The rays of sunshine coming in through the window caused the girl to groan. Her head was absolutely killing her, and the light wasn't helping at all. Even so, she had to wake up to go to work, so she opened her eyes—
She wasn't in her room.
The walls were different, the bed was bigger and even the scent was unfamiliar… Though not totally; a smell of qingxin covered the entire place. Where was she?
Hu Tao turned her head to the side when she sensed movement and almost screamed when she saw none other than Xiao sleeping next to her, chest bare and an uncharacteristically peaceful expression on his features.
She would've taken some time to bask in the sight, if the implications didn't dawn on her like an avalanche from Dragonspine. Looking down and finding herself naked under the covers confirmed her fears.
With quick flashes of what had happened last night; hungry kisses, ripped clothes, a different kind of heat coursing through her body other than the one her Vision granted her—She blushed furiously and covered her mouth so she wouldn't whimper.
They had… Oh, Archons…
Taking a deep breath, she searched for her clothes so she could get dressed as silently as possible; the last thing she wanted to do was wake up the man next to her.
While Hu Tao didn't deny that she harbored feelings for the dashing adeptus, what happened last night wasn't exactly what she had planned… Zhongli had invited a couple of people over for dinner, including the Traveler, that Fatui Harbinger Childe, the Qixing secretary, Xiao, and herself. It surprised her to find out that Zhongli knew the guy, but of course, he seemed to know everything about everything, so she just shrugged it off.
The food was nice and the drinks, too, though at one point, they started tasting funny… Which was why she took a step outside for fresh air, and somehow she found herself talking to Xiao, who had a hard time staying inside with Childe there.
Before she knew it, he'd taken them both to his room in Wangshu Inn amidst heated kisses. How did they go from talking to kissing? She didn't quite remember.
Hu Tao stood up from the bed and winced with a low hiss at the discomfort and mild ache between her legs.
Xiao was not only a beast in the battlefield, huh…
Pain and disheveled hair aside—she could do something about that once she got home—Hu Tao tried to tiptoe her way to the door, being as silent as she could, with her hat and shoes in one of her hands.
Once she got to the door, she sighed in relief. With her free hand, she reached for the doorknob and opened it as slowly as she could. Much to her misfortune, the door made a horribly loud creaking noise, so she stopped moving it as she shut her eyes, hoping that hadn't woken him up.
Hu Tao waited a second, then two and finally three. Nothing. The tension that had built up in her shoulders was released. Great, now she could leave without him—
"What are you doing here?"
The gruff and slightly hoarse voice from Xiao, which had a lot of bite to it, caused her to scream her lungs out and almost drop her things. Her eyes darted to the bed and indeed, the man who held her heart in his hands was sitting up, chest still bare and hair just as messy as hers.
"Um… Erm… Uh. Nice weather we have today, right, Xiao?" was what she managed to answer, giving him a very sheepish smile. The adeptus raised an eyebrow in her direction and opened his mouth to tell her off, most likely, but then his eyes widened and just like she'd done moments earlier, looked under the bedsheets to confirm his suspicions.
Hu Tao couldn't help but think the blush that graced his cheeks was adorable.
"… Get out," he said through gritted teeth. That was her original intention, yes, but since he was awake and he hadn't run away like a scared kitten yet…
"Don't you think we shoul—" He snapped at her, cutting her off.
"I said getout, Hu Tao," he repeated and the way he said her name, with so much aversion, efficiently shut her up. It was surprising to see he really hadn't vanished but, then again, they were in his room. It was probably the place he went to whenever he needed solace and rest.
"Fine, fine…" she mumbled and made her way out of the room. Before she left the inn altogether, though, she spoke behind the now closed door,
"We're going to talk about this soon!"
They didn't get to talk about it 'soon', because Xiao effectively avoided her.
Hu Tao didn't even get a glimpse of him for the next two weeks and she was beginning to become impatient. She went to Wangshu Inn everyday, to the balcony he liked so much, with a plate of Almond Tofu and not once did he show up.
