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Aether woke up to the scent of… peaches? Why peaches? That struck him as odd. His throat also felt like he tried to swallow a whole cactus, and his eyes felt like he just tried to gently rinse them out with lava. On the other hand, the rest of him was warm, quite comfortable, and really cozy, like a little sandwich wrap. That was fine and all, but what was with this rhythmic thumping that was by his head? And why did the source of that just… moan a bit? Like someone shifting… in… their sleep. Right. Everything came flooding back to him.
The previous few weeks, Aether had adventured around after picking up a commission from Ganyu, of all people. That commission led him to meeting Dainsleif, which further led him to his sister. Lumine. She was right there, in front of his eyes, within arm’s reach. She was alive and well, and Aether literally could’ve reached out and touched her! But she retreated back through the abyss portal, her goals set in her mind which left him in hopeless shambles. Aether came back to Liyue, and he was utterly gone. Defeated. He didn’t remember anything after breaking down in front of Keqing. All that came to mind were vague memories of tea and crawling into bed. Based on his current line of logic and surroundings, the bed Aether crawled into was probably Keqing’s, and the person who was cuddling him in said bed was, well, Keqing.
Aether tactfully tried to disentangle himself from Keqing’s arms, but he was locked tight, leaving him no room to escape. Inwardly, Aether sighed. When Keqing woke up, there was a solid chance that he got slapped because his face was buried right in her chest. Aether wasn’t going to say that he minded, but it still wasn’t the best situation to be in. Although considering what happened last night, Keqing would probably take mercy on him. He accepted his fate, being too drained, physically and emotionally, to move. He settled back into the bed, doing the only thing he could do, and that was savoring the warmth between their bodies as Keqing held onto Aether. Soon enough, though, Keqing shifted and began to stretch.
“Hey, good morning, Aether. How’re you feeling?” she asked gently, releasing him from her (surprisingly) firm grasp. She opted for mercy, it seemed.
What a question. Aether wasn’t focused at all on his own thoughts and feelings, as Aether was too busy trying to untie him from Keqing’s arms. As Aether thought about it, though, all of his muddy emotions came back and began to bog him down like a chain weight attached to his hips. Aether breathed out, allowing him to collect his thoughts as he pieced together a response.
“I don’t know. Better than yesterday, I guess,” Aether croaked out. Oh Archons, his throat.
“Well, that’s better than nothing, I suppose. Would you like breakfast?”
“Mhm,” Aether hummed, not wanting to tear his throat to any more shreds.
“Alright, you wash up, and I’ll get started on that.”
“Mmm.”
Seeing as the covers were now cold without Keqing right next to him, Aether dragged himself out of her bed and made his way to the washroom. Rinsing off his face and brushing his teeth, he pondered what the next few weeks, months, or even years were going to look like. One question lingered on his tongue as he finished cleaning up for the morning.
Why? Why did she join the Abyss? What about Teyvat made her want to become a part of the Abyss? It’s so beautiful here, why would anyone want to destroy this? I have to find her. I’m going to get my sister back. How, though? How am I going to get there? She’s working with the Abyss now. How am I supposed to approach them? Am I even strong enough? These thoughts bombarded his consciousness as quiet clinks and sizzles came from the kitchen. A few minutes of mulling things over later, and a plate of warm food was tenderly set down in front of him. The smell of eggs, ham, and rice filled his nostrils, eliciting a primal urge seated deep inside of him. Hunger. Raw, unadulterated, and ravenous hunger. Aether didn’t think he had ever eaten that fast in his life. Within less than a minute, his plate was empty, and his stomach was satisfied.
From there, Aether quietly sipped on his tea that had a generous amount of honey and lemon in it. Each gulp sent a healing aura down his throat, mending it as the smooth liquid coursed downward.
“How was it?” Keqing asked in between a bite.
“It was delicious. Thank you.”
Keqing shyly looked down. “It’s no problem.”
