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1
“Ah, Traveler! Good to see you again,” Verr Goldet smiled, tilting her head slightly. Nodding, Aether placed a hand atop the satchel he was carrying and looked upward, then back at Verr Goldet. Blinking, she peered at him, a look of confusion surfacing on her face. Just as Paimon opened her mouth to, no doubt, start blabbering, realisation slackened Verr Goldet’s features.
“He is in his room,” she smiled, covering her mouth with a hand. Flushing slightly, Aether nodded again and turned on his heel, not keen to stick around any longer (lest he get teased). Heart thumping against his rib cage, Aether climbed the stairs until he was able to see Xiao’s room.
‘风房间’ stared back at him. Hiding a grin, Aether knocked on the door and waited for it to open. Sure enough, not five seconds later, the door swung open to reveal—
“Aether,” Xiao greeted, his face carefully reserved as always. By this point in time, Aether had learnt to read Xiao’s facial tells quite well and could see that the adeptus was surprised by his presence. Nodding to Paimon, Aether watched with some embarrassment as she gave him an over-exaggerated wink and disappeared.
“Xiao,” Aether smiled, thanking his friend when Xiao stepped to one side. After taking his shoes off, Aether entered the room. It was far larger on the inside than it was on the outside—quite similar to the Serenitea Pot that Aether lived in. Setting the satchel down on a chair, Aether turned to Xiao and grinned. “Long time no see!”
“Mn.” Gesturing to the wooden table that sat next to a window, Xiao busied himself with locating a teapot. “Please sit down,” he murmured, carefully pouring some tea leaves into the small caddy. Not wanting to hover and therefore bother Xiao, Aether did as he was told. The table was a deep brown, and the grain was extremely fine. Nothing but the best for Xiao, Aether thought to himself, pleased. Verr Goldet and Huai’an took good care of Xiao.
As Xiao boiled water for the tea, Aether fiddled with the strap of his satchel. He had been working on the recipe for weeks—Paimon had already complained countless times about eating the exact same dish for days on end. A niggling thought Aether couldn’t get rid of was that Paimon told him it tasted good just so that they could eat something else.
What if it’s bad? Frowning, Aether stared down at the satchel. The leather—carefully sewn together and treated with oil so it would be water resistant—practically glowed from how much care the artisan put into making it. Giving a quiet sigh, Aether pulled the bag onto his lap and undid the clasps.
“Tea,” Xiao announced, setting down two cups and his only teapot on top of the table. That, too, had been a gift from Aether. Despite knowing that Xiao wasn’t the type to bother with human foods and beverages, Aether managed to convince Xiao to accept the tea set on account of it being a useful item for when Xiao had to host mortal guests.
Both of them very carefully avoided the fact that Aether was the only guest Xiao ever willingly entertained. Taking a deep breath, Aether lifted the flap of his satchel and pulled out a carefully packaged dish. From the corner of his eye he could see Xiao staring at him. It did nothing to soothe Aether’s nerves.
Putting the dish down before he could drop it, Aether lifted the wooden lid and took out the bowl of Almond Tofu he made not thirty minutes ago. “Here,” he mumbled, knowing without needing to look that his cheeks were bright red. It wasn’t Aether’s first time making the dish, yet for some inexplicable reason, he was terribly worried that Xiao wouldn’t like it.
It’s just tofu and almonds! How hard is it to mess that up? Aether chided himself. Easy, if it’s you, his sister’s voice echoed. Shaking his head, Aether pushed the bowl toward Xiao and gestured to the food. “Please, try it.” Blinking rapidly, Xiao looked at Aether, then down at the bowl of Almond Tofu. After a tense moment of anticipation during which Aether definitely didn’t hold his breath, Xiao picked up his spoon and took a piece of tofu.
“How is it?” Aether asked, hands hovering midair. In the quiet of Xiao’s room, the only sound he could hear was Xiao slowly chewing the tofu with a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Mm,” his friend hummed, taking another spoonful of tofu. Aether watched, shocked, as Xiao quickly devoured the rest of the dish until the bowl practically shone, it was so clean.
“Good?” Aether asked. Xiao nodded, his spoon still in his mouth. After a moment, he took it out and placed it in the bowl. Without a word, Xiao refilled Aether’s tea cup and placed it in front of him.
Good, Aether thought to himself, and felt a rush go through his veins.
2
It had been an act of sheer folly.
As he dodged the Hillichurl’s ice club, Aether cursed his past self for even attempting the endeavour. Blocks of ice as large as boulders shook the ground as they fell from above. An ice Samachurl leered at him, its staff glowing cyan as it began to cast a spell. Locking his jaw, Aether swung at the monster and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid yet another ice block as it crashed onto the snowy ground.
