You've begun to feel like home. Xiao x Aether.

Dreaming.

Xiao stood inside the dark room observing the blond, who was peacefully sleeping on the bed, in pure silence. To some extend he was glad to watch Aether get back to his usual natural form – going to bed early at night after the tiring day full of adventures, - it reminded the Yaksha of the old times, when he used to accompany the blond from time to time, helping him to complete his commissions, or practice the swordsmanship near the Wangshu Inn. Each time they've spend together, Aether would get tired pretty early and leave to his place inside the Serenitea Pot with Paimon to get some rest. On many occasions, the boy would invite Xiao, however, the dark-haired felt like his presence was causing the latter to get overly nervous almost every time, so many times the Yaksha refused to visit his home. But when he actually did teleport to the wonderous realm inside the pot, he got to see how Aether play with his dogs, clean up the mess, change his clothes and finally go to sleep, while the yaksha stayed there, observing him for the half of the night. Those times, Xiao did not understand what the point was in inviting him for the night, when the Yaksha clearly stated that he doesn't need to sleep at night, but the opportunity of going there always left a flattering feeling inside Xiao's heart, which he certainly mistook for the uncomfortable feeling of unfamiliarity with the realm. He also didn't understand what made him stay there at night, while everyone including the traveler were sleeping, but something inside of him forced the dark haired to neglect his duty for a short time and silently stare at the sound asleep Aether.

Those memories seemed so old, as if it happened long before the Liyue Harbor was even built, but there Xiao was – standing in the different room, under the different circumstances, with the different intentions, but doing the same as he did before – looking at Aether. It almost amused him how much does the blond change whenever he is not outside completing yet another mission, he felt like a completely different person – with his hair loosen up and wondering on the bed sheets, his face showing nothing but calmness, his chest slowly moving each time he breathed in the fresh air of the room. Only then could the Yaksha finally see his true nature, his soft and fragile soul, and what was the only thing that could distract him for hours from his duty, from everything in this world.

Xiao carefully brought his hand to the face of the other, brushing away the lock of long hair from his eyes. "So soft." – he thought to himself while stroking the shiny blond lock with his ungloved hands. The happiness from meeting Aether once again, holding a part of him in his arms was overwhelming, but the sadness from being unable to do so anymore replaced it in a spare second. What if the boy wasn't asleep, would he then even allow Xiao to be here, to look at his face or touch his hair? Xiao knew what the answer to that question is, moreover, he knew that it was his fault to push the blond away. It was his own decision, which he couldn't take back, nor reverse it. maybe if he wasn't so stubborn, wasn't so distant all the time, maybe if he had the courage to explain everything, then Aether would forgive him. But those things cannot be changed – he cannot be changed.

With the sad look on his face, Xiao finally put the lock of the hair to its place behind traveler's ears, revealing his neck. The yaksha looked at it and his eyes blinked – there was something on it, something which looked like a scar. Even in such darkness, Xiao could trace it with his eyes – the scar was shaped like a stroke of a lightning, which was getting larger the closer to the back, but something about it seemed odd. It wasn't a usual injury caused by the attack of a hilichurl or any of the Abyss monsters – the scar was slightly glowing in the dark, the flickering purple lights constantly appeared on different places along it. Xiao instantly touched one of them with his finger, which caused his body to flinch, as he felt his skin being electrocuted. The slight pain from it disappeared the second the spot stopped to glow, but the effect it had on the body of the Yaksha had terrified him. His mouth unconsciously shut open; his eyes widened as he took a few steps back in shock.

"This scar... from the battle with Raiden Shogun..." – this thought was spinning inside of his head – the scar, that Zhongli mentioned, that would torture his body for the rest of his life, that would never heal and always remind him of the horrible events from Inazuma, it was there, right in front of his own eyes. Xiao could never imagine that such pain was kept inside Aether, the kind of pain which would never go away, which was the reason the boy felt so weak during the storm a month ago. It all became clear now – the sudden arrival to Liyue, the change inside of him, the unwillingness to talk to anyone, - all of it was to hide the wound from everyone else, to forget about it, to get over the fatal trip to the nation of eternity.

The anger immediately rushed through the blood of Xiao, his eyebrows furrowed, and his lips pressed together. He was mad, extremely mad on everyone – the Electro Archon, the friends that weren't there for Aether, the careless citizens, who continued to ask the boy favors, - but most importantly, he was mad on himself. Xiao couldn't protect him, couldn't save him from the cruel attack, couldn't be here with him every day, helping him to get better. All of it, all the troubles, the emotions, the memories Aether had to face alone, he had to deal with everything that happened by himself, without anyone by his side.

"it's all my fault, it's all my fault, it's all my fault." – this constant thought was hitting the head of the Yaksha like a stone. Overwhelmed by it, he felt on his knees, helplessly trying to calm his mind down by putting both hands on his head. – "If only I stayed by his side, I could've protected him." – the guilt was haunting, tormenting his mind, mixing all the emotions and feelings together. Xiao started to hear same old evil voices beginning to whisper inside of his head, which he couldn't resist.

Suddenly, he heard a deep breath coming from the bed, and then the loud sound of the bed sheets turning over. Xiao worryingly looked at Aether and found that the boy was now laying on his back, still holding a huge pillow close to his closed eyes – he was still there, sleeping peacefully with the soft expression not leaving his beautiful face. This scene distracted the Yaksha, muted the voices and thoughts in his mind, leaving nothing but satisfaction that the blond was safe right now. Xiao stood up and sat on the bed beside the rested face, his hand caressing the soft smooth hair, and his eyes admiring the view in front of him.

-mhm... Xiao... - Aether sleepily whispered through his breath, his small hand suddenly holding on to Xiao's. the dark haired blushed due to the sudden contact, not daring to say something or move his body in any directions. After a several moments of complete silence, the Yaksha realized that the other is still asleep, and what he heard was nothing more but sleep talking. However, that realization made Xiao blush even more – it meant that Aether was dreaming about him right now, - which left a surprisingly pleasant feeling in the stomach. Aether was still tightly holding the wrist of his friend in his arms, so Xiao obediently decided to leave it as it was. Time didn't matter to him, the dark haired could stay like this for the rest of the night, watching the other breath steadily, dreaming about something he didn't dare to find out.

- I'm here. – he said quietly, while caressing Aether's cheek with his free hand. – I will always be here.