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Xingqiu knows he's being immature.
He'd really done it this time. He knows, knows it wasn't like him to snap back at his brother and storm out of the Guild, not turning back till the late afternoon bustle of Liyue Harbour was far, far behind him.
It's no secret that he often disagrees with his brother on the way he handles his work, but he almost never lets it show, and when he does, he always made sure he came off as polite and proper when voicing his opinions.
It was hardly ever like this.
Xingqiu recalled that the last time he'd had a hostile encounter with his brother, was when they were seven. When they were only kids.
But behind the polished, composed persona of a young adult Xingqiu had taken on, he still wasn't too far from that hot-headed child just a mere few years ago. He'd barely gotten a taste of being a teenager before the role of supporting his brother and the Guild had been thrust upon him. He didn't have as much responsibility as the heir, yes, but he was just so young. What isn't helping is the fact that his personality meant that just watching his brother struggle when he knew he could do something about it wasn't an option.
He could've had a better grip on himself back there. But he'd let his composure slip in front of his brother and the staff, of all people.
Xingqiu toyed with the idea of extinguishing the flaming flower a little way off the path out of spite. Out of annoyance with his lack of self-control back at the Guild.
He caught himself, however, just before the water vapour in the air responded to his vision. No, this anger is too trivial, too petty of an emotion to act upon. People of good martial arts conduct would never-
Wait. Flaming flower...?
They're only found in the wild, kept away from residential areas, for the obvious safety risks they posed to civilians.
Xingqiu pulled his mind out of the gutter and studied his surroundings. It seemed like he wasn't even aware he'd walked halfway up Mount Tianheng, already far from the outskirts of the harbour.
A corner of Xingqiu's lips turned upwards in amusement. His legs were already in the midst of taking him to his hideout. The quiet peak of the mountain has always served as a place of escape to when he needed time to himself, away from the suffocating walls of the Guild and the white noise of Liyue's busy streets.
Xingqiu had always found the silence comforting.
As the sun begins to dip below the horizon, Xingqiu spots a teleport waypoint a little way up and approaches it, teleporting to the peak of Mount Tianheng, where the sounds of the harbour below can no longer reach him.
ㅡ
The clouds have already been dyed a pale orange-pink by the time Xingqiu arrived at the peak, despite the short amount of time taken to teleport.
Has the sun always set this quickly ? Xingqiu found himself wondering, before setting eyes on a head of bright blue hair under the pavilion Xingqiu always occupied.
He'd recognise that shade of blue anywhere.
"Yun ?"
The boy turns around, standing up when he recognises his friend.
"I knew you'd be here," Chongyun says with a knowing smile, "What took you so long ?"
And that was all it took for the knot of nerves in Xingqiu's chest to loosen. Like it had never been there at all.
He hooked onto Chongyun's arm, pulling him down to sit with him, "You asked Xu where I was, didn't you ?"
Chongyun hummed, letting Xingqiu cling onto him as much as he wanted. He knew something was up, because Xingqiu was rarely this clingy. Not even with him. He doesn't pry, however, and gives the other boy time. He knows Xingqiu will tell him when he wants to, if he wants to.
They sit like this for a while, with Xingqiu leaning on Chongyun's shoulder, watching wordlessly as he conjures up a tiny snowflake with his free hand and whirls it around, the ice crystal glowing starkly pale against the deep orange backdrop of the setting sun.
As the last slivers of light disappeared, Xingqiu shifted in his seat beside Chongyun.
"Xu didn't tell you what happened ?"
"No, I didn't ask," Chongyun turned to face him, "I wanted to hear it from you."
Xingqiu felt his face heat up a little at how earnest the other boy looked, and turned away to hide the slight dust of pink on his cheeks.
"I fought with my brother," Xingqiu starts, his face still turned so it doesn't catch the moonlight, "Well, it's more of just me being mad all of a sudden and running away, but that just makes it sound like i'm an edgy teen, doesn't it ?" He laughs bitterly.
"But you are an edgy teen."
Chongyun's laugh is warm, just like his arms, his face, his hands. The warmth Xingqiu has always found comfort in.
"Aren't we both just edgy teens anyway ?" Chongyun says, reaching up to give Xingqiu's head gentle pats, "So why not just be yourself once in a while ?"
It is just that simple. And yet. Yet Xingqiu had to hear it from Chongyun in order to understand.
"It's okay to take a break."
Somehow, he has his face in Chongyun's neck now, and the other boy is holding him gently in his arms, rubbing soothing circles on his back.
"Just be yourself today, Qiu."
When Xingqiu pulls back to look at him, he realises the colour on Chongyun's face when he says,
"I like you better like this anyway."
ㅡ
Xingqiu was right. The silence is comforting, as it always has been.
But even here, in a quiet pavilion hidden away on Mount Tianheng, he knows that Chongyun will always be the most comforting presence of all.