𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐄 | xiao x reader

[12] 𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬

[12]

A week had passed and tartaglia was no where to be seen. But there were still fatui encampments spotted around certain areas in Liyue although they were kept discreet. They haven't been making any noise lately, keeping the Millielith less alert nowadays.

y/n on the other hand shook off the thought considering the matter between Tartaglia and Xiao and went to help herself with chamomile tea that Smiley Yanxiao finished brewing her as soon as she came down to the kitchen.

"Can't sleep these days?" Smiley Yanxiao asked but not out of sympathy.

y/n held the warm cup of tea with both of her hands and looked at the chamomile sink at the bottom of the cup. "No, not really. I always wake up in the middle night for some reason."

"You can always come here when you can't sleep, but don't stay too long." Smiley Yanxiao offered and stretched his arms out with a sigh of relief. He finished up putting away leftover ingredients from earlier today and began to get his things.

"Goodnight, and thank you." y/n looked at him and smiled as he made his way to his room which was downstairs.

then, the whiff of the sweet floral fragrance of the tea made her feel at peace and forget about all her problems. the beige and brownish color of the tea looked amusing as it shimmered below the kitchen's light.

as the tea had distracted her for a short span, y/n still felt unfathomable uneasiness stir in her stomach.

after all, y/n hasn't been getting enough sleep for whatsoever reason no matter how hard she shuts her eyes and keeps her mind blank.

no matter, her sleeping schedule was certainly irregular.

y/n took a couple more sips of the silky chamomile tea before making her way back to her room alongside with a lingering bitter aftertaste.

Before she entered her room, She looked across the hall and saw Xiao's door slightly open.

y/n hasn't spoken to Xiao ever since the situation under the tree. Perhaps she did something wrong or misunderstood something that time.

y/n went back into her room and closed the door after giving one last look at his door. she slowly walked to her bed and jumped into her blankets and pillows.

she could feel herself sinking into the soft mattress as the chamomile tea was taking its toll. furthermore, she felt her consciousness wear and thin soon after.

the next few nights, she continuously kept waking up in the middle of the night every time when the moon shines the most through her window.
___
"Oh y/n..you have dark circles below your eyes." Verr Goldet mumbled and sulked as she caught a glance with Smiley Yanxiao who then just nodded.

y/n didn't know what to say and just walked away. she didn't want to worry the two more with another excuse and was too exhausted to even come up with one.

y/n went outside to catch some air to see that Xiao was outside as well. She wanted to speak to him but a part of her also wanted to run away.

Before she could make a decision, he turned his head and stared at her for a moment before looking away. y/n pursed her lips together and quickly walked to him.

angered she felt because it was like she was feeling neglected even though it was her ignoring him in the first place, she paced over to him. without a thought, y/n immediately grabbed his wrist and tugged roughly.

the alerted yaksha turned around,

"what do you think you're—"

y/n just looked at him and realized what she did. for a second, it felt like she was dreaming but this was reality. now, what was to come next now that she decided to finally approach him?

xiao looked her eyeing the side area out of nervousness. it annoyed him to see her looking somewhere else instead of him if she came all this way just to do that.

y/n sighed, "forget it." She said and released his arm. Though before she could walk away, instead this time her arm was getting tugged. "why are you now leaving?" xiao asked as he felt slightly angered as if he was now a burden.

"i guess i feel tired again."

"again?"

y/n looked at him, feeling almost dissatisfied. did he never know that she wasn't sleeping very well lately? a part of her slightly hoped that he would at least be somewhat worried all this time except he never knew about it in the first place.

"i rarely sleep in my own bed, so why don't you try sleeping in my room.." xiao muttered innocently. but then he glanced up to y/n again to see her face glowing red. he hit a realization to what it seemed like he might've offered instead.

"what i meant was that— you're going to have the whole room to yourself. so please, don't think otherwise." xiao said as he wanted to cringe for his earlier comment.

y/n let out a quick laugh, "i got it. but where are you going to stay?"

"i have business outside of the area of where the wangshu inn is residing, so i won't be back until the next day. so just for this night, just sleep in my room. perhaps something will change?" xiao offered.

"i don't know how it'll change exactly but why not?" y/n questioned but still however gave in effortlessly. she had already had too many restless nights and was willing to do anything for longer hours of sleep.

"good." xiao had a small smile and caressed her head for a little moment before returning to what he was just doing earlier. y/n felt a sense of comfort for a while before also heading back to the wangshu inn.

xiao looked at her as she made her way back in. then he looked back to the flowing river where they first met. he put his left hand into the water and swayed it around. xiao felt the coldness of the water and pulled away. "at least she laughed again."

xiao continued to look at the steady flowing blue river that pointed south reflected upon the clear sky. he saw his own wavy reflection, noticing his smile that he was unaware of.

he silently scolded himself for getting side tracked for a moment soon afterwards.

"did something happen?" verr goldet asked when y/n came back in.

"what do you mean?" y/n asked. she was confused since nothing significant had happened recently.

"perhaps it was my imagination. maybe the residents upstairs were being rowdy." verr goldet said and shook it off.

"ah, alright..have a good evening then." y/n said and went up the stairs to see verr goldet waving.

"since when were there residents upstairs?" Yanxiao Smiley questioned Verr Goldet as he cut the raw daikon on the dark wooden cutting board.

"oh..?"

y/n opened the door to her room and threw herself into her bed. she faced into the pillow and thought about xiao's offer. "so he did know after all but never said anything, huh." y/n muffled into the cotton pillow and lifted her head afterwards. she had a little smile plastered on her face.