Chapter Text
Of all the things Xingqiu might have remembered from that day, his abrupt coughing fit mid fight shouldn’t have even made the top ten. He'd had one of the best times he could remember and the faint taste of blood and something almost-alien in the back of his throat was a small price to pay for that. Everything was back to normal. How could a little cough be a problem?
Despite being a writer, Xingqiu had grossly forgotten the karmic pull of irony.
(but, before that, a hand on his wrist, fireworks, cold noodles, a headache and teeny, tiny stars)
Liyue Harbour, much like the element it represented, never changed. After six months of monotony, being confined to a tiny room with only a pen and steaming cups of oolong tea, this at least was a comfort. It helped Xingqiu to convince himself he wasn’t missing out on too much while stuck inside.
His head hit his ornate desk with a thud, followed by a loud groan. Paperwork was dull at the best of times, and the uncharacteristically bright September sun in his eyes did nothing to boost his focus. He was sure the caffeine from the tea should be helping him stay energised - after all he had only been working for an hour - and yet his thoughts had been wandering away from the delights of writing correspondence to Fontainian businesses almost the whole time. It was almost a shame, he’d had far worse projects to focus on and he was privately hoping that this deal would work out. He’d heard wonders about both their seafood and pastries, and was desperate to try them.
Maybe I’m becoming immune to caffeine? He smiled wryly at the thought. He’d only recently started to actually like the bitterness of tea, rather than pretending to sip on it to look more mature before dripfeeding it to the poor potted silk flower that resided on his desk. He’d already secretly replaced three once they started to wilt from overdose. It would be irritating if all that training went to waste.
Over the past half a year, he’d simultaneously signed the most trade proposals and seen the least amount of sunlight in his seventeen years of living. It was no wonder he’d been forced to turn to caffeine as a crutch, much like the rest of the corporate slaves trapped in the Feiyun Commerce Guild’s employment. He would have thought he’d be afforded a few more benefits, what with being both a victor of nepotism and a minor, but considering the general work ethic of the Qixing, labour laws were at the bottom of the Liyuen priority pile. Privately, he didn’t think he’d ever seen either Keqing or Ganyu sleep, nevermind take a day off.
Rather than draft up a real response to the letter on his desk, he chose to scribble out ideas for a new chapter of his manuscript. Considering his handwriting, realistically his assistants would be none the wiser.
He was deep into describing a fight scene when all of a sudden, a knock at the door jolted him back into an upright position. He hastily pulled the letter closer to himself to feign busyness and folded his hands in his lap before inviting the intruder in, the very picture of professionalism. Thankfully, upon seeing who it was, he dropped the act and let his shoulders slump again.
“Thank the archons Brother, it’s only you. I was worried it was someone actually important coming to tell me off for something or other. Matters regarding the silk trade again, maybe?” Xingqiu’s brother raised an eyebrow at his jab. He took it as a sign to keep going. “Now, you have to understand Brother, I’m just so incredibly bored of silk! You know I’m smarter than y- don’t look at me like that. Fine, I’m more than capable of working on things other than that at the same time! The silk trade can wait, really, what’s a couple million mora in the grand scheme of things? We’re rich enough already.”
His brother looked at him, blinking tiredly. He sighed, blowing his dark hair out of his face before approaching Xingqiu’s desk. “Look, Xingqiu, I’m not here to nag at you. Don’t start with attitude when you don’t even know what I’m here for, it’s not befitting of a son of the Feiyun Commerce Guild.” He eyed Xingqiu’s sulky face warily before continuing. “Father’s going on a trip for two weeks soon. The full details will be posted to all major branches soon, but I thought it better to deliver the news to you first, in person. The two of us will be expected to run the guild in his absence.”
“So you mean I’ll be expected to run it while you get the credit?”
“Xingqiu! That’s not what I mean, please. Can we not fight for two seconds? I know you’re a teenager but really, you’re not usually this aggressive. If I’ve done something to offend you, let’s just make up and be done with it. I value your help greatly and I’ll be looking to you for counsel a lot over the next two weeks,” his brother pleaded.
Xingqiu exhaled noisily before gingerly setting his pen down. He looked up accusatorily at his brother. “In case you forgot, I’m eighteen next month, I’m basically an adult. And! You’ve not approved my time off for this afternoon and tomorrow.”
“... That’s it?”
“That’s it?! I put my notice in two weeks ago, through the official channels because last time you had a hissy fit and told me it was an abuse of status to just ask you directly on the day of, as if you don’t just take time off when and if it pleases you! So, I did as you desired as the humble second son and yet you can’t even-”
Xingqiu shut his mouth when he saw the paper set down on his desk with an approved stamp splayed over the top of it. His time-off form. He couldn’t meet his brother’s gaze as he mumbled a thank you and adjusted his hair to cover his quickly reddening ears. Damn this paleness, he thought to himself. Not for the first time, he wished he hadn’t overheard Xiangling and Yunjin’s conversation all those years ago, in which Xiangling had gushed over Yunjin’s “beautiful, pale skin”.
