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Standing under the bright cyan leaves of a weeping willow tree, Lyney gently took Aether’s hand, catching the traveler’s attention.
“Aether, there’s… There’s something I need to tell you” the magician began. He poured his heart out, telling Aether how he felt every time they were together. No more secrets between them also meant that one.
“Lyney… I also like you” Aether replied, stepping closer to Lyney and wrapping an arm around the magician’s waist, pulling him closer.
They looked at each other’s eyes for a moment, before Aether leaned in and…
Slowly opening his eyes, Lyney stared at the ceiling for a moment before sitting up on his bed. Sighing, he covered his flushed face with his hands, letting out a quiet groan. It was that dream again.
Since he heard the traveler was back in Fontaine, he could not stop thinking about him. At first, he had tried to ignore that fluttering sensation he would always feel in his stomach every time he spoke to Aether. However, as time went by, he started to notice how his heart would race when in the traveler’s company, or how his face would flush red when thinking about Aether’s smile, his laugh, his beautiful eyes… There was no doubt: He had fallen in love.
How it happened, he had no idea. Maybe it had been love at first sight with the way Aether had caught his eye the first time they saw each other. That would explain the crushing feeling in his chest he experienced once when he saw how Aether looked at them after their Fatui identities were exposed in court. Losing a limb would’ve been less painful, he thought. Regaining his trust after that had been an arduous task, but luckily it seemed like they were back on friendly terms now. Lyney had even tried to indirectly confess once, though he wasn’t sure if Aether understood the underlying meaning of the Rainbow Rose he had given him, or thought it was just another one of his magic tricks.
With the traveler back in Fontaine, Lyney had the perfect opportunity now. Besides, it had been so long since they last saw each other, he was sure Aether would accept to meet him. And this time, he would take the chance to finally tell him everything.
Now he just needed some paper, ink, and…
“Lynette!” the magician called, strutting towards his twin with an envelope in his hand. “Lynette my dear sister the smartest and prettiest—”
“What do you need me to do” Lynette interjected, crossing her arms.
“Please go give this to the traveler” Lyney replied, handing the envelope to his sister. “I heard he’s staying at Hotel Duboir”
Raising an eyebrow, Lynette took the envelope and then looked back at Lyney, her eyes asking for an explanation.
“What’s this?”
“My infallible plan” Lyney proudly announced, placing his hands on his hips.
“It’s that dream again, isn’t it?”
“At this point I’m sure it’s pretty much a premonition”
“More like a delusion” Lynette concluded before leaving the room, ignoring her brother’s offended “Hey!”
In a corner, a confused Freminet silently witnessed the exchange between the twins.
Lynette came back a couple hours later, informing Lyney the letter had been delivered. Now, he just needed to wait until the next day. Although he felt a little nervous, he was eager to meet up with the traveler and put his plan into action. He’s the greatest magician in Teyvat, surely impressing Aether would be a piece of cake.
—
When Lyney opened his eyes the next morning, a dreadful feeling enveloped him like a wet coat. He slowly turned around to look at his wall clock, starting to panic once he noticed the time.
In his letter, he had told Aether to meet him in front of the Fountain of Lucine at noon, just like in his dream. However, the clock now marks 11 pm, and the Opera Epiclese is relatively far from the Court of Fontaine…
“Shit!”
Jumping from his bed, he clumsily got out of his pajamas and into his day to day clothes— No. It was a special occasion, he should wear his best garments, only reserved for special meetings with a few selected people.
… If only he could remember where he had put them right now.
In the end, he rushed out the door in his everyday outfit, still adjusting his top hat on his head. The sky was clear blue when he stepped outside but, as the aquabus traversed through the Navia line, grey clouds started to cover the sky. It didn’t take long until droplets started to fall, few at first but gradually intensifying.
And he hadn’t brought any umbrella.
“You have to be kidding me…”
Miraculously, he managed to arrive on time, only to find Aether already waiting there at the entrance of the Opera Epiclese, sheltering himself from the rain. He hoped he didn’t make him wait too much, but then he noticed something. A potential plan-destroyer.
Paimon.
“Oh. Oh no. Of course Paimon would come along too” Lyney thought, mentally face palming.
“Lyney!” Paimon exclaimed with a big smile, waving her arm once she saw him approaching. “Oh my! You’re sopping wet!”
As uncomfortable and annoyed as he was, he smiled as he greeted them. While trying to remove the excess water off of him, wringing his cape and hair, he started asking them about their latest trips. He figured he could pass the time like that until the rain stopped. After all, he knew Paimon loved to tell everyone about their adventures.
