Chapter Text
Aether never craved attention.
He grew up with little to no friends, hanging out with his twin sister most of the time and the other moments where they weren’t together… he was with a boy. A boy he barely remembered –at least that’s what he tried to convince himself of–.
Where was he ?
The only bond he managed to make other than family was gone now, he had for a while in fact and Aether deep down knew that he would never come back.
Maybe the idea of living without him was a hard one to imagine.
Maybe that’s why he was sitting alone outside, on a metallic freezing bench under the rain, still thinking of the same good memories with him over and over again.
Nostalgia was not a bad thing, yet it pained him more than anything else.
His face scrunkled when the evening wind hit him again, blowing off a few strands of hair, and he quickly shove his nose in the purple scarf he was wearing. Purple was his favorite color.
Aether was more of a summer guy. He was fond of the sun warming his skin. The sunny days, people would always smile more and as Aether was an observant person, he adored seeing young women smile while going shopping. Or how the kids would play together, screaming at each other with their own tenderness. But what he liked the most was that he could wear his most colorful clothes, knowing that the sun would make him shine.
‘Yellow suits you a lot Aether. The sun can’t even compare to you when you’re so gorgeous.’
He never craved attention, but somehow, after a certain someone spoke these words to him, he could not help but seek his.
He didn’t need a lot of eyes on him as long as these indigo pupils were filled with sparkles while staring in his direction, and God knows that his gaze was so intense, it was able to make Aether flustered without saying anything.
Good memories.
He didn’t remember which day was their last spent together. Because their separation was brutal. Brutal and unexpected. One day they were planning their future together, dreaming impossible things. And the next day, well, they just stopped talking. It wasn’t one of these relationships you’re slowly detaching yourself of because one is too busy and the other doesn’t think of texting. It was sudden. It was painful.
Aether always asked himself if the other felt the same pain after being separated on that day in August. Because he did not look back at the time. Did not say goodbye. Would he change his mind over that decision of leaving now that years had passed ? Or was he pleased with his life now ? Was he really content of living without Aether ? Because Aether was definitely not.
Aether was more of a summer guy. Yet he despised the sunny days now.
He was miserable. His life wasn’t the worst but it could definitely be better. And when he was going outside for a walk, he despised seeing people laugh at their happiness. He wanted to yell at them. ‘Life is unfair. Your happiness is either fake or ephemeral’. He hated the kids screams. It made his head feel painful.
A wave of shivers washed over him after the wind hit him once again. Mixed to the multiple drops of rain falling all over his face, his body suffered the cold and he figured out he’d get sick for the next couple days but he did not care a lot.
He was still sitting on the bench, his leg shaking to the rhythm of the loud phonk music he was torturing his ears with. A sweet torture though. But he would surely end up deaf, like his sister liked to repeat him often if he kept doing this.
His brows furrowed and he whispered a few swearing words when his music got cut off by the annoying sound of someone calling. Aether had no friends. He took his phone out of the pocket of the grey sweater he was wearing only to see an unknown number displayed on the screen.
He put his hair behind his ear and brought the phone to his ear, coughing before replying with a softer voice.
‘Am I talking to Aether, from Osaka ?’ A woman replied right away. Her voice was dynamic. Much more than Aether’s.
Aether confirmed his identity to the woman who quickly introduced herself as Kujou Sara. The conversation didn’t last very long before Sara explained the reason of her call. She worked for a society Aether forgot he applied to, and got his job application denied by the young woman.
They hung up after exchanging some courtesies and Aether finally found the strength to get up. He forgot how much time he spent under the rain. When he got lost in thoughts it was hard to snap him back to reality, and it was even harder to do so when he was by himself. He threw his phone back on his pockets, and his hands quickly followed. He would come back home under the rain today. He had no job, and obviously today wasn’t the day he would finally solve this issue, therefore he had no money to spend on the bus.
Just as he was about to walk down the street, his eyes got hypnotized by the ads displaying on the huge plasma screen in the middle of the city center. It was him. That one person he missed. He knew how famous he was now, due to the previous choiced he made. But it was the first time he saw him in Osaka’s screen.
He was prettier than he ever been. The questions invading his mind earlier now had an answer ; he indeed made the good choices for himself and appeared content with his life. Aether knew better not to judge people on something as superficial as an ad. Of course he was going to smile. But he could not help but feel something strange. Something he felt the day he last saw him.
