “I don’t know what the future holds for 4NEMO, but I do know this... I’m grateful. For all of it. The music, the journey, and most importantly, for all of you.”

He is about to sign off when a soft sound behind him makes him freeze. The unmistakable creak of a door opening. His heart skips a beat as he glances over his shoulder, expecting to see an empty doorway — only to find you standing there, rubbing your eyes sleepily covered by a blanket. You must’ve been woken by his quiet monologue.

“Venven… why are you out on the balcony at this hour?” You ask, your voice thick with sleep. Venti doesn’t realise it at the time, but it is the introduction… of his lover to 4NEMO fans. He must think quick, not wanting to share more than necessary.

He waves at the camera, giving a hurried smile to his fans. “Alright, Wispies, gotta go. Need to take care of something!” He ends the live, putting his phone down before turning around to you.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you, my muse…” Venti says softly, running a hand through his hand. “Couldn’t sleep…”

You step closer, the cool night breeze causing you to try to partially cover him with your blanket. “I could tell. You’ve got that look again… like you’re thinking too much.”

Venti chuckles lightly, still lacking his usual energy. “Yeah, maybe I am.” His eyes meet yours, the usual playful demeanour replaced with something more vulnerable. “The tour’s over... and I thought I’d feel more... complete. But instead, I just feel... empty.”

You join him to lean against the railing as well, your presence grounding him in a way he hasn’t realise he needed. “Maybe that’s normal,” You say after a moment to think. “You’ve been pushing yourself for so long. Maybe now that you’ve reached that goal, it’s okay to feel... off. You don’t always have to know what comes next. The guys are going to help you with that, for sure.”

Venti lets your words sink in, his shoulders relaxing a bit. It’s comforting… getting to hear it was okay to not have all the answers. Since the beginning, he had been the one everyone relied on to keep things moving forward. But maybe, just maybe, it was alright to take a step back and figure things out at his own pace. With or without their support.

“Thanks,” He murmurs. “I guess I needed to hear that.”

You smile softly, nudging him with your shoulder. “You’re allowed to take a break, you know. The world can wait for a while.”

Venti chuckles again, this time with more sincerity. “Yeah... I guess you’re right.” He takes a look back out at Mondstadt, the weight on his chest lifting ever so slightly. The future can wait. For now, he has this moment, and that was enough.

As you stand together on the balcony, the city quiet and still, Venti finally feels the tension ease out of him. He doesn’t have all the answers, and maybe that is okay. For tonight, being here, with you, is all he needs.

Whatever was happening today, was nothing short of chaos. Venti — the resident night owl — has been stuck in calls management for the past few hours, and questioned about the mess happening on social media. Xiao was at the epicentre of it, and they all needed the guy to realise whatever was going on.

Every awake member has done their utmost to try and get ahold of Xiao, without any success. Their last resort would be to visit his apartment… for quite the surprise.

By the time Xiao wakes up the 4NEMO group chat is in shambles. The poor idols have been trying to summon him for the past hours, their texts and calls going unanswered. He’s unsure what to do first when he sees all the notifications on his phone.

Once another call screen shows up, he finally answers. It’s Venti, obviously. Perhaps the group leader will enlighten him on what has transpired for the members to be unrestful.

“—Hello?” Xiao says, unsure.

“Oh my archon, fucking finally!” Venti’s shout makes the man recoil from the phone in an instant. “Have you seen the fucking video yet?”

“For fuck’s sake, lower your voice down… What’s up?” Xiao answers, looking at the asleep person in his bed. You’ve decided to stay the night after the date you had yesterday. He takes a second to think about what video Venti is even talking about.

As far as he’s concerned, it has to be the ‘making of’ their latest comeback… It’s been almost three weeks, meaning it was high time for it to be released.

“What happened?” Xiao asks once more, unnerved at Venti’s silence. Shit must’ve seriously hit the fan if Venti was giving him the silence treatment. He takes a second to think about what could’ve happened in the making of video of all things. He remembers you were there working as a movie producer… Was he in trouble due to something you’d done?

“Just…” Venti’s voice is numb, overwhelmed by the situation at hand. “Check twitter, would you.” He commands before hanging up.

Xiao blinks at his phone, the call abruptly ending with Venti’s cryptic demand. The sudden tension in his voice felt completely out of place, especially after such a peaceful night. He glances over at you, still fast asleep beside him, your face serene in the morning light filtering through the window. Whatever this was, it could wait... but clearly not for long.

He opened Twitter to a mess of being the star of trending tags. Not only him… You were also there, dubbed as ‘Xiao[Y/N]’. That was most certainly bad. The fans were not supposed to know about your relationship. What the fuck was going on?

Xiao hesitates a little before clicking to see what the deal is about. Maybe he's still dreaming. He wishes that was the case. His fingers hover over the trending tag. His heart is pounding in his chest, as anxiety creeps up his spine. He takes a deep breath before finally clicking on it. As the page loads, he’s met with an abundance of videos, comments, and screenshots. At first glance, it feels like utter chaos — the group’s fans are divided into theorising about your relationship, defending and attacking almost equally.

After a lot of scrolling, he finally sees it — one video with a particularly high number of notes. As soon as he clicks to see it, it all starts making sense. It’s the one scene Xiao had asked the editors to leave out the video… still in their newest release.

After multiple takes, the producers had announced that they finally got the shot.

“What do you think?” Xiao asked, coming up to you, swiping the sweat from his forehead. Solo scenes always made him nervous. Especially those where he was supposed to look attractive… and borderline sultry. If he had to pick a singular thing that absolutely enraged him, it was the constant need to pander to their fans.

“Very hot,” You answered, taking a look at him. You know you had gotten extremely lucky by getting into a relationship with such an attractive guy like Xiao… There were so many fans wishing they were in your spot, writing fanfiction just to get a crumb of what you had a daily intake of. “You gotta wear your hair pushed back more often.”

Your comment intrigued Xiao. Perhaps getting to work with an idol group for the first time, not to mention one your partner was in, was bringing out your weird thoughts. “Oh really?” He could engage in a little bit of teasing, why not. His eyes didn’t leave yours as he combed his hand through his hair.

From the faint hotness that crept onto your cheeks, he knew of the effect he had on you. Unfortunately for him, you were not the only one observing his motions.

“Get a fucking room, you lovebirds!” Heizou shouted from the other end of the shooting venue. This had gathered the attention of the remaining 4NEMO members, who out of nowhere became extremely interested in Xiao’s solo scenes… And with them, the camera followed in your direction.

It’s all there… in it’s full glory. “Fuck,” Xiao curses under his breath. He feels a sudden rush of cold, realising exactly why Venti sounded so panicked. This wasn’t just a minor breach of privacy — it was a full exposure of a relationship everyone involved with 4NEMO had been desperately trying to keep hidden.

The shitstorm he’s in the middle of proving exactly why he never spoke about you. The comments were relentless, ranging from supportive to accusatory. Some were feeling betrayed, others were speculating about every detail of your relationship. There were calls for a boycott, with a cluster of fans defending Xiao and his right to a private life.

He shuts his phone off, gripping his hair in frustration. This isn’t just bad for him— for heaven’s sake, you still didn’t know about anything. Would you even have a job anymore? For fucks’ sake, you had been so excited about working with 4NEMO and idols in general… and due to this fucking error your career could easily be over before it even took off.

Whatever this mess is, it needed desperate damage control. And for the sake for the sake of keeping your relationship healthy, he had to make you aware of what had happened.

Xiao shakes you awake, guilt all over his face. You look so comfy tucked under the blankets, akin to a kitten. No matter how much he’d prefer to leave you be and deal with the mess himself. There was absolutely a call to be made to whoever edited this episode.

“Five more mins…” You turn to the other side, getting away from Xiao’s hand.

“We don’t have five minutes,” Xiao sighs, taking away your blankets. “We’re in a lot of trouble, babe.”

The singular mention of you being in trouble wakes you up more efficiently than any espresso.

You sit up immediately, rubbing your eyes as you register Xiao’s serious tone. The warmth of the blankets is quickly replaced by a knot of anxiety forming in your stomach. "What do you mean we're in trouble?" you ask, your voice laced with confusion.

Xiao hesitates for a moment, his lips pressed into a thin line. "The making-of video... It’s out. And... there’s a scene in there. Us.”

It takes a second for his words to fully sink in. Your heart skips a beat as you process the weight of his words. “Wait, what? Us?” You ask, blinking rapidly confused.

“Yeah, that solo scene thing. The one where we… where I came over to talk to you. They didn’t cut it like I asked.” He looks at you with a mixture of guilt and concern. “Everyone knows now.”

You lay back down, deflated. No matter how much you tried to damage control — cutting out the scene, pulling the video down… it wouldn’t do anything. Whatever entered the domain of the internet would stay there for eternity. “What do you suggest, Xiao?”

“I need to call management, that's for fucking sure.”

Humming, you accept his thought. Getting the input of a third party would be for the best. The company must have a PR specialist ready to help with the damage control. “I thought you’d break up with me instantly if that ever were to happen.”

Xiao, who by this point got out of bed stops himself before leaving the room. The look he gives you says everything — ‘the fucking audacity you have’. He’s appalled at your train of thought.

“Have you lost your mind?.” He says, voice laced with coldness. “We’re in this together, for better or worse.”

Maintaining a relationship with an idol under sworn secrecy was difficult, but do you know what was even harder? Being an idol yourself and having to keep it to yourself.

You and Heizou had made the decision to keep your relationship private. After days of discussing and gathering input from your agency teams, you both reached the same conclusion: it was far easier to be cautious in public than to navigate the complexities of parasocial fans.

Every outing became a carefully calculated operation — hoodies on, masks and glasses adoring your faces. Not the simplest touch was shared between the two of you in public. Every precaution you could taken, you took. Any hugs, kisses and whatever Heizou felt like showering you with had to be done behind closed doors. If there had been one advantage of being signed to different idol agencies, it would’ve been the lack of ‘company-wide’ appearances. Honestly, if you two were ever seen together in public like that… well, social media would simply go up in flames.

Yet, there was one unavoidable event where idol groups from all over Teyvat would gather — the end-of-year awards. A nightmare for anyone trying to keep their relationship under wraps. Not only was the venue packed with fans, but it was also swarming with cameras. Every reaction shot of idols was broadcasted globally, often becoming memes, destined to live on as reaction images for ages.

This year’s award ceremony was most certainly one to go down in history.

You knew 4NEMO would be one of the groups performing this year — Heizou had given you a heads-up. You’d heard him hum through the setlist they’d prepared, and you’d even had a sneak peek at the prototype outfits they’d be wearing. But what he conveniently left out was who would be taking on the solo dance during the final instrumental section.

Now, seated at the table, surrounded by your fellow members and other industry icons, you suddenly understood why he’d kept that part a secret.

As the lights dimmed and refocused on a single point, your heart skipped a beat. A spotlight circled to the stage, and there he was — draped in burgundy, his signature colour, eyes fierce and focused. Every subtle hint, every melody he hummed recently, all led to this moment. And yet, seeing him under the spotlight, dressed to the nines and poised to take on the solo, was breathtaking in a way that not a single writer could capture with their words.

