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I.
It’s not often Xiao finds himself in the city — the bustle of the people and the risk of his karmic debt is enough reason to stay away from the chaos that is Liyue. Still, when Rex Lapis himself calls for his attention toward a dire situation, the adeptus finds himself agreeing without doubt. Though, he doesn’t understand why it had to be here, of all places.
Perhaps it was due to Streetward Rambler having situated herself here, or maybe it was another one of the Lord of Geo’s ploys to lure him out of isolation. Despite this, Xiao places all his attention on the dilemma regarding the moon. He lingers in the background as Streetward Rambler relays the information to Cloud Retainer, inputting his own opinion every now and then. It’s quite the dull conversation, however, with the lack of details confining the scope of what they have to discuss.
It’s only when a shrill, high pitch voice pierces through the air does Xiao’s attention waver, painfully aware of who it is and what it strings along. There’s a constricting feeling in his chest, one he can’t explain — it is one that only fluttered so dangerously in the presence of a certain blonde haired traveler.
Quite some time has passed since he’d learned to open up around her, much longer since he’d first met the adventurer — the very reason he wasn’t as adverse to the thought of the city as he was before. And the pull toward her does not weaken, if even growing stronger. It unsettles him still, this strange feeling.
His breathing all but stops when she approaches, hair golden as the mora of this land swaying in the wind. Did her hair grow longer? Eyes drifting down to her arms, even more scars litter them, body leaner than they used to be. In his mind, he can see how much more battle hardened she is, experience showing more the farther she ventures into Teyvat. The world certainly had its impact, and yet he does not doubt that this is the same kind woman who pestered him into watching the lanterns all those years ago.
Awareness catches up to him when he realizes how much he’s looking, ogling even. Instead, he focuses on joining the conversation, exchanging pleasantries with the traveler. They’re formal and strained, yet appropriately presented in front of his fellow adepti. She smiles back, a knowing look, as she answers back. It’s almost music to his ears. Did her voice grow rougher? Xiao finds himself not wanting to imagine what would cause that.
There’s not time to settle on that thought though before he’s taken back to the situation at hand. Right, Mountain Shaper and Zizhi. It’s a complicated situation all together, who knew even a fragment of her soul could possess a being such as Moon Carver. It was no surprise Lumine was caught in the middle of it all once again — chaos adored her painfully so. And yet, this was the same quality that drew him in, the same kind of chaos that allowed their paths to cross that fateful Rite of Descension.
It’s when Cloud Retainer suggests that Lumine be used as bait does Xiao go alert, trying not to show deep his concern runs as his brows furrow, “This is akin to walking straight into the lion’s den. Allow me to go instead.”
Still, Cloud Retainer does not relent, arguing the traveler’s immunity to Zizhi’s possession. It does little to soothe Xiao, causing Lumine to intervene, noticing tension in his stature. Of course, she noticed.
“Don’t worry, I bear the moon’s guidance,” she hums softly, seemingly addressing everyone, and yet her eyes can’t help but drift to Xiao on instinct. She knows how he is, the burdens he bears and how all too willing he is to sacrifice himself if given the chance. But she won’t stand for it; how long will it take for him to realize that she would gladly do the same for him?
Xiao holds her stare for a moment, almost missing it when Cloud Retainer calls his attention once more, “Any more concerns, Conqueror of Demons?”
Letting the tension leave his shoulders, even just a bit, Xiao agrees. HIs voice softens even for a moment, “I trust Rex Lapis. And, I trust you.”
And yet in the back of his mind, Xiao allows himself a rare moment of hope — hope that all is resolved peacefully, before the lanterns take to the skies. Maybe then he can ask her to spend the festival with him.
II.
Xiao doesn’t like the expression on her face. In a place beyond this realm, the one of which contained Zizhi until her soul was given away to Lumine, Xiao couldn’t witness for himself what happened. But this heartbroken expression on the traveler’s face grasps at his heart in a way nothing has before. It’s not often that she wears such an emotion after all.
He’s at her side the moment all seems to have calmed, taking the first chance to pull her away the moment all the commotion about Mountain Shaper and his mint ends. There’s a knot between her brows, conflicted as he guides her to a secluded area of Mt. Aocang, having asked Paimon to give them a moment alone. How he so desperately wishes to soothe the frown lines on her face, ease them until she’s smiling once more. But it’s not a skill he possesses, at least not in the way she does.
“You seem reluctant to talk in detail about what happened with Zizhi,” he addresses, careful. He doesn’t want to pry, but at the same time he doesn’t want to let her stew in her own thoughts.
Biting her lip, Lumine looks away, unsure if she was willing to divulge such information, both heartbreaking and personal. But when she looks at Xiao, eyes so full of concern she knows he’s desperately trying to hide, she sighs out, “She told me about her past.”