His heart broke again.
‘Nothing.’ he sighed, slamming the fridge door. ‘I’m not hungry anyway’.
His fridge was empty. It had been for the past few days and Aether’s stomach made an unpleasant noise that echoed in the whole apartment. He brought his hand to his tummy, pressing on it to make it shut up. He was hungry, just did not feel like eating today, just like the previous.
He sighed before going out on the balcony to admire the city lights at night. He took a look at his phone, which displayed 11pm. It was not that late he thought. The sky was as dark as it would normally be at 1am. He threw his head behind, resting on the back of the chair, his eyes closed. He focused on his breathing. It was regular, calm. He seemed in peace, yet silently struggling with his pain.
He was always one to keep things to himself. On the contrary his sister would speak up whenever something wasn’t okay. He lost count of the numerous times she spoke for him because he didn’t feel like doing so.
‘You must always tell me if something’s not right. I’ll know it anyway.’ she often repeated him.
Indeed she knew whenever something was not right. Even when he attempted to hide it.
She would aways defend him, body and soul, against anyone and everyone. She was the pillar in his life. But even she, was gone. She didn’t leave his life like the other did though. She just was nothing like Aether. She was ambitious, succesful. She was happy with her life. She had an apartment in a city away from Osaka.
‘Aether ? How are you doing ?’
‘Lumine ! I’m good. You ?’
Lumine seemed to be fine judging by the intonation of her voice. It sounded full of joy and it warmed Aether’s heart. Lumine was probably the most precious person he had in his life and he’d rather keep living this miserable life, if it meant it wasn’t her going through it.
He chuckled when he noticed she was eating while calling and she followed, letting out a soft laugh when he made the remark out loud. They kept on talking for a while and eventually Lumine asked more questions. She knew her brother well enough to know when he was avoiding to talk of him.
Little did she know, Aether tended to avoid talking about him with pretty much everyone and not just her. It was in his nature. He never thought he was interesting enough. He also never found what to say, because if his hobbies could interest some people, it would bore others and it was so tiring to figure out what to say or not, that he just didn’t say anything. Radical you would say, but Aether preferred it that way.
‘Did you eat already ? Do you eat enough ?’ Lumine asked in the middle of her interrogatory. Aether raised his eyebrows. How would she know when she’s so far from him. Was it a twin thing ? Aether never really knew. They were always close yet some people said twins are sometimes hating each other. But he supposed it was kinda related.
‘Aether ? Are you still here ? I’m worried about you, you know.’
Lumine’s voice got softer. She was not joking anymore. Aether had no idea if she felt something as her twin, since he really did not eat a real meal for at least four days. But he would not make her more worried than she already was which is why his lips curled up into a large, yet fake smile as he talked.
‘I didn’t eat a lot lately, but I just put a pork roast into the oven and I got some fresh rice I bought earlier.’ he paused, a single tear falling down his face as he lied to his sister for the very first time before speaking up again ‘It should make up for the past days I guess.’
‘What a relief...’ Lumine sighed behind her phone.
A blank installed itself in a few seconds after that. They both remained quiet, as if busy doing someting else. As if they forgot they were still on the phone. No one dared to speak, and that loud silence made Aether ask himself if his sister believed what he said. He was never the best at lying, especially not to her. Yet, if he tried to lie, she would always confront him right away. That, reassured him into thinking she wasn’t worried anymore.
‘Did you se-’ she started asking, but Aether heard some voices from behind her cutting her off. Both male and female voices. Probably her colleagues. Lumine worked in a pretty successful restaurant, and the manager had promote her several times already. If it kept going, she might end up leading the whole business before the end of the year.
They all seemed to be joking around, teasing her about who she was talking to. Rumors about him being her boyfriend, which made him genuinely burst out in laughter. Lumine apologized several times on the phone for the interruption of her friends in their call.
She seemed to be really upset about it. After all they didn’t have a lot of occasions to call each other, mostly because Lumine’s work took a lot of time, and during her free time, she was too exhausted to do anything beside sleeping. Aether knew it, and he didn’t mind. Most of the time he didn’t feel like doing anything either. Not that he was sleepy, but he was having a hard time to just wake up from his bed. Maybe that’s why he lost his job. But he was not going to announce it now to his twin.
‘Sorry Aether, it was Hu Tao, Xingqiu and Xiangling… and now I gotta go back to my shift.’
