#windwheelasters

The moon shone upon Liyue brilliantly, illuminating the small islets dotting Dihua Marsh. A gold brooch emblazoned with the Geo sigil shone amber as you roamed the plains, carefully padding around Hilichurl camps and elemental hotspots prime for slime spawning areas. The expedition to Wuwang Hill went exactly as planned, save for a few unexpected adjustments to your overarching plan. It was never a problem, in any case. As gloomy and grim that place is, you’ve been there so often that the spirits don’t haunt you anymore. 

It was much worse when your mother and father died. 

Regardless, you pressed on, like always. Soon becoming an unsurmountable mountain capable of weathering even the harshest storms- becoming a near-eternal pillar to your loved ones. Not even the bygone gods could shake your will, the elders praised. Such steadfastness was rewarded with a Geo Vision, a blessing from your own god. You didn’t think much of it, but you were grateful nonetheless.

High-pitched clangs of metal hitting metal ripped you from your thoughts, and your hands instinctively notched an arrow, aiming at an open glade with a concerning amount of wind churning the trees’ branches. 

A horde of Anemo slimes, you mused.

Diving into the fray, you fired an arrow into the whirlwind, hoping to pin the biggest Anemo slime down and disrupt the cyclone. What you didn’t expect, however, was for the wind to dissipate immediately, causing an artfully-crafted jade spear to split the swimming gales and pin you to a nearby tree.

Your hands frantically scanned the area for your trusty bow, but by the time you realized that your weapon was out of reach, a figure emerged from the darkness, bearing sharp golden eyes that pierced the souls of mortals and demons alike.

You knew immediately that you were in the presence of an adepti. 

He tugged the polearm from the bark effortlessly, twirling it around by his side, before looking at you expectantly. Adepti didn’t need to give explanations to mortals, but for you, it was a different story. What could a mortal be doing, wandering the golden plains of Guili at this hour? The adeptus quirked an eyebrow, inviting a bit of the moonlight’s luster into his gorgeous, gorgeous eyes.

Your throat was dry, and your hues, lackluster in comparison, blinked owlishly. A gentle wind blew through your hair, and you could have sworn you heard the distinct trill of a flute. You could have said anything. Anything at all: pleas for mercy, praise for the illuminated adepti, thanks of gratitude, and yet... you simply cocked your head curiously. 

“Huh,” you thought audibly, eliciting a distrustful stare from him. “So the adepti can look human after all.” 

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It’s been so many years since then. 

Your vision was hardly the shining beacon it used to be. Pulsing weakly and glowing faintly amongst the evening lights of Liyue Harbor, it was a harbinger of your eventual fate. Dust gradually tipping the hourglass from the inside, until there was nothing left. 

Time was kind to you, and you aged gracefully, whilst the vigilant yaksha looked the same as he always did: eternally young, eternally blessed. A mournful smile bloomed on your thin lips. 

Or perhaps cursed. 

You remember how scared he became, as time went on. How he couldn’t abide by human customs of love, or how he could not forgo his contract with all of Liyue to be with you- how he could not fully devote himself to being your beloved.

All of these little, insignificant things did nothing to weaken your bond. To him, it was all the more reason for you to leave- but you never did.

In the beginning, your encounters were tense. Conversations led off into nothingness, and idle touches seemed to burn, as if contact with your shoulder skin did nothing but blister his own. Hints of despair swam in those gorgeous eyes, and you wondered again, about that so-called boundary.

But those fears amounted to nothing, in the end. As he learned forbearance, you learned patience.

Small affectionate gestures became the world to you. A bouquet of Qingxin flowers here and there, intertwined fingers amongst the cloudless skies of Liyue, and shared secrets in the moonlight. The first bunches of Qingxin flowers were always slightly crushed, you noticed- yet, after a mere couple weeks, you were dumbfounded to find a bouquet of them perfectly picked; carefully maintained to the point where the dewy petals found no disturbance on their journey from the clouds. 

“For you,” he spoke, the scent of mist permeating the air. You took them generously, tenderly tracing the flower petals as its distinct fragrance embraced you. 

“In Liyue, these flowers represent purity.”

On that day, you remember vividly, you shared your first kiss with him.

The sun was slowly approaching the horizon, spreading luminescence across the land as it descended to kiss the earth. He was looking away from you, a vexed expression painted onto his features. As you slowly rested your palm upon his cheek, you swore that his ears grew tinged with the faintest pink. 

Your eyes met gold, and the stars fell silent. The world was in awe- with the wind as your witness. Time slowed to a crawl, and as heaven and earth came together- so too did your lips meet.

Even as you grew older, tiptoeing closer to the afterlife with each passing moment, those memories steadied you on the worst of days. Closing your eyes, you breathed heavily, the summer air filling your lungs and rattling the emptiness in your chest. Back then, it seemed as though those days would never end.

The trill of a flute alerted you to his presence, as he stood on the parapet of your balcony. Though your face strained to smile as wide as you used to, his heart always fluttered at the sight. 

“Xiao.”

