*ೃ༄ ɢᴇɴsʜɪɴ ɪᴍᴘᴀᴄᴛ ᴏɴᴇsʜᴏᴛs || discontinued !!

- xiao || me and my lover

ೃ⁀➷ xiao x gender neutral reader

tw : heavy angst

song rec : me and my husband by mitski

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"Xiao? Where have you been the whole day?" (Y/N) whispered, nudging the silent yaksha gently. Xiao didn't reply and slowly turned away, mumbling something under his breath. Though they didn't hear him, they huffed. It was the usual stubborn response. Or so they had thought. Xiao sighed and stood up to leave his confused lover alone. "Hey, where-?"

"Leave me alone." He said firmly. He disappeared in a matter of seconds, leaving (Y/N) alone, confused, and hurt. (Y/N) failed to form words as they searched the balcony for him, but to no avail. He left just like that. They bit their lip in contemplation, trying to look back and understand why he appeared upset. "Was he bothered about dealing with demons today?" They muttered. Slowly walking away from the Inn's balcony, they jogged down the flights of stairs and started their journey to Liyue harbor. It proved a hassle, but the scent of food and the rather busy aura of the harbor was a great reward. (Y/N) wanted to seek advice from a certain gentleman in the Wangshen Funeral Parlor. After around 10 minutes of light jogging to the building, they spotted the mysterious consultant exit and head into the Liyue crowd. "Mr. Zhongli!" They exclaimed, waving rapidly at his direction. He turned around, greeting them with his signature gentle smile. "(Y/N). What brings you here?" He asked as they tiredly walked to him. "Do you perhaps require assistance in a contract?"

(Y/N) shook their head. "Something's been bothering me." They sighed, Zhongli's face contorting into a more serious expression. He nodded, urging them to continue. "It's about Xiao." They said sadly. "Is he in serious pain?" He asked, a slight tone of disappointment evident. "No, he just, seems angry at me." They admitted. Zhongli looked slightly taken aback. Stubborn and irritable were quite typical traits of the yaksha, but the archon had never expected him to be genuinely upset with his lover. (Y/N) slouched a little. Zhongli cleared his throat and crossed his arms. "Though I can't tell why exactly, this is rather... Unlike him." He said. (Y/N) hummed in agreement. "He's been very distant lately. I'm still lost as to why."

Zhongli closed his eyes for a moment and instructed the irritated traveler to wait. Disappearing behind a building, Zhongli readjusted his tie and walked to the gloomy figure silhouette of the guardian yaksha. "Alatus." He spoke. Xiao whipped around, summoning his spear at once and straightening his posture. "Rex Lapis!" He whispered, bowing slightly. Zhongli walked towards him and observed the night sky. "Beautiful, isn't it?" He smiled. 

Xiao nodded and stared at the dark sky. "Surely it is not as beautiful as your lover." Zhongli chuckled as the yaksha frowned at his master. "I..." He faltered, growing a little upset by the mention of his lover. "Do you not wish to think about them?" The former archon asked. He was met with a brief silence. Huffing lightly, he turned to leave Xiao to drown in his thoughts. "I don't want to think about that person." he admitted before disappearing. 

Shaking his head slightly, the older consultant left the area and headed back to where the traveler waited. They were leaning against the table, visibly distraught. Tears were forming in the corner of their eyes. "Please, don't cry." Zhongli spoke softly, approaching (Y/N) from behind. They sighed and wiped their eyes. "Sorry.."

His fists were balled. Xiao has always been stubborn - and he knew it'd be wrong to force him to make up with them. Zhongli was torn. "It pains me to see you like that." He said, wiping a tear that dripped down (Y/N)'s cheek. "Xiao will be fine. He needs time to think." He smiled. (Y/N) frowned in response.  "About what? I still have no idea what's wrong." They whined, resting their head against their hand. Zhongli shrugged and took a brief sip of the lukewarm tea. "I am at a loss as well." He replied.

 Disappointed with his answer, the traveler turned away wordlessly. For a while, the two sat in silence. Unknown to the consultant and his friend, Xiao sat alone on a cliff. Grief and sorrow forced tears to pool in his eyes. Conflicted by these new emotions, he harshly smashed his fist into the ground. Was he angry at (Y/n)? Or himself? "Damn it." He mumbled, standing up and retreating to the Inn once again. Perhaps he needed a break. Determined to face his feelings alone, he cut off all contact with mortals, excluding Zhongli. He needed as much time as possible, which sadly, proved to be too long.

song rec : worldstar money interlude by joji

Liyue changed once again. The people were not the same. Though Zhongli updated Xiao on how (Y/N) was, they seemed to be perfectly fine. Healthy and strangely the same. The yaksha began becoming suspicious of the information the former archon told him. Everyday, the same words. "Happy and free from illness." Zhongli would say with a reassuring smile. Xiao saw through the gentle facade and one day had enough. "Where's (Y/N)?" Xiao asked, eyeing Zhongli. "After all these years, you wish to see them now?" 

Slowly nodding, Xiao leaned forward intently. "I'm afraid I cannot tell you." Zhongli sighed. Xiao stood up angrily. "I can reassure you they're doing perfectly-" 

"Fine? You've been saying that this whole time! How can they be in flawless condition after all these years?!" He yelled, eliciting a disappointed hum from the man in front of him. Looking at the sunset behind the adeptus, he chuckled bitterly. "It's time I tell you, I suppose."

Xiao's eyes widened at his words. "Tell me what?" He whispered, something tugging at his heartstrings. A deep sense of dread washed over him. "They aren't fine, Xiao. They never were. Simply wishing you wouldn't feel responsible, they faced it alone,"

"As did you."

Xiao stepped back, taking in Zhongli's words. "What happened?" He croaked out, Zhongli turning to leave. "They're sick. If you truly wish to, meet them one last time at Qingyun Peak." He muttered, his coat waving with the wind as he departed from the balcony. Xiao clutched his top tightly, lips trembling in horror. Of course they weren't okay. After all these years, without him too, could they really be as happy as they were back then? He felt like a fool to fall for Zhongli's words. But he couldn't  feel angry or betrayed. 

Guilty. More heartbroken. 

He disappeared into thin air, sprinting to the top of Qingyun Peak. There they sat in all their glory, surrounded by beautiful qingxin flowers that formed a soft bed. "(Y/N.)" He said weakly, slowly approaching their figure. They turned around and smiled. They had aged tremendously. He lost so much time to spend with them, and the pain ate away at his heart. "Hello, Xiao." They greeted, beckoning him to sit beside them. "Have you had enough rest?" They asked, gently putting a flower behind his ear. He could only nod as tears began streaming down his face. He had lost track of time, not realizing his lover had needed him all those years. So much time down the drain.

"I'm glad." They smiled, embracing Xiao. Shakily raising his hand to comb through (Y/N)'s hair, Xiao choked on his words. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, feeling his lover's breathing slow. They shook their head and embraced him tighter. "It's alright, dear. It's just my turn to rest." They sighed, leaning completely onto the yaksha. He whimpered, holding their body close as he felt their life slowly fade away into nothingness. 

The qingxin petals blew in the wind, carried off to archons know where.

"Rest well, my love."

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ׂׂૢ word count : 1,291

finally, the xiao special is fully revised <3

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