Warning: Slight spice and fluff overload!

All Lilith could do was run.

She crashed through the brush, her breath coming out in gasps. He was about to catch up with her, and that would be the end. She jumped over a fallen log and quickly took shelter, forcing her breath to calm down.

It's okay, as long as I keep reeeeeeally still and I can't see him, he can't see me, she reassured herself.

Until a hand gripped her shoulder and pulled her to the side. She clenched her eyes shut, expecting the worst when-

Bonk.

"Eep!" Lilith yelped, rubbing her forehead with a pout.

"Got you," Xiao rasped tiredly, his hand lowering from karate-chopping Lilith's head.

"I told you that I'm sorry..." Lilith mumbled, visibly wilting.

"I bear no memory of you uttering such a word," Xiao said, crossing his arms with a disgruntled look.

~An hour earlier~

"He~re kitty kitty kitty!" Lilith called out, walking out into Wangshu Inn's uppermost balcony with two plates of almond tofu.

"...I thought I told you to stop calling me that," Xiao grumbled as he teleported behind Lilith, resting his chin on her shoulder as he wrapped his arms lightly around her waist.

"It's cute! Besides, I don't sense any real discomfort when I call you that. If I didn't know any better I'd think that you-"

Xiao grasped Lilith's chin and tilted it towards him, silencing her. He gazed into her eyes for so long that she began to flush red from both embarrassment and anticipation. He smirked at her red face then let go, to her great disappointment.

"You're such a tease!" Lilith pouted.

"Only to you," Xiao chuckled, his usually hardened, withdrawn eyes soft and loving as he gazed upon the light of his night.

"Bullies get no treats from me," Lilith huffed, turning away.

"Ah-" Xiao panicked slightly before looking away, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm... sorry," he mumbled.

"Hmm..." Lilith eyed him contemplatively, then grinned mischievously. Xiao tensed, expecting a round of teasing, but Lilith simply handed him a plate. "Fine," she said.

Xiao, a bit wary at this unusual display of restraint, accepted the plate. They both settled down on the floor, their legs dangling out between the bars of the balcony railing. They dug into the soft dessert sitting on their laps, and Lilith practically melted in bliss. Then, the mischievous glint in her eyes returned, unseen by her poor victim.

"Yoink!" Lilith said, stealing a bite from Xiao's plate. He merely sighed, used to Lilith's spontaneous behavior.

"You have your own plate," he grumbled, shifting his plate away from Lilith.

"Oops," Lilith giggled with a s**t-eating grin, clearly not sorry for her actions. She then dug out a bite from her almond tofu. "Here; a trade!" she said cheerfully, holding the spoon to Xiao's mouth.

He stared cross-eyed at the spoon, then looked away with a huff. "I am not a child. Have more respect for the adepti."

"I adopted your 'Prime of Adepti', Zhongli, as my little brother. I'm pretty sure I have all the right to toy with the adepti. Especially my adeptus~" Lilith teased, poking Xiao's lips with her spoon.

Xiao half-heartedly swatted at her, making sure not to actually hit her, desperately fighting back a small smile. No matter how much he grumbled, he secretly loved it when Lilith went out of her way to pamper him. After so many years of bloodshed, no matter how much he believed he deserved solitude, he couldn't help but crave the touch and affection of the person who held his heart so close to her own. Her very presence was like his painkillers; relieving, addictive... and completely wasted on him.

"C'mon Xiao, say 'Aah'!" Lilith insisted, poking his cheek with her other hand.

He gave her a disgruntled side eye but nevertheless opened his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut so he couldn't see the teasing face of his beloved.

"Good boy," Lilith cooed, the praise making Xiao twitch and flush a deep scarlet. He wasn't used to such words... and yet they seared a warm path through his cold, battle-hardened mind.

That same mind short-circuited when he felt Lilith's soft lips press against his own. He was acutely aware of her swiftly pushing a piece of almond tofu into his mouth, her warm tongue brushing against his own for a brief moment. When she pulled away her face was as red as Xiao's but her mouth was curled into a smug smirk.

"Doesn't revenge taste so sweet?" she murmured with a giggle. That giggle quickly died out as Xiao donned his adeptus mask, a dark aura emanating from him. "Ehe~ Welp, I'll just... run!" She quickly stood up and jumped from the balcony, swiftly jumping from branch to branch and railing to railing until she reached the bottom, where she began running towards Mondstadt. It had plenty of forests. With enough luck she could lose him in the confusion of greenery. Despite her situation she couldn't help but giggle. Sure, she could just teleport to somewhere really far away, but what fun would that be? It's been so long since she played with Xiao like this, and she wanted it to last as long as possible.

Which brings us to her present situation.

"Look me in the eye and tell me that you didn't like it," Lilith challenged her captor boldly.

"No comment," Xiao said simply, causing Lilith to stick her tongue out at him (Dear God writing this gave me a very spicy idea uhhh gimme da holy H2O pls). The movement drew his attention to her mouth, and he frowned. "Why is your lip bleeding?" he asked, gently running his thumb right below her lower lip.

"Oh... It must've happened when I got smacked in the face by a branch..." Lilith grumbled, then glanced down. "Aw, my arms are all scratched up. I mean, it's nothing a quick lick can't fix."

"Hm. Well, let me help you then," Xiao said and, before Lilith could comprehend his words, leaned forward and pressed his lips against her lower lip. He gently licked away the blood from her lip before pulling away slightly and kissing her again, this time on her full mouth. Lilith's face practically exploded as Xiao smirked.

"Revenge really does taste sweet."

(I totally didn't write the almond tofu scene in my notebook during math class. Totally.)