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Aether finds him on the outskirts of Liyue Harbor while out for an evening walk, and he’s alarmed to recognize that the hunched figure under the shade of a tree with their head ducked towards the ground is Xiao. He walks towards him and he doesn’t even look up when Aether sits beside him. After observing him for a moment, he realizes that Xiao is trembling, his breathing labored and his knuckles white from how hard he was digging his fingers in the ground beneath them.
Aether puts a hand on his shoulder, and Xiao jumps a bit at the contact but doesn’t turn to face him, “hey what’s wrong? You’re shaking,” he makes sure to keep his voice low.
He doesn’t move away, but doesn’t offer any response either. Aether lifts his hand to tuck the hair obscuring his face behind his ear. When he doesn’t move even at this, Aether shifts to sit on his knees, taking Xiao’s face with both of his hands and gently turning it towards him. His tightly closed eyes flutter open slightly, and Aether inhales sharply at what he sees.
Xiao’s pupils are blown wide, his face thin and sickly pale, with sharp fangs peeking even behind closed lips. Aether has spent enough time with him to realize in an instant that Xiao hasn’t had any blood for at least a few days, and is absolutely starving .
Aether’s heart breaks a little at the sight, “Xiao, when was the last time you fed?”
Xiao shifts a little to try to face him properly, and his eyes fall shut again; every action seems to take so much of his energy, and all Aether wishes to do is help him in any way he can. A minute shake of Xiao’s head tells him all he needs to know.
He knows he will protest, that it will take convincing, but there’s no other practical solution. Aether offers the inside of his elbow to him, “here, have some of my blood,”
Xiao’s eyes snap open in alarm and are instantly drawn to the exposed arteries near him. He speaks for the first time, “no. I can’t,” his voice a small and shaky thing that Aether hates to hear from him.
“Yes you can. Xiao, you’re starving, you need to feed or you’ll collapse,”
When he doesn’t move, Aether decides to take a different approach, “please, you’re worrying me, let me help you,”
This appears to work. Xiao looks at him before glancing back to his arteries. He opens his mouth to say something but seems to think the better of it.
“What is it?”
“You won’t be able to hide the bite mark,” Xiao says quietly
Aether was tempted to laugh; that’s what he is worried about? Even so, it has an easy solution. He wraps his arms around Xiao’s shoulders and shuffles closer, “then drink from my neck. I always wear a scarf anyway,”
Xiao looks up at him in disbelief, “you can’t be serious,”
Aether gives him a small smile, “I am. Now stop stalling and feed,”
Xiao stares at him for a few seconds, looking torn between despair and gratitude. His gaze drops to the side of his neck where Aether knows his artery is, and while he’s naturally a bit apprehensive of fangs descending on him, any fear he might have is far outweighed by his concern and affection for Xiao, and the need to help in any way he can.
Xiao lets out a shaky breath and finally releases his vice grip on the ground, shifting to fully face him. One hand comes up to loosely clasp Aether’s neck, and the other grabs onto his shoulder, using it to pull himself up so he can get a better angle.
He starts to move closer to the side of Aether’s neck. He closes his eyes in anticipation, but nothing comes. Xiao has stopped bare inches away, face close enough that he can feel his stuttered breathing on his skin. He draws back to look Aether in the eye.
“Aether, I need you to promise me something,” he starts.
He almost wants to call him out on his stalling, but thinks better of it, “of course,”
“The initial puncture will hurt, but painkillers should immediately be released into your bloodstream. If you feel any pain at all after that, promise that you’ll stop me,”
A nods, “I promise,”
“Okay,” Xiao says in a whisper, as if steeling himself. Aether really needs to drill into him that he shouldn’t feel guilty about saving himself.
Xiao draws him closer and finally leans the whole way in. At first it feels like a kiss, and he feels his face turn warm, but then Aether lets out a small gasp as Xiao’s incisors dig in and puncture through skin and muscle alike in one sharp stab.
True to his words, he doesn’t feel any pain beyond the initial sting, that portion of his neck instead goes numb and feels strangely tingly.
Aether is relieved and a little endeared at the way Xiao now clings onto him and drinks greedily, in comparison to a moment ago where he could barely hold himself up or speak.
He loops one of his arms under one of Xiao’s, making it so that Aether can hold him closer.
Not being quite sure of what to do now, he tries to regulate his breathing so that his blood pressure falls into a predictable pattern. Aether’s fingers drift to the back of Xiao’s head, and he cards them through the damp hair in what he hopes is a soothing manner.
Xiao parts slightly from his neck with a quiet gasp for air, taking a moment to catch his breath before he goes right back in for more.