Immediately, he was by your side, a hand placed on your shoulder and another on your wrist, guiding you to the nearby sofa. Shakily, you sat, leaning back on the cushions while he chose to poise himself on the armrest, intertwining his gloved fingers with yours. 

The two of you sat in silence- a comfortable one, at least. But underneath the belly of unspoken emotions, it was laced with a solemn melancholy. 

“Look at you,” you laughed. “Just as beautiful as the day we first met. I look like I’m about to wither away.”

It was a lighthearted joke, but Xiao tightened his grip on your hand, but with enough sense to mind his strength. At first, he always held too hard, clenched too strongly- seizing your arm incredible force enough to dislocate it, when he only meant to grab your attention. Restraint was something he learned from you too, amongst the plethora of other things that he never cared to learn about, not until you.

“Nonsense,” he chided, voice soft in a tone he reserved for you and you alone. 

Humming thoughtfully, you took another heavy breath, the smile falling from your lips and tumbling onto the ground, crumbling into dust.

“I’m getting old, Xiao.” 

His heart quailed. 

“But those years I’ve spent with you, from the moment we met...” The scent of Qingxin flowers filled your senses, calming you as Xiao moved closer, half hugging your form. The nights were certainly chilly, but he never seemed to be cold. Nor did he seemed to be bothered to embrace your elderly form. 

You shook your head. “I wouldn’t trade those years for anything.”

Xiao was silent. 

“You shouldn’t speak as though you’re going to die,” he finally responded, voice wavering. For the first time in centuries, despite the pain and suffering that clouded him like a malicious aura, it was a human’s death that drove his heart to feel this way. It was this warmth that made his heart feel at peace for the first time in millennia, and he so desperately wanted to chase it.

“Xiao,” you called his name exasperatedly. Though your voice was nothing like it used to be, he feared the day he couldn’t hear it again. Time-worn orbs met vivid gold. 

“I want you to promise me something,” you spoke with finality. That unyielding spirit of yours was still in there somewhere- the Geo Vision thrumming with what little power it had as it rested upon your hip. 

Something was brewing within him.

“Of course,” he said, effortlessly. Holding his breath as you closed your eyes, Xiao feared that they wouldn’t open. 

“Promise me that you’ll live.”

You passed away the next morning. 

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“A kind soul, weren’t they,” the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor’s consultant mused, arranging a bunch of Qingxin flowers in a vase as he prepared for the upcoming funeral. Xiao said nothing, resting upon a wall as your lusterless vision rested in his hands, devoid of its original power. No longer did it bear the same vivid color as before- it was lifeless. 

“You blessed them,” Xiao spoke hoarsely. “Why?” 

A question lingered in the air unspoken. Why couldn’t they ascend to become one of us? 

Zhongli paused, offering a thoughtful hum to fill the tense atmosphere. When his gaze shifted to Xiao, pools of amber and divinity swirling within them, the yaksha straightened himself instinctively as the presence of pure power filled the room. 

“They preferred to stay close to the ground. They did not care for what potential recompense lie in store for them in the heavens, for their heart and home were here.”

Xiao glowered, anger brewing in that cursed soul of his, even though he knew deep down that the God of Contracts never lies. 

“Humans always think selfishly. Living with reckless abandon, with no concern for the world around them,” he growled, bitterness spilling from his mouth as darkness clouded his vision. “Never once thinking to consider the consequences.”

“And it is for that reason that they live the way they do.” 

Xiao blinked unshed tears from his eyes as a steady hand rested upon his shoulder. 

“Time is... inconsequential for beings like us. A hundred years is all they are able to have, so they insist on making the most of it. For humans, living ‘selfishly’ is to live life to the fullest.”

His vision began to blur, the details of the room melting into incomprehensible objects. Touching his face made the fabric of his gloves wet- and he felt lost. Xiao’s seen you cry several times throughout his life, and every time you did, he could only look upon you with a puzzled look, for the adepti do not cry. They do not grieve, they do not regret. 

And yet, tears ran down his cheeks in endless streams. In the furthest depths of his being, a thorny vice wrapped around his throat, filling his chest with petals of the purest white and sealing his heart’s hopes away. 

“Why did they... choose me?”

Tumultuous storms raged in his very soul, as anguish ravaged the edge of his heart and crushed and crumbled and pummeled it all into oblivion. 

“Xiao.”

The former Archon looked upon a solitary glaze lily perched on the window sill, soft blues accentuated by the filtering light. 

“The cycle of time is relentless,” Zhongli smiled, a bit somberly. “And yet, some things still persist."

Xiao followed his former master's gaze outside the window, where it fell upon the Tianquan, smiling happily amongst a group of children as the sky dabbled drops of luminous sunshine in her platinum locks, like scintillating fragments of dust.

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“So? How has time treated you?”

An elderly voice snapped Xiao out of his thoughts. The raspiness in her tone reminded him of you, right before you departed this world. But that was... how many years ago?