She kept her hopes up when she realized he might have eaten them, but when one of the maids told her that the plate remained untouched, she started going with the plate and if the grumpy yaksha didn't show, she would eat the Tofu herself, angrily.
"This is really good and you're missing out on it!" she yelled at him with her mouth full one time, wishing he could hear her.
She didn't try to hide the fact that she wasn't satisfied with the results and Zhongli seemed to notice one day, so he approached her during work.
"What's wrong? Something is clearly bothering you," he sat down in front of her, arms crossed as always. Hu Tao looked up at her consultant and sighed, straining up.
"Oh, wooow, you noticed, huh? As knowledgeable as you are, Mr. Zhongli, I don't think you can help me with this. I just have to come up with some other way of approaching things…"
Zhongli hummed, closing his eyes and tilting his head downwards for a moment, before opening his eyes and giving her a knowing look.
"Is your current mood related to the adeptus, Xiao, perhaps?" he guessed—did he guess, though?—and Hu Tao blinked at him, the faintest of blushes creeping to her cheeks.
"You actually know everything. How did you figure it out?" she inquired, tilting her head to the side. Zhongli chuckled—no, he snickered, and smiled at her.
"It wasn't difficult to figure out. You two disappeared together from dinner and you never came back. When you came to work, you weren't walking normally and, ahem, you had… red spots on your neck. Moreover, Xiao came over to see me and as he was leaving, I noticed he had scratches on his back," he said everything with a straight face and the fact that he managed to notice all of those things made Hu Tao want to die.
How embarrassing. She didn't even know Xiao had left hickeys on her, or that she'd left Xiao's back bruised enough for others to notice. If he hadn't killed her in her sleep yet, it was because either nobody noticed or nobody pointed it out. Thank Rex Lapis.
"Aiyah, you have no shame, do you?" she replied, crossing her arms with a glare.
"I'm just stating facts, and since you've been making Almond Tofu nonstop, it definitely has something to do with him," Zhongli shrugged and she sighed in defeat. A part of her was very curious about the connection he had with Xiao, and she had her suspicions, but there were more pressing matters at hand.
"He's been avoiding me and not even Almond Tofu seems to do the trick. At this pace, I'm sure I'll never see him again in my life. Why does he have to be so dramatic and extreme sometimes…" she mumbled the last part, though it was likely Zhongli still heard it.
"Being the sole surviving Yaksha, Xiao hasn't slept with many people, if any, because of the heavy burden he has to carry. Do not blame him for wanting to stay away from you after what happened, but I do agree you have to talk about it… Makes me wonder why he would do it in the first place… Hmm… Was he acting normally that night?"
"I… think so. My memories are a little hazy, I don't know why, but yeah, he was acting like himself, pretty much. He didn't… force me or anything," she replied, wondering where he could be going with his interrogation.
"You don't recall everything clearly? Did you drink any alcohol?" he asked then and Hu Tao shook her head.
"I didn't order anything alcoholic, but I do remember that at one point, the drinks started tasting kinda funny… Oh, and my head was literally killing me the morning after." Zhongli seemed to realize something that made him frown, apparently out of annoyance, but he sighed and continued.
"I will investigate that matter. Regarding Xiao… This is something not everyone knows, but adepti can hear when someone calls their name. Some respond to everyone, and some only to those who they promised they'd aid. Xiao is one of the latter, whoever, he can discern who's calling him. One of the people he promised to respond to is the Traveler. I'm sure he'll be willing to help you." Now that was interesting to know. Obviously she knew that it wasn't something to take lightly; if she had the promise and ever called for him, it would be because of something serious.
Maybe.
"But, wait, is he listening to us now? We've been saying his name a lot," was what she asked her consultant, and he chuckled.
"No, no. It only works when the caller says the name with the intention of calling the adeptus."
"You… want me to call Xiao for you?"