However, it got kinda hard to listen to her ramblings when Aether reached up to remove some strands of wet hair from the magician’s face, making him freeze on the spot. As brief as that touch had been, it lingered on Lyney’s skin like smoldering flames.
This wasn’t part of his dream.
“And then Paimon totally stole the show, and that idiot-oni— Oh! The rain stopped!” Paimon announced, looking at the slowly dissipating grey clouds. “Now we can— Huh? What are you two doing?”
“Just helping Lyney fix his bangs” Aether calmly said, in stark contrast to Lyney who was anxiously pulling his hat down in an attempt to conceal his nervousness.
“Ahem! Well— Uhm, how about we take a stroll around the forest?” Lyney suggested as he started walking, followed by a rather amused Aether.
“Wait, what happened? Did I miss something?” Paimon asked, floating after them.
Heading towards the east part of Erinnyes Forest, Lyney lead the way with Aether next to him, following the path into the foggy forest. However, once they were inside the thin mist, they realized something: the dirt path that snaked through the forest had now become a mud path after the rain.
Carefully, they traversed the muddy road through the shallow springs, trying not to slip. But as they were about to leave that foggy forest path, the unexpected-although-kinda-expected happened.
Aether slipped.
Lyney’s reflexes were quick, immediately grabbing the blond’s wrist. He pulled Aether towards him, bodies clashing against each other as the magician struggled to keep his balance over the slippery ground. His other hand had grabbed Aether’s waist to prevent him from falling, which meant if he lost his balance, both of them would fall.
Luckily, nobody ended up covered in mud after all.
“That… Was close” Lyney stuttered, his face suddenly going red as he realized how close they were.
One of the traveler’s hands was resting on his shoulder, the other one still on Lyney’s grip. He quickly let go of Aether’s wrist, nervously chuckling while taking a step back. Well, this part wasn’t in his dream either but it didn’t go that bad.
“Is everyone okay?!” Paimon exclaimed, having witnessed the ordeal.
“Yes. Thanks, Lyney” Aether replied with a smile.
“Oh, it was nothing! As a magician, I need to have fast reflexes when performing. I wouldn’t want to blunder a card trick” Lyney shrugged with a chuckle. “Anyways— Let’s continue. Hopefully the road won’t be as slippery now”
They kept walking up the mountain after their brief exchange of words, Lyney talking about how things have been in the House of the Hearth. Nothing worth noting had happened after their little run-in with Arlecchino, although Lynette not breaking any appliances for a month straight could count as a feat of sorts.
“Maybe you could come by some other day, I’m sure my siblings will be delighted to have you around once again” the magician suggested. “And I promise you they won’t try to gift you dangerous stuff again”
“Wait— What’s that?” Paimon interjected, pointing straight ahead.
Laying in the middle of the road, a small brown pouch appeared to have been abandoned. The three of them briefly looked at each other, wondering what could it be. Once in front of it, Aether knelt down to examine it. It seemed like it was full of Mora.
“Oh! Someone lost their wallet!” Paimon exclaimed, looking over Aether’s shoulder. “Do we bring it to the Adventurer’s Guild? Maybe its owner posted a commission looking for it”
As Lyney went to kneel down next to the traveler, the rustling of leaves nearby alerted him. Something felt off.
“Aether, I think we should—”
He wasn’t able to finish the sentence before a group of Treasure Hoarders jumped from the bushes, surrounding them. With a yelp, Paimon hid behind Aether as the blond drew his sword, while Lyney pulled out his bow. The fight seemed unavoidable, as the bandits immediately lunged towards them with their weapons raised.
“Eight against three?! Really?!” Paimon screamed, to which Aether reminded her she wasn’t even fighting.
Meanwhile, Lyney was pissed. How dare these Treasure Hoarders interrupt his date-but-not-quite with Aether. However, he truly liked seeing Aether fight, and both of them had a good coordination covering each other’s backs, so he wasn’t going to complain that much.
In the end, and even with their disadvantage in numbers, they both managed to fend off the bandits. They ran away before admitting defeat, with Paimon almost following after them while cursing them out.
“Yeah, that’s it! Run, you cowards!!”
“Everyone okay?” Lyney asked this time, looking at the traveler and his companion.
