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You woke up in an unfamiliar room. Judging by the bright sun shining through the windows it was well past daybreak. You tried to get up, still confused, but something prevented you from doing so. When you tried to focus past the fog still clouding your mind, it dawned on you that you were kept in place by a pair of warm, strong arms. You tried to move again, but almost immediately stopped when you realized that you were sore all over. It was then that you realized one more thing. You had no clothes on. And neither had the man behind you; you concluded when you felt something firm pressed against your bum. That shook you wide awake, whole body stiffing up. Your mind was fuzzy at best but you tried really hard to recall what you could from the last night events. One particular memory surfaced in your mind:
The air was hot. You could hardly focus on anything other than the man above you. From time to time, you saw his golden eyes flicker in the dark, but mostly his face was buried in your neck. You tried your best to stifle your moans but the way his hips moved against yours made it nearly impossible to stay quiet.
"Ah... I love you...Ngh... Please... stay by my side...Mnhhh... forever. " you heard him say between his groans.
You could only answer him with broken moans as he drove you over the edge once again.
You wanted the earth to swallow you whole from embarrassment, as the events of last night came back to you one by one. Your face was progressively turning scarlet when all that came to your mind was Xiao's golden eyes burning with lust, and his quiet grunts echoing in your ears. The way his skin felt against yours, the feeling of him inside you. You were sure that you probably were as red as a beet right now, judging from how hot your face has gotten. As you plucked up the courage to look behind you, you were greeted with the sight of Xiao’s sleeping face. He seemed so peaceful, his features relaxed, despite how tightly his arms were wrapped around you. Though he was an over a two thousand years old Adeptus, sleeping like this, his face had an almost boyish charm to it. Most of the time, he wore a frown or had a cold, distant expression, so you never realized how soft his features were. It felt almost surreal that he was the same man that held so much desire in his eyes as he made you come again and again, till your voice turned hoarse. While you were admiring his face, it suddenly scrunched up a bit. Then, slowly, his golden eyes fluttered open.
“Must you squirm so much first thing in the morning?” he murmured softly his voice still a little raspy from sleep, as he brought you closer.
You squeaked despite yourself, as you felt his length press slightly harder against your behind.
“Why act so bashful now? You were so forward the night before...”
It was not the trace of irritation in his voice that was the worst. It was that he actually meant what he said. Any other man would most likely be teasing you at the moment. But Xiao was actually confused as to why you acted the way you did now.
"Is it not normal to be embarrassed after the first time?” you mumbled under your breath, face still fiery red.
“How would I know if I’ve never lain with a woman before?” he said as if stating the obvious.
That one sentence caused all of your thoughts to come to an abrupt halt. Bewildered, you turned around to look at him properly.
“You’re lying.”
”And why do you think so?” his brows furrowed slightly
“There’s no way you have no previous experience. Not with how you...” you trailed off, too embarrassed to finish that sentence.
“My instincts kicked in, that’s all there is to it.” Xiao shrugged lightly. “You are quite responsive, so reading your reactions made it easier for me to navigate.”
Your face turned even more red (if that was even possible by then). Why did he have to make it sound as if he was describing some combat technique? You cleared your throat trying to push the feeling of abashment to the back of your mind.
“You lived for so long and you’ve never been curious? Not one bit?" As embarrassed as you were, your curiosity won over.
“I never really gave it much thought.” his gaze seemed distant as he recalled events from the past “All I ever knew was bloodshed. I’m bound by karma; thus, I’ve never thought I would be able to hold someone like this”
You took a while to process his words and suddenly the realization dawned on you, making you feel so small next to him. You wanted to take back your words so badly. It should’ve occurred to you sooner. He always puts the safety of Liyue over his own well-being. He protects from the shadows in the only way he knows. Battle. And in the past, from what you understood... He didn’t have much of a choice, forced to devour dreams and kill. Tears prickled in your eyes. Why did this gentle soul have to endure so much suffering in his life?
“I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have-” you were silenced before you could finish with a chaste kiss on your lips.
“There you go again, crying for my sake...” he whispered softly, your faces so close your noses were touching “Those times are no more. Crying over what is long gone is futile.”
