Xingyun Oneshot

Who Do You Fancy?

"Eighty-three."

"Eighty-four."

"Eighty-five."

Within the depths of Wuwang Hill stood a boy dressed in light clothing. Every swing of the boy's claymore shook the ground, sending small creatures nearby to turn tail and run. One shouldn't waste precious morning hours, and so here he was, training as always.

"...Ah, there's no more."

He had gotten multiple commissions earlier about sightings of Electro Cicins: Guyun Stone Forest, Yaoguang Shoal, the area south of Guili Plains, and the center of WuWang Hill. Although he was only planning to hunt the Electro Cicins for training (and extra profit), he couldn't exactly ignore all the Hilichurls and Ruin Guards he came across. Battling the extra monsters didn't bother him though, as worthy opponents could always be seen as extra training opportunities.

Though he would argue otherwise, any spectator that laid eyes upon this "training" of his would agree that the name "A Massacre of Monsters" would do it more justice. After all, standing in the center of defeated Hilichurl, Electro Cicin, Mitachurl, Ruin Guard, and Samachurl bodies wouldn't be the training regimen of a normal Liyue civilian.

Chongyun sighed, bending down to collect the shattered mist grass, for proof of commission completion, and other miscellaneous drops. While inspecting the quality of the Stained Mask in his hands, a long sigh escaped his lips. It seems even training couldn't help quell his jumbled emotions.

Recently, strange feelings arose every time he thought of a certain long-time comrade of his. It was unclear when it emerged; all he knew was that once he saw that smile of his, a strange flutter would eat at his heart. It felt warm, but not uncomfortable...yet.

His grip on the Stained Mask tightened, cracking it into three separate pieces. Realizing what he had done, he muttered to himself, "Stay calm Chongyun, stay calm", and continued to place the drops into his almost-bursting bag. It looked like it would tear apart at any moment, with the only thing keeping it together being its experience with similar situations in the past.

Picking up a fallen Berserker's Rose, he wiped at the blood-stained petals, transferring the red of the petals onto his fingers. How great would it be if he would just stay by Xingqiu's side forever? To see his smile, hear his laugh, and hold his hands during the cold days of winter.

"...how great would it be..."

The trees around him swayed in the wind, and its leaves happily sang along. He watched as a stray leaf fell and gracefully draped itself upon the lake ahead of him. As the ripples spread across the lake, his eyes widened in realization.

He was in love with his best friend.

Archons above he was in love.

"Dear Chongyun, there you were! I was looking everywhere for you! If you wanted to explore a haunted village, you could've just asked me. I would've gladly accompanied you."

(I can still hear his voice to this day...I must have it bad.)

"Let's go back to the harbo-my liege! What on Teyvat is that?! Your poor bag is going to break!"

So it was not a hallucination.

Xingqiu was indeed in front of him.

"Luckily, I brought a bag with me, so I can help with your predicament. Here, I'll take the Mist Grass and masks, and you can take the other half. If that doesn't work, we can always come back...Chongyun, are you even listening to me?"

"...ah, my apologies. Could you repeat that?"

Noticing the abnormal behavior of the other, Xingqiu paused. (It's not like him to space out so often.) With a softer and more gentle voice, he continued.