"Yes, please? I'm willing to help with anything you want! A commission, maybe? It's just… I need to talk to him and he's been avoiding me."
Aether seemed confused for a moment before it dawned on him and he and Paimon shared a knowing look. Geez. Did everyone who attended the dinner know about it?
"Alright, sure, I suppose. If it's that bad… but we don't need you to—" he began but Paimon cut him off.
"No, no! She's perfect to help us out with that commission we have in Wuwang Hill. Paimon hates going there," she said and seemingly shivered at the idea, hugging her small frame.
"Sounds good to me! What am I supposed to do?" Hu Tao asked. She knew Wuwang Hill better than most, so what Paimon said was true, it really was a perfect commission for her.
"Just a few hilichurls and samachurls, but we can come with you," Aether offered still, with Paimon giving him a glare he just ignored. Hu Tao shook her head with a smile.
"You don't have to! I'll manage perfectly on my own. When I'm back, we can do the Xiao thingy, alright? Okay, see you, and thanks!" with those being her last words to him, she set off.
It took her a while to get to the haunted hill, but when she did and she spotted the group of enemies she was supposed to discharge, it really didn't take her much effort. The dendro samachurl was especially annoying, though, so the fire from her Vision wasn't the only thing that burnt her.
Once the last hilichurl died, her spear vanished into thin air and she sighed, getting rid of any debris on herself before setting off. Now to go back to the harbor to inform Aether that the commission was done… she should probably make a stop in Wangshu Inn to eat something and no, she wouldn't attempt to get the adeptus' attention on this occasion.
She just needed to regain her strength, otherwise getting back to the Traveler would be ten times more difficult.
What would she tell Xiao when he showed up? She didn't want him getting mad at Aether for helping her out, it might be a good idea to start clearing that out; she pestered him enough to convince him. Xiao would buy that, maybe. After that… she had to keep him from leaving. Ah, that would be an issue.
As Hu Tao was exiting the place, humming the Hilitune, a mechanical sound startled her and she immediately looked around, ready to bring out her spear if needed be. A shadow loomed over her and she turned around with her staff pointed at whatever was behind her. Her expression faltered as she realized what she was up against.
"Ruin Hunter…" she mumbled to herself and she dived to the side before one of its strikes got her. Yeah, no way; she had to get out of there. There was so much she could do, but once it entered that damned airborne state, she would be done for.
Gritting her teeth, Hu Tao gathered as much strength as she had and ran away, looking behind her to make sure she didn't get hit. Unfortunately, the automaton didn't let her get too far, as it did one of its drill thrusts and she had to dive aside again, yet it still managed to slash her leg.
It was worse because it cornered her as she struggled to stand up, and the Hunter was coming at her with consecutive slashes. Attacking it would be stupid, as she would get oblirated in a second while it was still attacking.
Think, think…!
It was so close now.
What can I do… who…
She stepped back, hitting a stone wall that would be impossible to escape from.
He… He could come. He can tell who's calling him.
She yelled his name with both desperation and hope. It was a slim chance he would come, but there was a chance nonetheless.
He can't hate me that much, right?
"Xiao! Help!"
And then she closed her eyes so she wouldn't be able to see the upcoming attacks from the automaton.
Expecting immense pain and death, instead she got pain and someone holding her. The injury still hurt, but she wasn't dead yet, at least. Hu Tao blinked and looked up at her savior.
Who else could it be?
"You actually came," she whispered to him. Xiao had an arm around her waist, but he wasn't looking at her, his eyes were set on the enemy and he was frowning. He'd taken them a few meters away, just in time before she was turned into sliced meat.
"Stay here," he commanded simply and as quick as he had shown up, he was gone to fight the Ruin Hunter. In her tired state, Hu Tao saw Xiao don his mask and make quick work of the machine, lunging through its eye and then absolutely destroying it once it was down.
Even after he was done, Xiao didn't turn to look at her, but she figured his mask was gone since that creepy energy around him was gone. Hu Tao managed a chuckle.
