The Spark [Xiao x Aether]

Feelings IV

Aether had finally woken up after a good fourteen-hour sleep. This night he stayed over at his Teapot with Paimon, Lumine had stated that she was sick and suggested the two stay away from her until she gets better. The blonde boy offered to take care of her, but she refused and eventually kicked them out of her home. They had no choice but to leave her alone. The sudden behavior of the former princess of the abyss was strange but the traveler was too mentally exhausted to question it.

As soon as he opened his eyes there was only one person on his mind, it was the Adeptus that had freely been roaming through his thoughts for the past couple days. That feeling of his soft lips against the travelers was truly unforgettable. He was eagerly waiting for a good opportunity to visit him again. Yet he was afraid of what he'll say when they meet once again. Aether was never the introverted type, he loved chatting with people and never had any issues with it. But now when he thinks about Xiao his mind is in a loss of words.

He started feeling like a creep when he started wondering what it would feel like waking up in the Yaksha's arms everyday and seeing his beautiful resting face. The blonde boy felt like an idiot imagining such things first time in the morning.

The traveler put his arm over his face in annoyance of the sunlight hitting him right through the window that was next to his bed. Paimon seemed to still be sleeping, he noticed that from the loud snoring that was coming from the other end of the room.

He took the chance when she was sleeping to go take a quick bath. He wanted to get his mind off of Xiao for a while and to get ready for the day, people in Natlan have given tons of commissions to the adventurers guild and he and his flying companion thought it would be a good idea to help them out a little. They had nothing better to do anyways. The nation of the Pyro archon was always way too hot and the blonde boy would often get sunburned. Taking a nice cold shower before all that suffering would be nice.

As soon as he arrived to the bathroom and started taking his clothes off he noticed a strange piece of cloth under his glove on his hand. It was the same purple piece that Xiao used to heal his hand when he accidentally hurt it. The wound healed quickly but Aether decided to still keep it wrapped around his hand, he didn't keep it because it had Adepti energy in it that could heal mortals. He kept it because it reminded him of the Yaksha. Every time he took his glove off for whatever reason he saw it and smiled.

Something about how gentle his little friend was made him special. Xiao would never try to hurt the traveler, and even if he did the tiniest damage on him he would make up for it. That was insanley admirable about the Adeptus.

The bath Aether took really helped him relax. It was freezing cold but at least it was easy to get lost in thought in there. He put a white towel around his waist and headed to take a quick glance at Paimon to see if she was still sleeping, and of course. She was. The snores only got louder as she started talking in her sleep.

"Fishermen's toast...mmmm~..zzzzz"

The traveler wasn't amused, infact that gave him an idea of what he shall make for breakfast. Their teapot was full of endless ingredients, so making such simple meal was no problem for the boy.

While Paimon was dreaming about her toast and drooling all over her bed, he got dressed quickly and headed to the kitchen to start making breakfast and get ready for their trip to Natlan, they would need to walk all the way from Liyue to the pyro nation since that was where their Teapot was left the previous time they entered.

He grabbed some bread and toasted it until it was crispy and golden brown, just like how his flying companion liked it. She had been a wonderful guide for the past couple years ever since the traveler arrived in Teyvat. The least Aether could do was take care of her as if she was some child.