Genshin Impact BL DISCONTINUED

Tomorrow, not today (1) (Childe/Aether)

"The Golden House? Aaagaaaiiin?", Paimon asked annoyed, almost reproachful but Aether only nodded.
"Are you telling me again that it's aaaall about materials?", she asked making Aether roll his eyes. For the past few weeks she had always insinuated that he would go there for other reasons and Aether had always denied that. But slowly it annoyed him a lot. Even if there were other reasons, it was none of her business.
Yes, to be honest, the blonde was looking forward to the meetings with Childe. The training was good for him too, the materials were important, but most of the time it was the conversations that followed that he treasured. Something in them was familiar to Aether. If only the fact that they were both far away from home and Childe loved his siblings as much as Aether loved Lumine. For those brief moments, the world didn't feel as lonely as usual anymore. Still, Aether knew only too well that Childe was dangerous. And actually his enemy. But who determined who was his friend or enemy in this world that he hardly really understood?

The Golden House seemed to be empty. It was still in ruins and although it was guarded it looked deserted. The mood in there was strange, threatening and yet very calm.  The blonde walked around the huge hole in the ground to check on Childe, but all he saw was blood, more debris and a broken arch. The sight made him feel strangely restless and worried.

"Childe? Are you in here?", he yelled through the hall but received no answer. It didn't feel good. Something was definitely was wrong.
"Childe? Is everything ok?", he yelled again and slowly climbed down over the rubble to look around. At first he saw nothing, then more blood, new debris, the traces of a broken pillar that looked a lot like one of the archon's pillars and then he saw him. Trapped under a rock, unconscious, half himself half in his foul legacy form. The mask shattered. Out of reflex, Aether stormed off, smashed the rock that had trapped Childe and knelt next to him to examine him. He breathed. He had a weak but stable pulse. Several bad injuries were all over his body. Stab wounds, wounds with fragments of rock in them and some that looked like cracks. Aether took a deep breath to collect himself, as his hands were shaking and his heart beating way to fast. He knew what to do but he hesitated. This moment would be perfect to end it. To get rid of this enemy for good. And even though his mind told him it was the right thing to do, his body didn't move an inch. He was frozen in place and just stared at Childe. Most likely it would take care of itself if he would just wait because Childe was badly wounded, but Aether didn't want that either. The enemy was supposed to die, but did he want to lose a friend?

"...do it...if you want ... I won't...blame you ...", Aether heard the faint, barely audible words of the ginger and looked up immediately. The ocean eyes, which were bloodshot and glassy, looked at him so incredibly warm as he had never seen them before. It ached just to look at them.
"What happened?", Aether wanted to say a lot and nothing at all. He crouched next to Childe and just looked at him almost expressionless.
"..you..look...pretty...right now...I'm...not mad...to see you...the moment... I die ...", Childe replied,  every word seemed to cost him a lot of strength and yet he grinned weakly, but as he had often done before.
"Really? Do you want to say that now? Now that it could be the last thing you say? You're really stupid, Childe."
"..maybe...I am..."
The ocean eyes closed. And suddenly it was incredibly quiet in the golden house.

"Well, will you explain your decision to me?"
"I can't... but I know it was you that caused his condition."
"It was. There are rules that he must obey or face the consequences. As I can see, fate was merciful to him this time too, but I won't be next time."
"..do you hate him?"
"No, not a bit. Whether he receives my protection or my anger depends on his actions. Not on my feelings."
"....Thanks for helping me anyway."

Childe could not see but hear them, distant and dull but still every word. He knew the voices. And the feeling he just had. The feeling of all and nothing. Of loud and quiet. Of warm and cold. Of calm and restlessness. His body trembled a little, the muscles ached, it was hard to breathe, almost too strenuous and yet he was relieved that he did it. That he breathed. That he could hear their voices. That he could feel the pain and the cold cloth that was on his forehead.

