Chapter Text
the lull of quiet conversation beckoned her into awakening. she refused to open her eyes—not yet—and opted to gradually recover from the grogginess instead.
a warmth emanated at her side. it took her a moment to realize, but after feeling the gentle vibrations of a voice, she realized who was holding her in a gentle embrace.
xiao. she must have fallen asleep again at some point during the day. somehow, after being unconscious for weeks, her body still felt the need to catch up on rest.
the girl debated on whether she should make her regained consciousness known or pretend to stay asleep simply to stay like this a little longer.
when xiao’s fingers gently brushed through her hair like that, it was hard to stay strong. feathered touches ran up and down the length of her exposed arm and she felt strangely at ease. she decided she would remain comfortable for now.
"baizhu should be by the pharmacy shortly. would you like me to retrieve her medication while he is here?" the other voice in the room was low and calculated. zhongli, she mused to herself. xiao paused to check the temperature of her forehead. instead of the usual cloth of his gloves, she felt the bare skin of his cool palm.
"her fever has been reduced to almost nothing, but it would be beneficial to restock in case it returns. we hardly have anything left since the last visit," the adeptus responded softly.
zhongli hummed. "good judgment. are you in need of your antidotes, as well?"
the yaksha went still momentarily before resuming his caresses. with an ear to his chest, it was easy to hear the hesitant sigh he emitted.
"i won’t be needing them anymore."
"oh, is that so?" she could sense zhongli's raised eyebrows from across the room. "why might that be?"
"i ran out of those painkillers a long time ago. ever since she has returned, the karmic debt seems to have been reduced to mere whispers." as he said this, he tugged her a little closer. her chest tightened longingly.
"i am happy to hear that, xiao."
"disregard my forwardness, but may i ask why you have stuck around thus far? for the past two weeks, you have been around her as often as i have. it strikes me as a little strange that her boss would care so fervently."
way to go, xiao, you don't sound possessive in the slightest, (y/n) thought. she wanted to be angry at his passive-aggressiveness, but she guiltily wanted to hear zhongli's response. there was a pregnant silence in the air before he spoke up.
"it feels like you are fishing for something in particular. is there something on your mind?" he finally said.
"is rex lapis truly gone?"
that was not the question she would have expected from him. her ears picked up on quiet sipping, from what she assumed was zhongli's teacup.
"what makes you think i would have the answer?"
"you strike me as the kind of man who knows more than he lets on," xiao quipped.
zhongli chuckled melodiously. "then i shall reveal what you seek. indeed, rex lapis is not dead, because i am sitting here right now."
"excuse me?" (y/n) suddenly decided she was done sleeping. both men stared at her with equal surprise, two golden gazes that proved to be very similar.
"have you been eavesdropping this entire time?" zhongli set down his cup with a soft smile. the question was not accusatory in the slightest, in fact, it was more amused than anything. xiao wasn't sure if he was more surprised at her sudden awakening or zhongli's confession.
she tried to sit up, but her limbs failed her, sending her straight back into xiao's arms. she was still weak in every muscle after the events of osial’s return.
"why didn't you say something sooner?" (y/n) asked desperately. she didn't know how to feel. he had failed to mention this very important aspect of his life, especially when it pertained to her own so intricately.
how did she not see it sooner? the resemblance was uncanny as she scrutinized his features. it felt as if a fog had suddenly cleared within her mind, the remnants of a storm being cleared away by the wind. picturing him in a cloak, he was a living replica of the archon statues littered within liyue’s borders. xiao stayed silent beside her. he seemed to be just as perturbed as she was.
zhongli shifted uncomfortably in his seat against the wall, then proceeded to stand so he could look out the window of her bedroom. with his back turned, neither of the yakshas could see the complex expression on his face.
"i simply no longer wished to be an archon."
