XIX

A halted knock to your door had you raising your eyes from the book you were focusing on, a page pinched between two fingers. Opening the door you saw Aether on the other side. Bruises were under his eyes signifying a lack of sleep and exhaustion looked like it was seeping into his bones. Paimon wasn’t floating beside him as usual, hovering like a mother hen and asking him to eat or sleep, much like Ariel does for you.

He hardly opened his mouth before you were shuffling him inside, pushing his shoulders till he fell back against your couch. He sighed as his bones popped.

“Rough week?” You plopped onto the spot next to him, placing your book on the coffee table in front of you.

Aether merely nodded, doing his best to sink further into your couch. You couldn’t doubt how comfortable it was after the long day it looks like he had, and it’s barely even noon.

You hummed. “Wanted a place to rest from the commission vultures?” Aether only nodded again while leaning his head against the back of the couch, letting his eyes drift shut. You chuckled and got up to go make the tired boy some tea. “Yeah I feel ya. It seems like the same lady needs the same things delivered everyday ya know?”

You make the tea in silence, the only sounds being the clinking of glassware and Aether’s soft breaths as he finally relaxed. You shuffled back over with the mug of calming tea placing it in Aether’s waiting hands. He looked at you gratefully and you nodded before sitting down next to him again. “You can always run away here if you need to get away alright? I won’t bother you unless ya want me too. Mkay?”

Aether nodded, taking small sips of the hot tea so he wouldn’t burn his tongue. Seeing as there would be no more conversation, you curled into the couch and picked up your book once more, thumbing to the page you left off on.

The two of you sat in silence while Aether finished his tea, and when he did you stiffened up in shock. He leaned into you, leaning his head on your shoulder, practically in the crook of your neck, and curled in your side. Hesitantly you wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer and hugging him loosely.

“Anything you wanna talk about, kid, or no?” You mumbled to not disturb the peaceful atmosphere. Aether didn’t answer for a while and you took that as a ‘no’, going back to your book.

“I’m tired.” It was a whisper, one you almost didn’t catch.

“I’d imagine so.”

“I just want my sister back. I just want to leave.” He shuffled closer to you and you hugged him tighter.

You rubbed a hand up and down his back in soothing motions. “I know, kid.”

Silent tears gathered in the crook of your neck but you paid it no mind. At the point in the game you were at, Aether already went through three nations of unnecessary bullshit only to find out nothing about his sister. Even though you gave him the option to help this time, and did your best to give him all the canon information you could (not messing it up with any fan theories), you still felt bad he had to deal with Mond’s issues.

The poor boy went through so much and all he wants to do is find his sister and dip. Of course it wasn’t so simple on his sister’s side, and you were sure the pain of losing her home in Teyvat was extraordinarily damaging, but you could help but feel bad for the person in your arms doing his best to silence his sobs with no idea what's going on.

You wish you could tell him more, but you just didn’t know and that hurt quite a bit.

“Everything hurts.” You snapped from your thoughts when he choked out a whisper, sniffling as heavy tears rolled down his youthful face.

“What?”

“It all hurts!” He cried. “My heart, my body!”

His heart you get, it must be all the emotional turmoil swirling inside him while he has to do mundane tasks to save up enough money to travel to the next country in search of any (no) information about Lumine, but- “Your body?”

His voice cracked, choking back the tears as he continued to get more hysterical. You did your best to keep him calm, to hug him in the way he seemed to like earlier when he leaned into you, but you were starting to freak out yourself.

“I can feel this body dying all around me!”

Oh God. What the fuck? Okay you didn’t have time to unpack all that right now.

“Aether,” you rubbed his hands. “I need you to slow your breathing before you pass out. Can you do that for me?”

Aether jerked his head in what you could only take as a nod.

“Okay, in for four,” you waited until he managed. “Hold for seven, and out for eight.” The two of you repeated the pattern until Aether had calmed down, returning to the exhausted look he had when he first walked through your door. “Better?”

Aether nodded, more steadily this time, squeezing your hands in a weak grip.

You sighed, running a hand through your hair. “Oh my God kid you really need a fucking break don’t you?” You pushed the hairs that fell out of his now messy braid behind his ears. “I get it, so why don’t you go take a bath, clean yourself up, I’ll make us some food, and we can relax for the rest of the night okay?”

Aether nodded again and he followed you to the bathroom, taking the toiletries you keep just in case you have guests over (you can never be too prepared). While he let off some steam, you made your way to the kitchen, looking for anything you could make into a meal. Luckily you had just gone grocery shopping and had the ingredients for a nice pot of radish soup.

