“You said you’d continue slowly. I can not keep up.” Xiao’s eyebrow twitched with frustration he tried to hide. His fingers held the stems of the flowers earlier plucked from the same field you two now lied in, both your hair and his splayed amongst fresh grass blades. Pink flowers belonging to a cherry blossom hovered high above your bodies, and some took slow falls, gathering all around the two of you. His eyes struggled to follow your hands’ movements, and you came to a clear-as-the-light conclusion—Xiao was great at slaughtering demons, but oh. The guy was not cut out for making flower crowns. At all.

He held his creation with care you’d never expected to see from him, as if fearing he’d ruin it just by holding it too tightly. It was already a total mess, anyway—he’d accidentally ripped off a few petals, and it looked like it was about to fall apart. Xiao’s expression twisted into a frown as he looked at the curve of your lips. You were.. smiling. At him. Why? What was there to smile at?

He’d asked you to help him with a gift for.. well, Valentine’s Day. And that alone was odd. But the worst part was that the gift was for you specifically. Asking you help to make a gift for yourself, really? He must’ve seemed pathetic. He really hoped he didn’t.

The moment felt incredibly intimate to him. He just wondered if you felt the same way. Or was it casual to you? Did you bring others besides him here? Did you smile this way at your other friends, too? Xiao hoped you didn’t, for his heart clenched with an unpleasant feeling at the mere thought. Because you offered him a moment of respite. Your presence alone soothed him, it lessened his karmic debt. And he wanted to keep that pleasant sensation to himself, and himself only.

His gaze remained on the flower crown you’d made to show him how, step after step. He felt awkward—his crown was ugly, compared to yours. But he nonetheless sat up, carefully placing it on your head. “You deserved better, but..” he muttered, dissatisfied. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”