A few days had passed since Osial was sealed beneath the Sea of Clouds, just outside of Guyun Stone Forest. It took the combined efforts of the adepti and the Qixing to seal the vortex god away. Uncertainty pervaded Liyue Harbor: first, it was the departure of their three millennia-old god, then the arrival of another, one capable of leveling Liyue to the ground with a single tidal wave. And yet, within the hearts of mortals, they find the strength to move forward.

Madame Ping gazed at him with knowing eyes, making him squirm a little. Both of them knew that she wasn’t simply asking about the recent battle, but rather...

“Sometimes,” he begins, grimly. “Their voice blends in with the others that haunt me.” 

His fellow adeptus hums, and Xiao’s inclined to fold his arms defensively, one second from disappearing and returning to Wangshu Inn within a moment’s notice. 

Wisely, she chose to move to a different topic. It’s been a while since the Conqueror of Demons himself came by for tea. A surprise indeed, especially with how uncomfortable he looked by simply standing on some inconspicuous edge of Yujing Terrace. 

“The Lantern Rite is soon arriving. Won’t you come see the sights?”

Madame Ping pinned him down in a manner of subtle grace that could only be observed by her. It seems like she, along with another, had mastered the art of being human. Xiao’s heart clenched in that familiar way again- it’s been a full millennium since you passed. 

He never once took another lover, for immortals never forget their first love. 

Each memory of those sky-borne lights pricked him like thorns, relentless and unending. And on the worst of days, a single lantern brought him to his knees, chest heaving with unforetold pain. Gentle touches and whispers in the starlight, and oh, how he missed the feeling of your hand upon his cheek, holding him as if he were the most precious treasure in the world. 

Though he never truly understood, he was willing to try- just for you.

Memories he plucked from his heart and sealed away tightly behind a lock and key, never to see the light of day. 

“The lanterns, huh,” he scoffed. “How absurd.”

And he was gone without a trace. 

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He found every aspect of you to be curious: how could a human possess such strength and gentleness all at once? Fury in the face of danger, but empathy to  a monster who killed and knew nothing else. Mercy, to a merciless killer of demons. How could a mere mortal make his heart race just by tucking a stray strand of hair away, when he’s faced gods capable of eradicating all life on Teyvat?

Gritting his teeth, he plunged his spear into another cursed hilichurl- another tainted soul created as a byproduct of his own karma. The remains fizzled and disintegrated into infernal dust, feeding the celestial atlas as time marched on relentlessly. 

A flute rang clear through the reeds of Dihua Marsh, and he whipped his head around to find a bard, clad in green, kicking his feet whilst the winds whispered secrets into the night. 

“Lord Barbatos.”

The Archon in question turned and tilted his head curiously, cerulean pools filling with mirth as a merry smile grew on his face. 

“Ah, so you were listening!” 

“Why have you come?”

“Is it so unbecoming for me to visit a friend in his time of need?”

Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“Need?”

Resting his knuckles upon his hips, Barbatos sighed, head hanging low in exasperation. Aquamarine hues bore straight into gold- the Anemo Archon’s expression was pinched with worry, but Xiao was adamant on abandoning those memories. 

The adepti do not grieve.

“The eve of glowing lights grows near; will you forsake yourself another year?”

“Lord Barbatos-”

“The wind will carry your sorrows away, clearing skies that were once grey. But for some reason, you hold onto this burden. Many years later, and you still do.”

Xiao unknowingly tensed under the divine presence of the Anemo Archon entirely. From the moment he descended upon Dihua Marsh, he knew that he came under the guise of his Archon title, one that he championed for over thousands of years, not as the carefree bard that chased the scent of dandelions on the wind. 

“If you are so willing, dear Yaksha, tell me- who were they to you?”

The adeptus clenched his jaw, painfully tight. You were... his respite. His sanctuary. His home. You were a multitude of things that he could never describe within his immortal lifetime- a multitude of memories that slipped from his fingers like dust, destined to fall beneath the living world and be buried with everything else. 

A dream that wasn’t meant to be.

“I heard the traveler roaming back and forth between Liyue’s vast lands, carrying wishes and dreams,” Barbatos sang, his form becoming incorporeal as the thousand winds carried his soul back to Mondstadt. “Won’t you join them?”

The Archon decided to let Xiao make a decision of his own accord. The embodiment of freedom indeed- though Barbatos gave every sign that he should, he never excluded the idea that he shouldn’t. And perhaps... just this once...

A mournful sigh wracked Xiao’s body, echoing nothing but emptiness.

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In the end, the traveler brought him along to Liyue Harbor. After some shenanigans and scuffles with some rambunctious mortals, he escorted them and their fairy companion to the outskirts of the city. And against all odds, he lingered along that edge, indulging in a sight that was once forgotten deep within the sea of karmic binds. 

A small smile blossomed on his face, and it became painfully aware that he nearly forgot how to smile after you died. It was you who taught him so, you who took him by the arm and ventured down to the starlit shores of Yaoguang Shoal to collect starconches and dance under the brilliance of the moon. 

Sorrow filled his heart. He never truly fulfilled his promise to you, did he? A promise to live, when all he’s done is drown, drown, drown in the abyss.

