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Xiao crosses his arms as he leans against a far wall in the corner of the crowded room, casting his indifferent gaze over the small crowd of party-goers huddled in the spare room of the Knights of Favonius’s headquarters. He’d come to Mondstadt at Aether’s request to assist him with some commissions, and had somehow unwittingly found himself as a child’s ninth birthday party; the younger sister of one of Aether’s friends and colleagues, from what he’s gleaned.
The aforementioned birthday girl, a spunky blonde with wide, energetic red eyes and a propensity for explosives—who’d taught her to make bombs, anyway?—seems right at home in the crowd, eagerly accepting gifts from her fellow Knights and goading the whole group into her games.
Xiao, on the other hand, has taken up the role of wallflower, pressing himself into the corner of the room and allowing the others to have their fun. He doesn’t much care for birthdays, being the immortal being that he is. What point is there in celebrating another year of life when the next one will pass just as quickly? For a child of only nine, he supposes, each one must feel quite special, but once you’ve had a few hundred birthdays, they start to feel less like milestones and more like reminders of how the world has moved on without you.
Sighing softly, he casts his gaze to where Aether is sitting across the table from the little girl, beside the alchemist who acts as her guardian—Albedo, if he remembers right. The reclusive Knight shows a soft smile as he watches his young ward unwrap one of her many gifts. Xiao spots a flicker of pride in his eyes; that much, at least, he can understand. With the quick rate at which humans grow and age, he suspects the little girl must be quite different from a year prior.
Still, it is Aether who inevitably catches and keeps his attention. He’s positively glowing, clearly taken with the girl’s excitement and adorable appearance. He claps his hands when the wrapped gift is revealed to be a beginners’ alchemy set, a broad smile on his face. It’s so broad, in fact, that the corners of his eyes crinkle, his teeth flashing white. There’s something about his easy smile that always manages to get Xiao staring, something about it that catches his eye.
Perhaps Aether senses that he’s staring, because his eyes flicker to where Xiao has holed himself up in the corner, meeting his gaze. Xiao’s breathing stutters momentarily at being caught, though Aether just flashes him another easy smile before turning to say something quickly to Albedo. Then, he pushes himself up from his spot at the table and picks his way across the floor toward Xiao.
“Enjoying the party?” he asks, leaning up against the wall beside him. “Klee seems like she’s having a blast. No pun intended.”
Klee. So that was the child’s name, then. He files this away for later reference, if only because he wants to know the names of people Aether will surely mention in future stories of his travels. “I… am not very familiar with birthday parties,” he admits quietly, casting Aether an apprehensive look. “I wasn’t exactly born like a normal human, so instead, I used to celebrate the day I was summoned, though I haven’t bothered for the last few thousand years. I’m not really sure what I should do.”
Aether blinks, eyebrows raising slightly in surprise. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure you even had a birthday,” he comments, frowning thoughtfully. “You didn’t seem like the type to celebrate, anyway, so I guess I got that part right.”
Xiao shifts in place, a sign of discomfort. “How about you? You have a birthday, yes?” he deflects.
Aether falls quiet at the question for a moment, so much so that Xiao wonders if he’s unintentionally brought up a sore subject. Then, he replies, “I honestly can’t say. Teyvat’s calendar is a lot different than the one I know. I’m not sure I really have a birthday by your standards.”
He flashes Xiao a familiar smile, though there’s a hint of sadness in it as well. “In all the years I’ve traveled from one world to another, Lumine and I had always kept track of the date, but since we were separated…” he trails off, smile fading. There’s a wistful look in his eyes, now, a kind of melancholy that can only come from years of aching, suffering, and coping with loss. “In any case, I don’t know what date I was born on in this world. I haven’t celebrated my birthday in several years because of it.”
“Then, you and I are opposites,” Xiao murmurs, mostly to himself.
Aether shrugs his shoulders. “I guess so. Will you at least tell me when yours is? The day you were summoned, I mean.”
Xiao hesitates. There’s no real reason for him to give the date up to Aether, but he finds himself thinking it will be okay if he is the only one who knows. “The seventeenth of April,” he finally replies. It’s just a date, nothing terribly personal, but entrusting it with someone else still manages to feel like an intimate affair.
Aether smiles, clearly pleased. “I’ll remember that.”
Then, when Xiao narrows his eyes at him in suspicion, he adds with a laugh, “Don’t worry, I promise I won’t do anything extreme about it.”.
