The Spark [Xiao x Aether]

Resting IV

"Ah! Goodevening traveler, I almost didn't recognize you. It's been a long time since we last crossed paths, I see your hair has grown longer...or is that my old eyes deceiving me?"

"Hello to you too Fan Er'ye."

"What's bringing you here today, If you're looking for Yun jin I'm afraid she isn't avaliable at the moment."

"Actually, I'm here with my...friend to buy some tea. It's very cold, so we figured your tea could warm us up..."

Aether had to pause for a moment to think about what to call Xiao, they were both holding hands as they walked into the famous teahouse to order some tea. That definitely wasn't something friends would do but there was nothing else he could call him. The two boys weren't exactly in a relationship. But it didn't feel like they were just companions either. The Adeptus had a blush on his face the entire time the boy was holding his hand, meanwhile the boy couldn't stop smiling.

The owner of the Heyu tea house looked the Yaksha up and down, he was aware there was something going on, even in his age he knew when something was off.

"Well my friends, you're very lucky you came here now. I just finished brewing some hot tea, come inside. Let me get it ready. Two cups yeah?" He glared at the shorter guy to check if he wanted a cup too.

"Yes." Nodded Xiao while taking one quick look at his friend beside him.

"Alright, it's on the house for today. We're trying to offer as much of our tea as possible to those In need." Fan Er'ye said as he slowly headed towards inside the Heyu tea house. Tons of pots were shaking from the pressure of the tea, the entire house was extremley warm and smelled nice.

The old man carefully took one pot off the fire and started taking the unnecessary ingredients out, so only the liquid would remain. He then poured it into two small, plastic cups and added some sugar to one and nothing to the other. He was sure of what the traveler liked since he came here a couple times before but he had no clue what his friend liked.

As he stirred Aether's tea with a spoon he took a closer look at the Adeptus and his jaw dropped a little. The man's eyesight wasn't too good so he couldn't tell who he was at first.

"Hold on a moment, aren't you the conquerer of demons? I'm sure we've met before...you ordered tea from us a long time ago, did you not?"

The Yaksha was taken back by surprise knowing that the owner of the Heyu tea house remembered him. Not too long ago, maybe some time before the huge fight had happened, Xiao decided to buy some tea and try it out, it was something everyone on the streets was talking about at the time so he decided to give it a try.

"Fan Er'ye, I'm flattered that you remember me after only meeting once for a short period of time."

"Of course I would remember you! Not many Adeptuses order tea from us you know..." Joked the old man as he added a tiny bit of sugar to the boy's cup of tea aswell. He remember that the last time he ordered he asked for a small amount of sugar, surley he will like it once again.

The man handed the two boys their tea and smiled. "Enjoy, and don't be afraid to come back for more in the future."

"Have a good evening, Fan Er'ye." Said the traveler as he waved to the man before walking away.

The two boys then tried searching for a bench or any kind of place to sit on somewhere that wasn't on the ground. The view from the upper bright red stairs was not as good as the ones in the mountains of Liyue, but it was good enough. Xiao wanted to avoid as many people as possible, he did not enjoy having conversations with mortals at all, they irritated him. He also didn't want to get close to them for Aether's sake. It was his resting time so talking to people shouldn't be necessary.