Chapter Text
The morning-after greeted Keqing with the most splitting headache. Sun leaked in through the windows above her and onto her closed eyelids, which would normally be a welcomed sensation had it not awoken the hangover with it. The young woman who was previously blissfully asleep begins to regrettably crawl back into consciousness.
Light too bright.
Throat dry.
Head hurt.
She drank too much.
Everything comes into focus slowly but simultaneously, and Keqing wakes up much to her own dismay.
What had happened last night? Keqing tries to comb through her mind but it’s too much of a feat for her pounding head. The bedsheets are uncomfortably warm, and like a cat she stretches out beyond her reaches. The rest of the bed feels cool, so with great strength she rolls over to bury her face in the adjacent pillow. It’s soothing to the touch, but even then it’s shallow comfort to the pounding in her head.
With a shift of her body under the covers, the Yuheng feels the cool, bare sensation of the untouched bed against her legs. Her stocking had been removed. She hadn’t thought of it a moment before, but it was then she noticed that her hair as well had come undone. If Keqing were to pass out with her hair in pigtails it wouldn’t have been the first time, but on those rare occasions she never looked forward to wrestling with her mop of hair the next morning. She had been taken care of the night before.
With a lazy loll of her head she looks to the rest of the room, and sees her stockings neatly folded on a desk in the corner, her gloves tossed onto the floor. Beside her is a glass of water, and upon seeing it she summons all of her strength to seize it from the nightstand.
The events of the previous night come back slowly as she drinks. Her, Ganyu and Lady Ningguang arrived at the teapot with gifts, Lady Ningguang introduced Keqing to some of her Mondstadt acquaintances, and the man with the eyepatch made her a drink. That’s when it becomes a bit hazy.
Captain Beidou challenged the small green fellow to a drinking contest which Keqing joined in eagerly, and little green gentleman was giving a hard time to the child bartender (Mondstadt didn’t seem the place to allow child labor, but Keqing supposed that she knows very little of their customs). Xingqiu coaxed everyone to the hot spring, where Keqing begrudgingly remembers she almost lost her balance on her way in. The little Mondstadt girl with the pigtails began exploding fireworks in the sky, almost combusting the poor young man with the goggles - Keqing would let out a giggle at the memory if she didn’t feel so dreadful.
And throughout all of her hazy memories she remembers Aether, who was running around making sure everything went smoothly - though that much was to be expected from the savior of Teyvat.
Oh Archons, Aether .
It comes back to her in a rush, her falling asleep on the steps, him carrying her to bed, him untying her hair, her backing him into his wardrobe, him rejecting her - Oh my fucking Gods, I am such an idiot.
Flashes came back to her, Aether’s smug eyes as he carried her up the stairs, the look on his face between her hands as she tried to kiss him, the feeling of his breath against her neck when he pulled her into his arms.
Keqing sets the glass down, and the sound of the glass knocking against the wood breaks the silence. She could never face the Traveller again. How unprofessional of the Qixing’s Yuheng to act in the presence of their hero, whether he be a friend or not. Keqing sinks woefully back into the bed as she recalls every moment of her drunken clinginess in anguish until the abyss of sleep and alcohol took hold and she could remember no more. The last she remembered she was standing over by the dresser, so how did she end up here?
And speaking of her night, where was Aether? She was fully and totally alone in the room, no one else in the bed or sleeping on the floor. Keqing figures to herself that compared to some of the others’ sleeping arrangements, this was luxurious.
She lays still in the tangle of bedsheets and pillows, taking in the moment. She hears the faint echoes of someone speaking down in the entrance hall. It feels early, but in this realm she’s lost her concept of time. Is everyone else already awake? She sinks further into the bed - perhaps if she pretended to be asleep no one would force her to get up any earlier than necessary.
As she settles again the door clicks. The click is followed by a slow, long, creak and a few faint footsteps padding gently along the wood floor. Without thinking Keqing finds herself holding her breath.
Was it Aether? Or even worse, was it Ningguang, telling her it was time to rise from bed to embark on the way home?
A second click follows the creak of the door. Keqing lays completely still.
“Now you’re hiding from me?” It’s Aether. “I’m incredibly hurt.”
Keqing hesitates before hesitantly pulling the covers down to peer at him from under them, and he stands at the foot of the bed with a glass of water in hand. His golden hair and eyes really do seem to shine in the light. She studies him for a moment.
“You’re not wearing your scarf.”
