Xingyun Oneshots

92 - Softer Than Silk Flowers (Happy Birthday Xingqiu!)

Knock knock knock

Chongyun shifts himself awkwardly in the tree just in front of Xingqiu's window, looking up in surprise to see that the curtains aren't closed like usual.

It was fairly early in the morning, so early that sunlight was hardly peeking over the horizon, and Chongyun had told Xingqiu he'd drop his gift off early, since they wouldn't be seeing each other until later that night and he wanted him to have it that morning.

Usually when Chongyun came to Xingqiu's window, the curtains were closed, and there would usually be a beat of silence before he could hear Xingqiu humming faintly as he goes to open up the curtains and give him that signature heart warming smile.

Instead, the view of Xingqiu's room is clear, he notes his messy desk just in front of the window, covered with stray papers and pens and stacks of novels on every corner, and Xingqiu himself asleep against his desk, his head snugly tucked in the corner of his arm while he sleeps.

Chongyun checks to see if the window is open, and finding that it is, he slips his gift onto Xingqiu's desk, assuming he'll see him later tonight when he promised to see him.

Just as he moves to close the window though, he accidentally knocks one of the books off the desk, and Xingqiu stirs a little in his sleep, attempting to reposition himself as comfortably as possible.

Chongyun realizes how uncomfortably Xingqiu had fallen asleep, and he knows Xingqiu will probably wake up in pain.

He clicks his tongue, knowing Xingqiu probably fell asleep while reading or writing too late (something he often told Chongyun he never did as it ruins your eyesight, but they both know he tends to do it anyways if he's too immersed in the story), and he decides he'll spare Xingqiu the lecture when he wakes up. It was his birthday after all.

He carefully moves inside and pushes Xingqiu's chair back a little, picking him up bridal style with ease and ignoring the faint blush that appears on his cheeks from holding Xingqiu so closely.

Just as he lays him down on his bed though, his eyelashes flutter open and slits of amber peek between them to look up at him curiously while he reaches a hand out to tug at Chongyun hood when he moves away.

"Wait, where are you going?" He asks softly, so softly it catches Chongyun off guard from his usual confident and teasing tone.

"I just came to drop off your present, I moved you here because I didn't want you to be in pain when you woke up." Chongyun explains in a whisper. "I'll still see you tonight."

"But I don't want you to go." Xingqiu says clearly despite his voice being laced with sleep. He tugs on Chongyun's hood again and it makes his heart jump and the gay thoughts worse.

"Xingqiu, I can't stand right here." He gives a nervous chuckle while that familiar hot feeling rushes to his cheeks. He tries to gently pull away from Xingqiu and take his hand off his hood, but Xingqiu holds on tighter and shakes his head against his pillow, making his cheek squish against the material.

Chongyun internally curses for not bringing any popsicles, because although this was just supposed to be a quick trip to bring Xingqiu his present since he would be busy all day with Guild Matters, he hadn't counted on being this close to him.

Why did his best friend have to be so cute?!

"I don't mean right there-" Xingqiu nods over his shoulder, motioning to the other empty side of his bed. "-I mean here. With me."

Chongyun just blinks for a second before he has to take deep breathes to control his Yang energy from stirring too much. "Huh? But Xingqiu, I-"

He stops speaking, not even sure what to say to that. Was this another one of his pranks?

"Please?" Xingqiu asks in his sweetest voice, and Chongyun can feels his knees go weak just at his tone of voice, because somehow Xingqiu manages to always make his voice softer than silk flowers and fluffy clouds and sugary desserts to persuade Chongyun into things. "Just for a little while? For my birthday?"

Chongyun rests his hand over Xingqiu's on his hood and sits in contemplation, truly finding it hard to deny Xingqiu's request.

After a little while longer of Xingqiu waiting for his answer, he sighs and shuts the window, taking off his shoes and belt before going to lay beside him.

"Thanks." Xingqiu smiles and scoots a little closer than Chongyun knew how to react to, now fully opening his eyes and making it harder for him not to blush. "Do you think you could handle being a little closer though?"

"C-closer?" Chongyun studies Xingqiu for any sign of teasing. This had to be a joke, right?

"Yeah. I wouldn't object to cuddling or anything." Xingqiu's smile converts more to a sly grin when Chongyun's face blossoms into a cherry red. "Y'know, since it's my birthday and all."

Chongyun just stares at the other boy in shock, his face too warm for comfort. Did Xingqiu know about his crush on him? Was he truly just teasing him? At some point, Xingqiu would say 'just teasing!'  like he always did, and then Chongyun would know for sure.

"Is that a no?" Xingqiu asks before he smiles and rolls over, his back facing Chongyun. "Sweet dreams then, I appreciate you staying in my bed with me regardless."

Chongyun just watches him, his heart rate slowly going back to normal. Xingqiu was normally very keen on reading over his shoulder and laying in his lap while Chongyun read to him, and he had done it so many times that it felt normal at this point, but this felt much different.

Chongyun's not really convinced Xingqiu would go to all this trouble just for a little prank, especially since he hadn't added the little 'just teasing!'. It's something that only Chongyun tended to notice about his teasings, and how he knew that despite his carefree tone and sly smile, he was speaking the truth.

He suddenly feels a little guilty that he may have shut down Xingqiu's attempt at something more than a friendly gesture, and despite his cheeks getting pink again at his actions, he moves closer to Xingqiu and wraps an arm around him loosely, resting against his shoulder.

"You don't have to do this Chongyun, I was only teasing..." Xingqiu mumbles, but Chongyun can sense the mild guilt in his voice, as well as the blatant lie.

"I just needed a second to cool down, don't worry about it." Chongyun whispers, and he feels Xingqiu slightly tense his shoulders from his voice being so close.

"...Are you sure?"

He looks over his shoulder to him, and Chongyun can see the question in his eyes, asking more than just about the cuddling, and more than the bounds of their friendship.

Chongyun silently nods.

Xingqiu leans in close to gently kiss him on the cheek, laying back down and leaning into his touch.

"You always make my birthdays the best. Your gifts are always my favorite." He comments quietly while Chongyun's eyes silently flicker up to the small gift box on Xingqiu's desk, containing two matching bracelets he'd handmade himself.

"You can thank me later."

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Unfortunately I wasn't able to C6 him by his birthday (hilariously enough, I had managed to get Hu Tao on 50/50 before getting one constellation for him, making C4), but he will be C6'd and Triple Crowned one day, I guarantee

Also I'm so flipping excited for the Liyue and Mondstadt poetry event omg (and who knows maybe it'll give me a oneshot idea)

Written: October 8th, 2023

Finished/Published: October 9th, 2023

(Word Count: 1,315)