Xingqiu hummed. A lot had been on his mind: recently, his brother had upped the amount of lectures on how he should be a more proper son, and his father had started openly doubting Xingqiu's future at the dinner table while Xingqiu hid a book under the table, reading silently.

His brother was going to inherit the business, Xingqiu knew that, so why can't he be let off the hook with all the 'proper gentleman' stuff? Anyway, it was fine. As long as he had a house to live in, he was happy. He never let matters like those bother him; instead, he focused on organizing books, humming along to a made-up toon, not ignoring the thoughts, just letting them be background noise.

"Xingqiu, don't forget to stagger them sometimes," Lisa called from down the aisle.

"Sure," Xingqiu nodded, placing the books in the shelves.

Xingqiu continued in silence, wrapped up in his own mind, until another voice interrupted his peace.

"Closing soon, Qiu," Razor huffed, carrying a large box of books.

Xingqiu looked at the antique grandfather clock down the aisle past Razor, smiling.

"Thanks for reminding me!" Xingqiu began working faster, trying to finish up. "How's your reading coming along?"

"Great, Lisa and you help," Razor smiled innocently.

"Yeah, it can be hard not understanding words in high school, but hopefully your special classes will get you on track," Xingqiu responded, dusting off his hands as he finished up.

"Thanks for help," Razor said.

"No problem. It's fun, actually," Xingqiu looked over at the boy. "To have a friend, that is."

"Qiu, you have friends," Razor puts together the sentence choppily. "You talk Yanfei and Benny."

"Only on occasion," Xingqiu shrugged. "I don't mind, though. Books are my friends! For the world of literature is the only world I need to be satisfied."

"Sure," Razor squinted.

"Go make more friends, Xingqiu!" Lisa called from somewhere in the shop.

"You guys are mean," Xingqiu pouted.

Razor barked a laugh and kept on hauling the heavy box towards the back of the store. Xingqiu chuckled to himself and secretly snatched a book from the shelves on his way out.

"I saw that!" Lisa yelled.

Xingqiu made a run for it, ducking out of the store and sprinting towards his house. He made it home by 20:30-ish, out of breath, clutching the book to his chest. He had taken books from the store before, but he always returned them: Lisa knew that, she just liked to tease him.

When Xingqiu entered his house, he as met with complete silence. Humming the same toon as before, he walked into the kitchen, grabbing an apple from a large fruit bowl on their lavish, modern kitchen island. Glancing at the fridge, he noticed a single note occupying the space, hung by a tiny black magnet.

Taking a bite of his apple, he read the note: Dinner at Xinyue, 20:15. Ah, yes. His parents and brother had gone out to some fancy dinner and forgotten him, again. Xingqiu turned and left the kitchen, unaffected. Who cared, anyway? More time alone for him.

Thus, the youngest of the rich family snuggled up in a pile of blankets and pillows beside his bed, leaning against his bed frame, opening his new book with a content sigh. Smiling, he turned the first page.

—

The next day, Xingqiu walked from Teyvat high to Lisa's bookstore. He had begun volunteering there a month ago, as yet another way to escape from his house. It had other benefits, of course. Good college resumé, free books, discounts, and friends: as well as, of course, the amazing fact that he could spend hours surrounded by books.

As he was walking into the shop and the small, cute bell rang, he was surprised to see a fellow student talking to Lisa at the front counter. Recognizing him as Chongyun, he ran up to his acquaintance, smiling.

"Hey!" Xingqiu greeted.

"Ah, Xingqiu, perfect timing," Lisa sighed. "I need you to train Chongyun on how to organize the shelves and decide prices. I have an order to collect and I'm nearly late; Razor's out with friends, so he can't help."

"Oh, sure, I've got you," Xingqiu nodded.

"Great, I'll be leaving," Lisa grabbed her bag and speed-walked towards the door.

Chongyun turned to face Xingqiu, a neutral, unreadable expression painted on his face.

"I'm assuming you're here for volunteer hours?" Xingqiu asked.

"Parents forced me," Chongyun shrugged.

"Well, this is definitely the best place in the world to volunteer! You're lucky," Xingqiu grinned. "Follow me, young lad, as we enter into the land of wonders."

