genshin impact oneshots.

pumpkin spice | xiangling x reader

part 2 of the halloween event!!

the bright orange and purple poster caught your eye as you walked down the sidewalk. you stopped to look at it and xiangling backtracked when she realized you weren't next to her. in large blocky letters it read "pumpkin carving contest october 30 at the center of liyue harbor". then right below it you could see the words "grand prize of 2500 mora." 2500 mora? you could get quite a few things with that amount of money...

"there's a pumpkin carving contest, we need to do it!"

xiangling looked at the poster that you were standing in front of and examined it carefully. when she turned back to you, you could see the excited sparkle in her eyes.

"yes! let's go, right now," she exclaimed as she grabbed your hand and dragged you to the nearest grocery store.

you spent the next ten minutes with her searching for the perfect pumpkins to use. the array of colorful pumpkins just made it too difficult for xiangling to choose, but she eventually settled on a pumpkin that was light orange at the top and went to green by the bottom. you decided on a white pumpkin that you hoped you could turn into an dragon of some kind.

you and xiangling hauled your pumpkins to chihu rock. you had decided on her restaurant because she had the sharpest knives out of the both of you, and her kitchen was much better suited for whatever mess the two of you would create. additionally, it was closed for the day since xiangling wanted to take the day off (the day before halloween was always a day off so they could prepare for their halloween banquet).

the two of you washed your hands and you laughed when xiangling flinched at you flicking water at her face. you had your pumpkins sitting in front of you and xiangling said to first start by scooping out the insides of the pumpkin.

"sounds kinda gory," you said, as you started cutting into the top of the pumpkin.

"it might seem that way," she responded as she sharpened her knife, "but we can make some pies out of the filling! i wanted to try adding some jueyun chilies to it with violet grass syrup."

of course, the first thing on xiangling's mind was always food. it was endearing, though, how passionate she was, and since you were her partner, you would always be the one to test out the new recipes she made. although there were a few times where the food would be too bitter or too sour, it was always worth eating the food she made since your feedback always left her smiling. then she would fix the recipe and have you eat it again. it was fascinating how she could use such obscure ingredients but make it taste so amazing.

the two of you took out the insides of the pumpkin and placed them into a bowl. a few times you had to stop xiangling from trying to taste it. once the two of you were finished, you felt like your hands would be stained orange forever.

"now we can get started on the carving!" xiangling beamed with a sharp knife in her hand causing you to start to sweat nervously.

so with a nice and sharp knife, you started to work on carving out an outline for your shape. you had originally wanted to make a dragon so you decided to stick with that plan. you peered over too look at what xiangling was carving and you could immediately tell that she had something in mind. the round face and two ears on top of the head indicated that she was making an animal, but the facial features like the mask and round eyebrows were a clear giveaway. she wanted to make guoba into a pumpkin!

guoba was a large panda plushie that xiangling had that you had gifted to her years ago when the two of you were still children. she had immediately fallen in love with the brown bear and had even made a small trinket of his face to keep with her at all times. even as they were carving, the guoba doll was sitting on a stool in the corner of the kitchen watching them. despite years of coming into close contact with fire, the doll was still looking as pristine as ever.

xiangling had finished her pumpkin long before you, so she had started working on her pumpkin pie. you weren't able to watch her since you were focused on your own pumpkin carving, but you could see her running all over the kitchen, and every now and then she would have you taste something. whatever she was making was sweet, but spicy. yet it was definitely delicious.

after a few hours of carving away at the pumpkin and a few close calls with hand cramps, you had finished your pumpkin! you were content with your dragon, with its spindly body that wrapped around almost the whole of the pumpkin, the delicate scales and teeth, and the intricate horns that were on its head. although xiangling's wasn't the most extravagant design, it was still eye-catching. her guoba pumpkin was unlike many other designs with its perfect symmetry and you had a feeling it would look very good when lit up.

you checked the clock absentmindedly and noticed that it was already 6 pm. shoot, it was gonna be starting soon.

"xiangling," you called, "we need to get going to the center of liyue harbor!"

she nodded and grabbed her pumpkin and a box that you assumed held the pie. you grabbed your own pumpkin and the two of you hobbled to where the contest was taking place. there were probably around twenty other people who were there and you could see a lot of pumpkins. since it was now dark, they were all lit up and each of the unique designs were illuminated. you and xiangling placed your pumpkins down and lit up a candle to place inside of it. (it wasn't actually a candle but a candle-like light.)

"thank you, everyone, for coming to our pumpkin carving contest," a voice boomed. it sounded a bit like the mayor, ningguang, and you were surprised to see that you were correct when she came into sign.

"i can see so many special pumpkins, it would be difficult to choose just one," she mused as she walked up and down the area to take a good look at each of the pumpkins.

after a few moments, she had decided on a winner and you were disappointed that it wasn't you. instead, it was someone who had carved an image of the jade chamber. you weren't too surprised that ningguang would choose it, since it wasn't only of her prized palace, but it had clearly taken a long time. upon a closer look you could see each individual window was cut out. however, ningguang complimented yours and had given you 1000 mora for your efforts, saying that it was also very impressive.

"we haven't had a chance to have our pie yet," xiangling reminded you after you finished talking with ningguang, "we could have a date right here since there are tables set up."

you agreed, and the two of you took a seat in front of the illuminated pumpkins. she opened up the box with her pie in it and cut a slice for each of you. you each took a careful bite and you let it sit in your mouth for a moment to savor the taste. it was delicious! the pumpkin filling was well spiced with the jueyun chilies, and the violet grass syrup was sweet but added a floral hint to the taste.

"well, what do you think," xiangling asked as she watched your reaction.

you gave her a smile. "it's incredible! the spice is well balanced with sweetness, and the texture of the filling and crust are immaculate!"

she let out a small, exalted gasp. "really? is it really that good?"

you laughed and nodded, "i'd say you should make more for the banquet tomorrow."

xiangling beamed and leaned over the table to give you a kiss on the cheek. "if you say so! but you're gonna have to help me make it since i can't make all of them myself!"

"alright, alright," you chuckled, "let's finish up this pie and head back to the kitchen."

"i love you!"

"and i love you more."

"no, i love you more!"

"wrong, i do."

and the lighthearted bickering continued on as the two of you finished the last of the pumpkin pie.

⸻⸻⸻

⁀➷ whoops i was supposed to post this earlier today but i'm posting it almost 12 hours later- my bad, sorry!! i love xiangling so much, her personality is so bubbly and the food that she makes looks so delicious. she's in my main party, but my friendship with her is only 4 :((

requests are open and any support is appreciated! <3

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