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cegantheayugipi · 1 year

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Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better (Xiao x Reader Smut)

An Enemies to Lovers smut oneshot

WARNING: 18+ CONTENT BELOW THE CUT, MINORS DNI!!

Tags include: hate sex, no foreplay, angst, breeding, loss of virginity, competitive sex, post nut depression, soft ending, Xiao being Xiao

Xiao was furious. Again.

At the report of monsters in Dihua Marsh, Xiao rushed to the scene to eliminate them. This was merely part of his Adeptal duties – he protected all mortals in Bishui Plain and beyond. As ordered by Rex Lapis, he would not allow any human to come to harm while under his watch… However, for the past several nights, Xiao would reach a location reported to have monsters only to find their scattered corpses.

And not only would the monsters be completely eliminated, but they would be struck down with no traces of elemental power whatsoever. The poor Yaksha consulted all remaining Adepti, and none of them knew what could be responsible for such a feat other than some fluke or natural disaster. Still, night after night, Xiao would be frustrated upon reaching the scene. He would be mere minutes too late to catch whoever seemed to be disrespecting him, taunting him, telling him over and over just how slow and incompetent he was at his own job.

Still baffled by yet another impossible feat, Xiao wandered through the remnants of the hilichurl camp. He seethed at his incompetence; this would be the last time he’d miss anything like this.

“Help! There’s Geovishaps!”

A voice tickled Xiao’s ears, and his head immediately shot up.

“I won’t miss it this time,” Xiao muttered. His superhuman senses told him exactly how far away this call came from. He disappeared from the field, leaving behind only black wisps of smoke.

In an instant, the Yaksha had traversed hundreds of meters to the source of the voice, only to watch the earthen monsters be beaten into dust by a blindingly fast flash of metal.

“What?!” Xiao blurted out, his mouth falling open as he watched a small figure – a human – destroy the monsters with efficient strikes of a claymore.

And what was worse, the human had no traces of elemental abilities whatsoever. Their claymore fractured the earthen ground as they struck the monsters over and over, a testament to their power.

Meanwhile, Xiao simply stared, too shocked to take over in the fight.

“Hyaa!” You screamed, flexing your shoulders as you wound up for your final attack. The metal of your greatsword sung into the night as it struck down the monsters and embedded itself into the damp earth.

The stony Geovishap bones scattered across the ground, mere remnants of the monsters that terrorized the mountainside only minutes prior.

Now that the monsters were defeated, a silence fell over the area. You listened to your own rapid breathing as you recovered from such strenuous work. Wrapping one hand around the hilt of your claymore, you pulled it out of the ground and inspected it for damage. As you did so, you failed to notice the enraged Yaksha, who seethed at you.

“YOU!” Xiao roared, making you jump from surprise. You spun on your heels to face him. “You’re the one who is killing MY monsters!”

“Who said they were yours to kill?” You scoffed, sticking your giant blade back into the ground and crossing your arms over your chest. “From the way you look, it seems like you’re an Adeptus. I guess they really are stuck up old fogeys.”

“Stop trying to do my job,” Xiao spoke through gritted teeth. “You’re a weak mortal. Killing monsters is a job for the Adepti, not humans.”

“You’re the one who’s taking too long to even get to the monsters,” You stated with a shrug. “Maybe it’s time to retire, you’re getting slow.”

Xiao let out a growl at your insinuation. Rather than snap back at you, however, he turned his head to the side, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

You rolled your eyes as you watched him disappear. A couple of villagers who witnessed the fight stood there in shock as you turned around and began to walk down the path away from them.

“Onto the next field, then,” You muttered to yourself.

~~~

Aether and Lumine frequented Wangshu Inn during their travels, and knowing their elusive Adeptus friend lived there, they often tried to talk to him – whether it be luring him out with almond tofu, or calling for him until he would get too annoyed to ignore them any longer.

Although they thought Xiao acted this way towards everyone, the twins had no clue that they were the only mortals in all of Teyvat that Xiao would ever willingly interact with. They were the closest thing to a ‘friend’ the Yaksha had in a while.

Aether was speaking to Verr Goldet about any requests she might have for the day. The sun had just breached the horizon, and the two travelers were already at the front desk of the inn, eager to go out and explore the area for the day.

While waiting for her brother to finish speaking, Lumine looked up through the main foyer of the inn to see Xiao ascending the staircase towards the top.

“Hey, Xiao! There you are!” She called, but received no acknowledgement from the Adeptus.

Aether turned when he heard his sister speak. “Xiao?” Aether called, but the twins merely watched as he continued to ignore them both. The reclusive Adeptus walked through a door at the top of the stairs, slamming it behind him.

The twins exchanged glances, wondering why he would act that way, and Aether gave his sister a nonchalant shrug.

“Maybe he’s busy. We can talk to him later.”

~~~

The next night, Xiao was determined to defeat the monsters that lurked throughout Bishui Plain and Qiongli Estuary before you could even get there. He stayed on high alert, traveling north through Dihua Marsh and clearing out Hilichurl camps before they would become a problem for the nearby villages.

As an Adeptus, he didn’t need rest… he could slay monsters for days on end without needing a break. He was determined to prove he was infinitely more capable at slaying monsters than you were.

“Weak!” He exclaimed, pitching his spear through a Mitachurl’s chest. He watched as the beast crumpled to the ground, defeated. The seething Adeptus wrenched the polearm out of the dead Mitachurl’s rib cage, bringing with it a spray of blood.

Xiao didn’t need to look around to know that all of the monsters had been killed – he simply walked onwards down the path to the next camp he would come across.

However, in the distance, he spotted blackened earth and trails of smoke that rose into the night air. Confused, he teleported towards the location, arriving only to see yet another destroyed monster camp.

You had already been there.

Xiao’s hands balled into fists as he turned slowly in a circle, examining the elemental traces…

A Pyro Abyss Mage, an Electro Samachurl… and half a dozen Hilichurls.

Next to the smoldering remnants of the monsters’ campfire, a Samachurlian staff had been stuck into the ground. Attached at the top of the staff, a daintily handwritten paper note fluttered in the late evening breeze.

‘You’re rusty ;)’

Xiao let out a growl so frustrated and enraged that if anyone nearby had heard it, they would confuse him with the monsters he killed.

~~~

“Why do you seem more cheerless than usual, Alatus?” The serene voice of Cloud Retainer echoed across the peaks of Mt. Aocang. The mystical Crane perched elegantly on a rocky precipice of Qingyun peak, her gold and white feathers glowing in the late-afternoon light.

Xiao had visited his fellow Adeptus to retrieve powerful medicinal herbs which only grew in Jueyun Karst. Cloud Retainer had stored them in a latched wooden box, waiting for the time he would come by to take them.

“I do not wish to talk about it,” Xiao responded curtly, causing Cloud Retainer to lean closer towards his face.

“You also appear to be fatigued. Have you not been resting properly?” Cloud Retainer questioned.

“Adepti have no need for rest,” Xiao responded, looking away from the prying Adeptus.

“Is it because of that mortal who has been purging the land of monsters?” Cloud Retainer mused, fluttering her wings as she adjusted her feathers.

Xiao scoffed, “Nonsense.”

“They are quite the aid to Liyue. The mortal has even rid Jueyun Karst of treasure hoarders.”

“WHAT?!” Xiao exclaimed, turning back around to face the Adeptus’s aviary form. “When?!”

“About a week ago.”

Xiao’s mind reeled. Every single night he had watched with near-helplessness as you cleared out monster camps in Western Liyue faster than he could find them. He had no idea how you could possibly do this in Eastern Liyue at the same time.

“One despises mortals who tread on the sacred land of the Adepti. However, this mortal is more than just an exception. One would like to invite such an honorable person for tea. Perhaps One should invite Morax as well, and One can teach such a child about the ways of the Adepti.”

Cloud Retainer’s rambling only made Xiao seethe with anger. How could Cloud Retainer consider you honorable when you were stealing the job of an Adeptus so blatantly?

“I must go. Farewell.”

Xiao’s blunt statement was as courteous as he could possibly make it. Too furious to wait for a response from Cloud Retainer, he teleported back to Wangshu Inn with the package of herbs in his hands.

Verr Goldet looked up from her desk as she felt the wind shift in the air. Xiao had appeared before her.

“Oh, Xiao, you’re already back.” The Inn Owner smiled. “Thank you for fetching the herbs for me. I’ll prepare your medicine promptly.” Xiao didn’t respond as he stalked towards the desk, dropping the package onto the oak surface and teleporting away once again.

Verr looked down in shock, wondering why Xiao would seem even more irritated than usual. She knew he hated visiting the front desk in the Inn’s main foyer due to the number of humans that usually filled the room.

However, it didn’t seem to be as busy as usual, so it left her even more baffled. To top it off, Verr looked down to realize the wooden box had been splintered from the intensity of Xiao’s grip.

~~~

This time, Xiao was more determined than ever to prove to you that patrolling the countryside was a job meant for Adepti only. Humans were frail, and Xiao was certain you would slip up at some point.

The night was incredibly clear. Xiao could see all the way across Liyue from his perch atop the roof of Wangshu Inn. He looked out towards Guyun Stone Forest, admiring the vast remnants of the Archon war and lasting proof of Morax's power.

Something glimmered along the coast of Yaoyang Shoal. At this distance, Xiao couldn’t tell if it was a glimmer of moonlight reflecting off of the sea or if it was something more.

Not willing to take any chances, he teleported to the sandy beach.

As he arrived, he realized he was right – amongst the scattered remnants of Khaen’rian Ruin Guards were some that were still active. How they could survive centuries of deterioration and the elements was a question for someone else.

Xiao was simply here to destroy them.

The ruin guards began to wake up, clambering to their feet with the screeching metal and whirring engines.

Spinning his spear in one hand, Xiao prepared to strike one ruin guard down when a flash of silver caught his eye. He barely had time to register the claymore that shot straight into the Ruin Guard’s core, impaling the machinery and causing the monster to collapse to the ground. Sparks flew from the core as it sputtered and the ruin guard began to die.

You leapt down from one of the rock faces that dotted the shoal, landing on the ruin guard to wrench your blade from its core.

Xiao let out a low growl, shocked and enraged by your sudden appearance.

“Wow, you actually found the monsters before me this time,” You laughed darkly, moving onto the next ruin guard.

“Worthless!” Xiao shouted, turning to fight a third one that had awoken.

“Easy now, old man.” You shouted between clangs of metal against metal. Sparks flew into the air as your claymore screeched against the reinforced armor of the ruin guard. You jumped from place to place, the muscles in your back flexing beneath your skin as you wound up to strike at a weak point.

Xiao growled as he fought the other ruin guard. He gripped his polearm so tightly he was worried he might break it… But that was the least of his problems. With a gust of wind, he launched himself into the shoulder of the ruin guard, breaking its arm off in one clean strike. Arcs of electricity sparked across the joint, stunning the machine and preventing it from fighting back. With several more quick jabs of his spear, Xiao was able to cut down the automaton.

As soon as the Ruin Guard was no longer a threat, Xiao spun around to attack the next one – only to see a beach of scattered metal parts. He gawked at the destruction, shocked that you were able to defeat two ruin guards so quickly.

“Man, whatever metal these Automatons are made of sure wear out blades fast.” You sighed, running your fingers down the side of your claymore.

“You don’t have a vision. How do you find monsters so fast without elemental sight?” Xiao demanded, stalking towards you.

“If you actually looked at the Adventurer’s Guild bulletin in Liyue Harbor, you’d be able to see where all the monster and enemy sightings are.” You rolled your eyes. “But you’re too busy being a recluse, trying to do everything without any outside help. And definitely not making any money either!”

You lifted your blade above your head, shoulders and biceps flexing as you lowered it into the holder on your back. Of course, since you weren’t gifted with elemental power, you couldn’t create a subspace pocket for your belongings. That meant carrying around your ridiculously large and heavy greatsword wherever you traveled.

“This isn’t a job for mortals. It is the duty of the Adepti,” Xiao seethed as he stared at you intensely.

“Duty of the Adepti, my ass!” You scoffed, dusting some sand off of your shoulder. “Liyue is rife with monsters that would go unchecked if it weren’t for adventurers like me.”

“Mortals cannot be tasked with killing monsters. It’s too dangerous.” Xiao pressed, stepping closer to you.

“Then why am I so much better at it than you are?” You smirked.

Xiao’s eyes widened suddenly, and you thought you had finally gotten through to the stubborn Yaksha. However, instead of snapping back or continuing to argue, Xiao roughly pushed past you as an orange glow filled your vision.

“Watch out!” He exclaimed. You turned around just in time to see Xiao use his polearm to swipe away a magical fireball that had been hurtling towards you. A sinister high-pitched cackle filled your ears, telling you exactly what it was.

“Abyss mages!” You exclaimed, instinctively reaching over your shoulders for the handle of your greatsword. Pyro and Electro Abyss Mages had shown up out of nowhere, laughing and taunting the two of you from behind their spheres of elemental shields.

Xiao immediately attacked both of them with his polearm that he infused with Anemo. You grew frustrated as you watched him effortlessly use the Abyss Mages’ own elements against themselves thanks to the wind’s power.

As someone never gifted with a vision, you could do little against Abyss Mages with just a claymore. Instead, you turned around and ran towards the ocean. Swinging your claymore backwards like a bat, you used its flat edge to splash into the water, sending a wave towards the Abyss Mages and drenching them.

“What are you doing?!” Xiao exclaimed, confused.

“Work smarter, not harder!” You responded, used to using your surroundings to your own advantage. “Now swirl them!”

Xiao growled, begrudgingly doing as you requested. The Pyro shield broke first – you immediately took advantage of the Mage’s sudden weakness, sending it into the next life with a single strike.

The Yaksha wasn’t far behind with killing the Electro mage… In mere seconds, the beach was silent once more. All you could hear was the gentle rush of the tide that rose and ebbed along the sandy shore.

Xiao turned to face you, appearing as though he was about to shout at you again. You crossed your arms over your chest, staring at him, refusing to show any sort of weakness towards the Adeptus.

However, before he could open his mouth, he turned away from you and disappeared in a cloud of dark smoke and wind.

“Asshole.” You grumbled, frowning.

~~~

The teal-haired Yaksha appeared in his small room at the top of Wangshu Inn. It was sparsely furnished, with only a bed, a table and chairs. The wooden floorboards and walls were thin and creaked with each footstep. Despite Verr Goldet offering a suite for the Yaksha to live in, Xiao preferred the attic. Here, he could see all of Dihua Marsh from his window… and he preferred a room far away from guests or any other humans. At the top of the building, it felt less like an inn and more like a treehouse. The ancient tree’s branches grew through one side of the room, its bark poking out of the wooden planks and running from floor to ceiling.

Despite usually enjoying his little piece of serenity at the center of Liyue’s marshes, Xiao had arrived irate.

“INCOMPETENT!” Xiao roared, throwing his spear down in a fit of anger. Its shaft clattered against the floorboards as the weapon slid across the room, its blade embedding itself into the bark of the exposed tree trunk at the far wall.

Xiao was too furious to acknowledge that Verr Goldet would most certainly be heartbroken if she ever saw the damage he caused to the tree. He was too furious to eat, sleep, or do most things these days. All he wanted was for you to stop doing his job.

~~~

Your treks through the mountainside had been boring for the past couple of nights. Smirking to yourself, you thought that perhaps you were simply too good at killing monsters. You passed your time traveling from monster sighting to monster sighting, finding little to entertain you in-between.

Thus, when you heard the sound of fighting in the distance, the smirk on your face grew into a grin.

You rushed down the path towards the fighting, finding yourself in front of a very large hilichurl camp. At the center, a furious Xiao tore through the crowds of monsters, shrouded by a cloud of black smoke.

“It’s about time something interesting happened!” You exclaimed, drawing your greatsword and jumping into the fray.

Xiao noticed you approaching in an instant. “No- stay away!” he exclaimed, launching backwards as he attempted to continue fighting. He jumped into the air before diving back down, raining ethereal spears down from the sky. They impaled all of the Hilichurls around him, killing them almost immediately. Xiao’s face was obscured by a black mask as black wisps of smoke continued to swirl around him. You had never seen elemental power like this before, so you couldn't help but stare for a moment before going back to fight on your own.

“When will you realize humans can be just as good at fighting?” You exclaimed, swinging at a Mitachurl that blocked you with its shield.

You didn’t receive a response – you finished off the Mitachurl and turned around to see Xiao struggling with the Hilichurls.

“Off your game today?” You taunted, jumping into the fight to help.

