Archive of Our Own

In the millenia before then, there had been nothing but harsh words and harsher hands.

In the centuries after then, there had been little more than the screams of dead gods, their remnants grappling at him in vengeance.

He is well aware of the pain and suffering he brings, so he stays far, far away from the mortals.

He's used to it, he tells himself.

(And perhaps somewhere in the past few centuries, even he had begun to believe that lie).

---

Aether is an enigma. He is a bright traveler, powerful enough to stand a chance against Osial, significant enough that Morax allows him to treat him as an equal, even before Morax became Zhongli. The other adepti speak to him with respect, and he to them, even with his accent, and his evident struggle with their language.

One time, Xiao asks Zhongli where the Traveler is from. How he speaks in strange words and an accent completely foreign to his ears, even after two millennia of walking on Teyvat.

Zhongli merely hums, then responds with a simple, "Far, far away. Somewhere not even the gods of Celestia may have set foot in."

Xiao leaves it at that.

---

The traveler is confusing, in many other ways. Even as he struggles with his words, he shows up at Wangshu, a plate of almond tofu in hand, stories flowing from his lips, even though Xiao takes it upon himself to remain unseen on the roof. Sometimes his accent and weird way of talking slip through, the words mixing up with a tongue from a foreign land.

It's kind of endearing if he's being honest.

And when he leaves, he sets the plate on the rim of the balcony railing.

When he arrives the next night, the plate is always left in the same spot, eaten clean.

The first time Xiao speaks to him, actually speaks to him, without there being a dead god looking to destroy the land, or another god faking their death, they are standing out in the marsh. 

Xiao has just exorcised some spirits, while Aether stands frozen where he is, his sword raised, a geo slime cowering below him.

Paimon shrieks, breaking the trance, and Xiao whips around to see the fairy floating up behind a tree, two cryo slimes gathered below her.

"Ah," Aether turns back around. "Sorry." He runs straight over to Paimon.

Xiao stares down at the geo slime. He glares. The thing cowers, then slowly inches away from the yaksha, before bouncing off into the river to be washed away.

Paimon floats back over, whining the entire way, until she sees Xiao.

Her eyes go comically wide, and snaps quiet, before opening her mouth, staring some more, then gaping. "Adeptus Xiao?"

Xiao only blinks.

Paimon whips back around to Aether. "You remember him, right? The scary one-" She seems to register what words have slipped out of her mouth, slap her hands over his face, ducking behind Aether.

Aether smiles lightly. "Yes. I remember him. I bring him Almond Tofu sometimes. And I talk. It's good practice."

Paimon makes a strangled noise. "That's where you go?" She glances incredulously at Xiao, then goes back to staring at Aether.

"He hasn't thrown me off the balcony." Aether tilts his head slightly. "I think it's fine."

Paimon winces. "Aether. Do we need to talk about-"

Aether shakes his head. "It was a joke."

"Eeeh. Alright. If you say so. But if anything happens," She proudly puffs her chest out. "I'm always here."

Aether smiles smally. "Yes. I know." He turns his head towards Xiao, and bows slightly. "Hello."

Xiao blinks. "Hello." He turns to Paimon, raising an eyebrow. The fairy only laughs nervously.

"You Teyvatian has gotten better." Xiao remarks. 

The Traveler visibly perks up. "You listen?"

Xiao shrugs. "I try."

Aether only smiles even brighter. 

"Thank you."

And suddenly, the traveler is surging forward, arms wrapping around Xiao's shoulders in a hug.

Xiao stiffens, not sure how to respond. Aether is warm against him, and although every cell is screaming at him to pry the boy off, he doesn't.

"Uh." Paimon awkwardly fidgets. "Aether. Personal space."

"Oh." Aether blinks, then pulls away. "Do they not..." He trails off, awkwardly motioning his hands in front of him.

"Well, I think they do it in Mond, but it's definitely not a thing here and in Inazuma." Paimon hums. "A culture thing, I think."

"Oh." Aether repeats. "But the bowing?"

"More common in Liyue and Inazuma, but the message passes through elsewhere. Just don't go around randomly hugging people, please?"

Aether nods, then turns back towards Xiao. "Sorry."

"No." Xiao croaks out. He coughs slightly, clearing his throat. "It's fine."

Aether beams again, then bows, before saying something, both too quickly and too accented for Xiao to make out. He rushes off again, dragging Paimon along with him.

---

Xiao isn't all that surprised that Aether has actually listened to Paimon, but clearly, old habits die hard.

The next few times they see each other in person (and not just Xiao listening to Aether speak from the roof of the inn), Aether no longer hugs him as a greeting, but he still touches him.

Pulls on his arm every so often to show him something. Points in a direction while tugging on his wrist. Bumps shoulders. Grabs his hand and drags him off. Shuffles close to him to point something out.

And Xiao doesn't know how to react. At first, he just does his best not to flinch. It seems he succeeds, as Aether makes no indication of ever stopping those fleeting touches.

Somewhere along the lines, he finds himself chasing after the lingering warmth.

It's... not disconcerting, not exactly. Just something he's not used to.