Another silence followed for a few more minutes as Aether formulated his plan for the coming weeks. He was at a loss.
I know where she is now, but where is the Abyss Order base? Who knows how to get there? Dainsleif knows, but he’s up and gone too--he jumped through the portal after Lumine. Maybe someone else around here knows him? One of the seven, maybe? I haven’t talked to Venti in a while, and Zhongli is probably in the city somewhere, but…
Aether scoured his brain for possible plans. However, nothing came to mind. Aether was frustrated, angry, betrayed, and lost beyond belief. It was as if a ballista took deadly aim upon his chest and blew a hole the size of the universe into it. A gentle voice broke him out of his emotions.
“Are you okay to take those posters down today? We can do that another day if you’d like.”
Ah, right. That.
“I’ll be okay. We can start after breakfast. Do you not work, though?”
Keqing shook her head. “I do, but I can just stop by the office today to let Ganyu know that I won’t be in. She’ll understand.”
“...alright, if you say so.”
Keqing was a hard worker, and Aether really did feel bad for taking her away from her work. But if she said that it’d be okay, he supposed that it would be.
“I’m going to go get dressed now, and you should too. I had one of the secretaries run to get your clothes washed. They should be near the front door.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll meet you back out here when I’m done, okay?”
“Alright.”
With that, Aether turned his body to scan the area around the front door. Just like Keqing said, there was a little basket with his clothes in it, each article folded neatly on top of one another. Given everything that Keqing has done for him thus far, Aether felt horribly indebted to her. He was going to pay her back at some point, he decided. How though, he would have to worry about later. The first task on his priority list was to get changed. Within a few minutes, the two met in Keqing’s living room, donning their outfits for the day.
“Ready to go?”
Aether nodded. If he wasn’t one for many words before, he certainly wasn’t then. Aether couldn’t bring himself to speak at all. Like casting a tornado the size of a mountain, talking seemed to suck all of the energy from his body. He already felt weak to begin with. Any more, and he was liable to collapse. He stood up and spun to face the door, but the door he was expecting to see was obscured by something soft and quite fluffy. That something being his own hair. Aether made a feeble attempt to clear the hair out of his face right before it was suddenly and lightly cleared backward.
“Could… Could I braid your hair for you?”
“Sure.”
Aether heard a sharp inhale, followed by a drawn-out exhale, almost like she was trying to calm herself down. Keqing laid a couple of pillows out on the floor of her living area and took a seat on one of them. She patted the one in front of her.
“Sit down,” she guided, a soft smile gracing her features. Aether took a seat and felt Keqing’s deft hands doing their work. He felt the brush of her fingers as they threaded through and parted his long locks, separating any knots. He felt the tenderness behind each movement, the care, the warmth. He heard Keqing hum to herself contentedly as she took chunks of his hair and weaved it into his signature braid. Left over. Right over. Left over. The steps to making a braid were relatively simple, yet each action that Keqing took was methodical and meticulous. Precise.
In contrast to Keqing’s almost mechanical technique, a particular affection was brought out whenever Keqing tugged on Aether’s hair to tighten the braid. Just enough to bring the strands together, but not enough to pull on his scalp. The feeling of her fingers working with his hair brought solace to his aching soul. Sure, Paimon regularly braided his hair, but that felt different somehow. They were the same exact movements, but for whatever reason, Keqing braiding his hair made him feel homely. Aether wished he could hold onto this feeling forever. It was a feeling he desperately missed ever since he lost his sister.
“And done,” Keqing chirped. “What do you think?”
Aether reached behind him and took his braid in his hands. Not a single loose strand. Each chunk was perfectly even, and each weave was the same uniform tightness. All of it tied together with a simple hair tie with an amethyst butterfly ornament attached to it.
“It looks perfect,” Aether replied. He turned around on the pillow and smiled at Keqing, something he hadn’t done for almost a week straight. Keqing’s face brightened, reflecting his smile back at him. Aether leaned forward and pulled the girl into a tender embrace, holding her tight.