With your powerful swings, you made quick work of the remaining monsters. When all of them had finally been killed, you turned to face Xiao only to see him with one knee on the ground, relying on his polearm for support. The black wisps of smoke had increased in intensity, swirling around the Yaksha’s body like a miniature maelstrom.

“Are you alright?” You asked, reaching out to offer him a hand.

“Don’t touch me!” Xiao exclaimed sharply, making you take a step back.

His curt statement was enough to finally make you snap.

“Okay, I’ve had it up to here with you!” You raised your fist and shook it at the stubborn Adeptus, anger boiling over within you. “What is wrong with you? All the gods, the Adepti, the Yakshas embody immortality and superiority over humans. And for what? None of you really protect the land. None of you really care about the humans who live here!”

“That’s not true.” Xiao muttered, groaning as he used his polearm to pull himself to his feet. “We do care-”

“If Morax really cared, my family would still be alive! If he gave half a damn then maybe he would have punished the people who killed them!” You were irate, and now nothing could stop the dam that had broken loose as you raged.

“You…” Xiao was bewildered as you continued to rant. While the torment of his Karmic Debt was severe that evening, he suddenly couldn’t feel the pain at all as he processed what you were saying.

“I’ve trained day after day to become stronger and avenge my family because nobody else would. If any of the gods cared at all, I’d at least have a vision after everything I’ve been through and everything I do for Liyue!”

“What…” Xiao’s voice wavered as his grip on his polearm faltered.

“So fuck the Archons, fuck the Adepti, and fuck you!” Your face was bright red as you shouted. You were completely unaware of the way Xiao swayed where he stood, too consumed by anger to notice something was wrong with him.

“I-” Xiao groaned as his knees finally buckled. You weren’t exactly sure what you were seeing as you watched the mask disappear from Xiao’s face, revealing his amber eyes that rolled back in his head as he lost consciousness.

You caught him instinctively, not sure what to do with a fainting Yaksha. After a moment, however, you shouted as burning hot pain flashed across your skin.

“Ah! What the hell?!” you looked down at yourself to see the black wisps of smoke lapping at your irritated skin. Whatever this ability was, it seemed to hurt humans.

“You fucking idiot Yaksha!” You exclaimed, suppressing every urge to throw him and gently setting his body on the ground.

“Miss Goldet… the herbs…” You heard Xiao half-consciously mutter.

“Goldet? Verr Goldet of Wangshu Inn?” You asked Xiao, leaning down to stare at the expression of agony on his face.

“The medicine… at the inn,” Xiao whimpered.

You had never heard a sound like that come from an Adeptus. Your heart began to race as you realized the situation was dire. You were hours away from the inn by foot, and weren’t sure how long the poor Yaksha had before whatever was affecting him would kill him.

Your skin still seared with pain from what little contact you had with him, so you looked around you for the best thing you could do.

You scrambled across the ground, tying together bloodied hilichurl furs and fabrics to fashion a makeshift rope. You looped it under Xiao’s arms and around his chest, deciding that dragging him back to the inn would be your best chance.

You could feel the stabbing pain of the black wisps that licked at your fingers as you gripped the furs. You persevered, attempting to drag him back to the inn. While he may be a small Adeptus, he was certainly not light… After dragging him for several feet, you let out a sigh of disdain as you unsheathed your claymore and stuck it into the dusty ground. You could only hope nobody would come to steal it as you continued your way along the rolling hills and plains of Liyue.

Without your bulky and heavy greatsword, you found that you could pick up your pace to a slow jog. Despite being battle-trained and strong, your hands and arms began to ache as Wangshu Inn grew in the distance. You cursed yourself for not having the capabilities of the Adepti, being forced to travel by foot.

“Menogias… you need to tell them…” You heard Xiao mumble, half-conscious, squirming against the rope that you carried him by.

“Come on, short stuff. You can make it.” You grunted, picking up the pace. You weren’t sure if you were trying to encourage him or yourself.

It wasn’t long after that when you found yourself at the foot of the huge tree that held the inn. There were a couple of people around you who spotted such an uncanny situation, a young human dragging an unconscious Adeptus that had a whirlwind of black smoke enshrouding himself.

“Is that the Yaksha?”

“Who is that adventurer?”

“What’s going on?”

The murmurs of people who surrounded you began to grow as you ran across the wooden porch and up the stairs to the main foyer of the Inn. Your legs and arms ached as you dragged Xiao up the stairs, but you were more concerned about whether Xiao would be alright.

As you reached the spacious lobby, you spotted the blonde innkeeper behind the front desk.

“Verr Goldet!” You exclaimed, “Can you help?”

“Xiao!” The innkeeper exclaimed, her eyes going wide as she rushed over to the two of you. “His Karmic Debt- I need to get his medicine!”

Verr Goldet scrambled across the room towards the kitchen, for what you were assuming was the medicine to help with whatever this burning smoke was.

“Xiao…” You murmured. “So that’s your name.”

You began to slowly unwind the ropes from around his torso, the sting of the malicious smoke no longer a deterrent to you.

Feet scuffled across the room as Verr returned, a glass vial of medicine in one hand. She knelt beside Xiao and reached towards his face, but quickly recoiled when the black wisps licked at her fingers.

“Ahh, that hurts!” She exclaimed. “How can I make him drink this?”

“Here, give me the medicine.” You held out one hand, and Verr hesitantly placed the vial into your palm.

You worked quickly, gritting your teeth as you harshly grabbed Xiao’s jaw and forced it open, pouring the medicine in then shutting his mouth afterwards. When it was all done, you recoiled and shook your hands vigorously to rid yourself of the searing pain – only a couple of seconds of contact were enough to leave angry red marks traveling from your fingertips up your forearms.

“Did you just-” Verr stuttered, staring at your inflamed skin. She turned around and shouted back into the kitchen. “Smiley, get the first aid kit!”

“I’m fine.” you scoffed. “What even is this black smoke anyway? I’ve never seen an elemental ability like this.”

“That’s because it’s not an elemental ability.” Verr responded, her tone ever-so-slightly melancholic. “It’s Karmic Debt that Xiao had accumulated over millennia of slaughter. He’s the only Yaksha left… the rest have all died because of it.”

The breath in your lungs fell still as you heard this.

“He regularly takes medicine to abate the symptoms, but recently he’s been acting strange… he hasn’t been eating, has barely come back to the inn at all, and hasn’t taken any medicine in weeks…”

Your breath came back to you as you murmured, “weeks…?”

Mind reeling, you sat back on your heels. Was Xiao acting this way because you taunted him and told him he wasn’t as good at killing monsters as you were?

“Hey, show me your hand.” A concerned Smiley knelt beside you, opening up a wooden box filled with first aid supplies. You complied absentmindedly, too busy thinking as you stared down at the unconscious Yaksha before you.

~~~

Not long after you had given Xiao the medicine, the toxic wisps of Karmic Debt subsided enough for him to be moved out of the foyer and into one of the bedrooms. Verr offered you a place to stay while you recovered, and despite your protests, she demanded that you at least stay one night to rest after everything that happened.

So here you sat, on the soft mattress of a luxurious bed, staring out a window at the beautiful Dihua Marsh. Moonlight reflected off the peaceful waters and cast a glow across the landscape.

Verr Goldet was kind to have offered up one of her guest rooms for you to stay in. But while you were given such a nice room to stay in, you felt like you couldn’t truly rest – your mind still reeled from what you had learned earlier that evening.

Shaking your head, you decided that this was enough. You stood up and began to put your holster back on, deciding that you should go back to retrieve your Claymore and then continue hacking and slashing your way through the monsters of Liyue. Only then, in the throes of combat, you felt you might be able to shake off this feeling of uneasiness.

You began to walk towards the door when the air shifted in the room, a familiar figure appearing in front of you without warning.

“Are you trying to leave?” Xiao spoke, his amber gaze boring into you, his brows pinching together.

“Why do you care?” You scoffed. “You should still be resting. You were in a lot of trouble today.”

“That’s none of your business.” Xiao retorted.

“None of my business?” Your voice rose into a shout as you waved your hands at him. “You nearly died! Hell, you would have died if I didn’t bring you back here!”

Xiao’s eyes caught onto the bandages that wrapped both of your hands and forearms. His eyes trailed up, realizing there were red marks that peeked out from where the bandages stopped. He instinctively reached out to them, knowing exactly what it was.

“Did you come close to me while-”

“Get your hands off of me!” You screamed, slapping away his hand. Xiao froze, his eyes wide.

You let out a frustrated and animalistic growl as you stepped towards Xiao, making him take a step backwards to get away from you.

“You’re…”

You took another step, making Xiao move further backwards.

“Such a…”

Another step forwards for you, and another step backwards for Xiao.

“Fucking IDIOT!”

Xiao tried to step backward again, but found his back against the door to the room. The look in his eyes made it seem like a million emotions were passing through his mind at once. But you didn’t care – you were mad at him, at the archons, at the evil that plagued the land of Liyue. You were furious that Xiao had pushed himself so far that he was overwhelmed by his Karmic Debt. You were even more furious that his sworn duty to Morax was to put himself into such a situation. Your heart twisted and wrenched at the thought of the Yakshas falling one after the other because of such devotion to their Archon.

In your fit of anger, your hand flew up to Xiao’s neck and pinned him against the wall. His mouth dropped open, body completely freezing up as he felt your bandaged fingers against his skin.

You paused for a moment, staring into his amber eyes. There was so much that had gone unsaid between the two of you, so much tension, hatred, fear…

You let out a low growl, your head tipping forwards until your lips crashed into his.

Xiao’s heart stopped as he felt your soft lips collide with his. You were so close to him, he could feel the heat that radiated from your skin. This sudden intimacy bewildered him, and his mind began to reel as your free hand snaked up to cup his cheek. This sort of action was something he had only seen between people who loved each other dearly. It sent his mind back to the times he would catch his fellow Yakshas Menogias and Bonanus stealing a moment of embrace or sharing a tender and intimate kiss. It was something he didn’t understand… although he wanted to.

Xiao’s mind flashed to a gruesome scene: driven to insanity by the Karmic Debt they had accumulated, Menogias and Bonanus fought each other to the death.

“Stop.” Xiao twisted his head, breaking away from the kiss.

Your eyes snapped open as Xiao wrenched himself away from you. Your eyes scanned across his face, searching for a reason why he’d withdraw like this.

“Why…” Xiao muttered. “Why are you doing this?”

You made the most baffling expression at Xiao’s question. Your hands balled into fists at your sides, the frustration only continuing to build inside of you.

“Because I like you, dumbass!” You responded angrily, slamming one fist into the door beside his head.

“You…” Xiao spoke, his voice trailing off, his eyes fixating on your lips once again.

This time, he began to lean closer to you, his lips delicately brushing against yours as if he were afraid to hurt you.

You smirked, hands moving to cup his cheeks as you pulled him into the kiss.

Things quickly became heated as your lips moved against his, your hands eagerly roaming over his body. Xiao could feel the hunger in your embrace, the desire you radiated… He felt the same, overwhelmed by the nostalgic sense of comfort you gave him despite being a visionless mortal… You were someone Xiao never thought he would feel such a way about. Previously, he looked down on all humans because of their fragility and their brief lifespans, but you changed all of that with the way you seemed to run laps around him as you killed the monsters he was meant to be killing.

You grabbed onto Xiao’s wrist, forcing it against the wall above his head. The Yaksha let out the slightest gasp at your forceful action, his other hand sliding down your waist and gripping tight enough to turn your body when he slid one knee between your legs.

Your eyes went wide for a moment as he overpowered you, turning your body so now it was your back against the wall. You let go of his wrist in surprise, and he took that moment to pin your arms against the wooden wall.

However, you wouldn’t let yourself be overpowered so easily. With a grunt, you used one leg to kick at Xiao’s knee, destabilizing him and knocking him backward. As he fell, he let go of your arms which allowed you to snake one around the back of his head, cushioning his fall as you knocked him down to the floor.

You landed on top of Xiao, your arms and knees placed in a way where none of your weight was on him. You sat up on your knees and stared down at the blushing Yaksha as you began to undo your clothes.

“What are you d-”

“Take off your clothes, asshole.” You grumbled, throwing your shirt down on the floor.

When Xiao didn’t comply, and only looked up at you with a bewildered expression, you rolled your eyes and dipped your head back down to lock lips with him. Your hands roamed over his torso, sliding down to his waist, fingering at his belt.

Xiao froze as he felt your hand slip beneath the belt. You deftly undid the tie that held it together, allowing your hand to slide further down and palm his crotch.

“Ah-” Xiao’s eyes widened, a deep blush spreading across his cheeks.

You felt him twitch inside his pants, his member stiffening as your fingers ran across it.

Nobody had ever done this kind of thing to Xiao before. He didn't know how to act – his only knowledge of actions like this were from centuries ago, when he caught Menogias and Bonanus in a similar sort of position, clothes strewn aside… he didn’t understand the significance of such an act, only that it was an extremely private affair – and he didn’t stick around to find out.

So here, with your fingers wrapped around his stiffening cock, Xiao had no idea what to do. He felt a new sort of hunger take over his body as jolts of pleasure surged through his body, his kisses turning ravenous as you leaned down to devour his lips.

Xiao’s hands began to move on their own, undoing his clothes in the midst of your passionate embrace. You began to do the same, until all Xiao felt was the cold wooden floorboards and the heat of your bare skin against his.

You began to slide your hand up and down his member as you bit at his lips, making Xiao’s eyes squeeze shut as he shuddered with pleasure. His hips began to move in sync, shifting up and down against your strokes, trying to get even more motion from your movements.

You broke from the kiss, sitting back upright, sliding your hips forwards until they came to a rest with his throbbing member pressed against your entrance. Xiao looked up, taking his first glimpse at your naked form; he realized how much more beautiful you were without any clothes.

His eyes lingered on the curve of your neck, the tone in your shoulders, the faded battle scars that cut into your soft skin. He watched the way your arms and torso flexed as you moved, the ripple of muscle that was once hidden beneath clothes, the way your chest rose and fell with each breath you took. His eyes trailed up, trying to decipher the look in your eyes – desire, longing, sadness.

Xiao was wrenched away from his thoughts at a completely foreign sensation. You began to sink yourself down onto his cock, easing him into your hot entrance.

He gasped, his eyes rolling back in his head. He wanted to watch what you were doing, to see just how you could make him feel this good, but he couldn’t manage to focus. His mouth hung open, half-caught in a gasp. His hands fell limp to his sides as you seemed to take over his body with whatever magic you were doing.

You let out a groan as you sank further down his shaft, your walls quivering from the new stretch. You pushed down, gripping onto Xiao’s shoulders, your fingers digging into his bare skin.

“Ah-” Xiao murmured, the scratching of your nails making him snap back to reality. “What’s this-”

Again, Xiao was cut off as you rolled your hips, stirring your own insides with his twitching cock. He groaned, trying to keep his focus despite this ungodly sensation you were giving him.

Slowly, you began to rock back and forth, sliding yourself up and down his length. You leaned closer towards his face, lips brushing against his. Suddenly Xiao’s hands flew up to the back of your head to pull you into a fiercely passionate kiss. His teeth nipped at your lips, and you bit back, hard enough to draw blood.

Meanwhile, you continued to move, creating a steady pace of up and down. Heat began to build between the two of you, droplets of sweat beading on your bare skin as you fucked yourself on Xiao’s dick.

The Yaksha began to move in time, shifting his hips up and down to get more movement against his throbbing member. He shifted his hands up to your waist, beginning to move you as well, beginning to pant from the pleasure you were giving him.

Xiao began to rut his hips harder and harder against yours, your body beginning to bounce on top of him. Your walls tightened around him, and he let out a breathy whine from the sensation.

As pleasure began to overwhelm him, Xiao’s movements became choppy. You could tell he was on the precipice of orgasm – when Xiao’s hands moved down to your hips and his fingers dug into your skin, you stopped moving and simply stared down at his face. His hips tried to move again, but you had him pinned in place with your thighs pressed against his torso.

Xiao growled at the lack of movement.

This brought a smirk to your face, but it didn’t last long as Xiao quickly overpowered you.

He twisted his body to flip you around, and you suddenly found yourself on your back with Xiao hovering above you.

Xiao lined himself back up at your entrance, pressing into you without warning.

“Ah! Sh-shit, - Xiao!”

He didn’t respond, his fingers digging into the underside of your thighs as he pressed them against your chest. He began to thrust hungrily into you, controlled by the overwhelming desire that filled his body. You stared into his half-lidded eyes, watching the way his movements were almost animalistic above you.

“A- aah!” Your eyes began to lose focus as Xiao picked up his speed, his hips snapping against yours, lewd slapping filling the room.

Xiao’s movements were hungry, growing faster and faster, chasing a release that devoured any sense of restraint. You began to grow overwhelmed by the repeated hammering of his cock against your most sensitive parts.

He was becoming more aggressive, his hands pressing into your thighs until it bordered on pain, pinning you in place so he could thrust into you more easily. Your eyes began to roll into the back of your head as your mouth hung open, lewd moans and whimpers escaping your throat.

Xiao let out a growl as his movements became hungrier, more possessive, more aggressive.

The sounds of his cock bullying into you over and over made squelching and slapping noises that filled the room, mixing in with your gasps of pleasure.

“Ahh, Xiao…” You whined, squeezing your eyes shut and falling fully into the utter bliss he was giving you.

His fingers gripped into your legs even harder as his movements fell still, his hips settling against the plush of your ass.

You could feel his member twitch, followed by a rush of warmth, and you whimpered as you realized that he had just finished inside you… and that it felt good.

Xiao’s grip on your thighs relaxed as he blinked, realizing what the two of you had just done. He was a Yaksha plagued with Karmic Debt, harmful to any humans he came too close to… Including you. An immense wave of guilt washed over his body, making his heart wrench with grief.

“I… I’m sorry.” Xiao began to move backwards, pulling his member out of you.

“Wait.” You spoke, quickly moving your legs to wrap around his waist and stop him from backing away. Xiao froze, staring down at your flushed face. “Can we keep going?”

“You… You want me to stay?” Xiao questioned, baffled.

“Yes.” You responded.

Xiao didn’t need any further response from you. Once he realized you didn’t resent him for what he had just done, he lunged back towards you to hungrily devour your lips again.

With a new burst of strength, you sat upwards, grabbing onto his shoulders and flipping him over to pin him back down on the ground. You caught his lips with yours, teeth gnashing together as if you were trying to devour him.

At the same time, you shifted your hips to press Xiao’s quickly hardening dick back into your leaking entrance. You began to bounce fast, your legs straining as you forced yourself up and down him. You were hungry – desperate, even – for this.

Again, Xiao shifted his hips in sync with your movements, exaggerating the drag of his cock against your swollen and sensitive walls. You closed your eyes and dropped your head, trying your best to keep going as the pleasure in your core grew and grew.

The slapping of your hips against his grew wetter and wetter as you continued, the noises driving you further towards your climax. You could barely keep going, the coil in your abdomen tightening and tightening.

Xiao sensed this – his hands flew down to your waist, the snap of his hips becoming more and more aggressive as you fell fully into your impending orgasm.

As the coil finally snapped you threw your head back, crying out in pleasure as your walls convulsed around Xiao’s length.

Xiao groaned from the new sensation… it felt like you were trying to milk his next climax out of him.

The Yaksha stared up at the expression on your face, your head clouded by lust. The bandages on your arms began to slip down from the ferocity of your sexual act, revealing more of the angry red scars that marred your skin. The breath caught in his throat as he neared his climax, the lust overpowering all the guilt he felt for what his Karmic Debt had done to you.

Xiao pounded into you faster, harder, until he reached the precipice of his orgasm as well.

With something halfway between a cry and a whimper, he fell still, and you felt the familiar sensation of his climax spilling into you.

“Hah…a-ah..,” You murmured, your body relaxing, laying down on top of Xiao.

For a moment, everything in the room was quiet. All you could hear was the elevated breathing that came from the two of you and the rapid beating of your own heart.

You rested your head on Xiao’s shoulder, looking up at his face to see him staring blankly at the ceiling.

There was a perplexing expression on his face… You furrowed your brows as you stared closer, and realized it looked like tears were welling up in his eyes.

Xiao, for some reason, felt overwhelmed by everything that had happened. The way you had entered his life and turned it upside down, becoming his rival, then saving his life, and now he had just experienced something so profound and intimate for the first time with you.

“Are you… crying?” You questioned, picking your head up to stare down at the Yaksha.

“No. Adepti never show weakness in the form of tears.” Xiao responded bluntly. However, at the same time, you could clearly see a single tear spill over and trail down his face.

You reached a hand up and brushed it away with a bandaged finger, holding it up for Xiao to see.

“What’s this, then?” You asked.

Xiao looked at the wet spot on the bandage, then back to your face.

“The roof leaks.”

You chortled. Sparing a glance at the window, you could see the sunshine streaming through the curtains.

“Idiot.” A grin spread across your face as you stared down at him. Xiao merely blinked and looked to the side, more tears spilling from the corners of his eyes.

You laid a tender kiss on the wet trails his tears left down his cheeks then settled back down, resting your head on his shoulder once again.

For a couple of minutes, everything was silent. The two of you merely enjoyed each others’ presence, despite the fact that you were laying naked on the floor surrounded by long-forgotten clothes when there was a perfectly made bed only a couple of feet away.

After a while, Xiao cleared his throat and began to speak.

“I should, uhm.” Xiao paused for a moment, unsure of how to say what he was trying to say. “...remove myself from you, right?”

You realized his dick was still inside of you, and the two of you were just laying on the floor this way.

“N-no, let’s just stay like this a little longer.” You responded, hugging him slightly tighter.