He starts showing up, in person, actually standing there, not just lingering on the roof. Aether talks more, rambles more. He speaks with touch and actions. He tries to communicate with words, but sometimes, he slips into his home tongue, rambling frustrated syllables, before sighing, giving up, then bumping shoulders with Xiao, or pointing over the horizon as he tugs on the Yaksha's sleeve.

"Do you know what he says," He asks Paimon one day, while the traveler is downstairs placing an order. "When he speaks in his home tongue."

Paimon hums. "Only a little bit. He's better at common than I am at his language. Like-" She waves her hands around. "He can go around and function perfectly fine in common, complicated words, ideas, and grammar still mess with him though. Me trying to speak his language, I can get out a few simple sentences here and there. Nothing of use."

Xiao hums.

"What?" Paimon stares at him. "Are you going to try to learn it?"

Xiao pauses, then leans forward over the balcony railing. "Perhaps."

Paimon nods approvingly. "Good idea. I think we should help him with common first though."

Aether walks up to the balcony, calling out their names. Xiao stands upright, and watches the fairy zoom over. He watches Aether smile and ruffle her hair as he hands her a grilled fish.

He wonders.

---

The adepti do not need to sleep, but that doesn't mean they can't. Doesn't mean they don't.

Sometimes, when everything gets too exhausting, when he just simply doesn't want to deal with the world, he finds himself slipping off.

He and Aether sit on the roof this time. Two plates of half eaten almond tofu sit behind him, and Aether recounts the day's adventures. Their shoulders are pressed against each other. He finds himself drifting off, lulled by Aether's voice.

It's warm, soft. Something he has not felt in over a millennium.

When he returns to the waking world, he does not know how much time has passed. There are soft touches running through his hair, and someone humming an unfamiliar tune.

"Xiao. Are you purring?"

All right. So not just with warmth then. 

Xiao freezes, shoulders tensing as he moves to pull away.

Aether simply laughs, pulling Xiao back. "No. It's okay." He smiles. "It's cute. Like a cat."

"I'm not a cat." Xiao grumbles, but continues to allow Aether to run his fingers through his hair.

Aether chuckles again, leaning slightly into Xiao. "Still cute."

Xiao blushes lightly, forcibly staring down at his hands. 

The purring doesn't cease either.

---

It happens more now. The touches. They sit in the cliffs overlooking Liyue, and as Aether talks, he leans into Xiao, squeezing his hand, throwing an arm over his shoulder. Sometimes he'll run a hand through Xiao's hair, cling to his arm when they travel.

Xiao, for some reason, finds himself reciprocating. He leans into those touches. Lets Aether sleep on his shoulder.

One time, he runs into Aether out in the marsh again. There is a stiff smile on his face, and Paimon floats frantically in front of him, waving her hands around.

"It'll be okay." She placates. "We'll find her again."

"I know." Aether responds. "I'm fine."

Paimon furrows her brows, then glances over Aether's shoulder, making eye contact with Xiao.

"If you want to talk," She looks back to Aether. "You know we'll be here, right?"

Aether only slowly nods. The smile doesn't reach his eyes.

They return to the inn. Paimon leaves to go place an order for some food, and Aether breaks down.

He's sobbing, quietly, almost nearly impossible to notice, but his shoulders shake and tears spill. Xiao rushes forward, hesitates, then puts his hands on Aether's shoulders.

"Hey," He whispers. "It's okay. What's wrong?"

Aether simply just shakes his head, sniffling, and he leans into Xiao's shoulder, softly wrapping his arms around the Yaksha's neck.

Xiao freezes, then cautiously pulls Aether into his chest, running a hand through his hair, trying to copy what he's seen mortals do to comfort crying children.

Once the sniffling has died down, Xiao runs a hand in circles over Aether's back. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Aether shakes his head.

"Food?"

"No thanks..."

"Sleep?"

"Yeah," Aether murmurs, burrowing his face into Xiao's chest. "That works."

Xiao carries him into an empty room in the inn, then holds up a finger to his lips when Paimon barges in.

---

"What happened?"

Paimon winces, then stabs at her grilled fish with a wooden skewer. "I'm not sure if I can go into detail, but basically we ran into his sister today."

"The one he's been searching for?"

"Yeah. Except things went really wrong," Paimon raises a hand, motioning around her. "And now here we are."

She pauses, then takes a bite out of her fish. "That's for looking after him, by the way."

"It is only natural. He is..." Xiao hums, brows furrowing together. "Warm. He feels like a home I never had."

"Sappy." Paimon blandly responds.

Xiao stares at her. "I don't think so? Is it not normal? He's radiant."

"Do you like him or something?" Paimon drawls, tossing another golden shrimp into her mouth.

Xiao freezes. He stares at her. Paimon stares back. Xiao flushes, eyes growing wide.

"Holy shit-" Paimon blurts, slamming her hands down on the table. "You're kidding me."

Xiao teleports away.

---

(Bonus)

"Where is Xiao?"

"He left."

"Oh."

"Hey, it's okay. It's not because of you. He'll be back. I think I just accidentally triggered an existential crisis though."

"A... what?" 

"Don't worry about it. He'll be fine."

"Ah. Where should I put this almond tofu then?"

"Oooh gimme gimme-"