Caught your eye || Abyss Aether x Xiao

Season Finale: Return to Me

"Aether?!" Lumine blurted out. 

Xiao sensed another presence behind him. He turned to find Lumine staring at him and Aether, her hand hovering over her mouth as tears started to form at the edge of her eyes.

"Traveler..." Xiao said slowly. He hated that Lumine had to find her brother this way, thoughts swirled around his head as he suddenly felt guilty for not telling Lumine about him and her brother.

Lumine looked between Xiao and her brother, clenching her fists closed in the process. "Why..? No—how...how are you here with my brother..!" She said. Her voice was quiet and shaky, no louder than a whisper. 

"Did you know where he was all this time?!" She continued. Lumine desperately wanted to believe that there was some other explanation, but what she saw in front of her was all she needed in order to let her mind come up with an explanation for her. 

Xiao hung his head low, looking at the ground. "I know it was wrong of me..." He said. Xiao balled his hand into fists against the dirt. "I'm sorry, Traveller...I understand how badly you have suffered in order to find your brother over the past couple years." He said. His heart beat sped up faster the more he imagined the look on her face. 

Lumine opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Don't blame Xiao, sister." Aether said. 

He lifted his head off of Xiao's shoulder and turned to face Lumine. A sad smile appeared on his face, happy that he could finally reunite with his sister, but sad that he had to be away from her for so long. He fiddled with his fingers in his lap, awaiting some sort of a response from Lumine. 

Slowly, she took a step towards her brother, extending her hand towards him. Aether pursed his lips together and stood up, reaching towards Lumine too. The more he looked into her eyes the more he felt the desire to be with her again, after hundreds of years of distancing himself away from her. 

Lumine clung onto her brother, afraid that he would disappear from her sight again if she didn't. Tears fell from her eyes as she felt her brother hug back, his arms squeezing tightly around her. So many questions were inside of Lumine's head, but the one she wanted to know the most was, "Why didn't you come back to me...?" 

Aether pulled away for a second, resting his hands in her shoulders. He showed a painful expression on his face, as he told her...

"I wasn't ready. I got caught up in some..things..and didn't think that you'd wanna see me again after..." He trailed off. 

Lumine grabbed Aether and pulled him into a tight hug. "I could never not want to see you Aether, ever!" She said quietly.

That night, the moon shined exceptionally bright, as the people of Liyue celebrated together with their loved ones. The only difference now is that Lumine is able to spend it with her brother. They held each other for a long time that Lantern Rite, letting the cool night and soft Liyue breeze swirl around their somewhat completed feelings. 

Xiao and Paimon stood off to the side, wearing a very soft gaze while watching the twins. Paimon  hovered close to the ground, as she squeezed a fist to her chest. 

"I guess..the journey is finally over." She said, a single tear sliding down her cheek. Xiao stayed silent, as calm and collected as ever. Paimon took a deep breath to calm herself down before she slowly floated over to Lumine. 

She held her hand up to Lumine and smiled sadly at her. "I guess our journeys over huh?" She said. She smiled brightly as she grabbed onto Lumine's hand. 

Lumine lowered her head a bit and gave a small smile, shaking her head. She dragged Paimon into her arms. "You are seriously brainless Paimon! How could I ever leave you..?!" She said. Paimon inhaled through clenched teeth and sobbed uncontrollably into Lumine's arms, relief washing over her.

Aether looked up to the sky, enjoying the feeling of having a massive weight lifted off of his shoulders. He glanced in Xiao's direction where their eyes met. Xiao flashed a smile and gave Aether a thumbs up, "good job!" He mouthed. Aether blushed, feeling his heart skip a beat or two.

"I'm so glad I met you.." Aether thought, as he smiled lovingly at Xiao. He turned to his side and looked at his sister. She was right next to him, with Paimon in her arms. Aether sighed and laid his back down onto the grass. 

"I couldn't be more grateful for this moment in time.." He thought. A shooting star flew above them, catching the gazes of the people below as they all pointed at it. 

"Couldn't be more grateful, huh? Just you wait..." 

                End of Season...

Author's Note:

Okay!!! I know this chapter is short but its the last one of the season, it was really just a closing since we met the goal of what we needed to complete season 1. Butttt season 2 is gonna make yall cry >:). I tried to make things "romantic" but uh, I'VE NEVER BEEN IN A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP(atleast not one that counts.) Anyways, I will be posting extras while we wait for season 2 to start or just fixing past chapters :p. These extras won't be connected to the main story so they are just like au's I guess. If you wanna leave requests for scenes in season 2 or 3 then don't be shy <3. Anyways, the eerie stuff will happen in spooky season so, SEE YOU IN SPOOKY SEASON!! Bye - Bye!