Aether nodded behind his phone, as if she could see him. They shared a few last things before properly saying goodbye.
‘Send me a pic of your food later, I’m starving. Love you.’
‘Sure.’ He managed to quickly say before the phone beeped into his ear, announcing the end of the call. He put his phone back on the table in front of him.
After it started raining again, Aether came back inside. He was still wearing the same wet clothes than earlier. He turned on the TV not even to watch it. He just liked to have a sound to relax, otherwise he felt lonely as ever and he hated the feeling. He knew this feeling too well and he would’ve preferred not to.
‘I stare at the sky,
its clouds hiding the light of the sun,
taking it away from me.’
Aether’s eyes widdened. He was turning his back on the tv and was a bit scared of looking. He was pretty sure he had recognized the voice singing. Was it fate ? He saw him earlier and now someone was singing some love song, with beautiful lyrics.
‘And I try, and I try, I try
But nothing’s really fun,
If you’re not here with me.’
‘Scara...’ he whispered. ‘Nothing’s fun without you either.’ He said to himself just as the song ended. The idol looked at the camera one last time and then another group appeared for another song but Aether completely disconnected from the tv.
He was still laying on the sofa, confused about what he heard. Surely these lyrics were written for him, right ? He gulped. What if he was wrong. What if it was for someone else. They had spent three years apart, there is no way he had not met new people and even flirted with some. Maybe fucked some of them. Maybe he loved some.
This thought made his heart sank. Could he handle it ? He always loved Scaramouche. He loved no one other than him. He was so important for him and they spent so many times together, surely Scaramouche wouldn’t have forgotten him either. He wanted to convince himself. He had to. Otherwise, he would be completely destroyed.
The other boy sometimes called Aether his sunflower, and other names referring to the sun. Perhaps it was delusional of him but Aether really wanted this song to be for him, because if so, it meant the super star never forgot him and the only thought of this was enough to help him get better.
Three years.
No news. Never seen each other again. But somehow a song was sufficent to convince Aether that his friend did not forget.
He promised back then. He promised he’d never forget Aether, promised he’d love him forever. Promised a lot. Yet still left without saying goodbye.
Aether spent the night overthinking about it. The channel didn’t play any other song from s2t 21. Not that Aether would’ve noticed it if they did, he was way too busy in his thoughts. His face switched expressions a lot, as he would smile reminiscing old memories and then frown to the bad thoughts after all. The show would’ve been pretty funny to assist to for a kid for sure. But he was alone in his apartment, as always.
The sun started rising. Aether did not get to sleep for a minute and he already had to leave his apartment to face the day.
‘Aether.’ a voice called from the other side of the room.
Aether felt relieved to finally hear his name, he almost thought they had forgotten about the appointment. Yet, his appointments were always the same day of the week, at the same time. 5pm. And they were one hour late. Aether wasn’t one to lose his patience easily, he could even wait a few hours. But sitting one hour straight in the waiting area full of suicide prevention posters was just too much to ask. The walls were white, and only a few plants were decorating.
The music they displayed was not pretty bad to listen to, but at least it kept him waiting. There were some people around him. Not much. But he supposed it was a good thing judging by the place it was.
Aether got up, taking a few steps before entering the office of the woman who softly called out his name before. He sat on the chair, and she did the same on the other side of the desk, opening a file on her computer. She filled the blanks with some indications on what she was doing, the atmosphere still felt heavy.
Aether looked through the window on his right side, only to meet eyes with a kitten who seemed to be freezing. A slight smile painted on his lips as it reminded Aether of yesterday where he was the one being cold outside. Lucky he was to not getting sick today he thought. Maybe Lumine’s call warmed his heart more than he thought.
Aether grinned. Next time, he’d be the one to call her.
‘So Aether, last time we’ve seen each other was a pretty long time ago. How are you doing today ?’
Aether broke the eye contact with the little cat when she started speaking to him, staring at his feet before talking. His eyes met with hers directly as he said everything was fine.
She kept on asking several questions to him. Aether’s replies were short. He clearly had no desire of staying here and as the sun was setting he kinda lost himself in his thoughts. Would he manage to catch his train tonight ? He should not stay outside or else he wouldn’t manage to avoid getting sick any longer.
‘Aether ?’
