xingqiu
― far away from the world in a moment of silence
« notes : fluff ; the dawn atop the highest mountain . "up here, he truly is free, and, with the wind on his hair and the dawn blush on his cheeks — even against the backdrop of the loveliest scenery in teyvat — he is the most beautiful person that you have ever seen."
― xingqiu values his alone time more than anything in the world, though even he admits some things are better off shared with someone you love . »
the cover of the night is the shadow that carresses your figure with a finger to shut lips, eye winked as if a guardian to a secret. there are few millelith in liyue, and even fewer people still crawling in the midnight hours of the eve, and yet, your heart pounds with anxiety as your footsteps hurry into the night.
xingqiu is barely keeping his glee in as he tugs you outside of the harbour, and into the starry fields in front. his hand is cold and his cheeks are red — he is obviously cold, though he offered you his coat minutes ago as you made your silly escape from your mansion. he's too considerate, really, though you suppose it is his fault that you are unprepared tonight, when he dragged you from your sleep with twinkling eyes and an impish smile, and asked you to come with him to a secret place.
you, you whipped, absolute fool, of course, you go.
and, as all things decided prematurely with the impulsive heart, you regret this one so much.
from a distance, the mountain peaks of qingyun seemed so close. impressive, yes, as all of liyue seemed to appeal in your eyes, but not so much so that it matched the height of xingqiu's excitement as he pulled you to the mountains underneath the cover of the night.
however, resting on the top of the mountain itself, your legs weary and your bones about to fall apart were it not for xingqiu's skilled hands massaging your flesh, you think, this is not at all worth it.
your lungs burn and everything hurts. even xingqiu himself, who is accustomed to such grueling physical feats, is affected : cool sweat burns through his red cheeks, and his immaculate hair is in tangles. still, he sports a lovely smile, as he passes you a drink of water, and stands up.
"come on," he encourages, as you take a swig of water. you wince. even that hurts. "we just have to ride the winds and climb the stairs, and then we'll be there."
"ride the winds," you repeat dumbly, and look at where he is pointing at. near the edge, a contained hurricane blasts off and swirls to the top, where a few steps of green glass and emerald light up the night sky with an unnatural hue. "you're telling me we're supposed to ride the wind."
xingqiu nods. his earring jingles against his cheek. "don't worry, it's perfectly safe. aether and everyone else in mondstadt use these to get everywhere."
"but we are in liyue," you mumble, taking his offered hand. "liyue doesn't believe in the winds."
"then believe in me, milady," he says cheekily. you do not even have the luxury of a few seconds to rebuke his teasing formalities with you — cold hands close around yours and tug you in, and you flush madly as xingqiu quietly urges you to wrap your arms around his neck as his glider unfurls in the breeze. they are a majestic thing, blue feathers lined with silver and gems : truly a masterpiece suited for someone such as him, and yet, you find yourself distracted not by those wings, but by the iridescent hue of his eyes as he gazes back at you.
you barely notice your feet leaving ground, and when you do, panic strikes your chest. beneath your feet is the open space, a deadly fall — you hold on tight to xingqiu, pinching your eyes shut, and he chuckles in delight.
"if i fall, i'm going to come back and haunt you until i die," you swear. he laughs again.
finally, blessedly, you feel rock shift underneath your boots, though you keep your eyes shut still. maybe you are afraid the solid ground beneath your feet is merely an illusion, or maybe it is just because xingqiu is quite warm, despite the coolness of his skin, but either way, you find yourself unwilling to step back from his embrace.
"milady," he says. "won't you open your eyes? the ride is over for now, and we have to climb these stairs."
"do i really have to?" you whine, pressing your face deeper into his collar. he smells like old books and tea, a light, misty smell from the mountain, and sweat : he smells very mild and tender and calming. you could sleep here, in his arms, like this — in fact, your very body calls for you to abandon your safety to xingqiu's hands and fall asleep next to his heartbeat, even for a minute.
but he pushes you gently from him, and chuckles at your pout. "we can sleep for a while at the top," he says. "but it's dangerous to fall asleep here, where we may fall to our deaths."
