Work Text:
“promising natal day…?” kazuha frowns at his phone. the first sentence to anything, whether it is a short story or a haiku, is always the most difficult for him. there are always many things to choose from, yet it has to be intriguing enough for the reader to understand the meaning and emotions he thoughtfully encapsulates through his words.
“hey, kazuha. you still on set?” beidou puts a hand on his shoulder, making him jump with surprise. his surroundings come back to him, then he remembers that he’s still on the set of the game they both act in. the motion capture outfit he has on doesn’t bother him and has become a thing he’s used to; it comes with the job of being an actor for the game.
“yeah, i just finished up my part in the upcoming event. i kind of lost track of time after that, you know how i get when i write my poems.” kazuha laughs, which beidou chuckles along to.
“i know, your in-game counterpart is like that, too. what’s the poem about?” beidou taps her chin in thought before seemingly getting struck by an idea. “maybe i could offer you some help?”
“no, it’s okay. it’s for my birthday post.”
“oh, yeah! your birthday is tonight, isn’t it?”
“yeah. tomorrow, i’ll be spending the whole day with xiao.” kazuha sighs dreamily. he wants to get out of this stupid mocap outfit, and go home to his boyfriend’s arms. he can already feel xiao’s warm embrace as he wakes up in the morning, and maybe they’ll eat some of the sakura mochi cakes that ayaka had given him as a birthday present, or maybe kazuha will get to watch him stream—
“earth to lover boy? if you want to spend more time with him, you should probably get home.” beidou shakes her head in disbelief. “you are always disgustingly affectionate with him on social media and on set, it’s like nobody can escape you both.”
“after it was accidentally revealed that we were dating, i have definitely tried my best.” kazuha grins with a strong sense of pride, even if xiao did scold him for revealing their relationship on one of his streams. “he doesn’t initiate it often, but when he does, i think my productivity and effectiveness during work increases by a hundred percent. he brings out the best in me.”
the woman rolls her eyes. “great. he’s not even here and you’re already incredibly mushy.”
“what can i say? i love my boyfriend.”
“huh, i just think it’s kind of funny that in the game kazuha and xiao have no canon interactions with each other, and yet their actual real life counterparts are very much in love.”
kazuha rolls his eyes. “speak for yourself, ms. ‘i don't have a girlfriend therefore i am a hater of someone else’s relationship’.”
regardless of all the training they had done together at the gym, the force of beidou shaking his shoulders almost knocks the wind right out of him. “shut up! i’ll get ningguang to be my girlfriend. eventually.”
“sure, if you say so!” kazuha slips out of her grasp, waving goodbye as he walks away to get changed. “i’ll be leaving now. i’m going to get changed and go home to my boyfriend!”
“okay! get home safely!” beidou hollers loudly, even when kazuha is still a few feet away. it’s okay, though, he appreciates how the older woman looks out for him. “i’ll be sure to be the first one to wish you a happy birthday!”
“ after my boyfriend!”
“ after your boyfriend!”
when he returns home, kazuha can barely control his excitement. while he was brimming with anticipation to what surprise xiao has conjured up this year, he is mostly looking forward to spending time with his boyfriend after a long week of filming and reading over several new voicelines.
not only that, but his favorite part of coming home is the smell of home cooking, xiao’s warm smile when he looks up to see kazuha walking over to hug him. other times it would be the other way round, the jingling of the apartment keys from outside drags him out from whatever fantasy novel he was engrossed in, to leap onto xiao as he enters their apartment, welcoming him home.
but on days like this, where the door leading into the home office is slightly ajar, the tips of the cat ears on xiao’s gaming headphones peaking through the chair he’s on, and his frustrated cursing at the monitor while he’s probably failing at a battle compels kazuha practically sprinting into the room.
“xiao, my love, i’m home!” kazuha exclaims, pulling him into his arms and hugging him tightly. it’s at this point that xiao does not flinch anymore and instead, leans in closer to kiss his cheek.
“welcome home, kazuha.” xiao murmurs, pushing away the stray strands of hair on kazuha’s face with a pleased smile. this is kazuha’s favorite home greeting, maybe because of how this same scenario was the first time xiao had easily reciprocated the affection with no hesitation.
most of the time it isn’t a problem for kazuha to barge in like this, well, until xiao looks back over to the stream chat to look at all the surge of keysmashes and excited comments over the interaction. regardless of how long ago it has been since their relationship has been (accidentally) announced, the enthusiastic response of xiao’s subscribers and fans of the game has not been limited.
