Work Text:
Aether fumbled clumsily through his travel bag, teeth chattering and body in a fit of shivers as the cold started biting into his core. His hand bumped into his target object, freeing the magical teapot to float effortlessly out of the confines of the bag to await Aether’s command in midair. Instead of entering immediately, the blonde turned his head to admire his smiling handiwork that grinned back at him.
A charming stick armed snowman with a fluffy red scarf, holding a prominent broom bristle side up, sat perfectly formed in the mound of snow. It had a neat arrangement of stone buttons, crowned with a dapper top hat and Aether’s favorite ingenious touch, fried eggs with golden yokes for eyes.
“Hhhu-urry up an-and go in A-Aether! Paimon is freeeeezing!” the shivering fairy whined.
“O-ok, let’s g-go inside.” Aether said between shivers as he could no longer ignore how much the cold was starting to hurt. He tapped the teapot and entered inside with his floating companion. The pair instantly began thawing as the tranquil warmth within the adeptal abode enveloped them, giving them the sensation of melting into a relaxed happy puddle.
The traveling duo took a moment to lay on their backs in the grass of the floating isle, bathing in the sunlight that never left in this realm. Silently, a shadow disrupted Aether’s view of the sky.
“Hi Xiao.” Aether lazily waved from where he laid.
“Tiring day?” Xiao softly replied as he took a seat at Aether’s side, with his gaze never quite leaving the blonde’s face as he crossed his legs.
“Cold day. We were investigating something in Dragonspine and got a bit distracted by some of the items we found.” Aether’s eyes went half lidded as he pulled off one of his gloves to cup Xiao’s cheek. He could feel the slightest flinch in the yaksha’s body as his cold hand made contact with the warm skin.
Xiao reached up to take the frozen hand at this face and kissed the cold palm before beginning to rub warmth back into the cold fingers with his silken gloved hands. The diamond adorned forehead creased with worry as furrowed brows took over Xiao’s expression. “You need to be careful in the snow. The cold should not be trifled with as you could get frostbite and permanently hurt yourself.”
“Well it’s a good thing I have a dutifully loving adeptus willing to warm my fingers then.” Aether grinned mischievously.
“And this is where Paimon already knows to take her leave.” Paimon said aloud, floating back up from her spot to make a hasty retreat to the mansion before things got steamier with the couple. “Paimon would like a hot soup after you two are done!”
Hardly missing a beat from his ministrations, Xiao reached over to grab Aether’s other hand to provide it with similar tender care. The second glove was gently removed and soon both his bare hands were in Xiao’s, enjoying the soothing massages he was getting as Xiao coaxed the warmth to return into his fingers.
“Ah~ I should make a snowman more often if I can get so much attention afterwards like this.” Aether sighed, fully relaxed from the touch.
“What snow man?” the adeptus asked with a genuine tone of curiosity.
“Have you never made one before? It’s one of the best things to do when the snow piles up.” Aether replied excitedly.
Xiao lowered their hands as his eyes drifted to stare off in the distance. “The most I remember you can do with snow is to eat it…”
Aether sat up to enter Xiao’s line of sight, smiling from ear to ear. He’d known the yaksha long enough now to know his tone of voice when an unpleasant past memory was about to emerge. “Let’s go build one right now.”
“Now? I just finished warming you up.”
“Yes now because this is another important memory we can have together right?”
Xiao blinked a few times as he processed the proposal before letting out a sigh to reply “...Very well. This sounds like another mortal custom you enjoy so I shall learn what it entails. Lead the way.”
With a triumphant grin on his face, Aether gathered his gloves and put them back on. He then motioned for Xiao to stand up, bringing the pair to stand within arms reach of each other. Brown gloved fingers laced into teal gloved ones as they gripped hands tightly in anticipation for teleportation to a waypoint. In a matter of seconds, a swirling blur of adeptal energy surrounded the couple, whisking them to materialize at the waypoint near a human encampment.
Aether guided Xiao to the spot he had stood with Paimon earlier to make his masterpiece. The snowman stood there undisturbed in its spot, greeting the two visitors with its stony grin.