“B-but...” you sniffled trying hard to hold back your tears, but one managed to slip away.
“Yakshas have no need of sympathy or tears.” he said, as he gently wiped that one stray tear with the pad of his thumb. “I know that you care about me, but I don’t like seeing you cry.”
“Says the one with the word ‘guilt’ written on his face in capital letters” you poked his ribs with your finger.
He chuckled airily as he saw you cheer up a bit and brought you closer. You buried your face in his chest inhaling deeply his grassy, fresh and slightly bitter smell that reminded you of Qingxin flowers.
“Still, I don’t want to make you recall painful memories.”
“I’m not upset, so you shouldn’t really worry about it.”
“It’s not only that...”
“Hm?” you couldn’t see his face but from his tone, you could imagine him quirking his brow.
“Back in the day, you were forced to devour dreams, weren’t you?” you started hesitantly. “I was just thinking... if I made you feel uncomfortable last night.”
“You didn’t.” he answered simply.
“You sure?” you asked, your concern hasn’t eased one bit.
He gathered his thoughts, one of his hands circling your waist while the other was playing with your hair.
“I’ve never devoured a dream from a willing donor before.” his brows furrowed “It tastes... different. It’s much softer. It’s somehow sweet but there’s some another flavour underneath which I can’t quite pin down...”
Then he smiled fondly “And it was warm. All the others I had before were cold as snow, but yours... It reminded me of basking in the sun a bit.”
“What do you mean by somehow sweet? Isn’t Almond Tofu sweet? Yesterday you said that the taste of Almond Tofu reminds you of dreams.” you asked, a little bit confused by his statement.
“Not necessarily.” seeing you were still confused he continued “When saying “taste” I don’t precisely mean flavour. It’s quite hard to explain...”
You cocked your head to the side slightly, waiting for him to elaborate.
“I couldn’t care less about the flavour of human foods. It’s the same with Almond Tofu. What reminds me of dreams isn’t its sweet taste, but the soft texture.”
“How can blood have a soft texture?”
“I’ve told you before, haven’t I? Blood acts as a medium. Devouring dreams is not the same as mortals consuming their food. Dreams don’t have physical form, but when I devour them I experience this... sensation... almost as if I really had them in my mouth. Most of the time they’re flavourless, I only feel this softness. The less pleasant ones tend to lack this softness, some are even bitter occasionally, but never have I tasted a dream with that sweetness which yours had”
He chuckled softly seeing your puzzled expression which almost instantly turned into a pout at his reaction.
“It’s not something easy to comprehend for a mortal” Xiao stated as he brushed some stray hair from your face “I think Zhongli could explain it better. His knowledge concerning mortals is far better than mine, so he could probably come up with examples for you to visualize it...”
Now you were even more lost. Why would Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's consultant know of such things as dream devouring? Sure, he was surprisingly knowledgeable in the history of Liyue for someone with such young appearance, but what Xiao just described seemed slightly out of his field. Xiao spoke of him with such respect too...
“I think I get the general idea...” As curious as you were, you decided not to pry, as asking about another man in a situation like this seemed hardly appropriate to you (even if it was Xiao who mentioned him first).
“If that’s the case, I’m glad.” he answered with a soft smile.
He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against yours, his hand coming to the back of your neck drawing imaginable patterns on the surface of your skin with the tips of his fingers. A shiver ran down your spine, as you gave in to his gentle touches, nothing but the sound of your and Xiao’s breathing breaking the silence of the room. After a while, he opened his eyes again with a slight glint of an emotion which you couldn’t quite place within. His hand that was previously caressing your neck, stroked your cheek gently. Then, you saw something shift in his gaze as he moved to hover above you, caging your head between his forearms. He studied your face, before putting his lips to yours. The kiss was rather languid at first, but after a moment he started gently stroking your lower lip with his tongue, demanding entrance, which you offered him gladly. He immediately went to intertwine his tongue with yours and it was all it took for you to dissolve into putty in his arms. When you broke apart gasping for air, you couldn’t help a shiver that ran down your spine as his hand caressed your thigh.