You didn’t want to make anything too heavy for Aether, he just cried his lungs out and didn’t seem to have much of an appetite, so hopefully this would be filling enough while not overwhelming.

-

You stirred the pot of soup and began to pour it into two bowls when you heard the door to the bathroom creak open. Turning around you saw Aether in your clothes, extremely loose fitting with damp hair outside of his braid and a more chilled out expression. He still looked bone tired and the bags under his eyes stood out against his skin like stop signs, but it didn’t look like the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders anymore.

You gestured for him to sit at the table bringing over the soup and two glasses of water, he needed to stop dehydration after all.

“So where’s Ariel?”

You hummed around the spoon. “Tonight’s a full moon and he wanted to see it ‘up close’.” You clinked the spoon against the side of the bowl as you rested your chin on your fist, a cheeky smile on your lips. “Personally I think this is his way of getting away from my clingy self so he can have his flying time.”

Aether chuckled lightly. “Does he do that a lot? Go flying?”

“He did it every once in a while, but he’s been doing it more often.” You shrugged. “I think it’s because he’s been getting antsy about the trip to Liyue I’m planning. He doesn’t like ‘potential dangers’.”

Aether’s eyes widened. “You’re planning a trip to Liyue?”

“To see the Rite of Descension.” You agreed. To see Rex Lapis get fucking murdered, but you couldn’t say that out loud. The mess in Liyue wasn’t one you were planning on getting involved with, content with watching that shitshow with a bucket of popcorn on the sidelines. “You planning on going there too?”

“Yeah. It’s close to Mond and the Geo Archon will be descending for the rite, correct?” Aether’s eyes were so wide and hopeful you couldn’t help but nod. “This might be my chance to ask another archon about Lumine.”

“I wish you luck Aether.” You paused. “Speaking of leaving, where’s Paimon been today? I’d imagine she’d be hovering around you like crazy.”

The traveler’s shoulder’s droop a little. “I asked her to stay with Amber for the night.” He sighed guiltily. “I appreciate her concern but it was just getting to be too much. Her voice started to irritate me and I wanted her to leave me alone and then I felt bad for being so mad at her when she was only trying to help-”

“Aether.” You interrupted, cutting off the boy as he fell to rambles and rising tears. “It’s okay, I understand what that’s like. Like I said earlier, if you ever feel that way, you can always come to me alright?”

He nodded and you both went back to your soup. You finished the rest of it quickly and with an obnoxious slurp that put a smile on Aether’s face.

-

You were back on the couch with the golden haired traveler resting his head in your lap. One had propped up the book you were reading while the other glided through silky strands. Aether’s breath was calm, his body lax against your leg.

It was because of this, almost hypnotizingly, tranquil atmosphere that you nearly jerked out of your skin at the opening of the front door. You snapped your neck towards the threshold to find Ariel there with a confused look on his face. You signaled for him to be quiet and he rolled his eyes, mouthing ‘I figured’ back at you.

You gently eased from under Aether’s head, quickly replacing your leg with a throw pillow before padding to the kitchen to meet Ariel.

“What is he doing here?” Ariel whispered. “Is he alright?”

You shook your head, crossing your arms and leaning against the counter. “He showed up at the door looking like a mess. I figured he needed a break and let him stay. I made him dinner and then he fell asleep on the couch as I read.”

“What happened?”

“He was upset.” You shrugged. “And I don’t blame him. Losing his sister and having no solid leads on how to find her must be discouraging. Not to mention the mind-numbingly boring routine of commissions that would get to anyone after a while.”

Ariel furrowed his eyebrows. “Why would he come here though? Not to say that he can’t, but he doesn’t know you that well.”

You sighed again, the question bugging you as well. “Maybe he thinks I’m okay because I’m one of the first people he met, or because I gave him that information. Or maybe it’s like you said, maybe some just trust faster than others and he came to me because he trusts me.”

“I suppose.” Ariel murmurs, glancing over at the couch to see Aether sleeping peacefully, hair no doubt in annoying knots from how it’s scrunched against the pillows. “Will he be staying the night?”

“I can’t kick him out after today! Or so late, he could get sick or something!”

Ariel raised his eyebrow. “Alright, no need to get riled up, I was just curious.”

You rubbed a hand down your face. “I just hope he feels better in the morning.”

a/n - *Slightly steps outside canon lore*: Oh my God what am I doing!?