"fall to our deaths." you make a face. leaning by the edge of the floating staircase, you hold your breath as the curvature of the world greets your eyes. there is the clouds and the mountains, and then the abyss, it seems. the night sky is so vast and the constellations are endless, and even down in teyvat, they swallow the darkness down with a teasing, kind glint.
you shudder. "if we fall, it's really the end, huh?"
xingqiu falls silent. "ah, it wouldn't really be proper to say that i will catch you if you fall here, would it?"
"if you catch me, then you'll die, too." you send him a weird look, and he responds with another chuckle. he seems to be in high spirits tonight, though perhaps that is merely from the thrill of the adventure, the adrenaline and the danger and the quiet peace that accompanies your journey up to the heavens.
"then, at least you won't be alone," he reasons.
"cheesy," you scoff, and lightly push on his chest. "let's just get up already. my legs are about to give up."
the eternity of hell ends as you reach the shrine perched atop the island. xingqiu huffs as he reaches the last of the stairs and turns to lend you his hand. grateful, you take it and shiver at the coolness of his palm. you are probably cold, too. he smiles bashfully.
"this," you pant, "had better be worth it, xing."
"i believe so," he muses, and tangles your hand with his to lead you to the center of the floating island. there are books piled neatly atop one another on a table by the edge, and you snort amusedly ; no doubt, that xingqiu has read those at least twice over.
"come," he coos. "sit and watch the sunrise with me, milady. let's have a moment of respite from all the heavy climbing we just had, shall we?"
"milady," you repeat, letting the gentle pull of his hand sit you beside him. "we're alone here. you don't have to call me that."
"i know." he props his hands behind him and leans back. you can see clouds on his skin and stardust on his neck — the moon circles the gold of his irises and shimmers prettily. "but i like it. it's like my term of endearment for you."
and then he giggles and you lose yourself in the sound.
"how did you even find this place?" you distract yourself from his laughter on the scenery below. so high up, the world curves beneath your fingertips like a wilting flower in mist and hazy moonlight, and you think, this could be heaven, this could be the afterlife : the insistent silence buzzing in your ears calms your heart and drags lethargy over your veins. a moment of silence, indeed. this place feels so removed from the noise of the world below.
"aether found this and told me about it," he says. you stand up, and his gaze trails you to the end of your tiny world, up here in the clouds. "he said it's the most beautiful sight he's ever seen out of all the worlds he's been to, so i wanted to go see it for myself."
"couldn't you have gone to see it for yourself without me?" you sigh. your legs are still cramping from the treacherous climb up here, and your heart stutters at the numerous times you could have fallen to your death if it weren't for xingqiu's quick reflexes.
"well," he says, standing up to walk to your side. he smiles impishly at you. "a lovely scenery is rather empty if you do not share it with someone you love, isn't it?"
"is it," you murmur back. your eyes are set on the horizon below, where the fire of the sun is starting to spread across the night sky. xingqiu follows your gaze down, and his smile deepens as the spectacle of light and dawn begins right before your eyes.
"it is," he confirms. without looking, his hand finds yours, and his palm is just freezing to the touch, but you don't mind. you squeeze back, and watch the sun ascend to the sky, following a glorious parade of pink and orange and blinding gold clouds. the accents of the sky weave into the strands of xingqiu's air as he stands on tiptoes to peer over the edge. you hold onto his hand tighter, afraid of the fall, but he only smiles at you, and tugs you forward.
you yelp. he laughs, and you are starstruck by the shades of unshackled mirth that lighten his tone. up here, he truly is free, and, with the wind on his hair and the dawn blush on his cheeks — even against the backdrop of the loveliest scenery in teyvat — he is the most beautiful person that you have ever seen.
« ending notes : not sure about how to characterize xingqiu but anyway i love him and i'm big sad that there isn't enough content for him for me to drown in. that is all, thank you. »