♥♡𝔸𝕕𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟♡♥ (𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝙸𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝙾𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚜)

❤ Xiao x Aether ❤

A friend of mine requested this <3 (credits to original artist)
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"Xiao!" Paimon called out as she flew out onto the balcony at Wangshu Inn. "Xiaooo!!"

Aether sighed as he followed her. In his hands he held two plates of almond tofu, watching Paimon with a small smile on his face. His ears perked up once he heard a familiar voice. "You called?"

Xiao stood on the balcony railing, crossing his arms as the moonlight beamed down on him from above. Paimon grinned, waving as she floated closer to him. "Hey there, Xiao! We made some yummy almond tofu and thought you would want some!"

"You mean I made the tofu." Aether shook his head and smiled as he approached Xiao, extending a plate for him to take. "Unless you count knocking over almonds and complaining that you're hungry helping out."

Xiao sat down on the railing as he grabbed the plate of almond tofu. Paimon whirled around at Aether's words, a frown evident on her face. "Oh, shut your mouth! I helped out plenty." She turned her gaze back to Xiao. "Well, we'll get going now!" She floated back to Aether's side and waved another time before the both of them turned and started walking away.

"Boy, is Paimon hungry..." Paimon mumbled, floating inside in front of Aether.

"You ate before I did, how are you still hungry?" Aether chuckled as he followed Paimon back inside. The only thing that stopped him from entering inside was the voice of the adeptus outside.

"Wait."

Aether turned around to look at him before Paimon did the same. "What is it?"

Xiao hesitated. "...Would you care to eat with me?"

A smile formed on Aether's face as he nodded, while Paimon put her hands on her hips and looked at him curiously. "What about Paimon? Paimon doesn't have anything to eat!"

"I didn't mean you." Xiao said simply, looking to the side as his tone got slightly softer. "I meant Aether."

"Well that's just-!" Paimon started to protest, before Aether cut her off. "I'll cook you something later. You can talk to Verr to pass the time."

Paimon frowned before responding. "Fine! Paimon's gonna wait near the front desk." And with that, she floated back inside, still sulking about the situation.

Aether shook his head and sighed before walking to where Xiao was. There was a small moment of silence before Aether hesitatingly sat next to him, the clink of spoons against their plates was the only thing that could be heard for a while. The moon illuminated the balcony, and Aether snuck a couple glances at the latter as he ate. Xiao always ate alone, why was this time different? His mind raced and he placed his now empty plate in his lap. He was probably overthinking this.

A soft touch on his hand jolted him out of his thoughts, and his eyes wandered from Xiao's hand to his eyes back to his hand again. A small tint of pink was visible on both their faces as their hands intertwined.

Xiao could feel his face heat up as a single thought flashed in his mind. 'Maybe eating with someone else isn't such a bad idea...'

"I can't believe they left me here!" Paimon sulked. "This is so unfair!"

Verr sighed as she leaned against the counter and rested her head in her hands. "You share a lot of meals with Aether, don't you? Missing just one wouldn't hurt."

Paimon made an angry hand gesture. "But it's Xiao, too! The two of them are having fun without me!"

Verr chuckled as she glanced outside at the two boys. "I think that the two of them just needed a little time together."

Paimon turned her attention to Aether and Xiao. Aether was chatting and pointing at different stars as Xiao was listening intently. She frowned once more and crossed her arms, before noticing a missed detail from her first glance. Her eyes stayed locked on their intertwined hands before her mouth made an 'o' shape, and all her previous complaining seemed to dissipate. "Ohh..."

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I don't ship the Traveler with anyone, but this kinda made me reconsider things lmao