The Spark [Xiao x Aether]

A very long sleepless night

"Whenever I'm around Morax I feel very strong elemental energy. Way back I was created in order to locate elemental beings, so I can feel when somebody possess strong powers or a vision. That guy...he had an aura way stronger than the one of Morax, that's what's been bothering me ever since I saw him. How can somebody so idiotic and pathetic be a god, or is he an even stronger being than a God?"

"You believe he's stronger than Zhongli? And don't call somebody who saved your life stupid..." the blonde boy let go off his hand when he heard his boyfriend calling the bard uneducated, he understood that his companion sometimes acted like a small child, but deep down he had impressive knowledge.

"I'm sorry, but what if he didn't save me? It all could've been a dream like I said previously. It could all just be another trap..."

Aether noticed how Xiao's expression quickly changes from dull and exhausted to upset. He noticed eyebags under the boy's eyes, they were very clear to see in the Moonlight. The Adeptus wasn't wearing the red eyeliner he usually had on so it was very easy to notice how sad his eyes looked without it. Was he trying to cover up being tired with his eyeliner?

The traveler grabbed his lover's chin and started checking out if what he saw was not an illusion. His eyes weren't deceiving him, the eyes of the boy looked very exhausted and had small black spots under them.

"Xiao...seriously, what is up with you? Have you not been sleeping? Why didn't you tell me anything about this...?"

"...I don't need sleep."

"You do. Quit acting tough, both mortals and the rest need sleep. When was the last time you slept?"

"A week ago. It dosen't matter, sleep dosen't affect me the way it affects you."

The Adeptus could go an entire month without sleep, but ever since his curse had dissapeared, he started feeling more sleepy than usual. That feeling didn't start getting worse so he simply ignored it and continued staying awake at night like he usual does.

"Are you insane!?" The blonde boy hugged him tightly, he wrapped his arms around his lover and held him as close to himself as he could. "You look very tired..."

He dragged the Yaksha to the bed in the room and made him sit down, he was surprised as to how the boy hasn't fainted yet. His face didn't seem tired but he seemed slightly unconscious.

"Please sleep, staying awake for so long isn't good for you."

"...Didn't we agree that you take the bed and I take the sofa...?"

"That dosen't matter now."

Xiao started to stare at the ground refusing to lay down.

"I don't want it to come back..."

The traveler was confused on what he was talking about, he looked his boyfriend deep in the eyes and noticed they were full of tears. The boy wasn't prepared to see him cry again, the last time he cried had already left a deep wound on his heart, seeing his partner cry again would shatter him. Aether hated seeing him cry.

He hugged him once again but this time he wouldn't let go.

"What is 'it'?"

"The nightmares, the constant pain that I had to endure...I don't want them to suddenly come back when my guard is down...what if I start having another dream about somebody saving me? What if this all is just a dream and the moment I wake up I'll be back to reality...? Aether, I'm scared..." he sobbed quietly as small tears rolled down his cheek onto the blonde's shoulder. His eyes already started hurting due to the eyebags he had under them.

It was now clear as to why he hadn't been sleeping and why that dream about Venti was such a big deal. The poor boy was afraid of another dream like that coming up, or even worse, these entire memories all being dreams. That thought scared him a lot, he couldn't close his eyes for a long time, and even when he tried, his fears wouldn't let him.

The Adeptuses head was lost in millions of different thoughts.

"Xiao, it's okay...I promise to you that the pain will never ever come back and that all this is reality. It may take you some time to understand the difference between dreams and reality but I'm sure that in some time get the hang of it."

The traveler started going through his lover's hair with his fingers, combing it slightly in a way to comfort him. He remembered how much he liked that back when he had an incident back in Liyue.

"I'll never understand why you choose to help me when nobody else would...but I love you for it, I love you so much Aether."

"What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn't try to help you? You mean the world to me it would only make sense if I was trying to make you feel better."

The blonde boy started cleaning the other's tears away with his hand. Eventually he stopped crying after a couple more tears, he seemed to have learned how to handle difficult emotions .

"I look like a mortal crying, don't I...?" The Yaksha questioned with a small laugh afterwards.

"An adorable mortal, now please go to sleep." The traveler didn't wanna waste any more time talking, he knew his partner needed some sleep and talking would only make him more exhausted.

"Sleep with me..." mumbled Xiao under his breath while unconscious, he couldn't think straight anymore, his mind was filled with nothing but the need to sleep.

"Huh!?"

Aether blushed, getting the wrong idea of what the Adeptus meant.

"Sleep beside me, please..."

He started feeling stupid after realizing what he actually meant, the boy was about to start questioning his lover if he took some alcohol when they were back at the tavern, such behavior wasn't expected from somebody so calm and collected, he could maybe even be considered shy.

The boy nodded with an awkward smile, he told his boyfriend to already go sleep until the other got ready. The blonde was still wearing tons of layers of clothing from the meeting he had today, sleeping in that would be very uncomfortable.

He headed towards the bathroom and before doing anything he just stared at himself in the mirror while unbraiding his hair. It took him a long time to unbraid such long hair, while doing it, he started thinking about a way to get Xiao to not feel scared about sleeping. There was nothing that came to his mind, he knew that after today his lover will still attempt to avoid sleeping. He started to feel like there was no way to help him. What if he ends up having such problems forever? The traveler couldn't stand seeing somebody so close to him upset or afraid, especially not the Yaksha.

After some time, he finally finished getting ready for bed. He headed towards the bed to see a surprising sight.

The boy was already in a deep sleep, it seemed like he had fallen asleep way quicker than Aether expected. He took some time to admire how cute he looked while asleep, it wasn't often that the blonde boy had time to witness his boyfriend sleeping so peacefully. He looked so relaxed.

He went up to the bed and laid there next to him, trying to make as little moves as possible, he knew that the Adeptus wasn't a heavy sleeper and even the slightest sound could wake him up. Aether slowly gripped onto his arm and kissed his forehead.

"Goodnight, Xiao."

There was no response, but the traveler didn't mind. He knew that Xiao heard it, he probably didn't have enough strengh to react to it, but that was okay and understandable. Everyone needs a little rest from time to time. Immortals that are often seen as tough and scary need it aswell.