Distantly, the adeptus saw a few port workers setting up lines of fireworks, and took it as a sign to leave. His senses were keener than most, and he would prefer to not be bombarded with colorful lights and loud noises.

As soon as he rose, however, a voice ripped him out of his thoughts and filled it with intense trepidation.

“Wait!” Golden eyes traced tendrils of amber as his head whipped around at lightning speeds.

Xiao has lived for an impossibly long time, surmounting many gods of ancient times and outliving countless adepti. He has come to expect certain things from humanity, learned their cunning tricks and mannerisms as Liyue was continuously reforged into something new with each passing year. 

But... he never expected this.

He never expected you, or- not you, as you donned a young visage instead of old, breathing heavily as if you ran a million miles to catch up with him. But Xiao met your gaze, and his heart stopped beating.

Never in a million years did he think he would see your loving eyes again. 

“I finally... got a chance... to meet you,” you huffed, leaning on your knees as you caught your breath. To your surprise and relief, the yaksha seemed to be paralyzed in place, frozen by memories, if that wide-eyed look on his face was any indication.

A few awkward minutes pass, as the sounds of festival cheer began to dull his sense against his deafening heartbeat.

“Wow...” You breathed. “You’re just as beautiful as I remember...”

Xiao was torn.

By all means, he should leave. He should do a heel-face turn and never look back, never crossing that boundary between adepti and mortal, never thinking once to approach those memories. He should reprimand this mortal for even daring to imply that they were anything more than strangers, for implying that they resembled a loved one and returned from the dead to find him. The Conqueror of Demons loved no one. 

But... something was compelling him to stay. 

He remembered this feeling, once. An surge of frightful elation, paired with a mixture of tension and anxiousness that made full circle with something you called happiness. 

Should a being like him, blackened chains wrapped around his arms, legs, and even his soul- be able to hope?

“You’re mistaken,” he responds, fear lacing his guarded tone. And to his absolute terror, you stepped closer, voice frantic.

“I released a Xiao Lantern every year, in hopes you would find it. Every year, I wrote the same wish, so you’d know it was me. And every year, I released it in the same place so you’d know it was coming from, and I even stayed up all night to see if you’d respond, but-”

The yaksha felt a familiar strain of anger stirring in his veins. It was the one primal emotion he was familiar with- one that he embraced wholly whenever he sought to obliterate demons. Without fear, what else did he have but anger?

“You should not be speaking with me. Leave now, before you are punished for your transgressions against the adepti.” He swept his arm, wisps of anemo billowing from his shoulders as he braced to teleport away.

“Wait, please!” You fully grasped his arm with a light grip, but Xiao writhed under your touch, as if he was being burned alive.

“I saw you in my dreams.”

Xiao stiffened.

“I... don’t know how long it’s been, and I don’t remember everything, but... I remember bits and pieces. I remember the Qingxin flowers and the starconches and the almond tofu, and- and-” you were chasing your thoughts, words flying from your mouth a mile a minute. 

“I remember you.”

You grimaced, choking on your words as he refused to face you.

“Do you... remember me?”

Xiao’s eyes raked your body with a vindictive, menacing gaze, and for a moment, you worried that he would slip through your fingers again. 

You looked different, now. Your hair, face, clothes, even the way you carried yourself seemed different- and it was all the more clear by the Pyro vision tied around your wrist. But your eyes... those brilliant, gorgeous eyes, oh Archons, how he’d missed those eyes, they gleamed with as much vigor as he remembered. 

He remembered everything, even when he denied it so. 

“Yes,” he rasped.

An eternity’s worth of distress seemed to disappear as you relinquished your grip. His arm fell to his side sluggishly, as did yours. You stepped forward, decisively, and Xiao was happy to accommodate. Fireworks exploded in the background, filling the sky with thundering roars, but his embrace silenced the world around you as his arms wrapped around your new form with pure, unabashed love. The scent of mist and Qingxin flowers flooded your nostrils as you buried your face into his shoulder. He seemed taller than you remember, or perhaps you were shorter in this life. 

He hugged you even tighter, arms snaking underneath your shoulders to pull you closer, as if you were a phantasm that would disappear by daylight. Though he never spoke once, you knew what he wanted to say. 

“This isn’t a dream, Xiao,” you say, fingers combing his jet-black locks. “I’m here.”

His shoulders trembled and never stopped shaking. You spent the next few moments simply relishing in the other’s presence after a million years. Only when his rationale returned did he decide to pull away.

“But... how?” 

You shook your head. 

“I’m not really sure. But... Everytime I tried to come back to Liyue, something always got in the way, and... I never made it.” 

Your voice cracked, shattering as Xiao tenderly wiped your tears away, his touch lingering on your temple as you nuzzled into his hand, pressing a chaste kiss to his gloved palm. The weight of lifetimes past grew heavy on your shoulders and it pained him to see you burdened by Celestia’s thread of fate, bearing scars that were dangerously similar to his. 

Immortality was a cruel, vicious thing.

You reached up to trace the edge of his cheekbone with your thumb, his eyes softening as you stood on your toes to press another kiss to his brow. His ear grew tinged with an adorable shade of rose-pink, just like you remembered.

