Home. Comfort. What else does Xiao need?
Xiao lay calmly, looking at his phone. Suddenly, someone entered his room...
"Xiao, I want to ask you something," his father's voice was heard.
"Yes, alright, Dad," Alatus replied. "What did you want to ask, Dad?"
"Have you fallen in love?"
Xiao was struck by shock and turned red. He didn't know—had he fallen in love? Or not? But being near Aether gave him a warm feeling. Did Xiao want to protect and love him?
° Xiao's POV °
*"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You don't know?" Dad asked.
"Can you tell me?" I requested.
"Well, first, you get a warm feeling."
Matches...
"You're glad to see them... and not just as a friend?"
Matches again...
"You blush when you're near them."
Another match.
"Your heart rate speeds up."
Match after match. I couldn't believe it, but according to these points, I had fallen in love.
"You care about them, or you try to care."
I couldn't believe it. So, I had fallen in love?*
° End of Xiao's POV °
° Zhongli's Thoughts °
Xiao blushed? It seems he really has fallen in love, but I shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet.
° End of Zhongli's Thoughts °
"Dad..." Xiao began.
"I am listening," his father replied calmly.
"I think I've fallen in love," Xiao said softly, so only his dad could hear.
"And who is it?" Zhongli asked.
"Aether..." was all Xiao replied.
"Well, we shall get to know him. I am sure everything will be fine and you will start dating," Dad said calmly.
"Why did you decide to ask?"
"I simply walked past the gym and heard your conversation with Aether."
"..." Xiao replied with silence.
Zhongli left his son's room. Xiao decided to text Aether to go for a walk together.
Chat: Aether / My Love 🖤?
"Hey, Aether, want to go for a walk? ° 3:40 PM °"
"Hi! <3
Sure. ° 3:45 PM °"
"Let's meet at 4:30 PM by the school? ° 3:45 PM °"
"Alright ☺️"
The chat was over; time to get dressed and head out. Xiao started dressing. After that, he checked the time—it was already 3:50 PM.
Alatus informed his father he was going for a walk. He arrived at the school, took out his phone, and saw it was 4:20 PM—Aether would be there soon.
Ten minutes later, Aether arrived, and they went for a walk. It was autumn, September 10th, but it was still warm.
I'll take a break from the walk to describe how they were dressed and what they looked like:
Xiao was wearing a black T-shirt with a white dragon print. He wore black pants. Alatus also wore shoes that added 5 cm to his height. His hair was gathered with a black claw clip. But his bangs weren't tied back—honestly, why would you tie them back? One part of his bangs was pastel blue, and the strands at the back were the same color. Xiao had yellow eyes with pupils like a cat's. A purple diamond could also be seen on Alatus's forehead.
Aether wore a purplish-red T-shirt. He wore white harem pants. His sneakers were raspberry-pink. His long hair was tied in a ponytail. There were clips with flowers and kittens in his bangs. These clips matched his wheat-colored hair. He had an earring in his right ear. His eyes were honey-colored.
Returning to the walk:
"XIAO!!!!" Aether called.
"What happened?" Alatus asked.
"Look, a white kitten!" He pointed at it.
"And?" Xiao asked.
"I want to take it home!" Aether declared proudly.
Xiao, who was drinking water, choked.
"You realize it might have fleas, right?" the Adeptus asked.
"Yes, I know. But I feel so sorry for it! ((((((((( " Aether grew sad.
"Well, take it then," was all Xiao said.
"Can we go straight to the vet?" the wheat-haired boy asked.
"Alright..." was all Xiao could say.
There they sat at the vet's, listening to the instructions. It turned out to be a girl, and she immediately took a liking to Xiao and Aether. She decided she was duty-bound to protect them at all costs. Plus, she decided she wasn't a kitten at all, but a guard dog—like a Doberman or a Shepherd.
***
"AETHER, WHAT THE FUCK?!" Lume screamed. She didn't know what to be more surprised by—Xiao or the kitten (dog 🙄).
"What's wrong?" Aether asked.
"Whatever, come in."
Xiao looked at Lumka. Her hair was short, very short, except for two strands in the front. Her hair color was like blanched almonds. Her build was the same as her brother's—slender. Her eyes were honey-colored. Her clip had two flowers: one light blue and one white. She was dressed in a large T-shirt with shorts.
Aether, Xiao, and Paimon entered Aether's room. Everything was neat. Xiao noticed a canvas where... uh, two people and the twins were painted. Xiao looked at the desk; there was a sketchbook, stickers, and markers. Then he looked at the bed; it was made. And on the bed was a sea of soft toys and pillows 😨😨😨.
Aether and Xiao just talked about their own things. But Lumine was watching them and texting the group about what was happening.
Three Slaves and Mistress Lumine 😍🥰😍🌸🌸🩷💛❤️💛🌸❤️😘😘😘😘🥰
Lumine
"They're talking."
Tartaglia
"Record a voice message."
Venti
"Where's the yaoi manga?"
Kaeya
"What do I do if Dildo wants to kill me?"
Tartaglia
"Pray."
Venti
"To the wine god."
L — Lumine, A — Aether, X — Xiao
Lumine
Voice message
L: "Anyway, it'll be hard to hear, but I'll try.
