Work Text:
There was the sound of a crackling fire.
Aether opened his heavy eyelids, adjusting his vision to the warm light in front of him. His sense of awareness was slowly returning, and the first thing he noticed was the deep darkness that wrapped around the edges of the flames. It wasn’t the soft blanket of night that he was used to whenever he camped outside. There were no stars above, or traces of scenery outlined by the glow of the moon.
Sitting up, he noticed there was a throbbing pain on the left part of his head. He winced and raised his hand unconsciously to touch it.
"Oh? The sleeping prince is awake."
Aether blinked.
That provoking voice had come from the opposite side of the fire. He focused his gaze on a person sitting comfortably atop a pile of ruins, face framed by an elaborate hat.
The other person's expression was almost bored as he leaned and rested his chin on his palm. Every time he moved, the dangling ornaments on his clothes would make a small clinking sound, adding to the low sputter of the flames.
The Wanderer broke into a snide smile.
“For a moment there, I thought you’d never wake up again.”
Aether frowned, trying to speak through his dry throat. “You… what happened?”
Even as he said that, a series of memories started flashing through his mind: Nahida had asked for his help to investigate the ruins southeast of Sumeru. Scaramouche— no, the Wanderer now —had accompanied them to provide help, despite the protests on both sides. After descending through layers of underground caverns, they had awakened an ancient aeonblight drake that started attacking at them. There had been a battle.
The last thing Aether could remember was Paimon’s voice screaming “ Look out! ” and a blurred figure that pushed them away just as a massive portion of the ceiling broke and fell onto them.
Then, everything went black.
In the present, they seemed to be inside a deeper cavern. Aether glanced up to see properly, now more accustomed to the brightness. The high ceiling was far above their heads, blocked by a large chunk of rubble from the previous room. Small streaks of light peeked through the gaps, though not strong enough to reach the surface of the room, scattering midway through the darkness instead.
Another sharp pain cut through his head. He clenched his teeth.
“Paimon—is Paimon alright?”
The Wanderer raised an eyebrow.
“So the first thing you do is worry about others?” he scoffed. “Take a look at yourself first. It was a hard blow to the head.”
That explained the headache. Aether brushed aside the pain, worry creeping into his tone. "Is she safe?"
A small sigh escaped the other's lungs. "Relax. She's alive. If you look to your side, you can see her sleeping like a baby.”
Aether turned immediately, a wave of relief washing through him as he saw her curled up there. Her cheeks were tinted with the soft orange glow of the fire as she breathed steadily. She was even mumbling a bit in her sleep.
Aether exhaled the breath that he had been holding in. He felt his tension ease and looked back to the Wanderer. Now that he could allow himself to focus on other things, he realized that a bandage had been wrapped around his head this entire time. Not only that, but some of his own wounds had been cleaned properly too.
It took one glance at the warm fire, the unfastened adventurer’s backpack on the side, and the thin blanket that had been draped over him for Aether to realize that only one person could be responsible for this while they were unconscious.
He blinked, surprise dawning on his expression. Out of all people, Aether couldn’t believe that the former harbinger was capable of taking care of others like this. It was almost as if he had lost the memories of his previous reincarnation again and reverted to that polite young man they had met in the bazaar.
“... Thank you for saving us,” Aether finally said after a moment. “And for taking care of my injuries.”
The Wanderer sighed in exasperation.
"Don’t flatter yourself, I didn’t do that out of good will. Buer tasked me to keep you and your flying companion safe, and I don’t think she’d like it if I brought back a corpse. Besides, ” he shrugged. “Not being able to do a simple task like that would be impossible for me.”
Despite how he had coldly worded that, the Wanderer had tugged on his hat halfway to hide his face–a habit he would do every time he tried to hide his emotions. Aether tried to suppress a smile.
"—Anyway, we’ve wasted enough time talking. Now that you're awake, we can look for a way out of here."
The Wanderer swiftly changed the topic and stood, brushing his sleeves behind him. Aether also followed his example and carefully pushed himself up. Though some parts of his body hurt, it wasn’t serious enough to impede his movements. The ache in his head was easy to ignore the more he got used to it as well.
Aether followed after the Wanderer who had already started walking to one side of the cavern. They stopped a few feet away from their campfire, standing before what seemed like the opening of a small darkened path. The rest of the way was shrouded in shadows.
