Omg you guys were so CUTE in the last chapter like I see the comments saying "I'M HERE!" or "I AM SPEED" seconds after I update just makes me so fuzzy inside.
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𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗦 - 𝖠𝖾𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 -
༻ ━━━━━･•͙✧⃝•͙ ★ •͙✧⃝•͙･━━━━━༺
AETHER WATCHED
as you used your pyro abilities to light the small fire in the middle of your camp in order to cook some Grilled fish and Calla Lilly soup. And funnily enough he seemed to have stared too long as he blinked in surprise when you let out a short laugh. "Aether? Are you okay?" The blonde's cheeks flushed a dark red the moment his eyes fell upon your smile, and of course because he had been caught.
"A-ah yes.. I'm fine.."
"You spaced out for a second, did you have something in mind?" You raised a brow as you added the Matsutake pieces into the hot pot. Aether nervously rubbed his nape and stared into the ground. "It's nothing, really." He shuddered, turning away from you making you grow even more curious, but of course, you weren't one to push.
The afternoon went just fine but quite silent compared to when you would usually adventure together. Because Aether couldn't shake the thought of you catching him staring at you (though you didn't think much of it), he couldn't find the right conversation starters. It was like he had never met you before and was struggling to make a new friend.
Suddenly, Paimon twirled about and neared Aether's ear in a whisper. "What's with you? You seem really awkward right now." The floating child cocked a brow once the traveller's cheeks reddened. "I-I don't know.. it's just, I wanna make it up to her for being so creepy earlier... I really hope I didn't make her too uncomfortable.."
Paimon snickered at the flustered boy who hugged his knees into his chest for she had quickly formulated a plan for the two alleged love birds to push them together somehow. "I might have an idea!" She cooed, her lips forming into a devilish smile. "You're thinking I should give her food don't you?" Aether joked, booping the floating child's nose to which she lightly smacked his hand away "N-nope! Paimon is sure this other idea will work!"
Just as Paimon was about to elaborate on what she had in mind, you had caught wind of them talking in hushed tones, so you of course had to interject through their conversation. "What are you guys talking about over there?" You looked over to them after turning the grilled fish over to let the other side cook evenly on the small, makeshift grill.
"We just remembered that we needed silk flowers, a-and it's very important that we get these flowers!"
Aether mentally face-palmed. Silk flowers were quite abundant in Liyue but nonetheless Aether still felt embarrassed over the fact that they were talking in such secrecy and to tell you it was only about flowers made his stomach sink. "Oh, okay then. I'll just wait for you to get back." You shrugged, returning your focus on the cooking. "Just be quick or the food's gonna get cold." You shot Aether a wink as he stood up to leave and unbeknownst to you, it was like a Cupid's arrow shot through his chest.
"O-okay, I guess we had better-"
"Mush!!" Paimon exclaimed, shoving Aether on his back to keep him from spilling the beans.
No more than twenty to thirty minutes later, the two had finally stumbled upon six silk flower bushes and Aether excitedly picked the best looking ones and bundled them together. "Oh, Paimon! Look," his amber eyes sparkled with joy once they laid upon Qingxin flowers then Glaze lilies and finally sweet flowers and bundled them together beautifully.
Paimon giggled at the happy look on Aether's face as he prepared what was supposed to be a few Silk flowers into a whole bouquet entirely. "She's going to love it!" She cheered, doing a little dance in the air.
"I hope so.." Aether blushed, chin dipping down before bolting up the hills to return to you.
"Took you long enough." you grinned, turning around with the bowls of soup and grilled fish you had prepared for the group. "So, did you get those flowers?" Aether and Paimon shared a look before he revealed the bouquet of flowers from behind his back. Your eyes widened with surprise with a soft chuckle "Seems you got a bit more than that-"
"They're for you." Aether spoke, handing you the beautifuly arranged flowers with a bashful grin. "Mhm! Aether felt bad that he was staring at you so he got you this-" the male brought his hand to her lips, silencing her. "I-yeah.. I'm sorry about that.."
You gratefully took the bouquet from his hands and delicately caressed the petals of the silk flower. "You don't have to worry about that, Aether." You chuckled "but thank you, it's really beautiful." Although he tried his best to avoid the heat that crawled through his cheeks, he still couldn't fight the butterflies he got from your lovely smile. "Y-you're very welcome."
And with that, the three of you enjoyed your meal but Aether still stole a few glances because to him, you were just like a flower - radiant, and beautiful.