Starglow Cavern was a misleading name; for somewhere named something so beautiful, it was a treacherous terrain to navigate. Panting, Aether stumbled past the Samachurl and began to run. Too—too much, he gasped, tripping over a rock. Reaching out to break his fall, Aether grabbed onto a larger rock, his body trembling from the cold as he tried to regain his composure.
A familiar whirring sound sent a shard of ice through Aether’s lungs. The Ruin Grader—shit, he choked, feeling his heart kick into overdrive as it pounded against his ribcage. Gripping his sword with both hands, Aether planted his feet down on the ground and readied himself for battle.
Not waiting for the Ruin Grader to charge up its laser beam, Aether quickly dove to one side and darted forward until he was close enough to strike a blow. The Ruin Grader made a horrendous shrieking noise and pulled its arms back for another attack. Sweat poured down Aether’s brow. Sucking in a deep breath, he pulled back rapidly, the muscles in his legs practically screaming from exertion.
While the Ruin Grader’s clap shook the cavern, Aether moved back in to attack the Grader’s knees. Its weak spot—get its weak spot! Chest heaving, Aether single-mindedly attacked the Ruin Grader, his sword sparking with each impact it made against the metal. Before he could fully disable the Ruin Grader’s legs, another whirring sound echoed through the air.
It’s going to start spinning, Aether realised, dread permeating his body. Without wasting another second, Aether stumbled backwards. The Ruin Grader got closer and closer, its arms a mere blur of brown and bronze with each step it took. Feeling his throat close up, Aether coughed, eyes watering from the coldness of the air. No—not like this, Aether panicked. I can’t go like this—Lumine—Xiao—
Aether’s foot hit nothingness.
Air fled from his lungs. Coughing violently, it took Aether several precious seconds to realise that he was falling. A name flashed into his mind once more.
“Xiao!” Aether screamed. “Xiao!”
Before he could even take his next breath, cool hands had caught him. “Aether,” Xiao shouted, voice vying to be heard over the wind created by Aether’s fall. “How can I aid you?”
“The Ruin Grader—it’s up on the ledge—I couldn’t—”
Aether choked on his own spit. With a concerned look, Xiao rubbed his back. Using Xiao’s anemo, they flew back up to the ledge, Aether shivering in his friend’s arms. “Wait here,” Xiao murmured, placing Aether to the side of the open area where the Ruin Grader was. Nodding, Aether watched as Xiao picked up his polearm and rushed toward the monster.
In just a minute, the Ruin Grader lay on the ground, defeated. “Aether,” Xiao whispered, crouching down and touching his face. Nothing more was said, but Aether could feel the emotions through Xiao’s touch, all the same.
3
Aether had taken to staying the night with Xiao on occasion, when he was passing through Liyue and wanted to spend time with his friend. While it was true that Aether could place his Serenitea Pot down anywhere he liked and stay the night in the comfort of his own home, it was comforting to spend a night in Xiao’s room in Wangshu Inn and know that his friend was nearby.
Another part of him took great joy in knowing that Xiao would never let anyone else sleep in his room. Only Aether had the privilege of staying the night. Grinning to himself, Aether picked up Xiao’s wooden comb and began combing his hair. He was sitting at Xiao’s dinner table, a small array of nighttime sundries spread out in front of him.
A single lantern bathed the room in a golden glow—Xiao captured a couple of fireflies and kept them in his room for the darker hours. He always let them go after a night had passed. Smiling, Aether set down the comb and started to part his hair for a nighttime braid.
“Aether.” Xiao’s voice, gentle and warm, sent a little spark running down Aether’s spine. Flushing, Aether turned around and looked up at Xiao, who was approaching with a small pouch in hand.
“Xiao?” Aether questioned, swivelling around on his chair so that he could face Xiao fully. In lieu of a verbal response, Xiao walked over and poured the contents of the pouch out onto the tabletop. Crystal cores, Aether realised, picking one up. They were very pretty, refracting the light onto the table so that little rainbows danced over the wooden surface.
After he spent some time admiring the crystal cores, Aether looked back up at Xiao. “What are they for?” he asked, placing one of the crystal cores on top of Xiao’s palm. It took his friend some time to reply, but when he did, Xiao’s cheeks were pink.
“Your hair,” he mumbled, picking up a couple more crystal cores. Blinking rapidly, it was all Aether could do to pray that he wasn’t as red as a tomato. Clearing his throat, Aether turned around and gestured to his hair.
