Chapter Text
When all else faded, his contract still stood. When buildings tumbled down, and when the years passed, he still stood watch over Liyue. He was all that was left. Morax had fallen asleep centuries ago and all the elemental powers started to fade from Teyvat. Xiao could name a few other immortals that wandered the world, but less and less made appearances. He was the last one in Liyue. The last adepti holding their oath to the people and their archon.
As lonely as it was, it wasn’t a terrible existence. With the fall of Celestia, there was a lot less karmic debt to worry about. He was still heavily afflicted by it, but he was hardly collecting any more. There were no more monsters roaming the fields, just normal predators and animals. No Regisvines, no Hilichurls or Vishaps.
Much to his own chagrin, Xiao found himself monitoring the harbor more and more. He walked the streets, pretending to be a human, adapting in a way that would have made Ganyu proud. He found himself changing with the times, but still holding on to tradition. He liked to wander the streets and watch as the buildings and people changed.
One thing that had helped him adapt to the mortal life was, hilariously, Tartaglia. Tartaglia, or Childe, his archon’s mate, left a sizable account at Northland Bank. First it had been passed to Zhongli, so the former archon could live comfortably after Childe left this plain. When Zhongli decided that his time was over, it passed to Xiao, basically his only pseudo relative. The interest accrued on a deceased Fatui Harbinger’s account was insane and Xiao had absolutely no need to work for probably his entire immortal life. It afforded him quite a nice apartment in the middle of the city’s new-old town. It was a rebuilt section of the harbor that was tragically lost in a fire. The area paid homage to the traditional architecture of Liyue, but had very modern amenities. Amenities that Xiao was embarrassed to admitted, he adored.
It also, oddly enough, made him feel closer to Zhongli and Childe. It was no secret that early in their relationship, Xiao despised Childe and wanted him nowhere near his lord. As the years went by, he developed a strange harmony with the man. Childe was surprisingly kind to him, and liked to help the yaksha in any way he could. He was always welcome in their home and treated well. He had long since forgiven Childe from taking Zhongli away. Zhongli was happiest with Childe, and that was all Xiao could ask for, even if it had left him isolated at times.
He knew that his loyalty and ultimately love, for Zhongli would never fade. He adored the man, loved him deeply from afar. He had not expected to develop shallower, but similar feelings for the Fatuus. He had not expected that Childe’s laugh would make his heart beat faster, or that when Childe would cook for him, his whole body would heat up. The combined forces of the two men together nearly killed him a few times. He was satisfied knowing the two had each other though. He knew they were happiest together. He hoped that the two of them would be happy, knowing that even after their lives ended, they were still caring for him in a sense.
It was a patrol day for Xiao. Not that he expected to find much. He opened the sliding door of his apartment, affixing a black mask over his lower face, a motif similar to the mask that still hung on his hip, printed over it. It was a relatively warm day, so he wore a cropped turtleneck tank and baggy techwear pants, a loose kimono style top tied to his waist in case he got cold.
His combat boots scuffed the polished floors as he walked down the stairs and out of the building, waving at a few of the other residents. Despite living with humans, he still didn’t interact much outside of necessity. He still was plagued by karmic debt and humans were much less resistant to him now that visions no longer existed. He luckily could still get some medicine from Bubu Pharmacy, it wasn’t as potent as what Zhongli made, but it did numb the pain a little, which was better than nothing.
He vowed that he’d bury himself in the Chasm before he let the debt overtake him. He would not allow himself to hurt anyone. He would rather die. He would probably have to stop at the pharmacy on his way back, needing to pick up the order and maybe some generic painkillers to pile on top, or a sleep aide.
He adjusted his mask as he slipped down the street, letting the humid air wash over him. He spent a lot of time walking and watching, noting anything that seemed out of the ordinary. The only thing he ran across often were lingering, shapeless spirits that he could release into the afterlife with a small prayer. He also occasionally got into fights with hooligans, but that had died down after a particularly nasty fight that had almost landed him in jail. He did nearly take a punk’s eye out, so no one really messed with him.
“Ah A-Xiao!” an elderly woman waved him over. “Take this dear,” she said, pressing a box into his hands. Homemade Almond Tofu. At least once a week she made it for him. He had scared off a thief from her little stall one night and waited with her until the police came. “You’re so skinny, you need to eat more,” she scolded.
“Thanks Granny,” he said with a little huff. “I’m okay, I’m eating normally.” Which meant not at all. He did not need food to survive, but he had noticed that when he ate with Childe and Zhongli consistently, his complexion was better. The two liked to force him to join them for dinner, and he just couldn’t say no. Now food was kind of sour to him. Everything other than his favorite dessert made him sick. He would just end up vomiting it up, so it wasn’t worth it.
He waved good bye and pulled down his mask to sneak a bite of the almond tofu as he walked. It was oddly lively today, the streets filled with young people. He made his way to the pier, an old habit that he made during walks with Childe. The man loved the water, and in turn Xiao started to love the ocean, because it reminded him of the scant time they spent alone together. The Golden House Museum was where he went to remember his time with Zhongli, or out towards the ruins of the Guili Plains, but that also held memories of Guizhong.
He was surprised by the throngs of people sitting on the rails and on the benches of the small park in front of the docks. He made a disgruntled noise. It was nearing dusk and normally this place was deserted, only graced by the occasional couple.
