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Chapter Text

The pitter patter of two sets of feet echoed on the street. One of the two little boys had to stop when his foot snagged against his untied shoelace. He caught himself when he tripped before bending down. The rain pounded down his back from the sky as he picked up his laces, trying to remember how to tie his own shoes. 

“Are you serious?” Yapped the other boy, his field trip buddy, as he looked at the boy. His eyes narrowed in a glare, his arms crossing against his chest before he glanced behind them. “We are already so far away from the group! Can you go any slower?” His frustrated voice emphasized the word go.

“It’s not my fault you wanted to stop back there to look at a squirrel.” The smaller defended himself, standing up before pointing in the direction they just came from where a tree stood on the side of the road. “You see squirrels everywhere!” He insisted, trying his hardest not to roll his eyes.

While he waited for the other to make sure, yeah that was a squirrel, their teacher had left the two behind, not knowing the two boys were no longer with the group. When trying to catch up, the two boys took one wrong turn after another. They were pretty much lost at this point.

Both could only shudder at the lecture that would come from the teacher from not paying attention. 

The other tsked softly, “I wanted to make sure,” he stopped, as a confused look appeared on his face. His look towards the other then gave an air of defiance then frustration. “I don’t have to tell you!” He hissed, marching up to the smaller who stood up after messily stuffing his laces into his old beat up shoes. The other raised his hand so he could poke the smaller right in his chest. “I hate your guts!” He snarked.

The smaller boy’s eyes narrowed when he heard that as he cried out, “What did I do?” Tears threatened to appear in his eyes and he tried desperately to blink them away. He felt the raindrops fall faster and he looked up quickly at the angry gray clouds covering the blue sky. 

A shiver passed through his body, he hoped that they could get out of this mess soon. Hopefully the mood the 10 year old was in would pass quickly so that the two of them could find their group and hopefully head home.

“I hate that I am always stuck with you!” The other cried out, jabbing the other’s chest yet again. “Why am I always your buddy! I don't like you, so stop thinking you can follow me ALL THE TIME!” He screeched. 

Now that, that was unfair. The small boy took in a deep shaky breath, his eyes blinking away tears and the rain dripping down from his hair that was now stuck to his forehead. “I didn’t ask to be your buddy,” he pointed out. “The school-”

“The school just thinks that some of my power will rub out onto you.” His companion interrupted him. “But you are just a powerless nobody.” He jabbed his chest with every word he spoke, and the small boy had half the mind to bat the hand away from him. 

He opened his mouth to defend himself again, when the other placed his hands fully on his chest instead of the finger and gave him a shove. Not expecting that, he slipped but managed to catch himself. He looked back at the incoming traffic that the other almost managed to push him into. “Please, this is-”

Shutting him up, the other moved forward again and pushed him harder. This time, he couldn’t save himself. His foot slipped sideways in one of the puddles forming on the ground.  His eyes catched his field trip buddy. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. As he fell, the other boy’s eyes widened in fear and regret as he looked at the street full of speeding cars.

He could hear the screech of a bus rolling down the road. The driver didn’t see the two boys fighting, so they didn’t stop. The vehicle hit him as he fell with full force, jolting his body forward, more into the street.

He knew the other boy was screaming his name between strings of oh no. The teacher’s voice was mixed into the sounds, calling for the two boys. He had come back to look for the two of them when they had gone missing.

The bus must have come to a screeching halt, traffic stopping all around. He felt someone moving his body, the cold seeping through every crevice. Everything faded into black

As his senses came back to him, his eyes opened, staring straight up at a white ceiling. The room he laid in looked like the entrance to a house, an empty house with everything bare, the walls an almost impossible white.

He had died. This was the afterlife. He didn’t survive the accident.

But would anyone miss him? Would anyone be sad that he had to leave the planet? His parents hated him,  He had no friends, he was practically alone. Every life he lived he was always alone.

Memories of his past lives came flooding back. Every horrible death and painful death he had to experience played through his mind. He sat up, wrapping his arms around his knees, placing his head into his lap.

That life didn’t last long. But… he couldn’t be surprised about that. How could he be when he knew his soul would never live past the age of 18?

A pained gasp left his lips as his mind focused on the details of his most recent life. He could still feel the pain and the aches from his former life.

He scooted so that his back was up against a wall, not looking up from his knees, and he took in a few deep breaths.

When was this going to end, had he not been punished enough? What was the point of this?

Then again, maybe not. Maybe he will never get to the end of the punishment.

He was a part of the creation of a coven in which they unlocked the key to reincarnation. Those who want to go back into the world, give life another chance. It was a beautiful world, one that he loved to walk through.

That was until two people decided to take power into their own hands and go after a neighboring coven, wanting to control and rule over them, causing a war to break out. 

Everyone who helped the two gain the power were supposed to be punished, but that punishment was taken by him and his soulmate.

If only they could save innocents from the mistakes of a few. 

But… If he had known how painful the deaths he would suffer were, the personal hell he would suffer for lifetimes, never catching a break, never being able to grow his own power for later lifetimes, would he have been so quick to jump in and take on the punishment?

Of course he would. People he held dear would have been harmed and punished, a lot harsher than what he was going through. His dear sister that he would give the world to, his best friend, and children who had no chance to stand up for themselves.

He lifted his head up, tears streaming down his cheek, looking at the white walls. He could tell that someone had entered the room and was standing far away from him. He didn’t have to look, he cannot exit this house when waiting for his next lifetime, and nobody can join him, except for her.

There was silence as the other being in the room tried to think of what to say, if she could say anything, to help ease the other’s pain. He just stared ahead, letting his anger, pain, and disappointment roll through him. “How long?” He asked.

“Huh?” Was the response he received.

He turned to look at the figure who was just as tall as him as he was sitting down, staring into her eyes with dead emotionless eyes. “How long do I have to wait for my next life?” He asked

She blinked, speechless for once. “Come on, you know I can’t answer that.” She responded before sitting down next to him and scooting close so that her body was next to his. “You look defeated.” 

A bitter laugh left his lips, as he shook his head a smidge. That was an understatement. “That was the eighth time.” He whispered, pulling his legs closer if that was even possible.

He could feel the other reach out as if she wanted to comfort him, but knew she couldn’t. “Is it really that bad?”

“I’m cursed to never live past my 18th birthday, cursed do die in gruesome deaths, until the sins of the past have been forgiven.” He whispered. “I thought I would be prepared for that, but dying at birth because my lungs never developed? Having your soulmate push you in front of a bus and have it ride away? Dying from a virus as a three year old? What happened to the torture?”

“The worst death is that of a child who has so much potential in them.” She softly whispered under her breath. 

He shook his head stronger as he tried to get rid of all the memories. His hands went up to cover his eyes as he took in a deep breath, trying any way he could to calm his racing mind. “That is the EIGHTH time that I have died by his hands. IN A ROW!” He cried out, as he felt as if  his heart was tightened. “If we finally get out of this mess, wouldn’t I end up hating him when we get back here? As all the memories of my soulmate finding a way to kill me as a child? Every twenty times? And yet, all I want to do is see him now, see him in front of me, for him to hug me and tell me that it was all going to be okay.”

Again the figure beside him, one of the gods who have given him this curse stayed silent as she looked at him.  He took in a shaky breath, his body shaking as he did. “And I know that it’s not on purpose, archons,  It’s never on purpose.” He continued, releasing his legs and instead moving to hug himself. “It still hurts, Paimon. These deaths are the ones I hate the most.”

“I’m sorry.” Was all that the other could say. He glanced at her, a long look as she seemed to be thinking of a way to comfort him, but he knew she couldn’t. 

And yet as a choked sob left his lips, he couldn’t stop himself from begging, “ please, tell me it’s almost over.” 

She reached out before placing her hand on top of his head, patting it as if she was trying to comfort him. “Rest.” Her voice turned soft. “You should have never had to endure this pain, this was not yours to bear.”

“I CREATED the atmosphere that led to the creation of…” he stopped what he was saying as he tried to figure out the right thing to call them. “Of…those souls,” the words felt bitter in his mouth as he said that, scrunching up his face, “who’s greed brought them to fight Khaenri’ah. Of course it’s my fault.”

After all, War is always created by Greed.

He strolled down the walls of his hand, letting his hand run along the walls. There was a little voice in the back of his mind telling him that he didn’t have much time in this house, but a much larger voice telling it to shut up, of course he did. There was a little popping sound and he turned to see the goddess in the doorway. “It’s time.” She whispered.

“Already?” He asked, as a soft laugh left his lips.

She took a step back, studying the soul in front of her. From the time she had first met him, a lot has changed. His eyes that were once filled with so much hope were now void and lifeless. She gave a hard nod of her head, not sure what else to do. He looked up at the roof, as his mind tried to come up with what death he would suffer through this time.

Maybe it will be one of those lifetimes where he lives longer, that teases him that the end was near but right at the end, takes that opportunity away from him.  “Well, I guess… I’ll see you soon then.” He replied before forcing a smile. “My guess is in three years or so.” 

It wasn’t long until he was settling into his new life, a surge of warmth around him as he felt like he was in a place that he was wanted. “Aether?” A voice called out right above him, oh, that's who must be holding him and rocking him gently. “Are you sure about that?” 

There was a soft scoff. “Yes Honey, I’ve told you this.” A woman's voice replied, ah that was who was going to be his mother then. “Lumine and Aether. Named after the founder of the coven and his twin sister. I should be able to at least name him what I want to name him.” Her voice gradually fell as she was talking.

Aether felt a hand caressing his cheek gently. “And yet, Aether is a cursed name.” The husband replied with a sigh. “Anyone named Aether has a greater chance of meeting an early demise.” He could already hear the grief and sadness in his fathers voice.

A pit of sadness hit him as he thought, this man is right, and he will see soon. Aether wasn’t going to last long in this world. “That’s just a myth.” The woman insisted.

Then Aether realized something. He’s not supposed to have a twin, especially not a twin sister. The only way that could happen is if Lumine came down and started a new life at the same time as him, or a random new soul was thrown into the mix. Before he could ponder, his memories of the past and his past lives began to slowly fade away from him, replaced with the thoughts of a newborn baby. 

-

The two four year olds were running around the living room, ignoring their mother’s voice telling them to use inside feet when Aether’s foot caught on the rug and he fell down. He placed his hands out, trying to catch himself before he tripped. With a hard thunk, tears appeared in his eyes.

“Aether!” His twin sister’s voice called as she ran over to where he was, trying to help him up but ended up falling backwards as well.

There was a soft scoff from where their mother was sitting in the living room, playing on her phone instead of paying attention to the two children. “What did I tell you?” She mocked, looking up at the two of them.

Aether looked at her, tears in his eyes as he tilted his head to the side. The sound of the front door opening distracted them. The twins' father walked into the house, looking exhausted. He took off his coat and placed his keys in a bowl next to the door. The blonde heads of the twins both looked over to where his dad was at, watching as he took off his shoes. “Daddy!” Lumine cried, getting up and moving towards her father, before looking over at her brother.

Aether managed to get up as well. Lumine ran towards the door and Aether ran after her, looking up at their father with wide eyes. “Oh, there’s my two favorite people!” Their father called out as a smile appeared on his face. He bent down and pulled both of them into a hug.  “What did you two get up to today?”

“Playing!” Lumine cried happily and Aether nodded his head in agreement.

He let go of the two children before ruffling Lumine’s hair gently with a soft laugh. “Did you enjoy school?” He questioned.

“Yeah!” Aether called out, his eyes brightening. “Miss Kathryne brought in Apples and we tried them!” He started to explain.

Lumine nodded her head in agreement. “There was a red one a green one and a yellow one.” She stated, counting them on her hands. “And we had to say which one we liked!”

“The yellow ones are the ones that Mommy always buys.” Aether added in, pointing over to where the woman was sitting on the couch. His dad looked over to where his wife was.

She rolled her eyes at what her son said and her husband frowned before looking back down at the two.  Lumine was already getting up from where she stood and grabbing onto her father’s hand, trying to get him to stand up too. “Daddy, tell us the story about Soulmates!” She demanded as her eyes sparkled.

He laughed softly, leaning forward to press a soft kiss on top of Aether’s hand before standing up like Lumine wanted. Aether scurried to get up as well, looking up at his dad with wide eyes.  “I told you that last night.” He exclaimed in a joking tone.

Lumine stuck out her bottom lip as she gave her dad her best puppy dog eyes. “But we wanna hear it again!” She then looked over at her twin. “Right Aeth?” Aether nodded his head rapidly. He always liked the story of soulmates, to know someone out there loves him. 

A soft smile appeared on their fathers face before he leaned down and brought Lumine into his arms, while offering his hand to his son. “You really like Soulmates, huh Lu?” He asked while Aether reached up to grab his hand and his father led him to the couch before sitting down. The little boy scurried onto the couch before snuggling into his father’s side as his father wrapped a protective arm around him.

Lumine moved to settle on his other side, resting her head. “A long time ago, when people were first created, his father started in his low voice. Aether yawned softly, leaning heavily on his father as his eyes fluttered close, him too exhausted to keep them open another second.

“Aeth, don’t fall asleep!” Lumine hissed softly. “You need to hear the story too, or else it wouldn’t be fair.”

Aether whined softly, refusing to open his eyes again though he knew that was what his sister wanted him to do. There was a soft laugh and he could feel his fathers laugh as he paused his story. “It’s okay if he falls asleep, my little princess. You both have heard this story so many times.

“‘M not tired.” Aether insisted, yawning and rubbing his eyes. A small frown appeared on his lips but his eyes still refused to open. He felt his father place his hand on top of his head, ruffling his hair.

“I beg to differ, baby.” He moved his arm again before pulling Aether closer to him.

Aether whined, turning his face and smashing it into his father’s side. “Nooo,” he complained.

Sneaking out with the light of the full moon guiding his way, the young male found his way to the field just outside of his coven’s boundaries, trying not to let any loud sound alert anyone where he was going. He wasn’t supposed to be practicing by himself, lest he gets hurt. At the same time, in his coven he wasn’t given skills or time to practice, they just accepted that the coven’s magic was dried up.

Walking through the endless trees in a path he had made from walking the same path over and over again, he made it to his favorite field. When he arrived, he saw another boy already there, someone he didn’t notice. The other boy seemed to look a bit older than him. The boy turned when he heard someone, and the two of them locked eyes. There was a moment of silence as the two stared at each other. “What are you doing here?” The boy who just arrived asked, backing up on instinct and looking behind him as if he was preparing to run away from the other.

“I’m…. who are you?” The other replied, startled that the one who ruined his training session dared to ask that type of question.  He opened his mouth to answer but decided against it, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“I asked a question, answer that first before I tell you.” The younger boy replied sharply, holding his chin up in defiance.

“I’m looking for a place to do magic.” The other male finally answered with a soft sigh. “My family won’t teach me how to, so I come here to do it myself.”

There was silence yet again. “Me too.” The other finally whispered. “I’m from the coven over there” He pointed towards the direction he just came from. “I’m from the Starlight coven.” 

“Who are you?” The first one repeated his question, as soon as he thought it was safe to ask him. ”I’m from the Levin coven.”

Again, silence filled the air as the other looked at the Levin witch, as if he was trying to decide how much he was going to tell the other. “I’m just a trainling from my coven.” He responded. “Nobody important that would hurt you.”

“A trainling? What are you doing out here on your own, aren’t you afraid a big bad full witch is out here to hurt you and take you away?” The older witch sneered,but his eyes looked around in fear showing he himself was afraid of that very scenario.

“Of course not. I can handle myself well.” The Starlight responded, shrugging his shoulders, watching as the other walked closer. His heart hammered, warning him to run away from the other, but not wanting to show the other he was fearful of the stranger.

“Really? A pretty thing like you?” He asked, reaching forward and grabbing the Starlight’s chin. With a flinch, the young man  pulled away from him, glaring at the other boy, rubbing his chin although it wasn’t grabbed that hard.

“Wanna try that again? He sneered, but there was no response from the other. “I’m going to train… do whatever you want. This field is big enough for both of us.” He turned sharply before going over to a section of the clearing, trying to put as much distance between him as possible.

As he was training, he could feel the other boy staring at him, his eyes burning a hole into his back.  After a while of staring, the starlight sighed, turning to look at the male. “What?” He asked.

“You’re doing it wrong.” The Levin responded, moving closer to him again.

He blinked as he looked at the Levin, trying to figure out what he ment. “No I’m not? This is how my parents taught me.” He responded, before going over his stance one more time just to make sure he wasn’t messing something up.

“Yeah, but if you change your stance just a little bit, you get more power which gives off a bigger reaction.” The older witch gently kicked his foot so that it was in a slightly different position before gently repositioning the others arms into a slightly different stance. “Try it like that.” He instructed.

The starlight traininglin gave the other a look before trying to summon fire once again, jumping back when the flame was brighter and fuller. He turned to stare fully at the Levin witch whose eyes were wide, before he shook his head noticing the Starlight witch staring at him.

“Somethings different.” The Levin witch muttered as he was looking at the Starlight witch.

Scoffing, the other witch gently pushed him. “You do something then.” He demanded. “Try doing the same stance.”  The other nodded before getting in the same stance. When he was done, he turned wide eyed to the other boy who was giving him an unimpressed look. “I thought you said that something was different.”

“It IS different.” The Levin witch stressed. “I have NEVER been able to do that strong of a release. Do something with your weak ass stance.”

“WHAT? My Stance isn’t weak!” The Starlight witch protested.

“Mhm, sure.” The other replied but was hit with a strong gust of air. The force was enough to push him back. Not prepared for the hit, the Levin witch landed on his ass, a small oof leaving his lips. “Hey!” He cried, glaring at the other boy.

“Don’t diss my attack then. It’s as simple as that.” The other huffed. “Come on, I think being around you helps or something. Lets do more stuff!” He offered his help before the two tried to manipulate different elements, watching as different colors erupted into the sky and they began to share their own experiences and their own stances with each other.

As arms wrapped around his body, lifting him up, Aether jostled out of his sleep. “Huh?” He whispered, a soft yawn leaving his lips. A kiss was placed on his head.

 “You fell asleep during my story.” He heard the gentle voice of his dad as he wrapped his arms around his fathers neck, burying his head into his chest. “I was going to put you down for a nap baby.”

Aether yawned again, shaking his head as a sound of protest left him. “M not tired, daddy.” He whined.

His father ran his hands through his hair, gently swaying with the boy in his arms. “It’s okay if you are tired, baby. Sometimes we just need to sleep.”

Aether scrunched up his nose at that, wanting to find some way to argue, but not having the strength. He then remembered the dream that he was having before his father woke him up by accident. “Were the colors beautiful when they were training?” Aether muttered softly, his eyes shutting tight.

“Who?” His father asked, confusion in his voice, but he noticed from the steady breathing his son had already fallen back to sleep. “Oh Aeth, why do I feel like you are destined for something great?” He whispered as he brought the sleeping boy up to his room, laying him down and tucking him in.

As he went to exit the room, the father stopped, turning to look at Aether who had curled up, grabbing one of his stuffed animals and cuddling that.  His question bothered him, who was he talking about? The man had told the stereotypical story about when humans were created they were created with an extra pair of everything, nothing about training or colors.

Chapter Text

The prickles of thirst woke the teenaged boy up. The blond started up at the ceiling silently for a couple of minutes. He twisted to his side and turned his body fully as he tried to will the feeling away. All he wanted was to go back to sleep. To let the night pass him by before it was time for him to wake up. 

Mostly because he knew what he was going to see iif he walked down the hall. Or more like what he is going to hear. Every night if the home was quiet enough he could hear the muffled voices of his parents… he wanted to say talk, but it was always arguing. Always. He didn’t want to be in the room and make the arguing even worse. 

The relief of sleep never came. He couldn’t force himself to go to sleep. When he closed his eyes his brain would yell at him to get up and get something to drink and it frustrated him to no end. Why couldn’t he just drift back to sleep, back to the sweet dreams that protected him from the horrors of this world for a couple of hours. It was unfair.

With a heavy sigh, he dropped his feet over the side of his bed and sat up. He stared at the wall for a couple of moments asking himself yet again if he was sure he had to get up and get a drink of water. Could it not wait for the morning?

The thirst was too persistent and he knew it couldn’t.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly as he walked out of the room and headed towards the stairs. His fingertips ran along the side of the wall as he shuffled his feet forward slowly and carefully so the floorboards didn’t creak.

He really needed to start leaving a water bottle in his room for situations like this.

Maybe he’ll be lucky and they won’t be arguing today. That was wishful thinking. They always argued. They weren’t happy in their marriage and his mother made it clear why they weren’t happy.

It was him, she hated him for a reason Aether couldn’t wrap his hand around. As far as the senior was concerned, he had never given the woman a reason to hate her own child. 

And there it was. As he crept towards the stairs, he could hear the telltale murmuring from downstairs growing louder and the tones growing angrier as he walked to the stairs.

He had to admit that it was impressive the two of them were still up, he had no idea what time it was. But he knew he had to be asleep for a good while before he had woken up. 

At the top of the stairs, he stopped. The question from earlier crossed his mind. His hand gripped tightly on the railing, every bone in him urging him to go back to bed. If they saw him, he would have to risk explaining himself. They would ask why he was up at this ungodly hour.

Then he and his mother would fight. He didn’t want to start another fight. This week it felt like every conversation between the two of them was an argument of some sorts.

No matter how hard he tried, she would never be happy with him. She would never love him like she loved Lumine. Her hate seemed unjust and unfair. 

Another reason he was hesitant was the importance of tomorrow. The first day of school. He really didn’t want to fight the night before. Doing well in his classes was already stressing the teenager out. Adding the stress of his mother’s anger was not something Aether was planning on doing, or needed. The boy needed sleep and rest. 

The moment of silence from downstairs for a couple of minutes passed. The break that the two needed was gone. “I worry about him,” his mother stated, her voice almost a whisper. The blond bit down on his tongue, stopping himself from calling bullshit. That woman did not have a bone in her body that cared for him. Growing up, he learned that the hard way. If she wasn’t arguing with him, she was insulting anything Aether did. 

It was like the mother had an idea of who she wanted her son to be. A person that the son could never be as he had no idea who that person was.

But.. Why should he change himself for someone he knows doesn’t care about him?

Because he wanted his mother’s approval?

Something that he should have- 

His father talking cut him off in his tracks of whatever he was thinking about.  “I won't lie.” The older male started. His voice was more of a whisper than the woman’s had been. His tone was defeated. Just from the sound, Aether could only imagine the time the two had spent tonight arguing. Or days. It was a topic that both have their views set in concrete and they refuse to change. “I do as well…”

Aether could believe his father. Where the twin’s mother lacked any type of love, his father would try his hardest to make it up to Aether. Or he would get it from his uncle who was rarely around. An uncle who his mother hated, but that's another story. At least his dad would be there for him, no matter the problem that he faced.

“He’s getting bull-” his dad tried to continue. The young boy flinched. The other kids in his school despised him, and that was no secret. Aether had tried to hide it from his dad. Or at least hide that it bothered him. 

“As he should!” His mother argued, slamming her hand on the coffee table, a loud thud echoing through the house.  The spying boy felt a dropping feeling in his guts. He tried to will his feet to move away from the stairs and to go back into his room, to do anything. Who would admit that a kid should be bullied? And the kids mother at that? “Maybe it’ll force him to try harder?”

Harder, what a funny concept. If he tried harder, all it would do is to try and appease his mother.  There is nothing that he could do to fix the issue both were worried about. “Aether is trying his best.” His father responded, raising his voice. Frustration laced his words. Aether could picture the man pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to keep his emotions in control. 

His mother scoffed in disbelief. “Trying his best?” she questioned. Aether closed his eyes as he took in a breath to calm himself.

He has spent hours, days, trying to figure out how to catch up with the other kids. No matter what he did, no matter how much time he spent on this problem, he couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. “We are in a time crunch! The exam is fast approaching! He needs to be able to manipulate at least one element well! You promised that-”

“Yes! I know!” His father cut her off before she could say anything. “But that was YEARS ago. I didn’t have the information that I have now!”

“He HAS to get into that university,” his mother stressed. “Or he will embarrass us!”  Of course. His worth was only measured by his chance to get into Celestia University. It’s not like he wouldn’t be able to get as good of an education from one of the seven other universities. 

What would happen if he didn’t get into the school? What would his mother do then? Or… more importantly, how was she going to react?

Hell, as far as he was concerned, he only had one problem. He couldn’t manipulate elements consistently. But… the few times he managed he showed enough power as any of the other kids in his grade. 

It has gotten better, in the past years though. Especially from the first time Lumine was able to show her power, and he couldn’t produce anything. From the time his parents used any resource possible to them to get Aether to manipulate the same as Lumine.

“I swear it's because- '' his mother started a sentence, but his father was quick to interrupt her.

“Maybe he’s a new soul,” the words were rushed, as if his father didn’t want her talking about the thought that she was going to bring up. “A new soul takes a while to gain power, in theory.”  Aether’s body fell against the wall, not being able to bring himself to move anywhere. His eyes fluttered shut. He needed to go downstairs. Get the water he needed, and then go back upstairs and sleep. What was keeping him here against the wall? When its the same argument he has heard before.

The ending wasn’t going to change.

But he made the mistake of the new soul theory. “That is a load of bullshit.” his mother hissed out. “There is nothing to prove the Theory of Reincarnation. Aether is simply not working hard enough. If that boy was actually applying himself, maybe he could actually be good at using his magic. And not the useless heap he is now. I will not have him disappoint the family by being the first in years not to get in. Even his useless cousin got into the school last year. I will not have my family laugh at us for the decision you made for us when he was born.”

That was new. What decision was she talking about? Aether felt his interest peak.Was this decision why his father worked so hard to support him? Oh, that would be devastating to learn. If his father only wants him to succeed because he wants this decision, whatever it is, to be the right one.

His father gave an exasperated sigh. “He just needs more time,” his father insisted, pleading. He seemed desperate to keep the topic on Aether and not on the decision his mother had brought up. That was the end of that topic, Aether guessed. “Or he’s unsure how.” 

Aether being unsure how to use power. That peeved him so much. If he didn’t know, how was he going to learn on his own? “Maybe we could get him a tutor, or something…”

There was an aggravated sound that came from his mother when she heard that. “LUMINE DOESN'T NEED A TUTOR.” His mother screeched in the highest possible voice she could muster. Her kids resting be damned, right? Of course Lumine doesn’t need a tutor. She got everything easily in regards to power. Lumine was the perfect child in her family’s eyes. “WHY SHOULD AETHER NEED ONE?”

Maybe because kids, even if they are siblings, grow up needing different things?

A creek from a door opening made Aether jump. It looks like Lumine woke up. The girl did not like being woken up. When the fights have gone on too long, she was the one to yell at her parents usually.

“Are you insane, woman?” His father hissed. “Quite your voice! We have two kids sleeping! Lumine and Aether are two. Completely. Different. People.” He stressed every word at the end of his sentence, as if it was something he had tried so hard to get the woman to understand. “When will you get that through you-”

Aether got distracted as he heard the sound of feet walking towards him. Lumine was not trying to be as quiet as he was. She didn’t care. He opened his eyes as he saw her sister walk closer, her arms crossed with an annoyed look on her face.

Her short blonde hair was messed up from sleeping and she was wearing a light blue robe around her pajamas that seemed like it was put on in a hurry to get out of her room. 

She looked up and the two of them shared a look and the annoyed look deepend. “What's up? Why are you stuck on the stairs?” She asked, trying to make her voice sound as kind as possible. It wasn’t Aether she was annoyed with. She rubbed her eyes, clearly still tired. 

“Take one guess.” He responded, before nodding his head down the stairs. Lumine rolled her eyes, turning to peer over the stairs at their parents arguing. 

“I do realize that,” his mother hissed back, “Lumine is obviously better than Aether.” Lumine’s eyes widened as she turned towards her brother. She mouthed to him that that was not true and Aether shook his head. He didn’t take too much offense from what his mother said. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before. 

“Move out of the way, Aeth.” She then whispered before gently pushing past Aether. The boy gladly moved out of her way, not wanting her to struggle to make it down stairs. As soon as she passed him, she made herself known to their parents. Her feet landed hard on the stairs as she stormed down the stairs. Aether peaked out from where he was, watching the scene unfold out. “HEY!” She yelled. 

The two parents turned to look at Lumine with wide eyes. They turned back and had a miniature argument with their looks around. AEther could see them for the first time. Both looked as if they hadn't even gotten ready for the night. Still stuck in their work outfits. Lumine had her hands on her hips as she glared her parents down. Distaste showed deep in her eyes. Aether slowly creeped down the stairs,hiding behind her.

“Lumine, Aether!” Their father cried out, getting off the couch before moving towards his children. “What are you two doing? Why are you up?”

Lumine scrunched her face as she turned her rage to their father. “As if you don't know,” she mocked. “We are trying to sleep.” She motioned to her brother standing right behind her. “It is our last first day of Highschool tomorrow!” Try saying that one three times fast. “Guess what! When people are arguing and yelling their heads off at each other, do you think the other people in the house are able to sleep? No! They fucking can’t. So stop shit talking your son!” The girl was getting worked up more.

Aether  put a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her to calm down. “Lumine,” he whispered. This shouldn’t escalate more than it had to.

She shrugged his hand off of him, as her rage grew like a fire. “You shouldn’t EVEN SHIT TALK YOUR SON!” And there she goes, she was yelling. “MUCH LESS IN FRONT OF HIM! MAYBE AETH NEEDS HELP, MAYBE HE DOESN’T!” She cried, getting off of the stairs before she marched right up to her mother, staring at the woman who looked so much like her daughter. 

The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. 

“Lumine.” His dad tried, but she turned his glare towards the other male and he looked away from her.

She looked back at her mother. “I doubt,” she had forced herself to lower her voice, but Aether could see that she was shaking with anger. “I doubt that its easy to do magic when everyone around you expect you to fail.” She stated, glancing back at Aether quickly before turning her gaze towards her father. “Especially those who are suppose to encourage him.” 

The twins parents looked at each other when they heard that and Aether awkwardly scurried the rest of the way down the stairs before walking as fast as he could into the kitchen.His parents hated fighting with Lumine, he knew that sooner than later, this argument and their conversation would be done for the night. 

He went to the kitchen, getting a glass and filling it with water before bringing it to his mouth. Before he could say anything else, Llumine continued, “besides, he scores really high on everything else He’s top in our grade, academic wise.”

He leaned against the counter, exhaustion washing over him. He tried to ignore everything that his family was saying, now that he was in the relative safety of his kitchen. 

“I don’t honestly care.” His mother’s voice rang forth. “Lumine, sweetheart, you need to learn that AEther won’t amount to anything.” 

Aether clutched the glass in his hand when he heard that, his hand shaking as water spilled all over him. A loud sound of someone slapping someone else came from the other room.

By the time he made it back to his room, he had about three hours left before he had to wake up for the night. His mind wouldn’t sleep. Instead of fighting that battle with himself, Aether accepted his fate.

He sat on the edge of his bed, scrolling through a social media app instead for a couple of hours, checking for any notifications. But he couldn’t focus on the app. He needed to get out of this house and fast.

After a couple minutes, nothing interesting happened. He tossed his phone gently to his side before getting up. He walked over to where his backpack was to check everything he needed was there. From a notebook for each class, a folder to keep important papers safe, to pins and pencils for homework. There was another folder filled with loose leaf paper so he didn’t have to damage a notebook from ripping some out when the teachers asked them to get a sheet of paper. 

There were also a few things he had for himself. He had been growing his hair out since he was a little kid, never liking the short look. Usually, he liked to have complicated hairstyles, so he would keep hair ties in his bag.

Another thing is he kept an extra shirt, usually a black baggy t-shirt in his locker. He stuffed one in his bag for his locker when he got to school later that day. He tended to wear crop tops when it was still warm. He’s gotten in trouble in the past because of it, and so he likes having other options in school just in case. Also if he gets cold, he has a shirt he can wear. 

Everything was in his backpack that he needed, he realized, so he grabbed the outfit that he had set out yesterday. He exited his room and walked into the bathroom down the hall and to take a shower. While in the shower, he took down his hair that he had put into a messy ponytail before bed the night before. As his hair got wet, he would run his fingers through it to try and get any knots out he might have gotten from the day before starting to wash it.

He stepped out after everything was washed before putting in the different hair products he had to help his hair keep its waves. That was one thing he didn’t envy his family members about. The rest of them had pretty straight hair, Lumine would always end up curling the ends of her hair. They didn’t understand that you can't just simply brush wavy hair, and the way that they take care of wavy hair was a lot different.

His mother would always make a stab like if you don't want to take care of it then cut your hair. But that’s not what Aether was complaining about. The product he uses got expensive and his hair was pretty picky about what products it liked and didn’t like. 

Usually, on days like today and on days he actually washed his hair, he would get so fed up that he ended up just braiding his hair. Which is what exactly he did as he left the bathroom, heading for his room. He had made sure that his hair was not dripping wet but not all the way dry, he didn’t care at this point.

He just wanted to get out, and take the time to actually dry his hair? No thank you, that was too much time. 

He dropped his pajamas on his desk chair for later that day when he arrived home from school before picking up his backpack and heaving it over his shoulders and leaving his room. He made his way downstairs to the door where his beat up pair of converse waited for him, begging him to buy a new pair soon. Not yet though. They still had a good week or so left before they were too worn out to wear. Maybe he’ll get some for his birthday as a little treat to himself. 

He honestly didn’t pay too much attention to how he looked, he had spent three years at this school and this was going to be his fourth year. Aether knew that nobody would care what he looked like.

No, everyone was going to be gossiping instead. Oh, there goes the kid who can’t manipulate a singular element. That was wrong, but Aether didn’t have the time or energy to argue with them. Oh, that's the kid whose twin sister had managed to sap all of the power when they were in the womb together.

He couldn’t fathom how that would work out, but whatever.

Aether shook his head, closing the door behind him and taking out his key so he could lock up the house again. 

As he started walking, he stopped in place. The blond knew he needed food or else he would be crabby at school. But…Where was he going to eat?

It had to be a place that could eat up the extra hour he had, as by the time he left the house it was around the time he woke up to get ready, and another hour before he had to leave the house to get to school on time. 

His mind went through all of the possibilities that he could stop at before it came to the little tiny Cafe that was enough walking distance from his house and back to the school it would eat up his time. This house was actually in one of the other districts, and closer to a different highschool, right on the outskirts of that district. There were seven districts all together, and Aether lived in the Geo district with his family.

The blond boy had gone to this cafe a couple of times in the past, when he had to leave the house a few hours before. Or sometimes, when the kid he tutored was from that district they would choose that coffeeshop to meet up at. They had good muffins, and even better coffee. A lot better than the franchised coffee shops around. 

When he got to the cafe, his phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out, looking at the screen to see who it was before answering it and placing the phone next to his ear. “Hello?” He called out, holding the door open as a girl ran out with four or five coffees in her arms. She gave him a thankful smile.

“Where are you?” Lumine asked, as Aether moved into the line to place his order. Thankfully there were maybe three or four other people in front of him, it wouldn’t take that long.

“I’m at a cafe,” Aether responded as he moved forward. It seemed like it was a fast moving line too, whoever was at the register wasn’t taking their time.

His sister gasped when she heard that. “Can you get me a coffee and a muffin?” She asked excitedly. “I’ll meet you at school, I don’t want to eat dumb stale cereal. Dad hasn’t gone to the store yet,” she started to rant as more customers went through.

“What type of muffin?” Aether managed to cut in, noticing that he was the second in line now. The cash register looked over the person's shoulder at him with sharp piercing indigo eyes. 

“Blueberry,” Lumine requested, before taking a breath as if she was going to continue her rant.

“Ok, I’ll talk to you at school.” Aether interrupted before she could get the chance. Lumine made a small huh sound, and the boy could only guess that she was upset that he wasn’t going to let her rant more. “I’m at the front of the line.” He explained.

“Ok, I’ll talk to you at school.” Lumine repeated back. Aether could only imagine his twin rolling her eyes at him.

The customer in front of Aether moved aside and Aether took a step up to the counter, fishing for his wallet. “What would you like?” The guy asked. Aether stopped and looked up when he said that. Was it him, or was this guy checking him out?

Probably not. This guy was pretty hot, and Aether knew he wasn’t that good looking to catch the eye of someone like him. “Uh, can I get a blueberry muffin, a white mocha, and a…” He stuttered, before realizing he didn’t know what he wanted. It felt forever before Aether could think of anything before he muttered out, “ a coffee cake muffin and a hot chocolate.” He gave the other an awkward smile, anxious about how long it took him to reply to that simple question.

The cashier smiled back at him before putting everything that he said into the computer. “Are you smiling?” A loud voice called from behind the counter, and Aether jumped, not expecting the loud sound.

The worker turned to glare at a male that was walking up to the counter. “Shut up, he has a cute smile.” His co-worker stuck their tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes. “Childe, seriously, we are at work right now.” He then turned his attention back to Aether. “Can I get a name for the order?”

Aether nodded. “Aether.” He told him, staring at the two coworkers, he had never seen either of them, which was weird as it wasn’t that long since his last visit to this cafe. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before?” He asked before his brain could stop him from asking such a dumb question.

“I’m filling in for a friend for the rest of the semester,” the other stated, shrugging his shoulders. “He took this on for a summer job and then decided he was going to be too busy to do this during school. Today’s my first day. Aether’s a cute name. A cute name for someone with a cute smile. Coming right up for you.” He seemed to start to ramble near the end before he coughed awkwardly like he was trying to clear his throat.

“How much is it?” Aether asked, going back to get his wallet out.

The worker looked Aether dead in the eyes before saying, “Free of charge. Childe can pay for you.”

The coworker, who was watching over the workers shoulder the whole time, gasped loudly. “Hey!” He cried.

The cashier turned to look at the man Aether guessed his nickname was Childe. Though it could be his name, but that was a weird name. It was a weird nickname as well. “Get back to making coffee.” He ordered.

Childe whined as he pulled out his own wallet and handed the other worker some cash. “I’m not made out of money.”

The cashier took the money, counted it before putting it in the till, throwing the change into the tip jar. “And yet you still paid for him.” He responded, rolling his eyes, he then looked back at Aether and his gaze softened. “We will get that ready for you right away.”

“I can pay for myself.” Aether stated, looking at the tip jar and where now a couple extra dollars now stood. Why hadn’t he given it back to his coworker. But the cashier was already waving the next person forward. Aether pouted and moved to the side. He saw an empty table near the front and went over to sit down while he waited for his food.

It wasn’t long till Childe came over to the table and placed a bag and a drink carrier down with the two drinks he ordered. “Here you go!” Childe said with a smile. “Have a good day! Let me tell you though, if he wasn’t already dating someone, he would try to get your number, from what I know about my friend back there.” He pointed over to the cashier who seemed to have a grumpy attitude now as he took the people’s orders.

Aether blinked, trying to hide the blush that started to form on his cheeks. “How much was it?” He asked in all seriousness. But Childe just smiled before turning and walking away from Aether.

Frowning, the highschooler got up, gathered his food, and left the shop. He dragged his feet along the ground as he walked towards the school, trying to figure out what any of that interaction ment. 

The school building appeared in his line of vision after his walk to school. As he got closer, he saw his sister standing near a tree in the front with a couple of other kids, her friends. She had styled her hair a little bit, and was wearing a light blue t-shirt with a character on it and a pair of shorts, something simple. “Aether!” She cried before running over to him. He handed her the White mocha and her muffin and she took it from him. “Thank you, you are the best!” She leaned in to give him a slight hug. “I’ll meet up with you later, ok?”

Aether nodded his head slowly, before watching as she ran back over to her friends. He stood there for a second, not sure what to do, when he picked up on the hushed whispers from around him. “Isn’t that the one who can’t manipulate?” Came a hushed whisper a few feet away from him.

Aether’s heart sank. It was too early for this. He forced himself to turn and walk into the school, instead of making trouble right off the bat. There were many school days for him to do exactly that. “Don’t interact with him.” A reply came, louder than the whisper. “I hear that it is contagious.

He collected his schedule from the front where the teachers were handing them out to the different students. Aether looked down at the classes, noting that they were all the ones that he had requested to be put in for the year.  It was the same schedule from the mock one they gave him at the beginning of the year last year. He looked at the locations, noting that he had classes in each of the rooms in the past, and he didn’t have to search the school for some weird classroom in a weird nook of the school.

The classes were also in an easy route, none of them being a class that he had to run halfway across the school just to get there in time.

Having nothing else to do, Aether decided that maybe it was time to figure out where his locker was.  Hopefully near one of his classes, and hopefully either close to his first period, or one of the classes that sandwiched lunch. He looked at the numbers and knew the location so he started to head that way, looking down and watching the checkered tiles flow by.

If only he could blend in and not cause trouble, or be seen by someone who would love to create trouble. Not looking where you were going, however, was not a good plan. As the blond was walking, he bumped into someone. His hot chocolate flipped out of his hands and crashed down on the ground, spilling all over. Aether jumped back as soon as that happened, looking at the other student with wide eyes.

It was a male, in a plain white t-shirt and black jeans, with teal hair. “Look where you’re going!” He cried angrily, his amber eyes wide with pure shock and pain. “Holy shit man!”

The mysterious male looked at Aether with a glare, the two of them appearing to be the same height. “I-I’m sorry…” Aether managed to stutter out, backing up more. A lump started to form in the back of his throat. He swallowed. “I-I d-didn’t mean too…” He cut himself off as he stared at the other like a deer caught in the headlights. Aether had no idea what he was going to do. How could the blond even make it up to this person? Closing his eyes, Aether took a deep breath before opening them again.

This wasn't someone he knew well either. It might not be a good time to point that out. As the words started to spill from his lips, he bit his lip instead. The kid looked like he was a Junior, or maybe he also was a senior. Which might make him a transfer student. His white t-shirt was now soaked with hot chocolate and his eyes were glaring at Aether with anger. Aether swallowed again, noticing just how intimidating this man looked. And yet… another feeling surged in the student.

“Shit man! Was that Hot Chocolate? That was fucking hot! And now my shirt is ruined!” The male continued to rant, tugging at his shirt and looking at the spill with a huge frown on his face. “God I didn’t bring a jacket, imagine walking around with a stain on your shirt on your first day of school. That shit is hella embarrassing.”

Aether, having done the same type of rambling the male had done before, realized that the man was more shocked than surprised with him.  He blinked away the tears that were forming. “I’m really sorry.” He repeated, glad that his voice didn’t shake this time. He tried to think of a way he could help the other before remembering his back up shirt. “I have an extra shirt in my backpack.” He shrugged the backpack off his shoulder, opened it and went to grab the shirt.

The teal haired man sighed softly. “No offense, but I don't think I’d look good in a crop top.” The other responded. Crop top? Aether looked up at him with a confused look. Where did he get that idea from? “Unlike you,” the male continued. “I don’t have the face for it.”

Aether felt his cheeks heat up at the other’s comment. Damn, maybe his hair wasn’t so messily put together if he had gotten two compliments from different people today. Aether found the shirt and pulled it out before standing up. He held it out for the other boy. “It’s not a crop top.” He promised, managing to form a small smile on his lips. “You can totally pull it off, wearing a crop top though.” He muttered.

The male took the shirt out of Aether’s grip. “So you don’t just wear crop tops?” He asked and Aether shook his head. The shirt unraveled in his hand to show that it was indeed the simple black t-shirt Aether had put in his bag earlier that morning. “Why do you have a random shirt in your backpack?

Aether rubbed the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at the new student. “I bring it in case I get dress-coded.” He answered. “Some teachers think a boy shouldn’t…” He sighed before shaking his head. He didn’t know where the other student fell on the topic that clothes shouldn’t be gendered.

He could see from the corner of his eye that the male started to frown. “And if you get dress-coded?” He asked. Aether shrugged. Honestly, he wasn’t too worried about that today. His outfit was pretty tame compared to other shirts he had worn in the past. He wasn’t expecting the next question that came out of the students mouth. “Is your hair wet?”

Aether brought the hair over his shoulder, playing with it awkwardly. “Yeah… I washed it today.” He responded, the braid was still damp to the touch. “It’ll be a while before it dries.”

“Is it smart to wash your hair and then let it air dry?” Aether was caught off guard when he asked that, and he met the other’s eyes again.

