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Ice cold, but it was flimsy like a first frost. Mirth bubbled underneath, only requiring the insistent prodding of sunlight -- or in this case, the persistent grinding of their bodies -- to coax out something much more bombastic than what he fronted. Not at all like the other.
Aether had fleeting thoughts of a certain someone else as his hands tangled up in bluish-white locks, cranking Chongyun's head back to drink in the positively red face in front of him. Certainly nothing like the other. This, Aether told himself with an internal sigh, would have to do.
Chongyun was so...sparkly, he guessed. It was wonderful, so delicious, but ultimately not the phantom flavor that teased the tip of his tongue. The exorcist tasted like crisp springwater and freshly plucked flowers. Perhaps they might taste similar, or perhaps not. Underneath Aether's deft tongue, Chongyun writhed and gasped and moaned, far too unraveled by their shared heat to contribute much. Aether was fine with it -- preferred it, actually. Their union was convenient like a cloud covering the sun. Just a fleeting respite for the two. Being together like this was comfortable and stifling all the same. Aether didn't want to commit himself to Chongyun, not when he daydreamed of petting someone else's hair and whispering late into the night into someone else's ear. It wasn't fair to Chongyun.
It tore up Aether inside, made his throat raw, and it caused his chest to flutter when he thought of the callous indifference of that certain other person. His distance made Aether's love all the more poignant, and perhaps made his desires all the more tantalizing. Insurmountable, to a degree.
That adeptus could not be chained down by something as transient as mortal affection; Aether knew that well enough...and yet....and yet…
He ground into Chongyun, hands grabbing the exorcist's wrist and pinning them overhead. Specific scenes replayed in his mind over and over again, with someone else in Chongyun's place. Yes, precisely. Chongyun was just the understudy of Aether's lust. Good, but not the top pick.
What filled Aether's heated head were thoughts of passion and dominance. Had the adeptus ever tasted such pleasurable subjugation? From a human no less? If this adeptus wanted to fly high in the heavens, Aether was not above flinging a rock-bound rope up to ground him, if only for a spell.
He walked a thin line however, and didn't want to cause trouble. Choosing safety, he had found some soothing solace in ravishing Chongyun. Months back, after lengthy conversation and dinner and strolling through the cold nighttime air, the two of them had come to an arrangement. True to form, Chongyun had been rather uptight about it, but his enthusiasm had roiled under his ice-clear facade. It was fun, admittedly. This just wasn't what Aether desired as an end goal, is all. After spending gods know how many months on this damn continent playing peacemaker and odd-jobber and yesman to gods know how many people, Aether couldn't take much more. He wanted to be selfish for once. A little too greedy, even.
As he thrust into Chongyun, he could only imagine how the other might writhe and bite his lips and snarl and act with such obviously feigned disdain as he held his legs tight around Aether to keep him from actually stopping. What pleasure...ah, Chongyun was doing very well though. He always did…it just wasn’t the right flavor. The exorcist squealed and begged Aether for more, and how could Aether deny such sweet pleading? On their sides as Aether thrust without pause, he was able to angle Chongyun's chin towards him and reward the young man with a kiss. Aether's free hand curled back into those locks to guide Chongyun's head to one side and further expose that reddened neck that just begged for more kisses and bites. Ah, would his beloved let him lay a nip or two? Would the adeptus even retain a mark such as this? Would their unusual healing remove blemishes such as the ever-titillating hickey? Aether regarded himself as a naturally curious fellow: he was an adventurer after all! What better subject was there to explore than the contours of…
Xiao.
The name bubbled up, lightly at first like a mint fizz that had been languishing on the counter for just a little too long. It grew more energetic, as Aether and Chongyun both neared their climax.
It became frenetic, churning Aether's insides. He wanted to embrace Xiao, lavish him with affections, have his way with him! But how much, if at all, would the yaksha accept? Wouldn't such a fiddling, base desire -- something so needless and reprehensible -- disgust him?
Oh, Xiao. Were you truly that uninterested or were you playing coy?! No, of course he was uninterested. What did Aether have to offer? Ugh, at this rate, his thoughts might overtake him and spoil this amorous mood he had going with Chongyun. The exorcist really did make some adorable noises…
Ah, but, Xiao. Would he ever look at me in such a way?...
Such manner of thoughts boiled underneath Aether, stuffed down at the bottom of his heart, until it floated upwards. All that frothing, only then for something to pop unexpectedly.
"Xiao," Aether mewled.
He hadn't noticed it until he and Chongyun were both spent a couple minutes later, collapsed and exchanging an occasional lazy kiss and pat, when a dull tap on the floor struck Aether. Coming down from his orgasm, it took several moments of staring at the red-faced yaksha before he realized--Oh. He had said Xiao's name. Out loud. Oh, oh dear.
"Ah," Aether may very well have been in line for a Fish of the Year nomination the way his jaw gaped and eyes widened. Xiao, standing just two paces away from the bed, appeared equally dumbfounded.
