Chapter Text
Life was a dull and lonely experience.
Nothing but low expectations exceeding even lower each day that passed. One would say to enjoy one's life for it is short and not everlasting. It's why people yearned for different connections, whether it be platonic, romantic, or familial with other people. Life is more enjoyable when you have other people to enjoy it with or so they say.
But not to Xiao, ever since he could remember, he was always alone. Preschool? Alone. Grade school? Alone. Middle School? Alone. Highschool? He was already in his 2nd year of highschool, but he was still alone, barely surviving on his own. Nothing changed, he was still the lonely, creepy, and gloomy person everyone claimed him to be. And they were probably right.
The way things were happening, Xiao was positive that there would be no changes to his life as he finishes up highschool with no friends, just as he lived from the beginning. If Zhongli knew how he lives his life, he would be so disappointed in h—
"It's too bad we weren't partnered together by the professor for the history activity, Aether! I swear Professor Ningguang is out to get me, I tell you!" Xiao's thoughts were rudely interrupted by the shrill voice of his classmate, Venti. Okay, maybe calling his voice shrill was a little insulting, but his voice was certainly unwelcomed. He discreetly looked at their direction from the corner of his eyes.
"Maybe that's because you fucking mooch off of his hardwork while you slack off every damn time, you little shit." Kunikuzushi piped in, rolling his eyes as he looped his arm over Aether's shoulders. The pretty(?) blond giggled, covering his mouth with a closed fist as he gently shrugged off the arm on him. The three of them were always together, well considering they're friends, so that's a given. Xiao wasn't given that luxury. And he never will.
"*gasps* I. Do. Not! The audacity of your accusations! Also, we have the same height so that means you're calling yourself short! Ha!" Venti stuck his tongue out in retaliation to which the other grumbled under his breath as his response to Venti's words. "I'm not fucking short."
"Kuni, Venti. Stop arguing or I won't share my notes with either one of you." Comes Aether's soft voice as he playfully separates the two from each other. Venti started whining as he hugged his friend, smashing his face on his chest while he let out fake sobs. Kunikuzushi crossed his arms as he looked away, his face clearly annoyed.
"I jest, I jest! We both know you're the only one that listens to history lectures! It's why you're the professor's favourite student in this class. Buuut~ while we're still on this topic, too bad though, Aether. You're partnered up with Xiao." Xiao visibly flinched as he quickly looked away, staring at his twiddling thumbs on the armchair's table when he heard his name in the conversation all of a sudden.
"Hmmm? Xiao? Who's that?"
"I'm surprised you don't know. But… that's also not surprising. He's that guy sitting alone over there. He doesn't talk much unless necessary and everyone says he's very quiet and gloomy. People say he's pretty shady." The subject of the conversation was completely still on his seat as he felt three pairs of eyes focused on his back right now.
"Well, that's kinda rude… As punishment, I won't give you even a tiny portion of my lunch later."
"NOOO! I was only relaying what I heard to you, Aether!!! They're not my words! You can't rob me off of your delicious cooking, Aetheeeer!" Venti's voice gradually quietened from the increasing distance between him and Xiao as he was dragged outside the classroom. Xiao let out a breath of relief he didn't even realize he was holding. He also didn't realize there was an approaching figure close to him until he could see their shoes on the floor in front of him. His head snapped up only to recoil when Aether's face was close to his because he was leaning down. His glasses askew from his sudden movement. The blond blinked twice before offering him a polite smile while he leaned back.
"Hello, Xiao. Sorry if I surprised you. I'm your partner for Professor Ningguang's class. Pleased to meet you!" Aether gave Xiao a toothy smile as he brought his hand up for him to shake. Xiao let out a shaky breath as he slowly raised his hand for a handshake while his other hand clumsily fixed his glasses.
"I'm honored to be your partner." He mumbled pathetically as he cursed at himself from the inside. 'Aether's talking to you and all you could do is whisper back as a reply?!'
"You might not know my name, I'm A—"
"You're Aether Viator, right? The class representative." Xiao cuts him off, he watches as Aether's expression freezes before changing from his previous happy one to a surprised one.
