Chapter Text
Aether sinks further into one of the many beanbags that litter Yoimiya’s flat, as he recounts with lazy twirls of his hands the events of last week’s camping trip: Getting lost on the drive to the base of the tianqiu hiking trail, spending half an hour circling the park until a small camper van decided to depart, the views over the valley and eventually the glimpse of nantianmen in the distance — usually, Aether would take out his phone to show her his compositional skills, but alas he had not brought it with him; he recounts that to her too.
“And when you got there?” Yoimiya asks, her excited energy bouncing her atop the yoga ball she’s decided to use as a chair. “How was the camp site? Could you see the stars, was there a firepit?”
Aether hesitates the closer they get to the part of the story that’s been twisting his guts into digestive dysfunction this whole week, now wringing his fingers. “Yeah, the site was beautiful, surrounded in Liyuen native trees and the firepit was the right size for cooking — Childe cooked us a bean soup. Which was good, but,” he adds, muttering, “apparently not as good as making out with my sister.”
Yoimiya dramatically gasps. “You didn’t have to deal with that all night, did you?”
Aether shakes his head quickly. “No, there was a lot of room in the field so Xiao and I just pitched really far away.” He swallows, that conversation playing in his ears— he jumps ahead, “Which I guess was a good thing since Childe was flexing the ring Lumine got him in the morning.”
“Oh, wow! She actually proposed?” —Aether nods— “And they probably uh, celebrated that, huh…? At least you and Xiao got some boy time together.”
“Boy time…” Aether echoes, sitting upright to lean on his knees as his hands creep to the sides of his face.
“Yeah, back in Inazuma when we’d all hang out, Itto and Thoma would go off and do weird men’s stuff while us girls would do what we’d actually planned to do. I think they would just play Invocation, and talk about their masculine interests. Not that Thoma is like, the epitome of masculinity at all, but at least Itto looked up to him enough to learn to maintain his own place.”
“Xiao and I kissed,” Aether mumbles.
Yoimiya stares at him, mouth falling open. Aether buries his face behind his fingers.
“Wow, so like… are you two dating now?” She asks, leaning in.
“I don’t know,” Aether sighs, he wants to melt into the beanbag but he can’t bring himself to un-hunch his posture. “No, I… I already like what we have. What we are. I don’t want things to… change…”
Yoimiya hums, tilting her head. “But you like him, don’t you.” She states, more than asks, gesturing to the red blooming over Aether’s cheeks knowingly.
She’s not wrong… Aether turns his cheeks further into his hands. “I’ve always liked him, he’s… he’s Xiao. He’s important to me.”
“Yeah, he is, huh?” Yoimiya’s soon on the beanbag with Aether, hand patting Aether’s knee familially. “You know you’re important to him, too; If you tell him you don’t want things to change, I’m sure he’ll respect your wishes.”
Aether can’t nod, can’t look at her, neck stiffening at the thought of lying.
“What if I want to kiss him again…?”
He feels silly just saying it aloud, feels hot and sweaty like he’d just hiked again. Yoimiya just giggles softly, and he finally stares her down; glares. “I mean~” she starts with hands raised defensively, “I think he’s the type to understand that too. Xiao’s probably the most level-headed, rational person I’ve ever met.”
The conversation lulls, Aether tries to roll his shoulders back but still taps his fingers against his knee. He tries not to think about a second kiss. Less impromptu, a sweeter taste. He fails.
“How did it happen, anyway?” Yoimiya interrupts, now also poking his knee.
Aether chews on his lip, even his chest boils as he recalls the series of events. “He told me he’d never kissed anyone before, I hadn’t either— we both saw Lumine and Childe kissing at dinner and we were talking about how it’s weird, but as we talked he said he wanted to try, and… he wouldn’t mind if it was… us…”
“Aww,” Yoimiya coos, clapping her hands together. “That sounds really cute. So, you two kissed then?”
“I mean,” Aether chuckles, awkward and endeared, “he tried to kiss me first, but it was— it wasn’t really a kiss, so then I…” he gestures with his hands on his own face, “I held him like this, and he… we…”
“Did you try that thing from the book I recommended?” Yoimiya teases, giggles as Aether nods. “Did you like it~?”
Aether nods again.
Yoimiya sighs, clearly charmed by the whole account even as Aether wants to bury himself in blankets and never emerge. “Well, maybe things don’t have to change between you. Maybe you can just be… friends that kiss, or something?”
“Maybe…” Aether murmurs, hugging his own arms, considering it. It sounds… nice. Like it’s not actually a big deal. When he can’t finish his drink, he hands it to Xiao. When Xiao is cold, he lends a jumper; when his mouth is cold, he can warm it on Xiao’s. Xiao is his best friend, his rock, anchor during trying times, if things should go sour, Xiao will always sweeten them. Surely, it is not so strange to also… kiss sometimes.
Yoimiya giggles once again, light and cheeky as if she knows exactly where his thoughts are gone — his face does very little to hide it, anyway — and throws her hand across his shoulders. “Anyway~ tell me… did anything else happen after Lumine and Childe became fiancés? And when’s the wedding, anyway?”
Aether smiles, playfully pushing her away, telling her the little Lumine had actually managed to convey through her sheer elation, ensuring Yoimiya that she will in fact be invited to the wedding, if not as a guest then as a special effects supervisor. He decides, whilst detailing the relationship of the soon-to-be-married, that he doesn’t want all that. At most, it wouldn’t be so bad to live with Xiao. Maybe they could get a cat, or something — Aether would cook every day like he already does, and Xiao would stick his head down to clean every other, the meticulous habit of his own. Maybe they’d share a drink over movies, share a bed if they have to. Maybe they’d doze off on the couch with one’s leg hooked over the other’s. Maybe they’d hold hands more often… maybe, kiss goodnight.
Is that really so much different to the friendship they already have? Should Aether have to try fit themselves into a new box when the one they’re in is room enough? Wanting to spend his every moment of downtime with the one he trusts the most, surely is nothing all that abnormal.
He stares sidelong at Yoimiya, possibly his next closest friend after Xiao, and… he doesn’t feel those things for her. He loves her, yes. He loves Xiao, also . They are both his friends, and yet.
He does want to kiss Xiao again.
At least once more.