He blinked a few times and looked back at her. ‘We lost you just now. Did you hear my question ?’ Her tone was soft. She was kind to him. Always. He had been seeing her for what ? Six months now ? It might not seem long but she was his only social interaction of the week, and Aether trusted her a lot. Enough at least, to tell her a few things from his personal life.
‘What was it ?’ He asked, not feeling himself able to lie to her and try to gues her question and as she asked her question again, he knew it was the right thing to do, because there was no way he would’ve guessed that.
‘Did you see Scaramouche ?’
‘I-’ Aether gulped, and tears formed in the corner of his eyes. ‘Sorry.’ he managed to say between two cries. He thought it was too much. He thought he was over reacting. She only pronounced his name yet he started crying. Perhaps he tried to remain in denial, and someone finally saying his name out loud brought him back to that painful reality that was his. ‘Let it go Aether.’ she said, ‘It’s okay to cry.’
She didn’t add anything else for a while, only assisting to the boy tears that would not stop. He brought his hands to his eyes, gently rubbing them, sweeping off the trace of sadness from his face ; and as he looked back at her, she handed him a tissue. She wore a soft smile, and Aether felt reassured. He usually didn’t cry a lot, at least not like that. He was almost sobbing just before.
Aether longly sighed before talking. ‘Sorry. I did not properly see him, but since he’s famous I- I’ve seen him on television. He was singing a song, I mean, his group was.’
‘And what with the song ?’ she asked, not out of curiosity. She was a psychologist, not some type of vulgar gossip. She truly cared for Aether, and his sake. She felt that he was trying to say something in particular. His answers were always short, so when he was giving details she didn’t ask for, she knew Aether was just stopping himself from saying his deep feelings.
Aether looked in several directions, obviously asking himself whether he should say it or not, but after he took some time to hismelf to think, he added the information he needed to say.
‘The lyrics kinda made me think of our situation, you see. And I think i’m crazy to think that, because he’s living his life, and I’m just the past.’
He bit his inferior lip after saying it out loud. All his insecurities were showing. If it was not to her, he would’ve never said it. To no one. Aether might’ve been honest with his psychologist several times, he still had a hard time opening up to friends. And he had no friend anyway, no one to talk to.
He thought he was going to sound crazy, kinda regretting saying it. A poor boy like he wouldn’t catch anyone’s attention he thought, so why would a superstar such as Scaramouche would write a song for him. Why would he sing for him.
‘You told me about your relationship, you guys seemed to be pretty close. Why wouldn’t he think of you then ? Most people don’t forget their loved ones so easily you know.’
Her answer caught him off guard. Maybe she was right. Maybe he didn’t contact him because he was too busy, not because he wanted to forget. And Aether didn’t try to contact him either. He was upset at first, feeling abandoned, he didn’t want to show his weakness. He didn’t want to admit it, but he missed him. He craved his voice, his touch. And even if he had to be deprived of this, he needed to at least see him, see how he was alright. The very first day he spent without him, was the first in years and the first of an awful series that was still unfinished.
‘What do you think ?’ she asked after leting him some time to think of her words. She chose them specifically for them to touch Aether’s heart and even if Aether would not tell her, it did work.
‘You’re right.’
She laughed to his answer. Back to his short replies she thought. But she did not say it out loud, instead only telling Aether the meeting was already near its end. Aether looked back at his phone. Indeed, it was already 7pm. They talked for a moment and now he kinda felt better.
They did not talk of another appointment but she told him to call her if there was anything wrong. And after he promised he would, Aether left the building, his backpack on his shoulders. He was walking fast, hoping he’d get his train to get home safely.
Unfortunately, just when he arrived at the train station, he saw his train get away under his eyes. After he arrived on the station dock, Aether tried to catch his breath, his hand on his heart. It was pounding fast inside he thought. He straightened up. A bit too fast maybe, because the second after, he fell back on his ass. He was sitting on the ground now, his eyes closed and his head didn’t feel too good.
‘Wow, are you okay down here ?’ Aether opened his eyes slowly, one hand on his painful head, and the other on the ground. A boy was bending over him. ‘Ayo, can you hear me ?’ The boy waved in front of his eyes and after finally getting it back together, Aether noticed the boy had two twin braids. The tips of his hair was a greenish color, matching with his beanie. ‘Let’s try this, how many fingers do you see ?’ he added.
Aether slowly got up, pushing onto his right hand to help him. ‘Wow, easy girl.’ The boy spoke up again.
