Forever Together [XIAOTHER]

Chapter 10: Together

The next morning, it was Aether that woke up. He sat up in bed still half asleep. He looked down at Xiao and noticed something...off...
Xiao had been crying, he could tell. 'You had another nightmare, huh?' Aether let out a sigh. He then leaned down his face to Xiao's and carefully kissed his cheek.
He then carefully got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. The water started running, he started to slowly undress himself. Xiao woke up, feeling en empty bed. He immediately sat up but quickly calmed down when he heard the water running. He then thought to himself. 'What if I bathe with him?' Xiao then slowly got up from the bed. He then walked to the bathroom, making sure he didn't make any noise. As he arrived at the door, before opening it he heard the water stop. Looking through the small crack from the door, he could see Aether already in the tub. His long, blonde hair flowing through the water, revealing the back of his neck. Xiao smirked to himself, then slowly opened the door. Carefully, he snuck behind Aether then gently kissed the back of his neck. Water splashed onto the ground. "Oh! Xiao you scared me!" Aether turned to face Xiao, his face clearly a red tint. "Haha, sorry love." Xiao gave him a small smile. Aether looked away and down at the water, creating ripples in the water. "Do you want to join me?" Aether looked back up at Xiao, giving him a smile. "Well why not? It's the reason I came." Xiao stood and began talking off his clothing. "You mean, when you snuck up on me?" They both laughed.
Once Xiao had fully undressed himself, he lowered his body into the warm water with Aether. It was pretty awkward. Silence was taking over the room. That was until Aether spoke up. "Um..Xiao?" Xiao perked his head up, relieved that it wouldn't be silent for the whole time they were in there. "Yes? What it is?" Aether stared into the water, still creating ripples that expanded through the water. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything, and I don't mean to be nosy but...did you have a nightmare again.?" Silence. Silence was the only thing he could hear now. Xiao then sighed. "I-" he paused. Aether then spoke up. "I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me if you don't want t-" "yeah...I did." Aether looked up at Xiao, who was staring at him. A sadden expression grew on Xiao's face. Aether had never seen him like this. It almost looked liked he seemed like a lost little boy... "yeah...I did have a nightmare. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner." Xiao grabbed Aether's hands. "No, it's okay! Really! I just- it seemed like you were crying when I woke up so I was just wondering..." Aether looked down once again. Xiao lifted his hand and turned Aether's face to his. "It was about you." "Me?" Aether slightly tilted his head. "Most nights, I have the most awful dreams... they're all about loosing you." Xiao's sadden face grew more. "I would never leave you!" Aether came closer to Xiao, wrapping his arms around him and giving him a warming hug. "Xiao, your the love of my life! I could never imagine my life without you!" He hugged him tighter. Xiao then smiled and hugged him back. He finally understands that Aether would never leave him, and Xiao will never leave Aether.

Over the next couple of days, they've been looking into themes for their wedding. But today was different. Today they were gonna try on a few outfits and chose one for the wedding! Wait- did I say "they?" Sorry, what I meant to say was that AETHER was gonna try on a few outfits! Anyways, they went into a dressing studio in Liyue Harbor. "Alright, so, which one of you is going first?" The lady who was helping them was really sweet! "He's going first ma'am" Xiao pointed to Aether. "Wait- what!?" "Alrighty! Right this way sir!" The woman motioned for Aether to follow her. Aether gave Xiao an angry look but then carried on following the lady. Before the lady could go, Xiao whispered in her ear. "I want to see the dresses on him, okay?" Xiao then pulled away. "Of course! Anything for a client!" The woman then slimes and showed Aether the dressing room.
A few minutes have passed and Xiao was still waiting. He then heard the door open and there stood Aether, in a dress. The lady came up from behind. "This dress right here is the best selling!"

"Umm... don't you think this is too much!?" Aether gave them a little flowing action, showing the sides of the dress. "No, it perfect." Xiao looked at Aether, his face turning a small pinkish tint. Aether frowned at Xiao. "Perfect! That'll be... 12,000 mora!" Aether immediately turned his gaze to the lady. "12,000 mora!?" The woman nodded "With the accessories and the dress itself, it would add up to 12,000 mora! This is our best selling after all." Aether took deep breathes, trying to calm himself. He then turned his gaze to Xiao, who seemed like he was thinking. He then looked the woman dead in the eyes and simply said, "we'll take it."

"Really Xiao?! You just spent 12,000 mora for a dress!" Aether and Xiao walked out of the studio, Aether was holding the bag. "Well...I want out wedding to be perfect. And for you to shine your brightest." Xiao gave Aether a small kiss on the cheek and continued searching for other places. Aether sighed and gave in. He then smiled to himself and ran to Xiao to catch up with him. "Okay fine, but next time, it's your turn to chose an outfit." Aether looked at Xiao and gave him a smile. Xiao smiled back and grabbed his hand. "Yes, yes I know." Both became tired and decided to head back to the inn.

Late at night. Aether was still awake. Xiao was turned to the wall so Aether just assumed that he was asleep. He then began to quietly whisper. "Xiao? When we finally get married, we can get our own home, right? Then we can have a family." Aether dug his face into Xiao's back. "And then, I can show my sister the light in my life. I bet she'll be very happy to see me." He then smiled to himself and let sleep take over his body. Little did he know, Xiao was awake and beard everything. He slowly turned to Aether. "Of course. We can be a happy family..." he then kissed Aether's forehead before drifting off to sleep, the moon shining throughout the room.
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Author's note: Hey guys! Firstly I just wanted to say thank you for 600+ readers 😭 it means a lot to me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Um.. I want to try something new so from now on I'll try to write the chapters before-hand so I can get the chapters out early and not late at night :') Anyway, thanks again for reading this and I hope you have a lovely day/night! Stay safe!