"So sensitive already... Seems last night wasn't enough for you?" He said with a slight grin tugging in the corner of his lips.
Oh no.
“X-Xiao, wait-”
“I won’t.” he didn’t even let you finish, before he claimed your lips once again.
He got a firm grip on your thighs before prying your legs apart and positioning himself between them, his lips never leaving yours. You were pushing at his chest with your hands seemingly trying to get him off of you, but with how half-hearted your attempts were, he just ignored them altogether. Once he got himself comfortable, his mouth went lower nipping gently at the curve of your jaw, along your pulse and down to your shoulder where he found the mark left by his fang the night before. He gave you a quick glance with his burning golden eyes before he started intently kissing and licking at the mark. The wound was long closed, so you didn’t feel any pain but his actions caused a tingling sensation down in your lower abdomen. You tried to close your thighs on instinct but with Xiao slotted between them, all you could do was to squeeze his waist with them. He paid you no mind as your legs tightened around him, still mouthing at your neck. His hands that were still caressing your thighs went higher, along your hips, tickling your waist slightly and one of them started gently palming your breast. At the same time, kissing and licking turned into sucking, red marks appearing anywhere his lips touched; your neck, your collarbone and finally your other breast. He started from delicately licking your nipple before taking it into his mouth and gently biting, kneading the other breast all the while. You no longer had it in you to resist him so your hands fell onto the bed where they both fisted the sheets tightly. Xiao left a couple more of those red marks on your breast and once he was done with your chest, he sat up, his palm gently skimming across the skin of your abdomen, his gaze never leaving your face as his touch went lower and lower. Before long, his fingertips were pressing against your entrance. You were already a panting mess from his earlier ministrations. If it weren’t for his eyes, how they burned whenever he looked at you, and his slightly tousled hair, you would go as far as to assume he wasn’t affected at all. In the time you got to know him, you noticed that he only said what was necessary in his view, otherwise, he opted to just stay silent. Last night was the same, he barely said anything aside from uttered whispers of your name under his breath, but this morning he wanted to try something different. Instead of hovering over you quietly like a predator, he brought the hand that was rested on your hip next to your head and leaned in very close, his breath tickling your ear before he started gently nibbling on it. You let out a gasp as two of his fingers slowly slid inside of you. His motions seemed to have purpose, like he was searching for something. Suddenly, he brushed a spot that made you to arch your back.
“Ah, you like it here, don’t you?” Xiao murmured softly right into your ear. “And what about here? Does it feel good?”
You whimpered as his thumb pressed against that sensitive bundle of nerves, unable to actually answer his questions. But it seemed he didn’t expect an answer, because as soon as you let out that sound, he started moving his thumb in tight circles timing it perfectly with the movement of his fingers inside of you.
“Such sweet voice... You make these sounds only for me, I should think?” his whisper caressed your ear before he traced the edge of the earlobe with his tongue.
Again, his ministrations prevented you from giving him any coherent response. He gave your ear one last nip, before he rose up slightly to get a better look at your face as he pleasured you. You tried to hold his heated gaze but as the time went on, it became increasingly difficult to keep your eyes focused. A thought flashed in the back of your mind, remembering your earlier conversation;
He said he never did it before, so how-
But that thought disappeared as soon as it surfaced when Xiao touched that spot again, this time increasing the pressure of his thumb on your clit. He kept the same rhythm, a few slow gentle strokes parred with his thumb circling your nub, followed by a harder more intent rub. You tried to hold back your moans, but each time the cycle repeated, your efforts failed. Before long, you felt that familiar pressure building up inside of you. As if on instinct your hands went up his arms to his shoulders where you dug your nails into his skin, probably drawing blood, but Xiao didn’t seem to mind it at all. Your breathing quickened, you started squirming, your hold on his shoulders tightened and suddenly you felt that pressure release, as if a dam broke. Your back arched, drawing in a sharp breath as the pleasure overwhelmed you. The movement of his fingers inside you didn’t cease, instead he slowed down a bit with each spasm of your walls, easing you down your high, stopping only when the last aftershocks have passed. Your hands fell from his shoulders, flopping uselessly onto the bed. Xiao took out his fingers, as you just lay underneath him, desperately trying to catch your breath. He observed you for a moment before gently pulling your thighs a bit further apart. He leaned in, placing a soothing kiss to your temple.
