Work Text:
Xiao took a deep breath, the breeze carried the salty smell of sea water and the sounds of waves crashing against rocks resounded in the silence of the night. A notebook was on his lap, not even a word written on it, and he was alone.
He was always alone since Ganyu and Zhongli moved to another city to study and work. Xiao didn't go with them, he didn't want to leave the place he grew up in and despite the house being in a spot hidden from the tourists, there was still the chance that someone who ventured there would ignore the warnings that this was private property and would damage or steal something inside the house.
There was also the reason that Xiao was stuck in his routine, rooted in sameness, so used to the same landscape that he didn't feel the need to change it.
So he stayed, there was nothing in the big city for him anyway, staying in that little corner by the sea wasn't that big of a sacrifice.
He used to like the sea, he would sit close to it to feel the waves on his feet while working on another one of his books. The ocean used to be his main source of inspiration, the only one to listen to the ideas he had, even the most absurd and abstract ones, accompanying him in his daydreams and his nights awake as he scribbled passages and more passages for new stories.
However that wasn't what he had been feeling for the past year, Xiao looked at the waves that met the sand as if waiting for an answer. Why had inspiration abandoned him? Why couldn't his mind focus on his work? Why did he feel so incomplete?
The ocean never heard his cries and offered him a solution, but still, it was a beautiful landscape... Even at that moment when the sky was darkened by gray clouds and the waves became merciless, crashing against the rocks with strength, preparing for the whirlwind that would be the storm that night.
This happened every year, a heavy rain that lasted a little more than a week, something that disrupted local commerce, but always benefited Xiao. His writing always seemed to improve when the rain came and even though the rumble of thunder was sometimes deafening, the lack of silence was extremely comforting.
But that night was far from having only the storm as something beyond the usual calm of his days.
It was late at night, the drops of water were falling incessantly and Xiao was still in the same position, with the notebook in his lap, unable to write even the basic ideas of his new story, feeling frustrated and mentally exhausted.
He sighed, after hours finally giving up, not bothering to look at his phone to see what time it was and going to the window to watch the rain, maybe the moonlight that managed to escape through the dark clouds would help his mind to rest and find inspiration.
He was lost for a few seconds watching the waves move with ferocity, feeling the cold wind coming through the small window opening on his face as his gaze focused on something that didn't seem to be part of the beach.
Something in the sand that looked a lot like a person.
“Hey!” Xiao exclaimed, trying to make his voice heard over the noise of the storm. The person seemed to be unconscious “You shouldn't be here!” he yelled again, trying to wake the person up, but there was no response, not even a movement or an exclamation of surprise at being caught in that spot.
Xiao frowned, the rain was still falling heavily and the sky was brightening because of the lightning, that couldn't be comfortable for the person who was lying on the sand and if neither the thick drops against his body nor the thunder caused them a simple startle then something was clearly wrong.
He opened the front door of the house, ignoring the way the cold wind hit his face, raindrops causing strands of his hair to cling to his forehead and failing to get their attention again, he decided to walk up to the person in quick steps, his bare feet against the wet sand.
Before he could even open his mouth to ask if everything was okay, Xiao was met with a sight that took his breath away.
Lying near the rocks, unconscious and with a bruise on his forehead that was darkening in color was a young man. Long blond hair fell over his face and shoulders, long eyelashes decorated his eyelids and despite the paleness and the bruise on his skin, he was the most beautiful person Xiao had ever seen.
But that wasn't what made the writer's eyes widen in surprise.
Looking down to see if any other part of his body was hurt, Xiao saw golden lines on the skin, in a painting that faded in some parts thanks to the sudden contact with the sand, the design adorned his arms, waist and hips and instead of continuing down his legs, the painting stopped when the tail began.
The tail.
It was slightly larger than the upper part of the young man's body, it looked delicate and strong at the same time and with a golden color even more intense than the paintings on his body, although some scales were darker than others, bruised as well as his face.
So beautiful and surreal that if it weren't for the raindrops falling so hard on his face, Xiao would have thought he was dreaming.
