Xiao x Aether Oneshots

Payback

"Aether, are you ready?" I ask the blonde in the bedroom.

"Yeah, hold on a second." He replies.

He opens the door and steps out, showing me his outfit with a nervous expression. His shirt is cropped to his ribs, his high rise jeans covering his belly button.

"That's what you're going to wear?" I ask, immediately regretting the decision upon seeing his face fall and his eyes start watering.

"U-um, I-I'll go change." He starts to turn around but I stop him, cupping his cheek with my hand.

"It's not that. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't get cold while we were there. Remember, I'm not him." I say softly.

He nods, his eyes moving to stare at something on the floor.

"Do you think you'll get cold wearing this?" I ask.

He glances down at his outfit before shrugging.

"Alright, I'll bring an extra jacket just in case." I kiss his forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too." He replies, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah."

I smile and take his hand, leading him out to the car. I open his door and wait for him to get in before closing it behind him. I walk around the vehicle and get in the driver's seat, start the car, and take off.

When we arrive, I can see his hands shaking the slightest bit upon seeing the building. I take his hand in mine.

"It'll be alright. I'll be by you the whole time." I smile before climbing out of the car with him following right after. Hand in hand, we walk inside.

"Xiao, the man of the hour."

I sigh and turn towards the man with a fake smile for the sake of appearance.

"Good evening Childe." I feel Aether squeeze my hand a little tighter and step behind me, his shoulder up against the back of mine. I squeeze his hand back without looking at him, keeping my eyes on the man in front of me.

"Zhongli was just asking about you. He was wondering when you would show up. To be honest, I'm surprised you came at all. I mean, you hate events like this." He says.

"Only when you're here." I reply before spotting another one of my colleagues. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to speak with someone." I pull Aether towards the dark blue-haired boy.

"Xiao, we were just talking about you." He smiles.

"Good things I hope." I joke a bit as he nods.

"Of course. Anything else would be a lie." He looks over at Aether. "And this must be Aether. I'm Xinqui. It's nice to finally meet you." He extends a hand towards the blonde behind me.

"It's alright." I tell him.

He slowly grasps the hand of the other and they do a quick shake before releasing each other's hands.

"Chongyun is here as well but I have lost him. I would like to wager that he is trying to find something cold to eat." Xinqui sighs and looks around.

"You actually managed to get him to attend a formal event?"

"It took a lot of persuading."

I nod before Aether tugs lightly on my hand. I look back at him and see him looking wide eyed at someone across the room. I follow his train of sight and spot the target. I smile.

"Do you want to go say hi?" He nods, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Alright. See you later Xinqui."

We walked towards the blonde in the back, Aether growing more and more excited the closer we got to him.