Chapter Text
It was the time of year that monsters began to disperse, as if hearing that a certain Traveler arriving had suddenly drained of all the miasma and disease from the world.
It was still a mystery that had continued to linger within the yaksha that had fought with the most evil of beasts and won. Nothing of that kind would retreat and miss an opportunity to poison the mortal realm and destroy the abodes of the adepti.
Yet, this man seemed to be a victor any confrontation against the monsters.
Now, on the hill above Perveses’ shrine, Xiao contemplated as he saw on grass, a peaceful night lit up by lanterns failing to ease him into a trance.
“Xiao.”
“Traveler. You’ve come.”
The Traveler hid his Fontaine-esque blade, that auric smile cutting into the yaksha’s heart. A mix of jade and gold appeared within his imagination.
“You didn’t come around to the harbor this year.”
Those pair of eyes yet again invited him to another adventure. It was like that damned poetry competition. That starlike gaze that could reach him at Tianheng from the top of Mt. Esus.
“You know nothing bad’s going to happen as long as I’m around, right?”
“I was able to watch the kites from here.” Xiao said. “Though the mountains blocked the view, the kites flew high enough that I could observe the display from a distance.”
“Excuses, excuses.”
Xiao could never admit that that man’s looks have saved him from countless punishments for blatant disrespect. No mortal had ever spoken to him like that before.
“I… I wanted to meet you because I want to do something with you.”
The Traveler’s eyes gleamed. “What is it?”
“I want to… I want to release a Xiao Lantern with you.”
Xiao then picked up his lantern, which had been painstakingly made with guidance from Cloud Retainer and Rex Lapis.
“Its appearance may be crude, but… I want to do this. I want a memory like this with you.”
The Traveler then glowed yet again, that radiance of his now a deep blue like the hydro of an Eidolon. An intimate glow as he offered his hand, which Xiao took with a gentle grip.
A match lit the candle within the lantern, and slowly, it rose into the dark night sky.
“Xiao.”
The yaksha shifted his gaze from the lantern to the Traveler’s eyes, still positively glowing with a stellar smile from lip to lip.
“Have you been curious about my name?”
They scooched until their bodies faced each other. Traveler reached out his other hand and Xiao accepted that one even gentler this time.
“It just feels weird that you don’t know my name, even with how close we’ve become. It’s kind of my bad.” He scratched the back of his head.
“I have been curious, I suppose. Even more so about you as a whole.”
The Traveler giggled. “Just imagine if I’ve had to call you General Alatus this entire time.”
Xiao’s lip twitched, a faint smile appearing. It was an unfamiliar feeling, yet still all too familiar when he faced the Traveler.
“So, do you want to hear it?”
Xiao nodded without question. One of his hands let go of the Traveler’s palm before it was pressed onto the grass. Something seemed to further tug him into the Traveler’s embrace.
Their lips graze.
“No. I want you to know my name before we kiss. Ask me what my name is.”
Xiao then took a breath, his heart racing, frustrated and full of passion.
“What is your name?”
The Traveler pulled Xiao’s ear close to his mouth, as if it was a personal secret.
“Aether.”
“That’s a beautiful name.”
“So now you know.”
Aether retreated; his eyes focused on the yaksha. Xiao’s hands were now on Aether’s neck. His body closing the gap, before momentum would push him onto Aether, his lips smushing onto Aether’s as his tongue tasted Bulle Fruit and Zaytun Peach and Sakura and wine—
“It has been some time since you were in Liyue.”
“I was at Stone Gate only a few months ago.”
“No matter. It still feels like an eternity to me.”
Xiao traced a line from Aether’s defined abs to his hips, biting his sharp jawline as he began to move downwards, sounds of pleasure coming out of this starlike Traveler.
A sentence was left to the wind to say between the two of them.
“I caught another crystalfly for you. Would you want me to put it on your hair like last time?”
“That can wait.” Aether said, before his hands pulled Xiao’s face back down onto his lips.
Sky. Heaven. Stars. Ethereal.
Aether, Aether.
“Aether.”
“Yes?” The Traveler said, a warmth in his voice that he’d only hear with no one else around.
“I love you.”
