Star-Crossed [ G. Impact ]

twenty-one | XXI

slightly suggestive content.

ミ☆

—
present.
—

eons of darkness.

this was all she could recall from the past two thousand years. she imagined it felt similar to death, in a way. a lack of consciousness. a permanent state of chasing dreams of what was, how everything left off, and where she would be if osial hadn't gotten the upper hand. past, present, and future.

she could recall the fear of dying when she had stared into morax's eyes back then. there was a brief moment where she found herself distracted before her vision went black. the hues were akin to the sunsets she and zhongli watched from the harbor. golden refractions skimming across the muddled surface of the water, glittering and rendering her mesmerized.

where was alatus?

she distinctly remembered that thought running through her mind right before it happened. morax's eyes weren't his own at that moment; they had slitted pupils dilated to a large extent, accompanied by a hidden softness behind the armored exterior. she could see right through them.

the tears that streamed down her cheeks never ceased.

when she awoke, similar warmth stained her face. the droplets ran down her jawline, cascading along and disappearing into the gauze wrapped around her neck.

through the blurriness, she recognized the ceiling of her apartment bedroom. her lungs eventually caught up to her emotions and allowed a whimper to escape her lips.

something clattered onto the floor. (y/n) didn't bother to startle; she saw alatus—or perhaps, xiao, now—enter the room a few moments prior. the basin of water he was holding spilled onto the floorboards, racing to reach the outermost corners of the room as he rushed to her bedside.

he gently grabbed either side of her face. his thumbs grazed over the tears, wiping them away with a gentle swipe before he enveloped her into his arms. she let herself go entirely after feeling xiao's chest rising and falling erratically.

"hey," his voice wobbled slightly. "it's alright. you're safe now."

she clung to him tightly. her fists grasped bundles of his shirt, creating deep creases along his back. xiao didn't know why she awoke so stirred up, but all he wanted was to make sure she was okay. his hands ran through her tangled hair in hopes of smoothing it down.

xiao wasn't sure what to do now that she was awake. the girl had finally calmed down after what seemed like hours of grief. if xiao didn't know any better, he would assume it was that everything had caught up to her at last. it twisted his insides to think of what she might be going through.

now, they lay together, limbs tangled and gazing out the window to watch the sun set over the horizon. her breathing finally returned to normal and all that was left were the occasional sniffles. not many words had been spoken since she woke up aside from xiao soothing her the best he could. not that he had to try very hard. she always found that his presence was comforting enough.

"i feel so heavy."

he wasn't expecting to hear her speak. her voice was quiet and laced with hurt. xiao shifted slightly so he could tuck a stray piece of hair back into place, fingers lingering on her rosy cheeks. she leaned into the touch. it felt nice, the cooler temperature.