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blisschi · 1 year

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🍃🌸When the Flowers Bloomed🌸🍃

Pairing: Xiao x Hanahaki! GN! Reader

Warnings: Major Character death, Angst, Hanahaki Disease

Notes: Okay soo.. My first hanahaki one shot got warmly welcomed, so I decided to write one for Xiao! I took all the critism under consideration, I hope you enjoy it.🍃🌿

Tap

You walked upstairs quietly, all the way to the top of the Wangshu Inn. You listened to the raindrops falling from your soaked clothes onto the wooden floor.

No matter where you go, you end up there. Where it all began. Where you felt safe and calm.

When you finally reached the top floor, you stepped out onto the balcony and looked at the night sky. The stars looked unusually beautiful that night.

You leaned against the railing and sighed loudly, raindrops falling onto your pale face. But you couldn't care less.

Did it really make any sense to care about something at that moment?

You smiled weakly as you felt the pain in your chest expanding. You gritted your teeth and made a defeated whine

How long will you have to deal with this awful feeling?

A feeling that keeps you awake at night.

A feeling that's slowly killing you.

You closed your eyes and your thoughts went back to that day. The day you first met him.

Tap

"Who are you?" You heard a rather rough voice from behind you, forcing you to turn to the stranger in surprise.

You were in Liyue for the first time, you were planning to spend the night in Liyue Harbor, but the rain caught you off guard, so you decided to stay overnight in one of the Wangshu Inn rooms.

You heard from the receptionist, that from the top floor, there is the most beautiful view of Liyue, so why wouldn't you take a look? You've been standing there for over an hour, so it didn't surprise you when someone finally took an interest in you.

"I've never seen you here before." The man added, looking at you up and down.

You could swear you've never seen someone so beautiful before. His honey-colored eyes shone in the light of the setting sun. Although beautiful, they looked sad. You've never seen someone with such pained eyes before.

"Is everything alright?" You asked quietly, pulling back from the wooden railing and reaching towards the man who, seeing your actions, took a step back.

"Who you are?" He growled, making you jolt up in place. He probably doesn't like strangers. - You thought and sighed softly, raising two hands up in defeat, showing that you had no evil intentions.

"I'm just a traveler.." You said, turning your head to the side slightly, looking out at the beautiful landscape of the mountains. "Liyue is really beautiful, isn't it..? I've always wanted to come here."

The man remained silent, never taking his eyes away from you. You glanced back at him and smiled kindly.

"You look like something's bothering you."

He froze in place. Was it that obvious? He sighed quietly and walked over to the railing next to you, finally looking away and facing the setting sun.

He didn't answer your question, but he didn't seem to ignore it either. He didn't know what to say. You wouldn't understand anyway.

Using the moment to get a better look at him, you stared at him in awe. His hair looked messy as if he didn't care to style it at all. However, despite this, it had a beautiful dark color that ended in a shade of turquoise at the ends.

His skin was pale, but looked healthy. His face calm, previously golden irises, now reflecting the red light of the sun, giving them a beautiful warm shade. The eyeliner that matched the scene perfectly, emphasized his beauty features.

His clothes were also unusual, but you were not about to question it at the moment. After all, you just got to Liyue and didn't know what people in this region were dressed like. The tattoos on his arm, however, were something amazing, that you didn't want to look away from. Bright lime color contrasting with the dark shade of his hair.

"Beautiful.." You blurted out, attracting the attention of the male who was clearly waiting for the continuation of the sentence you started.

You blushed slightly and quickly turned your head towards the landscape, pointing towards the mountains which beyond the sun had just gone down.

The male remained silent for a moment and closed his eyes, taking a breath of the fresh, rainy air. Like you, he didn't seem to care about the weather. His hair earlier admired by you, drenched by raindrops, covered half of his face. For a moment you thought about reaching out and brushing the hair out of his face, revealing the glow of his bright eyes once more.

However, from your fantasies, you were disturbed by the sound of his voice.

"Minlin. You can see Qingyun Peak and the nearby mountain tops from here." He answered your earlier question, peeking at you from the corners of his eyes. "However, I would not advise you to go there. Mountains can be dangerous to ordinary mortals."

