Chapter Text
It was a few hours before Aether saw movement from the corner of his eye, turning his head as Chongyun slowly sat up, rubbing at his head with a quiet groan. "Chongyun, you're awake." Aether moved back towards the bed and sat down on the edge, tilting his head slightly towards him. "I brought you here to the nearby inn since you kind of, you know, passed out on me."
"Oh." Was all that slipped from Chongyun's lips before he glanced down over himself. "I see, thank you for looking out for me, again."
Aether offered a small smile in return before he slowly fell back to lay his head over the others lap. "The room is a lot cooler than outside and I kept the curtains closed so it wouldn't warm up too much in here. I figured maybe it would be similar to one of your popsicles cooling you off..." He trailed off as Chongyun stared down at him.
"Ah... well, not as good as one of my popsicles but the cool environment helped, I'm sure." Chongyun swallowed the lump in his throat while looking down at Aether. His blue eyes scanned over the marks he previously left. He moved his hand and lightly traced his finger over one of them, earning a slight shiver from the blond. The dark marks were clearly visible on his pale skin, his scarf and hair barely covering them.
"Did anyone see?"
"Hm," Aether hummed softly in thought for a moment. "Who knows? If someone did they certainly didn't say anything, then again I doubt anyone smart enough to know what they were would actually ask out in the open and that directly for that matter."
Chongyun gave a lopsided smile. "I have to apologize for that outburst earlier... I seemed to have taken things a bit far." His fingers were gentle to brush through blond bangs. "I really should have kept myself in check and remembered I didn't have anything to calm myself down if things got a bit... you know."
Aether closed his eyes at the gentle pets, relaxing into the touch as he listened to the other speak. "... It's not like I hated it, you know." He whispered before opening his eyes to look up at him, the two making eye contact and Chongyun visibly gulped.
"You know if you say things like that, it makes me want to kiss you."
"Good."
Chongyun's eyes widened just slightly in surprise before his gaze softened yet again. "Don't blame me if something happens again." He bent down and gave Aether's forehead a gentle peck after brushing his hair out of the way. "But if I start doing something you don't like, feel free to knock some sense into me." He whispered and moved as Aether sat up, turning to face him.
"I didn't hate anything before, so I doubt I'll hate it now." Aether spoke softly as he reached to place his hand on top of Chongyun's, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I promise."
The blue haired male stared back before looking away to the side. "Then, can I ask you to do something?" He squeezed Aether's hand back gently before bringing it up to kiss lightly over his knuckles.
Aether couldn't help but smile before he nodded his head. "Of course, what is it?"
"Can you sit on my lap?" Chongyun slowly raised his gaze to stare up at Aether, his hand still close to his lips.
It definitely wasn't a question he was expecting, making him flush a little from being caught off guard. "That's... I mean- I don't mind, if that's something you really want me to do." He moved and Chongyun scooted back until he was sat up against the beds headboard. Aether moved his legs slightly and straddled over Chongyun's legs before slowly lowering himself to sit in his lap, looking up at him. "Like this?"
"Perfect..." Chongyun breathed out softly and slowly removed his own coat, tossing it off to the side before his hands traveled to Aether's waist. His fingertips grazed lightly across the pale skin, adding pressure occasionally in different places around his stomach. A soft gasp slipped from Aether's lips as his palms rubbed against his exposed skin after.
"That feels a little odd..." The blond whispered softly as his hands rested on Chongyun's shoulders.
"Do you want me to stop?" He asked and received a shake of his head in return. "If you're sure." Chongyun adjusted himself and pulled Aether closer against him by the hips before leaning to brush his nose against his neck. "Remember to tell me if you don't like something." He took off Aether's scarf and cape, his shoulder piece following after. His fingers were gentle to trace over the love bites and bruising, blue eyes half lidded.
"They suit you so well, you know..." He whispered and returned his hands to hold Aether's hips as he placed soft kisses to his neck. "I want to try something," He pulled back slightly and looked up.
"What's that- Ah!" Aether shuddered and his sentence was cut off by a gasp, a shot of sudden cold tracing down his spine along with Chongyun's finger.
"Just a little elemental reaction, I guess you could call it..." He trailed off before kissing Aether's neck again, cold fingertips dancing on warm skin as his tongue traced a previous mark. "Your reaction was nice." He whispered to the shell of his ear before teeth grazed against it, a nibble and a cold huff of air following. Aether only whined and gripped at his shoulders tighter, his cheeks becoming flushed.
Chongyun pulled back and looked at Aether, grabbing his chin between two fingers to tilt his head back. "Despite our position, my head is perfectly clear." He whispered and leaned forward until his lips were only a few centimeters away. "Or maybe doing these things to you in public was what set me off..." Aether could swear he saw a smirk trace over those lips before they kissed him.
It wasn't anything like their first kiss, or the ones they shared earlier, It felt hot, hot despite the cold tips of the others fingers still on his skin. It almost felt electrifying. He wrapped his arms around the others neck and pressed closer, deepening their kiss. They tilted their heads to meet each other, tongue momentarily brushing together before they pulled away.
"Aeth..." Chongyun whispered softly and reached to cup his cheek, a thumb brushing against the warm skin. "Is it okay to say I love you after such a short time together? I don't know why, but when I see you like this, all flustered and desperately hanging onto me, it makes me want to tell you how much I love you, how much I love seeing you like this."
"You love me..." Aether repeated quietly, his eyes half lidded and chest softly heaving up and down from their previous actions.
What is love? Was it something that was unconditional? Was it something soft, or something solid? He wondered if there was a way to describe the feeling. Sometimes it felt calming, like the sound of a running waterfall; other times it stung like skin on a hot surface. But other times, he felt nothing at moments. He wondered why a single feeling branched so far into something else.
Was love something physical? A kiss on the cheek, fingers intertwined or gentle caresses from one to another, something they shared? Maybe it was material, a bouquet of flowers, or a ring, maybe even a stone that seemed to shine brighter than any other. Was it everything, or nothing at all? Maybe even something as simple as words could be counted as a form of love in and of itself.
He wanted to know. He had to know-the fact he didn't, set his mind in a hazed confusion. Why had his mind even become so fixated on love suddenly with the others question? Why did his heart suddenly start to ache-when did it start to ache like this? Was it even love? That's why he had to know what love was, to see if these feelings were connected to something so much more in the end.
Aether had never been one to get too close to another, at least not romantically. He had plenty of friends, he was lovable and pretty much the extrovert of all his friends groups. He was easy to talk to, despite having a bit of a shy side to him, but most of the time he was confident, and always enjoyed helping others as much as he could.
But there was something about Chongyun he couldn't help but feel attached to, to feel what he would describe as liking-maybe even love. Maybe just this once, he could indulge. Aether smiled softly and leaned to place a kiss to the others forehead. "You can say it." He whispered and pulled away to look at Chongyun. It wasn't long before blue eyes seemed to widen and lighten up so much it would put galaxies to shame.
He pulled Aether close and kissed him again, but it was short and sweet. "I love you," He whispered before kissing the blond again. "I love you," And again, and again. "I love you." He spoke between each kiss and Aether couldn't help but laugh softly between each and every single one, a wide smile plastering itself across his lips.
"I love you, too, Yun." Aether kissed him back sweetly, cupping his cheeks. "From your impulses, to your sweet kisses."