Ten minutes later, Xingqiu and Chongyun sat at the base of a shelf near the front windows of the quaint little shop.

"See, we can't pack the shelves too tight. They're Walmart-made, not IKEA, so they can't handle too much weight. Also, the packed effect looks awful; we want the place to look gentle, welcoming, and cozy. So allow some books to lean," Xingqiu demonstrated.

Chongyun held onto his every word, carefully copying his motions on an adjacent shelf.

"I'm back!" Razor's voice suddenly called. "Chongyun?"

"Hi Razor, I didn't know you worked here?" Chongyun tilted his head.

"Lisa is his adoptive mother, so he lives upstairs with her and sometimes helps out around the shop," Xingqiu explained.

"Oh, cool," Chongyun said.

"Volunteer like Qiu?" Razor asked.

"Yeah, starting today," Chongyun nodded.

"Welcome," Razor smiled.

His smile was contagious, and the three of them found themselves grinning. After Razor left, Xingqiu and Chongyun got back to work. Around 20:30, the two departed, heading separate ways.

—

A week passed, and Xingqiu believed he was able to call himself Chongyun's friend. Every day they worked at the store together: organizing, counting, customer service, managing stock (sometimes), and handling prices and labels on the shelves.

The two grew close enough to start hanging out at school. A few more weeks passed, and Chongyun was basically fully accepted into the book store family.

"Alright boys, let's not mess around too much," Lisa smiled as Razor, Xingqiu, and Chongyun played around with the books.

"Pick a random number," Xingqiu said in response.

"Hm- 23?" Lisa played along.

"And another number," Chongyun added.

"39," Lisa replied.

The boys and Lisa watched as Xingqiu dragged his finger over the 23rd page of a random fantasy story, counting the words on the page. He stopped at the 39th word, and then read it out loud.

"Work," Xingqiu smiled. "That means your soulmate is out there somewhere, working a ton!"

"I got fall," Razor added. "Means my soulmate like autumn. Or fall lots..."

"Do me," Chongyun insisted.

For the sake of it, Lisa sighed, smiling, and left. She hadn't seen Razor enjoying himself so much as he did around her two volunteers, and their bond was adorable: she didn't mind if they joked around for a bit.

"154 and 1," Chongyun said, the question not needed to be asked.

"That," Xingqiu read. "It's not really anything descriptive, really."

"Then do the second word," Chongyun insisted.

"Night," Xingqiu read. "...maybe your soulmate is a night owl? Or hates the sunlight?"

"Huh," Chongyun leaned over gazing at the word.

Xingqiu felt a blush spread over his cheeks as Chongyun neared him, leaning over his shoulder to peer at the page, his breath tickling his neck.

"I'll do yours, then," Chongyun sat back in his original position.

They spent hours, the three of them, giggling and making up silly prophecies and stories out of random words from books: telling takes based on page numbers and deciphering the future through chapter names.

Eventually, Lisa joined them, and the four laughed out loud at ridiculous stories made up based on words selected with eyes closed, pointing out how the main character should act, and laughing at the result.

Xingqiu finally felt like he truly had a family to belong to.

—

A few days later, a Monday after a boring weekend, Lisa assigned a special assignment for Xingqiu and Chongyun.

"I usually send Razor out on his way home from Bennett's house, but today he had to stay extra late to play Dungeons and Dragons, so I'll have you do it," Lisa explained. "You can use my and Razor's bikes and ride down to the harbor. You'll see a ship, it's usually a giant orange-sailed one with green patches. Talk to the captain; she'll probably be on the dock talking to some of her sailors. Ask for Lisa's books.

"They'll spend a while finding them in all the shipping crates, but eventually they'll give you a box. Open it and empty it into these backpacks. Bike back here with them. It'll be heavy and uphill, but I think my strong boys can do it, yeah?" Lisa smiled, handing both of them large leather backpacks.

Xingqiu stood up tall, lifting his hand to a rigid salute. Chongyun quickly copied his actions. Lisa laughed, ruffled their hair, and then sent them on their way.

After grabbing the bikes from behind the store, the boys joked as they traveled down the sidewalks. They waved at random strangers, laughed at dogs, and jumped curbs to show off to some random skateboarders until they reached the docks.

