#reader x genshin impact
Pairing: Xiao x Reader
Warnings: Uhhhhhh non-sexual nudity, bathing,, cold water ig rip ur nips but tis all sfw yalls dw dw
A/N: HI YALLLLLL im bACK its been a while huh?? how r u guys i hope yallre doing well!! if not im sorry n i hope things get better for u <3 anyways enjoy xiao washing u <3 sfw ofc
Genshin Impact Masterlist
Recommended Music:Mt. Aocang OST
How you had convinced Cloud Retainer to let you use her abode for your own getaway was beyond you. Maybe it was the fact that you brought food for her and kept her company religiously. You never went looking for her, she always came to you. You supposed you didn’t mind; her stories of Ganyu and Shenhe were always entertaining although you’d never breathe a word about it to them.
And she seemed to enjoy your food offerings. Usually it was jewelry soup or matsutake meat rolls, but every once in a while you brought an Inazuman or Mondstadt dish. Cloud Retainer never complained, but she never complimented these dishes like she did the Liyue ones. This was fine by you, you weren’t looking for her praise or favor, but you needed to switch it up sometimes.
Today, you had buttered crab and tricolor dango in protective wooden containers in your bag, along with a thermos of tea. The bag was slung over your shoulder and bounced along your side as you made your way up the mountain. Yes, there were teleport waypoints, but you preferred the exercise of climbing, and you could admire the scenery on the way up. In no time at all, you found yourself at the wooden bridge that led to the pools.
When you were across the wooden planks, you made your way to the stone table in the center of the pool and unpacked the food, setting it up nicely so that Cloud Retainer could eat it easily. Then, you poured the tea the way she liked it, with a little bit of honey and a little bit of lemon. You poured your cup first, so that hers would stay hot for longer, even if by a little bit.
“Good morning, Cloud Retainer,” you said quietly, sitting down on one of the stone chairs. You heard a delicate fluttering of wings and looked up from folding your hands in your lap to Cloud Retainer’s elegant blue and white wings settling on her body as she stepped closer to the table.
“Good morning, Zero,” she said. “You would agree with one that today is a rather fine day, would you not?”
You nodded, sipping on your tea. “There are few clouds in the sky, and it is a warm day. Surely this is a good omen?”
Cloud Retainer considered. Perhaps this was another reason the both of you got along so well: you spoke rather similarly. Or maybe you had just picked up on Cloud Retainer’s way of speaking as a way to stick around. Either way, you were grateful.
“Perhaps,” she stated eventually, “but this could mean no rain for farmers.”
You hadn’t thought of this, and told her so. Cloud Retainer looked at you with a thoughtful eye, but said nothing. Instead she turned to the food you had laid out and ate most of it, leaving a tricolor dango and a buttered crab leg for you. She then sipped her tea, staring out at the sky with you.
“Unfortunately, one must attend to one’s own personal matters today instead of keeping you company. One apologizes.”
You turned to her and set your cup down. “No worries, Cloud Retainer. I feel a quiet day is needed every once in a while.”
She nodded to you, and said a few more pleasantries before finishing her tea quietly and disappearing, off to do whatever needed ‘attending’.
You sat by the stone table for a few more minutes, finishing your food and tea before deciding that a quiet day at the top of a mountain was exactly what you needed that day. Yes, you loved the hustle and bustle of Liyue Harbor, but Mt. Aocang held a certain stillness that you craved.
You inhaled deeply, reveling in the scent of clear, fresh water and lush plant life around you. You suddenly felt too dirty from the trek up to be standing in a place like this, in an adepti’s abode, and got an idea. You looked around. No one but you was there, so why shouldn’t you take a bath? It wasn’t every day that you got an opportunity like this one, so you had to take advantage of it.
You quickly stripped off all of your clothes, leaving them in a neatly folded pile on one of the stone chairs before edging towards the water’s edge.
Although the air was warm and sunshine was quickly heating your back, the water was freezing when you stuck one foot in. You bit back a yelp and curled your toes in the warm sand, trying to figure out how to get in the water without chickening out. You looked at the stones that formed a path to the island you were standing on and winced at the idea.
The water was, thankfully, warmer on the stones since it was much shallower, and your feet quickly grew accustomed to the temperature as you hopped along, soaking up as much warm sunlight as you could. You figured there was no better way to get used to the cold, so that was what you did.