“Can you keep going?” you barely heard his whisper past the rushed beating of your own heart.
You took a deep breath and nodded. After receiving your approval, he gave you one last glance before he started grinding his length against your entrance, coating himself in your release. Even though he was gentle, each time he passed your clit caused you to involuntarily twitch and gasp due to how sensitive you still were. Xiao made a few more glides across your core, before he lined himself up and began to slowly slide in. You winced a little; even now the stretch still caused a bit of a sting. You tried your best not to squirm too much as he sank into you inch by inch. Xiao, observant as always, seeing your discomfort paused his movements for a moment and took your hand to lace his fingers with yours, giving your palm a gentle squeeze. Once he was finally fully inside you, hips flush against yours, he stilled with a sharp inhale.
“How are you feeling?” Xiao asked, voice filled with concern.
“It still hurts, but not as much. I think I’ll be okay in a moment” you answered, trying your best to sound reassuring.
“I’m going to be alright, so you can start moving now” you added with a soft smile.
Xiao returned your smile and gave your palm another gentle squeeze, as he began to slowly pull out, till just the head was left inside, then slide back inside in equally slow pace. He started out gently, mindful of your still fragile state. First few strokes hurt a little bit, like you thought, but it wasn’t anything unbearable. Xiao continued with his gentle, slow thrusts and soon enough pain started to give way to pleasure. A quiet moan made its way past your slightly parted lips and you felt your body slowly relax. Xiao seemed to be waiting for it, as right after he felt you slump against the sheets his pace gradually increased. Hands that were holding yours, moved down to grip your hips tilting them slightly upwards; allowing his thrusts to reach deeper, urging you to gasp. He now seemed much more familiar with your body It might explain why there appeared to be less desperation in his movements than the night prior. If you were to compare it to something, it would be as if fading embers were slowly coming back to life. Xiao’s eyes, so gentle not so long ago, were now heated, seemingly glowing. Then his length brushed against that sensitive spot inside of you which he earlier teased with his fingers. Xiao’s grip on your hips tightened, as you arched your back with a moan.
“X-Xiao- mnhm!” you whimper when he hit on that spot again.
“What is it?” his voice sounded a tad bit strained.
“M-more... Xiao!”
“Hmpf.”
You weren’t sure if your eyes were playing tricks on you in your partially delirious state or did Xiao’s expression really merge into an amused, almost wolfish grin. But you had no time to ponder on it as Xiao’s thrusts ceased for a short moment, so he could throw one of your legs over his shoulder.
“Keep it there.” he murmured, placing a soft kiss on the side of your knee.
You could only nod in response as his hands returned to your hips, resuming his earlier pace, only now, he reached much deeper than you thought was possible. The tip of his length was now hitting a sensitive spot deep inside you over and over, causing your moans to increase both in frequency and in volume. You tried your best to meet his trusts, rocking your hips against his, but it was difficult with the vice-like grip that Xiao had on your hips. You felt almost overwhelming need to hold onto something, gripping sheets was no longer enough. Your hands almost involuntarily went up to his shoulders, one staying there holding on for dear life and the other going to the back of his head, where it gripped a handful of his dark hair and pulled slightly. You shivered at the animalistic growl that fell out of his mouth. You tried pulling again, and a confused squeak left your mouth, as almost immediately Xiao hooked your other calf over his shoulder. His pace grew even harsher, almost brutal. Your hand that pulled on his hair was now digging into the skin on the back of his neck. You felt that pressure again, but the feeling was much stronger compared to when he pleasured you with his fingers. Xiao groaned your name, his heated voice filled with burning desire. He was close as well. His thrusts grew frantic and uneven, his grip on your hips turning bruising. One of his hands moved between your thighs and his thumb gently flicked your clit. That pushed you over the edge. You came abruptly, breath catching in your lungs, fingers digging into his nape, toes curling in the air. After a few more thrusts he pulled out with a growl and at the same time you felt his hot release cover the back of your thighs. You spent a few moments just looking