╔═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╗
A Reunion Between Two
╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝
"You... You knew where my sister was this whole time, (Y/n)! Why... why didn't you tell me!?" Aether's voice shouted as the said male glared at the (E/c)-eyed figure.
(Y/n) stayed silent as he listened to Aether berate him the whole time, not wanting to fight back at all.
Paimon looked between her two parental figures with a broken look on her face. She could understand where Aether was coming from... but, there had to be some reason why (Y/n) was teamed up with Lumine. There just had to be!
"Aeth–" Paimon was cut off as the sound of a chair scraping the ground was heard and quickly jerked her head toward the standing (H/c)ette.
"Where are you go–" Aether went quiet when he was met with blank (E/c) hues.
(Y/n) gave an emotionless look toward the other male before deciding to speak.
"We'll separate at Inazuma," (Y/n) calmly states before heading off after pushing in his chair.
Paimon's eyes teared up. "(Y/n)!" She cried out, wanting the male to come back.
Aether's eyes teared up, but he clenched both of his hands to his lap.
He had the right to be angry at the (H/c)-haired male. After all, the said male knew where his twin sister was at all this time and never told him.
But, why did he feel guilty?
Paimon turned toward her remaining companion with teary eyes. "Aether..." She whimpered.
Aether shook his head. "Like (Y/n) said, we'll split at Inazuma," he whispered.
Golden hues drifted over to the sitting figure of (Y/n), who had Xiao standing right beside him – who also showed no interest in talking with anyone on the ship.
Beidou raised a brow at the blonde male beside her. "Is something wrong?" She asked.
Aether jumped a bit in surprise before shaking his head. "No," he mumbled.
Beidou hummed lightly, as she sent a glance over to (F/n)'s childhood friend.
"Did you two have a fight or something?" Beidou asked once more.
Aether looked down onto the water that the boat was sailing on. "Yeah..." He whispered.
Beidou smiled lightly. "Well, there's two sides to every story, you know? You might have the first half of the story, but do you have the other half?"
Aether shook his head.
Beidou turned toward the figure beside her and leaned against the railing with a look of understanding.
"Well, I don't want to rush you and all. But, I hope you'll be able to get his side of the story before making a hasty decision," Beidou states.
Aether stayed quiet as he thought over Beidou's words, knowing that he should get (Y/n)'s side of the story.
Beidou was right. There were always two sides to every story.
"I'll... try," he whispered.
Beidou smiled at the male beside her and petted his head. "Now remember, no rush." She reminded before heading off to speak with one of her crewmates.
Paimon came floating over, biting into a juicy red apple in her hands.
"Hm? What were you and Captain Beidou talking about?" Paimon asked.
Aether sent a reassuring smile. "Nothing much," he answered.
Paimon gave the blonde a stink eye before going back to munching on the apple.
"Where'd you even get the apple in the first place?" Aether questioned with a raised brow.
Paimon giggled. "(Y/n) gave it to me," she happily answered.
Hearing this caused Aether to sadly smile, glancing over at the (H/c)ette he so badly wanted to talk to, but didn't know how to start up a conversation after their fight.
Paimon's brows furrowed when she saw the sorrow dancing in Aether's eyes but didn't say anything as she finished off the apple.
✧˖*°࿐
"Land ho!" A voice hollered in a cheerful tone, relieved to be out of the stormy weather that seemed to be a little calmer near the eye of the storm.
Beidou grinned widely as she placed her hands on her hips and turned to her crew and the visitors upon her ship.
"We've made it to Inazuma!" She declared.
(Y/n) mentally sweatdropped at the captain but didn't say anything as he glanced over at the docks where the whole group was currently parked at.
Xiao stayed beside (Y/n) lightly glaring at Kazuha who dared to flirt with the (H/c)-haired male throughout the whole trip with poems.
Beidou whistled, capturing the group's attention as she waved them off to follow after her.
Xiao, Aether, Paimon, and (Y/n) followed after the female.