Aether looked away, a tint of red visible from his ears.
Xiao accidentally let out a quiet chuckle as he found this scenario amusing. He pursed his lips together immediately when Aether turned to look at him, red in the face. Xiao felt a dread in the pit of his stomach as he was afraid that he had offended Aether when he laughed that could cost him a partner for the history activity.
"Embarrassing! Sorry about that, Xiao! I-I'll be on my way." Aether stuttered as he turned around to walk away, but he stopped midway to look at him.
"I don't know about them. But, I don't think you're gloomy, Xiao." Aether said before he went outside to probably look for his friends. Xiao was alone again, but this time, he was left alone speechless. He wasn't sure what to make out from the situation he found himself in, but he felt a fuzzy feeling in his stomach at the thought that someone was talking to him, albeit shortly. It still definitely made his day.
But it wasn't gonna last forever. Their time together would only last until their group activity was done.
=====
Aether laughed as his best friend, Venti, profusely apologized as his arm was trapped and being smothered by his face. He was immediately tackled by his twin pigtailed friend once he stepped out of the door. Asking for forgiveness because he couldn't bear the thought of spending lunch without taking a bite from Aether's homemade lunch. Kunikuzushi scoffed at the childishness their friend was displaying in public as they stood in the middle of the hallway. Feeling secondhand embarrassment even though he wasn't the one acting like an overgrown child.
"Venti, stop clinging to Aether. You're like an annoying bug for fuck's sake." The purple haired boy hissed underneath his breath as he tried to pry the other away from him. But Venti was like a leech. He held on firm as he shook his head in defiance.
"No! You can't make me! You can't take me out alive!"
"You piece of shit! Let go or I'll make you!"
"Over my dead body, shortcake."
"Oh, it's on, you twi—"
"Now, now, children settle down. Venti, I'll give you two pieces of my meatballs later, don't worry. But only two pieces okay? You know I can't resist when you pull up that face." Venti grinned at his words, celebrating in his mind that his puppy face was successful, as he unwrapped his arms from Aether's, but wrapped them again around Aether's torso instead afterwards.
"This is why you're my favourite person, Aether! I love you so much!"
"I love you too, now come on. It's Kuni's turn to buy us free drinks from the vending machine. We have a few minutes till the next class starts." He said cheekily as he grinned at Kunikuzushi who snarled in response as he stomped angrily at the end of the hall before disappearing at the turn, yet was still able to take the opportunity to flip them off, mostly towards Venti.
"You two are so dramatic." Aether said fondly, shaking his head as he took Venti's hand in his as he tried to follow after their short-tempered friend towards the vending machine.
"Me, Kunikuzushi, and the others were thinking of hitting the karaoke later after school. Are you down for later, Aether?" Venti asked as they walked.
"Sorry, Venti. I'll have to pass again. Have fun, though!"
"Awww~~~ And here I thought I'd finally get the chance to hear your singing voice." Venti whined but stayed silent after that. Aether was thankful his friend didn't pry anything from him any further. He's really thankful to have such a good friend like him.
After they were done with their drinks, courtesy of Kunikuzushi's kindness (not), they went back to the classroom before their next teacher appeared. Aether slid the door open and his eyes immediately locked onto Xiao's hunched figure as the boy silently stared at nothing while waiting for their next class. He lets himself get dragged by Venti as he is escorted inside and all the way to his seat. He was a bit far from where Xiao was sitting. He was somewhere in the middle and the other was almost at the back.
Aether doesn't know why he was even thinking about the distance between him and the other. But it was just a silly thought that passed through his head, that's all. He sat down just in time as their teacher appeared moments after. He watched as his classmates scurry over to their respective chairs like ants, their panicked whispers reached his ear.
"Alright, class. For today's topic, we'll continue from where we left off yester…"
Aether sighed mentally, tuning out his teacher for a moment as he turned his head to look at Xiao specifically, but was taken back when his golden eyes met with equally surprised ember ones.