“Yep! I think so” Paimon answered, Aether nodding while sheathing his sword. “I can’t believe those guys attacked us! I can’t believe they dared to attack you, Lyney! Did they even know who you are? I bet if Arlecchino finds out they tried to mug you, they wouldn’t have enough planet to run!”
The magician let out an awkward laugh at Paimon’s remark. Surely Father wouldn’t bother to hunt those Treasure Hoarders down, knowing Lyney can defend himself just fine. He won’t mention any of this back home though, just in case.
“Well, let’s keep going. We’re not that far away from the place I had in mind” Lyney concluded.
They kept walking up the hill, until they reached a small pond by the side of the road. From there, the path started to descend into a blue-colored forest, small willows delimiting both sides of the road while a huge, bright blue weeping willow tree sat in the middle of a lake.
“Oh! I remember this place!” Paimon exclaimed. “The tree looked like it was wilting when we first arrived, but we managed to clean its roots and help it get back on track!”
“What” Lyney muttered, looking between Aether and Paimon
“A melusine asked us for help” Aether clarified.
“You—” the magician started, although he paused for a moment. His eyes fell on the traveler, a small grin tugging at his lips. “I already knew you’re, quite literally, ‘out of this world’ but, I never knew you’d be capable of such a feat”
“Were you underestimating him?!” Paimon said as Aether crossed his arms with a playful smirk.
“Oh, of course not! I just—”
“Lyney, wait. Why are you doing that?” Aether asked, pointing at the magician’s feet. He had noticed how the other had been leaning on one leg since they stopped walking, and also the subtle wince that crossed his face whenever he tried to lean on his right foot.
“Huh? Don’t worry, I—”
“Are you hurt? Here, sit down”
Taking Lyney’s hand, Aether guided him to a nearby log laying on the side of the path. He could now see how much Lyney was limping, something the magician had probably been hiding up to this point. Once Lyney was seated, Aether crouched in front of him.
“What happened?” Paimon asked, floating closer.
“While we were fighting those Treasure Hoarders, one of them kicked me to the ground and… I think I sprained my ankle in the fall”
“What?!” Paimon screeched. “Why didn’t you say anything?!”
“I just didn’t want to worry you—”
“Can I check?” Aether asked, reaching for Lyney’s shoe. “I’d need to remove your boot”
“Oh, okay, sure”
Untying the lace in Lyney’s boot, Aether carefully removed the magician’s shoe and set it aside. He then gently held Lyney’s foot with one hand, using his other hand to press certain spots around the magician’s ankle.
“Does this hurt?” the traveler asked as he checked Lyney’s ankle.
Lyney however was too busy being entranced by the feeling of Aether’s hands to be able to answer the question. His gaze was fixated on the blond in front of him, his heart beating rapidly and butterflies fluttering around in his stomach.
“Lyney? Is everything okay? Your face is so red” Paimon asked once she noticed Lyney’s lack of response.
Aether looked up at him, which made Lyney look away quickly so as to not be caught unconsciously staring into the traveler’s soul like a creep.
“Yes— I mean no— It doesn’t hurt that much”Lyney finally replied, clumsily stuttering his answer.
“You’re in luck then, it doesn’t seem like a sprain. Probably it’s just the pain of twisting your ankle” Aether announced before grabbing Lyney’s boot and carefully sliding his foot back inside.
“Paimon’s sure it’ll go away after you rest for a moment!” she exclaimed while patting the magician’s shoulder.
She was about to say something else when Aether called her, both of them walking a bit further down the road to speak privately. Lyney couldn’t hear what they were discussing, but after a while he saw Paimon nodding and then flying down the path until she disappeared among the trees. Aether came back and sat down on the log next to Lyney.
“Where did she—?”
“I told her to go look for Lynette” Aether replied. “I’ll be waiting here with you”
“Ah. There was no need for—”
“Lyney, is there something you want to tell me?”
Taken aback, the magician looked at Aether, now realizing how close they were. His thoughts were racing at that moment. Of course there were a lot of things he wanted to say, but now he felt as if a knot had formed in his throat, not letting him think straight and say what he truly wanted.
“I… I’m sorry. This day has been a disaster…” Lyney began, propping his healthy foot on the log to rest an arm over his knee. “First the rain, then those Treasure Hoarders, and now my injury…”
“I wouldn’t call it a disaster” Aether spoke, looking at the sky for a brief moment before looking back at Lyney. “I got to spend the day with you, and that’s what matters to me. Meeting with friends is not something I can do every day”
Friend. Somehow that word hurt Lyney even more than his ankle.