Aether looks down at himself for a moment before walking past the foot of the bed to the night stand. He sets the glass of water down next to hers, where hers is almost empty just from a few swift gulps. The boy takes a seat on the bed beside her, the soft mattress sinking under his weight. “I didn’t sleep outside, so I didn’t need it.”
She studies him shamelessly. His gloves are gone, the shawl thrown over his shoulders is gone, and the guard over his left shoulder is gone. Obviously he didn’t sleep in these things, but the thought hadn’t occurred to her before. She rarely saw him in unprofessional settings.
“Where did you sleep?”
“Paimon’s room.” he says with a light smile. “She has a cat bed.” Keqing’s expression immediately softens apologetically, and before she even speaks Aether laughs at the tone shift. “Don’t apologize. You seemed like you didn’t want company last night.”
She looks away bashfully, embarrassed that she was so easy to read.
His eyes look at her expectantly, and she rakes her mind for something to say. She wants to say something about last night. An apology, a question, anything. Just at the thought of last night, with Aether right in front of her, she can feel her face burning. How does one bring it up? Hey, sorry I tried to kiss you multiple times last night, I hope this doesn’t affect our status as acquaintances ? The thought of it sounded ridiculous, but what else is she to say?
She buries her face in the sheets, rolling away from Aether and earning a giggle from him in return.
“Thinking about last night?”
“Shut up.”
Truthfully, him teasing her is much better than him avoiding her completely. She was grateful for his company.
“Is anyone awake?” She doesn’t move to meet his gaze, still tangled warmly in his sheets.
“Some people, but most everyone is still asleep.” There’s a slight hesitation that Keqing can sense before she feels a hand in her hair, his ungloved hand gentle amongst her messy mop. “How is your head feeling?” he says, his voice gentle. It’s the same kind of gentleness that he’d used to reject her last night, and the sound of it makes her heart pound.
Keqing rolls over slowly, timidly looking back into his eyes. Gods how he made her weak.
“Not the best.”
He smiles pitifully at the answer. It was true, she was quite hungover, and it was seemingly obvious, but the feeling of his hand running gently through her hair made it feel a bit better. Aether shifts closer, his hand still running gentle through her hair.
The two rest like that for a long, savoring moment. Her laying in the covers, him sitting beside her.
“...I’m sorry about last night.” she finally admits, her eyes wandering to look anywhere else in the room but over at him. His hand pauses for a moment before continuing, slower. “I-I, uh, was drunk. Thank you for not… um…” she looks back up to him and he nods knowingly. “Yeah.” She feels she has to say more but she can’t find the words, a kind of foreign feeling for her. “I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable, a-and I hope my actions don’t reflect poorly on the Liyue Qix-”
“Keqing.” He cuts her off, and honestly she’s a little bit grateful. She didn’t really know where she was going with that. He looks down at her for a moment as she looks impatiently up at him, and he releases his hand from her hair as he shifts, laying back onto the bed. Keqing watches him carefully as he drops down to her level, and the two lay side by side. She had tugged the blankets when she stretched earlier and so he lay at their shore beside them as they siit in a heap around her. His eyes are comforting. “Your actions don’t reflect on anything, you were drunk. And you don’t need to thank me, I wasn’t going to… kiss you.” his eyes shift away for just a second as he speaks, almost as if embarrassed. “You were drunk.” he repeats.
The words are comforting but she still doesn’t feel at ease. The thought that she had made him uncomfortable still doesn’t sit right with her.
“But… I put you, um, i-in that situation, a-and… I-”
“Is what you said last night true, or were you just trying to get me to kiss you?”
She’s a little surprised at him cutting her off. “...Uh, do you mean, ah-”
“I wanted to kiss you earlier. I... I-I’ve wanted to kiss you for a while.” She remembers her hands boldly lifting to rest on his chest. “There’s just never been a good time.
I’ve always wanted to know if the Hero of Teyvat is a good kisser.”
She did say that, didn’t she?
And of course it was true. She was never incredibly good at being vulnerable, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie either. The thought alone made her face burn. Aether’s face is patient as she mulls it over, trying to think of a response, but all she can do is nod.
