Uu do you have anything for Xiao x Zhongli? The master servant dynamic really gets me
• For someone to have a second chance at life again, Xiao definitely looks upon Zhongli with reverence and upmost respect
• Rex Lapis, Morax, his god... in other words, Xiao is undeniably WHIPPED
• Zhongli, on the other hand, sees him as a very dedicated and loyal follower, a disciple, someone he too admires for taking on the burden of others
• With the freedom that Morax granted for Xiao, this also gave him freedom to feel and he used this to feel some sort of way towards the geo archon
• All Xiao has ever felt was despair, hatred and the burden of thousands of souls at his hand; however with Zhongli, he was able to learn a new feeling: love
• Although, I guess this could be an unknowing, unrequited love due to Zhongli’s obliviousness and Xiao’s reserved demeanor
• Thousands of years after the archon war, Xiao still keeps his sworn allegiance to Zhongli
• Whether it’s following the respected man from a distance throughout Liyue or having short meet ups in the middle of the night at Wangshu Inn
• Xiao is not the one to talk much and he’d rather sit for hours listening to Zhongli go on about the history of things and sharing what he did that day
• While he listens, he finds watching the movement of Zhongli’s mouth as he talks truly captivating
• Most times, Xiao tries to memorize every shape his lips make with each word he says and noticing the small details in his actions
• The way he smiles, how his tongue would flick slightly across his lip to keep himself hydrated
• Whereas, Zhongli would subtly steal small glances at the Yaksha whenever he would be lost in thought
• The geo archon can see emptiness in his eyes, but also strong will and power; eyes he could stare into and memorize every shade of the piercing, golden gaze
• However, there is still that unspoken division between the two, the fact that Xiao ultimately serves under him and Zhongli acting as his “mentor” or “savior”
• No matter how many times Xiao would feel the aggressive urge to cross that line of respect and beg Zhongli to take him as someone more, he refuses to lose face and accepts his role
• Thousands of years of pining
• If there will be a time for him to choose life and death again, Xiao would, with no hesitation, choose to die for Zhongli if he needed to
• Whether this was out of his eternal loyalty to him or his unconditional love, Xiao would be more than willing to lay his life down for his god
• He could only wish that maybe, hopefully, before his end, that Zhongli would recognize his feelings and return them
