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Aether was nervous. Today was his first official date with his girlfriend, Keqing. Why was he so nervous, outside of the original anxiety of going on a date? Because his friends were helping out, and that was never a good idea.
Once everyone had gotten word that he was dating Keqing now, they went crazy with offering a bunch of things for him. And while he did appreciate it, he wanted their relationship to be more lowkey. However, he didn’t know how to say no, which ended him up in this situation.
Most, if not all, of his friends were offering to help him out, and craft the perfect first date. They told him to leave the planning to them, which didn’t bode very well. That’s why he was especially nervous tonight. As he pulled on some of his nicest clothes, there was a soft knock on his door. It was likely Lumine, unless Keqing was 30 minutes early and inside of his house (which he hoped she wasn’t, as much as he cared for her).
“Hold on!” Aether called out, struggling to put his pants on for a moment before he finally hiked them up. “Okay, you can come in now.”
Sure enough, in walked Lumine, a soft smile on her face as she looked at him. “You’re all dolled up.” She clasped her hands together with a gentle coo. “Look at you, all grown up and going on your first date. I’m so proud.” She approached, pinching his cheek between her thumb and forefinger.
Embarrassed, Aether pushed her away lightly, a blush on his cheeks. “That’s weird.” He groaned, swatting away her hands from his face. He didn’t want to break out, after all. “How do I look?” He asked, turning to the mirror to examine himself in all of his glory. He didn’t actually look that bad, and he hoped Keqing would think he cleaned up nicely.
“You look great, but what is going on with your hair?” Lumine fussed, reaching to undo the sloppy braid he had put his hair in. “Did you do this blindfolded or something?”
Aether’s cheeks flushed. “What? No I didn’t do it blindfolded, it looks the same it always does.” He lied. In reality, he had rushed his hair, wanting to get into his clothes and look as presentable as possible before Keqing came over. Everyone else was over, having made their preparations for the date. He thought it was a little weird to host the date at his house, but he wasn’t one to complain--especially when his friends were doing this for him.
“You know you can’t lie to me,” Lumine shook her head, starting to redo his braid with deft hands. She had become adept at braiding his hair; ever since childhood they had done each other’s hair. “Once this is done, head downstairs and wait for your princess.”
“P-Princess?” Aether’s face turned bright red. He tried to hide his head in his hands, but his hair was lightly tugged in response. He needed to keep his head straight so his sister could do his hair, after all. “Speaking of princesses…”
He could practically see the dirty look that was shot at the back of his head. “Don’t go there.” Lumine warned lightheartedly. “She may act like a prissy princess, but she’s actually really sweet.”
Ah yes, the endless bundle of joy his sister was dating. Barbara was apart of an idol group, you see, and her smile rivaled the sun itself. In public, her and his sister posed as friends, but in private they were girlfriends. “I was just going to ask how she was doing.” He defended himself. “Is she going to be here tonight?”
There was a pause. “Maybe.”
Aether fought back a groan. “I don’t want there to be any paparazzi at my date…” He said desperately, a note of exasperation in his voice. “Is she wearing a disguise or something? Or at least did she come here without being followed?”
“Yes!” A brief moment of silence. “I think.”
This time he really did groan. At least Lumine finished his hair though; just in time too, considering the doorbell rang a moment later.
Aether felt a jolt of anxiety go up his spine. He turned to Lumine for some kind of reassurance, and got a thumbs up in return. “Go get her, tiger.” She said, full of vivacious energy. At the very least, it made him laugh and relax just a tad.
Making his way downstairs quickly, he practically threw open the door, and was astonished at the sight before him.
Keqing wore a sharp maroon suit that brought out her eyes and her hair. It was tailored perfectly to her body, and it made her look outstanding. He was at a loss for words for a solid 5 seconds, staring at his girlfriend before he was snapped out of it by the blush on her face.
“Ah!” Aether took a step back, inviting her inside with the sweep of his hand. “I didn’t mean to stare. Come in.” He gave her a shaky smile, still in awe at her beauty. She seemed equally as flustered, stepping inside. Her high heels made her a few inches taller than him as well, so it was weird to look up at her slightly. “You look amazing…” He murmured, making sure to keep it down so nobody else would hear. He knew Lumine was eavesdropping, and Xiangling was in the kitchen.
“Thank you…” Keqing said equally as softly as he closed the door behind her, hovering awkwardly in the middle of the living room.
Aether gave her a reassuring smile, taking her hand and leading her towards the dining room table. He pulled out her chair for her politely, watching her fondly as she sat down. Everything she did, he absolutely adored.
The boy sat down opposite of her. The table was a little long, but they could make due.
“So…” Aether coughed into his hand nervously, trying to make some semblance of conversation before dinner was ready. “It’s nice to see you.” He said timidly, fiddling with his hands in his lap.
“It’s nice to see you too, Aether,” Even the way she said his name was lovely. “To be honest...I was a bit apprehensive about going on a date at first.” She confessed, straightening the silveware that was carefully set on the table. “But now that I’m here, I’m glad I decided to.”
Aether felt his face heat up. “I’m happy you feel that way.” He murmured, putting a hand over his mouth in embarrassment. Inside, he was giddy that she didn’t think this date was totally lame--especially with it being at his house. “Next time I’ll actually take you out. I don’t have much money, but I’ll do my best.”
“Do you really mean that?” Keqing asked, looking away from him with her own red face.
“Yes, I mean it!” He said earnestly, going to make a grab at her hand before there was a loud crash coming from the kitchen. His blood went cold at the crash, and his face visibly dropped. “I’ll uh…I’ll be right back.” He promised, standing up from his chair quickly and rushing over towards the kitchen.
