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There was a strong breeze that had been following behind him during Aether’s entire walk, it insisted on pushing him in the opposite direction of his destination. But the terrible weather was not nearly enough to stop Aether on his escapade, it was almost as if the air was even telling him to go home. But he wouldn't be stopped from completing his goal.
Venti had recently caught three more pokemon than him the day before, and he’d rather chop all his hair off that he’s been growing since grade school than lose to that blue-haired twink. Which was saying a lot, Aether cherished his hair.
“Come onnn,” Aether whined into the empty night, staring at his phone screen as if that would bring a pokemon to come to him. He was nearing the circle where there should be a pokemon according to the multiple reddit groups he stalked, but was getting further and further from his and Venti’s apartment.
Soon he wandered into a new apartment complex and let himself stroll until he held up his phone to scan his surroundings when he spotted it.
A Psyduck.
Aether nearly dropped his phone, the said creature was extremely hard to come across and this would definitely make Venti jealous. That is, if he caught it of course.
He grinned in glee before realizing the pokemon was in the building.
Just his luck.
A normally sane person would turn around and go look for a more easily accessible pokemon– actually no, a normally sane person wouldn’t even be playing this godforsaken videogame in the midst of the night in the first place.
The building seemed to be an apartment building, probably hosting students from the university he attended. At least he sure hoped so, he didn’t want to awaken a random older citizen to catch a pokemon. Surely someone his age would understand his addiction.
He followed the guide on his phone, halting in front of one of the apartment doors. He held not an ounce of shame as he knocked repeatedly on it, his patience growing thin as he wanted to get back home as soon as possible. Home being the place he shared with said blue-haired twink, he wouldn’t go empty-handed though. This was already embarrassing enough.
Was it unsafe to knock on strangers' doors in the middle of the night?
Most definitely yes.
Did Aether give a shit?
Hell no.
After a couple of agonizingly long seconds, almost as if time itself was mocking him, he heard the lock be undone on the opposite side of the door as it opened just a couple inches, just enough of a crack for him to spot a tired boy who looked about his age, with hair almost reaching his shoulders with fading teal highlights. There were grey circles under his eyes, a typical look for most college students, but the most prominent thing were the piercings on his brow and lips.
“Uh, can I help you?” the stranger asked, keeping the door open only halfway. Behind him, Aether could see a barren apartment, and a poster or two of some studio ghibli movies he recognized. At least this mystery male had taste.
Aether wasted no time in explaining himself.
“Hi! I know it’s 3 am but there’s a Psyduck behind you in your apartment and I really need to catch it - oh, by the way, I’m Aether - anyways I’ll treat you to dinner or something, anything you want! Please I really need to beat my friend–,” the golden-haired boy was practically bouncing on his feet as he clutched his phone in his hands, awaiting the other’s response as he rambled on nonsensically.
The stranger eyed him up and down from behind the door before letting out a long sigh before speaking up,
“Don’t tell me your a Pokémon Go player.”
Aether scoffed, “It’s a great game! It causes more people to step outside and take–,”
“Whatever just come in,” the boy interrupted, opening the door wider to let Aether in and shutting it behind him. “You remind me a lot of someone I know, he’s obsessed with that shitty game too.”
“Your friend is a man of taste,” Aether replied, his eyes adjusting to the light as he finally made eye contact with the stranger. And wow Aether was speechless.
He hadn’t been able to see the other male from the doorway, with the only remnants of light outside being from his dying phone. There had been nothing to illuminate the beautiful man in front of him.
He adorned fitted black sweat pants with a matching black hoodie on top, the zipper undone to reveal a set of toned abs beneath, and some inking across that Aether could only assume was a tattoo.
“What was your name again?” Aether asked, the Psyduck leaving his mind for a moment.
Just for a moment.
“Xiao,” the boy replied, walking away and further into the apartment, “I know it’s not safe to let a stranger into my house, but frankly I don’t care. Murder me after I finish my hot chocolate.”
Aether nodded, saddened to see the male leave but got another immediate serotonin rush when he realized why he was there.
Aether made sure to salute Xiao, who had plopped himself at a barstool by the counter by the kitchen and began sipping his drink and watched him curiously.
He took out his phone again, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he excitedly thought about rubbing this in Venti’s face later.