The rumble of thunder made him regain his focus, he looked at the young man and realized he was shaking. Xiao thought of what he could do, he knew about mermaids in fiction — Ganyu loved all the stories Zhongli told about non-human creatures, especially the one from the sea, as living on a beach increased her chances of finding one — but nothing could prepare him for reality.
He couldn't put the blond back in the sea, not when the waters were so restless and aggressive and he was unconscious, calling for help would be a bad idea, besides the time it would take someone to get to these parts of the beach in a storm, Xiao was sure that if anyone else knew of this young man's existence, he would stop at a laboratory being used as an experiment and the area near his home — or even the entire beach — would be evacuated and used as some government research base.
At least he could see the blond's chest moving as if he was breathing, so apparently mermaids have lungs, but dolphins also have lungs and can't stay out of the water for long…
Another thunder rumbled through the place, lightning streaking across the night sky as Xiao decided to act.
He wrapped the unconscious man's arms around his neck, carrying him — he was lighter than Xiao had thought so it wasn't difficult — one of his arms was holding the blond's nape to prevent his head from tipping to the side and the other was on a part of his tail, the scales that were in contact with the sand were rougher and almost completely dry.
Xiao moved as quickly as possible back inside his house, ignoring that he was soaking the floor and heading towards the bathroom where there was a bathtub that had barely been used since the others had left. He tried to get as much sand out of the blond's body as possible before laying him down carefully in the bathtub, part of his tail had to stick out because the man was unconscious and Xiao couldn't keep him sitting up.
His hand went to the faucet, but he stopped abruptly before turning it on.
He looked at the darker bruises on the golden scales, he had no idea if contact with water other than the sea could harm them even more — a good part of the tail still glistened with drops of water and was damp, but even so, waiting until the storm stopped or until the young man woke up didn't seem like a good idea to Xiao.
His final decision was to grab two buckets, totally ignore the storm — again — get enough seawater to fill the bathtub and keep the blond's tail wet and if he ended up swallowing more salt water than was healthy while doing that, no one needed to know — it wouldn't be the first time either.
The lights flickered as he sat on a stool next to the bathtub, Xiao sighed wearily, the night's confusion becoming more and more real as he watched the blond's face. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He didn't even notice when he fell asleep.
When Xiao woke up the rain was still falling as hard as before and at some point during the night the power had gone out. He grumbled as he hurriedly got up to start the emergency generator, his clothes cold and still clinging to his body and the smell of salt water permeating the entire room. He didn't even know what time it was, his cell phone was lost somewhere in the house — probably out of charge.
He grabbed clean clothes, he could still feel the sand rubbing against his skin and it was bothering him. The writer headed to the bathroom, he needed a shower urgently.
Xiao turned on the bathroom lights and was startled by a yelp that came from his bathtub.
Oh, right… There was a mermaid — merman? merperson? — in his bathroom.
Okay, he hadn't forgotten about that, but his mind did a great job of convincing him that he dreamed of it. Who in their right mind would think that was real?
The blond looked at him with wide eyes, his hand in front of his body in a defensive position, his tail moved once and Xiao could see his surprised expression quickly transform into one of pain.
The writer placed the clothes he was holding over the sink, raising his hands to show that he was holding nothing.
“I won't hurt you” he said and somehow the merman seemed to understand, because his posture relaxed.
Xiao stared at the blond, he looked confused and uncomfortable, his pale lips pressed together and the bruise on his forehead turning a greenish color.
"Can you understand me?" he nodded, surprising the writer “And can you speak?”
The young man opened his mouth, but all the sounds that came out were sharp cracks, nothing that Xiao could understand.
Xiao pressed his lips together, not taking his eyes off the blond, his brain still trying to process the events of that day, the merman fidgeted his fingers, returning his gaze with an expression of discomfort that went beyond just the reason that he had woken up in a totally unfamiliar room.
"Are you hurt?" Xiao asked, receiving another nod in return, he took a step forward but decided not to get any closer than that so he wouldn't be seen as a threat “Where?”
The young man pointed to where his feet should be and moved, getting into a position where he looked like he was sitting in the bathtub, his face turning into a grimace as his tail moved into the water — not all of it, part of the fins were very close to the floor, but not touching it.