“Ah… Yeah…” the magician muttered sadly, looking down.
Aether noticed the change in Lyney's tone, worrying him. He placed his hand over Lyney’s, both of them resting on the log, as he leaned closer.
“Lyney, is something wrong? You promised there would be no more secrets between us, if there’s something troubling you I’m more than happy to help” the traveler said, giving Lyney’s hand a gentle squeeze, trying to reassure him.
“Right. No more secrets” Lyney thought, looking back at Aether. “Even that one”
“I like you” Lyney finally blurted out. Even if he regretted his decision, there was no going back now.
“I know” Aether smiled, subtly scooting closer to the magician.
“I— Wait what”
The traveler chuckled, both of his hands holding Lyney’s.
“Actually, I had a hunch. I didn’t know if your relentless flirting was just you being a tease but, I remember when you gave me that Rainbow Rose, and the meaning behind said flower. Also, your behavior today confirmed my suspicion”
Aether’s words left the magician speechless. He had been trying so hard to hide his true feelings around the traveler, pushing them deep within his heart, he was certain no one would notice. But was he that obvious? Perhaps he turned into such a great liar, he ended up lying to himself too.
“Lyney” Aether continued. “You know I’ll leave Teyvat eventually, right?”
“… Yes. I’m aware of that” Lyney replied with a sad smile. “But for now, you’re here. And I want to stay by your side for as long as I can”
A long silence followed, Aether looking up. He looked like he was lost in thought, and Lyney wondered if he had screwed up. The last thing he wanted was to ruin their relationship. However, the traveler was still holding his hand, and it didn’t seem like he planned to let go.
“Aether, If you don’t—”
“Truth is, I like you too” Aether finally spoke, his eyes still fixated on the sky. “If I had known Lynette wasn’t gonna come with us today, I would’ve told Paimon to wait for me at the city” he added as he looked back at the magician.
Lyney felt like his heart was about to escape from his chest. He couldn’t believe his silly plan had had the best possible outcome. Smiling from ear to ear, he hugged Aether tightly while sighing, relieved.
“I knew that dream I had was a premonition”, the magician muttered, but not quiet enough for Aether to ignore.
“Dream?”
“Ah—! Well, uhm… Today, I actually tried to recreate a recurrent dream I’ve been having lately” Lyney explained, a shy smile crossing his face. “In it, I confessed to you, and you reciprocated my feelings, and then we…” he trailed off, his cheeks flushing red as he realized how close they were. If he leaned in a bit more he could…
“And then we…?”, Aether inquired, getting closer to Lyney.
“We…” the magician muttered, eyeing Aether’s lips.
And before he could realize, Aether had already pulled him in by the bow of his cape.
It felt as if fireworks were going off inside him, too many emotions bursting forth making him unable to form a coherent thought. The feeling of Aether’s lips against his, something he could have only dreamed about until now, or the fact it was his first kiss, were part of those sparkles he could feel, like a tingling sensation in his stomach. And among all those emotions, one was the strongest among the rest.
Joy.
The kiss didn’t last long, but it was enough for them. Slowly parting, they remained looking into each other’s eyes, their hearts racing.
“Was that like in your dream?” Aether teased, brushing his nose against Lyney’s.
“I’d say this one was much better” Lyney replied, hugging Aether.
“So…” Aether muttered, wrapping his arms around Lyney’s waist. “What are we now?”
“Whatever you prefer”
—
“And then these Treasure Hoarders attacked us! But they— Oh! Hey!” Paimon called, waving her arm as she spotted Aether and Lyney walking towards them.
Flying next to Lynette, they met up with the boys outside the Opera Epiclese. Lyney seemed to be fine, not limping anymore.
“Lyney!” Paimon exclaimed. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. As Aether said, I just needed to rest for a moment”
“Glad to see your ankle is fine, but next time try to be more careful” Lynette said, crossing her arms. “By the way… Were you two holding hands just now?”
Hearing Lynette’s question, both Aether and Lyney looked at each other briefly before averting their gazes, chuckling nervously.
“Ah. I see” Lynette added, noticing the faint blush on both their faces.
“What?” Paimon asked, looking at them and then to Lynette.
“Nothing. Let’s go back” Lynette said, gently grabbing Paimon’s leg and starting to walk away.
“Hey—! DON’T DO THAT, PAIMON IS NOT A BALLOON!!”
Aether chuckled as he followed them alongside Lyney, his fingers intertwined with the magician’s.