When you reached a stepping stone that seemed like it was in a deep enough area, you took a deep, bracing breath, and leapt in.
The cold was jarring. So much so, that you shrieked underwater and almost inhaled a lungful of water before you kicked yourself to the surface and coughed it up, gasping for air. You sputtered and flailed, paddling towards the stone you had just jumped off to haul your shivering body out of the water.
Archons, that was cold.
You shivered and hugged yourself, trying to regain any heat you could before dunking your body again and again. After a few minutes of gasping and dragging yourself in and out, you could stand the water’s icy temperatures. Your fingers and toes felt a little numb, but that was okay. A little numbness never hurt anybody. You shivered and sighed, floating on your back around the pool without a care in the world.
The cold water cleared your mind of all thoughts and worries, and you dunked your head under the water over and over again, doing your best to keep yourself moving. It all felt so… refreshing. To be free to swim and be naked under the sky without judgment…
This is what you imagined living in the city of freedom might feel like.
You shook yourself and swam to the shore, intent on sitting in the sun to dry off. Your toes wiggled in the slimy sand and… slimy?
You looked down to see milky white bubbles foaming at the water’s surface, and bent down to get a closer look. The water, although fresh, smelled a little cleaner and more vibrant here than in the middle. You scooped up a handful of the sand and swirled it around in your fingers, fascinated. It seemed almost soapy with the way it dissolved at your touch and water. Something clicked in your mind.
Sandsoap! You’d heard of it before, but had never seen it or used it. It was heavy and gritty, and foamed the more you rubbed your hands together. You laughed out loud, elated. You could have a proper bath!
You scooped up another handful and treaded out until the water was at your waist, then dunked your head and lathered the sand all over your hair, scrubbing until your hands were sore and tired. Then, you rinsed out your hair and shook it underwater. The nice thing about sandsoap was that it was natural, and wouldn’t sully the ecosystem in the pond.
You returned to shore to grab another handful, flexing your fingers and toes to try and stimulate your blood and regain feeling in them when you felt a presence in front of you, and looked up to see someone’s black boots shifting in the sand. Your gaze trailed higher to see a certain yaksha’s dangerous gaze on yours.
“Why are you here?” He asked, crossing his arms.
You shrugged, standing up to your full height. It felt a little weird to be naked in front of someone who absolutely wasn’t, but you weren’t ashamed of your body. “I’m here because I want to be. And I am naked, in case you weren’t aware.”
Xiao merely stared at you. You had known each other for a while, and you occasionally worked together taking care of monsters around Liyue. You visited him at Wangshu Inn, and he made the very, very rare trip into Liyue Harbor for you. You liked to consider him a friend, but now the prolonged eye contact felt a smidge awkward after a while.
“I hold no mortal prejudices on nudity,” was all he said, his eyes never straying from yours.
You nodded. “Neither do I. Why are youhere?”
Xiao made a small noise, debating on whether or not he should – could– tell you. Finally, he decided on, “Cloud retainer said she needed me.”
You blinked, tilting your head to the side. “Cloud Retainer told me she had ‘personal matters’ to attend to…”
You both stood still, waiting for the other to say or do something.
Eventually, you broke the silence. “She’s not here, I’m sorry.”
Xiao nodded, his sleeve fluttering as he turned to go. “I’ll go then. Apologies for interrupting.”
“Ah, w-wait-,” your mouth moved before you could process what you were saying, the water and sand swirling around your legs as you stumbled closer to shore. “You can stay, I don’t mind. If you have nothing better to do, you can wait for Cloud Retainer here.”
Xiao made a noise of protest. “And what do you propose I do while I wait?”
You thought for a moment, staring down into the clear water as your feet (almost nervously, which was not something you would’ve expected from yourself) churned up the sand. “You could take a bath with me.”
Xiao hesitated. His golden eyes flickered in consideration, and you opened your mouth to speak again, a little softer this time. “I remember you saying I could call your name if I ever needed help. I would appreciate your help now, if you’re willing to give it.”
“I suppose I could use a bath as well.”
You smiled, turning around to let him undress in peace. You heard the sound of clothes hitting the sand, then the rippling swish of water being disturbed. “While you’re by the shore, can you grab some of the sand? It’s soapy.”
Xiao automatically went to pick up a handful, the cold water pricking at his skin. The gritty sand was rough and grating on the softer skin of his palms, but it felt nice. “Where would you like me to start?”