“Can I help you with anything?” the writer asked, the blond ran his fingers through the hair that stuck to his forehead, hissing when he accidentally touched the bruise on his face. He shook his head and raised eight fingers.
"Eight?" Xiao frowned.
The blond nodded, pointing a finger up and making an arching motion over his head. Fortunately, Xiao has always been the best at understanding mime in the family.
"Eight days? You will heal in eight days, is that it?” he asked, the merman nodded, a small smile on his lips at the fact that the writer understood him so easily.
Okay… he could keep the young man in his house for eight days and anyway, even if he wasn't injured, the storm didn't look like it would last any less than that. This didn't seem like an easy task for both of them, the blond was still moving his fingers anxiously, playing with the strands of his hair and Xiao had no idea what to do to make him more comfortable or if he was hungry. Not even if he had a name…
The writer opened his mouth to say something when he was interrupted by the shrill sound of his cell phone alarm.
The merman let out a high-pitched sound of fright, jerking around in a way that caused a good amount of water to spill from the tub onto the floor.
"Hey, it's alright" Xiao said in a calm voice, raising his hands like someone trying to calm a wild animal, the blond was still looking at him with wide eyes, one hand on his chest and the other holding the bathtub tightly "I'll go turn it off.”
Xiao walked quickly towards the sound, his cell phone was on the sofa and written on the screen was a giant reminder for him to start the project he had promised his editor he would finish by next month.
He sighed, turning off the alarm and trying not to think about how the deadline was so close. Back in the bathroom, the merman was watching him with a curious gaze, eyes going from his face to the object in his hands.
Xiao stretched out his hand, showing the cell phone to the blond.
“Want to see how this works?” he asked, getting a nod in return. The merman didn't hold the object, leaving Xiao to show some of the main functions and applications, looking quite impressed by the amount of images that were on the writer's instagram. Every now and then he would point to one of the pictures with his eyebrows raised and his eyes shining with interest.
The blond pointed at one of the notifications that appeared on the screen, looking at the writer with a confused expression.
"That's my name" Xiao replied and the merman opened his mouth in a small "Oh" and nodded, turning back to the cell phone screen and carefully scrolling down the writer's instagram feed, Xiao didn't take his eyes off his face, impressed “You can read?!”
He nodded again, the colors of the phone screen reflecting in the gold of his eyes. He seemed delighted with the photo of a snowy day that Ganyu had posted a few days ago.
“Do you know how to write?” Xiao asked hopefully, if the answer was yes the difficulty they had communicating would be resolved, the blond turned his face to look at him, realizing the importance of this information and nodded enthusiastically.
The writer said a quick "I'll be right back" ignoring the merman's confused look at the fact that he had left the phone in his hands, Xiao went to his room and grabbed a pen along with one of his notebooks, when he returned to the bathroom the blond had somehow opened candy crush — that Hu Tao installed on his cell phone months ago — and the impressed and delighted expression on his face was so adorable that Xiao had to stop and look at him for a moment.
He really was the most beautiful person Xiao had ever seen...
The young man noticed him standing at the door and cocked his head to the side as if asking why he hadn't come in and sat down next to him again. The writer cleared his throat, approaching and offering the merman paper and pen.
“May I know your name?” Xiao asked as the blond studied the pen in his hand. He held the notebook in his hand, his still damp fingers sinking a little into the paper, his grip around the pen was firm, leaving the lines of what he wrote shaky.
Finishing writing, the merman offered the paper for Xiao to read and in large, round letters it said “Aether.”
"Aether..." he repeated, the syllables rolling gracefully across his tongue, a name so different from the ordinary and so suited to the young man in front of him. Aether was watching him closely, his face wasn't as pale as before and the color was returning to his lips, turning them into a light pink "How did you learn to write?"
Xiao asked, getting a chuckle in response "Merfolk are pretty smart" the blond wrote next to his name and that only served to increase his curiosity.
“Are there many like you?” the writer asked.
“Whole nations” Aether replied “And we are everywhere.”
