The Winding Winds of Liyue and A Starborn Traveller [Xiaother]

~|A Calm Morning, A Love-Filled Night|~

Aether's POV :

It was early morning, I hear Paimon at the pond playing with the fish, while I sat at the campfire, resting. I check my map, Dihua Marsh, Not too far from the Wangshu, maybe a talk with Xiao could be nice. I get up and holler for Paimon, ready to leave. Although I end up scaring the fish away and Paimon comes over to me, sad.
"You scared the fishies away..." Paimon says.
"Don't pretend you didn't just want to eat them for breakfast." I say in response.
Paimon grumbles before disappearing with a poof of cosmos. I chuckle at the sight before making my way off to the Inn.
I end up getting there quickly, with the agility of the Anemo, It wasn't hard to make my way over. As the elevator ascends to the top of the Inn, I check my calendar, April 15th, not too far from Xiao's birthday, maybe staying a couple nights would be worth it, It was an Inn after all.
I make it to the top of the tree, before I check in and walk upstairs. Upstairs, I find Xiao, standing calm and looking off the balcony. I walk beside him and place my elbows on the railing, cupping my face in my hands. Xiao looks down at me with a look of annoyance? Confusion? I'm not sure but he didn't seem to want anything to do with me right now.
"What do you want, Aether" Xiao says.
"I just wanted to talk, I didn't think you'd be in such a bad mood today."
"I'm not in a bad mood, I just- don't want to talk right now."
"I can come back to talk later if that's what you want."
"Yes- Later- I just- need some time-"
I nod my head and walk away, I wonder what has Xiao so anxious, It could be stresses of being an adeptus. I wish I could help...

Xiao's POV :

I hear Aether walk away, his footsteps moving down the stairs. When I can't hear him anymore, I walk over to my bed and lay down, burying my face in my hands.
"Why do I have to be such a failure." I say to myself.
"Of course I'm the only Yaksha left, and I have to be falling for some foreign traveler from some place nobody's even heard of before..."
"Why him, what's so special about Aether... He's- Just some guy- oh but his hair, its so nice and soft, his skin, his lips... In the name of Morax, why do I have to be so attracted to him..."
I groan, feeling horrible. "I hate that I'm falling for a human of all things... He's not an Adeptus like me- How could it be worse...". I get up and walk to my dresser, opening a drawer and grabbing a small paper out of it. It was a picture of me, Aether, and Paimon from when we first met... I chuckle at how grumpy I look in the picture. I rub my thumb against the glossy coating of the image, happy remembering the amazing moment. I lay back in bed, photo in hand, before I feel my eyes getting heavy and I drift off to sleep.

Aether's POV :

It had started to get dark in Liyue, the sun was setting with beautiful shades of red and yellow, while the water seemed to be a cool turquoise, reminding me of Xiao. Xiao thats right, I need to check and see how he's doing. As I return to the inn, I walk upstairs to Xiao's room before walking in to see him asleep. I try to get out of the room but I had already closed the door, and his cute body laying there was too much to handle. I walk over and kneel at the side of his bed, watching him sleep, with something in his hand? I end up catching a full glimpse of the item in his hand. A photo of me and him?! W-was he thinking about me? I kneel down at the side of the bed, resting my head on the mattress, looking at Xiao's calm breathing, his chest moving up and down with every inhale and exhale. I rest a bit, calming my tense shoulders and putting the weight onto my knees. That's when I screwed up... The floorboards creaked and Xiao's eyes fluttered open. "A-Aether?!" Xiao exclaims.

Xiao's POV :

I awake to Aether at the side of my bed. "W-were you watching me sleep?!" I exclaim, my face flushing over a deep red. "N-no I didn't- well, yeah I kinda did..." Aether looks a bit ashamed and embarrassed, He looked so sad. "I'll just go..." Aether says, trying to get up to leave. I grab his hand before he can go, "N-no don't leave! I- I don't want you to feel bad- I already screw up enough- Please just- lay down with me- Stay..." I say, tears forming in my eyes. I move over in the bed, giving Aether a spot to lay. I close my eyes, on the verge of crying, "Please Aether- Even if it's just tonight..." I say to him. Just then, I feel a warm embrace around me, it was Aether he laid down next to me and hugged me, He- hugged me-. I pull myself close to him, crying into his chest, 'Why do I have to be so vulnerable around him' I think to myself, 'I'm an Adeptus, I can't be such soft little twink ughhhh-' It took me a bit to realize the when I was crying into Aether's chest, I ended up burying my face between his pecs! I pull away a bit, "S-sorry! I- was crying into y-your chest- I shouldn't have- I- should've thought- I-" with that, my speech was cut off, I felt Aether's soft lips against mine, he- kissed me... Aether kissed me! My face turns a deep red, flustered by Aether's affection, I- Knew I felt this way about him but I didn't know he felt like this back. Maybe he just wanted to cheer me up? I pull away, "Y-you don't have to kiss me to make me feel better, you probably just want to cheer me up..." With that, Aether kissed me again, and again, and again, and again?! 'Why- why was he showing so much affection, does he really care about me?! Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck-' I think to myself. Aether slips his tongue against my bottom lip and I unconsciously part my lips, letting him put his tongue in my mouth. I give a slight moan. "AAaahhh~"  I shudder, feeling so- controlled... A- human, controlling me... I- I shouldn't but- It's so good~ Aether pulls off the kiss, smiling and blushing, "I've been fond of you for a while Xiao, I'll kiss you and cuddle or do anything whenever okay, there's no need to be strong with me, just be you okay?" Aether says, holding me close again. "T-thank you-" I say, embarrassed but also, comfortable- Content with Aether. I lay my head back on Aether's chest, dozing off to sleep.

Aether's POV :

I see Xiao getting tired, he laid on my chest and started to drift off, It was so cute! I watch him until he falls asleep before I play with his hair a bit, calmly letting him sleep nicely. I cuddle into him more before saying, "I love you Xiao". and Drifting to sleep myself.