~~~

A huge thanks to my beta readers for the help writing and the wonderful motivational xiao photo

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the-sweet-madame · 3 months

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"ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜɴꜱᴇᴛ ɪꜱ ᴘʀᴇᴛᴛʏ."(𝘟𝘪𝘢𝘰 𝘹 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳)

Warnings: Breaking down, crying.

Summary: Reader reaches her breaking point and Xiao is there to witness it. Pre-established relationship. Hurt/comfort.

Female reader! Happy reading <3

The cold breeze was harsh against her skin, the floor was even more freezing and hard. Her skin was littered with goosebumps as she let out a shaky breath.

Crystalline tears slid down her cheeks, her heart clenching as she sobbed. Expectations were far too high; how could she manage to reach every single one of them? She never wanted to disappoint people, but it becomes inevitable, the glances of pity and disappointment. How could she ever compare to the others? She was only human; she couldn't exist to be perfect. Yet everyone expected her to be with her high levels of skills. Every time she accomplished something great, they only desired more. If she wasn't able to give them what they wished for, they would turn their backs on her.

She tried. Again and again, but it was too hard. They were too demanding; she could only do so much with the level of her talents. She was just another talented person that has been drained from the very bottom. Is this what Xiao thought of her? Incompetent? She bit back a sob. Her own lover? The thought itself was wrenching her heart. He was immortal, he's obviously seen better people, no? People that she couldn't compare to even in the slightest. Did her ever think lowly of her? The tears were flowing like a raging waterfall at this very point, and she pulled her knees to her chest, resting her head on her knees.

A gloved hand tilted up her chin, gentle yet steadily. Honeyed eyes looking into her own, concern embedded with anger swirling in them. He was crouched down in front of her, on one knee. His voice was quiet yet fierce, his face stern yet so very worried.

"Who?"

She looked away. "No one."

Her voice was softer than the clouds, more delicate than a newly bloomed Glaze Lily.

"Then why?" He swiped a tear with his thumb as she gulped.

His gaze was intense, like the flames that enveloped buildings whole. He was patient but he obviously wanted a quick answer, even if he didn't show it.

Her heart got caught up in her throat as she sniffled.

“I- just overwhelmed.” She decided to say gently. “Things.”

He nods, not questioning her further and she was more than glad. She didn’t know how to put what she felt into words.

“How can I…assist?” He asks hesitantly, his voice softer.

Her tongue fumbled in her mouth, unsure if she wanted to bother him but she saw his eyes. His eyes that were filled with pure concern for her.

“Stay with me.”

He had seemed slightly taken aback; his eyes widened slightly. He looked into her teary eyes with a hint of fondness. He had sat down next to her but she could have sworn she saw a ghost of a small smile on his face.

It was subtle yet it was a lot to (Name). She couldn’t help but let the corners of her lips tug into a tiny smile through her tears as they slowed down.

“The sun has begun to set.” He announced, his voice quiet as she looked ahead.

The warm colours seeping into the sky, entangling with the stripes of azure as the blazing sun stared at them. It was pretty. But what really took her breath away was the softness in his eyes as he watched the sun sink slowly. His expression so very peaceful. It was a rare sight to witness. His hair swayed gently with the breeze; his lips slightly parted as he sat cross legged beside her. The sweet orange lighting had reflected on his face so bewitchingly, her thoughts of sadness began to disperse by just being within his presence.

It was as if he radiated warmth, she felt herself magnetising towards him. She steadily leaned her head on his shoulder, a small sigh emitting from her lips as she did so.

In any normal circumstances, he would have frozen but somehow her actions brought more tranquillity to his racing mind. He didn’t move or say a word, but they both knew her actions were welcomed.

“The sunset is pretty.” She said, her voice just over a whisper.

A sense of relief overcame him at the lack of sorrow within her tone although he remained stiller than a rock. He never was the one to feel hesitant but with her, he always remained more careful and a little more considerate. He may be reserved but that never meant he never said what was lingering on his mind. Yet he felt inwardly tentative, unfamiliar with speaking honeyed words. But for her, he wanted to try this once.

He silently took in a short breath before he spoke with his voice gentle. His tone subtly loving towards her.

“Perhaps but you are far more captivating than a mere sunset.”

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shotosjupiter · 5 months

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COLLEGE BOYZ !

featuring. albedo + xiao

𖤐 what these nerds would be like in college. [gn!reader. mentions of food.]

𖤐 xiao would major in computer science. tell me he doesn’t act like a computer science major. you can’t. he spends hours in his dorm just trying to figure out what’s wrong with his code only to find out it was the small semicolon he added by accident. (you hear his screams of rage from across halls.

𖤐 don’t get him wrong - he’s one of those computer science majors that does actually shower (he actually has this lovely floral cologne he puts on and you swear it smells like heaven itself).

𖤐 he’s a big fan of study dates, he works on his assignments and you do yours. “being alone without being lonely,” he had said with a smile.

𖤐 that is to say - he does get distracted on these dates. after each assignment he’ll turn towards you, eyes pleading for a kiss as reward for his productivity. those kisses turn into two, then three, and then… the work gets forgotten as a whole.

𖤐 a side note but his hands are so so pretty - so when he’s doing work on a computer/laptop, his hands just look so pretty. they’re nimble and they’ll hold your face oh so gently right before he kisses you.

𖤐 during finals and midterms season, he’ll make sure to take care of you to make sure you’re not overloading yourself amidst your studying. he’ll bring you things like soup, sandwiches, your favorite snacks. not only food but small self-care things such as face masks, maybe a new jacket or cardigan, new cologne, or just a puzzle for you to do together during some down-time!

𖤐 he’ll mainly be found wearing hoodies and sweats - he can’t really be bothered putting in too much effort especially when he’s running on such little sleep. on days that he does try, he goes all out. eyeliner, button down shirts and vests that compliment the physique of his body perfectly.

𖤐 as a whole, a lovely boyfriend and would treat you so so good as you go through your uni years <3

𖤐 albedo would be a chemistry major. no doubt about it, he would spend hours finishing his lab assignment to perfection (no -200% errors here!).

𖤐 he’s the type of guy to have an absolutely stacked schedule. he’s a T.A. for an intro to chem I class, he’s a tutor for the general science courses at the library, he’s taking 18 credits, he’s president of two clubs, and yet he still makes space in that hectic schedule for you.

𖤐 albedo is the type to drag you along with him to his classes when he can’t find the time to plan dates. he’ll take you with him to his 8 a.m lecture all the way to his 5 p.m discussion class. as long as he gets to spend time with you, no matter the setting, he’s a happy guy.

𖤐 often times he just stays in your apartment/dorm for days. he’ll come by after his classes and just take a nap in your very own bed. you’ll find him studying with his papers splayed all across the floor of your room.

𖤐 in the times where he’s staying in your dorm all the time he is so clingy. he’ll be fiddling with your fingers as he studies, have his body wrapped around yours while he writes out the new club activity. when he gets his moments of free time, he will shower you in so many kisses.

𖤐 the type to kiss you everywhere before kissing your lips. he kisses your cheek, your nose, your eyelids, eyebrows, and then finally, your lips.

𖤐 he dresses himself very academic like - button downs and slacks, sweater vests and loafers. he’ll carry around a leather satchel instead of a backpack. his fingers adorn a ring or two always (one of those being the promise rings you exchanged on your first year anniversary).

𖤐 if he ever sees that you are stressing yourself our for an exam or anything of the sort, he’ll go through a list of steps to calm you down. he’ll offer his supper always and try his best to help you study in the best manner while also ensuring you get breaks and allow yourself rest. he suggests walks together in times like these.

𖤐 albedo as your uni boyfriend would be one big nerd, but one big loveable nerd.

#— writings.#xiao x reader #xiao x y/n #xiao x you #alatus x reader #xiao fanfic #xiao x traveler #albedo x reader #albedo x you #albedo x y/n #albedo fanfic #genshin x reader #genshin x you #genshin fluff

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miokki · 1 month

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# RIBBONS OF AFFECTION

✰ synopsis: xiao’s small act of showing affection and a larger encounter.

✰ paring: xiao x gn!reincarnated!reader

✰ warnings: crying ig and past lives

✰ notes: tbh i no idea what this fic is about. it was supposed to be about ribbons but it turned into reincarnation??

XIAO is rather shy by nature—blood quickly rushes to his ears whenever he gets flustered, even by the most simple gestures. this time is no exception, as xiao is picking out flowers for you. the feeling of the flower store has always had this moist atmosphere, yet it feels best during the morning; right when the last of the dews drip off the leaf.

as he enters, the bell attached to the door rings alerting the woman behind the forest green counter, who only smiles before looking back down at the materials in front of her. the store is decorated in colours and life, with flowers on one side displayed in the window and a longer area full of blooms to his right. the blossoms being the brighter shades that human life seems to be afraid of nowadays, the shades dance in front of xiao as he continues to stare.

in truth, he has very limited experience with flowers and its symbolism; less is known about how much you like flowers. yet, xiao isn’t known to ask and only hopes that you’ll understand the vision as he admires the beauty of the them—each petal handled with such delicateness and care. yet, his mind swiftly switches to you and the way you handle him—like porcelain, like glass. that’s what your touch feels like. your skin on his is a hot fire burning on his, yet it’s gentle. in a way that makes him feel that no one has been kind to him—at least not before you.

he wishes there were more to convey his ocean like affections for you, something that meant his life long oath to you. yet, you wouldn’t agree such a thing, he thinks. he finds it strange humans, your kind, can be the same yet completely different. he’s seen humans that want the world, but seem to only want to love him and live knowing your boyfriend loves you back.

“excuse me?” he asks quite meekly to the florist standing by the counter.

the florist gaze meets his, “mm, how can i help?” her smile glows as she disregards the floral foam and roses in front of her.

“what flowers would you recommend, for my partner?” he replies.

her smile widens, and xiao tenses as she moves from behind the counter and towards him. however, he soon relaxes, his shoulders now sitting in a comfortable position as she speaks purely of her craft. xiao watches as she points to all different shades, some of of white, some of red. yet, it still leaves him feeling clueless and embarrassed. it isn’t long before, the florist is stumped. simply unsure of what other flowers could the man want.

“i’m sorry for troubling you,” xiao says, sounding incredibly apologetic.

“nono, you’re fine. it’s not everyday someone shows up with a challenge.” the florist panics as her hand waved in the morning air before she turns back to grab a book and pencil. “tulips.. no, maybe something else.” she turns the page. “we’ve gone over liles… ahah, what about some chrysanthemums?” she turns her head to xiao and xiao tilts his.

“those white ones over there,” she directs, pencil hanging out of her mouth as her finger lifts up to point the white flowers sitting on the middle shelf. yet before xiao can get a closer look, the light wood from her lips drops and her hands start to shake from her joy. “oh my! i have some leftover carnations in the back. give me a second, i have a really cute idea.” then she starts to run off.

it’s not long after that she comes back out of the storeroom with a bunch of white chrysanthemums, pink carnations and a hand full of baby breath, along with rolls of paper and ribbon all wrapped in her arms. a smile spread across her tan skin, and her rosy cheeks bright and clear in the sun as the materials land on the wooden surface.

it isn’t long before the range of flowers transforms into bouquet, lands in xiao’s callused palms and is paid for in full. however, the bunch of petals doesn’t leave the store without a series of thank you’s, smiles and goodbye’s before xiao exits. the bell ringing behind him as he walks along the streets of liyue. internally smiling to himself as he travels back home.

