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“I don’t understand why you had to drag me all the way to your house for this,” Aether says, but he lets Wanderer lead him by the arm.
It had been a strange thing, seeing Wanderer approach him in an almost timid fashion, eyes wide and looking back and forth as if he was afraid of being seen. Afraid of being watched . He had refused to elaborate when asking for help (rather than demanding it… what is up with him today?) and instead began leading Aether to his house.
“It’s…” Wanderer sighs. “Never mind. Just come with me.” Aether hums, unconvinced, but he doesn’t argue. Wanderer stays completely silent until the door is closed behind Aether, and then the words are suddenly spilling out of his like some sort of verbal dam broke.
“So the thing is — I know that I’m not Scaramouche and that none of what you remember actually happened to me but I have his memories and his thoughts and his wants and everything and I just really—“ Wanderer clamps his hands over his mouth. He looks a mixture of stricken and embarrassed, and Aether gives him the time and silence to gather himself.
“Look…” Wanderer manages to say. “You already know… what I am, so can you really blame me — no, that’s not the right way to word it — um…”
“No need to dress it up,” Aether says, offering an olive branch. “Just tell me.”
“Can you tie me up?” Wanderer blurts out. If he were capable of it, his face would likely be a deep pink from the shame he’s no doubt feeling.
Aether, on the other hand, is shocked. Out of all the things… Wanderer wants him to tie him up? Why? He asks as much, and Wanderer reluctantly explains.
“Being a puppet, I have this innate urge to… follow orders. Wait for them, even. The loss of control is kind of soothing, I guess?” He shrugs. “And, uh… out of everyone, I figured you’d be the least likely person to hurt me. Or leave me alone.”
Aether can’t find the words to respond. He holds up his index finger and tries to wrap his brain around what’s happening. Wanderer wants to be tied up, and he wants Aether to do it. Wanderer finds it to be soothing and beneficial, and sees Aether as the safest person to do this with.
Yeah, this still doesn’t make any sense. But lots of things in Teyvat don’t, so Aether just opts to go with the flow.
“Sure,” Aether says. “Where do you want me to do it?” He’s never seen Wanderer look so grateful for something before.
“Here’s fine,” Wanderer replies.
“Right here?” Aether asks. “On the floor?”
“Yeah,” Wanderer mumbles. And then, to Aether’s eternal surprise, he sinks to his knees. “The rope’s right on the table to your right.”
Pointedly not looking at Wanderer on his fucking knees holy shit is he high on something right now, Aether picks up the rope. It’s a decent length and on the softer side as well, obviously meant for this sort of activity. Aether returns to Wanderer and kneels before him.
“I’m going to ask a few questions before I do this,” Aether tells him. He’s gentle about it — there’s something so fragile about Wanderer right now.
“Okay,” Wanderer replies. His voice is hushed. His eyes are downcast. He awaits orders. Every bit a puppet.
Aether isn’t really sure how to feel about it… but it’s not unpleasant to have this sort of control over someone so strong-willed. He knows he has to be careful, though. This is a fragile balance, and he won’t betray the trust that Wanderer has placed in him.
“How tight do you want this to be?” Aether asks.
“Just enough to sting,” Wanderer replies immediately. “But not enough to hurt.”
“Alright. Any hard boundaries?”
“…Please don’t make this a sexual thing.”
“Wasn’t planning on it.”
“Some have,” Wanderer admits, and Aether suddenly feels much more tense. This… this is something that holds far more weight in Wanderer’s life than he initially thought. This is a source of comfort, but also one of fear.
“I won’t,” Aether reassures him. “I promise.”
“Thanks.” Wanderer says nothing more on the topic. Aether moves on.
“Any particular position?” he asks.
“I’m fine here. But tie my hands in front of me. I don’t like them behind my back.”
“Sure.” And Aether begins.
