✧.* 𝒀𝒐𝒌𝒂𝒊 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒀𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒂 ᵍᵉⁿˢʰⁱⁿ

vii. to shatter

"Hey Xiao! We're back!"

The voice interrupted the speedtrain of thoughts in Xiao's head, and he would've been angry had it not been for the familiarity of the distinct tone. He shook off his hypothetical vexation and glanced upwards, making eye contact with the floating pixie and, more fortunately, Aether. Aether waved, his eyes hiding behind his smile, and Xiao nodded in return.

"Did you find anything of note?" He asked, turning fully so he faced his guests. Aether nodded, relaying a story of the meeting of their newest companion: a boy named Kaedehara Kazuha. Apparently, they had secured a method of transportation for their trip to Inazuma and were scheduled to leave anywhere from a few days to a month. Midway through the conversation, Paimon began looking around.

"Your friend isn't here?" She asked, causing Xiao to turn to her.

"No," he responded. "They're in the harbor. They'll be back in the evening."

Paimon tilted her head. It seemed that you had eased yourself so deeply into Xiao's life that he didn't question calling you a friend.

༺♡༻

"I think we should start closing up," Nailah said, pushing against the door and watching you work.

"You can go ahead and go home, I'll leave in a bit." You didn't look up as you spoke, focused on your task at hand. You didn't need to see her face to know that it had fallen. You didn't understand why. You always left after Nailah did, wrapping up any inventory checks or status reports that would've been left for the next day. You didn't want it to pile up. That was all.

"Y'know, I really appreciate the work that you're doing," she said, causing you to steal a glance at her. "But I want you to keep in mind that I don't want you overworking yourself, m'kay?"

You furrowed your brows. Was the work you were doing considered too much for humans? You knew that your limitations and humans' were much different. Nonetheless, you didn't find anything you were doing here to be difficult. You've done harsher under the Shogun.

"Please, don't worry. I know my limits, and I don't think I'm pushing any of them," you said, smile adorning your cheeks. Nailah sighed.

"Alright... but for my sake of mind, why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

You blinked, once and then twice. "Um... okay."

༺♡༻

The sun was centered in the sky by the time you arrived at Wangshu Inn. A frown adorned your face at how early you had returned. The wood creaked under your weight as you treaded the steps of the inn, stopping just short of the exit to the balcony. The sounds of extroverted chattering overwhelmed you momentarily. People at the inn were always boisterous. Why were you so put off by it today?

Not having the energy to assimilate yourself into the conversation, you leaned against the door frame. Your eyelids drooped down as if weights had been placed on them. You didn't hear when the conversation had died down until someone had tapped your shoulder, startling you with a jolt.

"Ah, sorry! Paimon didn't mean to scare you!" Paimon said, clasping her hands together. "You just looked like you were falling asleep over here... were you bored, or just tired?"

"Ah..." you let your voice trail off as you picked out the words to appease the floating girl. "I guess I didn't really notice I was falling asleep!" You bowed slightly in apology before taking a seat at your usual bench. You could feel eyes trained on you, and you turned to meet their golden shine with a smile.

"You're back early."

You hummed in response. "Nailah sent me back early. Something about a 'rest day' of sorts."

"You do look tired..." Aether observed, tilting his head and rubbing the back of his neck. You frowned.

"I'm not."

"You were fighting sleep a second ago," Xiao chimed in. You sent him a look before sighing. Not dignifying him with a response, you places your bag on the table, noting a slight wearing of the thread. From his place on the ledge, Xiao inspected it as well. "Is it broken?'

You hummed. "Not quite, it's just the yarn fraying. I can fix it..." you mumbled. Before it registered that he was at your side, your bag was taken out of your hands and hoisted above you. "Um...? What are you doing?"

"I'll do it. Get some rest, now," Xiao insisted, fingers struggling to pick up the thin needle through his gloves. You raised your eyebrows. "Are you... sure?"

He faltered, narrowing his eyes and nodding. You snickered. "Alright, well... if you insist," you said as you stood up. As you walked back into the room, you whispered to Aether, "please don't let him hurt himself."

Aether nodded as you disappeared into the inn. He glanced over at Xiao, eyebrows raised suspiciously. Xiao analyzed the needle in his hand, shifting between it and the bag in his other. He seemed beyond confused.

"Xiao...?"

"What."

Aether coughed into his sleeve, trying to find the words to express his question. "Why did you... offer? You don't know how to make the things that they do."

"It was the only way I could think to convince them to rest."

Aether and Paimon shared a knowing look, devilish grins spreading across their faces. "When did you become so whipped?" Paimon asked, sniffling a giggle.

"Excuse me?"

"EEK! Nothing, Paimon's sorry!!"

༺♡༻

this chapter is ways shorter than the usual length, i'm sorry! also note: this isn't edited. if there's any mistakes or inconsistencies, please let me know as I probably missed them in my skim reading. I hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you all soon!!