Unsure of what to say, Xiao takes her hand in his, uncertain at first as he allows Lumine to respond. In turn, she takes his hand in her own, feeling the warmth seep through his gloves as she squeezes gently. Away from the eyes of the other adepti, it felt easier, to show this kind of closeness — it’s one that Xiao doesn’t completely know yet, but wishes to learn so long as it’s with her.
“I won’t ask you to divulge all your secrets to me, Lumine,” he says her name like it’s a secret only he knows, thumb brushing on the back of her hand in a subtle gesture of comfort, “But I know that expression well. It must be too heavy to share.”
“. . . It’s just not a happy story,” Lumine murmurs, more to herself than anything as she stares at their joined hands, but Xiao hears it nonetheless.
His free hand lifts up, brushing against the skin of her chin as he lifts it up, guiding her to look at him, “Still, I hope you feel like you can entrust me with it.”
Truly, Xiao wished that she knew she had him the way that he had her. Her refusal to let him spend Lantern Rite alone that first year was his first step toward healing of some sort. It was slow and steady, but he never would have had that start without her. Time and time again, Lumine was by his side. He wanted her to know what he was by hers too.
“In our time together, I learned that I do not have to bear things alone. I hope you know that as well,” he speaks, tone gentle in a way it isn’t usually.
Lumine pauses, eyes shining, before a smile appears on her face, grateful as she leans into his touch.
“Using my own words against me, hm, Conqueror of Demons? When did you learn to be so sly?” she speaks, voice lifted with a teasing tilt, breathing out softly, “Alright, well…”
And as she tells the tale of the White Horse Adeptus, Xiao decides it’s not the right time. There was still some time before Lantern Rite. He’d ask her later on.
III.
As the Xiao Lanterns littered the air, disappearing further into the aether until they were nothing but gentle specks that rivaled the stars, Xiao took a sip of rice wine. He sat on the roof of one of the Liyuean homes, staring into the evening sky as darkness engulfed the moon. There was no doubt in him that Lumine was doing something incredible — she always was.
It was almost as if the whole of Teyvat decided to revolve itself around her the moment she’d appeared, being at the center of every big event, every significant tale. She was becoming a tale in her own right, to be passed on to future generations. Why wouldn’t she? Lumine embodied the sun after all, a glowing being as bright as the golden locks that sit on her head.
Still, there was this lingering voice in his head, hoping she was here. Xiao could only scold himself for such a selfish thought — when did he learn to want so much for something he did not deserve? He should have asked though, he really should have. But there was never a right moment. Far too occupied by the dilemma with the White Horse Adeptus, he knew he wouldn’t have a chance to. He’d never want to pull her away from her goals, not when he knows it’s simply innate in her to be involved.
And yet, as he watched the traveler and Rex Lapis in the distance, guiding a lantern into the blanketing darkness, he couldn’t help but feel a horrible feeling in his chest. He didn’t know what it was, and he willed it to go away, but every time he thought about how that could be him with Lumine, it threatened him and left aching in its wake.
He could never resent his Lord however, no matter what he did. So instead, he raised his head, watching as the lanterns disappeared into an unreachable space, wishing he’d sent one up there himself — ‘To spend Lantern Rite with Lumine.’
IV.
The next time he sees her, she's descending down to Wangshu Inn’s upper balconies on a chariot with Zibai, seemingly on an escapade with the newly awakened White Horse Adeptus. He senses her before he does Zibai, proof of just how much she's been plaguing his mind. He still holds regrets from the night of the Lantern Rite. Still, with the day itself having come and gone, there’s not much he can do about it.
He knows she’s expecting him, eyes flitting every so often, never fully paying attention to what Zibai has to say. Letting his presence be known, he tries to ignore how amused her expression is, holding back a laugh at his dramaticism.
Despite this, he’s glad to see her again, though a bit disappointed that she’s strung along companions with her. How could he be close to her in the way he wants to be with another adepti hanging around them? Xiao finds him swatting away such a rude thought — this was the elusive White Horse Adeptus, the old friend his Lord longed so painfully to see again.
Any moment with Lumine was precious anyway. So, he’d endure.
Having offered rest to Zibai in an attempt to save Paimon from her verbal battering, he tries to hide his delight when Lumine situates herself right next to him, close enough for their knees to knock together. He notices the spread she requested, the Almond Tofu sitting so daintily before him, something never missing when they dined together.
Whether she did it to ensure Xiao would eat, or because she knows this is his preference, it matters not and does little to quell the fluttering in his chest.
Feeling something bump his leg beneath the table, he looks over to the traveler as she smiles. It’s painfully bright with the backdrop of the night looming beyond them. But with Zibai and Paimon both occupied with their meals, he takes the moment to return the sentiment, reaching down to take and squeeze at her hand.