---
Months come and go after that. Xiao and Aether don’t discuss their birthdays again, though their conversation sticks in Xiao’s mind. If Aether did have a birthday to celebrate, would he host a party, the way Albedo had for Klee? Would his friends bring him gifts, not because he’d asked for anything, but because they wanted to make him happy? Would Aether light up and smile, the way Klee had in the company of so many cherished friends and family? The thoughts won’t leave him in peace.
What kind of gift would someone like Aether appreciate? He finds himself thinking on the subject more often than he’d like, his normally disciplined thoughts drifting to it on occasion as the day of his own ‘birth’ approaches once again.
Useless thoughts. He doesn’t even have a birthday to celebrate here, he scolds himself on more than one occasion, his frown turning to an annoyed scowl at the persistence of it. It is, of course, at that point that the idea strikes him.
It’s a bit backwards-thinking to give a gift to someone else on one’s own birthday, at least by mortal standards, but Xiao is no mortal, and he’s never thought like one, either.
He’s never been the best at thinking up and procuring gifts, either. He hasn’t had many chances to practice, given that he tends to find himself in the presence of fellow Adepti far more so than humans, Adepti who do not follow mortal laws or customs. They are the closest thing he has to friends or family, and even then, the thought of asking Moon Carver or Cloud Retainer for advice on how to give a gift to a human is enough to get him scowling again.
There is, however, another option, one his mind drifts to more often than not, though he’s not exactly keen on approaching her. The half-Adeptus girl is… an acquaintance. He can’t really call her a friend, despite their thousands of years of shared history, but she’s certainly not a stranger.
Ganyu is somewhat of an apprentice, if he has to label their relationship, though even that feels like a stretch of the imagination. As far as helping her to embrace her Adeptus half, all he can teach is all that he knows, and all that he knows is combat. He can’t remember the last time he’d struck up a casual conversation with her. Yet her human half, as well as her experience with Liyue’s mortal population, makes her a prime candidate for this kind of advice.
“I have a question for you,” he says to her one day, when he has once again exhausted her physical strength with all manner of battle training. His tone is sharp and brusque, as it always is with her.
Still fighting to catch her breath, Ganyu turns to him with an expression that does nothing to hide her shock. “A question?” she echoes. “Well, I can’t promise I’ll have an answer, but feel free to ask me anything.”
A polite response, as is ever so characteristic of her. She, like him, understands the value and meaning in keeping a professional distance. It’s another reason why he’d finally caved and decided to approach her with this particular query; if she finds his question to be comical, he knows that she will make no note of it, at least not aloud.
Xiao folds his arms over his chest and averts his gaze from hers. “I am… looking to procure a gift. For a friend,” he finally says, his voice oddly restrained and hesitant. “A mortal. I have not had the need to find a gift for someone in many years, so I’m no longer sure what they like. Since you often have dealings with mortals, I was hoping you might have a suggestion for me on what he might want.”
Ganyu stares at him for a handful of seconds with an unreadable expression, like she’s trying to crack some kind of puzzle in her head. “For Aether?” she finally says, holding a finger up to her chin inquisitively.
Xiao flinches internally, but forces his expression to remain neutral. Had he been that transparent? Either that, or Ganyu is much more perceptive than she appears. Perhaps it’s a little of both. “That’s correct,” he admits. At this point, there’s no sense in hiding his true intentions. “I wish to get him a gift to celebrate his birthday, though I’m not entirely sure what he would want.”
He feels heat climbing up his neck, a telltale sign of embarrassment. When he turns his stoic gaze to meet Ganyu’s, there’s a slight smile on her face and a knowing twinkle in her eyes that he immediately distrusts.
“I understand. This is an important question, indeed,” she says, nodding her head.
Already, he can see her thoughts racing. A side effect of her demanding job as a member of the Qixing, no doubt. Briefly, he wonders if he is going to regret enlisting her help.
After a moment of contemplation, she says, “Luckily for you, Aether is the easygoing type. Honestly, I think he’ll love anything you get for him, simply because it will come from you.”
Xiao wrinkles his nose. He can think of a dozen gifts off the top of his head that would make anyone question the sanity of the giver, but he reads the sentiment in Ganyu’s advice nonetheless. “That’s well and good, but it doesn’t bring me any closer to a solution,” he grumbles.
Ganyu laughs softly, offering him up a consoling smile. “I can’t just tell you what to get him, that defeats the purpose of you giving the gift,” she points out, “but what I can tell you is that it should be something meaningful. Something to show you care for him, that you were thinking of him when you got it. It may be a little old-fashioned of me, but I think gifts from the heart are the ones that are remembered longest, don’t you?”