"You made it look so easy…" she commented with a smile and she attempted to straighten up when he finally faced her. His expression was as stoic as ever and they just stared at each other for a few seconds. Anxiety settled in; she didn't want him disappearing again, so she had to act fast.
"Don't leave, please," she said, though her tone made it sound like she was begging him to stay. Xiao looked hesitant to comply, but with an exasperated sigh, he walked over to her, crossing his arms while his own polearm vanished. He still kept his distance, of course.
"What," he spat coldly which wasn't a surprise, but she didn't let that deter her motivation.
"We need to talk about—"
"There's nothing to talk about." Hu Tao was very tempted to slap his handsome face at the moment, but instead she gave him a deadpan look.
"Oh, so us having sex is not worth talking about? You sure?" she asked as she placed her hands on her hips. Xiao blushed furiously and he looked away, shoulders tense, jaw clenched.
"You lack tact and shame…" is what he replied before sighing and turning back to face her.
"I don't know why you have been insisting on this so much. We both made a mistake, we slept together, and that is all. Mistakes happen, especially when around mortals like yourself, who are so obstinate and stubborn."
Her hands dropped to the sides and her lips parted slightly as she listened to his thoughts. A mistake? Was that it? A one-time thing that wasn't supposed to happen in the first place, and that would never happen again?
Hu Tao didn't care—he could blame her all he wanted, say it was her fault for being so 'obstinate and stubborn', but if he hadn't wanted it to happen, then he could've easily stopped it. He was leagues stronger than her, there was no chance whatsoever she forced him to do anything.
"It's best if you drop the topic altogether. It didn't- didn't mean anything," he added as a final thought, but she was perceptive enough to see him gripping his arm as he spoke.
Didn't mean anything, huh? That's a nice way of throwing her feelings away and burying them without a care in the world.
"And what if it did mean something? To me?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. While it was true their night together wasn't crystal clear, she remembered pouring her feelings out through her caresses, her words and her kisses.
It was a given she'd thought of Xiao that way, more than once, and even if sleeping with him wasn't the first thing that she planned to do, it had happened. He wanted to forget it, but she just had to let him know what it meant to her, it didn't matter if he ultimately rejected her.
"What are you talking about?"
Either he was trying too hard to deny it, or he was very stupid when it came to love and romantic feelings.
"It wasn't a mistake in my eyes, because I lo—" she tried but he interrupted her for the second time that day, and just as she was about to say the three infamous words, too! He really was annoying sometimes.
Hu Tao still loved him, though.
"You don't know what you're saying," was his retort, and she frowned at that. She knew exactly what she was trying to say, and she knew he knew, too. Xiao was aware of her love for poetry and he most definitely knew she wouldn't say anything she didn't mean.
"I do, though! I may not be centuries old like you, but I know- I'm sure of what I feel and if that happened, it didn't happen by chance," she puffed her cheeks as soon as she was done speaking, hands still on her hips, and she leaned forwards slightly.
"Hu Tao—" Now it was her turn to cut him off, crossing her arms as she spoke.
Payback, you handsome idiot.
"You feel something for me, too, don't you?" she asked him rhetorically. A part of her expected him to say she had just offended the adepti by assuming they could 'feel such mortal nonsense' or something of the sort. Instead, she saw the almighty Yaksha tense up ever so slightly.
For others, it would be imperceptible, since Xiao was very good at masking his emotions, but Hu Tao had learned how to read him. His pupils were usually a dead giveaway, but besides that, how his grip tightened whenever he was crossing his arms, or the slight tension in his shoulders, or even the occasional finger twitching.
She had just touched a nerve.
"…"
And his silence didn't help his case.
"You do! Why else would you willingly sleep with me, then? Or… Or answer my call and come help me, even if you had never made a promise to me regarding that?" her arguments were stone solid, at least in her eyes. Maybe if she spent more time with Yanfei, then some of her experience would rub off on her, and her arguments would be even better.
