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Aether drove his sword once more through the cracks in the armour that surrounded Childe’s body. A burst of light shot through the room as Childe’s foul legacy form exploded, leaving the man himself to collapse to the floor, coughing.
“You’re a cut…above…” Childe wheezed out as Aether picked up a few scraps from around the room. Aether glanced over at him, pulling out some first aid supplies and food.
“I don’t know why you insist on fighting me every week when I always beat you,” Aether said, kneeling in front of Childe to help him tend to the various lacerations and injuries covering his body.
“Well how else will I know when I surpass you,” Childe replies, wincing as Aether dabs alcohol on a particularly deep cut on his arm. Aether rolled his eyes fondly and focused on patching him up while Childe watched.
Aether pulled Childe to his feet once the worst of his injuries were tended to, and handed Childe the food he had pulled out. Together, the two began walking out of the Golden House.
“Say, Aether, are you doing anything tomorrow night?” Childe asked casually as they walked past the milileth guards.
“Not really, Paimon and I were just going to go out foraging for supplies,” Aether replied, taking a bite of a chicken mushroom skewer.
“Would you like to come with me and Zhongli to Wanmin then? Zhongli has someone he wants you to, er, get to know, I suppose. Something about the both of you always seeming lonely and he thinks the two of you would get along well, I guess. Around sundown,” Childe rubbed absently at one of the bandages on his arm as he watched Aether’s face for a reaction.
Aether chewed thoughtfully for a moment before swallowing and nodding. “I don’t see why not, it kind of sounds fun. As long as I don’t feel like a third wheel to you and Zhongli.”
“Don’t worry, you won’t,” Childe laughed. Aether shoved him lightly as the two parted ways at the entrance of Liyue.
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Aether waved as Childe made his way to Wangsheng Funeral Parlour.
“Indeed, have a good day comrade,” Childe called.
* * *
“Would you quit worrying, you’re driving Paimon insane! You look fine, Paimon is sure whoever it is you’re going to meet will be impressed,” Paimon huffed as Aether ran his hands through his hair for the tenth time in two minutes. Aether sighed and dropped his hands to his side, looking in the mirror again. He smoothed down his scarf and ran his hands subconsciously over the scars that lined his hands before tugging on his gloves. He glanced up to look at Paimon in the reflection only to notice that his traveling companion had disappeared in a shower of stars again. Aether sighed again, nervously shaking his hands out as he moved to leave the mansion. He nodded at Tubby, waving as he disappeared from the teapot. He reappeared in Teyvat on the outskirts of Liyue as the sun slowly started to dip towards the horizon.
“Aether! Over here!” Looking around, Aether spotted Childe waving his arms like a madman at the gates of Liyue. In the interest of not causing the harbinger to draw more attention to himself, Aether quickly hurried over to him.
“Childe? I thought we were meeting at Wanmin?” Aether said as he came within earshot of his friend.
“We are! But I had to stop and get flowers for Zhongli xiangsheng and I was wondering if you wanted to bring some for your date. You don’t have to but I’ll pay if you do!” Childe motioned to the small flower stand behind him as he picked out a bouquet of flowers. Aether quickly scanned the stall before a small bouquet of qinxin flowers caught his eye.
He picked up the bouquet and showed it to Childe, “What do you think?”
“I think it’s perfect, comrade!” Childe turned to the vendor handling the booth and dropped a pouch of mora on the counter. “That should be enough to cover our bouquets, please, keep the change.” Childe turned back to Aether and linked their arms so they wouldn’t get separated in the bustling streets of Liyue.
“Do you know at all who’s gonna be my date?” Aether asked.
“Not a clue, all xiangsheng said is that he sees him as a son,” Childe responded cheerfully. Aether frowned. Who would Zhongli see as a son?
“We’re here!” Childe’s voice broke Aether out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see they were indeed outside of Wanmin. He took a deep breath and followed Childe in. He wasn’t really sure why he was so nervous, but he hoped it wasn’t too obvious.
Childe led Aether to a table at the back of the restaurant where he could see Zhongli in the booth facing them.
