Xingyun Oneshots

42 - When Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Picking a title for some of these is harder than actually writing the oneshot

Xingqiu and Chongyun hid in the shade of a nearby building to get away from the day's heat. Liyue had recently been getting waves of hot temperatures, which did nothing good for a certain exercist.

"I think we should do well to stay in today. It seems the temperatures may clash with our plans." Xingqiu comments, watching Chongyun bite hastily into a tasteless popsicle.

"No, I'm alright. Just give me a second to cool off." Chongyun reassured him, feeling the harsh effects of the heat wash off of him as he finished off his treat.

"I don't think that's a good idea. If you get overheated while we're out exploring dangerous areas, you could end up hurt." Xingqiu insisted, straightening up.

Chongyun looked at him as if he had something more to say before he doubled down in defeat.

Chongyun hated canceling his and Xingqiu's plans simply because of his condition. If it was too hot, they couldn't go out. If Xiangling made a new spicy dish, he couldn't try it. If Xingqiu wanted to go somewhere hot, he'd have to stay behind.

"But- I don't want to cancel our plans again!" He exclaimed, the heat wrapping tightly around his mind.

"You're not ruining our plans. We've just decided to do something else while we wait for a nice cool day to go out on instead."

"I am. Now we can't go out to do what we've been planning on doing all week."

"Chongyun, I don't understand why this is such a big deal." Xingqiu shook his head moving from the wall to stand in front of him.

"You can't control the way your body reacts to adverse temperatures, so therefore it's not your fault."

"Regardless, it causes us problems." Chongyun mutters, dropping down to sit on the ground with a knee close to his chest. "I don't know why you put up with it."

Xingqiu sighed and plopped himself down in front of him, prepared to refute his statements. "I put up with it because you're my best friend." He starts.

Xingqiu rests his hand on Chongyun's, and Chongyun watches it with curiosity.

"I put up with it because you're rather important to me. I put up with it because I don't care about canceled plans, so long as I get to stay by your side. I put up with it because it doesn't matter to me if we have to shift our schedule a bit. And most importantly-"

He gently holds the sides of Chongyun's face with his hands, so very gently that his fingers feel like they're teasing his skin.

"-I put up with it because I love you."

Chongyun feels his face burn at the confession, a blistering scarlet undoubtedly gracing his cheeks, and he pulls away quickly from his touch to prevent him from feeling it.

"You love me?" He asks, bewildered.

Xingqiu sits quietly with his hands still in midair. It's as if he hadn't been planning on saying the words themselves, but there was no going back now that they were hanging in the air.

He blinks a few times before his features seem to relax and he gives his response. "I do."

"Why?"

Xingqiu finally lowers his hands and studies the ground below. "I just do. I can't explain it, but you're so very endearing that I found myself liking you rather quickly."

He rolls a pebble back and forth with his index finger, maintaining his steady rhythmic breathing. "Your determination to succeed in all that you do is admirable, and you truly...care."

He chuckled at his words while he goes on. "You care so very much about me and my well being. It doesn't matter the time, the day, or the weather- you've always been there to tend to my worries."

He makes eye contact with him again, the hardest gaze he's ever had to hold. "I suppose there's not a single reason I can think of not to love you."

Chongyun ultimately is at a loss for words. There's nothing he can think to say next, nothing he thinks would fit just right, anyways.

"If you don't reciprocate my feelings, I won't hold it against you. I just thought you deserved to know I care about you more than you could ever know."

Xingqiu's words gently tug at the bands of heat swarming his mind and pull them away, clearing his head. It was like his words of endearment took away all the harsh effects and left him with nothing but peace and tranquility.

"I like you too." He breathes.

"You don't have to lie to me to spare my feelings, Chongyun." Xingqiu smiled sadly at him.

"I'm not lying."

This time, Xingqiu fell speechless, and he made his place in their silence.

He moved to sit next to him instead of in front, gently lowering his head until it rested on Chongyun's shoulder as if to say, "I love you."

For a while, they both just sat with their thoughts, no words being exchanged. There wasn't a single thing they could think to say that would fit, that could be just right.

In this case, their actions spoke louder than words, especially so as Chongyun leaned against him as if to say "me too."

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I decided to level up and build Amber for no reason at all. She's level 89 right now

Written: October 19th, 2022

Finished/Published: October 22nd, 2022

(Word Count: 920)