I Always Come Back For What's Mine (Genshin Impact: Xiao x OC)

Chapter 11

"Rexy will love this! He's always had a soft spot for the steaks I make," Lilith hummed, packing the frozen meat into her storage.

"All the food you make is quite delicious," Alatus pointed out.

"You just say that 'cause my brothers say it! You literally only eat almond tofu!" Lilith pouted. "It's not healthy to have such an unbalanced diet!"

"Almond tofu is the only food that I can stomach. That is all," Alatus said, avoiding her gaze.

Lilith frowned at that. Even after a couple hundred years spent together, she still didn't know much about what Alatus did in their time apart. In fact, she knew little about almost any personal aspect of his life. Who was his family? Where was he born? Why did he always have a self-loathing look on his face every time she mentioned his diet?

However, she dismissed all of these questions. She never told him the details of where she was really from, nor about the prophecy and her powers. She made it a point to only use pyro in front of him so that he didn't discover her otherworldly powers. Lucifer also only used hydro, even in front of Rex. Call it a trauma; they didn't want to expose their true identities and risk losing their only family and friend in this world.

"Then I suppose I'll just have to make special variations so you can get all the nutrients you need," Lilith said, facing forward while holding her hands behind her back. "Honestly, the lengths I go through to feed three growing boys!"

"You sound like a wife," Alatus teased, then flushed bright red as he realized what had just come out of his mouth. "O-o-or a mother- I mean a big sister!" he tripped over his words, his face growing redder and redder as he tried to salvage the situation.

Lilith just blinked at him, then a devilish smirk appeared on her face. "I didn't know that you were seeing me that way~ You naughty, naughty boy!" she cackled as Alatus facepalmed, groaning.

"Forget everything I said," he mumbled, his face practically steaming.

"Hmmmmm, should I though~?" Lilith hummed, walking ahead of Alatus. "I'll be at home prepping this frozen meat for dinner. I'll see you later!" she said before teleporting away.

However, she did not go straight home. Instead she appeared near an enormous tree and crouched by the stream flowing next to it. She gazed at her face as she finally allowed it to flush red. "That oblivious ladykiller," she mumbled to herself. She sighed, then walked towards the tree. As she leaned on its trunk and felt the gentle breeze brush against her heated skin, she thought back to the day, thousands of years ago, where she caught a glimpse of her soulmate in the crystal ball. "I'd have to be a fool to not see all the signs," she mumbled. The dark hair with teal undertone and golden eyes, the exact same she had seen in the crystal. Those couple hundred years spent together only cemented her suspicions. Even then, when they had only been apart for a few moments, she longed to run her fingers through Alatus's hair and gaze into his mesmerizing eyes.

"What signs?" a breathy, giggly voice asked right behind her ear. She yelped, jumping up and trying to run forward but failing and tripping herself, resulting in her rolling into the stream below. She sat there, gathering her wits as the same voice burst into tittering laughter. She looked up and yet saw nothing. She frowned in confusion before yelping as a tiny Seelie-like creature hung upside down from her head, its "face" inches from her own. "Sorry for surprising you, miss!" it giggled again, righting itself back up.

"A Seelie?" Lilith murmured to herself.

"Nope! I'm just one of the many winds that blow through this land!" the wind spirit said cheerfully.

"And what is this particular wind's name?" Lilith asked.

"No idea!" the spirit replied. "There're so many of us and we technically have no parents, so we never felt the need for a name!"

"Well, I'll need a name to tell you apart from the rest," Lilith said, bending down to grab a cecilia flower. She turned it contemplatively in her fingers, pondering. "...Do you mind if I give you a name to call you?" she asked.

"Sounds fun!" the spirit said excitedly, bouncing around and turning somersaults in midair.

"How does 'Venti' sound? Where I'm from, it's Latin for 'wind'," Lilith suggested.

"I don't know what 'La Tin' is, but it sounds so cool!" Venti said happily, creating a mini tornado in his excitement.

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm yourself before you flip my skirt!" Lilith complained, gripping the edge of her skirt. Even though she was wearing shorts, she didn't exactly want her dress to flip all the way up and expose her chest.

"Sorry, sorry," Venti giggled, the wind dying down.

"Thank all the arc- achoo!" Lilith sneezed then shivered, hugging her arms to herself. The cold had chilled the water clinging to her skin and soaking her clothes.

"Oh, let me help! It was partially my fault that you fell into the stream," Venti said, disappearing. In his place a soft whirlwind appeared, surrounding Lilith. It drew the water from her skin and clothes as she clutched her skirt, and when it disappeared Lilith was dry again.

"Thanks! My brother and I can't use Anemo, so drying off is a real pain!" Lilith said gratefully. More like we won't, if we want to maintain our current relationships, she thought to herself.

"Ooh, you have a brother? What's having a brother like? I have a ton of brothers, but we don't really care about familial relationships," Venti said, a little depressed.

"He can be annoyingly protective at times, but having someone who will watch your back through thick or thin is really reassuring," Lilith said without hesitation. "No matter what we go through, at the end of the day I love my brother unconditionally."

Venti gazed at Lilith thoughtfully, then twirled and exclaimed, "If I become your brother, will you love me unconditionally too?"

Lilith looked at him in minor surprise, but to be honest this question wasn't completely unseen. Ever since she met the little wind spirit, she had sensed ageless loneliness wafting from him despite his cheerful attitude. "Do you want to become my little brother?" she asked him curiously.

He fell silent, his spirit uncharacteristically dim. "...Can I?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Lilith's heart melted at the wistful yet heartbroken emotions surrounding Venti's tiny body, and she reached out to wrap him in a warm hug. "Of course you can. What's one more brother to take care of? There's plenty of love to go around!"

Venti snuggled into her embrace, practically vibrating with relief and excitement.

Bonus: When she got home

Lucifer looked from Lilith to Venti and back again with a deadpan expression.

"...Another one," he stated rather than asked, his face saying "I'm done."

"Another one," Lilith nodded her head cheerfully.

Lucifer said nothing, instead choosing to dig into the nearest basket, pull a pillow out, and chuck it at Lilith's face.

A.N. Yo when I tell you I verbally said "HOLY SHI-" when I saw the number of reads jump up from 49 to 64- I jumped okay. I jerked my plucking head back like a fricking chicken and clucked out a half cuss 'cause if I cussed fr my mom would kill me...