It’s when Zibai calls for rest that the two have their moment alone. Late into the evening, Lumine lingered as Paimon and Zibai retired to their rooms they’d requested. Xiao watched, not knowing what to say as Lumine stared off into the distance, eyes jumping from one star to the next.
Noticing his awkward stature, the traveler breathed out a laugh, finally looking at Xiao to pull him out of his misery, “How was Lantern Rite? I noticed you on one of the rooftops when I was with Zhongli.”
Startled, he cleared his throat, taking the moment to stand next to her and watch the stars she was so interested in, “I enjoyed it… I didn’t notice you’d seen me.”
Lumine lets out a content sigh, crossing an arm into his space to take his hand, “You can see everything on Yujing Terrace.”
Xiao tries not to let himself feel disappointed at that, the tense air only dissipating when Lumine lets out an amused sound, leaning on his shoulder as she rubbed the back of his hand, “But I guess you could say I was looking for you.”
“I’m sorry,” she apologized wistfully, causing Xiao to look at her. As he was searching her eyes for a sign, on what was wrong, what she was apologizing for, Lumine continued, “I wish we could have spent Lantern Rite together…”
“It’s fine,” Xiao immediately intervened, brows furrowing that she felt like she had to even apologize for this, “I understand you were preoccupied with the issue of the White Horse Adeptus. Please, don’t think it’s your responsibility to seek me out for every Lantern Rite.”
Lumine almost snorts at that, and the urge to flick his forehead at the absurd idea that he thinks she sees spending time with him as a responsibility is strong, “Archons, Xiao… When will you realize I spend time with you because I want to?”
For once the Conqueror of Demons doesn’t know how to answer that. And he doesn’t have to, Lumine decides, as she squeezes his hand one last time before finally letting it go, “I got it. Come see me tomorrow night by the hill near Pervases’s temple. Don’t skip out on me, okay?”
Before he can even respond, Lumine is waving goodbye, heels clicking to her reserved room until he can’t hear them anymore.
V.
Xiao doesn’t understand how it’s so easy for her to ask something he had built up so much courage for, something he failed to ask despite all his efforts. He supposed it’s why he’s so attracted to her in the first place, being pulled into her orbit without so much as a single sweat.
It was almost like she knew this had been bothering him the past few days, that his regrets from that night have been floating inside his head for what seems to be an eternity at this point. It’s this ability to read him that’s so infuriating yet so alluring about Lumine, alongside this irking persistence that simply makes him want to give in.
Fiddling with the Xiao Lantern he made using the materials he’d gotten from the woman he saved, it was obvious he’d modified it with Lumine in mind — streaks of gold, white and blue run along the sides, with stars in darker shades of gold. There was even a crude attempt at drawing the pair of flowers that sit so beautifully on her head at all times, perpetually pristine and never dying.
The grass tickles his skin as he places the lantern down, looking up at the evening sky as he sits in wait for the traveler to appear.
“Is that Xiao I spy with a lantern?” a melodic voice echoes through the valley, playful as Lumine settles down on the grass next to Xiao, “Good thing I brought my own.”
“Yes, I…” Xiao hesitates before letting Lumine hold it and observe it for herself, “I made it myself…”
He swallowed down his nerves. Never did he think he, the Conqueror of Demons, would feel this nervous, “I was… thinking of you.”
Lumine takes in from Xiao’s grasp, looking at the intricately made Xiao lantern. He’d come so far from the man she’d had to force to participate in the festival, and even then, he refused to step foot in Liyue itself. Her fingers traced along the strokes of paint, admiring the overlapping hues. As she turns the lantern, she gasps softly, finding the painting of the flowers on her head.
“Oh, Xiao…” she murmurs, looking at the lantern with utter admiration. It was obvious, the effort he put into making it, and her heart couldn’t contain the joy from simply laying eyes on it, “It’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful…” the words leave his lips like it was natural. The things he wanted to say to her since she arrived back in Liyue were starting to bubble up, and now that they were finally alone, they were beginning to flow over.
“Honestly, you really know how to flatter a girl,” she huffs out a laugh, breathy and emotional. She never thought that after all these years she'd find love in Teyvat, a place that at some point only seemed to take and never gave back, “Careful, I might think you're in love with me or something.”
Xiao almost laughs at that, pressing his forehead gently against Lumine’s for a moment, if only to savor her warmth and closeness, an amused expression on his face, “Perhaps I am.”
Lumine sniffles, hand moving to cup his cheek, looking into those eyes that reflected hers, “I missed you, Xiao…”
“And I missed you, Lumine,” he smiled a rare smile, genuine and unseen by unwanted eyes. No matter where in Teyvat she would end up, she would always have a home; not just in Liyue, but in his heart.
Leaning in, he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, humming as she returned it, letting herself melt into his embrace, “Happy Lantern Rite…”