“anyway, back to farming for artifacts.” xiao grumbles exasperatedly when kazuha pats his head, causing a new insurgence of comments to stream in. “and you, go take a shower, you stink.”
“okay, darling,” kazuha sing-songs, leaving the room. “i’ll be back in a few minutes!”
his shower does not last long. he scampers back into the room fifteen minutes later, drying his still-wet hair with a towel and sitting on the chair next to xiao’s like an excited puppy.
“are you so excited you can’t even dry your hair properly, idiot.” sighing, xiao stands up, dragging kazuha’s chair to position it in front of the monitor. “i’ll dry your hair and you can play for me, since you always brag about being so much better than me in genshin.”
“i get to use in-game xiao! finally!” he cheers. he makes the xiao in-game run over to the middle of the domain to start. feeling giddy, he’s finally able to use the character since the actual xiao never allows him to borrow his account.
“it’s a surprise that you didn’t even try whaling for him after losing fifty-fifty on his first banner run.” xiao responds absentmindedly, softly carding his fingers through kazuha’s hair and drying it with the towel.
“huh, i guess,” kazuha starts, clearing two mobs in one go with in-game xiao’s elemental skill, “it’s because i already have the real one, unlike you who seems to be satisfied only until getting all of my constellations— ow! did you just pull my hair?”
upon turning back, xiao’s face is fuming and red with embarrassment. “you are so corny.”
“no i’m not! i most definitely think the chat would disagree with you. here, liyuecrux said ‘if xiao was my boyfriend, in-game xiao wouldn’t compare to him’. you are so right! in-game xiao is fictional while you, babe, are real.”
“oh my god.” xiao grabs another fistful of kazuha’s hair. “i’m going to yank your hair out again.”
“no no no! stop!” kazuha pleads, split between having to stop xiao from pulling his hair and also having to beat the remaining mobs in the domain. before xiao can follow through with his threat, he successfully beats the domain. “there! i managed to get you a pretty good crit damage circlet, from the crimson witch domain, no less! please let go of my poor hair.”
“... fine. you are forgiven, thank you.” the burning sensation pulling at the roots of his hair. the towel he used is carefully bunched around his neck to keep it from wetting his clothes. xiao places a hand on his head, “i’m leaving to go get a drink. go talk with the chat, or something. i’ll be gone for a while.”
“alright.” kazuha leans into his hand, smiling when xiao pats his head. “your subscribers think i’m fun to be around, so i’m sure i’ll be able to keep them company.”
xiao laughs endearingly and says a quick ‘be right back!’ to the viewers, then promptly leaves the room. the viewers start to turn their attention to kazuha, and in a few seconds the stream chat begins to ask questions about him, praises on his acting work in the game and other miscellaneous comments.
“hello everyone! i get to properly greet you guys now! how’s everyone? myfuckingfears says, ‘ we’ve missed you! hope you’re doing well!’. i've missed you guys too, and i’m fine, just a little tired. to explain my absence, i’ve been quite busy lately with new projects which i hope you’ll look forward to.” kazuha bows his head in appreciation. he would be lying if the game did not help with his exposure in the industry.
“question from popstarkoo! ‘ amongst all the genshin actors, who would you love to work with? ’ i’ve only been able to work with some of the liyue cast and most of inazuma’s cast, and so far i’m having a lot of fun! i’d love to act with the monstadt crew, i’ve met them through gatherings and they’re fun people to be around! i am also friends with some of them, so that’s cool. working with them would probably be really cool, it makes me wonder how kazuha would interact with them. if you wish to see interactions between kazuha and your favorite mond character… you know what to do!”
he shoots a wink over to the camera, one he knows all the viewers go wild over. the chat starts to talk about what characters in-game him would possibly have a great friendship with, and one particular comment stands out to him.