Aether and Paimon looked around in awe, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
A figure captured their attention due to them wearing red and black, and was catching a coin up and down.
Green eyes widened as their owner caught the coin once more as they turned to look at the group walking over and quickly went over to their side.
"Ahoy, there!" The green-eyed male greeted kindly.
The green-eyed male, Thoma, smiled. "So, you finally made it. You sure kept me waiting, Captain. And it appears we have a couple of stowaways... or perhaps I should say – honored guests," Thoma teased.
Paimon pouted. "Hey! Shush!" She shushed.
"You can blame your Almighty Shogun. The tempests around Inazuma have been growing all the more fierce lately. Though the fleet was fully up to the challenge, the inclement weather still caused some delay. Now then, let me introduce everyone. This is Thoma, a trade partner that I've gotten to know recently," Beidou introduced.
Thoma chuckled as he took notice of Xiao and (Y/n) in the back, realizing that the (H/c)-haired male must be the figure that (F/n) wouldn't shut up about.
"Heh, you don't know how long I've been waiting to see you two," Thoma states.
"Thoma, these four are–" Beidou was cut off.
"No need for the introductions, their reputation, and a specific little feline talking non-stop precedes them. Seems even the stormy seas can't keep rumors of these outlanders' sterling deeds at bay," Thoma replied.
"Feline? Oh god, what the hell did (F/n) babble about?" (Y/n) asked, facepalming at the mention of his ombre bluenette feline friend.
"Nice to meet you, Thoma." Aether greeted.
Paimon giggled nervously. "Hehe, it's sure nice to hear you say that~."
"Ha, with any luck, it'll give you a head start here. Aether and (Y/n), Thoma's resided on Ritou for quite some time now. It wouldn't be going too far to say he's the fixer around these parts. If you run into any problems here, just talk to Thoma. But if he tries to pull any moves on you, I'll be sure to deal with him personally the next time I'm around," Beidou teasingly threatened.
Thoma laughed. "Hehehe, no need to worry. I'm sure we'll get along just fine," he reassured.
Beidou nodded her head. "Good. Then if it's all settled, I'll be going. I wouldn't want to be caught with my sails down here, I do have a wanted fugitive on board, after all. Until next time, you four. Remember to give it your all, no matter what perilous "storms" you may encounter."
"Look forward to seeing you again!" Aether replied with a smile on his lips.
Thoma walked over to (Y/n) and grinned lightly. "You must be (Y/n), right?" He asked with a raised brow.
(Y/n) nodded his head as Xiao intertwined their fingers together.
"If you're wondering where (F/n) is, they're currently in the forest outside of the Kamisato Estate or at the beach behind it. It should be out that way," Thoma explained while pointing in the direction of where (F/n) was at.
(Y/n) gave the blonde a genuine smile. "Thanks for the information," he thanked.
Thoma hummed lightly and nodded. "You're welcome."
"Fair seas, Captain Beidou! Bye-bye!" Paimon exclaimed.
"See ya later, Captain," (Y/n) piped up, giving away his farewells to the female.
Beidou flashed the group a smile before heading off.
Thoma then looked at everyone. "Now then, first things first, we need to go get you registered at the border checkpoint."
"Um, Paimon thought we were supposed to be keeping things on the down low... Are we just gonna walk into the government's hands?" Paimon asked.
(Y/n) brought out a slip of paper from his pocket and gazed at it. "I'll head off first. Come on, Xiao."
Xiao hummed and followed after the taller (H/c)ette, not wanting to be separated from him.
Aether's brows furrowed in sadness, realizing that (Y/n) was telling the truth.
They would be all separating at Inazuma.
Thoma took notice of the solemn atmosphere and decided to try and brighten it up a little. "Haha, don't underestimate the reaches of the Sakoku Decree. You wouldn't be able to avoid inspection even if you tried. So we have to play by the rules... even if we're kinda bending on them."
"Oh... Okay then..." Aether trailed off.
✧˖*°࿐
(Y/n) ran a thumb over the top of Xiao's hand as they both walked through sand that was starting to get to their feet.
