Limitations ~ Scaraether

7

As the trip was coming to a close and Inazuma started coming into view, Kuni felt anxious-- no, sickened, coming back to the land of his birth. Whether the feeling was voluntary or not, he didn't know; it was how he felt as the ship came up to the dock.
As they exited The Crux and onto the land of eternity and thunder, he noticed how excited Aether was to be back in the calm land as he went to go greet some people, and that made a thought pop up in his head-- a thought full of disgust.

'Why does he remind me of someone so weak right now?' he paused as the question entered his brain and was processed. He hadn't thought that way about Aether in a while; however, it was true. He reminded him too much of his past self, so naive and eager to greet people he just met or have already known.
Once the thought process began, he couldn't help to ask himself what exactly he liked about Aether. Surely, him giving him a bright smile when he lent him shelter under his hat can't have been the only thing. What else was there to it?
That made him ponder as he followed the Traveler a few feet away. It couldn't be his overlooked savior complex; he hated those in people. So, what could it be? His friends tended to be annoying, so not popularity, that's for sure.
The puppet pondered and pondered as they stopped by countless stalls before leaving Ritou and entering Konda Village.

Was it his smile? It couldn't be; he smiles that way to everyone. Nothing special about that.

Was it his looks? No, whilst he had to admit that he is physically attractive, he looks similar to any blonde person with long hair. Plus, looks can only take you so far.

His goals? No, finding your sibling is a basic goal. And he would rather not indulge in finding someone who practically abandoned him. Perhaps there's something else in mind?

His personality? That's when his eyes lit up; he finally figured it out! He liked his personality-- not the goofy heroic one he puts on the front but the more realistic one; his real personality. He liked how they could make fun of one another and how he is one of the few to know of Aether's side that doesn't tolerate bullshit-- even though he does when he's an errand boy.
Furthermore, he likes the cheeky, snide smile Aether pulls when he finally says something that stumps the puppet. He likes annoying the blonde to the point all he can do is just laugh at the indigo male.
Whilst he was and is the most beautiful and intoxicating male he's ever laid his eyes upon, he liked how his genuine personality defied his looks in a good way.
Every time he watches the blonde be forcefully nice to others (even when they are oblivious to the fact that they were the reason they were in a bad situation), he couldn't help but feel as if he didn't know the blonde as well as he should.

"Hey, Kuni—"

"Huh?!" The puppet jerked as he felt a hand on his shoulder; he hadn't noticed that he had stopped walking with the group.

"Are you okay? You seem lost in thought." He heard the calm voice of the person he was just thinking about asking him. Noticing the genuine concern on his face, he couldn't help but mentally scowl at himself. Just how did he think he would be worthy of someone like him? Fake dating or not.

"I'm fine; no need to worry your pretty little head off." Aether instinctively rolled his eyes at the puppet.

"If that is so, keep up," Aether crossed his arms, giving the male a playful look as he catches up to Paimon. Kuni turned his walk into a jog to catch up to the blonde and sliver-haired duo; his face flushed as they picked up the pace, turning the walk into a chase.
Kuni was on Aether's tail, using his anemo powers for a quick boost in speed, but that resulted in Aether doing the same. Boy, was Kuni interested in everything the blonde had to offer? No matter the number of private conversations, he never seemed to understand him as much as he wanted, and boy, did he want to understand everything about him.
Everything about him still came as a shock; a googolplex of family members, being immortal (despite the popular belief among the inhabitants of teyvat), etc. And yet, he had no idea what the world-changing Traveler was actually like. If he isn't from this world, he surely has to have powers not native to this world, right? But how come his powers only came from inside the world? He was curious to no return, especially since the Fatui files about him never mentioned much special about him apart from being a pain in the ass, having no vision, and controlling the elements at will.