𝕴𝖓 𝕳𝖎𝖘 𝕯𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖒𝖘 | Xiao x Reader Sequel

Prologue

The stars twinkled high above, as if smiling down on the nation of geo. They were beautiful. Some even formed constellations, wonderful pictures that captured the better aspects of life in Teyvat. At least, if you looked closely enough at them.

Two of these constellations stood out from the rest; one the shape of a bird soaring high above and the other a frosty flower. Although the flower had been so dim that it was almost invisible just over a month prior, it was now as bright as could be. Even the moon seemed unable to outshine it; its cool glow paling in comparison to the flower's loving light.

With such shining competition, the bird seemed more like an afterthought. It was dimmer than both the moon and the flower, the glow seeming a little less prominent every night.

"Ugh!" A soft grunt made you avert your eyes from the stars, turning to look inside the cozy room of the inn. From where you sat on the balcony, you could just see the familiar Adeptus sleeping in the queen-sized bed, the back of his head facing you. He didn't seem to have awoken.

You wrapped your small fuzzy blanket a little tighter around your shoulders, sighing as your gaze wandered back to the landscape of Liyue below.

Xiao didn't usually sleep. After all, Adepti didn't technically need to. But after today, he'd seemed so exhausted that you had made him. He had wanted to stay awake with you like usual, but you'd insisted, and now here you were.

You hadn't slept a wink since you had first woken up a month ago, deciding a thousand years had been plenty long of a rest. But more than that, you were afraid to. You were afraid that, if you slept again, you would just find yourself in the same dream, trapped. Only this time, what if there truly was no way out? Xiao promised that, even if that did happen, he would just save you from it again. But even so, you didn't want to take the risk.

So, you stayed up. He usually did the same, both because he didn't care for sleep and because he wanted to be there for you. He was always there for you, even long before you'd fallen into that dream in the first place. You were glad he was resting now; he needed it.

As much as you tried to help him, you knew there was only so much you could do. Being an Adeptus was tough; you had experienced that firsthand. Being a Yaksha, you had observed, was even tougher.

You placed a hand on your heart, suddenly feeling it race. There it was again; that overwhelming, suffocating feeling that occasionally attacked you. But it wasn't the same feeling as when Osial had almost drowned you, no, this one was heavier.

It felt like the weight of the world was pressing down on you, trying to make you melt into the ground, trying to pull you under. It didn't happen often, but every time it did, it got harder for you to keep from panicking. You assumed this was some kind of side effect from having been in a dream so long, and since it wasn't an issue very often, you decided not to worry anyone with it. But that still didn't make it any more tolerable.

"Agh!" Xiao suddenly cried out in his sleep, and you whipped your head around to look at him. He wasn't awake yet but was shaking so violently it made you forget about your own panic.

You stood up slowly, moving to wake him from what seemed like a nightmare. You were just a few feet away from the bed when four dark figures appeared in your vision, surrounding the Yaksha as they leaned over him. They had no faces, but their clawed hands seemed to extend out in the direction of his sleeping form.

Your heart dropped and you jumped back, but then they were gone just as quick as they had come, leaving nothing but air in their place.

Taking a deep breath, you quickly recovered, shaking your head. You must have been seeing things again, mistaking shadows late at night for something more sinister.

Finally, you reached the bed, coming around to face him and gently placing a hand on the Yaksha's shoulder. He awoke nearly instantly, grabbing your hand tightly but then loosening his hold once he realized it was you. Still, he didn't let go, looking down at the ground.

"Another nightmare?" You whispered softly, to which he nodded. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence for Xiao; in fact, he got them almost every time he slept. It was another of the reasons he refused to do so very often. Even in his dreams, he couldn't escape being plagued by his karmic debt.

You carefully wrapped your arms around him, and he quickly returned the hug. After a moment he finally relaxed in your embrace, letting out a sigh.

"Thank you."

You didn't reply, instead gently rubbing his back and doing your best to comfort him. It was the least you could do after everything.

The two of you stayed like that until morning finally came, but neither found yourselves sleeping again. You always felt so much comfort in Xiao's embrace, even if you were supposed to be the one comforting him.

You sent a glare towards the sun, which was now shining in through the door to the balcony and signaling it was time for you to part. Oh, how you hated mornings.