Always With You - Wanderer x Xiao (Genshin Impact Fanfiction)

:)

The light was sharp and bright. Xiao blinked to get used to it. He rubbed his eyes and looked around while he slowly got used to the light. He felt a smooth, solid surface against his back and realized that he was sitting under a tree. 

The leaves were shimmering in pink and orange and the bark was shining like silver in the light. Xiao would've stayed and admired the tree in awe, but something weighed his heart down. He got up and began walking through the grass that shimmered like rainbows. There were more trees like the one he woke up under, all equally beautiful. Here and there in the trees' shadow, the most beautiful flowers bloomed. Their petals glimmered like clear glass as they thrived under the trees. 

But Xiao couldn't bring himself to appreciate any of it. How could he ever admire any beauty again when he had lost the most beautiful thing of all?

Xiao soldiered on in his grief and each step became increasingly difficult to take. His heart felt like it weighed as much as a mountain. The gentle wind continued to blow from behind him, silently supporting him. The empty silence in the forest gave room for Xiao's thoughts to spiral and become louder and louder, like they were vendors trying to drown each other out at the market.

"Why would he do that? I'm not worth it."

"What happened after I left him? Did someone find him?"

"How could I let this happen to him?"

"He's gone."

"He isn't coming back."

"I failed."

Xiao felt the weight on his shoulders grow unbearable. The wind grew stronger to push him forward, but Xiao stopped. He fought the wind with his body weight for a while, until it stopped.

"He's gone. Forever."

Xiao fell to his knees. He slowly wiped the burning tears in his eyes that threatened to spill. His breath hitched as he recalled the events prior.

The Abyss had attacked the Chasm from below. Huge cracks of black mud opened and a lot of the miners disappeared as unbelievable amounts of monsters invaded the underground tunnels. The Adventurers Guild did everything they could to keep the situation under control, but even they were having trouble. So the former Geo Archon asked Xiao to help with the situation. The Traveler backed him up and he was going to ask some other people to join the fight as well. Xiao agreed and his partner, Wanderer, insisted on coming as well. Xiao refused at first, but after a lot of convincing, he finally allowed the other to come with him. Wanderer had fought in the Abyss before, but Xiao wasn't sure of the details of the situation. It had something to do with the Fatui, a military organization under the direct command of the Tsaritsa, and its elite of Harbingers.

Either way, they traveled to the Chasm. When they first arrived, the fighting had not yet reached the surface, but the defensive line was threatening to break at any moment. Most of the Millelith were there, guarding or fighting. They were scared, but they were determined. Xiao somewhat admired their courage. They were mere mortals, but their mental durability and strength never ceased to amaze him.

Wanderer was, unlike the soldiers, not scared at all. Rather, he seemed excited by the threat to his life. Xiao concluded that it probably had its origin in the fact that he was not human. Sure, he had seen Wanderer fear quite a number of things, but most were rooted in the other's mind and were not product of some imminent threat. Xiao was not afraid of the coming battles either, he found a kind of comfort in the thought of dying in this way. He had to admit that he was a bit worried about Wanderer, but he reassured himself that his partner would be fine.