More importantly, he wished he hadn’t seen his first crush, (not counting the devastatingly gorgeous statues of Rex Lapis that reminded him of the protagonist of his favourite martial arts novel at the time - did they really have to carve him like that?) nod along to Xiangling’s statement, proclaiming it made Yunjin “look like the prettiest girl in Liyue”. He’d internalised what he’d heard and bought a parasol to cover himself from the blistering Liyuen heat the next day. Damn you Suling. Damn you Xiangling!
“So, what’s the occasion?” His brother’s inquiry was light, he’d obviously gotten over their fight already.
“Occasion?”
“Your time off request? You’ve not formally asked for time off for close to half a year now. Usually, you just go off and do what you want. I can only assume there must be something exciting coming up.”
Xingqiu blinked at him owlishly. “Well, if you must know, I’m helping throw a party at Wanmin Restaurant to celebrate a close friend of mine. It’s his birthday tomorrow, so we’re planning to stay up till midnight to celebrate. He’s been away for half the year so we- and by we I mean it was mostly Xiangling- thought we should do something elaborate.”
His brother nodded in understanding. “The boy you always used to sneak out with? I haven’t seen him around in ages, and, come to think of it, you’ve been causing a lot less trouble for the past six months. Is that because he hasn’t been around to distract you?”
“... Yeah,” he grinned, “That’s the one.”
Despite their make up, as a final fuck you to his brother, Xingqiu left his office early, just after 11am, a half-written letter left on his mahogany desk. It wouldn’t really matter, for all anyone who tried to read it knew, it was an incredibly detailed proposal and not a new idea for his manuscript.
Wanmin Restaurant was only a five minute walk from the Feiyun Commerce Guild and even if Xingqiu hadn’t spent half of his formative years goofing around there, he would’ve been able to find it easily due to the new posters Xiangling had pasted all over Liyue Harbour. Big, bold letters proclaimed “Wanmin Restaurant, the best, most affordable restaurant in Liyue!” Underneath was a crude drawing of what he could only assume was Guoba, each poster drawing him with different proportions and expressions. Obviously, Xiangling hadn’t yet invested in a printing machine. The posters also had large arrows under them, pointing the way to the restaurant, that Xingqiu diligently followed, smiling to himself over how quintessentially Xiangling they were.
Once he arrived at the mostly empty restaurant, he didn’t have to search long before he spotted his friend diligently manning the stove. There were dirty bowls strewn across the work surface, as well as a stray knife that was sitting precariously on the counter, as if it were ready to fall off the counter at any time. Whatever the ingredients being used were, he couldn’t quite tell, the strong aroma was some odd concoction of fish and something else he worryingly couldn’t fully place.
“Hey, Xiangling!”
“Xingqiu!!” She didn’t turn to face him, too busy on whatever was in front of her, but she lifted a hand to wave at him. As she did, Guoba reached up to bat the knife forward so that it was no longer going to impale someone (and by someone, he was the most likely victim. Xiangling was just too at home in the kitchen to get into any proper accidents). Xingqiu breathed a sigh of relief as Xiangling continued. “Did you see my signs? Pretty cool, right? I thought we should invest in marketing to get more customers! I designed them myself, do you like them?”
“I think they’re wonderful, Xiangling. With artistic skills like yours, it’ll be bound to attract new customers in no time.”
“Awww, Xingqiu, that’s so nice of you! I haven’t seen you in such a good mood in ages! Is it because you’re excited for tonight?”
“Well, of course I am,” he grinned, sitting down at the nearest table, “who doesn’t love a party, especially after all the work I’ve been doing recently. I’m in desperate need of a break - in fact, I’ve even taken the day off tomorrow as a treat. If I were old enough to drink, I would definitely be nursing a dreadful hangover in the morning, but alas, I’m a good, law-abiding citizen. Can you imagine how my father would react if he heard I was arrested for under-aged drinking?? He’d-”
Xiangling rolled her eyes at him, seeing right through him. “Archons, Xingqiu, that’s obviously not what I meant! I mean, aren’t you looking forward to seeing him? Auntie Shenhe stole him away for six whole months for training! We’re lucky he’s back for his birthday! I actually can’t believe it, Chongyun’s going to be a real adult tomorrow!”
Upon hearing his friend’s name, he felt his world stop for just a moment (and really, only a very small one!). He’d been too busy working to have time to think about anything, nevermind about how much he missed him, and hearing his name was a sudden reminder that oh, I’m seeing him tonight. Like, in eight hours, tonight. Despite the enormity of this realisation bowling him over, he tried to act natural and not like he was panicking about having not picked out either an outfit, or at least five impressive accolades that would show his friend just how much he had grown over the last half a year. He chose a very casual laugh and a shrug.
“Well… obviously, aren’t you? Bullying each other just isn’t the same, I’m too sly for that and you’re too good at pretending you’re above all that for it to be funny.”
“Wow, rude! No one but you would think that,” she exclaimed, scoffing at his stuck out tongue. Abruptly, she cut the heat on the stove and put a lid over the pan, leaving it to… well, Xingqiu didn’t really need to know how to cook anything other than simple meals, so he wasn’t really sure what she was doing. Cooking it more? Xiangling was an excellent, if… adventurous cook, so whatever it was, he was sure it was important all the same.
“Whatever, let’s not bicker, we’ve got more important things to do - for example, this dish is all done for now! You can try it if you’d like! I think it’s a real showstopper, something with loads of kabam to it! Y’know, a whole load of tada, look at me!”