"Everywhere?" he raised an eyebrow. This time the answer took a while, the noise of the pen against the paper and the storm that was falling outside were the only things breaking the silence.
“We can mix with humans. We can have legs and we can understand any language, it's part of our nature. That's why I can understand you.”
The writer finished reading the sentence and looked at Aether, impressed.
“So you can speak...” he asked, the merman nodded "Then why..."
He didn't finish talking and the blond was already writing an answer.
“Tired” he replied “No energy. I need to heal first.”
Xiao couldn't say that he fully understood how this worked, but it was undeniable how much Aether needed to rest, he still grimaced whenever he had to move his tail even the slightest bit.
"Are you hungry?" the writer asked, his own stomach was already starting to rumble. The blond looked a little embarrassed to admit it, but nodded.
“Would it be too offensive if I offered you fish?” Xiao asked genuinely curious, Aether grimaced, quickly writing “NO FISH! I don’t like it."
“You live in the ocean and you don't like fish?” he bit back a laugh but couldn't keep his face straight, the corner of his mouth turning up in a smile when he noticed the blond pouting “Okay, no fish. But would you like to try another kind of meat?”
Aether shook his head "I don't like hurting animals..." he replied.
“Cute” Xiao thought, the smile still on his face, he stood up, handing his cell phone once more to the blond — still open on candy crush.
"I'll make us something to eat then, no meat for you" he said, Aether looked surprised at Xiao entrusting him with that object that seemed so important and caring enough to fulfill the merman's wish, he moved his lips and even without any sound coming out of his throat, Xiao could well understand the “Thank you” he said.
The bathroom wasn't the best setting for a meal, but Xiao didn't want Aether to feel alone while he ate, so he placed a bath caddy on the bathtub and put the blond's plate on it — Aether looked impressed at the diversity of vegetables and colors they had — fork and knife beside, along with the notebook and the pen.
"Want some help?" Xiao asked when he saw him holding the fork in his hands.
"We have cutlery" he wrote "It's just heavier here than under water."
The writer smiled as the blond started to eat. Aether made a sound of satisfaction as he took the first bite, widening his eyes and looking at Xiao and the food on his plate as if impressed.
“Does that mean it's good?” Xiao asked, raising an eyebrow, the blond nodded enthusiastically, fork still in his mouth and the writer smiled again “I'm glad you liked it.”
It was more comfortable than he imagined having dinner in the company of a stranger — a stranger who was a mythological creature — he thought Aether would be more tense with him around, being in such a vulnerable position, but the merman had trusted him so easily that Xiao saw no reason to not do the same.
He was also curious, the sheer existence of the Aether created so many feelings in him — perhaps someone else would be dealing with this situation in a more frantic way for the bizarreness, but he was someone who has always been surrounded by fantasies, he saw in that a chance to maybe find his muses again…
The days seemed to go by faster than Xiao had expected, though he and Aether fell into a calm routine without any difficulties. The blond had told him that he didn't need the water to be necessarily from the sea and they could use tap water, so the bathroom no longer smelled like salt water.
Every time Xiao took a shower, Aether kept his hands covering his eyes, even though there was a curtain separating the shower from the bathtub and the writer always came out with a towel around his waist — but Xiao caught Aether peeking between his fingers as he pulled a shirt over his bare chest and found the way his entire face reddened extremely adorable, especially because the blond didn't seem to mind that he himself was partially undressed.
Xiao periodically checked if everything was ok, but Aether didn't talk much — the notebook and pen were always close to him — and the writer didn't know what to do to make the merman more comfortable, he was never a very sociable and talkative person, but at the same time he didn't want Aether to be unhappy while he was recovering from his injuries, he knew well how much time seemed to take even longer to pass when feeling bored.
He paused in the bathroom doorway, watching Aether running his fingers through his hair and eyeing the blond locks with a troubled expression.
"Something wrong?" the writer asked, the merman turned to look at him, brows furrowed as he nodded.
Xiao came closer, sitting on the stool beside the bathtub and waiting for the blond to share what was wrong. Aether caught the end of his hair, reaching out and offering the writer to hold the strands.
