𝒜𝒻𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓉𝓎 | Xiao x Reader

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑙𝑒

"I would advise you not to buy into mortal gossip," Xiao growled, his hand reaching down to touch the doorknob now, "Their condition and whether or not they even have one is none of your business. Now, leave this place before I make you." And with that, he slammed the door so hard that it shook the wall slightly.

He could hear the doctors continue talking outside, but he didn't even care to try and make out their muffled voices. He just wanted them to go away already, for your sake.

Finally, the voices became quieter, and he could hear their footsteps moving away as they finally left. It was a good thing too, because he was ready to use violence if they didn't listen. It didn't even matter to him that they were mortals; they'd bothered you too many times in the past for their actions to be forgivable.

"...Xiao?" A weak voice called from upstairs, instantly brightening his mood as soon as he heard it, despite how strained it sounded.

"I'm here!" He called back, "Don't move; I'll come to you." And with that, he hurried up the stairs to your shared room, where the door had been left slightly open.

There, you lay on the left side of the soft bed, propped up slightly against the pillows to see him better. You looked terrible; with your h/c hair messy and disheveled, and tear stains running down your cheeks. You were breathing heavily too; probably due to another recent coughing fit.

Still, to Xiao, you were as beautiful as ever.

"Oh, hey Xiao." You smiled despite the obvious pain you were in, "I was wondering when you'd get back."

"I'm sorry I took so long." He replied, coming over to kneel next to the bed so he could look at you better, "I ran into some...unexpected trouble on the way, but it was nothing I couldn't handle." You nodded, pushing yourself up so you were sitting a little straighter now.

He quickly set the bag down so he could help you, placing the pillows more comfortably against your back.

"Thanks," you smiled, and he couldn't help but soften just from the sight of it. Seeing you happy was his favorite thing, even if it was under difficult circumstances like this.

"I brought you some f/f from one of the restaurants in the harbor," he continued, setting the bag down next to you as you looked inside with a grin, "Hopefully it's still warm."

"Aww, thank you, Xiao." You grinned, your e/c eyes sparkling with joy. He took your hand gently in his own, brushing his thumb against it as he brought the back of your palm to his lips and planted a soft kiss on it.

"It's not a problem," he assured you, eyeing the ring on your left ring finger as he recalled how it matched his own. "But how are you feeling, my love? I'm sorry I couldn't be here more today."

You waved a hand dismissively.

"It's fine, I know how important it is that you protect Liyue." you replied, "I'm the same; I've mostly just been sleeping, but it's getting harder to lie around in bed so much. I want to do something!" You sighed in frustration at the last part, running a hand through your messy h/c locks.

"I know," he replied, being all too familiar with your situation by now, "Do you still feel faint? And have the headaches worsened at all?"

You shook your head, but in your eyes, he could tell you were lying. You didn't want to make him feel bad, even though he was arguably the reason this was all happening to you.

The worst part was that this was something mortal doctors couldn't even treat. He didn't have much to offer you to help you feel better, aside from a bit of medicine to calm some of the pain. Bosacius had taught him how to make it when you first began showing symptoms, but it was slowly becoming less and less effective the more your condition worsened.