Aether laughs a little, continuing to play with his hair, “it’s okay, take as much as you need. It doesn’t hurt,” he says softly. It feels as though he’s calming down a feral cat who’s eating proper food for the first time.
This continues for around another minute, after which Xiao leans his head on his shoulder. Xiao’s body essentially melts against him; worn out after being in hunger and pain for so long.
He moves his arms so that they encircle Aether’s waist, and Aether tugs the both of them to sit more comfortably on the ground, pulling Xiao onto his lap. Closing his eyes and tucking his chin onto Xiao’s shoulder, they enjoy a comfortable silence for a while.
“Thank you,” Xiao says so quietly that he isn’t sure he would have heard it had they not been pressed so close together.
Aether smiles into his shoulder, “you’re more than welcome, it’s no problem really,”
He feels Xiao’s arms tighten slightly around him, “why? Why do you show me so much kindness? I am the least deserving of it,”
He sighs a little, sadness and fondness swirling inside of him, “Xiao, there are very, very few people in this world that aren’t deserving of kindness, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that you aren’t one of them,” Aether lightly traces circles with his thumb on Xiao’s back, “you’ve spent the last few thousand years protecting Liyue and its people with basically no thanks, and you’ve been nothing but kind and protective to the humans that you encounter. If even you don’t deserve kindness and gratitude, then who does?”
That seems to break something in Xiao that not even starvation could, because not a moment later does he bury his face in the crook between Aether’s neck and shoulder and holds onto him like a lifeline.
He feels his tears dampen his shirt, but he couldn’t care less about that. What Xiao needs right now is someone he can lean on and care for him, and Aether is more than glad to be that person given how many times Xiao has helped him and been there for him without complaint in the past. Aether considers this as simply doing his part in their relationship. He strokes his back soothingly, and waits for Xiao’s breathing to even out.
After a little while, the tears stop and the hold on his waist loosens a little.
“I apologize, I’ve been nothing but a burden to you tonight,” Xiao murmurs into his shoulder
Aether laughs a little at that, “you’ve really got to allow yourself to be taken care of. It’s not like I haven’t cried all over you myself,” a pause, “this is what people do in relationships; they take care of each other,” he adds in a softer voice.
Xiao hums, “still, you saved my life, there has to be a way for me to pay you back,”
Aether considers this for a moment, and debates on whether it’s worth it to tell him that there is nothing to repay, but he knows that Xiao has spent his life dealing in debts and that he won’t be easily convinced, so he lands on something that will satisfy them both.
“Well, if you really want to show your gratitude, then take better care of yourself in the future. Don’t let yourself suffer alone, and come to me if you need anything; I’ll be more than happy to help,” at the end he adds: “this includes giving you more blood as well,”
A few seconds pass as Xiao takes this in, and then he nods, “alright, I can do that,”
Internally, he breathes a sigh of relief, “good,”
Xiao turns his head and plants a light kiss on Aether’s neck, near where the bite mark probably is, “there was some blood left on there,” he mumbles, but Aether knows the truth and only quietly laughs at how the tips of Xiao’s ears have turned pink.
They fall back into comfortable silence. With Aether’s natural body warmth and Xiao’s slightly cool skin due to his nature, each of them finds a unique comfort in the other.
Aether is dozing off when he hears Xiao say something.
“Hm? Sorry, I think I almost fell asleep,”
“Oh. You need to eat something before you sleep,”
“I’m not hungry though,” he says while trying to stifle a yawn.
“That doesn’t matter. I’m not certain how much blood I drank from you, but it was no insignificant amount. If you don’t eat soon you’ll be fatigued and possibly fall ill due to blood loss,”
“Oh, that makes sense,” Aether finds that he isn’t in the mood for a particular food, so he asks Xiao instead.
“Are you craving something? Because there’s nothing really on my mind right now,”
He feels him shake his head, “no, i’ve already had plenty,”
“You won’t even have almond tofu?” he asks teasingly, already knowing the answer.
“Maybe I’ll have almond tofu,”
Aether smiles, “that’s what I thought. Come on, let’s go have some,”
Xiao seems reluctant to untangle himself from Aether, but given that Xiao is concerned about his health, and that there’s almond tofu involved, he gets off his lap and offers him a hand that he gladly takes.
“Wait,” Xiao doesn’t let go of his hand, and before they can start making their way to the harbor, he intertwines their fingers and pulls Aether in for a kiss.
It’s soft and brief, but he understands what he’s trying to convey. Xiao pulls away only to go in for another one, seemingly unable to help himself. Aether smiles against his lips and gives his hand a gentle squeeze that is returned.
“Now we can go,” Xiao says quietly after they part, and they head off to the glowing harbor with contentedness in their hearts.