𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘
- 𝖷𝗂𝖺𝗈 -
༻ ━━━━━･•͙✧⃝•͙ ★ •͙✧⃝•͙･━━━━━༺
YOU RUSHED UP THE STAIRS
leading to the top floor of Wangshu Inn, hoping to find your best friend Xiao to convince him to spend lantern rite together. Being friends with him for so long certainly taught you a lot. Sure, he disliked crowded places but the fact that he believed he shouldn't enjoy festivities because of his past worried you.
You didn't want that for him. You wanted him to be happy and to enjoy things while they lasted.
You jogged up the stairs until finally you found him brooding like always on the top floor. "Xiao!" You yelled a little too loudly for his comfort, slumping over with your hands on your knees. "Hmph. Shouldn't you be celebrating the festival with your friends?" He asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
You scowled at him but his back was turned to you. "Xiao, please listen to me." The male turned his body ever so slightly and had his eye planted on you. With a sigh, you straightened yourself out and approached him. "Will you please.. go to the Lantern rite with me?"
He flinched at the request but his eyes never left yours. You pleaded with your most adorable puppy eyes and as much as he wanted to give in to you, he still had a guilty feeling brewing in his stomach. "I..." he paused, almost sounding like he was going to say yes to your invitation.
"I don't want to, (Y/n). sorry." Your hopeful expression fell but that didn't mean you gave up.
"Xiao, I understand how you're feeling but I feel like you should at least give it a try?"
The male remained quiet as you moved closer to him, almost even placing your hand on his. Xiao huffed, trying to still his beating heart. "I already told you, (Y/n). I don't want to."
You bit the inside of your cheek, not knowing what to say or do to get him to somehow be interested but you were drawn a blank. Maybe begging him nonstop would annoy him and force him to join you. But you couldn't really push yourself to do that because you wanted him to have fun too.
You opened your mouth to speak again but Xiao told you off again. "Just give up, there's nothing you can say to make me go. I'd rather stay here." He leant his arms on the railing, avoiding your gaze and overlooking the landscape. But It didn't stop you from saying what you had in mind.
"Xiao, if you're not gonna go for the festival, why not go.. for me?" You almost felt anxious but you knew that Xiao actually enjoyed your company. Even though he wouldn't admit it aloud.
He froze the moment you finished, his ears turning red. Was he thinking what he thought he was thinking? Possibly. "F-for you?" Oh how he wanted to end himself for even stuttering in front of you. After hearing his words fumble, you couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "Yes, for me." You giggled. "Because.. I want to spend time with you, Xiao.." he let out a puff of air through his nose to calm himself down before turning around to face you.
"So, will you come with me to the Lantern Rite?"
You grinned, extending a hand out for him to take which he surprisingly did. "Okay.. fine. But it's not because I-"
"It's because you like me duh." You teased and although it meant nothing but a joke to you (but also not), Xiao couldn't find it in himself to deny because he did in fact like you.
"Trust me, we're going to have fun." You told him and just like that, you successfully invited Xiao to spend the festival with you.
Evening came and you met Xiao by Liyue Harbor's gates. He was wearing his usual yaksha outfit but you wore a special dress that you just bought earlier in the day. He'd never seen you in anything other than your uniform before so it was like a punch to the gut when he saw just how beautiful you are.
"Xiao?" You called, snapping him out of his daze with your hand waving softly in front of him. "Sorry, I was just thinking." He replied, fighting off the blush that threatened to coat his cheeks. "But.. you look good.." immediately his eyes darted from yours and you blushed. His simple compliment gave you so much butterflies that you could swear you'd be flying right about now.
"Thank you." You grinned bashfully, pressing your lips together in a thin line. Just then, you heard a woman announcing the beginning of the festivities and you didn't hesitate to pull Xiao into the harbor. "Come on, we've got lots to check out!" You cheered, carelessly taking his hand into your own which made the Adepti's cheeks flush a dark red. "Please, I can walk on my own." He insisted, though you didn't pay any mind to it and focused on bolting ahead to the nearest food stall.
After getting a few snacks, you both stopped in the middle. Xiao raised a brow in confusion but just when he was about to ask you why you stopped so suddenly, he saw your sparkling eyes. He saw how they were practically gleaming at the wonderful lanterns that hung up or was already released into the night sky. His eyes grew wide too when he saw how mesmerizing you were under this specific warm light coming from the lanterns.