He raised an eyebrow.
"And what's the problem?" he asked, running his fingers through the mermaid's hair. The feel of the strands was a bit rough, but still much softer than Xiao expected from something that had been in contact with the ocean water for so long.
Aether narrowed his eyes, picking up the notebook and hurrying to answer.
"It kind of smells" he showed the paper to Xiao with a pout on his face and his cheeks a little flushed with embarrassment "And it's dry."
The human let the locks slip through his fingers and fall back into the water, moved closer to Aether, his face close to the top of his head, and took a deep breath. He could see the blush spreading through the blond's neck and shoulder because of their proximity.
"Smells like salt water, it's not that bad" he said, but Aether didn't look convinced, wrinkling his nose in a grimace, Xiao gave a small smile at the sight of this "I can wash your hair if you want."
The blond's eyes widened, looking up to face the writer and he nodded enthusiastically, biting the inside of his cheek to keep the smile from spreading across his face.
Xiao took the necessary hair products from Aether — he was very fond of the citrusy and light scent of the new shampoo he bought — he pulled his stool forward, leaving the bottles on the floor and straightening his posture.
“Can you move a little?” Xiao asked, the blond nodded, shifting his position and then his back was more against the side of the bath so Xiao had access to the back of his head — it probably wouldn't be a comfortable position for a human, but Aether's tail curved easily and he didn't appear to be in pain.
Xiao took the shower head that was attached to the bathtub faucet, he realized that he would wet the bathroom and himself in this task, but he didn't care — the bathroom floor didn't stay dry these days, every time Aether moved his tail the bathtub overflowed.
With the hand that wasn't holding the shower head, Xiao ran his fingers through the blond hair, undoing some knots.
"Hurts?" he asked when his finger tangled in some strands, the blond shook his head. The writer turned off the water and applied shampoo to his own hands, gently spreading it through the locks but focusing on the scalp, his fingers massaging the merman's head.
He could hear a contented murmur escape Aether's lips and saw him relax his body, lying down a little more. Xiao also noticed that he had closed his eyes.
The writer smiled, still moving his fingers in circular movements over the blond's scalp, the citrus scent combined with salt water reminded Xiao of summer. Aether reminded summer, golden and bright, with a smile that warmed his chest like the sun, the only difference being that he wanted all the time to be close to that heat, not caring if it burned him or not.
Perhaps he stayed longer than he should have running his fingers slowly along the length of his hair to untie all the knots, focused on Aether's quiet breathing and the small sounds he made without realizing it.
"I'm going to rinse, okay?" he spoke in a low voice, the blond did mutter to show he was aware of what he had said, but didn't open his eyes or move. Xiao brushed all the soap out of Aether's hair not caring that he was soaking his clothes, one hand still gently stroking the merman's scalp and neck.
Then he applied the conditioner, avoiding the top of the head and finally fully untangling even the toughest knots.
The silence was only broken by the sound of falling water, even the storm outside being forgotten as if in that moment all that existed was just the two of them, so comfortable in each other's presence that anyone who witnessed the scene would ask if they had known each other for years.
Turning off the water when he finished the task he saw Aether open his eyes as Xiao's hands moved away and stopped with the caress and he felt his heart flutter with the way the blond tilted his head back to look at him.
Aether's eyelids were slightly open, a rosy tinge swept along his cheekbones and part of his tail was showing over the water, the bruised scales healing and returning to the intense golden color they once were.
Aether looked more like a dream than someone who really existed.
He ran the back of his hand gently over the merman's cheeks, drying a few drops of water that were there, watching him close his eyes again and leaned into his touch.
"Rest," he said, his voice sounding softer than he'd ever heard "I'll make us dinner."
Aether nodded, adjusting his position in the tub, sinking deeper into the water to make himself comfortable. Xiao caressed the top of his head once more — fighting the urge to plant a kiss on the blond's forehead — and got up to change into dry clothes and prepare dinner.