The music swelled, and Heizou moved with flawless precision. Each and every beat punctuated by sharp turns and graceful slides. It was simply impossible to take your eyes off of him.

In your subconscious, you could feel people staring at you, and yet there was not a single thing that could force you to look away. It felt as if Heizou was dancing right in front of you, for you. The distance from the tables you were sitting at to the stage where he was did not exist at that moment.

You could notice every glint in his eye, every smirk creeping on his face. He was not dancing for the audience. They simply had the privilege of being in the same space as the two of you. Holy fuck, your boyfriend was so fucking hot. Of course, he was attractive each and every day. Today he simply decided to crank it up to an eleven.

Whatever that Casanova was doing, he was doing it damn right. He was simply in each and every single one thought of your head and— oh my god. Did his hair tie just slip out?! Dearest fucking archons, the last thing you needed was witnessing his ruby locks swaying to the rhythm.

Wait, wait, wait. Dance breaks never lasted this long. What was going on? Did you get teleported to a different dimension, where time slowed just for you? Simply to allow you to watch your partner in his element? Surely not? Fuck, Heizou needed to really fucking stop. With each and every beat, you felt melting in your seat a little more.

With a strong push, your little trance was over. Your leader, and frankly your best friend has been trying to shake you back to reality for the last few minutes.

“Heavens, [Y/N].” They whispered, finally getting your attention away from your partner. “We most certainly do not need a dating scandal tonight.” Your confused look must’ve alerted your fellow members of how out of it you are. Truly, to you, the past thirty seconds felt like hours.

“You’ve been watching your loverboy so hard, you didn’t even notice that your reaction was out for everyone to see.”

“Pretty sure it’s all over the net already.”

“Man, I even took a picture. Wanna see?”

You cover your face with your hands, the seriousness of the situation slowly creeping in. Of course, they showed you. Not anyone else, but you. Do you even want to know how you looked? You feel all warm from the sheer nervousness enveloping your entire body.

“Our silly [Y/N],” Your leader resumes throwing whispers your way. “I don’t think, I’ve ever seen a person look at someone else with so much love in their eyes.”

“Your boyfie for sure enchanted you tonight. Make sure you reward him well later tonight.”

Oh right, you still had to deal with Heizou’s reaction on top of everything.

You have been pacing around your flat ever since getting home. You refuse to check either your phone or social media in general. Living with a lack of knowledge sounds like such bliss. You most certainly do not need to be given a reality check. Every time your brain stops for a little, your thoughts circle back to the performance Heizou gave earlier today.

“How annoying…” You whisper to yourself, slapping your cheeks gently. You really need something to take over your mind for a short while.

“Oh? What’s annoying you, dearest?” Heizou asks, his arms sneaking around your figure to give you a back hug. He separates the second he feels panic creep into your body. “Shh— It’s just me, don’t you worry.”

With a few deep breaths, led by your partner holding your hand and caressing it gently to further ground you, your heart rate finally returns to normal.

“Hi,” You stammer, finally taking a look at him.

“Hi,” Heizou answers back, his olive eyes looking with relief. “You okay now?”

“Yeah, sorry for worrying you for a sec there.” You sigh. “I’ve been out of it ever since the awards…” Your mind takes a double-back the second the words leave your mouth. Oh, you made a blunder.

“Did I dance too good for your liking, dear?” Heizou asks a smile not leaving his face as he tilts his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this enchanted at something!”

You’re completely still, taking his words in. Did— did he see your face while performing or… Oh heavens, did he get that from social media?

“The fans have dubbed your reaction ‘the only correct one’.”

You let out a groan, the unwanted reality settling in even more. The only correct reaction — as if you hadn’t already put yourself on display enough tonight. All you can do is bury your face in your hands again.

“Oh my god,” You mutter, voice muffled a little. “I knew I was watching a little too closely… I didn’t think they’d actually put it on a screen for everyone to notice.”

“Oh, trust me, love. There was no reality where that wouldn’t get shown.” Heizou chuckles, taking your hands gently and moving them aside to get a good look at your face. “Your expression was… let’s just keep it short. It was quite legendary. Almost had Xiao break his emo persona when we saw the fans’ posts on the drive back…”

You try and muster up a comeback, but nothing seems to come out. Instead, you just shake your head, feeling warmth blooming in your cheeks once more. “Look, I can’t help that I— “

“That you what?” Heizou prompts, leaning in dangerously close with a mischievous smirk, your hand still in his… His eyes fixed on yours.

“That I got… carried away.” You pause, exhaling with your entire body. “I mean, how could I not?! You were amazing, babe. I felt as if you were dancing just for me…”

Heizou’s smirks softens, as he nods slightly. “Perhaps I was,” he says, voice dropping to gentle murmur. “Perhaps I put everything into that dance… just because I knew you were watching.”

You manage to wiggle your hand out from his grasp. As it slowly rises up his body right to his face, you take his words in. Dancing with so much passion just because you were there huh? You pinch his cheek gently. “Next time, dance like that for me in private.”

“Oh?” His demeanour matches the one he had a few hours ago, the one which allured you so much. “How about you take me out to dinner first, then?”

It was no secret to the 4NEMO fanbase what your relationship with Kazuha was. You had been clearly dubbed his soulmate ever since you were introduced during one of his vlogs. Despite the initial confusion, they had no choice but to accept your position. Besides, you were an absolute sweetheart.

Sooner than later, you — a complete outsider to the world of idols — had garnered your own fanbase. Having been dubbed the 7th member of the group, protecting the boys from the ‘6 member curse’ you had become one of the most recurring side characters of 4NEMO daily content.

Despite being loved by many, some things never changed. Errands being one of them. At the end of the year, they just piled up like crazy, the atrocious weather discouraging you from ever leaving your house to do them in the first place.

“Come on, Dove…” Kazuha sighed, peeling the blankets from your body. He had promised to accompany you on your mission and preferred to be back in time for his afternoon nap. “We ought to get leave soon.”

He was met with unintelligible muffled words, most likely telling him to scram off. You, his absolute sweetheart of a partner telling him to fuck off? Quite the blasphemy. Kazuha just couldn’t leave the situation like this. Well… it was time to use brutal strength, wasn’t it?

In one singular swift motion, he scooped you up, blankets and all. If you didn’t leave the bed on your own, he’d simply take the bed with you. “You know I won’t be able to join you unless we do it today.” Kazuha was right — starting next week the group would begin their winter tour… Leaving you completely to your own devices. You would most certainly procrastinate it then too…

“I know…” You said, voice laced with sadness. “Am too comfy, thoughhh…”

If there was one way for Kazuha to take said comfiness away… Simply, It would be putting his muscles to good use. Here was to hoping he didn’t strain any of them. He’d rather not face the wrath of Venti and the group’s management. As he predicted, as soon as he started to spin in place — you still secured in his arms, you started shouting for him to let you go. Your lovely feeling of comfortableness and warmth was long gone…

“Pleasure to be working with you, Dove.” He lowered you onto the ground, allowing you to take a breather. Anything to make the world not spin. “Get ready, I’ll start working on breakfast.”

Just as you predicted, doing your errands in the company of your partner boosted your productivity. You managed to get a lot done… with your yearly health checkup as a cherry on top. As a treat and a reward for actually doing your errands, Kazuha was taking you to your favourite cafe as a prize.

Located in a hidden alleyway, it never had too many customers. The only ones who knew about its existence were coffee connoisseurs or 4NEMO fans, who learned about it from your daily instagram stories.

As you and Kazuha stepped into the cosy, dimly lit café, the warmth immediately contrasted with the biting cold outside. The soft hum of lo-fi music played in the background as the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee mixed with maple syrup enveloped the space. It was exactly the little haven you needed after a long day of errands, and Kazuha smiled as he saw the familiar look of contentment on your face.

"You always relax the moment we walk in here," He remarked whispering, brushing a strand of hair away from your face.

"How could I not? This place feels like a big hug," you reply, finding your favourite corner by the window. The barista, a young-looking girl came over to ask for your drinks of choice. She must’ve been a new hire since neither of you had ever seen her before. She was quickly shushed by her coworker, who decided to take over your order.

“The usual?” She asked, a smile on her face.

“Absolutely.” You answered, turning to Kazuha. “What about you, love?” You pointed to the maple latte, something that would fit his tastes to a T. “That sounds like something you’d enjoy.”

Kazuha shook his head, mentioning to the barista to make his usual order. “Just because my song is titled ‘Maple Leaf Samurai’ doesn’t mean I’m obsessed with maple flavour, silly.” He flicked your head lightly.

In no time your drinks are delivered by the younger barista. She takes a few good looks at both of you, as well as the drinks that now are on the table. “I hope you enjoy!” She smiles, before heading to go back…

“Oh, um.” You turn around, sort of curious about the girl. “Did you start working here recently?” You ask, getting her attention. “You don’t have to answer, but I’m simply curious. We’re regulars.”

She comes closer, moving a chair for her to sit on. “I am! I’ve learned of this place thanks to an idol group I listen to… You know, 4NEMO?” Oh. Did you perhaps open a can of worms? While it was nothing out of the ordinary for the fans to visit this place due to a recommendation you had given, getting a job was quite next level. Regardless if it was you or any other idols good on the girl. Getting a job at a young was so difficult in this part of Teyvat.

“The coffee is really lovely here…” You answer, taking a sip. “The people that recommended you this place must know what they’re saying.” Kazuha is keeping his eyes on you, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to himself. Meeting fans was nothing out of the ordinary for him, however, it had always been under the careful gaze of managers and security…

“The girl, [Y/N], is absolutely my fave. Such a blessed soul, she is…” At this point the barista is just daydreaming, swaying left and right on her chair. Her words put you into a completely still state. You know that there were fans of you in particular, but to have you as their favourite member?

By this point, Kazuha can no longer hide his laugh. He’s snickering in his seat, as delicately and elegant as possible… but he sure is not discreet.

“You’re a fan of [Y/N] too?” He chuckles, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. The barista's eyes widen, as she tilts her head in confusion.

“Wait, you know of them too?!” She covers her mouth in shock, eyes going from Kazuha to you in a swift motion. “Are you fans of the group?”

You gave her a sheepish smile, scratching the back of your head. “Yeah… I guess you could tell we know of [Y/N] pretty well.”

Your partner takes your hand to play with your fingers. His eyes, however, don’t leave the barista. “Well, pretty easy to know of an individual when you’re dating them, no?” He asks, a smile reaching his ears.

The barista blinks rapidly, before jumping out of her chair. The atrocious creak of the chair moving makes her turn instantly to the counter. She’s apologising to her coworkers and other guests, before turning back. “Oh, my Archons.” She also bowed before the two of you. “— I didn’t realise, I’m so sorry! I should’ve recognised you sooner—“

You also stand up, wanting to help her calm down. “It’s not an issue, don’t worry…” Behind the girl’s back, you mouth an apology to your regular barista, nervous for causing such a commotion. You take a deep breath, noticing the young girl is settling down.

“Sorry… regardless—“

“There’s absolutely no need.” Kazuha also stands up, fully in his idol mode. “It’s absolutely fine. It’s quite a refreshing experience, in all honestly.” His smile is filled with so much purity. Oh, your darling angel.