“Be my guest!” he squeaked, instantly cursing his voice for breaking. Soundlessly, Xiao moved forward and finished parting Aether’s hair. As he braided Aether’s golden locks, Xiao wove in the crystal cores from the crystal flies he captured. Aether knew that Xiao must have captured the crystal flies himself, because Xiao wasn’t the type to spend mora on something that he could obtain himself. Given that Xiao was who he was, there wasn’t much he couldn’t acquire.
Eventually, Xiao stepped back and patted Aether’s shoulder. “Done,” he hummed, moving to Aether’s left so that he could see him. Smiling, Aether nodded.
“Thank you, Xiao,” he said softly, standing up. Padding over to the set of drawers that held Xiao’s minimal personal belongings, Aether pulled out a small hand mirror and admired Xiao’s handiwork. “It’s beautiful,” he praised, walking back over to where Xiao was standing. “Thank you.”
Looking away, Xiao made a non-committal noise. “Thought it would look nice,” he murmured, rubbing his nose. Aether beamed at him, his eyes crinkling at the corners from how large his smile was.
“Shall we sleep?” Aether asked, moving toward Xiao’s bed. Xiao nodded, shoulder sagging at the mere mention of sleep. Together, they slid into Xiao’s bed and pulled up the covers. Xiao sent a small burst of anemo toward his window and waited for it to open, then released the clasp on the lantern. Aether watched, awed, as the fireflies flew out of the container and into the night sky.
Soon, the room was dark, save for the moon’s silvery rays. “Goodnight, Xiao,” Aether whispered, tucking his face into Xiao’s chest. There was no reply, but a gentle arm curled around Aether’s waist and pulled him closer.
+1
It wasn’t often that Xiao could be found outside of Liyue, but this time, Aether managed to convince him to take a trip to Monstadt. The timing was perfect, too, because the Windblume Festival was in full swing. “The city of wind, Xiao! It’s perfect for us,” Aether grinned, barely able to stop himself from skipping down the bridge that would lead them to Mondstadt’s city center.
As they approached the entrance to Mondstadt, Xiao quickened his pace and stopped in front of Aether. Confused, Aether paused his steps and waited for Xiao to explain himself. “Wait here,” Xiao instructed, his cheeks ruddy with embarrassment. Feeling his heart skip a beat, Aether nodded wordlessly and waited as Xiao ran off to the right-hand side of the gates.
Several minutes passed before Xiao returned, something large in hand. As his friend approached, Aether realised that Xiao was carrying a bouquet of—
“Flowers?” Aether questioned, taking the bouquet when Xiao offered it to him.
“Mm,” Xiao affirmed, moving to stand next to Aether. They began walking again, Aether’s attention split between Xiao and the bouquet of flowers. He got me Dandelions, a Windwheel Aster, Cecelias, a couple of Small Lamp Grass, Wolfhook—oh, and Sweet Flowers… is this supposed to be a Windblume bouquet?
The realisation sent Aether’s mind reeling. Feeling his cheeks turn crimson, Aether buried his face in the bouquet and tried not to squeal. A bouquet of flowers—Windblumes—during the Windblume Festival? That can only mean one thing, right?
Smiling so widely his cheeks hurt, Aether looked back over to Xiao. “Thank you,” he laughed, hugging the flowers to his chest. “They’re beautiful!”
Xiao gave him a small smile. It softened his features, making him look far younger than he was. Xiao’s eyes practically glowed in the sunlight, his cheeks dusted a soft pink as he reached down to—
“Could I hold your hand?” Xiao asked.
Shocked, Aether nearly tripped over his own feet. “Yes,” he blurted, quickly grabbing Xiao’s hand, “yes!”
At this point in time, they had reached the water fountain that decorated the plaza in Mondstadt’s city center. The water gurgled merrily, flowers adorning each level of the fountain as people from all over the city convened with their loved ones. Stopping directly in front of the fountain, Xiao moved so that he was opposite Aether and squeezed his hand.
“Aether,” Xiao began, then bit his lip. Trying to look encouraging, Aether squeezed Xiao’s hand back.
“Yes?” he whispered, smiling at his friend. After several moments during which Xiao took a number of deep breaths, his friend drew himself up to his full height and brough Aether’s hand up to his mouth. Maintaining eye contact, Xiao pressed a kiss to the back of Aether’s hand and placed it on his cheek.
“Aether, will you be my partner?” Xiao asked, kissing his palm.
“Yes!” Aether exclaimed.
To the cheers of all the Mondstadtians at the plaza, Aether threw his arms around Xiao’s neck and finally gave him the kiss he’d been dreaming of.