Xingqiu took a deep breath: The sea breeze blew through his hair, making him feel like he was flying down the hill.

After finding the captain and waiting, the goods were brought over to them, and both boys loaded their backpacks with tons of random books. Waving to the sailor who helped them open the crate, both took off, continuing to talk about nothing and everything.

"I think this one's from Natlan," Chongyun commented, holding a book as he pushed his bike up the hill.

"What's it about?" Xingqiu asked.

"A silly blue-haired boy stubbornly attempting to bike up a hill with 50 pounds of books on his back, sweating like crazy," Chongyun pretended to flip through the pages. "Oh, look here! Says he... collapses from exhaustion and dies in the end, leaving all his family fortunes to his best friend, who valiantly carried his body, two bikes, and two backpacks of books home. What a strong hero!"

Xingqiu started laughing, but was interrupted by his heavy breathing. He was indeed trying to bike up the hill, heading slower than a slug, breathing very heavily.

"Just... two more... pedals..." Xingqiu heaved.

Chongyun laughed, reaching the top of the hill and hopping back on his bike.

"I MADE IT!" Xingqiu gasped heavily, finally reaching the top of the sidewalk.

Chongyun started clapping, then turned away and biked ahead.

"W-wait!" Xingqiu shouted, barely able to breathe.

Lisa watched as Chongyun and Xingqiu laughed on their way back into the shop. She smiled: when Chongyun firsted joined, he had been a rather quiet, solitary boy. Now, he openly enjoyed his time with his first friend. She admired how far he'd come.

—

Xingqiu, as mentioned before, had complicated family issues, which led him to picking up extra volunteer hours initially, and recently adding weekend hours to his time. He had surpassed the necessary volunteer hours recommended to get into a good college, but he kept working nonetheless.

He really just wanted to be around his true family: Razor, Lisa, and Chongyun: the people who actually liked him for him and didn't expect greatness from the book nerd.

Despite this, for some reason, he failed to realize that maybe he wasn't the only person suffering from family issues.

Chongyun pushed into the store on a lazy Saturday. Usually, the two high school volunteers only worked after school on weekdays, but because Xingqiu signed up for the weekends, he was able to witness as Chongyun leaned against a bookshelf.

"Are you okay?" Xingqiu stood up and walked towards the other.

"X-Xingqiu?" Chongyun quickly stood up fully. "Why are you here?"

"I'm volunteering, just to finish my hours quicker, on the weekends now," he lied.

"Oh," Chongyun looked at his feet.

"What's wrong?" Xingqiu moved closer.

"Nothing," Chongyun frantically shook his head. "I'll just leave-"

"Chongyun?" Lisa asked, coming out from behind the counter. "Why are you here?"

Chongyun looked nervous standing alone in front of two concerned friends. They both looked expectantly at their icy-haired friend, but he seemed to be at a loss for words.

"I just wanted to talk," Chongyun finally admitted.

"Go ahead, we'll help in any way, darling," Lisa comforted.

"It's, um," Chongyun was starting to tear up. "I'm just stressed. Sorry. I don't usually get so emotional and I don't even know why I'm crying it makes no sense there's just a lot-"

Chongyun was interrupted by both Xingqiu and Lisa wrapping him in a hug. Chongyun lets go of his restraint and starts full-on crying into both of their shoulders. They stayed like that for a while until Chongyun finally calmed down. He backed away, and Lisa looked at him, waiting for him to explain.

"My parents want me to attend a good college," he began. "They enrolled me in a schedule with the max amount of AP courses possible, put me in hockey, and I only convinced them out of forcing me into debate and student council because I needed volunteer hours."

Xingqiu looked sympathetically at his friend, understanding where some of that was coming from.

"This place has been my escape, but now everything is really catching up to me. My grades aren't perfect; I'm starting to regularly be on the bench in hockey because I'm so tired from working and studying," Chongyun looked into Xingqiu's eyes, almost pleadingly. "There's too much to do and if I'm not perfect, they'll make me leave school and study in their line of work- I'd rather go to college.