“Now now, that sounds like a trick if I’ve ever heard one. You’ll have to tell me what you’ve put in it first,” Xingqiu laughed, unwilling to be a test subject so early in the day.
She put a finger to her lip as she hummed, thinking deeply. “Umm… black back perch, lotus heads, radishes…” Xingqiu nodded as she spoke, skeptically listening out for the rogue ingredient she would inevitably list out. “Spice fruit, crystalfly wings, carrots-”
“Ah, I knew it! Xiangling, you know my opinion on carrots. They’re so… bleh.” He conveniently avoided commenting on the crystalfly wings. No matter how many times he’d unwillingly been fed them, he could always feel the sharp edges scraping his throat as he swallowed. He didn’t quite know if it was his imagination or if she’d left them in to add some kind of sick, textural depth.
Her face fell for a moment at his comment, before instantly brightening again. She really was relentlessly optimistic. “It’s okay! This dish isn’t really done yet, it needs to simmer before tonight. I’ll just get Gaming to try it later, he always appreciates my cooking!”
“Yeah, that’s because he eats so fast he probably doesn’t taste anything at all. He’ll definitely say he loves it though, so it probably works best for all of us. Speaking of tonight, what do you need me to do? I told you I’d help you out since I’ve got the afternoon off. I’ll need to go home to get ready before the party starts at seven, but I’m at your service until then.”
“Chivalrous as always! That’d be great, how about you start by decorating this banner? It’s probably a better job for you anyways compared to having you help with the cooking,” Xiangling said off-handedly, giggling as Xingqiu’s eyebrows furrowed in offense.
“Just because we have servants who cook for us, doesn’t mean that my cooking is that bad! Besides, I have enough talents, why add one more? If I have time to learn to cook, I have time to train, or write, or read. Or, with how things have been going at the moment, do more work.”
“... Still, what kind of Liyuen kid doesn’t know how to properly peel a vegetable? I’m sure my dad had me cutting carrots into cute animals by the time I could write my name.”
“Nono, you misunderstand! You’re just so good that anyone pales in comparison.” He purposefully ignored her raised eyebrow and continued on. “Come now, let me complain for a minute without chastising me about my culinary skills. My father’s going on a two week trip and leaving my brother in charge. Yes, you did hear me correctly, my hopeless simpleton of a brother! I wanted to start working less, not more!”
Xiangling had ended up working him to the bone, and he’d only been allowed to leave at six, once Hu Tao turned up to take over from him. She was meant to get there for five but, according to her, “work ran on”. Xingqiu privately didn’t believe her - after all she was her own boss, and Mister Zhongli (the only person who would force her to keep doing paperwork until five sharp) always took the Thursday afternoon off. More than likely, she’d actually ended up chasing poor Qiqi around the harbour and lost track of time.
This meant that he could feel the steady pulse of a headache building in his temples, worsened by the fact that he had to get ready a lot faster than he would’ve wanted. He prided himself on his appearance, and considering the circumstances, having to cut his preparation time in half was incredibly upsetting. There would be nothing more embarrassing than Chongyun thinking he’d turned into a slob while he’d been away. He knew, realistically, Chongyun likely wouldn’t have changed all that much - it had only been six months after all, but still, the uncertainty of it all was plaguing him, and he knew looking his best would make him feel more at ease.
Not that he was nervous, of course. There wasn’t anything to be nervous about.
It was just Chongyun. His friend who he missed dearly but, all the same, someone who would stick with him through thick and thin. The sidekick to his hero, if you will.
He continued to comb his hair as he hummed thoughtfully to himself, having already changed into a more casual pair of wide legged navy trousers and a tighter, long sleeved top adorned with gold embroidery. He’d planned on wearing his coat as usual, but he wanted to show off the muscle he’d put on over the half a year. It was admittedly not as much as he would’ve liked, but considering he’d been confined to a desk most days, it was still a result.
Xingqiu was in the middle of singing a particularly moving aria to himself as he lined his eyes with red when he heard a bang at his window. He jumped, and swore quietly upon seeing the mess he’d made of his makeup. His heart thudded in his chest (half from shock, and half from excitement) as he thought about the possible assassins that might be coming after him, before remembering his room was on the third floor and the likelihood of someone reaching him was highly improbable, particularly considering the tightness of the security. More than likely, a poor sparrow had brained itself on his window and was now dealing with a teyvat-shatteringly bad concussion. Even still, he kept a hand on the dagger at his hip as he approached the window. After all, he was the protagonist, and being attacked just as he was about to go somewhere important was a common, yet effective, plot device.
Once he reached it, he looked out confidently, feeling much like a prince surveying his land as he scanned the garden for bird feathers and cloaked assassins. The grass looked undisturbed - a point in the sparrow’s favour! - but there were also no feathers to be seen or smudges on the glass. Feeling a little silly, he shouted down into the garden, just in case.
“Hello? Is there anyone- ow!” With no warning, something frigid hit him square in the temple. The good part was, if it bruised, his fringe would cover the bulk of the damage. The bad part was that the projectile was not only freezing, but wet, and he was sure it had messed up his careful styling considerably.
Astonished, he could only manage one phrase. “... What the fuck?”