"…"
Silent again, huh? Hu Tao decided to take it a step further and use the rest of her cards.
"You try to act aloof, but you're always there for me. You help me whenever I need something, you never leave when I look for you and say I just want some company, and you even smile sometimes and yes, I've seen you," her tone on the last segment was both accusatory and endearing. Xiao's smile was a rare occurrence that she made sure to enjoy every single time it happened, whether it was because of one of her jokes, or just when she turned around too quickly and caught him staring at her with the tiniest of smiles on his face.
"…"
… Again, seriously? Did a ghost scare his tongue off his mouth or something? Hu Tao sighed, placing a hand over her chest.
"I'm happy whenever I'm with you, Xiao, and you look happy when you're with me. Why won't you just accept that? Why do you have to deny everything?" she insisted and formed fists when she elicited a reaction out of him; he closed his eyes and tilted his head downwards.
"…"
Still not a word out of that pretty mouth of his?! She harrumphed and limped over to him—ignoring the pain in her leg—, closing the distance he'd established between them. A few seconds passed of her waiting for him to say something, anything, but nothing came out; she sighed in annoyance.
"Why can't you admit that you love me, too?!" Hu Tao snapped finally with a frown, prompting him to open his eyes again. Though his features still showed little to no emotion, they weren't tense anymore, and his eyes… He looked like he was in pain, almost.
"Because I would be putting you in danger," his words had an air of finality to them and her frown shifted to one of confusion. It was as if he didn't want to tell her, but had no choice due to her insistence.
"Huh?"
"I carry eons of bad karma, and it is because of that karma that some mutations are created. Our friendship is already stepping over the boundaries. If we tried something more… I fear my demonic influence might bring you harm, and you're human, you wouldn't be able to withstand it."
Hu Tao knew this, she knew it well. Not only because she was interested in Xiao enough to inquire about his past and his present, but because it was knowledge passed down from the previous directors to her.
The fact that he cared that much about her melted her heart, but frankly, she didn't care. He was scared of how his karma might affect her, but he spent a lot of time in Wangshu Inn and not even Verr Goldet seemed to be affected. Heck, not even Hu Tao herself felt any different and they'd known each other for a while.
"What about you, then?" she asked, completely shrugging off the intention of his comment, not intending to hide the fact that she already knew what he'd told her. He raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise; wow, the adeptus showed emotion.
"What do you mean?"
"Your happiness, your life, you, Xiao. You've been avoiding me for my sake, but you're leaving yourself aside, like you don't even matter!" she exclaimed as she shot her arms upwards.
It had always bothered her how Xiao could never have a bright outlook on life. While it was true he had a heavy burden to carry on his shoulders, if he hadn't gone mad yet, it was because there was something positive in his life.
"I have a duty to fulfill, and I don't want to drag you down with me," his voice was calm, a little stern, but it was painfully obvious he cared. Hu Tao pouted out of impotence and cupped both his cheeks, lightly squishing them.
Xiao tensed up for a split second before he relaxed, bringing his own hands up to grab her wrists and make her loosen her hold on him, but he didn't pull away. Moreover, he leaned into it.
"You're so…! Ugh. Don't you realize you deserve to be happy, too? I dare say you deserve it more than anyone I know. Is karma holding you back? Then we'll deal with it together." Their faces were mere inches away from each other and thanks to that she could see the conflict continue in his eyes, but he was more willing to give in.
"You'll regret this," was his last, feeble attempt to push her away, but he clearly didn't mean it; his voice was barely above a whisper and she could swear she had never seen him looking at her so fondly before.
"You say I'm stubborn, right? Then believe me when I say I won't regret a thing." With those words said, she brought his face down to clash their lips together.
Hu Tao pulled away once she felt him not returning the gesture and found Xiao's eyes to be half-lidded, and his pupils dilated, inspecting her features. Before she could say a word, he was the one that pulled her back for a kiss, desperate and hungry, which she returned eagerly.
