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fireflies were wonderful creatures that lit up the night sky. often a beautiful sight in a sea of darkness.
fireflies were often seen around the perimeter of wangshu inn, a popular spot for travellers, and lovers. you could never pass up on the opportunity to collect them, they made beautiful ornaments after all.
as snow covered the streets of liyue, you walked around the frozen pond and hopped on little stones in order to catch a firefly. you leaned forward, getting ready to capture to luminous insect.
"y/n."
startled, you tripped on your own foot and fell onto the ice. the firefly quickly flew off, leaving you in pain and firefly-less.
"xiao, please don't scare me like that!" you scolded.
"....i'm sorry." he apologized, helping you get up.
"it's okay, i just, ow.. nevermind. i should get back home and rest up. you can come if you want."
you and xiao faced eachother, the adeptus giving a cold look that soon softened. he reached out for the scarf that loosely snaked around your neck.
"you should wear more layers. this winter is frigid, and you get sick too often." he stated, adjusting the wrap of your scarf.
watching xiao care for you as the snowflakes and fireflies danced was alluring, making you feel all warm inside.
"a-alright... you should accompany me home, don't want to get in trouble again."
"hmph, fine. but i won't stay for dinner like you always request."
a small laugh left your lips as you led xiao to your home.
it was no secret that the two of you harbored some kind of feelings for eachother. he was quite fond of you, something he was not used to.
xiao hated feeling this way. caring only leads to hurting, loving somebody only leads to heartbreak. he has experienced this before, who's to say he won't again?
these were thoughts that infiltrated xiao's mind.
and yet watching you now... in the cold as you twirled and almost slipped on the ice. under the dark sky and the plain white snow, he fell in love.
arriving at your doorstep, xiao snapped out of his thoughts and focused on you.
"thanks for taking care of me all the time. i know i can be a real nuisance, but i'll try to become less of that. heh." you said, scratching the back of your head awkwardly.
out of pure impulse, xiao couldn't help but put his hand on top of your head. patting it softly, without any second thought.
your hand slowly dropped to your side, watching the man in awe.
"i don't mind, as long as you're okay."
what.. was this strange feeling in your heart? it felt good, nothing like the usual heart aches you got.
"you've told me that you have a weak body, so i am willing to protect you as long as you stay healthy yourself. this is my promise to you."
you gave him a small nod in agreement, not knowing how to use words to convey feelings. this was all so surreal to you. time seemed to slow down and the world seemed to fall quiet.
"oh and... please take these. i'm sorry i disturbed you earlier." xiao took your hands and placed luminescent spines in them.
your eyes sparkled in joy, something the adeptus yearned to see. the way they glowed, somehow it shined brighter than those of fireflies.
you embraced xiao tightly, making his eyes widen. he never had anyone, especially a mortal, give him so much affection. he felt quite.... happy.
embracing you back gently, the pain of reality faded away as he only thought of you.
you were the most important thing to him now.
"thank you so much xiao. these are beautiful." you thanked.
the adeptus smiled softly before nodding, a signal that he was departing. you waved goodbye as he went off, a blush still painted on his cheeks.
a heavy feeling grew in your chest as you replayed today's events in your head. tears welled up in your eyes as you hummed a bitersweet tune.
you sat next to your window, not bothering to look at the bottles of medicine crowding your kitchen counter. they never helped, and they never will.
instead you took the luminescent spines xiao gave to you earlier and held them close to your heart.
1 month.
how you wished you had more time.
but as they say, fireflies have short lifespans.
it would only be a matter of time when you too, will fade away into the sea of darkness.
keeping this one short and sweet, school started recently womp womp!
