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Xiao’s used to nightmares, but you aren’t.
It’s to be expected, after you’ve traveled all across Teyvat alongside Aether, fighting against humans and monsters alike. They’re nothing like the demons he’s had to conquer, the Gods Rex Lapis contracted him to keep defeated, but they’re enough to scare you into keeping a dagger beneath your pillow, while you sleep.
He finds you at the top of Wangshu Inn, where he met you and Aether for the first time. To be honest, when you first met, he could hardly concentrate on what Aether and Paimon were talking about, with you standing there. You hadn’t spoken, just a soft introduction before moving to the railing, relishing in the view from the Inn.
He felt silly, to think that a mortal could look so ethereal.
He felt even sillier when he rescued you and Aether from falling into the sea, an arm secure around your waist even after releasing Aether from his hold.
He ignored the smug looks the other Adepti sent him, and the sly grin Aether shot him from across the way.
After all this time, he doesn’t quite understand emotions, but he knows that if someone like him, who has had countless nightmares, is afraid of them, then it must be a thousand times worse for you.
He goes to his room and returns with a blanket, draping it over your shoulders. You pull it close around you, leaning into the soft headpat he gives you.
“Stay here. I’ll be back.”
You nod, teary-eyed, and something within him aches. If he could rid the world of the monsters that haunt you, he would.
Maybe he will, with you.
The kitchen is empty at this hour, but he needs little guidance on where the ingredients he needs are. Smiley Yanxiao keeps them accessible for the Yaksha’s cravings, and Xiao is grateful.
He makes his specialty Almond Tofu, the one he calls ‘Sweet Dream’. It’s more simple looking than the ones Aether or Smiley Yanxiao make, but that’s how he likes it; simple and sweet. It’s what dreams should be like, he thinks, which is why he calls it ‘Sweet Dream’.
He hopes that his Sweet Dream can help you have one.
He returns to where you are, smiling softly at the sight of you sitting on the railing, legs dangling over the edge.
“Be careful,” he says, walking over to you.
You turn and hop off the railing, and he hands you the freshly made dessert along with a spoon. The smile you send him makes his chest warm, and he sits cross-legged on the wooden flooring, patting a spot beside him.
He watches you eat a spoonful of the dish, a worried expression on his face. You dissipate it with a happy hum, eating another spoonful.
You take another spoonful and point it towards him, and he puts his hands up, shaking his head.
“I made it for you,” he says.
“Food tastes better when shared,” you reply, and he scoffs, before opening his mouth for you to feed him.
You’re right, he thinks, because he’s overwhelmed with euphoria, which could be a result of the sugar rush, or the rush of having feelings for you.
Mortal life is fleeting. He knows that sooner or later, you’ll pass on, and you’ll be added to the list of things that haunts him. It’s the reason why he refuses to mingle amongst the citizens of Liyue; the reason why he keeps his distance from humans.
But you drew him in like a magnet, like he is a moth and you are a flame.
And if your flame were to die, he would never forget the warmth he felt with you, the feelings you taught him to feel.
You’d be the one person he wouldn’t mind being haunted by.
“What are you so deep in thought about?”
“Nothing,” he says, frowning at your puffy and reddened eyes. “Are you feeling better?”
“I am.”
He hums, and then says, “I was thinking about losing you.”
“You won’t,” you reply, and before he could interject with some snarky remark about mortal lives, you say, “Not yet.”
“Can I hold you?” He blurts out, looking away from your reddened expression. “It’s fine-”
“Yes,” you cut in, and he opens his arms for you. You sit in his lap and he wraps his arms around your waist, resting his head against the back of your neck.
“I’ll kill them all,” he murmurs, breath warm against your skin. “The Fatui, the Abyss Order. I’ll make sure you never feel as unsafe as you do now.”
“Xiao,” you call softly, leaning into his hold, “I feel safe enough with you.”
“You had a nightmare. I was here.”
“I did, and you weren’t. You came back late,” you mumble.
He inhales sharply, remembering that he had helped Aether with a commission before coming back to the Inn. He sighs.
“I’m sorry.”
“It isn’t your fault,” you remind him. He squeezes his arms around you, flushing when you lean back and press a kiss to the bottom of his jaw.
“I love you,” he says breathily, a slight pout adorning his flushed face.
“I love you too.”
He guides your hips with his hands, turning you to face him, your legs around his waist.
He presses soft kisses to your face, relishing in your soft gasps and giggles.
He recalls the quote ‘love conquers all’, a silly quote he’s heard for millennia, passed on through generations by mortals.
For a while, it's been just that, a silly quote, but now, with you in his arms and in his heart, he feels foolish enough to believe it.
He knows that the others won’t ever let him live it down, the Conqueror of Demons conquered by a human , but he’s never been big on their opinion, anyhow.
With you in his arms, nothing else matters - not the nightmares, nor the demons - just you and the warmth in his chest, and the fuzziness in his head.
The next morning, Aether finds you and Xiao asleep on the floor of the balcony, Xiao’s arms wrapped around you protectively, your legs entangled.
He muffles Paimon’s squeal with his hand, and warns the Innkeeper to keep the guests away. She mentions that it’d be better if you both moved to one of your rooms, but Aether shakes his head.
With a soft smile, he says, “It looks like they’re having a sweet dream.”