genshin oneshots (requests open)

i gotcha, kiddo

Everything hurt.

He didn't know for sure where he was, besides out at sea somewhere. His polearm lay on the ship's deck next to him, and he was sitting against the hull of the ship, drenched in seawater and feeling sick to his stomach. He couldn't even remember what had happened before he fell victim to the waves.

Through blurry vision, he could see the ship's crew wandering across the dock. He didn't trust any of them. They could pick him up and throw him overboard anytime- he was too weak to fight back.

Footsteps creaked on the wood to his left and he turned, looking straight up at a woman he'd heard about only in legends. She didn't seem half as impressive as the stories told.

"Hey, kiddo," she said, reaching down to ruffle his hair. She didn't seem to have the slightest idea who he was. A Yaksha, an adeptus, should never have his *goddamn hair ruffled.*

"You doing alright? I wasn't expecting you up so soon. Looked pretty bad when we found you." By now she had crouched down next to him, looking him right in the eyes. Also now was when he noticed the bandages in various places on his body, and the physical pain that accompanied them. As if this wasn't enough, he felt sick to his stomach. All he could manage was a pathetic whine. He *hated* it.

The woman must have seen something, because she reached out to touch him again. He tried to fight her but his arms felt useless, like they were still dragging in the water. She pulled him close to her, gently holding him so his head was hanging over the side of the ship- and he thought, *she's fucking insane and she's going to drown me.*

And then, as if on cue, the horrible feeling in his stomach crawled up his throat and he was sick over the side of the boat, his whole body trembling. The woman was holding his hair out of his face, doing her best to.. make sure he didn't fall.

"I got you," she said as he was sick again. "I gotcha, kiddo. You're gonna be okay."

Xiao couldn't come up with a response, being too busy getting *fucking seasick*. Trying to catch his breath, tears squeezing from his eyes, still trembling. It made him feel *pathetic.* And to be in the care of a mortal woman, as well- he was supposed to be able to take care of himself.

Still, he didn't have the energy to fight back when he was moved again. As much as he wanted to get out of her hold, she was so *careful* with him. She carried him down a set of rickety wooden stairs and into a room, pulling the covers back on a neatly-made bed and laying him down.

"You'd better get some proper rest. Nasty fight and seasickness is a pain in the ass to get over, I'm sure you know. I promise you it'll all turn out okay. You ever need anything, just yell for Captain Beidou, okay?" She tucked the blankets up to his chin, his eyes wandering around the room. This could be a trap. It had to be a trap. There was no way he deserved this. It was nice. Nice wasn't something for him.

Still, even as he fought against every feeling in his head, Xiao could feel the pull of sleep. He was exhausted and sick and in so much fucking pain, and he couldn't keep it away forever. So he let his eyes close and he fell asleep in an unfamiliar place, shivering under the covers. Dreaming of blood, screaming, an ocean dyed red. A monster's shadow in the mirror, a crimson-dyed weapon, the harbor in ruins, a lyre with broken strings.

He snapped his eyes open, the sick feeling having returned in full force. The woman- Captain Beidou, he remembered now- sat at a small table nearby, scribbling away on a piece of paper. The more he looked at her, the more his organs seemed to be doing gymnastics. Everything was fucking miserable.

Forcing himself to move, Xiao crawled out of the bed, every step having to make an effort not to be sick all over his shoes. Captain hadn't even noticed him- not until the ship lurched, and he lost it. Tumbling forward and landing on his knees, the hideous taste of sick in his mouth mixing with the burnt taste of his karmic debt. It all seemed to be weighing him down at once.

He could feel strong arms lifting him up again, holding him over the side, and he gripped onto the wood to try and ground himself. He was shaking terribly now, barely anything left in him but still sick, a terrible scream ripping itself from his insides.

And in response, all he felt was Beidou's hold on him grow tighter. Promises that he wasn't going to fall into the ocean.

He could hear her telling him to hold on for just a moment longer, and he gripped the side of the ship with all the strength he had. Her arms were gone, footsteps echoed, and he felt another sharp stab of pain all through his midsection.

Liars. They were all fucking *liars*. He was sick again, dry heaving by now, his grip beginning to slip as waves splashed against the hull. The wind was growing stronger. Storms at sea were never anything good. Storms.. wind carrying fire, setting everything alight in its path. His right hand completely lost grip on the edge and he felt his whole body begin to slip, going too far over the edge.

Someone caught him and pulled him back, pulled him into them, and on instinct he tried to fight. The familiar voice was back. Beidou.

"Shh, it's okay," she was saying, trying to hold him still. "You're safe. Everything's okay. You're just sick and all beat up." She pulled a blanket around his shivering body, sitting against the hull so she could hold him up if he was going to be sick again.

"The fuck.. are you doing?" he managed to ask, coming out far less angry than he wanted.

"My crew found you floating out on the ocean. Looked half-dead," came Beidou's response. "And I wasn't gonna leave you in there to drown."

"Let me off this ship," he protested, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"Don't be ridiculous, kiddo. There's no way you could swim back by yourself. Even Ganyu couldn't do that. And on top of that, you're in no condition to even stand." Beidou pulled Xiao's hair out of his face, gently rubbing his back as he unconsciously curled into her. He was still shaking, but not quite as much.

"I'll take you back to Liyue when my ship returns. For now you'd best let me take care of you." She was quieter now, letting Xiao hide himself in her embrace all he wanted. "Don't worry, kiddo. You're gonna be alright."

And he tried his hardest to believe her.