Xiao felt bad, though he couldn't say he felt the same as you did when it came to the festival, but if he declined on your invitation, he would've missed out on all of this, and he meant you. His lips curved into the tiniest smile moments before snapped back into reality. "Oh!" You suddenly exclaimed, making him jump and drop the smile he had. "What is it?"
"We should go try out some games!" You forgot to pull Xiao with you but he followed much to your surprise. You played a few games here and there, won a few, lost some but in the end Xiao played some for you so he could get the prize you wanted. You thanked him and teased him about how sweet of him to get it just for you but he denied and claimed it was because you were being too annoying. Though if he was being honest, he secretly enjoyed seeing you so happy after receiving such a simple prize.
Suddenly as you were walking past a few other stalls, you realized that you haven't even released a Xiao lantern yet. You stopped in your tracks and Xiao stopped after you, eyeing you with a raised brow as you slipped your arm from his. He didn't even notice your arms were linked together until you let go and it disappointed him a little. He liked the feeling of you standing so close to him. "We should make a Xiao lantern!" You said, pointing to the ones already floating in the sky.
Xiao followed his eyes to the sky. "Okay, I guess we could do that.."
The both of you bought some materials and found a much less crowded area to begun crafting, and when it was finally done, you brought Xiao to the farthest dock and knelt down to begin writing your wish.
"So, what are you going to wish for?" Xiao asked, sitting down beside you as you tapped your chin, deep in thought. "I dunno.. I kinda already got what I wanted..." you replied, causing Xiao to look over to you. ".. then what did you wish for?"
You tilted your head up but averted your eyes from Xiao's. "I wished that we could spend the Lantern Rite together.." you nervously gripped the pencil in your hand and dipped down to hide your flustered face, but moments later, Xiao place his hand over yours. "Did you really?" He asked, his voice quieter than usual. Almost like he was gonna cry.
You met his gaze finally and it made your eyes well up with tears. "Well yeah.. and it's not just that, Xiao.. I really like you and I want you to be happy." You finally told him, all your true feelings toward him were now out in the open and you couldn't take it back now. Xiao's eyes grew wide. He was speechless.
"I don't even know if you enjoyed coming here with me so.. I guess I'm sorry for dragging you out here if you really didn't want to."
"But I just wanted you to have fun because you deserve to be happy, Xiao. I don't want you to put yourself down too much about what happened before. It doesn't define who you are as a person right now, at this moment."
Xiao's breath hitched in his throat. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that you actually liked him back and your heartfelt words pierced his very soul. So he did what he had always wanted to do from the moment he saw you this evening and pulled you into a hug. Your eyes shot open in the sudden contact but your arms found their way around his torso.
He adored you. He absolutely adored you. You were too sweet and wholesome for this world that he couldn't even begin to comprehend how precious he found you to be. You had accepted him from the very beginning and he was just so thankful to have you in his life.
"Thank you, (Y/n)..." Xiao whispered, "I guess you beat me to it then.."
You separated from the hug and asked him what he meant, to which he replied with a smile. A genuine smile that changed your entire world.
"Because I like you too, (Y/n).. you're just really important to me.." he finally admitted and you leapt into his arms once more, falling into a fit of giggles filled with happiness.
He didn't even hesitate to hug you back, leaning his head into the crook of your neck with a smile. "I guess I got what I wished for too."
His words gave you an idea and you quickly tore yourself away from the hug and proceeded to grab the pencil and the small paper that you would attach to the lantern. "Oh? So you still have a wish then?" Xiao asked, chuckling softly at how hasty you were being with the writing. "Mhm!" You hummed, adding the period to the end of the wish.
"So, what did you wish for?"
With a grin you attached the small paper and turned it over so Xiao could see and when he read the words, a blush crept at his cheeks and his heart felt like it would leap right out of his chest.
'I wish for Xiao and I to live happily together."
You watched as he read the words over and over again. "Do you like it?" And he nodded slowly. "Certainly.." and with that, you both placed your hands under the lantern and released it into the sky.
As you watched it ascend, you shyly scooted next to Xiao and he hesitantly placed his arm around your shoulder. "Is this.. okay?" He asked and it made you giggle at how cute he was being. "It's perfect." You answered, leaning your head on his shoulder and cradling the plush bunny he won for you in your lap.
This was exactly how you wished to spend the lantern rite - With Xiao.