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snowrobin-133 · 3 years

Text

A Happy Ending Yet to Happen

Characters: Xiao x F!Reader (Y/N), implied traveler x Xiao at end, ft. Venti and Paimon Fandom: Genshin Impact WC: 8.2k words Tags: character death, immortal(?) x mortal, grief, sadness, tears, angst, spoilers for Xiao’s voice lines and stories, Xiao might be slightly OOC in some scenes A/N: I’m pretty sure you can’t call Xiao an immortal since yakshas can die and stuff but like they live a long time so it sorta works HAHA. Also this hasn’t really been beta read and so there’s probably a couple of mistakes, sorry about that!

[EDIT] I FORGOT A PART FLIP- anyways yeah I accidently deleted a part somehow while it was in the doc??? Idk what happened but it’s back slkasdjasldaj

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In the center of Mondstadt’s square stood a fellow clad in green, playing a lyre as he weaved a tragic tale of an adepti and a mortal. The fellow first introduced himself as Venti before starting the tale to curious onlookers that stopped to listen.

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Many centuries ago, a young girl, in her twenties perhaps, clad in strange attire, arrived in Tevyat, injuries scattered across her body. She was somewhat near the Liyue Harbor of that time and the millileth found her, quickly bringing her to the doctor where she was treated. The injuries were severe as if she had been slammed with a heavy rock that flew out of nowhere. With some healing and herbs, the doctors managed to save her life.

After a couple of days, she awoke. The millileth arrived and they asked her many questions.“Where did you get those injuries? What were you doing out in the wild? Where did you come from?”

Every question they asked was either given vague responses or a simple “I don’t know”. It seems that she had lost her memory. The millileth was in a tight spot. They then asked her one last question, hope shining in their eyes, “What is your name?”

The girl looked down at her lap, searching through the hazy memories in her mind. One word stuck out to her, perhaps that was her name. After a few more seconds of pondering, she answered with, “Y/N.”

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After a couple of weeks, Y/N was released from the hospital. She was given a home to stay in and got a job as a waitress in one of Liyue Harbor’s most popular restaurants. She quickly fit in with the atmosphere of the city and got along with the city folk, a drastic change from when she first appeared in Liyue.

After some time, Y/N decided to take a couple of weeks off to travel around Liyue, although not all of it, just to places she had heard of from customers and colleagues. Her first stop was near Dihua Marsh. According to what Y/N was told, on an islet of the marsh stood a stone pillar with a large golden-leaved tree sitting on top of it. There were also rumors of a young man, called the Conqueror of Demons, that would be seen in the area. There was little to no details of the man other than that he seemed to hold an anemo vision and fought with a polearm.

Y/N was slightly curious about this man but thought little of him, being distracted with simply trying to get to the area unscathed first. The monsters that stood in her way were rather easy to trick and avoid. Some were slightly persistent but she managed to shake them off after a couple of minutes. Although she lacked her memories, she, strangely enough, seemed to remember some pointless, or in this case, useful survival tips.

After a couple of days, Y/N arrived at the islet as the sun began to set. She decided to look around to set up camp but was quickly interrupted by the growls and yells of hilichurls. Looking around, she quickly spotted them, getting into a position to run if needed. Y/N then paused, noticing something sinister coming from them.

“There’s something different about these hilichurls…” she murmured to herself, attempting to back away quietly and hide. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to notice her movement and she hid behind some bushes nearby. She noted that they seemed to be walking towards her and she quickly put a hand over her mouth and nose, muffling her breathing as she hoped they wouldn’t notice her.

Before they got too close though, something suddenly came out of the sky, slamming down into the ground with green-colored spears shooting out of the ground. The force of whatever had slammed into the ground nearly blew Y/N away but she thankfully only fell on her butt.

She quickly regained her balance and watched the scene unfold in front of her. As the dust cleared, she could see a young man with black and teal hair and green tattoos standing straight with a polearm in hand.

He was a somewhat distance from her with his back towards her but his head then turned around, making eye contact with Y/N. She flinched at his piercing gaze but he quickly turned away. Y/N was unable to think more of it as the young man started fighting the hilichurls. As she watched him fight, a sudden bad feeling started to stir up in her stomach. With the bad feeling in mind, she decided to back away a bit more as the fighting got more and more intense.

The young man handled the hilichurls quickly, treating them as if they were ragdolls. Y/N watched in awe and slight terror at his strength. In just a few minutes, the hilichurls laid on the ground, not moving at all, and the man stood over them with cold gazes. He then whipped around and walked towards Y/N.

Y/N flinched at the sudden attention and leaned back as the young man loomed over her. His glare pierced through her, making her sweat bullets, “I- uh...thank you…!” she squeaked out under his intense gaze.

He scoffed before speaking, “Night. When the darkness comes to envelop you, Don’t stay outside,” he turned around, preparing to leave.

“W-wait! What’s… What’s your name?” she stuttered out.

He looked at her, pausing before saying, “Adeptus Xiao,” and seemingly evaporated as he looked away.

Y/N sat on the ground, frozen, as she attempted to comprehend what just happened. After a couple of minutes, she snapped out of her daze and decided to heed Xiao’s words.

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Venti hummed a bit before speaking, “After that first meeting, the girl and the Adeptus would run into each other many more times. Each run-in brought the two closer and closer, far more than they would realize” he smiled mischievously.

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The first run-in with each other happened only a couple of months after they first met. Y/N hadn’t seen Xiao once since the incident and returned to Liyue Harbor with little trouble. She attempted to look up some more information on him but came up empty. The only thing she managed to find out was that he was a Yaksha, an adepti that protects Liyue from demons and mutants that appeared when gods fell during the Archon War. She figured that the hilichurls she saw Xiao defeat that day were likely mutants.

I’m glad I didn’t get involved with them at all… Y/N thought to herself as she set up some tables early in the morning.

