#xiaobether

Fandom: Genshin Impact Rating: Teen (kidnapping/imprisonment, near-death experiences) Relationships: Xiao/Aether/Albedo Word Count: 14,444 (ongoing) Read it on AO3: Horizon

Xiao has spent the entirety of his life hiding from humanity, even as their buildings creep closer and closer to shore and their boats drift farther and farther out into the waters of his ocean home. Despite his curiosity, he has always kept his distance, wary of the fact that creatures like himself pulled from the water rarely return.

That is, until a particularly ferocious summer storm leads him to rescue a scientist thrown overboard despite his better judgment, a decision that leads to his capture and imprisonment in a nearby research facility.

Stolen from his home and with no friendly faces to help him, Xiao bides his time, waiting for his chance to escape in between visits from the facility's head researcher and his enigmatic assistant, who just so happens to be the scientist whose life he'd saved.

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