“Xiao,” you spoke, the syllables rolling from your tongue as if you said it many times before, committing it to memory as you traversed the scorching deserts of Natlan or the bitter permafrost of Snezhnaya. 

“Xiao.” 

He nodded slowly, drinking in your words. Your eyes glittered with an unfathomable emotion. 

“I love you.”

And his too, shone, like beacons in the night. Growing emboldened with a perplexing mix of elatedness and love- something that made his heart cave and burn- he intertwined his hands with yours, leaning down as his eyes fluttered shut while heaven met earth once more. The shackles wrapped around his heart had loosened their deathly grip. And for once, he could breathe again. 

He understood why you chose him, for all the same reasons he chose you.

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Somewhere, in the crown of Wangshu Inn’s gingko tree, lay an empty lantern ensnared by its branches. 

Those eyebrows of his aren’t furrowed for once, and the tightness in his jaw is absent. Though he treats you with the utmost respect and care, he holds himself to unbelievably high standards, and when you’re reminded of the burdens he shoulders each and every day... your heart aches at the thought. It’s a quiet moment for both of you.

Diluc has gotten into the habit of sleeping on the side closest to the door, rather than the window. Not only does it provide him more opportunities to protect you in the case of an attack, but on those occasions when he wakes up earlier than you, he simply adores the sight of you cloaked by the early morning light, like an angel of Celestia. Though, he doesn’t object at all if you wake up first. Everytime it happens, it’s a reminder.

Diluc blinks once, twice, before his vision decides to clear. And once it does, he’s blessed with the image of you hovering above him, the morning light illuminating you from behind, an ethereal glow lightly accentuating your features whilst a warm smile graces your lips. 

Your hair, mussed with sleep, frames your face messily, but he finds you to be just as beautiful as ever, if not more. The sky is painted with the slightest tinge of orange and red, drenching your form with warmth. It’s in moments like these when he comes to the same realization every time.

You are his dawn.

Your eyes crinkle as you feel his hand snake up your back and lowering you down to his level, where your lips meet his in a tender kiss. It’s short and chaste, but as you lay by his side, admiration sparkling in those orbs of yours, he can’t help but dive in for more. And you’re happy to receive him entirely. 

A soft laugh escapes you, feeling ticklish as he peppers small, but meaningful kisses all over you. Starting from the tips of your fingers, to the edge of your shoulders, to the gentle curve of your collarbone to the smooth expanse of your neck as he makes his way up to your lips, tracing your cheekbone all the while in reverent worship. It’s not at all suggestive, even. He simply does these things because he is enamored with you, nothing more.

You’re a swirling cocktail of nerves and affection. Though you’ve grown used to your bodies to being close to one another, it always makes your heart flutter to see him so soft with you, like a precious treasure that was his to protect. The phoenix of Ragnvindr was tender to his loved ones, and you were no exception. 

“You seem different today, Diluc,” you smile, carding your fingers through his wild red tresses and reveling in the soft texture. Propping yourself up with one arm, he slinks an arm across your waist, scarlet orbs glittering with amusement.

“I am?”

The blunt nature of his reply makes you laugh.

You coil a strand of his hair around your finger, twirling it as he holds you close. You don’t rush him- you know that this solitary moment between you and him is one of the only moments of respite he has, and you’re both content to indulge in the other’s presence for as long as time may allow. For you, the foundation of your relationship is built from these little precious moments, love and light abound.

If you were to try and rouse him out of bed by moving away first, he’ll tug on your arm, yanking with gentleness but with enough strength to make you fall back onto the bed and into his arms. You open your mouth to protest, but he simply wraps his arms around you, nuzzling into your hair. 

He was working on something in the winery, taking inventory and stock over the past year or something. You were helping him as best you could, moving books and straightening loose papers and retrieving old records for comparison from the storage. Completely engrossed in his work, he doesn’t miss a beat when calling out to you, the quill in his hands moving too fast for the eye to see. 

You’re right there with him, listening carefully while you moved a stack of books full of the winery’s exports to Fontaine to the nearest table.

“Love, could you retrieve last year’s files on the winery’s average production stock for Dandelion Wine from the back room?”

You stop abruptly in your tracks, face growing hot as you processed what he just said. Diluc notices, and places down his quill to turn his full attention to you- immediately asking if you’re alright. 

Taking a moment to recollect yourself, you shyly (with a completely flushed face I might add) point out what he just said, he pauses, and looks away with an incredibly rare sheepish look on his face, a light blush gracing his cheeks. You spend a few minutes in mutual silence, before you loudly (and awkwardly, let’s not forget that) proclaim that you’ll get them right away, and you exit the room. 

Though, as you shut the door, you slide down and curl up in front of it, trying to use the little bit of chill in your hands from the cellars to cool your cheeks. Your heart’s beating faster than ever before, but it’s not unwelcome, not in the slightest. 

“Returning from your journey to Qingce Village?”