Xiao cannot agree or disagree, inexperienced with the concept of gift-giving as he is, but he does offer up a soft grunt of acknowledgement in response. Something meaningful, huh? It seems like something he can manage. “You’ve given me much to think on. Thank you for your advice,” he tells Ganyu in his same gruff tone. “Return to your mortal job. We’ll continue your training at a later date.”
“Yes, sir.” With that respectful farewell and a wave goodbye, she leaves Xiao alone to his thoughts.
Something to show that I care, he thinks to himself once more, mulling over the thought in his head. His eyebrows furrow. The favor of an adeptus is not easily or freely given. Even a Sigil of Permission given to a mortal doesn’t make that mortal beloved by the adepti, just gives them the ability to come and go from Jueyun Karst as they please.
Perhaps, though, there is something he can give. The thought of it sticks in his mind, a rare and precious gift, but one deserved all the same. It is an honor he has yet to bestow on anyone, but the more he considers the idea, the more it feels like a fitting thing to give to the one person who he can truly consider his friend.
Ganyu will be shocked when she inevitably asks what gift he’s come up with, but his mind is already made up.
At the center of Nantianmen stands an ancient tree, its roots and branches partially overtaken with glimmering sky-blue stone and amber. Its fallen leaves still hum with the faint power of diverted ley lines, energy buzzing within their veins and thin membranes. He collects a handful of them and tucks them into a pouch at his hip, then breaks a shard of amber off of a nearby crop and stores that away with them.
He strings the amber to the leaves with a thin cord, fashioning it into a sort of amulet that can be worn around the neck or simply kept in a bag or pocket. The materials, gathered from areas frequented by ancient gods and adepti alike, are prime materials for a protective charm. He cups the finished pendant in his hands and closes his eyes, calling on the mystical abilities bestowed upon him on the day of his birth. Power thrums through his veins, rich and familiar, and he guides it into and around the carefully-crafted gift until the entirety of it is sealed in his adeptal energy.
Blinking his eyes open once again, he holds the pendant up to the light and turns it this way and that, his critical eye assessing its condition. Now that it has been blessed, the leaves that make up the butterfly’s wings will no longer wither and rot, and the stone at its center will remain lustrous and untarnished. He nods to himself in satisfaction and slips the amulet over his head, tucking the charm under his shirt where it will be safe until the appointed day.
He only hopes the gift will be sufficient to give Aether the boost in mood he sorely needs in the absence of his beloved family.
---
“So, did you manage to find a suitable gift for Aether?”
Xiao suppresses a sigh. Although he’d known that Ganyu would not be able to resist asking for updates on his predicament, it doesn’t make him any more willing to divulge to her.
It’s not her fault, really. He doesn’t like to share his personal dealings with anyone, even those he’s known the longest. After all, Ganyu, for all her indecisiveness and inner turmoil, had once fought alongside him in the Archon War, and would do so again if needed. It makes them comrades in arms, in a sense; she understands his self-imposed solitude and his standoffish tendencies more than most. As polite as she is, she is not afraid of him, which is more than he can say for most of the people who come face to face with him.
“I did,” he says after a moment of reluctant silence. He knows she’s curious to see what he’s picked, so he reaches for the pendant beneath his shirt before she has the chance to ask.
Ganyu slides closer to his side so she can peer over his shoulder, a quiet gasp escaping her at the sight. “I knew you would come up with something, but this…” she reaches out and brushes her fingers reverently along the edges of the charm’s leaves. “It’s lovely. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Xiao casts her a quick glance and hopes his nervousness doesn’t come through on his expression. “There is no other like it in the world. It will be the first sign of my protection that I have ever gifted.” With careful fingers, he tucks the pendant away once more. “I only hope that it is accepted, and that it’s not… too much.”
Ganyu smiles at him. “It will be,” she assures.
The confidence in her voice brings Xiao some form of relief. He lays a hand over the amulet against his skin instinctively, cradling the delicate gift against his heart as he glances out over the valley of Nantianmen with a thoughtful gaze.
“I knew you cared for him, but I didn’t realize how much,” Ganyu comments, a playful edge to her tone. Her smile is sweet, but there is a teasing glint in her eye that has Xiao once again feeling warm with embarrassment. “I think he’s good for you. I hadn’t seen you smile in years before you met him.”
Xiao does not bother to respond to her playful remarks, though he’s certain that his warm face must betray his thoughts.
Ganyu stifles a laugh behind her hand, attempting to disguise it as a cough.
Sighing, Xiao pushes himself to his feet. “No more delays. It’s past time for your training to begin,” he says, words harsh and clipped. “Ready your bow. I’ll be upping the difficulty today.”
