The Spark [Xiao x Aether]

Continuing point |||

The dendro archon was a little surprised by how willing he was to go get her. She expected him to refuse.

"Thank you! I'm sure the traveler would be happy once he hears his best friend is awake."

Xiao didn't respond. Instead, he looked away from the archon's gaze and started worrying about how he'll get along with the girl.

"Oh, and don't worry about how you'll explain all of this to her. Take it easy and don't overdo it!"

It was almost frightening seeing how Nahida always knew what somebody in front of her was thinking even without using her mind-reading abilities. The Adeptus knew she didn't use any kind of her archon powers since he didn't sense anything strange.

With that, he nodded and immediately teleported to Liyue Harbor. It has been a long time since he did this so teleportation didn't take much of his stamina away.

The second he set foot outside, he noticed how Strangley fresh the air was. Something seemed really off but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Everything seemed so much weirder than the last time he was in the nation of the geo archon.

He took one deep breath and started walking up the stairs of the bubu pharmacy. Slowly the boy started to hate that place due to the number of times he was there. The entire building pissed him off.

Before he could even open the door, they flung open and something heavy hit his head making him almost fall to the ground. This definitely wasn't Baizhu or Qiqi.

He managed to grab the thing by the shirt to take a closer look at what it was. Since he was insanely strong it didn't take too much fighting to do that.

"Let Paimon go! Where is the traveler!? Why is everyone saying he's dead!? It isn't true, right, right!? It can't be true..." the floating object yelled with eyes full of tears.

It seemed like she heard those rumors. She had nobody to go to since her companion was the only one who was always by her side. Once she caught a glimpse of Xiao she flew right over to him to get some information on what is going on.

"Calm down. We're going to Sumeru. On our way there I will explain everything to you. Quit crying and wipe those tears off your face, they aren't necessarily." The Yaksha started in what seemed like an annoyed tone. He disliked Paimon but he still had to at least try to get along with her. "It's a long way so if you cannot I could carry you."

"Hmph, Paimon is strong enough to fly. She doesn't need your help, at least not until you tell me where Aether is! And why are you here?"

The two started making their way up to Sumeru city. The girl was constantly nagging the Adeptus to tell her what was going on, but he stayed silent until they got away from Liyue harbor. He didn't want people to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Paimon slowly started to get annoyed as well, she didn't know anything. Neither did she remember how she got into a coma in the first place. She wasn't sure why she agreed to come with Xiao but It felt like the right decision.

Of course, the Yaksha wasn't sure how he was going to explain all of this without giving her too much information. He leaned on a tree nearby and started talking, trying to explain it in the best way possible.

"He's currently away from this world. There's something he had to do, and he won't be coming back for a while. Many things happened while you were asleep. I believe it's best he tells you by himself once he wakes up. But trust me, he isn't dead. He will come back. All those rumors aren't true."

His voice seemed awkwardly calm. From what Paimon remembered, his voice was always so forced and depressing.

"Paimon doesn't get why you can't tell Paimon. But...Paimon also thinks it's best that the traveler just explains it all once he's back from this different world."

She tried to be understanding after noticing how the boy in front of her acted. Besides that, she didn't have the mental strength to question him. It looked like a very serious situation to her so she decided to ignore all her suspicions.

"But you still haven't explained why you're here! There are so many other friends he has but how did he manage to force you to get Paimon!?" She knew how socially awkward the boy was so she never expected him to be the one to get her. She was told an acquaintance of her friend would pick her up, she never expected to see Xiao.

The boy took some time to think of a way to explain it to her. Was it safe to tell her about the relationship between him and the blonde? Was she really ready to know so early after waking up? Saying that would clear up a lot of things regarding why he and the boy have been so close recently.

Any other excuse he made up would seem too suspicious.

But after all, she and Aether were close friends. She needed to know sooner or later. It would be wrong for the Adeptus not to tell her, but yet again it felt weird. Neither of the two boys ever told anyone about their relationship, Paimon would be the first to know if he told her.

"He didn't force me to do anything. I decided to do it of my own free will. Me and him...We're now lovers...It would be wrong if I didn't take care of you on his behalf." He finally managed. A blush appeared on his face immediately.

"You on your own free will? That's new...Wait. DID PAIMON HEAR YOU SAY, LOVERS!?" She was taken aback by this, but she didn't seem mad or anything.

"Quiet. I do not wish for anyone to hear us."

"Why didn't he tell me anything about it!? Ugh! Once he comes back he owes me an explanation."

Xiao sighed in relief. She didn't seem confused which made him relieved.

"But that aside for now! Awwww...Paimons very happy for you two! Paimon knew that the traveler always had a thing for you, she never expected you both to actually become lovers!"

"Don't get mad at him for not telling you before. It all happened while you were in a coma."

The girl kept asking the Adeptus questions all on their way to Sumeru. It was mostly questions he couldn't answer. He just wanted to get there as soon as possible so lesser lord Kusanali would take over the explaining.

What made him feel a bit better thought was that the weight of keeping their relationship a secret was finally off his shoulders, or at least it felt a little lighter. The worry of his boyfriend not coming back still felt heavy.

On their way, while she wasn't asking questions, Xiao actually managed to try befriending her. He always held a grudge against the flying fairy but there was nothing he could do on the walk back to the house of Daena.

Surprisingly enough, the two actually ended up getting along quite horribly. Paimon was trying not to complain about anything to the Yaksha, she somewhat understood he wasn't the type that would listen to her.

On their entire way, Xiao couldn't get his mind off of Aether. Paimon reminded him too much of his partner. On most of their walk, he stayed quiet listening to her talk since he couldn't be bothered to talk more than necessary with her.

The promise that his boyfriend made about coming back stuck in his head. He knew he wouldn't break a promise. Right? He had to come back soon. There was no way he died in the roots of Irminsul.

Right?