Chapter Text
Xiao stared at the picture on his phone.
Not that anyone could blame him. Really. Most other people would stare if they were in his position, considering what platform the picture was on. Maybe they wouldn't stare in a catatonic state of shock for the past five minutes the way he had, but still.
Keqing grinned back at him from the screen. She looked different. Then again, of course she did. It had been five years.
It was just that Xiao had only seen Keqing wear a dress - an actual princess-like dress - once before, and even then, it'd been forced on her. She was wearing hiking boots instead of high heels ― because of course she was ― and her hair, while longer now, was still done in her telltale cat ear buns. She had one hand on her hip and a flute of what Xiao could only assume was alcohol in her other hand. Even the way she looked at the camera was familiar - dignified and self-assured with a thinly-veiled smugness he had found himself fond of.
Everything about her demanded attention, in the most and least annoying way simultaneously. The room she was in looked faded in spite of the bright lights. The grandiose decor was basically one big prop. One look and anyone could tell that Keqing was someone powerful - that Keqing was the person to look to in any setting.
The point was: Xiao was positive that if anyone else were in his shoes, they’d have his reaction.
The little circles on the bottom of the picture indicated that Keqing's Tinder profile was loaded with more pictures. Five minutes since her profile appeared on Xiao's screen and he'd been too flabbergasted to skim through the rest of it. But that's normal, he rationalized. The two of them hadn't talked since the summer after her graduation, when he kinda sorta made the mistake of ending things after she kinda sorta moved to the other side of the country.
Xiao tucked his phone away into his pocket. He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled a shaky breath. When he looked at the clock over on the break room wall, he realized he only had fifteen minutes left on his break. Classic. Leave it to Keqing to ruin the one hour Xiao got to relax away from the hustle and bustle of happy hour. He hadn’t even opened his lunch bag, let alone touched his food. And suddenly, he'd also forgotten what the hell he had even packed to eat earlier that morning.
With a groan, he took out his phone and unlocked it. It opened back up to Keqing’s profile. He counted the little circles on the bottom of her main picture: four, which meant four total pictures, including the one he'd gawked at for five minutes. Surely, he could make it through three more pictures without his brain short-circuiting. He had lived through the past three years looking at other girls, looking at boys, looking at people - some of whom were more attractive than her. He could look at some stupid photos on some stupid dating app. He could do this.
He scrolled down to the next picture and quickly realized that no, he could not do this.
Keqing, on a boat. Keqing, wearing a pair of designer sunglasses, head turned so her profile was on full display. Keqing, in black denim overalls worn over a low-cut tankini, her cat ear buns damp with ocean water.
Xiao swiped right before the thought even occurred to him. It took a full second of processing for him to stomach what he had done.
“No,” he whispered. “No, no, no, no.”
Another face smiled up at him now, but all he could see was Keqing's grin. His heartbeat sped up, roaring in his ears. Xiao sighed in half-relief, half disappointment. Truthfully, he didn’t know what he would have done if the “You Matched!” screen had popped up straight away. Yet he found himself partly wishing that it did…
Fuck no, he wasn't going to look into that.
The silence of the break room is severed by the sound of a door creaking open. Xiao flinched. His phone slipped through his fingers, and he quickly moved to catch - the screen protector he'd hastily placed on it was cracked enough as is. He couldn't afford to replace it.
Once the phone was safely in his hands, he looked up to meet the other person's gaze.
“Whew, someone's jumpy today.” Hu Tao's mischievous amber eyes crinkled at the corners as she giggled. "Did you finally found a caffeinated drink that caters to your impossible sweet tooth?" She chuckled again before shoving a Lotus Crisp into her mouth.
Xiao exhaled through his nose, setting his phone face down in his lap, and shrugged. It was only through sheer will that he was able to look unbothered. “Very funny.”
“Anyway..." Hu Tao offered Xiao a Lotus Crisp, only to have her hand swatted away. "Shouldn’t you be sad boy-ing it up for Joji's show? Y'know, with the other Kevin Nguyens?" She snickered. "Like...the other day, I saw Kazuha and Gorou at Founders staring off into space with 'Slow Dancing in The Dark' playing in the background.”
“I'm not going,” Xiao said. He stood up, slinging the strap of his lunch bag over his shoulder. “And I know you know that, seeing as you’ve only texted me about it a hundred times.”
“And you replied maybe...twelve out of a hundred of those times?” She shook her head, feasting on another chip with a loud crunch. Xiao wrinkled his nose. “Excuse me for trying to lure you out of your cave.”
“The same way you lured Yanfei out of hers?”
Hu Tao snorted. "Hey now...lay off my girlfriend, will ya? Law school isn't some fucking cakewalk. If she needs to hermit it out to pass the bar, I'm not gonna object. You of all people should know that -" She proceeded to stop herself the moment she noticed Xiao's eyes flitter down, the lightest of frowns curving his lips downwards.
"Sorry, Xiao." Hu Tao bowed her head apologetically. "I didn't mean -"
"It's nothing." The crinkle in Xiao's brow said otherwise, but like hell if either of them were gonna say so. He snatched his phone from off his lap and stuffed it into the back pocket of his pants with a quick glance at the clock.
“My break is almost up. Did you and the guys still want me over at Venti's?”
“Well, duh. But I gotta warn you, dude, I think Aether's inviting -”
“Tch,” Xiao scoffed, “Seriously? Him?” He folded his arms. "Are you certain you aren't trying to talk me out of showing up?"
“Xiao," Hu Tao whined. "I promise I won't let Ajax bug you this time. Plus, I've been dying to introduce you to Yanfei, and it isn't everyday she can -"
He sighed. "Fine. I'll hang out for a little while. Happy?"
"Very." Hu Tao proceeded to pull him into a hug, oblivious to the way Xiao's body stiffened upon contact. "You're the best!"
Xiao sighed again, though there was no mistaking the half-smile that ghosted over his lips. "I know."