"But they won't let me go to a mediocre college. I have to go to some Ivy league one, which I won't be accepted into without straight As. But I have no time to study, no time for friends, no time for hockey practice. It's a negative feedback loop, but they don't understand that," Chongyun finished. "I guess I just really wanted to tell someone, if not to at least get that off my chest."

"I know how help," Razor's gruff voice interrupted.

He had come down from upstairs at the sound of crying, and quickly ran over.

"Xingqiu's in math. He help me with math and reading, he really good," Razor smiled innocently. "He help you study too!"

"I could do that," Xingqiu nodded.

Chongyun's eyes shone, and he jumped into a hug with Xingqiu, who smiled and wrapped his arms around him.

"That would be amazing," Chongyun mumbled. "I'm so glad I have people willing to help and care for me."

Xingqiu understood that all too well.

—

From then on, Chongyun and Xingqiu studied together diligently. Xingqiu usually spent hours in his room reading, writing, and studying after volunteering, but apparently Chongyun went straight from volunteer hours to hockey practice and only got home around midnight. He never had such a luxury.

Thus, Lisa offered them a deal: she'd allow them an hour every day during volunteer hours to study, so long as they weren't goofing off and proved to her that they were both improving in their subjects. If they did that, then Lisa would report said hour like any other volunteer hour; full of diligent, hard work that supported the community.

At school, the boys continued their studying. Bennett, Razor, Xiangling: any of their school friends saw less and less of the boys as they escaped during lunch hours and free periods to the quiet sanctuary of the library.

They studied chemistry, trigonometry, economics, ancient Teyvat runes, Inazuma, consumer sciences, and Xingqiu even helped with Chongyun's hockey. It was nearly constant: but it wasn't a painful workload. It was almost fun to spend time with each other.

Xingqiu had his notebook out as he sat in the bleachers. His eyes were strained on Chongyun as he leaped from the bench and rushed out onto the rink, joining the rest of his Cryo team in a battle against the famous Anemo team.

Xingqiu knew there was no hope for success against the brutal Anemo team thanks to their captain, Xiao, and their new member, Kazuha the Bloodthirsty. Still, he took notes avidly, making sure to note every mistake.

Comparing Chongyun's moves with those of Kazuha, he learned specifics on what advice to give Chongyun. If he helped Chongyun's hockey, that means Chongyun would have to spend less time practicing, which meant that they'd have more time to up his economics grade.

"You were amazing," Xingqiu patted Chongyun's shoulder after the event.

"You didn't have to come," Chongyun blushed.

"Buuuut now I know what you need help with," Xingqiu grabbed his notebook. "Ahem. First and foremost, you look tired as hell, get more sleep."

Chongyun snorted a laugh, looking ahead into the crisp night air. The two boys were walking alone to Lisa's. The hockey game had been just after school, so they both needed to complete their hours for the day.

"Second, you frequently run into your teammates, as if you can't see anywhere except for forward," Xingqiu pointed out.

"Well, thank the helmets for that. Peripheral vision is useless with those blocking everything," Chongyun explained.

Xingqiu grinned, slowly moving behind Chongyun. Curious, Chongyun tried to turn and look at what his friend was doing. Xingqiu suddenly surprised him by putting the helmet on Chongyun's head.

"Alright. Can you see me?" Xingqiu asked, standing directly behind Chongyun.

"Even without the helmet, I wouldn't be able to," Chongyun laughed.

"See me now?" Xingqiu moved closer and to the right of Chongyun.

Xingqiu knew that Chongyun couldn't see him, but he also predicted that the other could feel him. He was purposeful in the way he let his hair tickle against Chongyun's exposed neck.

Xingqiu honestly didn't know why he did that: maybe because he felt something, then, being so close to his friend. Maybe he liked the way Chongyun instantly shut up, his neck hair rising and his skin turning red with a blush.

"I'll take the silence as a no," Xingqiu laughed, writing something in his notebook, pretending nothing happened.

The two talked the rest of the way, but Chongyun was distracted. Xingqiu guessed that may have been his doing.

A feeling bubbled deep in his chest. Not similar to the familiar ache of worry, but something tingly, like the steepest moment of a roller coaster. Xingqiu nearly laughed. He knew enough from books about what that feeling truly meant. It was funny, almost, how he had fallen for his best friend, and was so aware of it. Wasn't it supposed to catch him by surprise?

