Limitations ~ Scaraether

Prologue

Aether stared at Ayaka, perplexed by the question she asked him. The words repeated over and over in his head, making him dizzy.

'Have you ever experienced love before? Not the family type but the romantic kind.'
Truth be told, he never really cared much about romantic love since it tends to get in the way of what's important. Plus, when he leaves this world, it would be all but pointless.
His intense silence instantly answered Ayaka's question as she leaned onto Thoma's shoulder as comfort. The question suddenly popped up when Aether asked if they were dating, to which they replied 'yes.'

"Well, I'm not pressuring you, but having someone by your side all the time that's not related to you, is one of the best feelings in the world." She spoke kindly, blushing softly as she spoke. Aether took her advice kindly, but really, he didn't see the importance. What's the point in being with someone with a shorter lifespan than him? And dating an archon was out of the question immediately.
By the time Aether had left Komore Teahouse, it was already nighttime, and he realized his visit to Inazuma was coming to a halt. He smiled happily since that meant he can see Paimon again. Chuckling softly as he remembered how she threw a little tantrum when he asked if he could go by himself to the land of eternity.
Walking to the small room he had rented out, the question lingered in his mind. He didn't think more of it, but her words struck him somewhere weak.

'Having someone by your side all the time... is one of the best feelings in the world.' Is it? He wouldn't know, especially since it was always him and Lumine ever since they were conceived into the galaxy. Heck, they seldom even associated with their other siblings, which gained them the name 'Wonder Twins.' He didn't know where the name came from, but one of their distant relatives said they got it from a film they watched on a random planet called Earth.
Aether's eyes widened when he realized just how lonely that sounded. Maybe that's why she suggested he find someone he could love and be with, but really, he didn't feel lonely... Well, not until now.
Sighing as he pushed open the door to the small apartment, he took off his shoes and cape before lazily taking down his hair and going to bed. As he lay down, the conversation continued to swirl in his mind, getting louder and louder as the silence continued. Man, is he lonesome?
Before long, the silence soon took a toll on him, and he forced himself into a dreamless slumber.

A groan left his mouth as the sunlight shone directly into his eyes. Tiredly sitting up and stretching his arms, he looked around the room as the memories from yesterday came back. A small smile came to his face since it meant that his visit to Inazuma was now over, and he had to leave. He got up from the bed and made his way to the small bathroom to take a relaxing bath.
Once he was done getting ready for the day, he walked out of the rented room, inventory bag in hand, and a contented smile on his face. He quickly said goodbye to everyone nearby before going to catch the ship that was supposed to take him to Sumeru. Farewell gifts in hand, he quickly boarded the ship and greeted Beidou, who waved at Thoma with a large smile on her face.

"Hope you had a nice visit!" Beidou smiles at Aether. After nodding his head happily, he quickly took a looked over the railings of the ship as Inazuma, as a whole, started to fade in the distance. Going down to the ship's mandatory beds when it started to get dark out, the ship came to a halt as the anchor was thrown into the ocean.

"Alright everyone, get a good night's sleep!" Beidou instructed, yawning tiredly as she went to her room.

"Good night!" Everyone on board shouted concurrently. If any sea creatures were sleeping, they definitely got disturbed by the exclamations.

___

A couple of days had passed, and the boat came to a complete halt, the anchor lowering as the ship reached the dock of Port Ormos.