“Xingqiu! Language!” The admonishment came as a shout-whisper, deep and somewhat nervous and-
Oh. He recognised that voice and the disapproving tone and, as the figure stepped out from behind one of the well-maintained trees, he recognised his assailant’s characteristic ice blue hair.
“Um… Hello.” The preceding silence was deafening. Xingqiu was too shocked to converse, and so the other man soldiered on. “I got to Liyue a little early and obviously I wanted to see you first but I really didn’t know how else to get your attention and throwing rocks at your window felt pretty nostalgic and I knew it would work so, uh… I’m sorry about hitting you in the head. It wasn’t on purpose. I swear it.”
Xingqiu couldn’t help but laugh as he watched the man trip over his words. “Chongyun..? Stop babbling and get up here already, you’ve scaled the wall enough times by now. In fact, you’re probably the only person in Liyue who knows exactly how to get into the Feiyun Commerce Guild’s second son’s bedroom. … What’s that look for? You don’t want to sound like my forbidden lover?”
He had the fastest fifteen seconds of his life to quickly slip the tiny box containing Chongyun’s present into the inside of his jacket and also maybe have a heart attack, if his racing heart was anything to go by, before suddenly-
Chongyun was at his windowsill, then in his room, then standing opposite him. They both just… kind of stared at one another. Xingqiu wasn’t quite sure what he’d expected their reunion to be like, but in all of his imaginary scenarios (not that he thought about it often!), they were always surrounded by people and it was casual and relaxed and Chongyun didn’t look like that.
In his time away, he’d grown into himself in that incredible way the body does in a last ditch panic before reaching adulthood. He’d always been fit, but he’d never been built quite the way he was now, with broad shoulders and an overall sturdiness that had never been there before. His hair too, had been cut shorter than he’d ever seen it before, still fluffy but less boyish. It suited him. Xingqiu wondered, for a moment, whether he’d changed at all in Chongyun’s eyes.
Xingqiu and Chongyun had always been best friends but in the way two teenage boys are best friends. They didn’t typically have big emotional moments. In fact, he was trying to remember what the protagonist in Reincarnated as a Martial Arts Master but the Demon King Won’t Leave Me Alone! (RMAMB..!, for loyal fans of the Inazuman hit) did after reuniting with his party after being separated, but he was drawing a blank. Were they meant to hug? Was six months a long enough time period that it warranted a hug or did that break the rules of friendship between guys. A handshake? No - too formal, it was Chongyun for crying out loud, not a potential business partner!
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Chongyun taking the initiative and hugging him first and oh, what exactly was he worrying about, this is so nice! … Wait, what was Chongyun doing? Why was he getting closer to his hair, was there something wrong with it??
“Did you start using a different shampoo?”
Xingqiu blinked. “That’s seriously your first question after such a long time apart? Not, ‘how are you Xingqiu, how’s your family been Xingqiu, did you get a girlfriend Xingqiu?’ I mean, I guess it’s pretty romantic you remember how I smell- OW!” he exclaimed, shaking himself off after the shove he’d been given and shooting Chongyun a dirty look.
“Did you get a girlfriend?” Chongyun asked hesitantly, messing with his hair awkwardly.
“No. But still,” Xingqiu sighed. “You’re right, by the way. I switched from the silk flower scent to the one infused with cor lapis. I was sick of my brother associating me with silk and calling me names about it.”
“Huh? … Wait- Oh..! Your brother still has you working the silk trade?”
“He tries. I’ve been masterfully getting out of it recently by switching our papers when he’s not looking so I can do the interesting stuff instead. Or well, as interesting as business can be at least. Seriously, I’m so jealous of you getting to go out for six months to go practice martial arts while I was stuck inside all the time.”
“That sounds rough. Have things not been going great?” Chongyun asked, concern flitting across his face.
“Well, do you want the answer I give the clients, or the real answer?”
“Is that even a question?”
“Not really, I just wanted to show off the fact I have clients in the first place. You know, since I’m a real working man now. Not even eighteen, and already a corporate victim. Bemoan my lost youth with me, won’t you,” he commanded, expecting a laugh from his friend, or maybe a consolitary quip.
He wasn’t expecting the pat on the head.
That was… new. Strange. Weird. Interesting. Do it again. Wait, Chongyun’s taken his hand away and he’s staring at him a little funny.
He needed to respond. He chose to smile at him, laugh, and continue his speech, hoping none of it looked unnatural. “Before I talk about how exciting my life has been while you were away, I just need to make myself look as good as possible, especially since I can only imagine the crazy things Auntie Shenhe had you do while you were away.”
“You just think she’s scary, she’s really not that bad. She can actually be really wise once you get to know her.”
“I know that, she just scares me. She doesn’t like me! She thinks I’m a bad influence on you!”
“Yeah, I mean… you are a bad influence on me. I’ve tried to change her mind though. I’m sure if you’re polite next time you see her, she’ll be nice to you too!”
Xingqiu groaned, unimpressed. Secretly though, he was delighted. A tiny part of him had been worried things might stay awkward after the long gap of not seeing eachother, but it felt like they'd never left. Things were back to normal again. Before he could respond back to Chongyun's suggestion, he was interrupted by the tolling of the antique clock in the corner of his room. Seven o’ clock.