‘You sure talk a lot’ Aether said. ‘And I’m not a girl.’
Aether was used to being mistaken as a girl. He knew his face had feminine traits, and people often misgendered him before.
The boy burst out in laughter. He helped Aether sit on one of the benches near them before talking again. ‘I’m Venti.’ he said. ‘You were too pretty to be a man so I thought you were a girl ehe, sorry.’
This was the very first interaction Aether has had with a stranger in a while. Usually parents say to their children not to talk to strangers, but Aether never had parents to tell him that anyway, and Lumine was always talking to people she didn’t know, that made her the coolest at school.
‘Aether.’
‘Nice to meet you Aether, your style is fire.’ Venti said.
He seemed to be Aether’s opposite. He was funny, full of joy and way more of an extrovert than Aether would ever be. Aether realized the second part of the other boy’s sentence. ‘Nice style he said ? Aether must’ve misunderstood he thought. He looked down on his outfit. Aether was wearing a white shirt under the same grey sweater he wore yesterday, a pair of ripped jeans, and black vans shoes with holes. He realized he had not been shopping for a while, and his outfit was the absolute worst he ever wore.
‘Are you.. mocking me ?’ Aether asked. How embarrassing was he to ask such things. But he didn’t believe the compliment was genuine, and needed Venti to confirm his thinking, which he didn’t do, instead repeating his words from before.
‘I said your style was fire, is it not what we say here in Osaka ? Man, I’m not from here… What would Zhongli say ?’ Venti seemed to be talking more to himself than to Aether in the end.
‘Who’s Zhongli ?’ He asked.
Aether did not follow the news a lot and he barely –to not say never– watched tv, so he had a hard time catching up with the latest things to know, such as the popular celebrities, or the newest series. Maybe Zhongli was a famous person, and he’d be humiliated for not knowing such a superstar he thought, but his usual overthinking got interrupted as the other boy spoke up.
‘He’s an old jerk. I was visiting him the past few days. I’m getting back to Tokyo tomorrow.’
Since they were both at the train station, Aether thought Venti was going to go home tonight so he got a bit surprised. ‘Why are you here then ?’
‘I’m meeting a friend of mine.’ Venti got up from the bench as a train was slowly arriving, and he figured out it was the standing boy’s train. Aether got up too, slipping his hands in his pockets, ready to leave. He was a bit annoyed of having to say goodbye to Venti now. He hated to talk with people, it was too tiring for him. But Venti talked enough for both of them, and his company was pleasant.
Now Aether was going to be alone again. Back at his routine after this brief good moment. You don’t remember every people you’ve met and they had only spent a few thirty minutes together, but Aether knew he’d never forget the boy. Just as he was about to leave the train station withut saying goodbye, since he despised it, he felt a hand on his shoulder as the familiar voice of his friend –if we could call it a friend– spoke.
‘Where are you going ?’
Aether turned back only to face the other whose face was painted with a sad gaze. The slight pout on his lips was cute Aether thought but it didn’t last very long before being replaced by the usual smile Venti was giving.
‘My train is leaving in a few twenty minutes, wanna wait with me inside ? Unless you gotta leave.’
The pout was back again. Venti seemed to find Aether’s company as pleasant as he did find his. Somehow, knowing that this feeling of ease and even happiness he’d say, was reciprocated, made the blonde boy genuinely smile as he agreed to go inside the train with him.
They searched for a seat and quickly found one as there were not many people on the train. Aether took a look at the destination, but it was a city he never heard of. Probably around Osaka he thought but he was never the best student in geography classes…
‘What are you gonna do tonight Aether ? Mind if we exchange numbers ?’
Aether took his phone out for Venti to put his number on his contacts and then threw it back on the pocket of his sweater. He thought for a time of what answer he could give the boy who was still expecting his answer, but nothing came to his mind so he opted for being honest.
‘Pretty much.. Nothing. Lay down and sleep I guess.’Aether said, shrugging his shoulders. His life was miserable, he felt sad almost everyday of every week he was living through, but even at times where he was doing better, he never was one to plan things to do. Scaramouche always chose. Not that he wanted to choose anyway. He suddenly thought of a few memories, and stared outside.
‘Mh. Why not coming with me ?’ Venti suggested, a large smile on his lips and a hand busy playing with one of his braids.
