𝒮𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓃𝒾𝓉𝑒𝒶

❥𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚁𝚃𝚈-𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙴

"Sure!"

The two got up from their seats before walking towards the entrance, unable to hear Paimon's cries for help. She would remember this betrayal as she watched the two walk out with one another as the pirates carried her around as she crowd-surfed along their hands.

——————♡——————

Unlike the night with Kazuha, the water had a layer of fog covering it making it seem so much more eerie. The closer they grew to reaching the distant land of Inazuma the more the situation began to settle and nerves began to arrive, not only for Aether and (Y/N), but everyone aboard the ship.

He stared out to see the distant outline of an island, already knowing that once he wakes up in the morning that would be the exact location they all would find themselves in. Forgetting he had even come out here with (Y/N), who remained silent and looked on besides him, he contemplated his hopes to see Lumine again with a small mumble to himself.

"I hope the Raiden has information on the whereabouts of my sister."

Hearing a hum of interest, Aether looked beside him before blinking once and immediately rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he leaned against the ledge of the boat with his other hand.

"Ah sorry, I was just thinking out loud."

(Y/N) nodded their head in understanding, though felt that maybe him speaking out loud meant he needed someone to talk to-- in which they were all for being that person.

"You never really share your feelings with others, do you? If you want, we can chat about it." They offered, content with both hearing him out or sitting in a comforting silence with him if it was something that eased his worries.

Surprisingly, they were granted a nod of confirmation as Aether said,

"...If you don't mind then."

(Y/N) smiled, and noticing that Aether was having trouble on finding where to start, they were quick to give him some help.

"As to what you were mumbling before... I'm sure if Inazuma bears no information, Liyue will be a guarantee." They confidently said while nodding their head to themself, unknowingly to Aether they said this while contemplating many scenarios that were heavily influential.

He tilted his head slightly and hummed, recalling his previous conversation with Venti under the large Mondstadt tree after the whole Dvalin incident.

"How so?"

"The harbor attracts all kinds of people, there's bound to be someone who has information on her whereabouts."

Aether remembered hearing information about this as well from Venti, how the land of contracts attracts all kinds of people and how there are very wise individuals there. This wasn't the first time he has been suggested to go there, since the archon of Mondstadt, Venti, informed him about the wise archon of Liyue, Rex Lapis, and how they may know something about his sister.

He nodded his head and without contemplating his next words properly, he had nearly spilled Venti's secret to an unsuspecting adventurer.

"That's right. I remember Venti mentioning something about that."

"You asked Venti for advice on your travels? I figured Lisa or Jean would be a better guide."

Aether sweat dropped but was quick to wave his hand and correct his mistake by saying,

"Ah, yeah, I mean there was no one else at the time."

They seemed to accept this explanation as they rapidly nodded their head and smiled while fondly remembering the bard-- wondering how he was currently doing but deciding to not delve into that and change topic since this was supposed to be about letting Aether talk about his feelings.

"I almost forgot-- Can you tell me more about your sister? Like what kind of person she is?"

Aether appreciated the change in topic, and although this was one he wasn't anticipating, it wasn't unwelcomed. He nodded his head and gently smiled as he recalled what Lumine was like, the girl who shared nearly exact features to his own but had a more powerful personality and more extroverted vibe.

"She's very kind. She could be a little bossy, but she always puts others before herself. She also really loves to travel-- well, that's a trait we both share."

Aether smiled fondly over at (Y/N), happy he was able to reminisce about his sister, not in silence within his thoughts, but with someone who didn't look at him in pity and instead interest while expressing that without a doubt the two would reunite again. This was the kind of encouragement he needed, the kind he was looking for. 

Sure, he could always convince himself, but hearing it so strongly come from another person was so reassuring.

His heart skipped a beat as he looked over at his companion, soon finding it would feel as if it had completely stopped at what they did next.

(Y/N)'s lips upturned into a small smile, their interest obvious on the topic of Aether's family and purpose for even traveling in the first place.

"I'm sure you'll reunite with Lumine soon enough. Of course, I'll help out in any way I can!" They grinned, reassuring Aether as they internally swore to never break this promise and reunite these two siblings some day. 

They looked at the boy who had so thoughtfully brought them into his home and introduced them to so many wonderful people, listening as their name fell from his lips in a serene tone.

"(Y/N)..."

He felt his face warm up, his expression relaxing as he stared at his companion he had found himself become so enamored with lately for a reason he knew all to well.

"Yes?" (Y/N) questioned, urging him to go on.

And suddenly that warm expression didn't seem like one of approbatory feelings, but one expressing negative tones. 

Aether's face turned into a sour and hurt expression, his mind racing and heart rate picking up in speed. His stomach churned and his senses went into overdrive, his body involuntarily going into a hyper aware mode at the realization he had just made.

"I didn't mention it once... so how did you know my sister's name?"

——————♡——————

Soo I decided to do some last minute plot changes-- and this wasn't going to happen at first, but when I was writing chapter thirty-five, I was like, what if I do this now instead of later? So here we go now we have five chapters drawing out crew life and some broken bonds :) I decided to make the Inazuma ark mostly fluff, while after will be Angst completely