Fleeting Colors in Flight (Lantern Rite 2022)
f!reader // blue hair // pink eyes
~
A simple invite, a slip of his tongue. Xiao had loved you for some time now, yet he refused to believe it, or rather, refused to admit it to himself. He started to avoid the other Adepti who insisted on teasing him for his crush.
"I don't have anyone to go to the Lantern Rite with," you mumbled, your chin resting on your hand. You were leaning against the small wall on the balcony of Wangshu Inn.
Xiao had always enjoyed your company. He looked forward to seeing you on the balcony when he came back from hunting demons. The way your long, blue hair blew from the wind, almost blending in with the sky in front of you. Your eyes, which resembled the Silk Flowers that grew around the inn, comforted him.
You had known him for years, now. Right after the Cataclysm was when you met. While he was unassuming at the start, merely seeing you as another of the citizens of Liyue, the way you faced the monsters, a face of fear combined with a tense battle stance, told him that you were not a fighter. You were merely defending yourself, trying to protect your burning village.
He helped you, battling with you against the monsters that wreaked havoc to your life. You were immensely grateful, promising to remain by the Yaksha's side as long as you lived. He had not expected you to live for the next five hundred years.
After a while, he knew you were an Adepti. It took a while for him to realize, as, to him, time passed differently. It took about two hundred years for him to realize you still looked the same as the day he'd met you.
"What if you went with me?"
A slip of the tongue. The words that drastically changed the relationship between you and Xiao.
"A-are you serious?"
Of course he was serious. He never joked, ever. It was rare for you to get Xiao to crack a smile, to tell a joke. To laugh. He was dead set on protecting you since he realized how important you were to him; how much you affected his day-to-day life.
"Have I ever told a joke?"
The conversation from yesterday ran through your mind while you sat on Mt. Tianheng with Xiao. He had insisted you to not bring anything.
When you arrived, there was a little blanket set up with a wooden basket. Xiao had packed a serving of Almond Tofu and your favorite dish. When you two both finished eating, the fireworks had started.
While you often spent time with the Yaksha, you rarely spent time relaxing. Xiao never really let his guard down, but he seemed content with the area around you.
"Xiao," you called out to him, glancing over. "Thank you."
Thank you.
The words replayed in his head.
You've said those words to him numerous times, but it never sounded as sweet as it did that time.
"Of course."
You tilted your head to the side, resting it on his shoulder.
"I want to do this more," you said, your voice soft. "You never do things with me."
"That's not true. I eat with you all the time."
"It's not the same, though. I'm always the one making the food."
Xiao chuckled at you. Of course, he knew exactly what you were asking. You wanted him to pamper you more.
"I'll try to keep that in mind, Y/N. But the Lantern Rite isn't every night."
"No, but you don't need the Lantern Rite as an excuse to spend time with me."
Perhaps after spending five hundred years living, you'd realized what you wanted. And, in that moment, Xiao realized what he wanted.
Xiao turned a little, your head raising off his shoulder. He took your chin and tilted your head up, gently pressing his lips to yours.
Even though you two were older than the average person, neither of you truly knew... what a kiss was. It ended up ending after you started laughing. The thought of Xiao being intimate truly shocked your mind, leaving you somewhat confused and also humored. When you finally opened your eyes, Xiao was glaring, his head turned away from you. His eyes were closed and his cheeks were bright red.
"Xiao," you teased him, smiling. You closed your eyes and shuffled closer to him. "You're cute," you leaned your head against his chest, wrapping your arms around his waist and snuggling into him.
"Shut up," Xiao grumbled, quickly wrapping his arms around you. He tilted his head down and pressed a kiss against your head. He looked back up and stared at the sky, the fireworks still going off behind you.
One thing was for sure, both of you were going to remember this moment for many, many years to come.
~
AN: :)
sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-
yeah told you i was a xiao simp sorry not sorry this literally took me 5 hours today, which i know is like, bad, considering i didn't write a lot but please i got distracted doing Enkanomiya quests for like an hour and i had a meeting too