The blond shook his hair slightly. “Don’t worry about that.” He insisted. “And I won't get dress-coded. That was for when I wear other shirts. I was just going to store it in my locker for now.” He replied, addressing his earlier question that Aether had shrugged off at first. “The color black might suit you. I’m really sorry for running into you like that.”

Any anger that the other might have had disappeared from his face and he just gave Aether a small smile. His phone dinged and he pulled it out real quick, checking it before looking back at the blond. “It’s fine. I am really sorry for snapping at you.” He responded.

Aether smiled as he placed his backpack back on his shoulders. “I should have been looking where I was going.” Aether admitted. “Like you said…”

The other guy laughed awkwardly. “Same with me, It’s fine. Really. Let’s both just promise to look where we are going from here on out.” He held out his pinky finger and Aether connected their fingers in a pinky promise. “I should get going though, I’ll see you around!” The student cried, unhooking their pinkies. 

He waved before he turned around and ran off down the hall. Aether watched him go, trying to ignore the fluttering of his heart. Was he getting a crush? He couldn’t be getting a crush. He didn’t get crushes. Even if he was able to befriend the nameless boy, just like everyone else, when he finds out he has no control over his own powers he is going to be tossed aside.

Yet.. despite the intimidating stare at first,there was one thought in the back of Aether’s mind through their interaction. He really wanted to hug him. 

It wasn’t long after he heard someone coming down the hall again. “Did that fucker say anything to you Aeth?” A voice cried and he turned around to see it was Lumine. “I’ll punch him if he did anything to you.” She was grinding her fist into her hand, showing that she was serious. Aether wanted to roll her eyes, she was always pretty protective over him, but he didn’t need it. He could deal with his own battles. 

Aether shook his head to answer her question. “I uh… I spilled my hot chocolate on him.” He admitted instead.

Lumine looked like she was about to laugh when she heard that, her hand dropping to her side. “Aether!” She cried, and he could tell the girl was trying her hardest to not burst out laughing. “How could you waste your precious hot chocolate on something like that?” Amusement laced the words.

Aether softly laughed, elbowing his sister. “I didn’t mean to.” He responded, shaking his head. “I just wasn't paying attention.”

“Mhm, sure.” Lumine replied, her eyes glittering with amusement before she grabbed his schedule from him. “Eww, you got some Hot Chocolate on your schedule as well?” She jokingly held it out from her, scrunching up her face before putting the two schedules side by side as Aether rolled his eyes at her. “We have the same classes!”

Aether gave her a look. That wasn’t anything new. He looked over at them as well. “Lu, we ALWAYS have the same schedule.” He pointed out. For some reason putting twins in the same class was the easiest choice? He never understood why. “Since we started school…”

Lumine rolled her eyes back at him before continuing to inspect every details of the schedule. “But, look,” She pointed to his schedule. “We do have two classes that aren’t the same. Damn, they put me in the smart class for math! I thought they were kidding when they told me that.” She whined.

 Aether felt bad for her, he was one of the kids who did well at School, and so he was always in the more advanced classes. Lumine, who did well on her own, spent most of her time studying to keep up in classes and spent more time confused as the classes tend to go by quickly. Aether would always help her with any homework she didn’t understand though.

“But the two we don’t have is homeroom and the period right after lunch, you have art, I have cooking classes.” Lumine pointed out.

“Cooking classes? They still offer that?” Aether asked. “Why didn’t I get put into cooking?”

“You don’t need cooking classes!” Lumine responded. “Your cooking is already delightful. I on the other hand…” She pouted. 

“Isn’t it kinda misogynistic to put you in cooking classes-” Aether started.

“Oh, they were going to put me in art, but I don't think I could listen to that teacher tell me Lumine thats not how you draw a circle another time. So I found the cooking classes and begged the teacher to give me that instead.” Lumine resplied, handing Aether his schedule back to him.

“Wow, ok.” Aether whispered, before he found himself looking over to where that kid had disappeared. Who was he? And Would Aether ever see him again?

Lumine grabbed his elbow, jolting him and causing him to look back at her. “We are locker neighbors!” She cried out happily. “Let's go find them!” She then managed to pull him in the other direction. It wasn’t long tell they found their lockers and Lumine pointed out where Aether’s was.

He opened it up before putting different supplies into it. He grabbed everything that he might need for the first half of the day.

The locker looked dull without any decorations. He felt too lazy to even think about finding stickers or magnets though. If he found energy later, he would deal with it. But not today, maybe not even this week. Or this school year. 

“I’m heading off!” Lumine yelled as she shut her locker, waving at him. “See you in Math Class!” Aether smiled before shaking his head and heading towards his homeroom, not too far from his locker thankfully. If it was any farther, Aether didn’t think he would use it.

Entering the room, the blond moved to sit down in the back. Participating with anyone in the class  just sounded icky. He could already feel the glares of the different students already sitting down in class.

God. He hated the stares. He wished he was able to consistently throw a gust of wind or something to get these people off his back. There was nothing he could do about not being able to produce any type of element manipulation.  He has looked up all the resources he could to grow your power, but there was something stopping him.He couldn’t explain why not.

Seeing how there was a few more minutes until the class began, the blond pulled out his phone before looking at his notification page. Aether sighed softly when there was nothing of interest there, of course there wasn’t, he didn’t know what he was expecting. The only person there could be anything from was Lumine and his other friend, but when his friend is busy he usually doesn’t text.  Aether cleared away the one upload notification from a youtube channel he grew bored of a while ago but forgot to unsubscribe to.

He then turned on do not disturb mode, and placed his phone back into his pocket. He turned to look out the window, resting his chin on his hand. He knew that looking through any of his socials  would be impossible since the school wifi made it tricky with their firewalls. He glanced at the whiteboard to see if there were any warm ups, but the teacher hadn’t put anything on there yet.

He felt someone tap his shoulder. He jumped before turning in his seat. When Aether saw the person standing there, his eyes widened and he stood up as fast as he could, causing the chair he was sitting in to crash to the ground. Some of the other students glared at him from the front at the loud noise but he seriously couldn’t care less. He ran over to the other boy before pulling him into a tight hug.

“Gorou!”

“Oh my god,” Gorou responded as his arms wrapped around Aether, returning the hug back and giving the boy a tight squeeze. “We have the same homeroom! I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” That was somewhat true, Gorou’s parents had forced him into a cram school of some type to try and get him into the university over the summer, so the two hadn’t had time to connect with each other. 

That didn’t stop Aether and Gorou from meeting up every day after his cram school though. In fact, last Friday both of them had gone back to school shopping when Aether’s dad found a way to sneak him away from his mother. 

His mother was not a huge fan of Gorou and tried to keep Aether from hanging out with him, it didn’t really go well though and Aether always managed to find a way to talk to the other. 

“Oh my god, I thought I was going to be forced to survive this class alone.” Aether cried out dramatically. After they pulled away from the hug which felt like it took minutes, the two sat down next to each other, talking back and forth about all the different events they did over summer break.

“Dude, I have to tell you the outrageous thing that my Mom did last night.” Aether stated after a while, a pained look in his eyes as he remembered the last words that she said.

A growl left Gorou’s lips as the door opened again, allowing another student to come in as well. “Oh, what did that bitch say, tell me. I’ve always hated her, you know.”

Aether nodded his head when the other said that, laughing softly. “I know, Gorou, I know.” He replied. “So anyways, she and my dad were fighting last night,”

“Why do they always fight at night? That is so inconsiderate of you and Lumine! Especially when you know they are talking about you.” Gorou raged and Aether shook his head in agreement. As they were talking, he felt eyes looking at him, making him shudder but he paid it no mind.

“I dont know?” He admitted, watching as Gorou stiffened, glancing at the front, before he looked back at Aether again,looking slightly uncomfortable. 

Aether tilted his head to the side as if asking him what was wrong. Gorou tipped his head towards the front and Aether turned, his eyes meeting the boy from earlier today who was staring Aether down. “Why is he staring so intently at you? Who is he?” Gorou whispered as he moved closer to Aether.

Aether opened his mouth to answer the question, and to tell Gorou how he made a complete and total fool of himself just moments before. But closed it as he realized he didn’t know the other’s name. The kid smiled and waved when he realized that Aether was looking at him. Aether blinked dumbly before waving back at him.

The teacher then entered the room, closing the door behind him and pulling out a clipboard before beginning to take roll. Eventually, he got to, “Gorou Ookami?” 

“HERE!” Gorou responded, waving his hand up in the air. The teacher looked at him and nodded. He seemed like he was prepared to go on to the next kid before he took one more look at Gorou, but more importantly Aether who was sitting next to Gorou waiting his turn to say that he was here in class.  

A look of dread crossed his face as he crossed his arms. “No.” His voice rang throughout the room, so loudly that everyone who was busy playing on their phones or whatever they were doing all turned to look at him in confusion. “Absolutely not. Aether, I’m going to need you to move up here next to Xiao. You two are NOT going to just waste the whole class away gossiping.” He ordered, waving his hand to get Aether moving.

Of course the teacher wouldn’t let Aether sit by his best friend, that wasn’t a real surprise. Aether sighed as he started to pack up his stuff, ready to let the whole issue drop. He should have known that his friend wouldn’t have let the issue go so easily. That has never been Gorou’s way. “Sir!” Gorou complained, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder to stop him from doing anything. “This is homeroom, half the time it is just study time!”

“But,” the teacher snapped back, “ this is senior year.” All of the kids looked at him trying to figure out why that mattered to him. “It is going to work differently this year than it has worked in the past few years. One of the things we will be doing is working more on taking the Celestial University  Exam. Aether needs all the help that he can get.”

“Bullshit sir!” Gorou slammed his hands down on the desk, making everyone in the room flinch. “Aether is the smartest kid in our class.”

Aether shrunk down as he felt everyone turning to look at them again. “But he can’t consistently manipulate a single element. The test is fast approaching and we will be going over different strategies on how to get in control of your powers. Mr. Viator, move, now.” The teacher responded, rolling his hand.

“Who even is Xiao?” Gorou barked back, clearly not giving up yet. “I’ve never even-”

“Gorou.” Aether finally interrupted, not liking all the attention that was now on the two of them. “Please, I’ll talk with you after class.” He grabbed Gorou’s shoulder gently. “I don’t want you to get in trouble for fighting with a teacher so soon in the school year, trust me, there will be time for that.”

“Oh you bet I will be getting into so many teacher fights.” Gorou huffed and Aether nodded his head in agreement.

The new kid raised his hand from where he was sitting. “I’m Xiao.” He stood up as well. “I transferred from Anemo high because I recently moved with my cousin who lives here in the Geo District.”

“Mr. Viator, now.” The teacher urged, ushering Aether forward. “Mr. Ookami, please sit down.” He had a look that showed he was done.

Aether finished collecting his stuff as quickly as he could before moving, sitting in the only free spot next to Xiao, getting everything laid back out again and getting ready to take notes for the class. “The shirt doesn’t look too bad,” a voice whispered in his ear.

“Huh?” Aether asked, jumping slightly before turning to stare into Xiao’s eyes. Xiao gestured to the shirt he was wearing, the black shirt that Aether had given him. Aether’s cheeks darkened. “Told you, black would look good on you.” Aether whispered back. “Sorry again.”

Xiao smiled and shook his head. “Nah it’s chill.” The teacher continued to take role. 

After a while, he grabbed a marker before uncapping it. “I’m going to get right into this.” He declared, writing on the board . “As said before, we will be focusing more on the exam portions. First, we are going to go over the basics of our coven.” He stopped what he was writing before turning to look at the kids. “What are the seven districts?”

There was a bit of silence and mumbling around the class, while Aether wondered if he should answer or not. He placed his elbow on his desk before leaning his face against his hand.  The teacher let out a frustrated sigh. “Come on, that was an easy question. Geo, Anemo, Hydro, Pyro, Dendro, Cyro and Electro. Now, seeing  as most of you couldn’t even answer that, I’m not hoping for a question to this one. How do you get into each district?”

Aether waited for a bit when the question was yet again met with silence, he carefully raised his hand up and the teacher nodded his head. “There’s technically nothing stopping you from joining or moving to a certain district.” He responded. The teacher waved his hand as he waited for him to go on.  “Most people stay in the district they are born in, or in the district that they move to if they graduate from a specific university. There are 8 universities, each district has their own.”

“And tell me more about the 8th university.” The teacher prompted.

Aether blinked a few times, wondering if he was serious. “The 8th university is Celestia University, everyone has a shot of trying to get into it, but they only accept the top 10% of the graduating class.” He responded, looking around to see if anyone else wanted to help answer, but everyone had an unimpressed look.

The teacher turned around and wrote Celestia University on the board. “Do you know of the Celestia houses?”

“There’s eight houses you can get into. Each house represents the 7 districts with an extra house, the Celestial house. That house accepts the top 5 students of those 10% students.” Aether replied, watching as the teacher wrote the different elements and Celestia around the board.

“What’s a key factor of any of the graduates from any of the houses?” The teacher asked.

Aether shifted a bit. “They are the people who tend to get offered the best job positions after graduating. They are companies top picks…the graduates tend to move into the district their houses represent.”

The teacher nodded. “And the top 5 students?”

“They tend to stay around Celestia in general. Most of them at the moment are off fighting the war right after graduating, but when they serve their time, they tend to take leadership positions.” He whispered.

“Very good.” The teacher replied as he moved to a different section of the board. “Now can anyone, aside from Aether, tell me how one would plan on getting into Celestia University?”

This time, a hand was raised in the air right away, and it happened to be Xiao. The teacher nodded as a sign for him to go on. “There’s an exam, in early November, that has two sections. One is to test how well you can manipulate the elements. In order to get in, you need to be able to manipulate 1 element constantly. In order to be placed in Celestia, you need to master all 7 elements. There have been years where only 1 or 2 people have made it into Celestia house. The other aspect is a written test-”

Xiao seemed as if he was going to continue talking, but the teacher cut him off. “And that’s where people tend to mess up.” He replied. “They believe that if they are able to manipulate the elements, they will get in. Based on the past final exam scores from other classes on file, only 1 of you in this room could make it into the university.” He closed his marker before heading to the front of the class where a desk with no students was sitting. The teacher slammed his hands down. “Aether, you’re close, but lack power. The rest of you need to work on your academics. This time will be dedicated to that for the most of you. Xiao and Aether will be working closely with me on their manipulation techniques.”

He was met with silence as the students looked around the room. “Sir?” A girl named Donna called out, raising her hand. “If there were 3 people in our year to get into Celestia for sure, who would you say?”

The teacher blinked when he heard that question. “I’m not sure I can answer that without getting in trouble. You lot would not like the answer.” He responded.

The girl pouted softly. “Please sir.”

He shook his head. “Fine, honestly? Lumine, Xiao, and Aether.”

“AETHER?” Another girl cried out, Aether thinks her name was Margret. “He’s so weak though, he'll never amount to anything!” Why was that phrase thrown around so much recently?

“Some people are late bloomers. His exam scores are high, if he could consistently make a gust of air, he would be set.” The teacher responded. “Now, think about what I said. We start tomorrow with studying, for now, talk, catch up with each other.”

---

Aether sighed softly as he walked into the door after school. He moved to walk into his room, dropping his backpack on his floor. He got everything out before placing them on his desk, ready to do the little bit of homework he had gotten on the first day. 

“Aether.” A voice called out, and Aether turned, seeing his dad standing there in the door. “I’m really sorry about last night.”

The man did have a look that showed that was true. Aether stared at him for a while. “It’s ok.” He responded, moving to where he had put his pajamas on and getting ready to put them on so he could enjoy his time at home and be comfy. “I’m used to it.”

“You shouldn’t-” His father started  before taking a deep breath. “I got you a tutor to help work on your powers.” Aether turned to look at his father again with wide eyes when he heard that. “He’s going to be here everyday for an hour.”

That wasn’t too long out of his day, Aether guessed he could deal with that arrangement. Aether nodded his head slowly. “Ok, and if I don’t improve?”

“It won’t be from lack of trying, it never has been. Don’t let what your mom’s words get to you. That woman has no idea what it is like to be in your shoes,” he pulled Aether into a hug. Aether hugged him back, burying his face in his chest. “I’m sorry.” His father whispered again. “I should have protected you from her. I love you.”

“How would you protect me from my own mom?” Aether asked, forcing out a laugh.”I love you too."

Chapter Text

The first week of school went by in a flash. Nothing too interesting had happened to Aether during that time. He would mostly hang out with Gorou and with Lumine when he had any kind of free time. From time to time, Xiao would walk up and sit next to him to talk, or to tease him,  or would ask for homework help.  Xiao tended to enjoy his time by himself. He rarely hung out with anyone. Aether could understand that.
Friday came, and Aether forgot all about the tutor his father had hired for him. After hearing a nasty conversations from two students talking about him behind his back, Aether had been a bit of a mess. The hurt feeling from listening to others shit talk his name was still present.
The moment the blonde arrived home, he saw his mother sitting in the living room. She was giving him one of her nasty looks. Aether could swear that the looks she gave him were always filled with hatred, but he had nothing to prove that. Nobody would listen to him if he had the evidence either.
Not wanting to deal with her, Aether stormed past her, getting out of the room as fast as he could. His feet took him to his room. On his way up, he could hear his Father call out, “Aether, we have company coming!” Aether elected to ignore his comment. When his father asked why he didn’t come down to greet the company, Aether decided to blame it on the fact that school was just…a lot. 
Between having to explain to his tutoring clients why he couldn’t continue his services this semester to the onslaught of people gossiping about him behind his back, the level that he cared about anything dwindled drastically. 
The whispering has turned from there’s that useless kid to have you heard that useless kid is still going to try and make it into Celestia University, he’s going to embarrass the whole school.
Why was it that everyone thought Aether was an embarrassment?
He was just tired.
Getting to his room, he tossed his backpack on his bed, letting it thunk down on the sofa. Aether went over to the back of his desk chair and picked up the pair of pajamas he threw there earlier this morning. 
They were a white shirt with a cartoon frog on it as well as a pair of light green shorts with lily pads speckling them.  Lumine had given them to him for his birthday. He loved them.
Aether took off his crop top and jeans that he had worn for school and tossed them in the hamper next to his door before putting on his pajamas. He undid his braid, running his hands through the blonde hair to get the hair to come undone, allowing his long hair to flow down his back.
He stared at the hamper, a frown appearing on his face as he realized that it would soon be time to do his laundry again. Maybe sometime this weekend. 
Aether went back to his backpack, taking out the handouts he got from school. There wasn’t any homework. Most of the homework he had done at lunch already. It was too early in the school year for any big essays to be due yet. He placed the handouts on his desk, before sitting down in his chair,  pulling his keyboard closer to him as he logged onto his laptop.
It took a while for the laptop to actually log on. Aether grimaced as he saw the electronics performance. He would probably have to buy a new one before the end of the school year.  Buying a new laptop would be expensive.
It had already been four years old or so when Aether had received the laptop, and Lumine had not treated the device well. 
Aether stared at the screen, resting his elbows on his desk and his chin on his fists as he waited for his home screen to appear. When it finally did, Aether opened up his google chrome where the last article he had visited last night was still pulled up from last night.
The article was a guide on how to better train your powers.
Aether should have given up trying to use this exact guide a while ago. It had been a couple weeks of him scouring the page for any new information, or something he might have missed the first time he went over, or the hundredth time in this case. He wanted to hit the back button and go to the next article, 12 pages deep into the current google search.
He should give up. There wouldn’t be anything useful, he wasn’t looking for the right thing. He didn’t know what the right thing was. And a small voice still whispered in the back of his mind that he needed to get better, he wasn’t getting better. 
Maybe it didn’t help him make something more often like he wanted. But, he reasoned with himself,  it did help with the amount of power he put  in. He scrolled down to the part in the web article that talked about the steps to take if you wanted to generate power. The steps he needed to do
Aether then reached for the kit that his father had gifted him when Lumine was able to manipulate the elements. As his hand touched the kit, his mind decided to replay that exact moment.

 Aether was sitting down over a game of gold fish, looking up at Lumine, ready for her next move, but the five year old girl had already gone bored of the game, throwing her cards down. She silently stared at the fireplace. Aether blinked, following to where she was looking at, wondering what she was doing.
Lumine then looked at her brother. “You know how Daddy created the fire?” Lumine asked, a look on her face as if she was trying to figure out something.
Aether looked at the fire, before looking back at her and nodding his head. Their dad would always start the fire using fire manipulation, it didn’t take too long and then he would leave, going onto the next thing. “Yeah, it’s so cool. I can’t wait till we can light the fires too!” He cried out. Then he could help his parents instead of listening to them fight over who had to go into the room or who would have to be the ones to get up from their nice warm bed.
Lumine smiled widely at him, happy that he knew what she was talking about, as she moved to sit on her knees, turning to look at the firepit that her father had just recently doused because they were about to go somewhere, to meet with one of their dad’s friends. “Yeah,” Lumine whispered. “It’s like, he just points and-” The blonde haired girl pointed at the fireplace as she was talking. There was a whooshing sound, and the log in the fireplace burst into flames again.
The twins stared at the log in silence before they turned to look at each other with wide eyes, taking in what just happened. “Lumine! That was so cool!” Aether cried, ditching the game and standing upl. He wanted to see what else his sister could light on fire. 
Lumine looked down at her hands, as if she didn’t expect that type of power to come out of her hands before she moved to stand up as well. Their mother then walked into the room, she took one look at the lit fire and she growled in disbelief. “Didn’t I just tell Dain to put the fire out?” She cried out. “We’re going to be late for his dumb get together.” 
Lumine squeaked, which caused the woman to look at her daughter. Lumine was looking up at the woman with wide hurt eyes. “Mommy, I did that, not daddy,” Lumine explained. “I didn’t mean to though, if it’s going to make us late, I’m sorry.”
The woman looked at the daughter with confusion in her eyes, before looking over at the fireplace again. “No you didn’t.” She declared and Lumine visibly deflated when she heard that. “You are too young to manipulate.” 
Lumine puffed her cheeks as a determined look appeared on her face. “But I DID!” She cried. “Look!” Lumine then walked up to the candles that were on the coffee table and pointed her finger at it. A flame flew from her finger and lit up the candle.
The woman looked at the candle, before looking at her daughter, her eyes growing wide. “DAIN! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!” She called out.
It wasn’t long until their father came in, carrying the children’s jackets, ready to  help them put their jackets on. “Don't curse in front of the kids.” He said, giving her a disapproving look. “What?” He asked. “Did you really light the fireplace when we are about to leave?” He asked the girl.
She rolled her eyes. “Just watch.” She waved her hand and a gust of wind flew out to put the fire out. The older woman then looked at her daughter. “Do it again Lu.”
Lumine looked over at Aether with a confused look on her face. The young boy shrugged his shoulders. Lumine then lit the candle again. Aether looked at their dad to see shock and pride starting to form on the man's face.”Our baby is a prodigy!” He cried, walking over and scooping Lumine up, hugging her tightly. “It should be two more years before you start manipulating!” Lumine giggled softly as she hugged her dad back.
The mother waved again to put out the candle and the fireplace. Aether walked over to the fireplace before pointing at it, but nothing happened. There wasn’t a loud swish that came from his fingers. He turned to look at his parents and his sister, a confused look on his face. “Why can’t I do it too?” He asked, looking his dad in his eyes.
“Aeth…” His dad whispered.
The woman came up to Aether, bending down so that she could tell he was watching her as a sneer appeared on her face. “You are just not as special as Lumine is.” 

Aether sighed as he shook his head, trying to get rid of the memory. Throughout the years, he had watched as Lumine’s powers grew. She was able to master almost every single element in a short amount of time. There were a couple that she couldn’t get a hold of, like Hydro or Dendro. 
Her Pyro manipulating skills were one of the best in the class though, and same with her other skills. It was hard, he had to admit, watching her get so much recognition for her powers. Meanwhile, people turned to look at him as if asking and what can you do?
Aether would then have to admit that he couldn’t do that much. He remembered the day that he had first shown some power. He was around 9 years old, and he was using the very kit that sat in front of him now. The blonde had managed to grow a flower. It wasn’t anything too amazing, just a small tiny white flower. As soon as he had made the flower appear,he went running to show his sister. He got ready to redo the same trick he just did, but wasn't able to grow another flower.
At least Lumine didn’t make fun of him. She was one of his biggest cheerleaders, and hated it when others compared the two of them.
Right now, Aether was able to do at most little spirts that showed he had the ability. Once in a blue moon when everything aligned correctly, he was able to do more powerful bursts that would outrank Lumine, but it was rare.
He also realized that he could more consistently do Hydro and Dendro. Not as consistently as he should be able to do in order to get into the university. It would have been smart for Aether to try and work on those powers, but for some reason the school thinks the first element he should master is Anemo.
He played with the kit halfheartedly, knowing that when he’s mentally tired like he is now his powers won’t come out. The times where he was able to manipulate, he was always well rested, and had little to no stress placed on him. 
Desperate for anything, Aether looked deeper into the article than he usually did, making a face. It was the same as all of the other articles. The same information written over and over, someone else trying to make it seem new. Using more flowery words, or adding more words, trying to get by that they weren’t just repeating the same information.
Imagine as if your power is a little ball inside you. Yeah, and then what? What if you can’t even feel that ball, like you know it’s there but you can’t reach out and grab it, something is blocking you. This is idiotic. Aether found himself thinking as he huffed in frustration. 
Trying one more time, he stared in dismay as nothing happened. The blonde  pushed everything away from him, watching as his materials all crashed onto the ground. Aether couldn’t bring himself to care though.
The blonde jumped when he heard the door of his room open. He spun around in his desk chair. As he looked at the door to see the intruder, his sister stared back at him with an unimpressed look on her face. Aether tried not to let his surprise show. “Lu, is it too much to knock?” He asked. 
Lumine made a face as she entered the room, looking Aether over with an unimpressed look on her face. “I would…” the girl said, “but the tutor that dad got you is here.”
Aether stared at his twin for a second as his brain tried to understand what she had just told him. When it clicked, his eyes widened in surprise. “Are you serious?” He cried in shock. That was the company that his dad was telling him about? “That was fast… the fact that he found someone…”
His sister smirked. “Aeth, dad told you on Monday.” The girl pointed out. “I also heard that the person was the only one who was willing to help. Everyone else just thinks that you are not that powerful and can’t learn to be anything more than what you already are.”
Wasn’t there a better way to tell him that? Aether looked at the girl as if she was kidding. “Ouch?” He muttered.
Lumine rolled her eyes. “Well why are you so prickly? Obviously it’s not true.” She insisted.
Aether bit the inside of his cheek pretty hard as he tried to swallow a feeling of nausea down. “Are you sure that’s not true? It still hurts hearing it.” He responded, playing with the ends of his hair..
Lumine scrunched her face at him. “Aether, if you were completely without powers then you wouldn’t even be able to do a little bit of the shit you can already do. Just give yourself some time and a little bit of grace. Also, are you going to change?” She asked, looking down at his chosen outfit.
“Change?” Aether repeated as he tilted his head to the side, not grasping what it was that she was trying to tell him before it hit him.”I’m in my pajamas!” He cried out.
A little scoff of amusement came from Lumine. Aether narrowed his eyes playfully at her, as he moved to at least put his hair in a ponytail. “Don’t change into your PJs right after school then.” She responded as she rolled her eyes playfully back at him. 
Aether blew a raspberry at her. “Can you stall?” He asked, getting up from his desk chair.
If only it was that easy though. His foot caught the underside of the chair, and he managed to trip over it. The blonde came crashing down, and the chair landed on top of him. He hit the ground with a loud thud. The twins then stared at each other in shock and surprise. 
The scene reminded Aether of the past. He was probably one of the most clumsy kids. He would always fall over nothing. Usually it was chasing after Lumine, he would fall. The two would share eye contact for a while before Aether started crying and Lumine would rush over to help him stand up.
Instead of crying this time, Aether just muttered, “Ow.”
The sound of feet could be heard running up the stairs. Neither one of them moved as their father crashed through the room, looking around to see who was hurt. Concern and worry were written all over his face. The twins' shocked expression turned to their dad instead, neither one of them opening their mouths to say anything about the accident.
As the male took in everything that happened, Lumine's gaze switched between the two before she stared straight at her twin, a shit eating grin forming on her face. She quickly shook her head to answer Aether’s question. “Nope, I can't,” she sang, “I have homework I need to catch up on.” The girl waved before moving past her father and making her way out of the room. The boy watched her go with a pout on his face.
Aether then looked back at his father who was walking over to him, Aether quickly moved the chair up before sitting up criss-cross applesauce. When the man got to him, he offered Aether a hand. Aether gratefully took the hand, and his father helped to pull him up onto his feet. The action caused Aether to stumble slightly. His father quickly grabbed onto his shoulders, helping to stabilize the high schooler.
The father then looked at his son with a concerned look on his face. “Aether…” he asked slowly. This wasn’t the first time he walked into Aether tripping over something. “What happened?”
Aether opened his mouth as his mind worked a mile a minute. He tried to find a way to explain to his dad what happened. All he could come up with was, “I fell…” He gently tore himself away from his dad, before picking up the chair and straightening it out. His dad made an exaggerated sigh. Obviously he could see that from finding his son laying on the ground. That's not what he wanted to know. Aether frowned to himself. “From trying to get up too fast…” Aether continued.
His dad’s head bowed as the man raised a hand up and placed it on his forehead. “Aeth…” He whispered softly before sighing again. “Are you okay?” Aether nodded his head. “What caused you to get up so fast?”
Aether motioned to the outfit he was wearing. His father looked at him with a defeated look, showing that he was too used to stuff like this.  “I was trying to get changed…” Aether whispered.
A slight chuckle startled Aether. It didn’t come from him, and it didn’t come from his dad. Lumine was already out of the room, and his mother didn’t chuckle when it came to Aether.
“I was going to say, the froggy pajamas are cute on you.” A voice followed the chuckle, and no, it was not his mother’s voice. Aether jumped, registering the voice. Could he just drop dead of embarrassment right here? The voice belonged to someone Aether was not expecting to hear in his house. It belonged to someone who would tease him while they were at school.
Aether turned his attention to the door, and there stood a boy with a rare gleeful look on his face. His eyes were trained on Aether. The blonde could almost swear that he winked when their eyes met. 
“XIAO!” Aether cried, trying  to hide the outfit that he was wearing. His cheeks heated up.
Had his dad really got Xiao as his tutor? He couldn’t have found anyone else? Aether turned to look at his dad again, a look that he hoped said what have you done. A laugh left the father’s lips as he reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair. “It looks like the two of you already know each other.” The man stated.
Aether batted his hand away, trying to smooth out the parts so his ponytail didn't look more crazy than it had to, but it didn’t really work. “Dad!” the boy whined, lowering his voice, and hoping that Xiao wouldn’t hear him. But of course he could hear him. ‘He’s a kid in my class!” He stressed out.
“So?” His father asked, tilting his head to the side.
Aether made a sound of disbelief before looking back at Xiao. “What are you doing here?” He asked. His mind was starting to go into full panic mode. He couldn’t believe that Xiao was here! In his room! And he was in his froggy pajamas! Couldn’t the world just open up and eat him?
Xiao was still chuckling, if anything the chuckling grew louder as he observed Aether’s reaction.  “He’s your tutor.” The father supplied, unhelpfully. Obviously Aether could see that.
Aether looked at his dad, horrified that his worst fears had come true. “How?” Was the only thing that he could get out.
“I know his cousin, and he owes me.” His father explained and a feeling of dread settled deep within Aether's guts. Before there is peace Aether is going to make a complete and total fool of himself in front of Xiao.
The blonde glanced between the two of them, trying to keep his breathing somewhat regular. “Oh my god! I thought you were going to hire an adult! Not a classmate of mine!” Aether managed to get out, as his cheeks grew even warmer. He then tried pushing his dad out of the room. “Get out, please! I need to change!” He wasn’t going to train in his pajamas around Xiao!
Xiao shook his head, and his dad wasn’t budging. “No please, the pajamas are cute.” Xiao spoke up.
Aether looked at him in complete shock. “Xiao!” He cried. “This is so fucking embarrasing. Oh my god.” Aether mumbled under his breath.
“He’s right, you know,”  His dad responded, flicking his hand. “Your outfit is fine. We only have an hour.” The man walked over to where Xiao was standing and Aether watched him horrified. He sank down in his desk chair. “Xiao, I’m assuming that you will be staying for dinner?” His father asked him.
Aether covered his face with his hands as he breathed in sharply. “It’ll only take a minute!” He tried to reason with the two. “And if Xiao is staying for dinner, what is he going to be doing during the time that we are waiting for it? That makes no sense dad.” 
“Dinner sounds amazing, sir.” Xiao responded, ignoring every point that Aether had just brought up. “Of course, if you don't mind me staying for dinner?”
Aether let out a huff of annoyance when he realized that they weren’t going to pay him anymore attention. “Of course it is ok with me,” his dad responded, “I wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t ok.”
Aether could hear someone walking over to where he was trying his hardest not to die, and a hand landed on his shoulder. “Is there any place that you can think of?” Xiao’s voice sounded closer to his ear.
Aether uncovered his face, looking at Xiao with a confused look on his face. “What do you mean?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. He looked over at his father who was turning to leave the room.
“A good place where we can train?” Xiao clarified. Aether stared at him blankly, not processing the question.
“You can use the backyard.”  Aether’s father called over his shoulder, “it is gated pretty well. There is a lot of space.” 
“Oh, that will work pretty well.” Xiao responded, looking over at the man. He took his hand off Aether’s shoulder and started to walk out of the room as well. If Aether stayed in his room and did nothing, how badly would he get in trouble with his parents? He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Xiao, not more than he already has. “We don't need too much space. I already went over what plans I had to start off with the lessons. I’ve already seen him in action because we share the same homeroom.”
He paused at the door, before turning back to look at Aether. He motioned for Aether to follow him out.
Aether groaned. Xiao wouldn’t allow him to do nothing. He stood up and silently followed after his tutor and his father. “Oh, are you in the same homeroom?” His father asked in shock and Xiao made a noise of agreement. “How is Aether performing in school?”
Aether wanted to melt, instead of falling into the ground. He might survive a fall. But melting? There is no way to recover from that. 
Aether returned to latch the door once everyone was out of his room, and walked faster to catch up with the other two. “You made it seem a lot worse than what it actually is,” Xiao responded, the pair starting to head down the stairs. 
Aether paused on top of the stairs, wondering what Xiao had ment. Aether’s dad stopped where he was, turning to look at Aether. “Do you mind leading Xiao to the backyard?” He asked. He turned to look back at Xiao. “I have to help my wife with dinner, but we can talk more later.” 
The three descended the stairs and Aether gently passed the two of them silently. The blonde sulked over to the backdoor, not bothering to make sure that Xiao was following him. He opened the back door and stepped outside. Aether ushered Xiao out of the house. 
“There isn’t much.” Aether muttered softly when Xiao stepped off the porch, looking around. “It's big, but we don’t have anything, there’s a little pond over there,” Aether nodded to the edge of the pond, “but aside from that it is just grass.” 
In fact, the only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was a treehouse near the edge of the yard. Lumine and Aether had spent a lot of their childhood up there playing in it. Since they stopped a couple of years ago, there hadn’t been much upkeep towards it. But he could still remember the games the two of them would play, or sneaking out in the middle of the night to have a sleepover.
There was a small rock path leading from the porch up to the treehouse. On the porch, the only thing of interest aside from a grill and an outdoor table was a small porch swing. Aether used to spend so much of his time growing up on that swing. From listening to music, to studying when he couldn’t take his mother nagging him any longer. It was a safe place for him, and would always bring him comfort when he needed it. 
Xiao stepped onto the rock path and walked halfway to the tree, spinning around to take in the view. Aether followed after him, crossing his arms. He felt a bit of a late summer draft blow over them. 
The blonde stopped a short distance from Xiao and watched the other take in the sight. Aether was not sure what to do or what to say. Xiao seemed uncomfortable as he glanced around before he turned to look at Aether. There was a hint of fear and panic in his eyes. Was there something wrong? “I-” Xiao started to say something.
“So how do you want to do this?” Aether cut him off, not realizing that his tutor had started to talk before it was too late. Aether glanced around the yard as he could only imagine what the other would ask him to do. 
And then how disappointed Xiao would be when he realized that Aether couldn’t do a simple task.
He wasn’t ready for that.
It took a while for Xiao to speak, the boy shuffling his feet. “I… uh… I’ve never really tutored anyone before.” That made sense, and explained why Xiao looked uncomfortable. “Hell, I rarely talk to other people.” Xiao whispered under his breath. 
Aether nodded his head as he gave Xiao a small smile, trying to comfort him knowing that he wasn’t doing that well of a job. What did he usually do when he had a new client? “Uh…” Aether muttered softly. “I think tutors usually gauge how well the person they are tutoring understands the subject.” Aether muttered just loud enough to let Xiao hear him. “And then work on plans to tackle the information that is tricky for them.”
Xiao looked at Aether in surprise when he heard the other’s suggestion, before he nodded his head slowly. “How would you know that?” 
Aether shrugged his shoulders a little bit, looking down at the ground. “I work as a tutor around exam seasons and during the summer time.” He explained. “It pays good money.” It really did, when kids were afraid of failing, their parents would pay out a lot of money. He usually taught students in his grade, but sometimes he would teach younger kids as well. 
Xiao nodded his head, looking like he got what Aether was saying. Though Aether doubted that the other actually grasped what he was saying, he wasn’t that good at explaining anything. “Well…” Xiao whispered. “Show me what you know?”
Aether gave his tutor a look as soon as he heard that. He bit the inside of his cheek slightly. “Like you said, you saw me at school,” Aether replied, uncrossing his arms and letting his hands drop to his side. “I’m weak.” 
“Bullshit.” Xiao hissed, anger flashing in the other boy’s eyes. Aether took a few steps back as he stared at him in shock, a little taken aback. The other’s voice had a forceful tone, and he didn’t want to upset Xiao right away. “I know from the small snippets of powers I see from you that you are hella powerful.”
What use was that when he couldn’t conjure the power when he needed it. “But it’s not consistent.” Aether pointed out with a pained laugh.
Xiao frowned as he stared at Aether for a while with a calculating look in his eyes. “Well, does it feel like you are reaching into an empty barrel?” He asked. Aether blinked slowly and looked at Xiao as if he grew another head.
What the hell does that have to do with anything? They were just talking about power, how the fuck did that relate?
Aether opened his mouth, ready to say something snarky in response to his question. “I’ve never thought of what it feels like.” He admitted instead, knowing that would probably hurt Xiao’s feelings and it wouldn’t get them anywhere if Aether decided to be a little shit because he hated the situation that they were in. “I just know that…it’s frustrating. I can do it, I just…” He bit the inside of his cheek as he tried to figure out the correct word to describe how he was feeling. “Can’t?” He finished lamely. That’s not exactly what he wanted to say to describe the feeling.
He looked at Xiao, ready to see an annoyed look on his face, or an unsympathetic look. Something to tell Aether to just get over it, like many people have told him to do in the past, but instead the other had a soft smile on his face. “Try now.” Xiao encouraged him .Aether shook his head instantly. He didn’t want Xiao to be mad at him. “Try anything, and zone in on how you are feeling. Act like I’m not here.” Xiao continued, taking a step back from Aether. “Its normal not to be able to describe the feelings without giving it much of a thought.”
“You’re going to realize that this was a mistake.” Aether insisted as soon as Xiao was done talking. 
“No I won’t.” Xiao promised. “I have a theory of what is going on, but I just need to figure out a few things.”
Aether looked at him unsure. “Listen, if I prove to be useless, just promise me that we can still be friends.” The boy asked in a soft voice.
“Why would I not want to be your friend?” Xiao questioned, his voice filled with confusion. “Aether, it doesn’t matter how powerful you are, I enjoy hanging around you.”
Aether shook his head a little bit. “Everyone seems to leave when they realize I can’t do anything.” He whispered.
“I’m not that shallow.” Xiao insisted. “Show me what you got.”
Aether gave him an unsure look before he took a deep breath, trying to calm the emotions that were raging in his brain.. He moved through the movements a kid would use if they were trying to create a gust of wind. It felt like the knowledge was there, again. He should be able to grab a hold and make the damn gust of wind appear, but at the same time he couldn’t reach it.
It was like every time he got closer it was pulled away from him right at the last second. When he could get ahold of the knowledge it was like he could touch it with just the tip of his hand, but something was holding him back. And right now, he couldn’t create the gust. 
Aether whined in frustration the harder he tried to get the power out of him before he closed his eyes, hoping that would help him to focus. He tried willing the gust to come out of his fingertips. When that didn’t work, his mind switched to trying to will a rock to form, or a bolt of electricity flowing from his fingers. He stayed as still as he possibly could as he went through almost every type of manipulation known, his frustration growing more and more when nothing he did worked.
Nothing ever came through. Of course it hadn’t. Xiao was there, someone he was hoping to show he wasn’t powerless. But here he was, struggling to do even the smallest thing. His eyes flew open and he gave Xiao a pitiful look.
There was silence as the two stared at each other. “God damn it.” Aether broke the silence, muttering under his breath as he tried taking in more deep breaths. The breaths he managed to get in were quick and shallow..
Xiao walked closer to his friend, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder as he gave the other a comforting smile. “Don’t worry about it.” He whispered. The blonde wanted to scream at him, that was easy for him to say. “How did it feel?”
Aether wiped his eyes. Tears started to form from them. He can’t cry like this, not because he was too useless to manipulate something. At least Xiao wasn’t calling him dumb. He knew there were tutors out there who would when they saw how hard he struggled. At last he was able to take in a deep breath and it almost made him cough.
“It’s…” He started, searching again for the words to describe the frustration that he had just witnessed. “It’s like the power is there,” he began, looking at Xiao to see if he understood where he was going. Xiao looked like he did, but how could he, honestly? When this was a defect of Aether? Surely Xiao hasn’t met anyone as screwed up as Aether was. “But I don’t know how to get it out. Which is so fucking frustrating.”
“Aeth.” Xiao said softly, concern appearing in his eyes.
But Aether just shrugged him off. “It’s so frustrating!” The blonde repeated. “I know, trust me, I KNOW! But…” He was getting worked up again.
Everyone who told him he wasn’t worth anything appeared in his eyes again, his mother leading the front line.  He could see the look of indifference shining in everyone’s eyes. He could hear them all echoing the same thing, that he wasn’t trying hard enough. If the power was there, then he should be able to call the power out, right? He must be lying.
Aether looked away from Xiao, too afraid that he would turn into one of the many people in the crowd, unsurprised that he was failing. “I have studied,” Aether stressed, trying to keep his voice at an even tone. He was going to break down, but he couldn’t let Xiao know that. “Every technique, every stance, every shortcut out there. Anything I can get my hands on since I found out I wasn’t able to use my powers like Lumine could . I have tried every trick to catch up.” He raised his posture a bit as he tried anything there was to convince Xiao he wasn’t slacking off. “EVERY trick to amplify your power or to help do anything. But nothing is enough… It’s like there is a block-” He stopped as soon as he said that, something clicking in his brain.
A block, that was the answer.  He blinked a couple of times as he turned his attention back to Xiao. He was ready to see the disappointment or anger that awaited him in the other’s eyes as he listened to the blonde boy’s excuses. 
Xiao looked confused though, not angry. Not disappointed. The teal haired boy opened his mouth and Aether couldn’t stop himself from flinching. He strained his ears as he readied himself for the screams. “Who is Lumine?” Xiao asked instead.

Chapter Text

Aether opened his mouth to answer the boy, before he tilted his head to the side with a baffled expression forming on his face. Out of everything Xiao could have said, he did not expect him to bring up Lumine. “I...I’ve talked about Lumine a lot in school?” Aether whispered. He couldn’t help not bringing up his sister. Most of his good experience came from hanging out with Lumine. Either Lumine or Gorou.

Xiao shrugged his shoulders, puffing his cheeks out as he continued to look at Aether. “Yeah, but honestly, I never knew who she was,” he admitted.

He didn’t know who Lumine was? Aether couldn’t believe that. Who did he think this random person that was brought up in about half of their conversation? “And you didn’t stop me from talking to ask who she was?” Aether asked. He would have gladly answered Xiaos questions about his sister.