After that it was as if they had bonded, spontaneous and unexplained, but strong enough to make them start talking every day, they had watched some movies on Xiao's laptop, a little uncomfortable for the writer who sat on a stool for more than two hours, but it was worth it just for the expressions of delight and surprise and the way the blond's golden eyes sparkled whenever something new appeared on the screen, be it landscapes or city lights, spring flowers or falling snow, Aether seemed in love with every part of the human world and Xiao — unable to take his eyes off the merman's face, delighted in the same way, but not for the same reason — found himself thinking more than once that maybe he could have the same passion for the unknown if the blond was there to accompany him at every step…
Aether had told him about his family, about his twin sister — who was now living among humans but who sometimes visited him — and Xiao shared stories from when he was younger, about his brothers and sisters and about the first book he ever wrote that made him start his career as a writer and the blond made it clear that he would like to read all of his works.
But talking about his career was a little bittersweet at the moment.
It was the sixth day that the merman was in his house, Xiao was lying on the sofa next to the bathroom that had the door open, listening to Aether humming notes of some song — no words that the writer could understand, since he wasn't fully healed to focus his energies on speaking the same language as Xiao — and his new project had a total of ten new words and an introduction that Xiao didn't even think was good enough.
He had been suffering from writer's block for a few months now, all the ideas he had whenever he started writing were lost or turned out to be mediocre and unoriginal, as if his creativity simply abandoned him the moment he sat down at his desk and tried to work.
“You need fresh air and visit new places, maybe meet new people. It helps with inspiration” Hu Tao — his manager and editor — had told him when he asked for a deadline extension for the first time and for days he thought it wasn't necessary, he never had to leave that little place on the beach to feel inspired, why would that change now?
However, that advice started to make sense, with Aether in his life now he had realized how monotonous his routine was and how much it was hurting him creatively. But that doesn't mean he saw the idea of a trip or of change as something possible…
He sighed, getting up and looking at his watch, it was almost lunch time and he wanted to know if Aether had any special requests — he had spent a lot of time on Xiao's cell phone reading vegetarian recipes, there was definitely something he would like to taste and even if the writer wasn't the best cook in the world, the blond always seemed to be happy with the result.
The storm hadn't passed yet, but it wasn't so bad that the power went out like the first night, the news said two or three more days and the dark clouds would go away.
He stopped at the bathroom door and tried to smile when Aether's eyes met his, but apparently it didn't look very convincing because the blond frowned and quickly grabbed the pen and notebook that was always nearby.
"Are you okay?" Aether wrote in quick handwriting, a worried expression on his face.
Xiao pressed his lips together to keep from sighing again, lowering his head slightly as he walked over to the merman, sitting on the stool beside the bathtub.
He thought about lying, saying that everything was fine, that he was just tired from getting too little sleep, but Aether's concern seemed so genuine that he couldn't do anything but finally talk about what was causing him to get lost in a whirlwind of thoughts.
“Have you ever felt like you want to leave a place, but at the same time you don't?” he asked, the merman seemed surprised at the start of this conversation, but nodded, once again writing his answer.
“All the time” Aether didn’t look away from Xiao’s face as the writer read the paper “Do you want to leave here?”
He hesitated a little, thoughtful.
“I don't know” Xiao finally replied “Maybe I should, not forever, but for some time…”
The blond pressed his lips together, moving his hands as if to reach out to maybe touch Xiao, but changing his mind halfway through, picking up the pen again.
“I always wanted to get out of the sea” he wrote “But I never had the courage”
Aether looked away and the writer wondered if this was the first time he'd admitted this to someone else — or even to himself.
"Why?" Xiao asked, genuinely curious, Aether didn’t seem like someone who stuck to places like Xiao, didn’t seem to have the same insecurities when it came to change…
“I don't know” the merman replied “Changing things is a little scary. And I wouldn't know where to go” he sighed, adding one more sentence next to that “What about you? Why don't you leave?”
That was a good question, one that Xiao didn't quite know the answer to. He looked at the notebook once more, rereading Aether's words.
"Maybe for the same reason…" he replied, staring into the merman's golden eyes.
The silence lasted a few seconds, neither of them looking away or daring to make a sound. Xiao could see understanding in those irises, someone who knew exactly what he felt, even though he had spoken few words about it. He's never felt a connection like that with anyone…
The blond was the first to move, clearing his throat a little embarrassed.