You nod, albeit a bit slowly. Being one of the most highly-regarded adventurers in the Guild meant that you were sent on the more… precarious missions: some that meant nothing more than a lone hilichurl camp, and some that meant sneaking into a vault locked by ancient Liyuen technology and nearly getting impaled by several Ruin Hunters. You tell him that you were planning to rest here till morning, just before the sun came over the horizon, to make sure the mission was completed smoothly. 

“But,” you begin, and his attention is yours. “I couldn’t sleep. I think all that fighting made me on edge- I just can’t seem to calm down.”

He pauses, glancing up towards his perch -underneath the tree’s crown, where the branches diverge- before paying close attention to your eyes. They lost their luster, bogged down with dark half-moons underneath. 

“The winds are gentle tonight,” Xiao replies, extending a hand. “Would you care to join me?”

If you were a little more coherent, perhaps you’d express a bit of shock at his bold display- well, as bold as he could be. But you aren’t, so you take his hand, and he sweeps you into his arms, leaping inhuman heights to the top. As you descend upon the tree’s trunk, his arm reaches around your torso, pulling you close. Immediately, the tension in your shoulders release, and you lean against him, completely at peace. Xiao doesn’t move much, but you felt more comfortable than you ever did in that bed: swaddled by the winds instead of thick blankets. 

Your mind wanders to moments where you first met. He was coarse with you, firmly drawing boundaries between the lives of adeptus and mortal. And yet, the same hands that ruthlessly tore through the remains of bygone Archons cradled you with feather-soft touches as you kissed him for the first time. 

Zhongli, a man who claimed to be “an old friend,” informed you that the Guardian Yaksha may not be born of asperity and callousness, but rather, donned those traits like a suit of armor. And at that moment, you realized something: Xiao was a terribly tortured soul. Your heart ached at the reminder.

“I wish you were kinder to yourself,” you spoke, sotto voce, as the sun dipped under the horizon. He turns to you, slightly alarmed, but you press on.

“You always said that there was nothing to love about you, but I disagree.” 

You took his hand in yours, intertwining your fingers wordlessly as you held them against the velvet skies. He waits silently, almost in anticipation of what you’re going to say. You always had this miraculous ability to make his heart thrum in his chest, as if he were human. 

“Even though the spear you wield is meant to dispel evil spirits, you cleared out a Hilichurl camp near Qingce Village just to return a little girl’s doll,” you spoke with such sweet affection in your voice and with no restraint at all. Xiao was bewildered; he wasn’t used to the fact that humans loved so unabashedly, and the tips of his ears were turning into a lovely shade of pink. 

“You wander to the cliffs of Jueyun Karst to pick wild Qingxin flowers in remembrance of your friends. You only eat almond tofu because the taste reminds you of the dreams you used to devour. And though you claim to only know hurt and how to hurt: you’ve never hurt me.”

You smile to yourself, unaware that Xiao is pressed just slightly closer to you, because you’re too sleepy to fully appreciate it. Stubborn and strong-willed, but bearing the best of humanity’s ideals in your heart. He was enthralled by you and the values you carried, always wanting to know more.

Just what made you so special, he wonders, marveling at how the moonlight softens your features. 

“That, and your pointed ears are rather cute,” you snicker, and Xiao blushes from the bridge of his nose to the tips of those adorable little ears of his, nearly sputtering and breaking his noble adeptus persona. You’re on the verge of dozing off completely now, consciousness dipping in and out unsteadily. 

“I only wish that you’ll come to see yourself as everything that has made me love you, rather than the sum of your sins.” 

Xiao recollects himself quickly, noticing how your expression had grown into something more forlorn. Shifting his piercing gaze, the familiar vice of self-loathing was threatening to shackle his heart again. How could he, how could he see himself as anything other than; while his hands are stained with the blood of innocents and sinners alike? 

He feels your body completely slump against his. Your exhaustion had finally caught up to you, it seems. Xiao can only speculate how you’re able to relax so much to the point of slumber in the presence of the Guardian Yaksha: a slayer of demons, a conqueror of evil, a menace to all that threaten humanity. Yet you cling to him regardless, and Xiao is mystified by that tenacity of yours.

You feel the gentle press of lips on your forehead, and an even gentler whisper of your name echoes in your ears.

The fact that it was this easy to find out almost hurt. Your excellent infiltration skills, paired with naturally enhanced hearing... oh, the thought made you laugh. A hollow, brittle noise that could only mimic the sound of your anguish.

 You caught him off guard- and chose wisely to hide in the shadows. A Fatui agent whispered in his ear, something related to ‘a debt that needed collecting.’ That was enough to make your blood run cold. 

“Master, shall I terminate them?”

Hearing his voice shattered your heart within seconds. 

“I’ll take care of it.” 

You couldn’t take it any more.

A cloud of frigid air followed your tracks. It was a passive effect from your vision: whether you were adorably upset or gripped by an earth-shattering rage, mist would veil your form, causing anything that came close to freeze instantly. The first time he realized this, Tartaglia got a minor case of frostbite- but he merely smiled and called you his adorable little snowstorm. 

His. 

Just how long was he playing you for?

