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Xiao never liked it when people talked too much. Little kids playing, shouting. The elderly, complaining about how youngsters these days don’t appreciate the little things anymore, rambling. Shopkeepers, attempting to find any customer willing to empty out their pockets, screaming. That annoying pixie always floating around, shrieking (for food). So why is it that the traveler’s silence bothers him—annoys him even. He won’t admit it, but that voice of his sounds like the most enjoyable of melodies to him, like it carries the weight of thousands of worlds. Smooth, sweet, sharp, beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
They were sitting together at the top of Wangshu Inn. The traveler’s hair seemed to glow under the light, it was mesmerizing. Enough to distract Xiao long enough to forget about the awkward silence between them.
“Do you ever get tired, Xiao?”
Startling. Seriously, this traveler always seemed to bring something new out of Xiao. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been startled, even embarrassed. His cheeks now flushed pink. Reminded of the fact that he had just been staring at the traveler for what seemed like hours.
“Adepti do not require rest” he managed to utter.
”You always say that, Xiao. I know. I don’t mean it in that way. Surely, at one point in your life, you’ve felt like all you want to do is give up. I mean, I’ve spent all this time and effort trying to find my sister, she’s the only part of me I have left. Everything else has been burned out by the world. Seriously, Xiao. This must be why my sister keeps telling me I need to start saying no.” He laughs, “I can’t remember the last time I had time to myself. I’ve gone around this world and back just to deliver someone’s goddamn love letter. People call me traveler for God’s sake, like they don’t even have the courtesy to call me by name. Perhaps it’s not even important enough for them to remember.” He looks to be on the verge of tears now. He looks exhausted.
”Do you know how exhausting that is?” His voice cracks, the tears now flowing out of his eyes like waterfalls.
”I.. am sorry. I do not believe I am best suited to be comforting you, but if it is any relief to you, I will always be here willing to listen. Call my name and I will be there.”
”Thank you Xiao.” He wipes his ever-flowing tears and smiles, and it fees like his smile lifts Xiao’s entire being into the Heavens.
“Xiao?” Aether says, a little meekly, with a broken voice. “Could I rest with you?”
The question startles Xiao. Did he really feel comfortable enough to be resting with Xiao? Especially when he was so vulnerable, there were still tears coming out of his eyes. Surely, if he knew how many lives Xiao carries with him, he wouldn’t be making this kind of request, but Xiao can’t find it in himself to say no.
”If that is what you wish.”
No one knows how it started, but somewhere in the middle, there was a sleeping traveler, smiling in the Yaksha’s arms. And in the end, two figures, seemingly connected, laying atop Wangshu Inn.
Xiao was the first to wake up. He was shocked, appalled. How could he fall asleep? He was supposed to be providing comfort for the traveler, guarding him from any danger that may emerge throughout the night. He fell asleep.
“Xiao?” He sounded groggy, his voice crackly from not being used for a while. Xiao found it endearing.
He smiled, and smiled, and smiled. Aether sure seemed to be full of smiles this morning. He was snuggling into Xiao’s chest, despite being awake. Did Xiao really bring him this much happiness? The thought made him all giddy.
“Xiao~”
Oh no.. Xiao could already tell where this was going by the teasing tone in his voice.
”You fell asleep. I thought you said adepti don’t require rest?”
This little—He was looking up at him now, his mouth covered by Xiao’s chest, from where Xiao could see. His smug little eyes peeking at him with amusement.
”I merely said that adepti did not require rest, not that they could not rest. I only decided to rest my eyes for a short moment.”
”Really?”
And, oh, was Xiao embarrassed. He knew the traveler had caught him in a lie, but he would never spout a single word insinuating that he had fallen asleep.
“Really. Your disrespect for the adepti knows no bounds.”
“But.. I clearly remember waking up sometime during the night to a snoring yaksha cuddling me. Man, I wish I could’ve taken a picture, you were really holding onto me.”
”Enough.” Xiao spoke harshly.
”Alright. Im sorry.” He laughed a short, sweet laugh, a giggle if anything.
Seriously, why couldn’t Xiao find it in himself to push him away? Surely he could, Xiao has defeated countless enemies, scared away gods, yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave this traveler alone. He knew why, he knew he was in love. It was the first time Xiao had ever felt this way, and he wanted to take those feeling and shove them deep down into the darkest depths of his soul, never to be seen again. And he tried. But how could he when moments like this happened, when the traveler is smiling and the only thing Xiao can do is watch like a hopeless fool. The traveler let go of him, attempting to stand up. He got up, though he was a little wobbly. Now that Xiao had taken a good look at him, or at least a look where he wasn’t too captivated to notice anything else but his beauty, he noticed just how bad the traveler looked. He had dark circles under his puffy eyes. He looked thin, and Xiao could’ve sworn he had a new scar on his forearm.
“Are you okay, Traveler?”
…
Silence
”Aether. I want you to call me Aether.”