“xiao?” your voice rings in his ears.

you grip onto the tote bag’s handle resting on your right shoulder as you lift off the heels of your shoes. a shocked look splattered on your boyfriend’s features as you speed toward him, the stone under your feet scratching against the soles of your shoes. fresh morning air spreads across your face while you loose the distance between the two of you.

“hun, i’ve been wondering where you’ve been all morning. i was worried,” you say to his face before looking down at his left hand. “oh, are those mums?” you point at the white flowers.

“chrysanthemums? yes, do you not like them?” your lover’s eyes displays a thousand words, years of worry in them, as he stumbles over the word ‘chrysanthemums’. it’s endearing.

you can’t help but panic all the same, “nono, i love them, their beautiful. but how come your look disappointed?” you question, staring at the somber look in his golden eyes.

“i wanted to surprise you. i hadn’t anticipated that you would go out to find me.” the discontent takes a spotlight in the pools of gold and stars.

oh. perhaps you should just pretend to be blind and walk—

“i mean you still can, i’ll just pretend i never saw you this morning and—“ you begin to walk back in the direction you came from yet don’t make it far. you barely get two feet away before your wrist is used to tug you back to him.

he pushes the flowers towards you, “i want you to have them now, even if it didn’t go to plan. i should of known, i’m always meant to find you in every lifetime.”

you take a step forward as you hear a break in xiao’s voice, your lips closing in on the side of his porcelain face. you place a gentle smiled kiss on his skin before taking the bouquet from his grasp. you stop. you stare and admire it for its beauty. yet your eyes catch onto the pink ribbon loosely wrapped and tied into a pretty bow around the pieces of paper and parchment that hold the stems. it only takes a moment and a half for your fingertips to caress the thin, long line of closely woven fabric and to tug it undone. a long line now in your hold along with the bouquet.

“here, give me your hand.” you gesture towards his left as you lift your right towards his.

your boyfriend holds up his pinky as you lift your own, carefully placing the bouquet in between your arm and you side. xiao watches intently as you wrap the ribbon around his finger twice and tie it off with a knot before doing the same to your own pink before tying it off with a bow. the sun shines in your eyes as the ribbon between creates a curve.

“here, i know we can’t see it normally but it isn’t just you that finds me, i chase after you too. i found you here after you disappeared this morning. and in every life time this ribbon will lead us both to each other, in all my life times. you’re not alone xiao, i’m here now at the very least.” you reassure, combing back his green toned hair out of his face.

he can’t help but laugh. he smiles. xiao smiles so brightly that you can watch the moment his eyes start to shine with tears. yet the moment the tears starts to roll, you pull him straight into your embrace, rubbing his back and whispering your affections for him.

do not copy or repost any of my works.

@ miokki 2024

#genshin fanfic #genshin fluff #genshin impact #genshin x reader #miokki #xiao fluff #genshin x gn reader #genshin xiao #xiao x reader #genshin xiao x reader #xiao fanfic #genshin imagines #genshin x you #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact xiao

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shiro-00s · 9 months

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heaven on earth

41. one step closer .. !

[ genshin impact smau / idol!xiao x fem!reader ]

The sky was pretty, especially today. There were a few lanterns that were already up in the sky, illuminating the sky with spots of yellow here and there. The festival had a ton of small festive shops, selling traditional masks, and a few fun games. All leading up to the main attraction. The stage.

Among all the attractive stores, nothing could take away the glory that the stage presents, the kind that catches everyone’s eyes. It stood tall among the festival, a view you could see from any angle, and was included in every selfie taken.

The outdoor concert had a whole area to itself, a space waiting to be filled with loads and loads of people, and you had no doubt that it would be filled to the brim. The stage lights illuminate the large stage in the center of the space, giving the platform a much-needed spotlight. A few speakers that looked like they could destroy an eardrum were placed on the stage along with fog machines.

You nervously handed the staff the ticket gifted by your dear friend, Hutao, who you really wanted to strangle because of the dilemma she put you in, an all-or-nothing. You’d have given them a heads up, telling them to meet up with you but you hadn’t contacted a single soul about you coming to this concert.

Why? You had a huge ego. And you really, really didn’t want anyone to know that you were going to Xiao’s concert.

After the whole fiasco with Xiao-Yujin, the internet was skeptical, rightfully, due to it coming from PAIMON, who was the master at making things up. You were skeptical as well, but you were petty and you didn’t really want to go out of your way to ask him. Well, you’re doing it now.

So, after making up your mind about coming to Xiao’s concert - which took a long time - you reluctantly came to the concert with the words Hutao told you lingering in the back of your mind.

It’s about honoring his lost companions.

When the staff had verified your ticket, you looked around for something to do before the concert started. In an attempt to distract yourself, you found a small store that sold and taught the art of crocheting. Well, it does look cute. Why not?

A lady in her early 40s greeted you kindly, a gentle smile on her face as she showed you around the neat stall. When you seemed a little too puzzled, she asked, “Are there any crocheted flowers you’re looking for, dear?”

You blinked. Oh, that startled you.

You didn’t think the lady was one to talk but it seemed you were wrong. Shaking your head, you replied with a small ‘I’m afraid not.’ and a sheepish grin. The lady hummed at your response, looking around at her flowers before finally asking, “Who are you planning to give it to?”

You inhale, “Do you think I’m going to give it to someone?” Chuckling, your eyes scanned around for a simple flower, or anything pretty really, you didn’t mind. Since the lady was nice, you’d give it a shot, for her sake. You’ll give it to Hutao or Xiangling. Whatever.

The nice lady smiled, looking as if she was feeling some nostalgia before saying, “I’m well aware of the look in your eyes. I had the same one when I was your age, you know? Those longing eyes as if you’re waiting for someone.”

Suddenly you wish you didn’t enter this store or come to this festival.

Relaxing your shoulders and neck, you hunched down a little to stare at the flower that caught your eyes at the bottom of the stall.

“I don’t know. Really.”

The lady beside you crouched down to the same level as you, resting her face on her hand as she smiled a little before pointing at the flowers your eyes laid upon.

“Those are hyacinthus. If we’re talking about Greek mythology, Hyacinth is a divine hero who falls in love with Apollo and chooses him over 3 other beings.” She paused, picking up the hyacinthus and grabbing your wrist gently with her free hand.

“But eventually, he was killed accidentally by Apollo. Then he was resurrected again, by his lover and was gifted with immortality as well.” She let the flowers fall into your hands softly, the three crochet hyacinth flowers laying atop each other.

“That’s why its symbolism is devotion beyond the depths of life and death.”

Over the next thirty minutes, more people arrived at the festival along with the concert. The empty space from before had transformed into a mob of people. If you lose something here, you’re never getting it back. That’s why you held onto the flowers with a tight grip even if you didn’t have plans to give them to anyone. Totally.

Your hands were clammy from having to glance around you every 5 seconds in case one of your friends saw you. To say that you were dreading meeting them was an understatement. You’d dig the floor and bury yourself alive if they saw even a glimpse of you.

Reaching for your phone to look at the clock, the sound of a loud screeching noise reached your ears. The noise of microphone feedback alerted everyone to the beginning of a thrilling performance. The anticipation in the air was visible, and the atmosphere filled with excitement and eagerness of the crowd.

The beam lights lit up one after another from the left to the right, the floodlights following right after. The stage, the one piece of art that held the attention of everyone, was then adorned with shining bright lights. The soft glow highlighted the display of the new presence.

Along the stage stood four well-known individuals, the spotlights captured each artist in their glory, possessing an aura demanding attention. The crowd erupted into applause and gasps, the wildness they’ve been since the start. The presence of each spoke volume, all of which were hard to ignore. Each of them had a headset engraved to the side of their face around the ear and the mic extending to their lips. Their outfits are all unique and well-planned, matching the theme of the festival by adding a little bit of gold and black, which complemented their bodies greatly. Especially, Xiao, you think. You’re caught off-guard when the familiar dark-haired man’s head twisted and turned, almost as if he was looking for something - someone. You felt a little satisfied at the sight, the gears turning in your head even if you’re not too sure.

The soft sound of the instruments started to play in the background almost immediately, catching the audience by surprise. The first voice to speak is a feminine voice. Confusion erupted in the audience as none of the mouths on the stage looked as though they were moving.

That was until a certain figure walked onto the stage. Yunjin was dressed with a black corset above her black crop top that seemed to hug her curves well. Her skirt was adorned with golden trinkets and intricate patterns. On top of her clothing, she wore multiple accessories that matched the outfit significantly with her pastel-colored headband of flowers and a short warm white scarf around her neck.

Other voices joined in soon yet your attention laid still on one specific person, one you’re unable to tear your eyes away from. Even as people around you started to bump lightly into you from swaying to the music, your eyes refused to move from the spot they had settled on. Xiao and his pretty, pretty eyes.

His body moved along with the beats of the song, lips softly opening and closing as he sang with his members. Wearing a dark-colored jacket, his clothing is layered with another white button-up shirt underneath and if you looked very closely, you might just be able to see his abs - okay, enough. The point is, you’ve never appreciated someone as much as you did with the person who arranged Xiao’s outfit because the conclusion is that you had never seen anyone as majestic as Xiao and you didn’t believe you ever will for the rest of your life.

Even his navy slacks looked perfect while he danced to the choreography which you believed was carefully planned, anyone could tell even if they didn’t know anything about dancing. You’re not sure how he moved with those slightly heeled boots or shoes, you don’t know and you don’t care. The question is how he moved so smoothly even with those heavy shoes that you knew you would fall and trip on if you wore them?

When your eyes returned to his golden ones, you noticed the pupils shooting in all directions, searching the VIPS, the front, the reserved, the platinum, the platinum plus - you get the point.

You doubted he would be able to spot you in this… what? Fifty thousand hoards of people? That’s an estimate but it was way too crowded and even though your spot wasn’t too far from the stage, he wouldn’t be able to possibly find you like this, right?

Yea, wrong. Because as soon as your thought process ended, the flash of golden eyes seemed to glance across your own and stopped for more than a second - before seemingly relaxing and tearing his gaze away. Though it was just a moment, everything had started to drown out in the background, going quiet before all you can think about is - Xiao, Xiao, Xiao.

After snapping out of your thoughts, one thing you can confirm after listening to the lyrics and melody was that it was indeed a rather solemn story that had been turned into a song. It matched the description that Hutao told you about. The need to comfort Xiao clawed at the back of your throat. You’d have to hold it back until the concert ended. Wait, what?

No, the plan was to watch and leave. But… ahaha.

The concert seemed to pass like a blur in your memories, your lack of focus only helped in not being aware of your surroundings because - oops, you just bumped into some crazily tall dude with hair longer than half of your body? Those odd professional clothing made him look wild but weirdly cool, but to be real, why did he choose them out of everything to wear to a concert? Multiple layers of different shades of brown and a mix of white or gray in this humid and stifling atmosphere.

He seemed more shocked than you it seems, but you’re sure it’s not your clothes because he was looking straight at your face, not your outfit. The brown-haired ponytailed man opened his mouth to speak to you, which is odd because you didn’t know this man, did you?

“Is your name, [name], by any chance? Which, of course, if it’s not, you’re free to say so.”

Okay. Definitely a stalker or something, run.

In contrast to your light-speed thoughts, your body stood still in its spot, not making any attempt to move. Then, against your better judgment, you muttered, “Yea, who are you?”, accompanied by a raise of your brow and a step back.

At your response, his lips seemed to quirk up, a ghost of a heartwarming smile on his face as he reached a hand out to you.

“I go by Zhongli, may I have a moment with you, [name]?”

On the other hand, the concert had just ended. The fatigue and a thirst for water washed over Xiao quickly as he rushed to grab a bottle before trying to slip away to find… someone.

However, a deep voice reached his ears, “Xiao! Don’t go yet, wait for a while!”

God he wished he could just turn around and punch the smiling ginger head waving at him from across the backstage, he had had enough of Childe and him intervening. A sign came from Xiao before he turned back to Childe, mind racing for an excuse so that he can leave him behind and slip away to find you. Just as Xiao’s lips parted, Childe had taken the initiative.

“Before you say anything, I know where you’re going, who you’re planning to find, what you’re going to do.”

That shut Xiao up even if it wasn’t like Xiao was a particularly talkative person. His brow twitched at the knowledge the older male had, annoyance dripping from his tone as he spoke.

“Okay? Bye then.”

Xiao turned away to walk towards the decreasing crowd, grieving the time that he lost spent with Childe. At his actions, the ginger sighed, long and exasperated. Not having the energy to physically deal with Xiao, he decided to use his words, “Zhongli said he told her to go to the place, that place. You know what I’m talking about.”

Pause.

“Are you fucking with me right now?”

Xiao believed wholeheartedly he had never felt emotions on this level. Hell, he never really felt any more than annoyance like this. Xiao thinks you’ve been changing him. Little by little, piece by piece, he’ll become an ordinary person going about with his day. Just like how they would’ve wanted.

Shaking away his thoughts, he took small steps towards the area informed by Childe just a moment ago and a while ago through dms when he asked Childe for vacant places with a magnificent view. He didn’t know whether he wanted to run there, reach out for you and just stare at you for a good while or walk slow, slow steps, so that his hopes didn’t get crushed by the possibility that you didn’t listen to Zhongli.

The grass tickled the black shoes that he changed to after the concert due to the initial pair of boots literally being impossible to walk with. The wind is gentle, the view is just as he had described to Childe, ethereal. But, maybe not more than you.

Liyue as a whole could be seen from this spot in the mountains, the warm yellow lights from lanterns illuminating the dark sky and the city, the city he never thought could look this breathtaking. Shivers went down his spine as he continued to look around. The night looked especially pretty tonight.

Just as he thought he wouldn’t be able to find anything prettier on this extraordinary night, an almost silent sound of rustling nearby. When he looked up, sweet amber eyes met your wide ones. An expression of relief fell on his face as his eyes scanned you. Then, he concluded that maybe, he had a special view specifically meant for him. You looked divine.

Wait. What? You guys were friends, he shouldn’t have such thoughts. Do friends think of each other this way? Ugh, his head is spinning.

After a moment, you reached your hand out to gesture at him to take a seat beside you on the green grass. He hesitantly took his spot beside yours, shuffling to make himself comfortable as he admired the view.

Silence took over soon after, both too hesitant and unknowing of what to say, and what not to say. But then again, with this view, on this night, on the top of this little hill, it felt right. It felt right that he knew he couldn’t mess up, this could be an ultimate moment for the two of you. A memory to make.

“[Name], you listened to the song I sang earlier.”

Confusion was etched on your face as you turned your head to face the dark-haired man, blinking rapidly at him before responding with a small nod.

“I wrote it. About the people who were- are special to me.” It’s hard opening up to people. He cringed at the mistake he made with that sentence. Although, he couldn’t really call it a mistake, could he?

“I lived in an orphanage once, along with four other kids who were older than me. That time I was like how I am now, quiet, but they got me to open up in a short time.” Xiao’s slender fingers curled up against the grass, looking solemn as he continued. “Especially the oldest one there, Bosacius.”

Your heart warmed up at his words, brushing your knuckles against his curled-up hand in an attempt to bring comfort to him. You had not heard about his life before, and it hurt to know that he went through hard times. You tilted your head to the side a little, an invitation for him to continue.

He cleared his throat before gazing back at the lanterns slowly rising to reach out to the sky, “They were everything to me, my family. Along with Zhongli, who was the one that helped fund us and visited us a lot. Madame Ping, too. She was our caretaker. Apparently, Zhongli was friends with her, I learned that later on.”

Xiao breathed a long breath before continuing with his talking. You were happy to get to know his found family, but he looked sorrowful as he talked. Maybe something bad happened between them?

“It was the best of times, but good things never last.” This time, his words were muttered, and quieter, as if he was trying to stop himself from speaking.

“Our house. It got caught on fire.” Xiao took a big breath before concluding, “They, uhm, didn’t make it out. Was it some electrical fault? I didn’t bother to remember. I was too shocked to think.” Your eyes widened, you didn’t expect him to drop a bomb on you like that. You couldn’t muster up a reply to something like that. So instead of a verbal response, you hesitantly uncurled his fisted fingers and laced yours through them, stroking his skin with your palm.