Ganyu deflates a little at this, but her disappointment is short-lived. “Yes, sir,” she replies, the politeness returning to her tone, though her amusement can still be heard beneath the quick, stiff words. As she runs off to prepare herself for what is sure to be a rigorous bought of training, Xiao allows the smallest of smiles to come to his face.
---
Xiao has never been the kind of person to keep track of days and months. He keeps time by the changing of the seasons and the growth of plants in Jueyun Karst, ancient methods from before the invention of Teyvat’s modern calendar. When the sweet flowers begin to bloom and the days start to shorten with the advent of spring, he knows that the day is quickly arriving. The trees on Mt. Hulao begin to bloom, scattering bright flower petals across Nantianmen and littering the grass beneath his feet. Animals return to his mountainous home, celebrating the end of winter and heralding the changing of the seasons.
Aether has arranged for the two of them to meet up on the seventeenth of April, enlisting his help once again for a few commissions. As the day progresses, however, it becomes increasingly clear that Aether’s strength alone is more than enough for the tasks he’s been assigned; the work goes faster with both of them present, but they’re hardly the kind of dangerous jobs Aether usually requests his assistance for.
Still, Xiao does not complain. He appreciates Aether’s company, and he knows that Aether, at the very least, appreciates having a few extra hands. He spends the morning gathering Qingxin flowers from the peaks of the pillars at Huaguang stone forest, a menial but still tedious task.
“This should do it,” Aether announces as he digs up the final Qingxin and tucks it into his bag. Dragging his arm across his forehead to wipe away the sweat gathering there, he promptly flops onto his back in the grass, sighing loudly. “I’m spent. Who knew gathering flowers would be such a tiring experience?”
Xiao’s mouth twitches up into an amused smile as he sits down beside his collapsed companion. “You know you’re allowed to refuse,” he points out, though he knows that Aether doesn’t have the heart to turn down an earnest request.
Aether simply hums to show he’s heard, taking a moment to catch his breath.
Xiao leans back on his hands and breathes in the cool, clean air of Huaguang. Up here, above the clouds, everything is quiet, peaceful. He can relax here like he never can when he strays too close to the city. There are no monsters to fight this high up, no humans bowing and asking for his blessing as though he has anything to give them. It’s just him and Aether.
He reaches up and covers the amulet beneath his clothes with one hand, feeling a sudden surge of uncharacteristic nervousness. It’s the ideal moment to present his gift, really, but he finds himself hesitating nonetheless. Perhaps he is still afraid that his gift will be ill-received. Maybe it’s simply because it’s Aether; as much as he considers the traveler his close friend, that doesn’t keep him from feeling like a fool when a simple smile from him is enough to knock him off balance.
He fights the urge to scowl at his own procrastination. It may not be Aether’s birthday, but it is still, he supposes, a special occasion. All he needs to do is rip off the metaphorical bandage, and yet the words stick in his throat. He swallows, steeling his nerve.
“I have something to give you.”
He jolts when Aether speaks the words before he can muster them, jumping in an embarrassing display of surprise. He’s rarely caught off-guard, his senses sharp as his blade and always on the lookout for trouble, and yet the unexpected sound of Aether’s voice is somehow enough to raise the hairs on the back of his neck, as deep in self-argument as he’d been.
Aether pushes himself into a sitting position and meets Xiao’s wide-eyed gaze, flashing him a smile. “No need to look so worried, I promise it’s safe,” he laughs, tugging his backpack into his lap and rummaging through one of its pockets.
Xiao quickly smooths over his expression, fighting the blush that threatens to creep onto his face. “I’m not worried,” he insists, which is the truth. The fact that Aether has prepared something for him as well fills him with a dizzying mix of excitement and apprehension - he’s not really sure what to think. He falls silent, mind buzzing with the possibilities, and thumbs the amulet against his sternum through the fabric of his shirt.
Grinning triumphantly, Aether produces a small box from his backpack. It’s a cheap paper gift box, wrapped with a dark blue ribbon tied into a decorative bow. He holds it out to Xiao expectantly, eyes bright with innocent anticipation. “Happy birthday,” he murmurs, voice soft with fondness.
Xiao swallows and accepts the little box, turning it over in both hands briefly. He can tell at a glance that it’s been wrapped by hand, the bow uneven and lopsided, but it still manages to be endearing in its presentation.
“Go on, open it,” Aether urges, leaning closer so he can get a better look at the gift. His shoulder brushes against Xiao’s as he does.