"that can't be all, can it?" xiao sounded slightly hurt. "all of this time we spent fighting for the survival of liyue—to maintain your rulership, for naught? bosacius gave her life for the cause, only for you to give up years later. why?"
well, i'm here now, so technically...
zhongli sent an unreadable glance in their direction. "enough. time inevitably continues to progress in ways even gods cannot predict. i will eventually be replaced by another archon and it will be up to liyue to adapt to such a change. i have offered what i can to help the people and it is by my judgment that they are no longer in need of my protection."
xiao was tense. he was clearly at a loss for words. by those few sentences, his entire life had been flipped upside down.
zhongli turned around to face the duo once more. the sunlight outlined his tall figure as he leaned against the windowsill. "i am tired, xiao. all i want now is to observe and simply exist in this realm, albeit not for much longer.”
what was that supposed to mean?
“that is not the only thing, however. there is no longer any need for our contract given the situation i have just explained."
zhongli opened his palm and a scroll appeared with a flash of yellow. "what you are seeing now is the physical embodiment of either of your commitments to the cause. that is, the contract you both verbally signed the moment you became yakshas."
zhongli gripped the contract and promptly tore it in half. the pieces fizzled away in a flurry, disappearing into the atmosphere and leaving an empty void in both xiao and (y/n).
"in other words, you are now free to do whatever you please.”
—
6 months later.
—
as fall gradually shifts into winter, the glaze lilies wilt away as the soil becomes ridden with the biting permafrost beneath its surface. the petals curl in on themselves when death taints the baby blue ridges until they fall off the bloom entirely. that’s not the last we see of them, however.
spring permits new growth to breach the surface of teyvat once more. the green stems unfurl, reaching for the rays of sunshine needed to become the best version of itself. they meet in the middle, and all is well.
the second month of the year is the most important part of the transitional period. the last of winter begins to fade away, making itself known only in the dead of night when the temperature becomes the coldest. liyue is all too ready for the new year to begin, starting it off with one of the biggest festivals of any of the seven nations.
the lantern rite festival.
“don’t you worry your pretty blue head, yu,” (y/n) reassured amicably. “i’ll have this finished before you know it. ning hired me for a reason, you know. your workload will be half as much as long as i’m around.”
ganyu shyly turned her gaze to the side as (y/n) swiftly unloaded the stack of papers from her arms. “but… you should enjoy the festival with xiao while you still can. i can handle this.” she protested stubbornly.
“i have plenty of time to drag him away. go home and change, i’ll be done shortly. enjoy your evening, ganyu.”
begrudgingly, ganyu gave in. with a quick embrace, she exited the jade chamber and disappeared into the crisp evening air. (y/n) settled into the desk chair and began stamping the documents with the jade chamber’s exclusive seals of approval.
after zhongli had revealed his true identity, xiao and (y/n) were akin to dogs whose owners had abandoned them into the wilderness to fend for themselves. the first two months were the most off putting. she was still recovering from her injuries and xiao insisted on continuing to take care of her until she was fully healed. when that day finally came, he showed no signs of wishing to leave her side.
so, they built a house together.
xiao was still indifferent to being around “mere mortals,” as he so liked to call them, so they made a compromise. to the west of liyue were open plots of land nestled between the steep inclines of rocky terrain. aside from the occasional abandoned building, there was hardly anyone else around to bother them.
thanks to ningguang’s extensive connections, this feat was an easy one. it only took an additional month until the lodging was finished.
once the tianquan caught wind of the fact that the electro yaksha no longer worked for the funeral parlor, she was quick to snatch up the girl on behalf of the promise she had made a few months prior. the rebuilding of the jade chamber was new to them all, so (y/n) did not feel out of place whatsoever. working alongside ganyu and keqing was more fun than she could have dreamed.
as she had promised ganyu, she finished the work in record time. her arms stretched above her head and a yawn managed to escape the confines of her lips. the usual bustling ambiance of the chamber had been replaced by the distant sounds of music from the city below. she couldn’t help but close her eyes as she attuned her hearing to the sound.
a few moments later, a pair of arms snaked around her shoulders.
“did you fall asleep?”
with a smile, the girl opened her eyes to meet xiao’s curious golden gaze. with her head tilted over the back of the chair, he stared down at her from above, appearing upside down in her eyes. her hands reached towards his face and pulled him right to her lips.