Xiao took your physical touch as a sign of showing your condolences without pitying him. His heart warmed at the thought, heart beating a little faster. “Bosacius carried me from our bedroom to the hallway with the entrance. He was trying to do the same for others, too. But it didn’t work out quite well.” The last words were whispered, his head hunched down to his knees.

You tightened your grip on your laced fingers, bumping his shoulder with yours as you finally mustered up something to say to Xiao - for the first time today. “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry that happened to you.” Tone softening to accommodate the solemn atmosphere and an attempt to say something meaningful to him after he opened up to you. That explains the song, too.

Unexpectedly, Xiao turned to you with a refreshed look on his face, as he - out of nowhere - asked, “Did you enjoy the concert?” Like a lost puppy, his eyes stared into your shocked ones. After a few moments of silence, you decided on the best answer you can come up with.

“Yeah, you were awesome.” From bumping your shoulders to leaning your head slightly on his shoulder, sure it's a big leap. But, you didn’t receive any sort of rejection from the male beside you. On the other hand, his heart rate told you a different story. His usually steady heart rate had turned more erratic, you couldn't blame him either when your own matched his unsteady beats.

"That PAIMON tweet is an exaggeration." Xiao muttered into the silence of the air. At those unexpected words, you laughed wholly, as if you couldn't guess that already. But oh well, his reassurance did sound nice. Xiao was in his own little world, his thoughts consisted of how nice and soothing the sound of your sweet laughter was. A small smile bloomed onto his pretty face, watching you smile back at him with a grin.

A night has never felt more meaningful than it did now, with your head on his shoulder and a cute smile on your face directed at him, Xiao wouldn't have it any other way. And if there's one thing Xiao concluded from today, it was that he was in love with a certain gremlin.

"Oh! Here, I almost forgot." Golden eyes blinked at the crocheted hyacinthus between your fingers, glancing between the flowers and you. Exasperated at his obliviousness, you gestured for him to take them, quirking up a brow.

He suddenly seemed flustered as he shyly took the flowers from your hand, mumbling a "Thank you…?"

A sudden urge to make him more flustered crossed your mind.

"You should search up the meaning of hyacinthus later, by the way."

Xiao gulped before nodding his head slightly, looking back up at the now empty sky. He seemed to only realize now how much time has actually passed.

"Oh, shall we leave?" You mumbled, bringing up your phone from your pocket before looking at the time and collecting your things laying around on the grass. Xiao stood up before you, standing in front of you as he sheepishly reached out his hand to you - for what? The third time today?

You shook your head lightly, laughing slightly before placing your hand on his open ones as he lifted you up.

"What a gentleman."

heaven on earth - 41. one step closer

previous | masterlist | next

synopsis ; 🗝️ — in which you befriend your next door neighbour who, unbeknownst to you, was apart of a soon-to-be one of the most popular bands throughout liyue. you're unable to tell if cupid was helping you or not when things with xiao kept going up and down. will he continue to keep his secret from yours truly?

NOTE — new chapter will be out soon bcs no more written portion for a while (ive said this like 4 times and they never go as planned 🤗🤗) !!@!@! yipee. anyways since he realized his shit its easy here on out 😝😝 rikkyu is not [name] btw her user is just that bcs i got too lazy to give her a proper one mb

TAGLIST#1 [OPEN] — @mikctp @ghostlysyntaxed @kazemiya @nnasv @gojoandelsalovechilde @candy-purple-cyanide @kissingkzuha @zyilas @lunaavity @luminescent-light @mave-in @rizakari @riikyu @kokoscutie @starsxnight @sketcheeee @softlie @izakyun @xiaxilia @the-sweet-madame @rifran @milkwithspiceyicecubes @coffeethoughtsandanxiety @rxkan7 @goodthingimsam @pomeiu @fogturtle @farelady-fate @tzu-scara143 @wonderful-worlds @cianalikesbeans @h3xi2g0n3 @jasxiao2317 @rosaryia

(ask to be added)

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bedoballoons · 6 months

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─⊰⁠⊹ฺ🎃𝔾��𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤⊰⁠⊹ฺ🎃

{༻~Kissing a monster~༺}

CW: Characters are different types of monsters! GN! Reader, mentions of blood because vampires, some characters are considered dead, descriptions of making out, some characters are a little rough, Neuvillette doesn't wear alot of clothing, may be a little ooc!

(Pet names: Lyney: Mon amour, my love, Albedo: Dearest, Neuvillette: Play thing, beautiful!)

A/n: Talking a little break from requests (sorry) to write some self indulgent spooky stuff! I hope you enjoy!! Sorry it's a late post!!

(Includes: Lyney, Albedo, Xiao, and Neuvillette!)

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

𑁍༄Lyney: (~Vampire~)

Lyney bit his lip, watching intensely as your crimson blood ran down the tip of your finger, dripping onto the ground by his feet with the quietest of splashes that rang much louder in his trained ears. He didn't want to hurt you, but his sharp teeth ached for a taste...just a drop, "Lyney? You okay? You're not one of those people who faints at the sight of blood right?"

His violet eyes, now tinted with a bright red, met yours...scanning your lips and neck, all the way back to your small cut, "I...please forgive me mon amour.." You gave him a curious look, about to question what on earth he had done that needed to be forgiven, when his hand grabbed your wrist, his tongue sliding across your finger, licking your blood away while you watched completely shocked and blushed.

"L-lyney?!?"

Just that little bit had his mind dazed, never in his life had he tasted something so incredible as you before, it was like he'd broken away from his normal self, became a beast as pulled you close to him and kissed you roughly, hands sliding up your body in haste. "Let me have more of you my love~"

𑁍༄Albedo: (~Vampire~)

Albedo wasn't sure what had changed in him, what had made your lips taste like candy...so addictive he couldn't get enough, what had changed his normally gentle touches into harsh ones that made him seem more and more desperate for you, what made his sharp teeth cutting your bottom lip open seem like a spark to starting a lustful fire.

He lifted you onto his desk, your thighs wrapped around his waist tightly as sucked on your tongue and drank up every single drop of your delicious blood as if he had been starved, the kiss only growing more heated as he groaned into your hot mouth. He needed more, but it was already taken everything in him to not move to your neck, he was getting to excited, he should pull away...

"D-dearest maybe we s-shouldn't-" He pulled away in a attempt to calm himself, but you didn't let him leave you long enough to even finish his sentence, your hand gripped the front of his shirt, pulling him back into the kiss...he'd started it after all~

𑁍༄Xiao: (~Grim Reaper~)

You touched Xiaos cheek, the thick fabric of his hood rubbing the back of your hand as if it was reminding you what he was...a collector of souls, someone who could end your life at any moment. His touch could even potentially be dangerous to you and yet here you were, standing by cemetery in the middle of the night with him, hoping to have just one of his poisonous kisses.

"You shouldn't....we shouldn't be together. I'm... not good for you..." He tried to persuade you to leave, wanting nothing more than for you to be safe, his grip on his scythe tightening protectively, but your lips met his anyway. It was like the rest of the world faded away, fog gathering at your feet and the full moon shining down on you as his free hand wrapped around your waist...this was a risk you simply had to take.

"You're going to be the end of me..."

𑁍༄Neuvillette: (~Siren~)

You felt almost dizzy, following what seemed to be the voice of a angel that sung to you, calling you to them with every verse. How had you ended up in a cave in the dead of night...sea water swishing around your feet and the cold making your whole body shiver, why were you still going forward...

"Well look at you, aren't you a beautiful being, please come closer~" The voices abrupt change in pitch had you frantically searching around until finally you caught sight of him, long white hair flowing all the way to the ground, his body mostly exposed with only ocean items used as clothing...however what had you truly entranced were his bright almost glowing eyes that lingered on you almost threateningly.

You couldn't run away even if you wanted to, your legs carrying you closer to him, making you kneel in front of him while he smirked slightly. "How long has it been since I had a play thing as goregous as you, I wonder if you taste as good as you look..." He curled a finger under your chin, forcing you to look up at him while his lips met yours...it was cold but you couldn't get enough. Whatever spell he had put on you...was more than working...

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

◥(•̀￦•́)◤☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 ☾𖤓~Have a spooky day~*⁠.⁠✧

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etsuven · 2 years

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pretty dumb boy (part 1) rating: smut characters: xiao, diluc, kaeya cw: jealous behavior (diluc, kaeya) includes: denial, overstimulation, 'toy' usage, cursing, bondage, male receiving! penetration (diluc), (kaeya), crying (kaeya) summary: you have the smartest boyfriend, but sometimes it's kind of fun to... dumb him down a bit. note: i was originally supposed to have six characters here, but then i checked the word count and realized that it was over 2.2k... also it's late and i've been writing this for days... anyways, i hope you guys enjoy the first part!!!

xiao

you and xiao were having a cute little picnic date on the hidden, mini balcony of the wangshu inn. you were chatting about your day, and xiao was enjoying his almond tofu, letting out little 'mhmm's' to let you know he was still listening.

it was a lovely evening, and the sun had begun to set in the seemingly nearby horizon. xiao was planning on going back on patrol in a bit, but you couldn't just let your pretty boy leave you without a kiss :(

little did either of you know, that little peck turned into another one, and then another one, and maybe a few more... until he was nestled into your lap, tongues intertwined and moaning softly into the cool breeze.

"(y-y/n), i have to... ngh- patrol..." xiao spoke in between kisses, his hands clutching at your shoulders. you squeezed at his hips, maneuvering yourselves so that you were now hovering on top of him. "but you're always so busy, sweetheart... let me take care of you for a bit..."

you trailed your kisses down xiao's jaw, nibbling slightly at the soft flesh as he whimpered in your ear. his leg wrapped around your waist, pulling you down and groaning once your hips met his. hmm, he gave in rather quick.

"m-make it quick," he cut himself off with another whimper, throwing his head back in pleasure when your hand brushed over his cock through his pants. "there's a lot- ah!- for me to do-" you let out a laugh, sucking at a sensitive spot on xiao's neck as you pulled his pants down.

"i can't guarantee it."

and that's how you ended up with a super sensitive xiao an hour later, his hips bucking into your hand as he desperately pleaded for you to let him cum. his face was hidden, loud moans muffled in your neck. xiao was never one to be on the louder side, but sometimes when you pushed the right buttons, that would all change.

"p-please, i can't!" he groaned, clutching at the blanket under you as he thrusted faster into your hand. his pretty face was flushed, and you had to admit- red looked quite nice on him. "let me cum, (y/n), please!"

xiao couldn't think straight at all. his head was all fuzzy, and the only things he could focus on were your hand on his cock and the hope that, if he begged enough, maybe you would finally fulfill his wish.

diluc

angel's share. the lovely little tavern that diluc owned and bartended at. the place was normally very loud during the hours where it was open, and it would only really get quiet once everyone was gone.

earlier in the night, you had decided to stop by to help clean and keep diluc company as he took note of everything. during your unplanned visit, you had noticed donna getting... rather close with your boyfriend.

not too close, as she was restricted by the bar in front of him, but she made up for the space with her flirting. lots and lots of flirting... you were tempted to do something about it, but diluc seemed to handle it quite well.

the flirting was spurred on by donna's drunkenness, which diluc figured out quickly. she confessed her love for him a few times, which amused you as you knew that diluc only had eyes for one person.

he restricted her alcohol intake soon after, telling donna that she was quite drunk and that she needed to go home and rest. after a bit of persuasion, she finally left. you were -of course- relieved, as you didn't have to deal with someone flirting with your lover.

the night ended without any other mishaps, surprisingly so. even venti was quite tame. you spent the time after hours helping diluc clean, all while thinking of a way to reward diluc for his efforts...

"donna was... something tonight, wasn't she?" you spoke up, putting a now dry glass to the side before picking up another one to take care of. diluc rolled his eyes, an amused look on his face as he watched you dry the last glass. "perhaps i should have declined to give her more alcohol earlier."

you glanced at him, taking note of how good he looked tonight. pretty red hair in a high ponytail, a short sleeve shirt that showed off his arms... walking up to him, you placed your hands on his hips, pulling him close to your body. his cheeks flushed, and a pretty little smirk showed on his face before you leaned in, pressing your lips against his.

somehow, around half an hour later, diluc was being bent over the bar and fucked by your strap/cock. your simple little kiss turned into a makeout session with diluc pressed against the bar and your fingers tangled into his hair. and after that, it turned into him being fucked.

how did that happen?

“you did good handling donna, my love…” you had to admit, she had quite the confidence confessing her love for diluc almost every chance she got. she was definitely better than you when you had begun falling for the pyro user. you were all shy and stuff, but a sudden burst of confidence made you confess that fateful day.

diluc let out a whine at your praise, red hair falling around him and on the bar as he moaned loudly. he tried to hide them every once in a while, but he always stopped once you managed to hit that sensitive spot in him.

you looked down at the man, entranced by how gorgeous he looked in that moment. “she doesn’t get to fuck you like this, does she?” diluc shook his head, more moans falling out of his mouth as he grasped at the bar top.

“she doesn’t get to watch you fall apart at her hands, does she?” diluc let out a whine, his hand falling back to rest on yours that had been on his hip. “n-no! only you!” he stuttered. you found yourself laughing, squeezing harshly at the other side of his hips.

oh, how lucky you were...

kaeya

jealous after you caught someone flirting with him

the two of you were hanging out in the tavern that night, a drink in hand as you told each other about your long and exhausting days

after a little bit of chatting, you had to go to the bathroom

you weren't even gone for that long, but when you came back, there was someone standing next to your boyfriend having a whole chat.

you thought that maybe it was just one of the off duty knights? maybe they were just saying hi to their superior. nope, the body language told you everything.

their hands fumbling behind their back, most of their weight on one leg as they moved anxiously with the other, the tilting of their head as they replied to something kaeya said.

no way... they were totally flirting! right?

you walked over to him, giving him a big smile as you sat back down. kaeya raised an eyebrow, seemingly figuring out what the smile actually meant. he looked back up at the knight with a smile of his own, watching their face fall as they finally connected the dots. they quickly said their goodbye's and ran off. a strange sense of satisfaction filled your body.

"something wrong, sweetheart?" kaeya reached for your hand from across the table, gently squeezing it as reassurance before rubbing the back of it with his thumb. you shook your head, making up an excuse. (he obviously didn't believe it.) whatever, you'd deal with it tomorrow.

"in my defense, i didn't know they were flirting with me. i just thought it was a simple chat." kaeya spoke out in a teasing voice, watching you with lustful eyes as you walked across the room to the closet.

last night, you had caught someone flirting with kaeya in the angels share tavern. you could tell immediately that he wasn't flirting back, but at the same time, he was still talking to them. was it bad for you to punish him like this when he didn't even know what was going on? maybe, but you didn't really care right now.

you picked up a box that was on the bottom of the closet, opening it and digging through the contents until you found the two things you were looking for. a wand vibrator and its remote and a prostate massager, two of your lovers favorite toys.

after closing the box, you went back to your boyfriend, picking up the bottle of lube that was already sitting next to him. you had prepped him a few minutes ago before tying him up in preparation for what was to come.

"rest your feet on the bed, knees up." you sat on the bed, waiting for him to obey your orders. while he did that, you lubed up the massager. you went further on the bed, placing a hand on his knee and pushing it a bit further back in order to get a good angle.

pressing the tip of the massager against his hole, you rubbed it around the rim, teasing kaeya a bit before slowly starting to push it in. "deep breaths, baby.." the captain nodded quickly, his teeth biting at his lip as he held in his whimpers. once the toy was all the way in, you moved it around, only stopping when kaeya let out a small gasp.

"shit, t-that's good..." you laughed softly, saying a quick 'you're welcome' before picking up the other vibrator. you pulled kaeya's legs back down, adjusting his legs before placing the toy in between them. you then stood up, smiling as you took in his form.

his hands were tied to the bed posts, making it so that he wasn't able to go anywhere. his legs were spread apart slightly, and his half hard cock was practically begging to be touched. the tiny bit of stimulation from the massager seemed to be affecting him quite a bit.

picking up the remote from the bed, you turned it on to the lowest setting, watching as kaeya's arms pulled against the bonds before he finally settled down. you also turned on the wand vibrator, setting that to the middle setting before finally getting back up.

"i'm going to leave you here for a bit, okay? i have to get some groceries... think you can handle it?" you looked towards the man, raising an eyebrow as his face already became contorted from the pleasure.

"i can totally handle it!" he spoke confidently, but there was a bit of strain in his voice. remote in hand, you nodded, walking towards the door before looking back as if you forgot something. "oh yeah!"

you flicked the switch on the remote once more, changing the setting to one you knew kaeya loved. it was one of the strongest ones, one that vibrated quickly for around 15 seconds before cutting off for around 5. it always made him cum quite quickly, and you were confident that it would make him break before you came back.