“Ah, Y/N!”

Y/N turned around to see her boss, “Ah, Zhang Wei*. Do you need something?”

“Yes, is it fine if I trouble you to find some of these ingredients for me? I’ll give you a couple of weeks off to do so!” He handed her a small piece of paper with a list of ingredients with locations listed next to the names.

“Ah… Sure,” Y/N took the piece of paper from him.

“Thank you so much! I’ll be sure to pay you double for this!” Zhang Wei smiled.

Y/N nodded, her mind focused on the location next to Horsetail. Dihua Marsh. Y/N wondered if she would see Xiao again.

She decided her first stop would be Dihua marsh, hoping to see the young adepti once again. Y/N doubted she would see him again, but why not try?

Y/N looked at herself in the mirror of her small home, she wore simple clothes that would make traveling easier, and over her shoulder was a satchel to put the ingredients in. Double-checking that she had everything, Y/N put on her shoes and left her home.

Y/N finally arrived at Dihua Marsh, although she was on the ground and out of breath. She had already grabbed some horsetail just moments earlier but then a group of hilichurls came up. They were different from regular ones though and she noted that they were similar to the hilichurls she had seen when she first met Xiao. After a while, she finally managed to lose them by hiding in some large bushes.

She threw her head back, taking a large breath of air. “Damn those hilichurls, huff… Why must they all be so… persistent…!” she muttered.

“You’re lucky they didn’t find you out.”

“Yeah… Wait-!” Y/N jolted and whipped around, seeing the familiar cold stone face of Xiao standing behind her.

He closed his eyes and sighed, “It seems I’ve caused you trouble again. I apologize.”

“...Huh? How did you cause me trouble?”

“That is because the changes that occurred in those hilichurls came from me, or more precisely, from the karma I’ve accumulated.”

“Ah...but you just killed those monsters, right? So if anything, you did me a bit of a favor,” Y/N laughed quietly and smiled at him.

He scoffed, “Anyways, there will likely be more of these monsters, so you best watch out,” he then turned to leave.

Y/N jumped up, “Ah! Wait!”

“...What?”

“Can you, uh, act like a guard for me? I doubt I’ll be able to avoid those monsters like normal ones…” Y/N laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck.

“Huh? Why should I?” Xiao asked coldly, crossing his arms.

“I have no way of protecting myself and like I said, I doubt I’d be able to avoid those monsters like normal ones…”

“Hmph… You’re quite bold to ask me that.”

Y/N clasped her hands together, “Please~! Just for a couple of days! That’s all!”

Xiao stayed silent for a few minutes before speaking, “...Fine.”

Her head shot up as she looked at him in hope. Before she could speak though, Xiao spoke again. “But don't think about getting close, and stay out of my way, or all that awaits you is regret,” he warned.

Y/N looked at him in surprise and slight confusion before nodding, “Oh, alright. Thank you so much though! Oh! By the way, I’m Y/N”

Xiao didn’t understand why he was agreeing to protect this feeble girl. There was nothing special about her, no vision, no special aura, nothing. So why is he even wasting his time with her? He sighed as he watched the girl gather more horsetails in the area. “Reduced to being a guard for a feeble girl, how pathetic,” he muttered under his breath, yet he kept his guard up and watched out for her.

After Y/N gathered enough horsetails, the duo made their way to Quince Village to gather jueyun chilis. Night soon arrived and Xiao decided for them to rest, gruffly claiming “You humans barely have any stamina.”

After a bit of searching, the two found themselves in front of some ruins by Wuwang Hill. As Y/N began setting up a camp, Xiao jumped up, landing on top of one of the ruined structures, “Go and rest. I'll be here,” and sat down.

Y/N tilted her head, “Aren’t you going to sleep as well?”

Xiao glared at her, “You think I sleep? You have no respect for the ways of the adepti!”

She flinched at his sudden outburst, “Ah, sorry…”

His hard glare softened into a cold gaze, “...Just go rest,” and turned away, looking out into the wilderness.

Y/N’s lips curled into a soft smile, He’s harsh… but I think he has a good heart she thought and quietly giggled, settling down into the makeshift bed she made and watched the night sky.

The two continued to journey for another week before separating. Y/N arrived back in Liyue Harbor with all the ingredients collected feeling a bit more giddy than usual. Her friends in the city all noticed, asking who the lucky fellow is. Y/N simply laughed, telling them that she made a new friend.

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The next meeting was when Y/N was exploring around Mt. Tianheng as the sun hung low in the sky. She had finished work and decided to walk around. On impulse, she decided to go off the road and was walking past a waterfall when she noticed something in the grass. Raising an eyebrow, she decided to walk closer, only to see the familiar hair and clothing of Xiao.

Y/N’s eyes widened in shock at the sight of blood and quickly looked over his unconscious body. She hurriedly opened her bag and searched through it, eventually finding a pouch of first aid items.

“I’m glad I had the foresight to pack first-aid items,” she sighed in relief and began to apply first aid. Y/N was surprised with how natural it felt to apply first aid as if she had done it countless times before. Perhaps she was some kind of doctor in the life she no longer remembered. Y/N quickly pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on the injured man in front of her.

After some time, she had patched up all of the severe injuries and she looked over the rest of his body as Xiao awoke.

“Ah! You’re awake! Phew…”

“... What are you doing here…?” he asked groggily.

“I was taking a walk, and anyways, I should be asking you that!”

He attempted to sit up but flinched and Y/N quickly went to help, “Don’t touch me.”

“Huh? But you’re hurt and-”

Xiao quickly cut her off, “Prolonged interaction with adepti will become dangerous, as your souls are not as robust as ours are.”

Y/N glared at him, “We’ll worry about that later! Can you move a little at least?”

“Hmph, of course I can.”