“Thank you,” Aether choked out. For but a moment, the traveler regressed, emotions leaking through the cracks once again. His throat closed up, forcing his body to shudder as he breathed. Keqing did nothing but embrace the healing soul in front of her, soothing him with her touch, stroking his hair. Aether’s breaths slowed down, bit by bit, as a distant memory poked through the surface of the infinite expanses of his mind.
Aether was home. Bright and sunny, with plains as far as the eye could see. A smattering of trees polka-dotted the landscape, and the occasional hill or mountain gave the flatland some flavor. Aether was a rambunctious child. Constantly climbing, running around, and exploring. He always found himself in a cave, in a tree, or in someone else’s yard. No one could pin the boy down, not even his sister.
One day, while Aether was exploring the land around him, he had found a particularly odd tree. For one, it was absolutely massive. Two, the trunk had curved at a nearly 90-degree angle near its midsection. And three, while the bark felt old and archaic to the touch, there was a seemingly vibrant and young aura to it that attracted Aether. He looked up from the base and was awed at its presence in the world. It stuck out like a beacon amidst the plains. He wondered how he had never seen this particular tree before.
Then came his next thought: he was going to climb it. Taking hold of a knot, Aether hoisted himself up and reached for another knot in the tree. He jammed his foot into a crevice, pushed himself up, allowing him to reach up for another crack in the bark. He climbed higher and higher, feeling the sun on his face as he reached the apex of the tree. Now standing on the horizontal part of the tree, he gazed around and felt like the top of the world. He looked down the tree’s built-in platform and saw another small vertical climb jutting up from the end of the horizontal trunk, like a flick of a calligraphy brush. Aether balanced along the trunk and reached up toward a branch, grasping onto it. He pulled himself up, one foot after the other, and climbed ever higher.
Right as he reached the top of the second vertical climb, Aether felt his foot suddenly become unsupported. Before he knew what was happening, the top of the tree became farther away, shrinking in his field of vision. Impact. He hit the ground with a thud, and the wind was knocked out of his lungs. There he lay on the ground, a breeze blowing by as if to taunt him for his inability to breathe. He tried using his right arm to support himself as he sat up but was stopped short by a shooting, sharp pain that enveloped his entire arm. Grunting in pain, he looked at his wrist and found that it was red and swollen. It seemed as if he landed on his arm.
Quickly realizing that, yes, he was, in fact, in pain, tears surfaced in Aether’s eyes. His sinuses began working overtime as Aether started to cry. What was he supposed to do? He was far away from home, and he-
“Aether!” A silvery voice entered his ears, soothing the anxiety he once felt.
“Aether, where are you?” The voice entered his ears once more.
“L-Lumine? Over here!” Aether’s voice cracked.
“Aether!” Lumine’s footsteps hastened and drew nearer as she ran over.
“There you are! What were you…” she began angrily. Upon seeing him on the ground, her expression softened. “Hey, are you okay?”
Aether sniffled as he held his injured wrist. “My wrist hurts…”
“Aether, this is why you shouldn’t be climbing trees all the time,” she chastised him half-heartedly. She moved over and sat on her knees in front of him, gently picking up his arm. “It doesn’t look like it’s broken, but we should get you home so that mom can patch it up, alright?”
Aether nodded then sniffed, emotions overwhelming him.
“I-I’m sorry, Lumine,” Aether wailed, clutching onto his sister. “I didn’t mean to make you worry!”
Lumine smiled softly at her supposedly older brother. He was surprisingly more of a crybaby than she was for being a boy, but that didn’t matter to her. Just so long as he was okay.
“There, there… I’m not mad. You were just gone for so long that I didn’t know where you had gone off to. I’m just glad you’re okay now,” Lumine cooed as she stroked his hair.