“Xiangsheng!” Childe called excitedly, abandoning Aether in favour of jumping into the booth next to Zhongli and curling into his side and handing the bouquet of flowers to him.
“Mo-Zhongli you didn’t tell me your fatui fuckboy would be here,” a gruff voice spoke from across Zhongli, and Aether took note of the green haired adeptus. Xiao? Aether thought to himself. They want me to go on a date with Xiao?
“My apologies Xiao, it seems to have slipped my mind,” Zhongli replied with the intent of a man who absolutely did not forget. Xiao stood up and moved as if to leave.
“I refuse to dine with the scum of the Earth that tried to drown my city,” Xiao said with a pointed glare to Childe.
“Xiao please, I must insist,” Zhongli rose as well. “You wouldn’t want to leave Aether hanging, would you?” Xiao turned, finally seeming to take note of Aether. He turned quickly away, and Aether noticed the tips of his ears turning pink. He sat back down, with a huff.
“Fine, I will stay for a little while, only because it is your command. But I am leaving if the fuckboy gets on my nerves.” Zhongli smiled at that, choosing not to comment on Xiao’s nickname for Childe. He motioned for Aether to take a seat next to Xiao.
When he sat down, Xiao turned to look at him, as if he were sizing him up almost. But it was more gentle than that. There was something in Xiao’s eyes that Aether couldn’t explain. He hadn’t seen much of the adeptus since they’d taken care of that fake adeptus together, the only times being if Aether desperately needed help while out fighting. It wasn’t that Aether didn’t want to see Xiao, the opposite was true. But Aether wanted to respect Xiao’s boundaries and not force him into companionship if he didn’t want it. Aether found the elusive vigilante yaksha to be quite handsome, and from what he knew of him, he thought he was very kind, too. Aether shyly held the bouquet of qinxin flowers out to Xiao. Xiao stared at it in confusion for a moment before gently taking it and placing it on the table.
“Mo-Zhongli, why have you brought this mortal to dine with us?” Xiao asked, finally turning away from Aether. Zhongli’s lips twitched as if he were trying to suppress an amused smile.
“I knew you would not want to dine with me and Childe alone, so I assumed a companion might be suitable to share this time with,” Zhongli responded patiently. “Aether had seemed like the best option, as you both seem to have similar personalities.” Xiao nodded before shooting a glare at Childe, who had begun laughing.
“Similar personalities? Xiangsheng with all due respect, Xiao and Aether seem like exact opposites,” Childe said between giggles. Zhongli’s mouth twitched again as Xiao practically growled at the ginger.
“No fighting at the dinner table,” Zhongli cut in as Xiao moved to hit Childe. “Please, for me,” he added pointedly to Xiao. Xiao grumbled and sat back down next to Aether.
Zhongli signaled for Xiangling to come over with menus.
“Welcome to Wanmin, guys! Here are your menus since you two don’t really come here much,” she said looking at Xiao and Aether. “Can I get you guys anything to drink?”
“Osmanthus wine for us all to share, please,” Zhongli said. Xiangling bounded off to get that while Aether and Xiao looked over the menu.
“Xiao you have to get more than just almond tofu,” Zhongli said as Xiao set the menu down almost immediately.
“But Mo-Zhongli I don’t like anything else,” Xiao protested.
“Find something tolerable, Xiao, you cannot eat only a desert food,” Zhongli said with finality. Xiao grumbled but picked up the menu again.
Once everyone had decided, Xiangling was back with the wine.
“Alright, here’s the osmanthus wine to share, and Aether I just brought you some water, if you want something else, I can get that for you,” Xiangling said cheerfully. Grumbling about how he was older than he looked, Aether accepted the glass of water. “Are you all ready to order?” They gave her their orders and she scampered off to deliver it to the kitchen. Zhongli sat back and poured wine for himself, Childe, and Xiao. Aether glanced longingly at the glasses, wishing that he could try it. His mind wandered back to when he and Lumine used to travel the universe, sampling different foods and drinks in each world they went to. Xiao seemed to notice this, and while Childe and Zhongli were busy making heart eyes at each other, Xiao turned to him.