“i was just resting my eyes.”
“sure you were, grandpa,” he retorted sarcastically, twirling her around to face him. she gave him an incredulous look but couldn’t stifle the laugh she tried so hard to suppress. a whisper of a smile twinged at the corner of his lips.
“you’re not supposed to be up here, you know. top-secret stuff.”
he pretended to scan the room as he laced their fingers together. “and who exactly is here to stop me from visiting you?”
(y/n) chuckled. “you missed me that much?”
“of course i did. that mangy cat can’t provide me the same company that you can.”
“leave rex alone. you’re basically insulting yourself, you two are practically twins,” the girl chided.
xiao scoffed in disbelief. “i am nothing like that feline. you are mistaken.”
rex was the lucky cat (y/n) had kidnapped off the streets once their house had been finished. he was a stubborn thing; the amount of fish it took to lure him into her arms was large in number. it was the same one she had spotted the night she went drinking with zhongli, the one with the captivating golden irises that resembled xiao’s so much. she hadn’t taken her eyes off it since.
zhongli… continued to remain a complex subject. she did not see him nearly as much as she used to when she worked at the parlor. they went out for the occasional dinner at third-round knockout, but there was a lot of trust that needed to be built back up. the original foundation had crumbled to pieces. they were making fine progress as they went along, she only hoped things could go back to the way they used to be.
a whistling noise brought their attention to the doorway. it went on for a few seconds before it went silent. then, a loud boom resonated in the air, fizzling out into the sound of sparks.
(y/n) gasped. “fireworks!”
xiao had no problem scooping the girl into his arms and soaring through the air. she clung to him as she routinely did when he traveled like this. she wouldn’t typically choose this method of transportation, but xiao insisted that it would be faster than climbing. she only accepted after he told her he had a specific place in mind.
“you can open your eyes now.”
and so she did. xiao gently placed her onto her feet, but instead of landing on the grass, something plush cushioned the ground. a blanket was spread out before them, shielding a pile of pillows from the soil beneath. she sent a disbelieving look towards the adeptus, but he avoided her gaze by closing his eyes entirely.
“i thought you hated stuff like this.”
“i do,” he confirmed shortly. “but when it’s for you… i’ll put up with anything.”
xiao jumped slightly when she kissed his cheek. (y/n) laughed at his expression and took his hand, pulling him down into the pile despite his protests. the fireworks had already begun to decorate the sky above the harbor in an array of colors. the sounds were slightly delayed with how far out they were, but the view was breathtaking.
laying her head down in his lap, the girl stayed mostly silent as she watched the show. xiao watched the way the fireworks danced in the reflection of her eyes. he melted slightly upon seeing the genuine joy lighting up her features.
“you haven’t ever been to a lantern rite…” he murmured the realization out loud, catching her attention without meaning to. she shook her head.
“this is wonderful. how many have you attended?” she continued before he could answer the question. “i’ll bet you never get tired of it. i’ve never seen anything like this.”
his silence concerned her slightly. tearing her gaze away from the city, her (e/c) eyes fell upon xiao’s figure. his bottom lip protruded slightly, so she leaned forward and kissed him softly.
when she pulled away, he spoke. “i could never enjoy such trivial things. it always felt so… forced. i couldn’t even pretend to be happy while you were gone.”
“xiao…”
“don’t look at me like that, please,” he said softly. his fingers traced along her jawline, and she leaned into his hand in turn. “it’s different now.”
“i wish things had been different for us back then. i wonder where we would be now,” she wondered aloud. her lips found his wrist and she planted a gentle kiss along the vein. “you’ve suffered for so long. i’m sorry i wasn’t there for you when you needed me the most.”
“there’s a phrase that zhongli used once. i think it pertains to us rather closely.”
the way he deflected her apology didn’t go unnoticed. while disapproving of this fact, she couldn’t help but be curious about his words. “what was the phrase?”
xiao pulled her hand to his mouth, eyes fluttering shut.
“i believe it was star-crossed lovers.”