Alone { xɪᴀᴏ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ}

【Ｐｒｏｇｒｅｓｓ】

Wangshu inn was at its best right now in the hot summer weather. Since it was the perfect time for tourists to come and see liyue Wangshu inn was always full. You had been here for a month now and you could probably do your job in your sleep. Sometimes you did your job while half asleep but enough about how good you are at your job it was still hardwork. You had been busy because of all the tourists so you hadn't gotten to do anything you wanted to do during the time you had been here.
You had fell into the routine of using a calendar to prove to yourself that their was something interesting going on in your life but it wasn't all that useful

With your busy schedule and the fact that you had no friends your calendar was always empty which never failed to ruin your mood
You had gone to the balcony a few times during lunch break but it was too early and xiao was never there
Your life had gone back to its dull, boring routine and you were sick of it

So you marked you calendar,
Today (one of the rare days off)
You would get out and socialize and maybe even make a friend if you were lucky because you had no one

Leaving the inn you raced out and made your way to liyue taking the usual travel route. You hadn't been there since you first got here and it would be nice to take a break and relax your mind.

...

You got to liyue and were once again amazed by the beauty of it all. You had a decent amount of money on you and you were planning on going shopping and buying whatever caught your eye

A hair ornament
A painting of the scenery
Another vase that was painted in blues and yellows
Did you have an obsession with vases?
Maybe?
This was the second vase you owned
You didn't even have any flowers for it
There was literally no need for a second vase
Why did you buy a second vase?

While you were worrying about your vase problems you didn't hear the sound of footsteps approaching you

"y/n?"

You recognized the voice you heard immediately causing you to turn around a bit too quickly giving you a minor headache
"Ow-Zhongli?"
"Are you alright"
"Just fine"
You gave a reassuring smile but it only ended up making you look incredibly weird but Zhongli didn't seem to notice. You wondered if he was that nice or if he was just dumb as shit but you wouldn't dare ask.
"I didn't expect expect you to remember me-"
"How could I forget you, you saved my life"

Of course you also remembered him cause he was the Geo archon from Genshin but he didn't need to know that.

"I did nothing of the sorts, I only showed you kindness anyone else would have done the same"

You doubted that but it was the thought that counted right?

"Anyways what are you doing back here"
"I wanted to take a break from work and get out and finally do something"

He seemed to want to say something to you before both of your thoughts were interrupted by someone who you assumed worked at the funeral parlor asked for his assistance causing him to have to bid you a quick goodbye before walking? No, speed walking away.

You spent the rest of the evening window shopping and occasionally conversing with people. It was a bit disappointing to find out that you can't make a best friend just by saying hi to someone. Why was socializing so hard?
There was nothing else to do so you had decided to get going back to the inn but something caught your eye before you left. It was a green beaded bracelet with a lavender charm hanging off of it and there were two left. The seller was old and seemed to sense you interest

"I see you're looking at the bracelets, they've been here for a while so they don't cost as much."
You were a sucker for a good deal or at least things that sounded like a good deal but you bought them anyways and headed back

...

You were back at the inn and went into your room to unpack everything you had brought.
Upon looking at the bracelets again you realized why you had the impulse to buy them. They reminded you of Xiao.

Working on complete impulse you ran out to the balcony. You had to pause when you saw him. He was so pretty and you swore you melted a bit when his amber eyes turned to yours.
"What are you doing back here, I told you already mortals shouldn't-"

"I missed you."
You interrupted him with a cheesy line but you meant every word. It had been a while since you saw him and just being in his presence made you feel all the emotions you felt you were missing out on.

If Xiao was an expressive person you would have been able to easily tell he was surprised but he wasn't so you had to rely on the way his eyes widened a bit and his mouth was left ever so slightly agape

"I just uh enjoy being out here with you and I haven't been able to come by in a while so... here I am?"

"You mortals are weird"

You could only laugh in response "it's probably just me"

"Hm"

Though he didn't talk much you liked talking to him so in order not to end the conversation you kept talking.

"The stars look pretty tonight"

"Are you planning on having another conversation with the moon?"

"I-
It was a one time thing okay!?"

He only deadpanned in response

"I won't have to have a conversation with it anyways after all I have you to talk to."

Before xiao could even comment on your absurd thought you only continued putting trust in the thought that he'd listen

"You see that forest over there? It's good for flower picking I went over there some time ago and got some flowers and I found a nice vase to put them in and they still haven't shown any signs of wilting. I never been a flower expert so it makes me happy that I'm doing something right."

Xiao listened to your flower rant that soon turned into a vase rant, unsurprised since he had saw you picking them while out on the balcony one day. He had taken interest in you and wondered why you kept attempting to visit him. Even now he wondered why you continued to converse with someone such as him who had taken the lives of many and didn't bother to respond to a word you said. He hated how he liked it too. The way you were honest and weren't trying to get something out of him and how you didn't get scared of him.

"You know xiao-" you started causing him to focus on you
"Well I found these bracelets today and they remind me of you."
You pulled out one showing it to him while admiring it yourself "I wanted to give it to you, I don't know it just seems to match your outfit."
You sat the bracket down beside him knowing he wouldn't take it himself
"We'd be matching"
You smiled a bit before continuing your rant about flowers and vases and how vases probably had something to do with the Illuminati because you newfound interest in them didn't make sense
-
Seeing it was getting late you decided it was time to go to sleep. Since you didn't get an answer from him earlier you had expected Xiao to not comment about the bracelet and leave it where you left it but instead you were met with something barely audible
You turned around to look at Xiao but the bracelet was gone and so was he
After a second it registered in your mind what he had said

"Thank you"

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AHHHHHHHH
FINALLY SO I GOT SICK AND THEN LOST ALL MOTIVATION FOR THE STORY BUT I DID IT
IM REALLY EXCITED FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS SO IM REALLY TRYING TO PUSH THIS STORY IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

ALSO I WATCHED BO BURNHAM'S SPECIAL INSIDE TODAY AND I CRIED MY ASS OFF ✌️SO IF THERES ANY SPELLING MISTAKE PLEASE KNOW I WROTE THIS AT 5AM WITH BLURRY VISON BECAUSE OF MY TEARS🕺

THE STORY SHOULD START PICKING UP AFTER A FEW MORE CHAPTERS AND I HAVE SOME STUFF PLANNED ALSO DONT WORRY THE READER WILL GET FRIENDS I PROMIS THE READER WONT BE LONELY FOREVER 😭