“How old are you,” he asked.
“Old. I’m not sure exactly how old, it’s hard to keep track when you travel so many worlds where all the years are different. We arrived in Teyvat in time to witness the destruction of-” Aether cut himself off and glanced at Zhongli. Xiao seemed to understand, and nodded. He handed Aether his wine glass.
“I do not drink. Take it,” Xiao said gruffly and looked away. Aether looked from the yaksha to the drink in his hand before hesitantly raising it to take a sip. It was bitter, but pleasantly so. Aether swirled it in the cup noticing how good the quality was, or at least good quality to the standards of the previous worlds he had been in. Swallowing it, he noted the sweet aftertaste, and decided that he liked it. He looked up to see Xiao watching him and gave a sheepish smile.
“When me and Lumine used to travel to different worlds, we would always make it a point to sample the different food and drinks. We were particularly fond of taste testing wine. It’s nice to try it again,” Aether explained, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. Xiao gave a nod and turned back to studying his hands and the table in front of them. Aether took a few more sips before placing the glass back on the table. He knew it had been a very long time since he’d had alcohol, so it would be best to space it out in case his alcohol tolerance had decreased.
Xiangling came back with their orders shortly after.
“Alright, crystal shrimp and jade parcels for Childe, bamboo shoot soup and jade parcels for Zhongli, golden shrimp balls and golden crab for Aether, and adeptus temptation and almond tofu for Xiao. Enjoy! Let me know if you need anything,” Xiangling said, setting down their food before retreating. The group began to dig into their food, conversing lightly about their day as they did so.
“I had to go debt collecting today. The man saw me and who I was and he was shaking in his boots! A shame though, I was hoping for a good fight,” Childe said, laughing.
“You’re insufferable,” Xiao grumbled just loud enough for Aether to hear. Aether snorted, noticing a small triumphant smile appear on Xiao’s face at the noise. Is there anything this man does that isn’t endearing? Aether wondered fondly.
“Well while you were out making a man fear for his life, Hu Tao was being very mischievous today. As you all know, she is very fond of playing pranks, but has little regard for the consequences of her actions. I made the mistake of telling her the other day that Ganyu tends to overwork herself without sleeping for days on end. Hu Tao decided that she would personally make sure Ganyu went to sleep, but unfortunately that included sending her little ghost friends in to scare the poor girl into sleeping. The poor girl was so frightened she fainted. I had to spend the day dealing with the Qixing and negotiating deals to ensure they didn’t relieve Hu Tao of the ability to run her business,” Zhongli said.
“That girl is nothing but trouble. She’s so loud and over the top,” Xiao muttered to Aether, who put a hand over his mouth to hide his giggles.
“What about you, Aether, what did you do today?” Zhongli asked, sipping at his wine. The group had finished eating a few minutes ago. Aether looked thoughtful for a minute.
“Well, I did my commissions from the adventurer’s guild. They weren’t really anything special, just clearing out a couple of hilichural camps and making some almond tofu for a little girl who didn’t want to take her medicine,” Aether said, smiling at the memory of Hongdou. He noticed Xiao watching him fondly, but he looked away when Aether looked at him.
“Brats need to learn to take their medicine without being bribed,” Xiao grumbled. Aether lightly smacked his arm.
“You adore kids too, I know you do. And kids adore you too,” Aether said quietly. “Every kid I’ve talked to that you’ve saved or helped absolutely adores you and wants to thank you.” Xiao’s cheeks turned pink and he turned away, muttering about how the kids didn’t actually know him. Aether sighed and noticed Childe and Zhongli watching them with amusement.
“Ah, youth,” Childe sighed. Zhongli slapped a hand over his mouth before he could say anything else that would cause Xiao to bring his wrath down on the harbinger.
“I think we will take our leave before Childe gets himself into more trouble,” Zhongli said, standing up while still keeping his hand over Childe’s mouth. “You two are welcome to stay as long as you would like. It was a pleasure to spend the evening together, I do hope we can do this again someday in the future.” He risked taking his hand away from the harbingers mouth as Childe fished a pouch of mora out of his pocket.
