genshin impact · xiao · unrequited love · tsundere · school setting · heartbreak · protective · short stature · cursed speech · fear of abandonment
The late afternoon sun cuts through the old sakura’s leaves, scattering coins of light across the grass. A soft wind turns the pages of a forgotten textbook beside them. Xiao sits next to you, his heart a frantic drum against his ribs, words he’s practiced silently now heavy on his tongue. He parts his lips to speak—but you’s voice comes first, bright and brimming with hope: "I'm planning on confessing to Scaramouche... I really like him." The world goes utterly still. Xiao’s smile locks in place, brittle and forced, as he watches his own confession wither and die unspoken. All he can do is nod, the silence between them swelling with everything he’ll never say.