‘With you ?’ Aether repeated, surprised by the sudden proposition. They didn’t know ach other for long, and Aether had definitely not ben the funniest person to hand around with, yet Venti still wanted to be with him. Venti nodded yes, insisting a few times more for Aether to accept. He seemed to have an idea in his mind Aether thought. In horror movies, this is the exact moment where the public yell at the main character to not follow the guy, because he’s a villain and got bad intentions and the protagonist still does it, having no idea of the true plans of the other guy.
But Aether’s life was not a horror movie. A dramatic one at best. A boring one at worst. What exactly was stopping him from saying yes. Aether thought for a moment.
‘Have fun Aether.’ he could hear his sister say. Maybe that’s why he easily said yes which made the other look genuinely happy. And this smile on his face was contagious.
Aether texted his sister about it and she replied with a bunch of smiling emojis. He did not say where he was going to exactly, but Lumine knew Aether well, and he wasn’t one to to make bad decisions. Maybe she should’ve thought about it more, because her brother was about to follow a stranger in a city he didn’t know.
The train started to move, and now he could not turn back anymore. The sky was dark already and the only lights that were on, were on the train, above their heads. The two men kept on talking for a while, or rather Venti kpt talking and Aether listened, but it felt nice to be with someone that is not his sister or his psychologist.
Aether wouldn’t dare using such words, but Venti possibly saved his life, because for now, he felt the need to eat something, he felt the desire to have fun, he wanted to spend as much time with him as possible and well, he could definitely say he considered Venti a good acquaintance.
A friend.
‘It’s here !’ He pointed towards a huge building before looking in front of him, taking a few steps inside the hall. ‘Ohh look at you !’ he shouted when a cat jumped into his arms. He played with the animal that kept on meowing for a while before a young man came towards them. His apartment was on floor 1.
He leaned against the wall, eyeing Aether for a while.
Aether stared at the boy, not able to say anything. The other was hotter than anyone he’d ever met in his entire life. He spotted multiple ear piercings and one was linked to a lip piercing with a small chain. His nose was pierced , such as his eyebrows. His style was really different from Venti yet Aether guessed the two were friends.
Venti’s friends had dark hair, and a few teal bangs. His golden eyes fixed on his face felt murderous. He was frowning already, yet they had just arrived which made Aether feel uncomfortable.
The whole aura emanating from him was intimidating. He was shorter than Aether though, but much more muscular. Aether could not help but stare at the man’s tattooed biceps. The blonde gulped, and forced himself looking away as he didn’t want to appear like a weirdo to the two men.
‘Who’s that ?’ the boy said, his head pointing at Aether and he crossed his arms against his chest. He intensely glanced at Aether again before his gaze turned to Venti, who let down the cat slowly. Aether looked at Venti too, as he was his only landmark in this unknown city. That’s when he realized how he got himself in a pretty risky situation.
‘Our new friend !’ Venti jumped on xiao, pulling him closer to him and also took Aether’s hand in his for the three of them to share an embrac which made the shorter boy grumble.
Aether was not fond of physical touch, but Venti was too cute to refuse him a hug so he didn’t protest. The last time he was given a hug might’ve been a while ago, when he saw his sister for the last time. It pained him a little to think of it but the bad thoughts were quickly chased by the argument starting between the two friends.
Aether observed, quite silently, until Venti turned to him. ‘Xiao is just jealous of our friendship’ he whispered as if the other man wasn’t going to hear, and his annoyed reaction to Venti’s explanation annoyed him even more which amused Aether.
But he quickly regained his composure, properly introducing himself. ‘Aether’ he said, handing out his hand to the named Xiao, who seized it, before repeating the name he heard before. ‘Xiao.’
Xiao.
His name was pretty Aether thought. He never once met someone named Xiao. Not someone he remembered at least, but this one, he would hardly forget him. His hand was so soft Aether didn’t want to let go of his hand, and he silently prayed for the two men not to notice the slight blush on his cheeks.
‘Did you eat ?’ Xiao asked. His voice softened a bit compared to before. Aether realized Venti had invited him without telling Xiao, maybe that’s the one reason he was so surprised, he almost sounded agressive. Aether turned to Venti who started talking before being interrupted by Xiao.
‘Not talking to you. You're eating at every hour of the day. Aether ? You’re thin as fuck. We should all eat together.’ Xiao said before going back into his apartment to put on a jacket and let his cat enter.