“That’ll be enough for everyone’s meal. Bye bye kids, have fun and be sure to use protection~” Childe said, prompting Zhongli to slap his hand back over the harbinger’s mouth. Aether felt his face flush, not daring to look at Xiao to see his reaction.
“I sincerely apologize for him, I will see to it that he gets reprimanded,” Zhongli said. Childe wriggled out of Zhongli’s grip.
“Ooh xiangsheng, are you gonna fuck me~” Childe teased.
“That is enough Childe,” Zhongli’s eyes flashed dangerously. “I apologize, you two, please have a good night.” With that, Zhongli pulled Childe out of the restaurant, leaving Aether and Xiao alone. Aether rubbed his hand over his face, which was still slightly pink, and turned back to Xiao.
“I must go as well, I have duties to attend to,” Xiao said, standing up. He paused thoughtfully, and reached to cork the wine bottle, handing it to Aether. “Here, keep what’s left of this.” Aether smiled brightly, tucking the half empty bottle gently into his bag.
“Thank you, Xiao. I had fun,” Aether said. Xiao nodded and prepared to teleport away, before he hesitated.
“It was nice getting to spend some time with you. If you would like, you may visit me at the inn whenever you want,” with that, Xiao disappeared in a whirlwind of anemo energy, leaving a shocked Aether behind to process his words. A bright smile slowly crept across his face, staying there long enough for Paimon to stare at him in confusion when she reappeared some time later. He just shook his head and smiled even more when she asked about it.
* * *
When Xiao returned to his room in wangshu inn, he carefully placed the bouquet of qinxin flowers in a vase with water. He’d visit Mountain Shaper tomorrow and see if there was a way to preserve them in a transparent amber. He summoned his spear and began sweeping the surrounding area for the monsters that plagued Liyue. He allowed muscle memory to take over as he did his rounds, sweeping through the monster camps mindlessly as he replayed the events of the evening over in his head. Damn Morax and that fatui fuckboy, how did they know to ask Aether to accompany him? He wasn’t that obvious with his fascination with the traveler was he? He couldn’t be, his feelings toward the traveler were forbidden. He was nothing more than a weapon, he didn’t deserve to love or be loved by the traveler who lived among the stars. Besides, he reminded himself, you would only cause the traveler pain and suffering. Your karma is too much for any mortal to bear. But even as he thought that, a little voice in his head whispered that Aether wasn’t a normal mortal. He had admitted today he was well over 500 years old. Maybe it would be okay, just this once, for him to indulge in his feelings. Xiao decided that as long as he didn’t make a move to become anything more than friends with the traveler that it would be okay to allow himself to feel these emotions. Even if bottling them up hurt, it would be okay as long as Aether stayed safe. That was all that mattered. And if he was a little less merciful to the monsters than what he normally was, no one had to know.
BONUS SCENE:
3 months later
“Xiao?” Aether called as he reached the top deck of the inn. He stepped carefully towards the railing, balancing two plates of almond tofu in his hands. He placed them down on the table he and Xiao had set up after their first couple meetings. A whirlwind of anemo energy behind him told him Xiao had appeared. He turned around to face the vigilant yaksha, and startled when he saw how close they were. Xiao blinked and took a step back.
“Apologies, I misjudged where I would appear,” Xiao muttered, face tinting pink. Aether giggled and tugged him forward by his wrist.
“I didn’t mind, you just startled me is all,” Aether assured, wrapping his arms around Xiao’s shoulders. The yaksha stiffened for a moment before hesitantly settling his arms around Aether’s waist. The two had become more physically affectionate only recently. Of course Xiao had never had much affection in his long life, so he was still getting used to the idea even though it felt nice. Especially when it was Aether giving it.
Aether buried his face in Xiao’s neck. He smelled like qinxin flowers and fresh air. Xiao let out a soft breath and hesitantly tightened his grip on Aether. Aether smiled and pulled back just far enough to be able to look at the adepti in front of him.
“Xiao, I actually came here because I wanted to tell you something,” Aether said, ignoring that his voice sounded just the slightest bit anxious. Xiao’s expression immediately morphed into a look of concern.