“Oh Archons, look what you’ve done! I’m late now!”
“Huh? What do you mean, didn’t the party start at eight?”
“For you, yeah! I was meant to be there now to make sure everything was perfect,” Xingqiu moaned into his hands.
Chongyun paused for a moment, lost in thought before starting, “You could just be late with me. I’m already here right and technically, you’re making sure things are alright with me so… You’re not skipping, you’re just doing different work.” At this, Xingqiu stopped staring into his hands in despair and looked up, mouth agape.
“Chongyun… Have you been possessed?”
“What?!”
“The Chongyun I know would never suggest something as heinous as skipping out on work!”
“Well… I’ve been away for a while. Maybe I’ve gotten a bit more flexible, along with being able to control my excess yang energy better. Plus, you’ve not finished your eyeliner yet, you’ve only got one red wing.”
Xingqiu sighed in defeat. “Yeah, Xiangling would probably kill me. I guess we’re technically doing good if we’re stopping a murder tonight?” He smiled at him before the rest of the sentence caught up to him. “Wait… you can control your energy better now? Does that mean you can have spicy food? Does that mean you’re going to drink alcohol tonight?!”
Xingqiu discovered, an hour and a half into the party, that he had been overzealous in his assumptions of what “control” meant.
They had arrived twenty minutes behind schedule, meaning Chongyun was technically forty minutes early. Xiangling had nearly screamed half of Liyue down when she’d seen him, roughing up his hair and instantly forgetting about Xingqiu’s lateness crimes.
While she had stolen Chongyun away, Xingqiu was left to mingle. After wandering over to the food table (it had all been finished cooking for a while, with Guoba and Chef Mao keeping an eye on the stuff that needed keeping hot) and picking up his favourites, he sat down at one of the nearby tables to eat and wind down. As he enjoyed his jiaozi and cold noodles, he let himself people watch, lazily scanning the crowd for anything interesting. Off to one side, Hu Tao was chatting to Yanfei about something. It can’t have been that exciting, she seemed more preoccupied petting one of the strays who lived along the street. Maybe she was just tired from work? His dad had tried to push him into law and, seeing Yanfei’s workload, he had vehemently refused.
In a different spot next to the aqueduct, Gaming was… juggling? Some sort of new trick he’d learnt that he was trying to teach Lan Yan and Yunjin, both of whom were doing remarkably well considering they’d presumably never done it before. Oh- Nevermind, the peals of laughter were indicators that Lan Yan had dropped the stick into the aqueduct. Still, better than he could do. Both of the girls had a strong musical background, whereas his rhythmic expertise ended at shoddily playing the piano, a hobby he’d been forced into as a child by his mother.
Finally, he turned his gaze slightly, back to where Xiangling and Chongyun were sat in a patch of grass by the river. Xiangling was gesturing animatedly, telling what must have been a funny story if Chongyun’s shaking shoulders were anything to go off. From his angle, he couldn’t see his face but he imagined the wide smile that was playing across his face, his dimple showing, eyes crinkling...
Maybe he wasn’t really people watching anymore.
Quickly, he was pulled out of his reverie by the sound of loud platform boots coming his way, followed by a plate being sat next to him.
“Xinyan. It’s been too long. You look lovely,” he smiled, genuine. Although Xinyan could be labelled “too much” sometimes, her company was a welcome breath of fresh air from the stuffy politicians and businessmen he had to speak to.
“Aww, Xingqiu, you’ll make me blush!” She played with the hair framing her face before patting at her skirt in embarrassment. It was new, bright yellow with cute flowers embroidered along the hem. Although it seemed like it should be at odds with her rocker persona, it suited her perfectly. “You look great too! And you’re right, it has been ages! All you do is work nowadays. I swear I never see you anymore! I mean, I’ve been pretty busy too though, can’t blame you too much. I’ve got a gig coming up two weeks on Tuesday if you’re free?”
“I’ll have to get back to you on that one. I’d love to go if I can though.”
“Thanks man, you’re the best. Now, tell me what you’re doing all the way over here? It’s pretty unusual for you to not be all up in the action right now, especially on a night like tonight. Let me guess: were you struck by Yunjin’s beauty and had to sit down?! I mean, I totally get it, I need a breather too!”
This startled a laugh out of him. Yunjin was beautiful but she wasn’t quite ‘martial arts master magazine cover-boy’ beautiful. “Not quite, Xinyan.”
“Oh, so I’m close? Who else could you be pining over?”
“Sorry? I’m not pining-”
“Yeah yeah, that’s what they all say Xingqiu~ Is it Lan Yan? Xiangling? Chongyun?”
Xingqiu started to choke on his mouthful of cold noodles. His life, a series of hazy blue memories started to flash before him. He wished he'd worked less. He wished he'd been able to try getting drunk. He wished he'd gotten to have his first kiss. He let his hopes and dreams pass by, waiting for death to claim him until-
“Ow!” His back stung from Xinyan’s slap. The plus side was that he was no longer choking, but maybe that wasn’t a mercy at all considering the way Xinyan was looking at him. He resolutely sipped his water, ignoring her and staring at the clouds as they haunted the moon instead. He wished he was on the moon, far away from the current conversation. It wasn’t until he felt the gentle tap of short nails against his shoulder that he gave up being stubborn and looked back at her.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Trust me though, I wasn’t pining, that was just really bad timing. I was just- Well, he’s changed a lot right?”