It took a while for Aether to realize that the tone had completely shifted, right before Xiao’s question, Aether was getting so worked up, and now it felt as if a weight was lifted from his shoulder. The tension from earlier was gone, but he could still feel the after effects hiding in the back of his brain. 

Was this a way for Xiao to get Aether to calm down? Had he planned this? But one look at Xiao’s face, the blonde could tell he really didn’t know who Lumine was. The teal haired male shrugged his shoulder, no change in his face as he blinked. “Nah, I kind of like the way you get so into your stories,” he responded, a smile appearing on his face as he said that. Aether’s eyes widened and he tried to hide the blush on his face. He did get really excited when he was retelling the good stories. “It’s cute.”

Aether stared at Xiao in pure bewilderment. After a while, he made a soft huh noise. “She… the girl that went to get me?” Aether asked, Lumine must have seen Xiao come in when his father sent her up to his room. “She was in the room when I fell upstairs?” Aether gestured towards the door while talking.

Xiao looked over to the door before looking back at Aether. Their eyes connected as he furrowed his eyebrows, as if he was trying to think back to what just happened. “I was honestly more worried about you. That was a hard thunk. Making sure you were okay was my top priority. I didn’t notice her in the room at all.” Xiao admitted.

Aether cupped his hands against his nose as he took in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a split second, before looking at Xiao again. “She is my twin sister,” the blonde explained, deciding that he might as well take the time now to tell Xiao who Lumine was. “There was a time where you came up to ask for help at lunch, and she was there?” He tried another thing to see if Xiao was able to connect two to two together.

The other boy’s face shifted to a thoughtful look as he looked off just past Aether’s shoulder. “Was she?” He finally asked and Aether nodded his head. “Huh, weird,” Xiao started to rub the back of his neck, looking lost. “I guess I blocked her out…” Aether sighed, his shoulders sinking. “Well, that might have helped me. It is really rare to have a twin in our coven.” Xiao whispered, looking as if he was thinking something through.

Aether nodded his head. To have a twin was rare. When a couple is blessed with twins in the coven, it is always taken as a sign of good luck. That the archons are smiling down on the couple. That is why most twins typically have names that relate to the founders of the coven. Whether it was one of the two covens founders, like Aether’s name. Other names typically included the other founder, Founder Aether’s twin sister, or one of the founder's parents, children, or close friends. Sometimes, people would name their children one of those names if they were expecting them to lead a great and successful life.

Once again though, Xiao took that information and went in a completely different direction, surprising Aether. “Twins can be a really bad sign,” he whispered under his breath. Aether’s face scrunched up, he needed the other to explain this particular train of thought. “One of the twins always seems to be affected mentally by the other twin.”

Affected mentally? How so?

The blonde’s brain started to work hard as he tried to understand where the other was leading. A certain article he read a while ago that had some information that most people didn’t find credible came to mind. “There’s a small chance,” Aether whispered, thinking of the topic of that article, “that one of the twins can develop a mental block…”

Xiao made a confirming noise as soon as he picked up Aether’s whisper. The blonde shuffled his feet awkwardly, watching Xiao with his mouth hanging open. Something seemed to have clicked in his mind.

“That is what you have,” Xiao said matter of factly. How could Xiao even possibly know that? “A type of mental block. That is what I got from the way you got frustrated earlier. I can tell you are trying hard, really hard,” Xiao continued, his face softening as he spoke.

Aether nodded as he tried to organize his thoughts once again. “How can you be so sure though?” It was as if Xiao thought that was 100% what Aether’s whole problem was. Could it not be anything else?

Xiao puffed out his cheeks. “Mental blocks are rare, but I have seen some people struggle with them in the past.” He responded. “Though, they aren’t twin influenced ones.” He added on quickly. “All Mental blocks happen when you are made to feel like you aren’t worthy enough to learn, whether that be subconsciously or not.”

“You knew someone who actually had one?” They were a rare occurrence. Nobody Aether has met in life had one, or even thought that could be the case with Aether. He had been to a lot of psychiatrists when he was a kid who couldn’t come up with the answer to Aether’s problem. If mental blocks were common, he was sure that would have been brought up at least once.

Xiao smiled sadly, “I used to have a best friend, but when his aunt died he developed a mental block. His mother shut down completely, his dad was already out of the picture and his step-mom was more focused on his mother to even think of reaching out to him. He struggled trying to figure out his life, and for a year or so he couldn’t use his powers. If you have a mental block like I believe, yours is a lot more severe than his.”

Xiao moved to sit down in the grass and Aether sat down next to him, as he looked down at it, trying not to let tears spill out. He started to feel bad for the poor guy. “That… that sounds horrible. But he figured out how to get past it?”

Xiao nodded his head slowly, sighing as he remembered his past friend. The teal haired male seemed like he was on the verge of tears as well. “He did, yes. But he has never been the same since. With a mental block, it is harder but not impossible to use your powers. With more intense cases, the power will start to leak out more and more over time.” He picked up a piece of grass before using a bit of anemo to make it float in the air. 

Aether watched the grass for a second before looking at Xiao again. “Mental blocks sound rough.” He whispered softly.

Xiao chuckled, the grass strand falling a couple of inches before the boy brought it back to the place he wanted to again. “Yeah, they are. Kids that developed mental blocks will grow up not being able to show their powers. They have a hard time getting complete over their powers as well. Did Lumine get her powers first, probably earlier than she should have?”

“Yeah, really early.” He pulled his knees to his chest, remembering yet again how much more successful Lumine was compared to him.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked into Xiao’s eyes as the other was giving him a comforting smile. “I’m guessing that they built her up while tearing you down at the same time.” It was more of a statement than a question.

There was a flutter in Aether’s chest. It felt that for the first time in Aether’s life, anyone aside from Lumine or Gorou actually understood how others treated the twins differently. Lumine would always get so upset whenever people started yelling at Aether and tearing him down. Or when they told her that she was better and she shouldn’t waste any thoughts on Aether. She was the perfect child, and Aether was every parent's worst nightmare.

It literally felt as though a weight was lifted off Aethers shoulders. He finally understood that Xiao didn’t care if at this moment in time he couldn’t use his powers well. Xiao was not going to get mad at him for messing up, and he actually saw Aether trying his hardest. “How the fuck are you so insightful at seventeen?” Aether whispered under his breath, giving Xiao a curious look.

He had whispered it so quietly, he almost thought the other hadn’t heard him. But a frown and a look of pain crossed Xiao's face as the teal haired remembered a painful past. “I had to grow up quickly.”

Aether reached out and placed a hand on top of Xiaos, offering him a smile, just like Xiao had done a few moments ago. “Kids shouldn’t have to grow up fast. I’m sorry.”

Xiao took a deep breath before making it clear that he wasn’t too keen on talking about his past. “How did your parents encourage you as a kid?” He asked instead, changing the topic back to Aether’s childhood.

Aether bit the inside of his cheek, looking at his knees with a pout forming on his lips. “My dad told me it was fine. When he saw I wasn’t doing what Lumine could do… he told me I should take my time and not worry about getting everything perfect.”  His eyes darkened as he got to the other half of his parents. “My mom would get so upset. She would yell at me for not being like Lumine…sometimes…” He could still remember the times when she got really upset with him. When nobody was around. She would try to take Aether’s teaching into her own hands, and hit him. Sometimes hard enough to leave a mark. The woman was careful about those times, and made sure they weren’t in anyplace that anyone would see. Then she threatened Aether,  making sure that nobody would ever know.

“I’m sorry,” Xiao’s voice interrupted Aether’s trip to memory lane. The blonde was grateful for that, he didn’t want to be stuck there, “It’s never okay to-”

“I’m used to it.” Aether interrupted before he could say anything, shaking his head. Part of him didn’t want Xiao to finish that thought. Another wanted to clear his own head and the memories creeping up on him. He wanted to shutter from the feeling coursing through his blood those memories brought. “There’s Lumine, the most powerful witch in our school, and her useless brother Aether,” the blonde sneered with a pained look.

Why did he come back to this point? Why was he saying this? Why couldn’t he just shut up.

He shouldn’t be venting to Xiao, it wasn’t fair to him. “Don’t go near him, or you might catch his powerlessness,” he continued, choking back a sob.

Xiao reached out again. “Aether,” he tried to call out, but Aether moved away from the other boy.

He gave another shake of his head, trying to make Xiao leave him alone, he didn’t deserve him looking out for him. “Obviously I’m not trying hard enough,” anger sneered in his voice. “I’m just lazy. Even if all my spare time I’m not studying, I’m trying to hone in my powers,” he could barely get out a whisper, burying his face into his knees. “It’s not fair.”

Once again, he felt like that kid who watched their sister from the sideline. Watching their sister get all the special treatment. All the treats, special gifts, trips to the place that he wanted to visit. But he was left behind. His mother would use those experiences as a way to motivate the boy. She would rub it into his face that he didn’t get any of those things.

She would glare at him and tell Aether if he wanted a treat then he needed to be exactly like Lumine. Whether it was how she grew a flower perfectly, or lit the fireplace with her own powers, all the candles in the house, or washed all of the plates with hydro. 

“Aeth,” Xiao tried again, this time, Aether allowed himself to look up at the boy, tears rolling down his face. Xiao stared at him, obviously not sure what he could say to the other boy. “Have you…have you ever tried just taking a break?”

The sound of that word sent a shiver through Aether’s body, he could only imagine how upset his mother would be… “What?” Aether reached up and wiped the tears away from his eyes.

Xiao took out a thing of napkins from his pocket before offering them to Aether. Aether took one and gave him what was supposed to be a thankful smile. Obviously that wasn’t what came across though. “You and that Gorou kid seem to hang out a lot, right?” Xiao prompted.

Aether thought back to his best friend before he shook his head. “No…during school time…. We can only hang out at school. If we want to hang out any other time, we have to sneak around,” Aether admitted. A deep frown appeared on his lips. “Mom doesn't like him. I’m not allowed to hang out with him.”

Xiao stared at Aether in disbelief, an uncomfortable silence forming between the two. Xiao looked like he could kill someone. “Because he’s one of the few people to treat you like you are worth more than a pile of crap.” He said, anger lacing his voice. Xiao then took a deep breath again, looking regretful for letting his anger lose. “Sorry, that is dumb, that woman is dumb. Tomorrow is Saturday, right?” Aether nodded his head, too stunned to say anything from Xiao’s outburst. 

At least he hoped that it was Saturday. “It would be a long week if it was Friday tomorrow instead.” Aether whispered, trying to make a joke out of it.

Xiao chuckled. “Let's hang out. You need a break. You can invite Lumine, or that Gorou kid. Whoever you want.”

Aether stood up in a flash, backing away from Xiao when he heard that. There was no way that his mother would ever allow him to do anything like that. He knew her, she would get so angry if he even asked her permission. “I can’t-”

Xiao stood up as well, walking over to Aether and placed his hands on the boy’s shoulder. He looked him deep in his eyes. “We don’t have to tell your mom.” He insisted.

The blonde took in a deep breath, trying not to think about what Xiao was indicating. “I can try to ask Lu…” he finally whispered. “But Gorou has exam prep on the weekends.” 

Xiao nodded his head as he heard Aether’s explanation and he smiled softly at him. Aether gently brushed Xiao’s hands off of his shoulders. “If it is just us, would that be okay?” Xiao asked. “You can't just keep going on like this. This type of life is not healthy. You need to take breaks. No breaks can cause mental fatigue. In order to use our powers we need to keep our minds in top shape.”

Aether looked at the ground instead of keeping eye contact with Xiao. “That makes sense.” He whispered softly.

Xiao took one of Aether’s hands before leading him over to the porch swing, Aether following and not really thinking about what was happening. “Come on, let’s sit down,” the older boy insisted. “Don’t think about anything, and just take in a few deep breaths.”

That was when it hit Aether what the other was trying to make him do. His mind went into full panic mode, as he shook his head and tried to pull away from Xiao. “No way!” He cried out, looking at Xiao in fear. “My mom is home! She wasn’t exactly pleased when my dad got me a tutor in the first place!” He cried out. He managed to pull away from Xiao, holding his hands to his chest as he shook his head rapidly.

Sadness shown in Xiao’s eyes as he saw Aether’s reaction.“So?” Xiao asked.

Aether anxiously bit the bottom of his lips as his eyes glanced back to the door. He knew his mother would come out to check on them sooner or later. She wanted to make sure their money was going to good use. If she saw them relaxing… if she saw her money going to waste… “If my mom comes out and sees that I’m relaxing-”

“Leave that to me.” Xiao interrupted, gently pulling one of Aether’s hand’s away from the blond's chest and making sure that he was sitting down. “Just sit down, and breathe.” Aether looked conflicted on what he was going to do. “Please.” Xiao added. The teal haired boy made it clear that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

Aether searched his face, looking for anything that would show that Xiao didn’t have his best interest at heart. But, as he searched he couldn’t see any ill intentions. He gulped before nodding his head, allowing himself to relax on the swing. He closed his eyes and focused on his breath. He tried to keep any other thoughts out of his head.

The swing swung slightly as Xiao moved it back and forth. Aether could hear the different sounds of outside. Nobody else was out at the moment, so he could hear the different animal sounds… at least as much that could break through when in a city like the one they were in. A few birds were chipping, he could hear some dogs a few yards away. 

A colder breeze then came through, chilling Aether’s skin a little bit. It was a nice break from the heat of the late august sun. The breeze tickled Aether’s nose and he scrunched his face a little bit before laughing softly. 

Aether was brought out of the almost trance he was put on when he heard the door opening. He jumped and his eyes flew open. The blonde looked towards the door. His mother stood in the doorway, crossing her arms with an unimpressed look on her face. She looked at Xiao, disgusted, before looking back at Aether.

The woman had that look in her eyes before Aether got in trouble. He knew this situation was going to happen. Fear lit up his eyes as he glanced back at Xiao. Hadn’t he promised that he would take care of his mother?

Aether scrambled to get off the swing and stood up straight as she moved closer to them, almost in a flash. Xiao stood up as well, but a lot slower than Aether. He was looking at the woman with an unammused look, clearly showing he was annoyed at the  interruption.

The mother and the tutor glared at each other, neither one saying anything as if they were fighting for dominance. “I thought you two were training.” His mother finally spoke up, turning her nose up to the sky as she said that. She looked at Aether again and gave him a look. Aether wanted to hide behind Xiao, but he knew that he couldn’t do that.”I’m pretty sure I’m not paying you to have him slack off swinging.” She sneered at Xiao.

Aether opened his mouth, feeling the need to defend Xiao, but nothing came. To be honest, the blonde himself was taken aback by Xiao’s teaching skills. What exactly was this teaching him to do? How  would it help Xiao for AEther to voice the same concerns?

Xiao didn’t need any help. The teal haired male was still glaring back at the other, almost daring her to say anything. He narrowed his eyes, putting on a more intimidating face. “Meditation helps generate power,” despite his appearance, Xiao’s response was in an even tone, filled with mock respect for the blonde’s mother. Meanwhile his face challenged the woman to fight him on his technique.

Meditation generated power? That didn’t make sense. Was that what they were talking about when trying to feel the ball of power inside of you bullshit?

The woman looked between the two boys, pursing her lips. “No it doesn’t.” She challenged Xiao. She crossed her arms. “Don’t be s-

“I have the receipts though,” Xiao interrupted and a look of shock crossed her face. Nobody stands up against her. “And yes it does. Trust me. I’ve looked into a lot of different ways to help Aether out. Ever since my cousin told me I would be tutoring Aether, I have looked,” the boy stressed the words, taking a step closer to the woman.

Aether wanted to grab his arm and to pull him back, to warn him not to fight the woman but he couldn’t bring his body to do what he needed it to do. 

The woman didn’t look convinced at anything Xiao had said. She rolled her eyes. “And what are these so-called receipts? That's such a dumb way to say proof. What is your source?” A smirk appeared on her face, as if she had backed Xiao into a corner.

Xiao stared at her, not saying anything for a while. He then looked at Aether and gave him a reassuring smile, mouthing that it was going to be ok. “Trust me Bro?” He finally responded. The woman scoffed and Aether tried not to laugh, covering his mouth with his hand. The woman sent her son a warning look. “It’s better to be calm when you are learning. Show her Aether.” Xiao threw Aether through a loop yet again. He hadn’t expected the male to have him prove his mother wrong.

Xiao placed a hand on Aether’s back before pushing him forward so that he was standing in front of the woman. Aether wanted to protest to say that he couldn’t, but he didn’t want to prove Xiao wrong in front of this woman. That wouldn’t be a good outcome. The blonde glanced back at Xiao and the teal haired man gave him a supportive nod. Worry filled Aether to the bone.

What was going to happen when he didn’t do anything? How would Xiao respond then?

He closed his eyes before taking a deep breath and forced his worries to shut up for a few seconds. At least he tried to.

Maybe he should try something he knew he was more attuned to? He usually had more success whenever he tried to create anything with Dendro. That should be a good start.

He opened his eyes, looking over at a small patch of dirt that was next to the concrete of the porch.  When the woman saw her son open his eyes, and yet nothing happened, she scoffed loudly.

Aether closed his eyes, walking towards the patch, he could feel Xiao watching him as he moved, ready to act if Aether failed. Aether willed something to pop up from the patch of dirt, anything. Even if it was a small flower. His eyes flew open to see if he did anything.

When he looked at the patch of dirt, a jolt of surprise ran through him. There in that small patch of dirt stood not only one, but a group of flowers, covering the spot perfectly. Each flower had bright and vibrant colors, different from the last one.

Usually he could create only one flower. Most of the time it was a dull color or it was small, looking as if it was on the verge of wilting away. This was not the case with these flowers. Silently, he thanked Celestia as he bent down to expect the flowers. He picked the prettiest flower out, a purple daisy, before standing up again.

He walked over to his mother before offering her the flower, trying not to have a smug look on his face. There was a moment of silence as the woman stared at the flower patch in shock before looking at her son.

If this had been Lumine, she would have sung her praise, ran to grab their dad to show her look honey, Lumine perfectly grew the right amount of flowers with the most perfect colors, blah blah blah.

But with Aether, she snatched the flower from him, before throwing the flower on the ground and stomping on it. Aether followed the gaze. He was so used to her disdain for him he couldn’t even bother to feel hurt. “Fine.” She snapped as she turned around and headed back inside.

The door slammed after her and Aether flinched. He hoped that she wouldn't yell at him later for what had just happened on the porch. Both boys were watching the door.

Aether managed to let out the breath he was trying to keep in since the moment his mother took the flower from his hand. He could hear raised voices through the door, his father and mother fighting yet again, his father pissed that she went out to bother the boys when he told her not to.

There was a thick silence between them as they processed the scene.. After a while, Xiao scoffed. “What a bitch.” He hissed under his breath, bending down to pick up the flower she stomped on.

He waved his hand over it before it popped back into bloom and offered it to Aether. “Thank you.” Aether whispered, taking the flower, looking down at it with a frown on his face. Guess he was right, he could never do anything well in the eyes of his mother.  “So…” He whispered softly. “If I couldn’t have done anything, what would you have done?” He asked, shuttering just at the thought of his worst fear coming to life.

Xiao tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?” He asked in confusion.

Aether pointed at the flower in his hand. “This… the conjuring of these flowers was hella lucky. You didn’t have anything to do with the flowers popping up, did you?”

What if Xiao had, and this big moment for him was really Xiaos. He shuddered at the thought. Xiao laughed, shaking his head. “Nah, if you ever have problems, meditating will always help you collect even a little bit of your power before you unleash it. That there was all you.” Xiao reassured him.

Aether watched as the other walked over to Aether, patting his shoulders gently with a smile on his face. “I-'' Aether whispered.

“I knew that you could do it.” Xiao smiled at him. “Besides. If nothing was going to happen, I would have given it a few seconds,” the boy flexed his wrists as he talked, “I’m pretty slick with my own magic.” 

Aether looked at Xiao, searching him for any hint that he was lying or over exaggerating, but he trusted the boy. Aether gulped, nodding his head. “Okay…” He replied under his breath.

Xiao beamed at him, before moving away and sitting on the edge of the porch. “Now! Everyone is more attuned to a certain element.” Aether sat down next to him, nodding his head. Of course he knew that. “For those that don’t get into Celestia University, that is typically how they chose which university they will go into instead. For example, I am more attuned to Anemo. Do you have any idea what element you are more attuned to?” Xiao asked as he looked at Aether, as if he could figure out what the  other was more attuned to by just one look.

Aether didn’t have to think. He knew this one, he had just shown it to Xiao. “Dendro.” 

Xiao hummed as he nodded his head. “That was a fast answer.” He whispered as if he wasn’t expecting Aether to have the answer on hand so fast. “This one might be harder,” the male raised his voice from the whisper, “Can you rank how comfortable you are with each element?”

Aether’s eyes widened. That was practically asking him what his weaknesses were. Aether could feel embarrassment running through his body. Which of the elements did he fail at more often.”uh…” Aether whispered softly.

“It’s okay if you can't.” Xiao interjected really quickly. “I just want to get a general idea.”

Aether shook his head quickly. “It’s not that, I know. But um… Dendro is the one that I manage to summon the most. Next would be Hydro.” Aether responded, Hydro almost came as naturally to him as Dendro, it was harder to get the element out. 

He was silent as he thought of the rest of the elements, trying to rank them. “If it helps, I can’t summon Electro, at all. That is usually because Electro and Anemo are hard to master both well.” 

Aether gave him a thankful smile when he heard him say that before he took in a deep breath. “Well, uh, Cryo Electro and Geo i can do some of the time… but they are weaker than Dendro and Hydro. I can rarely summon Anemo and Pyro…” He stopped as soon as those words passed his mouth.

Pyro, he had only managed to do it once. When it had happened, he had accidentally burned Lumine badly. He was training while Lumine was sitting on his bed, she thought if he did it from farther away then maybe he could light the candle. Aether had agreed and moved it a few feet away. When he pointed at the candle, it had zoomed past the candle, before Lumine cried in pain, standing up.

His mother was in the room in an instant and berated Aether for how foolish he had been. Their dad was up in the room right after their mom and quickly took her to the bathroom to heal her wounds. 

Hydro was one of the best elements to use for healing wounds, but you had to have the wound under rushing water and it can be difficult if you tried to use water that you manipulated.

That incident didn't leave scars on Lumine, but it did on Aether.  For the longest time after that, he refused to even try to summon the fiery element. He could still remember how hurt Lumine was and her cry of pain, causing him to shudder.

Xiao nodded, looking at him curiously. “Is Pyro your least worked on?” The teal haired man asked. Aether nodded. “Ok, so let’s focus on Pyro!” He stood up before offering his hand to Aether.

Aether was flabbergasted as soon as he heard that, staring at the other. “WHAT?” He cried out. Working on Pyro first of all didn’t make sense, shouldn’t they start with something he was more comfortable with? Of course he knew that working on Pyro had to come eventually. But couldn’t he do more practice with say Dendro so he could build his confidence or even Geo or Cryo? “I can’t…”

“I’m pretty sure you can though, Aether,” Xiao interrupted and Aether whined in protest, “Listen, I just want to evaluate your power. Where you are in all of your element manipulation. Starting with your weakest and working up will help me to understand what I'm working with.” Xiao replied.

“Fine.” Aether muttered, though he wasn’t happy with the outcome. He grabbed Xiao’s hand, allowing the other to pull him up. He walked away from Xiao and took in a deep breath, closing his eyes.

Aether held his hand out, palm facing the sky and tried to will fire to appear. When he felt the resistance, he closed his eyes and pictured a flame getting brighter and bigger, growing rapidly. It was growing too fast though, he tried getting the fire to grow smaller, but nothing worked.

The blonde then noticed something close to his cheek, warmth spreading from it. The blonde’s eyes flew open in a panic as Xiao cried out in alarm, he turned to look at the other where he had jumped into a stance, shock in his eyes and frozen. He didn’t seem to know what to do, but why? “Your hair is on fire.” Xiao whispered, pointing at Aether when their eyes met.

Aether dropped his hand in alarm, the flame that he saw for just a couple of seconds disappearing into the air. The warmth was spreading along the back of his head. “PUT IT OUT!” He cried in alarm. A rain cloud appeared above his head before bucket loads of water landed on him, dousing the fire away.

It soaked him in the process, and he screamed as he willed the clouds away. Xiao was staring at him in complete shock, as Aether stood there for a second shivering . The water soaked through his clothes. 

He had to escape.

Aether ran into the house without a second thought.

The boy was on autopilot. When he entered the house, his father was walking towards them. It looked as if he was going to get the two boys. He had a stressed smile on his face, trying to hide how much the fight he had with the boy's mother a while ago upset him.  

“Hey Aeth!” The man called when he noticed Aether running in. “Just in time, Dinner is rea-” He stopped as he took in Aether’s appearance.

Aether pushed past him, ignoring everything. The blonde charged up the stairs as fast as he could, skipping a few steps and slippin on others. He  clinged onto the guard rail for dear life as he ran up. 

He could hear commotion from downstairs. He could only guess that Xiao ran into the house behind him, trying to catch up to the boy. “Aether! Wait up!” Could be heard as Xiao charged after him.

Aether made it up the stairs and ran straight for his room, throwing the door open. “What happened Xiao,  is everything Okay?” His father asked as Aether turned and slammed the door after him.

He dived into his bed,grabbing the blanket and pulling it over his head. He was hiding like he was a little kid from the monster under the bed again. Aether was absolutely mortified. He couldn’t believe he just messed up that badly. And Xiao had just stood there and watched! Now the other is going to realize that Aether was just a dumb useless case. Like everyone had already tried to make him see.

Who burns their own hair?

Aether grabbed his pillow and clutched it to his chest as he rolled onto his side, soft sobs leaving his mouth.

“Aether,” his sister’s voice came from the other side of the door. He ignored it, he didn’t want anyone to see him right now.  Time had passed, who knew how much. The door opened and his sister walked up, kneeling down next to the bed.  “Xiao is leaving. He wants to check if you are alright.”

Aether refused to look at her, hiding his face in his pillow. “I’m not.” He muttered.

Lumine sighed softly and he heard her get up before walking to the door and leaving the room. Aether pulled the blanket away from his face before turning so that he could watch the door. Lumine had walked over to Xiao,a few feet away from the door. A look of concern was etched onto his face. 

“He’s having a bit of a crisis.” Lumine whispered to him, before looking back at Aether, making eye contact with her twin before Aether quickly turned his head away, but to a point where he could still watch the door from his peripheral vision. .

“I…Yeah… I can see that… Is he going to be ok?” Xiao asked. There was silence between the two before Lumine nodded her head. She gave Xiao a smile.

“He just needs to be dramatic, he’ll be fine.” Lumine reassured Xiao, placing a hand on the other’s shoulder. Oh, that was such a nice way to put it. Thank you Lumine.

Xiao looked down at the floor. “So…” He whispered, “I’m guessing that tomorrow is off… can you let him know that I am sorry?”

Lumine nodded before turning back around and walking into the room. Xiao walked off down the stairs, sulking. The girl stared at her twin before sighing, “What am I going to do with you,” she muttered. “Your clothes are soaked!” She cried out in a louder voice. “Come on, get up.”

Aether grunted as he turned away from her fully again. “No.” He muttered. “I’m fucking horrified Lumine.” He snapped, shivering. The cold clothes were now sticking to his skin, but he’d rather be cold than to ever see anyone again. “My life is over, it is ruined.” He buried his face into his pillow.

“No it’s not. Don’t be so dramatic.” Lumine reassured him before walking over to his dresser, pulling out his spare pajamas. “Also, your froggy pajamas are burnt. I’ll get you a new pair later.”

“Why are you getting me a new pair? I can pay for them.” Aether cried out, but still refused to look at her.

He could tell that the girl rolled her eyes at him. “Because I’m trying to be nice. Whatever happened is going to pass.” She insisted.

Maybe. If this was any other huge mortifying teenager life event. But this? Today? This was the worst thing that could ever happened. “What is Xiao going to think of the dumbass who sets their own hair on fire? I finally found someone who didn’t care that I can’t do magic. And look, I scared him away.” Aether fretted.

Lumine let out a gasp, “Bro, I didn’t know that the two of you were dating! Damn, you moved fast!” A soft, impressed whistle left her lips.

Aether sat up in shock, looking at her in horror. “We are not dating! Hell, I don’t think we are even friends yet!” He cried before throwing the pillow at his sister. It hit her gently.

The girl let out a soft giggle. “Well, let me tell you, that idiot has nothing to worry about. You know what Xiao is thinking? He’s worried about the idiot. Come on Aether, you really should get out and take a shower. “ She threw the pillow back at her twin. “At least change into warm clothes. You are going to soak your bed at this rate!” She made a face at the thought of sleeping on a soggy bed.

Aether pouted, but he knew that she was right. After debating with himself, he stood up before giving his sister a slight smile to show that he was going to be ok. She smiled back at him before her eyes widened. Her eyes glanced at the place that his hair had caught on fire. “I’ll give you some space now.” She whispered before leaving the room in a hurry. “I’ll make sure they leave you some dinner!” She yelled over her shoulder.

Aether rolled his eyes before picking up the fresh pajamas that she had put out and went to get his towel. A shower couldn’t do him any harm. He could just imagine the burnt hair and all the damage that was done. Part of him didn’t want to face it. He forced his feet to take him into the bathroom and went straight to the mirror.

Dodging it wasn’t going to make the damage disappear.

He wasn’t ready, he realized shortly, at what he would see. When he saw how badly his hair was burnt, the blonde screamed loudly. One of the loudest screams that he had ever let out.

A few seconds later, the door flung open.  His dad entered the room before closing the door behind him. “Aether, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“My hair, it’s ruined!” Aether cried, reaching up to touch the fried ends. The fire had burnt a good chunk off. A lot of it couldn’t be savaged. “It looks awful.”

The boy turned to stare at his father, tears in his eyes. He wished that the man could fix it the way his father would fix his problems when he was a kid. He needed the other man’s comfort. “It’s fixable.” His father promised. “And it’ll grow back. In time. Is it alright if I cut it?” Aether sniffed. He didn’t want it to be cut, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. Aether loved having long hair. “I’m so sorry Aeth, it’ll be alright.”

“It’s going to take years to grow.” Aether whispered. How long would he have to wait to get it to the length it was now? “It must take a special kind of idiot to set their own hair on fire.”

His dad made a sound, showing that he didn’t agree with Aether. He rolled up one of his sleeves before showing it to his son. There was a scar that licked up his arm. “When I was your age, I set my whole arm on fire. Some people just have a lot of trouble with Pyro. You know your cousin, Albedo?”

Aether nodded. He and Albedo were close growing up. His mother didn’t like him though, so they were forced to stop hanging out after a while. “I miss Albedo.” He whispered.

“I know,” his dad said, a frown appearing on his lips. “It’s hard… with Alice…” He was referring to Albedo’s step mom who also didn’t like Aether’s mom. “But your cousin doesn’t even try to manipulate fire at this point. It is why he didn’t get into the Celestia house. When he was ten, he burnt his shirt sleeve to a crisp, and he has been scared of Pyro ever since.”

Tears rolled down Aether’s eyes. “And yet Lumine is able to create different designs with her flames. Klee blows up stuff in her spare time,” the teenager deadpanned. Klee was the 8 year old cousin who Albedo typically takes care of in his free time. “Having her around must make it hard if he’s afraid of fire.

The older man reached for the scissors Lumine used to cut her own hair. She didn’t like going to the salons and listening to them talk. She insisted on cutting her own hair and would trim Aether’s hair from time to time.

“Hey, if you learn how to control your Pyro better, it takes a lot of power to catch your own hair on fire,” his father told him, taking Aether’s hair out of the ponytail and starting to cut it. “It’s a shame that the fire caught it where it did.  It just continued to spread.”

Aether squeaked, not sure how else to respond to what his father said. It was a shame. A real shame that the only two times he managed to summon Pyro, someone got hurt. Would he ever be able to control this element?

He felt  the weight of his hair drop off and his father started to touch up a few more places. “What do you think?” His father asked as he placed a hand on Aether’s shoulder. “Not too shabby?”

Aether looked into the mirror, taking in the new look. He scrunched up his face, trying not to start bawling. “I guess…” he whispered.

Chapter Text

The weekend passed, just like weekends always do. Aether refused to even try to do anything that weekend. He just stayed in his room, covered by his sweatshirt as he sulked. He couldn’t get himself to care, either
When Monday came, he tried to think of a reason that could get him out of school for the day. Maybe he could get sick? Or at least try to fake it? Maybe he could convince Lumine to lie along with him and say there weren't classes that day. Maybe if he got Lumine in it his mom would believe it?
But no, that wouldn’t be feasible. Aether sighed as he rolled out of bed, getting up and getting ready for the school day. He had decided to wear the most… not boring, maybe unnoticable look he could conjure up. A black hoodie with some jeans. He didn’t care if the late August / Early September sun would make it hot as fuck out. 
His choice of sweaters were always hoodies that were slightly longer than him, so that he could scrunch the ends up into little sweater paws. It gave him something to do when he was nervous and wanted to hide his hands.
His main goal for the day wass to get through the day unharmed, unseen, and unnoticed. When he got to school,  Aether stuck in the shadows, taking the backways of the hallwaysl to get to where he needed to go. The less people he heard gossiping about him the better his mental health.
AEther knew that he was just being dramatic. He knew he was over exaggerating how bad the situation was. At least, he told himself that he was and he needed to stop. 
Because,Hell, who would care that hey, his suddenly iconic, at least to himself, hair had been chopped off. Who knows if anyone would notice, maybe it would take them longer to realize that’s Aether.  Nobody even looks at him long enough to take note of his appearance. They can’t be caught looking at the embarrassment of the school, now can they? He will get no comments from anyone on his hair. At least, that's what he told himself over and over to at least get him through the day.
It was going to be ok. It had to be ok.
He shortly made it to his locker. Nobody had said anything when they saw him, there were a few glances sure. He was surprised that there wasn’t even talk about his reputation. Some people watched him longer than usual, but they didn’t say a word. 
If anything, as he passed, he could see pity in their eyes, or curiosity in their eyes as they tried to figured out what happened.
Aether slammed his locker shut after he got everything he needed, hoisting his backpack back over his shoulders. Once again, he shut it harder than he intended to. The blond felt the looks of pure annoyance from students too used to him slamming the locker door.
He could hear a mutter or two from some kids muttering under their breath about how he must going through it, again.
He wasn’t going to lie…he was going through it. He went through the whole weekend trying everything to find a way to conceal the ugly hairstyle. He was being rude. It wasn’t ugly. His father did a great job cutting it. He just wanted to find a problem and be a stinker about it.  Aether wanted to continue to be upset about his hair. He wanted to be in his bad mood, instead of getting over it and just dealing with the reality.
Aether stared at the student who muttered under their breath. The kid looked back at Aether, scared. Aether managed to just roll his eyes at him before pushing away from his locker and heading to his homeroom. 
He walked fast to get out of the hall before he yelled at someone who didn’t deserve it. Once he got into his homeroom, the student made his way to his spot up in the front. One glance around he could see that there was nobody else in the room. He dropped his backpack to the ground, a loud thud echoing from it. He sat down in his seat, trying his hardest to swallow his bad mood. He had to focus in class now. He couldn’t allow his bad mood to affect the way he learned.
Aether glanced over to the seat that was next to him. 
Xiao’s spot. There had been literally no contact between the two since the accident. It wasn’t like Xiao didn’t try to reach out. He would. He tried through him, through Lumine, through anyone. Sometimes he would show up at the door and Aether could hear his dad turning Xiao away. Aether wasn’t up to it. He just ignored him. He ignored everyone.
It didn’t help that every time Xiao left, his mother would throw a fit. Aether’s not training. Aether is having a huge tantrum for no reason. Aether is such a disappointment and I can’t see why you let him continue hurting this family’s reputation. 
Aether really couldn’t care less. He didn’t even try to make himself look better in front of her anymore, to be honest. If he wanted to throw a tantrum, he should be able to. He had not broken down under the years of hardship that woman put him through. He deserved some grace. He just wished that monster that calls herself a human would shut up.
Aether was so thankful that every time his mother would throw a stink his dad would always come to his defense. He would always be there to explain to the woman how huge and traumatic it was to Aether to have burnt off his own hair. It almost felt like validation, even if Aether knew he was faking his support and thought it was all baloney.
Aether didn’t care. At least he told himself over and over again he didn’t care. 
 “HOLY SHIT!” A loud voice echoed out through the empty room as students filed into the room.
Aether turned, seeing the light brown hair with a white streak belonging to his best friend stood in the doorway. He had on his favorite puppy dog t-shirt on and just a pair of black pants. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he looked at Aether’s hair before looking at his best friend’s face. A look of mortification crossed Aether’s face. Oh no. Gorou was going to make a big deal about this. He forgot about Gorou.
Before the blond could say anything to warn his best friend not to mention shit, his friend was already by his side. The boy was running his hands through Aether’s hair, admiring how short it was. “Your hair!”
Aether batted Gorou’s hand away from his hair, not wanting him to touch it anymore. Gorou gave his friend a hurt look as he brought the hand to his chest. It was all for show. “”Gorou, please.” Aether whispered, squirming in his seat. More kids turned to look at them and the commotion the two were making.
The other kids in his class seemed to get the message that Aether didn’t want to be messed with today, or talked to. He just wanted to be a huge black cloud. He thought he deserved that right. Gorou on the other hand?
The other boy completely ignored Aether’s pleading tone, “Oh my god,” he whispered under his breath. Tears welled up in Aether’s eyes. He looked around for anything that could help him escape this embarrassing situation. But, all the other kids in the room were staring at them with a hint of annoyance. 
The two were making a big commotion for a Monday morning, and it was still early.
Aether had to bite his bottom lip to stop it from shaking. “It’s such a big change,” Gorou cried, continuing to not read any of the clues Aether was trying to send him to shut up. 
Aether’s breath caught in his throat. He was fighting hard to keep a calm exterior. “Gorou,” he choked out. He was failing despite how hard he tried to hide any type of emotion.
Gorou stopped what he was doing, finally noticing that something was off with his friend. Gorou looked at his best friend, tilting his head to the side with a confused look. He looked Aether straight in his eyes, trying to figure out what was bothering him. “What?” He asked.
Aether scooted away from Gorou, as best that he could when he was still sitting at his desk. Some space between him and his friend would be great. He didn’t know what would happen if he couldn’t get his emotions under control. 
“It wasn’t my choice to cut it,” Aether said. The words came out snappier than attended. The blond didn't want Gorou to think he was upset with him. He never really talked to Gorou with that tone. Gorou’s eyes widened, trying to figure out what he had done wrong. “I accidentally burnt it off. I don't want to talk about it.” Aether explained, glancing at the other students in the room. He didn’t want everyone to know about how badly he messed up.
The other senior’s eyes widened, shock appearing on his face. Then pity filled his eyes, as his eyes softened as he stared at Aether. Not pity. Please. Anything but pity. Aether didn’t need it. Aether didn’t want it. The blond just wanted to get past this conversation and this interaction. “It looks good though!” Gorou cried out. He was trying to cheer Aether up. But Aether could tell that Gorou was forcing the smile appearing on his face.
The blonde knew there was no possible way the other was telling the truth. How could he? Especially when he was looking at Aether like that. “GOROU,” Aether cried in distress, turning his body away from the other. His lower lip stuck out as he pouted and he tried to give off the impression he didn’t want to talk any more. A soft huff of annoyance left his lips.
Gorou wasn’t getting the hint though. He stole a chair from the girl who usually sat next to Aether. “Hey!” The girl cried, having walked into the room just moments before. 
Gorou gave her a look before looking back at his friend. “Seriously, Aeth. It is not that bad,” he insisted, reaching out to place a hand on his friend’s shoulder. Aether refused to look over at him, crossing his arms.
His glance found the door as shuffling was heard. Their teacher and Xiao were walking into the room. They seemed to be in a deep conversation with each other. Heat from embarrassment flooded to Aether’s cheeks. Xiao was wearing a white t-shirt that had black shoulders with a light jacket wrapped around his waist and a pair of jeans. The teal haired boy turned his head, catching Aether’s gaze.
Both of them stared at each other with the same look on their face. A look of shock and awkwardness. Xiao was the first to look away from him.
Great. That was just great. Xiao was angry with him. He really did think that Aether was useless.
Aether turned his attention to Gorou, a feeling of frustration beginning to brew. “Gorou!” He shouted, startling everyone in the room. “Please, STOP!” As soon as the words left his lips, a flash of pain spread through his hands. 
Aether let out a yelp, uncrossing his arms. His hands felt too hot. Uncomfortably hot. Like he had just placed them on a hot stove top and left them for a few seconds.
Gorou flinched, as he stared at his friend in horror. His friend’s yelp of pain caught him off guard. “What happened?” Gorou asked, frowning deeply. “I didn’t do anything to hurt you, did I?” The brown haired boy scooted away from his friend, fear shining in his eyes.
“NO!”  Aether snapped, his voice filled with pain as he glared at Gorou in annoyance. Hurt replaced the confusion. Aether wanted to apologize, but he couldn’t open his mouth to make that happen. Instead, he shouted, “JUST leave me alone!” His hands warmed up even more. He yelped, looking at them as he watched steam brushing off them. Both of his hands were red and raw. Aether shook as he took in the sight of his hands. What happened? How did they get to that point? He didn’t do anything to make them look that burnt, right?
He felt someone rush up next to his side. “Hey,” a soft voice whispered next to his ear. The owner of the voice gently grabbed Aether’s hands. He separated them so they wouldn’t touch. 
The blond tried to focus all of his energy to stop from bursting out into tears. He already found it hard to stop when he was bickering with Gorou. This pain was like nothing else. Aether looked up to see who was holding his hands. When his eyes met his teacher, he swallowed hard. Concern shown in his teacher’s eyes.
“What happened?” His teacher asked him. Aether couldn’t tell him, he shook his head. He couldn’t admit his mistake. The blond didn’t want the other people in the room to see how much he was failing. “Aether, your hands look like they were burned badly.” The teacher said in an even tone when he didn’t get a response from Aether. “Please tell me what happened?”
He blinked his eyes, trying to ground himself as he stared at the teacher. He took in a few breaths, trying to calm himself down. His breathing had sped up way too fast to the point he was almost hyperventilating. “I…” He stuttered, turning to glance at Gorou. 
Gorou looked unsure of what he was supposed to do, if he should comfort his friend or give him the space that he asked for.  Aether’s snappiness has hurt him badly. He hurt one of the few people who was always there for him. There was a drop in Aether’s stomach.
How much of a mess up could Aether be?
Aether looked back at his teacher as he scrunched up his face, trying to figure out the words to say. “I was… I was just getting frustrated.” Aether whispered as he looked at the floor. It was difficult to talk. It was difficult to breathe. Aether needed some space. He needed to calm down, but everyone around him made it hard to even think straight. “I… I guess I summoned… fire… or something?”
He had no recollection of even starting a fire. There were no burn marks anywhere other than his hands. He didn’t see any flames. But that was the best explanation he had. What had Aether done?
His teacher got him to stand up, and gently led Aether away from his desk. “Come here.,” he instructed, his voice as even and calm as he can get it. The older male helped Aether out of the room. Right before they left, Aether turned, looking over his shoulders and letting his eyes land on Xiao. Xiao was standing and watching the scene in complete shock right next to the door. He hadn’t moved an inch. The whole class was a mirror of Xiao. The students were completely speechless.
“Xiao,” the teacher called out, “go and ask the nurse for some burn cream.” Xiao nodded before following the two out of the room.
Aether and the Teacher walked over to the nearest bathroom, silence between them, as Xiao went in another direction to the nurse. Thankfully the bathroom wasn’t too far away. 
Aether was brought to the closest sink and the teacher turned it on. Aether reached out shakily to put his hands under the running water. Pain crept up his body as the water hit the raw skin. Aether let out a gasp of pain as the cold water surrounded his burnt hands.
It wasn’t long until the boy felt a cooling effect. The pain started to eeb away quickly until it was as if the pain hadn’t even been there. It was all a bad dream and he was just waking up.
But, that wasn’t the case. He still had to deal with the aftermath. Instead of the world of dreams disappearing as Aether woke up, he had to look at Gorou and the hurt he caused. He had to look at the disgusted looks of his classmates.
Aether let out a disappointed sigh as he watched the water roll off his hands. “God, I’m useless.” Aether whispered, flicking one of his hands under the water. The sentence was sudden. His teacher didn’t quite catch what he had said, so he let out a soft humming noise. “Have you ever seen someone burn themselves this badly?” Aether asked, raising his voice. 
There was silence again as the teacher was trying to figure out what Aether was saying. When it clicked, he looked at Aether with a look of pure disbelief. He caught Aether’s eye. “You are not useless,” he said, stressing every word in his sentence,”and yes, I have. It is fairly normal for people with a lot of power to hurt themselves. Just from feeling annoyed? Archons, Aether. Just imagine when-”
“I’m almost 17 years old!” Aether interrupted, knowing where the other was heading. How could he say that any of this was normal? He shouldn’t JUST be getting his powers. It is 10 years too late. His whole body started to shake again. “Thats… kids learning how to use their powers are the ones who hurt themselves. A 16 year old hurting themselves? That’s…” He stopped, his thoughts falling behind. Aether shook his head. “I should know how to not hurt myself with my own powers!”
The teacher leaned against the wall with a soft sigh. He shook his head once, disagreeing with Aether. “Some people tend to take longer, and that is ok,” the older male said. “Most people aren’t powerful enough to create a heat that burns them. Most people also can’t heal their own wounds after getting burnt.” He glanced down to where the younger male was still holding his hands under the water, and looked back up at Aether. “Aether, do you think you developed a twin influenced mental block?”
Aether thought back to what Xiao was talking about last Friday. That was what he was trying to get Aether to see as well. And the more he thought about it, the more Aether realized that might be one of his problems. He was about to nod his head in agreement, when his brain processed the first half of what the teacher said. “What do you mean?”
The teacher’s gaze softened. “A block, like-”
Aether shook his head in a hurry, interrupting with, “sorry, not that. What do you mean I healed my own wounds?” He clarified. The teacher went over, shutting off the water before grabbing Aether’s hands again.
The male generated a small heat to dry off the blond’s hands. That caused him to flinch at first, expecting pain or discomfort. Aether let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding as no pain was felt.
Aether glanced down at his hands. “Notice how the burns are gone?” The other man asked. The blond frowned, studying his hands. 
There was no puffy rawness he saw earlier. There was no look that his hands even came close to something radiating heat. “Well… they…” Aether bit his tongue. What just happened? What could he say? Nothing was coming to his mind.
He thought back to last friday. More specifically to the rain cloud. The one that he had willed away. It was him that made it go away. Didn’t that mean that it was him who created the raincloud? If Xiao had been the one to summon the cloud, then it should have been Xiao who made it disappear.
Maybe this mental block was real. Maybe he needed it to go away. “How do you get rid of a mental block? It can’t be just from meditation, could it?” Aether asked, looking up at the teacher.
The teacher stared blankly at his student. He hadn’t expected that question. The male shook his head. “I think you need to feel comfortable. Sometimes it does take a few minutes though. If there was someone telling you that you can use your power.”
Aether turned his attention to anything but the other person in the room. “And then what?” He whispered. “Kids don’t have this much power?”
He had a lot of power like someone who had been generating it for their whole life, but someone with little to no control over their own power. “You have been trying to get this power out since you were young,” his teacher echoed his thoughts. “I’m guessing that power grew but you were unable to access it. There is no real data on mental blocks, they are rare. Especially twin influenced ones.” The teacher explained softly  “There is also an old wife’s tale that states when you meet your soulmate, any block goes away and your power starts to grow exponentially.”
Soulmates, huh? Aether wanted to laugh as he heard that. The blonde shook his head. “Soulmates are just a fairy tale to tell kids.” He whispered. “There is no love in this world that doesn’t come without fighting and hardships.”
There was one love that was supposed to be that way. Unconditional love from his parents. Aether never felt that love from his mom, he barely felt it from his dad. The blond doubted it actually exists. “I hear,” the teacher replied as his eyes glittered, “Solmates will make you work the hardest for their love. In the end, they will be by your side no matter what. You will always have them. But you are right. This isn’t something I should be discussing with one of my students anyways. Come on, let's get back to class.” He stopped what he was saying before turning and leaving the bathroom.
Aether frowned. If Soulmates were real, the only person who was new in his life that could make a mental block disappear was Xiao. Aether thought back to the first time that he had seen Xiao.
He hadn’t known Xiao for long, but he knew the other always brought comfort. Could Xiao be his soulmate?
Aether then thought back to the image of the boy from the cafe. Aether shook his head sharply, trying to clear his mind. He wasn’t sure why he thought of that. He moved to follow his teacher out of the bathroom and head back to class.
When they were about to enter, Xiao came running up, holding some gloves and some cream. He skidded to a halt as soon as he saw the two. The other student had almost crashed into the pair, but Xiao was able to stop himself. He held up the burn cream and the gloves. “Here’s the cream.” 
Their teacher reached out, taking the cream from him as Xiao looked over at Aether. The blond couldn’t tell what look the other had on his face. Aether’s hands were then grabbed by the teacher while the student allowed him to put cream on his hands, his eyes trained on Xiao, confused.
Xiao shifted from foot to foot. “Uh, the nurse asked what happened,” Xiao continued to speak after a while, looking at his feet and wincing. “I told her a student accidentally hurt themselves. She said to tell them to wear these gloves. They have cooling cyro powers to make sure that it won’t happen again.”
Taking a closer look at the gloves the other had, Aether scoffed in disbelief.
With kids who were a danger to themselves, there were specific gloves that sealed their magic whenever they wore them. “Those are training gloves,” Aether cried in outrage, “For kids who can’t control their powers!”
Which, he guessed, described him perfectly. Xiao winced again, taking an unsure step back, and glanced at the teacher.
The male rolled his eyes, taking the gloves from Xiao. “It is best if you wear them. Your pyro manipulation seems to be tied with your emotions right now. If you can hurt yourself, just from being mildly annoyed, who knows how bad it can get.”  The teacher ordered.
“Fine.” Aether snapped, taking the gloves and putting them on.
The teacher nodded his head in approval before handing him the burn cream. “Put this on every now and then throughout the day.” He instructed.
Aether stared at the other male in confusion. “But the burns are gone?” 
“The burns are gone?” Xiao asked, looking between the two. Aether looked at him and he instantly shut his mouth, looking at the ground.
“It’ll help, trust me Aether.” The teacher insisted.