Aether pulled open the app, his fingers expertly opening up his map as he caught a glance at the shiny Psyduck, anticipation filling his veins as he went to swipe a PokéBall at it, and just as the animation went through he felt his phone heat up and let out an extended beep. It then promptly shut down.
“NO!” Aether cried, falling to his knees and bringing his head down to the floor, “I was so close.”
The scrape of a bar stool was heard behind him, Aether had momentarily forgotten he was in someone else’s home for the time being. He felt a soft tap come on his head and the blonde looked up to lock eyes with Xiao, who was givng him an amused smile.
“The power went out,” Xiao explained as he pointed a finger to the window looking outside. There were leaves rustling around and the wind making large slaps as it hit the building, piles of dirt and grime coming up with it.
Had Aether really walked through all that without care all for one pokémon?
“Sorry about your pokémon,” Xiao sympathized, holding out a hand to help Aether up, which he gratefully did. Aether held a look of disdain as he looked out, shuddering at the thought of walking home in that weather.
As if he could read his mind, Xiao interrupted his thoughts.
“You can stay here until it passes over, it’d be shitty of me if I let you go home,” Xiao offered,
“Honestly I only let you in because of the weather,” Xiao added, his amber eyes giving him another once-over, “and you were cute,” he mumbled, too quite for Aether to hear as the other male gestured for Aether to follow him to his quaint kitchen.
Xiao guided him to one of the barstools, gently pushing down on his shoulders until the blonde sat on top of it as the dark-haired male went to grab a mug. Aether watched as he poured a fresh cup of hot chocolate, delicately placing marshmallows on top along with a swirl of whipped cream before walking back over to place it in front of Aether, who was still mourning the loss of his Psyduck.
Xiao took the stool right beside him, leaning on his palm as he motioned for the blonde to take a sip.
“Thank you,” Aether smiled, picking up the warm mug and bringing it to his lips, practically moaning at the savoring taste.
“Is your friend you mentioned named Venti by chance?” Xiao spoke up, stirring his own chocolate as he spoke, his voice quiet with a gentle rasp behind it. Almost as if it wasn’t used to converse very much.
“Yeah! Do you know him?” Aether asked, eyes widening excitedly at the thought of him and this cute male having a connection, even if it was the idiot who had him walking out in the rain in the first place.
“Yeah, remember when he wanted to set you up on a date and you chickened out?” Xiao asked, a teasing smile on his lips as Aether squinted at him, how could Xiao possibly know that?
“Yes…how do you know about that?” Aether interrogated, but it wasn’t intimidating as he clutched a mug that resembled a cat in his small hands.
“It was supposed to be with me,” Xiao answered, now hiding his face behind his own mug as Aether sputtered in response, coughing as he practically choked on the drink. Xiao gave his back a few pats until he was done almost dying.
That memory had been tucked back into the deepest corners of his mind. It was early into the semester that year and about a week after Venti started dating he pestered Aether to go out and meet someone so they could all double date. Aether had agreed at first but as the day grew closer and closer he told Venti he couldn’t and promptly ran away. Literally. He remembers running to the nearest cafe and drowning himself in coffee since it been too early in the day for an alcoholic drink.
Not his best moment.
But maybe if Venti had mentioned his date was going to be this attractive he would have given it a try.
“I am so sorry,” Aether sputtered out, “I bailed on you and now I’m invading your home, I’m a mess.”
Xiao waved him off disinterestedly, “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”
“I would have run into you eventually,” Aether mused, popping a marshmallow into his mouth, holding back an obscene sound as it melted away on his tongue upon contact, “Hiding away from a storm is rather a weird way to meet.”
Xiao hummed in response, draining away the last bit of his hot chocolate before looking back up, his eyes grazing over Aether’s lips.
“You have cream,” Xiao informed, pointing to his own lips to show Aether, who swiped his hand across, not thinking too much of it before Xiao let out an exasperated sigh.
The male leaned over, his thumb swiping his bottom lip to get the cream off ever so slowly, he was so close Aether could count the specks of amber in the other’s eyes. Which he did, but he lost count.
Xiao pulled back, licking the cream off his thumb absentmindedly before standing up to put his mug away, his back to Aether as he walked towards the sink.
Which was a good thing, since Aether was flushed a deep crimson and wanted nothing more than to bang his head against the kitchen island until it bled the same shade on his cheeks.
Aether distracted himself by draining his hot chocolate, this time making sure there weren't any remnants on his face. It wouldn’t be that bad of a thing if there was, since it meant Xiao would lean into his face again and lick it off.
