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Hearing his name called was normally a rarity. Especially considering he never gave his name out to call in the first place.
After giving it to Aether, however. Well,
It was still a rarity. At first.
But then he just had to come to Aether’s first call of his name, which turned out to be him simply trying food for his friend.
Not that he disliked the food or anything. It was... Nice.
Aether gained a lot more confidence in calling his name after that, and while sometimes it was genuinely because he needed help fighting- there were moments like this. Where Aether called his name, he appears and-
….
“Aether..” Xiao starts, voice unbelieving as he stares at the blonde-
He was hanging upside down by his foot from a branch from a tree- in Sumeru. He should add, these trees were tall. Aether was honestly lucky to be hanging from one of the lower ones. The Adeptus’ eyes squint to try and see what rope was holding Aether up that the blonde couldn’t just cut himself free himself-
“Xiao… My um, my hands.” Aether mumbles sheepishly, and Xiao blinks.
Ah. They were tied together. Lovely.
Xiao inspects further, noting the rope’s texture and recognizing the brand. It was the same rope he’s seen quite a few times, and it’s a clear feeble attempt at copying the ones that Shenhe possesses. These ones however, only copy their strength and fail at cloning the same effect as an adeptus’ artifact would.
Nonetheless, they make for good traps. It was a bitch to cut through them, with a vision however….
“Care to explain how you ended up in this situation?” Xiao sighs out, summoning his spear and tilting his head to see what the best way would be to cut him down. “And why you haven’t even attempted to get yourself down?”
Aether fidgets, averting his eyes away from him and towards his sword laying on the grass below. “I did try.” He says quietly, and it’s only now that Xiao hears the underlying exhaustion there in his voice.
Another reason why he wouldn’t have been able to escape. Hm.
Xiao turns suddenly, scaling up the tree speedily and reaching the branch Aether’s foot was tied to. He looks down at the blonde hanging upside down, Aether too focused on… Whatever’s going on in his head to really follow Xiao’s movement. It makes the Adeptus frown as he uses his anemo to gather around his polearm and slice at the rope holding Aether up. He’s quick to teleport right back down and catch the blonde in his arms swiftly, Aether looking winded from the suddenness of it all and meeting Xiao’s eyes with wide ones.
....
“...Lets get your hands untied.” Is all Xiao says, placing Aether down against the tree he had been tied to and taking his restrained hands into his own. “You didn’t tell me how this happened.”
Xiao doesn’t like the way Aether’s eyes mist and his hands tremble, it just makes Xiao snap the rope in half around his hands with his anemo rather than taking the time to simply untie them. “What’s wrong?” He says urgently, “Are you hurt anywhere?”
Aether immediately shakes his head, letting out a frustrated huff and pulling his hands away from Xiao once they’re free of the rope- rubbing at his reddened wrists. “....rough day…” He whispers, though looks up to meet Xiao’s eyes- biting his lip, “thank you. For helping.” Aether moves to stand, but then gets immediately pushed back down the moment his legs start to shake.
“You’re exhausted.” Xiao notes, “Sit for a moment. Rest.” He then moves to check over Aether whether he wants it or not. Aether lets out an involuntary whine when his hands touch his waist, then going down first to check his legs for injuries then up to his arms-
“I’m fine, Xiao- please, you don’t have to-” Aether cuts himself off by letting out a startled giggle when Xiao brushes underneath his arms-
Aether’s face immediately bursts red, only worsening when he meets Xiao’s surprised expression. The adeptus slowly lowers his hands from underneath the blonde’s arms and stares at Aether with a thoughtful expression.
“...You’re ticklish.” Xiao states, eyes oddly amused- and…
Aether’s eyebrows furrow, “....I didn’t… I didn’t mean to laugh while you were checking up on me I’m sorry-”
“You’re fine.” Xiao interrupts right away, and he only leans closer to the blonde. “You’re uninjured. That’s good.” His eyes flicker up and down the other, and Aether sinks a little against the tree behind him.
Oh. He actually looked… Mischievous.
..Aether doesn’t…
This was new.
Should he be concerned-
Xiao suddenly has his hands back on his waist, making Aether let out a yelp and his eyes widen-
“Xiao, what-”
Xiao abruptly moves his fingers, digging into Aether’s sides-
“Xia—hahaha- Xiaooo– WahaHAHA-” Aether lets out giggles hysterically, unable to push Xiao off of him as the adeptus actively tickles him while pinning him down. “Nooo-h-oh-ahahahaha- Whyyy-”
Aether can barely process that it was Xiao doing this through his uncontrolled laughter, whining when he’s moved to be laying completely on the ground rather than the tree- and his whine only gets cut off completely by Xiao tickling under his arms-
“XIAOOO.. PLEASE,” He squeals out with a snort when Xiao touches an especially sensitive spot.
He knew that he and Xiao had gotten close- but this…
This was the last thing he expected from him- honestly, this was something that Childe would do because he was a little shit of a big brother- but Xiao?