Yes, I have thought about kissing you. Honestly though, hadn’t everyone? Keqing bashfully recalls the party, in which upon her arrival she saw so many people - so many women - she had never met before. They were Aether’s friends from Mondstadt, and all of them were so beautiful. She remembered most of their names but some of them were a blur. Noelle, who was kind and adorned roses in her hair. Amber was outgoing and talked of her skills as a Knight of Favonius. Fischl, the dark horse of a young lady who truthfully Keqing had taken a liking to. The sisters whose names evaded her at the moment - the beloved idol of Mondstadt and it’s revered active Grandmaster. The older woman who incessantly called Aether her ‘cutie’. Every single one of them breathtaking, every single of them a close ally to Aether who regarded him in such a high light. He had people gazing at him from afar in every city he travelled to. Had others not thought of perhaps catching his eye?
The two are locked in a staring contest, each one looking intently at the other. Aether’s hair flawlessly falls over his eyes, but not enough to obscure their shine like morning light. Yes, I’ve thought about kissing you . Keqing repeats to herself. Obviously.
He looks back at her, a smouldering flame in his shining eyes painting a feeling she couldn’t quite read. Normally he was so readable.
“Keqing.” He’d said it a million times before, but for some reason the sound of her name from his tired lips gives Keqing goosebumps. His voice is timid, tired, yearning. It’s a tone she hadn’t heard from the Traveller before. The hand that was in her hair reaches under her shielding blanket and returns to her, reaching gently to hold her face. The touch sets her ablaze. “Do you still want me to kiss you?”
She was melting under his stare, the longing stare from his tired eyes. He had laid down so close to her, not as close as they were last night, but still close. With just a movement he could join her under the sheets. It occurs to her that she hadn’t spoken in a bit, but she couldn’t get words to come out. Not after a question like that.
Yes. Dear Gods, please yes.
All she can manage is a nod.
Keqing’s face in Aether’s hand burns, and her eyes are wide and watchful for his next movements. He pushes himself forward using his free arm, and a little unexpectedly Keqing’s hands move to allow him through the sheets, which he carefully slips under. Her body is warm.
Aether moves to join her in the sheets, and Keqing feels warm as the two grow closer. She looks at him, trying to read him, but her head feels too light to be able to analyze him. The two were closer than they had ever been. He was actually in bed with her. Hesitantly, she rests her hands on his shoulders, and she watches his serious expression soften into a shy smile. The Hero of Liyue, shy in her presence. The thought gives her butterflies.
The hand on Keqing’s face travels slowly, carefully, to wrap around the back of her neck. Every movement the two make is careful and thoughtful, as if a too quick moment would scare the other away. Aether moves closer again, so close that Keqing can feel his breath as he exhales, so close that with a slow gesture, he leans his forward to rest his forehead on Keqing’s. She can feel her heartbeat in her ears and prays to Morax that he can’t hear it too. Under the covers she feels his free hand reach to gently rest on her waist, drawing her in closer.
Aether is about to kiss me. Keqing’s senses are all on edge. Her heart is in her ears. Her eyes flutter shut. Aether is about to kiss me. Aether is about to
Suddenly she feels lips pressing into hers, and the hand on the back of her neck pulls forward just slightly so their lips meet in the middle of the already tiny space.
It’s slow at first, Keqing drinks in every sensation to burn it into her memory. His lips are gentle against hers, plush soft and warm. She was afraid that she would miss his lips or she would bump her nose unceremoniously against his, but with his guidance the two meet perfectly. She melts into him, and after a long moment the hands on his chest reach forward to wrap her arms around his neck. The motion makes Aether recede just for a second only to kiss Keqing agan, and she reciprocates happily.
Keqing is so warm in his hands, and when she moves to pull him closer he feels like he could drown in her warmth. The hand on her hip reaches farther under her to wrap his arm around her, pulling their bodies even closer, and the hand on her neck falls to wander onto her back. The two are tangled together, their limbs intertwined and their bodies clad in an embrace which becomes slowly tighter with each passing moment. Aether recedes to kiss her again, and again, and again, and with each passing kiss Keqing melts further into him.
The hangover that was hitting her over the head before wasn’t gone, but Keqing found herself forgetting about it entirely with her lips dancing against Aether’s. A leg moves to wrap around his waist and he meets it with a hand gently holding her thigh, pulling the two even closer.
This felt like heaven.
His elbow pushes him upward to hang above Keqing just slightly, and she keeps pulling herself into him to keep her lips against his. She just asked for one kiss but the two had lost themselves entirely in a series of them, The previously anxious Yuheng was unravelled entirely in the knight’s arms, allowing herself to forget about all of her worries to lose herself to him. He pulls away from her and she lets out the smallest hint of a whine at the loss. Her eyes flutter open to meet his, which are fixed somewhere on her lower lip.
She can’t help but to glance down at his, which are pulled into the lightest smirk.