“Then let’s get you out of the open, it looks like it’s about to rain soon.”

“... Fine.” Xiao finally allowed her to help him up and to lead him away from the open. They decided to take a rest in the cavern behind the waterfall, rain beginning to fall as they neared the cavern.

As Xiao settled down against the wall, Y/N noted that it was colder thanks to the mist flowers that grew nearby. Standing up, she took off her coat, passing it to Xiao. “Here, it’s cold.”

“My body is used to these temperatures. Your body is not.”

Y/N sighed, “And who exactly is the injured one out of us?… Just take it,” she dropped the coat on his lap before turning away to set up a fire. Xiao sighed, too exhausted to argue.

As the fire blazed alive, Y/N asked, “... What exactly happened to leave you passed out in the grass?”

“... It’s none of your concern,” Xiao answered coldly.

Y/N sighed, “...Alright.”

Xiao paused before speaking, “In the thousands of years that have passed, I have taken countless wraiths. If you want no trouble, stay away from me.”

Y/N looked at him in surprise, “... Like I’m gonna do that,” she stuck her tongue out at him and he scoffed in response. Y/N sighed, opting to not say anything more, and turned her attention back to the fire as she began to make something with what little ingredients she had.

After ten or so minutes, she decided to speak up, “... Is there anything troubling you, Xiao?”

“Trouble..? Hmph.. trouble means nothing to Adepti. There is no trouble that can last for a thousand years” Xiao glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

“Ah…”

“...Don’t worry needlessly about me, as I said, you should stay away from me instead of getting closer.”

“You’re still going on about that, huh? Well, guess what! I’m just as stubborn as you so I’m not gonna leave you alone!”

Xiao sighed, “... What a menace…” he muttered.

Y/N pouted in response as she handed him a plate of Almond Tofu, “Here, eat up.”

“...Isn’t this a dessert?”

“Haha, yeah it is… but the ingredients it needed are the only things I had on me that I could turn into a meal, and besides it’ll boost your strength!”

Xiao sighed, “Human meals are rarely ever good.”

“Just try it, Xiao, you need food to get back on your feet y’know!”

“I’m an Adeptus, my body does not follow the same rules that your bodies do,” he scoffed yet reluctantly put a spoonful in his mouth.

Y/N pouted in response and turned away, preparing a dish for herself.

Xiao swallowed down the spoonful before speaking, “... dreams.”

“Hm?”

“It tastes like the dreams I once devoured.”

Y/N paused before staring at him as if he had grown two heads, “... I, uh… Is that a good thing…?”

Xiao opted to not answer, instead, he ate another spoon of the almond tofu. Y/N sighed, deciding that it would be useless to try and pry further. The two ate in silence, listening to the rain pitter-patter outside of the cavern.

Y/N cleaned up the area a bit before leaning against the wall, putting a distance between her and him, and relaxed. Her head turned to the cavern’s entrance, making note of the heavier rain, “It looks like the rain won’t let up anytime soon…” and closed her eyes, falling asleep.

After a couple of minutes, Y/N’s breathing had become slow and steady. Xiao wondered if this was because of the prolonged contact between him and her.

Once confirming she was asleep, Xiao stood up and walked towards her. He wrapped the coat she had given him around her, whispering a quiet “thank you”. He raised his hand, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear before standing up. His eyes remained on her as he made a conscious decision to avoid her as much as he could. The more contact she had with him, the more danger she would be in. Gazing at her for a few more seconds, he turned around and disappeared.

Y/N awoke late at night, quickly noting that there was a warm weight on her. As the grogginess wore off, she noticed that the weight was the coat she had given Xiao. Speaking of Xiao, he was no longer where she last saw he was.

“Ah… he must’ve left already… He better not have reopened his wounds.”

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The next meeting was several months after that incident. Even after traveling to Dihua Islet several times, Y/N did not see Xiao once, even if she had brought almond tofu with her. Y/N wasn’t completely sure if he did actually like her almond tofu but she was going to take any chances to get to see him. Thinking back to their time in the cavern, Y/N wondered if he was trying to distance himself because of the energy situation. She could understand the reason but still couldn’t help but miss the yaksha.

Y/N stared at her cup of tea, lost in thought wondering where Xiao was, as she hung out with three of her friends. They were talking about some kind of gossip when one of them noticed her silence and smiled mischievously, “Y/N~?”

Y/N quickly snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her friend with a hum, “Yes?”

“Just what are you thinking so deeply about? Ever since you went on that journey of yours, you’ve been staring out into space way more than usual~” she teased.

Y/N flinched at her observation and laughed, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about…”

Her friend pouted, “Oh don’t be like that Y/N~! Tell me! Please?” By now, the other two had noticed and began joining in.

Y/N simply laughed with a shake of her head, “No way!”

“A shame…” her friend hung her head and so did the others as they sighed dramatically, albeit did nothing in changing Y/N’s mind. It’s not likely that they would believe in her tale of becoming (sort of) friends with an adepti, a yaksha that vanquishes demons at that. Anyways.

“At least tell us if you’re thinking about a guy !” one of her friends leaned on her as she laughed, deciding to cave in a bit.

“Alright, alright,” at that, her friends perked up immediately, all eyes on her as she looked away, slightly blushing, “... it is a guy.”

They all gasped dramatically, “Oh my! What’s he like?!” they all asked excitedly.

Y/N decided that it wouldn’t hurt to tell them a small bit, “Hm… he’s a jerk that’s cold and rough,” she giggled at her description of him, “…but he’s still a caring person underneath it all.”

Her friends shared a knowing look with mischievous smiles, “It sounds like you got a crush, Y/N~” one of them teased.

Y/N laughed, “Even if I do, it’s not like I’d tell the three of you.”

“A pity.”

“So when are we gonna meet him?”

Y/N smiled at them, “never,” and sipped her tea.