Aether buried his head in Lumine’s chest as she continued to caress his braid. He sniffled, quickly becoming settled at Lumine’s gentle touch. Lumine had a particular effect on Aether. Whenever he was angry, upset, or anything like that, she always managed to bring him back to earth, stifling any negativity that he felt. She was like a goddess touching a murky body of water for it to become pure and clean within seconds. Aether and Lumine sat under the tree quietly, the sun’s waning heat falling second compared to the warmth of being in each other’s arms.
“Wanna head back now?”
“Yeah.”
Lumine stood up and took Aether by his good hand, and pulled him to his feet.
Aether withdrew from Keqing’s embrace and gave her a tear-stained smile.
“Thank you, Keqing. I’m really sorry you have to see me like this,” Aether apologized.
Keqing shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m happy to be here for you whenever you need it.”
Aether’s chest suddenly tightened, and his throat caught when he saw the bright smile that spread across Keqing’s cheeks. He wanted to capture it and carry it with him on his adventures. Alas, the best he could do was pinch her cheek and tease her. This side of Keqing was quite nice. Usually, she has her work persona on, that hard-boiled, no-nonsense, will-kick-your-ass-if-you-so-much-as-rub-her-the-wrong-way attitude. However, seeing this side of her made him appreciate what all that was for. She just cared a lot. She cared a lot more than one would think. All of that was so nothing gets in the way of her taking care of the things she cared about. Like Liyue, for example. She was always working her butt off because she genuinely cared about the city of Liyue. She wanted to see it flourish and thrive, now that it was no longer under the rule of Rex Lapis.
After traveling with her for a few months and getting to know the lilac-haired girl, there was a lot more to that cold exterior than first meets the eye. She was a survivalist. She was a businesswoman. She was an investigator, planner, swordswoman, dreamer, and doer. Keqing had so many talents and skills all wrapped up in one neat, cute little cat-like package. Despite such a privileged upbringing, she took it upon herself to make herself as reliable as possible and to utterly destroy the notion that she’s just some helpless noble. That’s why Aether came to admire her so much.
“You know, you should show this side of yourself more. You’re actually kind of cute when you’re like this.”
Keqing flushed scarlet at the sudden contact and began to pout.
“Don’t say things like that all of a sudden!”
Aether chuckled, the first laugh that he’d had in days. His heart was slowly beginning to shine anew. He definitely would have to pay Keqing back for her kindness somehow.
“I’m glad you’re getting back to your usual self, though,” Keqing smiled back at him, all the while still blushing. “We should get going, though, while the day is still young.”
“You’re right,” Aether replied, standing up. “Let’s go.”
The pair slipped on their footwear and made their way out the door, entering the harbor. That day, Keqing had chosen to wear an orchid cardigan over a plain lavender shirt on top of black leggings and black flats. She had opted to keep her hair in the usual cat-ear buns, however. Aether had gone for his typical outfit, mostly because he didn’t have any other change of clothes. After a brief stop at the Qixing office, the pair made their way into Liyue, marking the beginning of the day’s mission.
They ventured around the harbor, taking down the missing person posters they had put up a few weeks prior. Somehow, someway, Keqing had made mental notes on where all of the posters they had put up were, which left Aether completely flabbergasted. Within an hour, the two finished their task, and a lingering, melancholic silence hung between them as they stood with their hands full of posters. Aether looked at his companion, thoughts rushing through his head at a million miles an hour.
The gentle curvature of her face that very well could have been delicately sculpted by the god of Geo himself. The way her cheeks lit up and her eyes scrunched when she smiled at Aether that wrapped him in a sweet and wonderful hug. Her smooth, elegant, yet bubbly laugh that never failed to infect him with the same laughter. The pigtails that streamed down from her cat-ear buns that happily bounced with each confident step Keqing took. Those piercing, amethyst eyes that made Aether’s heart skip a beat whenever she turned her gaze on him. All these little things that he never thought about before came to light as they stood at the edge of the dock then, basking in the chilly warmth of the morning sun.
