𝒜𝒻𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓉𝓎 | Xiao x Reader

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑟

Xiao's heart pounded as he sat on the rooftop of one of the buildings in Liyue Harbor, watching the group of mortals load everything back onto their ship. He couldn't have cared less about most of them, though. His eyes lingered on only one person: their captain.

It was you; you'd returned to him once again in a new mortal form, but after being with you for four lives already, he could easily spot your new versions now.

His gaze followed as you walked around the ship, your hands on your hips as you checked everything over. You were preparing to set out later that morning with your crew, and he intended to at least see you off when you left.

Of course, ideally, you wouldn't realize he was doing so. He'd been avoiding you like the plague ever since you set foot in Liyue, despite how it hurt his heart. He'd failed to do so in your last life, but he felt he owed it to you to at least save you some of the pain that came with being around him, even if it put him through more.

So even though he hadn't been able to leave you alone completely; always finding his mind wandering back to your image or his legs carrying him towards where you were, he'd still refrained from letting you see or interact with him for any reason. If he met your eyes, he knew he'd just fall right back in love with you, and then it would be impossible to stay away, just like always.

Even when you'd been in danger once while traversing the area outside the harbor with your crew, he still hadn't stepped in.

It had taken more self control than he ever thought he was capable of, but he'd gotten another Adeptus to handle it instead, watching the entire time to make sure you were alright. And, to his delight, you had been.

Today would be the last time he saw you now, at least for a while, which meant he'd succeeded in his goal of not interacting with this version of you at all.

It felt like his heart was constantly squeezing violently in his chest as he watched you prepare to leave, but he knew this was the best for you. He couldn't put you through the guilt of leaving him behind again, and he also didn't want to stand in the way of a happiness that you could potentially find elsewhere with someone else. With another mortal.

The idea of you loving someone other than him was painful too, but he wanted you to be happy more than anything else. So, he would let you be.

Instead, he continued to watch you from the rooftop, a lovestruck look in his eyes as you moved across the ship gracefully, giving orders to all your crew members as they prepared for your later departure.

Suddenly, you turned your head, looking his way as if you could feel his gaze on you. He quickly teleported behind one of the many big signs on the building rooftops, not daring to check whether you were still looking or not.

He couldn't risk you seeing him when he'd worked so hard to stay hidden.

"Xiao?" A voice made him jump, and he quickly turned around to see two familiar faces staring up at him. "What are you doing hiding up here?"

"Bonanus, Indarias, you startled me." He replied, crossing his arms as he turned back to peak around the edge of the sign. Luckily, you weren't looking his way anymore, but he still stayed hidden in case it happened again.

"Yeah?" Indarias replied, her voice much softer than its usual loud and cheery tone, "You still didn't answer our question. What are you doing back here?"

"I'm just seeing that boat off." He replied, pointing down at your ship as the two other yakshas followed his gaze. Seeing you at the wheel, the hydro yaksha frowned.

"You're still watching over them, huh?" She sighed as he just nodded, not even bothering to hide it anymore. His yaksha siblings could always tell when something was bothering him, and though it could be annoying, he appreciated their comfort at times like this.