𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 | Xiao x Reader

17

Xiao stood on the top balcony of Wangshu Inn, overlooking the marsh below. It was a relatively peaceful day, since everyone was still shaken up after what had occurred at the harbor just before. Even the treasure hoarders seemed to be taking a break, leaving him with little else to do than watch the area and wait.

He'd never known what to do with himself on days like this, mainly because they came around to sparsely. It was hard for him to ever have breaks, even if they came out of his control like this.

He sighed, leaning out onto the railing as he gripped his head in his hands. All he could think about now was the lack of your presence around him, and it was getting to him even more than expected.

He had to admit, he'd gotten used to being around you so much due to his contract, and now that you were leaving, it would be hard for him to adjust to things being normal again. He knew he'd gotten attached, and it was a rookie mistake he wished he hadn't made, but there was nothing that could be done about it now.

It just meant another person he cared about would soon be leaving him.

He couldn't even find the strength in himself to watch you go, to watch you cross the border out of Liyue, even if he knew he probably should, at least for the sake of the contract. It was just too painful, knowing you'd probably never be able to return again.

To think, just earlier when he'd watched you defend the Jade Chamber from Osial's onslaught of attacks, he'd been more than ready to swear loyalty to you as his Archon, and now here you were, about to go back to Snezhnaya forever. As much as he'd wanted to step in and do something about it, to fight off the other harbingers and give you a chance to escape, both of you had known it wasn't realistic.

You'd silently asked him to stand down, and for once, he'd listened, knowing better than to rush in and do something stupid.

...Even if he wished he hadn't.

"Xiao!" Verr Goldet's voice suddenly called from downstairs, and he silently cursed her for interrupting. When he didn't reply, she assumed he'd heard anyway and kept talking. "There's someone here to see you! He says it's important!"

Xiao wanted to smack his head against the wall in frustration, knowing it was probably just another stupid mortal that had found out about him and was now coming to make some kind of offering. It happened sometimes when guests at the inn found out he was an Adeptus; they'd offer things up in the hope that he might provide them with riches or fame. They always left disappointed.

"Send him away!" The yaksha finally called back, "I have no interest in dealing with any mortals at the moment." There was a long pause, and for a second, he had hope Verr might actually listen.

Even though she was very kind to provide him with a place to stay for free, even supporting him in other ways, like when he'd brought you to get patched up, she tended to be a loose cannon, and often acted of her own accord. It was a bit of a pain, and usually meant more of an inconvenience for Xiao when she did.

"...Ignore him, you can just go right up." Her voice was quiet as she turned back to whoever was downstairs, but Xiao heard it nonetheless, and put a hand to his forehead. Of course she wasn't listening, when did she ever?

He could hear the footsteps of the person coming up the stairs, and was just about to teleport away so he wouldn't have to deal with them when they called out to him.

"Xiao!" The voice made him stop, turning to see none other than Zhongli coming over to him.

"My lord..." He replied quietly, and the man shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"Please, call me Zhongli." He replied, "I need to talk to you...About Y/n." He could see the Adeptus visibly stiffen, but he just nodded anyway, turning to look back out at the landscape.