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"Xiao! c'mon, hurry up!" Yelled excitedly Y/N. They were running up to the top of Mt. Tianheng with a xiao lantern in hand and waving at the adeptus to walk faster with the other. Xiao was following them with his usual neutral expression, at a much slower pace, seemingly not interested in their shenanigans.
"Do we really have to do this... the Lantern Rite is already over." Xiao sighed, the question sounding more like an exasperated sentence. He wasn't trying to hide his hate for the Rite in the slightest. Upon arriving at their destination, he crossed his arms with a frown and looked at them.
Y/N smiled brightly and gave him a playful punch on his shoulder, laughing. They placed the xiao lantern on the ground and interwined his hands with theirs, looking in his eyes with a softer smile than their usual cheerful one.
"Well, you promised, didn't you? You said that after you were done with your adepti work during the lantern rite you'd light a lantern with me. ...And you know how much I wanted to do this with you!" They grinned, seeing Xiao's cheeks reddening slightly. He gripped their hands tighter, but didn't add anything else.
Y/N reclutantly removed their hands from Xiao's, hesitating slightly to feel his touch just a little bit more. They sat on the ground and motioned Xiao to do the same, while grabbing their lantern to begin writing their wishes on the little piece of paper. They began scribbling on the paper, tongue cutely hanging from a corner of their mouth in concentration while Xiao watched in silence. After a while, they stopped and looked at the adeptus sitting next to them.
"Oh! do you want to wish for something too, Xiao? We only have one lantern, though... Well, you can just write on mine!" Y/N handed him the piece of paper and brush, waiting for him to write something too.
"This is pointless. Adepti do not have human desires." Xiao looked at them with his usual stern look, handing the paper back to them. "I have no wishes to write on there."
Y/N puffed their cheeks and took their paper back, huffing.
"Oh, c'mon! there must be something you want, y'know! Anything!"
Xiao glared at them. There was something... something he wished for with all his heart. But that was just a dream that will never be realized. He couldn't write it down. He didn't deserve to, after all he's done in the past. His glare morphed into a sad gaze, looking anywhere but at them, hugging his knees tight to his chest.
Y/N took notice of this, but didn't say anything about it. They only smiled, finishing up the lantern and getting up from the cold grass.
"Well... you don't have to tell me. or even write it down, y'know? I don't... really know what happened in the past, but..." They slowly released the lantern filled with wishes in the sky, looking at it fondly. "I think, whatever it is, if you believe in it... your wish will surely reach the stars anyways, somehow."
Xiao didn't respond, thinking deeply about those words.
After a while, he lightly sighed and got up, a small smile on his face. Maybe, he couldn't completely erase all of the pain or suffering he endured in the past. Maybe, he will never be free of his sin or from the voices of the dead. But he could allow himself these small moments of serenity, if only to forget about everything for a while.
"Hey, now that we're done! Let's go get some tofu! It's actually freezing out here!"
He was jolted awake from his thoughts, suddenly feeling a soft hand in his gloved one pulling him away. At that moment, he could swear their voice sounded as sweet as the sound of that flute...
Maybe his wish, somehow, was already granted without him noticing.