Holding out a hand, the Wanderer snapped his fingers and a small burst of energy sparked from his fingertips, creating a floating ball of light. It followed his gestures in midair as he waved.
"I scouted a bit. There seems to be a door in that direction, but it’s blocked by some kind of access device. You have the tablet right? We can go ahead and open it first–”
His words were cut short before he could finish them. Just as he was about to step further in, Aether had blocked his way.
The Wanderer frowned and looked annoyed.
“What? Move out of the way.”
Aether remained motionless. "You're wounded."
The Wanderer stood for a moment before glancing down at his state–though he had numerous small scrapes from their previous fight, one thing that would automatically catch anyone’s attention was the deep tear on his side, soaking his white kimono with blood. His right leg also had a massive purple bruise that seemed to be a result of being crushed by rubble. Aether hadn’t seen it properly while he was seated, but now that he had stood up, it was impossible to miss it.
Rather than himself, the Wanderer looked more like a walking corpse.
He shrugged it off with a wave of his hand as if it were a minor inconvenience.
“Yes, that’s right,” he stated a-matter-of-factly.
The lack of concern was almost unnerving. Aether shook his head, still refusing to step aside.
"You should clean that before it gets infected."
As a seasoned adventurer, he was familiar with the dangers of leaving wounds unattended after all. He had seen how worse even a simple cut could get.
In return the Wanderer scoffed, incredulous. "Are you stupid? Did you forget I'm not human? Even if you poison me, I won’t get sick."
Admittedly, Aether actually did.
During his encounters with the Wanderer, the fact that he was originally a puppet always seemed to slip his mind. A lot of the people he had come across with in Teyvat weren’t mortals after all—gods, adepti, oni, elves, demihumans. Although it was true that the Wanderer was artificial in origin, the way he acted was not any different from other people. The closest that he could liken him to was probably Albedo, and both of them possessed a sense of self no different from anyone else.
He shook his head.
"That's true but… you can’t just leave it like that. Paimon is still asleep, and it’s not like we’re in a hurry anyway."
The Wanderer’s expression was hard to read. Shadows moved across their faces as the small light flickered behind Aether. He crossed his arms.
"These wounds are nothing,” he said, annoyed. “I can still function perfectly well.”
"Sit. I'll patch you up," Aether relented.
The Wanderer leveled his gaze, as though considering which remark he should say next. However, Aether refused to back down. He crossed his arms as well.
"I won't ask you again."
He could imagine the anger rising from the other person as each tense second passed by. The Wanderer opened his mouth and Aether braced himself for another argument.
However, the other person stopped himself suddenly, as though changing his mind before the words could leave. Instead, he pressed his lips together and sighed.
Then, surprisingly, he turned around and retreated back to their small campfire.
Caught by surprise, Aether remained in place and watched as he sat back atop the pile of ruins, took off his hat, and looked at him expectantly.
“Well?” the Wanderer prompted.
Aether blinked away the shock and finally moved from his spot. He could feel a gaze on his back, watching his every move. Silently, he went to kneel in front of his backpack, hearing Paimon mumbling about meat as he took out a fresh set of bandages, water, and medicine.
After retrieving the materials, he shuffled beside the Wanderer, looking down at his idle expression. He was hesitant to continue.
“Let’s… do your side first.”
The Wanderer obliged quietly, showing a compliant demeanor that made Aether wonder if he wasn't the only one who hit his head. He slipped off one side of his kimono that revealed the torn part of his skin-tight cloth and the painful wound that exposed flesh and blood. Aether winced just looking at it.
He sat down next to him and did his best to clean the wound carefully. He took out the waterskin and started dabbing the surrounding skin with a clean cloth. Silence rolled over the cavern like a slow storm—the crackling of the fire, the clink of gold, and the sound of Paimon’s sleepy drabbles being the only thing they could hear. Their shadows swayed on the ground, dancing along with the occasional draft.
Aether kept glancing a few times at the Wanderer’s face, marveling at how docile he seemed whenever they weren’t at each other’s throats. It was a big improvement compared to when they often tried killing each other. The fact that their relationship had drastically changed over the few encounters they experienced was baffling, and Aether honestly wasn't sure how to respond. Befriending a former enemy was part of the reason why he didn't know how to act in front of him.