“Uhhh…” Xinyan stopped to stare at the space where Xiangling and Chongyun were now sitting lying in the grass, a plate of half eaten skewers between them. “You tell me? I mean, his hair’s different..? Are you worried because he looks more grown up than you now? Just because you’re still seventeen doesn’t mean you don’t look mature too.”
“I know that. Look at like… You know! All of it!”
“... Uh… huh..?”
“Look at his hands, for example!” How could she not notice the calluses that had developed on his palms, the new scar laced over two of his knuckles, the way his nails had grown out slightly without access to a proper manicure set?
“I’m looking,” Xinyan confirmed. Xingqiu stared back at her, waiting for some sort of elaboration, an admittance that she saw the difference and that he wasn’t getting hung up over some tiny details. A big bright firefly perhaps, that twinkled above her head in a “you’re so right Xingqiu and also you’re not being weird at all!” way.
It didn’t come.
“Maybe my literary genius has just made me so observant of the changing of the seasons that these small details are inescapable to me. Oh Xinyan, my fellow artist, surely you understand this pain?”
“Sure man! I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about but it sounds like a killer! Let me write that down, I bet I could work that into a crazy lyric. Oh- nevermind, look who’s coming over,” she started to whisper, gesturing at Chongyun who was walking their way.
Maybe walking was a stretch. He seemed a little… Wobbly? Xiangling was more dragging him this way, some sort of sparkle in her eyes that was far too mischievous for Xingqiu’s liking.
“Hey Xiangling! And Chongyun, welcome back! Look at you, been on the alcohol already? You’re not an adult til midnight yet!” Xinyan teased him with a grin. Admittedly, he did look like he could be drunk, his cheeks were red and his pupils were blown wider than usual. Something about it struck him as familiar in fact…
“Xinyan!” Chongyun sat down across from them and kicked at Xingqiu’s foot under the table, hard. “I’m great, how about you! I missed your music, the road was so quiet!”
“Xiangling… What did you feed him?” Xingqiu interrupted, kicking at Chongyun’s calf to keep his energy directed.
“Nothing crazy!! He said his tolerance had gotten better so I forgot to tell him the dumplings I was eating had a little extra pepper in them… Not loads though! It’s his party, I wouldn’t make anything too spicy, you saw me making most of the dishes anyways!”
“So..?”
“So he ate more than one of the dumplings and then got like this! Maybe his constitution hadn’t gotten better after all and Auntie Shenhe always just beat him up before he got to this stage?”
Xinyan laughed out loud at Xiangling’s worrying, unused to seeing her so nervous. “C’mon Xiangling, don’t be mean to him, he’s probably just had an eventful day seeing everyone after so long. I know, why don’t you come with me to get some extra water? I might have some cold sweets in my bag too that’ll do the job - Xingqiu can stay with Chongyun.”
“Huh? You don’t need two people to go get water,” Xingqiu argued, eyebrow raising at Xinyan’s sudden suggestion. She wasn’t trying to set them up was she?
“But Xingqiu! You’re the one who knows Chongyun the best, think about all those things you were saying before!” Xinyan exclaimed. Xiangling’s thoughtful nodding in the background wasn’t helping.
“What were you saying?” Chongyun’s eyes were sparkling in curiosity and the kicking under the table had stopped. He felt like he’d been caught in a trap.
Xingqiu kicked him hard and crossed his arms defensively. “I was telling Xinyan about how I’m so much taller than you now. It makes sense, I’ve heard that meditation can stunt your growth if you do too much of it.”
“What?? You’re kidding, right?”
As the two of them fell into light bickering, Xinyan and Xiangling slipped away so that it was just them left, illuminated by the warm lanterns hanging above the shop front. Under the lights, Chongyun’s flush was even more apparent in his face and the tips of his ears. He was saying something that he really should be paying attention to considering how volatile he could be in that state, and yet Xingqiu was too enthralled, too happy, to care.
Or, at least he was, until he heard Chongyun whisper conspiratorily, “Let’s ditch.”
“... Huh?” Xingqiu wasn’t sure he’d heard him correctly. Chongyun often ended up bolder and with crazy ideas (Xinyan knew this all too well) when he was in this state and, realistically, it wasn’t even that surprising of a suggestion… But still, he’d only exchanged a few words with everyone and it was his party.
“Don’t you want to see what I’ve learned over the past couple of months?”
“Of course I do but-”
“But? Come on, let’s go, I’ve been waiting forever to show off. We won’t even go far! We can go to that camp on the road to Mount Tianheng, if we run we can be there in less than ten minutes. No one will notice we’ve gone.”
Xingqiu looked around to the other groups helplessly but everyone was in their own worlds, not taking note of them. Meanwhile, Chongyun was staring at him intently, his pupils a ceaseless black hole.
He sighed in defeat.
“At least let me finish my noodles?”
The road to Mount Tianheng was empty as Chongyun dragged him in a half-run towards their destination, strong fingers wrapped around his wrist. The walk up was nostalgic, dredging up old memories of the two of them sneaking away from the city to go train or go on wild adventures. Most poignantly, he remembered their last night together six months ago: the campfire, the apple, the ink.