Aether sat down with a huff next to Lumine, trying to hide the slight frown. It was time for his next class. Apparently, Lumine was feeling upset as well. She had a look of pure frustration on her face. “This is so stupid! When are we going to use any of this?” Lumine finally hissed in frustration.
Aether blinked and turned to look over to see what the other was talking about. “Have you … not finished the homework?” Aether asked, noticing what his sister’s neat handwriting said. It was the problems that the teacher had asked them to copy before the end of the last class. 
Lumine looked at him before giving him a look. “Well -” She was going to say something, but thought better of it.Asoft sigh left her lips. “So what if I’m a little behind?” She asked.
Aether shook his head. “It's the second week of School.” Aether reasoned with her, a smirk on his face. “Monday of all days.”
His twin scoffed again as if that wasn’t anything to be worried about. Being behind in the first week of school was easier to get caught up than if it was weeks later. “Help me!” She demanded instead, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.
“It’s review!” Aether cried out. And easy review as well, more of a lets practice your old skills before we get into the new harder stuff this semester.
He felt bad for saying that because she gave him a look of pure devastation. “Listen, I put it into my calculator and I got 3,795.3892.” She whined softly. “For some reason that doesn’t sound right!”
He looked at the problem that she was having troubles on before another sigh left his lips. “Round, Lu Round.” he explained, pointing at her answer. “You got it.” Lumine gave him a look before writing 3,795 down next to the answer. “To the nearest hundredth.” He added and she rolled her eyes before adding .39.
“Rounding is shit.” She muttered under her breath as she turned to the next problem on her page.
Aether smiled and shook his head. Math wasn’t Lumine's strong suit, it never was. But when she actually sat down and worked through the problems… “Why are you in Honors Calculus?” He asked teasingly.
She looked over at him with a dead look in her eyes. He knew that look, the girl was about to get in the story that she had told over and over again last summer. “Because they want me to be miserable.” She deadpanned. “I asked for an easy class and they told me no.” 
Aether gave her a smile before patting her shoulder gently. “And that is because you’re smart. You are going to be fine.” He insisted.
She shook her head before gently nudging Aether in the shoulder. “No, I have a beautiful smart brother who is willing to help me with anything I don’t understand.” She responded, giving her brother a cheeky smile. 
Aether rolled his eyes at her and she giggled. “How many do you have left?” Aether asked, looking back over her work.
“One.” Lumine stated, pointing to the last section that showed a lot of eraser marks. There was even a spot where he guessed that she was getting frustrated with and had accidentally ripped the paper.
The two of them silently worked on the problem. Lumine would try and beg Aether to do the work for her. He would ask questions to try and get her to realize that she knew what she was talking about.  It was a miracle that the two of them managed to finish it by the time the teacher came in. 
She quickly walked to the start of the room before grabbing the white board marker and started to write a warm up for the kids to work on. A kid raised their hand to get the teacher’s attention. She sighed softly before looking at the kid. “Yes?” She asked, annoyed
The kid put their hands down before looking over at Aether and giving him a glare. Aether looked back at her with a look of what did I do. “Ma’am, isn’t it against the rules to wear gloves?” She asked before pointing at Aether. “Because Aether is wearing some.”
There was silence in the room. Everyone was trying to understand what the other girl had a problem with. The teacher looked at the girl with an annoyed look, not liking the fact that her lesson got interrupted for something like this. “No it's not.” She then looked over at Aether as well who looked at the Teacher in confusion. “But, it is highly unadvised in most classes. Aether, wouldn’t you rather take them off?” She asked.
Aether was still trying to get over the complete and total nonsense the other student was trying to start. He didn’t even know her. Why she was trying to get Aether in trouble was beyond him. He looked down at the gloves, shifting uncomfortably. “They are training gloves, Ma’am.” He responded.
The teacher hummed and nodded before turning around to write more on the board, clearly done with this interruption.
His sister was looking at them with a look of pure confusion on her face. She looked at her brother’s face. “Training gloves? You don’t even own gloves? You hate wearing them?” That’s true, Aether hated the feeling of not being able to touch anything  while he was wearing  gloves.
“Uh, I had to get them during homeroom.” Aether told her, giving her a half smile, starting to feel awkward again.
“What are training gloves?” Lumine asked. Of course she never heard of them, most people haven’t. The rest of the class started muttering to their seatmates. They have never heard of training gloves either.
The teacher finished writing problems before turning around again. “They are sometimes used with kids struggling with manipulation, especially pyro, cryo, and electro.” The teacher explained, sighing.
Thankfully she explained it that way, most kids would think struggling means struggling to make it strong. Aether started to copy the questions on the board, thinking that was done as there was a collective oh from the highschool students. “Why those ones?” Lumine questioned.
The teacher seemed like she was trying hard not to show her annoyance. “They are the ones most likely to activate on accident and cause genuine harm to the user or those around them. Usually it's those around them.” She responded before forcing a smile on her face. “Get to work.”
Now that, he could tell, would cause some questioning. “It’s rare for Pyro!” A kid challenged, standing up. “Your skin should be used to Pyro.”
The teacher turned to look at the kid who stood up. “Sit down please.” She called and he did as quickly as he stood up. “It’s rare in general.” The teacher stated before she turned her look at Aether. Oh no. “For example, what caused you to have to wear them?”
Lumine gasped, slamming her hands on the table and the teacher gave her a warning look. “Isn’t that a little bit personal?” She stressed her words. “He doesn’t have to tell-”
Aether placed a hand on her shoulder and she instantly shut up. “It’s okay.” Aether responded before he looked back at the teacher. He knew it must be weird to see a kid their age wearing the gloves. “I accidentally burned myself in homeroom.”
“WHAT?” His twin cried out in shock, and he flinched, since it was right next to his ear. “Are you okay?” The blond nodded his head slowly, ready to reply and say that the burns were already gone. “How the fuck did that happen?”
“I don't know,” Aether responded truthfully, playing with his hands uncomfortable now that everyone was looking at him. “I got annoyed, and my hands started to hurt?” He still couldn’t really get a good grasp on the events that just played out. 
Lumine tsked softly. “Who annoyed you?” She demanded. “Was it Xiao?”
Aether knew that whoever it was, no matter the reason, there was a good chance that Lumine would find them and scream at them for hurting her precious little brother. Before he could say anything, the girl who started the whole conversation spoke up again. “Xiao Morax? The new transfer student?”
Aether turned to look at her. Why would it upset her? Xiao was getting a reputation that he really didn’t have out with anyone. The only person he seemed to bother was Aether himself, coming up for notes in a class, but that was about it. Usually at lunch he would sit outside and he tended to go straight home most days as well. 
He decided to ignore it as he shook his head. “Honestly Lu, I’m fine.” He insisted before taking the glove off a little bit to show that there were indeed no burns on his hand. “They are healed. No it wasn’t Xiao. It doesn’t matter who it was, it was my fault for getting annoyed.” He placed the glove back on. The blond knew that he was going to have to find Gorou at lunch time or something and apologize to him.
Aether  remembered the scared look that his best friend had when he came back in. He was still steaming and didn’t take the time to apologize to Gorou. “Why would Xiao of all people interact with the powerless Aether?” The girl suddenly scoffed.
Aether turned to look at her again, narrowing his eyes as he tried to figure out what he did to make her so angry. “Excuse me?” Lumine cried. Aether let out a sigh, trying to grab a hold on her. This was not the time for Lumine to get all protective over him. It was a dumb question. “My brother is not powerless.”
The girl rolled her eyes. “I’ll believe that when I see it.” She whispered to her friend next to her.
Her friend  let out a soft laugh as well, before covering his mouth when she noticed that Aether was looking at the two of them. “Girls.” The teacher  called out, giving both of them a warning look. “Let’s get ready to do our work.”
“But seriously miss, if she thinks that Aether is so powerful, I want to see him.” Another kid snickered. It was too early for this.
“That’s not going to happen.” The girl laughed, rolling her eyes at the mere thought of it. “Aether probably only has those gloves on to act like he’s a late bloomer.” She hissed as she turned to glare at Aether. “Late bloomers are almost as rare as kids needing gloves for Pyro. At least make your lie believable.”
Aether did not have a good feeling about what was going to happen. Lumine’s chair skidded against the floor as she stood up, glaring at the other one. “Yeah? You think he’s lying? Well, my brother isn’t a liar.” His twin challenged the girl
“Lu,” Aether pleaded, knowing that this was not something he could deal with right now. He stood up,trying to grab onto his sister’s sleeve. “Drop it, it’s fine.” He insisted. It wasn’t rare to hear those types of things flown around the school about him. After all, him not having powers was also somehow viewed as him trying to get attention.  It stung when people were rude, but he was used to it. 
It wasn’t something worth letting his sister get in trouble with. She shouldn’t get into a fight with a kid over how they were talking about him. “But it’s not fine.” Of course his sister wasn’t going to let that drop. “They have no reason to say that.”  Lumine insisted.
Aether turned to give a pleading look to the teacher, hoping that they would see that they needed to step in and stop the two before something happened. “Well, maybe if he didn’t lie-” the kid started.
Then his sister said something he didn’t want these kids especially to know. “He set his own hair on fire!” Lumine insisted.
“Lumine!” Aether cried as his cheeks flared up in embarrassment. There was silence throughout the room when they heard that, kids looking between the fight and the teacher who still hadn’t moved from their spot.
Why hadn’t she moved?
Weren’t they supposed to stop fights like this that broke out between students?
“What’s that, another lie?”  the kid asked, scoffing and rolling their eyes, obviously not believing a thing.
Lumine grabbed Aether’s hair harshly and he tried to brush her off. “Look, the ends are even chopped, you dumbass.” 
“Yeah, he could have easily just cut his hair with kitchen scissors.” The girl replied with an unimpressed look on her face. “It doesn’t surprise me that you are a lying bitch as well. Must run in the family.”
The next moment happened in slow motion, as Lumine moved away from her chair, lunging at the other girl. The other stood up as well, and started throwing pyro and electro attacks at Lumine. Lumine dodged the attacks easily.  Aether tried to catch his sister from attacking the girl, but his foot got stuck in his chair and he managed to trip.
His head hit the table with a loud smack.  Everything in the room stopped. Of course that’s what caused it to stop. He grimaced as he stood up, covering his nose as tears yet again formed in his eyes, pain ebbing through him yet again.
The teacher took in a deep breath as she glared at the two girls, Lumine having grabbed the girl’s shirt in her fist, looking like she was about ready to punch her. “LET HER GO!” The teacher yelled. Lumine did as she was told, backing up but still glaring at the girl. “You three, to the office, NOW!” she pointed at the two girls before pointing over at  Aether.
Aether looked up in confusion, how was the teacher going to spin that this was his fault. He was trying so desperately to stop the fight. Nothing he said or did could have done that.
The teacher opened their mouth as if they were going to explain further, but a student raised their hand instead. It was one of the kids who had a horrified look on their face through the fight. “Ma’am, what did Aether do?” 
There was a bit of mummering of agreement from the other kids, a lot of them looking over at him with a look of concern on their face, and pity. “Sorry…” The teacher said as she took in a deep breath as she tried to control her anger. “Sorry, let me rephrase that. Lumine, Alexandra, you two need to go to the Principal’s office, I will be calling to let them know. Aether, go to the nurse, that was a hard hit, and we need to make sure it’s nothing too bad.”
Aether started to move away from the desk, refusing to let go of his nose and nodded. The two girls glared at each other before huffing and turning their noses up in the air, walking out of the room one after the other. Aether followed. After a while, Lumine stopped in her tracks before looking back at Aether and going next to his side. “Are you ok?” She asked in a soft voice.
He gave her a look, not really wanting to talk to her before speeding up, passing the other girl and making it to the office, where a teacher was just getting off the phone. She gestured Aether to the nurse, knowing why he was there.. As the two girls came into the room shortly after him. Lumine was looking at him with an expression very similar to that of a kicked puppy. 
As he entered the nurses room, she looked up with a smile on her face. “Hi, how can I h- oh dear, what happened?” She asked, moving closer to Aether
“I tripped and hit my head on a  desk. I think my nose is bleeding.” He explained, moving his hand away to let her get a better look at his nose. He felt something trickling down his face and he quickly covered  his nose again.
“Oh no.” The nurse whispered softly as she saw the damage. “Come, sit down over here.” She got up and moved over to him. She led him to sit down on the nurse’s bed and gently removed his hands away from his nose to check it. 
The nurse tsked softly. “It looks like you have a broken nose, love.” She whispered softly. “It’s too damaged to try and heal it with magic, but I can put it back in place and make sure that it stays there. You might have a bit of bruising because of it.” She explained.
Aether fell silent, and let her do her work without saying anything. His bottom lip started to tremble. He really wanted a hug.
A hug from anyone would feel nice, now that he was thinking about it.  “There you go, dear, you’re all set.” The nurse said after a while, giving him a soft smile. 
Aether glanced down at his lap where his hands rested. He could see that the gloves he was wearing had specks of blood on them.“Thank you… uh… the gloves, I got them all dirty.” He whispered. “I’m sorry…”
“Oh,” the nurse whispered, a frown on her face. “Was it you, deary, who also burnt their hands?” She asked. Aether nodded his head, moving to clasp his hands together as he shifted in his spot.. “Oh, you poor thing. That’s fine. No need to apologize” She reached  out and grabbed his hands. The nurse used some water to wash the blood off of them. “There, they are all set.”
“Do you need them-” Aether started, wondering if at any point in the future he would have to give them back to her.
THe nurse smiled sympathetically at him, before shaking her head.“No, it’s ok,” she insisted.“Go back to class dear, unless you want to go home.”
He thought of the hell that waited for him when he got home and he shook his head. “Thank you.” The blonde whispered again before getting up and leaving the room, feeling defeated. 
As Aether walked down the hall, he saw Gorou coming out of the bathroom close to his friend's classroom. Gorou turned to look at him and his eyes widened in concern. He stopped  and waited for Aether to catch up with him. Aether stopped walking when he did, turning to look at his friend. “Are you ok?” Gorou asked, looking at his nose before stopping himself, not sure how Aether would react and if Aether was still snippy.
The blond was done trying to be strong. He knew that the brown haired boy would be the last to make fun of him when he was vulnerable.  His lip started to tremble more noticeably. One look at his friend made Gorou pull him into a tight hug. Aether hugged back, guilt filling him as he remembered the morning.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you,” Aether finally managed to speak out, “today’s been…” The words once again left him.
“Shit?” Gorou offered up and Aether nodded his head slowly. His friend gave him a small smile, shaking his head “Don’t worry about it, Aeth. I’ll walk you back to class, and then we can eat lunch together?”
“Ok.” Aether responded with a nod. Lunch with Gorou sounded nice, maybe he could make up for this morning. and the two friends headed out.

---
Aether had somehow managed to get through the rest of the day with no more injuries. Lumine had gone home earlier in the day, suspended due to the fight. Alexandra was also suspended. 
Judging by the text that Lumine had sent Aether when she was on the ride home, the other girl had gotten it a lot worse and Lumine was gloating over the fact.
Aether was looking down at the ground, getting ready to walk out the door of the school and head home. “Aether!” He jumped at the sound of his name, before turning. Xiao came running up to him. He had a look of uncertainty in his eyes. “Can I walk you home? We are heading the same way anyways?” He asked, looking uncertain and anywhere but Aether.
Aether offered him a small smile, the best that he could after the week he has had so far. “Sure.” He responded.
Xiao smiled back at him and the two started to head off, walking side to side. “Is your nose okay?” Xiao asked as they exited the school lawn. They got onto the sidewalk and walked to Aether’s house.
Aether hummed softly. “It’s a bit sore, but I’m sure that it will heal.” He responded honestly, dragging his feet along the ground and looking down.
Xiao glanced to where his hands were swinging. “And your hands?” Xiao continued.
Aether blinked and looked at Xiao. “My hands?” He asked in confusion.
“From this morning?” Xiao pointed out.
Aether’s eyes widened. He had almost forgotten about his hands.This morning seemed so long ago. All the problems he had when entering the school seemed to be obsolete now. “Oh! Yeah, they are fine too.” He responded, raising them up and flexing to show Xiao it was going to be fine.
Xiao smiled softly when he saw the other boy had recovered. “Good, good,” the teal haired male said. Aether hummed in agreement. 
There was a bit of silence as the two of them walked, Aether starting to feel a lot better.
Aether thought of something else that he was unsure about. Something that involved the boy that was walking next to him. He should ask Xiao to get his mind off of it. “Are you coming to tutor me?” Aether asked, looking over at Xiao.
Xiao nodded his head almost instantly, looking at Aether. “Uh yeah, I think you had a few days off, we should get back to that.” He responded, a comforting smile appearing on his face. It had been a while since they trained “Also Aeth?”
“Yeah?” Aether asked in confusion.
Xiao stopped walking, causing Aether to stop as well.“Don’t feel embarrassed about anything that happened with your pyro recently.” Xiao had a look that made Aether want to take him seriously.  Aether blinked before nodding his head slowly. There was a sting in his heart when he heard that.  “I’ve done a lot more embarrassing things.”
But that wasn’t the only reason why Aether was always so shocked about his powers…
Besides, that was almost hard to believe. What could Xiao have done that was a lot worse than what he did? “How so?” Aether asked, knocking his shoulder into Xiao.
Xiao let out a chuckle, starting to walk again and Aether hurried after him. “I once burnt my homework in frustration, it was at school too.” Xiao recounted. “Teacher didn’t believe me.” Aether hummed softly when he heard that. “I also once sneezed when getting ready and blew my clothes into the toilet.”
Aether made a face when he heard that. Soaked toilet clothes? That's not good. “Ew, why didn’t you close the toilet?” Aether asked, looking at Xiao with a look of pure shock.
Xiao shrugged his shoulders. “DIdn’t occur to me to do that. That was last month. Not everyone can control their powers at our age. Don’t worry about it.”
Aether blinked again and smiled at Xiao. He felt a lightness in his heart from the way that Xiao was talking trying to cheer him up. When they got to Aether’s house, Aether went to open the door. His mother was standing in the foyer,  waiting for him to come home. Her hands were on her side as she glared at the door.
As soon as she saw her son opening the door, she stormed up to him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” She asked, slapping Aether. Aether, caught off guard, took a few steps back as he looked at her in confusion. “Why didn’t you stop your sister? Because of you, she got suspended. She could have been expelled!”
“I tried?” Aether asked in confusion, holding the spot that her hand hit. A sting was forming in his cheek from the blow
He saw his father and his sister entering behind his mother, drawn to the fight and the noise. They probably wanted to see what was going on.“Beatrice!” He could hear his father’s anger as he called out. “Leave Aether alone, this has nothing to do with him. Aether, Xiao, go practice in the backyard please.”
The man guarded the two from Aether’s mom as Xiao took Aether’s hand and led him into the backyard. Aether looked over his shoulder in confusion. “Wait here.” Xiao whispered before he turned and went back into the house.
Aether went to go after him, but he could hear the voices of Xiao, Lumine, and his father yelling at his mother and his mother yelling back at them. He went to sit on the swing as he waited for Xiao to come back. He looked down at his jacket, noticing a few spots from the blood from his nose a bit ago.
It wasn’t too long when his friend came back, followed closely behind by Lumine. “Are you ok?” Xiao asked, Aether looked up at him, glancing at his twin, before back at Xiao and nodded his head slowly.

Chapter Text

White flashed before his eyes and a force sent him flying backwards. Aether rolled down on the ground, trying his best to not hurt himself before sitting up. He clutched his hands to his chest as they stung slightly.  He hoped that he didn’t get any grass stains on his white crop top from that. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.
As the shock from the blast passed through him, his golden eyes opened again, looking at his friend across the way who was sitting on his ass, blinking in shock. The brown haired boy had taken the full force of the blast and he had skidded further than Aether had. 
The commotions and both of their loud cries of shock was enough to stop everyone from their training and turn to look over at the two boys. All of the kids either had a look of shock on their face or a look showing how impressed they were, trying to see and figure out what had just happened.
Aether placed one hand on the ground as he forced himself to get up. He ran over to his friend in a second as his hand dug into his pockets of his ripped black jeans to grab out the pair of training gloves, shoving them onto his hands. As he was moving, his mouth opened to let out a shock, “Gorou!”
The blond’s friend was looking stunned, staring at Aether blankely. Aether wasn’t even sure if Gorou had noticed him coming over at first. Gorou shook his head as his eyes focused more than before. “Goddamn, Aether,” he whispered under his breath. A pout appeared on his face.
Seeing the pout forming on his face, Aether instantly felt bad. The blond stuck out a hand, offering to help Gorou off of the ground. Gorou didn’t waste  a second as the brown haired boy reached up, grabbing onto his hand. Aether lifted him up, placing his free hand on Gorou’s shoulder as the boy started to stumble a bit.
There was a moment of silence as some of the kids, realizing that there wasn’t anything to watch, went back to training. “I’m so sorry,” Aether managed to whisper after the moment had passed.  A draft of wind rolled by, making both boys shiver. Aether looked over the other with a fretful look. “I didn’t realize that it was that strong.”  He really hoped that he didn’t hurt his friend.
Gorou was dusting off some dirt from the simple blue jeans he was wearing that day, his hoodie he had on didn’t get anything on it. The brown haired boy didn’t respond, looking Aether in his eyes. They stayed still for a second, and Aether was worried that his friend would really start to yell at him, before Gorou started to dust Aether off instead, getting some dirt that had landed on Aether’s shoulder. 
The action made Aether realize that if he had better control of his powers… then Aether could have helped both of them by blowing the dirt away.
If he had better control of his powers neither one of them would have ended up in the position they just did. If he tried to blow away the dirt now, he knew that one wrong move would send both of them flying again. The blond looked up into the bright blue sky, taking in a deep breath, his shoulders rising. 
It was a beautiful day outside, really. The teacher had decided at the start of the class that he wanted to soak in the last of the fall sun before the cold days would roll in.  He had led the kids outside before declaring that they would be separated into groups to practice their powers with mock duels.
Aether and Gorou just so happened to be paired together for the day. In reality, the teacher couldn’t take the boys begging. He relented easily when both boys looked over at him and asked about 20 times or so if they could be partners. There was no possible way for him to look at the two and say no to them.
The teacher also had a soft spot for Aether. None of the kids touched that though. It wasn’t too obvious, and Aether didn’t notice it, so it should be ok, right?
Aether and Gorou were messing around instead of dueling each other, after Aether had managed to stop anything Gorou had sent towards him time after time. The blond boy had grabbed one of the last dandelions that lined the school yard and wondered if he could use Anemo to blow the flower away. Gorou bet him that he could do it. And that was all it took for Aether to be convinced that it was a good idea.
Neither one of the boys could have been prepared for the wind to be stronger than what Aether had intended, a lot stronger. It was a huge improvement from even a month ago, but it seemed it had been overcorrected.
Aether sighed and smiled as he realized that the brown haired boy didn’t have a scratch on him. Gorou whistled softly, looking his friend up and down with an impressed look on his face. “Damn Man. Where did THAT come from?” Gorou asked, a cheeky smile appearing on his face.
The blond opened his mouth, getting ready to explain. Ready to say anything. He shut his mouth quickly. He noticed a few kids were still glancing over at them, too distracted to get back on with their own training. They didn’t want to miss something between the two friends. 
When they noticed Aether looking at them, every student went back to what they were doing. Aether could tell they weren’t trying their hardest. Ever since Aether began to train with Xiao more of these situations began to pop up. The blond would unleash his power and he couldn’t control what happened. Aether could never gauge how much strength he should put into his manipulation, and most of the time it ended badly.
The best way he could comprehend how his power acted was in percentages.
Before this school year, he knew that whenever he used his power, there was a 35% chance that something would happen. Something big would happen, or a puff of smoke  that was too small for others around him to see. There was a 5% chance that it would be something big enough for anyone around him to see it clearly. 2% of that 5% was some of his most powerful manipulations. That 2% was enough to rival even his dad, who had great control of his powers.
But now, with this incoming school year, those numbers have changed drastically. It seemed like he would never get that other 30% chance of something small and unnoticeable to happen when using his power.  
He now had a 90% chance of making something happen. 75% of the time, the power and manipulation was too powerful for him to control. Like when he burnt off his hair or that gust of wind just now. 20% of the time he was able to something small and manageable, like grow flowers or something.
When he used Dendro or Hydro, he noticed that he was able to have more control of how much power he put in and how much power was released. He could control what he wanted 75% of the time with Dendro and Hydro.
Electro, Geo, and Cyro were more difficult. There was a good 50/50 chance of something big happening vs what he actually wanted to happen instead.
With Anemo… Anemo he had a good 80% chance of it blowing up in his face. That was also the element where he noticed that if he wasn’t prepared he couldn’t get it out as well as the other elements. Nothing would happen most of the time still.
Just thinking of Pyro made Aether shudder. 100% of the time he used Pyro something happened. 100% of the time it was something the blond couldn’t control, no matter how hard he wanted to control it. He usually burnt himself as well, and so Aether had chosen to stay away from the element unless he really needed to use it.
Pyro was also still deeply connected with his emotions. If he was overstressed, angry, annoyed, or scared, then no matter what he did Pyro would be what was manipulated even if he didn’t want it to be.
The only people who really knew of his vast improvement were few. That group of people included the kids in his homeroom, his dad, and Lumine. 
Of course, the homeroom kids would gossip. There was no secret to how much Aether was improving. They would go to their friends who weren't in the homeroom and tell them what Aether would do. 
It was hard to believe Aether was showing more improvement in one month versus the rest of his life.
Aether knew that his father was stoked that his son was performing better with time. When the man heard of his accomplishments, or, more likely, of his mishaps, he would beam proudly at Aether. The blond’s father was the one who would check in with Aether on how his training was going, not his mother.
Every passing day, his mother showed she cared less and less about what Aether was doing, in her eyes he was already a failure.
Anytime it was his mother checking in, Aether would make sure to do small amounts of powers to appease her. He knew she was looking for some reason to cut him off of training. There was nothing the blond could do to change that woman's mind about him. Why tire himself out over someone who didn’t care? 
Still… the blast that he accidentally made just now was one of the biggest manipulation results that he had done with Anemo.  “I…don’t know…” Aether answered Gorou’s question, taking a deep breath again. The blond looked at his hands with a questioning look before looking back up at his friend, worry in his eyes. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Before Gorou could have a chance to answer Aether, their teacher was already on their way over. There was a look of shock in his eyes, as he glanced between the two of them. “Are you ok?” He asked as soon as he was in earshot of them.
Gorou looked at Aether before looking at their teacher, a smile appearing on his face. “”I’m fine,” he reassured both of them, “threw me off guard, sure. But it was just a little fall.”
The teacher blinked as he studied Gorou. Aether wondered if the male was going to believe the brown haired boy or not. The teacher turned to look at Aether. “And you, Aether?” He asked.
Aether didn’t know why he would even bother asking him that question. The blond nodded his head. “I’m fine,” he responded, giving the teacher a half smile.
The teacher sighed in relief  when he got the ok from both of them. He closed his eyes for a brief second. “You are going to give me a heart attack, Aether,” he muttered under his breath as the two friends shared a look. “Take a break, both of you,” the teacher called as he turned and went over to where two students were having troubles with Dendro.
Gorou grabbed Aether’s hand and pulled him over to the side of the building.The two friends sunk down to the ground, Aether refusing to look over at his friend. He instead was playing with his hands, admiring the little details etched onto the gloves. The gloves had been a huge adjustment for him. Thankfully he was starting to get used to them now.
“Are you sad that Xiao isn’t here today?” Gorou asked, breaking the silence. Aether could have gotten whiplash from how fast he looked over at him, confusion dancing in his eyes. 
Gorou brought a hand up to cover his mouth to stop a laugh. “What?” Aether cried out, “no! Why would you ask that?”
Gorou hummed softly. He picked up a strand of grass, twirling it in between his fingers. “Are you sure?” Gorou asked, disbelief lacing the words. Aether narrowed his eyebrows as he nodded his head. “Your crush on him is pretty obvious,” Gorou leaned into Aether as he said that, their shoulders brushing.
Aether gently pushed back against his friend. “I’m sure,” he insisted, “I wouldn’t be able to sit and talk with you if he was here. He would be pushing me far past my limits,” he joked before he brought a hand up to run through his hair, looking away from Gorou. “My crush is not that obvious.”
“Mm, it’s pretty obvious,” his friend countered. The brown haired male chuckled softly and Aether pouted. Aether didn’t take any time to respond to his friend  as he took off one of his gloves. He placed his hand down onto the grass on his side and willed a clump of wildflowers to grow between them so that he had something to play with. He started to work the flowers into a flower crown like the one he used to make when he was young. Lumine and him would always have a competition to see who could make a flower crown the fastest.
Aether wasn’t sure what he could say to Gorou to change his mind about Xiao. Instead, he decided to change the topic. “Are you going to come to my birthday party?” His birthday was coming up pretty quickly. 
Gorou gasped loudly, before he leaned over Aether to steal some of the Aether’s flowers to make something as well. Aether pouted as he tried to swat his friend’s hands away. “Your mom is letting you have a birthday party? Or is it like when we were in elementary school?” Gorou asked, managing to steal a flower despite Aether trying to guard each one of them. “Where the party is Lumines… and you are invited with a plus one,” Gorou continued, rolling his eyes at the mere audacity Aether’s parents had for coming up to that agreement.
Gorou, testing his luck, reached over to steal another flower from Aether. The blond let out a whine. “Get your own,” He whined, not bothering to answer the other’s question just yet. Neither was quite true.
Gorou rolled his eyes at his friend. “You know that I can’t do Dendro nearly as well as you,” the boy replied before sticking his tongue out at Aether. Aether returned the gesture. “So, your party?”
Aether scrunched up his nose. Every year, he never got a chance to celebrate his birthday with anyone. Unless it was a school day. Then Gorou would be the one bringing cupcakes for him. The two would then celebrate alone together somewhere in the school.
It had been their little tradition ever since Aether and Gorou met in Kindergarten. When little Gorou was invited to Aether’s birthday party the first time, he was so excited. When he got to the party, he then realized that it was a party only for Lumine. Gorou had gone home and begged his mom to bake something for Aether as a gift, or for them to go out and get a better toy than a teddy bear. Aether still had that bear to this day.
Gorou’s parents absolutely adored Aether. The blond would probably see them a lot more now if his mother wasn’t hellbent on making sure all joy in his life was stripped away. Aether’s dad, for some reason, didn’t like Aether getting close to people that his father didn’t know. The few people that boy did know, the father was very suspicious of.
This year, Aether had the misfortune of having his birthday fall on a Sunday. Of course, Gorou would try to celebrate his birthday next Monday. What was he going to do on the day of his birthday, though?
Especially this year. Aether’s mom wanted him to spend every single moment of his life studying. It would seem weird he was able to even be free on his birthday, let alone have an actual party. Gorou deserved to know the truth.
“Xiao has taught me the very important skill of lying and sneaking around,” the boy finally admitted, looking over at Gorou and blinking. Xiao quickly became one of the other people that Aether would hang around constantly. The teal haired male made it known that he hated Aether’s mom and tried to make him see she was too controlling.
Xiao also started to hang out more with both Gorou and Aether at lunch, instead of spending that time alone.
“What do you mean?” Gorou asked in confusion, puffing out his cheeks. “What does that have to do with a party?”
Aether smiled a little bit, shrugging, “My parents think I will be at Xiao’s house training. When in reality, I’ll be hanging out with… well myself if you don’t come. I haven’t told them Xiao is on vacation with his cousin.”  He explained.
Xiao told the blond the day before that he and his cousin had this tradition that dates back for years. They would go and pay respect to the cousin’s late wife. Throughout the month Xiao hung out with him, Aether learned that Xiao’s cousin was not his biological cousin, but someone who was there for him when he was in need. He was twenty or so years older than Xiao and had been raising Xiao since the boy was eight. 
For a week, they would go and do things that the late wife would love to do. She was killed in a robbery a few years ago. Xiao and his cousin were both completely devastated by losing her. Aether didn’t know too much about her, but she seemed to be a kind soul.Xiao missed her a lot.
Gorou whistled, impressed that Aether even had the guts. “How did you get that one past them? Doesn’t he train you everyday?” Gorou asked, a glint in his eyes.
Aether shrugged his shoulders as he weaved in the last flower to the crown. He leaned over and put it on his friend’s head. The other boy let him with no resistance, causing Aether to smile brightly. “I just… I have a full week to do whatever I want.” Aether responded. “They think I’ll be at Xiaos.”
Gorou took the flowers that he stole from Aether before twisting the stems together and lacing them behind Aether’s ear. Once he did that, there was a proud look on his face, as if he just achieved his life's greatest work. Aether tried to struggle to get away, but was too late. “Your parents aren’t going to question why you suddenly started studying at Xiao’s house?” Gorou asked, reaching over to grab one of Aether’s unused flowers since he just gave up his two he stole.
The blond puffed out his cheeks. “I… Xiao’s been training me at his house ever since he got into a fight with my mom…” the blond admitted, scooting away from Gorou slightly. He placed his hand in between the two of them and grew some more flowers in between them. He was hoping to save Gorou from climbing over him to get his own flowers.
Gorou instantly grabbed some of the flowers from the place, admiring them in his fingers. “She still lets you train with him despite not liking him?” The boy asked in disbelief. Aether gets it, he really did. Most people that piss his mother off were never allowed in either one of the twin’s lives.
But Xiao…
Aether shrugged his shoulders, watching as Gorou tried to create his own flower crown. He couldn’t get the flowers to cooperate though. Aether guessed there was one good thing about tutoring. His dad could help him stay friends with Xiao outside of school so he didn’t have to sneak around like he did with Gorou. “My dad has convinced her that in the end, it will be better for me,” he responded with a soft sigh. 
Gorou didn’t look convinced that was the full story. “That was enough to satisfy that monster?” He asked.
Aether shook his head, taking in a deep breath. “No, it also had to do with the results. She doesn’t want me to embarrass the family. Xiao has helped me so much in the past for weeks… there has been obvious growth.”
“I’ll say.” Gorou muttered under his breath, before he looked at Aether with wide eyes. “If only she could have seen the way you sent me flying just now,” he pointed out, “maybe you can send her flying when you get home.” Aether couldn’t stop himself from laughing, covering his mouth. “But damn, what was the fight about if he got away unscathed by your mother’s ugly wrath?”
Aether bit the inside of his cheek, trying to figure out the best way to describe what happened. “Do you remember when Lumine got suspended?” He asked. It was the talk of the school. Lumine rarely got in trouble, so when she got suspended for fighting, everyone was taken aback… until the whole story got out. “Well, my mother got pissed at me, saying I caused it. Lumine defended me. So that woman turned on Lu and Xiao yelled at my mom for yelling at both of us.” Aether recounted. He wasn’t there for the fight, he knew, but that is what Xiao and Lumine had told him had happened when he had left the house.
Gorou shook his head, “your mom sucks,” he huffed, “so your birthday party?”
Aether brightened, ready to talk about anything other than his mother. “It’s this saturday. Meet at the mall if you can,” he replied, hoping that it wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience to Gorou. He really wanted the other boy to be there.
Gorou got out his phone before going to the calendar, making it a show for Aether as he added it into his phone. “I’ll be there,” he promised with a smile appearing on his face.
“What about your classes? Don’t you have to talk to your parents?” Aether asked, worry flooding his face.
The brown haired boy shook his head. “My mom gave up on trying to get me into Celestia. So count me in,” Gorou responded, “we can also start hanging out a lot more now, only if you want to of course and you can find the time.” 
Aether’s eyes brightened. He would love to spend more time with his best friend. He missed their little misadventures. Gorou had started Cram school when they got into highschool. “Aye,” he cried happily, clasping his hands together. “Do you want to go get Ice Cream after school? I know a place in the Anemo district. Xiao has us meet there from time to time.” 
The ice cream was really good. It was far away that any of his mother’s minions wouldn’t report back to her. She didn’t have many of those, though. It was mostly her, when she stopped on her way back from work. It’s just far away that she wouldn’t catch them and ask what Aether was doing, where Xiao was, and why they weren’t training.
The whole gig would be up if she ever found out.
“I would love to.” Gorou responded.

