"Y/N!"
Paimon squealed happily and flew towards me.
After their visit in Liyue, Paimon and Aether came back to Inazuma late in the evening.
For some reason, Aether looked completely exhausted - but still happy to see me again.
I ran towards them excitedly.
"We missed you!" She flew around me before turning to Aether.
He pulled me into a tight hug, meaning something was wrong.
---
After we met in Inazuma almost two years ago, we basically fell in love instantly.
Of course, they had to leave quite frequently for commissions or going to other nations, but I understood.
---
We didn't pull away from the hug; Paimon must've given up waiting because she started talking.
"Y/N, Paimon expects you will cook her lots of food to have for breakfast tomorrow?"
I laughed quietly.
"You know me, Paimon, of course I will. Come now, it's dark and getting cold. Let's go indoors."
Aether took my hand and we walked back to my home.
He kept quiet - even Paimon seemed a little worried.
When we got to my house, he kicked off his shoes and let his hair down.
"Paimon's really sleepy..." She yawned and flew halfway up the stairs, before turning around.
"Night night, Aether and Y/N!"
"Sweet dreams, Paimon!" I smiled at her. She went to bed, and I instantly turned my attention to Aether.
He lay his head on my shoulder and sighed.
"Are you alright? You seem exhausted, Aether." I quickly locked the door and turned off the lights.
"Can we go to bed?" He mumbled, gripping on to my shirt a little. "I'm sorry, I just-"
"No need to apologize. Let's go to bed, then." I took his hand again and went into our bedroom. Almost instantly, he got into comfier clothes and climbed into bed.
"Please come here..."
Aether gazed at me, which showed he wanted me to lay down with him.
I got into bed next to him and ran my fingers through his long hair.
He looked like he was about to break.
"I'm sorry. I'm so tired." He lay his head on my chest and shut his eyes.
I stroked his hair, trying to comfort him in some way.
"You only went to pick some flowers," I lowered my voice, just in case he'd already fallen asleep. "Did something else happen?"
Aether nodded, pulling a blanket over us.
"Five people asked me to do things for them... one of them asked me to kill a ruin guard so that they could explore more freely."
So the reason that he was so tired... was because he was overworking himself.
"Couldn't you say no?"
He wrapped his arms around my stomach, and I put mine around him.
"That's the thing... I build up the courage to say no, but then they just guilt trip me to do things for them anyway..."
I had no clue what to say.
"But it's all right... I can still spend time with you. I think I'll take a break from adventuring."
I nodded.
"Do whatever you have to do, okay? Your health should always come first."
He chuckled, pulling me into a kiss.
"Thank you... I love you..."