“This is a snowman. I made it earlier.” Aether beamed proudly.
Xiao stood quietly as his eyes scanned the snowy creation from head to toe before turning to look at Aether with a deadpan expression. “Humans are not shaped like this. I would not necessarily call this a man.”
Aether was completely exasperated and a little hurt by the blunt criticism though he tried not to show it. “Snowman. Try to have some imagination ok? Here, I’ll change it up a bit.”
Unwilling to back down that making snowmen was fun and remarkable despite not being accurately identical in human proportions, Aether removed the hat, scarf, stick arms and stony grin leaving the broom and eyes untouched. He grabbed fists full of snow and packed it together to shape thicker arms at the snowman’s sides. The expression was then altered to have a sideways “T” shaped mouth sculpted in and repurposed the stones from the stony grin to be rearranged on the snowy torso to resemble a certain pearl necklace. A larger pointed stone that sat nearby was positioned prominently at the center between the “pearls”.
Getting further engrossed in the activity, Aether decided to experiment a bit and added some snow to make soft spikes that swooped downward onto the snowman’s head. He then topped the head with a singular upright spike that had a curve to it. As his final finishing touch, Aether pressed a diamond shaped stone he found on the ground into what would be considered the snowman’s forehead.
Aether took a few steps back and put his hands at his waist. “Well Xiao? What do you think now? Doesn’t it look familiar?”
“It’s me?”
“Yeah! Sure you’re definitely much slimmer than this but you get the idea.”
“This broom is my spear?” Xiao’s head tilted as he started stepping closer to pace around the creation with wide eyed curiosity.
“Now that’s using your imagination! Yes it’s supposed to represent your spear. The fun of making a snowman is using the materials you have around you to make any you’d like. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s the creativity that counts.” Aether smiled as he started rubbing his arms. The cold was starting to settle in.
“I’m flattered that you chose to create my likeness. I never imagined my eyes could be represented as egg yolks.”
An amused hint of a smirk creased into the corner of Xiao’s lip just enough for Aether to register it as a smile. It warmed him inside that Xiao seemed rather pleased with the snowy creation as he continued pacing around it, admiring it from every angle.
“I-I’m glad you like it.” Aether said, as he started to shiver.
“Seems simple enough to do. I shall also try my hand at making one.”
“R-really? W-wow I’m loOoking for-orward to it. Y-you’re not cold?”
“I am but not enough to bother me yet. Here.” Xiao picked up the discarded scarf and wrapped it around Aether’s shoulders like a shawl. The close proximity with Xiao attentively reaching around him to wrap him with the garment made Aether’s heart skip a beat. “It may take a little while so why don’t you return to the Serenitea pot and make Paimon that soup. I’ll come back for you once I’m done.”
“Buuut I wwwant to w-watch.”
“I need to leave here to gather materials. It wouldn’t do to have you freezing again in the snow.”
“O-ok.”
Xiao helped Aether retrieve the teapot from his bag and as soon as Aether materialized inside, the blonde trotted off to the mansion and made a beeline for the kitchen. Paimon immediately emerged from where she had been resting and followed her favorite chef into the kitchen to supervise the cooking of their meal. The pair then sat at the dining table to devour some hot radish veggie soup allowing Aether a chance to catch Paimon up on what happened with the snowman.
“Ohh Paimon is so curious at what Xiao is going to make! What if it’s hideous?”
“It’s his first try so we’ll be nice no matter how it looks.” Aether said firmly.
Once their bowls were empty, Aether cleared the table and returned to sit again at his usual dining spot. Now stuffed and warmed up from the soup and pleasant temperature in the mansion, Aether crossed the ends of the scarf he continued wearing around his shoulders to create a makeshift pillow that he wrapped his arms around. Blonde head nestled against the red knitted pillow, feeling ready to drift off to sleep.
“Xiao didn’t say when he’d be back?” Paimon asked.
“No, but he’ll come back soon.” Aether mumbled back as his eyes grew heavier. Sleep soon overcame him, bringing an odd dream about frying eggs while having sticks for arms.
Eventually, a familiar low voice calling his name stirred him awake to sleepily greet the yaksha who gently shook his shoulder.