Despite his conflicting feelings about having run off from the party without telling anybody, he felt like he was wrapped in a blanket of contentment, like he was exactly where he was meant to be. Stuck in his memories, he missed the rock jutting up from the path and tripped, almost sending Chongyun crashing down with him.
“Wow, I didn’t realise you’d gotten so rusty over the past year that you’d started losing fights with the road,” Chongyun said, eyebrows raised.
Xingqiu barked out a laugh. He’d forgotten how little of a filter his friend had in this state. This usually got him into trouble, like when he’d joined Xinyan’s concert and started yelling at one of the gossiping aunties who Xingqiu had gotten in an argument with a few days prior, but when it was just the two of them he liked the teasing jabs and friendly banter.
“You’re the one who’s losing fights with the road - look, you’ve gone the wrong way. We’ve already passed the camp because you weren’t paying attention.”
“Eh? Why didn’t you stop me?”
“You were so confident, I wanted to see how long it would take you to notice.”
Chongyun shook his head disapprovingly before brightening up again. He was staring down the hilichurl camp with a focused look in his eye. Figuring out the most spectacular plan of action, presumably. There were six hilichurls and one hydro samachurl (annoyingly for him), with surprisingly, no mitachurl and no ranged fighters. Overall, it seemed to be a small, easy to take out camp.
“Right, what’s the plan then?” Xingqiu asked, letting Chongyun take the lead. As much as he wanted to show off, he wasn’t the one who’d been away for six months training and he was admittedly curious to see just how much Chongyun had improved and what new skills he’d learned. And, excitingly, they had all the time in the world after this to train together and go off on missions now that Chongyun was back for the foreseeable future. He could let him have this one fight.
“How do you feel about giving me your rain swords? How many can you keep up at a time at the moment?”
“Five, six if I concentrate. It’ll be easier with you though since I’m familiar with your moveset. What do you want me to do while you’re out taking advantage of my vision?”
“You can deal with their supplies? You see that exploding barrel over there? See if you can diffuse that,” he suggested lightly, as if Xingqiu had any idea how to do that without the use of his vision and one sword (and a tiny knife) to his name.
“Okay,” he said instead, adrenaline starting to go to his head. “You better show me something cool though, otherwise you’re not getting to use my vision again.”
“Yeah, of course. I’ve got just the thing in mind. Just make sure you get that bomb out of the way.”
Xingqiu rolled his eyes as he summoned his swords, four appearing at Chongyun’s shoulders and one for himself. Lazily, he flicked a finger towards the barrel and let his rain sword fly at it, hitting it’s mark easily and carrying the bomb up, up-
It exploded with a boom and a shower of sparks that rained upon the ground like a tiny pyro storm, setting fire to the dry grass in the process.
Chongyun’s mouth was agape as he stared at the fire and the hilichurls running wild in surprise. “What was that for??”
“It’s out of the way. My work here is done, you’ve got a cryo vision, you’ll be fine. I’m going to sit on this tree stump and watch. Go have fun!”
“You don’t want to fight anything else?”
“Sure, but I want to see what you’ve come up with more. Go on, they’ve noticed you,” he said, pointing at the hilichurls manoeuvring their way around the fiery patches, eyes locked onto Chongyun. “And! They’re mad at you, not me, since you’re the one with all the rain swords right now. I’m just an innocent bystander in their eyes.”
“You’re such a terrible person,” Chongyun sighed, lifting a claymore made entirely of ice (wait, made entirely of what? That’s new) into his hands and striding towards them. Ten feet from them, he stuck the claymore into the grass and interlocked his fingers into a number of sigils, too fast for Xingqiu to see. Finally, he clapped his hands together and a shield appeared around him and surprisingly, round Xingqiu too. He cheered appreciatively at the display, watching eagerly to see what he’d do next.
Chongyun brought his hands up again, a flurry of movement, and then a clap.
Nothing happened.
Xingqiu looked at him expectantly. The hilichurls looked at him expectantly. Chongyun looked back at them, eyes darting around.
He picked up his claymore and charged, slashing his way through the group. On the sidelines, Xingqiu nudged his rain swords towards Chongyun’s assailants, taking two to stab the samachurl through the heart while it was distracted. It started to fall towards the ground with a groan before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, a dirty scroll left in its wake.
Satisfied, Xingqiu looked towards Chongyun again who was sweeping his claymore at the group, already weakened and wet from the rain swords and cut down to three now. As he brought his claymore up to tear through one of them, he caught Xingqiu’s eye and stuck his tongue out with a brilliant smile, obviously enjoying himself.
The taste of something he couldn’t quite place hit the back of his throat as he started to cough, eyes watering. What was that? It was a mix of iron and something vaguely familiar, saccharine sweet and perfumed. Whatever it was, it tasted terrible.
He looked up from his coughing fit just to see Chongyun spinning in a circle, dragging his claymore through bone, flesh, and that something inky the hilichurls always had lurking inside of them. With one last puff of smoke, the camp was cleared in what must have been record time.