Xiao leaned his head onto (Y/n)'s forearm, feeling relieved that his karmic debt had yet to act up.
"This (F/n) figure... who are they?" Xiao mumbled with a look of jealousy dancing in his eyes.
(Y/n) chuckled lightly. "(F/n) is a childhood friend of mine. We met ten years ago at the docks since they and their grandfather had some business with Liyue Harbor," he explained.
Xiao stayed quiet as he listened to what his lover had to say before nodding his head and looking off toward the ocean.
An (S/c) hand gripped lightly onto Xiao's chin, causing the shorter male to look up at the owner of the hand.
"You don't have to be so jealous, Xiao. You even know that you have to share me with Venti, but you didn't get jealous over that. Now did you?" (Y/n) whispered as he brought his lips closer to Xiao's pair.
Xiao flushed a bit, keeping eye contact with the other as he nodded. "I know," he mumbled.
(Y/n) smirked as he lowered a hand to Xiao's thigh and pressed against it.
Xiao covered his moan by covering his lips with a hand.
(E/c) eyes glimmered in amusement as their owner rubbed his thumb in a circular motion. "You don't have to hide those precious little sounds of yours. It tells everyone that you belong to me, and me only." He whispered.
"Mmh~" Xiao quietly whined.
(Y/n)'s eyes darted to Xiao's neck and chuckled, pulling away from the flustered male.
"I'll mark you when we're in a more... secluded space," (Y/n) purred.
Xiao nodded his head in disappointment but looked away to calm his steaming face.
"If you want to since we're almost there, you can hang out in the teapot." (Y/n) states, knowing that Xiao was tensed over being around people for so long and the both of them were about to see more.
Xiao gazed at his lover for a few seconds before nodding in agreement.
(Y/n) takes out the teapot he usually keeps inside the small bag he usually forgets to bring and shows it to Xiao.
"There's a guest room in there, so take as long as you need." (Y/n) reassured.
Xiao quickly pulled (Y/n) down into a kiss before disappearing into the cozy teapot.
(Y/n) chuckled in amusement and placed the teapot back into his bag. "Now, where the hell are you exactly, (F/n)?"
✧˖*°࿐
(F/n) gazed off into the ocean with a distant look in their dark blue eyes, ignoring the fact that their feet were being soaked by the ocean water they stood in, ankle-deep.
They reached out a hand and created a small origami-shaped sakura blossom out of ice before bringing it to their chest.
Dark blue eyes shimmered at their owner's creation. "Sakura blossoms... they really are pretty, aren't they?" (F/n) whispered under their breath.
Footsteps captured their attention but they didn't dare to look back, thinking that it was Ayaka coming to find them.
"So, this is where you were at... (F/n)."
Dark blue eyes widened at the voice that they have been craving to hear for these past ten years.
Instantly, they quickly turned around to see the familiar figure of (Y/n).
Dark blue eyes shimmered with tears.
(Y/n) threw his arms open and gave a soft genuine smile. "Come here, you loveable feline."
(F/n) didn't have to be told twice as they quickly darted into (Y/n)'s chest.
(Y/n) and (F/n) fell to their knees as the said feline started to sob into (Y/n)'s chest.
(Y/n) wrapped his arms protectively around (F/n)'s short figure and placed his chin onto the crown of their head.
"I'm back, (F/n). I'm sorry for making you wait for me all this time," (Y/n) apologized.
(F/n) cried even louder while unconsciously gripping onto (Y/n)'s hold, wanting the warmth that their home had brought to them.
(Y/n) ran a hand through (F/n)'s hair that was currently down to their mid-back.
Whimpers and soft sobs were the only things heard leaving (F/n)'s lips, along with soft humming leaving from the taller figure.
They were finally back together.
After ten long and painful years.
Finally, they had a place called home.
Because... they were each other's homes.
A home isn't just a place, it was also a person.
And they were each other's people to call home to.
╔═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╗
╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