(Y/N) was an Adeptus. Now that there was peace, she spent her time tending to requests sent from the people of Liyue. Her life was simple now: no more wars, no more fighting, no losses.
And things could almost be considered boring, until one day she...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹
The following morning, she had made her way to Wangshu Inn, already falling back to her usual daily schedule. She glanced over at the terrace, wondering where Xiao was. News of Rex Lapis' death must have spread quickly. Afterall, rumors like that were like wildfires. The wind would only help it grow.
She hoped he was okay. Though, (Y/N) was not expecting him to open up to her. Even if she always considered him family, he was a reclusive person and preferred to keep quiet about his emotions. While she believed that was not good for him, she could never be able to convince him to change himself when he had been like that from the very start.
She didn't flinch when he appeared behind her, but she was surprised to see the sad expression on his face.
"(Y/N)," he said, her name leaving his lips like a soft cry.
"Xiao," she returned, tipping her head. She was unsure whether she should bring up the topic or not and decided not to. If he wanted to talk about it, she'll leave it up to him. That was the least she could do for him. He didn't look her in the eye, instead at the ground. He must have been feeling conflicted and wondering whether he should talk to her or not either. It would be his first time opening up to her fully.
They both leaned quietly against the railing. Perhaps the silence expressed more than what words could. Perhaps the little frown that knitted his eyebrows and the softer tone his voice held showed how deeply he was affected. She was so tempted to tell him the truth, but she had faith in Zhongli. He would reveal it one day. He had to.
"Be careful," he said.
She tilted her head, confused. "With what?"
"..." He didn't respond immediately, as if he didn't want to say what he was thinking out loud. He turned his head, forcing the words out of his mouth, even if the bile was thick in his throat. "Don't die. Don't..." he mumbled. "Don't leave me too."
Her heart sank and shattered into an uncountable number of pieces. Poor boy. She placed a hand on her chest, showing her sincerity. "I'm not going anywhere, Xiao. But hey, you better be careful too, then."
His golden eyes met hers. He nodded firmly. "I will."
She felt content with that, and seemingly, he did too, since he decided to cut the interaction short and disappear into the air. She looked towards the rising sun for a moment longer, before turning around, wanting to forget just how sad he looked so she could continue her day in some sort of false peace she managed to make herself find.
⚔︎
It had been a few days since then. Nothing special had occurred. (Y/N) checked on Xiao whenever she could, but he seemed to have forgotten that he had expressed his emotions to her. He was as cold as usual.