Even his name was beautiful, otherworldly. If God had favorites, then Aether was above God, for no archons or angels or creatures could ever come close to comparing with the being before him. He was a living, breathing.. Aether. All he could think of was Aether. There was nothing more to him than Aether. It’s as if he was the only thing in the world, and that was absolutely perfect.
“..And, I do feel much better just having you around me. You helped me a lot. Thank you.”
“Aether. I will accompany you to breakfast.” Xiao says. It was a statement, not a question.
”Okay, I would enjoy that, thank you Xiao.”
As quickly as Aether came, he was gone. After breakfast, that annoying pixie of his dragged him away, spouting nonsense about how he had to go do his commissions. Xiao had offered to come along, to help, but Aether had shut him down, saying he had done more than enough for him. Xiao couldn’t believe he had the capacity to be considerate at that moment. He wouldn’t let Xiao help because he had “adepti duties”, or something like that. As if Xiao wouldn’t drop the whole world just to make sure Aether was happy. He had decided, the next time he saw Aether, he was going to make him rest. He would even tie him down if he had to, as long as he wasn’t running around trying to get himself killed anymore.
At the end of the day, as per usual, Aether came to visit Xiao.
”You look worse.” Xiao said.
And it was true. His dark circles had somehow gotten worse and his eyes were puffier, if that was even possible. He had blood on his pants. It was barely noticeable, as his pants were dark, but for Xiao, he noticed every detail about Aether, up until that little mole in the iris of his eye.
“Gee, thanks.” He said. He didn’t have the energy to form a reply that sounded sarcastic. He just sounded tired.
”Come, let me clean your wounds, and then we will rest.”
And if a shard of Aether’s heart was made whole at that moment, no one would know. Xiao seemed to always be able to fix him. To fill the parts of him that weren’t complete, he made him forget about all the pain he had experienced before this moment. He forgot why he was even in this world anymore. He thought that the reason had to be Xiao. He was here for Xiao. But he knew that maybe that wasn’t completely true, he needed to find his sister first, and even then, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to stay with Xiao. And that broke him faster than Xiao could piece him back together.
Xiao was gentle, always. He cleaned Aether’s wound thoroughly, making sure there wasn’t even a speck of dirt left infused with his blood. Yet he still managed to be so gentle.
“Xiao, I want to take a bath.”
…
“Okay.”
“..Would you like me to accompany you?”
And there it was. The one question that Aether was practically begging Xiao to ask. There was nothing more that he wanted at that moment than to be with Xiao.
”Yes.” he said.
If Aether couldn’t already tell that Xiao was handsome, he could now. He looked like a sculpture. He had perfect abs, a perfect jaw, perfect arms, legs, and.. he better not go there. And he even had a tattoo to go along with it. And it fit him perfectly. Aether had only ever seen the part of the tattoo that was on his arm, but now he knew that it went farther than that. It seemed to curve around his entire body.
Aether had already stepped into the bath. It was big, enough to fit three or four people. His hair was untied, and the ends flowed around in the water. He looked relaxed. His cheeks were flushed from the heat of the water, and his lips were a shade of red. Plump, wet. He had been licking and biting at his lips. Xiao didn’t know if it was intentional, but nevertheless, it affected him greatly. As if the image of him naked in a tub didn’t already excite him. He sat down next to Aether, adjusting to the heat of the water. They sat still for a while, neither of them knowing what to say to each other, until Aether laid his head upon Xiao’s shoulder.
He sighed, “this is nice..” he said softly.
”I needed this.”
”I am glad you are comfortable.”
Aether was more than comfortable. He was relaxed and at ease.
“Xiao?”
“Hm.”
”Xiao..”
”What is it, Aether?”
”Xiao… Xiao, Xiao, Xiao..”
“I really like you Xiao.”
Oh.
And oh.
Those words spurred something in Xiao. Aether was still babbling Xiao’s name, digging his head harder onto Xiao’s shoulder. Perhaps the heat from the water was making him dizzy, and he didn’t actually mean what he said. Yes, that must be it-
“Xiao, I love you.”
Oh.
Lips. Soft. He knew they would be soft. Like the finest velvet or silk. It was Aether who kissed him first, but Xiao soon took control of the kiss. It was soft and slow and perfect. There was no need to act like hungry animals waiting to pounce on each other. Just being able to be together was enough. After a few moments, the kiss broke off and soon became a few short pecks to each other’s lips. Then, Xiao kissed Aether’s eyes, his cheeks, his forehead, his nose. The corners of his mouth, his jaw, his neck. Anywhere he could reach, he would leave a soft kiss on his skin. Aether was straddling Xiao now, so that their bodies were as close as they could possibly be in that moment. They were both blushing, they looked at each other as if they were the only thing in this world that mattered. They sat there for hours, it felt like. Just basking in each others presence. Softly kissing and hugging each other. It was a tender moment, a beautiful moment. They didn’t have to hide, they didn’t have to resist, they could just be. And for that moment, and many moments afterwards, it was perfect.