"alright, now have fun, love!"

now, kaeya was fine for the first few minutes. he handled it well, resisting his urge to pull against the ropes that kept him from touching himself. but it all went downhill a few seconds after his first orgasm.

the overstimulation seemed to hit quicker than normal, and kaeya found it harder and harder to keep himself from squirming, the massager was hitting just the right spot, but the wand vibrator was just shy from where he really wanted it.

one part of him wanted to run away from the feelings, the knot in the bottom of his stomach was becoming overwhelming, and he so desperately wanted to touch himself. but at the same time, being unable to move and at the mercy of two vibrators was exhilarating...

it wouldn't be that hard to keep going, right? you'd be back in a few minutes.

an hour later, you finally came back home, a bunch of bags in your hand. upon opening the door, you were immediately met with the sound of moaning and soft cries coming from yours and kaeya's shared bedroom. you quickly put up the groceries, grabbing the vibrator remote from the table beside the door before finally making your way to your room.

and there he was. your pretty boy, all laid out for you. there was a large amount of cum resting on kaeya's stomach, and some of it was even going down his stomach. how hot. you walked towards him, noticing the tears streaming down his gorgeous skin. (seriously, his skin was perfect, you wondered what he used to get it like that.)

the sun shone through the window, casting itself perfectly on his brown skin and making it seem almost golden. at this moment, he seemed to notice you, and he let out a small cry as he pulled against the rope. you decided to grant him mercy, finally untying the ropes.

you cut both of the vibrators off, gently pulling the massager out and laughing once kaeya let out a long groan of exhaustion. he placed his hands on his face, wiping off the tear streaks on his face. while he was doing that, you took the time to grab a cloth to wipe him off with.

"how was it?" you asked, gently wiping the cum off of kaeya's stomach. he let out another groan, and you concluded that he may not be able to speak at the moment. you set the cloth to the side, pulling him close to you and pulling his head to your chest.

perhaps some aftercare was in order.

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin fanfic #genshin impact smut #genshin smut #etsuven #xiao x reader #xiao smut #diluc x reader #diluc smut #kaeya x reader #kaeya smut #sub genshin #sub!genshin #dom reader #xiao fanfic #diluc fanfic #kaeya fanfic

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taintedtort · 11 months

Text

prompt ✧ wiping their kisses off

characters ✧ wanderer, xiao, venti

warnings ✧ gn!reader, none!

a/n ✧ oh my god?? me not writing for kazuha?!?

WANDERER

✧ he’d left early this morning and got back after dark, so he hadn’t seen you all day. he planted a gentle kiss to your cheek as a silent greeting, just having got home. however, right when he opened his mouth to ask you what you did all day, he saw your hand reach and wipe your cheek. a scoff left him before he asked why you wiped off his love. (he said it more like "the hell you wiping your face for?!") you knew it was childish, but you just liked teasing him. after you just giggled at him in response, he pettily moved to place another kiss to your cheek.

"leave it."

XIAO

✧ when he returned home after finishing up his adepti duties, he was expecting to be met with an excited call of his name and your face in his chest. however, he was met with the back of your head as you sat facing away from the door, not bothering to turn when he made sure to make his presence known by walking in rather loudly. he couldn’t see the smile on your face as you tried to resist the urge to greet him, trying to see your teasing antics through. you heard him approach before he placed a kiss to your forehead, greeting you with a quiet hello. once he saw you wipe the kiss off, he stared for a second, unsure if what you were wiping his kiss off or if it was something else. he asked if you were okay, not wanting to jump to conclusions. when you looked up and met his gaze, you bursted out laughing. his brows were furrowed and his head had been slightly tilted to the side, something you weren’t sure he was aware he did. you waved it off, not bothering to explain something you knew he wouldn’t understand no matter how much you tried to help. you pecked his lips in a secret apology.

"are you alright? was there something on your forehead…?"

VENTI

✧ when he spotted you approaching his statue in mondstadt, he instantly ran to catch up to you, shouting out your name to get your attention. you turned around, smiling when you saw him and stopping to wait. once he reached you, he kissed your lips with a loud mwah! sound. his once smiling face dropped when you wiped your lips with the back of your hand. he instantly questioned you, asking why you were denying his love with a very dramatic voice. you couldn’t help but laugh at his antics, giving in and kissing his lips as an apology. you knew he wouldn’t stop whining if you had kept teasing him like that. his face brightened immediately and he swooped in to give you kisses all over your face.

"why would you do that? do you not love me anymore?!" (said with the most overdramatic pouty face you’ve ever seen)

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type-girl · 7 months

Text

xiao x reader | y/n

CW: NSFW! Biting, Love/Lust, Mixture of soft/rough smut, a little bit of fluff at the beginning! 18+

youtube

“These memories of you are driving me insane.”

He would exhale breathlessly as his golden hues met yours. You could feel your heart practically flutter, pairing up with your stomach that twisted itself tighter than a knot.

"Xiao..." you'd echo his name as he'd draw closer to you, his hand slithering past your waist and resting behind your trembling back. His gaze was heavy, his mind spiraling with thoughts you could never begin to comprehend. You'd clutch the rim of his sleeve while your free hand would graze against his chest as he'd lean into you. "What memories are you talking about?" you'd question soothingly, ushering him on.

"All of them.." his teeth would grit, pupils slitting in a snake-like manner. "Every time I think about you I can't help but think about how much I want to make you mine. I want you. I need you, Y/N." he'd shakily breathe, warm arousing breaths grazing your nape.

"You're joking, right?" you'd trail off, hands slightly fidgeting in anticipation.

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

The words rang like a hollow bell. You'd pull back, facing him once more. His amber eyes were practically piercing into yours, but for some reason you couldn't bare to avert your gaze. Somehow, the cyan hues of the midnight sky illuminated his figure in an even more alluring sense. His lean physique outlined by the dimly moonlit rays that showered him from above. Whisps of teal and cerulean hair gently swayed in the chilled breeze as he'd shift his posture, creating distance between the both of you.

"I don't know what to do." his voice grew steadily quiet as his hands trailed down your waist, slowly withdrawing from it. No thought in your head had seemed to connect with your body as your hands would clasp his, immediately placing them on your hips once more. The two of you would stare at each other, seemingly locked in an unbreakable trance.

"Xiao." his name escaped your lips without a second thought. "I've been waiting for you to say those very words for the longest time. I thought for a moment this might be a dream." you'd coo as your hands traveled up his chest and behind his neck, interlocking them. The paleness of his skin would immediately flush in a color similar to that of a silk flower, as did yours. It was as if you were elementary students confessing your love for the first time, a sheepish aura settling between you both.

"But still" he'd begin, somehow his voice sounding a bit different. Your eyes slightly widening as his hands curled around you, practically leaving you inescapable from his embrace. His body was hot. Like... burning hot.

"Wait a minute- Xiao are you okay? Do you have a fever?" you'd exclaim in a sudden bout of surprise, stunted that you didn't recognize his temperature from before.

"No, I didn't think you would actually feel this way for me. I feel like I'm going mad even thinking about it." he'd reply, his sweet semi-husky voice grunting into your ear. As if you had been doused in a bath of alcohol, an overwhelming feverish feeling arose. Before you could say another word your legs would collapse from under you before you'd find yourself in a bridal carry.

"Where are we going?" you'd wrap your arms tightly around his neck as he'd pivot, turning and going through the entrance doors to the Wangshu Inn balcony.

"Somewhere, special."

You'd blink once, no, twice. You were in a completely different room rather the usual. "So this is where you sleep.." you'd mutter, before finding yourself being gently set upon a lavish, decorated bed. You'd clutch a hand to your chest as he'd draw closer to you, before pressing his lips into yours. At first it was just light pecks, which over time developed to soft moans and tongues intertwining with an almost vicious grace. You'd pull him near, back arching in a seductive manner. A small yelp of surprise escaped your parted lips as you'd feel a sudden stinging pain. Looking down, you could see him withdraw his lips, leaving behind a soft pink bruise that stained your skin. Butterflies thrashed in your stomach as he'd look up at you with an almost mind-eating gaze. It was always that look of his that would send you into a drunken stupor. His eyes staring into yours, not wavering even at the slightest of movements. He wanted nothing more than to devour you, yet you knew he held his patience. You'd sink your face into his now-tussled hair as his lips worked his way down your collarbone, chest, and stomach. You'd bite your own in an unfathomable excitement, toes curling at the slightest brush of skin to skin.

"Xiao..." you'd moan, your voice helplessly mewling as he'd fondle and caress your curves and sensitive spots. "Please, I want you, Xiao." you'd continue, whispering his name like a broken record. With each call, he'd seem to grow more and more enticed with his own desires to ravish you. His mouth gaped slightly, heaving pleasurable low groans as your hand would make way to his own. You'd start moving your hand with slow delicate strokes, his hips arching with each.

"Fuck..." he'd lean growling into your chest as you'd work your fingers around his throbbing cock. Each time it pulsed, precum seeped creating a warm slick between your hand and his tip. The two of you would continue to share kisses that grew with intensity, as your bodies emitted a sauna-like heat. You'd close your eyes as his lips pressed against your rosy cheeks before he'd draw his tongue over your lip, gently biting and sucking it. His groans were deep and heavy, you could tell he was practically at his brink. You'd pause, pressing your hands against his chest and pushing him back.

"Xiao, can you... put it in?" you'd shyly whisper. Xiao would pause, saying nothing before grabbing your hand and flipping you stomach-down against the bed. Clothes were stripped off in a matter of seconds as he'd prop your hips up, softly biting your thighs and ass. The sheets would ball into your fists as you'd clench them, tightening with each mark left upon your skin. Slick dripped down your drooling cunt as his fingers gently glided across it, prodding the entrance before slipping inside. "Mhhfm..!" you'd bite down on the sheets, burying your head in them as his fingers caressed your insides. As long minutes of his prying fingers stroked your core you could feel him withdraw his fingers before pressing his weeping cock against your pussy. "Xiao wait-" you'd mewl, feeling a slight bout of anxiety rise, but it was too late. He'd slam his member into you, the girth practically stretching you more than his fingers ever could have. Your eyes rolled as he'd mercilessly pound into you. Maybe this is what you got for making him wait so long. Knowingly teasing and hinting to him in the past. Your toes curled, legs locking up as the pleasure grew with intensity.

"Y/N.. I love you... I love you.." he'd pant as he'd lean pressing his torso into yours, his dick driving deeper into your hole. The warm rasps of his heavy breath tickled your ear, somewhat the desperation of his voice turned you on even more. More and more marks would be given upon your shoulders, back, and neck as he'd sink his teeth into your skin gently. You'd arch your back, raising your hips into each thrust. His cock continued to sloppily pound into your cunt, which had grown accustomed to his size.

"Fuck me, Xiao! Fuck me harder!" you'd finally break. His thrusting grew heavier and deeper, the slutty sounds echoing between you both. He'd grab your shoulder, flipping you over to face him. Your eyes widened, seeing his lustful face which was dripping in sweat. His eyes were practically illuminating in the dim light while his mouth partially agape, releasing heavy pants. Your hands slowly floated to his head, hands gliding pasts his cheeks and to his neck. You'd pull him into you, swaying your hips against his.

"We have all night, Y/N. Adepti have quite enhanced stamina compared to you humans.." he'd whisper, a seductive smile forming on his lips.

"Then I'm all yours." you'd return a lustful grin before locking your legs behind his back.

For some reason it was easy writing this TIL the smut scene, I'm not sure if it was necessarily needed with 'this' playlist, but it is what it is.

Anyways, Xiao is definitely vanilla, but I feel like him being an Adepti would give him more beastial features (biting?) Not sure.

Anyways, this is a new format I'm trying out with using playlists as inspiration between characters. Hope this was enjoyable to an extent! Sadly the story didn't entirely reflect the title, but I'll work on revolving around that in later stories.

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elixrr · 9 months

Text

“This feels nice, right Xiao?” You sigh and smile at your yaksha boyfriend Xiao, who's currently burying his head in the crook of your neck to hide his face— a telltale sign that he's flustered.

“...Very much so.” Xiao hesitantly placed both his hands at your hips, figuring out a comfortable position until he decided on simply wrapping his arms around you. You did the same for him earlier.

“We should cuddle more often, no?”

“I... I suppose we could. If— if that's what you want.”

Xiao, after a few passing moments, musters up the courage to lift his head up from your neck and look at you, face to face. The position you both picked on the bed made your heads align, as if there was no height difference between the two of you. Xiao smiled internally for being able to see you like this, all snuggled up in the blankets with him.

You faintly blush while gazing into your boyfriend's eyes. He's beautiful, stunning even. With one free hand, you tuck away stray locks of hair on his face. Though, as you loosen your grip on Xiao, he tightens his on you.

To Xiao, you are but a glimpse of the sunlight upon a thousand shades of the night. You are an escape from the darkness and to the light, but he had to work towards coming to you in order to really feel you. Yet, he knows deep down that one day, the clouds will seep in, and his sunshine will be gone.

Xiao was initially afraid. Afraid of getting attached, afraid of stirring up feelings for you, only to be forced to let go in the end. He was, and still is, afraid of losing you. But, you stayed willing for him, and he couldn’t push you away. So, as if you were on an edge, as if you were on the verge of slipping past his fingers and going away, Xiao held you. He held you tightly to prevent you from leaving like that.

“Uh... (Name)?” Xiao mumbles, leaning his head close to your ear.

“Yes, my Xiao?”

“Don't....Don't go. Please.”

Xiao whispers in your ear, the trauma of a hundred deaths welling up in his eyes, only making him hold you tighter each time. You are his sunlight, a break from the cold darkness surrounding him. He feels that the longer he stays with you, the more sunlight he gets, and the less darker his world seems.

Is this okay? Is this okay to be holding you this close? To cling to you so much?

Xiao repeatedly asks himself, though no matter how many times he berates himself for letting himself receive everything you've given him, he doesn't want to let go.

Please, don't let go of me. Not yet.

You wrap your arm around him again and hold him closer.

“You are my safe space, Xiao. My guardian, and my lover. I wouldn't want to go anywhere where you won't ever be.”

You smile at Xiao and place a slow, tender kiss on his lips. Xiao doesn't react in time until the very end, where you begin to pull away, to which he tugs you back in to kiss you properly.

Love, comfort, and you. He didn't realize he needed all that until you gave him all that.

You both pull away.

“Thank you..”

“Of course. But, no need, I love you after all.”

“I...”

He loves you too. Truly, as his love for you is dug deep within the depths of his mending heart. His love for you is like a story only told through acts of kindness, or private acts of intimacy behind closed doors, where only you can hear the tales straight from his heart.

Xiao opens his mouth again.

“I— I..”

You smile at his blushful attempt, but you let him continue. Xiao silences at the sight of your wondrous smile. He then averts his gaze to your loving eyes, which gazes back at him, too. He could almost see the words inscribed in your eyes, and he reads aloud:

“..I love you, too.”

#character x reader #genshin fic #genshin impact fic #genshin x reader #genshin x y/n #xiao x reader #xiao x you #xiao genshin x reader #xiao fanfic #xiao x y/n #character x y/n

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cryoculus · 1 year

Text

— imagine being loved by me! ⟢

pairing: xiao | alatus x reader

summary: the one where your best friend gives you ten tattoos over the next ten years. the problem? you fall deeper in love each time the ink stains your skin.

word count: 7.1k words

tags: modern au, tattoo artist!xiao, childhood friends to lovers, angst with a happy ending, relationship study, non-explicit smut

warnings: emotionally stunted xiao but i fink everyone knows that already, mentions of needles, there's smut but it isn't detailed

notes: this blog's been dead for Months but i thought i'd revive it with this fic that my beloved @delvalentine commissioned me to make! i love u to DEATH, v, i hope i did your requests justice :')

header art cr: yuca7302 on twt

01.

“Ow, fuck! Can you be more careful?!”

“I am careful. You just have a shitty pain tolerance.”

“Wow, that’s not something you should say to your first willing client,” you huff, trying not to pull away as Xiao repeatedly punctures the skin of your forearm with pen ink and a not-so-sterile sewing needle. “My family could sue you if I die from a blood infection, you know.”

Xiao rolls his eyes. “Something this small won’t kill anyone. Plus, you came here on your own volition, so stop complaining.”

“Are you saying you’re just going to let me die of sepsis if everything goes to shit?”