The sudden meeting ends with a proposition to take a picture. It’s done under the promise of not sharing it on social media. The barista asks specifically for a picture with just you and her — her ult bias. Oh, that is the price for being an unfortunate not real member of a group.

“Mr. Kazuha,” The girl starts. “Be sure to treat your lovely [Y/N] well. There are so many fans ready to fight you for her love and affection.”

Kazuha chuckles in response. With being one of the more active members, he’s quite aware of the situation at hand. In reality… pretty much one-third of his fans enjoy you more than him. It most certainly fills his heart with both happiness… and relief.

“But of course.” He smiles, hiding his mouth with his hand. “I’ll make sure to fight every single one of you before I hand My Dove over.”

There was a lot that could go wrong when your relationship was announced to the entirety of the globe, not to mention how bad it was when said information was released by a gossip website.

You had been fully aware of the consequences of dating Wanderer — his fanbase was labelled as the most toxic one amongst all of 4NEMO idols. What had there been more to say, there had been a lot of people who wished to be in your place.

The sheer amount of emails sent to your agencies demanding for you to break up was something else. The flood of messages, tweets and posts flooded in from fans who had felt entitled to dictate your life had been overbearing on your mind.

Unfortunately, for you, the biggest and the most unwelcome surprise had been yet to come. After an entire day of you alone had ended off with a call from the manager leading the group you were a member of… They had decided to put you on an indefinite hiatus. The company had chosen to exclude itself from helping your situation in any way…

Oh, the tears you had shed that night. The comforting words your partner had to speak to try and calm you down.

Looking back, that was the exact moment you had felt at your worst. From the sheer stupidity of a gossip magazine, which hadn’t even managed to gather reliable material — one you hadn’t had the opportunity to sue from the lack of funds — you had lost everything in one day. The only cherry on top had been seeing your fellow members be given lines in songs that had previously belonged to you.

Your hiatus, slowly, had turned into a permanent erasure of you from the band. After many deliberations between the higher-ups, you had simply been let go. You had been thrown to the curb, forced to fend for yourself. With the unfortunate resume, the gossip website had given you, not a single rational had wanted to bet on an idol who could be in a scandal.

To say your mental health had hit rock bottom would be an understatement.

And yet, a light at the end of a dark tunnel existed. Your partner, despite his sarcastic persona, took your struggles seriously and did his utmost to keep you sane during the said period. That, however, did not mean Wanderer didn’t participate in some bad decision-making himself. He was taking to social media consistently, hurling insults at your previous company.

“Even if we weren’t together, I would’ve done so.” He rolled his eyes when you commented on his behaviour one time. “What sort of fucking company decides to let go of a damn good idol just because they get spam mail, like be for fucking real babe…”

Wanderer truly became your rock during those times. These unfortunate times didn't do anything but strengthen your bond. What his fans wanted had the exact opposite effect on your relationship.

As for your ruined career… your partner couldn’t simply leave it as that. There was so much potential left to rot, simply because some people got overwhelmed and decided to take it out on you. He decided to pull all the strings he could, just to get you back on the idol scene — with as much grace as possible.

Bowing and scraping was not something he preferred to indulge in, but for your sake, it was quite worth it. Over the months before your relationship was revealed you had done so much to get him out of the emotional void he was stuck in… seeing you slowly enter it yourself had been the last thing he wished for.

Many months later, the stars began to align themselves. Thanks to Wanderer’s recommendations a smaller company had decided to take you in as a solo artist. They were taking quite the gamble with your person, and you had put everything you could to make your debut a success. Your fans, 4NEMO fans, who decided to side with you after your boyfriend’s campaign… they all had done everything to make it as profitable as possible.

To say you did a marvellous job would not simply be enough. Your perception was shifting ever so slightly with more critics complimenting the work you had done. Being your fan was no longer something to hide.

With the sudden throwback into stardom, one group of people have made themselves known once more… The paparazzi — ones that also were working for the gossip page that was kinda sorta behind your initial downfall.

You were simply leaving the company after a morning filled with mornings, when out of nowhere you were met with a magnitude of flashes. With a phone in your hand, you had simply done the first thing that came to mind. And well, it was to cover yourself with it. Oh, if only you didn’t forget what you had in your case — a pretty, unreleased photocard of your partner was there… All for people’s glory.

What a way to make your return. Another Wanderer-related scandal to greet you, just as your career began to take off once more.

“Holy fuck, you really have the worst luck, babe,” Wanderer says as you step into your shared apartment. You texted him about the situation on your way back, seeking his advice. “Did management get back to you?”

You sink into the cough, your head landing right into his lap. “They say they don’t mind… But I’m still nervous.” Despite their reassurance, your experience has taught you no company wants to deal with scandals. Especially a small one like the one you currently work at.

“They better fucking not, ” He replies, his finger threading through your hair as he caresses your scalp. “Especially after what I have saved in my drafts on instagram.” He is muttering to himself, talking about a scandal of a lifetime…

It’s not like you’re paying attention to whatever he’s speaking of. You’re far too comfortable and far too anxious to do so.

It wasn’t long before you discovered the ‘scandal’ your partner decided to create. You open social media to find his latest post — a playful selfie with his phone in the frame, sporting a cute photo card of yours in his case. It mirrors the exact scene you were photographed earlier that day. And of course, its cation was quintessential Wanderer:

‘You bitches thought you got rid of my partner? Nah, think again. It might do you good.”

You couldn’t help but let out a breathless laugh mixed with disbelief. Dearest heavens, this was quite a way to wake up! Your heart raced, not just from the surprise, but from the sheer magnitude of his words.

But the reaction come quickly, as expected. Wanderer’s phone starts buzzing with calls from 4NEMO's management, ready to scold him for pulling such a risky move. You can almost hear their collective sighs of exasperation through the line.

Yet, as you sit there, staring at the screen, a warmth spreads through you. There is something undeniably attractive about how he puts himself on the line for your career and mental health. It was such a bold statement - one that showed he was willing to face the backlash just to support you.

date of posting — october 28th 2024

410 notes · View notes

musings-of-miss-j · 21 days ago

Text

wings of jade, eyes of amber

a xiao x gn reader fic

notes: enough fluff to fill every mattress on earth, gn reader, strangers to lovers, is it a meet-cute or a meet-awkward? who knows

author's notes: i need everyone to know that i titled this fic 'the newly documented effects of adeptus temptation' in my files and i think im absolutely hilarious for it. again in bafflement about how to write romance. oh and im totally a fake fan i forgot his karmic debt existed and by the time i remembered i was 7k words in so uh. excuse my skill issue

word count: 10179 (everyone pretend to be shocked please)

⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘

If Xiao had been asked about his plans for that day, he probably would’ve driven whoever had the gall to address him in the first place away with a stony glare. If the question had come from someone of more important status, say, Rex Lapis, he would’ve truthfully answered that his evenings often consisted of loitering on the balcony of Wangshu Inn and staring unseeingly at Liyue’s beautiful scenery, lost in thought.

He wouldn’t have imagined in any timeline or universe that an angel would topple from the sky onto the wooden floor and startle the wits out of him.

In your defence, how were you supposed to know that the wind currents would be particularly tempestuous that day? Everything else had been perfect; your glider was in top shape, as usual, being one of your prized possessions, the slowly darkening sky was free of birds that may have interfered with your path, stars just barely starting to glimmer amongst the bold streaks of the sunset…

All in all, a perfect night for gliding, and when you strapped on your wings and leaped off the edge of Wuwang Hill the familiar rush of exhilaration spread through your fingers and toes. The view never failed to amaze you. You revelled in the cool breeze and gentle ambience of the night’s sounds; rustling leaves, a distant bird’s call, and as you flew across Bishui Plains where there were more people you caught snatches of their chatter in the air. Wangshu Inn came into view, and you adjusted your angle to carry out a slow, spiral descent that you’d been working to perfect for the past few days. It seemed like you’d score another perfect landing; the radius of the circle you made was just wide enough to slow you down, you could taste success on the tip of your tongue-

The gust of wind was sudden and strong, completely throwing you off your path and sending you hurtling down, the wings of your glider snapping and the straps tugging at your arms. Weightlessness lasted only a second before you tumbled down, picking up speed and struggling to readjust the wings against the wind’s resistance, and oh Archons the ground is getting closer shit shit shit-

You landed with a crash on a wooden floor, your legs giving out and causing you to trip blindly forward and collide with something that felt significantly less hard than a wall. A muffled ‘oof’ sound came from above you, and when your ears stopped ringing you opened your eyes and saw the most beautiful golden gaze peering down at you, and registered the feeling of hands on your shoulders. You stammered out an apology, stumbling backwards and unstrapping your glider with shaking hands.

“I’m so sorry, really, I didn’t mean to crash into you like that, it- it was an accident please forgive me-”

“You fell from the sky,” the stranger interrupted, watching you fold away your slightly battered glider with his arms crossed. You laughed awkwardly, rubbing a sore spot on your neck that would no doubt develop into a bruise later along with a tapestry of bumps across your back and ribs. Not the worst accident you’d ever experienced, but not exactly the best, either.

“Y-yes, I did,” you agreed sheepishly, prodding your jaw. Last time you took a fall from this height, you’d managed to dislocate it. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. “Sorry for bumping into you.”

The stranger huffed, frowning and staring down at you. You were clearly one reckless human, barrelling around in a glider without a single precaution and crash-landing on balconies. Still, Xiao was rather intrigued, though he couldn’t for the life of him decide why. Maybe it was your bravado, or your off-handed attitude, or your mesmerising eyes-

He shook his head to dispel the thought.

“You should be more careful.”

“You’re absolutely right, I should,” you agreed with a slight laugh, running a hand through your hair in a mostly futile attempt to tamp down the permanently windswept locks. “Is there any way I can make it up to you for disturbing you? What’s your name?” You asked as an afterthought, tugging off the leather gloves that connected to the wooden joints of your glider. You were met with a long silence and a scrutinising gaze that left you a little flustered from its intensity. You cleared your throat and glanced away. “Not that you’re obligated to introduce yourself, of course, I just-”

“My name is Xiao.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Xiao,” you replied with a brief, relieved grin, bowing your head slightly as you’d seen citizens of Liyue do when greeting one another and reciprocating with your own name. It was a nice name, he thought. He gestured vaguely towards the folded glider in your arms.

“Is it ruined?”

You glanced down at the tear in the leather and a splintered joint, hiding a wince.

“Well. Hopefully not, I’ve had worse falls than this…”

“You do this often, then?” He prompted, tilting his head curiously.

You chuckled, scratching the back of your neck. “Gliding or getting into accidents?”

“The frequency of one implies the other is also a common occurrence.”

“Right you are,” you agreed with a lopsided grin, glad that this strange young man didn’t seem too pressed by the accident you’d caused. “I do glide a lot. And get into accidents equally as often.”

“I’ve never met a human with such a penchant for flying,” he remarked, curious about you and confused at his own interest. He’d never been so willing to hold such a long, relatively useless conversation with a mortal before. You stared at him, perplexed by his wording. Clearly he wasn’t a human himself; everything from his golden eyes to his pointed teeth and unnervingly graceful movements indicated supernaturality, but his confirmation was surprising nonetheless.