“Oh come on~ Whyy?” they whined. Y/N only laughed, not answering any more of their questions about Xiao. After a couple of minutes, they gave up on trying to pry answers out of her and moved onto other topics.

Y/N walked home, humming to herself, planning her next trip to Dihua Islet, “Hm...I wonder if I should bring something else other than almond tofu…”

“Stick with the almond tofu. Other mortal foods are things I can’t stomach.”

“Huh, is that so- wait-” Y/N whipped around to see the familiar face of Xiao leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed, wearing his signature frown. She quickly gasped, “Xiao! I was so worried about you! But wait, what are you doing here in the harbor?!” Y/N remembered the journey he had accompanied her on, how he had mentioned hating crowded and loud places. Although the area they were in at the moment was deserted and quiet, the noise of the marketplace could still be heard.

“The constant offerings of Almond Tofu and notes were beginning to get annoying,” he remarked bluntly, making Y/N flinch.

“A-ah, sorry,” Y/N laughed as she scratched the back of her neck.

He glanced at her and sighed, before tossing an item to her. Y/N quickly caught it with both hands, looking at her hands in surprise. “...What’s this?” she asked as she took a look at the item, seeing that it was a butterfly made of leaves.

“... It’s an adepti amulet I made. It staves off evil.”

Y/N eyes sparkled in awe as she looked at the beautiful details of the amulet, “Thank you… but why?”

“You mentioned your day of birth was near this time,” Xiao bit his lip, deciding not to mention that he thought the celebration of someone’s birthday was something he considered redundant. Why he kept his thoughts to himself would be a mystery to himself, but perhaps it had something to do with her happy expression.

Y/N glanced at him in surprise, “Oh wow! You remember that?!”

“Hmph, I was simply reminded of it from that last note of yours.”

“Geh-!” Y/N flinched as the memory of writing her last note to him flashed by, “... I forgot I wrote that…” she looked away with an awkward grin.

“Hmph, I will take my leave now.”

“Ah! Wait!”

“...What?”

Y/N looked at him from head to toe, “How are your injuries?”

Xiao sighed, “They’ve healed already, you need not worry.”

Y/N pouted at him, “How am I not going to worry? You disappeared for countless months without letting me see you once!”

“Did you forget what I had said? Mortal souls are-”

“Are not as robust as yours are,” Y/N finished with a sigh, “Even so, can’t we just meet up regularly? Like every couple months or so!”

Xiao stared at her pleading expression and sighed, “It is not wise to do so.”

Y/N sighed, “Ok then… let’s exchange letters!”

“...Letters?”

“Yeah! We can talk regularly without any physical interaction!”

Xiao sighed and attempted to answer, but was quickly cut off with a pang in his head. He grimaced as he flinched and held up a hand to his temple.

Y/N drew closer at his pained expression, “Are you ok?” she asked, panicking.

“Their voices... I can always hear them. Their screams, their cries, demanding more death... This is my burden to carry. It has nothing to do with you.”

“...But I’d like to at least help,” she smiled sadly at him.

“And just how do you plan to do that?”

“Umm…” Y/N then raised her hands to his face, stopping as he flinched away, “ah, sorry, uh, can I?”

“... Fine,” Xiao muttered, a faint tint of red on his cheeks, and leaned forward, flinching slightly at the feeling of Y/N’s hand on his face. “... Just how is this helping?” his body rigid in her hold.

Y/N pouted, “I’m trying my best! And anyway, just try to relax,” she murmured, avoiding his piercing gaze as her thumbs began rubbing circles on his cheeks.

Xiao sighed, pulling away, “This isn’t really helping me.”

Y/N pulled her hands away with a sigh, “that’s a shame…” she muttered. She then brightened as she thought of something, “Oh! Maybe we can make some kind of potion or medicine that’ll help!”

“...I understand your intentions, but mortal medicine has no effect on Adepti.”

“Wait, seriously?!” Y/N slumped over with a groan, “I’m sorry…”

“As I said, this has nothing to do with you, you do not need to spend your time helping me.”

Y/N looked down, “... Even though it has nothing to do with me… it still hurts to see you in pain as well.”

“...You better not be pitying me.”

“Of course not! I’m being empathetic!” “Huh? Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No! Of course not! Pity and empathy are two different things!” Y/N then went on a rant about the differences as Xiao sighed. Yet he didn’t feel annoyed, instead, there was a warm fuzzy feeling that replaced it. If he hadn’t noticed it, he would’ve let a small smile slip as well.

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Like Y/N had proposed, the two began exchanging letters. Her letters were usually long-winded and filled with emotions while Xiao’s were short and blunt, reflecting his personality, which amused Y/N. They only exchanged a few letters due to Y/N being unable to go out of Liyue Harbor often, but within those few letters, they found their attraction to each other growing.

Y/N stared out the window in a daze. In front of her was some paperwork from the restaurant, albeit she paid no mind to them. Instead, she found herself thinking about Xiao. She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed a light in the sky. It was far in the distance but Y/N quickly realized that it was a lantern.

“Right, it’s almost time for the lantern rite… I wonder if I can convince Xiao to come by…” With a sigh, Y/N returned to the papers in front of her, making a note to ask him later.

Sometime later, Y/N finally finished the letter. Written in it was the general stuff she normally wrote with updates on her life and some interesting trivia she learned recently. At the end of the letter, she made sure to mention the lantern rite. “By the way Xiao, did you know the lantern rite’s coming up? You should come by to watch the mingxiao lantern! I heard it’s super amazing!”

With a smile, Y/N closed the letter and prepared to leave the harbor. As she was preparing, a sudden and small thought popped up in her mind. I wonder what Xiao looks like smiling…. Y/N blushed as soon as the thought registered in her mind and shook her head.