A: 'So, then Lume and I are walking along, and there's Valera the hobo. Well, we go up to say hi, but he was feeling bad. We saw it, but we said hi anyway...'
X: 'And then what?'
L: 'Anyway, he's remembering that bullshit, but I'll say that they're sitting on Aether's bed and...'
A and X: 'YOU ARE DEAD, LUMINE.'
L: 'SHIT, THEY CAUGHT ME.'
A: 'WHO ARE YOU SENDING MESSAGES TO, HUH?!'
L: 'SHIIIIIIIIT.'"
Voice message ended
Tartaglia
"Live on, bro."
Kaeya
"I'm gonna kick the bucket soon too 😭😭😭😭"
Venti
"NOOOOOOO 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 LUMINE 😭😭😭😭😭😭 KAEYA 😭😭😭😭😭😭"
Tartaglia
"I think I'm gonna die too... My temperature is 36.7 😭😭😭😭😭😭"
Venti
"NOOOOOOOO. EVERYONE IS DEAD, SO I'LL GO DIE TOO."
Nameless Bard
"No one needs you there."
Venti
"Wait, what? You're dead, right?"
Nameless Bard
"So what? I'm saving you, kind of. 😑😑😑😑"
Venti
"I'm hallucinating..."
Dead Insiders 💔💔
Venti
"Shit, I need to change the name and the emojis too."
User Venti changed the name from "The Abortions" to "Dead Insiders 💔💔"
Jean
"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, ENOUGH!!!!"
Venti
"What did I do again? 😭😭😭😭😭😭🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀 I have depression 🥀🥀🥀🥀😭😭😭😭"
Zhongli
"Because of what, Venti?"
Venti
"Dildo is killing Kaeya 🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀 Lumine and Xiao are killing Aether 😭😭😭😭😭😭 Tort is already dead... He has a temperature of 36.7 🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀"
Jean
"YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS!!!"
Hu Tao
"No coffins needed? ))))))))) ⚰️⚰️⚰️"
Venti
"Nope ((((((("
Hu Tao
"That's it, Dad, I have depression too."
Zhongli
"Oh, Good Lord..."
Barbara
"Do not take the Lord's name in vain!!!"
Scaramouche
"Oh man, this moron has lost it!"
Kazuha
"What happened now?"
Scaramouche
"It's a shitshow, Kazu ((("
Venti
"Wait, what?"
Lumine
"+..."
Kaeya
"Holy shit..."
Xingqiu
"Ship, ship. Time to write a fanfic ))))"
Lumine
"I'm with you."
Hu Tao
"And me."
Albedo
"May I join? 😌"
Xingqiu
"Yes, Mother. Account: ****** You'll be co-authors."
Scaramouche
"YOU HAVE SOME NERVE!!!"
Kazuha
"I'll tell Mom everything, she'll expel you ☺️"
The Chat
"WHAAAAAAAAAAT"
Scaramouche
"Kaz, are you... the Principal's son? 😨"
Kazuha
"And the PE teacher's."
Kaeya
"Is that Beidou, by any chance?..."
Kazuha
"Yes, it's her."
Lumine
"People, I found out Xiao is in love!!!!!"
Aether
"Oh, cool."
Xiao
"Are you alright? I left, and then this happens."
Aether
"Yeah, everything's fine."
Aether couldn't believe it. He had fallen in love with Xiao at first sight, and Lumine knew it. And since she had her sisterly duty, she went to Aether to listen to everything he had pent up.
"I can't take it," he said, already crying into his sister's shoulder, "I remembered our parents and how they died."
"Aether..." Lumine was shocked. Aether had forgotten it, and before, he had been in a bad way... He had tried to commit suicide, but Lume had stopped him. Lumine was happy that he had forgotten about it, but now he couldn't be left alone....
"I don't understand who Xiao is in love with," the brother began to hug his sister, for she was his only support. Then Paimon ran over, jumped onto her master's lap, and started purring.
"Aether, everything will be okay..." the Traveler hugged him back.
An hour had passed since Aether's crying. He was fast asleep. Lumine sat in the kitchen, drinking tea. Suddenly, she got a message.
Chat: Blueberry 🫐🫐 / Sweetie 🩷✨🌸
"Hi, love 🩷 ° 6:00 PM °"
"Yeah, hi... ° 6:01 PM °
Something happened already ( ° 6:01 PM °"
"Aether's in love with a guy, and that guy
is also in love—don't know if it's mutual or not ° 6:02 PM °"
"Oh. Poor thing...
By the way, I wanted to say that Thoma and I are transferring
to your school. And Ayato will be our Math teacher. ° 6:04 PM °"
Lume was happy that she'd be able to see Ayaka. Aether would be happy too.
"Lum, good evening," the sleepyhead yawned.
"Aether, Ayaka and Thoma are transferring to our school and class, and Ayato is the new teacher."
"Seriously?" Aether couldn't believe his ears, as these people always helped them.
"Yep! ^^"
Dead Insiders 💔💔
Lumine
"We're getting new students! 😍😍"
Venti
"How do you know?"
Aether
"Because his girlfriend told her."
Tartaglia, Kaeya, and Venti
"WHAT THE FUCK!"