Xingqiu clapped delightedly as Chongyun melted the ice claymore. Evidently, the cold of it on his fingers had done him some good as his face and fingers were less pink than they’d been before, suggesting his energy levels had dropped at least a little bit.
“Wow! Well done, that was amazing, just like a hero from a novel! That shield! And the claymore, that’s so fancy! Oh, and all the new hand sigils too - what was that second move you pulled?”
“That? It just strengthened my claymore, that’s all. It makes it tear through evil more easily. Pretty cool though, right?”
Xingqiu nodded, impressed. “Very cool. I’m jealous I didn’t get to show off my new skills too, now.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll get a chance at some point. Although, you did show me a new move with that coughing fit - what was that back there? Did you swallow a fly or something? I got worried for a second,” Chongyun teased him, smiling lightly.
“No, and before you ask, I’m definitely not getting sick, I never get sick." It was true, despite his pedigree and the fact he wasn't allowed to go outside and eat dirt the way the other kids were, his constitution was surprisingly good. "I tasted something weird and it made me cough, that’s all… Oh, I’ve got it! I bet you cursed me with your overabundant energy or, or! Maybe Shenhe secretly put a curse on you that would transfer to me when you next saw me, that sounds like something she would do.”
It was obvious that despite cooling down, Chongyun’s yang energy was still at a high, from the way his face scrunched up in offense, a far cry from his usual relaxed demeanor. “Cursed? That’s so dumb, I don’t even know any curses. And Auntie Shenhe wouldn’t do that, stop being rude! If she heard you saying that, maybe she would go up and curse you and it’d be deserved.”
“So rude! Go back to being nice Chonyun!”
Chongyun hummed, before settling down on the floor next to where Xingqiu was sat. “Okay.”
“Eh?”
“I’ll just take a nap.”
It was Xingqiu’s turn to look at him in confusion. “What? No, we need to go back to the party, we’re going to miss the fireworks otherwise! Xinyan made them herself!”
He was interrupted by a quiet boom coming from the harbour. Blue and gold sparkles were popping in the air like twinkling flowers, bright and cheerful. Xingqiu sighed in defeat and settled down next to a smug Chongyun to watch as little pictures formed in the sky. It was obvious Xinyan had put a lot of effort into making them if the colours and whimsical themes were anything to go off of. There was even one big, blue popsicle which made Chongyun laugh, shaking against his shoulder.
They sat contentedly for a while before Xingqiu turned to Chongyun, taking the little box out of his pocket as he did so.
“Welcome to adulthood Chongyun, and happy birthday,” he grinned, pressing the box into his hands.
Chongyun looked at it curiously. “Are you proposing to me? I know you’re rich and your parents are desperate to marry you off, but that’s so forward- hey!” He yelled out as Xingqiu shoved him gently, gesturing at him to open it.
Inside were two earrings, blue studs with a piece of dangling metal. One had a lighter, crystalline stud and silver metal, whereas the other was cobalt with gold.
“I told you I’d get us a matching pair,” Xingqiu nudged him playfully. “Go on, put it in, you’ve had them long enough that I’m sure it’s all healed up now.”
“Yeah, probably.” He looked at them with sparkling eyes as he started to take out the silver stud from his ear. “Thank you, they look amazing.”
“Well yeah, I’m not going to wear something ugly.”
Chongyun laughed as he finally got the earring out and laid it on the rock carefully. “Speaking of healing, how’s..?”
“Oh, that? Yeah, it’s all healed up. You were really worrying for nothing, nobody’s even noticed.”
Chongyun sighed in relief as he tried to put the new earring in, to little success. Wordlessly, Xingqiu shifted and took it from him, easily slotting it through the tiny hole and smiling excitedly at his handiwork. “It suits you,” he commented as he grabbed the gold one and threaded it through his own piercing, pinning his old one to the inside of his trousers pocket for safekeeping.
“It suits you too,” Chongyun smiled, shifting so they were leaning against each other. They stared at the stars in comfortable silence as Chongyun erected a barrier around them. Xingqiu didn’t protest, he just settled properly and closed his eyes, sending a prayer to the archons that his nice clothes wouldn’t get ruined by dirt and ash from the fires.
As he drifted off to sleep, he missed the tiny smudge of pink drifting down, down, down, onto the ground next to him and settling next to his tiny, inky constellation.
6 Months Ago
Dear Xingqiu,
By the time this finds you, I’ll have left for my trip. That’s pretty weird to say, or well, write. I’m not really sure what to write, to be honest. I’ve written a letter for everybody, but I’ve been putting yours off.
I’ll miss you and our ghosthunting adventures. I know it’s only six months and realistically I’ve been away on trips for long periods of time before but still, this feels pretty weird, at least for me. Maybe it’s because it feels so. Explicit? Is that the word? You’re the wordsmith, not me.
I hope you won’t have to work too much while you’re away. I hope you get to write lots and when I come back maybe you’ll finally show me the progress you’ve made on your manuscript if I impress you enough.
Shenhe’s said we’re going to meet the adepti first, and train there. I’m not sure how much I believe her, to be honest, but either way I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from her. I’m looking forward to it a lot, even if being away from home will be a bit weird to start with.
I think. I hope that you. When I get back.
Wish me luck. I’ll be thinking of you.
Yours,
Chongyun.