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Aether smiled as he heard his alarm go off. Rolling over in bed, he smiled more at the text message appearing on his phone.
[ I trust that we still have plans to spend the afternoon and evening together?]
He could practically hear Zhongli saying those exact words in his voice. The man often texted in the same manner that he spoke.
[Of course! I have been looking forward to this all week! Where should I meet up with you at, Zhongli?]
Aether had been too excited about this. The idea of spending New Year's Eve with Zhongli had been too good to pass up. Even more so when the man himself had invited him. He had always admired Zhongli. The fact that Zhongli was handsome along with being kind only boosted Zhongli’s appeal in his eyes.
His heart immediately began to race the moment that he felt his phone vibrate in his lap, as it always did when Zhongli gave him any amount of attention.
[No need. I am aware of where you and your sister reside. I will come pick you up at your apartment building, Aether.]
Zhongli was going to come pick him up…
Aether felt his face warming at the realization. He needed to get dressed. Well- getting breakfast and showering was probably smart too.
[I will see you soon then, Zhongli!]
With that text being sent, Aether forced himself out of bed, making his way downstairs to where his sister was already awake, watching TV.
“You’re awake,” Lumine greeted as she pulled her attention away from the screen.
“So are you. Is Raiden supposed to be picking you up early or something?”
“No, Miki and Raiden aren’t coming to hang out until this evening,” Lumine replied, eyeing her brother as he moved to the kitchen, watching him begin to make his toast. “You still planning to hang out with Zhongli, Aether?”
Aether nodded, yawning as he pulled out two slices of bread.
“He’s coming to pick me up this afternoon.” He was rather excited about that fact too.
Oh? She hadn’t been aware of that detail, but she had wondered why Zhongli had asked for their address.
“Are you going to tell him how you feel?” Lumine asked, watching her brother put his bread into the toaster.
“What do you mean?” Aether asked as if he didn’t already know her meaning. It was too early to be having a conversation like that. He was barely awake.
“You know exactly what I mean, Aether,” Lumined replied, giving her brother a look. “You told me how you feel about that man. Plus, it’s obvious how you feel about him to anyone who sees you both in the same room together for more than five minutes.”
Aether wore his heart on his sleeve. His face lit up at the sight of Zhongli whenever he saw him while they were out together in the streets of Liyue. She didn’t wish for Aether to miss out on someone that obviously cared for.
“Zhongli may not feel the same that I do, Lumine.” Aether countered, hearing the toaster go off. He moved, grabbing his toast to put on his plate.
Zhongli was much older than him as well. There was no guarantee that the former Archon even cared about him as more than a friend.
“But how will you know if you don’t tell him? I don’t want you to be stuck in an endless cycle of pining, Aether.”
Stuck in an endless cycle of pining. He hated to break it to his sister, but he was already trapped in that cycle, he thought as he buttered his toast.
“And if he doesn’t reciprocate?” Aether asked as he poured himself a glass of juice. “Zhongli may stop talking to me.”
“I don’t think that Zhongli would stop speaking to you over something like that.”
Zhongli didn’t seem like the type to do something like that. The man was a former archon. It didn’t seem likely.
“And if he does feel the same as you do?” Lumine countered. “There is a chance that he may be waiting on you to confess first.”
Somehow, Aether doubted that, but his sister was trying to be helpful.
“I’ll think about it, Lumine,” Aether told his sister as he mounted the stairs to get back to his room.
“Really do think about it Aether! I want you to be happy.”
He was happy enough by having Zhongli in his life. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to ruin that. That thought didn’t sound appealing even as he thought about it more as he ate his breakfast.
No, he wouldn’t ruin the friendship that he had with Zhongli, Aether decided as he dried his hair off after he was done showering. The loud noise of the hair dryer drowned out his thoughts which seemed to be pleading to tell Zhongli how he felt.
Zhongli was too important to him to ruin what he had by giving in to his feelings.
As he braided his hair, he nodded at his own decision. This was for the best, probably.
Today was just about having fun with Zhongli and celebrating the new year. He was excited to be in Liyue this year for the holiday.
Anything after today could be worried about tomorrow. He was determined to have fun. He had been working hard, and he knew that Zhongli had been working even harder than he had. The people always kept him busy in Liyue.
With that thought burning in his mind, Aether moved to dress, pulling his usual attire over his body, and moving to get his shoes on.
“Aether!”
Aether paused. That was Lumine. He glanced at the time, feeling his heart race. That must be Zhongli downstairs. He was right on time too. He was the one that was kind of running late.
He rushed, grabbing his bag and rushing down the stairs. At the sight of the dark brunet hair, Aether’s breath hitched in his throat.
The man was far too handsome for his own good. He was naturally handsome as well. The man didn’t need makeup like the musicians that Lumine liked out of Inazuma.
Zhongli was just perfect all around.
Aether waved, fighting back his blush as best he could.
“Zhongli!” He greeted, trying his best to not rush over to the man’s side. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long.”
Zhongli smiled softly at the boy. Aether seemed excited for this. It made him feel less guilty for leaving Hu Tao early. The girl would be okay on her own.
“Not at all Lumine was simply telling me that you were on your way down to meet me. It’s good to see you, Aether.”
It was good to see him. Aether’s heart pounded at those simple words. He needed to calm down. He wasn’t going to make it through the afternoon if he didn’t.