“It’s a more popular sport in Mondstadt,” you conceded.

“So you’ve been there, too?” He didn’t think you lived in Liyue; years upon years of protecting the land meant he could quite distinctly recognise its people, and you didn’t elicit any familiarity whatsoever.

“Yes, I have,” you confirmed with a nod. A yell of your name from below snapped you from your thoughtful reverie, and you twisted and leaned over the railing to see who called. Xiao had to restrain himself from yanking you back from the edge; just a natural instinct born from centuries of upholding his contract to protect humans, he reasoned. You peered down below, catching sight of Aether’s golden hair, Paimon waving her tiny hands up at you frantically.

“Ah, I have to leave,” you said, turning to face Xiao again. “My travelling companions are calling for me. It was nice meeting you!”

He nodded, moving aside to let you pass through the entrance to the inn and watching you bound down the stairs with reckless abandon, leaping across the last flight. He marvelled at your energy even after falling from the sky.

“Who was that you were talking with?” Paimon demanded the moment you descended the stairs, hovering around your head. Aether took one look at the battered glider in your arms and the bruise purpling on your jaw and figured out what had happened, tugging you along with a sigh. You’d been travelling with him for some time now; since before he entered Mondstadt’s gates and saved the entire nation, and now you’d arrived in Liyue barely a few days ago. Paimon, indignant at being ignored, began to poke your cheeks and tug your hair, demanding a satisfactory answer while Aether dragged the two of you back to camp.

“His name is Xiao,” you told Paimon.

“And why were you talking to him?” She pestered.

“I, um… I crash landed into him,” you admitted sheepishly, dodging a child running across the docks. Paimon shrieked with laughter, and even Aether cracked a smile.

“That’s so embarrassing!” Paimon gasped between fits of giggling, turning somersaults in mid-air above your head.

“We got here barely a week ago and you already managed to make a scene,” Aether agreed. You huffed indignantly, swatting Paimon away.

“At least I didn’t lose six thousand mora betting on jade,” you shot playfully back. Aether dug his elbow into your ribs.

“That’s a damn low blow and you know it.”

You took to visiting Wangshu Inn every few days to chat with Verr Goldet and sort through the paperwork you tended to accumulate when accepting odd jobs around the city. That’s how you and Aether got by, for the most part; commissions from the Adventurer’s Guild and strangers in the wild, and the occasional monetary reward from winning a gliding contest or something of the sort. Usually the two of you went your separate ways throughout the day and met up in the evening to review what you’d earned and how you’d spend it, and today was no different; you’d settled on Wangshu Inn’s balcony, cross-legged on the floor with an array of letters in front of you that you were sorting into stacks so you could efficiently deliver them to various corners in Liyue and a textbook about ley lines propped open in your lap. You were an odd case of an Akademiya student; having passed the entrance exam you decided on a whim to take, you became one of the ‘far-flung fledglings’, as the faculty called you; students who learned through their travels and reported findings back to their supervisors every month, named as such to reference the rather lacklustre grades many of them got. Such a degree took several years longer to complete than a traditional one, but you didn’t mind. On the contrary, you wanted to travel as much as possible, and if you just so happened to get a certificate for it too then that was just another added benefit.

A breeze ruffled your hair and paperwork, sending several pages spiralling off the balcony and down to the ground before you could snatch them back. You stared at the fluttering sheets in dismay, resolving to never sit there again, when Xiao appeared in front of you out of thin air with some paper in his hands. He gave them to you without meeting your eyes.

“You dropped these.”

You jumped to your feet, accepting them and thanking him profusely. “Oh, Xiao! Thank you ever so much, you saved me a boatload of trouble.”

“It’s nothing,” he muttered, crossing his arms. You wondered if you’d disturbed him somehow, given his short replies, and quickly gathered up your things.

“Thanks anyway,” you repeated with a smile. “I’ll leave now to give you some peace. Verr Goldet said you like to spend some of your time up here…” you trailed off. Xiao glimpsed one of the bruises you’d sustained from your rocky landing on the balcony just above your collarbone, and realised with an odd clarity that he wasn’t particularly eager to see you leave.

“You can stay,” he said shortly. “It makes no difference to me.”

Your smile could’ve replaced the sun, he thought. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to disturb you.”

“It’s no disturbance.”

“Alright,” you replied cheerfully, resetting your things and plopping back down onto the floor. For a moment you were silent, poring over the documents in front of you until you reached the end of the proposal you’d been editing.

“You’re not a human, are you?” You asked absent-mindedly while shuffling through the paperwork. “...No,” Xiao confirmed after a pause. After a moment of intense deliberation, he sat down across from you. “I am an adeptus.”

You abandoned your pen, staring at him in surprise. “Oh. Are… are you the Conqueror of Demons, by any chance?”

He stared at your writing on the page. “I am.”

This was the part where he warned you to keep your distance from him, he dimly realised. Now was the time to push you behind the wall that separated humans from his inevitably harmful presence. His tongue felt heavier than any weapon he’d ever wielded.

You hummed thoughtfully, the sound distracting him for a moment, and rummaged through the basket at your side for a handful of berries before pushing it towards him in a silent offering. “I’ve heard the adepti have a contract with Rex Lapis that binds them to Liyue. Is that true?”

He relaxed slightly at the genuine curiosity in your voice. He’d drive you off later, he reasoned. It’d be easier if your curiosity was sated and you didn’t have any more questions to bother him with.

“What you’ve heard is correct. You don’t hail from Liyue, do you?”

“No,” you said. “It’s my first time visiting. The mountains here are lovely, perfect for gliding.”

“Did your glider recover from the less-than-subpar landing you performed the last time we met?”

“H-hey!” You laughed, caught off-guard by his casual dig. It was supposed to be a harsh rebuke, not that you noticed. “That was a rare moment of shame, okay? It was an easy fix!”

Xiao said nothing, marvelling at how differently you seemed to view the world from him. You all but exuded passion and excitement, as though you were glad to be alive, while Xiao’s every action had become a product of his sense of duty. The concept of doing anything for his own enjoyment was a long-dead one; what pleasure did a sinner like him deserve? Even then, your enthusiasm was… not quite infectious, not to him, but it was almost calming. If there were people out there who had the luxury of delighting in such frivolous activities as gliding then his endless battle to purge the land of evil must have bore fruit; for the idea of having wings being to take joy in the act of flying rather than to gain an advantage over one’s enemies had to be some sort of indication. Still, you were a strange human. A good sort of strange, he thought, unbidden.

You’d fallen almost silent, weaving a soft tune into the symphony of rustling leaves and birdsong as you hummed under your breath. He stared intently at you. Yes; a good sort of strange for sure.

The next few days brought about a similar encounters. After bidding Aether and Paimon goodbye, you headed to the inn, embarrassed at first when you realised you were hoping to see the strange yet handsome adeptus again. You’d gone around the harbour, Qingce Village and even the mountains of Jueyun Karst in search of a proper house to stay in; you resolutely refused to keep camping outside, especially considering the Rite of Descension was months away and therefore you’d be in Liyue for some time to come. After a long morning of knocking on doors and asking around, you’d accumulated a list of possible residences and their locations; some in the harbour, some in the further villages and even one or two places nestled deep within the mountains. If it were up to you, you would’ve gone to assess the latter option within a heartbeat, but you had to take your traveling companions’ wishes into consideration too. So you unrolled your trusty map on the floor of Wangshu Inn’s balcony, hunched over the aging parchment as you marked out the exact locations. Xiao soundlessly teleported behind you, crouching and leaning over until his chest nearly brushed your back. You were startled out of your skin when you heard him mumble a “what are you doing?”, whirling around to face him and letting out a surprised laugh.

“Xiao, you can’t just sneak up on me like that,” you berated, shuffling to the side to give him space to sit next to you. A perplexed expression crossed his face.

“It was not my intention to sneak up at all.”

You raised your eyebrows with a teasing smile. “Is this an adeptus thing?”

He huffed, bristling at your teasing. “Have some respect, mortal.”

His voice wasn’t quite as stern as he would’ve liked, though. He briefly pondered why he wasn’t admonishing you or giving you the cold shoulder for your overly friendly attitude; he repeatedly shunned attempts at friendship in the past and refused offerings from humans. What made you so different? He hoped you wouldn’t notice.

“Well, I’d appreciate some sort of indicator that the Vigilant Yaksha, Conqueror of Demons and adeptus of Liyue found it fit to grace this foolish mortal with his presence,” you replied, bending over the map to straighten one of the corners.

“Fine,” he conceded after a pause. You offered him a zaytun peach from the basket at your side, and he wondered how you got your hands on fresh fruit that wasn’t native to Liyue. “What are these markings?” He asked, gesturing towards your map.

“Well, you see,” you started, reclining back on your palms and giving him your full attention, tucking your pen behind your ear. “I’ve been looking for suitable lodgings for my travel companions and I. We could be here in Liyue for months, maybe even a whole year, since he’s waiting for the Rite of Descension. Usually we just camp outside, but since we’re going to be here for so long I’d rather not spend all my time in a tent, not to mention the fact that Liyue’s countryside isn’t as empty as Mondstadt’s. There’s a lot more monsters out here at night.”

Xiao nodded. Your reluctance to expose yourself to the elements day in and day out fit his knowledge of humans being rather fragile; it made sense that you’d want some shelter.

“Reasonable,” he remarked, taking a bite of the peach.

“Say, Xiao. Would you mind coming with me to a few of these places?” You asked with forced nonchalance.

“Why?” He countered, blunt as ever.

You toyed with your Vision, a sheepish smile pulling up the corners of your lips. “I’m not very familiar with the mountains yet,” you explained hesitantly, avoiding his gaze. “And I know Aether’s busy with commissions… but I’d rather not go alone, I heard there’s lots of monsters in the area,” you finished hurriedly. You already regretted asking. He definitely had better things to do than escort a tourist, for Celestia’s sake, why would you ask that-

“What time would you like to go?”

You looked up at him, your shocked expression quickly morphing into an elated one as you beamed up at him. Xiao wondered why his face felt so hot all of a sudden.

“How about right now?” You suggested, deftly rolling up your map. “If you’re free, of course.”

He nodded, rising from the floor. “Yes, that is suitable.”

“We’ll have to stop by the camp so I can grab my glider, though”- you were abruptly cut off when Xiao lifted you up, one arm hooked around your legs and the other looped around your shoulders. A surprised yelp left your lips, immediately swallowed by the wind as Xiao teleported away from the balcony in a cloud of wispy black and turquoise smoke. You squeezed your eyes shu until you could feel the sun’s warmth again. You’d emerged between the two peaks of Mt Tianheng. After a moment of admiring the view of the harbour below, you realised you’re still very much in Xiao’s arms; with a flustered cough, you disentangled your limbs from his and stumbled into the grassy garden of the cabin.

“This place is nice,” you said, mostly to distract yourself from the situation you’d been in moments prior. “Although it does look rather old…” you added, trailing off as you made your way to the front door, gesturing vaguely for him to follow you. The door squeaked on its hinges and one of the windows was cracked, but the owner had seemed rather eager to get rid of it, hence the ridiculously cheap price he was willing to rent it for. You relayed this absent-mindedly to Xiao, who nodded, peering around the perimeter of the cabin and attempting to see it from a human’s perspective. He wondered what factors you would take into consideration. You stuck your head through the doorway, and immediately reeled back with an alarmed shout; Xiao’s head snapped in your direction, his spear already materialising as he rushed towards you.