You blinked your eyes a few times and tilted your head to the side, surprised at his words. Mortals? What did he mean..

"What do you mean-"

"But when the flowers bloom, it's really beautiful there. The view can be worth the risk." He said softly, a soft smile spreading across his face, remembering the amazing sight. The Qingxin flowers really did bloom beautifully.

This time it was you who became silent, looking back towards the mountains, imagining the amazing sight of the flowery peaks.

When the flowers bloom.. I will definitely have to go there.

Tap

You decided to stay at the Wangshu Inn for a little longer. You were in no hurry to get to the harbor, and you weren't sure they'd have any place to stay there anyway.

And here you're not lacking anything. In the morning you met with the other temporary inhabitants of the building, but you didn't hear anything from anyone about the male you met yesterday evening.

The woman at the reception desk, as you later found out - the boss, knew him very well. She told you his name was Xiao. She looked very surprised that he appeared to you the first time you were there. Usually, hardly anyone saw him.

You learned from her that he was not an ordinary human, which intrigued you extremely. You had never met any divine creature before, so it was obvious that you wanted to get to know him a little more.

"He had to be in a really good mood." She said with a smile, looking towards the balcony.

Good mood? You didn't know if the pain in his eyes could be called good mood. Though it might only be your imagination, you didn't know him at all.

"Or he got interested in you." She added, putting a finger to her chin as if she was thinking about something. "Maybe it's about time he should spend some time with someone.."

You glanced upstairs to the top floor and smiled slightly. So he was lonely? Maybe you could try to do something about it.

You thanked the woman for all the useful information and left the Inn with a bright smile.

That day you went to the city, mainly to explore the area and learn about the culture there. You made a note that if you ever needed any gear for travelling, you should go to the local shops.

You ate the meals in the city, enjoying exotic cuisines. There was nothing you didn't like about Liyue. Forever warm region.. except from rains and storms there were no worse weather phenomena.

On that day, you returned to Wangshu Inn quite late in the evening, completely exhausted from your journey. With a smile on your face, you went to the top floor and walked up to the same wooden railing where you met the male yesterday.

"Today was really interesting.." You started, even though there was nobody else on the balcony but you. "I went to this famous Wanmin Restaurant.. But I didn't get to meet the famous Xiangling."

You smiled at the memory of how much you liked the food you bought there.

"I also went to the port itself! In fact, I spent the day mostly there.. The ocean looks really beautiful. You would just want to get on one of the ships and drift away, right?" You chuckled at your own words as you looked up at the starry sky.

There was silence. You waited for any response from the boy, but got none, so you decided to continue.

"I also went to one of those places where you can hear the stories being told! They were really interesting, although you never know how much truth there is, huh?" You said with a smile, leaning slightly over the railing, looking down at the view.

Silence.

All you heard was silence. However, you were determined to continue, especially after what the woman at the reception told you.

"I heard you like Almond Tofu, right? Maybe tomorrow I could get you some.. We could have dinner together!-"

"I don't need company." Your sentence got interrupted by his voice. The voice you heard last night. You smiled broadly and turned around, only to see his annoyed figure. "What are you doing here so late again?"

You sighed softly and shook your head at his cold tone, holding your index finger up as if to say something smart.

"Everyone needs company, Xiao!" He flinched at the sound of the name you spoke out. He figured you already talked to the Inn Boss. He walked over to you and leaned against the railing, like yesterday, looking towards the tops of the mountains.

"I'm not everyone." He replied shortly, indifferently, crossing his arms. "I prefer to eat alone."

"So, Tofu for dinner tomorrow!" You said cheerfully, pushing yourself away from the railing and slowly walking away from the balcony, you waved at him. Xiao sighed softly and rolled his eyes, looking up at the night sky.

Dark clouds began to appear in the sky, and as if someone had read his thoughts, it began to rain.

Tap

"Xiao!" You called out as you stepped onto the balcony with a smile. You were holding two plates in your hands, two portions of Almond Tofu. "I asked the chief to make me the best tofu he has ever made! Hope you like it! Anyway, it's my first time eating it, I hope I like it too.."

