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Zhongli had summoned him on a sunny summer morning, and Xiao, punctual as ever, made sure to arrive as soon as the rays of sun began warming the land.
“Good morning, Xiao. I’m glad you could make it.” Zhongli looked up from his book and turned to face him as if he’d just become aware of his arrival, but Xiao knew he’d long since sensed his coming.
“Of course,” He nodded, “At your service.”
“Xiao,” Zhongli sighed with a faint smile on his face, like a patient teacher trying to correct an errant student, “You know this was an invitation, not an order, right? You don’t have to be at my beck and call now. I invited you because I enjoy your company and wanted to spend time together, but you have the right to refuse if you don’t feel the same way.”
“That’s not—! I do—” Xiao stammered for a second, but soon gathered himself, “I misspoke, I… I wanted to come.” He really had wanted to be here, he’d been looking forward to it ever since he ran into Zhongli up in the mountains yesterday and the other had proposed the two meet up today for a stroll, but it was still hard for him to shake off the habits ingrained in him after hundreds of years.
“I’m glad to hear that.” He put the book away and got up from his chair, grabbing a woven basket he had placed next to his seat, “Shall we go?”
Xiao nodded, and followed behind the man as he began walking away from Liyue Harbour. The two had met just outside the bridge in the outskirts of the city, and Xiao had been slightly worried that the stroll Zhongli had proposed would involve perusing the markets inside the Harbour or other such activity, but seeing as they seemed to be heading in the general direction of Qingxu Pool, Xiao finally breathed a small sigh of relief.
Noticing this, Zhongli turned back to look at him as he walked, “Why not ask about our plans for the day? It would save you some unneeded stress.”
“It… it hadn’t crossed my mind.” Honestly, he’d been so eager to spend time with Zhongli he would have been willing to go anywhere and do anything, so he never even thought about asking just what it was he was being invited out to do. “What are we doing?”
“While I was out yesterday, I noticed a few clusters of jicai growing near the road, and it brought me back to our days of foraging for food during the Archon War,” His eyes narrowed as he explained, as if he were looking at something very far away, “I can’t say that I miss those days, exactly, but I did suddenly miss the taste of those hard-earned meals, so I wanted to relive it with someone who would be able to appreciate it. If that would be alright with you?”
Xiao blinked for a moment, his footsteps slowing down almost imperceptibly. He remembered those days as well, back when the other yakshas were still alive. They’d make camp in the wilderness in between bursts of intense fighting and prepare dinner out of what they could find and hunt in the land. Even though he didn’t need to eat, nor really enjoyed to, he suddenly found himself missing the taste of those campfire-cooked meals as well.
“It would,” He finally nodded.
“That’s good to hear.” Zhongli smiled, and the two continued walking.
They trekked along the road for a few minutes, then reached a point at which Zhongli stepped off the path and beckoned for Xiao to follow. He did so, and the two hiked up a small hill until they reached a spot that had been set up with a cooking pot and large logs in place of chairs and tables.
“I hope you don’t mind that I went ahead and set a few things up in advance,” Zhongli explained as he put down his basket and pulled out a few things from it, “I guess I let my eagerness get the best of me.”
“It’s fine.” Xiao reassured him, but inwardly his heart was pounding. Was it possible that the archon was as eager to spend time with him as he was?
“I prepared most things already for efficiency’s sake, but I wanted us to pick the fresh jicai together.” He picked the now-empty basket back up again and motioned for Xiao to follow, “There’s a large patch just to the west of this hill.”
They walked towards a patch of tall grasses, and Xiao could see a large stretch of green land dotted with specks of white.
“Look here,” Zhongli crouched and pointed at a green plant with a cluster of tiny white flowers emerging from the rosette of green leaves, “This is jicai in full bloom.”
Xiao knelt next to him and listened to his explanation.
“Do you see these heart-shaped pods? In other regions of Tevyat, this plant is known as Shepherd's Purse due to the shape of these fruits.” He snapped off a little triangular pod so Xiao could get a closer look, “For our purposes today, we want to pick the leaves from the plants without these pods or flowers for a less bitter taste, but we can pick a few pods separately for added seasoning. The plant is from the mustard family, and the taste of these pods resembles that of pepper.”
Xiao nodded as he made note of what he was told. He’d never been one to pay attention to things like these since, as far as he was concerned, it didn’t matter what a plant tasted like as long as it was edible, but it always fascinated him just how much seemingly trivial information Zhongli had about even the most mundane of things under the sun. If Xiao hadn’t seen it for himself, he never would have believed that someone as powerful as the former Geo Archon— the Prime of the Adepti, the Warrior God —would be crouching on a field, picking flowers and rattling off facts about the nuances of their taste.
Xiao was snapped out of his thoughts by a soft touch on his temple, and looked up in time to see Zhongli putting something behind his ear.
“I thought it might suit you.” Zhongli smiled.