“I apologize that I took so long. You are correct that this activity is rather distracting and easy to lose track of time. But I have completed my snow man. Come.”
Xiao took both of Aether’s hands to help him up and once standing, he fixed the red scarf so that it remained snuggly draping around the traveler’s shoulders. In a daze, Aether elongated himself into a satisfying stretch as he continued to shake the sleep off.
“Can Paimon come too?” the fairy innocently asked with her hands clasped behind her back.
“Very well.” Xiao said after a slight pause leaving Aether to wonder if he had wanted the unveiling to be a little more private.
This time, Xiao held Aether close with an arm around his waist, making the blonde swallow nervously. No matter how much time he’d spent with Xiao, every gesture like this always took his breath away. Paimon flew in to wrap herself tightly around her companion’s free arm, knowing full well from experience that Xiao intended to teleport them to the site. Oddly he brought them a few paces away from the snowman location and the trio untangled themselves for the short walk to the spot.
“I…I hope you will be pleased.” Xiao said with an uncharacteristic waver in his voice.
“It’ll be fine Xiao!” Aether reassured, completely amused that a mighty yaksha may be feeling shy about showing his creation. “I’m really excited to see how you did on your first….snow…wow.”
Next to Aether’s snow Xiao stood what would better be described as a snow sculpture of Aether’s likeness. Aether’s jaw simply dropped open as his eyes fell first on an intricately woven arrangement of golden colored leaves, similar to the ones at Wangshu Inn, crowning the head of the sculpture to trail down into a braided like pattern that draped over the shoulder. Four precisely positioned white feathers replicated his braid tie and earring perfectly. A soft smile was sculpted into the face with a pair of smoothly shaped cor lapis stones positioned in for the eyes. It looked as if he was sitting on his haunches, with pieces of bark being used to replicate his brown pants and crop top. Xiao had even gone as far as to use fragments of sky blue crystal chunks to simulate his armor glowing with his current resonation with the power of anemo. The work was a breathtaking masterpiece.
“WOW! THAT’S WAY BETTER THAN PAIMON EXPECTED!” Paimon exclaimed as she flew closer to admire the yaksha’s work.
Aether’s heart sank when his eyes drifted back to his half hearted attempt at making a snow Xiao. He couldn’t believe how above and beyond Xiao had gone with making a snowman nor did he expect anyone to put so much artistry into sculpting one. He was ecstatic that the exquisite work was done to look like him but it made Aether want a do over on his own creation. Aether did his best to hide his disappointment with himself but Xiao was clearly reading his body language and stepped closer to him.
“Does it not please you?” Xiao softly asked with concern on his face.
“Xiao…it’s perfect. And beautiful. It’s more than I could have imagined. I didn’t know you were so talented. Meanwhile, I hardly did you justice when I made mine.”
Aether stared down at his feet, unable to keep eye contact any longer. However, Xiao gently raised his chin up and the sincerity in his eyes made Aether’s heart nearly leap out of his chest.
“Aether…what you created is also a perfect and beautiful creation I wish to always remember. You showed me something new that you could do with the snow and I now have another happy memory to hold in my heart because of you. I hope you can accept my own offering of gratitude in return.”
“Really? I’m glad. Ah…” were the only words that Aether could muster before Xiao stole his lips for a tender kiss. His head grew increasingly lightheaded as soft lips kneaded his own, sending waves of pleasure to shiver down his body. Aether got his senses together just enough to wrap the scarf around Xiao’s shoulders. Despite what Xiao had said earlier, Aether could clearly tell his yaksha was cold from prolonged hours in the snow. The braided blonde broke the kiss, allowing his lips instead to staccato along Xiao’s jawline.
“Shall we head to someplace where I can warm you up?” Aether whispered between peppering kisses on his lover’s face.
“Yes.” Xiao cooed back.
“Awww we better be going somewhere that has good food for Paimon to eat while she waits…AGAIN.” Paimon pouted.
“To Wangshu Inn then.” Xiao and Aether said in near unison.
The trio soon departed to enjoy the remainder of their day. *WINK*