You turned to look at him over your shoulder, staring at his hands. You had never seen them bare before, and now you noticed how delicately boned they were. His fingers were long and spindly, fragile-looking for a yaksha, but you quickly changed your mind when you felt him start to massage the sand onto your shoulders in small circles. He wasn’t rough by any means, but he definitely was digging his thumbs into the knots around your spine, making you groan and nearly jerk out of reach and arch back into his touch with each pass of his fingers.
You let out a particularly sharp gasp when he got to your neck, and he paused.
“Keep going,” you rasped, the looseness in your shoulders causing your brain to go fuzzy and weightless. “P-please.”
Xiao merely huffed an affirmative before he continued, washing you and forcing all of the muscles in your back to relax at the same time. You felt loose and… so incredibly at ease around him. You knew that if the need arose, Xiao wouldn’t hesitate to protect you, but it felt more personal — more intimate than just a sense of duty. Like he cared about you.
You didn’t think he would have agreed to join you if he didn’t like you.
Those first few minutes felt like an eternity, one you could have gladly stayed in, but then Xiao was bringing your arm up to scrub at that, then the next, and soon he was done with you and washing his own hair brutally. You turned around and winced, seeing him tug on the bluish strands without a care in the world. Cautiously, you reached your own hand out.
“Xiao,” you said clearly, having already cleared your throat a while ago to help regain your bearings. “Let me.”
He glanced up, still poised to roughly scrub at his head, golden eyes wide in surprise. You both stood still, waiting for the other to move.
“I can wash my own hair,” was all Xiao said.
You stifled a small scoff, not wanting to offend the Adeptus. “Yes, but you’re also pulling your hair out. You washed my back, let me wash yours.”
When Xiao was still quiet, you went on.
“Besides, that’s how…” you trailed off, unsure of what to call your strange relationship with him. You were definitely past just friends, but you didn’t know what label to give yourselves. You decided on something the both of you had for each other – respect. “That’s how respect works.”
Finally he relented, turning so that his back faced you. Although he still seemed stiff and tense, he soon relaxed under your gentle touch. His shoulders slowly became loose, and he leaned into your touch. You could have sworn that if he could, Xiao would be purring.
His hair’s so soft, you thought, marveling at the way the sandsoap dissolved between your fingers and turned into a rich, creamy lather in his hair. And it was always so fluffy too, settling just above his ears so that they appeared pointed, like elf ears.
As you massaged the base of his scalp, you scooped up another handful of the sand and started working on his shoulders and upper back. Soon you moved onto his arms, then the rest of his back, which would’ve been hard for him to reach. You were loath to stop touching him, to stop feeling the wiry muscle and cording in his back flex and move under your fingers.
But eventually, you had to stop.
You rinsed your hands in the cold, clear water, letting the foam fall to the sandy bottom. “I’m going to rinse your hair now, okay?”
Xiao merely hummed, tilting his head back. You cupped your hands and brought them over Xiao’s head, letting the water run and wash the soap from his hair. After you did this several times, his hair was sopping wet and hung limply around his face, but it was clean.
“Done,” you murmured, helping him stand straight once more. “I’m going to dry off on one of those rocks on the shore. Would you like to join me?”
Again, Xiao merely hummed, but he followed you to the center of the lake where you left your clothes on the stone table and chairs. Water trickled down your body and pooled at your feet, causing you to shiver and shake water droplets everywhere. You looked down and saw your fingers, pruned from sitting in the water all that time and stinging in the sunlight. They felt numb, and you made a few fists before grabbing your clothes and heading towards the shore. You looked back and noticed Xiao didn’t seem to have this problem. The cold must not have bothered him because he hadn’t been in for as long as you had.
When you reached the shore, you walked around for a bit, searching for the perfect spot to sunbathe and dry off. You eventually found a nice, flat rock near the edge of the mountain, and made a pillow out of your clothes to rest your head on. Xiao disappeared momentarily to gather his clothes and do the same thing, laying next to you in the early afternoon sun. It was quiet and peaceful, with the waves lapping gently at the sand behind you.
You were just closing your eyes when Xiao spoke. “Perhaps it was for the best to join you today.”
You smiled and hummed in agreement, not turning to look at him. “I’m glad you think so, too.”
~*~
Cloud Retainer watched from her abode, pleased with the decisions she had made today.
