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Aether wasn’t sure if the adeptus ever received the gifts he gave. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure the adeptus even existed. But he gave gifts anyway. He gave a gift every Tuesday, so by the time he dropped one off the previous one was gone. It was impossible to tell if it was the adeptus who took it or the Wangshu Inn staff just cleaning up.
Today was yet another Tuesday and Aether had just gotten back from a three day trip. His pockets were stuffed with who-knows-what. Paimon was just drooping atop his head, “too tired” to float. He climbed the staircase inside the inn, making his way to the room he had been staying for the past month. He dropped everything to the floor, including himself, and just kinda laid there for a bit. Paimon tumbled off his head, laying on her back next to his head and groaning.
“Paimon’s beat…”
“Paimon, you barely did anything, I was the one fighting the hilichurls.”
“Well, Paimon had to fight that one hydro slime off while you were distracted by a mitachurl! It was terrifying! Those things are twice Paimon’s size! And Paimon isn’t well equipped to fight slimes, so Paimon thinks this is fair.”
“Yeah, yeah sure,” Aether chuckled, turning his head so he could look at her instead of the rug he was laying on.
“So. What did we get today? I think I’m gonna leave something for that adeptus again.”
Paimon sat up, “Oh! That yaksha? That’s right, you gave them a gift last week. Did they ever get it?”
Aether shrugged, pushing himself off the floor to go look through all that he collected. “No idea. But just in case, I’d like to give another. Maybe even continue giving things.”
“You’re really kind, you know,” Paimon hummed. “You always accept commissions from people even when you don’t want to. Stupid ones too! Like shooing away the hilichurls way far out from the inn. Even though they don’t even help you find your sister!”
Shyly laughing it off, Aether sat up and began sorting through their items, “I don’t know. I think I just have a sense of obligation to help. It’s not really like I can say no, either…”
“Mmh… Well Paimon thinks you should learn to say no sometimes! The great traveler needs a break sometimes, too, y’know!”
Aether rubbed the back of his neck and brushed her off, “Maybe.” He spread out everything they had collected and sorted them by type. Plants over here, rocks and ore over there, treasures in the middle, artifacts that way, and so on. He crossed his legs and stuffed his hands in between, poking his tongue to the inside cheek in thought.
Paimon scooted over so she sat in front of Aether with the piles in between them. “What do yaksha even like? Mora? Food?”
“They aren’t you, Paimon.”
“Hehe, oops.”
Aether’s gaze gravitated towards the pile of plants they picked. A small, yet beautiful bouquet of qingxin flowers lay in the pile. They were tied together with a thin ribbon that matched the color of an anemo vision. The ribbon had a shimmery gold lining and was tied in a big bow. He picked up the bouquet and raised it to his nose.
“Smells nice.”
“Are you gonna give them that?”
Aether nodded and stood up, “Paimon, go ahead and put everything away. Make sure to sort it.”
“Right away, captain!”
Aether cracked his neck, stretching out his limbs a bit and left the room. He took the stairs up to the balcony rumored to be home to the adeptus. He stepped out onto it, wind immediately flowing through his golden, messy, braid. He smiled and walked to the ledge, resting his arms.
Oh, how he’ll never get tired of the feeling of wind on his face as he watched over the peaceful land at night.
Aether stood there for a moment, relishing in the cool air and quiet space. He set the bouquet down on the ledge to the left of him before turning back to the view.
No people in sight. No monsters in sight. A few animals going back home here and there. Beautiful, bright stars dotted the night sky like freckles on a face. They reminded Aether of Lumine, who always covered up her freckles despite Aether’s protests. He wished he could be up here with her. To show her the view. The peace. The silence. He promised himself to take her here when he found her.
Aether closed his eyes, a soft smile rested on his lips. He knew the wind was making his braid even messier and more tangled than it was already but he could care less. Lumine will fix it when they get back together.