You put the plates on a small table in the corner of the balcony. It was evening, you chose to wait until most of the people were gone so that Xiao could feel comfortable.

"I told you I'd rather eat alone-"

"Here you are!" You waved to the male and pointed to the plate on the other side of the table, excitement flashed across your face. You liked learning new things. And what could be better than learning about new tastes?

You sat down at the table, waiting for Xiao to do the same. You looked at him and it was obvious that he felt a bit awkward. People usually gave him tofu, but no one had thought about spending their time with him before and accompanying him to eat a meal.

You sighed and smiled warmly as you tried to convince him to eat.

"Enjoy your meal." You said and dag into tofu. After the first bite, your eyes widened and you gave a shout of satisfaction, surprising the male in front of you. "This is delicious! No wonder you like it so much!"

Xiao looked at you for a moment, without saying a word, surprised by your behavior. After a while he smiled slightly and looked down at his plate and whispered a soft 'Thank you' before starting to eat.

The two of you had a good time that evening, at least in your opinion. Until late, you told the male how your day went and what you thought about it. Most of the time, Xiao remained silent, patiently listening to what you had to say.

You probably would have spent more time with him if it wasn't for the feeling of tiredness. No wonder you were tired. You're human after all.

After saying goodbye, you assured him that you would come again tomorrow.

Tap

The next few days were the same. After doing your daily activities, you waited for the evening to go to the top floor of the Wangshu Inn and spend time with Xiao. It got to the point where you were looking forward to the evenings and your meetings together turned into a routine.

As time passed, Xiao began to speak more and more. To be honest, You had the impression that with each meeting he opened up to you more and more.

It took two months for him to tell you the truth about his past. It was not the happiest meeting of yours, but you were glad that he trusted you enough to reveal something so painful.

"Xiao.." You whispered, placing one hand on his shoulder and smiling slightly, reassuringly. "I know I'll never be able to understand how much you are suffering, but I want you to know that you have me now.. Right..?"

You looked up at him and saw tears forming in the corners of his eyes. You could have sworn that at that moment your heart ached, as if you could feel a part of the pain he was going through.

You moved closer to him and wrapped your arms around his figure, covering him in a warm embrace. Xiao shuddered slightly at the sudden contact, not being used to physical contact at all, even with you. You respected that he didn't like being touched, but at this point you couldn't help it.

"I'm not going anywhere, okay..? You're not alone anymore.. so please don't cry." You said softly, embracing the male tighter. You looking over his shoulder at the mountain tops.

"When the flowers bloom.." You started calmly, closing your eyes and concentrating on the warming embrace he returned.

"You have to take me to Minlin."

Tap

You laughed softly as you wandered around Qignce Village with Xiao. You finally got him out for a walk. You've tried to do this several times before, but each time he would give you the same answer.

Together, you climbed the smaller peaks there, with a smile on your face, you observed Xiao watch your every move hoping that you wouldn't hurt yourself. After all, you were just a mortal and he didn't want to lose you.

You fell to the ground with a wide smile across you face and breathed heavily while giggling quietly.

"I don't know if I'll be able to go down.. I guess you'll have to take me out of there." You said, closing your eyes. Xiao sat down on the ground next to you and looked into the distance.

"I do not see a problem." He replied indifferently, the red glow of the setting sun reflected in his honey-colored eyes.

"Humans are so fragile.. You should take better care of yourself."

You opened your eyes and he turned his head towards you, looking straight at you. Eye contact made you forget your earlier fatigue for a moment, and all that remained in your head was how beautiful his eyes seemed.

The sadness you noticed the first time you looked at it were long distant, as if pushed to the background.

"Thank you for everything." He whispered, smiling slightly, making a warm, tickling sensation appear in your chest that didn't bother you at all.

"Xiao.."

"I guess that's what people call friendship."

The pleasant feeling suddenly turned into emptiness. As if something inside you snapped. You sat up and looked down at your wounded hands from climbing. You wanted to chase the feeling from a moment ago, but you weren't sure how.

You felt something wet meet the palm of your hand, only to soon find out that it was your own teardrop.

Why are you crying? After all, you couldn't let yourself have any warm feelings towards Xiao. After all, you were only human. Just a fragile human.