"I...hrm, it would seem I have intruded on a private moment."
"Wait! Waitwaitwait," Aether clambered over Chongyun's body with the grace of beetle that had been tipped on its back, and it was then that the half-dozing exorcist opened his eyes to see the Conqueror of Demons flitting his gaze to land everywhere except on his penis.
He promptly fainted without so much as a squeak.
"Um, Xiao," Aether only registered that he was butt naked when he saw Xiao turn to one side and only flick his eyes over every few seconds. "Sorry, lemme find..something..." He yanked a blanket from underneath Chongyun's sprawled out form and wrapped it around his waist. Sorry, Chongyun.
"Call me another time. Perhaps when it is more appropriate."
"Ah, no, hold on!" If Xiao was going to disappear in a flash, as he was wont to do when he was through with communicating, he didn't when he heard Aether beg. The yaksha seemed to be holding back a sigh. A long one. The expression that flitted across the yaksha’s face was so rare that Aether couldn’t discern any particular emotion from it.
"Why did you call me? I thought you were ...Hmph. Is this what you humans call a prank? Exceedingly poor taste." Xiao tipped his nose up at the two. He must've recognized Chongyun from the way his eyes squinted at the exorcist, yet his lips made no move to slander the unconscious young man.
"...mistake."
"A mistake? I cannot afford to entertain idle ‘mistakes.’ Even though it is you…do not waste my time so readily," he chided.
‘Even though it is you.’ Everything else Xiao had said may as well never been uttered. Those particular words attached themselves to Aether’s skull, and helped soften the yaksha’s firm browline. The same browline he watched relax as the silence continued on. If Xiao was truly upset, then he had done an excellent job masking it with the feeling of minor exasperation. "Aha, right...I apologize." Aether felt his cheeks burn and stomach flip, yet the apology that left his lips flopped to the floor like a plate of almond tofu tragically spilled.
"How could you even," Xiao coughed to interrupt his thought. "While doing something so unscrupulous no less..."
The clarity, as crystal clear as it was after coming inside Chongyun, made Aether pucker his lips. This encounter was really...and Xiao seemed to want to say something more.
"I do not understand you." Well, that made two of them. Seriously, he had been hooking up with Chongyun for how long and now was the time he chose to mess up? Talking his way out of this felt like a tall order. Not that Xiao seemed all that interested in him talking right now.
Aether only provided a sheepish laugh. He tried to come up with something when Xiao's glare trapped him. "It just sorta...popped out."
"Explain." Eugh, he sure was getting raked over the coals here...
Aether pursed his lips and fanned his face in desperation. Explain what, exactly? The raging boners he got when thinking about Xiao some nights? The daydreams of holding hands and brushing his hair? The long nights of complete focus as he puttered around his campfire with all sorts of ingredients, wracking his brain for new recipes Xiao might enjoy? The thought of making him a crown out of the wildflowers he stopped to admire while walking?
"Such intimacy is..." Xiao stopped himself, face flushing again. While his loss for words was not terribly notable to Aether most days, there was a pointedness to it right now. Without him having to say much of anything, the yaksha appeared to be putting some pieces together. "Hm." Xiao seemed to turn something over in his head. He crossed his arms only to relax them, only to cross them again. "You are attracted to me?" Aether almost crumpled to the floor. Such bluntness made him the vexing beauty that Aether wanted to monopolize. The yaksha truly had no filter.
And in front of Chongyun no less! Albeit the man in question was still unconscious from shock. Aether panicked like a rabbit this time around, about ready to hightail it out the window if need be. "D-Do not answer that, actually." Oh, was he having second thoughts?
Well, that was fine, because Aether was second-guessing just about every life choice he had made prior to this incident. Damn, maybe falling overboard from the Crux on his way to Inazuma would've been a good thing actually. Not that Beidou would've allowed for such tragedy.
"I'm sorry to have caused such a mess," Aether bowed again, throwing his limbs around when the blanket around his hips started to slip undone. The slightest puff of air -- really, just a little more and it would have been a chuckle -- escaped Xiao.
"Tonight."
Ah, had the yaksha always been this chatty? No, not really, but he did go to certain efforts around Aether. No, no, no, what was he thinking? Especially while nearly naked and covered in...various body fluids.
"Tonight?" Aether parroted as he cocked his head.
"Mn."
"You may," Xiao cast his eyes down for several moments before meeting Aether's gaze again. "You may call me once more. Tonight." Xiao drew his lips into a thin line, falling quiet finally. Within one breath however, he tacked on, “If you wish.”
Ah... "Ah?"
"We shall talk."
Ah .... "O-Oh, sure, um, I'm okay with that."
With Aether’s assent, Xiao turned on his heel.
Ready to march off into a cloud of adeptal smoke, Xiao froze and turned his head a mite. His eyes pierced the wall but did not wander all the way back to Aether when he suddenly said, "Yes, and, Aether."
Nearly jumping out of the blanket, he yelped, "Yes?"
"Be fully dressed this time. Please."