The two friends met up after school just as planned. They headed to the ice cream shop. The shop wasn’t that far from their school. It was near the outskirts of the two districts, kind of like the cafe that Aether had gone to on the first day of school. When they got to the shop, Aether opened the door for Gorou to go through.
“So,” Gorou said, entering the shop, Aether followed after him. The door closed gently behind the pair. “Are you sure that you and Xiao aren’t dating?”
Aether stopped dead in his tracks when he heard that, a noise of shock leaving him. “Yes, I’m sure!” He cried out, his voice squeaking at first. He tried to lower it so he didn’t draw attention to the two of them. “I don’t even know if he likes boys!”
Gorou gave Aether a look. “He must like boys. I mean… I have seen the way that he looks at you,” his friend deadpanned. A smirk appeared on the brown haired boy’s face. Aether glared at his best friend.
“He doesn’t like me,” the blond insisted. Surely, from the amount of time he spent around Xiao, he would know if he liked him or not.  He wasn’t that oblivious. “Besides, I’ve seen him checking out Lumine whenever the two of them talk.” He whispered softly, trying to stop a slight sting in his heart. He shouldn’t be upset if Xiao does like Lumine.
Gorou whistled, shaking his head in disbelief. “Damn, he’s trying to get with both of you?” He asked, feigning surprise, looking at Aether, trying to widen his eyes but failing. “Makes sense, the Viator twins are super hot.”
Aether punched his friend’s shoulder, not lightly at all, causing the boy to cry out in pain. Aether felt no remorse over his actions. “Gorou, shut it,” he hissed, noticing the way that some of the people were starting to glance over at the friends.
Gorou rubbed his shoulder with a pout. “Okay, Okay. I’m sorry,” Gorou insisted, smiling at Aether. The blond rolled his eyes. He couldn’t believe that Gorou could be sorry for something he knew Gorou didn’t believe in. “But can we talk about how well you are progressing?”
Aether pulled Gorou into the line, trying not to flinch when he felt someone staring at him intensely. “I don’t know what you mean,” Aether responded as everyone seemed to go back to their own conversation. Everyone but one pair of eyes.
Gorou, however, continued to talk about his friend’s powers. Aether wasn’t paying attention and just let his friend ramble. He turned towards the direction he felt the stare. His eyes landed on a guy who was gazing so intensely it was burning a hole through him. Aether felt a jolt run through his body. The boy looked familiar, but he couldn’t put a finger on where he had met the other.
He was a male around his height, with a black hoodie over his black sweatpants, sitting at a table with two other males. His indigo eyes were looking straight at Aether with confusion and curiosity. 
Aether met those indigo eyes, and he gulped. The two boys held eye contact for what seemed like forever. Both seemed like they were unable to tear their glances away from each other. A blond walked up to the table, holding some sundaes and started to distribute them to the other people sitting at the table, the three of them chattering with each other. Aether watched as the male turned to peck the blond’s cheek, his expression softening and the two started to chat.
Aether looked at the blond, realizing that was probably the other’s boyfriend. The blond turned slightly and Aether was able to get a better look at him. He felt his heart drop. Aether grabbed onto Gorou’s arm quickly, causing Gorou to stop whatever he was saying, looking at his friend in alarm. “We need to leave,” Aether told Gorou.
Gorou searched his eyes for a second before nodding his head. “Okay.” Aether pulled Gorou out of the ice cream shop, trying his hardest not to bump into the other people at the door coming in. He could feel confused gazes from the workers as to why they left before the doors shut behind them. Aether turned right before pulling Aether along with him. Gorou was silent, surprisingly. 
Aether saw an alley coming up, and he pulled Gorou into it, resting against the wall, glancing around the corner to make sure that they weren’t being followed. When he was sure that they were safe, or more importantly the person he didn’t want following them hadn’t come out of the shop, curses left Aether’s mouth. “Fucking shit.”
Gorou looked at Aether again before peering around the wall, trying to see what had gotten his best friend so spooked. He looked back at Aether. “What?” 
Aether tilted his head towards the entrance of the alley. “My cousin was in the store.” He explained.
If his cousin had seen them, Aether wouldn’t be safe. Albedo would tell his parents for sure, and then Aether would be in deep trouble for lying to them and sneaking out. He might even be told that he could never hang out with Xiao again. Even at school. 
If that happened… He didn't know how his parents would go about his power training. His mother had hinted before at sending him to a boarding school. He wouldn’t put it past her to follow through on the threat.
Gorou looked past the wall again, Aether reached out to grab his arm, pulling him back. He didn’t want Albedo finding them in case he decided to come after them. In case he decided to question Aether. “Your cousin? Albedo?” Gorou asked, looking back at his friend in shock. He noticed how the blond was on the verge of a breakdown.
The blond gave a sharp nod, messing with the hem of his shirt, shivering. He scrunched up his face, tears of fear threatening to escape his eyes. “Yes, Him! He is going to tell my family he saw me! Without Xiao!  I am going to be in so much trouble,” he stressed. Maybe if Xiao had been there…
Would he have been in less trouble? He doubts that Albedo would want to get him in trouble. However he also knew that Albedo didn’t know anything about his situation. He didn’t know Xiao. He didn’t know that he was being tutored.
Gorou’s eyes widened in wonder. “I haven’t seen him in years,” Gorou mused. tHe last time they saw each other was when Aether and Gorou were hanging out and ran into him while they were shopping. Both of them were someone his mother didn’t like. Aether himself hadn’t hung out with Albedo in years. Nor had he seen him recently. “He wouldn’t get you in trouble, would he?” Gorou voiced his concerns,” I thought you were his precious baby cousin…”
That was true, Albedo did care for him deeply. Aether shook his head rapidly. “Not on purpose,” Aether replied, chewing on his bottom lip anxiously, “he wouldn't know I’m supposed to be training. He’ll just bring up how he saw me i-”
He cut off whatever he was going to say when he heard movement next to the start of the alley. He sucked in his breath. “You, of all people snuck out?” A voice called out. The two friends slowly turned around. The blond that gave the order to his friends, the one that Aether’s staring contest buddy had kissed their cheek, was walking up to them. He had his arms crossed, looking between the two boys, waiting for an explanation.
Fear sank deep into Aether. Luck was not on his side. “Albedo!” He cried in shock, finally managing to get his voice working. “Mom wouldn’t-” Aether stopped as the sound of laughter caught his ears.
The boy looked at Gorou who started laughing hard, realizing what was going down between them. Aether glared at him, trying to signal to the other that whatever he was doing was not helping the situation. Gorou just simply stuck his tongue out at Aether.
Albedo sighed softly as he took a step closer to the two boys. He was wearing a sweater vest with a black and white checkerboard pattern on them and a pair of pain slacks. Aether took a few steps back, watching his cousin in fear.  “I know what that woman is like. I am just surprised you have the guts though, Aether.” The older blond replied, a half smile on his face.
Aether gulped, opening his mouth to say something. Anything. Aether couldn’t think of anything to say, though. “Uh…” He muttered.
Gorou stopped laughing, clutching his stomach as he bent over slightly. He looked up at Albedo. “He has been hanging out with a bad influence,” the boy answered for Aether, a gleeful look forming on his face.
How nice to know his one and only friend found joy in his demise.
Aether pouted, turning to look at his friend again. “He’s not-” he started.
Albedo didn’t know who they two were talking about. He looked at Gorou with a confused look. “I know you,” he interrupted Aether, “You are far from a bad influence. “ Gorou gasped, clutching his chest in feign pain, " I am also surprised that you have the guts, Gorou.”
Gorou straightened up, crossing his arms, mirroring Albedo. “My mom doesn’t care what I do,” he explained, smiling, “as long as I am back by curfew,” which was really late, compared to Aethers. As long as he was back before his typical bedtime and he let his parents know he was out, Gorou’s parents were cool with letting their son roam the streets at night. His phone had to stay charged though if they needed to reach him. “Recent developments.”
Albedo blinked as he took in the new information, nodding his head and accepting the answer the other boy had given. “Makes sense.” He responded, looking back over at his baby cousin. “Who is the bad influence?”
“He’s…” Aether started to explain, trying to find the correct words and correct title to give Xiao.
Gorou decided that he was going to respond for Aether, though, “ A new friend of Aethers,” he offered and Albedo waved for him to continue, “It’s this dude named Xiao.”
Aether placed a hand on Gorou’s forearm. “Don’t bring up his name,” he interjected, fear lacing his words. “Mom-”
This time, he was cut off by his own cousin. “What she does not know will not harm her,” he responded coldly. Aether stared at Albedo in complete and total shock.
It seemed his best friend was on a mission though. That mission was to figure out the best way to embarrass Aether. Gorou cried out, “he and Aether are going to get married one day!”
“Gorou!” Aether whined as soon as the words left Gorou’s lips, “No!” Aether was starting to feel overwhelmed. He could barely finish a thought before one or the other would interrupt him.
“Gorou yes,” Gorou replied, giving Aether his sweetest smile as Aether narrowed his eyebrows, frowning deeply.
The blond rolled his eyes, taking in a deep breath. “We aren’t even dating,” he pointed out and Gorou finished the sentence with muttering a small yet under his breath. Aether hit him.
Albedo was watching his cousin and his friend bicker before looking at Aether. Aether met Albedo’s blue eye’s gaze. “What does Lumine think you are doing?” Albedo asked.
“Why does that matter?” Gorou countered, turning his attention away from Aether, looking at the cousin as well.
Aether sent his friend a warning look. “She doesn’t care,” he replied. It was true. Whenever Aether wanted to have a bit of teenage rebellion, Lumine would never tell their mom. It was more likely that she would act like she was proud and wipe away a fake tear from her eye. “It matters because she wont rat me out to our Mom.”
Albedo watched Aether quietly as he took in the information that both boys were giving him. “Yes. That woman is bat shit crazy.” His tone was even. That made the insult even more hilarious… to Gorou who snickered. “It would make sense Lumine would try and protect you from her. I am glad that she does.” Albedo continued.
Gorou’s snickers began to turn back into laughter. Aether placed a hand over his best friend’s mouth. Gorou licked his hand, which made Aether cry out in disgust before wiping his hand on Gorou’s shirt. “Albedo! Her son is right here man!” Gorou cried out in fake shock, gesturing towards Aether. It didn’t help his case that he was still laughing.
Aether knew that Albedo wasn’t one to hold back their criticism of other people, even if they were in the room. Albedo studied Aether’s face before reaching forward and grabbing the ends of Aether’s hair. “What happened?”
Aether  took another step back, looking anywhere but at Albedo, puffing out his cheeks. “I burnt it off accidentally.” he admitted in an almost whisper.
Gorou stepped between the two of them, a protective look appearing on his face. “He is very defensive of it,” the brown haired boy told Albedo. “Don’t say anything bad about it.”
Aether sighed softly, closing his eyes to steady himself for a quick second. He gave Gorou a warning look. “Thank you, Gorou.” He stressed.
Albedo frowned as concern appeared on his face. “How? You are highly against adding heat to your hair by using hair appliances. Your hair is already naturally wavy, so the use of them would not be needed. Unless you want to straighten your hair, but even then, you have never straightened your hair in your life.” Albedo started muttering to himself as he went through all the possibilities that might cause Aether to cut his hair off.
Aether ran one of his gloved hands through his hair, catching Albedo’s attention again. The boy’s icey blue eyes locked onto the training gloves. “It's…uh..” Aether muttered not knowing what to say again.
But, Albedo had apparently moved on, “Why are you wearing training gloves?” He asked, shocking Aether yet again.
Aether looked at him in confusion. “He can’t control his powers,” Gorou answered before Aether could have a chance. Aether elbowed his friend, causing the boy to let out a loud whine.
He opened his mouth to try and explain what happened, really. A loud, “ALBEDO,” stopped him in his tracks. All three boys turned to see one of the three people from the table walking over to them. He looked at the other boys with a frown before looking back at Albedo. “Why are you cornering these poor kids?”
“I am not,” Albedo responded. The new kid happened to have blond hair too, with a red streak in it. It was tied back in a neat ponytail, not a hair out of place. He was wearing a hoodie that had a red maple leaf design on it. 
The new kid rolled his eyes at the answer before looking over at Aether. He tried to hide the shocked expression forming on his face.His scarlet eyes turned towards Albedo instantly, who seemed unphased. “Damn, he really does look like Kaveh, doesn’t he?” The boy asked.
Who the fuck was Kaveh?
Albedo nodded his head in agreement. That was something Albedo didn’t tend to agree on easily. They really had to look like the other person for him to say they looked alike. Aether must really look like this Kaveh. “Yes, he does.”
“Huh,” the other boy whispered before studying Aether up and down. Aether was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. “Why did you go running as soon as Scara asked if Kaveh was in the restaurant?”
Who was Scara?
Aether started to play with the ends of his hair as he continued to back up, feeling very claustrophobic now that three people were in the alleyway as well. “Who is Kaveh?” Obviously, Gorou didn’t feel that way, he moved forwards. He looked at Albedo and then at the new boy. “Does Aeth really have a doppelganger?  That is so cool! I never had one of those.”
The newest boy let out a soft laugh, giving a smile to Gorou, his eyes shutting into an eye smile. “How do you know I wasn’t talking about you?” The boy asked in a small tone.
And Gorou took that personally.
The brown haired male stepped up to him, looking him dead in his red eyes. “Because you were staring straight at Aether and looking him over,” Gorou pointed out, gesturing to his friend behind him.
There was silence. Aether looked over at Albedo to see what he would do, wondering if he should split the two up. Would it be possible that they would get into a fight?
A soft laugh left the boy as he brought his hand up to his mouth, his shoulders moving as he laughed. “True,” he responded, “besides, I am pretty sure your look is quite unique. Hello, I am Kazuha.” He offered his hand out towards Gorou after saying that.
Aether felt himself relax as Gorou beamed, taking the other’s hand and giving it a good strong shake. “Hello Kazuha, I’m Gorou.” Gorou responded and Kazuha gave a slight nod of his head. “THis is Albedo’s cousin, Aether,” Gorou continued, nodding over at Aether. Kazuha looked back at him and waved slightly. Aether moved to hide behind Gorou. “Don’t mind him, he’s shy.”
Kazuha hummed as he waved back at Aether, a friendly smile appearing on his face. “That is fine.” He responded, calmly. “It must be weird to have a new person you have never met before appearing out of the blue and starring you down.” He turned to look back over at Albedo. “You never told us your cousin looked suspiciously like Kaveh.”
Albedo shrugged his shoulders, showing that this fact wasn’t new to him in the slightest bit. I did not think it would be of much use,” the male admitted. 
Kazuha shrugged before turning his attention back to Gorou. “Well, it is nice to meet you Gorou, and you Aether.Kaveh is a friend of ours. He goes to Albedo’s school.”
Gorou looked at Kazuha in confusion,before glancing back at Albedo. “You don’t go to the same school?” He couldn’t help himself from asking.
Kazuha shook his head slowly. “No, we do not… yet. I used to go to the same school as his boyfriend. I am hoping to get into the same school they go to next year. I am still a senior in highschool. Albedo is a couple of years older than me,” Kazuha replied calmly.
“Oh Cool!” Gorou cried out as he processed what that meant. “What school? I want to get into the Geo University. Aether’s parents want him to get into Celestia University!” Gorou explained, nodding over at AEther.
“We are from the Geo District,” Aether added softly as he managed to speak up.
Kazuha’s eyes lit up. “Do you both go to Geo High School?” Kazuha asked, looking between the two friends. Aether nodded his head slowly, unsure if he should be telling the other this. “Huh… Geo… isn’t that where Xiao Morax transferred this year?” Kazuha asked. Aether felt a rush of shock hearing such a familiar name being uttered by Kazuha. Damn, it really was a small world. “How is he doing? The other two and I are from Anemo district. Albedo is from Pyro district.”
A wide smile appeared on Gorou’s face, he winked at Aether with a knowing look appearing in his eyes. Aether wanted to hit him upside the head. Aether knew exactly what was going to come next. “Oh,” Gorou called out, bouncing in one spot excitedly. “Xiao, the kid who’s flirting with Aether! I know him!” 
A look of joy passed Kazuha’s eyes when he heard that. “Wow, THE Xiao Morax is flirting?” He asked with another soft laugh.
Aether rapidly shook his head. “He is not,” he spoke in a hurry before anyone could interrupt him again, “we are just friends. He tutors me and that is it.”
Gorou hummed, shaking his head disappointedly at Aether. “Sure, hon,” he whispered, unimpressed, “keep telling yourself that. It’s not good to lie to yourself, but whatever floats your boat.”
Aether rolled his eyes at his friend, letting out an awkward laugh before looking at Albedo. “So this Kaveh?” He asked, wanting anything to change the topic off of Xiao.
“Kaveh is a dumbass,” Kazuha offered up, holding his thumbs up as if it was a good addition to the conversation. As if that helped.
Albedo looked at the three seniors before his eyes landed on Aether. “He is a friend of mine,” He responded, “His not boyfriend  and him are on a hate date right now. His not boyfriend is more idiotic than him.”
He glanced over at Kazuha after saying the last part and the boy snickered. “A hate date?” Gorou asked, sucking in his cheek with a confused look on his face.
Albedo nodded his head to show that Gorou was not mistaken in the wording. “Yes,” he explained, “They think that they hate each other. Yet they are both going to see a movie that both of them enjoy. They are getting food together before the movie starts as well.”
Kazuha shook his head slowly as he heard what the other two were up to. “That sounds like a date to me.” He whispered.
Aether frowned, not understanding how they got to that conclusion, staring at his cousin. “I think that sounds more like two friends hanging out,” he offered up. He had done that a lot with Gorou. It didn’t mean that the two of them were dating.
Albedo shrugged his shoulders when he heard what his cousin said. “And yet, they both say they hate each other.”
Kazuha looked at Aether again, staring him over again. “I’m sorry, I cannot get over how much you look like Kaveh. It is almost like the two of you could be brothers or something!”
Albedo looked sharply at Kazuha. “No it doesn’t. They share some of the same physical attributes.” He said in a hurry. It was as if Albedo wanted Kazuha to believe they couldn’t be brothers.
Aether had never heard or met of a Kaveh before in his life. “Weird,” he muttered softly under his breath, sharing a look with Gorou.
“Wellll,” Kazuha seemed like he wanted to get back to whatever they were doing before Albedo came chasing after the two friends. “It was nice meeting you two. But Albedo’s boyfriend has work in the morning…and Childe. We gotta scat!”
Gorou watched as Kazuha grabbed Albedo’s hand and pulled the other blond out of the alleyway. “Child,” Gorou echoed the name after the two were gone, “what child?”
“I don’t know,” Aether admitted honestly. “We’re going the same way as them though. We still have to go get our Ice Cream.” After deciding that they weren’t in trouble anymore, Aether thought getting some ice cream would help whatever the heck he was just put through when talking to his Cousin.
“Kazuha was fucking hot though.” Gorou muttered and Aether hummed in agreement.

Chapter Text

Something landed heavily on his chest, causing a startled gasp to leave his lips. The blonde’s eyes flew open, and he struggled to sit up. He pushed away whatever landed on him, his ears picking up on a slight jostling sound as it rolled off of him. He could also hear some giggling from across the room. Aether looked around tiredly to see what or who woke him up. 

 He could feel his mind working a mile a minute, thinking of all the dangerous possibilities. Was he in danger?

The boy was still trying to blink the sleep away from his eyes, when he heard the voice of whoever attacked him. “Good morning,” a voice called, trying to sound uplifting and cheery. At this hour of a morning. On a weekend.  It wasn’t right, it just wasn’t. 

The voice failed at the attempt though. The voice sounded unsure, and he could hear the undertone of guilt swimming in his attackers words. Apparently, the way that Aether had woken up had startled them, making them feel bad. Serves them right, when Aether was trying to sleep.  

Aether, recognizing the voice, felt himself calm down. He looked over slowly at the person who was in his room. A familiar hair of teal stood next to his bed, one hand anxiously rubbing up his arm, not realizing that what he had done would have caused harm to the boy.

“Xiao?” Aether asked, scooting back in his bed so that his back hit the headrest of his bed. He looked at the older boy in confusion. Somewhere deep down he knew that the boy shouldn’t be in his room this early in the morning.

Or in his room at all.

Xiao waved slightly, trying to give him a slight smile. 

Aether felt more confusion wash over him, remembering that Xiao wasn’t in town either. Was he still dreaming?  No, something else was in play here. Why had Xiao woken him up like that?  “What are you doing here?” The blond asked, narrowing his eyes at the other, waiting to see what the other’s excuse would be. 

Xiao, who was watching Aether the whole time, glanced over at the door where he could still hear giggling. Aether looked over as well, catching a pair of amber eyes as his sister gasped before hiding behind out of sight from Aether.  

Aether looked back over at Xiao who was trying to get an explanation out as to what was happening. “Lumine said that it would be funny…” the boy finally managed to say and Aether sighed. “She let me in.”

Aether rested his head against the wall as he looked up at the ceiling, trying to find the strength to deal with this today. Of course it was Lumine’s plan. This had his twin written all over it. He rolled his head to the side to glare at the door. “Lu!” He whined pathetically, he could hear Lumine start to laugh again, “I was sleeping!” A pout formed on the boy’s face.

His sister peered around the door, a huge smile on her face. She studied Aether, blinking at him. “No time to sleep when it is our birthday~!” She sang out, sticking her tongue out at her brother. Aether rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out in return. Lumine giggled before coming into the room.

The boy scooted so that his feet were hanging over the edge of the bed instead, preparing himself to get up. Xiao moved to the corner of his room, looking between the two siblings with a scared expression on his face. “What about Mom and Dad?” Aether asked, one of his hands reaching up to rub his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them.

Lumine frowned at the question. Aether could only guess she wasn’t following his train of thought. “What about them?” She asked, tilting her head slightly.

Aether puffed out his cheeks, “Mom is going to have a fit when she finds out that Xiao is in our house. How he somehow managed to get in, without having the faintest clue how,” Aether looked over at the boy. Xiao stared back at him, his eyes wide with fear.

The girl shrugged her shoulders, walking over to where Xiao was slowly backing up into the wall and placing an arm on his shoulder, leaning into the boy. Xiao stiffened at the contact from the girl.

Aether took in the two’s reactions, reading their body language. They seemed to be uncomfortable, but not in a i dont know you way. Something was off, he couldn’t put his finger on it. What was happening here?

Xiao slowly started to relax as time went by.  “You’re right, Mom would throw him out in a heartbeat,” Lumine responded, “But her annual conference was moved up a weekend this year. She won’t be back till next Monday.”  The girl shrugged her shoulders again.

Aether almost forgot about his mother’s yearly fuck this family I’m going to go take a week for myself conference his mother went on.

It started shortly after the twins turned four. It wasn’t an actual conference. Whenever asked about the conference, the woman would come up with a different topic it would tackle. She would insist that it was for her work.  Yet it always ranged somewhere in between two months, it was never on the same week year to year. She had said earlier this year that it was going to be the week after, but when Aether started to gain more confidence, she peaced out a week earlier without an explanation.

He forgot about her leaving in a rush Friday morning before both of the twins were up and yelling over her shoulder she was going to the conference don’t wait up. “Right…” Aether mumbled softly, stretching his shoulders before raising his hands above his head. His froggy pajama shirt, an early birthday present from Lumine as promised after he set his others aflame, lifting up as well, showing a bit of his stomach. “But Dad is ok with my friend coming into my room when I am asleep?”

A friend that his dad already suspected that Aether had a crush on?

The same one that he never left Xiao and Aether alone  in his room alone when Xiao was over? It always had to be the door had to be open wide, Lumine had to be in the room with them, or it had to take place outside where his father could watch over the two. At least when Xiao had taught him at the house.

Lumine shrugged when he said that, a smile appearing on her face. “Dad is making breakfast downstairs, he knows that Xiao is in the house.” She pointed out.  Aether gave her a look, and she knew that didn’t answer his question. “He told us to go and wake you up,” she tried again. Aether raised his eyebrows at her, “Ok, fine. He told me to go and wake you up.  He didn’t stop me from ushering Xiao along with me though.”

Aether rested a hand against his forehead, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “Ok, so it sounds like he knows Xiao is here…” He muttered softly to himself. That alone would ease some of his fears.

Lumine nodded her head. “He was the one that told me Xiao was here,” She pointed out, removing her arm off Xiao’s shoulder instead to wrap her arm around the inside of his arm. Xiao made a slight sound of alarm but coughed to cover it up. “Xiao was waiting awkwardly on the porch, and Dad said to go bring him in.”

Aether searched his sister’s face to see if she was lying. He then glanced over at Xiao instead, who was giving Lumine a side glance. “And you,” he called out. Xiao  looked at Aether fully, maintaining eye contact. “Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be on a trip?” Xiao wasn’t supposed to be back until monday. The next time he figured he was going to see the other was when they met up at school the next day.

Xiao shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, looking down at the ground. “Uh, we got back early?” He asked unsurely. That didn’t seem right, if they were celebrating Xiao’s cousin’s ex, they should take a full week, right? “My Cousin also told me that I should go and wish you Happy Birthday in person.” He added.

Aether rested one of his feet behind his other heel. He knitted his eyebrows together. “And how did you know that it was my Birthday?” Aether questioned.

Xiao’s eyes looked anywhere but at Aether as he stuck his hand into his pair of black jeans to pull out his phone. “An unknown number texted me. They were trying to guilt me into coming back early, saying that I would miss your birthday.”

Aether didn’t know many people who would try and guilt Xiao for missing his birthday. He had two people he could think of, one of those people was standing in this room. He glanced at Lumine who shook her head as if to say it wasn’t her. “An unknown number?” Aether repeated as Xiao shook Lumine off gently to go sit down next to Aether, searching on his phone for something. He pulled up a message before showing it to Aether.

Aether looked at the message, sent on Monday at 8:00 Pm, after Aether and Gorou had gotten home from their little adventure. Surprise, surprise, the message was sent by Gorou. “Gorou.” Aether sighed.

Realization appeared in Xiao’s eyes. “Of course it was Gorou,” He muttered softly, Aether really hoped his best friend didn’t bug Xiao too often. “How he got my number I- But I told my Cousin, saying I wanted to bring you some gifts for your birthday when the trip was done. He told me that we could come back earlier, and it would be ok.” Xiao continued to explain. 

“I’m really sorry,” Aether started, knowing how unaware Gorou could be sometimes.

Xiao’s eyes widened as he shook his head, he locked his phone before placing it in his pocket. “No, no, it’s fine, really! Trust me!” The boy stated, as he gave Aether a slight smile. “Happy Birthday.”

Aether smiled softly when he heard Xiao say that. “Thank you, I’ll talk to Gorou about this though,” The blond promised.

“Happy Birthday Aeth!” Lumine called out, grabbing the boy’s attention. He gave her an unimpressed look, she seemed to try and get him to change the topic, and part of him wondered if Lumine had something to do with this as well. He needed to talk to her about privacy. Especially her letting someone into his room when he was asleep. “Do you like my birthday present?”

Aether gave his sister a smile as well, the bed raising as Xiao got up and walked back over to where Lumine was sitting. “Happy Birthday Lu,” he responded, “Your birthday present?”

His sister smirked as she glanced over to where Xiao was standing. “Yeah, I brought your friend!” She cried, gently slapping Xiao on the back.

Aether looked at Xiao again and he almost felt sorry. He had plans to go and hang out with Gorou. “Lumine… I have plans-”

Before he could finish, Lumine grabbed Xiao’s hands, “Here, we will leave you alone.” She piped up before pulling the other out of the room.

Aether watched them leave, the door shutting behind them before he looked up and shook his head, what was he going to do with that girl?

Aether rubbed his eyes again as he tried to ground himself for the day. The blond then remembered the feeling of something falling down on top of him to wake him up. Golden eyes shot open, looking around his bed to see a present and he instantly grabbed it, pulling it onto his lap. He really hoped that he didn’t break anything in it.

The present was nicely wrapped in teal wrapping paper, matching Xiao’s hair. Aether smiled slightly to himself as he thought about that fact.  Whoever wrapped it tried really carefully to make it look amazing. There wasn’t one crinkle out of place, and a nice white bow topped it off.

Aether gently removed the edges and the tape, trying hard not to destroy the paper. It was too nicely wrapped for him to unwrap it like an unhinged monster.

The package was filled to the brim with different snacks and treats, each one had a little hand written note about it, probably talking about why Xiao found them to be special to him. On top  there was a red envelope. Aether reached out to open it. 

The card inside was a simple happy birthday card, inside was good wishes for the next year from Xiao in his neat handwriting.  Below the note, there was a small smiley face drawn on it.

Aether smiled and shook his head, before standing up, feeling it was about time that he got ready for his 17th birthday. He went over to where his things for today were laid out already and got ready to take a shower.

Aether walked down the stairs, feeling refreshed after his shower. The birthday boy headed towards the kitchen to see what his father was making for the day. As he got closer, his eyes landed on Xiao and Lumine. The two of them seemed to be in a deep conversation. Both were joking lightly, Lumine punching Xiao’s shoulder gently with a kind look appearing on her face. They seemed close, a lot closer than two people who barely knew each other.

A lot closer than two people who were just friends, in Aether’s opinion.

Xiao was looking at Lumine with the softest smile that the blond had ever seen. His eyes shone with admiration, and something else.

Xiao must have said something flirty, because Lumine laughed before tucking her short hair behind both of her ears. She was looking away from Xiao with a blush appearing on her face.

Lumine was not one to fall for someone, but when she did she fell quick and fast. When she did, Aether could read her like a book. A lot of the people that she fell for though were jackasses and she would come crying to Aether later.

Xiao was probably the best person Lumine had fallen for, and one look at the interaction Aether could tell that she had feelings.

The most oblivious person in the world could see that the two had feelings for each other. 

Xiao, who never liked physical contact except for a small number of people, reached out to ruffle her hair and Lumine gently battered his hand away, giving him a playful look.

A deep and hard sting started to develop in Aether’s heart. He couldn’t help but watch the way that the two interacted, Xiao treating Lumine in a way that he never treated Aether. It felt like he was watching the two of them fall in love.

This, this was hard proof that Xiao didn’t feel the same way about Aether as he felt. Of course he didn’t. Who would like the dumb useless idiot that only just started learning how to use their powers?

Even if there was a small possibility of Xiao liking Aether the same way… seeing the way that Lumine cared for Xiao, Aether couldn’t possibly act on those feelings anymore. Aether could not do that to Lumine. If it was someone else… maybe he could try to win Xiao’s attention until Xiao told him to stop.

But He couldn’t hurt Lumine like that.

He would rather be alone and see the two happy together than to destroy his relationship with his sister. His mind focused on what they were talking about, deciding that right now was not the time for a mini sob party for himself.

They were talking about him, to his surprise, “Technically Aether’s birthday is actually tomorrow,” Lumine was saying as she played with her hands, looking anywhere but at Xiao as she talked.

Xiao blinked in confusion as he processed what Lumine had just told him. “Huh?” He asked, confused. Aether tried to get himself to move into the room, to make his presence known, but he couldn’t.

Lumine smiled softly as she gazed at Xiao softly. “Yeah… Aether and I were born 10 minutes apart. But Aether was born the second the clock struck midnight.” Lumine explained and Xiao nodded his head slowly, as if he was catching up, “We tend to celebrate both of our birthdays today. Typically we will stay up until midnight to wish each other Happy Birthday.” 

They would always make it out to be some sort of celebration between the two of them. His mother refused to acknowledge him during these two days, she would only look at Lumine. She would give her daughter anything she wanted, especially the day that was actually Aether’s birthday. Aether was an afterthought to her, always.

His father would make the hugest fuss for both of the twins though, and made sure that both of them knew they were both special to him.

They never talked about how Aether was born at midnight outside of the family. Only a few people Aether was close with, mainly a boy with brown hair that had texted Xiao that Aether’s birthday was coming up, knew this. If they tried to talk about how they were actually born on different days, everyone would look at them dumbfounded, and wouldn’t believe it. 

A hand landed on his shoulder, and Aether jumped as he turned to look over. His eyes met father, a huge smile on the man’s face. “Hey, Happy Birthday.” The man said before he pulled Aether into a tight hug.

Aether smiled before hugging him back, and taking in a deep breath. “Thank you.” Aether whispered softly under his breath. There was something off about this day. Something nagging him in the back of his mind. He couldn’t figure out what though.

The two deep in conversation didn’t notice the commotion, as they continued their conversation. “So, Aeth has never celebrated his birthday on his actual birthday?” Xiao suddenly asked. Aether had never really thought about it like that. 

“Not really,” Lumine responded, the girl frowning deeply at the thought. “Lets-”

Before Aether could eavesdrop anymore, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Aether looked back at his father who was trying to get his attention.  “Why don’t you go invite your friend in.” His father asked, motioning to the door with his head.

Aether frowned in confusion. What was his father talking about? What friend? Xiao was already inside. “My friend?” He asked. 

His father gave him a smile that said he wasn’t fooling him. Aether really had no idea what he was getting on about. “Yeah, your friend Gorou, ask if he wants to spend the night. Have an actual celebration today. There’s no reason for you to sneak around today like you had planned.” His father explained more.

Aether’s look merged into one of complete and total horror. How could his father have known about their plan? Gorou was supposed to meet him at the mall, why would he be here?. “Huh?” He asked, trying to morph his voice to trick his father into thinking he had no idea what the other male was talking about. “Gorou?”

His dad nodded his head again, his smile never falling off his face. “Yes, Gorou. He is hiding in the bushes, waiting for you to sneak out and go to the mall.” His dad clarified.

Shit. His father knew his plan. That was not good. “How…how did you know?” Aether asked, gulping.

He watched as his father sighed and shook his head disappointedly. “Aether… I know you, I have raised you for the 17 years you have been in this world. And I know Gorou as well, he has been by your side for 11 out of those 17 years.” The father pointed out. “I can also hear when he is not so quietly talking to Xiao about what plans you have for today.”

So Xiao already knew that Aether wasn’t going to be able to hang out today? Aether tried not to start shaking as he stared at his father. “Don’t…” he started, not knowing what  he was going to say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

His father shook his head. Aether shut up right away. “Aether, it is your birthday.” His father stressed. Aether looked down at the ground, starting to feel bad for trying to lie to his father. “You don’t have to sneak around to visit your friends, and for goodness sake don’t apologize for it either.” Aether shifted uncomfortably, feeling tears appear in his eyes, he didn’t want to make his father mad at him. “If you EVER want to hang out with your friends, let me know.” His father finished, his voice softening.

Aether looked back up at the man, looking into his eyes, only seeing love shining in his blue eyes. Aether stared at him silently for a while, not knowing what to say. “Thank you dad.”  He whispered.

His father rolled his eyes playfully at his son,” You don’t have to thank me,” he stressed, turning Aether around and pushing him towards the door, “Go invite your friend inside, don’t let him freeze out there.”

Aether moved over to the door, shocked and on autopilot for the first few steps before he shook his head, walking faster. He threw the door open and looked around to see if he could find his friend’s brown hair.  There, hiding horribly in the bushes, and looking at the front door was Gorou. His eyes were wide and filled with nervousness. He flinched when the door opened but straightened when he saw that it was Aether. 

“Gorou!” Aether cried, stepping out onto the porch.

His best friend shot out of the bushes and torpedoed into Aether, wrapping his arms around his best friend, pulling him into a tight hug. “Aether!” He cried out in relief and happiness. “Happy Almost Birthday!”

Aether smiled as he returned the hug, closing his eyes and taking in a breath. “Thank you.” He responded weakly.

The birthday boy felt his best friend stiffen into the hug, and Aether’s eyes flew open as he looked at his friend in confusion, Gorou was glancing over Aether’s shoulder. “Uh… Aeth… I think your dad knows that I am here.” He whispered under his breath. Aether glanced over his shoulder to see his father standing in the door of the house, watching the two boys.

Aether looked back at Gorou. “He does,” he responded and Gorou looked like he was going to cry. “He knew you were here before I opened the door,” Aether whispered back, glancing back as his father turned before leaving the room, “he told me to come and get you. Drag you inside.”

Gorou gasped in shock. “He knew that I was here?” He cried as fear appeared in his eyes. Aether nodded his head once to answer the question. “But…how? Your dad must be a superhuman or something!” The boy hissed, letting go of the hug.

Aether scoffed and Gorou looked at him with hurt in his eyes. “You didn’t hide all that well, Gorou,” the blond pointed out to his best friend.

The brown haired boy gave him a look when he heard that acquisition before he shook his head. “I hid amazingly,” the boy responded. “I was out of sight.”

Aether rolled his eyes at his best friend. “You really didn’t, and you really weren’t. Come on, lets go get some breakfast.” Aether grabbed Gorou’s hand and turned to pull him into the house, Gorou managed to close the door behind the two of them.

“Breakfast?” Gorou asked as he let the other pull him in, he licked his lips in excitement. “Bet, your dad is the real one.” 

Aether dropped his friend’s hand when they were inside, walking over to the kitchen, shaking his head. “Just go inside and get some breakfast.” He told Gorou, turning to look at him.

Gorou saluted his friend before brushing past Aether and running into the kitchen. Aether watched him, not being able to help the smile that appeared on his face. He followed after Gorou, slowly.

His father was waiting for him by the corner of the kitchen. “You picked a really good friend in that one.” His father told him, winking at Aether before going over to where he was still cooking the food.

Aether really did. He wouldn’t change his friendship with Gorou for anything in the world. The other male had done so much, helped Aether a lot in his time of need, and Aether knew that he owed so much to him. 

He could already hear Gorou calling out to the other two teenagers, yelling, “Hey hey party people! Guess who it is!” Aether walked over to join Gorou.

Lumine groaned playfully as she stared at Gorou, “Oh great, you are here,” She teased, winking at her brother’s best friend. Gorou laughed loudly.

Aether’s father came over with a plate of food, handing it over to Gorou who happily took it to the table where Xiao and Lumine sat. Both of them had some food as well. Neither one of them had touched anything on their plates. Aether could see a look of shock in both of their eyes, and Lumine seemed a bit guilty, not being able to look at either her brother or Gorou.

What happened?

Aether’s dad then handed a plate of food to Aether and Aether smiled as he took it. “Thank you,” He whispered.

Gorou was already throwing an arm around Lumine’s shoulder. “Happy Birthday Lumine!” He cried out.

Lumine gently pushed him away with a polite smile on her face. “Thank you,” she responded happily as Aether walked over to them. 

Gorou turned his attention over to the teal haired man who was looking shocked and awkward, shifting uncomfortably in his seat and Gorou took the seat next to him. It was a square table with four chairs.  “Hi Gorou…” He whispered awkwardly, trying to make it seem like it was the first time he saw the boy today.

Aether moved to take the spare seat in between Gorou and Lumine. Lumine instantly put an arm around Aether’s shoulders and he turned to look at his twin. Their father came back out with a jug of orange juice and a glass, walking over to where Aether was and placing the cup down before emptying the jug out into his glass.

He looked over at Gorou when he was done. “Gorou, will you be staying the night?” The man asked as he walked over to the trash, throwing out the juice jug.

Gorou blinked a few times when he heard the question. He coughed softly. “Can I?” He asked before looking at his best friend. Aether shrugged his shoulders.

“Sure,” The man replied as he smiled encouragingly at Gorou who’s eyes lit up in excitement.

The brown haired boy nodded his head excitedly. “Excuse my language, Mr. Aether’s dad sir, I can’t control my emotions very well. It is a fault of mine, and I am trying to work on it.” He said as he straightened his back. “But Fuck yeah.”

Lumine laughed and rolled her eyes playfully at Gorou. She picked up a piece of her food, getting ready to throw it at him. The father looked at his daughter as soon as he saw what she was doing and gave her a warning look. “Lumine, don’t you dare.” The man said and she whined softly.

She placed the food into her mouth, grumbling to herself before she turned to look at her twin. The girl was pretending she was upset about the audacity of their father for telling her no. Aether gently kicked her under the table. “Are you two still planning on going to the mall?” She asked, looking down at the table and playing with her food.

Aether shrugged his shoulders. “That sounds like a lot of energy.” He admitted, looking over at Gorou. “Would you be upset if we went to Target instead?” He asked, pronouncing Target like Tar-shay as he did whenever he was talking with his sister or friends.

“Tar-Shay,” Lumine mocked her twin. Aether elbowed her in the side and the girl let out a squeak of protest before moving away from her brother, scrunching her face at him. Aether rolled his eyes at her.

Their father watched the twins before shaking his head. “Come on. Aeth, Lu, Play nice,” he warned them, sounding defeated. “Have kids, they said, it would be fun, they said.” He muttered under his breath before leaving the room to go get his own food.

“We are fun!” Lumine yelled after him and he turned to give his daughter a look.

Gorou and Xiao were watching the whole interaction, both staying quiet before Gorou laughed, smiling brightly at his friend. “I heard that Target got some new squishmellows shipped in recently,” the boy told the group. He pulled out his phone and got on Target to show off all the new Squishmellows.

Lumine perked up as soon as she heard the word Squishmellows. The blonde girl loved those toys. Her room was filled with Squishmellows. Very few people have collected more than her. Most of the girl’s were organized down to the T. 

“Squishmellows?” She cried out, bouncing up and down in her chair, “I fucking love squishmellows!”

Gorou looked at the girl as he smiled and nodded his head, leaning over Aether to show Lumine his phone. He pointed at all of the new squishmellows. “Yeah, look at them! These ones are super cute!” Gorou also collected squishmellows in his spare time. Not as much as Lumine, but still more than most people. 

Lumine grabbed the phone from the other and started to look through them all, squealing loudly as she found all of them all adorable. “Holly shit!” She moved and forced the phone into Aether’s face. “Look at these! They are so fucking cute!” Before Aether even had a chance to look at them, she shoved the phone into Xiao’s face next. “I want them all!” 

Aether looked at his sister before looking over at his classmate, who was watching the phone with mock support.  Xiao did not understand the hype of squishmellows. “Lu, Xiao, do you want to go to Target with us?” Aether asked, looking at Gorou to make sure his friend was okay with it as well.

Both looked up from the phone and looked at Aether as Lumine handed Gorou his phone back to him. “Dead serious?” Lumine asked, looking at her brother, studying his every movement. Aether nodded his head slightly. “Fuck yeah I do!” 

“Hell yeah!” Gorou cried out happily, clapping his hands. “Group outing! We can get food, we can just goof off, and do anything!”

Chapter Text

The trip to Target could only be explained in one word. Chaotic. Letting two teens lose with little to no impulse control wasn’t a great plan. It was even worse when those two teens loved Target. Aether was almost impressed by how fast the two worked in gathering everything they needed or wanted.

While Lumine and Gorou wrecked chaos in the store, Xiao and Aether walked side by side. They talked to each other about a lot of different things. School, work, powers, anything really. One huge topic was they had an essay due on Monday. Aether was talking about the different things that he had included in his essay, where Xiao would bring up how he interpreted different things differently and the evidence that he found. Every now and then, Aether would point out something that was really cute, telling Xiao about it. Xiao looked at Aether whenever he did with a small smile of adoration on his face, nodding his head in agreement.

Whenever the other two would reappear, they would return with the most random items, chattering excitedly about other items that they had seen in their last trip before they were gone yet again. The cart quickly filled up, mostly with different Squishmellows. Every squishmellow had a duplicate of itself. Lumine and Gorou would fight over who would get which one, so they decided to get doubles. There were also a lot of other things in the cart as well.

They had pretty much gotten at least one of each item in the little dollar section in the front of the store. Lumine had been taken by the home decor section at one point. She almost deconstructed that aisle from the amount that she was getting. Gorou had come back a bit ago with an anxiety dino. When Lumine saw it, she almost cried actual tears at how precious it was before ordering Gorou to take her to the precious baby.

Her words, not Aether’s.

Xiao and Aether were silently walking through what Aether cutely called the nerd section. It was mostly the video game sections and the sections with the different pop culture figurines. They were looking at the different Funko Pops and other items. “So…17?” Xiao asked as he watched Lumine come running back with her own anxiety dino. She placed it in the cart before running off again, shouting over her shoulder that Gorou found something cool.

Aether watched his sister disappear, sighing and shaking his head. He looked at Xiao, smiling and shrugging his shoulders. “Yeah, 17,” the blond whispered softly, “god, it feels so weird.”

Xiao was studying Aether with a twinkle in his eye. “You will finally be the same age as the rest of the class,” he joked, elbowing Aether gently, “You almost missed the cut off.”

Yet another topic that Aether didn’t like to talk about when he was younger, especially, not so much now though. His birthday was in late September, the cut off being the first week or so of October, so Lumine and him were usually the youngest in their class. He knew of other people who were born in September that had to be held back because they were too immature to continue on in their program. Some of the girls didn’t want to be friends with Lumine because she was younger than them by a couple of months. It wasn’t until Lumine showed that she was the most powerful of their class that magically all the hate evaporated. 

Aether laughed at the joke this time.  He knew Xiao meant no harm. Aether knocked his shoulder into Xiao in return. “Right, I forgot you were an old man,” the blond teased back, matching the glint in Xiao's eyes as he stared at the other to see what he would do next.

Xiao looked at him with a mock betrayal, before he readied his index finger. It almost looked like Xiao was going to lecture Aether about something. “Now listen here, young man,” he began. However, before he could get anything else out, the two of them looked at each other. Both of them were trying to hold in their laughter, but Aether couldn’t. The blond brought a hand up to his mouth so that his loud laugh would be muffled slightly. Hearing Aether laugh, Xiao chuckled, watching his classmate with a soft gaze. “So… how does it feel?” He asked when they both calmed down, “Aside from weird?”

Aether blinked as he removed his hand away from his mouth. “Honestly?” He asked, knitting his eyebrows together, “It is not that much different from any other day.” Aether stopped the cart, being put in charge of it as he was the one least likely to run off and get stuff.  The birthday boy made a face as he gave the topic more thought. “Lumine has always been the one who had a big celebration for her birthday,” he admitted. Xiao stopped as well as soon as those words left Aether’s mouth. He turned to look at the other boy, with pity.

