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“The moon really is closer than ever tonight…”
“Columbina…”
…Aether felt himself suspended directly above the sea’s surface, held up by an embrace. He didn’t particularly need to wonder about who it was who saved him this time, because it certainly wasn’t Xiao, and the only other Anemo user in Nod-Krai was ——. So instead of wondering, he sighed in relief, “Thanks.”
Wanderer huffed and said in a quiet, almost too-soft manner, “Oh sunshine, why is it always like this?” He felt his cheeks heat up, ignoring that for the time being. There were more important matters to worry about than questioning why Wanderer had saved him, or called him that nickname.
“You can put me down now, on solid ground,” Aether told his savior. Wanderer didn’t listen immediately, seemingly scouting the area for signs of the Doctor or Columbina. After making sure that they weren’t going to be ambushed, he quickly flew Aether to shore.
“Columbina went missing, didn’t she?” Wanderer asked him quietly, and he flinched. “…Yes.” Wanderer grit his teeth and kicked a nearby rock, “Damn it, if we had known…”
“…——,” Aether started, but was interrupted by Paimon and the others running (and flying…) up to the two men. “Traveler, are you okay!? Where’s Columbina!?” Paimon immediately questioned. Lauma similarly inquired about the status of Columbina, as did Arlecchino, and Varka, and. . .
…By the time Aether was done with explaining, he’d been dragged off to an impromptu meeting and left Wanderer to begrudgingly follow the crowd, only to get dragged off himself by Durin and Albedo. Aether felt a little bad, mainly because he was going to comfort the other before getting interrupted by reality.
After a long meeting, which thankfully Wanderer did show up to, and after reconvening with the Marionette at Silvermoon Hall, he finally had the opportunity to rest. By that point, he’d completely forgotten what he was going to say to Wanderer…
Aether stirred awake to the sound of panicked breathing and a swish of wind. “Huh…?”
Upon spotting Wanderer, he squinted his eyes, “——?? Why are you here…? Are you blushing??”
Wanderer freaked out for no apparent reason, “No!! Ahem, It’s nothing,” with the brim of his hat tilted so far down that his blush wasn’t visible anymore.
“——, why are you here?” Aether was genuinely interested in this, and that’s when he remembered what he was going to say earlier.
But the bluenet snapped, and so he responded in kind.
After teleporting away, Aether was back near the sea where Wanderer had caught him, hyperventilating—because he just realized what he wanted to say, to do, to act on something that had been building for years.
“——, it’s not your fault or anyone else's that we couldn’t save Columbina,” he would’ve started with. “It’s mine. And I know that it’s my fault, but I can't do anything about it.”
And Wanderer would’ve responded in his sharp tongue about how the blond is too self-sacrificing, and Aether would’ve—
—Aether would’ve been tempted to kiss him to shut him up.
He swallowed once because his throat was dry; once more, because he was afraid—afraid of what might come next. He knew he'd leave one day; that wasn’t off the table any time soon. But what would he do if he were to intertwine his fate with an inhabitant of this planet? Especially one such as Wanderer?
Especially one that had abandonment issues?
…He’ll think of this another day, he thought to himself. Tonight, he rests.