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Ruin guards?
Easy.
Fatui Agents?
Easy enough.
Ruin hunters?
Yeah sure, you could deal with them. No problem.
But enemy after enemy, ruin guard after ruin guard, and fatui agent after fatui agent-- maybe not so much. Your body ached from the exertion and physical strain that the adrenaline had covered during your bounties. Muscles were tense and stiff, feeling like you could barely lift your sword, much less your sore legs and the constant pound in your head a reminder of your headache.
Pushing yourself past your limits wasn’t something out of the blue or unusual, but being arrogant and senseless wasn’t either. There’s always a time where there’s enough, but that was completely void to you. You seemed to only realize this at times when it’s already too late.
You groaned to yourself miserably with a hand against your temple, dragging yourself down the sandy path of the Liyue roads, beads of sticky sweat dripping down your forehead. And just adding on to the suffering and uneasiness, the air of the setting day felt impossibly still. There was no rustle of the dead leaves or even the brushes of grass. Just silence, heat, and the continuous drums in your head.
Time breezed past rather quickly since you started your bounties that morning-- and as the saying goes: time flies by when you’re having fun-- if fun is taking down large killing machines and pain-in-the-ass fatui.
The sky glowed a bright orange, different shades and tones of red smudging with the darkening blue canvas (instead of the bright, clearless sky of the morning what felt like only a few hours ago)-- a perfect picture of the horizon, and if not for your current conditions, you would’ve watched the rest of it set until nightfall. But nobody stays out alone at night, especially in Liyue. At least if you were smart enough not to.
“Shit..” you muttered to yourself, leaning against a light pole and shaking your head tiredly, the shifting of your weight causing the lamp above you to flicker momentarily. You almost forgot that you were supposed to meet with Xiao later that night; you could only imagine what thoughts might be running through his head right now. Over the few months you began to stay at Wangshu Inn, the two of you grew rather close, albeit being difficult since the Adeptus was someone you couldn’t really.. converse with easily. It took almost two months just to get him to speak more than two words to you, and what felt like forever to finally interact with physical contact. You bite your lip, eyebrows coming together, before you pushed yourself off from the support of the pole. If you stayed there any longer, you would’ve just called it a day there and collapsed.
From the cracks of your fingers, you could see the soft lights of the Wangshu Inn glowing eerily in the distance. A small feeling of relief made your shoulders sag to see the familiar outline of the building. Your shoes no longer kicked up stones and dust but creaked against smooth hardwood as you climbed the stairs leading up. Your arm grasped the railing for support as you heaved yourself up what felt like thousands of steps.
You were almost there-- just a few more steps.
One foot, then another..
You licked your dry lips, eyelids fluttering in exhaustion and long-needed sleep.
The shadow of your hand then reached forward but grasped at nothing as you collapsed onto the stairs leading up to the lobby of the Inn. Your body sagged against the railing, and as uncomfortable as you were, you couldn’t dare lifting another muscle.
Xiao Pov:
It had been hours since the traveler last checked in. The Adeptus couldn’t help but glance at the clock that hung tauntingly on the wall every few minutes, watching as each minute ticked by in Y/N’s absence.
Xiao slouched in his seat in the back of the lobby of the Inn before quickly straightening himself. He was growing restless, and something he didn’t want to admit-- worried. It’s not often he finds himself fond of a mortal-- not even often-- more like never. And to have the one mortal he grew close to missing after curfew set him on edge. His mind buzzed with possibilities and circumstances that would have led to her late arrival, not of which being good.
“Y/N..” he whispered under his breath, eyes staring past the archway of the entrance to the Inn and to the dark, empty sky.
Xiao left his seat swiftly and stalked to the balcony, but his attention snapped to the soft thud that met him halfway. The Adeptus hesitated for a moment, expression pensive, before he continued out to observe. Xiao stared down at the edge of the stairs with blank eyes, one foot on the stair below him and another still on the balcony. The traveler lay sprawled out across the steps, littered in cuts and torn clothing. Xiao blinked, enveloping in incomprehensible feelings.
