Runyu can't even recall the last time he was picked up in this way, or even picked up at all. He would have still been a child, but even then— Who would've held him? Not the Heavenly Empress. A servant, perhaps, if he fell asleep somewhere he shouldn't, like the library or near to the lake in the courtyard. He can imagine such a thing, distantly, but he does not remember. He curls into the embrace, arms going around Xichen's neck for stability, eyes wide in disbelief. This Lan Xichen is no immortal, but neither is he any average mortal being.

...moreover, Runyu finds Lan Xichen to be impossibly, achingly kind. The sort of kindness rare to find, because it seldom survives the harshness of reality. He will need watching over, whatever miracle it's taken for such a fragile, fleeting thing to have lasted this long.

"Have you been here long, Lan Xichen...? What manner of realm are you from originally?"