“Oh,” Xiao felt at the side of his head, realising it what he had there was a cluster of the small white flowers, “Thank you.”
“Shall we get busy?”
Xiao nodded, and Zhongli handed him the basket as the two got up again to begin picking the plants. They walked side by side among the flowers, alternating who bent down to pull the leaves and who held the basket aloft, as they gathered enough for their meal.
As they worked, the sky above them was vast and blue, with not a cloud in sight, allowing the sunlight to bathe the land unobstructed. Xiao watched as the warm rays fell on Zhongli’s brown hair like a fine layer of gold— almost like a divine halo, as if the land itself still recognised him even if humanity did not. Zhongli’s eyes, too, were gold and shining like the sun itself, and much like with the sun, Xiao used to believe he would be blinded if he stared at them directly, so he had never dared to look for long.
But now, with the sunlight and the soft breeze and the swaying flowers, Xiao didn’t want to look away.
“What are you looking at?” After a while, Zhongli noticed him staring.
Once upon a time, Xiao would have flinched at the question, fearing he’d be punished for having been caught doing something he shouldn’t. Now, however, he knew enough to recognise that the tone of Zhongli’s question was that of genuine curiosity, not a veiled reprimand.
“I…” Still, even though he knew he had done nothing wrong, he was still a little embarrassed at having been caught staring, “Nothing.”
Zhongli laughed a little, then glanced down at the now-packed basket, “I think we have enough.”
Xiao agreed, and the two walked back to the little camp.
“I was tempted to borrow one of Cloud Retainer’s cooking contraptions, but I figured it would be more authentic if we did it like this.” Zhongli spoke as he began meticulously preparing everything. He sent Xiao off to wash the jicai leaves in the nearby river while he got the fire going and brought the pot of water to a boil, then, when Xiao returned, he finely chopped the leaves and mixed them in with seasoned ground pork— well, ground boar in this instance, to replicate the taste of those years since past —to make filling.
When the filling was completely mixed, he put the bowl in between them and handed Xiao a stack of fine dumpling wrappers.
“Do you know how to wrap it?” Zhongli asked.
Xiao thought for a second. He was sure he could figure it out on his own, but he didn’t want to ruin any of the food with his attempts, so he shook his head.
“Watch.”
Zhongli had removed his gloves when he began cooking, and now he coated his fingers in a light layer of flour before picking up a thin wrapper, he then scooped up a small amount of filling into the centre of the sheet, dipped the tip of his finger in a glass of clear water, and folded the edges of the wrapper in a triangular shape.
The end result was a delicate-looking dumpling, round and fat in the middle with carefully folded edges, which Zhongli held up to let Xiao get a better look.
“Think you got it?” Zhongli asked.
“I think…” Xiao had already memorised the steps, but he had been so mesmerised by the movement of Zhongli’s strong hands— which he was still unused to seeing not holding a spear —that he wanted to watch it again, at least one more time, “I think I need another demonstration.”
Zhongli laughed, a low rumble like the shifting of the earth, and relented, “Alright.”
He set the dumpling aside, but instead of picking up another wrapper and repeating the process, he grabbed Xiao’s hand and placed the wrapper on top of it.
Xiao looked up at him questioningly, but decided to keep watching what he was going to do.
He watched as Zhongli cupped a hand under his own, supporting his palm as he brought another scoop of the filling to the centre of the wrapper. Then, Zhongli guided his hands to close over the wrapper, his fingers gliding over Xiao’s as they folded and sealed the dumpling together. The resulting dumpling was not as perfect as the first one, with an uneven centre and slightly crooked edges, but for some reason it looked even more appetising.
“Did you get it this time?” Zhongli asked, so close now to Xiao’s face he could feel the man’s breath on his skin as he spoke.
“Mhn.” Xiao simply nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment.
“Good to hear.” Zhongli let go if his hands and sat back, picking up another wrapper and continuing the process.
The two worked until they had made almost two dozen dumplings, then dropped them in the hot water and watched them cook. They came out tender and fragrant, much nicer-looking than anything Xiao remembered having eaten with the other yakshas during the war, but that was to be expected when considering Zhongli’s meticulous handling.
“Shall we try the fruit of our labours?” Zhongli spoke as he placed a dumpling in the small dish Xiao was holding, and one on his own, “Careful, it’s hot.”
Xiao picked it up with the finely-carved chopsticks Zhongli had given him, and blew at it for a bit before biting down. In an instant, almost as if by magic, he was transported back to a certain star-filled night, sitting around a fire carefully tended to by Indarias, while Bosacius snuck one of his hands into the basket filled with cooling dumplings, grabbing a handful before the others had a chance to notice. Xiao had noticed, of course, but just as he was about to say something, Bosacius had grabbed one of the dumplings and stuffed it into his open mouth with a wink.
“How is it?” Zhongli’s voice brought him back.