“Seriously?” The teal haired man asked and Aether nodded his head. 

Aether licked his lips, they were feeling dry. “I…” He probably shouldn’t say this. This topic was going to bring down the mood. They were already in a good mood. He didn’t need to say this. “My mom would take away my celebrations if I couldn’t manipulate on command,” he admitted. 

He shouldn’t trauma dump on Xiao. But he couldn’t help it. It was a fucked up punishment, and a fucked up reason. Aether had no control over being able to manipulate. Honestly, everything that woman did was fucked up. She would make everything AEther’s problem, make him out to be the problem.

Xiao shocked his head in disbelief as he heard that, horror shining in his eyes. “So… you hadn’t had a birthday since you were…”

Aether puffed out his cheeks, knowing where Xiao was going with this. “My fifth birthday was my last party.” He admitted. That was the year that Gorou had first been invited to his birthday party, only to find out that it was only for Lumine. Aether had thought that the woman was joking when she told him his punishment for not being as good as Lumine. 

And five year olds usually aren’t able to manipulate.

Aether regretted bringing it up as Xiao seemed to be battling with something internally.

Thankfully, that was when Gorou came running back into view. “Aether!” The brown haired boy cried out, struggling to hold four mic boxes in his hand. He dropped three of them in the cart as soon as he was close by before showing off the last one to the two. “Look what I found! We can do Karaoke tonight!” He cried out happily, looking so proud of himself.

Aether faked a smile, not sure if he could match his friend's energy, but he thought he could at least try. He already bummed out Xiao, he didn’t need to bum out Gorou as well. “Aye!” He called out weakly, forcing out a soft laugh.

Crashing noises caused the three of them to turn, watching as Lumine came crashing over to the cart. A red box was clenched tightly in her arms. “My dudes,” she cried out, skidding to a stop in between them. “Look what I found! We should totally fucking play it!”She showed them the box, a game of Apples to Apples.

Gorou looked at the box before making a face, looking back up at the girl. He slowly shook his head as a disappointed sigh left his lips. “Bro…no…” He whispered before holding up the mic he still had in his hands, “we are going to do some Karaoke.”

Lumine replicated the look that Gorou had given. She stared him down as she let the game fall into the cart. Gorou tore his eyes away from here to watch the box fall with disgust in his eyes. “Ew, no,” Lumine spoke, getting Gorou to look back up at her, “fighting people to the death in apples to apples is much more fun than karaoke.”

Xiao looked at Aether in concern hearing Lumine say that and Aether shrugged his shoulders. It wasn’t that far off from the truth what happened when Lumine played apples to apples. “What kind of Apples to Apples games do you play?” The teal haired man asked in confusion.

Lumine and Gorou both turned towards Xiao at the same time, looking at him as if they both forgot that he was there. “The correct one Xiao, the correct one,” Lumine deadpanned. 

Xiao moved closer to whisper in Aether’s ear, a look of pure confusion on his face, “Is… have I been playing apples to apples wrong?”

Aether shook his head, giving him a pitying look. “No, Lumine just… gets very protective… about her choices,” he whispered back.

Gorou scoffed at Lumine’s reasoning for wanting to play Apples to Apples. “Eww, no,” he responded, raising a hand up to stop her from saying anything, “hearing Xiao embarrass himself when singing sounds much more fun to me.” He replied, glancing back at Xiao.

Aether felt bad for Xiao when he heard the way Gorou so easily dissed him. He facepalmed. There was no way that this fight was going to be solved in a friendly manner. This was how Gorou and Lumine’s relationship was.  Gorou also tends to forget that some people don't like being roasted..

Xiao was one of those people. “Excuse you?” Xiao called out in false outrage. “How do you know that I am bad at singing?”

Gorou pursed his lips, looking Xiao up and down before glancing back at the twins. “Never said that you were bad at singing,” he replied. Xiao opened his mouth, ready to fight Gorou. Gorou cut him off, “You haven’t heard Lumine or Aether sing. They would put anyone to shame,” Gorou explained.

Xiao looked at the twins, confused on how Gorou could be so sure about his statement.  Both of them had a straight look on their faces. “Daddy was in a rock band.” Lumine responded, a soft smile appearing on her face, “he trained us how to sing.”

The teal haired man nodded his head, relaxing when he heard that. “Huh…” He whispered, a glint once again returning to his eyes, “maybe we should do Karaoke,  I want to see this.” He mused to himself.

Gorou took that as a win. He beamed before clapping his hands excitedly. “Bet!” He cried out. Lumine made a sound of fake anger that her idea wasn’t getting the response that she was searching for. She looked at her twin, looking for backup. Aether glanced between his best friend and his sister, not sure what to do.

“Uh…” he whispered awkwardly as Gorou was also looking at him, he was going to be the one to decide what they were going to do, wasn’t he. Both were daring the blond boy to disagree with them. “There’s no reason that we can’t do both,” he pointed out, “it is going to be a long night, right? If we are going to stay up late?”

Lumine whistled, a smile appearing on her face when she heard AEther say that. “Ha!” She cried out, sticking her tongue out at him in victory before looking back at her brother. “How late do you think that we are going to stay up, Aeth?” She asked.

Aether shifted from foot to foot as everyone looked at him again. “12? At least?” He asked unsure, starting to feel that he had said something wrong.

Gorou’s gaze softened in concern. “Babe,” he whispered softly, “no,” Aether wanted to back away from the group. Lumine and Gorou were both looking at him in pity while Xiao looked confused as if he thought it was a reasonable time Aether presented. “Tell me that you are kidding.” 

Aether shook his head slightly, not sure what part would have been considered wrong. “No?” He asked. “Is that…that’s not too late, is it?”

Gorou and Lumine shared a look with each other before Lumine sighed. She walked up to Aether before placing a hand on her brother’s shoulder. Aether looked over at Xiao again, hoping the teal haired boy would offer him some sort of support. “Aether…”

“It's the weekend,” Gorou called out as he walked up behind Lumine. “I typically stay up until 2 am at least.” Lumine nodded her head in agreement.

Xiao, not wanting to be a part of the discussion, had grabbed the apples to apples box out of the cart. He was reading the back of the box. 

“That would ruin my sleeping schedule if I did that…” Aether whispered, looking at Lumine then at Gorou.

His sister let out a soft sigh, closing her eyes before looking at Aether with a serious look on her face. “Aeth, we are still young. There is time for us to worry about sleeping schedules,” she insisted. She glanced at Xiao “Speaking of which, Xiao are you spending the night?” The boy looked up when he heard his name being called out. 

Gorou gasped loudly. “I need to tell my parents! Oh shit!” THe boy cried, digging into his pocket so that he could pull out his phone. Before he could unlock it, he stopped in his tracks and looked at Lumine again. “Also, Lu, my main squeeze, why aren’t you hanging out with your own friends today?”

Lumine shrugged her shoulders.  “I would rather spend today with Aether than with Piranhas who try to make me badmouth him.” The girl responded simply, looking again at Xiao. “So, are you going to spend the night or not?”

Xiao smiled slightly, looking uncomfortable. “I’ll ask my cousin,” he promised.

Aether shook his head, looking at Xiao as well. “Honestly, you don't have to,” the blonde interjected. Xiao looked at AEther with a confused look on his face, not sure why he shouldn’t. “You just got back from a long trip. It would be understandable if you want to go hime,” the blonde quickly explained.  He would love it if Xiao got to spend time with him, but Aether would get it if Xiao didn’t want to.

Xiao gave Aether a soft smile, before he looked back at Lumine and Gorou. “Dont worry Aeth, I want to spend time with you,” he admitted. Aether felt a warm feeling spread through him as he struggled to fight back a huge smile that threatened to appear on his face. “I’ll ask my cousin,” Xiao repeated.

Lumine beamed, before she latched onto her brother’s arm. “Well, while you two tell your parents you are going to spend the night with your favorite twins, Aether and I are going to go stock up on junk food. We are only young once!” She pulled her brother away from the group and to the food section of the target. 

They had decided to play Apples to Apples first. Lumine and Gorou wouldn't shut up about which was better though, and both wanted their game to be the first one to be picked out.  It wasn’t until Xiao pointed out that Apples to Apples is usually a quick game. It would be a good way to get the night rolling. Then, they could do karaoke as long as they wanted.

Aether was ready for the game to take maybe 5 rounds at most. Maybe less. Someone was bound to rage during the game, especially the way that Lumine plays the game. There should be little fights here and there that end with one big fight, right? Little fights were bound to happen in family friendly games, like uno, or monopoly, and other friendship ending games.

Lumine had dealt everyone five different cards, Aether picked up his and made a face when he saw what he was given.  The first card was a bit basic, Pumpkin spice latte. That was probably the most basic card he had ever seen. The next card he got was a bit spicier. Getting to Second Base. He then got My job. Aether didn’t have a job anymore, there were very few cards that could relate to. Of the four, the only one who had a job was Xiao, and that was to hang out with Aether. He then got termites, what a great card to have. His last card was A Spa day, not the best, but not the worst.

After everyone had picked their cards, Lumine started to organize her cards. How one could organize Apples to Apples cards, Aether wasn’t sure. Gorou looked up from his own hand of cards. “How do we pick who goes first?” The brown haired male asked with a frown on his face.

“Rock Paper Scissors,” Lumine responded, not even taking a moment to glance up from her hands, she was snickering heavily to herself.

“No,” Aether interjected, causing everyone to look at him. “I am not going through that hell with you today, Lumine.”

Lumine looked at him and frowned, tilting her head to the side. “What hell, Aether Viator?” She asked.

Gorou gasped when he heard Lumine use their last name. Aether rolled his eyes. “We tie like 17 times in a row before one of us wins.” He replies.

Lumine scrunched her face when she heard that, it was true. Both of them knew each other way too well. “Well then, you lose,” she deadpanned before giving him a semi-sweet smile and Aether rolled his eyes at her.

Xiao glanced at the twins, coughing softly, which caught everyone’s attention and everyone turned to look at him. “Lumine, why don’t you judge first? Since it was your idea?” He asked. The girl gave out a loud and heavy sigh when hearing the idea. She glanced at Xiao, the room going  quiet. Lumine didn’t like being the first judge. She loved being able to play a card and argue her case on why that card fit.  

Aether glanced over at Gorou, who was still looking at his cards as if they were a gift from god. He wasn’t going to offer any help if the two of them started to fight. Aether could honestly say he wouldn’t expect it, but wouldn’t be surprised if the first fight that broke out were between Lumine and Xiao.

Lumine pursed her lips as she tried to decide if it was worth it to get into a fight with Xiao at this moment, before reaching over to the green card pile and flipping over the card, not saying a word to Xiao. “Alrighty then kids, the word is Dirty. Give me the best cards you have that fit the theme.” She called out, raising her nose a little bit before glancing over at Xiao again. “Fair warning, Aether always seems to win this game. I never can figure out how.”

Aether couldn’t either, to be fair. He didn’t want to win this game, it just always seemed to happen.  Aether shook his head at his sister before looking at his cards, trying to decide between two which would be a good fit. He picked one of his cards up and quietly slid it over to Lumine. His twin grabbed the card as quick as lightning. 

Gorou and Xiao handed her a card as well and the girl closed her eyes as she shuffled them thoroughly. If there was one thing, Lumine proud herself of was not being a cheat. She was taking her time, and Gorou whined impatiently. “Lumine, come on, I wanna do Karaoke,” the boy cried.

Lumine opened her eyes, staring him deep in the eyes. “And why should I care?” She asked with a straight face, Aether’s best friend groaned in annoyance. “Okay, Okay…” she whispered as she started to look at the cards, “The apocalypse, nice nice. There is dirt and debris, I can see how that can be considered dirty,” she mused to herself as she set the card down on the table before drawing the next card, “Helping someone move,” she read before frowning, “And….getting to second base?” She finished with a frown on her face. She placed the cards down on the table before looking at the others, waiting for an explanation.

Xiao looked over the cards, reading all of them, with a friendly expression on his face. He had yet to realize that he had made Lumine’s shit list for this game. “Oh, that's a good one,” Xiao called out, “Especially when adults are involved. Nobody should talk about teenagers' relationships like that, nor should they try to enter a relationship with a teenager. That is just plain despicable.” Aether nodded his head in agreement at the response to Xiao’s question.

“What, they shouldn’t talk about kissing?” Lumine piped up as she gave both of them a look. “Please, every kid kisses.” She rolled her eyes at them.

“What?” Xiao asked when he heard that she disagreed with him, looking over at her. “That’s not second base? Still, it's pretty gross if adults focus on two kids kissing.”

Lumine nodded her head. “Yes it is. First base, hand holding, second base, kissing, third base is where adults should not even think about mentioning it unless they are educating kids how to be safe.” She responded, listing off everything on her fingers.  

Xiao shook his head with a frown. “Kissing is first base.” He argued and the girl scoffed at him. Xiao looked offended.

“You are just wrong, Xiao.” She responded. “Right Gorou?” She asked before looking over at the other boy. Gorou looked at Lumine with wide eyes.

Aether glanced between his friends and his sister. He was scared that something else might happen and they might actually start fighting. “But, if you get to second base in baseball, you get dirt on your pants!” He piped up before someone could say something they regretted. 

Lumine clicked her tongue as she heard her brother’s explanation, turning her glance back over at Aether. “That is not what that card means though.” She responded. Aether rolled his eyes at her. Lumine must have realized that this fight was useless as she pushed the cards into a discard pile before picking up the green card. “I’m going with the Apocolypse,” she declared.

Gorou held out his hand, a shit eating grin appearing on his face when he heard that. “Yay! That was my card!” He cried out happily as Lumine handed the Green card over to him and he placed it down in front of him.This is what finally got Gorou into the idea of playing this card game, now that he was winning.

Lumine blinked after she gave Gorou his card before she turned back to look at Xiao, narrowing her eyes at him. She was going to start a fight with Xiao after all. “I’m going to need you to explain your thought process for helping a friend move.” She ordered.

Xiao stared back at her with an unimpressed look on his face. At least he was willing to step up and fight her. “The same reason you said apocalypse.” He pointed out and Lumine made a noise of disbelief. “Dirt and grime from everything that you move is always left behind.”

With that, the first round set the tone for the game. Aether was honestly scared that Lumine and Xiao would get into a fight while they played. He felt he was walking on eggshells to try not to upset either one of them in case they turned their wrath on him. Gorou, on the other hand, seemed to egg them on.

The first five rounds passed by, and it looked like Gorou was going to be the winner of the game. It had signs that it was going to be a quick game.

It was the third round, and Gorou had flipped over the word delicate for the green cards. Aether instantly slid his card, Emergency Landing, over to Gorou. His reasoning for that was you had to be very delicate when landing the plane so everyone can get out alive. At least, he thought that was the case, but how could he know when he wasn’t a pilot. 

Gorou started to read all of them out loud, “Emergency Landings, I can see the appeal,” he said as he placed the cards down in front of him. “Avalanches, true, they are caused by loud noises so easily, and… Face Tattoos…” He read the last card, placing it down. 

Aether instantly could tell which card Gorou thought was the funniest, by the way he had to hold in his laugh. Xiao looked at the cards in shock. “Face Tattoo?” He cried. “Face Tattoos aren’t delicate.”

“Yes they are.” Lumine interjected as she gave Xiao a warning look.

Xiao looked back at her and blinked unimpressed. “How so?” He asked and Lumine looked over at Aether as if hoping that he was going to help him out but Aether shook his head. This was her fight with Xiao, he wanted nothing to do with this. 

She sighed before looking at Gorou instead of Xiao, knowing that she didn’t have to convince Xiao, she had to convince Gorou instead. “Have you ever met someone with a face tattoo? They are very sensitive people, and sensitive is an adjective for delicate.”

“Not everyone with a face tattoo is sensitive? What in the stereotype?” Xiao cried out, folding his arms against his chest.

Lumine glanced at him, sneering before looking back over at Gorou. Aether looked between the two, wondering who Gorou was going to pick. “I have met some very sensitive people that have a face tattoo.” Gorou said as he picked up the green card, handing it over to Lumine. 

Aether decided to get into his judge round before anyone could be too upset with the outcome of the round it seemed fair to him, honestly. He placed down the green card. “Weak.” He called out, “Give me your weak cards.”

“Hang on, I don’t agree.” Xiao said, holding his hand up.

“The card has been placed, the previous round is over.” Aether interjected. “You’re not going to win this fight with Lumine.” 

Xiao rolled his eyes before handing Aether his card for the new round. Lumine instantly handed one over to Aether as well. Gorou was looking in between his cards, as if trying to decide between two of them before he gave his card to Aether as well. Aether quickly shuffled his cards.

Aether cleared his throat as he began to read out the cards,  “Weeds,”

“See, that is how you pick a good card.” Xiao piped out, glaring at Lumine as soon as he said that.

Lumine sticked her tongue out at him. “You’re not supposed to reveal your card.” Gorou said with a frown on his face. “Then it’s not fair to Aether, he can be influenced by bias.”

“How are weeds weak?” Lumine interjected, leaving Gorou’s point to fall on deaf’s ears. 

Xiao rolled his eyes at the girl. “Obviously because they aren’t flowers.” He pointed out and Lumine scoffed at him.

Aether shook his head. “Sports bars,” he continued to read the cards in his hand.

“How is Sports Bar weak?” Xiao scoffed at Lumine.

Lumine blinked a few times, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks. “For the same reason that Face tattoos are delicate. Grown ass men cry over a glorified game of catch and lose their shit. That is pretty fucking weak.”

“And the winner is biting your tongue.” Aether called out, since he knew it was Gorou’s and he wasn’t going to get in between the two of them.

Gorou took the card silently, looking completely uncomfortable at this round. Xiao and Lumine both looked at Aether when they heard him declare the winner. “How is that weak?” They both called at the same time.

Aether blinked a few times. “Because Gorou didn’t reveal his card. You are both disqualified for this round.” He pointed out and both of them grumbled when he heard that. Aether just wanted this game to end. If Gorou got one more card, he would have four cards and he would win. That is all it took.

The next round the green card that Lumine had laid down was sneaky. Aether had decided to use his termites card, because you never know where they were hiding. He watched as Xiao recycled his cards to draw five new ones before Aether drew his new cards and cursed.

Of course, he had gotten Ninjas. It was in their job description to be sneaky.

Lumine picked up the cards as soon as Xiao gave her his, with a frown on his face. She looked at them silently before looking back up. “Bigfoot is not sneaky, he is big and stomps around. Neither is the future, if you plan for it. The winner is termites.” She stated, throwing the cards down. Lumine was starting to be done with this game.

Aether reached over and grabbed the card silently. “Have you ever seen Bigfoot? It is his thing to never be caught on camera.” Gorou countered, a pout forming on his lips.

Lumine rolled her eyes. “Being unphotogenic is not the same as being sneaky.” She pointed out.

“It’s not that he is unphotogenic, he literally hasn’t been caught by a camera.” Gorou argued back.

Aether reached over to touch Gorou’s arm gently. “Gorou, buddy, you’re not going to win this fight.” He whispered softly to him and the brown haired boy whined softly.

The next round also had a little fight. The card that Xiao had flipped over was Reasonable and Aether decided that the most reasonable was a grandpa, of his cards anyways. He didn’t have really good cards at this point of the game. 

Gorou took the cards. “Blanket forts, Grandpa, and Sewer tunnels.” He called out as he laid all of the cards in front of him, before looking back up at the three, he had a frown on his face, which told Aether he was going to say something that would set off either Lumine or Xiao. “I’m going with Blanket Forts.” He called out.

“Come on,” Xiao whined, throwing his cards down. “Sewage has to be managed somehow, you need sewer tunnels, they are reasonable.” He stated.

“Yeah, but when you are sad you can always use a blanket fort to escape, and that is a reasonable excuse.” Lumine piped up. Gorou nodded his head in agreement with the girl.

Xiao looked over at Aether and motioned at the two as if to ask if Aether could believe them. Aether gave Xiao an apologetic smile. Now either Lumine or Gorou needed to get a card and then they would win.  

Nothing happened in Round Eight that was too strange, it was also not the end of the game, to Aether’s dismay.  He was the judge, and he somehow managed to choose Xiaos, he wished he had cheated and picked Lumine’s or Gorous card instead. 

In round Nine, Aether randomly handed Lumine a card, numb to the fact that he was being put through this hell. Xiao and Gorou had given her cards, Gorou was chuckling and laughing at Aether’s expression. What a great friend he was.

 Lumine glanced at the cards when she got them all before looking back at them. “Normal.” She stated. “And you gave me A bump in the night, I’m pretty sure that is the opposite of normal, Duct Tape, and Vegans…” She glanced over at her brother. “Your card was Vegans, wasn’t it?” Aether blinked a few times, not sure how she found that out. “I pick Vegans.”

Xiao scoffed from where he was sitting. “But you can repair anything with Duct Tape, how the fuck is that not normal?” He asked as Lumine handed Aether the green card.

The girl rolled her eyes, looking at Xiao again. “Oh come on, Vegans are normal. It is completely valid to be a vegan and they are a part of everyday life. I doubt there is even a roll of Duct Tape in our house.”

The next round was Magical, and Aether realized that if he got one more card, somehow he would have been put into a three way tie with the other two. How? He had no idea. Xiao had picked Aether’s card that round, Ninjas.

It was the eleventh round, how this game went to eleven rounds was beyond Aether, how Aether had somehow became part of a three way tie was also beyond him. If Gorou chose Xiao’s card, then the game would continue, if he picked either Aether’s or Lumine’s, it would finally be over and Aether would be free. 

The card was inspirational. Aether gave a random one, not sure what it said as the other two gave up their own cards. Gorou shuffled them seriously, closing his eyes, stating that if he was to lose he was going to do it fair and square. “First one is Grizzly Bears,” Gorou cried out, placing the card on the table. “And then Buying a house,”  placing the next card down, “finally an All you can eat buffet.” He studied all of them, before looking up to where Xiao and Lumine were glaring at each other and Aether was trying to slip away into nothingness. A grin appeared on his face. “I think I am going to go with an all you can eat buffet.”

“How is that inspirational?” Xiao and Lumine cried at the same time.

That must have been Aether’s card, Aether realized as he reached over to grab the green card, still feeling dazed and drained of all his energy. Gorou just shrugged his shoulders, “I don't know, but let's read our green cards, I am Dirty, Hairy, and Weak.” Gorou called out before placing his green cards in a pile.

Xiao rolled his eyes, realizing that he wasn’t going to get closure from the boy. “I am Salty.”

“Yeah you are.” Lumine mumbled under her breath and Xiao elbowed her. The girl whined softly.

“Are you guys ok?” A voice asked, and they all turned to see the twin’s father standing in the doorway. The kids all nodded their heads. “Ok, it sounded like - oh, apples to apples, I understand.” He smiled before leaving.

“Well, I am Delicate, small, and reasonable.” Lumine called out, raising her nose up to the sky.

“I’m Sneaky, Normal, Magical, and inspirational.” Aether read out before placing his cards away leaning back as he took in that the game of hell was finally over. Gorou was the one to collect all of the different cards. “That was too long of a game.” He whispered after a bit.

He didn’t know if he could ever play another game of Apples to Apples if Xiao and Lumine were playing. The fights they had drained his energy more than a simple card game should have. 

“It was a fun game though. We should do it again,” Lumine piped up. Aether looked over at her, staring at her as if he couldn’t decide if she was crazy or not. 

Xiao nodded his head in agreement, smiling sweetly at Lumine. As if they hadn’t just been at each other’s throats a few seconds ago. “Yeah, it was a lot more fun than what I thought it would be.”

They were insane, that must be the only answer to this. “No… I am never going to play with the two of you ever again.” Aether called out with a frown appearing on his face.

Aether stood up and Lumine looked up at him with her best puppy dog eyes. “Why not? It was such a good game, Aether.”

The birthday boy shook his head stubbornly. “Not with you and Xiao fighting every single round.” He pointed out.

Lumine rolled her eyes, sneering at her brother, “Oh come on Aeth, it wasn’t that bad. Fighting during Apples to Apples is good for your soul.”

Aether raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. “I’m going to get some snacks and start the pizza. Let's get the Karaoke ready.” Aether responded as he turned before leaving the room in a hurry.

He got into the kitchen before turning on the oven, setting it onto preheat. After that was done, he leaned against the counter as he waited for it to preheat, closing his eyes as he took in a deep breath. He must have waited there the whole time his oven took, which was about 20 minutes or so. It wasn’t a fast oven. It beeped so he went to get the frozen pizzas they bought at Target as he heard someone enter the kitchen.

The blond looked at the door to see Gorou entering the room. He went over to get a bowl and got one of their bags of chips. “So you still don’t think he likes you?” Gorou asked, glancing over at his best friend.

AEther frowned as he threw the pizza in the oven before he turned so that he was facing his best friend. “What are you talking about?” He asked as he grabbed his phone to put a timer on it.

Gorou smiled. “He chose your card in the second to last round so that you had a chance to win.” Gorou pointed out. “He could have picked mine, or Lumines and ended it, but he wanted you to be in the running.”

Aether made a face, going over to the fridge to get out some of the drinks they had bought as well. It was mostly just random sodas they liked. “Uh… no?” Aether responded, glancing over his shoulder at his friend. “He picked my card because Halloween isn’t magical and he didn’t want Lumine to win.”

His best friend grinned, shaking his head, “Sureeeee,” Gorou whispered. “Halloween is pretty magical though.” Gorou grabbed some other snacks as well before getting the bowl of chips, managing not to drop anything.

Aether shook his head as he picked up everything that Gorou had forgotten before following his friend out of the room and heading down to the basement where they were setting up the karaoke. 

Gorou placed his snacks down, before heading over to the TV. Aether also set his things down, watching as Gorou picked up a mic. “Remember,” Gorou called, causing Xiao and Lumine to glance over at him as well, “Everyone has to do at least one song. I also want to see some times where more than one person sings during a song. We also have to sing Never give you up.” He called out.

Aether instantly made a face when he heard Gorou say that, before he shook his head. “No, not that song. I veto it.”

Gorou pouted as he glanced back at his best friend. “But that song is so good,” he whined. Aether stubbornly shook his head and Gorou pouted deeper. “FIne, Any Takers?”

Lumine smirked, glancing over at her brother. Aether didn’t like the look of that. This was not going to turn out well. “Why don’t you and Aether do a song first?” She asked. Aether looked at her in shock. “Because Aether won Apples to Apples and Karaoke was your idea,” she mimicked the reason she had to be the first judge.

However, Gorou didn’t see that as a jeer, his eyes widened happily at the suggestion. “Bet! Come on Aether, we are doing Title!” He quickly pulled up the karaoke version for the song of his choice. 

The karaoke party was mostly Lumine and Gorou taking turns and once in a while they forced either Aether and Xiao to sing or to join them. After one such song, Aether sat down next to Xiao. His eyes were trained on the two, making sure that Lumine and Gorou didn’t kill each other ‘on accident’.

“You know,” Xiao stated after a while, Aether instantly turned to look at him, shocked at the sudden words, “If you had been in the Anemo district, I am pretty sure you would have been asked to join 5wirl. You’re cute enough, have a good voice, short. You are exactly Venti's type.”

A blush appeared on Aether’s face, as he looked anywhere but at Xiao. He played with the ends of his hair. He just called him cute. Chrome on Xiao, don’t play with his heart like that. “Swirl?” Aether asked, looking back at Xiao in confusion, “what's that?”

“5wirl, with a 5 instead of an s,” Xiao answered, rubbing the back of his neck as he explained, “It was the band that I was forced to be in when I was still at Anemo high.”

Xiao? In a band? Aether blinked a few times as he tried to imagine what that would even look like, but he couldn’t picture it. “You are joking.” Aether whispered softly, his eyes going wide, “You were in a band?”

Xiao laughed awkwardly and nodded his head. “Yeah… we didn’t really do much though. Just practiced. The band leader, Venti, never really looked for gigs.” Xiao explained, looking anywhere but at Aether.

“That is pretty cool,” Aether whispered, trying to imagine Xiao in a band of all things. “I never knew that.”

Xiao shrugged his shoulders, smiling at Aether awkwardly. “I’m not trying to brag, I just wanted to compliment you on your singing voice,” he explained quietly.

They hadn’t realized the song had stopped before Gorou called out, “I wonder what the two of you would sound like if you sang together. Come on you two, it is time for a duet!” The boy cried as he wiggled two of the microphones at them.

The rest of the night passed in a flash. Xiao had managed to fall asleep on the couch around 10 pm. Aether tried to wake him up to see if he would like to sleep somewhere else, but Xiao muttered that the couch was fine. 

Aether himself was already starting to feel tired as well, finding it hard to keep his own eyes open. Around midnight, he got up to go upstairs to look for a drink as they drank all of the drinks they had. Lumine and Gorou were still fighting with each other with karaoke. This time they wanted to see who could produce the highest note. 

Aether walked outside with his drink when he found one. He sat down on the porch swing, rocking it gently and closing his eyes. He heard someone open the door as well, following Aether outside. He opened his eyes to see his father who sat down next to him.

Aether rested his head on the older man’s shoulder before closing his eyes. Aether felt him wrap a protective arm around him and he sighed happily. “Aether, his father called out, and Aether opened his eyes again, looking up at his father as the man stroked his hair. “You should know I am so proud of you. You remind me so much of my old best friend. You both have so many great traits. Happy Birthday for real, Kiddo.”

Aether smiled as he tried to shake a feeling settling deep inside of him. “Thank you, Dad.”

The blond finally realized what had been bugging him the whole day at that point.

He wasn’t going to make it to his next Birthday, it was a feeling he had deep down inside of him.

Chapter Text

If there was one way Aether hadn’t planned on waking up, it was the feeling of something warm creeping along the back of his head. The heat was quickly becoming uncomfortable, startling the young boy awake. He sat up quickly from where he was sleeping next to Gorou in his bedroom, assessing the situation.

After the karaoke party last night, the two friends had decided to go back up to Aether’s bedroom, his bedroom as too small for both of them to comfortably fit on Aether’s bed, so their smart plan was to sleep on the floor together instead, using Aether’s comforter as padding and sleeping with blankets borrowed from Lumine. Xiao had refused to move from the couch last night, so that was where the other man stayed.

A burning smell filled the room, making Aether curl his nose up in disgust. Before he could think, the fire alarm started to blare. He shot around to look behind him to see that his pillow was on fire. He let out a startled yell as he shot a stream of water at the fire. The fire went out instantly with the sound of steam being created. Aether got up and ran over to his window, opening it to let the smoke dissipate. He tried to make the fire alarms shut up.

When he turned around, Gorou was slowly waking up. Aether blinked away tears that had started to form, his eyes darting around. Where had his training gloves gone?

Gorou rubbed the sleep away from his eyes as a small whine left his lips, he sniffed as he glanced around, trying to find the danger. When he couldn’t find anything out of place,he looked at his friend. He stiffened, noticing how upset Aether was. “What happened?” He managed to call out.

Aether gulped, finding it very difficult to open his mouth. He couldn’t say anything to Gorou. Fear and shock ran rapid in his golden eyes as he played with his fingers, trying to get himself to calm down. It wasn’t working. He needed to find his gloves, it was rare for him not to wake up with them on his hands. 

Gorou stood up before walking to Aether, staring the blond straight in his eyes. He placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “What are you looking for?” He asked. Aether held up his hands in response. Gorou blinked a few times. “Do you need help?” He asked. Aether nodded his head quickly. “Don’t panic, I'll be right back.” Gorou ran out of the room. Aether watched after him, not sure how he could not panic at this time. He tried to take in a few deep breaths, but they turned out to be really shallow instead.

Aether blinked away some tears that were threatening to appear in his eyes.  The blond watched the door as he waited for Gorou to come back. Everything just felt so hard. Everything he tried to do only came back to bite him in the ass. Anytime he thought he was getting farther ahead in life, it turned out that he was wrong. 

Why did he always manage to mess everything up? Why did it hurt so much whenever he managed to let out some power? Not physically of course, but mentally. 

Before he could spiral deeper into thoughts of self hate, the door opened again and he watched as the brown haired boy came running up to him. Gorou handed him the gloves that Aether was looking for. Aether blinked his thanks at him before placing the gloves on, and some of the panic that was filling his body seemed to have eased away. 

“What happened?” He heard Gorou asked, with a worried look on his face as he watched Aether closely.

Aether licked his lips, opening his mouth to say what was bothering him, but he couldn’t force any noise out. Instead he nodded over to his pillow. Gorou followed his best friend’s gaze and instantly hugged Aether. Aether froze in shock, not expecting that type of response from Gorou.

He hugged Gorou back as he heard the other boy whisper, “Fuck Aeth, I’m so sorry. Hopefully you’ll get used to this soon.”

He pulled away from the hug and Aether grabbed one of his stuffed animals and hugged it to his chest, trying to hide from the world, trying to ease the feelings brewing inside of him. He didn’t want this, he really didn’t want this. 

He glanced up to watch as his best friend went over to his soaking wet pillow. The brown haired boy bent down to see if he could dry it off. A deep frown appeared on his face. The pillow was burnt to a crisp and was unsalvageable.“I don’t think that your pillow will be of much use.” Aether let out a slight sob when he heard that and Gorou looked up at him in horror, “don’t worry, there was no real harm done. It’s going to be alright, I promise,” Gorou cried out in a rush before trying to give Aether the best smile that he could muster up. Aether gulped before shaking his head. 

Real harm could have been done, though, and it would have been so much worse. He could have hurt Gorou, Gorou of all people. He didn’t think that he could live with himself if he had ever hurt his best friend because he couldn’t control his actions or his powers. If Aether hadn’t woken up when he did…

“I promise, you don’t have to worry about anything,” Gorou insisted again, trying to look his friend in the eye, but the blond was looking anywhere but at Gorou.

Hurried footsteps caught the two off guard. “Is everything ok in here?” A voice called out and they turned to see Xiao walking into the room, looking around, expecting to see something on fire.

How nice of him to come into the room where Aether was. Aether did not like the reputation he had gotten of setting things on fire on accident. “We’re fine,” Gorou snapped at Xiao.

Xiao nodded his head, before looking up at the smoke alarm that was in Aether’s room. “I don't know what made it go off.” He admitted, not picking up on the energy in the room. Gorou narrowed his eyes at Xiao, starting to get annoyed. “Nobody is cooking in the kitchen right now, and I couldn’t find any traces of a fire while coming up. Your dad is out, by the way, he went to get breakfast, that's how I know that-”

“Xiao!” Gorou snapped. “It has already been dealt with, the fire alarms are off, drop it,” the male stressed.

Xiao stepped back as he gave Gorou a confused look, not understanding why he was getting the heat from the other boy. He then looked over at Aether, noticing just how broken Aether seemed, too early in the morning for him to be that unresponsive. He was also quiet, which was not like Aether unless something had happened. “What happened?” Xiao asked, glancing between the two friends.

Before his answer could receive a snappy remark from Gorou again, there were more footsteps as Lumine entered the room, looking around with concern. “Is everyone ok in here?” She asked. “Do you know why the alarms went off, do you - Oh all three of you are here good.” She sighed in relief as she counted all of them.

Gorou rolled his eyes at her, crossing his arms as he gave both of them a really look. “It went off because it sensed smoke,” he snapped at her and she glared at him before rolling her eyes back at him.

“Yeah, no duh,” she replied just as snappily, “that is typically how smoke detectors work. Where did the smoke come from, smartass, do we need to skidaddle, or?” Lumine pointed behind her as she was talking.

“The alarms aren’t going off anymore, clearly it’s been dealt with already.” Gorou snapped back.

Xiao blinked in confusion before turning to look over at Lumine, not sure why Gorou was suddenly giving them so much heat. “What is up with Gorou?” He asked the girl, as if the boy and his best friend weren’t in the room.

Lumine looked at him and shrugged her shoulders, clearly unfazed by the way that Gorou was acting, she knew the boy for too long for her to be surprised. “He is typically snippy the first couple of hours that he is up,” she responded plainly, her face cleared of any emotions, “I can relate,” she went on. She then looked at her twin, as if going to ask her to back her up on this, but stopped, noticing the way that Aether was about to cry. “Aeth, what’s wrong?” She asked, her tone softening. 

The girl moved over to her twin’s side, wrapping an arm around the blond boy. Aether scrunched his face up before shrugging her off, shaking his head. He tried to ignore the hurt look that appeared on her face. The tears started to roll down his face as he pointed to the destroyed pillow with his head. 

Xiao and Lumine only had to look for a couple of seconds before they got a picture of what had happened. It wasn’t long to figure out a reason that Aether was upset. Was it the right reason though, who knew. Xiao was instantly by Aether’s side as well and the blond started to feel crowded. 

He scrunched up his shoulders, trying to sink away. “How are your hands?” Xiao asked, moving to reach out to grab Aether’s hands, to see if there was any damage to them.

Aether flinched away from him and he stopped. He shook his head. There wasn’t any real damage done to them, there was a slight sting from them but they didn’t need to know about that.

Aether could tell that they didn’t get it. “Don’t be too embarrassed,” Lumine stated as she went over to sit down next to her twin as well. “You know, I used to set my pillow on fire, all the time,” She tried to offer Aether a smile.

But Aether wasn’t going to fall for that. Used to. But the fact was the girl doesn’t anymore… and it wasn’t constant. It wasn’t like she woke up and boom there goes her pillow every day she forgot to wear gloves to sleep. 

Gloves that he didn’t want to wear, to top it all off. He hated the feeling of not being able to feel anything, but he couldn’t risk keeping them off. He could hurt someone he really cares about. It wasn’t fair, it just wasn't. 

Aether couldn't bring up his frustration with the other two and just stayed silent. He was lucky that Gorou could sense that he wasn’t having it. “I don’t think that is why he is upset,” he reasoned.

Both of them turned to glare at Gorou, and Aether closed his eyes, hoping for anything inside of him they would realize why he was so upset. He hoped that they would listen to his friend on this. “What do you mean?” Lumine snipped at him.

“Maybe, just maybe, we should just leave the topic alone, and not talk about it until Aether is ready, he obviously isn’t ready.” The brown haired boy replied sassily. Thank god for Gorou. 

He just wanted to get past this all. “Oh please, he is obviously upset, we shouldn’t just -”

Aether couldn’t listen to this anymore. He brushed off Lumine and Xiao before standing up and leaving his room, not bothering to close the door. He slowly made his way downstairs, stopping at the bottom, wondering what he was going to do now.

He gulped, licking his lips as he noticed just how dry his throat suddenly felt. The blond decided that maybe he should go get a glass of water. He took a turn into the kitchen, walking over to the cabinet to get his favorite cup. He filled the cup up before taking a drink from it, starting to move to the living room.

As he passed by the front door, it swung open and Aether turned to look at who was coming into the house. I was his father with a bag full of breakfast burritos and a jug of orange juice to replace the one that Aether had finished yesterday morning. 

Aether’s dad made eye contact with Aether before the older man smiled widely. “Ah, perfect! Aeth, can you-” he stopped, sensing that something was off. Something was wrong with his son. His expression dropped as soon as he realized that.

Tears were still rolling down the blond’s cheek, and the boy reached up to wipe them away. He silently walked over to the door before picking up the jug and turning to bring it to the kitchen. His father didn’t need to tell him what he needed help with, Aether could guess what it was. He could hear footsteps behind him as his father followed him into the kitchen. Aether sat his half full glass down in the sink.

He turned to look at his father, ready for the onslaught of questions he was going to receive, even if he didn’t know if he could answer them yet or not. Before anyone could utter anything, Gorou’s voice carried down the stairs, “No, we really shouldn’t fuss over this. Not at this time, you two really need to learn how to read the room.” 

That was all his father needed to hear. He looked in the direction the argument was coming from. “If we don’t talk about it, then how will he know that we are here for him then?” Lumine cried back at Gorou.

Aether tried his hardest not to roll his eyes, covering his eyes with his hands .He aggressively wiped away the tears that were forming to replace the ones he already wiped away.

The blond did not need his friends and family to point out that everyone and their mom made mistakes. That didn’t help, it just made him feel stupider, more useless that he got so emotional over something simple like that. 

Gorou had let out a groan. “By listening to him? But when he wants to talk. Don’t try to force him to talk about this, or else you will have the opposite effect. Don’t assume that he is upset because he is embarrassed, there are a lot more layers here than that.” Aether could hear the way the brown haired boy was stressing his words. “Don’t you remember how you felt when you first started to manipulate? Like you had no control over your powers?”

There was a silence between the other two jfor a second. “No?” Both Lumine and Xiao replied at the same time.

Gorou was asking two prodigies if they knew how it was like to struggle. Of course they didn’t know that struggle.

Aether uncovered his eyes. He saw the way that his dad was looking at him. He glanced back before groaning loudly. “Don’t worry about anything they are saying,” He told his son. “BREAKFAST IS HERE!” He called out after, as loud as he could muster.

Aether looked at his dad for a few seconds, knitting his eyebrows together. “‘M not hungry.” Aether managed to mutter out before he brushed past his father. The older man patted his back comfortingly as the boy passed him.  Aether walked up the stairs again before going back to his room just as the other three left

Gorou was the last one out of the room, and when Xiao and Lumine stopped in their track to look at Aether, probably getting ready to say something, Gorou patted their backs to get them moving again.  Aether turned, watching them disappear down the stairs before he closed the door behind them. 

He looked over at his backpack that was sitting next to his desk, wondering if he should just focus on some homework. He had left a lot for this weekend, and he hadn’t planned on the celebration to take as long as it had. He hadn’t gotten even a fraction of what he needed done. At the same time, he was feeling overwhelmed and his mind wanted to log on and find another mediocre article about power control to see if that would calm him down more.

He turned on the laptop before leaning against his chair as he waited for the OS to load up. As he was waiting, a sad little beep filled the room. Aether jumped up, looking at the computer in shock, dread filling him to the bone. The loading screen went black. 

Panic rose through the boy as he tried to turn the device back on, but it wouldn’t do anything. “No…” He whispered, realizing that the old laptop had finally given up on him. He gulped down a breath of air, as he started to shake his head over and over again. “No,” he whispered again, “no no no no no no. Please. No. Not today, any day but today, please please turn on, please,” He whispered over and over as he tried multiple more times to start the laptop, tears growing in his eyes. 

They raced down his cheeks as he realized that the device had no sign of life anymore. “Please….” He whispered one last time. He rested his face in his hands as his mind raced, trying to think of what he should do. What was there that he could do? It was obvious that the laptop was dead.

Aether needed that laptop. He needed shit off of it at least for school. He had his essay there, rough drafts of other essays he was too dumb not to upload somewhere online as he thought that the laptop would be able to push through at least Winter break.  He had other homework and notes on the laptop for upcoming tests. Everything for school.

Aether knew that he was going to have to dip down into his savings. Thank god that he even had savings. The savings were supposed to be for saving up for a car. That will have to wait.

If he went and bought a new laptop, that solved one problem he was facing at the moment. But what about his files? There was a way to transfer them right? There had to be, they couldn't just be gone like that.  Aether looked up at his hands, staring at the wall before looking for his phone. He searched up his problem and a sigh of relief left his lips when he noticed an article that walked him through what he needed to do.

The blond boy took in a deep breath. He could do this, he had to. This wasn’t the end of the world. Please, whatever is up there watching over him, let his files still be there, please.

Aether got off his chair before walking over to his bookcase, grabbing a book he used to love as a child. A book that was now hollowed out to keep track of his savings. It was a book written by a  problematic author. He loved her works as a kid. She was a problematic person nowadays and he slowly started to realize how problematic the series was. And how horrible her writing was.

After stuffing the money in his pocket, the blond ran out of the room. As he got to the stairs, he didn’t think he needed to slow down, and so he flew down the stairs. His foot, however, slowed him down. It caught on a step, causing him to fall down a few stairs. Aether let out a screech of surprise as he grabbed onto the guardrail, managing to catch himself. Aether forced himself to stand up straight. The boy stood there, eyes wide, as he placed his hand on his chest, feeling the frantic beat of his heart.

There was the sound of running. He looked down to see his best friend staring up at him from the bottom of the stairs, a concerned look on his face. “Aeth, are you okay?” He asked, starting to come up the stairs.

