A MILLION MILES AWAY | xiao

- ꕤ 11: CONVERSATION

Morning came.

Your body ached in exhaustion after last night's events. You may have accidentally over-exerted yourself. From the long walks to your commissions and then the concert. So, just now you have officially decided... today is a rest day!

If you can even afford one...

Well, this level of fatigue surely brings you back to when you were still an aspiring scientist. Studying day and night to get your thesis and experiments finished... Just thinking about college makes your eye twitch. It felt nice to be away from all that stress and have fun.

Somehow, you were starting to treat Teyvat as your vacation, and not a permanent residence... It still hasn't completely hit you that this whole thing isn't a dream. These characters aren't just pixels made by developers — no, they're real. What a fascinating concept.

Knowing you were taking the day off, you might as well use the time to talk to Xiao. Today, your plans to form a friendship continue. Finally...

You made your way downstairs and greeted Smiley Yanxiao. He was surprised to see you.

"Y/N! You haven't been down here in a while." He said.

"I've been busy lately! Got a job and all. Hey, can you pass me that?"

You held up a conversation with the chef as you prepared a plate of almond tofu. You also made yourself a little snack so Xiao wasn't eating alone. Now that you had experience, it wasn't as hard to cook as before.

You were still careful to not spill anything while walking up the stairs. Seriously, why don't they have railings? You were bound to talk to the boss about this.

Xiao was already up there, to your surprise. It's not like he had all the time in the world as you did. But you were thankful he was there or your hard work would have been for nothing.

"Good morning! I brought us some food." You chirped, gaining the Adeptus' attention. He moved slightly to the left, giving you space. You handed him his fill of almond tofu, Xiao accepting it hesitantly.

"Thank you."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The sudden noise snapped you back to reality breaking your eyes away from Xiao.

"Mind if I take this here?" You asked, the man giving a quiet nod in reply.

With a sharp inhale, you answered the call.

"How long has it been for you, Y/N?" Your father immediately jumped to the questions, not wanting to waste time.

"Around two weeks. How about you?"

"Merely three days."

It's only been three days... You might as well spend a year here before you go back!

"We wanted to update you on the teleportation machine. It's still badly damaged but the most important part is secured. We might get you back in two weeks... here."

"How long will that be for me?"

"We... don't know. The time difference between our worlds cannot be calculated because you were sent there without preparation."

Well... That was comforting.

"I understand. Just update me if the machine is done. All you have to do then is find the coordinates and frequencies."

"That's correct. I'm glad you've kept your wits with you, my dear." The endearing nickname from your parent made you smile. It's been a while since you've heard their comforting voice.

"Of course, I am your child after all."

"Haha, enough flattery. We must go now, Y/N. Goodbye, and stay safe out there."

You closed your watch with a sigh, Xiao's curious face greeting you. You could tell he was trying to hide his interest, looking away slowly when you noticed his stare.

Well, as his lore says, he's always been curious about humans. He just never let himself indulge in those curiosities.

"The teleportation device we were talking about..." You started, piercing your food with a fork. "Is the reason I'm here in the first place."

"How does that work?"

He asked a question! You guessed this whole multiversal travel plot piqued his interest.

You put the piece of food in your mouth before answering his inquiry.

"While Teyvat has all sorts of magic, we have extremely advanced technology. My parents both created the first working teleportation machine and I was the first test subject." You rambled.

"I was supposed to be sent to a different universe but something went wrong and I ended up here. Because of the incident, the machine broke. Now they have to fix it so I can go back... Gods, I don't know how long they'll take."

For a short while, you continued to explain how the machine works and what it does to your body. You realized how much you missed all the scientific nerd stuff... Man, maybe you should get into alchemy.

"You know, for an Adeptus who wants to stay away from humans, you're doing a pretty bad job." You joked, nudging the Adeptus.

"But thanks. It was nice to have someone listen to everything I had to say. You're a good listener."

Xiao realized just how long he's been standing next to you. His plate of almond tofu has long since been eaten. He let himself be curious for too long, let himself lose track of time. This was not something he should be allowed to do.

He's not used to these types of conversations, it's clear. The ones he's had, even with the Traveler, have always been short-lived or opened wounds from the past. Never once did he just... listen.

He should start avoiding you. It wasn't going to end well if he continuously lets you come close. Besides, you weren't staying for long either.

"You don't get that a lot, huh?" You laughed at his pensive face. Suddenly, Xiao came back to his senses. He crossed his arm before replying.

"I don't talk or listen to mortals. I have a job to do. I can't waste my time chatting with humans like you."

"But somehow, you managed to hold up a conversation with me. Even if... I did most of the talking."

"..."

You gave him a grin as you took the plate away from his grasp. A small sound was made as you placed it on top of your own.

"See you later, Xiao. I look forward to having... forbidden conversations with you again."

For the first time, you left him first.

And somewhere inside you knew it won't be the last.

🍃

AHA!! I FINALLY UPDATED YAY!!
my god did I take forever... don't worry i won't disappear like that again <3 have you guys done the 3.2 archon quest? if so, how's your hearts? especially the scara stans... HAHAHA !!