To Bask in a Ray of Sunlight: a XiaoAether fanfiction

Chapter 15

Xiao.

Once again, I was back inside Aether's teapot. I felt at ease; nothing reminds me of the sadness and pain I have endured all these years.

Everything just reminds me of him.

We both greeted the teapot spirit before going inside his mansion. It is indeed spacious for a single person, thus the silence.

"Do you want to take a bath first to cool up? There are spare clothes in my room upstairs." He offered.

"Are you sure those clothes will fit me?"

"Xiao, we're literally the same size."

"I suppose. Well then, I'll take your offer." I said. "Where's the bathroom?"

"Upstairs, just between the guest room and my room." He said, pointing the second door right after the staircase. I nodded and went there. As soon as I entered the bathroom, I swiftly locked the knob and rested my back on the door. I started questioning my decision. Why did I agree to take a bath in his house? My clothes are actually part of my body since I can shapeshift, but that's not the problem here; I can remove them whenever I want.

Can he see me? I shook my head. I'm sure he can't and he won't. I guess I'm just nervous to do what I usually don't do. I took some towels from the cabinet and took off my clothes. I turned the water on and as soon I felt the water in contact with my skin, all of my worries faded.

Warm, I thought. I guess my decision isn't so bad after all.

As much as I want to stay and sleep there, Aether needs to take a bath as well. I covered my bottom half with a towel while hanged the other one on my shoulder. Seeing myself dry enough to walk outside, I unlocked the door and went out.

I checked the other rooms, hoping I might find his bedroom. Fortunately, I found it at my first try; Aether was sitting at the edge of his bed, his back facing towards me. He was startled when he heard the door creaked open. "Oh, sorry. I was just lost in thought. I'm sorry for making you look for my room-" he was about to fetch me some clothes until he turned around, his eyes on me. His eyes suddenly widened and fell down, blood dripping out of his nose. His face was beet red.

"Aether!" I ran to him, worried. "What are you feeling right now? Don't stare up at me, the blood might clog on your nostrils!" I said. I put my hand at the back of his head, trying fix his position. "No, don't," he pleaded.

"And why is that?"

"If I look down.........I might get weird thoughts......." I looked down to see what he's worried about.

Oh.

Right. I only have a towel to cover up my body.

I subconsciously slapped myself.

I cleared my throat, turning my head away from him to hide my embarassment. "I..see. Then I should wear some clothes first. Can you mend yourself?"

"Yes." He slowly stood up. "I'll be taking a bath after stopping my...nosebleed. The clothes.....are in my closet." He left the room, leaving me alone.

I took some clothes that my hand grabbed first; underwear, a simple black shirt, and a black cotton shorts with three golden stripes etched vertically on the side. I wore them all as fast as I could and threw the towel inside the laundry basket. I sighed.

I want to hide under his bed and dissapear. I felt my dignity left this world minutes ago. But we're both guys, so I guess nothing's wrong with that.

Guys who kissed each other yesterday. I lay down on his bed, biting my nails.

A knock was heard from the other side of the door. "Can I go in? I'll just take some clothes and-"

"Come in. You can change here as well; I'm not going to peek. I'll just close my eyes until you say you're done." I said, shutting my eyes close. I heard the door creaked open. As I heard Aether's footsteps going inside the room, he slowly closed the door. Various creaking and shuffling of clothes was heard as my eyes were still closed. At last, the noise died down. However, Aether hasn't said a single word, so I kept my eyes closed.

I felt the bed moved. Aether sat beside me. His arm went on my other side as I felt the foam of the bed being pushed down. Nevertheless, no one uttered a word.

Suddenly, I felt his lips touching mine.

I felt suprised, but got comfortable after a while. His kiss was slow but sweet, like he's relishing every bit of the kiss. I moved my hand, looking for the warmth of his face, but he held it instead, putting my hand right to where I want it to be. I caressed his face as we intertwinned our fingers with the other. He deepened the kiss, feeling his tongue moving. He's asking permission.

I opened my mouth a bit, granting him access. He then tasted me a bit more, both of our breaths getting heavier as time passes by. How warm, I thought as we continued kissing like there's no tomorrow.

At last, we both broke the kiss, panting. I slowly opened my eyes and saw my sunlight.

"Aether," I called.

"I.......I'm sorry for suddenly kissing you like that. I should've asked your permission first." He apologized.

"It's okay, I like it too." His already-red face went to a deeper shade of red. I patted his head. He's just so adorable.

"We're a couple, aren't we?" Aether's eyes widened. Slowly, he nodded.

"Then we can kiss whenever we want." I said.

"Are you teasing me?" He pouted. I chuckled. Aether's mouth opened in surprise.

"Y-you laughed!"

"Not really, but I suppose."

"It feels like music to my ears." He smiled. It was my turn to blush. "Please refrain throwing false compliments like that." I said.

"But it's true, though." He hugged me, perching both of us on the bed. I hugged him back, enjoing the moment.

"We should sleep now," Aether said. "We'll be quite busy tomorrow."

"Yeah," I nodded in agreement. "Goodnight, Aether."

"Goodnight, Xiao."