The boys reached Lisa's and spent an hour working before beginning their regular study session. The feeling in Xingqiu's chest never lessened. He became suddenly aware of how Chongyun reacted to him. Maybe hours and hours studying with and observing his friend led him to this habit.

Xingqiu couldn't help but tease his friend a little. He was too cute to not mess with. They'd be studying the chemical structure of something or other, and suddenly Xingqiu would find himself resting his chin on Chongyun's shoulder, looking down at the sheet of paper before them, sitting on the bookstore floor.

This behavior continued for weeks. They'd been working together for months now, and Chongyun's grades soared nearly higher than Xingqiu's.

"Good luck tonight," Chongyun said to Xingqiu as the bell rang.

"Oh, thanks," Xingqiu smiled.

"I'll be there," Chongyun said, blushing a bit.

"You don't have to be. My fencing tournaments are rather boring," Xingqiu shrugged.

"No, I want to go. At least to repay you for coming to every one of my hockey games this year," Chongyun mentioned. "Besides, I'm sure you'll blow me away with your sword skills. I've wanted to see them for a while now."

"Aw, how considerate," Xingqiu laughed. "Really, though. Thank you. I don't think any of my friends have ever shown up to my fencing events."

Chongyun nodded and left rather quickly, but Xingqiu only shrugged, and went to his locker.

That night, after volunteer hours, Xingqiu caught Chongyun's eye as he walked out onto the fencing grounds. He felt his heart do a familiar flip of excitement. He couldn't help but smile.

Chongyun was holding a large, white sign. On it was painted 'Stab those losers, Xingqiu!'. Xingqiu didn't know if it was okay to promote violence so openly like that, but honestly, he didn't care. He blushed, knowing that someone cared for him so much was hard to wrap his head around.

Maybe there's hope for Chongyun to like him back? If he'd go out of his way to show up to some useless sporting event, spend hours a day around him, and additionally voluntarily hang out with Xingqiu during school... does that mean Chongyun cared for him enough to maybe develop feelings?

Xingqiu had accepted his own feelings months ago, but he didn't necessarily know if they were mutual. It hadn't bothered him much until now. He hadn't even thought about a relationship, only acknowledged the crush.

Nevertheless, Xingqiu hopped out onto that field and wrecked the other guy, shamelessly blowing a kiss at Chongyun, who looked startled that Xingqiu had even seen him, despite the sign.

Afterwards, they walked to Lisa's.

"Thanks for showing up," Xingqiu smiled sweetly.

"No problem," Chongyun looked away. "It's nice having a friend to show up for."

"It's nice having someone who cares enough to even consider my existence," Xingqiu snorted. "Hey, want to get some ice cream?"

Chongyun sent a judging glance at the grass lining the sidewalk, which was dusted with snow.

"Will any shops be open in winter?" Chongyun asked.

"I usually just bribe candy stores to sell me their left overs from autumn," Xingqiu shrugged.

Bravely wrapping an arm over Chongyun's shoulders, Xingqiu turned him towards the local desserts shop, run by the famous sweet-tooth Paimon.

"What can I get for you two?" Lumine called as the boys entered.

"Two month old ice cream," Xingqiu said shamelessly.

"Stop asking for that shit, we're out," Aether called from the back.

"Exactly," Lumine crossed her arms. "Order something not moldy."

"Ice cream doesn't mold," Xingqiu scoffed.

"Uh, say that to the moldy ice cream," Lumine glared. "I will ban you from our establishment, tiny book worm."

"That's right, geek, we'll toss you to the curb!" Paimon barked from beside Lumine.

"Ouch, the pure malice," Xingqiu clutched his heart. "And right in front of innocent Chongyun!"

"Don't drag me into this," Chongyun looked amused.

"Oh, I know," Xingqiu suddenly grabbed Chongyun's hand. "Look as us, a couple of gays. Oh, wait a minute. You aren't giving us ice cream? Doesn't that mean you're... homophobic?!"

Chongyun no longer looked amused.

"Since when did you get the balls to get a boyfriend, twig?" Lumine doubted.

