[ON HOLD] Shared Scars | Childe x Fem!Reader | Genshin Impact

~ 13 ~

HAHA WOAH THANKS FOR NEARLY 3K READS???? i didn't even notice omg tysm!!
here's some (bloody) fanart, as a treat :)
(i have so much more fanart than this asdfghj there's a whole backlog of stuff I've made for chilumi week in february that i cant post omfg)

~

     There was only a single black dress in your closet, the same you had worn to Sucrose's funeral last year. Now you were once again pulling it off the hanger so you could wear it for Jeans. It was to be held at the cemetery, and a quick glance out the window told you that it was already beginning to snow.

     You tugged the dress on and smoother the skirt down. It had never quite fit right, and now even less so after your body had changed in the past year. Yout tied your hair back and put on light makeup, avoiding mascara in case you were to cry again. The clock said it was 7, but you were expected to be early, seeing as you're the fourth-highest ranking member of the Ord Favonius; well, third-highest now...

     The walk to the hideout was a cold one. The snow had grown heavier now, and there was already nearly an inch on the ground by the time you arrived. Luckily, Lisa had agreed to give you a ride to the cemetery after she finished up some duties. The hideout was almost completely empty, the only people around were those who were also carpooling with other members. The click of a door shutting pricked your ears, and you turned to see Kaeya leaving Jean's office; his eyes were red like he'd gone in there to cry.

~

     Every member of the Ord was at the cemetery, along with some others as well. Diluc was near the front, and you even caught a glimpse of Xiao as well. A part of you hoped Childe would be somewhere here as well, but obviously he wasn't. A young girl at the front stood out from the sea of black clothing, she was wearing red, and had her blonde hair pulled up into cute pigtails. That must be Jean's youngest sister, you thought. You'd never met either of her sisters; Barbara was a sister at the Church of Barbatos and loved her despite disapproving of Jean's life choices, while Klee was far too young to know that Jean led a gang.

      As the service began, snow started to coat everyone's hair and shoulders. It was the wet kind, with the flakes that stick to you and render you colder than before. A chorus of sniffles accompanied the eulogies and people huddled closer to each other to stave off the cold, to little effect. When it came time for you to speak, you froze up. Your breath clouded the air in front of you as you searched for the words.

     "Jean was... like a sister to me. She, along with Kaeya, found me huddled behind a dumpster fighting with a dog for a scrap of food. She gave me a home, and family," You gestured to everyone in front of you, "I owe her my life, honestly." Your voice cracked, "I never got to thank her, y'know? I owe her everything and now I'll never be able to tell her because she's-" You tried to cover up a sob with a cough, but it was unconvincing.

     Before you had the chance to cry like a baby in front of everyone, Xiao was at your side. He put a hand on your back and guided you away from everyone, over to a large withering tree. "Are you okay?" he asked, removing his hand.

     "Not really, no..." you replied. The pair of you stood in silence for what felt like an eternity, until you finally said, "I really, really fucked up, Xiao."

     He met your eyes, concern flashing across his usually stoic features, "How do you mean?"

     "Jean's gone, and it seems like Kaeya blames me for it."

     "Why would he blame you? You weren't even there, how could you be responsible?"

      You were shaking more now, nerves adding onto the shivers from the cold, "Ch- Tartaglia and I... I got too close and now everyone I care about is mad at me or wants to kill or-"

     "What do you mean 'got too close.' I told you to stay away from him, Y/N." Xiao cut you off, his voice holding a sharper tone.

     "It just kinda... happened. We bumped into each other and then he took me out for dinner, then next thing you know, we had a few drinks and uh. We went back to my place."

     Xiao placed a hand on your shoulder, squeezing hard, "Y/N, do you realize what you've done? I won't be able to protect you now."

     "I'm sorry. This was probably inevitable anyway," you mumbled, gazing down at the snow rather than at him.

     He sighed and loosened his grip on you, "Just stay away from the Fatui. I worry for you Y/N," He brought one hand up to your cheek and wiped away a tear you didn't know had fallen. His hand remained there for a moment longer, before he pulled away and stepped back. "The funeral is ending soon, maybe you should go hom-" you interrupted him by throwing your arms around him, burying your face into his shoulder as you tried to hold back tears.

     "Thank you, Xiao. Please don't let him kill me..." He said nothing, just held onto you. His embrace felt safe, and he didn't let go until you finally pulled away.

     "Stay safe."

~

     Nearby stood a crypt, behind which lurked a man with messy green hair and a surgical mask who had been listening to the pair's entire conversation. He had originally been sent to keep an eye on the service, to make sure the Fatui wouldn't be endangered by the mistake of the trigger-happy Skirmisher that killed Jean. But what he would report back with was so much better than that.

     So our little Childe has a soulmate, hm? He thought, This will be fun.

~

i apologize for this chapter sucking absolute dick lmao funerals make me so uncomfortable
its not even that there's a dead person, its that everyone except for 1-2 people are pretending to be sad? idk
so uh yeah its basically a transition to the next plot point :p

anyway um xiao stans how ya doin? i cant wait for his banner omg
also whens dottore gonna drop huh? bring home crusty science man pls