Both of them snapped their heads simultaneously away from each other, heart hammering but for completely different reasons.
'You, dumbass. Now he'll think you're really a creep! He'll think you're watching him!'
'Gods, that was embarrassing, what if he thinks I'm not paying attention to class? I'm the class representative, I should be a good example of a student.'
'I'm so stupid.'
Aether softly slammed his forehead on the table before finally facing the front to pay attention to class, his face a little hot from earlier.
=====
Aether opened the door of his house as he stepped in, not bothering to greet anyone because he knows he's alone right now, taking his shoes off and neatly placing them on the rug before heading upstairs to his bedroom. He tossed his schoolbag onto his bed as he stripped down to replace his uniform with a simple pink shirt that has a "I'm a Barbie Girl" on a red heart at the front and gray shorts. He got rid of the braid on his hair and styled them into a simple bun so his long hair wouldn't bother him when he starts with the house chores.
"Time to clean the house!" He cheered to himself.
Once he was done putting away his uniform in his personal laundry basket, he put on his indoor slippers as he marched down the stairs and grabbed the vacuum cleaner from the closet. He immediately started cleaning, starting from the living room. He hummed as he cleaned.
After he was done vacuuming the first floor, he went and washed the dishes that were left off earlier for breakfast. He wiped a sweat forming on his forehead as he finished up with the dishes. Humming in satisfaction, Aether walked towards the fridge and opened it to look at the available ingredients inside.
They were a little low on eggs but it was enough for a few more days, he calculated. After a few seconds of contemplating, he finally decided to just cook a simple burger steak. But just as he was about to start preparing for dinner. Their doorbell rang.
Aether blinked as he closed the fridge before making his way towards their front door. Wondering who it was.
"Coming."
Aether opened the door to see his little sister, Paimon with tears in her eyes as she clutched the hem of her shirt in a tight grip. He winced inwardly when he saw a wound on her knee. He could see from her face that she was fighting back her tears, he immediately went on his knees as he gently grabbed his sister's shoulders. Paimon clutched his hand tightly, well as tight as a child could do, as if it were her lifeline.
"Paimon! What happened? Are you still hurting?" Aether made sure his voice was gentle to not scare Paimon, but on the inside, he was panicking at the state she was in. He felt relief washing over him when she shook her head.
"She fell down on the ground by the park, I went and helped her and I asked if she's with anyone. She told me no because she lives nearby so I accompanied her back home to prevent any more injuries." Aether gasped as he looked up to see a man standing awkwardly beside her sister, he quickly noticed that her sister's other hand was clutching his.
"I'm sorry! I was worried for my sister that I completely ignored you. Thank you so much for taking care of Paimon! Thank you!" He bowed repeatedly, embarrassed that he wasn't able to notice the person who helped his sister immediately. He doesn't want to sound or appear ungrateful.
"No problem, I understand. If my sibling happened to be in the same situation, I would be focused on them too." The man let out an awkward chuckle as he scratched his chin with his unoccupied hand.
Aether took this chance to take a good look at the person in front of him. He was wearing a sleeveless, black tank top complemented by tattered skinny jeans and jet black boots. The top of his hair was tied back behind his head, showcasing his forehead. He narrowed his eyes by the amount of piercing this guy has on his ears. He doesn't even want to think where else could the guy possibly possess any other piercing holes on his body.
He prayed to the gods above that he didn't let in a gangster that could kill him and Paimon in his house. But judging from the serene expression the stranger was sporting, they were safe. Maybe.
"I'm happy that Paimon is okay, I'll be off then. Bye." The stranger said that Paimon stubbornly held him off from leaving. The three of them shared a silent moment for a second before Aether stood up, clearing his throat to catch the guy's attention.
Since he was feeling extremely grateful, Aether knew he had to express it one way or another.
"If it isn't troubling, why don't you stay for dinner, I was about to cook anyway. Ju-Just to say thank you please!"
"Oh… Well, if you don't mind me intruding then."
"Yay! Is the kind big brother gonna stay a little longer?" Paimon asked as she hugged Aether's knees. Aether chuckles as he pats his sister's head.
