Chapter Text
The hills of Jueyun Karst have been far too quiet this morning, in Xiao's opinion. Sure, he had destroyed several hilichurl camps the night before, but that didn't mean he had managed to clean the area of every single vermin in existence. His thousands of years of this routine was proof enough of that.
So when he heard the howls and screams that could come from nothing but lawachurls, he allowed the wind to take him there in less than a second. It was an unconscious decision, practically muscle memory. He materialized before the monsters, his jade spear in his right hand already, and he positioned his feet in a fighting stance.
Xiao, however, did not have time to even jump towards the demons, since the sight before him had left him frozen in place.
He already knew that the Traveler was an admirable swordsman. They had fought alongside one another against the Lord of the Vortex, after all. But it had been a few months since that encounter. And they had not kept in touch by anything other than a few letters here and there.
So Xiao has no one to blame when his chest contracts, as he sees how the Traveler twirled oh so gracefully above the Stonehide and Thunderheld Lawachurls, his sword in his hand ready to attack.
Xiao was breathless. Aether looked at him, his gaze piercing his eyes. Xiao was rooted on the spot.
Aether looked beautiful.
Xiao had yet to fully process that singular thought when Aether's torso twisted, making his whole body spin one more time in something that could only have been for show; his scarf and braid circled his body, making Xiao look at the dip of Aether's back. The adeptus took notice of how small Aether's waist looked, despite how toned the man was. How soft it looked.
With a single, precise swing of his sword, three balls of pure electro energy got launched towards the monsters, hitting them dead center in the face.
Xiao had only seen him wield the elements of Geo and Anemo. He did not know Aether was capable of wielding more.
The Traveler landed with a quiet thud, the lawachurls already turned to dust and ash behind him.
Aether had not taken his eyes off of Xiao in that entire time.
Xiao felt how his heart stopped beating for a second, and swallowed.
The yaksha had yet to move at all as Aether approached him. The blonde dismissed his weapon by throwing it behind him, as if the tool that had helped him stay alive multiple times could never be more important than what was standing in front of him. He ran his fingers through his bangs, pushing them back. His skin was glistening with sweat, a display of how much of a workout the fight had been for him, yet not a single speck of dirt could be found anywhere on his person, showing just how much mastery with the blade he had.
Aether stopped about a meter away from Xiao. It was close enough to respect his personal space.
But why did he feel so far away?
"Hi, Xiao." Aether said. It was such a gentle and soft tone that it almost gave Xiao whiplash.
"Hello." He managed to croak out. What is wrong with his body today?
"What're you doing here?" Aether asked him, tilting his head to the side. Why is Xiao's face so pink? Is it the sun?
"I'm here because I meant to dispose of those demons infecting the land," Xiao crossed his arms and looked away, refusing to meet Aether's eyes anymore. He didn't like the sensation of his heart beating so fast at the sight of the Traveler, "it seems you've already taken care of that, however."
"Oh, yeah. It was a commission for the Adventurer's Guild. Uhm," Aether hesitated. It was enough to make Xiao look at him again. He felt his stomach do something akin to a flip when he realized the Traveler had gotten closer to him. Now Xiao could see the beads of sweat rolling down from his torso to his v line to-
"I'm actually staying at Wangshu Inn right now. Would you like to walk with me there? I can have Paimon collect the commission fee."
Only then did Xiao notice the floating fairy watching him intently. She was eating a sunsettia. He wishes to assume that the reason why he didn't notice her in the first place was because she hadn't spoken since he got there. Definitely not because his attention was somewhere- nay, on someone else.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot do that. I- I have to meet with Rex Lapis." Why is he stuttering? This is getting ridiculous. He needed to get out of there now.
"Oh, I see. Well, in any case, I'll leave some Almond Tofu for you on the balcony tonight. I hope to see you later, Xiao."
"You don't have to- uhm. Yes, thank you. Goodbye, Traveler."
Xiao quickly left the place after becoming one with the wind, allowing him to take him wherever it wanted to.
He landed in Guyun Stone Forest. Xiao walked to the nearest rock and slumped his body next to it. He was out of breath, as if he had been the one to fight those lawachurls, not Aether.
Aether… Xiao could not stop replaying the scene. Every single detail had been imprinted in his mind; the way Aether spun in the air, the fact that he had obtained and already mastered yet another element, the way he had stared at Xiao so intensely.
Xiao felt his body way too warm for his comfort. His heart was beating so much he thought it was gonna jump out of his chest. His fingers itched to touch something, and Xiao did not know what that something was. Images of Aether's hands, legs and back flashed behind his eyes. He closed his eyelids.
This is very dangerous, he thought. Xiao used his right hand to cover his mouth. He needed to tell Rex Lapis about these new symptoms of his karmic debt. It seemed like it was getting worse.