Aether took in a deep breath as he forced himself to continue down the stairs. The foot that got caught stung slightly, but it would be fine. 

He met Gorou and he looked at the boy before giving a quick nod. “Fine.” He managed to mutter out, barely loud enough for Gorou to hear him. Everyone else came running to the foot of the staircase. Xiao and Lumine made it to the stairs first and his dad stood behind him. Aether made eye contact with him, and forced his voice to call out louder, “Can I use the car?”

The man blinked before nodding his head, “Yeah sure,” he replied as Aether made it the rest of the way down the stairs, Gorou moving out of the way. The man handed Aether the car keys. Before Aether could push past everyone though, his father stopped him. “What happened?” He asked, giving Aether a look.

Aether glanced around the room, everyone was silent, waiting to find out the answer. “My laptop died,” he said, holding his head up a little bit higher. His dad made a noise of acknowledgement.  Aether had been talking for a while how he needed to start saving for a new laptop. His plan was to start saving when he started his old tutoring job after exams. “I need to buy a new one and a device to extract my old files for school.” Aether continued to explain.

Lumine looked at her twin as if he grew another head and he turned his attention fully on her, ready to hear what she had to say. “Couldn’t it wait until, I don’t know, when it is not your birthday?” She snarked. Hurt filled Aether’s eyes. He knows why his sister is upset about it. But really, there wasn’t a good time. That essay was due tomorrow. He needed the files in order to print it out in schoo tomorrow morningl. Aether shook his head to answer her question.

A hand landed on Aether’s shoulder and the boy tried not to jump as he glanced over at Gorou giving him a kind smile. “I’ll go with him,” Gorou offered, looking at Aether’s dad who nodded his head. “We have an essay due tomorrow for homeroom. I’m guessing that it is on his old laptop.” He continued, looking back at Lumine.

Lumine pursed her lips, not really believing what Gorou was saying. “Your homeroom requires essays?” She asked, raising an eyebrow..

Gorou nodded his head, looking over at Xiao. “Yeah? Isn’t yours?” He asked.

She scoffed, before shutting up when she realized that all three boys were looking at her in confusion. “No… homeroom is just like the past three years?” She responded with a frown.

Gorou’s eyes widened in realization before a string of curse words left his lips, “That heartless bastard,” he hissed under his breath, “he’s purposely making it hard this year.”

Aether’s dad tsked. “Gorou, that is no way to talk about your teacher, “ the older man scolded. Gorou turned to look at him with a pout forming on his lips.

He blew air as he scrunched up his nose, “But he is making our homeroom do more work than what we are supposed to do,” the boy whined, throwing his head back. “In our senior year! How rude!”

Xiao stared at Gorou. “It’s good for you,” Xiao whispered under his breath.

Gorou turned to glare at him as Aether shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortably, he wanted to get out of that room, right now. “We should go,” he managed to mutter out to Gorou. The brown haired boy looked at his best friend before nodding his head in agreement and the two left the house.

As they got into his dad’s car, Aether turned to look at his friend. “I’m sorry, today has been hell.” He whispered.

Gorou shook his head, patting Aether’s shoulder. “No, I get it. Don’t apologize.” He responded with a smile on his face. “You do you, boo.”

The drive to the electronic store was uneventful. Aether had decided to put on some music from his phone, and Gorou was singing along with it, being as loud as he wanted to be. He was also on his phone the whole time, it looked like he was texting someone. .

The giant electronic store was located in the Pyro district, at least the closest one to them. The Pyro district was on the other side of the Geo district.  When they got there, Gorou looked up at Aether before the two got out of the car. “Hey, I know what type of laptop you are looking for. You’ve sent me a few links in the past about it.  Why don’t you go look for the driver thingy, and I’ll get the laptop? It might be faster if we split up.”

Aether could smell that his friend was scheming up something. He stared at him for a bit, wondering if he should let him or not. “Are you sure?” He asked after a little bit. “I can get the laptop as well, I doubt that it will take that long.”  

Gorou shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll meet up with you when I have the laptop.” The brown haired male reassured him. He then got out of the car before Aether could argue, nearly running into the store.

Aether watched after him, shaking his head. He was up to something, what, Aether did not know. Aether got out of the car as well before heading to the store, a lot slower than the speed than Gorou. When he got to the section he needed, his phone leading him to the isle, there was so many different things hanging there.

Aether stopped, looking at the wall with a confused look on his face, he looked back at his phone to see if they had a picture, but he couldn’t figure it out. He gulped softly, wondering if he should type it into google and see what item popped up. First, he wanted to make sure that he went through everything..

The struggle from earlier this morning had already drained him. “You look lost,” a voice, a familiar voice at that, spoke from behind Aether. The blond couldn’t place where he had heard that voice from.

Aether turned around, making sure that the person was talking to himHe was the only one in the aisle, and the guy did not seem to be on the phone. The other guy was trying to look at Aether with a comforting smile. But his smile was awkward, as if he was someone who, a. Didn’t like to help people that often, and b. Didn’t smile too often either. Aether returned the smile. “I am,” the blond admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with an awkward laugh leaving his lips.

The other guy blinked as his face morphed into a resting bitch face. That must be his actual face, it looked more natural. He turned to look at the wall of cables, drivers, and who knows what else. “What are you looking for?” He asked, glancing back over his shoulder. 

Aether took in a deep breath, looking down at his phone so he could read the name. “A USB Universal Hard Drive Adapter. My laptop died earlier today,” Aether responded, not knowing why the words were coming out of his lips so freely, “I was trying to google How to Control Your Powers Better, but it decided that turning on was too much for it and it said no.” He didn’t know how he was able to share that information to this total stranger.

The other male nodded his head,  not taking the time to turn and look at Aether. “Ah…” He reached out before grabbing something off the wall before turning to  Aether. “Here you go, this is what you are looking for.” He responded, his tone kind.

Aether took it from the other boy gratefully. He let out a huge sigh of relief, looking down at the package. The hopeful savior that would save him from having to explain to his homeroom teacher he lost the whole paper because his laptop decided to peace out. “Thank you.” He told the other sincerely. 

The other male winked at him before shaking his head. “OF course. I’m glad that I can help,” he said with a slight laugh. Aether wondered if it would be too awkward if he were to just turn and walk away, or if he should stay and talk with the other boy. But the other had more to say. “Try searching up How to Recover from a Mental Block instead. It’ll weed out the bullshit articles that just regurgitate the same information over and over.”

Aether’s jaw dropped. He knitted his eyebrows in confusion. “How… how did you know about that?” He asked, taking a few steps back.

The other stared AEther down, before glancing at his hands. AFterwards he looked back up into Aether’s eyes. There was an unimpressed look forming on his face. “You are wearing training gloves. You are more than 10 years old… if you are still working on control, I can bet that it is not because you lack power. Most likely something has blocked you from it for who knows how many years.”

Aether couldn’t help the scoff leaving his lips, his eyes rolling back. “And if I’m just a tall 10 year old that looks older than he actually is?” Aether joked, forcing a smile on his face.

The stranger laughed again, amusement lighting his face. Aether had to admit, he really liked the sound of this strangers laugh, he didn’t know why. “You are buying an adapter for a dead computer,” he pointed out. Aether pursed his lips, getting his next argument ready, “I doubt you are still 10 years old. Though you are about the height of a 10 year old.”

Aether let out an amused gasp when he said that. “You are the same height as me,” he whined as a fake pout formed on his lips, “there are a lot of guys this height around our age.”

The other male tsked softly, shaking his head a few times. “Mhm, keep telling yourself that. I accepted that I’ll be small forever.  Anyways, I bet that you have important files on your computer. Like homework. 10 year olds don’t have online homework, if they do then it would most likely be on a school provided google drive.” He finished his analysis. 

Aether whistled as he listened to the rest of the boy’s explanation, shaking his head in amazement. “That is kinda smart.” He whispered under his breath.

The other smirked before shrugging his shoulders. “I try to be,” he responded, a glint in his eye. “Being dumb is dull. I tried that too. It didn't work out too well.”

Aether couldn’t help the laugh that came out of his mouth. “Well, honestly, you just saved me a huge headache. I don’t think I could handle one more article telling me to envision your power and grab it.” Aether rolled his eyes, remembering how unhelpful those articles actually were.

The male laughed too, making a face. “Hey, from one mental block victim to another, it WILL get better. And if you are wearing those gloves, then it’s not going to be too long before you get past this traumatic stage.”

Aether looked at his gloves, scrunching up his face. “I set my pillow on fire today,” Aether whispered in barely a whisper, “at the ripe age of 17 years old…”

The other came closer, patting Aether on the shoulder. “I set off a mini tornado in my sleep today. I was mortified at the mess when I woke up. Sadly, sometimes you still get those dumb little bursts when you are sleeping.”  Aether wanted to cry as soon as he heard that.

The blond pouted, not knowing if he could handle dealing with the bursts forever. “I cried when I woke up,” Aether didn’t know why he admitted that, “but that’s not the worst part. It is still so embarrassing. “But that is not even the worst part. It is so embarrassing when you can’t keep the gloves off because you are afraid of something happening. And then people keep telling me of the things they did, but I can’t control my power almost every single day. Whereas theirs is like once in a blue moon.”

He gave Aether a pitying look. It was different though, it was pitying Aether for having to deal with others, not because of his power control. “Also, to go from one extreme, not being able to do shit, to the other extreme, the power leaking out no matter how hard you try to stop it is traumatizing. The looks some people give you when you explain it shows they don’t understand it. It’s not that we are crying over setting a pillow on fire, it's because a few weeks ago we couldn’t figure out how to connect the power, to not being able to control the power in a snap of a finger.”

Aether let out a deep breath as he stared at the other, letting his words wash over him. The words he has tried so hard to explain why he got so upset. “Exactly,” he whispered out, “Like, they just don’t understand how it feels mentally.”

The other smiled bitterly, “I had a friend tell me that it was going to be okay, and I’ll get past it. But… that’s not what I wanted to hear. I wanted my feelings to be validated. I wanted to hear that Controlling powers is tough. “ The other stated.

Aether nodded his head in agreement. He opened his mouth, getting ready to say something, but a call from the start of the aisle distracted him. “Ae!” Gorou’s voice cried out out and Aether turned to look at his friend.

The brown haired boy had a proud look on his face. It looked like he had a bag. In that bag there was a box that looked suspiciously like a laptop. To top it off, it looked suspiciously like the package that his friend was holding had already been paid for. 

Aether looked at the bag before making eye contact with Gorou, a feeling of dread filling him up. Gorou didn’t need a laptop, which could only mean that his friend had paid for the laptop instead. Laptops were hella expensive, and Aether would feel bad if that is what happened. “What’s that?’ He asked, both of them knowing that wasn’t his full question.

Gorou blinked a couple of times, looking down at his bag before looking back at Aether with an innocent look on his face and smiled. “It’s your dad’s birthday gift for you,” he explained simply, looking even prouder as soon as he said that.  That makes it even worse. Aether had to rely on his dad to pay for his new laptop? “Do you have the extender thingy mabob that you needed?” He chirped, trying to change the subject.

Aether wasn’t letting the topic go. “What?” He asked instead, tilting his head to the side as he looked at Gorou. “What gift?”

Gorou sighed, before staring up at the ceiling, taking in a breath. He looked back at Aether again. “17 years from this day you were born. It is custom to get people a gift on the anniversary of the day they were born. Your father gave me the money over Venmo to get this for you. Because he knew that your laptop was dying. He has been saving up the money to help you buy it.”

“So it's a laptop.” Aether deadpanned and his friend nodded his head. “You gotta be kidding me.”

Gorou puffed out his cheeks, before looking at the extender  that Aether was holding onto. “Yes, yes. You can be salty about it later. Let's go.” He responded, rolling his eyes playfully.

The blond looked over at the other male who was watching the two’s fight with a grin appearing on his face. Obviously Aether was wrong. This guy liked to smile. When others were in pain. “Happy Birthday,” he told Aether,when their eyes connected again.

He turned back to look at his friend. “How much was the laptop?” He asked, wondering if he could just pay his father back on a later date. This was too expensive of a gift.

Gorou blinked a few times before smiling sweetly and shaking his head, knowing exactly why Aether was asking that question. “Nope, I can’t tell you.” He replied as he stuck his tongue out at Aether.

The blond whined and stopped his foot on the ground, before looking at Gorou with his best puppy dog eyes, “Gorou!”

Gorou grinned widely. “Aether!” He cried back, walking forward and grabbing the adapter that Aether was holding. “Let’s go, or I’ll pay for this.” He turned around before leaving the aisle.

“Don’t you dare!” Aether cried as he picked up his speed to follow him. He hissed in frustration as Gorou played the keep away game with the adapter.

Right before they were out of sight, Aether remembered the other kid and how much help he had been. He turned around to see that the boy was watching the two friends walk off with a contemplating look. “Thank you for all your help! And the advice!” Aether called out to him.

The other looked up at Aether, blinking and he gave Aether a bright smile. “Of course!” He yelled back, waving. “I’ll see you at Celestia next year!”

When the new, very expensive laptop, that was not at all the one he was planning on getting, was set up, Aether looked at it with a look of pure relief. The laptop that Gorou had gotten was his dream laptop, the one that he knew was way too expensive to get. 

He tried to fight both his dad and Gorou into returning it when he got home, but both of them pretended like they couldn’t hear him.

It didn’t take too long to transfer everything. While he was doing so he emailed his teachers to tell him that he couldn’t get the homework done for the day, most have already told him not to worry about it. 

He leaned back in his chair as he stared at the homepage, wondering if he should listen to the advice the male had given him earlier today. He moved his mouse to open the browser, before typing in How to Recover from a Mental Block.

There was a website that popped up instantly. It explained that Mental Blocks last way more than the years of not being able to produce any powers. They can always come back to bite in later years, not by losing powers but by a surge of power that makes it difficult to control.

It went into more details about how to gain more control when first gaining your powers, and how to plan for when your manipulation gets rocky in coming years. He read through it, and the steps needed to meditate to get the full effect.

Mental Blocks also came with a mental recovery period as well as a power surge. It may seem traumatizing, but someone with a mental block needs to be kind to themselves while going through this process.

After he did a quick read through of the sight, he thought he might as well try the method before getting up to get everything ready.

Aether sat on his bed before closing his eyes, letting the silence of the room wash over him. He was trying to imagine the peaceful scenery the article told him to imagine, to imagine a place filled with happiness.

But… it wasn’t working.

Of course it wasn’t working, what had Aether been expecting, when nothing in his life had ever turned out the way he wanted it to work out.

He tried to sit still. He tried to stay patient. After a while, he couldn’t, and his golden eyes flew open. He did not expect what he saw. 

He wasn’t in his bedroom, and it felt too real to be a dream, as if he was actually transported here. He was instead standing in a long hallway that was full of doors. It was quiet, eerily quiet. There should have been noises coming through, right? That's what the article said.

Aether stared at the doorways before walking over to one of them, curiosity getting the better of him. As soon as he got there, the door swung open and there was a kid curled up on a bed. Aether tried to call for it, to see if he could get the kid’s attention, but he stayed still. When Aether tried to go into the room, something pushed him back out. Aether shook his head before going to the next room, there was a baby in that one, crying out. As soon as the doors opened, that's when the cries filled the empty air. Aether couldn’t get into that room either.

Every room he tried, he didn’t know how many he tried, it was always the same, a kid or a baby were in the room, in clear distress, but nothing he could do helped him into the room. Aether ran down the halls, trying to figure out what was happening. The oldest kid he saw couldn’t be more than 15 years old. 

Everyone ignored him. Until he stopped at one more door, telling himself if this door didn’t let him in, he would go back and forget this method. When that door opened, a male was sitting at a table, looking outside of a window. Aether stopped at the door, surprised.

The male was in his mid 40’s, and he looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He looked so much like Aether, it was uncanny. The same long blond hair Aether used to treasure, same golden eyes, everything. None of the other kids had looked even remotely like Aether.

 When the door burst open, it slammed against the side of the wall. The noise shocked the male before he turned his attention, his eyes widening as they looked at Aether. The two stared at each other, Aether feeling a rush of relief that he finally found something. “Where am I?” Aether demanded, looking around the room.

The male was looking at Aether in disbelief, and for a second Aether wondered if he could talk. “You’re…. You are in your mind,” he responded carefully and calmly, looking over Aether’s shoulder, his eyebrows knitting in confusion. “This… this is a ritual long forgotten, it is ment to talk to your past lives.”

Past lives? So all those kids were Aether’s past lives? All of them that looked too young, had Aether never lived to become an adult in his past lives? What was he thinking about, there was no such thing as Past lives.

“Reincarnation is just a theory.” Aether insisted as he looked at the other with a confused look on his face. This had to be one of the funkiest dreams that Aether ever had.

The man offered him a kind smile, getting up from the table and walking over to Aether. They were about the same height, with Aether being an inch or two shorter than him. The male placed his hands on Aether’s shoulders. “No, it’s not,” the man insisted, “it has yet to be proven, but it is not just a theory. It is correct. Aether… you… we created reincarnation in our first lifetime.”

Aether took a step back, glancing behind his shoulder before looking at the male again. “How do you know my name?” He asked.

The man stared at Aether with a calculating look, it was kind of stuffy, Aether had to take his glance off of him, looking around the room. It was a room with nothing. White walls, a table next to the window, but nothing on the window. It almost felt like a prison. “Our name is always Aether. That is why the name Aether is cursed, because our past lives have died too often. I am the reason the name Aether is cursed,” he patted his chest when he said that.

Aether looked back at the man when he heard that, his eyes widening in shock. “What?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

The other man was looking Aether up and down with a confused look on his lips. “How old are you?” He asked all of the sudden, surprising Aether.

Aether took a step back, trying to get away from the other male. He glanced down the hall, wondering if he should run for it and look for someone else in the halls. “I just turned 17…” he admitted, not sure why he was staying here to talk to this man.

The man’s gaze softened as his eyes brimmed with sadness. “Oh sweetheart, I… this might be your last year in this lifetime. Though, you are the first one to come across this ritual. How old were the other kids?”

Aether glanced back at the halls. “The oldest was 15, most were under the age of 10.” He responded back, sadness appearing in his eyes. “Is that the age they died? You’re kidding me.” He whispered softly. “A child should never die. What is this ritual? I thought this was supposed to be a way to hone your power. To get it under control.” This was not at all what Aether was hoping to find.

The man let out a soft laugh when he heard that. “That… Only time can help you with that. This is a way to strengthen your mind and your conviction. People believe they understand their powers better. They believe it's honing their powers, when it's not. When they wake from this place, they forget everything they learned. Our past lives have died before they can even start to hone their powers. So every lifetime, it is harder and harder to manipulate, and to control.”

Aether fell silent, not liking the direction the conversation had changed to. He looked down at the ground, taking in everything the other had said. “Do Soulmates exist?” He asked, curiously. If reincarnation exists, why couldn’t Soulmates.

“Yes.” The other responded.

“Do we have one?” Aether asked, looking back up at them.  A pained expression formed on the other’s face as a frown appeared on their face. Aether smiled bitterly. “I knew it. I’m destined to die alone.”

“I’m sorry.” He whispered softly. “I am so sorry, I wish it was different, it should be different. This is our punishment.”

“What did we do wrong?” Aether asked as he stared at his past life. “What could it have been if we have to deal with this hell?”

The other couldn’t look at Aether. He looked anywhere but the boy that was staring at him. “We took in the wrath of the gods. A punishment that should have never been ours. It was our choice, to save innocents. Until this punishment is over, we are not allowed to live past the age of 17. By the exact time of your 18th birthday, your lifetime will be over.” 

“But we were innocent too?”

The other smiled weakly. “Sorta, if we didn’t create reincarnation, this evil would have never been borned.” He responded. “And it is still prevalent. Until this Evil is defeated, we are stuck to live the worst lifetimes.”

Aether blinked when he heard that. “How… How will this evil be defeated, what evil is it?” He asked quietly.

“The forgotten king must banish them back.” The other male whispered softly.

Aether tilted his head to the side, not sure if he got what the other was saying. “What forgotten king? Who?” He asked.

The past live smiled, shaking his head, “I don’t know, that's all that I got.” He cupped Aether’s face before connecting their foreheads together, and Aether jolted as it felt a thousand and one lifetimes flew back into him, the concepts of how to manipulate becoming clear. “Aether, a bad mental block has developed in your mind. I don't know how, but it is up to you to learn how to control the wild amount of power you have. Be kind to yourself.”

The warm feeling quickly faded, Aether woke up with a shock. His body felt as if lightning had racked through it. He looked at the wall, trying to remember what the dream had been about. He couldn’t recount anything that was said. Everything was flowing away from him leaving him confused. 

There was a soft knock on the door and Aether turned, watching as it opened and his father peaked his head inside. “Did you get everything figured out?” The man asked, with a soft smile on his face.

Aether licked his lips, nodding his head slowly. “I did… Thank you dad. For the laptop. For everything…. But… What about Mom? Won’t she get pissed?” He shivered, only just imagining the wrath that woman would let out.

His father let out an annoyed growl, shocking Aether. “That bitch can honestly suck - Sorry, sorry.” His father took in a deep breath to calm himself down as he looked at his son. “We have had separate bank accounts for years. Aether, we are so close to divorcing, I won’t lie to you. We are sticking it out for you and Lumine. The money I spent on you today is my own money, I can spend it how I want to invest in my son.”

Chapter Text

The blond student dragged his feet along the ground. He had a coffee in hand, having stoped to get some on the way to school. He was so tired and he didn’t know why. Aether entered his homeroom and walked over to his desk, throwing his backpack down. It had been nice and quiet in his life recently. He had gotten peace from his mother, the woman for some reason refusing to interact with him.  

Though, there was tension brewing between his parents. When his parents happened to be in the same room, instead of talking, they would glare at each other. If someone else was in the room, they would leave snippy comments about the other. It was as if those two were teenagers, and not Lumine and Aether.

Aether shook his head, clearing his parents out of his thoughts, before sitting down and getting his phone out of his pocket. School didn’t start for another ten minutes or so, so wasting it away on his phone seemed a lot more enjoyable 

There was a loud screech heard, as if it wasn’t early in the morning on a Monday. Aether tried to look around to see who had screeched, but before he could do that, he felt arms wrap around his neck. Aether turned his head to see Gorou. “Morning Aeth!” He cried out, a shit eating grin appearing on his face.

Aether smiled slightly at his friend, “Mornin, How was your weekend?” Aether asked, the brown haired male detaching himself from his best friend. 

He stole the seat that Xiao usually sat in as he puffed out his cheeks. “Mmm, it wasn’t too exciting,” he admitted, leaning back in the chair, “I think the most exciting thing was one of my favorite web series finally updated!”

Aether shifted so that he could look at his friend while the two of them talked, his eyes widening. The web series that Gorou was talking about was one that Gorou had fallen in love with as soon as he read the first chapter. He cared for the story deeply, and always read the next chapter as soon as the story was updated. “Really? The one that has been on hiatus for a couple of months?”

Gorou hummed and nodded his head. He had always tried to get Aether into the story, but Aether didn’t want to get into a story at the moment. Instead, Gorou would tell Aether everything that happened in the chapter instead.

If it made Gorou happy that Aether at least listened to him, he would do it. Anything to make his best friend happy. Celestia knew how much Gorou had done for Aether.

The friends talked the time away as more students came into the room, grumbling and upset that their weekend was over. Aether had somehow switched to talking about his powers when Gorou had finished telling him what happened in the update, “Lumine has been giving me the stink-eye all week. I think she’s upset because she is still having trouble with Hydro. It isn’t fair, in her words, that I can manipulate all elements, but when she tries to sprinkle water, she doesn’t even get a drop.” He pouted as he remembered the fight he and Lumine got into over this. “I wish I could help her… but saying I don't know I just can doesn’t help her when she asks how.”

Gorou tilted his head as he listened to his friend's story before shrugging his shoulders. “Honestly, it’s reasonable. Most people can’t control one or two elements. Some spend years trying to manipulate. That is why the Celestia house is so hard to get in. I hear they haven’t had a full house for years because of that.”

Aether paused, knitting his eyebrows in confusion. “Full house?” He asked, making sure that he heard Gorou correctly.

Gorou nodded his head, leaning more before almost tumbling out of the chair. He cried in shock before making sure that didn’t happen. “You know, there are supposed to be like Eight students in Celestia? At most. But only five get in. That is why most people always assume that it is five.” Aether was one of those people, he looked at his friend, surprised at the number. That didn’t seem quite right. “The Celestia house has their most powerful student in their main seat, and then there's a seat for every element, and the best at manipulating that power takes that seat.”

He had never heard any of that information until Gorou had told him that. “Huh.” Aether whispered as he thought about the implications. “I have never heard that,” he admitted.

“It’s”

Gorou was about to begin another sentence, but a loud, “Hey Aeth, Hey Gorou,” interrupted him. The two turned towards the door as Xiao walked up to them. He blinked, realizing that his seat was taken before giving Gorou a look. The teal haired man placed his backpack down next to his desk before leaning against it, looking over at Aether.

His amber eyes scanned Aether up and down, before looking deep into Aether’s eyes. The blond had to try his hardest not to blush. Xiao had a smirk on his face. As Aether maintained eye contact, there was a fluttering feeling in his stomach. “Hey Xiao!” Gorou called out after a full moment of silence.

Aether waved at him shyly. Come on Aeth, the blond thought. It’s Xiao. You know Xiao. Stop being so shy around him.

Xiao coughed before waving back at the boy. “I like your Jacket, Aeth,” Xiao blurted out and the blush couldn’t be contained at that point. Aether tucked the growing ends of his hair behind his ears and bit the inside of his cheek. “It’s cute.”

The jacket that Xiao had just complimented him on was a cute cream based fleece jacket. Little teddy bears were scattered all over it. The mid October weather made it so that the mornings were colder, but the day would heat up as it ran past. Aether decided tha morning the jacket would be warm enough for the morning, but not too warm later on in the day. 

Aether looked away from Xiao and played with the sleeves of his jacket. “Thank you,” he whispered softly, almost too soft. He would be surprised if Xiao could actually hear him.

Gorou was watching his best friend make a fool of himself with a giant grin on his face. “I bought it for him last year,” he explained to Xiao, turning his gaze to the boy. “For Christmas. How was your weekend?”

Xiao turned to look at Gorou, tearing his eyes off Aether finally. “Bad,” he admitted, crossing his arms as he said that. A haunted look crossed his face.

Well if that wasn’t a kick to the stomach. “Bad?” Aether echoed, shaking out of whatever shy mood he had just been trapped in. He looked at Xiao with a look of mock betrayal. “You were training me over the weekend,” the blond pointed out.

Aether had been at Xiao’s house morning, noon, and night all throughout the weekend. Xiao’s cousin had been away from home. The teal haired boy didn’t like being alone in his house at night. He didn’t like being alone when his bad nightmares kicked in. Aether had somehow managed to convince his dad to allow him to spend the night at Xiao’s house… barely. Aether had to act like he was really hurt from what Xiao had just said. “Is my presence alone really that bad?” He asked.

His crush leaned in closer to Aether, and Aether’s brain short circuit. Xiao’s smirk deepend. “You don’t really need me to train you, do you?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at the golden haired boy. Aether scoffed as he rolled his eyes. “Ever since your birthday, you have improved so much. Watching you grow makes me feel useless. How am I supposed to train someone who is better than me, Aeth?”

Gorou whistled, reminding the two boys that he was still there.  Aether’s head whipped over to look at him with wide eyes. “Honestly Aeth, he’s right.” He pointed out when he made sure that the two boys were looking at him. “How the fuck were you able to improve so much? In just two weeks?”

Aether had to admit, it was a strange growth. He couldn’t figure out how he did it either. He gulped softly, knowing they both were waiting for him to have an answer. “It’s… It really isn’t that impressive.” He insisted. What was so impressive of controlling the level of output ?

Xiao pursed his lips as he looked at his friend with disbelieving eyes. “You improved so much, Aeth.” He stressed. Aether scrunched up his face, getting ready to disprove him. “Honestly, you have a real chance of making it into Celestia.”

A shiver ran through the blond’s body. If someone had told Aether a couple months ago he might actually achieve his dream, Aether would have laughed in their face. But now?

THe amber eyes that studied Aether shone only with pure support. Aether turned his attention to his best friend who was also nodding his head.  “You really think that I can get into the university?” He asked, hope shining in his eyes from just imagining it. A future where he didn’t fall short of getting into the university.

There was a moment of silence as Gorou and Xiao took in what he just said. Aether felt a nagging feeling in his stomach, did he misinterpreted the other’s words. Xiao face palmed before rubbing his face. He looked back up at Aether again.

“I meant the house Aeth.” He clarified. Aether blinked, confused as it didn’t register what Xiao was saying to him. “Of fucking course you are going to get into the University. If you can outperform me in the manipulation obstacle course for homeroom, there is no doubt you can do it.” He pointed out.

As the words sunk in, Aether’s eyes widened, and the support made it so he couldn’t breath. The weight of just how much he had advanced crashed down on him. Xiao thought he was good enough to get into the top house. He could be one of the best students in his grade. He could get into the house that Lumine was trying her hardest to get into.  

The house his twin was pushing herself for, staying up late, and exhausting herself to learn a power she can’t manipulate. 

Aether’s leg must be being pulled. “I am not.” He told Xiao, absolutely serious. Gorou and Xiao shared a look. A groan left Gorou as the boy mouthed dumbass to Xiao. The teal haired man nodded his head slightly in agreement. “Please, that is the top whatever percent,” Aether pointed out, “I am not good enough to get it.”

Gorou clicked his mouth as he watched Aether, unimpressed. “Yeah… no…” the brown haired boy whispered. “Aeth, you can totally be near or in the top percentage. Trust.”

Aether glanced between his two friends, both of them staring the boy down. Neither one of them showed any reason why he shouldn’t trust them. He stayed silent, looking down at his desk. A happiness was growing and filling him up, nurtured by the trust from two people whose opinions mattered to him so much.

Xiao reached out, ruffling Aether’s hair, messing it up. Aether whined before brushing his hand away from him. A laugh left Gorou’s lips. “Anyways, you are NOT the reason my weekend was bad Aeth, I could never have a bad time hanging out with you.” Xiao clarified, was Aether dreaming or was that warmth and affection in the other’s voice. Aether’s head shot up again as he looked over at Xiao. “After you left my house, my old friend group called me up-”

Gorou gasped, cutting Xiao off as the male turned to glare at the brown haired boy. “You had friends?” Gorou asked, raising a disbelieving eyebrow at him. “A group of friends at that? People who aren’t Aether, Lumine, or me hanging out with you…willingly? You didn’t have to bribe them or anything?”

Aether gasped. “Gorou!” He called out.

His best friend looked Aether in the eye with a proud look on his face. “I’m a little shit Aether, you knew this, that's why you love me so much.”

Xiao tsked softly, clutching his heart. “You hurt me, Ookami.” 

Gorou shrugged his shoulders, an unbothered look on his face. “SHit man, I’m only telling you the truth. It’s surprising. Like you, sir, are a really nice dude. But you are so…. What would the word be to explain this Aether?” He turned to look over at his best friend who shrugged his shoulders too. There was a silence, a silence that Xiao allowed, “Introverted?”

Aether nodded his head in agreement, that made perfect sense. “Yeah, I mean, you only talk to Gorou, Lu, and me.” He pointed out. Gorou made a proud noise when Aether jumped on the criticize Xiao train.

Xiao made a show to roll his eyes overdramatically. “And you only talk to Gorou and Lu outside of me.” He pointed, gesturing to the boy.

Aether blinked, unphased as he looked at the other boy. “But I never claimed I wasn’t introverted.” He pointed out.

The teal haired man laughed, his hand raising up to cover his mouth and Gorou smiled proudly when he got that reaction from him. “But yes,” Xiao continued, “And no about the friends… really my old band mates should I say, informed me that I still had to help them.” Gorou made a noise of interest as soon as Xiao said that. “They told me that I had to run a test of Courage Event in the Anemo district. ITs something we did as a band ever since we formed.” He grimaced before turning to look at Aether. “So for the next couple of weeks, I won’t be able to tutor you Aeth. I think I might just be done tutoring you, because by the time it's over I need to be preparing for the Exam as well.”

Gorou whistled again. “Oh so that’s why he’s upset. He doesn’t get to flirt with Aether alone for a couple of weeks.”Both boys looked at Gorou with a look of pure shock.  Aether reached over and slapped him gently on the arm as he gave Gorou a warning look. “But a test of Courage, you said? Can we come?”

Xiao opened his mouth, getting ready to say something before making a face. Aether picked up his phone. He already knew that Xiao would not want them there and wouldn’t give him the information about it either. He searched up the topic on his phone as they waited for Xiao to respond. 

“I would rather if you didn't… But… if you can figure out the details-” the male stated, glancing between the two of them.

“I found the details,” Aether informed his friend before scooting over closer to Gorou. He showed him his phone and the brown haired man read the page with wide eyes. “Look, it’s free to the public. I suddenly have Saturday open, so why don’t we go?”

Xiao gasped, shaking his head slowly. “I just told you that I wasn’t going to tutor you, and you are already making plans to fill that time? RIght in front of me? I’m hurt.” He said, a fake pout forming on his lips.

Gorou grinned widely as he looked over the phone before looking up at his friend. “Bet, I won’t make plans for Saturday. We can go together.” He nodded his head once.

Xiao sighed. The two best friends were now purposely ignoring him. “Guys…please… it’s not going to be that eventful. It is always poorly put together. Heizou always seems to mess the setup up. And then Scara refuses to do any work…”

“Do you think that Lu would like to go?” Gorou asked, pretending like he didn’t hear what Xiao was saying and the other boy threw his hands up.

Aether finally looked over at Xiao before giving him a smile. Xiao stared at the blond boy before returning the smile. “A badly planned event would make it more fun, Xiao,” he reasoned. “Hold on, I’ll text her about it.” He knew that she would eventually get to it. The girl was home sick after working herself to near exhaustion too many nights in a row, and Aether had suspicions she had been skipping meal times to practice more. “She has a fever so she isn’t here today.”

“Ew, sick.” Gorou made a face at Lumine’s condition. “Tell her I hope that she gets better.” 

Aether nodded his head as he texted his twin the topics of this conversation. “Please don’t get your sister involved with this.” Xiao sighed softly as he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

Aether’s phone pinged letting him know that he got a response from his sister.Aether looked up at Xiao with a small smile on his face. “Too late, she’s in.”  He let the other know and Gorou let out a soft cheer from where he was sitting.

Xiao stared at Aether, not believing him. “Is it… is it not weird to involve your sister in everything you do? Is this some weird ass twin thing that I don’t understand?” He asked.

Gorou shook his head to answer Xiao’s question before Aether could. “Nope, not when she matches our energy so perfectly Xiao. It’s not a twin thing. There are moments which you have yet to see where Aether and Lumine are at each other’s throats and refuse to speak to each other. It's like a hot and cold situation, sometimes they are happily friends, other times they don’t want to see each other. Don’t question things that you do not understand, Xiao.” 

Xiao blinked as she looked at the other boy as if he was crazy. “What?” He asked, nothing Gorou had just explained making sense to him.

“You heard what I said,” the brown haired male deadpanned, tsking softly. Xiao scrunched up his face.

“Mr. Ookami, please, give Mr. Morax his seat back and go sit down,” a loud voice interrupted their conversation. Gorou pouted, looking over as the teacher walked up to his desk, setting down his supplies for his class. Gorou pouted before getting up as he muttered how it was unfair he couldn’t sit with his friends. Xiao took his seat as the teacher watched Gorou go sit down in his seat before coughing. “Today, we have something important to do.”

A loud gasp interrupted everything in the room, and everyone turned to look at a girl who was trying to sneakily look at her phone. The girl was sitting next to Gorou, and Aether watched as his best friend slowly leaned over to look at her phone, the girl allowing him, even making it easier for the boy to see. “What?” Gorou called out, louder than her gasp.

The teacher sighed as he looked up at the ceiling before looking at Gorou and the girl. “Mr. Ookami.” He called out in warning.

Gorou looked back up at the teacher with a pout. “What? Sir, I am noisy. It is who I am. I am not going to apologize for that. Sara seems upset, so I was just trying to make sure that she was ok.” Hegestured to the girl sitting next to her who was looking at the floor as she put her phone in her pocket.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, clear that she didn’t want the attention that was suddenly on her. “What did you see, if you don’t mind telling everyone, Ms. Wagner?” The teacher asked, realizing that the class was too invested now.

The girl tucked her brown hair behind her ears, refusing to look up. “There are Khaenrian spies attacking kids who are candidates for Celestia University and there was just a big attack…” She whispered under her breath.  An uncomfortable silence filled the room, before one by one the students turned to look over at Xiao and Aether. “Sir… wouldn’t that make Aether and Xiao be one of the potential victims?” She asked quietly.

Aether gulped as his eyes widened in fear. “Me?” He asked. He glanced over at Xiao who looked freaked out too, he met Aether’s eyes with a look of concern on his face.

Aether looked back up at the teacher. The room was so thick with tension as the kids waited for the teacher to say something to help them. 

Fear ran rapid through the teacher’s eyes before a look of anger crossed his face as if he wanted to dare them to attack his kids. “They wouldn’t dare hurt my students,”  the man finally said, straightening his posture as he said that. “The Geo district has yet to be attacked, and when threats like these  were made in the past, Geo never allowed anyone of their students get hurt. The attacks at the moment are controlled in the Dendro district. As of right now, everyone in this room is safe.” There was so much certainty in his voice it helped calm down the students. A sigh of relief passed through the room.  “Those attacks by the Abyss order are also meant for one reason.”

Hushed whispers were heard through the room. Hysteria began rising again, the last sentence setting all of the kids off. “What reason?” One girl finally managed to call out, looking up from where she was sitting.

THe teacher bit his cheek as he stared at her for a while, trying to hide the worry on his face. “To finish off the old Khaenrian Royals.” He managed to get out.

“The Khaenrian royal line has lost the throne and their powers thousands of years ago,” Aether argued, all of the kids turned to look at him, whispers began floating through the room again. “There are no Khaenrian Royals anymore. When the Abyss Order took over at the start of the war, they lost any claim to the throne. Right?”

The teacher was looking at Aether with an impressed look on his face. The history of Khaenri’ah was one that most people didn’t study. There were so many holes in the history it was hard to find correct information on it. “The nobles joined the abyss order. They wanted to save their asses, but the royal line still has rights to rule the country.” The teacher explained, “or they did. THeir last Royal did not believe in the message the Abyss Order was trying to force out. He was hunted down. He wanted his son and his unborn child to get out of that cycle of horror. He sent his wife to seek help here in Teyvat.” The kids all watched him, hanging onto his every word. “If, and if, the unborn child survived, they would most likely be in this year. There has been no news about the unborn child. Their son would already be in university. He would be behind safe walls. The Abyss Order knows nothing except the wife grew up in the Dendro district, it is thought the unborn child was a baby girl,  and that she is expected to have fled to the Dendro District.” 

The way the teacher was talking was if he was part of the story, and not recounting it to the students that were watching him with wide eyes. “How do you know so much?” One of the boys managed to call out. There was a small murmur of agreement from the other kids.

“Dumbass,” another kid called from across the room, “he’s from the Dendro district. Remember, he moved here as soon as his son got into Celestia because our district has the best pay for teachers. THis is his second year at this school.”

Aether and Gorou nodded in agreement. The boys had been around the teacher a lot in his first year at the school. He was their homeroom teacher last year as well and would let the two boys eat lunch in his room. They would often talk to him and ask him for help with classwork or homework they never understood. They would also always end up talking about all the tea with him.

The teacher looked at the kids before shaking his head. “Let's stop talking about the past,” he called out. Again, Aether couldn’t help but agree. There was something about this topic that made him uncomfortable, he couldn’t put his finger on it “We will be practicing the exam bit by bit so you know what to expect.”

Again, Sara raised her hand from where she was sitting. “Respectfully, Sir, why should we try?” She called out, causing the teacher to stop what he was doing before turning to look at her with confusion in his eyes. “There are only two people in this class who could possibly get in.”

The teacher watched Sara with a concerned look in his eyes, tilting his head to the side. The girl blinked and coughed awkwardly, tearing her glance away. “The top 10% of this year will get in.” He pointed out. “That is most likely the top 10% of this school. One district is not smarter than the other districts. Districts are just based on what element you can control better than the other. There is nothing special about them. Each year the university accepts around 120 people. You will never know if you can get in or not if you do not try.” 

The girl blinked as she shook her head slowly. “But everybody gave up in this class,” another student pointed out, and all the kids turned their attention towards him. “It is not feasible to go up against Aether smarts wise… or power wise at this point, let's be honest.”

Aether furrowed his eyebrows . “It’s not curved.” The teacher responded, rolling his eyes and upset he even had to explain this. “Aether is one of 120. There are still 119 spots. The exam isn’t even that hard. Mr. Ookami.”.

Gorou jumped from his spot before looking at the teacher defiantly. “What? I am not doing anything!” He whined, pouting.

The teacher waved him off. “No, I was going to ask if you gave up as well.”

Gorou stopped before shrugging his shoulders. “My parents gave up on me sir. I’ll try my hardest, but I doubt that I will be able to get a good spot. I might be able to snag one of their lower spots. At this point, Geo University is looking pretty good.” He admitted.

The teacher stared at him with a disappointed look on his face. “That is still a good spot,” he insisted before turning back around, “Come on, let's take the first part of the Exam. It is split into four parts, reading, writing, math, and science. We will take the first part of it today, the reading section. We will then split you up into partners to discuss the answers and how we got there,” he turned around with a stack of papers in his hand, “Grading will come at the last part of class.”

He started to hand out the exams. Aether frowned. He did not feel like taking a test, and he didn’t prepare himself for that. Taking a test was boring;. He couldn’t focus too well on pop quizzes. He had to spend days preparing himself mentally. 

“Will our results reflect our grades in this class?” A girl asked as she raised her hand with a worried look appearing on her face.

A shiver ran through Aether just at the thought of that. The teacher shook his head. “No. This is just an exercise. If you don’t want to do it, the only damage is to yourself. Just like the essays I have you write aren’t graded.”

There was a whisper. Aether looked at the teacher in shock. Those essays didn’t count towards anything? Why was he doing that work for them then? For busy work? Aether hated busy work.

When Aether got the test he looked at it before going through it as fast as he could, rushing. He did not bother to double check his work. When he finished in just a couple of minutes,  he rested his head on the desk before closing his eyes.The room was deadly silent, lullying the boy into a sleep.

A soft tap on his shoulder startled him awake. He sat up slowly, and rubbed his eyes as he tried to figure out where he was. He looked over at his teacher, blinking in confusion. The man gave him a small smile. “It’s time to go to your next class.” The teacher whispered.

Aether blinked a couple times before realizing what happened and a frown formed on his lips. “Sorry.” He muttered, yawning. “I didn't realize that I fell asleep.”

The teacher looked at Aether with a look so soft it was as if Aether was his kid or something before he shook his head. “It is ok. It looked like you needed it.” He responded.

Aether gave him a slight smile. “Thank you.” He whispered, glad that he wasn’t going to get in trouble.

The teacher hummed as he watched the boy. “You remind me so much of my brother-in-law. It’s ok to take a rest, Aether.”

Aether was getting ready to leave for home. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. He hadn’t slept that well last night, and he didn’t realize how bad it had been before the nap that he had taken in homeroom. He yawned softly, a few kids catching the yawn and giving him a glare for giving him the yawns.  Maybe he could sneak into his room before either one of his parents got home and take a nap.

“Aether!” A loud voice called out, causing him to stop before turning to look over to see Xiao running up to him. “I can train you for one more day.” Xiao said, as he got closer to the boy before stopping, taking in deep breaths to calm himself down.  “You wanna come to my house for tutoring?”

Aether blinked at the other, knitting his eyebrows together, part of him wondering if he should say no and let Xiao know he really needed to go home and get some sleep, but then again… any time that he could hang out with Xiao was a good time. He smiled slightly.“Sure.’ He responded, standing up straighter.

The nap can wait.

Xiao beamed before the two started to walk together. They were silent for a bit, Aether clutching his backpack as he walked. “You might even get to meet Zhongli today.” Xiao spoke up suddenly, a huge smile on his face.