You slammed the door shut.

“Forget this one,” you announced, turning to face a very battle-ready Xiao with his spear in hand and the Vision at his wrist glowing faintly. He marched towards the door.

“What is it?”

“A revolting number of spiders,” you replied with a shudder, grabbing his sleeve and dragging him away. He stopped dead, shooting you an incredulous look and ignoring the way you tugged him.

“You shouted loud enough for Morax himself to hear your voice because of a few insects?”

“Spiders are arachnids, not insects.”

He let out a disbelieving sigh, finally relenting and letting you drag him away.

“You are all but cowardly, (Name),” His words were sharp, but you took them in stride.

“Why, how dare you!” With an indignant laugh, you let go of his sleeve and shoved him playfully away. He didn’t even falter from your push. Not fair. “And you have the nerve to preach to me about respect!”

Xiao turned his face to hide a tiny smile.

The next house was crossed off the list because the view wasn’t nice enough for your liking. Xiao marvelled at the specificity of your requirements, and then proclaimed the cottage at the edge of Mingyun Village unfit because he could sense a demonic spirit lurking within.

“A demonic spirit?” You repeated, brows furrowed. He glared at the seemingly innocent cottage, resolving to return and deal with the issue once he finished escorting you.

“Yes. Living here is out of the question, you’ll find yourself with a slit throat before Morax can declare the end of the night.”

You blinked, then laughed. “Alright then, Mingyun Village is a miss,” you said, crossing it off your list. “Hmm… only two more options,” you remarked, folding away your list and looking back up at Xiao.

“Then let’s make haste,” he replied, moving to pick you up and no doubt teleport.

“Why don’t we walk?” You suggested. He paused mid-motion, contemplating the idea.

“Sal Terrae is close enough,” he agreed, then to your surprise, advanced towards you again and went through with scooping you into his grasp. He began walking away from the village and the haunted cottage.

“Xiao, you don’t have to carry me,” you pointed out after a moment of silent, warm-faced embarrassment.

“I thought humans were known for their deplorable stamina,” he said without pausing his stride. “Who’s to say whether you’ll be able to make the trek or collapse from exhaustion halfway through?”

“You’ve got a pretty bad impression of humans in general, don’t you?”

“It’s merely a statement of fact, not an insult.”

You poked his chest. “Hey, it’s not fair of you to be irritated because we can’t keep up with adepti.”

He gently pulled at a strand of your hair in retaliation, an act you were prone to when he was a little more dismissive than the situation called for and one he’d been copying from you as of late. “I’m merely following your pre-established example and complaining even when it’s fruitless.”

You laughed long and hard at that.

“You win this battle of wits,” you said with an exaggerated sigh, draping the back of your hand across your forehead in a gesture of dramatic surrender. “Now put me down.”

“That would significantly reduce our speed.”

“It’s not like I’m slow,” you huffed, poking his chest again to regain his attention. “Besides, it’d prevent you from tiring out too quickly.” Xiao scoffed at that, gripping you a little tighter as he hopped across a lake from one stone to another.

“You insult me by assuming my body would be as weak as a mortal’s,” he replied, wishing he could properly harden his voice and actually sound offended rather than this adopt wretchedly soft tone.

“Well you insult me by assuming I can’t walk on my own two feet!”

“And just like that, we’ve become sworn enemies,” Xiao deadpanned.

With a half-hearted grumble, you let him carry you the rest of the way. At some point, to annoy him into putting you down, you asked him to lift you a little higher so you can reach the sunsettia you glimpsed in the uppermost branches of a tree. He didn’t even bat an eye, shifting his hands to your waist and lifting you above his head so you could grab the fruit; you were left thoroughly baffled with his patience. At least you had a snack for the way.

You decided that Sal Terrae was lovely, if a little cold due to its proximity from Dragonspine. You hadn’t expected to like the little shack by the waterside as much as you did, but the cool breeze, swaying grass and rippling water made for a charming scene. You could even glimpse the glittering of a crimson agate on the ridge of the nearby mountaintop; no doubt Aether would be kept busy collecting all the ones he’d missed. You spun around in the grassy outcrop, admiring it all.

“It’s a little far from the harbour…” you lamented, planting your hands on your hips as you contemplated the matter. “Maybe I’ll take it for myself, even if Aether isn’t interested,” you remarked. “What do you think, Xiao?”

“I don’t know what circumstances mortals may have to consider when choosing a place of residence.”

You huffed amusedly. “So you have no opinion on the matter whatsoever?”

Xiao had several opinions on the matter. The place was free of monsters, for one, and he’d be able to see the shack from the top of Wangshu Inn and it was close enough for him to visit without having to explain himself.

“It is not unpleasant,” he allowed.

“That’s significant praise coming from you. Hm…” You circled the building, assessing it for any potential flaws. “I’ll talk to the owner,” you decided. “If I can strike a good bargain then I’ll take it.”

Xiao hummed in acknowledgement. “It is a safer place to live than the mountains.”

“Why would I worry about safety when the ever-diligent adeptus Xiao is guarding the lands?” You teased, skipping back to the edge of the lake. He blushed to the tips of his ears, clearing his throat and looking away as you tugged off your shoes to dip your feet into the cool water.

“Foolish mortal. You shouldn’t rely so heavily on my protection.”

You just laughed, unapologetic and unrepentant. Xiao willed himself to be annoyed by your carelessness; he couldn’t. He liked that you thought he was so reliable and strong. He wanted you to think positively of him. Utterly ridiculous.

You loitered on the plains of Sal Terrae for the day, relishing the sunlight and crisp wind from the mountains. Xiao stayed with you, ‘to make sure you didn’t encounter any trouble,’ and you shared berries and apples plucked from around the island with him, chattering absent-mindedly until stars appeared in the sky.

You ended up buying the shack after the owner hastily told you to take it for a price so cheap it was almost theft; he’d seemed nervous and jumpy the day you spoke to him, constantly looking over his shoulder and practically begging you to buy the place. You wondered what had gotten into him as you signed the contract to transfer ownership; Aether had shrugged and more or less stated it didn’t matter as long as you got a bargain, an opinion that Paimon eagerly seconded. Xiao had muttered something unintelligible, looking away and dismissing the topic. Odd.

A hesitant sort of friendship formed between the two of you; you enjoyed each other’s company and Xiao would listen to you chatter over the basket of fresh fruit you never failed to bring, occasionally contributing to the conversation and silently encouraging you to keep it afloat. You sometimes worried that you were bothering him; he sometimes worried you’d grow tired of his lacklustre responses and stop visiting the inn altogether. Even now, on the odd days you couldn’t stop at the balcony for even a moment, he felt strangely annoyed by your absence. How dare you wriggle into his daily routine and then ruin it by not showing up when you were supposed to? The audacity of humans…

Sometimes you invited him to Sal Terrae. He rarely accepted; that would be too great of an indulgence for an adeptus like him. At least when you were the one coming to see him he could chalk up his tolerance for you to a desire to uphold his contract, nothing more (never mind the fact he’d never given humans the time of day before). On the rare days you did manage to coax him out of Wangshu Inn, you taught him card games and let him win when you discovered just how terrible he was at them, and swam in the cool waters of Sal Terrae while rambling absent-mindedly about whatever happened to be the subject of your thoughts at that time. Xiao secretly liked these instances best; when you completely let your guard down and allowed him a glimpse into the intricacies of your thoughts and your routine. Aether and Paimon teased you relentlessly for spending so much time in his company, while Xiao found himself plagued by similar treatment from Madame Ping and other adepti. He consoled himself with the knowledge that Morax, his master, wouldn’t concern himself with such matters. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Morax chuckled over his interactions with you from Celestia.

You sometimes brought your glider to the inn if it was in need of repairs, other times you appeared with stacks of paperwork in your arms that he’d ridicule (“Incorrigible, mortals’ insistence of writing every damned thing down as if it’ll make a difference when all becomes ash.” You just laughed as you so often did, and the sound dispelled any ideas of cinders and fire, bringing images of an end bathed in sunlight and birdsong instead) and always with an enormous book or two about your studies tucked beneath your arm. You rambled, long-winded and with no clear link between your sentences as you carried out whatever task you’d dragged along with you that day; sorting through your commissions, writing drafts for your academic papers or polishing the wooden frame of your glider and plucking out any bent feathers. You once gifted him one of the feathers, perfectly straight and intact, and tied it to the jade ring on the sleeve of his left arm.

“A charm for good luck,” you told him with a smile. He wanted to tell you that such things were impossible for a human to procure, that true good fortune could only be in the form of a divine blessing, but he found he didn’t believe his own words enough to speak them aloud.

You wrote a lot of letters, he noticed, envelopes filled to bursting with sheets and sheets of parchment that you explained were the reports required of you by the Akademiya, which you’d send to your mentor with a feather of the latest pattern you’d taken to using. He felt an odd stab of bitterness somewhere in his chest the first time he saw you sealing a feather into an envelope with such care, even as you went on about your genius mentor whose supervision you were lucky to have, considering how they were currently at the other side of the world in Snezhnaya continuing their studies at the Fatui’s Zapolnary Palace. Xiao couldn’t care less about this mysterious teacher who was privy to so much of your praise, though the uncanny sting was easily pacified whenever you’d bring him a platter of the almond tofu he so fancied, or invited him to go on a long, meandering walk through the Liyuen countryside.

Regardless, this teacher of yours found themselves on the receiving end of his ire when you arrived at the inn well into the afternoon rather than late morning as customary for you, and looking a little less lively than usual. Like a flower drooping on a hot day, he found himself thinking as he took in your more-dishevelled-than-normal hair and the dark shadows beneath your eyes. You weren’t making an effort to fill the silence, either, instead methodically and sluggishly working through a stack of paper covered in lines of your handwriting, crossing out sentences and scribbling things in the margins before copying the whole thing onto another sheet.

“You look sickly,” he stated matter-of-factly, watching you frown at something you’d written and vehemently black it out with your pen.

“I feel sickly,” you grumbled back, sticking then pen behind your ear as you skimmed through the index of the book open by your side for a reference you needed. He frowned. Even a simple bout of tiredness could so quickly deteriorate into something life-threatening when it came to humans, and the thought of you, boundless and free, becoming the prisoner of a grave because of some measly ailment didn’t sit right with him.

“Then rest.” It came out as more of a command than a plea, and you sent him a pointed look.

“My mentor’s requesting an article on the elemental anomalies within Dunyu Ruins and how they affected the standard model of a society’s evolution.” You stifled a yawn, stretching your back. “I’ve been working on it all night, if I don’t finish it now I’ll be too worried to sleep.”

He fell silent at that, pondering how to convince you with a frown as your pen scratched away.

“But what if you get sick?”

“From what, Xiao? Studying?”

He grumbled under his breath. “From overexertion, mortal.”

You waved him off with a non-committal sound, and Xiao sat down next to you on the balcony floor, helping himself to bulle fruit from you wicker basket and continuing to deliberate on how best to make you take a break.

