Driftwood - Genshin Impact Xiao X Reader

3 - Qingxin

Verr asked you to help sweep up the floors the next day which you did without complaint, spending most of the morning sweeping the floors of the inn until not a single speck of dirt remained.

You stood by the balcony rails, stretching from your morning of sweeping while you looked out over the sun-lit marshes. You still wondered how far you must have travelled from the ocean waters to get to the marshes of Liyue, how may rivers you must have been washed down before you made it here.

Verr had sent word along with one of the deliverymen who brought the inns food stock to keep an ear out for any word of Beidou returning since you had been traveling with her before the incident. But, as of yet, there had been no word. Though Verr assured you that you were welcome here for as long as needed. She was very kind, as were the rest of the staff, you were glad that if you had to wash up somewhere it had been here.

"Order up!" Smiley called up from the kitchen, signalling that Xiaos order was ready for him.

"Coming!" you called back as you rushed over, skipping slightly down the stairs into the kitchen. You collected the food and then made your normal route up the stairs to Xiaos balcony.

As soon as you step foot onto the empty balcony, the familiar form of the adeptus appeared in front of you. You handed the plate to him with a smile, and he took it without a word. He turned away from you to stand by the railing, placing the food in front of him.

You turned to leave since your daily delivery was done and you could now order yourself some lunch before you continued to preform any needed tasks.

"Wait" Xiao called out to you.

You frowned as you turned to face him "is something wrong?"

He was silent for a moment, before you watched him slid the plate along the rails so that it sat next to him "you haven't eaten yet" he muttered.

You approached him slowly, stunned by his offer to share his food with you "it's okay, I usually go and get some food right now so-"

"You won't heal if you don't eat well"

"Are you sure? I mean-"

"Just shut up and eat" he grunted, picking up a piece and biting into it. Glancing over to you until you smiled at his kindess and did the same. You hadn't tried the almond tofu, despite how often you brought the dish up to Xiao and how often you'd seen chef Smiley make it. It was nice, the texture and taste were both delicate and fragrant, the almonds not overwhelming and rather the taste that bonded the dish together.

You both stood side by side, quietly sharing the dish until the food was good "thank you, Xiao"

He muttered out "don't mention it, you'll get weak without food"

"Shouldn't you eat more than one thing a day, then?" you asked.

"Tsk, adepti don't require sustinance from your mortal food" he said "its merely a personal preferrence that I chose to eat this dish that is at least palatable to my tastes"

You giggled lightly "of course, forgive my ignorance to your adeptus needs" he shot you a glare, but it didn't hold any meaning behind it.

He turned fully to face you, holding his hand out towards you. His action made you raise a brow, unsure of what this meant before he commanded "give me your arm"

Confused, but not wanting to annoying the male you offered out your arm. 

He rolled his eyes "your other arm"

You switched arms, the one with the bandaged forearm being presented to him. He took a hold of your wrist, his grasp firm but careful as to not cause you pain. With a practiced precision he pulled at the loose knot at the top of the bandage, unravelling it a few times before he started to wrap it back up. You had noticed that it had come loose during your morning sweeping, but you hadn't thought anything of it, deciding to ask Verr to redo it for you later if it got any looser.

You watched as he carefully rewrapped the badage, making sure it was tight but not tight enough to cut off any circulation and that it lay neatly on your arm. Once he was satisfied with his work, he tied the loose ends into a small knot making sure it was secure and wouldn't loosen easily before he released your arm.

"Than-"

"A loose bandage is as much help as an ill-fitting boot" he informed before he glanced to the bandage that still covered the majority of your leg "that one looks fine"

You glanced down at your legs "I think the bandages will be able to come off soon, those injuries haven't been causing me much issue, and the last time the bandages were replaced the wounds were almost healed" you said "my bruising is going down too, see?" you pointed out. Although purple and red still dusted your skin in multiple places, it was much paler than it had been in the previous days.

He hummed "not quick enough, that shows you need to rest more. You should take the day off tomorrow"

"But-"

"Uhm, e-excuse me?" a small voice came from the entrance to the balcony. You both turned to look, seeing a small child standing there looking up at you. It was the little girl you had rescued from the water yesterday.

You crouched down so you were closer to her height, smiling at her softly as you spoke "hey, is everything okay?" she skipped over to you, Xiao watching you both in silence.

"I wanted to thank you for helping me yesterday, I was really scared but you came to save me" she smiled "I picked these this morning, mommy said it would be a nice thing to give you a gift. I hope you like them"

She held out the small collection of white flowers "they're lovely" you took the flowers from her, admiring them for a few seconds "thank you very much. I'm glad youre safe"

"Thank you" she said again, stepping forward to wrap her small arms around her neck to give you a short hug before she skipped away back downstairs.

You stood back up, gently touching the white petals of the flowers. Xiao looked at them "Qingxin" he informed "a nice thank you gift"

You looked to him before you plucked one of the flowers from the bundle, tucking it behind his ear with one sure and bold motion. Acting quicker than Xiao had time to react to what you had just done.

He stepped back from you, giving you a mild glare filled with shock as he asked "what the hell did you just do?"

You giggled at his reaction "you said it was a nice thank you gift, didn't you?" you smiled. You picked up the empty plate that still sat on the balcony railing "thank you for sharing your food with me, and for correcting my bandage" Xiao remained silent, still stunned by your action, the flower still tucked behind his ear as you started to leave the balcony "I'll see you tomorrow" you called over your shoulder before you disappeared inside.

Xiao remained on the balcony after you left. He then ripped the flower out from its place behind his ear, staring at the small white flower that sat in his palm. This was your thank you to him, as the flowers had been a thank you from the small child to you.

You were a bold human, that was for sure. Although he only interacted with you breifly once a day when you brought him his food, an obligation that you only preformed to repay the kindness the inn had shown to you, he was finding himself looking forward to your short visits.

He gently closed his fingers around the white flower before he left the balcony.