Ad Astra | genshin impact imagines

𝐎𝐧𝐞 | Aether

[ Fem reader! ] continuation of previous chapter :)

༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺

  The pair wasn't much of a bother, thankfully. Paimon ate four bowls of the Borscht and Y/N wonders where all that appetite comes from with such a small body.

Locked in a haze, Y/N washed the bowls lazily into the night until she felt a tug on the object she held in her hands.

Aether took it upon himself to help as much as he could, despite being the guest. In this case, washing the dishes shouldn't be a hard task.

Stunned awake, Y/N tried to assure the stubborn boy and send him off to rest but he insisted so who was she to reject a kind proposal?

They bathed in each other's silence, though the peaceful kind.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Y/N wipes the wooden bowls and set them aside while Aether smiled at the sudden interview. "That's because Paimon talked for me. She's asleep now, however," Aether had a soothing voice, just as Y/N had thought yet her eyebrows hadn't ceased to furrow.

"What is she?" Y/N voiced out her thoughts as Aether stifled a laugh under the watchful gaze of the moon beyond the window situated in front of the sink the two stood behind. "Not sure. I just fished her out of the water one day with a fishing rod," He shrugged, washing the last of the bowls.

"You what?" the girl mixed in a small cackle of surprise with her statement. This was a rare one, for sure, and she can't decide whether to believe it or not, "Is she a fish or something?"

"Sure. She'd eat it for breakfast."
"Oh i get it! She's a . . . flying fish!"
"I'd say a parrot is more fitting."
"Yeah, that sounds believable."

Y/N sighed after wiping the last bowl and spoon and stared out the window, pondering with half-lidded eyes at the moon as Aether observed her steadily with a watchful eye.

"Is something the matter?" asked Aether, blinking slowly at the girl whose face was adorned with blinding moonbeams. She closed her eyes.

"It's nothing. Ever since my parents both passed, I've taken up the parent figure and have rarely, since then, been able to go out," Y/N mused and stole a glance at her brother who was choking Paimon unknowingly in his slumber in a bone-crushing 'hug'.

"Speaking of which, you should go help the parrot," Y/N pointed at the sleeping pair but Aether waved it off. "She'll be fine. Go out with me," if only Aether chose his words more wisely, the girl wouldn't be a blushing mess right now. What a few words could do to her fragile, little heart is beyond her simple understanding. Pathetic!

"What?" Y/N stammered out poorly. Was he joking?

"Let's go outside. I know a place," he enlightened and the girl was embarrassed for taking it the wrong way, emitting a simple "oh" as a response.

'What about (B/N) and the loud fairy?' Y/N worried. She hoped Tonia wouldn't mind safeguarding for some time, especially this late in the night. There were times when Teucer would escape and barge in just to see (B/N) – maybe this time was the perfect opportunity to ask a favor.

Y/N wouldn't dare to let the boy out in just a crop top, needless to say in a snow-laden terrain. So she lent him her uncle's fur coat, the one he always takes out to wolf hunting.

"Wolves usually come out at this hour," Y/N mumbled but hoped that Aether was able to make out the words. "It's mating season for them," the pair picked up some distant howling of the creatures.
Perhaps it was the moon that enticed their calling, or was it an omen of an incoming incident meant to be avoided?

Aether shot her an "Is that so?" look for he believed that his eyes, too, spoke for him when words needn't be exchanged and Y/N nodded in response with a small smile.

"Actually, i'm a wolf," He stopped in his tracks and so did Y/N, then he proceeded to eye her down, "mating season."

Y/N could only blink.

Blink.
Blink.

"Huh?" she breathed out and felt her cheeks heating up again, consequently she tried to hide it with her woolen scarf. "Archons, Aether! Don't say stuff like that!" Y/N went for a light punch to his arm and he gladly took the hit, strangely liking it when she comes in direct contact with his figure.

"Okay okay, i'm not actually a wolf. But i did fought one!" he raised a finger in the air from a sudden recollection of thought, preparing to jabber about his encounter with the Wolf of the North, Boreas. Y/N cocked a brow in disbelief. If anything, it could've been a wolf pup at least.

"He was blue and white and had these big, big navy blue claws . . . yes, and he was huge,"  Aether used hand gestures to enhance the rambling, though he was certain nobody will believe him, especially from a nation far from Mondstadt like Snezhnaya, but it was worth seeing the girl smile.

Y/N was glad he treated her like a kid. She would've risked everything to experience youth again, though she wasn't even close to her twenties. Adulthood is ruthless, and she was glad to spend some of her precious juvenescence with a guy like Aether.

The two continued uphill. Archons know where he's taking her but Y/N hopes they do manage to get back in time before daybreak while trying her best to not sink in the snow.

"Have you visited Snezhnaya before? You know, since you seem more acquainted with your whereabouts than I do," Y/N held onto the oil lantern tightly as aether looked at Y/N over his shoulder but didn't stop walking.

"No. I just found this place when Paimon got blown away by a gust of wind," Y/N softly giggled in reply and it wasn't long before they both reached the snowy hilltop.

The edge of the cliff was poorly barricaded with wooden planks, barely resembling a fence, but it was a sight to behold.
Though the village was asleep, one could overlook the whole town from this height: lanterns looked like fireflies amongst the twilight atmosphere and it managed to make the azure-colored pine trees look mellow. She never thought she'd see this view of her hometown.

Aether was glad he got the expected reaction from the female. Anyone would be awestruck, to be fair. While she was distracted, Aether decided to go for it and reach for her hand but . .

Action unlocks at Friendship Lv. 4

༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺

🤡!
plz request ૮₍ ˃̵ࡇ˂̵ ₎ა it won't be long until my prune brain runs out of thinking juice ..̯

and idk how snezhnaya will turn out. it could be nice like how i imagine it to be or it could be dragonspine all over again but 5x bigger • ·̭ •̥