In the end he didn’t have to do anything at all; less than an hour into working you dozed off while leaning over a detailed diagram of some ruins. Xiao quickly caught you before your head hit the floor, tentatively holding you upright and expecting you to jolt awake at any moment. When you didn’t, he carefully set you down against the balcony railing, then grabbed you again when your body slumped to the side. At this point he was rather mystified; what did one do with a sleeping human unable to support their own weight? While mulling over the perplexing question, his eyes wandered over your face, upturned and relaxed, a far cry from the usual ear-to-ear grin you so often sported. You were pleasant to look at regardless of your expression, he decided, then shook his head as if to dispel the thought. The motion nudged you slightly off his shoulder, and he froze at your quiet murmur of protest. Maybe a bed would be a more apt resting place, he realised belatedly, and after a moment of intense deliberation lifted you from the floor and carried you awkwardly down the stairs to where Verr Goldet was manning the counter as always. Upon seeing him standing at the landing of the stairs looking so thoroughly confused, holding you so gingerly as though afraid you’d shatter or slip from his grasp, she had to stifle a laugh that would no doubt wake you and cause him to prickle with embarrassment. Still, though, she felt as though at least a little teasing was in order.

“Prince Charming has found himself a sleeping beauty, I see.”

Predictably, Xiao bristled like an irritable cat, heat crawling up the back of his neck.

“Do not mock me, human.”

“Not even a little?” She persisted, then chuckled to herself at his glare, relenting. “The upstairs bedrooms are empty.”

You woke up in an unfamiliar bed, the light of the sun well on its way to disappearing beneath the horizon and a jar of just-blooming glaze lilies on the windowsill that looked as though they’d been picked by a rather heavy hand. You blinked up at the ceiling, then rolled out of bed. A quick glance at the window revealed the view from the top of Wangshu Inn you’d come to recognise so easily; put at ease by your familiar surroundings, you made your way towards the door and upon opening it, came face to face with Xiao. His fist had been held aloft, as though about to knock on the door (you taught him that after he almost walked in on you changing) and his look of surprise morphed into one of embarrassment, which then deteriorated into a frown.

“I told you. You needed to rest after all.”

“What happened to ‘good evening’? ‘How are you?’ ‘Did you sleep well?’”

He clicked his tongue in a show of impatience at your teasing, but nonetheless he relaxed and offered you the barest hint of a smile. You swiftly beat down the butterflies taking flight in your stomach.

“Fine. Did you sleep well?”

“Like a log,” you confirmed with a grin, patting his shoulder appreciatively as you walked past him. “All thanks to you.”

He said nothing in response, turning to follow you down the stairs.

“Are my things still on the balcony?” You asked him over your shoulder as you leapt down the last flight of stairs and gave him a fraction of a heart attack in the process. He could never seem to get used to your penchant for getting into some form of danger. “No,” he replied when your safe landing calmed his nerves. “I took them back to your home while you were sleeping.”

You beamed up at him as he descended the stairs, and his heart hammered anew, though for completely different reasons than a few seconds prior.

“You didn’t have to.”

“There’s very little I’m obligated to do.”

“You can just say that you wanted to do something nice for me, you know,” you teased.

He rolled his eyes at that, then conceded: “Alright. I just wanted to.”

“Well, I offer my most sincere thanks to you, oh mighty Alatus,” you replied with a laugh, picking up your glider that he’d left on the table Verr Goldet usually manned. He took your playful jab in silence, watching you with a tiny smile. You paused in the process of tying the glider to your wrist, your face abruptly falling as you remembered the paper you hadn’t finished.

“Damn it,” you muttered to yourself, straightening a few ruffled feathers and experimentally flapping one of the wings. Xiao waited until you’d gone through your usual routine of getting the glider on before addressing the matter he knew was worrying you.

“That… article you’d been so fussed over,” he began as he followed you to the balcony. “I sent it to an acquaintance of mine who’s well-versed in Liyuen history. She was quite impressed by it, and left a few – what did she call them – ‘alternate resources’ for your perusal.”

You paused at the railing of the balcony, no doubt about to launch yourself off it, to shoot him a surprised look, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. The longer you didn’t say anything, the more self-conscious he felt under the weight of your gaze.

“You- Xiao, that’s so sweet!” Your surprise turned into elation, and you bounded over and threw your arms around him. He could withstand blows from deities and immortals, but a hug from you left him a little winded, and it was a long moment before he awkwardly patted your back in reciprocation. You pulled away, your smile now tinged with embarrassment and your cheeks tinged with pink, and cleared your throat.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing,” he all but choked out, avoiding your eyes. Even after you waved goodbye and dove off the edge of the balcony and headfirst into a wind current that carried you up and out of sight, Xiao stood there, red and frozen in place, struggling to get the memory of the way your hair brushed his cheek and the press of your arms around him out of his mind.

He insisted on accompanying you to domains and ruins whenever Aether was unavailable, claiming you’d ‘made yourself his responsibility’ and ‘such are the terms of his contract.’ You were unnerved by his sheer strength at first. It seemed no enemy could best him, and he cleared ruins and domains without breaking a sweat leaving you to solve mechanisms, rootle through treasure chests and search for Geoculi. The day you headed to Lingju Pass to investigate the debilitated structures without telling him, he was livid.

“You could’ve been hurt, you fool,” he snarled, kicking the remains of a mitachurl off his jade spear. You buried the point of your sword into the ground, leaning on its hilt and breathing heavily.

“I had it under control,” you snapped back, wiping the sweat off your brow with the hem of your shirt. Xiao scoffed.

“Lies,” he hissed, stalking closer until he towered over you. “Next time you decide to explore a place infested with filth, tell me.”

“Or what, oh mighty Alatus?” You bit out, shooting him a glare. It wasn’t your intention to feed the fire, but Archons, it had been a long day and the last thing you wanted to deal with was his fickle temper. These spats the two of you were so fond of having really could be emotionally laborious at times; his unwavering discipline and your carefree, adventurous outlook were bound to clash every now and then.

“Or I’ll make a point of following you everywhere from the shadows.”

His utter lack of hesitation caught you off guard. You tugged your sword out of the dirt and sheathed it with a sigh. The spike of anger had completely left your body, leaving nothing but the ashes of exhaustion.

“Let’s go back to the inn,” you grumbled, unfolding your glider. “Damn these ruins. Aether can bloody well explore them himself instead of chatting up the perfume lady.”

“No,” he interjected bluntly, grabbing your wrist before you could strap on the glider. “Walk with me. Clearly I can’t let you out of my sight for a moment, what with you barrelling into dangerous situations without a second thought.” He didn’t leave you much of a choice, slotting your hand in his and pulling you along. They fit quite nicely together, he thought. Perhaps he should do that more often.

“Why walk when we can fly?” You protested, stumbling after him.

“The complaints of a mortal unconcerned with their own safety mean nothing to me,” he snapped without any real bite. He couldn’t stay angry at you. It puzzled and infuriated him no end; theoretically speaking, everything from your carelessness to your unwaveringly beautiful eyes should get on his nerves, but it never did.

You decided to take the opportunity to tease him. It wasn’t as if you were upset at him, anyway; you took the liberty of dragging him places he had no business visiting all the time. “But you’re concerned with my safety, even if I’m not. Were you worried, Xiao?”

“Yes.”

You blinked. Stumbled.

“O-oh.”

You didn’t say much else until he stopped at a mountaintop dotted with qingxin flowers and motioned stiffly for you to sit down. A gentle breeze blew, ruffling your hair and sending the qingxin swaying back and forth. Too flighty a wind for take-off, but gliding off the mountain would be fun. Quarrel forgotten, you rummaged through the pouch at your hip and procured a lavender melon, offering it to Xiao. He stared at it for a moment before accepting.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten the idiotic stunt you pulled today.”

You chuckled, laying back on the grass to admire the sky. “Well, I haven’t forgotten your unnecessarily overbearing attitude, so we’re even.”

He huffed, staring resolutely at the cluster of qingxin to avoid your teasing smile.

“I am upholding a contract. I have reason to behave the way I do.”

“Oh, of course. I forgot about your eternally noble intentions.”

“How can you be so irresponsible?” He demanded, finally looking at you. “Humans are fragile. Breakable. You shouldn’t be so lax when it comes to your own life.”

You shifted, propping yourself up on your elbows. “Not this again,” you complained with a bemused smile. “I already told you, if I’m going to die anyway I might as well do it style.” You giggled. “Go out with a bang, y’know?”

“Your reasoning is absurd,” he grumbled, irritated by the idea of you dying at all. Incomprehensible; human mortality was hardly something that he could afford to be shocked by anymore, and yet… “I won’t let you die in some senseless way.” You’d made yourself his problem, as far as he was concerned, and the statement was more of a vow than a chastisement.

“I won’t,” you replied, far too cheerfully for such a morbid topic. “There’s still so much of the world to see, and it’d be a shame to miss it. I’ll be around for a good long while yet.”

“You’d better be,” he muttered under his breath, watching the slight flutter of your lashes as the sun emerged from behind a cloud and shone into your eyes, lighting them ablaze. He tore his gaze away, chest strangely tight.

The day you arrived at the balcony in a flurry of feathers and enough confidence to overflow a giant’s teacup, announcing that you were going to make it the Qingyun Peak or die trying, Xiao was less than pleased.

“Too dangerous,” he said with a shake of his head, knowing his dismissal wouldn’t be enough to discourage you.

“Aether descends into the Spiral Abyss every month and comes back non-fatal injuries every time, a bit of hiking can’t be that dangerous!” You countered with a grin, knowing that you’d get him to crack eventually and come with you.

“The Traveller isn’t human,” he replied with a pointed look in your direction.

“So I even have an advantage over him!”

Xiao sighed, already half-resigned to accompanying you to the towering mountain range. “Only you would think mortality is an advantage,” he mused, pushing himself off the balcony’s railing and walking towards you. “I don’t suppose I’ll be able to dissuade you in any case.”

Your grin only widened triumphantly. “Nope! Are you coming or not?”

“I don’t trust you not to come back with a broken leg,” he deadpanned, stopping in front of you and staring you down in a last-ditch effort to convince you to spend your day doing something a little less hazardous. When you didn’t relent, meeting his stare head-on with a victorious twinkle in your eyes, he gave in with a sharp exhale. “Yes, alright, fine,” he grumbled. “I’ll come with you.”

You headed out not a moment later, and almost immediately began bickering over the best route to take.

“The Jueyun Karst route is faster.”

“But I want to go through Tianqiu Valley and Nantianmen,” you protested, tracing the road on your map as you walked.

“And waste all that time? Don’t be absurd.”

You shot him a playful grin. “The day is young. What do we lose other than a few hours?”

He levelled you with an unimpressed look, grabbing you by the hood of your cape to steer you around a puddle you’d failed to notice. “Only our limbs, if the Geovishap that lives in the valley is feeling generous.” Recovering from the stumble that came with Xiao’s dragging, you replied with a maddeningly sunny tone, “As if some dragon could be a match for you anyway.”

“So that’s your strategy? Your ulterior motive for bringing me along?” His sternness quickly devolved into reluctant, subtle amusement. “To have me act as a glorified bodyguard?”