On the floor was a distraught Xiangling, along with all of the food they were supposed to be eating for dinner. She looked sheepish, looking from the food to Aether, and then back to the food again. “It was a little too heavy for me…” A small pout came to her face. “And I worked so hard on that dish too! Agh! It’s ruined!” She stood up from the ground on wobbly legs, supporting herself with Aether’s arm when he offered it to her.
Lumine came inside at the ruckus, her eyes widening at the sight of the food all over the floor. “What happened here?” She also sounded distraught.
“Dropped the food.” They both answered at the same time, causing Xiangling to giggle and declare: “Jinx!” before she realized that situation at hand once more.
“Shoot! We have no food to serve you two!” Xiangling put her hands on her face, pulling them down slowly. “Our goose is cooked!” She bemoaned, leaning against the counter dramatically.
Lumine gave her a patient smile. “We can salvage this.” She assured them both. “Me and Xiangling will clean up the food. You guys go outside for the second surprise while we clean, and then Xiangling can get started on a new dish while you’re outside. Dinner will be a bit late, but it’s fine. Think you can improvise?”
Xiangling physically brightened, stepping away from the counter and giving Lumine a quick salute. “Yes ma’am!”
“Good,” His sister was always the best at damage control. “Now you, get back to your Juliet.”
Aether was promptly pushed out of the kitchen, and back into the dining room where Keqing was waiting. The girl looked up upon his arrival, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes!” He assured her, walking towards her so he could pull out her seat and take her hand. “There’s just been a small change in plans.”
Keqing looked confused, but she followed along with what he was doing, letting herself be pulled up. “Are we not going to have dinner?” She asked, following him obediently to the glass door that led outside. “I’m a bit confused…”
“It’ll be great, trust me,” Aether promised, opening the door. Outside was an array of fairy lights strung up across the bushes. There was a blanket sat down in front of a makeshift stage, which had curtains and everything. Behind the curtains were moving shapes, but he couldn’t bother to try and make them out when it looked so beautiful outside.
Keqing looked equally as mystified, tightening her grip on his hand as they walked outside. “Oh...wow…” She sounded astounded, sitting down on the blanket delicately when he led her to it. “It’s gorgeous out here. Did you set this all up?”
“Well...you can thank everyone else for this,” Aether gave her a gentle smile. “I couldn’t have done any of this without them.”
“I see,” Keqing said softly. She looked oddly pensive, like there was something on her mind. And sure enough, she opened her mouth to speak a moment later. “Listen, Aether-” She went to speak, but she was promptly cut off by the sounds of yelling.
“No! No! This isn’t what we practiced!” Came Barbara’s shrill voice. She sounded upset, and he could hear the sound of Xinyan’s signature laughter over her cries. “Why are you laughing!? You’re trying to go off and do your own thing!”
Once again, Aether let out a sigh. “I’ll be right back.” He promised his girlfriend again, getting up from his spot on the blanket so he could trot over to where the girls were. Slowly, he peeked his head around the curtain, looking at a teary eyed Barbara with an indifferent looking Xinyan standing in front of her. “What’s going on here?”
“She’s refusing to play my song! The one we rehearsed thousands of times before we got here!” Barbara stomped her foot, shaking her head side to side. “She said--She said-”
“It’s too cutesy for me!” Xinyan groaned, picking up her guitar from the ground and starting to pluck at the strings idly. “We may have rehearsed it a thousand times, but it’s boring , I wanna play a song that gets a visceral reaction outta folks, ya dig?”
“Ya dig? No! Quite frankly, I don’t dig! ”
Lumine must have heard the commotion too, and was here to save the day once more. In tow was Bennett, who was carrying a bunch of stuff in his arms. “What’s going on?” His sister asked, ever patient.
“They can’t agree on what song to play,” Aether explained, running a hand down his face. He just wanted a nice, peaceful night with Keqing, and this is what he got instead. “It doesn’t matter though, because I’m ending this right here and...hey wait. Where did Bennett go?”
Everyone knew they had to watch Bennett. His bad luck was a force to be reckoned with, and could get them all in some kind of bad situation. Like now.
The four of them dove out from behind the curtain, watching as Bennett lit up the fireworks. So that was what was in his arms when he saw him.
It felt like life was in slow motion as they watched how it backfired. The fireworks must have been placed unstably in the ground, because as soon as they were lit, they started firing all over the place.
Aether ran over to Keqing, who was already on her feet. “Aether--there’s something I need to tell you-” She started, but he cut her off by grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the door that led inside. Everyone else seemed to be following, screaming as they all tried to desperately get inside.
Lumine got there first, the fastest runner, and opened the door, promptly ushering everyone inside.
“Whew! That was a close one!” Xiangling declared, closing the door behind them all as she wiped off the sweat from her brow.
“Wait…” Lumine started, a look of horror growing across her face. “If you were outside, then who was watching the food?”
As if on cue, the pot on top of the stove lit on fire.
Keqing pulled her hand away from Aether’s heading towards the door quickly. “I think I’m gonna go…” She muttered, ignoring his pleas for her to stop. When the door closed behind her, Aether visibly deflated.
Lumine had a sad expression on her face. “I am...so sorry this night didn’t go accordingly.” She took his hands in hers, looking at the crushed expression on her brother’s face. “There’s still time.” She promised. “Go after her.”
“But-”
“No buts!” His sister held up a finger. “We’ll take care of this. It’s the least we can do.”
Everyone else nodded, sending a wave of relief through Aether.
With that, he began to go after Keqing.