Chapter Text
Xiao downs another energy drink. The room smells of lavender, it fights with the grape drink when it comes to overtaking the room with its scent. The room is dark, the only light is the one coming from Xiao’s computer. “Shit, not again.” The boy curses as he pushes against the desk. He immediately stands up, staring at the screen with his brows furrowed.
“Killed by a sniper, fantastic.” He watched the replay of the “last kill” which was him being shot. Xiao was flabbergasted, not only was the shot a one-shot, they weren’t even sniping. Was that person hacking? Were they insane? How is it possible to be shot from the window of a building that was 50 meters away?
He wasn’t one to let things slide so easily, the guy was hacking he is positive. He ignores the comments his team makes after the match. “Alatus, how could you be shot by some girl bro?” His teammate complained, and Xiao quickly turns on his mic. “Talk to me when you start getting kills.” The sounds of his teammates arguing assault his ears.
Xiao sighs, taking off his headset and flopping onto his bed. He watches from his mattress as his three teammates leave. He flips over to lie on his back as he runs his fingers through his black and teal strands. He enjoys playing squad but not when he has to randomly match others. He tosses and turns in his bed, the energy in the energy drink triggering his constant squirming.
“Man, what time is it?” Xiao looks at his PC for the time, only to see a red light on the friends' icon. “A request?” He could hardly believe anyone would ever want to add him. Thus why he only has one friend in the game, Hu Tao. Xiao gets up from his bed and walks to his desk, pulling his black gaming chair his way.
“ViatrixX” Xiao reads, looking at the accept request. “It’s that person who killed me.” He mutters, a small smile gracing his lips. “Interesting,” Xiao murmurs, clicking the accept request. Not a second later Viatrix asks to join his lobby. “Jeez, she is quick,” Xiao, again, accepts the request. Lo and behold, another highly-ranked player joins his lobby. “LEVEL 150?! How much does this girl play?!” He finally sits down in his chair, too shocked to stand.
He’s only level 97, after two years of playing. The girl types in chat, “Let’s play! :)” her avatar was a blond girl, wearing a white and gold scarf. Her attire was chestnut brown pants, with a similar colored crop top. “I barely see anybody with a customized avatar.” Xiao puffs his cheeks; glancing at his grape energy drink he takes a sip. “Sure, let’s do only one round though it’s late.”
The blond sends another smiley face with an ‘ok!’ The round was amazing, and Xiao was amazed by ViatrixX’s power. “She’s smurfing,” Xiao utters in amazement. He stalked her every move, following her lead throughout the map.
At the end of the match, by no surprise, ViatrixX takes the last kill. Another headshot, that should be her name instead.
She got 22 kills, with Xiao coming close with 17. Their teammates were quite useless. “How did she get so many kills.. is she even human?” Xiao quips, shaking his head, “My humor is dead.” The boy mutters, taking another sip of his sports drink. “Game on Viatrix. Game on.”
Xiao hadn’t noticed how the hour hand on his clock moved as fast as the minute hand. Now two in the morning Xiao yawns. How many matches had they played? How many modes had they swapped through?
Viatrix didn’t talk much, only sending a smiley face after a match. Xiao swallows thickly, “Is it weird.. to ask for her to use her mic?” They’ve played together for hours now. She’s a complete mystery. Xiao types in-game chat, “Hey it’s late.. want to play tomorrow?” He’ll ask about her voice another time, they’ve just met after all.
“You should add me on Teyvhat,” Xiao suggests, Teyvhat is a famous chat app amongst most people from Liyue. “Mm~ okay I guess..”
Xiao can’t help but notice her reluctance in the way she typed. “My user is Alatus0744 add me if you want.” Xiao begins to tap his foot as he waits for her response. Suddenly his phone buzzes, it reads *New follow request from @Aether3240*
“Are you Aether? Sounds like a guy's name..” Xiao puffs his cheeks, accepting the request. Messages bombard him as fast lightning.
Ae is typing…
Xiao regrets sending such a text. He’s not upset of course, he just didn’t expect that possible outcome.
Ae: I’m a guy lol, I like to use girl characters tho.
The young man smiles, “Well that’s certainly common, would I be weird to ask his age?” Xiao pondered, realizing he could just stalk the boy’s posts, deciding that it would be weird to do.
“Well, it’s late, I’m probably gonna go to sleep.” Xiao texts, waiting for a response.
Ae: Sounds good, you need some rest after all that carrying.
Suddenly Xiao is filled with energy, perhaps he could stay up a bit longer.
Alatus: carrying? You must be kidding, every round you’d get twice as many kills than me.
Ae: Only because you were too distracted staring at me XD
Xiao flushes pink, ‘did he notice my observing? Gods this is embarrassing.’ He relaxes on his bed, thinking of a response to the text. He was too flustered to think.
Ae: Sorry that was quite bold to say, I think I can teach you some techniques sometimes. I’m keeping you awake, please sleep.
Xiao stares at his phone, this sniper texts like a bot in game but is so.. fluffy when chatting.
Alatus: it’s fine, I’m not too sleepy now. It’s just that I got work in the morning.
Ae: Oh I see, I work the night shift, it’s my day off.
Xiao bites his lip, he really hopes he isn’t talking to some creep.
Alatus: you don’t have to answer this.. but how old are you?