Xiao swallows, suppressing the shiver that runs up his arm and down his spine in response to the close contact, and gives a slight nod of his head. He tugs at the dark blue ribbon until the bow comes undone, popping the little gift box open to reveal its contents.
Nestled on a pillow of tissue paper is a bracelet strung with beads of the same amber that rests against his chest now. The surface of the smooth, polished stone shines in the misty sunlight of the mountains, sparkling like drops of pure sunlight. “Where did you get this?” he asks, breathless.
Aether smiles, clearly pleased with the response. “Mountain Shaper lent me the materials in exchange for a favor,” he replies mysteriously. “He’s quite a soft-hearted adeptus when you get to know him, huh? Kind of like you.”
Xiao’s face flames at this comment, drawing a warm laugh from his companion in response. “Do not get the wrong impression,” he mumbles half-heartedly, though he fears he’s too far gone to salvage what’s left of his intimidation factor. Aether simply knows him too well.
Lifting the bracelet from its box, his eyes soften. “It’s beautiful,” he amends. “It’s been thousands of years since I have received a gift to commemorate my age. I… will cherish it.” He slides the bracelet onto his right wrist, where it sits over the fabric of his glove. Its bright orange stones stand out starkly against the dark green material, drawing his eye to it instantly. “Thank you.”
The smile Aether gives him in response to his thanks is radiant. His eyes crinkle at their corners, orange like the amber he’d collected for Xiao’s sake. It doesn’t do anything to help his blush, which refuses to settle down despite his attempts to stifle it.
He tears his gaze away from Aether’s happy expression. It’s now or never. “I have something for you as well,” he admits, reaching up to pull the amulet up and over his head. “I realize that you don’t know your birthday on our calendar, but I know you miss celebrating it, so… here.” He fumbles through his brief explanation, thrusting the necklace into Aether’s hands before he has the chance to second guess himself.
Aether’s smile immediately melts into surprise—he clearly hadn’t been anticipating receiving anything in return. He reaches out and takes the amulet from him with careful fingers, staring down at the butterfly-shaped pendent that hangs from its cord. “Did you make this?” he asks, brushing his thumb over the shard of amber at its center.
Xiao gives a brief nod of his head. “It’s infused with adeptal energy to keep the leaves from rotting, but it also works as a charm to stave off evil,” he explains quietly. “Traditionally, they’re given to a mortal by an adeptus as a sign of favor.”
Aether grins at this, slipping the amulet over his head so that the charm rests against his sternum. “Does this mean you favor me?” he asks, leaning closer to Xiao with a conspiratory look and a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.
Xiao stubbornly looks away. “Is that a problem?” he asks defensively, certain his blush is on full display.
“Not at all. It makes me happy,” Aether replies softly, pressing his shoulder against Xiao’s in a brief but meaningful show of affection. “I love it, thank you.”
The words send butterflies alight in Xiao’s stomach, and he swallows against the feeling, his mouth going suddenly dry. He wonders if Aether understands the true meaning of his gift, if he comprehends that it is the first of its kind, quite possibly the only one Xiao will ever make.
He decides it doesn’t matter. If Aether appreciates it, then it is a successful gift. “I’m glad,” he murmurs, a small smile making its way onto his face unbidden. “I hope that it will offer you some protection on your journey, when you are too far for me to reach.”
Aether nods his head. “At the very least, it will remind me that I need to come by and visit once in a while,” he says, eyes softening with a hint of sadness. “I wish I could stay.”
Xiao falls quiet for a moment, then shakes his head. “You still have a long way to go before your journey is finished,” he replies. “Liyue will still be here when it’s time for you to return, as will I.” Always, he wants to add, but he finds himself unable to to speak the sentiment aloud.
Still, it’s felt all the same. Aether tilts his head down to lay it on Xiao’s shoulder. “I won’t be gone for long,” he promises. “I bet the time will fly by to an immortal like you.”
Once, he might have agreed with Aether on this point, but now he isn’t so sure. He has never measured time by mortal means, with months on a calendar to count the hours that tick by, but he thinks he may find himself marking down the days until Aether returns. It’s still a foreign concept to him, this feeling of wanting to be close to someone, but perhaps it won’t be as bad as he’s always made it out to be. “I will be looking forward to it,” he murmurs.
They fall into a companionable silence, alone at the peak of Huaguang. Soon, they’ll be forced to move lest they run out of time to complete their commissions, but for now, Xiao allows himself to just be. He runs his fingers over the bracelet Aether had gifted him, turning each bead over with gentle, reverent fingers, and smiles.