Jeez get your head of the gutter, Aether! he chastised himself as Xiao came back, leaning against the counter.
“What do you wanna do, we can’t do anything that needs electricity,” Xiao frowned, gesturing to the shut-down television and unresponsive electronics due to the cables outside being tarnished.
“You got any board games?” Aether asked, spinning around on the barstool as Xiao furrowed his brows in thought before perking up.
“Uno?”
“Don’t do this,” Xiao glared, staring him down intensely as Aether let out a maniac laugh.
“It must be done,” Aether grinned, placing down his 4+ card as Xiao loudly groaned, a string of curses leaving his pretty lips as he snatched four cards from the pile, a look of disdain on his face.
“This game is homophobic,” Xiao muttered as he placed down a blue card after Aether called out the color, a focused look in his eyes as he and Aether went into competitive mode.
Alas, the dreaded 4+ card came up again and before Xiao could swear yet again Aether slapped it down and clapped his hands in victory, yelling out an Uno! as Xiao threw his hand of cards on the carpet, shaking his head in disappointment.
“You’ll never beat me,” Aether teased, “This is the fifth game in a row,” the blonde added as Xiao rolled his eyes before a mischievous glint flashed across his irises.
Before Aether could taunt Xiao for losing yet again his head hit the plush carpet floor as he was pushed back, the other male hovering over him with his finger grazing Aether’s waist, a teasing smile on his face as Aether realized what he was about to do.
“Please no–,” Aether managed to wheeze out before Xiao started tickling him without any mercy as Aether tried to stifle his giggles, he was thrashing around underneath Xiao as he tried to escape out of his grasp. This only made them more entangled, but due to his quick thinking Aether looped a leg around Xiao’s waist and twisted their position so Aether was now the one on top.
“Take that,” Aether giggled, both his palms on either side of Xiao’s head as he caught his breath, the dark-haired male’s hands still on his waist from where he had tried to tickle him.
“Well played,” Xiao mused, not moving his hands away despite the tickling fight coming to a halt.
Aether couldn’t tell if it was the moon casting an illuminating glow across the room they were in, the bright white shining onto Xiao’s face mid-laugh, making him even more ethereal. It could have been the way their knees became entangled and lingered longer than need be. But it was most likely due to the fact that he hadn’t met someone so easy to talk to in so long.
It was odd to go from strangers to practically being entangled on the carpeted floor of their apartment in less than a day.
It had to mean something.
Xiao maintained eye contact with him, his amber irises trailing him as Aether brought himself closer so he was practically an inch away from Xiao’s face, their noses touching as Xiao tightened his grip.
Before Aether could chicken out once again, his body went ahead before his mind did and he interlocked their lips.
It only took a quick second before Xiao responded back, a hand tugging on his collar, inching him even closer as Xiao bit his bottom lip, gaining a gasp out of Aether who opened his mouth for better access.
Aether let Xiao grip his waist tighter and flip their position over once again, his free hand on Aether’s chin as he tilted his head up to kiss him better. He felt his tongue run across metal on Xiao’s own tongue, his body tingling as he realized the other male had piercings hidden back there along with the one on his lips.
They pulled back after a bit, out of breath as a thin string of saliva was the only remnant of their intense kissing.
“Fuck,” Xiao suspired, leaning back and running a hand through his disheveled hair that Aether shamelessly tugged on as the blonde looked up at the other from his spot on the floor, shooting Xiao a wink due to his consistent staring.
“I hate you,” Xiao mumbled, rolling over to flop down beside him, both of them gazing up at the ceiling.
Aether picked up the stray Uno cards lying beside them, the pile had gotten tossed due to their intensive rolling, and showed Xiao the Uno reverse card, retracting his previous statement.
Xiao merely scoffed, tugging it out of Aether’s hands and rolling his eyes.
“Glad you didn’t catch your stupid Psyduck,” Xiao voiced, gaining a hit in the side from Aether who playfully glared at him.
“I never caught it so you don’t get dinner from me,” Aether retorted, turning to lean on his side, Xiao doing the same.
“Then you’ll just have to get dinner from me,” Xiao quickly replied, a slight smirk lifting up the corner of his lips as a hue of pink dusted Aether’s cheeks. He had walked right into that one.
“Deal, just anything but roasted duck.”