Quickly she set out for the designated area that they left their replies. Dihua Islet. Xiao often wandered in that area which made it an area that they would both find the replies easily. Silently, Y/N hoped that she would also get to see him once she arrived there.

Surprisingly, her small wish would come true. As she arrived at Dihua Islet, Y/N’s eyes were quickly caught by the familiar figure of Xiao sitting on one of the boulders on the islet. A smile appeared on her features as she quickly called out his name, “Xiao!”

Xiao turned at the familiar call of his name, greeted with the sight of Y/N rushing towards him with the oh-so-familiar smile that made his stomach turn in knots. He nodded as a greeting and he jumped off the boulder, meeting her halfway.

Her grin grew in size at the acknowledgment, even though butterflies began to flutter in her stomach. She quickly rummaged through her bag and took out the letter, handing it to him. “By the way… The lantern rite is coming up,” she informed him.

“The lantern rite? The time for humans to discard their glowing trash into the sea has returned, how childish…”

Her smile quickly dropped, “... You really think that?”

“I do… the hatred and residual energy of the dead gods from some centuries ago sometimes erupt, and they often erupt in a large scale during this troublesome festival.”

“...And so you’re the one that’s fighting every time, right?”

“Yes.” “... It doesn’t happen every lantern rite though, right?”

Xiao glanced at her and sighed, “...No.”

“Then could you at least stop by to watch the mingxiao lantern? It’ll be worth your time! I promise!”

Xiao watched her as she stared at him with desperate eyes. He did not wish to admit it, but he knew deep inside that he couldn’t say no, and eventually gave in, “...If you insist, I will go with you.”

Y/N’s expression quickly lit up with a smile and she cheered, “Yay! I know a great place outside of the harbor that we can meet at to watch it!”

Xiao watched as she grabbed a map of Liyue out of her bag and began pointing at areas where they could watch it. Although he didn’t say it out loud, he was grateful that she was picking areas where there wouldn’t be many people. Nor would he say that he was growing nervous at how close she was, or how he was looking at every detail of her delicate face, or...

After a couple of minutes, they made arrangements to meet and watch the mingxiao lantern. As she walked away after (reluctantly) saying their goodbyes, Y/N internally celebrated with glee, a light pink blush tinting her cheeks.

The day finally came, the night of the Lantern Rite and when the large mingxiao lantern would be released into the sky. Y/N spent the first half of the day serving customers at the restaurant before returning home to prepare for her meeting with Xiao. She had everything in her bag but was quickly distracted when she noticed a food stall. Although Xiao couldn’t stand most human foods, this particular food stall was selling Almond Tofu. With a smile, she quickly bought some almond tofu as well as food for herself before setting off to find Xiao.

As Y/N arrived at the meeting place, she quickly spotted the lonesome figure of Xiao, standing at the ledge. She quickly called out his name and jogged up to where he was, handing him the almond tofu.

“... why did you get me this?” He asked, although took the plate.

Y/N smiled, “Because the lantern rite isn’t just about the lanterns! Plus I was hungry…” she quietly admitted the last part with a pout. Xiao released a huff of air and the two ate in silence, waiting for the time that the mingxiao lantern would be released.

After some time, Y/N figured that it must be getting close so she gave him a piece of plaustrite and a carving tool as she took out two xiao lanterns.

“What are these for?” Xiao asked, motioning to the plaustrite and carving tool.

“We carve our wishes on these, then we stick it into the lanterns and let them float away!” she explained to him.

Xiao took the plaustrite and carving tool with a huff, “How exactly will these grant our wishes?”

“Hm… I’m not sure,” Xiao looked incredulously at her as she laughed. He sighed and glanced at the plaustrite sitting in his hand.

Y/N calmed down before she thought about what to wish for. A wish then popped up in her mind after a few seconds, “I wish to spend more time with Xiao”. She blushed at the wish, but deep inside, she knew it was the one thing she wanted more than anything. Steeling her resolve, she quickly carved the wish into the plaustrite with a faint blush on her cheeks.

Xiao finished carving and glanced at Y/N before quickly looking back down at his own piece of plaustrite. He didn’t write a wish for himself since he didn’t have any wishes or desires. So, he decided to go with a statement, a promise. “If she finds herself clinging onto the past, reluctant to move on, I shall quietly remember the memories in my heart for her”.

The two placed the plaustrites into their own respective lanterns before letting them fly into the air. They stood close to each other, their hands brushing against each other, as they watched their lanterns fly mingle in the air with the many other lanterns.

After a couple of minutes, Y/N glanced at Xiao from the corner of her eye, spotting a small smile of awe appearing on his face. Her eyes widened at the sight of the rare smile and blushed before quickly looking away and into the sky. Tightening her jaw, she made the risky move of interlocking her pinkie finger with his. Y/N expected him to pull his hand away, and he did, yet he quickly returned his hand to interlock his slim fingers with hers. Y/N’s eyes widened again, a deep blush spreading across the rest of her face, as she looked down and squeezed his hand. Unbeknownst to her, painted on Xiao’s face was also a deep red blush.

----------------- [Edit: this is a part that got deleted accidently but it’s back lol]

Xiao found himself puzzled. Recently, a strange mortal had been hanging around him, wanting to get closer to him. Even stranger was that he felt the same way, wanting to get closer to them. The feeling and fluttering in his chest and stomach were foreign and even a tinge disgusting. Yet he seemed to crave more, more of their smile and expressions, more of the peace that surrounds them. He knew better though. Yet he found himself persisting against the knowledge of the mortal soul.

Xiao found himself falling deeper into the rabbit hole. Perhaps he could find momentary peace with the mortal.

Y/N was traveling to Dihua islet, wanting to check if Xiao had left a reply to her previous letter, as well as a chance to actually see him in person. If he didn’t, then she had a letter to put in its place. On her journey, she encountered a traveler, who had told her that there was a group of treasure hoarders camping by the main road. She was told to either go back and or to take a detour. Y/N was confident in her skills though and decided to continue traveling through the main road.