Ae: 27 why?
Xiao’s eyes widen, they have quite an age difference.
Alatus: no reason, I’m 21.
Now he felt it best to take a look at Aether’s profile. He clicks on his photo icon and is taken to his page. His bio says, “Aggressive gamer”
Xiao scrolls down further, afraid to see what comes from the blond’s posts.
His heart almost leaps out of his chest. This man is the most handsome man he has ever laid eyes on. From the blond’s doll-like features to his long blond braid, his body looks to have been sculpted.
His stomach was well-defined, he definitely had a sleeper build. In one picture where he is on the beach, his hands are in his beach shorts pockets. Thank the heavens for this beach picture because Aether is shirtless. With his pink buds on display, Xiao can’t help but let his eyes trail down.
“He has quite a bulge,” Xiao whispers, a lustful smile gracing his lips. He immediately realizes what he’s been doing, shaking his head. “Gods, don’t get hypnotized by this guy’s hot body.. and his amazing sniping skills.” Xiao wants to scream into a pillow, finally, he’s seen a hot guy after living for twenty-one years.
Ae: Alatus? Hello?
Xiao completely forgot about the blond’s texts, he quickly goes back to chatting.
Ae: 21? Jeez, that’s young, you’re probably fresh out of college. Must be nice.
Ae: You are really good at the game yk :)
Ae: Hey uh.. I can see you like my posts lol
Ae: Alatus? Hello?
The boy blushes, he didn’t realize he was liking Aether’s posts. ‘Shit, I’m doomed for life, I have to find a good excuse.’
Alatus: hey uhh my phone glitched idk what happened?
Xiao sighs, that wasn’t as hard as he thought.
Ae: Ahh you’re only liking shirtless pictures. I guess I should check your profile too then, to even the score.
How could this guy have so much damn charisma?! Xiao kicks his feet while he lays on his bed, flipping over to lie on his stomach.
Ae: Oh you’re cute
Xiao utterly loses it, he’s a blushing mess. He doesn’t want to admit it but he’s starting to smile. He slaps his cheeks with both his hands, letting his phone drop onto the bed. “Relax Xiao, don’t let this guy make you flustered.”
Alatus: thank you
Ae: I’ll be right back, I’m gonna run to the convenience store rq.
Just like that Aether disappears. Which was a shame, Xiao was looking forward to staying up all night texting this guy. “Tch whatever, I guess I’ll just.. ugh.” With his heart beating so quickly sleep was far from achievable.
Xiao stumbles to put on a jacket, leaving his room, and heads to the front door. Grabbing his keys, his wallet, and his phone. He shoves them into his pants pocket.
He wasn’t dressed for outside, with sweatpants on, a tank top, and a zipper jacket. These items weren’t enough for the harsh winter weather. ‘I’ll go and grab some food from the store.’ With a destination in mind, Xiao opened the door and headed towards the elevator.
He presses the down button, hearing the sounds of the elevator coming up the line.
His stomach growls with impatience. Finally, the elevator arrives on the fifth floor, Xiao quickly goes into the elevator. Leaning against the wall. The elevator trip was short, arriving on the first floor without any interruptions. A simple explanation being no one was up and about at this time.
“Good evening Mr. Alatus,” says a man, at the entrance of the apartments. The small hall was empty, the first floor had a counter for those who wanted to do business. Many of the residents were well acquainted with the staff. “Ah.. hello Chubby, I’ll be headed out for a little while.” Xiao greets, Chubby was the one who waited at the doors, like a bouncer. He wore his light brown and orange hair in a ponytail. Wearing a brown suit with a green and gold butterfly tie.
“Be careful, black ice exists.” Chubby jokes, opening the door for Xiao. “Don’t worry about me, do you want anything from the convenience store?” Chubby furrowed his brows, appearing to hold a thinking expression.
“For you to return safely,” The man grins and Xiao shakes his head. “Don’t worry about me.” The boy repeats once again before stepping out into the blistering cold. The snow fell on the sidewalk and glittered on the pavement. Xiao ventured out into the cold with the noises of crunching under his feet.
The store was only a forty-meter walk, pretty close. The streets were empty and Xiao relished the feeling. The night walks always made him happy. ‘I’ve always been accustomed to roaming at night.’ Xiao thinks to himself as he zips up his jacket. Shoving his hands into his black jacket’s pockets. ‘Roaming not during winter, of course, it’s far too cold to enjoy the night.’
As the young man kept himself company, he finally skidded to a stop. Finding himself in front of the door to the supermarket. Once he walked in he was greeted with the smell of chicken. The convenience store near his apartment was known for always having to-go chicken.
Xiao walked around the brightly lit store. Not big, since it’s simply a corner shop. He grabs two teas, one strawberry cheesecake cake, and some pudding. He debated whether or not to venture further looking for actual solid food. “No sir we don’t accept that here.” He hears the cashier say.
“I swear I brought my credit card. I don’t know why it isn’t here.” A husky voice sighed. With Xiao’s curiosity peaked, he looks around the shelving. His heart drops, he must be insane, hallucinations maybe? He swears that Aether is standing at the cashier, fumbling through his pockets. He has a white puffer coat on, with black sweatpants. His neck is fitted with a scarf, a familiar one Xiao saw in the blond’s posts.
“Holy shit,” Xiao mumbles.