No Matter What

25

Childe and I take a proper shower and slip into clean clothing. We head down the stairs quickly when we hear loud noises coming from the living room. The two of us descend the steps to find Xiao squirming on the floor screaming in a fit of laughter as Aether straddles him. Lyney is sat off to the side, watching.

"Hey!" Childe shouts, shuffling to them. "What's going on in here?"

Xiao gasps, nearly sending Aether flying off of him. "N-nothing!" he says, face red as doe eyes stare at Childe. Aether laughs loudly at his reaction as he balances himself from the shove. He looks to Lyney, who's cracking a small smile as well.

Childe, however, isn't smiling. "You two older boys need to be setting an example," he says, arms folded. "Not teasing my son."

"Relax, Childe," I say. "They're just playing." I smile at Xiao, who looks down, clearly still embarrassed from being caught. Childe sighs, realizing he's being a bit much and let's it go. I eye Lyney, who clearly looks a bit put off by the other two teen's interaction. "Lyney, have you contacted your parents yet?"

Lyney looks up at me with a frown. "Well, I don't have a phone anymore, so."

"Oh, I texted her earlier," Childe says. "I let Arlecchino know you're here. She said she can't come by tonight but she'll pick you up first thing tomorrow morning. I told her I didn't mind you staying the night. Sorry, I should've said something earlier, I was just... distracted."

"I can stay here?" Lyney perks up, looking at Aether, who smirks back at him. "Thanks!"

I frown. "Lyney," I say, and he turns his attention back to me. "Did you want to shower? I know you're a bit bigger than Xiao, but he typically wears oversized clothing. I'm sure he has something clean you can wear."

"And Aether," Childe chimes in before Lyney can respond, "keep in mind these two just experienced something traumatic. Try not to roughhouse with them right now."

Aether puts his hands up. "My bad..." he says. "I mean I was just tickling him but okay."

"It doesn't matter," Childe says. "What happened is serious. The way Xiao was screaming sounded—"

"Childe," I says.

"Sorry, sorry." This time Childe puts up his hands and heads off to the kitchen before he can discipline Aether any further. I smirk as he shuffles off dramatically and disappears behind a wall, then turn my attention back to Lyney.

"Yeah," he says, standing to his feet. "I could use a shower. Wanna come, Aether? I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" The two boys snicker, both them and I looking to the kitchen to see if Childe heard that, which thankfully he did not. I, however, was the one unpleased this time. Part of me feels as though that comment was a jab at Childe and I—considering the possibility that they heard us up there... I wouldn't mind them making fun of us for it, but as for making Xiao uncomfortable...

I eye my son, frowning as he sits there playing with a piece of the carpet, a little scowl on his face. I open my mouth to say something to Lyney but don't get the chance.

"No," Xiao says, and all three of us turn to him as his eyes rest menacingly in Lyney's. "Can you stop flirting with Aether?! I know what you're doing. You think because you're older that my feelings don't matter and you can just swoop in and steal him away, but you can't, okay? You know we're... Just, back off!"

The three of us pause, taken aback by the sudden outburst from the youngest in the room. Xiao's got a mouth on him in front of Childe and I, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that he actually can stick up for himself when he deems it necessary. Yet, I can't help the smile that spreads across my face—a smile of pride to see my son defend himself like that. I glance at Lyney, who is the one that looks embarrassed now.

"Sorry," Lyney says, though it seems to pain him a bit, like he's holding back an entirely different emotion than he's portraying. "If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't even be here right now... Guess I shouldn't be so intrusive. Sorry to be a bother, then."

Xiao doesn't answer back. Instead, he gets up and storms off, heading up the stairs in a bit of a tantrum. Lyney's eyes follow him until he disappears and the sound of a door slamming follows.

"Can I go check on him?" Aether asks, standing up.

I hesitate a bit. Childe definitely would not approve of that. "Perhaps just give him some space for now," I say.

"Please?" Aether puts his hands out in desperation. "It's kind of my fault too and now I feel bad. I don't want him to get the wrong idea. Xiao's the type of person that takes things literally and needs to be reassured immediately or it's all he'll think about and he'll drown himself in depression... I don't want that. Please..."

I purse my lips, looking toward the kitchen, before sighing. "Make it quick."

Aether darts up the stairs, until it's just me and Lyney standing in the living room. I eye him, seeing the miserable expression on his face, then offer a soft smile.

"Lyney," I say, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I understand you may be feeling something toward Aether, and I know it's hard to feel that way. But Xiao feels that way as well for him, and it's unfair to intrude on that, considering you've just met and they've known each other for a while. Wouldn't it make you feel bad if you were in Xiao's shoes?"

"I know but..." Lyney sighs. "He's 14... him and Aether might not even..." I give him a stare that must be frightening, because he never finishes that sentence.

"Go on and take a shower," I say. "The guest bathroom is upstairs to the right. There should be some fresh towels in there already. I'll have Xiao fetch you some clothes after."

"Okay..." Lyney gives me a sorry look, then heads upstairs. I watch until he disappears around the corner, pursing my lips tightly. I know he's just a teen and teenagers do stupid things and don't think about the bigger picture, but still. That doesn't mean it doesn't bother me a little. They truly can be cruel and not realize it. Or, perhaps I'm just taking it personally because it's about my son.

I sigh while shuffling over to the kitchen to meet up with Childe. He's washing off the tray I gave up on cleaning a few days ago due to the ungodly grime. I haven't even realized I never finished cleaning it until now.

"Babe," Childe says when he hears me come in. "We're gonna have rats if you leave dirty dishes in the sink for that long."

"So what are we doing about the living situation?" I say, ignoring his discipline.

He sighs. "I don't know. We'll have to figure that out. I've thought about it a little and understand how much you want to stay here, and I know Xiao won't want to move either. So until we know what's up, I'm just going to get a high quality security system installed all throughout the house. It'll keep us a bit more safe while we figure something out."

I approach him, slipping my arms around his waist and resting my cheek against his back. "Thank you, baby," I say. He turns around, sponge still in hand as it drips onto the floor, and leaves a soft kiss on my lips. I grab his hands quickly and place them back over the sink. "Childe!" He laughs, turning back around and splashing me with water. I wrestle his hands back over the sink, smiling at his cute little giggles.

I accept my fate when he pins my hips to the counter and reels himself in for a slow, passionate kiss. I don't even care that his hands are wet anymore. I wrap my arms around his neck and accept all of him. In that moment I thought; even if the entire world comes crashing down by those hands alone, I wouldn't want to be touched by any others.
——————————————————————
TO BE CONTINUED