Idyllic - Genshin Impact Oneshots

Beautiful Creatures - Xiao

Late-afternoon sunlight filtered through the thin curtains of Wangshu Inn and onto a bloody gash.

"You can't keep going like this, Xiao. You're wearing yourself out."

"I've been doing this for thousands of years. I'll be fine." He hissed in pain and pushed back against the headboard as you pressed a damp cloth against his side. You scowled and traded the cloth for a bandage, wrapping the wound as best you could. He didn't deserve this pain on top of the bad karma he already struggled with. You just wished he'd believe you when you said that it wasn't a weakness to show that he was hurting.

"'I'll be fine,' he says," you muttered, grabbing another roll of gauze from the nightstand and wishing for the thousandth time that your Vision lent healing powers.

You finished with his torso and moved to his arm, washing out the wound and applying herbs to speed the healing before wrapping it up.

"That's too tight."

"Oh, shut up. It needs to be tight to keep dirt and stuff from getting in."

"You know I'm just gonna get hurt again, right? Why do you do this every time?"

You stayed silent, wrapping his arm deftly.

"Y/N."

You didn't look up, instead winding the bandage around and around.

"Y/N."

A tear darkened the fabric on his arm.

"Would you look at me?"

You swiped a wrist across your eyes, refusing to let any more tears fall, and glanced up. Xiao was displaying an emotion you rarely saw from him: genuine concern.

"I'll always be ok. You know that, right?"

"Y—yeah," you said, voice shaking. "I know. It just—it doesn't stop me from worrying, you know?"

"No. It's illogical to worry."

You tied off the bandage and pushed away with a huff, leaning against your chair and almost tipping it back. Your eyes, still holding on to their tears, focused on a point somewhere on the wooden wall above his head. "Yeah, well, we 'mortals' aren't always logical, ok? Sometimes we rely on emotions."

Once his shirt was back on, Xiao scooted from his half-lying position into a full sit, back pressed firmly against the headboard and arms crossed. "And what emotions do you have that make you bandage me up like this every time I get hurt?" It was more of a statement than a question, but you could hear the curiosity in his voice. "Y/N?" he asked when you didn't say anything.

You squeezed your eyes shut tight against the tears pooling behind them.

"Y/N?" You heard him shift on the bed and then his hands were resting heavy on your shoulders. "Y/N, what's wrong?"

You cracked your eyes open, the tears making Xiao's tilted face blurry. You clenched the fabric at your knees so tightly that your knuckles hurt. Xiao's eyebrows furrowed together and your tears spilled over. Suddenly you were sobbing against his chest, gripping his shirt and getting it covered in tears and snot. Somewhere in the back of your mind you knew that this would be embarrassing later, but in the moment all you could focus on was the way his hand rubbed gentle circles into your back while the other held you steady by your arm. Kiss after tender kiss landed in your hair as he held you close.

The two of you stayed like that for a long time. He waited patiently until your sobs subsided, then held you at arm's length as you wiped your face and composed yourself.

"I'm so sorry about that," you said quietly, sniffing and looking down. "It was a moment of weakness."

"I thought you said it wasn't weak to show that you're hurting."