𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐄𝐑 | xɪᴀᴏ x ᴀᴇᴛʜᴇʀ (On Revision)

030

Xiao

I feel uncomfortable when a place is so crowded and noisy. I don't like it, but there's no time to complain about it because our friends are mostly drunk.

But what struck me was that it turns out that my eyes will always have a vision for Aether because, no matter how crowded the place was, he was the first person that my eyes laid on.

He was drunkenly crying, and it made me realize how fragile he looks when he cries. It reminded me of what I said earlier: that I would stay by his side and make him happy.

I honestly felt anxious when I said those words. Can I do that? Can I make him happy? A person like me who is problematic, runs away with his own emotions, and doesn't even know himself.

I don't even know what Aether saw in me. I am emotionally unstable. I am blinded by guilt and hatred because I haven't carried on from my dark past. I can't even love myself because I don't know how, and I'm scared of it. I don't want to repeat the same mistake as before. Fuck! Now, I feel insecure.

"Please tell me we came into the wrong tavern." I was snapped back to the real world when Chongyun said that. Right, our friends.

"No, we didn't."

Kazuha came to us and was relieved to see that we'd arrived. "At last! You two are here."

"What happened?" Chongyun asked.

"It was awful. I tried to stop Venti, but he keeps on requesting more until everyone is completely out of it," Kazuha replied.

I know that it's his birthday, but he doesn't have to go overboard, and now, look what happened. It's a mess.

"How many bottles did he order?"

He flinched, knowing that my tone sounded pissed. I am pissed. "I don't remember," he answered, scratching the back of his head.

"You have my respect, man," Chongyun said, saluting him.

"Why does that sound like an insult instead of a compliment?" Kazuha replied.

"Yun!" Xingqui called his boyfriend and tried to hug him, but maybe he's so drunk that he almost fell onto the floor if Chongyun didn't catch him.

I immediately diverted my attention to Aether when they started to have a moment together.

"Xiao. How about the both of you take care of Xi and Aether while I take care of the other one over there?" Kazuha suggested.

"Okay."

He nodded his head and went towards Venti, who was dancing on a pole. I swear I'm going to kill him when he sobers up.

I glanced at Aether, who was crying on the corner, and thought that maybe taking care of him was a piece of cake. But it was not.

"No! Don't touch me." Getting him on my back was a pain in the ass because his screams are making me deaf and he is moving a lot.

I probably would've enjoyed watching his drunk self when I wasn't the one getting tortured like this. God, this is so difficult. But in the end, I successfully managed to carry him.

My attention was back on the couple, but it seems that they were having a good time. I blushed. Are they serious?

I made a fake cough to get their attention. "Can't you two do that later?"

Chongyun noticed it and pulled away from their kiss. "Sorry, I was caught in the moment," he said, then carried his boyfriend in a bridal style.

"How beautiful! Why can't I experience that romantic scene with my Xiao, huh? Why is the world so cruel to me? All I wanted was for my beloved crush to love me." I almost lost my strength when Aether said that. I could feel the embarrassment piling up in my body.

"Your boyfriend is complaining because of how dumb you are," Chongyun teased.

Boyfriend? Aether's not my boyfriend. I haven't told him what I feel yet, and I'm still trying to compose myself into a better version and then prove my worth. But why does my face feel hot right now?

I gave him a death glare and mouthed the word, "Fuck you."

He rolled his eyes and changed the subject. "Wait! Where's Kazuha?"

"He said that he'll take care of Venti while we take care of these two. We'll just meet him outside," I answered.

"Hey! I don't know you. Get off of me. You're not my beloved Xiao. Xiao! Where are you? Help me." His small punches didn't hurt at all, but his screams do. His voice is so high-pitched that it made my ears bleed.

What's worse is that he's squirming a lot. He wasn't heavy, but it's hard to balance when a person is moving a lot.

"Aether, I'm here. Stop moving." I reassured him and thought that he would calm down, but he cried even more.