‘Xiao ! We don’t say that to people’ Venti exclaimed in the hall, almost forgetting about the neighbours. It wasn’t so late but they were pretty old.
Aether nodded, saying how he wasn’t offended. But in fact he didn’t know how to react. Xiao was a stranger, yet he sounded so worried about him. Did he care about him already ? Is this what friends are ? And were they friends already for him to react that way ?
He thought of his exact words again. He might’ve been offended if anyone else told him such a thing about his body. But there was a tenderness in Xiao’s behavior that was betraying him. He appeared strong, and he probably was. But he hid the true softness of his heart, maybe that is why Aether didn’t mind the rough intonation he used. The only thought of having someone –other than Lumine– care for him was more than enough to make Aether blush once more.
Unfortunatly for him, he got caught this time. ‘Xiao is hot huh.’ Venti said into his ear and the surprise made Aether subconsciously widen his eyes as he turned back to his friend to look at him. A playful smile matched the intonation he took when asking this question.
‘You can say it, I mean, it’s pretty much common knowledge.’ Venti said, shrugging his shoulders. He was enjoying the time his friend was still inside his apartment to tease Aether a bit and his shy reactions satisfied him in his little game. ‘He’s single too.’ Venti added before Xiao joined them, his car keys on one hand and his phone in the other.
He quickly shove his hands into his pockets. ‘Let’s go.’
Aether had absolutely no idea how they ended up in a karaoke for the end of the night but it was fun. The three of them drank a lot at the restaurant before, and Aether's stomach was finally filled with actual food and not just biscuits or candies. His cheeks were burning and he couldn't tell whether it was due to the alcohol running in his veins, or to his newest friend siting right next to him. But one thing he was certain of was how good he felt at this moment. He missed hanging out with friends and Venti knew how to party. He might've been the funniest person Aether ever met. And now he was begging the karaoke bar manager to let him sing
'Have you got 'What is love from Twice ?'' Venti shouted.
He jumped on the scene, grabbing the mic after he heard the very first notes of his song. 'I dedicate it to my new friend sitting over her with my hot friend.'
'Idiot.' Xiao said before taking a sip from his drink.
Venti was definitely made to animate events. He was dancing on the scene, and Aether loved to look at him. Venti put so much passion into his dance moves it reminded him of him.
He frowned, eyes fixed on the glass that was resting in front of him but in reality he wasn't looking nowhere, losing himself in his thoughts. He was not able to hear the song anymore, nor to see Venti singing and dancing. That's when a hand gently shook his body. 'Aether, you there ?' Xiao's golden eyes were staring at him, almost analyzing every part of his face, trying to solve the enigma that was Aether.
'You okay ?' He asked. Aether was so focused on Venti waving at several people on the bar, and then on Xiao's words that he did not notice how his hand was still on his shoulder.
Aether did lie a lot in his life when being asked if he was doing good. He wasn't most of the time but he knew the question was only courtesies, and most of the time people weren't expecting another answer than 'Yes I'm fine.' He never dared saying that, no, he wasn't okay. H did not have to say it, he always had Lumine to figure it out. And then Scaramouche. No matter what, people would always worry, because they knew him too much. But how could a stranger know it. Aether did consider Xiao and venti his friends already but they were not Lumine, and they were certainly not him.
Aether looked back at Xiao, a slight smile forming on his glossy lips as he finally decided to be honest with himself. 'I'm not. But it's still better than yesterday.'
With that said he took another sip from his cocktail, ending up finishing the whole drink straight. And Venti chose this moment to come back towards them. Just as Xiao was about to speak, he stopped himself, instead taking a look in Aether's direction. He was now talking of Venti's amazing performance.
'You should become an idol !' Aether said.
He was genuinely saying it. Neither the alcohol, nor the euphoria of the moment was making him suggest such things, he genuinely thought Venti would be successful as an idol. He was funny, knew how to go towards people. He had a prety uniqu style. He had a kind heart, and obvious dancing talents. Mixed with his pretty voice, Aether could not take the scenery of Venti singing on a huge stage out of his mind.
'Then join our band Aether !' Venti suddenly said.
'J- what ?' Aether wasn't sure he understood his saying. He did drink a lot tonight after all, and combined with the very few hours of sleep he had the past few days, Aether thought he was halluciting it at first, because there was no way someone he just met invited him to start a whole career together.
'Join our band.' Xiao added.