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Aether has to admit, his latest attempt at making Almond Tofu looks great.
Perfect, even, if the sparkles that glisten over the dish are any indication.
In truth, he had made it purely for himself. As he is about to dig in, Aether couldn’t help thinking of a certain yaksha, conqueror of demons.
“I wonder how he’s doing right now.”
Paimon, having evidently overheard him, floats over, “Do you think he’ll come over if you call his name?”
“Don’t be silly, Paimon,” Aether rebuffs, “Why would he come when I’m not in any form of danger?”
“Well…he did say to call his name if you ever needed him,” Paimon does a somersault in the air.
“But why would I do that for no reason this time?” Aether counters, “Besides, won’t he get mad if I waste his time?”
Setting the plate onto his lap, but making sure not to spill any of the tofu, Aether mutters to himself, “Unless I say it’s an accident? No. No, that won’t work. Surely an adeptus is smarter than that.”
Paimon, somehow, isn’t fazed, “Or! Maybe you can whisper his name?”
Whisper?
…
…
‘Hm,’ Aether thinks to himself, ‘Maybe it won’t hurt?’
And besides, in the few times that he had called the yaksha’s name in the past, it had always been a loud cry for help. Maybe, just maybe, he won’t hear it if he whispered his name instead?
Bracing himself, Aether whispers, “Xiao.”
“You called?”
To his credit, Aether doesn’t scream like a hilichurl being slaughtered, nor does he leap a full metre into the air.
But he does come close.
And, he also comes dangerously close to punching Xiao right in the face, whose lips are mere centimetres from his ear.
For several, tense seconds, Aether tries to get his startled heart back under control, as Xiao stares unblinkingly at him.
‘H-How in the world -?!’
Aether forces himself back to the present moment. The yaksha had responded to his (quiet) call, and is now expecting an answer.
With his cheeks still flushed, he stammers out, “I-I made some almond tofu, a-a-and I was just thinking of you!”
He tries to laugh off the embarrassment, but seeing as Xiao didn’t appear to respond to that, he tries again, “W-Would you like some, n-now that you’re here?”
Xiao, again, doesn’t respond, but he is eyeing the plate in Aether’s lap consideringly.
“Are you sure?”
“Y-Yeah!”
“Hmm…or did you just call me, simply because you wanted me here?”
“N-No! I-I mean, s-sort of?” Aether wouldn’t be surprised if steam was pouring out from his head by this point, “I-I was j-just wondering h-how you w-w-were doing w-when I made this!”
Xiao’s intense stare doesn’t seem to relax, and Aether starts fearing that he must have messed up somehow.
“Hm, okay.”
Aether quietly releases a sigh of relief, as he quickly hands Xiao the plate and the spoon that he had intended to use. As the yaksha begins digging into his favourite dish, Aether buries his face into his hands from sheer embarrassment.
‘Kill me now, of course he would hear me. How could I not have expected -’
“Here, open your mouth.”
Aether pulls his hands away from his face.
Xiao is prodding his lips with a spoonful of tofu.
“It’s a bit sweeter than normal, but it still tastes great.”
With a bit more prompting, Aether opens his mouth, and Xiao pushes the spoon in.
Chewing the tofu, Aether savours the sweet taste.
“Y-Yeah, it does taste sweet.”
“Hmm…”
Silence follows for a while, save for Xiao continuing to eat.
“You know, there is something that I know is sweeter. Even more than almond tofu.”
Aether deigns to turn towards the yaksha, “And what would that be?”
If there was one thing he didn’t expect, was to be suddenly pushed down against the grass, and for Xiao to hover over him, his hand pinning his wrists against the ground.
“You.”
Xiao leans down. Aether’s face promptly explodes into a flustered red once more, “X-Xiao! The tofu -!”
“Forget the tofu,” the distance closes, “I want something sweeter than that.”
Lips meet, and the overwhelming rush of sweetness sweeps Aether away into oblivion.
Subconsciously, Aether wonders where Paimon went. But as Xiao deepens the kiss, demanding he reciprocate, Aether finds all remaining cognitive thoughts disappear into the haze of desire.
As Xiao’s tongue pushes in, Aether has to agree with the yaksha.
This is definitely sweeter than almond tofu.
Fin.