Childe’s royal blue orbs narrow to slivers as he senses a chill in the air, before falling on a pair of frosted footprints trailing out of the door. Inhaling sharply, he’s quick to his feet, and cursing himself as he races towards the outskirts of Liyue Harbor.

He’s barely able to see you in this pouring rain, with your hair cascading down your face in a curtain, desperately hiding the rage kept within. You were planning to leave quietly, refusing to give him the luxury of seeing you again. And if he does, you will never carry the same solace that he came to love- only the emptiness of a bitter cold churning within.

The one thing he does see, are those scathing orbs of yours, pinning him down in his tracks.  Swallowing dumbly, Tartaglia takes an uneasy step forward, as if approaching a beast ready to tear his chest open at a moment’s notice. 

“I know that I hurt you. I know that nothing I can say will change the past. But…I’m hoping that you’ll forgive me in the end. I’m hoping that I can make this right.”

But he can’t. It was a house of cards ready to come crumbling down at the slightest disturbance. A foundation of years and years of unresolved hatred; this was a long time coming, and he knew it. Tartaglia only hoped to confide in the heart of someone who reminded him dearly of home. You don’t say a word, and he edges closer to you.

“Please... just let me explain. I promise it’ll all make sense.”

Wrapping a careful hand around yours, he’s shocked by how complacent you are, until you twist out of his grasp and clamp your nails into the tender flesh of his wrist. Blood dribbles onto the ground. 

“Master, huh,” you seethe, as snowflakes bloom on his skin. “Just who are you?” 

Throwing away his hand with a vicious yank, he merely steps backward with an unreadable expression. Childe knew when to keep business and personal affairs separate; but Tartaglia wasn’t as sagacious. Childe knew thirty-seven different ways to maim someone without dropping an ounce of blood, while Tartaglia dreamed of moments where he could introduce you to his friends and family, gathered around the table as you dazzled his younger siblings with stories of your adventures.

Childe only knew of lies and deceit, while Tartaglia craved love.

“You Fatui are all the same,” you say, frost adorning your fingertips as your power spirals out of control. “Trampling over the hearts of many.”

He tries to reach for you once more, but this time, you draw your weapon on him, the polearm coming mere millimeters before the skin of his throat. It was a beautiful Snezhnayan piece: forged with metal from the snow-capped mountains, polished with the essence of Cryo Crystalflies to give it a silvery finish, and fitted with a Shivada Jade Gemstone at the top, giving life to the wintry blade. 

It was an anniversary gift. 

“This time is mercy. The next time we meet... ” 

Your eyes raked him with freezing contempt, yet the small glimmer of disbelief in his eyes makes your heart weep. He is nowhere near powerless- you’re well aware of that fact. But if he even thinks that enduring the injuries you might inflict upon him would make him worthy of forgiveness, he was wrong. You never wanted to see him again.

Your sleep habits incentivize him to read outside even more: not only because he enjoys how the breeze ruffles his hair, but also because he gets to adore your sleeping face. It truly is bliss: a loving significant other cuddled up to his side, and a new book fresh off the presses settled in his hands as ancient winds flow through Liyue’s mountainous landscape.

Thanks to your pyro vision, you’re quite warm to the touch, which is a blessing on chilly days. However, Liyue’s weather tends to lean towards warmer temperatures- for winter seasons, ‘brisk’ is about as cold as it gets. As such, your body temperature tends to rise passively, a side effect of being a pyro allogene. Though, even if you get unpleasantly warm, he’ll sit still as stone when you lean on him. It’s in his code of chivalry, but he’d do it even if he wasn’t honor-bound.

Of course, he’ll indulge you when you’re particularly cuddly and affectionate. Xingqiu finds it all endearing, of course, and lets you doze off by his side, brushing stray strands of your hair from your face with only the lightest of touches gracing your features. He doesn’t want to wake you, after all. 

You reached out to him, leaning your head on his shoulder. Playing idly with the fingers on his free hand whilst he held a new book in his other, he smiles down at you, flexing his fingers whenever you wanted to fold them. Pressing a small kiss to the tips of his hand, he reciprocates by pressing an equally affectionate one on your forehead. You blink owlishly, eyes blurring as your shoulders relaxed, and you hear Xingqiu chuckle.

“If you find yourself drifting off into slumber, do not worry. I will protect you, as your knight.”

Those words cradled you like a lullaby, and you smiled warmly, holding onto his hand as the waking world departed from your vision.

This actually happened once, when a group of hilichurls came across you two resting. He sighed to himself, a little bothered, but he took the utmost care in making sure you didn’t wake, balancing you on the tree’s trunk before clearing the area swiftly and silently. By the time you woke up, it seemed like nothing happened- Xingqiu was sat beside you, squaring his ankle over one knee and squeezing your hand idly. But judging by the soft pulsing of your vision, you were quick to connect the dots.

“If something like that happened, you can wake me up, you know,” you respond, walking alongside him as you two ambled back to Liyue Harbor. “I wouldn’t want you to fight by yourself.”

He blesses you with a smile, closing his book with one hand and  propping it underneath his chin. 

