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Xiao was absolutely exhausted. The day had been long, even by Adeptal standards, and he was genuinely looking forward to the warmth and comfort of the teapot and his boyfriend. He made his way, albeit slower than usual to the Wangshu Inn, and up to the teapot. He breathed deeply, readying himself for the wave of nausea that washed over him anytime he entered the damned device. It was as if it sucked him in and spun him, the energies so alike his own but just different enough to be slightly unsettling. He landed outside their home, the cliffs it stood on a reminder of how much work exactly Aether had put into making it into a home for the both of them, not to mention a select few friends who stayed in the abode every so often as well. The smell of the maple trees he'd become so fond of was nearly sickening in the face of his tired mind, and though the creak of the door was something he was happy about, it irritated his head today.
It would be a bit longer until Aether returned home, sometimes staying out until the early morning and nearly collapsing in his return. Xiao busied himself feeding the cat they kept in the house, knowing that the other animals outside of the home had critters Aether released daily to feed them. It was past sunset when he arrived in the teapot itself, and though he understood why it was his partner arrived so late some nights, it still managed to worry him. Surprisingly enough Xiao had been a doting partner so far, surprising even himself with the lengths he would go to to bring a wide smile to Aether's lips. Tonight he felt on edge however, his patience drawn tight like ropes across the chasm. He could feel his worry fade to irritation and it shocked him a bit.
In the span of their relationship, it was rare for Xiao to feel any sort of irritation towards his boyfriend, and they'd only fought a handful of times over stupid shit like who would do the more dangerous missions. Never had he grown so annoyed for what seemed like no reason. It was alarming, and he decided that to avoid any worse arguments he ought to try to relax at least a little.
He made his way out of the home and up to the raised platform they dubbed his perch. It was a dumb joke, and no matter how his Adeptal friends would react to Aether's easy jokes about his other form, he found himself smiling about it every so often. He kept his louder and more violent belongings up here, anything that might cause discourse between them was kept in the box under the Cuihua tree. Not that he was hiding them, as Aether was more than welcome to join him on the chunk of earth. He just never did, mentioning the importance of privacy in relationships and walking off with a smile.
He found his annoyance was fading, as he opened the geo sealed box to reveal his little treasures. Nothing overly valuable, simply his shriller flute, a piece of armor he had taken from the chasm in memory of Bosacius, and a couple small weapons he kept simply to remind himself that there had been worse times. Of course he owned more embarrassing things than this, but those were kept under the soft fleece that the things he was focused on lay on. He pulled his flute from where it lie unused for so long, lifting it to his lips tentatively. As far as he knew, the only ones seeking sleep in the teapot tonight were the General Gorou from Inazuma, and some Ranger from Sumeru. He thinks her name is Collei. Regardless, he need to calm himself if he wanted to be at all a loving partner for this day at least.
The first notes were shaky, his fingers unused to the thinness of his older flute and his breath unsteady from unuse in this form. As he progressed through an admittedly badly played rendition of some song he'd heard from high in the clouds on a particularly bad day. His confidence grew as his fingers reached the right notes and the sound cleared significantly over time. He fell into the sound as it rang out in the space, letting his pain and feelings drift with every note he released from the instrument. Soon enough he felt much better, though his boyfriend still wasn't home and that itself caused the anxious feeling to flutter back to life in his stomach.
He huffed, dropping from where he sat on the edge back down to the ground where he meandered past the teapot spirit and back into the main room.
Though the couch was not his favorite place to sit in the house, it was the longest by far, and he found himself stretching out on the plush surface. It shouldn't be much longer until Aether returned home, and though his old injuries ached with the tiredness of the day, he tried to keep his exhausted body from pulling him into that silent blackness.
It didn't work. He awoke the next morning in their shared bedroom, fully covered in plush comforters and cuddled up to multiple pillows. This wasn't what he'd meant for to happen. He rushed from the bed only to find a completely empty house. His breathing was coming faster now, panic bordering at the edges of his vision.
Though he knew realistically that Aether had been home in the night, he had hoped for at least a small reunion with his boyfriend. And now, now. Now he was left alone in their home, bordering on a panic attack like he hadn't since before that night during the Lantern Rite. He settled on finishing his tasks for the day, leaving the teapot in a flurry of wind and anger.
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His anger had boiled down to the simply fact that Aether hadn't even bothered to stay long enough to get sleep adequate for one night. And whilst he was hurt that he didn't get so much as a 'Good morning' from his partner, he understood that much. They were busy the both of them, and found comfort in the little moments they stole between their work.
He slashed through the last encampment of hilichurls like he hadn't gained any sympathy for the creatures over the years with Aether. He didn't even bother cleaning his weapon properly, wiping it swiftly on his pants and making his way once again to the teapot.
This time Aether was there. The clear exhaustion in his eyes made Xiao's anger soften, but only a little.
"You did not sleep much last night." He knew he sounded harsh. He hated the way his voice sounded leaving his lips, the way Aether recoiled at his tone, as if anger wasn't what he was expecting. He shifted to his back leg, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.
"Yeah, I had a lot of work to do today." He sounded defensive too now. Xiao hated that he'd started this, but he had a hard time dropping things that bothered him like this did.
"You could get sick." His anger had faded and he had realized that this was a stupid thing to get so annoyed about. He was about to apologize when Aether raised his voice just a bit.
"I'm not a child Xiao, you don't need to take care of me." He had clearly hit sore topic, and tried to backtrack instantly, but Aether didn't give him a chance.
"Its not like I worry about you every second you're not in my sight."
What.
He paled the second the words left his lips, immediately going to speak once more. Xiao didn't notice.
"You don't worry over me at all?" Though he supposed it made sense as he was arguably strong enough to take care of himself, it still hurt a bit. That was how he showed his own affection, worrying.
He recoiled a bit at the hand Aether reached out to place gently on his arm.
"That's, I... uh, I think I need a bit." He pulled from his most loved ones arms gently, still not wanting to hurt him, not seeing the devastation playing on the blonde's features already.
He was a blur of wind, moving faster than he thought he was to his perch. He was fully aware he was overreacting. This just felt like Aether didn't care at all. He knew that wasn't true. But it still felt so horrible. It seemed like the sun had barely moved when he finally felt okay enough to face his overreaction in person. Aether was sitting below him, still in his horror choosing to respect Xiao's space. He could feel his self-deprecation from up in the air and sighed before joining him.
They sat in silence for a moment before Aether went to speak. His voice sounded rough, tired and sad.
"I'm sorry, I know you worry, I just feel inadequate sometimes and I guess I just..." He paused to pull Xiao's hand into his lap. "It was unfair of me to take that out on you."
He was trying. He was trying so hard, and though Xiao had problems talking out issues like this, he knew he had to at least try as well.
"I know you're strong, you're amazing and more than capable of protecting yourself. I have been used for evil before, and because of that, I can be a little too wary." He stopped, the next words getting stuck in his throat. "I'm sorry."
Aether smiled a little, whispering in return.
"I am sorry as well, I shouldn't have said that. Of course I worry, I just lashed out."
This was better.
It wasn't perfect.
It would never be perfect.
But that night with Aether held close to his chest and the moon shining placidly through the window into their room, it felt better than perfect.
"I love you Aether."