“We could do that t–” was all Xiao could read before Aether scribbled over the sentence and replaced it with “Maybe a movie will cheer you up?” and the writer knew it was an attempt to change the subject.
“Maybe after lunch” the writer replied “What do you want to eat today?”
Aether clasped his hands, excitedly, they chose together what would be the new recipe he would cook today, opting for one that wasn't so complicated because Xiao didn't have that many skills and it would be better not to burn food the or set fire to the kitchen.
The day passed without other deep conversations, Xiao and Aether just enjoying each other's company while watching the worst horror movies they could find on netflix, and when he went to bed at the end of the day, the writer couldn't even feel guilty about not have worked that day. He'd forgotten what it was like to have so much fun with someone…
Xiao woke up with the sun on his face — this indicated two things, that he had forgotten to close the curtain last night and that it was already past 10AM.
He stretched, realizing that the storm had finally stopped and the sky was clear of any cloud. The waves calmed down and gently lapped against the warm sand of the beach, Xiao took a deep breath, closing his eyes to enjoy the calm.
But the lull was short-lived, his eyes snapping open when he heard the sound of pots banging, a noise that couldn't be made by the wind alone. He got up quickly, thinking that maybe someone might have entered the house while he was sleeping, running towards the noise without even bothering to put on a shirt.
Xiao stopped at the kitchen door as soon as he could see who the intruder was, his eyes widening slightly and anything he was going to say slipping from his mind the same instant his heart skipped a beat.
Aether was frowning, focused on the video playing on the cell phone that was on the counter, a woman with a high-pitched voice explaining how to make pancakes for “your special someone” , but what took the writer's breath away was how the blond was dressed.
Aether's hair was braided in an expert, delicate way, and he'd grabbed one of the robes from the bathroom — a dark blue silk robe that Ganyu had forgotten to take with her — and the length only covered up to mid-thigh.
Oh, his thigh .
Xiao blinked, still standing in the same spot, looking down over the smooth white skin of Aether's exposed legs, swallowing hard as the blond stood on tiptoe, reached out to try to grab a bowl from the uppermost cupboard and that made the robe rise a few inches, exposing even more skin. The merman still hadn't noticed his presence and probably wouldn't have noticed if a low noise hadn't escaped Xiao's throat when he saw Aether bending over the counter to get more ingredients for the recipe.
The blond's eyes widened, turning quickly and staring at the writer for a few seconds, his face turning pink and then completely red as the woman in the still-playing video said "And if he's not in love with you yet, this recipe is sure to win him over."
Aether clumsily tried to stop the video, not only closing the app but turning the phone's volume completely down just to ensure that no more embarrassing phrases would be heard.
"I- I'm making breakfast" the blond said, showing the wooden spoon he had in hand, the mess on the sink and kitchen counter and avoiding looking at the writer's naked chest.
Xiao only nodded, a lump in his throat not allowing him to respond with words, he felt a flutter in his chest that he had never felt before as he looked at Aether — it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, but it made his heart pound so hard that he wondered if it was possible to be heard in the silence.
"Please say something" Aether said, his eyes still wide and an embarrassed, anxious expression on his face.
“You're beautiful" was all Xiao managed to say.
The blond opened his mouth if he was going to answer, but whatever he had in mind died in his throat, his face still flushed and his golden eyes shining even brighter with the reflection of the sun illuminating them.
And Xiao didn't even have time to be embarrassed of having said it out loud, because Aether took a step forward, approaching the writer.
"Am I?" he asked, Xiao had started walking towards him without even realizing it, meeting him halfway, without taking his eyes off the so beautiful face in front of him.
They were so close that the writer could feel the blond's breath against his lips, for a few seconds he hesitated to answer, afraid to open his mouth and that magical moment between them end. Afraid to get even closer as if Aether would disappear when he touches him like it was all just a dream…
“The most beautiful person I've ever seen…” he finally replied, feeling more than seeing the surprised gasp the merman let out.
