Work Text:
On the roof of Wangshu Inn, there is a rustling old tree canopy, a pure moonlight, and an adepti sitting there, thinking about the distant past.
The landscape of Liyue is constantly changing, since thousands of years, how many times has he failed to remember the old stories?
Remembering the palaces that are now only relics, remembering the old friends who are now no longer in this world.
Remembering the hatred and karma piled up along the way he passed.
He remembers many things.
But he starts to forget more and more.
He forgot the feeling of anger and resentment.
He forgot purity and tenderness.
He forgot the "faces" of his friends who used to accompany him.
He forgot how to dream a good dream.
And...
He "forgot" his own name.
Forget how to call it, forget who himself is.
He was forced to forget.
Xiao is now his name, the name Rex Lapis gave him, his new identity.
Because back in the past, the demon god took this weakness and imprisoned him, forced to do many pitiful things, and became an obsession in his heart.
But sometimes, he still wondered.
That old name, how to call it?
- Are you here?
He was pulled back to reality by that familiar voice. Turning his head to look, he saw the Traveler wandering in all directions standing there, eye to eye with him.
- Ah, Xiao! - She was happy, her eyes narrowed slightly, full of laughter. - Long time no see!
He gave her a small nod in return, neither answering her nor caring that she climbed onto the roof and went to sit next to him.
- Paimon was lured by Yanxiao's food, I was a bit bored, so I came here to find someone to talk to, I didn't expect to find you here.
Listening is enough to know that finding someone to talk to is actually looking for him, because the owner of this inn never arbitrarily lets anyone step up here, to avoid harassing him.
Xiao was not good at starting a conversation, nor was he good at finding topics, Lumine knew well enough, so she didn't complain about him just looking at her and staying silent.
The only thing is...
Why is he staring at her like that?
It normally never happened?
- You are injured.
He said, after looking at her for a long time, the familiar smell of blood, even hidden behind the bandages under her gloves, could not hide him.
- Well, in the afternoon, I received a commission from the boss lady to kill some monsters.
She looked down at her hand, very casually answering him.
It must be said that, from the day the Traveler appeared, his work decreased a lot.
She had almost run all over this Liyue to kill the monsters, even though the main purpose was just to get the ingredients and the commission rewards.
He really rarely paid attention to other people, it was just, she was different.
Her appearance was like a strange new color, falling into his gloomy world.
Not the dazzling savior-like appearance of Rex Lapis, nor the gentleness of almond tofu with the taste of a good dream.
It was something that made his heart flutter.
- The wound has cracked open.
He spoke again, then quickly took her hand, took off her gloves, revealing the pure white gauze bandage on her hand, which was now soaked with blood.
He looked at the wound, then looked up at her again, his gaze made her hesitate to turn her head away.
Why would she turn away?
She doesn't know, it's just that his eyes... they looked like when her twin brother scolded her for not knowing how to take care of herself.
He sighed, lifted her hand, and removed the bloody bandage.
She also did not complain about him being so casual, just took another bandage from her pocket and gave it to him. He took it and skillfully bandaged her, and she enjoyed his attention, the corner of her peach lips could not help but draw a faint curve.
Two people just like that, one person bandaged, one person looked at the other, as if they had been friends for a long time, it seemed to be a relationship of something deeper.
Having changed, Lumine studied her hand, the gauze wrapped so meticulously that she was amused, but he still hadn't let go of her hand.
Although he didn't use force, just simply gently grabbed her hand, afraid of touching the wound, but somehow she couldn't pull it out.
- This is not funny, you should be more careful. - He reminded.
- Come on, it's not too bad, it'll be fine in a few days. Moreover, it is rare to be bandaged by the Adepti Xiao, so that's interesting.
- Lumine!
He growled, his hand gently squeezed, causing her face to immediately contort in pain, but then immediately released it, even though the hand still did not let go of the small hand.
- Yes, yes, sir! - She sighed, looking at him a little confused. - Just now... Xiao called my name?
At this moment, he was startled.
Unconsciously, he accidentally called her name.
The name that he subconsciously mumbled countless times.
Suddenly, his face turned red.
Lumine looked at him in surprise. This Adepti... not because it’s embarrassing to say my name by mistake, right?
What does it mean?
Unexpectedly, her face also turned red.
- Again.
- Huh?
Lumine was a little embarrassed, looking at him expectantly while her cheeks were red.
- Call my name... again, please!
Xiao was so confused, the red started spreading to his ears and nape. His lips moved, finally responding to hers.
How couldn’t he when she looked at him with those eyes.
- Lumine...
- Uhm!
She giggled, seemingly having a good time. Her voice was like a feather gliding over his heart, making him sob. Unconsciously, he suddenly wanted to hear, hear the sound from those beautiful lips...
- Then... You call my name too.
Since she was so happy, Lumine immediately responded.
- Xiao.
He shook his head.
- It’s called...
She was stunned.
Lumine knew a lot about him, mostly from the stories told by Zhongli, the rest from him.
She knew about his past, including his mistakes and obstacles. But there was one thing in the story that was never mentioned.
Does he know what this means?
Of course he knows, knows better than you!
So... what does he mean?
Lumine was flustered, embarrassed to the point of blushing. But looking at his eyes, she really couldn't resist. Finally, she still opened her mouth, her cheeks flushed, her eyes both embarrassed but also expectant to look at him.
The sound was gentle, like echoing in the middle of a peaceful night, making his heart tremble with each beat.
Under the moonlight, the bloodthirsty Yaksha, always full of killing intent, seemed to have never existed, only an Adepti smiled tenderly at the girl in front of him, enjoying the warm feeling and the vibrations in her chest. When he heard her calling his name.
She called him:
- Alatus.