The blond traveler had felt this before. In his many long years of travelling from world to world, he had felt these same emotions coursing through his blood. Love. Across many worlds, Aether and Lumine had fallen in love many, many times. Time and time again, though, they never acted on it, as he and Lumine would never stay long enough to justify a meaningful relationship. It just wouldn’t be fair to the other person nor themselves. Once again, Aether had fallen in love--he was mature enough to know his own state of being in times like this. When that distant childhood memory was dragged up from the bottom of the well of his mind, Aether felt the familiar, soul-squeezing hand grasp at his heart.
Aether was fairly certain he had feelings for Keqing since the very early stages of their relationship. Since their meeting at the Guizhong Ballista, he had always felt a mild attraction for the Yuheng. After adventuring with her for many months, that attraction only grew stronger and stronger. The events leading up to then had only served to be the nail in the coffin, the pitfall of affection. He knew that it was a bad idea to get involved with her. He knew that he wouldn’t be in Teyvat long enough to have a significant relationship. So why? Why was he so irrevocably attracted to Keqing and everything about her?
He stared at the figure standing slightly ahead of him, her face contoured wonderfully by the morning star. She wore a wistful expression, a happily forlorn smile lazily pushing her cheeks upward. A storm had begun to brew inside of Aether. He wanted badly to reach out and touch her face, hold her close, and never let go. He wanted a future with her in it, as all other possibilities without her seemed… sad and desolate. There were so many things he wanted to see and do with her that it physically hurt him, slicing his body open, leaving wounds that could only be healed by her.
Aether didn’t want to lose her. He didn’t want to lose someone so close to him ever again. She was right there, he could reach out and take hold of her, like nothing else in the world mattered. He knew he was being selfish. He knew that what he was about to decide was wrong in every sense of the word. But he didn’t care. If he didn’t start something then, he knew that he would come to regret it years later. Aether was going to build a relationship with this girl and remain at her side for as long as he could. He knew he had to look for his sister, but who’s to say that he couldn’t do that alongside Keqing? He stepped forward and turned to face her.
“Hey, Keqing.”
“Hm?” She turned her head toward him, arms still full of posters. Aether took one step closer and looked at her in the eyes, his heart beating right out of his chest. He tilted his head down and pressed his forehead against hers, savoring the miniscule contact and the proximity of their faces.
“I know I’ve said this a million times already, but thank you. Thank you for everything.”
Keqing, unsurprisingly, was startled by the sudden contact and closed distance between the two of them and gasped. She never broke contact, however.
“D-don’t worry about it, I-I’m only doing what a good f-friend should!” she stuttered through her own thundering heartbeat.
Aether smiled at her modesty and breathed a laugh out his nose. “Still, I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me in the past few months. It means a lot to me.”
Keqing went silent, unsure of how to continue next. A few seconds passed before a question finally formed on her lips.
“What do you plan to do next then?”
Aether separated from Keqing, the small spot on his forehead rapidly cooling as it was re-exposed to the brisk morning air.
“I just want to settle myself down for a little bit before I continue my search. I think some rest would do me good.”
Keqing looked at the posters in her arms, brain churning for a response.
“Do you have a place to stay?”
Aether shook his head. “I don’t. I was probably just going to find an inn or something.”
“Would you like to stay at my place then?”
Even Aether didn’t expect that. A terse silence hung in the air, realization hitting Keqing seconds after her previous sentence.
“I-I only ask because it’d probably be cheaper, a-and it’s closer to the harbor and the adventurer’s guild! Plus, there’s boats always coming in and out of the harbor, so i-it’d be easier for you to get a ride to wherever you decide to go next!” Keqing shut her eyes tight, hot embarrassment barraging her like a rain of arrows. Aether laughed affectionately, finding the girl’s embarrassment quite charming and cute.
“That’d be lovely, thank you,” he said. From the back of his mind, a resolute conclusion blipped to his consciousness. Without a doubt, Keqing was indeed a tsundere.