In fact, he had expected him to slap his hand away by now, probably claiming at the same time that he could do it alone. It was rare for the Wanderer to be this quiet and not utter a sarcastic remark every minute that passed. Like this, Aether could almost admit that his company was… not entirely unpleasant at all.
Lost in these thoughts, he was pulled back to the present when he noticed the Wanderer tense up just as he was about to apply medicine.
The Wanderer was frowning a bit. Aether moved his hand away.
"... It hurts?" he asked.
The other person met his gaze, delicate eyes reflecting the light of the fire in front of them. They were hard to read.
"Does the fact that I can still feel pain surprise you?"
Aether looked down at his wounds once more, thinking about that. The reason he could ignore such terrible injuries and act like it was nothing was likely because the Wanderer had gone through much worse before. At those times, had there been someone to take care of him like this?
Aether grit his teeth.
"I'm sorry. I should have noticed it sooner."
The Wanderer made a small, bemused laugh, hanging his head. "This concern is quite new. I guess they don’t call you a hero for nothing, huh?”
It seemed that he had started with the snide comments again, although this one didn’t seem as scornful as the other times. Aether frowned.
"I'm not a hero."
"Well, tell that to every nation you’ve visited so far. Haven’t you been at the center of everything, O Great Traveler ? During my time at the Fatui, I kept hearing your name everywhere that it got annoying. Everyone in Teyvat knows your reputation."
“I only helped.”
“So humble.”
Aether could feel his face turn warm. He focused on what he was doing, refusing to meet the amused grin he could see from his peripheral. Instead of a response, he voiced out something that had been on his mind since earlier.
"You… I didn't know you could bleed."
The Wanderer seemed to be startled by that sudden question, turning quiet.
A moment later, he smirked. "Now you do. Khaenria'h's art deals with the fundamental building blocks of the world. When my… creator made me, she likened my appearance and constitution to that of a human's using its lost knowledge. So I bleed and feel like mortals do, though clearly that wasn’t her intention. Despite that, I'm still far from a perfect human. I can't breathe, and I don't need to eat to function. My wounds heal fast even if I leave it alone. Sleep is also something I have the liberty to choose…"
He paused, frowning now.
"Stop looking at me with that face. Do you pity me, Traveler? Ridiculous. Did you forget that I’ve done irredeemable things and killed you a few dozen times?”
He didn’t, of course. Being reminded of that brought the familiar jolt of hatred that came up every time someone mentioned the Balladeer in the past. But now that the very same person was in front of him in such a state, Aether couldn’t just dismiss the fact that he had literally erased his existence thinking he could right his wrongs. After everything that happened, the Wanderer had chosen to face the sins of his past and turn a new leaf when he could have forgotten them.
“It doesn’t change the fact that… you’re trying to atone now,” Aether said carefully, not meeting his eyes. “You can never escape what you did, but at least you didn’t run from it.”
There was a silence.
“Such uplifting words,” the Wanderer finally said, words dripping with sarcasm. "I'm touched."
Aether sighed.
The Wanderer continued prodding. “How do you know I’m not just pretending to be on good terms with you? That I won’t betray you?”
“How do you know I won’t do the same?”
He blinked a few times, not quite expecting that retort. Then, he burst into laughter, shoulders shaking.
“You, betray? Haha, that would be something to look forward to! The day the righteous Traveler shows his true colors…” The tone in his voice darkened, the playful attitude disappearing for a moment. “... Will be the day this world proves to me there’s no such thing as kindness without a price. Until then, I’ll just keep observing you and wait for it to come.”
Aether bit his lip. He knew there was no use trying to change the Wanderer’s principles in one sitting. His view of relationships being transactional was instilled for hundreds of years after all. Aether knew this from the time they had started sharing their consciousness. Something ingrained in him for that long wouldn’t be so easy to overwrite.
He shook his head.
Aether finished wrapping the bandages in silence. Once he was satisfied with his work, he pointed to the footwear on the Wanderer's leg.
“I’m going to take this off to have a proper look. Is that fine?”
“Do what you want.”
Aether positioned the leg on top of his lap and slowly took off the ornaments wrapped around it. The purple bruises seemed to cover a wider area than he thought, spanning the length of his entire limb. How the Wanderer could walk properly in this state while ignoring the pain was beyond him.