"GASP! LUMINE!" Paimon gasped. "We swore against homophobes! You have to serve them now."

"Get bamboozled," Aether laughed from the kitchen.

"You're in the kitchen, no talking," Lumine ordered. "Also that's a fake word."

Meanwhile, Chongyun was severely blushing, trying to avoid staring at his hand in Xingqiu's. Xingqiu seemed to be relatively casual, but he knew deep down how embarrassed he was. The butterflies in his stomach were suddenly throwing a rave party.

"Fine, fine," Lumine gave in. "What ice cream do you want?"

"Rocky road and moose tracks, one cone. Chongyun, what do you want?" Xingqiu asked.

"Vanilla," Chongyun choked out.

Lumine disappeared into the kitchen for a moment, then she brought out a cone with three scoops perilously stacked on top. They weren't actually two months old: Lumine, Aether, Paimon, and Dainsleif kept a regular stash of food for themselves. Xingqiu knew how to bargain for their personal stash.

"Because you're dating, here's one cone, because I still doubt your guts," Lumine grinned devilishly. "That'll be twenty dollars."

"Twenty?" Xingqiu gasped. "You know what? Fine. For my Chongyun."

"For your Chongyun," Lumine nodded, handing the ice cream over, accepting the money.

Chongyun was frozen. What? One cone? Why? Was this woman pure evil?

"Don't look so shocked, it's not even my money," Xingqiu explained as they walked out of the store. "I got it from my brother."

Chongyun wasn't eating the ice cream, and it was starting to melt, despite the cold air.

The rest of the walk was actually quite silent. Chongyun was blushing most of the time, but Xingqiu was gracious with the ice cream: the vanilla was on top, so he let Chongyun eat his scoop before taking it from him.

"I'm trying really hard not to laugh," Xingqiu suddenly said. "Were you okay back there? You looked like a ghost."

"Sorry, the boyfriend thing caught me off guard," Chongyun explained.

"Ah, well, there's always some way to get ice cream in this world. Desperate times, right?" Xingqiu joked. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"Oh," Chongyun looked at his shoes.

"Oh?" Xingqiu asked. "Did you want me to mean something by it?"

Chongyun blushed heavily.

Xingqiu smiled to himself, glancing ahead at the sidewalk. Lisa's bookstore was coming into view around the corner, and Xingqiu only just remembered that ice cream wasn't allowed near the books. Quickly, he scarfed the whole thing.

By the time they arrived, Xingqiu had a serious stomach ache. But that didn't matter to him, because Chongyun's concerned face nearly cured him: the way he asked Lisa if he could walk Xingqiu to his house made him blush.

The whole entire situation only made him fall harder.

—

The boys were inseparable. At school, they hung out for every reason: studying, mostly, but soon for enjoyment. They were true close friends.

They spent a lot of time in the store, sitting on the floor, smelling random books and telling tales they made up. A lot of laughing was always heard from outside the door to the shop. Sometimes, Razor would join, and even Lisa. The family was closer than ever.

Xingqiu began noticing new patterns in Chongyun. The boy spent more time watching Xingqiu, and whenever Xingqiu joked around and got the other to blush, Chongyun seemed less nervous. Almost like maybe he was enjoying it.

Lisa certainly noticed their comfortableness with each other. She sent them on many missions down to the harbor, and sometimes gave them extra study time alone, keeping Razor occupied elsewhere.

Soon, the two of them basically held hands everywhere they went. They comfortably leaned on each other's shoulders, and seemed to be unashamed of any open affectionate displays.

The whole school thought they were dating; even Razor approached them one day, asking them how they got together for curiosity's sake.

"We aren't together, Razor," Xingqiu explained from his position near the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf.

"Benny and Fischl said you were," Razor insisted.

"Well, we aren't," Xingqiu shrugged.

"Hey, Xingqiu, Razor," Chongyun greeted as he entered. "Guess what I just did?"

"What?" Razor questioned.

"Aced my economics test, and then won my hockey game after!" Chongyun seemed very happy.

Xingqiu grinned as Chongyun rushed over, the test in his hand. He stood close to Xingqiu, holding up the paper. In the bottom left corner, below all of the filled in bubbles of the scantron test, was a clear 97%. Xingqiu hugged Chongyun.

