Midnight Park | Xiao x fem reader

You Do Have My Heart

Xiao quickly stood up from his seat, not wanting to waste any more seconds. taking off his slippers, he put on his go-to shoes and jacket before heading out to find you.

"you're right. I'll go check on her," Xiao stated before heading out, hoping Zhongli wouldn't mind him choosing to see you rather than staying with him.

***

on the other hand, your eyes could only stare blankly at the sight of Liyue Harbor, just a few meters below you. As dark as the place you were in, it was a good enough view to clear up your mind.

you closed your eyes every now and then, protecting them from the wind that could only make them drier as your eyes hurt quite a bit from the drops of tears that managed to slip out earlier.

you didn't bawl your eyes out, to say that you cried was even too much, but to say the truth didn't hurt was a total lie.

you couldn't tell how much time has passed since you arrived at the park. the harbor looked as peaceful as ever, with only some workers still doing their job as it wasn't so late at night.

gazing up at the sky, only some of the brightest stars could be seen. yet, the moon was still brighter in your eyes and still looked as lonesome as ever.

Xiao stared at the same sight for a few seconds before gazing back at your figure, sitting tiredly while looking up at the night sky above.

figuring that you're doing better than he expected you to, he was more than ready to take his leave from this gloomy place and let you have more time with yourself.

if anything, he was already feeling bad that he chose to follow the intense feeling of need to see you he had earlier instead of staying with Zhongli.

much to his misfortune, Xiao quickly shut his eyes in annoyance the moment he heard a very crunchy sound from none other than his shoe stepping on a fallen branch that he failed to notice.

you quickly turned your head to see whatever the source of the sound was, for some odd reasons hoping that it was just someone walking by. 

your whole body seemed to freeze for a second, your thoughts filled with the memories of the argument once more the very moment your eyes met his golden ones. 

your mouth was opened, ready to just yell and tell him to fuck off, but you pursed it as your body returned to its original sitting position for you can't help but hope that he might not even know anything.

you gently patted the seat beside you, staring far ahead, silently wondering if he would even stay. perhaps it was a feeling of inferiority that you had toward Morax.

it's already weird enough that Xiao chose to go to you, but he did. Xiao took a seat beside you before making himself comfortable and pulling out something from the plastic bag in his hand. 

"you probably need it," he uttered, holding out a can of energy drink that he bought for you earlier.

you gave him a small thanks before taking it, actually not having any energy to even stay hydrated. a wave of silence followed as you took a sip from your drink.

"wanna talk about it? I'm here to listen" Xiao finally asked, voicing his concerns.

you stared at him in silence, not daring to look him in the eye as you let his question go unanswered. after hesitating a bit, you asked him what you needed to know with just a tiny bit of expectations left. 

"did you already know?"

"not a clue" 

hearing those words, you could feel as if a part of your heart that was filled with hatred was slowly melting away. you didn't even need to look into his eyes to know that he wasn't lying, it was simply something you wanted to believe.

"I wanna know about him," you finally admit, wanting to know if what Zhongli did really wasn't for nothing.

"I thought you said you hated him?" Xiao asked you, unclear whether he was genuinely asking or just horribly trying to lift up the mood.

nevertheless, your mouth felt dry as you recalled what you said. "I- honestly, I don't know. you don't just hate someone you've held dear in your heart for years.

"but I was disappointed. and mad I guess"

after thinking for a while, Xiao finally spilled what he knew. "I met him late in his sophomore year. My father brought him home saying he was the child taught and was being raised by my aunt, Zhongli's teacher at the time."

Xiao went on to tell you how Zhongli never really talked about his family, much less mentioned he has a sister, and only told him earlier about everything. 

"I'm not trying to pick a side here, but if you said that you don't hate him then just try to talk it over again and see where that goes. it seems that you weren't in your right mind earlier."

"well yeah, but-" You immediately stopped yourself from putting up a defense, knowing damn well Xiao had a point.

you shut your eyes in frustration, contemplating whether you should give it a chance. 

Xiao watched you, his heart throbbing in his chest. he couldn't tell whether it was him being nervous you would cut ties with Zhongli and possibly him too, or from how much he hated seeing you so low on life.

adding to his words, Xiao once again tried to convince you. "I'm sure he won't try to reach out first, but you should know that he genuinely feels bad for what he did"

opening your eyes, you were immediately met with his, already staring deeply into you. averting your eyes from his, you sighed. "I'll trust you, Xiao. I'll meet you again tomorrow"

you cursed yourself mentally, not even knowing how those simple words managed to convince you so easily. whether that's just exactly what you wanted, or because of the person saying it.

A/N: Happy New Year!! how did your 2023 go?