Slowly opening his eyes again, Aether exhaled a soft breath. His eyes widened when he realized there was someone standing next to him, gently holding the qingxin bouquet. He slowly shifted his gaze and then turned his head. There, next to him, stood the most beautiful person he had seen before.
Black messy hair with a teal underside waved in the wind, sharp, golden eyes with a reddish-orange liner gazed bashfully at the flowers, fair skin glowed in the moonlight. He looked ethereal. Godly.
“Yo- You must be-”
“Xiao. Conqueror of demons. Demon yaksha. Adeptus. Whatever you want to call me.”
His voice was rough and stern. It almost didn’t match his pretty face.
Aether was too baffled (and mesmerized) to say anything.
Xiao didn’t look up when he spoke, “You’re the traveler everyone talks about. Aether? The one who's been giving me these gifts.”
Aether nodded gently, slowly gaining consciousness of the situation. “Ri- Right, yeah! I have. I, uh, heard about you and wanted to, um, to meet you. But I wasn’t sure you,” his voice quieted, too embarrassed to finish.
“I’ve been watching you for a while. I appreciate the gifts. No one’s given me anything before,” Xiao’s face reddened.
Adorable.
Aether cleared his mind and decided to give a proper introduction. He faced Xiao and smiled.
“Hello! My name is Aether. I am traveling this world in search of my sister. It’s nice to finally meet you, Xiao. I hope we can be friends.”
Xiao flinched and faced Aether in surprise. The blonde was bowing.
“Uh, ah. Hello. I am… Xiao. It’s nice to meet you, too.”
Soon a comfortable silence fell between the two. They watched over the land, listening to the whispers of the wind. Aether imagined it was Venti telling him some kind of secret.
Xiao tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and looked at the flowers. “Aether? Did you know qingxins were my, um, favorite? Is that why you brought them?
“Huh? Really? Well then,” Aether smiled.
“I’ll keep that in mind!”
Xiao felt his heart tighten.
-
About a month had passed. Aether still gave Xiao his weekly gifts. They talked more. Sometimes Paimon would come up and chat too, but most of the time it was just Xiao and Aether.
Currently, Aether was lying on his stomach, head on his arms as he talked with Xiao. He was tracing the grains in the wood with his finger, really only paying attention to the other.
“Aether, would you, um, like me to rebraid your hair?”
“Huh?” Aether sat up and looked at Xiao like a deer in headlights.
“Well, um, I noticed it was really… messy. And Ganyu taught me how to braid hair, so. I was, um, wondering if you would… like me to redo it… for you. You don’t have to agree, though! It was just… a thought…”
Aether took his braid into his hands and played with it a bit. It was really messy. Sure, it was technically the last connection he had to his sister since she was the one who braided it, but if he kept it unbrushed any longer, who knows what would happen to it. Besides, at least his hair tie was a special one Lumine gave him as kids.
“Um… yeah. You can.”
Xiao gently nodded and sat down behind Aether. He took the braid in his hands and took out the hair tie. He unraveled Aether’s hair. It was soft. Xiao wondered how it stayed un-matted and clean despite it being up so long. He grabbed a comb he just so conveniently had begun running it through Aether’s hair. It was a little tough to get all the knots out but after a few minutes his hair was silky smooth.
To an outsider this sight might be a little stranger. Two mysterious yet renowned people sitting on the floor of a balcony, both with red faces, as one braided the other’s hair. Thankfully, no outsiders came up here anyway.
Xiao started separating Aether’s hair into three sections, carefully intertwining them. When he got to the bottom he took the hair tie and tied it into the braid. It was a pretty hair piece; gold with two white feather-like things that draped off. It matched Aether’s hair beautifully.
Mustering up all the emotional courage Xiao had in his body, he took a deep breath and whispered.
“I love you.”
Aether felt his warm face get warmer and he looked at his lap, fiddling with his fingers.
“I love you, too.”