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With a return trip to Fontaine coming up for the first time in a while, Aether decided he wanted to give his partner a gift, something to make their meeting even more special.
But what? He had felt unsure at first, spending some time pondering over various options before one idea in particular came to him, thoughts of the rose Lyney had once given him filling his mind.
The rose had meant a lot to his partner, the meaning behind it something that still brought a fond smile to Aether’s face, and while the act of giving Lyney the gift he was thinking of didn’t exactly have a deep meaning to it in comparison, it was something the traveller still wanted to do, his mind made up.
The next couple of days after this were spent making preparations, especially in regards to his gift, with the blonde making sure to keep it packed away as safely as he could, something he kept checking time and time again throughout his entire journey from Mondstadt to Fontaine.
Aether arrived at the port just as the afternoon sun was at it’s highest point in the sky, the calming sounds of the waves as well as the chattering of the wandering locals filling him with a fond familiarity at this point.
It all helped him to relax, but not completely though, for there was something amiss.
He and Lyney had exchanged a few letters before this trip, with the magician telling Aether that he’d be there to meet him when he arrived in between the two talking about their days.
Yet, as Aether looked around, scanning every inch of the area that he could, Lyney was nowhere in sight, causing a small frown to tug at Aether’s lips.
‘Am I early?’ He thought, confusion running through him. He supposed it could make sense, maybe his partner had even gotten caught up in some performance-related work, making his arrival later than they’d hoped.
His thought process was quickly interrupted though, his vision becoming obscured by objects that he realised were hands.
But, before he could try and fight back against whatever it was, a familiar voice was heard near his right ear, the tone light, playful.
“Looking for me, mon étoile?”
Any tenseness that had been building up instantly dissipated, the traveller relaxing as a smile settled on his lips before he felt the hands shielding his eyes shifting a little, followed by the sound of footsteps moving around his body.
Then, the hands were removed, presenting Aether with the charming sight of his partner, a playful twinkle in Lyney’s eyes as he sent a small smirk the traveller’s way.
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes in fond exasperation, Aether started to respond, the sight of his partner making him happier than before.
“Maybe I was.” Aether began, trying to appear nonchalant as he adjusted the bag strap hanging off his shoulder. “Or maybe I just wanted to check out the sights.”
Immediately catching onto what Aether was doing, Lyney let out a small laugh before deciding to play along, the magician moving closer to his partner and placing his hand on his shoulder where he gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Oh?” He asked, exaggerating his curiosity as he tilted his head. “And did one of those sights happen to include a certain blonde?”
“Hmm.” Aether hummed, making sure to draw the sound out as long as he could. “I would have to say yes.”
Lyney perked up at this, changing his grip on the other from his hand to interlocking their arms together. “How interesting, because I had the same…”
“It’ll be nice to see Navia again.”
As the words left Aether’s mouth, Lyney found himself deflating a little, the sight of which caused Aether to let out a laugh before the magician could come up with a retort.
“S-sorry.” Aether gasped out, a couple of smaller chuckles leaving him as he followed up with a few more words in between each one. “I had to take the opportunity.”
Lyney just stared at Aether throughout all of this, any thoughts of retorting leaving him as he took in the sight of the other, his heart beating faster.
“You’re very pretty when you laugh.”
It was something the magician saw as the complete truth, Aether had always looked handsome to him, no matter the circumstance, but in this moment, as he thought back on how carefree his partner had looked, how joyful, he found himself falling for him even more.
Aether, on the other hand, started to blush, trying and failing to speak as his words turned into stutters at the unexpected response.
“What’s wrong?” Lyney leaned in close to Aether’s face, feigning innocence as he blinked over and over to go along with the act. “Cat magician got your tongue?”
“Gods.” Aether choked out, any embarrassment he felt washing away as he immediately bent over, fully breaking out into laughter at his partner’s words with Lyney joining him soon after this time, unable to resist.
They spent the next few moments like this, laugh after laugh leaving them as they found a feeling of pure joy filling them, getting to be in each other’s company again was giving them a sense of completeness.
It was something that neither had realised was there before now, at least not to any huge extent, it was a feeling of emptiness like something had been missing, but just getting to be together again really did make them feel whole.
After a few more moments, the laughter started to die down, the two leaning into each other as their breathing settled before they went to stand up straight, locking gazes as they fell into a comfortable silence.
This silence was soon broken by Lyney as his gaze fell to Aether’s bag, the strap on it hanging haphazardly at this point from all the movement.