"Are you crying..?" You heard the worried voice next to you, Xiao looking at you with those beautiful golden pupils again. "Something hurts you?"

"No! Just..." You forced a smile, more tears ran down your cheeks, while forming a perfect lie. "I'm just so happy you called me a friend."

Tap

The next day you didn't go to see him. You decided to stay in your room at Wangshu Inn and get your thoughts together.

Did you really feel romantic feelings towards him? How did it even happen? After all, these were just innocent meetings, you just wanted to keep him company.

When did you get to the point where you started feeling affectionate for him? Maybe it was from the very beginning.. You really couldn't think about it right now, with the same word ringing over and over in your head.

Friends.

Of course. Of course you are friends. Xiao is an Adepti. Neither he nor you can let yourselves form any romantic feelings. What would come out of it? Such feelings.. have no right to exist.

You gritted your teeth at the stabbing pain in your chest, pushing your head against the pillow, your hand clenched on the sheets. So this is how the heart hurts - You thought as you felt another wave of tears come to your eyes and in a few minutes all you could hear in the room, were your soft sobs and the sound of raindrops hitting the wooden floor of the balcony.

Tap

You didn't meet Xiao the next day either. You've tried your hardest to get rid of the stinging feeling in your chest, whenever you thought of him.

You tried with all your strength to deny your feelings for Xiao.

Xiao, on the other hand, was waiting for you on the top floor. He was patiently waiting for the meeting. He respected your decisions and respected your time, understanding that you can be busy sometimes.

But that hurt you the most. Didn't he even decide to check if you're okay? You haven't been far after all.

You swore to yourself to get rid of the pain with all your might. That you'll get rid of your feelings.

When Xiao didn't meet you on the top balcony the next few days, he became worried. What if you got sick? Or did you do something serious to yourself during your walk in Qingce Village?

He decided to check if everything was okay with you. He made his way to your room and knocked on the door lightly, unlocking it when he got no answer.

"[Y / N]?" He called out your name, looking around the room, noticing that there's only one light on, in the bathroom. "Are you there?"

You stood in front of the mirror looking at your reflection. Red eyes, swollen from crying.

"Yes.. Why are you here?" the question left your mouth, turning your head towards the door, waiting for his answer. For a moment your heart stopped. So he cared? You were grateful.. but how quickly you felt relieved, the feeling of your breath taken away appeared, suddenly forcing you to cough.

Xiao immediately opened the door, entering the room and approaching your weakened form. He looked at you worriedly, placing his hands on your shoulders, only to be pushed away.

He widened his eyes and remained silent. You've never pushed him away like this before.

"It's just a cold.. I must have got sick while we were out for a walk." You lied, forcing yourself to smile. "Sorry that I didn't come to the balcony.. I didn't want to make you sick."

Can Adepti even be sick at all? You were almost sure they can't, but nothing sounded more believable in your mind.

"I'll see you as soon as I get better, okay?"

He nodded, leaving you alone.

Tap

Another week has passed, your condition worsened, but you cannot bear the longing you feel every night. Every day.

As soon as your thoughts returned to the male, your heart started to ache and a sudden shortness of breath formed in your lungs.

Maybe if I start spending time with him again, it'll all be over?

You walked upstairs slowly, to the top floor of the Wangshu Inn, then approached the wooden railing.

"Xiao.. You are here, aren't you?" You said weakly, closing your eyes. "I feel better now. I hope you didn't miss me too much.."

You laughed lightly at your absurd words, but your voice died in your chest as you felt familiar arms wrap around you from behind.

"I didn't miss you.." He whispered, lying, pushing his face against your shoulder. You felt the tears forming up in your eyes.

I'm sorry..

That you're not able to love me..

Tap

The next few days were the same. You started spending time with Xiao again, spending the evenings together.

Usually you talked about irrelevant topics, gazing hopefully at the stars. For a moment you felt like you were able to reveal your feelings to him, maybe it would help with your condition..

But you were too afraid of rejection.

"Xiao.."

"Hm?"

There was silence, your mouth refused to open again, only your eyes looked at him with unbearable longing.

When you finally opened your mouth, it wasn't the sound of your beautiful voice that came out, but a rough and harsh cough. Choked, as if something is stuck in your throat.