“Crazy busy right?” someone laughed off to his right, brushing against Xiao’s side and having heard his displeased noise. Xiao turned to glare at the person invading his personal space. He was met with vibrant red hair, blue eyes and pale as milk skin, dusted with freckles. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you!” he exclaimed, looking off to the side, his ears turning a shade of pink.
Xiao stood quietly for a moment before brusquely replying, “It’s fine.” His heart was beating so fast. It wasn’t Childe. That couldn’t be Childe.
“Ajax!” someone yelled, “We lost you!” A young man with light blue hair jogged up, “Xingling, Tao and Xingqui found a-“ He gaped a little when his eyes caught on Xiao. The red head, Ajax, blinked a little looking between the two. “W-we’re really sorry to bother you!” the boy yelled, grabbing Ajax’s arm and hauling ass to get away from Xiao.
Xiao quickly pulled his mask over his face again and ran. He ran far from the harbor and to the pharmacy. Why did the name Ajax sound familiar. He looked like Childe. Did Childe have a brother named Ajax? Was that a descendant of his family?
He pushed into the pharmacy and pulled down the mask again. The person at the desk looked up with a little frown and creased brows. “More?” she asked. She now owned the pharmacy, inherited many times from Baizhu, a great, great odd granddaughter. “Look, I get that you can pay for it, but this… you take way too much of this shit.”
“It’s a prescription Ying,” he sighed, sick of the conversation already.
“It’s shady as hell Xiao,” she grumbled, “I have never prescribed this to anyone but you and I only did it because of Grandpa. This shit is scary strong and you take it like a drug-abuser.”
“Ying,” he groaned, “I have and extremely rare chronic condition that has plagued my family for years. All my siblings are dead because of it. One of these days, I will be too, so give me the damn medicine, because it’s only thing that makes it better.”
“Fine,” she bit out, angry. It wasn’t the first time he had recited that at her. She turned her back and dug through the box of paper bags. “And it doesn’t make it better. It just makes you forget,” she scowled.
“Can you add a sleep aid and some glaze lily pain tea?” he asked, leaning against the counter.
“Seriously?” she hissed over her shoulder.
“I’m dying,” he said dryly.
“All these sleep aids are just going to kill you sooner,” she mumbled.
“So?” he shrugged his shoulders and reached over to pet the snake sleeping in a nest of blankets.
“I hate you. I hate that you’re my best customer.”
“You just hate that you can’t save me,” he said, knowing that Baizhu had felt the exact same way.
“I hate that I can’t save you, and that I actual give a fuck about you.” Her fist slammed against the counter, “I hate that I’m probably going to be the one to figure out that you’re dead. That I’ll make a house call and you’ll be dead.”
“That won’t happen,” Xiao murmured, trying to sound reassuring. “I… have contingency plans. When I get bad, there’s a hospice place on the border of Liyue in Sumeru.” Technically a lie, but the Chasm was his hospice care. “I have already been in contact with them.”
“So you’ll die in a different country? All alone?” she sounded horrified.
“Ying, I’m already all alone,” he mumbled, “My whole family is dead. I can’t talk with anyone but you and the Grannies.”
She crossed her arms as she approached the counter again. “I know it’s not entirely your fault, but you could be less scary.” He tilted his head to the side. “You really are clueless. You’re like a straight up urban legend Xiao. I hear teenagers telling stories about how scary you are, they think you’re a gang leader.”
“Ah,” Xiao said blandly, “That explains… that.” Ying waved her hand at him to elaborate. “A young man bumped into me, a foreigner, today. His Liyuen friend apologized profusely before running like they were being chased by a horde of Lawachurls.”
“A horde of what?”
“Nevermind. They were scared of me,” he sighed. “Whatever I guess.”
“You aren’t actually in a gang right?”
“Ying,” he groaned, “No, I just don’t like people picking on the Grannies and shop owners. I’m just… I don’t know, a vigilante?”
“I’m not sure, that’s any better?” she pushed a paper bag across the counter, “Please don’t OD Xiao.”
“Promise I won’t,” he sighed, exhausted by the conversation. He took the bag and paid with the sleek black and gold credit card issued to premier account holders at the Northland Bank.
“See ya moneybags,” she called as he left.
Xiao walked slowly back to his apartment, taking the stairs a few at a time until he was safely tucked away. He took off the mask and toed off his shoes. On his way to the bathroom he turned the kettle on for the pain killer tea. His whole body ached and he felt like there was acid crawling up his throat. He stripped quickly and turned on the shower. Leaning over the white sink, he retched, blood spilling from his mouth and staining the surface. He repeated it a few times until the shower was warm enough. The mirror showed his gaunt reflection. His skin pale as bone, cheeks sunken in a little, joints sharp other than the muscle he managed to maintain. His eyes looked duller than before, more clouded, surround by dark, angry bags. Appearance did not really matter to him, he never believed he was attractive, which was fine, he was a weapon after all. His hair was the only thing he a sliver of pride in. He had grown it out, enough that he could emulate hairstyles of the people he cared most about.
A quick shower later, he found himself on his balcony with all his medicine on the table in front of him. A quick web search showed him that was a firework display tonight and he might be able to see it from his apartment. The first firework exploded in the sky as he poured out the bitter herbal mix into the right amount and shot it back. The next one exploded into the shape of a Qingxin as he took the sleep pills and then he sat back and sipped the Glaze Lily tea as he watched the rest of the show, feeling the void of sleep tug at him. Ying was right, this was strong