“Are you okay? Do I need to kill anyone?” the yaksha asked immediately. Aether let out a soft laugh.
“No, no nothing like that. I, uh, why don’t we sit down,” Aether suggested, letting go of Xiao and motioning to the table where the dishes of almond tofu sat. Xiao nodded, letting go of Aether’s waist and sitting down in front of one of the plates. Aether sat down across from him, fiddling with his almond tofu as he mulled over how he should say what he needed to. That wasn’t getting him anywhere, so he decided to just go for it.
“Xiao, these past few months of getting to know you have been absolutely incredible. You’re such an amazing person, and kind and thoughtful. I know you don’t think much of yourself but believe me when I say you’re the greatest person I’ve ever met and I’m so glad you’re in my life,” Aether paused to take a breath, taking a small bite of his food to calm his nerves. “When we first went on that double date with Childe and Zhongli, I had no intention of getting close to you. I knew you liked your space and weren’t fond of being around people, so I wanted to respect your wishes and keep my distance. But that night was so much fun, and at the end of it you gave me permission to see you whenever I wanted. So I took that opportunity. You were always so intriguing to me, the lone Conqueror of Demons who needed no one and preferred to never talk to anyone. But you were and are the prettiest person I’ve met during my time in Teyvat. I guess you could say I’ve liked you for a long time. But I was content just being your friend. I didn’t want to force you into something you didn’t want, and I still don’t. But as we’ve gotten closer it’s been harder and harder to ignore. And so I guess what I’m trying to say is, I love you Xiao. You don’t have to reciprocate it obviously, and I understand if you don’t want to see me again, but I can’t keep hiding it. I love you Xiao, so m-mpfh,” Aether let out a startled noise as Xiao reached over and slapped a hand over his mouth to stop his rambling.
Once he was sure Aether wouldn’t continue his ramblings as soon as he took his hand away, Xiao dropped his hand back to his side and stood up. Aether watched in mild fear as he wondered if Xiao was going to leave. Despite what he had said, he wasn’t sure if he could handle Xiao leaving. Ever since his meeting with Lumine, he had realized he developed slight separation anxiety and a fear of abandonment. If Xiao left, he wasn’t sure what he would do.
He was pulled out of his thoughts as Xiao grabbed his wrist and pulled him to his feet. There was an amused look on his face as he leaned closer, placing his hands on Aether’s waist.
“For someone who’s usually so quiet, you talk too much,” he said, an amused lilt to his voice, before leaning in and connecting his lips to Aether’s. Aether’s brain shut down, and it took him a little bit to process what was happening. When his brain finally caught up, he wrapped his arms around Xiao’s neck, returning the kiss enthusiastically. He felt Xiao smile against his lips, and he pressed closer to the yaksha.
When they finally broke apart, Xiao rested his forehead against Aether’s.
“I am not an easy person to love,” he began, “I am a weapon honed for slaughter. I do not know what it is to love or to be loved. If you were any ordinary mortal, I would have made you leave a long time ago for fear of hurting you. But it seems you are unaffected by my karmic debt, and when you’re with me the burden feels like it's less to bear. Perhaps I am being selfish by allowing you this, but I find I do not care. I love you too, Aether.” Aether let out a soft breath at the yakshas words before reconnecting their lips in another kiss. The two stayed that way for a while, wrapped in each other's embrace.
Inside the inn, a ginger sadly slipped a pouch of mora to his brunet companion who was smiling triumphantly.
“You were right, xiangsheng, it appears Xiao does have emotions,” Childe grumbled as Zhongli triumphantly put the mora in his pocket and wrapped an arm around him.
“I know my children well, Ajax. Come, let’s go home, leave the two be,” he said, tugging Childe toward the exit. Golden eyes followed their descent down the stairs before turning back to his new love. Leave it to Morax to bet on if I would fall in love, Xiao thought to himself. But when Aether kissed him again, he found he couldn’t really care. After all, did anything else really matter if he had his beloved with him at long last? He pulled away and buried his face in Aether’s hair, genuinely smiling for the first time in centuries. Maybe there was more to him than just a weapon.