“It’s not like you to bring anything like that with you.” He pointed out, his curiosity growing. “Any particular reason you have it?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Aether jolted, his gaze going to his bag as thoughts of his gift for the other returned to the forefront of his mind.
But he also found himself becoming nervous, his uncertainty over whether or not the other would like it becoming stronger and stronger.
‘He could be disappointed.’ Aether thought, fidgeting with the strap of his bag in an attempt to calm himself.
It felt like he was fighting with himself, uncertainty keeping him frozen, but, as he moved his head up and looked at the patient smile on Lyney’s face, he found a small sliver of confidence returning to him.
It was enough to help make him take a deep breath before he quickly went to open the bag, his fingers fumbling a little with it from his nerves before he reached inside and started rummaging around for his gift.
“I-I wanted to get you something.” He began, his hand finally finding what he had been looking for as it made contact with a firm object, from here he grabbed hold of it before he slowly brought it out of the bag.
As the object came into the light, it was revealed to be a small glass jar, the contents of which were currently hard to see from the tinted glass.
Lyney could only look on in curious impatience, the male really wanting to know what it could be, he also felt touched by Aether getting him something, only making the urge to hug him become stronger and stronger by the second.
He also found himself wanting to say something, especially as he noticed the nerves of his partner. So, putting in as much confidence as he could, Lyney started to respond.
“Oh?” His hand on his hip as he spoke, head tilted as his eyes became half-lidded. “It sounds like you’re trying to steal this magician's heart even more than you already have.”
It quickly became obvious that this wasn’t working so Lyney changed gears, his features softening along with the tone of his voice. “No matter what it is, I know I’ll love it and cherish it for a long time.”
The magician reached out and gently laid his hand on Aether’s cheek, looking into his eyes as he continued. “Because it’s from you, mon chéri.”
Lyney’s words coupled with the warmth of his hand against Aether’s cheek helped to settle the traveller’s nerves enough for him to finally reach out and hand his partner the jar.
“I was inspired by the rose you gave me.” Aether began as Lyney took hold of the jar, grasping it tightly before he began to take off the top of it.
Once it was off, Lyney was greeted with a peculiar sight, in front of him was a flower, two sets of orange-coloured petals connected to the stalk in the middle.
It all seemed normal enough, if completely new to the magician, but one part in particular stood out to him, one part that captured his full attention.
“I-it’s spinning.”
His tone was tinged with awe, his wide eyes unable to look away from the spinning top of the flower, the petals moving around in a way that reminded him of a-
“It’s called a windwheel aster.” Aether interrupted his observations, amused at Lyney’s fascination. “It doesn’t have the same meaning as the rose you gave me, but I wanted to show you my favourite flower.”
‘His favourite…’ A warmth filled Lyney’s chest at this admission, the flower in his hands feeling even more precious to him.
‘I promise you, Aether.’ Lyney swallowed, feeling something beginning to build up in his throat as his emotions were threatening to get the better of him. ‘I really will cherish this flower for as long as I can.’
Taking a few deep breaths to settle his emotions the best he could, the magician let his awe take centre stage once more, excitement rising inside him as he realised what it being Aether’s favourite also meant.
“So… this means you know a lot about it, right?”
Aether simply nodded in response, having an idea of where this was going, an eagerness rising inside of him.
“Great!” A grin took over Lyney’s lips at this, the male’s gaze returning to the aster where he looked at it for another moment, his fascination with it as strong as ever.
“I would love to know as much as possible.” He continued, his voice becoming breathy as he spoke. “The spinning makes it feel…”
“Magical.”
This last word was even breathier than the last couple, Lyney’s awe the strongest it had been up to that point.
It all made Aether unable to look away, the thought of potentially refusing his partner never getting close to entering his head as he almost immediately responded with an, “I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Lyney’s eyes met his in response, the purple orbs shining brightly with excitement as he sent a beaming smile Aether’s way.
“Thank you so much, mon étoile!”
At that moment, Aether knew without a shadow of a doubt that giving the other the aster had been a good idea and that it had been worth it, all because of how happy he had been able to make the person he loved.
So, with a smile on his face, Aether could only look on at his partner throughout these thoughts, a warmth growing in his chest as he continued to take in Lyney’s excitement and eagerness to learn.
Aether’s fondness for him only kept growing as well, the male falling for the other even more just like Lyney was for him as a single word came to his mind, one he felt described his partner perfectly at that moment.
‘Adorable.’