It's never too late to love, isn't it? °Xiao x Aether°

Chapter 1: Xiao

His hands, wet from the rain, closed around his sword while sweat ran down his face. The smell of iron and blood hung in the air mixed with the fresh smell of summer rain. His legs swayed before he took a final step forward and with the last of his strength he rammed the tip of his sword into the hilichurl's chest.

Dazed, he looked at the blood on his hands from his opponent, which was now running down his arm and getting stuck in his glove. A little disgusted, he took it off and put it in his pants.

Without looking back at the camp, which he had just completely wiped out, he set off to collect his promised reward. This is how he financed his place to stay and something to eat, for weeks. Normally he didn't stay long in one place and mostly he slept with nice people who he met on his journey and offered him a bed.
But he never stayed long.

But now he had been staying in Liyue for quite some time, where he had made friends, but he didn't want to be a burden to them for too long. And it's not like he's dependent on it either, after all he was able to take care of himself.

He sheathed his sword and stomped through the grass.

"Paimon, you can come out again" ,he murmured, and within seconds his faithful companion appeared behind him.
"Ugh." Paimon shivered.
"What nasty weather," she squeaked. "You're probably right. It's been like this for days."
With half-closed eyes he looked at the gray sky, raindrops landed on his face. "Come on, we should go before we catch a cold."

Not far from there was the Wang Shu inn, from where they had received an order to eliminate certain troublemakers. Since it was going well and had many guests, it also paid well, which is why Aether had often done errands there. After a tiring march, he finally got there. It had already started thundering.

A wave of relief swept through Aether as he finally had a roof over his head and a warm surge of scents washed over him. It smelled faintly of lavender and yasmin and from the upper levels of the house you could hear the conversations of some of the guests.

From his position he could also catch a glimpse into the kitchen, from where the delicious smells of curry and mint were coming. He couldn't stop his stomach growling, which the woman behind the counter noticed.

"Young man, wouldn't you like to rest a little? You can't possibly travel any further in this rain."
At that moment, to clarify her words, lightning erupted, followed by thunder. Aether nudged Paimon who was leaning on his shoulder.
"What do you think Paimon? I think we should really stay here and wait out the thunderstorm, after all it's still quite a long way to Liyue."
His companion rubbed her eyes and made no move to walk another meter.
"Paimon is tired. Paimon is definitely not running through this thunderstorm anymore." Then the woman behind the reception interfered again.
"If you want, I can also provide you with a room in which you can spend the night.I might even give you a discount since you've helped out at the inn so many times."

She smiled at him kindly. He knew then that he couldn't possibly refuse the offer. When he thought about it, this was also the most sensible thing to do and that he should kindly pull himself together.

Paimon noticed his discomfort but said nothing and waited until they were assigned their room and finally entered it.

The room was quite cool considering that the muggy air outside was so warm.

In the room itself there was a large bed made of light-colored wood with white pillows and a thin, soft blanket. Next to it was a small cupboard and a vase with a large dark green plant. Directly opposite the bed was a large mirror and in the corner next to it was a dark cupboard that reached up to the ceiling. Traditional lanterns hung on the walls, the candles flickering slightly, giving the room a cozy atmosphere. As they entered the room, the wooden floor creaked beneath them.

"Aether, why didn't you want to spend the night here? Don't you feel comfortable here?", Paimon asked after Aether had thrown some of his things on the bed and went to the attached bathroom to get a towel.
"No...it's nothing." He just said and dried his face, after which he threw the towel at Paimon and started laying out parts of his clothes to dry. His wet shoes made a squishy sound as he took them off and his socks clung to his feet like a second skin.
He wouldn't wear them again anytime soon. He left his pants on, but changed into a different top that looked similar to his usual one.

Paimon wasn't satisfied with the clumsy answer, but let it go as she was far too tired for a discussion by now. Instead, she lay down on the left side of the bed, stretched out, and was asleep in just a few minutes. Aether, however, was not yet tired; He lay down anyway, after dimming the lights and drawing the heavy curtains. Now he lay on his back and looked at the ceiling.

This went on for a while until he felt tired enough to fall asleep. Slowly the rain had stopped and only a light pattering on the windows could be heard. Yes, now he could sleep, but suddenly there was lightning in the sky, which even lit up the room through the curtains and startled Aether. He jumped with shock, his heart was racing and his eyes wandered around the room until he knew where he was.
Since when had he become so sensitive to thunderstorms?

His heart was still beating fast as he got up slowly so as not to wake Paimon and slowly left the room to get some fresh air. Of course he had put his clothes back on, but his shoes were still too wet to put them on and so he walked barefoot along the creaking hallway to get to the outside terrace.
He really didn't care that other guests could see him and so he was at his destination after just a few seconds.

Since it had stopped raining by now, he didn't have to worry about getting wet again and he leaned against the balcony railing. He stuck his nose in the wind that smelled like rain. A really nice smell that brought back memories; memories with his sister. He looked silently into the night - he couldn't see much, only the lights of the city and the moon, but not the stars, after all they were still covered by clouds.
Then a thought crept into his head, a certain person. Like a fleeting breath. He thought about this person, whom he wanted to avoid so much, although he didn't know why, after all he wanted to see this person again so badly. Wasn't he the one who called him? Why does it bother him so much that he doesn't even want to think about it. "Xiao.." he whispered.

..No. He shakes his head. He worries too much. His priority is to find his sister. And what Xiao does is up to him. It hurt him slightly, but not that he really noticed. If Xiao wanted to avoid him, so be it. And why was he worried about everything at all? The fact that he was afraid of a few lightning bolts was new to him, after all he had fought many terrible creatures in this world before...

He breathed in the fresh air one last time before swinging off the premises to go back inside.

But the moment he turned around, his breath caught. There was someone in front of him. And he knew who too.

"Xiao. I haven't seen you for a long time." He mumbled.