𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 [Xiao x Aether]

[12] How the mighty do fall

Zhongli gestured towards a chair at the teahouse's table. "Have a seat,"

The adeptus reluctantly took the invitation, sitting down on the pine furniture. To his left, the former god pulled out a chair and joined him at the table.

"This feels familiar."

The former archon laughed, taking a seat across from his guest. "Sure, but this time I'm the one having a word with you." Zhongli waved towards a waitress, catching her attention. "Could you please fetch us some wine, miss?" The waitress then nodded and left the two to their business.

"How lucky are we for the storyteller to actually be present today?" The archon smiled, directing Xiao's attention to the man near the back of the seating area. The man stood there, passionately reciting tales of olden Liyue, filled with stories of war and the divine.

Xiao scoffed. "I'm guessing the only reason you come here is to hear people praise you?"

"Well I wouldn't put it like that," Zhongli said, clearly ignoring the adeptus's mumbled reply. "Besides, that's not what we're here to talk about."

"Then get on with it. Time won't slow for us, at least, not anymore anyway."

The waitress returned, carrying out a bottle of wine and two glasses, which she set down on the table. Zhongli thanked her, sending her back inside.

He poured his "guest" a small amount of wine, before filling his own glass.

"I see you finally decided to listen."

Xiao raised his brow. "What do you mean?"

Zhongli smiled, swirling the wine inside his glass. "You've finally found yourself a companion. Well, a few at that." He said, taking a sip and setting it back down. "Though I never expected you to join the traveler on his endeavors, now I realize that makes more sense than any other outcome."

Before Xiao could interrupt, the archon continued on. "You looked a bit stressed when I noticed you a bit ago, but then again you always are. What is interesting is that you looked a lot less than normal." Zhongli smiled. "It's nice to see that he can put you at ease."

"It's not like that," Xiao replied, face slightly flushed. "Aether and his team probably wouldn't want to see me the way I normally am, so I try and keep myself more composed."

"And why do you care about how they perceive you?"

The adeptus paused. Staring into his glass, he wondered. Why does he care?

"Don't think about it too hard, Alatus." Zhongli said, snapping the other out of his thoughts.

He sneered. "I thought I asked you not to call me that?"

"Apologies, Xiao." The man retracted. "On a lighter note, you seem to be doing better than you were when we last met. I suppose I can thank the traveler for that."

Xiao leaned back in his seat, trying to inch away from the awkward cloud that had settled upon the table. He glanced back towards the storyteller in front of them. Right now he was telling a familiar story about the spears that created Guyun Stone Forest. Rex Lapis had created entire mountain ranges with ease in his prime.

The adeptus glanced back towards Zhongli, who was taking yet another sip of wine. The two of them were once the rulers of this land, and now here they were, mingling amongst the people as if they were common folk.

How the mighty do fall.

"Xiao!"

He turned his head to see his blonde companion, who was now approaching their table.

Xiao sighed. "Hello Aether. You were quick." He hoped that Zhongli wouldn't try and start a conversation, otherwise he would never get to leave this table.

The older man smiled. "Ah, traveler! Come take a seat."

Shit.

The blonde boy sat down between the two with a laugh. "Zhongli! I was hoping I would get a chance to speak with you."

Why do the gods hate me so much?

-------

After what felt like a century, Zhongli and Aether had finally finished their conversation. With that, the two parties had gone their separate ways.

"Mr. Zhongli is always a pleasure to talk to." Aether said, putting a small bag of mora into his pocket.

"I still can't believe you let him trick you into paying for the wine." The adeptus scoffed.

"It really wasn't that much. Besides, I owe him a lot."

The two walked through the streets of Liyue, passing by a myriad of merchants. Xiao couldn't help but notice how Aether curiously glanced at each of the stalls, and how he would smile brighter than the sun when he saw something that piqued his interest. What Xiao didn't notice was how each time the blonde smiled,  his face would slightly flush and his heart would ache. The feeling was enough to make him not completely hate carrying all the merchandise that the blonde had purchased.

The traveler had an effect on him, and he had no idea what it was.

Although he was entranced by the boy, Xiao couldn't help but feel guilty. After all, if he really continued to join the traveler on his journey, what would happen to the team? How long until Xiao's karma caught up to them?

"Aether?"

"Yeah? Is something wrong?" The blonde asked, looking up from the stand the two were currently looking through.

"Where are the others? I haven't seen them anywhere."

Aether smiled, raising a brow. "Why? Is the great and mighty Adeptus Xiao worried about his mortal comrades?"

"Slightly."

The boy laughed, leading Xiao's face to flush even more. Aether didn't say it, but the way that Xiao averted his gaze in embarrassment was nothing short of adorable.

"After we went to the adventurers guild, the four of us decided to take a day off and split up. We're going to meet up back at the Inn tonight." Aether said, taking a piece of the pile that Xiao was carrying to ease the weight. "Don't worry, we can teleport this time."

Xiao felt a wave of relief wash over him. Walking at the team's slow pace was anything but bearable.

-------

When night fell, the team had reassembled back at the Inn (much to Verr Goldet's dismay).

"If you guys cause any more trouble, I swear to the gods that I will ban all of you from this Inn. Do you understand?" Verr sneered. "I am tired!"

"Yes ma'am..." The group collectively sighed. 

This time, Verr had only given the group one room. Thankfully, there were enough beds for the 5 of them. They weren't the most comfortable ones in the world, but then again: they were given to them for free.

Surprisingly,  Aether was the last to fall asleep.

It was nothing short of a miracle that Xiao was actually sleeping. The blonde knew that the adeptus didn't sleep anywhere near as often as he needed to, so anything at all was a victory.

Aether realized that he was staring, but he didn't care. He had never seen Xiao this at peace, his features softer than they had been in years.

What he didn't realize was how red his face had gotten.

As Aether shuffled under the covers and let himself drift off to sleep, he felt content.

Maybe everything was going to be alright.