“spitfinch says, ‘as much as i’d love to see you interact with the mond characters, i think i’d want to see a canon kazuxiao interaction more!’ ah… is that supposed to be the ship name between…” positive affirmations start to stream into the chat, the viewers also agreeing with the user’s comment. “ah, i see, so you guys want to see an interaction between xiao and i in the game! i’d love for that to happen, too! earlier, beidou was just telling me how it’s funny that they’ve never met regardless of the so called ‘disgustingly affectionate’ relationship we have. still, they would be very cute together, wouldn’t they?”
as expected, the viewers agree in unison and voice their different headcanons that he enjoys reading. he does not read them out loud knowing that some ‘fans’ will take the things he said as truth and run with it. kazuha does not need the negativity or any controversy on the day before his birthday.
“dailykazuxiao asks, ‘what is it like to visit xiao onset? you guys are so cute!’. while i have posted pictures and videos of being on set with him during work, on my days off i also try as best i can to go see him. whenever i visit him onset and he has his work mode on, it truly shows why he is a professional at this job. not only that but he’s hot; even while wearing a mocap outfit and holding a stick. thank you, by the way, i’m pretty sure no other couple can beat us!”
like his own little secret, he doesn’t say that once all the cameras are off, xiao would go search for him and recharge with a hug. pictures of xiao snuggling him on the beanbags during breaks are for his eyes, and his alone.
he loses track of time answering the different and curious questions with the chat, laughing at the teasing remarks whenever he goes on another tangent on his boyfriend. talking to xiao’s viewers, especially if it’s with xiao himself, is always enjoyable. it’s why kazuha would drop in stream’s more often than not, becoming a familiar person to the viewers besides being ‘in-game kazuha’s actor’ and ‘xiao’s boyfriend who cried over resident evil village’, up until xiao starts a weekly segment on the channel in which the two of them stream a chosen game together.
it’s a good enough distraction to make him forget how long it has been since xiao left— moreover to tonight being his birthday. his shoulders jolting with surprise for the second time that night upon the lights shutting off.
the chat starts to tell him to look behind, therefore kazuha, the idiot who is most probably the first victim to die in a horror movie, turns to do so. “what, look behind you—?”
standing at the doorway is xiao.
illuminated by the hallway lights behind him, he is beautifully breathtaking as always.
“happy birthday, kazuha. i love you.”
he holds a layered caramel cake, dried maple leaves pressed on the topmost layer. the cherry on top that does it for him is the small in-game counterpart of himself made of fondant, however it cannot compare to xiao’s luminous smile and the blush high on his cheeks which makes him glow brighter, more than the fire flickering atop the candle.
kazuha stands up before xiao can walk towards him, his heart beating loudly like it is about to combust from his body with every stride he takes across the room to his beloved boyfriend.
the world holds its breath when he leans in as close as he could without breaking the cake between them. holding xiao’s face with his hands, kazuha kisses him gently; the heat of the fire unable to burn hotter than his cheeks.
“thank you, xiao. i love you, too.” kazuha whispers against his lips, the fondness leaks into his voice and overflows like a waterfall. kazuha may wear his heart on his sleeve but it’s nothing worth the downpour of his feelings that fall upon a single individual on earth.
xiao looks up at him with a softness in his eyes. a stream of noises that sound oddly similar to the sound effects that played for xiao’s twitch bits make xiao look over to the table, to see the monitor still on and streaming everything in the last five minutes. “oh. i forgot we were still streaming.”
“my bad.” kazuha sheepishly grins. “the chat told me there was something behind me and i had to check. but it’s also because you turned the lights off!”
“because this was a surprise, and you’re supposed to be surprised! and just so you know, they were in on it.” xiao huffs, going over to the table to set the cake down. “now, come here so you can blow out the candles.”
kazuha sits back on the chair, thanking the myriad of birthday wishes in the stream chat and bringing the cake into view to show the cute little fondant figurine before it was time to blow the candles.
“make a wish.” says xiao, the mirth dancing in his eyes along with the flickering flame.
he puts his hands together and makes a wish to whoever was listening; for his next year to be happier, for his next year to be filled with success and love, and for his next year to be another birthday be spent with his beloved until they grow old.
the tinkling of xiao’s laughter and the warm press of his lips on kazuha’s temple as they snap a picture together turns the puzzle pieces of the unfinished haiku to click, every word weaving itself together and carefully tied with tautness and care.
a cherished birthday,
to spend with my boyfriend who,
i’d give the world to.
