Limitations ~ Scaraether

3

Entering the teapot gave Kuni a little scare; he's never been invited to it before. Truth be told, Aether rarely invited anyone into his teapot.

"How the..." he whispered under his breath, but Aether just shut him up.

"Liyue. Long story." It was all he said before greeting Tubby and making his way inside his mansion. The teapot style wasn't based on anything special, since it was the default pot setting.
Kuni followed along after, being sure to look at the decorations of the house as a soft melody played in the distance. Though they were random, they mashed together in a good way.

"I'll go cook something so Paimon doesn't starve in her sleep. You can go wherever you want." Aether made his way to the small kitchen he set up for himself and began preparing dinner. Kuni felt awkward just doing whatever he pleased; he normally did whatever out of spite. So, he sat down at the table, watching as the blonde made some Sticky Honey Roast.
Paimon soon rushed down the stairs from wherever she was and sat down at the table when the smell started filling the house.

"Sticky Honey Roast? Yay!" The fairy cheered as the look of hunger entered her eyes.
Once Aether was done cooking, he sat the meal down on the table and sat down at the table with them. Considering that Kuni is a puppet, he did not need to eat and so, he didn't. Paimon, however, grabbed her a few pieces and shoved them down her throat like a madman who's been forced to starve.
It was after Aether got done cooking that his appetite left him and was replaced by sleepiness. Kuni was the first to notice since he almost face-planted onto the table.

"Here," the puppet got up from his seat, walking over to Aether's side, and getting him out of the chair, "how about you go to sleep? I'll deal with the dishes."

"Oh, wow... how nice of you."

"Don't make me regret this." Aether gave a dry laugh as Kuni picked him up bridal style. Leaning into the puppet's warmth, and fell asleep when he was being walked to his room— which was easy to find since it was the most decorated out of the entire building. (And by that, it was the only room that had a considerable bed in it.) Kuni laid him down on the bed, taking off his cape and boots, and covering him under the sheets before leaving his room.
Walking down the stairs, he noticed that Paimon had gotten done eating the entire thing and was sleeping on the table.

"What is up with them and sleeping on tables?" He asked aloud, picking up the fairy, and taking her to another room that had a smaller bed in it with a few decorations that screamed 'Paimon lives here!'
Laying her down in the bed, taking off her star cape and small boots, and covering her up in the covers, he went back downstairs and began cleaning the kitchen for them.
By the time he finished, it was very late in the teapot. He wasn't feeling tired in the slightest, so, he decided to go explore the area. Surprisingly, despite the teapot being minimal outside, it was able to fit multiple islands inside of it. Each was decorated to match certain nations Aether's been to.
Liyue, Sumeru... oh, and Inazuma.
Kuni was about to leave the purple island before stopping in his tracks once he realized how comforted he was in it. Despite not liking the actual nation, this wasn't it; just an island with its decorations. And hence, he didn't feel any bitterness about it. Especially when the atmosphere of the entire teapot is calm and comforting. Not anywhere similar to how Inazuma felt.
As he walked and looked throughout the copycat island, he couldn't help but feel at ease. As if he'd just overcome something that was bugging him for some time— despite that not being the case.
He smiled to himself before leaving the island, going back to the two previous ones. Though, he was a bit confused at the order they were put in and how there wasn't an island dedicated solely to Mondstadt. Looking out into the distance on the Liyue-themed island, he was finally able to hear the music playing a bit more clearly. It was a rather peaceful, bittersweet melody that had Inazuma-like compositions in it.
Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed the sun coming up in the distance as a gentle breeze flowed through the air. It wasn't until he heard the Traveler call him that made him snap out of his thoughts to turn around.

"Were you out here this entire time?" Aether asked, his hair no longer in a braid, causing Kuni to turn away, bright red.

"What does it look like to you?" He heard Aether sigh behind him before the sound of footsteps got closer.

"You really need to work on your attitude towards others." He heard the blonde mutter under his breath.

"Hm," He continued to stare off into the distance before a question popped up in his mind, "what's the name of the song playing in the background?"

"Ruu's Melody. It's just the instruments, though." Aether answered, a somber smile on his face as he remembered the depressing adventure.

"You seem sad mentioning it."

"It's a long story. I'll tell you someday." Kuni nodded his head, not wanting to press the topic any further.

"Wahh! Traveler, where are you?!" They turned their heads to find Paimon rushing onto the island, a panicked look on her face before she spotted them together. A smile beamed on her face as she floated over to the two, "Paimon was scared you went on an adventure without her..."

"I would never unless absolutely necessary." Aether smiled playfully at her, patting her on the head, causing her to puff out her cheeks, annoyed.

"We should get ready for the day." Kuni cleared his throat as he spoke. Aether nodded his head, allowing him to leave the teapot since he doesn't have any clothes.

____

Once they met back up with each other, Kuni slyly intertwined both of their fingers before accompanying him to the adventures guild for Aether's daily commissions.

"You don't have to hold my hand all the time..." Aether mumbled, looking at the ground with a red face.

"Hm." Kuni merely removed his hand from the blonde, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. Aether wanted to say something, but didn't. It would be too odd, right? Especially since they aren't dating, and he would rather not give the wrong impression to the puppet.
As they continued with their day, Kuni had to leave to go meet with Nahida, an annoyed expression present on his face. The moment the puppet was gone from his side, Paimon let out a sigh of relief, stating how she'd gotten tired of keeping a nice facade around him.

"You know you don't have to, right?" Aether stared at her unamused, "It's better to show a person how you truly feel instead of lying to them. Plus, he already knows you don't like him as much as you think he doesn't."

"Oh," Paimon looked down, embarrassment on her face before a question popped up in her mind, "have you guys kissed before?"

"Huh..."