"How did you get this?"
The other person had an annoyed face. "Did you think catching, falling, and protecting two people all at the same time is easy? I had to make sure the collapse wouldn't bury us alive or rob you of breathable air."
Aether blinked. Hearing it like that, then…
"... You got hurt because of me?"
"You make it sound like such a noble act."
He looked at the Wanderer square in the eyes. "Thank you. Again."
The Wanderer turned away by reflex, using his hair as a curtain to hide his face instead of his hat this time. He clicked his tongue.
"Save your breath and leave it. It'll heal on its own."
Aether pretended not to hear that and ran his fingers along the purple spots, starting from the ankle upwards, gently making sure that he wouldn't cause any pain. He had intended to check if there had been anything broken or unnaturally swollen under the skin. However, what happened next was something completely unexpected.
The Wanderer suddenly jolted and stiffened, making a small noise at the back of his throat. Startled, Aether blinked and snapped his head up in turn.
The view he saw took him aback. The Wanderer was covering his mouth with his wrist, cheeks flushed, color amplified by the orange glow of the fire. He attempted to move away but their current position only allowed a difference of a few centimeters. There was a strange look on his face as he used his other hand to tug on his pants.
A confused Aether pulled away and raised both his arms in surrender.
"S-Sorry. I didn't mean to do that...?"
"You dare…!” The Wanderer was slightly shaking from bewilderment, face red. The cavern shook dangerously as swirls of anemo began forming around them. He glared at Aether, eyes glowing, but stopped short when he saw his dumbfounded face. In a moment, the unstable elemental energy dissipated.
“You...!" His eyebrows furrowed deeper. He clenched his fists, as if trying to hold back his anger. "No.... Nevermind. Forget it. Get away before I kick you off. Now.”
Aether immediately did as he was told and stood back, trying to understand what just happened. The Wanderer had reacted when he examined just a little past the knee. Aether was so absorbed in looking for irregularities that he failed to notice where his hands were touching.
He felt the blood slowly rise in his face when he realized what he had done.
Ah.
No wonder the Wanderer's reaction was so extreme. He made a small laugh, attempting to lighten the situation.
“I… guess you're also very sensitive?" He tried to joke.
The Wanderer had a very deadly look on his face as he glared up at him. Aether nervously took one step further back, his adverturer's senses warning him of the imminent danger.
“I'd suggest you shut your pretty mouth."
He froze, feeling the need to apologize once more. “Sorry. I promise not to do that again.”
“The next time that happens, Buer will be seeing your corpse.”
Aether glanced to the side, knowing that wasn’t an empty threat.
“I’ll keep that in mi–”
“—MMhn... AAh! LOOK OUT–THERE'S! Huh…? Where did the flying headless chicken go? Paimon was about to eat it!"
The chilly atmosphere was broken by the sudden exclamation. Their commotion seemed to have awoken the third person in the room.
Aether thanked the gods for Paimon’s timing and directed his attention to her instead, hurrying to her side. “Paimon! You’re awake!”
Paimon sat up and rubbed her eyes dreamily. “Traveler…? What happened? I remember there was a collapse…” Her eyes widened.
“—AAh! I remember now! The ceiling was going down and the Wanderer–hey, there he is! Wait, why does he look weird? And why are you so red? Where are we?”
Aether hurriedly tried to divert the topic, still sensing the surging fury from the other party. He deliberately ignored the previous questions. “We were waiting for you to wake up before leaving. But before that, do you feel any pain anywhere?”
She patted her chest with a smug look. “Nope. Paimon’s 100% fine!”
“That’s a relief!”
" —Enough,” the Wanderer finally interjected with a cold tone. He swung his legs over the edge of the pile of ruins and slipped back into his footwear. His face was half hidden in the shadows, casting a menacing effect.
When he was done, the glare in his eyes were enough to melt a cryo slime. “Now that your flying companion is awake it's time we left this insufferable place."
“Eek!” Paimon flew and hid behind Aether, whispering into his ears.
“Paimon isn’t sure why but the Wanderer seems to be in a really bad mood right now...”
Aether could only respond with a nervous laugh. He glanced anywhere he could except at the Wanderer’s direction, hoping he looked as calm as he was trying to seem while desperately forgetting what he saw.
“Y-Yeah, let’s get out of here.”