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

The beginning of the memorable evening.

- Making Paimon worry for God knows how long! How dare you, Aether! – Paimon was rapidly flying around traveler with the annoyed look on her face. – No letter, no sign that you are okay! – Aether widely smiled at her reaction to seeing him again. Maybe from time to time he tends to overlook how important his flying companion actually is to him, and he would lie if he said that he didn't miss her. Reaching out to the closest food cart, the blond grabbed the first dish that he noticed and put it in Paimon's mouth to silence her for a bit.

- I'm so sorry, Paimon, you know that I love you, I just needed some time to figure things on my own. – Aether scratched the back of the head with an apologetic look. – it won't happen again.

- Ith befer noht – mumbled the other with her mouth stuffed and her mind already distracted by the taste of the food. Aether laughed at her reaction and looked around the city, finally observing the fantastic look of it during the festival. He didn't get the chance to help decorating the city this year, but it seemed that everything looked perfect even without his help. He noticed Beidou and Ningguang standing near the main square and energetically chatting about something, so he decided to come up to them.

- Happy Lantern Rite, Ningguang, Beidou! – the boy said cheerfully.

- Hey, Traveler! Good to see ya! – the captain said while swinging a big cup of beer in her right hand.

- Greetings, Traveler. – the blond lady said calmly. – We are happy to have you for the celebration this year. What is your opinion in the decorations and the festive program?

- Everything is perfect, the decorations are breathtaking, and I enjoy the music very much. – Aether looked over the city, as if to prove his point by enjoying the view once again. – So, do you have any special plans yourself?

- Well, of course. Me and Ningguang are going to have a sweet old girls night out, right, sweetheart? – Beidou leaned closer to the other and smiled widely.

- Indeed, it is a rare opportunity to spot a certain captain inside the city and not sailing in the sea. Such chance couldn't be wasted. – The Qixing answered with a slyer look on her face. – What about you, traveler, is there somebody you're looking forward to spending the festival with?

- Hahaha, funny that you've asked about it... - Aether laughed awkwardly, well knowing the answer to that question. He was definitely looking forward to talking with his friends and Paimon, but that was only the first part of the evening. And, what was coming afterwards was scary and exciting at the same moment.

- Well, Paimon knows the answer to that! – the flying creature suddenly appeared behind the blonde's back, taking a break from trying every dish offer in the whole city. Aether nervously looked at her, afraid that she will reveal his secret – it is well known that filtering the information is not something Paimon was good at. – Definitely not Paimon! He has been ignoring me for weeks now! – she again started boiling over the fact that Aether left her in Mondstadt for so long. That was a bit embarrassing for the traveler to be reveled in such way, however, the answer Paimon gave was way more pleasant than the other one.

- Hahaha, Paimon, cheer up, I know traveler, he wouldn't abandon you in any case. – Beidou trickled Paimon a bit, and, surprisingly, her technique worked, and the girl relaxed.

- Okay, we better get going, there are many people to greet tonight. – Aether suddenly remembered that he didn't have much time to talk to everyone he initially wanted to. – again, Happy Lantern Rite! – the boy waved shortly and started running to the other side of the city.

- Wait, you forgot Paimon! – Paimon quickly flew away to catch up with her friend.

As Aether was quickly walking down the street, trying to distract Paimon from the food as much as he could, he bumped into somebody and nearly fell to the ground.