(A/N: This is very, very OOC. I warn you guys in advance, I kind of just wrote it for myself but my amazing friends convinced me to post it. THANK YOU SM FOR 2K READS, YOU GUYS MAKE ME SO HAPPY YRFUGH)
[Y/N] nibbled on the last bit of her sandwich, even the enticing aroma of freshly cooked food that she looked forward to everyday had failed to loosen the tight bounds that were held deep in the pit of her stomach. She sat at the wooden corner table of Wangshuu Inn, which now was full of customers as she attempted to get her mind off things. Her family's expectations reached to the point where she couldn't handle it anymore. It seemed as if everything she did was judged. She just needed a break.
Even the sweet welcoming atmosphere at her house was consumed by toxicity.
A light sigh left her as she forcibly gulped down the last bite, rubbing her temples in frustration. Coming here didn't make anything better, the food tasted unusually bland. The tingly taste of flavour in her mouth had washed away, swallowed by the waves of negativity, and vanished into nothingness. The urge to spit it out only built up as she stood up to take her dish into the kitchen.
All the workers and regular customers who knew [Y/n] exchanged faces of worry, feeling the air around the female tense up while they passed by. [Y/N] was never this upset during her time there, she was quite the bubbly one. At this point, even Verr knew something was up. And she knows that something bad must've happen because the [H/c]-haired female didn't ask for one dish of Almond Tofu for the adeptus who stood by the balcony on the roof, nor did she witness [Y/N] going to the roof for the past two weeks. Verr shook her head, if they weren't going to fix this, she was. Besides, only [Y/N] could make the corners of Xiao's lips quirk upwards.
"Hey, could make me a bowl of Almond Tofu, please?"
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Another sigh left [Y/N], her orbs tracing down to her bronze watch. She was on break, and it ended in an hour. Yet, she couldn't find anything to do to bring up her spirits. Every step she took seemed to have drained more and more energy from her.
Though, what she didn't know was the stoic-faced adeptus ached for her presence silently. His spear was stained with crimson, another hillichurl camp was destroyed swiftly by his polearm. He felt the emotions building up day by day, not even the plunging of his spear had cured his frustration. Walking the world for over 2000 years, he has seen mortals lived without a care, wearing smiles on their faces. Content with what they have. He knew he was nothing like a mortal, claiming that he was devoid of most human traits. The ways of the adepti have never merged with the ways of simple mortals. He was aware. But sometimes, he felt longing of those simple moments of contentedness. And [Y/N] gave him those small moments of contentedness, he never would admit it out loud, but she did. He found himself waiting for her presence at the balcony with a plate of almond tofu in her hands.
And now, he found himself missing her presence. Two weeks has passed yet he couldn't see her familiar face, her beaming smile. No, he only saw Smiley Yanxiao delivering the dish to him instead of her.
To tell the truth, he only took the almond tofu from her as an excuse to be around her.
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Light footsteps tapped against the wooden planks, approaching the gloomy female from behind, "[Y/N]!"
[Y/N] turned her head towards her boss, forcing a smile on her face as she stepped out of the kitchen, "Yes, Verr?"
"Could you please give this to Xiao? I know you may be on your break but we're pretty busy today as well, so I can't find anyone to give it to him," Her boss held a face of desperation, even though she was faking it, her acting skills were on point.
Panic bubbled inside of [Y/N] at the mention of the adeptus as her shaking fingers gripped the smooth round corners of the plate, she hadn't seen him for ages and without a reason. Well, it wasn't like she had a choice. Verr was the boss and the adeptus showed little to no interest whenever she went up to visit him. Hopefully he'll brush her off like he always does.
"Alright," She managed to plaster a small smile on her face, the corners of her lips tugging upwards with force. She couldn't say no to her, especially when she saw Verr lose her composed self.
"Many thanks to you, I will take my leave and assist the others," Verr said, quickly leaving to attend other matters.
A shaky breath escaped her silently, her gaze fixated on the straight lines of the wooden plank, trying to calm herself down as she weaved her path pass the crowd of customers towards the stairs. She tried to find some sort of comfort from the heat beneath the plate that warmed the tips of her fingers. Every single fibre of being told her to run away to just let someone else handle it. But she knew damn well that she couldn't. No one knew about Xiao's existence here apart from herself, Smiley Yanxiao and Verr.
Every step felt like vines entangling themselves around her feet, dragging her down. Her heart heavy, soaked in sorrow and pain. She really missed him, but she didn't want to bother him anymore. She felt like a nuisance to everyone. So, she stopped going to the balcony, it wasn't like he would've reacted much on whether she was there or not.
Right?
She reached the last step, stomping on it and leaned slightly against the wall, panting. She saw a figure leaned against the balcony, one that she knew too well. The pearly necklace hung by his neck, carrying the arrowhead as it glistened in the sun. His sleeveless tattooed arm stayed unaffected by the raging wind that swayed his patterned attire, his mask hung at his hip, just as patterned as his outfit. His posture didn't waver, but his heart ran miles when he sensed her presence.
