When Rose's Thorns Attack my Sides (But my Eyes Stay Trained on You) (Xingyun)

Ch. 1

"Once upon a time..."

"No no no, that doesn't sound right." Xingqiu huffs. "I don't live in a fairytale..."

"One day, 8 years ago..."

"I don't think so..."

"Xingqiu was cursed."

"It's blunt, but it gets to the point."

Xingqiu walks through a field of tall grass, attempting to tell himself a story. It was about none other than himself and the recitement of the curse that befell him before he could even comprehend it.

He was on his own little quest to find himself a new bookmark, and had quickly decided a pressed flower would do nicely.

Unfortunately, he didn't know if he was looking in the right place, as there seemed to be nothing but fields of swaying grass in the summer sun as far as the eye could see, framed by the giant mountains on all sides.

Xingqiu continues to sweep aside the tall grass and shield his eyes from the sun while he tells his story, reciting it just the way he was always told it went.

"On his 17th birthday...that's so far away..."

He purses his lips and pulls up his socks so they don't slip down.

"He will fall into a deep sleep..."

In between his words and steps in the grass, he almost finds himself missing a colorful piece of greenery sprouting from the earth. Turning his attention to it, he crouched down to his hands and knees, going to sweep away the grass and lighting up when he realizes it's a flower.

He reaches out for it, and while the tall grass covers his view, the slits of sunlight in between them allow little gaps for him to watch as his fingers just almost curl around the stem.

His skin brushes against one of the petals of the white and pink flower, and just when he gains a good grasp on it, another hand gently cups his.

Xingqiu's eyes widen as he pulls away, evidently ripping the flower forcefully from the ground and knocking him back. "Ah!"

The other hand recoils as well, and while Xingqiu holds his breath out fear and shock, the other person moves the grass nervously out of the way and reveals themself.

Suddenly, Xingqiu is face to face with another young boy, his blue eyes framed by frosty lashes and his arms covered in red bandages.

"Who are you?" The boy asks, keeping his gaze on him cautiously while his hands are up in defense.

"I'm..." Xingqiu studies him hard, wondering if he should divulge his title to him. Most people always acted sympathetic or afraid once they realized he was the boy with the curse looming over his head.

"...My name is Xingqiu."

He expects his face to light up in recognition, but when it doesn't, he feels a sense of relief wash over him.

"Okay." The other boy nods.

Xingqiu sits up on his knees and dusts himself off. His parents wouldn't be very happy if he got his clothes all dirty. "I told you my name. What's yours?"

The other boy blushes a bit and looks down at his hands shyly before mumbling his name. "...yun."

"Your name is Yun?" Xingqiu asks him.

"N-no, my name is Chongyun." He reiterates for him.

"Oh. Well I'll just call you Yun for short. Is that okay Chongyun?"

Chongyun blushes a little bit more and nods his head.

Xingqiu leans forward and pokes his cheek, starting him. "How come you're so pink? You're blushing pretty hard." He giggles.

"That's just because of my condition..." he mumbles. From the way his face falls, he seems pretty upset about it.

"What condition ? Are you ill?"

"N-no, it's nothing like that..."

Chongyun explained his congenital positivity to Xingqiu, as well as the fact he's an exorcist. Xingqiu follows along with his head in his hands and the flower in between them in the ground, intently following his story.

"Wow. That's really something." Xingqiu comments when he's done.

"Yeah, I know. If only I could just get rid of it!"

"What if you didn't have to get rid of it to get rid of ghosts though?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Like...what if you tried to find a ghost that was immune to it instead of trying to subdue it?"

Chongyun's eyes widen a bit and he looks like his mind had just been blown. "That's such a good idea! Thank you so much Qiu!"

"It's Xingqiu." He reminds him.

"But you're calling me by a nickname!" Chongyun pouts.

"I know, but I'm only going to use it when it's just me and you since my family's wants me to be presentable. If we ever see each other again."

"That reminds me...why are you here anyways?" Chongyun asks, leaning forward a bit and sitting crisscross applesauce.

"I was looking for a flower to use as a bookmark for my books. I was gonna press it so it stays nice for a long time. Why did you want it?"

"I wanted it to give to my friend Xiangling. She's sick right now, and I wanted to give her a present to make her feel better."

"Oh. Well if that's the case, then you should have it. I'm sure your friend would really appreciate it." Xingqiu hands him the flower.

"You had your hand on it first. You should keep it." Chongyun insists.

"But you need it more than me!" Xingqiu says.

"I can find another one!"

Xingqiu sighs before standing up and holding his hand out to him. "You're very stubborn, y'know.
Let's go find you a flower."

"You don't have to help me-"

"No buts Yun! I'm going to help you find the best flower for your friend!" 

Chongyun sighs and takes his hand, following him out of the field and on the winding path to Liyue Harbor.

His new companion was certainly interesting...

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Written: May 22nd, 2023

Finished/Published: July 9th, 2023

(Word Count: 990)