What a bad decision that was.

As Y/N passed some ruins, a small blade flew past her face, barely grazing her nose. She gasped, slapping a hand over her nose as she stepped back. Quickly checking her hand, she sighed in relief at the lack of blood before looking up.

Stepping out of some bushes was a small group of men dressed in the clothing of the treasure hoarders. Y/N eyes widened, cautiously taking a step back.

One of them snickered, “Scared little girl? No need to be. We only want one thing.”

Another threw their shovel over their shoulders, “Right, just give us your stuff and we’ll leave you alone.”

Y/N glared at them, pushing her bag to rest on her back instead of the side, “Like I’m giving you all the stuff I worked my butt for.”

“Hmph, you’ve got a pretty face but a pretty bad sense of danger. Fine, we’ll just take it from you with force.”

Y/N tensed, preparing to run as the treasure hoarders came after her. Quickly turning around, she attempted to make a run for it. Before she could even lift her leg, an arrow pierced her calf, with a scream. Blood splattered onto the ground and she collapsed, “Ack-!”

Pain seared through her from her leg up and sat up with a groan. Shadows loomed over her and Y/N whipped around, seeing the Treasure hoarders smirking above her.

The one with the crossbow grabbed her by the wrist, “If you don’t want to get even more hurt then hand over your stuff.”

Gritting her jaw, Y/N twisted her hand around to grab the man’s wrist, twisting it to release her. He yelped in surprise before being pulled to the ground. Y/N stood up while she could in the shock of the moment and attempted to run. The arrow stuck in her calf made it difficult to run but the adrenaline rushing through her numbed the pain.

Before she could even get far, a barrage of arrows flew towards her, multiple hitting her and throwing her to the ground. With a screech of pain, she collapsed, arrows sticking out from many limbs of her body.

As she laid on the ground, her mind wandered to Xiao’s smiling face. It was merely a glimpse into his softer side, but she remembered that that mere glimpse was enough to make her fall even deeper into the abyss of love. As her consciousness began fading in and out, she whispered his name, “Xiao…”

The treasure hoarders that stood over her were suddenly thrown to the ground, skidding away from the force that had crashed into them. Y/N squinted up, spotting the familiar black and teal hair of the young yaksha. “I’m here,” he announced, glancing at her.

“Mhm…” She smiled as tears clouded her eyes.

To the yaksha, seeing the state Y/N was in as she laid on the ground brought the deepest depths of his fury to the surface. He turned his gaze to the treasure hoarders, tightening his grip on his polearm before bringing swift justice to them, albeit not killing them. The treasure hoarders laid on the ground, groaning and moaning in pain.

“Worthless,” Xiao muttered coldly, allowing his polearm to disappear. Xiao turned around and walked towards the injured Y/N. He knelt beside her, picking her up gently, a stark contrast to his hard glare, and avoiding the arrows that stuck out of her.

Feeling the warmth of Xiao, Y/N smiled, snuggling into him as she tried to ignore the pain of her wounds. “Thank you...Xiao,” she whispered.

Xiao didn’t reply but he tightened his grip on her. He then spoke, “If you awake to a knife at your throat, if monsters dig their claws into you, if death comes knocking at your door, call out my name. Adeptus Xiao. I will be here when you call.”

Y/N pulled away slightly and met his strong gaze. As his words registered in her mind, she could feel her eyes start to water again, and whispered his name, resting her head on his chest “...Xiao.”

Xiao’s strong gaze softened at the whisper, “I’m here.”

The tears clouding Y/N’s vision began to fall as she whispered his name many more times, fisting his clothes and burying her face into his chest. Xiao tightened his hold on her comfortingly, replying every time she whispered his name.

Some time passed and Xiao had taken Y/N somewhere safer. Dihua Islet. Where he treated her injuries. Due to the amount of blood and tatters on her, Xiao had thought she was more severely injured, but thankfully, none were severe.

Y/N sat on the ground, trying to stay still as Xiao treated the injuries on her arm. She stayed quiet before her eyes wandered to Xiao’s stern expression. Her eyes then fell to his lips, finding herself wondering what it felt like to kiss them. Her eyes widened as she realized what her thoughts were and quickly shook her head, a raging blush on her cheeks.

Xiao glanced up, an eyebrow raised at her sudden outburst. He dropped back down to her arm before speaking, “...It's too late now, you know. The connection between us is too strong. Even if you wanted to, it's too late to sever it.”

Y/N shook out of her flustered state, glancing at him, “Huh? Why would I do that?”

Xiao raised his head in surprise, “... You've never thought to sever it?” he paused and sighed, “This eternal dance of demon subjugation... My fight goes on… But… I would like to know more about you.”

Y/N stared at him in surprise, before her features softened into a small smile, “I want to know more about you too, Xiao…”

The two fell further into the rabbit hole. Deciding to risk everything for the peace they found in each other.

-----------------

Time passed and Y/N’s memory came back in small pieces, but they were enough for her to know a general amount of her past. She came from far away, perhaps a different world, that was far more advanced than the places here in Tevyat. The clothes she first arrived here in as well were similar to what the people wore in her memories as well.

After remembering more and more of her past, she decided to look into the other 7 nations of the continent, hoping to find her home. She brought home some books on the other nations to her house. After only a couple of hours, Y/N figured out that her home didn’t belong to any of the 7 nations. Many were far from advanced than the places she remembers in her memories.

“I guess I am really in another world…” she spoke to herself quietly. Y/N wasn’t sure what to make of this. Perhaps she had a happy life in her original world, happily living with people that she no longer knew. But now this world had also become a home to her. At the thought of home, her mind flashed to Xiao.