into each other's eyes, waiting for the aftershocks to pass, shivering in bliss. Once you both came down from your highs, he plopped down next to you, keeping you close, as he buried his face in your neck. You brought your hand up to his head and started gently stroking his hair. After a while of you combing your fingers through his dark tresses you heard a strange sound, akin to a cat’s purring. You blinked, confused. There surely wasn’t a cat nearby, was there? But as the fog in your mind cleared a little, you realized that Xiao’s chest was vibrating in time with the sound. Was Xiao making those noises? When you tried to crane your neck to get a peek at his face, Xiao’s embrace tightened, the purring sound turning into a low growl before turning back into purring as he got himself comfortable again. You chuckled as you returned to caressing his hair. Now that you think about it, Xiao really did quite resemble a cat. Often disappearing Archons know where for days on end, only to return with new wounds and bruises. No matter how grave his injuries are, he would rather take care of himself than ask for help. Rarely accepting affections, unless he wants them, but when he does, he doesn’t let go that easily. Sweet and caring for those he holds dear, but cold and snarky for others. Who would have thought that the same man, who ran away before you even had the chance to talk to him when you first met, would lay so docilely in your arms, purring as you stroke his hair. You wouldn’t mind to stay like this the whole day, but the stickiness between your thighs started to become quite unpleasant. Having not washed the night before, too tired to even get out of the bed and now with a new layer on top, you felt a pressing urge to take a bath. You tried to get up, but your attempt was quickly defeated by Xiao’s strong arms. You tried again, with the same result. You wanted to take a look at his face, but it was still buried in your neck.
“Xiao, please let me go.” you sighed.
“No.” he grumbled, his hold getting tighter instead.
“Xiao, I have to clean myself. Let me get up.”
“No.”
“Xiao-”
“No.”
“We can take a bath together if you want.” you tried.
“...” he seemed to be thinking about it, mulling the idea over in his head. ”...fine.”
***
The two of you sat in the warmth of the bath. You with your back resting against Xiao’s muscular chest and him with his arms embracing you and head buried in the skin of your shoulder. You managed to get most of the nasty parts off and now you were just relaxing in the tub. As you were washing yourself, you noticed some bruises left on your hips and a couple more on your thighs. You weren’t sure if you wanted to look in the mirror and see what your neck must look like now. You leaned back against Xiao’s shoulder with a prolonged sigh. For a while, nothing but the subtle splashes of water and the sounds of your and Xiao’s breathing disturbed the silence of the room. You felt your aching muscles slowly relax, but there was a thought in the back of your mind, that has been nagging you for a long time now.
“Xiao?”
“Hm?” he murmured in a half-interested tone.
“I heard that humans have low immunity to Adepti energy. Is that true?”
“It is. What about it?”
“How come I’m still fine after all the time we spent together? The more I think about it, the more I feel that this whole thing was just a lie.”
“It’s not a lie.” he stated plainly.“ To be honest, it is truly impressive how well your body can withstand Adepti energy.”
“Is it now?” you tried to look him in the eye, but it was impossible with his head still rested on your shoulder.
“We can think about it some other time.” he placed a soft kiss onto your temple. “For now let’s just assume that as long as you’re not nearby when I fight, you’re going to be alright.”
He murmured something more under his breath, which you didn’t quite catch, but before you had a chance to ask him about it, he started to gently nibble at the skin of your shoulders. Hands, that were embracing you just a moment ago were now gently kneading your breasts.
“W-Wait, Xiao! We just-”
“I want more.” he said before sucking at one particularly sensitive spot on your neck, earning himself a gasp from you. “It’s not that you have any plans for today.”
Archons... This man was truly insatiable. After this morning, you knew that resisting was futile, so you just let your body slump against Xiao’s muscular frame. Seeing your compliance, he smiled gently as one of his hands went under the water and gently stroked your opening.
“Human's warmth... I think I might get used to it.” he mumbled sweetly against the skin of your neck.
Your mind could no longer produce any coherent thoughts, so you just let yourself melt into his embrace, surrendering your body to him once again.