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Aether looked out at Liyue below him, still a little nervous about the height. He had stayed at the Wangshu Inn another night after a bit of a fiasco with nearby monsters, and perched himself at the highest branch of the tree that holds the whole place up. He had come out in the middle of the night specifically so that Paimon wouldn't join him. As much as he adored her company, sometimes he needed a little space. His silky blonde hair was out of its braid, small golden leaves tangled in it as it blew lightly in the midnight breeze. He peered at what stars he could see through the masses of leaves, smiling a bit to himself as he does. The stars reminded him that there would always be a way home, and that he wasn't too far from it. He turned his attention back to his view of Liyue, taking in how the moonlight made each ripple of the surrounding water gleam. Each golden tree echoed the soft mossy grass perfectly, and the small bursts of red from silk flower bushes tied it all together.
Another person had come out that night to admire Liyue and be alone with their thoughts, though. The mighty adeptus sat on the railing of his typical balcony, letting the wind rustle his hair and flicking away any leaves that got stuck. He seemed solemn if nothing else, which was a typical mood for the yaksha. As he spent more and more time at the Wangshu Inn, the more he started to feel human emotions other than anguish. Perhaps he had just been too close to humanity for too long. Part of him wanted to move into the mountains like the other adepti, but he also knew that he wanted to stay close in order to protect whomever may need it. He sighed, resting his chin on his hand and watching the subtle sway of the trees in the wind.
Aether soon enough turned and laid out his body on the curve of the branch, folding one arm over his chest and reaching the other to touch a leaf that hung close to his face. It was so quiet that it was possible to hear each wisp of wind as it tangoed with the leaves obstructing its path. He turned to look back out on Liyue before returning his head upwards, staring at the snippets of stars that shone through the canopy of leaves. “Lumine…” he mutters to himself, alerting a certain adeptus to his presence. Xiao didn’t want to snoop, but it was hard when the two weren’t even 20 feet away from each other. “I’m sorry I can’t be the brother you need. I know I’ve left you for… who knows how long, and that you probably hate me at this point…” he says, plucking the leaf and twirling it slowly between his thumb and index finger. “I should have been strong enough. I should have been able to protect you. But I wasn’t, and now we’re here…” he continues, letting the leaf fall into his palm before crushing it with one swift motion. “All I can hope is that you might forgive me when we reunite, sister. I love you,” he whispers, opening his hand to let the crumbles of the leaf blow away.
“You should find a better place to be alone,” a husky voice said, startling Aether so badly that he lost his balance on the tree branch. A hand quickly swept and caught him by the collar, the black and green glove hoisting him back up to sit on the branch. The adeptus sat down as well, leaning his spear against a thicker part of a connecting branch. The traveler flushed, messing with a strand of hair that had blown towards his face. “You heard all that?” he questions, looking down at his lap in guilt. He truly thought he was alone, and he didn’t want to add to the yaksha’s suffering with his sob story. He felt a small tug on his hair as the other started to untangle the leaves and pick them out, inadvertently causing Aether’s face to go a rosy pink color.
“Of course I did. You’re not that quiet,” Xiao lied, focusing on picking all the leaves out of the other’s hair. He had hardly heard what was said, but he could sense the intense emotion and decided to come over for himself. Besides, if there was somehow someone here other than the two, then he didn’t want Aether giving out his life story to a total stranger. It wasn’t safe for mortals to do. He still wasn’t sure why he cared so much about this certain mortal, but that didn’t quite matter right now. What mattered was the pit in his stomach from feeling the sadness wafting off of Aether. “I’m sorry. I can leave,” the traveler spoke, the adeptus huffing in response. “No need. You were out here first,” Xiao said, pulling away from the other as he finished with the leaves. Aether sighed, looking out onto Liyue with a dreamy but solemn gaze.
“You’ll be okay, Aeth-” the yaksha starts, jumping a bit as he feels the other’s head laid on his shoulder. A small amount of a soft pink pigment came to his face, lighting up his features in an instant. “What is the meaning of this?” he scowls, glaring daggers into the other’s head. Aether just chuckled, not moving an inch. “Indulge me, Xiao. I’m tired,” he says softly, letting his blonde eyelashes flutter closed. “Go back to your room and sleep in a proper bed then,” the adeptus protested, tempted to just pull away and let the traveler fall onto the tree branch. “Not unless Paimon drags me back,” Aether responds, eliciting a frustrated grumble from the other.
“Fine. But don’t think I let just any mortal do this,” Xiao finally huffs, getting a small smile from the other that he couldn’t even see. Before he knew it the blonde boy laying on his shoulder was asleep, and had his arm wrapped around the yaksha. He panicked a bit, unsure of what to do. Eventually, Xiao tried to implement what he had seen other mortals do. He shifted so he was laying on the tree branch, pulling Aether into his lap so he was laid on top of the adeptus. This only made his face a deeper color, but the other seemed much more subconsciously comfortable in this position. Xiao lightly wraps his arms around Aether, laying like that with him for the night while the traveler slept peacefully.
How utterly embarrassing, Xiao thought, to be in such a predicament with a mortal. What do I put up with for him…