Wrapping her arms around his neck just as he cupped her cheek and embraced her waist, bringing her closer, Xiao deepened the kiss. She could tell he wanted her as much as she wanted him, and he'd been holding back for a while.
She knew about the Yakshas and their burden, and knowing that he put aside his feelings for her safety made her want to both hug him and slap him. He was way too selfless for his own good, saw himself as a something rather than a someone, and she was determined to change that.
Maybe not right now, though.
"Why are you so good at kiss—" she tried asking when they broke apart for air, but Xiao spoke against her mouth right before diving back in,
"Silence."
Well, okay then.
Taking a step back for balance, Hu Tao broke the kiss again with a wince, and that made her remember her leg was injured.
"Ow…" she mumbled, looking down at her leg. Blood was trickling down and her sock was already stained with red. "Ah, bummer, blood is hard to wash off…"
"… You're bleeding," Xiao pointed out the obvious and of course she scoffed at him. Back to his previous demeanor, apparently. Was it really a surprise?
"That's what humans do when they're injured, dummy. Do you think we can take care of it before we… continue?" she asked him innocently, tilting her head to the side and blinking a few times. She smirked once she saw that her attempt at flustering him worked; he blushed for the nth time that day.
"Foolish. We should've taken care of your wound first," he chastised and carefully scooped her up and she bit her lip so no pained sounds would escape her.
"I have my priorities," Hu Tao replied simply. Xiao rolled his eyes and then teleported them both to Wangshu Inn.
Xiao took care of her injury for her in silence, and listened to her ramblings about why she was there in the first place. Hu Tao told him about Aether, the commission and the surprise attack of the Ruin Hunter in detail.
"If you hadn't shown up, I would've been done for! So, thanks."
He was just finishing bandaging her leg up, but he stopped for a moment before he continued.
"Why did you call for me?" he asked her in a quiet voice, eyes trained on his work. Hu Tao blinked and hummed at him, a sign for him to clarify.
"You said it yourself. I never made the promise to come to you if you called. You didn't know you could call me in the first place, unless the Traveler told you and that's why you requested his help. Still, you had no guarantee that I would even show up," it sounded as if he actually couldn't understand. She tapped her chin in thought and shrugged. Might as well tell him the truth.
"Zhongli told me that you could tell who calls you, so I decided to risk it. I figured there was no way you hated me that much, so there was a chance you would show up. Lo and behold, you did! I didn't have any other options, anyway." He was looking at her now and he looked conflicted. His eyes were flickering slightly, searching for an explanation in her own as to why she trusted him so much.
Her smile didn't falter and she just patted the place next to her on the bed, a command he silently obeyed. The second he sat down, she leaned her head on his shoulder after taking her hat off.
"He knows we had sex, by the way. I'm pretty sure everyone who was at dinner knows," Hu Tao commented nonchalantly, and she knew Xiao tensed up without needing to look at him.
"He said he noticed red spots on my neck and… Pfft-… Scratches on your back. Also, also, he said I wasn't 'walking normally' the day after. The guy has no shame," she said the last part like she disapproved of Zhongli. It took Xiao a moment before he spoke up.
"You have no shame either. You're in no place to judge him."
"Hmm… Aiyah, you're right. I could walk around the harbor with those bite marks and I wouldn't care if even the Tianquan saw them, hee hee," she pulled away to look at him and plant a kiss on his cheek before he could object.
"Is that so?" he questioned, gently holding her chin so he could tilt her head up. His pupils had dilated again, which helped Hu Tao guess what he wanted. He acted like a cat so much, it wouldn't surprise her if she found out the guy could purr.
"Mhm!" was her reply and he inched closer. She had a happy grin on her face, as she was happy to see him be more open with his desires, and be willing to satisfy said desires.
"We'll see about that, then," Xiao mumbled and captured her lips in a kiss just as Hu Tao giggled.