Words?

Feelings?

Xiao widened his eyes and reached his hand towards you, hoping that he would be able to help you in any way, but you turned away from him and, with one hand covering your mouth, shaked your head.

"It's already.. a little cold.. I'll go back to my room." And with those words, you walked off the balcony, leaving Xiao alone.

Tap

"Why?!" You exclaimed, hitting the pillow furiously with your clenched fist. You felt powerless. Hopeless.

Your condition worsened every day, your feelings deepened too quickly. The incessant strange feeling in your lungs has turned into a nightmare, wiping out any other feeling..

Why can't he love me? You asked yourself, tears falling on the satin sheets. You didn't blame him, but you couldn't hide the frustration you felt at the moment..

Helplessness. Longing for the old days.

Promise.

When the flowers bloom.

You widened your eyes, feeling a sudden urge to cough, and almost fell off the bed, feeling a few flower petals leaving from your throat.

You were breathing heavily, staring at the bloody petals in your hand, wiping your mouth with the other hand.

They were white. Snow white. Extremely delicate.

You clenched your fist and tilted your head back, starting to sob.

Despite the excruciating pain you felt that day, you went to see him in the evening.

You chose to ignore the flower petal incident from earlier, not wanting to worry him. After all, he already had enough problems on his mind.

You looked up at his face and smiled nostalgically as you recalled your first meeting here.

He looked just as beautiful as the first time. Honey, glittering eyes reflected the light of the stars, and you could have sworn they were so bright that you saw your own reflection in them.

Xiao turned to you and gave you a worried look. Unlike him, you looked worse every day.

Dark bags under your eyes because of sleepless nights, eyes red from crying. Your skin seemed paler than usual.

Chills.

You could feel the constant shivering of a piercing pain in your chest, slowly throbbing up your throat.

You felt something fall on your cheek, a drop of rain.

You looked up at the sky and smiled slightly as you leaned towards the male and wrapped your arms around him, trying to get some warmth.

"In less than a month.. I'll take you to Minlin." He whispered, returning the embrace.

"In less than a month.. flowers will bloom."

Tap

A drop of blood ran down your chin.

Tap

You bent over the sink, trying to stop the coughing that made you spit more white petals.

Your eyes were covered in tears, limiting your vision to only blurry sight.

Is that what people call suffering from love?

You couldn't take it.

Maybe a better solution would be to just end it all?

No.. You promised Xiao, you wouldn't leave him.

Another wave of coughing, another wave of flower petals.

More drops of blood.

Tap

The next week you coughed up the first fully-bloomed flower. Although stained with blood, it's beautiful. White, like the stars on the night sky. White, like the flowers Xiao told you about.

Tap

"A-agh!" You let out a long whine of pain as you coughed out more flowers. There was no day you could relax.

Please..

Hold on for a few more days... until...

The flowers bloom.

Tap

You were standing by the railing right now. On the balcony where it all began.

You squeezed your eyes shut at another coughing attack that forced you to fall to the wooden floor.

"[Y / N].." You heard his voice from behind you, he stood there in shock, eyes wide, staring at you with fear.

You spit out another flower, unable to hide any symptom from him anymore. He ran up to you, kneeling next to you and taking you in his arms.

"I'm sorry.. Xiao.." You whispered, trying to catch your breath as a burning pain shot through your throat. "Tomorrow.. we were supposed to go to the mountains.."

Xiao shook his head, tears appearing in his eyes for the first time in a long time. How did he not notice?

Why didn't you tell him anything? Why didn't you tell him you were suffering all this time?

You opened your mouth, and with the last of your strength, with the last of your voice, you whispered.

"I really.. all this time.. loved you."

Tap

The rain continued to pour, and the only thing that could compare to the raindrops at that moment were Xiao's tears as he wrapped his arms around your body.

Your cold, exhausted body.

As the flowers bloomed, his eyes returned to the same emptiness and sadness that you saw the first time you met him.

When the flowers bloomed, he lost the person he had come to love for the first time in his long life.

When the flowers bloomed..

The peaks of the Minlin mountains stopped to seem so beautiful.

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