Genshin Impact Oneshots

Xiao 💧 Y/n (M4A)

IM CRYING. IM FREAKING CRYING INSIDE. XIAO IM SO SORRY BABY 😵😭
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"The Curse of Immortality"

In life, there are mishaps, and there are memorable moments. These are what makes life a precious gift from Celestia. And while life is beautiful, it, too, is ephemeral. The people live their life the way they want, until their dying breaths. Mortality was what made life... life: so much to live for.
While humans celebrate each day like there is no tomorrow, the undead wallow in sorrows and mourning. Some of the misfortunate refused to see the happy citizens and make merry; some of the undead blend into society with secrecy of their true being... and some don't even remember their old life. There was just so much pain in the curse of immortality that people do not seem to see.

            Xiao can't remember much, other than he war, and the past before Rex Lapis has taken him under his wing, but there has always been a moment he could describe as a memorabilia in his immortality. While it remains deep inside his heart, the figure's name no longer comes with time. He couldn't remember their name, nor could they even catch the details of their face, but all that remained in his mind was a single hydrangea.
Hydrangeas... they aren't really common in the lands of Liyue; in fact, they were rarely seen. Its flowers were blue, almost purple, and its scent was fragrant and pleasant to his nose. Hydrangeas... he felt a deep connection to them, especially those in pink. But, alas he could not remember.

          "Traveler! Look!" Lumine looked  from her shoulder, hearing the voice of the little pixie boom through her
ear. "Paimon found a book!" Strange enough, it had no title, and it looked as if it had aged. There had been a red bookmark, a tassel of sanguine dangling along with it. "Come on! Open it!" Paimon dragged the traveler by the finger, floating as she sat on a nearby rock. "Paimon's excited!" Lumine opened the book, and the contents read:

          The loving hydrangeas were blooming in the pond, and the koi fishes in the water were lively swimming. Everyday was an agnosthetic day, but I was rather living contented in the high hills of Liyue. My family had set off to the prosperous lands of the harbor, and left me to take care of the humble abode. It had been me alone all those years, midding on the village below, invisible to the people, but not fully. I lived in solitude, waiting for them to return, only to sulk as the day ended with little to no efforts of speaking.

         "Are you sure we should be reading this?" Lumine asked the intrigued Paimon. "It looks like a diary of some sorts." Flipping a few pages, Paimon find petals of blue falling to the floor. It looked as if it had withered.
It was of an unknown flower species. There were no flowers like it. Paimon looked at the page and started to read aloud its contents.

This repeating routine was a cycling week, from Monday to Sunday, everything was always a Deja Vu. By Sunday, I would buy fruits and vegetables, mammal meat and fowl meat. I would buy a pack of tofu, almonds, and lotus heads for later. Then I would create a dish, made out of effortless love. It had never came to me that this would awaken a newfound change in my routine.
That day, I had met a person, who looked lonely. So I fed him the dish I just made. He looked generally intrigued, that I just decided to give him the whole dish. He looked well-satisfied.
Maybe he'll come by another day?

Carpe diem, as the researches would say on a fine morning. Just as I expected, he had come by to eat yet another meal. This man's name was Xiao. I keep forgetting—
Paimon coughed upon reading the yaksha's name. "You mean that guy?!" The flying fairy looks back to the man with eyes of amber, a cold personality etched on his face. "What could Xiao be doing here?" Lumine pondered, and continued to read the selection.

—his name, but the way it feels as it rolls off of my tongue, it felt great. His name was nice on the lips. He refused to call me Y/n though.
This man was a cold male, but I felt protected with his presence. Xiao was adorably denying his likes on that Almond Tofu.
It was the second day I've seen him, but it felt reassuring to be able to talk to someone instead of random flora and fauna. Speaking of Flora, he felt intrigued with hydrangeas. Does he see hydrangeas the way I do?

"Woah! So that guy wasn't all that bad!" Paimon commented as she read. "I never thought Xiao would be close to someone. He looked scary," Lumine said. "Didn't seem scary when he rescued you that time, did it?" Paimon watched Lumine blush red. "Wait. Look at this," Lumine brought Paimon near the book as she read the following words.

He made my days brighter. I wasn't expecting him to stay longer than normal people, but he has been visiting me more. Lately, he had been closer to me. It made me giddy, especially with how reserved he was. It made me smile even more when he confessed that night, when the lanterns were high on the sky. His face looked like an innocent child looking at the lights with a face of awe. This man had changed my life, but I wanted to know if I had changed his. It was also the first time I've seen my parents...
They were not amused with my appearance, and their smiles were forced. It was as if they wanted nothing to do with me. It was a pain that slowly tightened around my heart, but Xiao eased the pain when his lips touched mine. I couldn't think straight that night as my heart went wild. The butterflies raged in my stomach. Those three words he uttered will always be my favorite.

"A-a lover?!" Lumine's eyes widened. Xiao had a past lover, and this was their diary. "We should find his lover! Quick, let's scan a few pages!"
Paimon flipped through the book, until there a batch of wilted hydrangeas fell to the ground. On that page, was a crooked smiley face, as if they couldn't write. There was, but a sentence.

"If you ever see this, Xiao... I will always love you."

Lumine abruptly stood up. Paimon looked at the girl, who smiled, "Let's give this back to Xiao. I'm sure he will appreciate it." Their face was forlorn, somber even. "He deserves to see this book after all. We can just leave the diary by the empty balcony," Lumine started walking away. "Hey! Wait for Paimon!" Paimon floated soon after.

Verr Goldet had served a plate of Almond Tofu, as Lumine and Paimon went to the empty balcony. No one was there, as always, but Lumine had decided to leave the plate beside, along with the diary.
That night, they could hear wracking sobs. That night, Xiao was vulnerably leaning by the railings, shoulders shaking. "Xiao?" Lumine asked, watching his shoulders tense as the yaksha quickly wiped his tears away. "You... You saw nothing," Xiao looked away.

"Do you want to talk about her?" She made it clear that she was the one who sent the diary and the tofu onto his resting place. "You... you read it?" Paimon nodded vigorously, "We thought that her last message for you would be worth it for you to know." Xiao clenched his fists. "I don't need to be reminded of them. I don't need to remember the life of a mere mortal," Xiao looked away, but the lingering eyes of the outlander brought him back as she said, "But they're your lover... aren't they?"

"Forgetting about the memories you had with them... isn't it painful?" Lumine looked at the stars, "You want to hold them close, and remember their smile. These memories where you and them make merry... these are what makes people happy yet sad. The nostalgia within a memory is always the happiest things one has. It is what is common among everyone, adepti or not."

"But... what's the point? I don't want to be alone... I-if they're not here with me, w-where else do I belong to?" Lumine smiled as she places a hand on his chest. "In here. The memories with them will remain, the emotions you had are still inside. They are surely watching over everyone from above... they are surely watching over you," Xiao teared up as he fell to his knees, sobbing. Lumine held him close, Paimon rubbing his back. "And you're not alone. We're all here for you... all of Liyue is protected because of you. It might have reached the age of change, but you will always remain, belonging to Liyue."

Many entities struggle with the scorning misfortunes of immortality. It was what adepti had in common, be it zombie or god, a conquer of demons or the shaper of Liyue's terrains. Despite the pain that follows them, memories shall prevail...

Xiao looked at their grave, hydrangeas in hand. They sat by a nearby rock, and smiled genuinely.
"Hello dear... It's been a long time, and I am sorry if I haven't visited you in so long... I have a lot to talk about for once, but... I just want to say that I love you... I love you Y/n."