Her cheeks heated up and she rested her head in her arms, warm feelings bubbling up within her. Xiao had only held her for less than an hour when she had been attacked, yet the warmth and gentleness of his hold were addicting. Y/N missed it. She glanced out the window, finding that the night was rather lonely.

After the incident with the treasure hoarders, Xiao decided that he would come to her instead of Y/N coming to him at Dihua Marsh. Y/N first protested, bringing up his distaste of crowded areas, but the yaksha was stubborn. Eventually, she relented, but she came to enjoy the monthly visits of the Yaksha.

She perked at the knocking sound of the door to the balcony. With a smile, Y/N stood up and walked to the door, seeing the familiar Yaksha leaning against the railings of the balcony. Opening the door, she grinned, “Hey, Xiao.”

Xiao simply nodded but didn’t come inside. Y/N crossed her arms behind her, contemplating a slightly bold question. He noticed her contemplating gaze, throwing a gruff “What is it?” at her.

Y/N tilted her head, “... Can I hug you, Xiao?”

Xiao jumped at the question, his eyes wide and a blush beginning to adorn his cheeks, “Just what are you asking? Do you have no respect for the adepti?”

Y/N giggled quietly, “It’s a yes or no question, Xiao.” Xiao grumbled, not replying. Y/N giggled again, holding her arms open, “Well?”

Xiao sighed, holding his arms slightly open as well, unable to find it within himself to refuse her. Y/N giggled, walking towards him and wrapping her arms around his slim waist. Xiao tensed at the touch but slowly relaxed in her warm embrace. Within a couple of minutes, he wrapped his arms around her as well and rested his head in the crook of Y/N’s neck. Y/N glanced at him in surprise at how quickly he relaxed in her embrace but smiled. Her arms tightened around him, smiling at the familiar warmth of his embrace.

The unspoken words of “I love you” were stuck in both of their throats, yet pushed it down so as to not break the peaceful atmosphere of the hug. Xiao found that all of the yelling and screaming of the voices within his head would quiet down while Y/N found warmth and comfort on a lonely night. Neither wished to let go so they didn’t, enjoying the peace in each others’ presence.

It was unfortunate that the peace they found in each other would disappear as fast as they had first discovered it.

-----------------

Y/N was feeling great and energetic, but that mood quickly went sour as she collapsed. Kneeling on the floor, a series of loud coughs shook her body. As her hand drew away from her mouth, Y/N's eyes widened in shock at the sight of red liquid, dribbling down her palm. She was unable to think further about it as her arms gave out, falling on her side with the cold tile.

People around her panicked, yelling for healers, doctors, anyone that could help her. Their yells were quickly drowned out though, as Y/N succumbed to sleep.

The week that passed was nothing but a blur to her. Only remembering different people doing different things to her. They tried speaking to her, asking her about how she felt. Y/N could only mutter incomprehensible words in reply.

As the middle of the second week arrived, the healers and doctors deemed that she was beyond saving. Her friends came to see her, although Y/N could barely pay attention to them as her vision blurred.

Before the healers and doctors retreated back to their offices riddled with guilt, they provided Y/N with painkillers, hoping that it would save her from further pain. As they closed the doors, they could hear the pitiful girl mutter out one word,

"...Xiao..."

The door closed with a loud echo and Y/N succumbed to sleep once more.

Y/N awoke to a hesitant and rough, yet gentle, touch to her forehead. She could recognize that touch from anywhere after countless hugs despite the warnings. She leaned into his touch. The touch of the one she found herself growing to love. Y/N opened her eyes slowly, meeting the familiar golden eyes of Xiao. She smiled weakly, softly whispering his name.

He lifted his hand, a bitter and heartbroken expression crossing his face. He bit his lower lip before he found himself revealing all of his guilt to the frail one under him.

"Why...why must a foolish mortal like you continue to be around me…? You are only like this because your soul cannot handle being around adepti like me…I told you that, yet you continue to be near me, and now, here you are, dying."

He drew his hand away, the radiating warmth of his fading away. Y/N weakly reached for his hand, grasping it weakly. "...I stayed, beside you because, because I… I love you, Xiao," they whispered.

Xiao's jaw tensed, "Don't be foolish, us adepti would never be able to understand you mortals' emotions."

Instead of pouting like they normally would, Y/N simply laughed weakly, "You're right… but that doesn't... stop me from loving you, Xiao…"

Xiao growled quietly, and sharply took back his hand from the weak grip of Y/N, turning around to the window to leave. Barely getting more than five steps away, he heard a large collision to the floor. Whipping around in alarm, he saw Y/N attempting to sit up.

Without realizing it, Xiao took a few large strides, kneeling down next to them and helping them up. Although as soon as his hand had come into their sight, they quickly grasped his hand. Slowly lifting their head up, Xiao was taken aback to see tears falling down their cheeks. Before he could scold them, Y/N weakly began to speak.

"It's… it's fine, if you...if you don't like me back… but please, please don't leave me alone," They rested their head against Xiao's chest, clinging to his shirt now, "Please, please don't let me die all alone again…"

Xiao was tempted to take their hands off of his shirt but was taken aback at their last sentence. Although confused, he gave in after a few minutes of silence, awkwardly resting his hands on top of their head and back as Y/N cried into his chest. He didn't understand what they meant, but it didn't matter. Because he's known for a long time by now that he could never say no to Y/N.

“...You’re a foolish mortal, Y/N,” he gruffly whispered as Y/N calmed down. They froze at the whisper of their name coming from his lips, realizing it was the first time Xiao has ever said their name. Finally processing what he had said, Y/N smiled weakly.

“I guess I am.”

Xiao shifted and maneuvered their body so that he was holding them in his arms. He stood up slowly, and placed them back into their bed, tucking them in. Y/N allowed themself to soak in the gentleness and comfort of Xiao’s touch.