"Yes, Paimon. Big brother is gonna stay for dinner. So why don't you go wait for me in the bathroom so I could clean you up. The sooner we're done, the sooner we can thank the kind big brother." With that, Paimon nodded her head before running towards the bathroom.
"No running!" Aether cried out. The fast footsteps abruptly slowing down, he could just imagine the sheepish look on his sister's face.
"That reckless girl…" He grumbled before he faced the stranger.
"Please sit down at the dining table, I'll be back shortly after I'm done with Paimon." The stranger slowly nodded his head as he quietly trudged towards the dining area. Aether went after Paimon to clean her and address her wounds.
After he cleaned and patched up Paimon, they went back hand in hand towards the kitchen, Aether peeked at the stranger who was just innocently looking around as he sat on a chair with his hands firmly pressed on his lap. He giggled to himself at how constipated the guy looked, he was sure the guy was only trying his best to not appear like he was intruding. Even though it was Aether who personally insisted he stayed for dinner.
"Paimon, go entertain our guest while I cook us some burger steak." Aether whispered as he watched Paimon run up to the stranger and took a seat beside him as she struck up a conversation probably about random things her mind could come up with. The stranger was frazzled at first but immediately tried to talk back. Aether smiled at the sight as he then started cooking for their dinner.
Aether placed three plates of food on the table as he took the seat parallel to the stranger. Paimon immediately dug into her food, as she always does, acting like she wasn't fed properly. The stranger watched him eat first before taking his own first bite. Aether watched his ember eyes sparkle for a second as he continued eating. He pondered over why he felt familiarity towards the stranger's eyes. They felt too familiar but Aether can't pinpoint where exactly he has seen them and why they were familiar to him.
"Were you doing chores before me and Paimon appeared?" The stranger suddenly asked after a few bites.
"Yeah, I do mostly everything here." Aether answered back.
"Really? By the way, the food is really delicious."
"Thank you."
"Do you also cook for your family's breakfast, lunch, and dinner?"
"Currently, just for me and my sister at the moment. My twin has an apartment of her own because the school she chose is farther from home."
"Aether is the best cook ever!" Paimon exclaimed as she shoved a spoonful of burger steak and rice in her mouth. A content moan leaving her lips. Aether smiled fondly as he brought a napkin to wipe off the excess sauce dripping from her mouth to her chin.
"He is, isn't he? Venti always seems so adamant on taking some of your food from you everyday. I didn't know you were the one that cooked your bento. That's amazing. I can see why Venti is so insistent on eating yours. Though, I'm quite surprised you do all the housework here too, Aether." The stranger smiled as he took another bite.
"Venti always liked my food, sometimes he'll just bring rice and take some fr— Wait! YOU KNOW VENTI?" Aether screamed, horrified.
"I mean, of course I do. Who doesn't, really. Besides, it would be rude if I didn't know the name of my classmate." The stranger mumbled.
"HAH?! W-Wait! You're in my class?!"
"...I am. I'm your classmate, Xiao."
Aether dropped the spoon he was holding as his brain short-circuited upon having the revelation that this man in front of him was the same Xiao that was in his class. And upon even further thinking this through. They were the complete opposite!!!
He gaped at Xiao with wide eyes and his jaw wide open. He really can't really believe this was Xiao. Xiao, who had his face covered up with his thick and long hair as he wore equally thick glasses which Aether deduced were fake. Xiao, who appeared always quiet and gloomy, was now sitting in front of him being anything but that! Xiao, who had no appeal whatsoever, was this handsome without the hair and glasses covering him! He was extremely attractive behind all the shady appearance he had in school.
Why was he attractive in Aether's eyes?!
"I-Is something wrong, Aether?" Xiao stammered as he nervously stared at Aether who completely froze, stuck at staring at his face for some time now. And just Xiao was about to say something again. Aether slammed his palms against the table causing it to shake violently as he stood up. Paimon and Xiao were shocked as they both looked up at the looming Aether who had an unreadable look on his face.
"YOU'RE XIAO?!"