“Pretty much.”

You didn’t know what to expect when your best friend of several years asked if you wanted a tattoo of your favorite constellation. It’s been a running joke between the both of you that the two moles on your forearm looked a lot like two-thirds of Orion’s belt, and that maybe, in another life, you would’ve been born with all three of its stars on your skin.

You should’ve known that Xiao likes to blow your expectations out of the water—whether he intends to do so or not.

It’s sundown when he finishes embedding black pen ink beneath your slightly inflamed skin. Xiao doesn’t comment when you repeatedly complain about how much that fucking hurt, and that you’re never agreeing to do it again, but you don’t miss the way his eyes occasionally flit up to the starry sky before shifting to your new ‘tattoo’ as he walks you home.

You don’t think you’ll ever forget that night. How you admired the amateur handiwork in the soft glow of your nightlight while thinking about the boy who gave you a star fashioned with his own fingers where others would’ve given flowers instead.

But then you remember Xiao is nothing but your best friend, and it’s a little…weird to be thinking about him like that.

Must be the sepsis fucking with my head, you muse before flicking off your nightlight, and the room is plunged into pitch black darkness.

02.

You’re eighteen when you realize Xiao is completely serious about this tattooing business.

It comes as a not-so-pleasant surprise to you one day when your high school’s guidance counselor approaches you while you’re hurrying over to your next class—asking if you’ve seen Xiao around these days because apparently, your best friend hasn’t been attending his classes for a better part of the semester.

Of course, you receive the news with a scowl. While you don’t exactly see him all that much at school because of how different your schedules are, you never expected to find out he’s been playing hooky all this time.

You don’t particularly like sticking your nose into other people’s business—especially not Xiao’s, since you know how he likes to keep to himself better than most. But for some reason, you aren’t able to resist, and end up calling him after excusing yourself from your two-hour Biology lecture.

Once your classes are done, you head over to a nearby tattoo parlor whose address Xiao texted to you right after you squeezed his whereabouts out of him during that phone call. It’s located in one of the more run-down parts of town that your parents would’ve detested Xiao for inviting you to. But whatever prejudice you might’ve had about the denizens of this district all go up in smoke once you meet the owner herself.

“You should’a seen Xiao practicing with our machines a few months ago!” Beidou, as Xiao had sheepishly introduced earlier, barks out a laugh before slinging an arm around your best friend’s shoulders. “Said there’s someone he wanted to give permanent tatts to. I’m guessing you’re the guest of honor?”

“Beidou,” Xiao groans. “It’s not a big deal. I already practiced on her before.”

You don’t completely catch it when Beidou makes an inappropriate joke as a response to what Xiao just said—eyes trained on the fading dot on your forearm. It’s been two years since Xiao gave you your first ‘tattoo’, and even if the receding ink makes it look like one of Orion’s stars are starting to die out, it’s still there.

“Okay,” you say in the middle of their bickering, startling both Xiao and Beidou in the process. “I’ll let him ink me if he wants to.”

Xiao stares at you with brows furrowed. “You sure?”

No, you’re not sure because as much as you want to support Xiao in what seems to be a budding passion of his, you’re certain that your father is going to kill you when he sees a full-blown tattoo on any part of your body. You barely got away with the artificial mole that Xiao did for you a few years back.

“Positive.” You back your words up with an indignant huff before sifting through the pre-made designs on Beidou’s catalog. “You just have to put it somewhere not everyone can see, I guess.”

Beidou snorts out another jarring laugh when Xiao clicks his tongue to alleviate the embarrassment that’s painting his face just a touch of red.

Earlier in the day, you intended to scold your best friend for not taking his studies seriously, but ended up going home that day with a new piece inked onto the skin of your left hip: a little spruce twig that you last remember seeing in your old hometown—years before you even met Xiao.

There’s no particular meaning behind it, apart from a hint of sentimentality and rebelliousness. It’s your first actual tattoo, and one of your best friends gave it to you, free of charge. Even if it hurts ten times more than Xiao’s novice needle method from two years ago, you end up loving it more than you thought. One time, you stare at Xiao’s intricate handiwork in the mirror for so long that you nearly run late for your first class of the day.

(Another thing that makes this particular piece memorable is the process itself.

Xiao is a person who’s always been startlingly precise in everything he decides to put his head into. When you learned that he wanted to become a tattoo artist, you instantly felt like there’s no other path more perfect for him than this.

Yet you couldn’t help but notice how his fingers sometimes trembled as he gave you your first piece—with you lying chest-down on Beidou’s tattoo chair in nothing but your shirt and underwear. It shouldn’t have been strange. Xiao has seen you dressed down like this dozens of times before.

But when all’s said and done, he refused to meet your eyes, and you don’t have the slightest clue why.)

03.

You just can’t stop staring when you see Xiao’s half-sleeve for the first time.

It’s meant to be a phoenix, he said, but you can’t really see it because the patterns are too abstract to make sense of. Still, the azure ink sits nicely on top of his built bicep, and you have to tell yourself that you’re just trying to find the stupid phoenix as an excuse to keep ogling him.

Thankfully, your weird fascination lasts for only about a week until you’re back to shitting on him like you always do.

By some miracle, Xiao manages to graduate high school despite being on probation from his excessive absences. He’s actually smart if he makes the effort to hit the books, but you’re not sure if he’s planning on going to college with how comfortable he is with being one of Beidou’s most in-demand tattoo artists.

You ask him about his future plans at a party being thrown by the previous captain of the football team in his parents’ lavish penthouse somewhere uptown. It took a great deal to force Xiao into tagging along with you as your plus one, and you’re going to make good on his acquiescence by interrogating him about things he normally skirts around.

“I told you, I didn’t take any entrance exams,” he grumbles against the rim of his red cup. “I’m managing just fine working for Beidou, so I don’t see any reason to go to college.”

You’re about to argue that Beidou’s tattoo parlor won’t be open forever, and that he needs to think about broadening his career options until a bunch of girls with linked arms shuffle closer to where you and Xiao were lounging on the couch. You don’t talk to them a lot, but everyone in your grade knows the infamous Pyro Trio.

“Hey, Xiaooo,” Hu Tao drawls with a smirk, pushing up her sleeve to reveal the branches of a cherry blossom tattooed on the delicate skin of her arm. Behind her, Xiangling and Xinyan snicker like it’s some sort of inside joke.

You intend to shift your gaze elsewhere. Clearly, you’re not the person these girls want to speak with. But the sight of the ink on Hu Tao’s skin makes the back of your neck prickle with misplaced irritation. Xiao must’ve been the one who did her piece, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Though he’s this year’s most notable absentee, rumors about Xiao’s handiwork haven’t gone unnoticed among the students in your (now) alma mater.

That doesn’t mean you have to like the idea of your best friend inking other people that aren't you, though.

You decide to excuse yourself from Xiao’s company—given that Hu Tao is giving him plenty of attention already as is. Your best friend utters something you don’t quite catch as you walk away, and you don’t bother turning around to ask him to repeat himself.

(As you stuff your face with shot after shot, you force yourself to just keep dancing to the rhythm of whatever song is blaring to the speakers. You didn’t give two shits about the fact that Hu Tao keeps feeling up the stupid phoenix tattoo on Xiao’s arm. Nor did you care about the fact that your best friend—who’s normally evasive when it comes to casual contact—seems like he doesn’t mind at all.)

The night ends with Xiao begrudgingly getting behind the wheel of your car, since you’re obviously in no state to be driving anyone home. When he announces that he’ll bring you back to your apartment, you slur out a drunken protest—asking if he can take you to the tattoo parlor instead.

“What?” he asks incredulously. “Why?”

You huff, curling in on yourself on the passenger seat. “The cherry blossoms you gave Hu Tao were ugly as shit. You can do a better piece on me. Y’know, as practice.”

Both of you know that you’re bluffing. Xiao’s pieces are one of the most intricate you’ve ever seen, even if he is a rookie tattoo artist, and that you don’t have a lot of points of reference to compare to. But instead of taking offense at your mindless jab at his work, Xiao slots the keys into the ignition with a defeated sigh.

“Fine. You mentioned wanting spider lilies a while back,” he says before propping his arm against the car seat as he backed up on the street. It’s the perfect angle to moon over his not-so-phoenix tattoo, and if you were any more intoxicated, you would’ve reached out and squeezed his arm.

“Where do you want it?”

You know he meant to ask where you wanted him to put your prospective tattoo, but the question sends your mind straight into the gutter. Thankfully, you still have some semblance of coherence lingering in your drunk thoughts, and you answer with:

“Right hip. Opposite end of the spruce twig.”

When Xiao heaves another sigh and steps on the gas pedal, you don’t think much of it—still convinced it’s completely normal to expose such intimate parts of yourself to your best friend so he can tattoo a fucking flower just above the swell of your thigh.

04.

“You have been watching way too much anime.”

“Come on! At least I’m not having you tattoo the names of my shitty ex-boyfriends on my ass, right? Just give me my modified Tanjiro hanafuda and Fullmetal Alchemist flamel!”

“...Is this your way of coping with taking up a nursing course? Is it that stressful?”

You whine as you hold your phone closer to your ear, already picturing the look of disbelief in Xiao’s face when you asked when he’s free to give you your next tattoos. You still go to college in the same city, but it’s been weeks since you last saw him.

“You have no idea,” you groan. “It’s like my first year, and I’m already burned out! How is that even possible?”

Your best friend grunts on the other line. “Maybe if you stopped being such a perfectionist, then maybe you’ll learn to be more content. Less stress on your part, too.”

“Ah, no can do. I never do anything that isn’t perfect,” you chuckle. “

“Yeah, I saw you score at the top of your class during your, uh… what was it again? Biochem exam?”

For someone who doesn’t exactly give a damn about anything outside tattooing and other similar forms of artistry, you find it endearing to know Xiao actually remembers all the things you rant about in the wee hours of the morning. You don’t hate biochem, but if you have to draw another chemical configuration, you might just pop a vein.

“Okay, let’s say I agree to tattoo those weird doodles you sent,” Xiao propositions, “do you even have any free days? You usually study on weekends, right? I don’t think you’re free to drop by the shop even if you wanted to.”

Fuck. He’s right. You still have a few major exams coming up in the next two weeks. If you wait that long until you get your silly weeaboo tattoos from Xiao, you would’ve already gotten over your momentary hyperfixation on the TV shows that were salvaging your sanity in the middle of the semester. It wouldn’t feel as thrilling to get them anymore.

“I’m free…” You trail off, eyes darting to the digital clock by your desk then to the course notes you have opened on your laptop. You haven’t studied as much as you wanted to for your upcoming anatomy test, but…

“Right now, actually. Can you pick me up?”

You can hear him frowning. “Don’t you have a car?”

“I do, but I don’t wanna drive when I have plastic wrap all over my body.”

“You’re exaggerating. It’s not all over your—”

“Jesus, get the hint, Xiao. I miss my best friend, and I want to have a quiet evening cruise on his motorcycle before he gets me inked again!”

Xiao falls silent, and this time, you’re having some difficulty picturing what expression he’s wearing on his face. You like to think you’ve startled your un-startle-able best friend, but that’s pushing your influence too much.

“Okay,” he says, more agreeable than you thought he’d be. “I’ll be there in thirty. Don’t you dare fall asleep on me.”

05.

When you introduce your first serious boyfriend in a while to Xiao, you’re a bit annoyed with how prickly he’s being.

Sure, it’s wired into his system to be the snarky asshole everyone knows and loves, but if there’s anyone else who knows about the tragedy that is your love life better than yourself, it’s Xiao. When you finally land a decent guy to settle down with, you at least expect him to be a bit more supportive.

“Actually, we came here ‘cause we planned on getting matching tattoos,” your boyfriend, Yin, explains with a dimpled smile. “Isn’t that right?”

You stifle a soft laugh, a bit embarrassed to agree, but too in love with your boyfriend to protest.

A few years ago, you distinctly remember drunkenly rambling to Xiao about how stupid it is to get couple tattoos especially when relationships these days are built on flimsy foundations.

If you break up, what then? You have a physical reminder of that person on your body for eternity? No fucking thanks!

“Sorry, we’re closed right now, as you can see,” Xiao grunts before jabbing his thumb at the sign he just turned at the door. “You can try some other time, though.”

At the time, you were pissed at Xiao for denying your little request. He always agreed to ink you during ungodly hours of the day, but now he’s playing the ‘shop’s closed’ card just because he doesn’t like your boyfriend?

But then, you end up grateful for his attitude exactly a month later.

“Fucking cheated on me with some bitch from his Physics lecture,” you sniffle on Xiao’s ratty sofa as he makes you some tea in his kitchen. “I can’t believe I nearly tattooed our anniversary on my wrist! I would’ve had to fucking amputate it in the end.”

Xiao sighs before placing a piping hot cup of honey lemon in front of you on his coffee table—crossing his legs together. He doesn’t tell you I told you so, like others probably would if they were in his shoes. Your best friend just stares at you with withering understanding, no matter how stupid the choice that got you here in the first place turned out to be.

That’s one of the many things you loved about him.

“You were supposed to have ‘XV’ inked together, right?” he asks.

You huff before tossing some of the soiled tissues you used into the bin. “Yeah. We made it official on September 15th.”

“Well, if you still want the tattoo, you could just give it a different meaning.”

Scowling, you stare at Xiao as if he just grew a second head. “What the hell are you talking about?” Is he really suggesting for you to get the same tattoo that he denied you and your ex a month ago?

Xiao shrugs noncommittally before taking a sip from the tea he prepared for you. “It’s been fifteen years since we became best friends. That’s worth commemorating, at least. Unless you suddenly don’t give a shit about that, too?”

Your jaw hangs agape at the sudden reminder. October 15th. When you were four, you accidentally spilled orange juice all over Xiao’s teletubbies backpack, and when he forgave you on the spot, you crowned him as your first bestie.

That was fifteen years ago. Holy shit.

He startles when you abruptly shoot back to your feet, earning yourself a perplexed stare from Xiao who just wants you to sit down and drink your damn tea—

“Is Beidou’s shop open?” you ask. “I want her to do our matching tatts.”

Xiao grimaces. “Our?”

You nod brusquely, tugging at his arm. “Yeah, I’m allowed to have matching tattoos with you, ‘cause you’ll never walk out of my life, right, Xiao?”

He’s always been a stubborn little shit, so you don’t really expect Xiao to relent as quickly as he does. You nearly stumble to the carpeted floor when he lets you pull him up—faces hovering so close to each other, you nearly choke on your own breath.

It doesn’t help that Xiao has definitely…put in a few inches of height. Back then, you used to tease him a lot for being taller than him, but now?

“Never,” he whispers so softly, you wouldn’t have heard it if you weren't as close to him as you are. “Now drink your stupid honey lemon tea so we can head to the shop.”

About two and a half hours later, you’re sitting on the vacant seats in the shop’s waiting lounge—a familiar sting still sizzling beneath your ribcage from where you had your first matching piece with Xiao permanently inked. You made him swear to have his own ‘XV’ tattoo made on the same place, and he makes good on his promise when he emerges from the workroom, wearing nothing but his dark-washed jeans.

Unlike yourself, you rarely see Xiao in various states of undress. The most skin you could get out of him on most days is the lean muscle of his tattooed biceps, and sometimes those are enough to have you staring dumbly at him for several minutes.

Now, though?

You learn that he has several tattoos on his torso—spread across his skin like patchwork. It makes you wonder if he did some of them himself, or if he had Beidou work on them for him. Still, despite the plethora of new ink stains to gawk at, his weird phoenix tattoo remains as your personal favorite.

Along with the newest piece he got not five minutes earlier—the tattoo he shares with you.

“Are you happy now?” he grumbles, letting you marvel at the perfect roman numerals just below the jut of his ribs. “It’s a good thing Beidou gave it to us free of charge, you know.”

You giggle. “All of my tatts so far have been free of charge.”

“That’s only because you’re special to me,” Xiao sighs before freezing up in the next moment—like he didn’t mean to let that slip aloud.

You smirk. “Mm? What was that? I didn’t hear you.”

“Fuck off.”

06.

Much to Xiao’s disappointment, your shitty taste in men doesn’t exactly end with Yin.

About three months after getting the tattoo to commemorate your fifteen years of best friendship, you meet Kaeya. He’s an exchange student, and you know better than to form any sort of attachment to someone who isn’t going to be in the same continent as you by next year.

But you let him in anyway.