Unwillingly, she froze at the sight in front of her, her hands having a trembling grip on the plate. But what made her even more nervous was that he didn't even say anything at her arrival.
How many panicky breaths has she taken today? She didn't even know. But taking another shaky breath, her tongue struggling inside her mouth as the words got stuck in her throat.
"I-," She paused to find coherent words, the adeptus seemingly now tense under the suffocating atmosphere that engulfed them.
"I have brought your Almond Tofu," She spoke, but her voice was small and hesitant. Even though the adeptus wasn't that tall, she could almost cower in his presence.
All she got in return was silence. The air around her was engulfed in tranquillity. It was so quiet that she could her heart rapidly drumming against her ribcage, bringing the butterflies to life by its ruckus. With all the courage, she took another step towards the unresponsive adeptus.
"Xiao-" Wisps of a rich green and black danced in front of her vision until a figure came into shape.
"Why haven't you come to accompany with your presence as per usual?" Xiao appeared in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared her down with gleaming yellow eyes.
If it wasn't for the growing tension, the female would've made a remark like "Oh? So, the ever so cold and stoic adeptus, does care?" The endless comebacks she had emptied themselves out and tied her tongue into knot.
"I was just busy," She averted her eyes towards the floor again, unable to look into the sternness of his, "Doing things."
"Why do mortals bother lying when it is fairly obvious that they are only spewing lies from their mouths?" He sighed, his hand travelled under her chin, his slender fingers lifting it to force her to look straight into his eyes before speaking once again, "[Y/N], do not try to deceive me with those pathetic lies, there is no point in doing so anyways."
Her eyes searched for any comfort within the emblazoned anger in his, only to see flickering baleful dangers. She nervously whispered an apology, her tone was the opposite of his, it was like a leaf wandering in the wind. So small, so irrelevant. While his was of a raging sea, waves clashing onto each other mercilessly.
He could barely hear the apology that lightly left her quivering lips, so sincere and gentle, it soothed the raging waves into melodic ripples. His stern look slowly softened as he took the dish with his unoccupied hand from her grasp and placed it on a nearby wooden table that was made just for him. It was requested by the lovely person in front of him to be brought up.
"You needn't apologise, it's my fault for forcing you. Please forgive me," He let go of her chin, his cheeks tinted pink.
He turned away to disappear from the awkward situation, only to freeze at the feeling of a hand grabbing a hold of his wrist.
"I thought it wouldn't make any difference to you," She whispered, the feel of her hand was so delicate, like the tone of her voice.
The adeptus remained silent, his build was stiller than a rock in her hold, but at the same time he seemed so fragile like a brittle lily in the wind. She took his silence as a sign to continue.
"I just thought that I was annoying you constantly. I-uh, also left because I had feelings that weren't returned," She meekly said, feeling his hand pull away from her hold, her panic busted through the roof.
Feelings? Before he met her, he would've narrowed his eyes at the mention of that word. Love, happiness and so on, was all just the delusion of the human mind. Once love spikes your mind with poison, it controls you and it reduces you to a lovesick fool. Only the weak ones fall to its trap, to its sickening delusion. Feelings were just an obstacle; it was unnecessary to his flow of life.
He found building relationships bothersome, they were too hard to maintain. He did better on his own, all alone.
Simply, a waste of time.
Oh, oh, oh. But the wise adeptus was proven wrong when he saw her. She was precious, like the silky petals of a glaze lily beginning to bloom. He wanted to protect the shining light in her eyes, it was as if she wasn't touched by the filthy. Her voice light like the calming breeze whistling passes him, bringing a sense of familiarity. He found it bothersome to be denial, but he refused to accept the truth that was right in front him. It was like fighting for a case, but it was futile.
She was the mortal form of evidence; her effulgent smile reminded him how hard he's fallen. The pattering of his heart, the weird feeling in his chest made him almost choke on his words.
But the female he wanted to genuinely build a bond with, thought she was annoying him? Was he too subtle? Well, he was known for being stoic after all.
He smiled. It was small but it was there.
[Y/N]'s surprised expression made him chuckle, the pure mirth in his eyes was something precious to the female.
"Silly mortal, I never said that I disliked your constant appearance," He spoke more gently to her, "I'm not capable of making much of human emotions but it seems that you proved me wrong. But please be patient with me."
"You have taught me how to love," He caressed her cheek lightly, "You've made me feel things that I thought an adeptus like I couldn't feel."
He admired the blossoming red on her cheeks, taking notice of her eyes shined with the same adoration.
"Xiao...Can I kiss you?" She neared his lips, eyes flickering to his for confirmation.
"Mortals always give such unusual requests," He mused. "But who am I to deny such a sweet one from you?"
A smile broke out onto her face, out of relief and happiness. Her lips pressed against his gently, lighter than a feather but it made her feel like she was on cloud nine. A new place she found to be comforting, a place that she felt welcome in. With him.