“You shouldn’t bite your lip, you know.” A hand skirts up the side of her body from her thigh, his thumb landing gently on her chin just below her lip.
She’s stunned, both at the question but also just in general. “How can you tell?”
He smiles as he looks down into her eyes again, his voice is hushed. “I noticed this spot on your lip last night.” His thumb travels to gently press against her lip and his eyes flicker to the red spot for just a second. It took everything in him last night not to grab her face and take the spot between his own lips, and now that they had actually crossed that line he needed to admire it again.
Keqing is once again speechless. The two hold each other's gaze before she leans in to kiss him once again, and the second their lips meet they continue where they’d left off.
-
Kaeya woke up in the garden.
Luckily the source of the realm’s light (he thought it inaccurate to call it a sun) rose on the other side of the estate, so he comes to while passed out in the back, in the grass. It’s not the worst place he’d woken up in after a night of drinking, he supposes. He sits up, head spinning, to see Rosaria passed out not 3 years from his feet.
Several others were awake by the time he had woken up, congregating in the bar room in the left wing of the first floor. Before he could even suggest that they had been enjoying a morning drink, Diluc could see the glint of mischief in his eyes and immediately held out a mug.
“Coffee. Not wine.”
The morning had been slow as the small group had woken up particularly early. Kaeya was drinking his hangover away with coffee alongside Bennett, Jean, Diluc and Captain Beidou, who he could recall had beaten his ass the night prior in a drinking competition. A very uniting way to make a new person’s acquaintance.
“Is there any food?” Kaeya finally asks with a scratch of his head after being awake for quite some time.
His red-haired brother scans the room. He didn’t expect there to be food stored in the tavern, but it was worth a look. He shrugs with a pout of his lip. “There’s a kitchen area in the main hall. The Traveller was awake earlier, I’m sure he could direct you to where food would be.”
Kaeya gives Diluc a sarcastic little salute and spins off his chair with a wink. “Then I will return shortly.”
He slips out of the room into the sleeping main hall. Bennett’s odd friends were still slumbering by the fireplace, the chef girl from Liyue passed out in an opposite corner alongside the boy with the blue hair that looked exactly like her - the one who he’d joined in the hot spring last night. He was a little sorry to not remember either of their names, but unless he was drinking with them last night he found his attention had been elsewhere.
He jaunts up the stairs and is met with two doors in the loft. Paimon had been showing off their house earlier in the night but truthfully he was already two glasses deep by the time he’d arrived, and so he couldn’t remember which was which. He tiptoes to the closest one and creaks it open: Paimon’s room. The little lady was asleep at the head of a queen bed, with Klee, Diona and Baizhu’s child all passed out throughout it. A queen sized bed for a girl the size of a pillow? Aether really did spoil her, didn’t he?
He shuts it without much more fuss. So the other room, then.
With the same relaxed stride Kaeya makes his way across the loft, which is when he notices that there’s another person passed out in a loveseat tucked away in the corner - the boy with the cat eyes and the white eyelashes. He would really have to learn the names of the Traveller’s acquaintances next time.
No, he remembered this one, they had bonded briefly over their visions. Changyuin? Chongyuin? Is that how one is to pronounce it? Yun? Chongyun?
He ponders the name as he reaches the door, and without much thought he twists the doorknob and opens it.
“Aether, could you perhaps direct me to…”
He trails off.
He’d interrupted something.
Intertwined in the sheets was the Traveller with a girl he recognized from the night before. The Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing, the hot headed young woman who had somehow bested Venti in some drinking game (while he held her own, Kaeya figured that it could be attributed to the fact that Venti was well wasted before arriving). Keqing, he remembers her name to be.
They’re under a sea of sheets but Kaeya has been in the knight’s quarters long enough to know what he’d walked in on. His eyes take in the scene quickly: Aether’s red face, the fold in the blankets they make as they tear away from each other, the tangled state of Keqing’s hair, and if he looks closely he can make out a bruise on the left side of Aether’s neck that had not even attempted to make itself discreet.
“This, u-uh, isn’t wh-what it looks like.” Aether coughs out, and Keqing has already drowned herself into the sheets bashfully.
It takes all of Kaeya’s strength not to laugh at how flustered the two of them got. He smiles and bows his head, waving his head flippantly.
He reaches behind himself to the front of the door, where he reaches for a lock and clicks it. “As you were.” He says before taking a step back, closing the door with him.
Kaeya supposes he’ll have no issue digging through Aether’s kitchen himself.