The Spark [Xiao x Aether]

Alone again |||

Just when the Yaksha thought everything would be over, it wasn't. His eyes opened after an unknown amount of time had passed. He didn't feel any form of pain at the place he stabbed himself at. Without even realizing where he was, he sat up and tried looking for his spear again.

A voice from the distance immediately shouted.

"Don't move!"

He looked around only to see Ganyu again. Why was the half-Adeptus always there to bother him? He laid back down due to extreme exhaustion and looked at the girl from the side of his eye.

"Where am I...?" Xiao asked.

"Doctor Baizhu's office. I accidentally left something in your room and when I came back to get it...you..."

"Why didn't you leave me?"

"I'm sorry, what!?"

The girl stared in horror. She assumed someone must have attacked the boy but that didn't seem like the case, judging from his reaction. She gently placed her hand on his forehead to check if he had a headache.

Xiao flinched.

Ganyu didn't know how to react and just put her hand back. She had never seen somebody be in such a state.

"...why?" She asked with a shaky voice that made the Yaksha look at her all confused. "Why would you try to do something so horrible to yourself!? There are people who fight every day for their lives and you're throwing it away just like that!" A small tear rolled down her cheeks as her eyes stared into the Yaksha's dead gaze.

Xiao didn't understand why this shook her so much. She didn't even know him well enough to be crying over this. People die every day, and getting emotional over it seemed pointless, especially for Ganyu.

"You should've left me. We're closer to strangers than we are to friends."

"Do you hear yourself?"

"I do, very clearly."

"Then why!?

"Why do you care? There wouldn't be any difference if I left. I should have done this a long time ago. What I do shouldn't concern you. My purpose for living has disappeared a long time ago." The Adeptus began with zero life in his voice.

He reached over and grabbed a tissue from the table near his bed. His wounds seemed to have completely healed. He wouldn't have to guess twice to know who it was. This just made his head hurt more.

Xiao handed the girl a tissue merely because he wasn't a fan of seeing people cry. But did anyone even really like that?

Ganyu grabbed the tissue and began whipping her tears away. She got embarrassed realizing she started crying. The girl didn't even notice all the warm tears that covered her face until some of them dropped on one of the blankets.

"Xiao...if anything happened I want you to talk. You're right, we aren't friends. We're far from that, but it's never right to keep things bottled up inside. One day that bottle will break when you least expect it and you won't be able to control it...Just like your past siblings." She managed to get herself together after stopping the tears. The half-Adeptus girl never saw someone despise living as much as the Yaksha.

A sigh escaped the boy's lips. He sat up next to the girl.

"The bottle broke a long time ago."

His head was looking at the ground. All he could think about was killing himself. Other than that, the blonde still roamed around his memories. He looked up for once into Ganyu's eyes and stared for a while, making her slightly uncomfortable thinking he was gonna attack her.

In Xiao's head, Ganyu wasn't the one sitting there.

It was Aether with his usual comforting smile on his face.

The Yaksha's eyes widened and blinked a few times only to realize it was his mind playing tricks on him.

Ganyu was even more worried than before, she moved a bit further away from me boy in fear that he might do something.

He didn't.

"I'm sorry. My head isn't in the right place." He apologized, looking back at the ground again.

The girl got up and began walking out the door. She wasn't sure what to say or do next. If the Yaksha were to go crazy like his siblings a few years ago, he would definitely end her life. She had a will to live, unlike him.

"Ganyu," Xiao called out right before she left.

"...I'll leave you for a bit. Don't try doing anything stupid."

"Can I ask you something?"

Surprised by such a request, she turned around.

"What would your next move be if someone close to you suddenly disappeared and chose to never return? If they were the one who gave your life the spark, would it be worth still living that life?" He asked.

Being slightly startled by the question, the girl's eyes widened and she stood there silent for a while before coming up with an answer.

"If that person was so special to the point it gave my life a whole different perspective, I would doubt that person would leave so easily, but even if they did, they would want me to continue living on I'm sure..."

She wasn't sure if Xiao was talking about the remaining Yaksha or somebody else. It sounded way different than the situation with his past companions many years ago. There was nobody else the Adeptus talked to ever since then so who was he talking about?

"If that person cared about me so much to the point everything around me started gaining more color, then I'm sure they would return someday." She added before smiling gently.

Xiao didn't respond to what she said so the girl had no other choice but to leave.

He sat there wondering if the traveler was watching over him from the world beyond if he wasn't erased there as well.

The Yaksha knew his past lover wouldn't return.

There was no chance.

If something got deleted from Teyvat then there was no way for it to reappear ever again.