Aether was wrong to assume he was safe from him when it came to knowing he was overly ticklish.
He really wasn’t expecting to be wrong about that.
Aether lets out a huff once Xiao finally stops, having to catch his breath and bringing up his hands to his cheeks as they ache from his smiling. He looks up at Xiao who is still above him- face red and mouth wobbly as he tries not to continue smiling- it hurt to do so, but it was just so hard when the energy from getting tickled was still fresh and Xiao was staring at him with such a fond expression.
“I just wanted to see you smile.” Xiao says simply after it’s silent for a little bit, head tilting and eyes soft. “I don’t particularly like it when you’re upset.”
Aether’s face reddens impossibly further- his mouth suddenly settling into a frown that makes Xiao’s eyebrows furrow.
When Xiao moves to get off Aether- the adeptus’ clear social awkwardness kicking in as he feels as if he may have made a mistake- Aether raises his hand up to the back of the adeptus’ head and drags him down enough that they’re touching noses.
It’s Xiao’s face that bursts red this time, eyebrows furrowing as he tries his hardest to figure out what this really meant- only for Aether to kiss him.
…
Xiao doesn’t let Aether pull away out of the blonde’s own hesitance, eagerly kissing him back. The adeptus moves to kiss him on his cheeks after, along with the rest of his face- on his forehead, on his nose, on the corner of his mouth-
Wow. Aether thinks, hands clutching at Xiao’s back with the suddenness of Xiao’s actions- Maybe he should’ve gotten tied up earlier if it meant getting to see Xiao like this.
…
Actually no, getting tied up after having an awful day fucking sucked. But.
….Aether meets Xiao’s eyes when the adeptus finally pulls away to read his expression- and he gives Xiao such a shy smile- one that makes the adeptus just kiss him again. Xiao moves then to rest his head onto his shoulder and wrap his arms around his waist, making Aether shiver- especially when he starts to speak into his neck.
“I’m not good at… What’s right or wrong when it comes to acting on emotions.” Xiao mumbles, Aether immediately softening and bringing one of his hands back to the back of Xiao’s head, gently ruffling his hair. “So please let me know if I go too far in loving you.”
Aether’s hand falters just a little, before his grip tightens on Xiao’s hair and he turns his head to nose at Xiao’s ear.
“...You’ve gone long enough not letting yourself love. I’m… Actually very happy that you’re being as impulsive as you are right now.” Aether giggles out softly, “I love you too. I promise I’ll let you know if I’m uncomfortable.”
Xiao pulls Aether closer in response.
…
“...I remember being as touch sensitive as you are right now.” Xiao says then, brushing his fingers across Aether’s waist and making him jolt as if to prove a point- it makes Aether pout. “Bosacius would see me deep in my thoughts, and I always had… A deep frown on my face, one that ‘would be stuck like that if it stayed’- as he’d put it.” Xiao moved his hands across Aether’s back, the blonde shivering from the touch that makes him nervous-
“So he’d use not just two hands- but all four of his damn hands to reach me and tickle me until I smiled- even if for just a moment.” He sighs out in mock irritation, but Aether sees right through it.
He also knows exactly what this is leading to. Despite the bit of sadness that pangs in his chest at the memories Xiao has carried for so long- How long has it been since Xiao has smiled genuinely?- He knows-
“So while I can’t experience… What he did for me any more,” Xiao raises his head in order to kiss Aether’s cheek again- and it would’ve been sweet if he didn’t proceed to dig his fingers back into his waist- making Aether immediately burst with giggles. “I can at least do what he would’ve done.” Xiao actually smiles then, eyes squinted fondly as he moves his hands across Aether’s skin.
“XiaooaahahahaHAHA-” Aether still doesn’t have the energy to fight back, but he can at least whine out his displeasure- squealing with laughter as Xiao cuts off those whines by brushing across the especially sensitive spots.
“Your smile…” Xiao says quietly once he eventually removes his hands, stopping the tickling and letting Aether catch his breath again. “So bright.”
Aether only looks up at him with a fondly exasperated pout, hand coming up to pinch at Xiao’s cheek. “Such a stubborn adeptus. Only smiling when I’m the one who has to suffer for it.” The pinch turns into him just cupping his cheek, pout vanishing and eyes softening. “Thank you for coming when I called.”
Xiao lets out a sigh, “As if I would ignore it when it comes from you.” He sounds almost offended, pulling Aether into his lap as he sits up. “You’re still not getting out of telling me what happened. But for now,” Xiao noses Aether’s cheek, the blonde leaning into him in response- “You’ll rest.”
And he teleports away with him, though not without gathering the rope that had tied up Aether in the first place and the blonde’s sword.
This may have been the best outcome in terms of Aether having an awful day, but Xiao is not one to let things go so easily.
Especially when it comes to the blonde he’s completely convinced is made from the stars.