“I would grimace at the thought of your peaceful slumber being disturbed. Besides, if I could not defeat a horde of hilichurls of that size, why- I would not be fit to be your knight in the slightest, my lady.”

Sometimes, when he’s feeling a little cheeky, he’ll poke your cheek lightly when you’re sleeping, just to see how your brows furrow before relaxing, and just to hear your soft sighs when you ease back into sleep. Adorable! You’re simply adorable to him. Especially when you cuddle into his arm, or his side. It’s hard to still his heart when you’re so loving. When you rouse from one of your many naps that day, he’ll simply chuckle and say:

“Back from your sojourn in the land of dreams, my lady?” Xingqiu closes his book softly, turning his full attention to you. Still straddling the boundary between drowsy and lucid, you yawn softly, eliciting another chuckle from him. 

He’ll make sure you aren’t late or missing anything, waking you up at an hour that allows ample time for you to adjust, and for you to finish whatever you needed to finish that day. 

He shakes his head slowly, opting to take your hand and kiss the tips of your fingers gingerly. You cocked your head curiously.

“Diluc? What’s gotten into you?”

Right then, the ring in his back pocket suddenly weighs heavier than the claymore he uses to defend all of Mondstadt, and he pauses. Diluc knows for certain that he isn’t wrong about you. The fact that you were willing to put your trust in him and wait here in the dark attests to that. Your loyalty was unwavering.

“Nothing,” he coughs. “Nothing at all.”

Your brows knitted into a frown, but your attention was directed away towards a flutter of crystalflies, casting an ethereal glow upon the lake. The childlike glow in your eyes reminded him of something: the duty of protecting Mondstadt and you lied squarely on his shoulders. And then, a thought coiled around his mind, slithering down his throat and paralyzing him.

What if he couldn’t?

If there happened to be a rare lapse in his judgment, if he was merely a few seconds short from ensuring your safety, or if you were targeted in a plot against him, would he be able to protect you from the dangers that plagued Mondstadt by night? Or all of Teyvat, even? Could he ever live with failing you, like how he failed his father?

His fist clenched, as did his jaw, while his shoulders tensed dangerously. You placed a hand on his cheek lovingly, before pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, effectively pulling him away from his thoughts. Diluc blinks down at you, a concoction of shock and vulnerability brewing in those orbs of his.

“I...” Your mouth clamps up, but your fiery-haired lover brushes over your shoulder encouragingly, pressing you to go on. “When you sent me that letter, I... remembered. How dangerous your life is.”

Your eyes narrowly well up with tears.

“I was really worried.”

Diluc’s eyes glisten with something akin to guilt, but you hold him close, pressing your face into the fabric of his dress shirt before he has a chance to condemn himself.

“I know you chose this path, and I understand why,” you continue, voice wavering. “Even so, I want to be the one thing that remains faithful to you, no matter what.”

The words that build up in his chest suddenly knot themselves together; an ever-growing blaze of fire that burns bright with passion. If there’s one thing he knows for certain: with you, actions speak louder than words. Tipping your chin upwards, he envelops you completely, sparks of flame and fervor alike curling up your spine as if the wings of Dawn had swaddled you like a precious treasure. Diluc traces down your back, fingers settling nicely in the curve of your spine, making you gasp and press closer to him. He takes this chance to dive deeper, and the world around you devolves into nothing.

That was what you loved most about him: he was always so careful and deliberate about his day-to-day work, trimming the things that were unnecessary. But when it came to his love, he loved completely and almost recklessly, never in parts.

You pull away first, chest rising and falling heavily. Those kinds of kisses left you breathless and ruined, but you always loved them. Scarlet orbs rake down your form, dipping to your décolletage and flickering to your visage once more. Your cheeks were adorably flushed with red, hair disheveled by how he was combing his hands through them. By the Archons, he was completely head over heels. Letting you go, he lowers himself onto one knee, and your heart stops.

“For years, I have walked a path of solitude- protecting those who I’ve come to cherish, and vanquishing those who threaten them. And during all those years of wandering blindly in the shadows, never did I once think that I’d find sanctuary in the shape of a person.”

You’re speechless, because you’re almost certain of what he’s planning now, and your eyes start to well up with tears.

“This world is filled with darkness and deceit. And I can only hope that I will be able to protect you for years to come, but know that in this vast land, and even longer than our lives could endure, know that my heart will always be yours.”

Diluc reaches into his back pocket, and by this point, you’re weeping freely, hands plastered over your mouth to hide the absolute joy you’re feeling. The ring -oh, it’s gorgeous, just how you imagined it- glimmers the moonlight as he presents it to you.

“Until the flames in my heart become naught but embers, and even further beyond, would you be mine?”

You didn’t even have to think twice. Nearly tackling him and foregoing the ring, you spend a few moments simply pressing your foreheads together in silent indulgence. He sits you upright, taking your hand gently and slipping the delicate ring onto your finger.

A perfect fit.

You marvel at its fine craftsmanship, shifting your hands in the light in hopes of catching a spark of fire within the pristine jewel- but part of you knows that nothing could compare to his eyes. To you, this ring was a simple testament to your love.