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At first, she was nothing but a whisper. They said the Tianquan knew all, reigning over Liyue Harbor from her Jade Chamber.
“She knew everything and everyone.” Aether had heard merchants speak in a hushed tone, as if they were scared that this Tianquan would appear behind them anytime. He wouldn’t deny his curiosity about this woman. After all, there might be a lead on where his sister was.
x
The Yujing Terrace was crowded - a simple way to put it. People all gathered around the center, waiting for the Rite of Descension to begin.
And Aether saw her.
The first thing he noticed was the color of her hair - such whiteness flew down her back like a river of snow. And when the Tianquan turned back, Aether couldn’t help himself but felt drawn to those red eyes, glowing in the sun like ruby. She was the image of eternal beauty, as if she was the Goddess herself.
In that moment, Aether knew he fell in love with someone who could never have.
x
“Ningguang and I are getting married.”
He was sitting in Tianquan's temporary work room in Wangshu Inn with Ganyu and Beidou, discussing the rebuilding of Liyue Harbor when the pirate suddenly declared. Suddenly the room felt too cold and Aether had the urge to snap his tea cup into two. He thought of all the time they had traveled together, those times when he thought Beidou’s flirting with Ningguang was merely a way to destress from their intense fight.
Oh, how stupid I am. The Traveler took another sip from his cup. It was sweet, Ganyu’s favorite tea, but all he tasted was unpleasant bitterness lingering on the tip of his tongue.
Ganyu was beaming, her face flustered. She had been rooting for them from the start, the Qilin admitted, which earned a throaty laugh from Beidou.
“Aw, don’t be that sad. I won’t abandon you and your adventure, Aether.” Beidou’s hand slammed against his back, almost choked out all the air in his lungs. Aether tried to smile, or at least cover the ugly jealousy that was brewing inside him. He should be happy for her, he must be. Beidou was a good woman and even a better friend; she deserved happiness and even more.
So he asked the most obvious question in the world.
“When is the wedding?”
x
It was raining heavily that morning, and Aether found himself standing idly under a roof, waiting for the drizzle to pass. It had been three days since the announcement, and he hadn’t had the courage to face Ningguang. Whenever she invited him over for work or a simple meal, decline would fly out of his mouth instantly. He felt bad, really, but at the same time, he felt the need to hide, to let the ill will die down.
“Ah, I wasn’t expecting you here.” Ningguang walked out from the door behind him, her mouth curved into a smile. Aether startled, then smiled back, maybe a little too wider than he should. Still, he said nothing as the Tianquan took the place next to him, admiring the rain.
“So…” What was he supposed to say? Aether wanted to break the silence, wanted to act like nothing affected him, wanted to give her a proper congratulation like he should have. “I heard Beidou said you two are…” He gulped, suddenly found himself dumb-fold by Ningguang’s intense gaze. “Getting married.”
The woman let out a sigh, twirling the smoking pipe on the tip of her fingers. But she smiled, ruby eyes looking out to the harbor.
“I suppose the cat is out of the bag. Though I still appreciate that she didn’t try to stage a public proposal, with fireworks and such.”
“Of course she would think of that.” Aether groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. That earned a chuckle from Ningguang, and he felt his chest warm up.
Stop it. She’s going to get married. He drew his gaze away from the woman, instead focusing on the rain and those people who were walking down the street of Liyue.
“Are you staying for the wedding?”
Aether felt relieved that she wasn’t looking at him, those ruby orbs pierced through his soul, making him feel so bare under her gaze.
“I… I’m not sure.” He continued, voice shaken just a little. “There are friends in Mondstadt who require my help.”
Not exactly a flat out lie. Aether did receive letters from Jean - the Abyss Order was planning something, and both of them knew it would be anything but harmless for the city. The Acting Grand Master didn’t say he had to go back, though.
“So we are not your friends then?”
“No! I mean…” As Aether tried to explain, Ningguang let out another chuckle. At the realization, his face was beet red and his rambling was reduced to a low murmur.
“A shame. Beidou would love to have you there.”
Would you love to have me there, too?
x
He walked into the Angel's Share that night, hoping most patrons would have left, only to be greeted by the sight of Kaeya, Rosaria and Venti sprawled over the bar with Diluc constantly giving them warning glares.
"Hey, look who has come back." Kaeya patted the empty seat between him and Rosaria and Aether slid in immediately, lip tightened. “Thought you forgot about us.”
The blonde forced out a laugh, shaking his head so lightly. Classic Kaeya, always teasing. He looked over to Rosaria, who was eyeing from the corner of her eyes, clawed fingers twitching on the wooden surface. Across her, he saw Venti and Diluc talking. No, it was Venti talking and Diluc cleaning the bar, pretending to care about the bard’s ridiculous stories.
It felt chaotic but above all, it felt like home.
“Who knows. Maybe I just miss you all.” That brought out a snort from the nun. Kaeya smiled devilishly, observing him through the rim of his glass.
“You flattered us, Hero of Mondstadt.” Before he could even ask more, Venti was between them, sitting on the bar.
“Enough talking. Free drinks in the house!” He declared enthusiastically. Diluc grumbled, mumbling something about unpaid tabs but still slid a glass over Aether. Grape wine, with a hint of berries. He downed it in one gulp, which earned a loud cheer from the dark hair bard.
“Now we are starting the night.”
A few drinks and several stories later, Aether was fuzzy. Had he stood on the ground, he would have face planted miserably.
“By the way, I heard there was a big wedding in Liyue?” The question made his stomach drop. It was just like back in the Wangshu Inn, when everything suddenly turned so cold and his body wouldn’t stop trembling.
“Yeah. Of my friends.” Friends. Did he even have the right to call them that, after everything? His brain kept replaying the last time they met, before he and Paimon left Liyue. She looked sad, she looked disappointed and Archon, how much Aether wanted to take her hands in his, to tell her that he loved her so much, too much that he couldn’t control himself, that the best way was to part away.
He didn’t realize he was sobbing uncontrollably.
"You can cry, you know."
With those five words, the dam broke and Aether felt tears running down his flustered cheeks, his throat tightened. The exhaustion of unrequited love had made him so tired, mentally and physically. There was always this thought of concealing himself as much as possible in Liyue. But now, he was in the bar, with his friends who wouldn’t judge him under any circumstances.
Kaeya's hand was warm when it rested on his back, even after he fell asleep,
x
“Inazuma, let’s go!” Paimon cheerfully declared. Aether was leaning against a pile of boxes. From afar, he could see Ningguang and Beidou talking. The pirate held her wife’s hands firmly, smiling as carefree as usual.
“I’ll be back before you can miss me.” They shared a quick kiss and Ningguang rolled her eyes, but let the woman go.
“Hey love birds, we have a ship to sail.” Aether snickered at Beidou’s mocking glare. He waved at the Tianquan, a smile playing on his lips.
Let’s meet again, shall we?