“It’s… good.” It really was. The wrapper was soft, the meat was juicy, and the combination of condiments and herbs burst with flavour. It wasn’t exactly the same as that dumpling from several years ago— objectively speaking, the quality of the ingredients they were using now was much better —but it was close enough to evoke those memories that had been slumbering deep within his mind.
“I’m glad.” Zhongli chewed with a satisfied expression. Presumably he, too, found what he was looking for in those little savoury pouches of memories.
Having given the food their seal of approval, the two continued eating for a while. Zhongli had brought a tea set and some tea leaves so they had something to accompany their meal with, and Xiao found himself enjoying the combination of the mellow tea and the flavourful bites of food.
They were seated perpendicular to each other, their knees almost touching, and Xiao was tempted several times during their meal to find an excuse to slide a little closer, perhaps claiming he wanted to be nearer to the makeshift table or that he’d found a stain on Zhongli’s suit he was offering to clean, but the man, perfect as ever, had positioned both food and drinks at just the right distance from the two of them, and ate so neatly he didn’t even need the handkerchief he kept occasionally dabbing over his spotless lips.
Seeing no opening in which to make his move, Xiao conceded the fight and returned his thoughts to the meal. Even though he had long since mastered battlefield tactics, he was still a novice when it came to tactics in… well, everything else.
Not long after he’d given up on his tricks, however, he was suddenly surprised by the feel of Zhongli’s still-gloveless hand against the side of his face, his thumb brushing the corner of his mouth.
“You have a little something here…” He explained.
Xiao looked up to realise that Zhongli’s face was now very close to his own, his heart began pounding, and he unconsciously held his breath as he shut his eyes tight.
It was only a few seconds before Zhongli spoke again, “…Xiao? Are you feeling unwell?” The hand by his chin moved up to feel his forehead.
He opened his eyes with a start, the butterflies that had been fluttering in his stomach dropping like lead weights as he felt his face begin heating up with shame, “I-I’m fine, sorry—I thought—” He closed his mouth before he could say more.
“What is it?” Zhongli asked in a soft voice.
“Nothing, just a misunderstanding.” Xiao looked down, unable to look the other in the eyes.
However, before he could fully look away, Zhongli cupped his face in his hands and lifted his chin back up to face him.
“No,” His voice was gentle, “You didn’t misunderstand, it’s my fault. I’m sorry.”
“What?” Xiao blinked.
“You didn’t misunderstand, I was trying to kiss you,” Zhongli brushed his thumb across the side of his face again, “But when you closed your eyes, your whole body tensed and I— I admit I had a moment of doubt, and I was unsure if your reaction was out of anticipation or fear.”
“Fear?” His hands clenched as he frowned, “Why would I fear you?”
“The line between fear and respect is rather blurred sometimes, isn’t it? Especially considering the past.”
Xiao wanted to be offended at the question but… Zhongli was right. He had feared the Archon before— briefly, and only until he found his fears to be unfounded —and Zhongli had known it all along, even going as far as attributing his unwavering respect for the Archon to that same fleeting sense of fear. No wonder he had always been so careful with Xiao, so cautiously giving without expecting anything in return.
“I’m not afraid of you.” Xiao cupped Zhongli’s hand against his face, holding it in place, “I could never be afraid of you.” He wasn’t lying. He hadn’t actually been afraid of Morax, he’d been afraid of the uncertain, of the chains of his past he couldn’t quite shake, of the version of Morax he saw in his nightmares— which resembled his previous master more than anything else —but never of the real thing.
“Xiao…” Zhongli’s eyebrows knitted together ever so slightly, and Xiao knew the other didn’t quite know if he should let himself believe those words. Even gods could waver sometimes, it seemed.
So, he did all he could think of at the moment, which was to close the small distance between the two and press their lips together.
All the anticipation in the world couldn’t have prepared him for the feeling of that kiss, soft at first as both of them found their bearings, then increasing in passion as they got comfortable with each other’s touch and began responding to their mutual need. Xiao was thankful for Zhongli’s hands still around his head, steadying him, for without them he surely would have already toppled over from the dizzying surge of feelings that completely took over his senses.
When they parted for a break, Xiao couldn’t help but wrap his hands around Zhongli’s wrists, as if begging the other to not let go. Seeing this, Zhongli planted a kiss on the adeptus’ forehead and wrapped his arms tighter around him.
“You have no idea how glad this makes me,” He murmured against Xiao’s hair.
Xiao nuzzled against his shoulder, relishing in the closeness he had never before imagined the two would be able to have, bathing in the warmth of the brilliant sun and the feelings radiating from both of the people in the secluded campsite.
They didn’t begin packing up until a while later, when the sun was already beginning its descent, and when they did pick up to leave, Xiao found the courage to reach out to take Zhongli’s hand and lace their fingers together.
Zhongli smiled at this and gave his hand a little squeeze, and the two took their time as they crossed the field of small flowers, swaying in the wind like waves in a vast, white-and-green sea.