Aether was the one who broke the distance between them, but it was Xiao made everything intense. While the blond had gently brought a hand to the writer's face so their lips touched in a short, delicate kiss, Xiao wrapped his arms around the Aether's waist, pulling him impossibly close to him, their bodies fitting together as the kiss ceased to be chaste.
Aether's surprise at the intensity of Xiao's desire for him only lasted a few seconds and he responded with the same ferocity, wrapping his arms around the human's neck and parting his lips in a small moan, making it easier for Xiao to explore every corner of his mouth.
And they lost track of time as they lost themselves against each other, pulling apart for a few seconds to breathe and then returning to kissing as if they needed it more than oxygen.
Xiao took a step forward, intending to press Aether against whatever was behind them, but the blond ended up stumbling forward and had to hold on tightly to the writer's shoulder to keep from falling to the ground.
“Sorry” he said, his voice breathy and his lips pink, the dilated pupils making him even more beautiful — and Xiao didn't know how that was possible “Legs. Walking is hard.”
Xiao smiled and that was perhaps the most sincere smile that had ever appeared on his face, he felt light, happy. He hugged Aether, lifting him off the floor — receiving a high-pitched, surprised sound from the merman in response — and turned his body to place the blond on the kitchen counter.
The writer stood between Aether's legs, one hand gently on his thigh and the other holding his hand.
"Better this way?" he asked.
Aether leaned forward to give Xiao a brief kiss on the lips and smiled.
“Much better” he replied, laughing “But then I won't be able to finish the pancake.”
They both stared at the mess and ingredients on the counter next to the sink, next to the bowl was Xiao's cell phone making him suddenly remember the video the merman was watching.
“Your special person?” he asked, looking back at the blond, Aether in turn was looking everywhere but at the writer.
“It just…” he bit his lip, letting Xiao face that golden sea that was his irises “Feels right…”
The writer brought a hand up to the merman's face, caressing his cheek gently, a soft smile on his face and a warm feeling in his chest.
"I feel the same way" he said with conviction, over two decades of living and he had never felt anything as strong as the bond he and Aether had created in those few days and he could see in the blond's expression that it was mutual.
Aether smiled, leaning in once more to kiss him, this time letting the kiss linger but remaining calm, both enjoying the moment to the fullest.
“It's not raining anymore” the merman said suddenly when the silence grew — they were too comfortable in that position to move and continue to prepare breakfast.
Xiao pressed his lips together, he knew that remark was more than just a random comment about the weather and his heart ached at the thoughts that invaded his head, but he needed to ask.
“Do you want to go back to the ocean?” the writer's voice came out low, as if just the mention of something like this happening was enough for a lump to form in his throat. But at the same time there was a twinge of hope in that question, that maybe his time with the blond wouldn't be cut off so abruptly.
Aether probably picked up on that hopeful tone because he smiled.
"I don't want to" he replied with the same conviction he felt about their bond and Xiao didn't hide his happiness at hearing this, kissing the blond again. Aether smiled against his lips, turning his face so the writer could place several kisses on his cheeks, jaw, and even the tip of his nose.
And Xiao felt brave enough to step forward and face the idea of change in the same way that the merman was doing.
“Do you want to see the world with me?” he asked, for the first time seeing himself outside of that house on that unknown part of the beach, imagining himself on a snowy day holding hands with Aether or seeing the city lights and tasting the most absurd foods possible with the blond just to see the impressed expression that he did whenever he tasted something new.
Aether's eyes widened in surprise, the expression on his face as delighted as if Xiao was offering him what he most wanted.
“Would you leave here for me?” he asked in the same tone of doubt and hope that had been in the writer's voice before.
“I feel like I would go anywhere with you” Xiao replied.
Aether's smile was so beautiful that it warmed every corner of the writer's heart, the blond wrapped his arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. Xiao returns the embrace, leaning his face against Aether's neck and smiling.
Smelling the citrus scent of his shampoo along with the faint scent of salt water and something that was so characteristic of Aether that he couldn't quite put his finger on it, Xiao felt complete.
And he had the perfect story for his new book, one that he would not only be writing, but living as well.