They turned to their side, resting their right hand on top of Xiao’s hand. He flinched at their touch but made no move to remove his hand from theirs. Her eyes shifted from their hands to his golden eyes as he stared outside the window. Xiao’s golden eyes were always beautiful, but the beauty couldn’t hide the spark of sadness and guilt in his eyes. Y/N wanted to wish those emotions in his eyes away, wishing that she could’ve made her wish about wanting him to always be happy instead of wanting more time with him.

Y/N snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Xiao’s voice, “...You should rest,” his eyes shifting to her own.

“...But-”

“Sleep. I will be here when you awake,”

Both of them knew Xiao was lying, a lie to bring her comfort in her final moments.

Y/N wanted to stay awake, to continue being with Xiao for as long as she could. As she struggled to stay awake, Xiao shifted his hand and interlaced his fingers with hers.

“There’s nothing to fear, I will keep you safe while you sleep.”

Y/N wanted to argue, wanted to tell him that she’s not sleepy, but is unable to even speak as Xiao uses his free hand to close her eyes. “Geh-”

“Don’t fight and waste your energy, Y/N.”

Y/N used the last of her strength to force a pout but smiled at his awkward attempt of showing that he cared for her. Before allowing herself to slip into the depths of sleep, she whispered.

“I...I love you, Xiao.”

Xiao stayed quiet as the hand intertwined with his hand started to grow limp before falling out of his grasp completely. Tears were welling up in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. The breathing and movement of her chest came to an eventual stop and he held back a hiccup.

Xiao leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to the fading warm lips of the girl below him. He pulled away after a few seconds, whispering the three words she never got to hear. “I love you too… Y/N”

By the time the moon rose to its peak, the adepti was gone from the scene. The only evidence of his presence was the wet patches on the sheets and the qingxin flower that rested on the girl’s chest.

Xiao stood at the base of Dihua Marsh, watching the moon rise with a sad expression, before placing his mask on and disappearing from view.

-----------------

Venti finished his story with a beautiful but sad song note and the crowd before him had tears welling up in their eyes. Despite the sad note, they applauded him and tipped him with mora. As the crowd dispersed, a couple of children came up to him. “Venti! Venti! Why didn’t they get a happy ending?” they whined.

Venti smiled sadly, “Although those two didn’t have a happy ending, it doesn’t mean that the story ends there.”

“Does that mean the adepti will find someone else to love?”

Venti laughed, “I’m sure he will.”

Meanwhile, in Liyue, a floating pixie sneezed as she talked with her companion.

“Paimon, are you sick?” her companion asked.

“Paimon never gets sick!” the pixie rebuked, resting her fists on her hips.

The companion simply laughed in response and Paimon pouted. The two were in Dihua Marsh near the Wangshu Inn as they spoke. Paimon quickly brought the both of them back to the previous topic, “Anyways, isn’t that Xiao over there?” and pointed in a direction.

The traveler looked in the direction Paimon was pointing at, seeing the familiar yaksha, sitting before a formation that looked similar to that of a grave.

“What is he standing in front of?” the traveler murmured as they observed the yaksha.

“How about we check it out?” Paimon suggested and the traveler nodded.

They approached the adepti but the traveler froze in their tracks as they noticed a slightly transparent figure next to Xiao. The figure was in the shape of a young woman, softly smiling down at the adepti.

Paimon also saw the figure, quickly freaking out, “Gah-! Is… is that a… a ghost?!”

The shrieks of fear from Paimon quickly alert the figure and Xiao. As Xiao turns around, the figure disappears, and Xiao sighs at the sight of the pair.

“You two. What are you doing here?”

“A-ah… we just saw you, so uh…” Paimon tried speaking but was still frozen in place after the sight of the figure.

The traveler sighed, before continuing for her, “And we wanted to see how you were doing.”

Xiao sighed and crossed his arms, “You need not be concerned about that. But why were you shrieking?” The traveler and Paimon exchanged glances before replying, “Uh… well Paimon saw what looked like a… a ghost, next to you!”

“A ghost…?” Xiao echos, pondering over it, “...I see.”

“...Do you know that ghost, Xiao?” the traveler asked.

“...It’s not of any importance,” he replied and turned around, “I must get going now.”

Before the traveler or Paimon could ask, the yaksha disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“Sheesh!” Paimon crossed her arms, “why is he so rude sometimes?!”

The traveler smiled at Paimon’s whining before turning to look at the makeshift construct before them. Paimon follows their gaze, “Oh! We should check that thing out! We might get some clues!”

“...I feel like we’re intruding on his privacy by doing this,” the traveler mumbled as they followed Paimon. They stopped in front of the formation, noticing very little of any unique details. As they observed it, the traveler froze, sensing a presence behind them. Sharply turning around, they saw the figure of the young woman once again.

“Huh? Is something wr-” Paimon quickly cuts herself off with a shriek as she turns around, seeing the ghostly figure as well. She quickly floated over to the traveler, hiding behind them, quivering in fear.

Taking out their sword, the traveler got into a fighting stance but was interrupted as the figure’s mouth moved. Although unable to hear it immediately, the words it spoke floated upon the wind, reaching the ears of the traveler with a tickle.

“...Take care of Xiao, please…” it whispered with a sad smile.

The traveler stares in confusion but is unable to speak further as the figure fades away.

-----------------

*this isn’t an actual character in the game, I just searched up Chinese names and got this lol

Anyways I hope everyone likes this!

#genshin impact #genshin impact xiao #genshin impact x reader #xiao x reader #genshin impact venti #genshin impact traveler #genshin impact angst #xiao x you #xiao x y/n #genshin x reader #genshin impact fanfiction #this has literally been something I've been #working on since Xiao's banner #lmao rip my motivation and sleep #it's finally done tho mwuhahaha #Xiao might be OOC #if he is then i'm sorry sob

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