"You are awake, aren't you?", Aether asked quietly after Zhongli left and exchanged the cloth on Childes forehead.
"It will get better soon, don't worry.  Your wounds are deep but not life threatening. The fever is already going down. As soon as you can sit up a little, I'll get you some soup and tea. Oh and those cookies your sister sent.", Aether explained and put his hand on Childes uninjured upper arm to stroke it cautiosly.
"...my...sister?", Childe whispered and tried to open his eyes.
"Yes, she sent a package after hearing about your condition. Snacks and gifts and a letter for you and one for me."
"...Why ... does she ...know?"
"She wrote letters. I haven't read them but at some point I thought she might worry if you don't answer, so I wrote to her."
Childe smiled a weak smile. A thankful one and looked at Aether. His eyes were still a bloody mess but at least he could see the blonde who was sitting by his bed.
"...you're...my savior, hm?...a..pretty...one"
"Childe, don't say that. I thought about letting you die. I wanted to let you die. I am not a savior.  Not your savior."
"..and yet here ...I am ..."
Aether sighed, stood up, turned and was about to leave the room when he turned around again and looked at Childe.
"Get some sleep, I'll check back on you later. As soon as you are healthy, we will go our separate ways again. I am not your savior. And just like Zhongli said, if you harm me on my journey, then I will not spare you again. No matter what I feel for you.", he stated and left the quiet room quickly.
Childe stared at the ceiling. He had so much to deal with. He almost died, defeated by the archon, spared by the traveler. Saved by the traveler. He thought of his family, his homeland, his queen, the fatui, his mission and his plans. He thought of everything he had been, what he was now and what he could be. But in spite of everything, only Aether's last sentence echoed through his mind.
"...what...he feels..for me..", he mumbled to himself and closed his eyes exhausted. There was nothing else he could do in this condition. At this moment.

Two weeks had passed since that moment. Aether came regularly to check on him, sometimes Zhongli, or the green-haired doctor whose name he no longer knew. Everyone was distant, alienated and yet they came to see him. It was just a job for the doctor, but why did the other two come to visit? Out of guilt? Affection?
Childe didn't know. He sat in the bed and read the letters Tonia sent him quietly. Archons, he really missed her. But the last letter brought a smile to his face.

'We're glad that you have such a nice friend. Aether is his name, right? Take him with you when you come back home. Mom says he seems to be too good for you, but if he manages to beat the stupid shit out of your head, then she'll agree to accept him as a son-in-law.'

Childe laughed softly. No one had ever talked about it and yet his family was talking about something that wasn't even true. Even if it didn't feel that bad at all. It actually felt good. Down to earth. Calm. The opposite of plans to conquer the world. Childe chuckled and put the letter aside when Aether entered the room.

"You're in a good mood, eh? Did something happen?", the blonde asked and took a seat on the bed next to Childe.
"My family loves you. I don't know what you did, but they seem to talk about you a lot. In a good way. My mom even seems to like you more than me, haha..", Childe answered with a grin and raised his arm to put his hand on Aether's leg, but pulled it back before he even touched him.
"Oh..uhm I only wrote them letters when you were barely awake. Just that they don't worry.", Aether hadn't moved away but didn't respond to Childes' stopped try to touch him.
"Nevermind. Now that you're feeling better, I'll continue my journey. Doctor Baizhu and Zhongli will still check on you every now and then. Give greetings to your family when you see them. And take care of yourself.", Aether sounded strange when he said that and got up again. Childe wanted to stop him, tell him what he had been thinking about for the past few weeks, what he was feeling, but he couldn't. Actually, they weren't even friends, were they? And just because Aether had taken care of him, it hadn’t changed much, had it? No, they were so different. They had different dreams and different goals.
Childe sighed and nodded silently, the grin gone from his face.

"There'll always be a tomorrow, you know?", Aether said, bent down to Childe and planted a soft kiss on his lips. Without saying another word, he turned and left, leaving all sorts of emotions behind.
"Tomorrow eh?"

"Are you all right?", Paimon asked when she accompanied Aether on the way out of Liyue. The blonde nodded.
Yes, at some point in all the chaos he had fallen in love with Childe. Maybe even before. He had enjoyed being around him, he had cared for him and even felt joy writing the letters. He had slept by Childe's bed many lonely nights and held his hand. And on even lonelier days he had dreamed of what they could be if they weren't what they are. And it felt good. Too good. Aether knew it wasn't true. And couldn't be true. But each morning brought a new day and maybe, if only maybe, one day he would meet  Childes family. As something he wasn't, but wanted to be. His friend. His boyfriend.