“It’s good to see you too, Zhongli.” Aether went to continue, only to feel Lumine pushing him toward Zhongli.
“Have fun!” Lumine started, smiling as she watched her brother move to the man’s side. Aether needed this. He had liked Zhongli for far too long.
“I am sure that we will,” Zhongli replied. He was going to ensure that Aether had a good time. Aether had been working far too long. Everyone in Teyvat seemed to enjoy overworking him for no real reason.
He gave Aether another soft smile as he turned his attention to the boy. “Shall we?”
Aether nodded, waving goodbye to Lumine before he began to follow after Lumine. The warm sunlight as they stepped into the streets of Liyue felt far too nice as he kept close to Zhongli.
He couldn’t help but notice the outfit that Zhongli had on, now that they were away from his sister. The elaborate pattern on the black fabric was so interesting to look at. The outer fabric looked more like a bathrobe than anything, but he knew that probably wasn’t the proper term for it.
“You look good, Zhongli. That outfit looks really nice on you.” His face burned a bit as he said it, but he wasn’t one for holding back compliments when it came to Zhongli.
Aether could have sworn that his heart stopped beating the moment that Zhongli’s eyes met his.
“Thank you, Aether.” Zhongli hummed, unable to help but feel proud. He supposed that Hu Tao had her uses sometimes. It was the girl who had suggested that he dress in traditional Liyue clothing for today's outing in the first place.
He thought for a moment. The seamstress where he purchased this outfit had rather extravagant wares. Aether would no doubt look handsome in such clothing.
He had originally intended to simply take Aether out to eat and watch the fireworks once it got dark enough but…
Well, he couldn’t pass up such an opportunity. Aether deserved to be spoiled.
“I understand that this is your first time celebrating the coming of the New Year properly in Liyue,” Zhongli began, leading the boy along to the seamstress. “I believe that it would prove beneficial to have you experience the culture here properly. You would enjoy wearing the same traditional clothing that I have on now.”
What? Aether didn’t quite understand what he meant by that, but he nodded.
The man’s clothes were pretty. He wasn’t sure if he could pull something like that off though. Zhongli made the clothing look all too alluring, his eyes felt unable or perhaps unwilling to look away from him.
“I’m not sure I can hold a candle to you, Zhongli, but wearing your culture's clothing sounds fun. I would like to try.”
Zhongli smiled. Those words about not holding a candle to him were nonsense. However, he sounded rather excited about trying this. He would make Aether see himself as the alluring person that he was.
“Good. I believe that this will be a good experience for you, Aether.”
He reached out, taking Aether’s hand and gently leading Aether into the shop, greeting the worker all too easily.
“I have the Traveler here,” Zhongli began, keeping Aether close to him. “I understand that this is last minute, but I was hoping that we could get a rather nice outfit for Aether to celebrate the coming New Year in?”
He was serious, Aether realized. His face burned, and his heart was once more pounding away in his chest. He barely had time to realize what was happening before the women in the shop were cooing over him.
He didn’t really understand why Zhongli was doing this, but perhaps he just wanted to be nice. They hadn’t had a chance to spend much time together, with them both being so busy lately.
With the fabric over his body, he didn’t recognize himself at all as he looked in the mirror, even more so with his hair in a ponytail, since the women had insisted on doing his hair too.
“Aether?” Zhongli called, knocking on the dressing room door. He had expected this process to take a bit, but the workers had long since left the dressing room where Aether was. “Are you okay?”
Shit. Was he taking too long? Aether took one more glance at the door before he looked at the shoes.
“I’m okay! Just trying to figure out these shoes," he teased. It didn’t take long for the door to open, and the man himself to slip in, closing it behind himself.
Aether watched those eyes widen a moment before Zhongli bent down at eye level with him.
Did he look that bad? Aether couldn’t help but worry as he watched the man work.
“Do I look that strange?”
“Hardly,” Zhongli murmured. The man looked beautiful if he was being honest. The black and red fabric matched his own robes. The women knew him too well. “You look better than any artwork that I could lay my eyes on.”
Aether couldn’t breathe at that. The man was close to him as well. Zhongli couldn’t be saying words like that to him so easily.
“You’ll make me think that you like me with that talk,” Aether managed to tease.
“I do,” Zhongli replied with his tone the same as ever, his eyes met him. “I am quite enamored with you, Aether.”
What?
There was no way that he heard that correctly.
Zhongli liked him?
Aether’s mind raced as he tried to process those words.
Zhongli liked him…
“I like you too, Zhongli,” Aether confessed. He was in too deep now. The words were out. “I like you far too much. I’ve wanted to tell you for so long.”
Zhongli smiled. Aether was as sweet as ever. Lumine had been right in her assessment that she had told him the other week. Aether was in fact fond of him.
He leaned in, pressing his lips to the boys, his hand cupping his cheek.
He enjoyed the flushed expression as he pulled back, feeling proud despite himself.
“I am glad that you feel the same,” Zhongli purred, standing up, and taking Aether’s hand. “Shall we go enjoy the rest of our day?”
They still had a celebration to enjoy. Now, with that talk out of the way, he could fully make sure that Aether enjoyed himself.
He would have to thank Lumine another time, Zhongli thought as he kept Aether as close to him as he could.