Adventures of XIAO [Genshin Impact]

Ice Skating

You were excited. It had been a little over a year since you had last gone on the ice. Every year, the basketball court at the park would be frozen into an ice rink for the public. You watched day by day as people went skating on the ice. Each time, you would only be able to watch from afar. The skates you had were way too small for you and you never had time to buy new ones. Finally, your friends had planned a trip to the ice rink and thankfully, Rylan had extra shoes.

As you hummed, Xiao looked at you with curious eyes. He looked at your crescent-shaped lips and warm, fuzzy eyes. In turn, it made him crack a small smile.

"Are you happy?" It was out of the blue and definitely caught you off guard. Xiao usually never asked you anything or spoke first.

"I am. I'm very happy." You placed two thermoses in a duffel bag as you answered.

"Why?" Raising an eyebrow at the male, you stopped packing and turned to him.

"Because I'm hanging out with my favourite people."

"I thought you could only have one favourite."

"We can have multiple."

"Am I your favourite?" The question was so innocently said, you almost choked. A blush rushed to your cheeks as you decided if you should answer that question or brush it off.

"Um, yes. Yes, you're one of my favourites." Placing the last of your things into your bag, you headed downstairs. Xiao followed closely behind like a lost puppy. "Let's put on our winter gear now. They should be outside by now." Handing Xiao a coat you picked out, you started to wear your own. Once everything was set, you stepped out into the cold again. It was a little warmer than yesterday, but it didn't mean the warmth was going to stay forever. Immediately, you saw Xiao shrink from the wind. He stuck close to you and even brushed his hands against yours a few times, probably hoping you would hold it.

"Hey!" Jaime waved a hand at you two as Rylan only nodded. He, too, was carrying a duffel bag. As the four of you walked to the ice rink, you saw a few people there. At least the hockey players weren't there yet. You put down your bag on a bench near the sidelines and Rylan took out a pair of black hockey skates.

"Here, this should fit Xiao." Taking the skates from him, you turned to the Adeptus.

"Sit here." You pointed at the bench and he obeyed. It was quite cute to see him shiver as the cold metal seeped through the sweats you gave him.

Skates in hand, you crouched down and took off Xiao's left boot. Carefully loosening the laces, you slipped the skate onto the male's foot. You took off the skate guard and placed his foot firmly on the ground. You then proceeded to do the same thing for Xiao's other foot. At first, he looked intensely at the snow and poked a finger into the cold substance. Once he determined the snow was very thick, he watched in curiosity as you expertly finished up the laces on both skates. The Adeptus bit his lip as you stood up to admire your work.

"(Y/N), I don't know how to skate." Xiao looked at how gracefully Rylan skated on the ice and took a huge gulp. It was no surprise Rylan was good, he was on the neighbourhood's hockey team.

"You'll be fine. You have us. I'll help you." Giving him a small smile, you sat down yourself and started with the skates Rylan had brought for you. Slowly stand up, you steadied yourself on the ice before sticking out a hand for Xiao. He had started at it for a bit before taking it. The Adeptus had wobbled on the ice before slipping and pulling you with him.

Before you knew it, you had fallen on him and Jaime was at your side taking pictures immediately. You hadn't really processed what had happened until you felt the warmth of Xiao's arms leave your body. He had wrapped his arms around you as you both were falling in case your head decided to hit the ice.

"Sorry." Without meeting your eyes, this time Xiao had held out his hand to help you up. You swore you could see a pink tint on his cheeks but you brushed it off as the cold.

"It's okay, it happens on everyone's first time." Your heart was racing. What had happened? You were in Xiao's embrace, something you would have never thought to see yourself in. As you carefully glided across the ice, you pulled Xiao along with you.

"You move by pushing off each leg and keeping the other still. Like this." Letting go of his hand, you skated a few steps ahead of Xiao and turned. "You try."

You smiled at the sight. The Adeptus' arms were out to his sides to keep himself balanced while he tried to copy your movements. Very slowly, he made his way to you, wobbling all the way. You giggled as he finally grasped onto your arms to steady himself.

"That was great. Okay, stopping is pretty easy. Whenever you want to stand on the ice, make a 'V' with your skates." Pointing to your own feet, Xiao tried to mimic your stance again. He was a pretty fast learner. Within minutes, the two of you were skating around without wobbling. As the two of you skated around, Rylan joined you as Jaime snapped pictures on the sidelines.

It was when you heard Xiao laugh for the first time that you fell flat on your butt. The game described the Adeptus as an expressionless yaksha, but here he was, in front of you, laughing and smiling. When you had fallen, it gave Xiao a small scare, but he quickly turned to help you back up. After a few more circles around the rink and a lot more laughs, the four of you decided it was time to head home. It was cold and none of you wanted to get sick.

Waving to your friends, you and Xiao stepped into the warmth of your home. It would be another hour before your parents got home. You quickly ushered Xiao into the showers to warm himself up then you would quickly stow him back in your room.

. . .

Your parents were finally asleep and Xiao was playing on your laptop. Math gave you lots of homework, but it was alright. You used your phone to look at the questions. Too concentrated on your work, you hadn't noticed when Xiao had sat beside you, reading his book.

"Lupin... I feel like I know that word." Xiao often mumbled to himself between reading and you had always found it cute. He looked so into what he was reading. You stretched your arms as you finally finished your essay and math homework. Standing up to put your things away, you notice an unfamiliar weight on your shoulder.

Looking over, Xiao's face was peaceful. His long lashes created shadows from the small lamp you had turned on. The book had already slid from his hands. They were dangerously close to yours as you took a risk and intertwined your fingers. The male stirred in his sleep, causing you to try and pull your hand away. He didn't awaken, he only tightened his grip on your hand and you felt the heat rise to your cheeks. Gosh, why did Xiao have to be so adorable like this?

Pulling a blanket over the both of you, you turned off the lamp. It took you a while to fall asleep in your sitting position against the wall. Once you did, you didn't notice that Xiao wasn't entirely asleep.

Extra:

He didn't realize how worn-out he was from the skating trip. Before he knew it, Xiao had closed his eyes and let his head fall onto your shoulder. As the Adeptus relaxed, he saw your face. He saw your kind eyes when you had stuck out your hand to him today. He saw your cute reactions to the most littlest things.

Suddenly he felt a warmth in his hand. Your hand was much smaller compared to his and he tightened his grip. Once he knew the lights were off and your soft breathing was all he heard, Xiao got up from his position and carried you to your bed. From there, he embraced you as he, too, soon fell asleep.

I found the chapter pic the funniest and cutest thing I've see outta Xiao so I thought I'd share it! Again, this one is super short, but don't worry, I'll be posting another one tomorrow. Keep up the comments! I love reading each and every one of them! Anyways, have a great morning/day/afternoon/evening/night! Take care of yourselves, everyone!