"Thanks for all the help. You know this was my hardest class, I used to have a C," Chongyun said. "You really saved me."

"Aw, no problem. I'd do it again," Xingqiu said into Chongyun's shoulder.

"Anyone home?" a new voice interrupted.

"Customer, customer!" Razor quickly informed them, running to the counter.

Chongyun and Xingqiu broke apart and ran up to the mystery person, bowing politely.

"What can we help you w-" Xingqiu stopped. "Mrs. Beidou?"

"Hi kids," Beidou grinned. "I didn't know you three worked here?"

"Volunteer," Chongyun corrected.

"Huh, well, I'm here to find a book on Inazuman cuisine?" Beidou said.

The two began expertly touring her around the store, showing her the cooking section, trying to entice her into random other novels like the true businessmen they were. Beidou walked out with five books.

Afterwards, the three boys spent their hours organizing. Chongyun and Xingqiu often took breaks to stare at each other. Not awkwardly, really. It was just a common occurrence, where they'd catch each other's eyes.

"Alright boys, it's 21:20," Lisa called. "You already stayed an hour and a half late."

"Sorry," Xingqiu said.

Xingqiu grabbed Chongyun's hand and helped him up. The two waved goodbye to Lisa and left the store. Strangely, Xingqiu didn't part ways with the other.

"Can I walk you home?" Xingqiu asked.

"Oh- sure," Chongyun blushed a bit, lacing his hands together.

"Hey, I heard this funny thing the other day," Xingqiu mentioned.

"Hm?" Chongyun asked, letting his hands fall to his sides.

"There's this new student named Mika who is transferring from a private Mondstadt school. Apparently, he's enrolled in the archery club, the book club, and that one weird spear club," Xingqiu explained.

"Oh no, he's going to replace me," Chongyun joked.

"Exactly my thinking," Xingqiu laughed. "You see, he's got tons of classes and clubs, now he's going to be stressed, and need my help. You'll be long forgotten."

Chongyun laughed with Xingqiu, but soon after, he looked at his shoes, like he used to do all the time when he was embarrassed around the other. This time, however, it looked more sad.

"I am joking, you know," Xingqiu made to brush his fingers against Chongyun's.

Chongyun blushed and brushed his fingers back along Xingqiu's.

"I know," Chongyun looked up at Xingqiu. "I just can't help but think back to when I had no friends."

Xingqiu fully grabbed onto Chongyun's hand, and he felt the bubbling in his chest again. They held hands the whole rest of the walk, which continued in silence.

As Chongyun's house became visible in the distance, down the cracked sidewalk, Chongyun began to slow down. Xingqiu followed suit, and they walked at that pace for a minute before his house was right before them.

Chongyun paused, like he didn't want to leave Xingqiu's company. The two seemed to understand that, and they faced each other, still holding hands.

"You're pretty," Xingqiu suddenly interrupted.

Chongyun's breath visibly hitched. The sunset light was blocked by the buildings on the other side of the road, but nevertheless some kind of glimmer reflected in Chongyun's eyes, and his hair looked ethereal in the shadows. At least to Xingqiu, anyway.

"That was random," Chongyun chuckled quietly.

"Just stating facts," Xingqiu responded.

Suddenly, the darker-haired leaned close to Chongyun's cheek and gave him a tiny, sweet kiss, just as the sun fully set and it became night. Chongyun's entire face flared red.

"See you tomorrow," Xingqiu said innocently.

"Let's go get some ice cream again some time," Chongyun called before Xingqiu could walk off.

"Same way as last time?" Xingqiu grinned.

"Sure," Chongyun blushed with a smile.

Xingqiu turned and left, leaving Chongyun to think his own thoughts. Xingqiu's heart's rave was at its climax; butterflies dancing and blasting energetic love songs like there was no tomorrow. Xingqiu looked up at a street light, then twisted his head to look back at Chongyun's house.

The crisp night air hung lightly in the sky, and the whole ordeal made Xingqiu think back to all the bonding he's had with Chongyun. How Chongyun considered him as part of his true family.

He liked that; Chongyun being his family. Smiling, Xingqiu continued to walk into the peaceful city night.