Ascender || A Xiaother fanfiction (AU) {DISCONTINUED}

Chapter 9 (OLD)

"ƭεα૨ร"

Aether's POV:

Suddenly tears started to roll down his cheeks. He put the gnosis back into his pocket before wiping his tears away with his clenched hand, turning around and running inside the building. I quickly hopped off the railing and was quick to follow him but then suddenly he disappeared right in front of my eyes. I assumed he was rushing to the pharmacy so I immediately began running to Liyue Harbor.

Once I got there I was gasping for air and I saw as Xiao was just leaving the building, although I couldn't make out his face expression. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and he slowly began making his way down. I clenched my shirt at my heart as I kept trying to balance my breath after so much running, still looking at Xiao as he came closer and closer.

Suddenly he gritted his teeth and began running towards me fast, which made me open my eyes wide and let go of my clothing and stepped back a little. In a second I found him wrapping his arms around me, holding onto the back of my clothes, burying his face into my shoulder aggressively, as his knees seemed to be about to give in, his only source of balance being the fact that he held onto me.

Soon that wasn't enough either as he was sliding more and more down. Then after a bit I carefully started lowering ourselves down to the ground and as soon as we plopped down, Xiao wrapped his arms around my back tightly and put his head over my shoulder, screaming out loud. After that he grit his teeth and hid his eyes in my shoulders. I then noticed my sight was becoming blurry as well as I looked at the direction of Bubu Pharmacy.

Then suddenly I closed my eyes tight, wrapped my hands tightly around Xiao, pulling him closer and I hid my eyes in his shoulders as well. After a while I managed to calm down and slowly raised my head, noticing that the scenery suddenly changed. We were back in Wangshu Inn, assumingly Xiao's room, with him still clinging onto me. I wiped my face then as I looked at him from the side i slowly dragged one of my hands up from his back up to his head, putting my hand in it, gently caressing it.

He slowly raised his head and looked into my eyes not long after. I slowly slid my hand from the back of his head to his cheek and grabbed his face gently. As a tear formed once again in his eye and began slowly rolling down his cheek, I gently placed my thumb under his cheek and wiped away that tear of his while looking at him with a dazed look.

"Aether..." - X

He whispered.

"Yes?" - A

He suddenly grabbed that hand of mine that I held his face with with two hands and placed it right on his face after closing his eyes, making it cover mostly his mouth and nose. I felt as he took a deep breath and let it out before gently kissing the palm of my hand. I opened my eyes wide and froze, unknowing of how to react in that moment. I knew that at some point my cheeks probably tinted out of embarrassment. He then slowly slid my hands back to his cheek and leaned into it before opening his eyes and speaking.

"Thank you..." - X

I nodded and slightly smiled.

"Of course..." - A

"I'm sorry you must see me like this." - X

Xiao let go of my hand and wiped away his tears as he looked to the side as he said. Then I pulled him close, back into a hug and at that he suddenly tensed in my hands.

"It's fine. I'm glad you aren't ashamed of showing your true feelings towards me." - A

Xiao then slowly relaxed himself and after he placed his hands on my back gently once again, he let out a deep sight, burying his face into my shoulder again. After a long while of silence I started hearing deep snoozing from Xiao. I raised my head and then quietly whispered.

"Xiao?... Hey, Xiao... Are you awake?..." - A

There was no response and when I tried gently pulling him away so I could make sure if he was sleeping or not, he just slid his head back and even closer than before to my neck. Once I felt his breath against my neck I gulped a big one as I felt my cheeks getting hotter cause of the awkwardness, unknowing on what to do in this situation. I then let out a sigh and in the most careful way possible I made his legs link behind my back, placed one of my arms under his lower back and the other on his upper back. I slowly and carefully stood up with him and brought him to the bed.

I kneeled down on the bed and let go of his lower back, using that free hand of mine as leverage as I leaned forward, gently laying him down on the bed. Once I was done I unlinked his legs behind my back and got up, standing next to him. I was trying to gently put him into a more comfortable position but suddenly he turned onto his side, facing me, seeming like he already put himself in a comfortable position. He just kept on snoozing after so I just grabbed the blanket that was in the end of the bed and pulled it over him, leaving the room after.

As soon as I closed the door I felt like I stepped into another dimension. Suddenly everything turned white and there was no difference between floor and wall in that world. I looked around, hoping to spot something other than blankness. I looked to the right, there was nothing. But once I looked to the left I saw two similar figures from afar. I slowly started walking towards them and the closer I got the clearer the image became. I saw Xiao looking down onto the floor while pressing his clenched fist against his chest, his other hand holding onto someone else's. Zhongli's.

"I... I don't know how could I become the perfect replacement for you, Morax... After you freed me from that evil god who forced me to become his slave and took me in... I decided to dedicate my entire life to your service sir... The only thing I'm good at is following orders. I couldn't possibly be the one giving orders out..." - X

Xiao said with a struggle and then he grit his teeth, letting many more tears flow out of his eyes. Zhongli placed his hand on Xiao's shoulder which caused him to freeze and stare at the ground in shock.

"You are not my replacement. You are the one who I chose to finish what I started." - Z

Xiao then raised his head with sparkling eyes and looked up at Zhongli.

"Leading this nation forward to a brighter future. Liyue, the nation of contracts." - Z

Xiao suddenly launched himself towards Zhongli and hugged him tight with tears pouring out of his eyes. Zhongli has pat his head and seemingly smiled like a father that comforted his son. I began walking closer to them, reaching my hand out towards Xiao but halfway I suddenly bumped into something invisible and then suddenly the white area turned into the balcony of Wangshu Inn and as it turned out, I bumped into the railing of that balcony. Once I looked up I noticed as Xiao's and Zhongli's figure turned into two very bright lanterns, following the end of the large lantern cloud.

Suddenly a stronger short wind came and that caused the last lantern's light to go out as it protected the one in front of it and fell onto the ground right in front of Wangshu Inn. I quickly turned around and ran inside the building, going down the elevator and running to that lantern. This lantern was different from the other ones from up close. Instead of being gold with red or other colored decorations, it was red with gold decorations, a paper slip tied to the bottom of it. I made it take up it's original shape and then carefully lit the candle, making sure not to touch the wish attached to that lantern.

Once I lit it up I put away the matches and slowly lifted up the lantern up from the ground. I then gently raised it to the sky and gently pushed it forward, watching with care as it flew higher and higher into the sky, reuniting with the other lanterns in the end.

"Rest in peace, Morax." - A

I said quietly and then put my hands together, closed my eyes and gave a prayer in my head with a slight smile.

1478 words!

(A/N: Yummy angst and fluff ig 😍 I literally forgot how to write these sort of chapters but I hope it wasn't too bad! Sorry for not posting it yesterday!)