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"Aether?"
There's that voice again. He missed that voice, even if it's only been a week. He wouldn't admit it out loud, though. Just like he would never admit how he missed Lyney's eyes, or his playful smile, or his flirty jokes, or his- He's getting off track.
"Lyney." He paused, searching for words. "Hey." continued awkwardly, turning around to face the magician.
"How.. have you been?" Lyney attempts at small talk, his smile wavering a little.
"Fine." Aether replies, pursing his lips.
They fall into an awkward silence, neither of them knowing what to say.
"Look, Aether, I-"
"Lyney, I think-"
They both freeze, staring at each other with matching surprised expressions.
"You go first." Lyney smiles, and Aether could swear his heart just skipped a beat.
Clearing his throat and looking away, he opposes, "No, no, you go first."
"Okay." Lyney pauses, gathering his thoughts. "I just wanted to say, I really think we ended off on the wrong foot, last time we talked. Can we- Is there any way I could fix it?" He ends with a pleading look directed at the traveler.
For all his talkative and charming personality, Lyney seemed, once in his life, at a loss for words.
Aether doesn't respond for a while, looking lost in thought and staring intently at Lyney, the sudden attention leaving the magician to fidget with his hands as he waits.
A sigh. "I'm sorry." Aether finally speaks, dragging a hand over his face in defeat. "I was mad, and I judged you unfairly just because you're Fatui, even though I have other Fatui… acquittances myself. I owe you and Lynette an apology."
They lock gazes, Lyney's amethyst eyes, wide with surprise, meeting Aether's amber, warm and apologetic.
"You have nothing to apologize for, we're the ones that withheld major information in the middle of a trail." He smiles sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Which, again, we're sorry for." He added quickly.
"It's fine." Another sigh.
"So, we're friends again?" Lyney smiles hopefully, coming a few steps closer to the Traveler, making him lean back slightly.
"Yes, yes, but, personal space, Lyney." Aether returns the smile, a soft blush on his face from the close proximity that doesn't go unnoticed.
"Oh? Am I making you uncomfortable?" Lyney grins playfully, not pulling back in the slightest. "Is being this close to me making your heart skip a beat? Perhaps you've started to fall for my handsome face and charming personality?" His tone is flirtatious as he gets even closer.
"Keep dreaming." He mumbled, pushing Lyney's face aside with one hand and turning his head away.
"Hmm? But I can definitely see you blushing!" He removes Aether's hand from his face, though he doesn't let go just yet.
"I don't know what you're talking about." The blond throws a glance at the magician, quickly averting his eyes after making eye contact.
Their faces are so close now, they could even- No! He's not thinking about that. He's not thinking about how Lyney's hands would feel around his waist, holding him close, or how they'd be so close he could feel Lyney's hot breath on his lips, and smell the flowery scent of his perfume, and then they'd look into each other's eyes, and he'd lose himself in a sea of amethyst, and then they'd slowly lean in, Lyney's soft lips on his- What is he thinking ?!
"Aether?"
"Huh?" He comes back to reality and stares directly into Lyney's eyes, oh my god that's too close -
"Are you okay? Your face is really red." Lyney frowns in worry, one hand cupping Aether's cheek as he's looking at the blond in concern.
"There you are!" A familiar, high-pitched voice announces from the other side of the street.
"Paimon's been looking all over for you! You can't just leave like that without saying anything! Paimon was really worried." The floating fairy continued as she approached the two.
They quickly pull away, avoiding looking in each other's direction.
"Sorry, Paimon. It won't happen again." Aether smiles at his companion.
"Oh, fine. Paimon can't stay mad at you anyway!" As the guide starts rambling about this and that, the magician and the traveler share a look, the former winking playfully while the latter chuckles.