You allow Kaeya to get to know you in ways that not even Xiao is familiar with. The smooth-talking foreigner likes to kiss every single one of your tattoos—lamenting the fact that they’re all inked in spots hidden from view. You laugh every time he brings it up, saying your parents are going to kill you and Xiao if they saw any of the pieces your best friend did for you over the last six years.

“That best friend of yours…” Kaeya muses once he’s done bringing you to paradise and back, smoking a cigarette that makes you wrinkle your nose with distaste. He would’ve been perfect, if only he wasn’t such a chronic chainsmoker. “He’s in love with you, isn’t he?”

You nearly fall off the bed at his bold declaration.

“W-What the fuck are you talking about?” you stammer. Xiao? In love? With you?

Kaeya shrugs. “I dunno, sweetheart. If I was a tattoo artist, I wouldn’t let anyone freeload my craft as many times as you did—even if you are my best friend. Unless I was down fucking bad for you, of course.”

Xiao doesn’t like Kaeya, but the reasoning behind it is a bit different from why he doesn’t like your ex. He knew Yin wasn’t a good match for you. Kaeya, though? The two of you had inarguable chemistry. The only problem was he was a free spirit that didn’t like to be tied down by commitments—something you clearly struggle with.

When you reassured Xiao that Kaeya is nothing but a way to scratch a passing itch, he merely scoffed and told you to do whatever you wanted.

Could his dismissiveness be because…he’s in love with you?

That can’t be right. You’re the one who knows Xiao best. If he hypothetically does catch feelings for someone—much less, you—you’ll surely be the first to notice, right?

Right?

Kaeya chuckles before tracing the XV tattoo along your ribcage with a cold finger—almost like he’s teasing. You roll your eyes before crawling back on top of your midnight lover, kissing him just to shut him up.

When you drop by Beidou's the next day, Xiao is nowhere to be found.

“Didn’t he tell you?” She gapes. “Our boy’s starting his own shop downtown! He had the soft launch and everything a week ago. I was wondering where you were.”

“Uh…”

You’re not sure how to break the news that Xiao has been giving you the cold shoulder ever since you got together with Kaeya. But finding out that he put up his own tattoo parlor without even telling you?

If Kaeya turns out to be right, and your best friend really was in love with you, he sure as hell wasn’t acting like it.

Deciding to play along with whatever game he’s playing, you make an appointment to get a new piece inked under a fake name. Xiao accepts it right away and schedules you for an early evening slot. You make it a point to arrive twenty minutes late just to get a rise out of him.

When he sees you at the entrance to his shop, you almost let yourself feel smug about the unadulterated surprise on his face. Almost. You’re still pissed off that he didn’t invite you to one of the most important milestones of his life.

He fulfills your request in silence—the French word for green inked unassumingly on the underside of your shoulder blades. Xiao doesn’t say a word about his evasiveness, nor does he address the fact that you, his literal best friend, are standing in the shop he’s kept a secret for god knows how long.

When he still refuses to talk, you slam your payment on top of a nearby table—intent on storming out of the building even if he hasn’t wrapped your newest piece in a protective layer of plastic yet. Xiao barks that he doesn’t want your fucking money, and you end up throwing your hands in the air, asking:

“Then what the hell do you want?”

You expected him to blow up in a fitful of rage. He’s never been good at anger management, you knew this well. But instead, he crosses the distance separating the two of you and crushes your mouths together.

“You,” he whispers hoarsely, desperately against your lips. “I’ve only ever wanted you.”

Kaeya calls you multiple times that night—even leaves a text message asking where you are and if you’re free. You aren’t able to answer any of them though. Not when you’re busy being railed into the next life by your best friend of fifteen—going sixteen—years in the same bed that Kaeya just had his way with you a week ago.

When Xiao’s lips graze each and every tattoo he personally inked onto your pliant body, it’s leagues different from when Kaeya does it. It’s like your best friend is leaving a trail of fire sizzling beneath your skin everywhere his mouth trails along your hypersensitive flesh.

Even the way he makes you fall apart from a blistering orgasm is ten times more intense than every session you had with Kaeya and Yin combined.

There’s no affection nor is there adoration in Xiao’s gaze as he fucks into you—golden eyes fueled by something carnal and zealous, but you knew better than to call that love.

When morning comes, Xiao isn’t here with you, and you don’t know which emotion to feel.

Kaeya, at least, has the decency to leave a note whenever he has to depart early. But all that your best friend leaves you with is a sinking feeling in your stomach, and a glaring realization that you did not want to make when you’re crying all alone in your apartment at the crack of dawn.

Kaeya was wrong. Xiao isn’t in love with you.

You’re in love with Xiao, and you immediately know you’re in deep fucking shit because of it.

07.

It’s two weeks into your mission of complete radio silence when Xiao finally breaks.

You’re in the middle of a pharmacology lecture when your phone buzzes in your pocket. You knew it wasn’t Kaeya because he’d already packed his things last week and headed back to his home country. The bastard even asked you for a quick farewell fuck, but you turned him down right away and gave him a kiss goodbye instead.

When you find out it’s a text message from the same person you’ve been trying to avoid all this time, you’re all too quick to parse through its contents.

Xiao: I'm sorry. Can we talk?

That’s how you wind up standing right outside of his new tattoo parlor.

You haven’t been able to take a good look at it the last time you were here—too frustrated with your best friend to really make sense of your surroundings. But he’s put up his new shop in a pretty good part of town. You wonder how Xiao managed to afford it all.

Then again, he’s been working at Beidou’s shop for years. You knew he had a decent number of regulars, as well as potential clients that are highly interested in his work.

For once, you let yourself be proud of him. Even if he didn’t put your name on the guest list for his soft launch.

Xiao looks a little sheepish when he lets you inside and flips the sign on the front door to give the two of you some privacy. You aren’t faring any better. The last time you saw him, he was balls-deep inside of you—fucking you like you’re the most despicable woman in the world.

“So there’s this…collage piece I wanted to try,” he starts, and you fight the urge to roll your eyes.

Of course when Xiao invites you over to talk, you shouldn’t have expected any actual talking to take place. That’s just not his style. He’d rather make up for whatever mistakes he made by inking another stupid tattoo on your body, but honestly? You’ll take whatever you can get.

When you saw his sketch of a Statue of David peppered with four-leaf clovers, you couldn’t even dream of parsing the meaning behind the piece. The only thing that makes you relent is an old memory of you and Xiao hunting for four-leaf clovers in your mother’s garden—even putting the effort to plant whatever you could find in a pot in hopes that they would grow bigger.

It takes him hours to complete the entire thing. This one is probably the most realistic piece he’s done for you, and you can’t help but watch the intense concentration on his face through the mirror on the wall as he inks it a few inches above the last tattoo he did for you.

You’ve never really realized how…breathtaking he looks like this.

His fringe falling across his pretty gold eyes, the comfortable set of his jaw as he focuses on his work, and the soft slope of his cupid’s bow despite how harsh the words that come out of his mouth can be.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

You really are in love with this guy.

When he’s finally satisfied with his work, Xiao puts down his machine before wiping a sheen of sweat off his brow. He already looks so fucking good while he’s working. How is it fair for him to look even more gorgeous right after the entire process?

“Come on, let’s wrap it up,” he says before stretching his limbs. The action makes the cropped shirt he’s wearing ride up his torso a little, and you’re teased with a glimpse of the tattoo he matches with you.

Your heart nearly leaps to your throat, and if it weren’t for the dull sting of your newest tattoo, you would’ve been entranced by the sight of him entirely.

“Sure,” you say, even if your heart is begging for you to just be honest with him. To let him know how you’ve felt all this time because frankly, you can’t keep carrying the weight of your own feelings for much longer.

But then you remember how…apathetic Xiao looked like the night he dared to tell you he wanted you. There was no love to be found in his animalistic gaze, and you fear that he’ll turn you even further away at the slightest hint of more-than-friendly affection from your end.

You can live with this. His fleeting yet heated touches. His deep, piercing stares.

You’ll do anything to preserve what you have with him now—even if that means sacrificing everything else you could still dream of.

08.

Sometimes, you think Xiao is making you hope on purpose.

Sure, your friendship was more or less salvaged after offering your Statue of David tattoo as a quiet apology. You’re back to teasing him for all the most minuscule things, and Xiao is back to being your voice of reason in no time.

These days, though, you don’t really have much time to hang out with him like you usually do. You’re in the last year of your nursing degree, and your shifts at the hospital on top of your regular academic workload render you much too exhausted to catch up with any of your friends. Xiao included.

But there comes a night when he visits you in your apartment when you’re busy studying for a tricky surgery exam—a bucket full of fried chicken, and a bottle of sparkling water in hand. What kind of fiend would turn away an unannounced blessing like that ?

You munch through the midnight snack Xiao brought for you all while forcing him to do your flashcards with you. He knows the drill, anyways. Though he’s been out of school for years, Xiao is still familiar enough with your study habits to be of substantial help during these trying times.

While you’re in the middle of differentiating the different types of sutures, though, he proposes an idea.

“It’s been a while since I inked you with a sewing needle and pen ink, isn’t it?”

You narrow your eyes, taking a swig of your carbonated drink as your gaze flickers to the pseudo-Orion’s belt on your right forearm. The third star has all but faded from view over the years.

“Yeah, why are you asking?”

Xiao rummages through his knapsack for a few seconds before bringing out what seems to be a small sewing kit, and a jar labeled ‘Indian ink’. You gulp in equal parts dread and anticipation.

“I figured out how to make the tatts stay longer,” he says, a gentle smile settling over his face. “You want me to give you a new one? I can even revive good old Orion, too.”

You sigh. Who are you to turn the love of your life down anyway?

Xiao gets to work while you’re lying sideways on your bed, flinching every now and again because he decided to outline the spitting image of the flower vase sitting on top of your nightstand along the curve of your waist.

Unlike your first experience with manual needling, your pain tolerance is much better. The only reason you’re squirming every time Xiao embeds the ink into your skin is because you’re fucking ticklish. All those years of being intimately acquainted with Beidou’s tattoo machine were all the sensory training you needed, it seems.

When Xiao is done with this piece, he pulls you into an upright position, making you hold out your arm so he could resurrect the first tattoo he ever gave you. You roll your eyes, but let him do as he pleases anyway.

At this point, you’ll let him do anything with you.

It’s nearly three in the morning when you’re putting away the dishes and glasses you and Xiao used for the night. He’s kind enough to throw out the trash while you clean up in the kitchen, and when he meets you back in the living room to exchange farewells, you don’t really want him to go.

“You have morning classes tomorrow, right?” he murmurs as he pulls you into a firm embrace, careful not to press down too hard on your new tattoo. “Take care. Don’t burn yourself out too much. All your hard work will be for nothing if you end up keeling over before graduation.”

You can’t help it. The soft timbre of his voice coupled with the fond look in his eyes tears all your defenses asunder. As you look up to meet Xiao’s uncharacteristically doting gaze, your chest twists more and more as you keep yourself from lunging in for a kiss.

“You’re such a pessimist, it’s almost funny how caring you sound,” you chuckle. “Go on, now. Shoo. It’s late.”

Before you can push him out of the door, however, Xiao catches you by surprise when he leans down to peck your lips. You stay frozen in place even as he pulls away—smiling so prettily, you can hardly believe this guy is your perpetually pissed off best friend.

“Good night.”

Unlike the last time he left you all alone in your apartment, you’re filled to the brim with an emotion you can’t quite name. It’s far from the emptiness that made a home in your heart when you thought you were in love with someone who didn’t love you back. But you’re not about to call it happiness either.

Whatever this strange feeling is, you let it sit in your chest for a while longer, and it lingers even when the memory of Xiao’s lips stops prickling against the skin of your own.

09.

On the day of your graduation, Xiao asks you to drop by his shop after the rites have concluded. You tell him that he’s self-centered as fuck, and that this is your day, so if he wants to use your body as a practice canvas again, he’s going to have to wait tomorrow.

You don’t tell him that you’re sulking because he didn’t even show up to congratulate you for surviving four gruesome years of nursing. But you suppose that someone who never went to college in the first place wouldn’t be the best at sympathizing with this particular milestone in your life.

He shows you his latest sketch when you make it to his shop the next morning—and you can’t contain the look of disbelief that colors your features when you realize what it is.

“A bouquet that’ll never wilt,” he chuckles, one finger expertly pointing out the flowers he’s drawn on the neat page. “Orchids and hydrangeas: your favorite. Violets: you press a bunch of these in books every summertime. Pink baby’s breath ‘cause you wouldn’t stop gushing about them at your sister’s wedding.”

You aren’t able to stifle the flattered giggle that spills from your lips. “Can’t believe you actually remember all that. What’s the lily of the valley doing there though?”

“Oh, this?” Xiao hums with one brow raised. “Your mom had lots of them in her old garden. Those are my favorite.”

“And, pray tell, why is your favorite flower going to be permanently tattooed on my body?”

Xiao doesn’t humor you with a verbal answer right away. Instead, he wheels his revolving seat closer to you so that he’s close enough to press your foreheads together. Your breath hitches when his mouth curves into a loving smile you’re starting to get used to seeing.

“Because you’re mine,” he says simply. “Now, are you going to tell me where you want me to ink your eternal bouquet or not?”

10.

You’re a complete sap when it comes to weddings. Everyone knows this.

It’s for that reason that none of your guests are surprised when you end up crying in the middle of exchanging vows with your fiancé. Xiao sighs before taking out a handkerchief from his front pocket, dabbing at the tears streaming down your face. For someone who comes on so tough to other people, you’re awfully sentimental.

“Sorry, sorry—” you sniffle, thanking every single god out there for the invention of waterproof mascara. “Okay, I’m ready now.”

The rest of the session proceeds swiftly. You get to kiss your best friend of more than two decades and call him your husband in front of some friends and family. The matrimonial rites were held in a private resort at the base of a mountain. Both you and Xiao wanted to preserve the intimacy of your wedding as much as you could. After all, you didn’t need all that flashy and grandiose wedding prep to prove to the world just how much you want to spend the rest of your life with Xiao.

Your thoughts stay the same even as he lays you down in the king-sized bed of the cabin you had to yourselves. He sighs in between kisses as he strips you off your wedding garbs. You’re surprised he’s taking his time with you. Xiao has been eye-fucking you since you started walking down the aisle. It was so bad that even Beidou made a few off-hand remarks about the sexual tension during the reception.

“I was thinking,” you breathe as he grinds his hips against yours, “of getting another tattoo. My last one.”

Xiao lifts his head for a moment, one brow arched. “You’re married to a tattoo artist, and you think the tattoo you’re getting after the wedding is your last one? You’re dreaming, princess.”

“Fine. Point taken.” You roll your eyes. “But anyway, I want a dragon tattoo riiiight…here.”

Your husband watches with rapt attention as you guide his hand to the spot you’re talking about—just below the collection of your favorite flowers inked above your waist is a blank stretch of skin. Xiao’s lips twitch into a fond smile as his calloused fingers graze your flesh.

“Still against having showy tatts?” he asks before pressing a soft kiss on the spot you pointed at.

“Mhmm. You see, my dad doesn’t care if I’m married and have my own life. If he sees that I have tattoos, he’s still going to murder me,” you chuckle. “So yeah, tatts are staying under my clothes until he grows old enough and forgets that he hates seeing ink on other people’s skin.”

“I’ll keep that in mind then.”

When Xiao ravishes you for the first time as your husband, your chest overflows with love for him. Not everyone is lucky enough to have their best friends by their sides for as long as you did, yet you ended up tying the knot with yours. Although the entire process was more than twenty years in the making, you suppose there’s no point in rushing anything.

After all, Xiao is as permanent in your life just as much as the ink stains on your body.

“Look,” you chuckle once Xiao is done cleaning up in the bathroom and settles down right next to you on the bed, “Kaeya sent us a postcard. He says congrats on overcoming the emotional constipation.”

“Throw that thing away,” your husband grumbles, pulling you away from the pile of postcards on the nightstand. “Why are you even keeping touch with him still?”

“So I can use him as an excuse to get you jealous, and have you fuck me rough?”

“Oh, princess. If you wanted it rough…” he starts with a sigh, rolling his neck with a smirk. You gulp, wondering if you’ve bitten off more than you can chew this time around.

“All you had to do was ask.”

⟢ end notes: it's been a while since i wrote for genshin, so i hope you liked it! thank you sm for reading ^^

#genshin impact #genshin fanfic #genshin smut #genshin xiao #xiao fanfic #xiao smut #xiao x reader #genshin x reader #genshin headcanons #cryoculus

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