Xiao was never good with emotions or the actions of mortals. To see his friend passed out on the floor was honestly horrifying, albeit he’d ever admit it and it would never show across his deadpan.
The Adeptus released a shaky breath and cautiously moved closer to investigate. Wary eyes panned over her body and gentle expression under the soft moonlight. Xiao awkwardly leaned over to retrieve the traveler, one arm reaching under the crevice of her knees while the other drew itself around her back. She stirred a bit in his grasp, which was enough to make him raise his eyebrows in surprise.
He made his way to the traveler’s bedroom with little to no struggle. Her body fell from his gentle hold to the soft sheets of her bed. From the seat beside the bedside he stared at the cuts and wounds covering her body-- it was apparent enough that she had been fighting, but the cause for her fall still drew a blank in the Adeptus’s mind.
Reckless mortals, he thought, eyes slightly narrowing.
Xiao scoffed quietly to himself before he made his way over to her closet-- he remembered that day when the traveler invited him to her room and showed him her belongings. He remembered the familiar white and red print of the med-kit that she showed him all those weeks ago and retrieved it without trying to invade the traveler’s personal belongings. Inside was simple medical supplies-- bandages, some cream that he had no idea what was used for, and a small pair of scissors with a needle and thread. He made a cursory glance over to the sleeping traveler, grabbing the bandages only and setting the med-kit on the bed stand.
Hesitance made his body still as he stood inches from her body. He didn’t want to do something wrong; he didn’t want to hurt her. So with extreme precision and care, he lifted back her sleeves and the clothing that revealed her wounds. He tore a long strand of the white bandage with his teeth before gently wrapping it around each wound, attempting not to disrupt her sleeping. But it seemed his precision was futile-- the traveler stirred again, making Xiao take a small step back. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she stared at the wide eyes of the Adeptus before she took in the situation.
“Xiao?..” she croaked quietly. He could tell she was too tired to even lift her head by the way her body shifted towards him ever so slightly to get a better angle.
“Are you hurting? Is something too tight?” he asked. His voice was flat and blank but his urgency was enough to show the traveler his concern.
“Wha..?-- Oh..” Y/N slowly lifted her arms, revealing white banged tinted by the soft red of her blood that went all the way from her wrists all the way to her elbows. “No, it’s fine.”
The Adepti’s expression never shifted.
“Really, it’s fine,” the traveler reassured. “Thank you, Xiao. If it weren’t for you I probably would’ve had the worst back pains of my life tomorrow,” she laughed lightly.
Xiao stared for a moment before nodding. He took a step back, figuring it was his cue to take his leave (since he had no clue what to do next), but the traveler’s eyes suddenly widened and her arm shot up towards him. She winced, slowly retreating it back across her stomach, and licked her lips nervously. The Adeptus couldn’t help but stare with curious but wary eyes.
“Can.. you stay? Please..?”
Xiao’s eyebrows drew together-- it was such a simple question yet it felt like his mind was blowing fumes around it.
“Stay..?” he repeated slowly, the word thick on his tongue.
The traveler nodded and shifted on her bed, making room for the Adeptus beside her. Her eyes glittered with an emotion Xiao couldn’t comprehend, which made him ever the more curious.
He wanted to understand.
Xiao slowly made his way over to the bed, and although reluctant, settled himself stiffly beside the traveler, apprehensive. His arms crossed themselves awkwardly across his chest as he stared up at the ceiling, casually throwing a few furtive glances towards the contented traveler beside him.
Seeing the traveler smile made him feel good. He.. liked seeing her happy, and oddly enough, it made him happy.
Her body unexpectedly shifted into his, her head resting on his chest, eyes fluttering sleepily. His breath hitched in the back of his throat, body tensing, and it took him what felt like minutes to finally adjust and wrap an arm around her shoulder. He watched as her body would rise and fall against his and the way her body would subconsciously press closer— the way their legs intertwined, and how her warm breath seeped through his thin clothing.
Was this.. A normal thing to do?
Xiao didn’t understand, and he wondered if he ever would. But sitting there, side by side and exchanging the warmth of his friend-- his companion, was enough to make him understand one thing:
It made him happy. It made him warm, and not just on the outside.