“No, of course not!” You cried, clutching your chest in a show of exaggerated horror and teetering to lean against him as if on the verge of fainting. “You’re so much more than that, Xiao! I need someone with an Anemo vision to activate the wind current mechanisms up in the mountains, too.”

He pushed you off him gently - more gently than you deserved - with a roll of his eyes, your laughter carrying across the plains while he grumbled about “the disrespect of mortals” and “foolish reliance on others’ strength.” It didn’t aggravate him as much as it used to, though. It was nice, being someone you relied on.

In the end, after much squabbling, you and Xiao ended up taking the long, meandering path through Jueyun Karst, on your condition of exploring the Stone Forest as well. You couldn’t even pretend to be miffed that he’d won the argument; each step you took revealed a view of the towering mountains more picturesque than the last, the grassy slopes on either side were scattered with wildflowers and every now and then you caught sight of a white crane circling the sky.

“Look, Xiao! There’s that crane again,” you said, tipping your neck back and shielding your eyes from the sun to watch it cleave through the air with slow, methodical flaps of its wings. Xiao made a noncommittal sound of acknowledgement, and with his trademark lack of subtlety attempted to drag you onwards.

“Oh my Gods it did a flip,” you declared, completely unconcerned by his strange behaviour even as you stumbled on an uneven patch in the road.

“I’ve seen even you do a flip before. It can’t possibly warrant that much amazement.”

You twisted in his grip to land a punch on his shoulder. “What do you mean, ‘can’t warrant that much amazement’? Are my talents in the flipping mid-air department not good enough for you?”

“Passable at best,” he replied, shooting a strangely apprehensive glance up at the sky. You followed his gaze to the crane still circling above you.

“What, don’t tell me you’re scared of the bird?”

Xiao bristled, looking very much like bird himself, all indignant and puffed-up. “I am not scared of the bird.”

“No?” You grinned, falling back into step beside him. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“Anything could fool a mortal mind,” he huffed, still smarting from your jokes at his expense.

Slinging a placating arm around his shoulder, you resolutely ignored his immediate protests and pulled him into your side, sending you both stumbling along the road. “Don’t be all grumpy, Xiao,” you cajoled. “It’s alright, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. I was afraid of dogs for most of my childhood.”

“I’m not- you-” Spluttering indignantly, he wrestled your arm off him. “For the last time, the damn bird doesn’t scare me!”

“Hey, look! It’s back!” You exclaimed, pointing upwards.

“Where?” He demanded, whipping his head around and quickly realising he’d been played at the sight of an empty, bird-less sky. You dissolved into a fit of laughter, the sound carrying across the mountains and echoing in his head for the rest of the walk.

By the time you’d reached the Statue of the Seven, the heat of the afternoon had firmly established itself, the sun hovering directly in the middle of the sky as though suspended from a thread and casting a layer of warm, golden light over the mountains like silk thrown over a table. The Stone Forest towered around you, their peaks wreathed with clouds and the river below a winding blue ribbon, glinting in the late sunshine from where it weaved throughout the landscape of the valley. Contentment settled in your veins, warm and reassuring, even as a gust of wind swayed you precariously close to the lip of the jade platform and Xiao instinctively seized your arm and dragged you back. You sent him an amused look, pulling him down to sit next to you at the edge.

“Relax,” you told him, bumping his shoulder with yours and letting your legs swing. “I can fly, remember?”

He made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, with a tone that you’d learnt to distinguish as the doubtful, ‘yeah right’ one. You ignored it, leaning your weight against him and sighing as you took in the view. He grumbled, but made space for you regardless.

“Tell me the story of these mountains,” you said, breaking the silence.

Xiao shifted to raise an eyebrow at you. “Not everything has a story.”

“The epic tales you’re always telling say otherwise,” you replied with a laugh.

“You never cease with your ridiculous demands,” he complained, failing to sound anything other than slightly bemused and just a little fond, his usual curtness softened with the warmth of the afternoon, the tranquillity of the moment. He hoped you didn’t notice. “First I’m a bodyguard, then a wind current activator, and now a storyteller. Make up your mind, you fickle human.”

“You forgot ‘personal jester’.”

That drew a rare laugh out of him, and your chest warmed with the satisfaction of it.

“Disrespectful little mortal.”

“Aloof, haughty, holier-than-thou adeptus,” you countered without missing a beat.

“The adepti of yesteryear would never tolerate such insolence.”

“Lucky for me, you tolerate it just fine,” you remarked with a grin, pushing yourself away from him. Xiao watched you stretch, silhouetted against the sun, rimmed in gold, caught in the world’s embrace as if it, too, knew how precious, how radiant you were. He’s staring, unable to tear his gaze away, unable to stop a pang of envy from twisting his stomach; did the sun’s rays know how fortunate they were to caress you so lovingly, to paint your skin aglow?

Seemingly unaware of his scrutiny, you shield your eyes with your hand, squinting up at a Waypoint just above the two of you.

“I’m going up there,” you announced, shucking your bag and preparing to jump. Resigned to your constant need for adrenaline, Xiao simply looked on as you snapped open the wings of your glider in preparation.

“And then what?” He asked instead of trying to fruitlessly convince you otherwise. He already knew you’d never stop chasing the next thrill, the next most dangerous thing. You flashed him a grin over your shoulder, devilish and laden with challenge.

“You’ll head over to Mount Aocang and catch me,” you said, as if it were a simple matter, a walk through the park. Xiao felt his heart rate spike.

“You’re going to jump from up there, towards me, and I’m supposed to catch you,” he repeated, deadpan.

“Unless it’s too difficult for you,” you replied with a raise of your eyebrows. He exhaled sharply through his nose. You were going to be the death of him.

It took you a disturbingly short amount of time to scale the enormous rock upon which the Waypoint rested, scrabbling quickly up to the top despite the lack of footholds, graceless yet undeniably efficient. Xiao could see you from his place at the peak of Mount Aocang, a you in miniature, your glider a burst of colour against the sky. He’s jittery, from the apprehension of you being in such a precarious position and the knowledge that you’re both in Cloud Retainer’s territory; the memory of seeing a snow-white crane follow you up the mountain trail only worsened the feeling. And yet, every thought was pushed from his mind as he watched you step towards the edge, waving energetically at him before leaping off with a holler of excitement and a flurry of feathers. Heart in his throat, his eyes tracked your rapid descent, arms tucked in and wings flattened against your sides as you performed what you called a nosedive; he hated it, the way he couldn’t tell whether you were falling deliberately or had simply fallen victim to something as inescapable as gravity, moments away from proving the inevitability of death. But as always, you never did fall without intention, without control; within moments of you disappearing below his line of vision, he heard the swoosh of your glider unfurling and you shot upwards with the suddenness of the air filling your wings, a flock birds taking flight as your shout of delight pierced through the silence. Xiao relaxed despite himself, your joy so unmistakable, so obvious, that he couldn’t help but be put at ease by it. You were back above him, and he could tell you were preparing to descend from the way you angled your body to the side, tucking one of the wings into your side to make wide, lazy turn in his direction, and then you were hurtling towards him, maniacal grin flashing, hair streaming out behind you. Just as quickly as the tension left his muscles, it returned, and he braced himself; when it became clear you’d overshot the landing he took off running until you were directly in front of him, eyes shining and hair wild and mouth pulled into a grin-

You tumbled into him with a whoop, and his arms immediately tightened around you, sending you both spinning with the momentum of the collision though he didn’t fall. Your cheeks stung from the wind, pulse dizzyingly fast as you laughed breathlessly into Xiao’s ear, the sound making him a little giddy and the brush of your feathers tickling his cheeks as you pulled back to look him in the face, stun him with the full force of your delight.

“Did you see that?” You panted, exhilarated, as though he could’ve done anything except watch you raptly in those few minutes.

“I did,” he confirmed instead of saying so, feeling his own lips pull into a smile entirely against his will. You were safe now, no longer subject to the whims of the sky, but his heartbeat still hadn’t calmed in the slightest; if anything, he felt even more agitated than before, finding himself suddenly hyperaware of all the places you were touching, the perfect way you fit against him, the weight of your arms around his neck, the brightness in your eyes, your parted lips as you gasped for breath… What in Teyvat is this feeling?

He murmured your name, helpless, enamoured by your joy.

You blinked up at him. “What’s wrong, Xiao?”

It was the way you said his name that tipped him over the edge; sweetly concerned and whispered like a secret only you were privy to. All of a sudden seeing you, hearing you, touching you wasn’t enough; overwhelmed by the need to find out what you tasted like, Xiao tipped your face upwards and kissed you.

You tensed, let out a little noise of surprise. He panicked, already formulating an apology, appalled at himself-

Then you slowly relaxed back into his hold, bringing one hand up to the nape of his neck, and Xiao thought that this was probably what you felt like whenever you flew; weightless and floaty, everything a blissful haze. He could feel your pulse, fluttering against his hand where it cradled your jaw, and he was painfully certain that this was the slice of heaven, the sliver of ecstasy sinners like him were allowed; more than he deserved but too wonderful to even consider letting go. He could’ve stayed there forever, until the mountains around you flattened and every stream ran dry; even then, when you resurfaced to breathe, the lingering delight and the creeping shyness you shared was just as magnificent. He would’ve slaughtered thousands for the coy little smile on your face, if only you’d asked-

“One is rather shocked by your scandalous display, Conqueror of Demons.”

The bubble shattered.

Startled, you whipped around; impossible though it seemed, the voice came from a crane, an elegant thing of white and blue and a sloping arc of a neck, beautiful and familiar.

“W- what- ”

“Fret not,” the crane continued with a startlingly human-like wave of its wing. “I shall not impart any punishment upon either of you. Despite the rather indecent nature of your offense,” it- she?- added.

You wondered if you were dreaming. Or hallucinating. But stranger yet, Xiao seemed to know her; he bowed his head in a show of deference.

“Yes, Cloud Retainer. You have my thanks.”

The bird nodded, then disappeared with a flap of her wings. You stared at the place where she’d stood, dumbfounded.

“A fellow adeptus,” Xiao told you, still fiercely mortified at being caught. “We… This is her territory. Mount Aocang.”

Understanding dawned on your face. “So that’s why you were so nervous about the bird!” You exclaimed, turning back towards him with a grin. “Because you were planning this the whole trip and you didn’t want to get caught, like a scoundrel-”

“I don’t appreciate your implication,” he interrupted in what should’ve been a warning tone but instead came off teasing and light-hearted.

Your grin sharpened. “Seems like you do appreciate some other things of mine, though.” Xiao hummed in agreement, pressing a thumb to the corner of your mouth and watching in unabashed fascination as your lips parted under his touch.

“Perhaps I should convey my appreciation once more,” he mused, leaning in closer. “With as much… enthusiasm as I can muster.”

⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘ ⸝⋆ .* ⚘ ⋆*⋆⸜ ⚘

#i nearly added the nrftw taglist to this lmao #if i had a nickel for every time i wrote a genshin fic where the reader has symbolic ties to birds-#anyway this was very fun :] hope everyone likes it #genshin impact fanfics #genshin fanfic #genshin impact fluff #genshin fluff #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin x gn reader #genshin x reader fluff #xiao x reader #xiao x you #genshin impact xiao #genshin xiao #genshin scenarios #genshin xiao x reader #genshin xiao x you

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monocaelia · 2 years ago

Text

with my hand in yours.

as your fingers trace along the lines that make up their palm, they wonder how such a wonderful being like you could ever love someone like them. aka; little abstract thoughts about what their hands would be like.

feat. al-haitham, childe, diluc, kaveh, scaramouche, xiao.

genre : fluff. light angst but it's not that serious.

note : school sucks and i want to hold hands w childe so bad rn so here is the product of that thought.

❀ AL-HAITHAM

contrary to what you may think, al-haitham's hands are large and calloused; not to the point of being overly rough, but enough to know that he keeps his hands busy from both paperwork and dealing with unruly people that come across his way. which is surprising considering that he was always one to take the easiest route out of any situation.

but you suppose someone who is adept at using a sword and dealing with eremites and annoying scholars can't just get away with smooth hands.

your hand is much smaller than his in comparison, especially so when his encases your own while you reach for a book you cannot quite reach within the house of daena. you insist that you could reach it yourself, but after minutes of watching you struggle and nearly make the bookshelf topple over as you lean more and more onto the shelves, he decided to take matters into his own hands. although you hate it when he aids you without you asking for help, he finds it endearing, especially so when he gets an excuse to hold your hand like this.

sometimes, the scribe doesn't understand your fascination with his hands as your fingers lazily trace shapes and lines across his palm while his eyes skim through the book in his hands. your body rests against him, head gently propped on his chest and fingers busy with his. although it was a distracting feeling, it was one he welcomed and preferred rather than the presence of his dramatic roommate.

though, al-haitham cannot deny that he doesn't find the contrast between the size of his hands and you amusing. how different your jaw feels in his palm as he lifts your face up to keep your eyes on him during your study session. your soft skin against his rougher hands was a nice feeling, a contrast that he finds humor in despite the blank expression that never leaves his face.

even if you push him away, fed up from his constant deadpan comments and dry teasing, your hand always finds their way back in his with fingers intertwined as he skims through the next book that catches his attention. with a gentle squeeze and a kiss placed on the tops of your knuckles, al-haitham holds onto you until it is unfortunately time to part ways. but even then, the ghost of your palm presses against his when you're gone and he cannot wait to hold you once more.

❀ CHILDE

the scars the decorate childe's hands are ones that he holds with much pride. they're living proof of the battles that he has conquered and pushed through with mere strength and wit; and there isn't a moment where he would ever hide his battle scars.

childe's hands are rough and calloused with toughened skin from years of fighting, both from training for the fatui and also from surviving through his time in the abyss.

but despite it all, a sign of humanity shines through his hardened hands; light freckles dust the back of his hands and his knuckles and travel up his arm. though they aren't as condensed as the ones that shower his cheeks like the stars, they're still enough to attract your attention to them when his gloves are off around you.

his hand often clings onto yours as he guides you to places you've never seen before in his home nation. with gloved hands intertwined with one another, childe eagerly tugs you along the banks of morepesok, gently guiding you along the more troublesome and icier parts of the path so you wouldn't slip. his hand, sturdy and strong, gently presses against the small of your back while the other holds one of yours as you hop over a rock.

other times, his hand is held carefully by yours as you admire all of scars with him. the young harbinger finds it humorous when you stare at him in shock after telling you about the battles he fought to get them before getting a firm lecture by you about taking care of himself. he doesn't see the big deal; if he's the fatui's biggest asset when it comes to fighting, why wouldn't he want to be used as their weapon?

however, seeing your tearful expression as he comes home battered from a serious battle shatters his proud heart into a million pieces. he warned you about the duties he has a fatui harbinger, and yet you continued to love him and stay by his side. childe wasn't a good guy, per se, and there would be times where there would be no signs of him coming home at all. but you persevered, telling him that he was crazy for even thinking that you would be scared away because of his job.

his thumb, rough and heavily scarred, brushes away the tears from your cheek as you clean up the blood that soils his clothes. you're so much different than he is; someone who is not bludgeoned and terrorized by the horrors of the abyss or the power of the fatui. and yet you hold him like he is your world, like he's fourteen again and didn't have the scars of the world on his body.

❀ DILUC

diluc's hands tell the tragic tale of his past; scarred from years of avenging his father with only his great sword by his side and burned from training and utilizing the pyro vision that dangles by his waist. he is damaged and hurt from years of betrayal and the deep scars that run up his hands to his arms are visual evidence of them.

but, despite his cool attitude and standoffish personality, his hands are the warmest you have ever felt. as if the agony his heart experienced in the few years of his adulthood failed to extinguish the flickering flame that keeps his soul ablaze.

the young master of dawn winery's rough hands hold onto yours gently, fingers cupping your own as he brings them to his lips as a polite, yet cheeky greeting knowing you would fluster at the mere act. they're playful, often traveling up your arms after his small greeting and pulling you into his embrace. the flame that was once ignited by rage, burning with the intent to harm those who have wronged him, now lulls you in with the intent of making your heart race.

diluc is aware of the effect his hands have on you, especially during battles where the two of you are fighting alongside one another. gloved hands quickly reach out to grab you, pulling you behind him as his flaming great sword slams forward to knock the abyss mage into the ground. although the battle was over, his hand does not leave your arm and you knew at this point that he was leaving it there deliberately.

his touch, as playful as they get sometimes, were also one that you found solace in, especially when the cold winter air of mondstadt nips at your skin. although diluc worries you find his hands worrisome to look at and feel, all of his disrupting thoughts melt away when your hand squeezes his in return. and so, hands roughened by the most painful of memories hold yours and give you the comfort that you seek.

and comfort you, they do. when the heavy rain outside the winery drenches you to the bone, diluc's warm, scarred hands quickly pull you inside. he doesn't ask you what happened, instead waits for you to tell him yourself, and with a towel in his hands he dries you as much as he can. attracted to his touch like a moth to a flame, your shaking hands quickly grasp onto his own and cling to his being like he was the sole reason you were still sane.

and just once, diluc is happy that you find relief in embers that once burned with no remorse.

❀ KAVEH

kaveh's hands are slender and smooth, contrary to the fact that he wields a heavy claymore as his weapon of choice. anyone would assume that his hands are rough from hours spent on studying architecture and building miniature and actual scale models of his designs, but those who know the young architect are aware of his fondness towards body and skin care.

if anything, the only flaw that hinders kaveh from having the perfect, flawless hands that anyone would dream of would be the smudges of both ink and graphite from his drafts of architectural buildings that stain his fingertips and sides of his hands.

you can't imagine the amount of times your face had ended up accidentally smudged by the inked fingers of your lover. soft, thin fingers lovingly brush the side of your face, moving a stray strand of your hair that obstructs his view of you, only to reveal a smudge of graphite where his fingers just touched. no matter how many apologies spewed from his lips, the smudge remained and small bouts of laughter escape from your lips before reassuring the young architect that it was fine.

however, when his fingers are clean, they're often found touching you in only the most innocent ways. his skilled fingers gently rub in the moisturizer on your face, huffing in fake exasperation as you laugh and attempt to escape his pinching and prodding. with enough squirming and chuckles, kaveh finally squishes your face in between his soft hands, tilting your face to look directly at him. affection is evident with the way he stares at you, smile warmer than the sunshine that radiates brightly in sumeru city, before he quickly bends down to peck at your puckered lips.

there's nothing but love and care in the way that he touches you, regardless of when or where it happens. his nimble fingers find their way to your arm when you drift asleep against him, waiting for him to finish up his draft of the new building he's designing. they graze across your skin, skimming everything that makes you you, the you that the architect loves so dearly.

sometimes he wonders what you see in a simple architect that shoots too far to land on the stars, but if you're beside him with every step that he takes, kaveh feels as though every star is suddenly in reach.

❀ SCARAMOUCHE

ball joints similar to a dolls connect and form the hands that belong to scaramouche, a permanent reminder of the reason he was birthed into this world. as much as he hates looking at them and no matter how much he does to erase his past, they haunt him and contain the memories that he wishes to leave in the past.

maybe then, he would feel more human and let his once fragile heart breathe once more.

similar to a doll's hand, his hands are also smooth and dainty with only a few permanent scars on his fingertips. faint lightning scars trail from his finger tips to his second knuckle and slight calloused fingertips from tending to the doll he calls his "wandering companion."

despite the living proof of his existence as a puppet, there are a few moments where he feels human, where he feels as of his heart could beat once more and hope is flourishes throughout his weathered soul. when your fingers intertwine with his and your palm presses gently against his own, it's as if his forgotten heart had grown wings, fluttering on its own after years of stagnant pain.

feeling your pulse beat against his skin and the gentle tug of his arm as you lead him reminds the wanderer that despite his harsh past and the betrayals that led him astray, he lived through them and is living life anew, a life where he controls the trajectory of his life. and one where he is loved by you.

as much as he hates his hands, he cannot stop you from loving them in his place. when you kiss his fingertips and rub comforting circles across his skin, it's hard for his hatred to fester and grow; for how can he hate something that you love.

not that he would ever admit it to you; always flicking your roaming hands away from his and pinching the fat of your thumb when they reach for his. he calls your touch "annoying" and a "nuisance," but when it's his turn to watch over you during the night, his pinky never fails to interlock with yours.

❀ XIAO

xiaos' hands are rough to the touch, fingertips slender and sharp like the talons of a hawk ready to snatch its prey from where they lay. after centuries of fighting off enemies and protecting the mortals that reside peacefully in liyue, it would be more surprising if not a scar decorated the yaksha's skin.

he is cool to the touch; not needing to generate body heat as he has no need to stay warm and used to the cold from serving his previous master.

blood stains his palms from the lives he took, whether it was accidental or on purpose he doesn't remember any more. innocent lives were mixed in when he dealt with enemies and his karmic debt affected those around him even if he wanted to suffer alone.

and yet, you hold his hands as if he were a small finch; fragile and prone to dying even though he is anything but. your hands are so warm, nearly encompassing his entire being with a mere brush of your fingertips against his. it was inviting, enticing, something that he craved even though he shouldn't.

despite pushing you away when his karmic debt was going to take over, your hands still found his and held on with little to no regard of your own wellbeing.

"as long as i get to you, it doesn't matter," was always your excuse when he demanded why you did something so reckless.

even if he hated the thought of his curse harming you in the worst way possible and feared the mere possibility of losing you, the yaksha could not calm the happiness that fluttered in his chest as if erupting a nest of a million crystalflies within the cavity of where his heart used to be.

you who kiss the scars that litters his hands, as if you were scared that the young adeptus would be the first to disappear from your life, deserve better than him, someone who has innocent blood pooling from his fingertips. but he does not have the heart to deny you from holding his hand and pulling him close, for he loves you too much to even humor the thought of a life apart from you.

#alhaitham x reader #tartaglia x reader #diluc x reader #kaveh x reader #scaramouche x reader #xiao x reader #alhaitham scenarios #tartaglia scenarios #diluc scenarios #kaveh scenarios #scaramouche scenarios #xiao scenarios #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin scenarios #didi writes

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