Forever ||

                                    

                                          
Xiao woke up. He was feeling completely destroyed from all the crying these past couple of days. The boy couldn't accept the fact that his lover was dead. He brought him, together with Paimon inside their teapot and they've been staying there for the last few days. The Yaksha and the floating pixie didn't exchange much information during that time. They just stayed quiet and tried finding a way to wake the blonde up. 
He was slowly starting to give up. His life only made sense if those he loved tragically left him. Aether was no exception. 
However, once he opened his eyes, he noticed that his partner wasn't laying on the bed. His bandages were all over it and there was no blood. The Adeptus looked around the room and noticed that Paimon was asleep too. 
Gently, he shook her to wake her up. 
"Mmm...leave Paimon alone." She muttered in her sleep. Her voice wasn't as cheerful as usual anymore. It sounded rather dull. 
"Aether isn't here anymore." 
She jumped up and quickly rubbed her eyes, she took a look and realized that Xiao was telling the truth. 
"You go look inside, Paimon will go look outside! He couldn't have gone that far! The bandages still seem fresh." 
The Yaksha nodded and started searching around the house while Paimon went to look outside the teapot. They were both worried and unsure of what to do. Could his body possibly have perished? 
His heart was racing. Having his only hope in life disappear like that wasn't the way he wanted this to end. 
Right before he gave up searching, he decided to check out the kitchen before heading out to help Paimon search. At this point, he had no hope left. 
He opened the door, and to his surprise, he saw a bright yellow strand of hair in the corner of his eye. It was a strand of hair he could recognize anywhere. 
"Aether...?" The boy spoke as his jaw dropped open in shock. 
"Ah, you're finally awake. I felt better so I decided to get up and cook some breakfast for you and Paimon." The traveler spoke in a calm voice. He had his usual smile on and he didn't look hurt at all. 
"You...you're alive..." Whispered the Adeptus as tears rolled down his cheeks. 
Without second thought, he ran up to his boyfriend and hugged him. It was an extremely tight hug. Xiao didn't want to lose his partner like this again. He wanted this hug to last as long as possible so he didn't let go. 
"Of course I'm alive." The blonde said as he hugged back. He missed this feeling while being stuck in Irminsul. "I'm not planning to die anytime soon. Besides, I promised you I'll stay, didn't I?" 
It warmed up the traveler's heart to see how much his lover cared. It was weird how a strange guy from another world could make him feel more loved than his sister. But he wasn't complaining. Deciding to come back to Teyvat was a good decision. 
"If you dare try risking your life like that again I won't be forgiving you." 
He turned his head to face his lover. Aether admired his beautiful amber eyes for a while, he hadn't seen them in a while so, of course, he missed them. They were still as charming as ever, despite being full of tears. 
The traveler wiped the tears away and pulled his boyfriend in for a long kiss. Both of their lips were extremely cold. 
"Everything is going to be okay now. I promise you. Nobody will ever threaten this world ever again." Comforted the blonde.
"But...how? How have your wounds healed overnight?" 
"That's a secret for another time. I will tell you eventually...just be patient."