He’s not very experienced with this sort of thing. He’s not sure of the specifics of bondage, but he knows how to tie various types of knots, which is better than nothing. He lops the rope around Wanderer’s waist a few times, pulling it until there’s a bit of resistance. Then he moves on, crisscrossing the two ends of the rope over Wanderer’s chest.
“Clasp your hands together,” Aether says, and Wanderer doesn’t hesitate to do so. He doubts he’ll ever get used to obedience, of all things, from Wanderer. He says nothing on the matter, however. He can see the tense line of Wanderer’s shoulders and knows that the puppet is anxious.
“Relax,” Aether says, moving from behind Wanderer to in front of him. He ties multiple knots down the length of Wanderer’s arms before arriving at his wrists. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Promise it to me again,” Wanderer says, and it sounds more like a plea than a demand.
“I promise,” Aether reassures him. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”
Wanderer visibly relaxes at the words, and Aether loops the rope around his wrists a few times before tying a knot. Then he realizes he’s out of rope.
“I hope you weren’t expecting me to do your legs too, because I just ran out of rope,” Aether admits.
“No, that was intentional,” Wanderer replies. “Complete bondage is… too much. I’m fine with just this.”
“Alright,” Aether concedes, and then he pauses as he realizes that he has no idea what to do next. “So now what? Do we just sit here in silence, or…?”
“We can talk if you want,” Wanderer says. He’s still speaking so softly, and his gaze is still fixed on the floor. It’s an unnervingly submissive position that seems so out of place on him. Aether keeps this fragility in mind when he sits down next to Wanderer, making sure to keep in his line of sight. But what to talk about…?
“Written any good papers recently?” Aether finally asks after a few awkward minutes.
“You suck at small talk,” Wanderer says, and he smiles for the first time since before he approached Aether earlier this afternoon. “I’m just as bad, I guess, but you still suck at it.”
“Okay, okay, no small talk,” Aether agrees. “Is there anything you do want to talk about?” Wanderer is silent for a while, and Aether gives him the time he needs to formulate a response.
“I saw a fox today,” Wanderer finally says. “Trapped in a net.”
“Go on,” Aether encourages him.
“I doubt the capture was intentional, so I freed it,” Wanderer continues. “But it had been struggling, and the net was so tightly bound that I had to cut some parts off with a knife. It was terrified. It kept trying to bite me. And I realized that Scaramouche was like that, too… unless he was tied up. Then he wasn’t so angry.”
“So you wanted to try it?” Aether asks.
“Yeah,” Wanderer replies quietly. “Do…” He trails off. “Never mind.”
“I’m not here to judge you,” Aether offers.
“Uh…” Wanderer hesitated before conceding to Aether’s logic. “Can I lean on you?”
“Sure.” Aether wraps an arm around Wanderer to help him move. Wanderer puts his full weight onto Aether, and that’s the final bit of evidence needed to prove that he’s allowed himself to let go.
It’s silent for a while. Wanderer seems content to lean on Aether, and his eyes close as he relaxes a bit more. But Aether knows he’s not sleeping. He doesn’t pry, though. He waits in silence, eventually relaxing as well. He keeps an eye on the time — almost an hour passes before something happens.
“I feel better,” Wanderer suddenly says. “Can you get me out of these things now?”
“Yeah, sure, on it,” Aether replies, a bit startled by the sudden declaration. He helps Wanderer straighten so he won’t topple over when Aether unties him before working on the knots. After a few minutes, Wanderer is free, but he still doesn’t get up.
“I’m fine,” he says when Aether expresses concern. “I just… it’s comfortable here. Can you sit next to me again? That was… nice.”
“Sure,” Aether replies and returns to where he was sitting before. This time, however, Wanderer is unbound, and Aether startles as the puppet wraps his arms around him. It’s then that Aether realizes that this is aftercare , and he doesn’t ask any questions.
Instead, he wraps an arm around Wanderer, letting him snuggle up against him. He knows that Wanderer will likely try to deny that this ever happened later, but for now, he’s content to enjoy the moment.
Aether can unpack everything that he told him another time. Wanderer needs him now.