Aether blinked, frowning as he heard that name. Did he know who the other was talking about? He didn’t think he did. The blond turned to look at the other boy with a confused look on his face. “Who?” He asked.

Xiao stopped walking as soon as he heard that before looking at Aether as if he was kidding. His face reflected the pure betrayal that he felt. “My cousin?” He asked, uncertainly, “I am certain that I have talked about Zhongli… a lot.”

Aether blinked as his brain worked hard after hearing that, trying to figure out what Xiao was talking about before it finally hit him and his eyes widened. “Oh!” He cried out loudly, making Xiao jump“I am so so sorry,” the blond apologized, now realizing he could finally put a name to the cousin Xiao talked about constantly, “my brain didn’t connect the dots, it has been so laggy today.”

Xiao gave Aether a smile and shooked his head. “It’s fine,” the boy responded. He looked at Aether with a concerned look appearing on his face. “Have you been letting yourself rest?” He asked, finally noticing the dark circle under Aether’s eyes.

Aether tilted his head before smiling and nodding. “Yes I have,” he responded, “I didn’t sleep well last night. Sometimes I have bad insomnia that acts up when I worry about something.  I’ve been worried about the exam.”

Xiao scoffed as soon as he heard that before beginning to walk again and Aether followed after him. “Don’t worry about the exam,” Xiao reassured him, “You are going to do just fine on them. I bet that you will get a once in a lifetime score.”

Aether puffed his cheeks, he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Did he get things easier than others, yes. But was he the smartest in his year? “I… come on Xiao, let’s be honest here. That is not going to happen,” He insisted.“At most I might get one of the top scores, like in the top maybe 20%.”

Xiao looked at Aether as if he grew a second hand, blinking, trying to figure out if he had just heard his friend right when he said that. “Today on the practice test, You got a 72%.” He told Aether matter of factly. As if that proved anything.

The blond scrunched up his face as he glanced at Xiao. “That is barely passing.” He pointed out, trying not to let how freaked out that fact alone made him feel. The nagging voice in the back of his head was telling him that he was probably going to fail out of the exam portion of the test.  How embarrassing would that be, if he didn’t get into the university because of his exam score and not because he couldn’t manipulate his powers.

“Please, Aeth. We both know you didn’t even try on the practice test.” Xiao responded, rolling his eyes. That was true, Aether at some point was just circling random questions to get done faster. “I looked at your written answers, and you put the most random answers down. I know for a fact that you didn’t take time to figure out anything,” Xiao pointed out as a sigh left his lips, “I’m pretty sure that you put Barbatos down for an answer.”

Aether gave Xiao a side look, not knowing what was so bad about it. “What of it?” He asked with a heavy sigh.

“The question wasn’t about the 7 archons, Aeth. You know that as well as I do. The article for that question was talking about the process of turning Cocoa beans into chocolate.” Aether made a face as he thought about just how random and weird exam articles were, where would he ever need to recall the process of Cocoa beans. But he knew that Xiao was right. “Besides, it was asking for an explanation, and you just put Barbatos.”

“I was tired,” Aether whispered, giving Xiao a side eye, not knowing why the other boy was suddenly giving him the third degree.

Xiao looked up at the sky. “That’s my point,” the teal haired man stressed, “you didn’t even try. Yet you still got a 72% on the test. Aether, you will do just fine on the Exam, trust me.”

Aether paused, worry filled his eyes. “What if I don’t sleep well the night before? What if I’m up all night thinking about the exam? What if I blow through it just like I did with the practice today?” He stressed, fearful that he would actually do that. 

Xiao grabbed Aether’s hand before pulling him along with him gently so they continued to walk. “Aether, we both know the exam is too important for you to blow through it. Besides, we have a full week off of school before the Exam. That is enough time to let us prepare for it. You will be able to answer every question easily. Do not fret about it.” He told him as he fixed Aether a look.

Aether pouted, looking anywhere but at Xiao. He stayed quiet for a few minutes. “How did the teacher react when I fell asleep today?” He suddenly asked, feeling curious.

A soft chuckle came out of Xiao. “Well, when we were going to find partners to discuss the answer, I saw that you were passed out. I went to wake you up and he kinda whisper-yelled at me and instructed me to let you sleep. I’m pretty sure he noticed as soon as you fell asleep.”

Aether blinked a few times. “And he just let me?” Aether asked. He got away with sleeping that easily?

“Aether, his whole job for Homeroom is to prepare us for the exam. He is not worried about you,” Xiao told him as he rolled his eyes, “Everyone in school knows that you take the exam very seriously.  If it had been say Gorou, then yeah, he probably would have woken you up.”

Aether didn’t know what to say, so he fell silent as they walked towards Xiao’s house in complete silence. 

WHen they got to Xiao’s house, Xiao slipped his shoes off before putting on some house slippers. Aether slipped out of his own shoes before slipping on the pair that Xiao had given him when he started to train at his house. The usual quiet house was filled with clanging pots and pans. The air was filled with a wondrous aroma.

Aether’s mouth started to water as he followed Xiao into a kitchen. He saw a tall man with long brown hair tied into a neat ponytail, not a hair out of place, in a simple white t-shirt and sweats, an apron tied around his waist. “Hey Zhongli, I’m home!” Xiao called out from where he was standing.

The man turned to look at the door, a kind look on his face as his eyes met Xiaos. He was a lot older than Xiao, Aether realized. And now Aether could put a face to Zhongli as well.  A polite smile formed on his lips. “Ah, welcome home Xiao. This is the first time in a long while that I have been home before you. WHo is this with you?” The man turned his attention over to Aether with a look of pure curiosity on his face.

Aether meekly waved at him, trying hard to not hide behind Xiao. Xiao gestured to his friend. “This is Aether Viator.” Xiao told him, “The boy I tutor.”

Zhongli’s eyes widened in recognition as he blinked his eyes. He bowed his head politely at Aether. “It is nice to meet you, Aether. I am Xiao’s cousin, Zhongli Morax. But please, call me Zhongli.” The male said.

“It’s nice to meet you Zhongli.” Aether responded as politely as he could before bowing his head back at him. He wanted Zhongli to like him. 

Zhongli watched Aether with a look of pure interest in his eyes. “You are Dain’s son, right?” He asked. 

Aether’s eyes widened when he heard his father’s name. He stared Zhongli down with a curious look in his eyes. “Yes, I am Dainsleif’s son.” He responded simply.

Zhongli was an interesting person. Despite all the time that Aether was at the house, this was the first time that Zhongli had been home when Aether was. His work kept him away from the house most of the time. He didn’t arrive home until hours after Aether left. Sometimes he spent days away from the house. “I went to school with your father, you know. Dain was always so close to getting into Celestia House. He was always beaten out by his boyfriend instead, though.” Zhongli mused, a smile appearing on his face as he played back the memories. “They would always fake fight about it. I wish the two of them could have gotten into the house, it would have been interesting to see that.”

Aether blinked as the dad lore hit him. “Dad had a boyfriend before he started dating my mom?” He asked before he could stop himself. He never truly paid attention to what his father’s dating habits were like. The most he knew was his mom and dad got together when they were really young. His mother made sure nobody talked about anything from his relationship before them. Aether had always assumed there was an ex that she was jealous of. Maybe an Ex that his father was still in love with.

Xiao grabbed Aether’s hand, trying to pull the boy out of the kitchen and away from Zhongli. “Aeth, come on, we should get to practicing,” Xiao whispered under his breath.

“Why don’t you boys sit, I have some tea on the stove. I’ll pour us some tea and we can sit and chat?” Zhongli asked as he looked over at his cousin. “Will you be staying for dinner? I am making Xiao’s favorite, Bamboo shoot soup.”

Xiao stared at his cousin in disbelief when he heard that. “Yes he will be. That is not my favorite dish, Zhongli, that is yours.” He told his cousin with a sigh.

“Please,” Zhongli replied as he smiled a bit more… ruthlessly? Aether couldn’t figure it out. “Your favorite dish is a dessert. If it were up to you, you would only eat Almond Tofu all day.”

Xiao took in a deep breath and made a face as his cousin turned his attention back to the soup that was on the stove.  He put a lid on it before grabbing the tea kettle and led the other two to a breakfast table. 

Aether sat down as Xiao took the tea kettle from Zhongli and started to pour cups of tea for everyone, giving one to Aether. “So, Zhongli, what do you do?” Aether asked as he brought the cup of tea up to his mouth. He blew slightly to cool it down before taking a sip, trying to be polite.

THe brown haired man watched Aether as he did so with a curious look in his eyes. “I am actually a professor at Celestia University. I am their history teacher.”

Aether looked at Xiao when he heard that, wondering why his friend had never told him about this. “So Xiao has an easy in to the school?” He joked. Xiao looked mortified as soon as the words left the blond’s lips.

Aether wondered if he had gone too far by saying that. But Zhongli laughed instead. “No, no. I won’t be part of the evaluation. That would be considered favoritism if I let the kid I view as my own son in. Usually I do host the whole exam. This year, I have been asked to take a step back.” He told Aether simply.

Aether puffed out his cheeks as he took in all of the information. “Ah… that makes sense.” He whispered, “it’s good to know that I have an equal chance.”

“The university frowns on people helping others into the university unfairly. They want everyone to have a fair shot.” Xiao pointed out as he elbowed Aether gently. Zhongli looked at Xiao with a proud look on his face.

Zhongli brought his own cup of tea to his lips, smelling it with a relaxed look on his face. “So, Aether, do you enjoy history?” Zhongli asked, changing the topic. “I know that many might find it boring.”

“I’m not that good at remembering everything, but I do love to see how history affects the present.” Aether admitted. The two of them started to talk the night away. fFter a long discussion on boats and their purposes Zhongli turned to look at his cousin. It was a topic that Zhongli could probably talk about for ages. “I like this kid. He is very knowledgeable. We should get some soup and eat. I bet Aether’s father will be missing him if we continue to talk the night away.”

“Yes,” Xiao responded, getting up from the table with a look of relief passing his face. “Let's eat.” 

Aether looked over at Xiao and smiled politely at the other. “Thank you for the discussion, sir.” He told him.

“Of course,” Zhongli responded, “Please, sit down Xiao. I will get the soup. Anytime you are over and I am here, I would not mind another conversation. In fact, I look forward to it, Aether Viator.”

Xiao had convinced Aether to take some soup home. He said that Lumine might enjoy it, especially if she was sick. The soup was pretty delectable, and Aether knew that Lumine would absolutely love it. She loved trying new foods, so he had no qualms in bringing some back to her.

Aether entered his house after getting a ride from Xiao. His mother was yet again waiting for the boy as soon as he entered the room. “You’re late.” She said, unimpressed as she glared down at the boy.

Aether glared back at her, having no mood tonight to fight her on anything. “Xiao asked me to stay for dinner, his cousin was home. I couldn’t say no. It would have been rude of me.”

“You met Zhongli?” He heard his father asked, coming into the place as well. “Aether, you still should have called, I was worried about you.”

“Sorry, next time I’ll call.” Aether promised before pushing past his parents and heading upstairs. He could hear his father sigh and he tuned out their voice. His mother was picking a fight with his father. 

He got to his sister’s room before knocking on the door. “Lu, I got you food.” He yelled out.

Lumine instantly opened the door before pulling him in. “You brought me food? Good, I’m starving. I skipped Dinner, mom and dad were fighting so loudly.” she said with a relieved look on her face.

“Yeah, Xiao’s cousin, Zhongli made it.” He responded before offering her the container and she took it from him.

“His Cousin, you met Zhongli?” She asked and he nodded. “Oh my god, I’ve heard so much about him, you need to tell me everything.”

And so Aether sat down before telling Lumine about the night, and how much knowledge that Zhongli had, how it felt like he could just talk for hours.

Chapter Text

A soft warm glow filled the world as the three headed towards the test of Courage Event, Aether in the front seat guiding Gorou where they needed to go. Lumine was stuck in the back seat, resting her head on her hand as she watched everything go by. Aside from Aether randomly pointing them in the correct direction, the car was silent. 

“Why isn’t the Geo district doing anything like this?” Lumine finally asked, glancing over to where her brother was sitting.

Aether blinked, her question shocked him before the golden blond haired boy looked over at her, and shrugged his shoulders. “We were supposed to, but due to budget cuts or something, we had to cancel our Haunted House.” He explained, puffing out his cheeks. “I guess there just wasn’t enough time for it…”

Gorou scoffed, looking over at Aether before shaking his head and glancing back to the road. “That is such a dumb reason. A haunted house would have been so much fun. Imagine actually putting one on!” He cried out, a huge smile on his face. “We would have scared little kids shitless.” 

“I don’t think we would want to do that.” Aether told his friend. “Turn into this parking lot,” he pointed to where he wanted his friend to go, “It’s here.” 

Gorou pouted, pulling into the parking lot to a giant field. A cluster of hedges and trees formed a little boxed maze. Most likely created through the power of Dendro manipulation. “But it would have been fun…” he whispered under his breath.

Aether smiled as he got out of the car, shutting the door behind him and the other two joined them. Lumine shivered softly, covering her bare arms, deciding against wearing a jacket. “Are you sure you’ll be ok?” Gorou asked, giving his best friend’s sister a look.

She glared at him before nodding her head, “I’m fine.” She insisted. “Don’t worry about me.”

Aether looked around the field before spotting a tent at the front of the forest. He elbowed Gorou and pointed over to it. He started walking and the other two followed after him. “Is this the place?” Gorou asked with a worried look on his face.

Aether looked at his best friend before shrugging his shoulders, checking his phone one more time to make sure that he hadn’t given the other the wrong directions. “It should be.” He responded and Gorou made a face as soon as he heard that.

The brown haired boy glanced around at the parking spot that was completely deserted before glancing back at Aether. “Ok, I trust you. You have never guided me wrong, my friend.”

A shiver ran through Lumine as Aether and Gorou started to head towards the tent and she followed after them. Aether stopped before taking off the warm jacket he had on. He offered it to his sister. She looked at it before giving him a really look. “Hey you’re wearing short sleeves, I’m wearing a long sleeve shirt under this.” He pointed out.

The girl snorted before grabbing the coat from her twin and putting it on. “Thanks.” She muttered out with an unimpressed look on her face.

“I told you to bring a jacket.” Gorou told her and she stuck her tongue out at him. “They really know how to add the creep factor,” Gorou mused.

Lumine hummed softly in agreement. “This place does seem a bit spookier than usual,” She muttered.

Aether had to assume it was because of the setting sun and the fact that nobody was there at the moment. Was the place not that popular or if it was because the trio was here earlier than they should be? 

“At least we'll be together?” Gorou offered with a shit eating grin on his face. Lumine’s amber eyes looked at Gorou unimpressed before rolling dramatically. She pushed past the two boys, walking faster towards the tent.

The two best friends stopped as she stormed off. Gorou glanced over at Aether. Confusion and puzzlement ran rapid on his face. Aether shrugged his shoulders, not really surprised by her attitude. Was he still confused about why she was so upset, yes he was. 

Truthfully, Lumine hadn’t been in the best of moods lately. Especially in regards to Aether. The blond figured he must have done something to ruffle her feathers, but he couldn’t figure out what he did wrong. Lumine also wouldn’t admit that he did something, hell she was barely even saying anything to him. That of all things had to be the weirdest part. Lumine wasn’t the type of person to let someone who had wronged her in the past get away. She would always speak up about how she felt she was treated wrongly. For her to bite her tongue now… either she didn’t like feeling this way and thought it was unjust feelings or it was a horrible betrayal to her.

The friends followed after the blonde girl as she slowed down, realizing that she was about to enter the tent alone. That was not something on her bucket list. When they caught up to her, she let them pass and followed them into the tent. 

Aether was the first to enter the tent, he looked around as Gorou and Lumine entered after him, there was a desk pushed up to the edge of the tent with signs pointing to a section of the maze forest that said start here.

A bored highschooler with a red and white cardigan sat at the front, his eyes locked on his phone. He sighed when he realized someone had come in. His feet were up on the desk and he didn’t even take a moment to look up at the group that came in. “Welcome to the Anemo High School Autumn event. We are offering a Test of Courage event,” he called out with a monotone voice. “This is a free event. At the end, we do have some stalls that sell stuff. All the process goes towards bettering Anemo High.”

Gorou laughed, looking the boy up and down with a glint of amusement, he then looked back over at Aether. “Sounds like someone doesn’t want to be here,” he commented.

The boy looked up from his phone, unamused. As his scarlet eyes glanced over the two friends, he straightened up, placing his phone down next to him. “It’s you two!” He cried out happily. He then looked over at Lumine who was studying the room, unimpressed. “And someone new?” His scarlet eyes scrunched up into an eye smile.

Aether walked up to the desk with Gorou right at his side. “Kazuha!” Gorou cried happily as he got to the desk, slamming his hands down. Kazuha took his feet off the desk, placed his elbows on the desk and rested his chin on his hands with a pleased look on his face. “Hi, I didn’t think you would be here,” Gorou exclaimed, buzzing in excitement.

The ash blond male let out a soft chuckle. “Well, I am here,” he responded, winking at Gorou. “What are you two doing here? I didn’t think I would see you again after that meeting with Albedo.”

The blond girl, who was taking a few steps back as if trying to escape, stopped when she heard her cousin’s name. Aether smiled back at Kazuha“We are here for the test of courage,” he explained.

Lifting his head off his arms, Kazuha crossed his arms, tilting his head to the side. “Right…” He mumbled, chuckling again, “Of course you are.”

Noticing that the three boys were in their own world, and nobody was paying attention to her, Lumine walked up and placed her hand on Aether’s shoulder, trying to get her twins attention. 

Aether turned his golden eyes to study her, worry filling them. She stared back at him for a second, her eyes narrowing. “Albedo?” She asked, not saying anything more than that. 

Realizing that she was confused, Aether sucked on the side of his cheek as he nodded his head once. “Yeah…” He whispered. “He-” 

Before he could continue his explanation, Gorou turned his attention towards his companions, a huge smile on his face, “He’s Albedo’s boyfriend friend,” the brown haired boy explained, counting each describer on his fingers as if he was afraid of getting one wrong. 

Lumine turned her attention towards Gorou, looking more confused than having her questions answered. “Uh… huh?” She tilted her head to the side.

Kazuha coughed into his hands, making the friends turn to look at him. Once he was sure that he got everyone’s attention, he smiled again. “I am Albedo’s boyfriend’s best friend,” he explained, stressing the word best friend. Gorou stared at the ash blond for a few seconds before nodding his head, taking a mental note. “Scaramouche likes to hang out with me more than he likes to hang out with Childe.”

There was that nickname again. Lumine made a noise of confusion when she processed the name. Aether turned to watch her, ready to help answer any questions. “Albedo has a boyfriend,” she clarified, looking at Aether with a puzzled look. The blond nodded his head and she went on, “A boyfriend who hangs out with a child… and is it really that big of an achievement that he likes hanging out with you more than this child?” She turned to look at Kazuha after asking that. “How old is this child? Who is this Child? Maybe it’s Klee… or one of Klee’s friends? No… that would be weird.” She lowered her tone, rambling off as she tried to figure it out. 

If Aether hadn’t seen Childe at one point, he would be confused as well. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, which the girl instantly shrugged off taking a step back from her brother. “It’s a guy, his nickname is Childe,” He explained, trying not to show how hurt she was for backing away.  “Apparently he does have a boyfriend… Someone who knows Xiao. They both do actually, Kazuha and him used to be…” he stopped, not knowing if what he was going to say next would be right, so he looked up at Kazuha for help. “Friends?” He asked. 

Before he turned to look at Kazuha, he could see that a blush was appearing on Lumine’s face, and Kazuha was looking at her, knitting his eyebrows. “No… more like acquaintances,” Kazuha replied, tearing his attention away from the girl. “Xiao doesn’t have that many friends… Especially not after Scara and Xiao got into a huge fight a few years ago.” 

Lumine tucked the hair behind her ear, coughing awkwardly. “He has us three as friends,” she declared, looking at Kazuha with determination in her eyes. 

A wind swept through the room as Aether shivered, feeling a shift of energy. He didn’t like the way they were both now glaring at each other. “Speaking of Xiao, Aether said that Xiao was going to be helping with the event?” Lumine asked, trying not to let her voice waver.

“He is.” Kazuha snapped. Gorou whipped his head over to look at Aether as the best friends looked at each other, both noticing that something was up. 

Kazuha obviously doesn’t like Lumine, but why? Kazuha turned to look over at Aether and Gorou again, a smile appearing on his face as he did. “I think he’s one of the actors,” Aether explained, not giving Kazuha any attention as he turned to look over at his sister instead..

Lumine refused to look at Aether as she was glaring Kazuha down, obviously not liking him very much. Kazuha glared back at her, when neither Gorou or Aether would talk to him again. “Who are you?” He finally asked.

Aether moved to step in front of his sister, trying to break their eye contact. “Maybe we should go,” he responded, looking at Gorou who nodded his head in agreement. He then turned to look at his sister, making eye contact with her.

She shook her head once. “No. It’s fine,” the girl reassured him as she forced a smile on her face.

Aether scrunched up his face, “He’s being rude to you Lumine. Maybe it isn’t worth it. We can talk with Xiao at school tomorrow,” he insisted.

A deep breath from Kazuha’s direction finally made Aether look over at him. “Sorry, I’m sorry. I show my emotions too easily,” He replied, faking a smile. He still seemed completely annoyed with Lumine being there.

“Who are you?” Lumine asked, raising her nose up. “I’m Aether’s twin sister.” 

Another guy walked up into the tent. A guy with indigo hair and matching eyes. He crossed his arms as he saw other people there before looking over at Kazuha. “This hostility is part of the Test of Courage,” he told them with a grumpy look on his face. Kazuha glared at him as soon as he walked up. “Though… It’s not like you to Lie Kazu… or be the welcoming person for the event.”

Kazuha tried to fake a smile. “I am only trying to channel your energy. You have done so well in the past.” Kazuha explained through gritted teeth and the male laughed as he heard that explanation. He turned to look back at Lumine, his eyes darkening. “I’m Kazuha. A highschooler at Anemo High school.” He told her. “Have a seat, I’ll help you after these three go into the maze.” He called back over to the purple haired male.

Was it wrong for Aether to feel that Kazuha was jealous? But of What? Maybe not jealous, but close to it. “Uh…” Aether muttered, figuring he should explain to Lumine what he knew. “Gorou and I met Kazuha a few weeks ago. After Albedo cornered us in an Alleyway.” .

The blonde haired girl blinked as she heard the conversation, a look of confusion on her face. “Is she seriously your twin? You’re not pulling my leg, are you?” Kazuha spoke up again and everyone fell silent.

Aether turned to glare at him. “Yes?” He responded, pointing between him and Lumine, “we look like siblings, don’t we?”

Kazuha blinked and shrugged his shoulders, “Honestly? You look more like Kaveh than her,” he argued and the purple haired man scoffed when he heard that, “But I guess I can kinda see the resemblance…. If I squint,” just to prove his point, Kazuha squinted at Lumine. The girl looked like she wanted to punch the ashy blonde kid. 

“Come on Kazu, they look identical,” the male called out as he sat with his legs crossed. He had pulled out his phone and was starting to lay on it when he said that, still listening to the conversation though.

Lumine was glancing between everyone, trying to figure out where this conversation was going. “Whoever this Kaveh guy is, he must really look like Aether,” Gorou exclaimed, forcing everyone to look at him as soon as he said that, “Especially if you can’t see a slight possibility of these two being siblings,” he pointed out.

“Why? Cause they are blond? Not all blond people look the same.” Kazuha argued. “If that was the case, then wouldn’t Aether and I look like siblings?” He pointed at himself.

“There’s a lot more than just that.” Gorou insisted and Kazuha shook his head, not willing to believe what Gorou was saying. 

Kazuha sighed, he wasn’t going to change Gorou’s mind. “Eh… I get what you are saying I guess… But Kaveh and Aether really do look alike. I guess it has to be something that you have to see for yourself,” he finally said, backing down.

Lumine grabbed Aether’s hand and tugged on in to get his attention, Aether turned to look over at his sister. “Who is Kaveh?” Lumine asked, making sure that only Aether could hear her, “And you two met Albedo recently?” She stressed their cousin’s name.

She never heard of their misadventure. Of course she wouldn’t know. “Yes. It’s a long story, I'll tell you at home,” he promised and she raised an eyebrow at him, “Just… don’t tell Mom or Dad, I wasn’t supposed to be out at that time. I don’t know who he is.”

“Even Albedo said that they look alike,” Gorou spoke up again, causing Lumine to look at him.

The girl bit the inside of her cheek, looking more confused.Aether couldn’t blame her, he felt the same way whenever the boy was randomly brought up. “Huh…” she whispered, “I don’t think I have even heard of someone who looked like Aether before.”

Kazuha closed his eyes for a split second, shrugging his shoulders, “He’s from Khaenri’ah,” he replied, using a tone you would use to talk to a child you were explaining something to, “He moved here when he was like two years old or so. He grew up in Dendro district. I would be surprised if you DID somehow hear of him,” he sassed, “He’s kind of a recluse. I only know him because he’s really close with Albedo.” 

Gorou snorted, covering his mouth as he heard that explanation. “From the way that Albedo talks about him, I got the impression he wasn’t the biggest fan… or of his boyfriend.” Gorou interrupted. “He insulted both of them, calling them dumbasses or something.” 

Kazuha laughed softly while the man in the waiting room scoffed. “Kaveh doesn’t have a boyfriend. Plus, that’s the way that Albedo talks about everyone. He insults his boyfriend about seventeen times a day.” The ash blond insisted and Gorou shook his head. 

“More than that.” The purple haired man in the room whispered, rolling his eyes just at the thought of it.

Aether frowned as soon as he heard that. “That's… Albedo isn’t like that though. He’s always super nice to me?” He replied, looking at Lumine who shook her head. 

She gently elbowed her twin in his side. “Aeth, that is Albedo. He tends to insult everyone around him, though I don’t know if he knows that he’s doing it, or not. But he has never even dared to say anything bad about you. You’re his precious baby cousin.” She explained to him in a softer voice than he usually had.

“You’re his baby cousin too.” Aether pointed out.

She rolled her eyes at the thought, “But it’s obvious he likes you more than me,” She muttered. “I mean, I haven’t seen Albedo since… I can’t even remember the last time I’ve seen him or a time where he wanted to see me.” 

After that was said, a silence filled the room. Aether didn’t know what to say to Lumine, how he could comfort his sister when he knew that was true. Some people just had favorites. “So…” Kazuha called out, breaking up the silence, “Is it just you three then?”

The three friends looked between each other before nodding their heads in agreement. “Yeah.” Aether offered up, smiling slightly. “Just us three.”

Kazuha looked between the three of them, grabbing his chin, looking as if he was thinking of something. He glanced over to the male in the waiting room who refused to make eye contact with him. “One of you at least has to go alone.” He finally stated. “We are only allowing two people in a group. Will all of you go in Solo?”

“That sounds made up.” Lumine deadpanned, narrowing her eyes. “You’re not saying that because you don’t like me, are you?” She asked.

“No, it’s a rule, only two people per group, it’s supposed to help create an eerie feeling.” The other male waiting for his turn stated.

Gorou made a face, “Fuck that, I’m not going alone,” the boy cried out, shaking his head.

The twins shared a look, knowing that one or the other was going to have to brave these forests alone. Aether honestly wasn’t opposed to going solo. He also knows that if he were to go with Gorou the boy would try to pull the I’m braver than I actually am act..  

Kazuha glanced at the male. “Would you like to go with one of them?” He asked the male.

The purple haired man looked between the three, his eyes landing on Aether for a second longer than the others before he turned to look back over at Kazuha. “No,” he replied simply, shaking his head. 

Lumine blinked a few times, straightening her shoulders.“I would crush this maze solo.” Lumine suddenly stated, a look of determination filling her eyes. A look of approval crossed Kazuha’s face as he nodded his head at her.

Aether looked over at Gorou. “I’ll go with Gorou then,” Aether responded, trying not to sigh or show how much he dreaded that. Maybe it was better if he was there for his best friend than to let him brave these forests with his sister who would call him out..

Kazuha glanced between them, nodding his head slowly. “Bet.” He called out, the other man groaning at the vocabulary, “Hey, you hang out with me voluntarily.”

“I don’t know why I do.” The other hissed, rolling his eyes. “Maybe I would be better off hanging by myself.”

“You wouldn’t last one day with nobody to complain to.” Kazuha responded, raising his head higher.

Gorou gasped as he heard the conversation before elbowing Aether over and over until Aether had to hold up his hand to have Gorou stop it. “Dude, deadass, you should hang with us sometime. You ma-”

Lumine gasped as soon as she heard those words leave his mouth. “Gorou,” Lumine cried out, her eyes shining with embarrassment. “You can’t just randomly ask people to be your friend,” the girl nagged, shaking her head a few times.

Gorou looked at the girl, a look of pure hurt filling his eyes “But… he would fit in so perfectly! He already has the language down, man.”  Gorou turned to look over at Aether as if asking his best friend to back him up.

Aether softened his eyes as he looked at him, “That can’t be the only factor of wanting someone to be your friend,” Aether pointed out, letting go of his sister’s hand to place both of his hands on his best friend’s shoulders.

A look of betrayal crossed Gorou’s face. He then scrunched his face up in defiance. “Sure it can be,” he insisted, shaking his head rapidly. “Besides, he seems to like hanging around you.”

“I wouldn’t be able to hang with you,” Kazuha cut off Gorou before he could go on. Gorou turned to look at him in shock, Kazuha had an apologetic look on his face, glancing between the three friends. “My schedule is booked up at the moment. My parents really want me to get into Celestia.”

Lumine’s eyes shone brightly when she heard that, finding something that she could connect to Kazuha with. “Oh neat!” She cried out, Kazuha looked over at her again, “Same with me! Almost Aether too, except Aether is smart. He doesn’t need to study.” 

Aether gave her a warning look,, both boys were staring at Aether with a mixture of intrigue written on their faces. “He got a 72% on the practice exam we had Monday in our homeroom.” Gorou bragged, deciding to jump on the brag about Aether train.

“Only 72%?” Lumine asked, concerned about lacing her words. 

She looked at Gorou, and the brown haired boy shrugged his shoulders. Aether glanced over at the man waiting for his time, hoping that maybe he was distracted, but his indigo eyes were staring Aether down, interest in his eyes. “He honestly rushed through the work.” Gorou explained, “He was asleep in the first ten minutes.”

Lumine’s eyes widened as she nodded her head. “That makes sense, that sounds more like Aether.” She responded and Kazuha hummed softly, watching Aether closely. 

The blond twin shifted from foot to foot. “Why are we talking about this?” He asked, refusing to look at anyone. Kazuha just winked at Aether, which filled Aether with confusion. “Can we start?” He asked as he reached down to grab Gorou’s hand.

“Go for it.” Kazuha motioned towards the start of the maze, a kind look on his face. “Have fun with it.”

Lumine glanced at Kazuha as if something connected in her head. “Not so fast.” She ordered, pushing between the two boys and turning to look at them. “You two are so slow, I want to go first. I don't feel like running into you because you stopped to comment on everything.”

Gorou crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side as he stomped his foot. “I am not slow,” he told her and the girl rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t pass me.”

“I can have my teammate time you?” Kazuha offered, grabbing a walkie talkie and walking over to the other two. “That way we can actually see who is actually the fastest? But Ladies first.” He motioned towards the Maze. Lumine grinned widely when she got her way before sticking her tongue out at Gorou. Gorou returned the gesture.  “Let me set it up real quick.” He started to talk through the radio, before moving Lumine through..

“See you on the other side, suckers!” She called over her shoulder before running into the maze. Aether sighed, shaking his head as he watched her disappear. He didn't know what he was going to do with her.

A soft chuckle filled the room as Kazuha watched them before coming out from around the desk.. He crossed his arms. “Boys, we will give her a five minute head start,” He told them, looking at them both with a mock look of seriousness.

Aether blinked, trying to get a read on the boy. His friend next to him readied his hand in a salute while Kazuha beamed at the brown haired male. Gorou rolled his shoulders back as he jumped in one place. “Bro, I am so ready for this,” he called out, turning to look at Aether as he said that.

The blond male smiled politely as he patted his friend's shoulder in comfort before he turned his attention towards Kazuha, trying to soften the way his eyebrows narrowed at him. “Why were you being so cold to my sister?” He asked him.

A soft choking sound came from the other boy in the waiting room, before he played it off as if he was coughing, banging on his chest. Kazuha looked at Aether as if he didn’t understand why the other was so upset with him. “She’s… is she not trying to steal your boyfriend?” He asked, confusion lacing his words.

Aether opened his mouth, ready to deny it before stopping as he stared at Kazuha, too stunned to speak. Where did he get that idea? The purple haired male shut up as he stared at the group of boys, as quiet as a person could be. “That’s not the full story,” Gorou offered up and Kazuha turned to look at him, unimpressed, “it’s… rather complicated?”

Kazuha frowned deeply, not liking the response that he had gotten. There was a loud baging nose as the male form across the room stood up, his chair hitting the ground as he did so. “Kazuha, don’t let anyone take my place. I need to go grab my water bottle.” The male yelled out before storming out of the tent.

Was it Aether’s imagination, or was he angry as well? Kazuha turned to glare at the male as he stormed out, “Go get your water bottle!” He yelled after him, “Scara, you and I both know that we aren’t going to get more customers until way later in the evening!” The male lifted his middle finger in the air as he walked off.  The scarlet eyed man rolled his eyes before he turned to look at Gorou again. “Explain.” 

Gorou had his cheeks puffed out as he watched the way the other man walked away, as if he was trying not to laugh at the other’s reaction, he caught Aether’s eyes for a second, a glimmer of amusement shining in them. “Xiao and Aether aren’t dating,” the brown haired man started and a scoff of disbelief left Kazuha’s lips, “though I can see why you are confused. Both of them act like they are dating out.” Aether rubbed the corner of his eyes as his friend said that. “Lumine isn’t trying to steal Xiao from him.”

Kazuha scratched the bottom of his neck as he heard that, making a face. “Are you sure they aren't?” He asked, blowing out some air. Gorou nodded his head firmly. “Listen, I’m not going off of the way that Aether acts. But Xiao? He would not shut up about Aether,” he stressed and the golden blond looked at him, his eyes wide at the new information. “He always brought up more stories about Aether. AT one point, I saw his phone and Aether was his home screen.”

Aether felt heat rising to his cheeks as he tried to process the information that Kazuha had just so genuinely offered up to him. He looked at Gorou with wide eyes, wanting to know what to do, but his best friend was looking at Kazuha as he talked. “It’s complicated,” he repeated, smiling a little bit. “Aether and Lumine both like Xiao. From what I can tell, Xiao likes both of them as well.” He finished.

The ash blond pursed his lips as he watched Gorou before he took one glance at Aether. “I’m just saying, I have yet to hear the name Lumine. Aether? He mentions Aether multiple times an hour.” The boy shrugged his shoulders after he siad that.

Aether wanted to hide his face, wanted to hide from this embarrassment. “Can… can we please talk about something else?” He pleaded, looking down at the ground, a pout forming on his lips.

The other two fell silent as they took his plea into consideration before Kazuha’s eyes lightened as he studied Aether. “Can I have a demonstration of your powers?”

A gasp went through Aether as he tried to respond to Kazuha. Fear flooded his mind as he thought of the possible scenario that could happen if he lost control. The way that this forest could be set to flame with one mistake. He forced himself to meet Kazuha’s gaze, his eyes filled with complete and total horror as he shook his head. “Right now is really not a good time. This is not a good space.” He insisted.

The brown haired man knocked into his best friend’s shoulder and the golden blond looked over at him. He was giving Aether an encouraging smile, “You should show him, “ Gorou insisted, “It’s not going to be as bad as you think it will be. Why do you want to see, Kazuha?”

Aether peeked over at Kazuha, curious as to why he was asking him as well.Kazuha was silent as he stared at a point between the two friends.  When he thought through it, the ashy blond shrugged his shoulders. “I’m just sizing up the competition.” He admitted. “Looking for friends that could be in the same house as me. If I’m going to be in that University, I don’t think I can deal with my only friends being Scara and Childe anymore.”

Aether sucked in a breath as he heard the other’s response. He quickly shook his head, “There is no competition here,” he insisted and Kazuha rolled his eyes playfully at him. Aether wanted to scream. “”I am not going to do well on the power analysis,” Gorou muttered bullshit under his breath when Aether said that,  the blond glared at him quickly, “And I also don’t want… to catch the forest on fire… accidentally.” He finished lamely.

Kazuha looked upset, frowning but he took a deep breath. “Maybe some other time?” He asked and Aether nodded his head. “Well, I think you two are safe to go. Let me chick with my coworker real quick,” he told them before there was the sound of someone storming around, and the guy from earlier appeared, holding a water bottle. “Scaramoomoo!” He called out.

The male glared at Kazuha quickly before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, all hostility leaving his gaze but he still didn’t look that happy. “What did I tell you about calming me that, Kazu?” He asked as he looked over to where Gorou and Aether were waiting.

Kazuha shrugged his shoulders, his face blank. “Don’t do it straight to your face, or around people,” he responded, his voice monotone. “I can do it when I’m around certain people who wouldn’t use it to maliciously make fun of you.” 

The purple haired man nodded his head in approval. “Good.” He muttered softly.

Kazuha rolled his eyes before raising his walkie talkie up to his mouth and started to talk to the person on the other end. He looked at the other two, “You two are good. I’ll get your phone number from Xiao later, Aether!” He called out, “When Scaradouche isn’t here to oggle at how cute you are.” 

Aether covered his mouth as he said that as a look of pure horror crossed the purple haired man. “KAZUHA!” He cried and Kazuha cackled. 

Aether grabbed Gorou’s hand before pulling him into the forest, ready to get away from the other two. He bit his lip as he tried to ignore the way his cheeks were heating up. “How the hell do you have not one, but two, hot guys in love with you?” Gorou asked, and Aether dropped the brown haired boy’s hand.

He glanced at him, confused, “I dont?” He asked, tilting his head to the side.

Gorou clapped his hands together before tilting his head down at him, “But you do.” He insisted and Aether curled up the corner of his mouth after saying that. A wide grin appeared on his best friend’s face. “I’m kidding!” He cried out.  But was he? “I know why, you are fucking adorable, and you have a great personality. Don’t worry, one day you are going to make someone super fucking happy.”

Aether awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Let’s continue,” he muttered and started to walk ahead of Gorou.Gorou laughed as he skipped after Aether, chattering happily about anything and everything.

They hadn’t gotten too far into the maze when a guy jumped down from a tree, screaming loudly. Both boys stopped dead, and Aether’s mind went on auto-pilot, not stopping to think. The blond teenager pulled his hand back before swinging it at the other person. At the same time, Gorou screamed in shock and cowered behind him. The guy laughed loudly as he jumped back.

Aether took a few steps back, careful not to fall over Gorou as confusion washed over him. He stood up taller, daring the other to hurt either one of them. This man could be a lunatic. He was hunched over, laughing loudly as if their reaction was the funniest thing that he had seen in his life.

Gorou stood up, realizing what was happening, before grabbing Aether’s arm. A look of pure shock appeared on his face. “Were you going to punch him just now?” The brown haired boy asked.

Aether turned to look at Gorou with a grim look on his face. He knew what the answer to that was. “If he didn’t move I would have punched him.” He answered. Gorou’s mouth widened before he nodded his head slowly.

His blue eyes scanned the woods quickly before looking back at Aether. “Aether, I think he’s an Actor, you’re not supposed to punch the actors!” He whisper-yelled. The guy fell backwards on the ground and started laughing louder as he rolled around.

The blond blinked as he watched the male who was taller than the two of them. His white hair was getting covered with leaves and dirt. He wore a headband with two devil horns attached. He wore a white muscle T-shirt and a pair of battered ripped jeans. How he was surviving in this cold, Aether didn’t know.

When he calmed down enough, he sat up criss-cross applesauce as he looked at the two with an amused look in his eyes. “That was a way better response than the girl who just walked through here,” He called out, gesturing towards the forest behind him. Aether peered around him before looking back at the male in confusion. “Hi!”

Aether stared the male down. The man uncrossed his legs before jumping once he got to his feet. “Are actors supposed to have that reaction when scaring someone?” He asked and the guy had to hold back another fit of laughter.

The white haired man shook his head. “Dude, my bro, I’m not an actor,” he told the friends, shaking his head, “I’m a guest, just like you!” Any part of Aether that felt sorry for almost punching an actor just trying to do their job evaporated as Gorou and Aether shared a look. “The actor’s aren’t scary enough, so I decided to help them make their event even scarier. The girl earlier told me that I needed to get a life.”

That sounded like Lumine. Aether rolled his eyes before turning back to fix Gorou with a look, gesturing at the man. “See? This man deserved to be punched.” He told his friend. “Punching people is a natural response when you think that you are in danger.” The blond boy insisted.

Gorou opened his mouth to say something, furrowing his eyebrows before he looked over at the man. “Aether is the right man. That jump scare was kind of mean of you… If you are not an actor helping with this experience, then you shouldn’t be pranking people.  You could get in trouble with the event management or get badly hurt if you aren’t careful.” He scolded the other man. “Even I know when too far is too far.”

For a second, Aether really thought that the other was listening to Gorou’s very real concern. Then the male scrunched up his face and blew a raspberry. “It’s not that big of a deal,” the man insisted. The blond boy really had to hold himself from slapping the other. Part of him really wanted to. “Besides, there was no real harm done my fellas.”

He offered out his hand towards the two boys and Aether was the first one to accept the handshake. If this was another prank and the boy managed to hurt Gorou, Aether didn’t want that on his conscience. “I’m Aether,” he introduced himself, fixing the boy with a serious stare, “If you didn’t dodge, I would have hit you. And then that would have caused real harm.” He stressed out. 

Itto took in a sharp long breath as he looked Aether up and down. He sucked in his bottom lip before releasing it with a loud pop, “But ya didn’t.” He pointed out squinting his eyes and tilting his head to the side.

Aether was going to slap him.

Gorou forced his way between the two boys before anything could happen. He offered out his hand instead and the taller man enthusiastically shook Gorou’s hand. “I’m Gorou.” He told him with a shy smile on his face.

Gorou, shy? That didn’t sound like Aether’s friend.

The other guy let go of Gorou’s hand and watched Gorou, tilting his head to the side for a few seconds before grinning widely. “It’s nice to meet you Aether and Gorou, but I’m going to go hide again dudes,” he called out, pointing behind him, “So that I can scare the next fool that pops up. It was nice meeting you two!” He called over his shoulder as he turned and rushed off into the night.

Hearing the other’s plan, Gorou’s eyes widened in surprise before he started to run after the other boy. “HEY!” He yelled out.  Aether stood there, shocked, not processing what was happening.. “NO! We don’t scare random people!” 

Aether shook his head when he realized they both disappeared before he ran after them. There was a fork in the maze. He couldn’t see which way the two of them had disappeared down. All he could hear was them loudly bickering. He couldn’t hear which way they had gone, and their voices were getting farther and farther away. Aether stopped as he stared at the fork, concern shining in his eyes. 

He rubbed his arm uncomfortably, looking around the suddenly eerie forest, where he was all alone when his best friend was supposed to keep him company through this maze. But of course that’s not how Aether’s night was going to go.

They really did a good job at making this maze seem spooky, and Aether had yet to meet another actor despite being in the maze for who knows how long. The sun had set a long time ago. He was walking slowly, keeping to the side of the maze. He stopped as another fork appeared in the road, looking between the two options that he had, not knowing which one he should take.

Bitterness filled him. He wanted to start crying as he realized the reality that he was placed in. His best friend left him for a complete and total stranger.  He chose his path as he strained his ears in hope that he could hear Gorou and Itto bickering as they walked through the maze, but he wasn’t that lucky.

As he was walking, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Aether spun around in shock, raising his fist and punching whoever touched him in the nose.

This time, the person didn’t dodge him, Aether moving too fast for him to grasp what was happening, and Aether’s hand slammed into his nose hard. Aether gasped in shock as he shook out his hand, not expecting it to hurt that much. The male he just punched gasped as well, his hand flying up to cover his nose, a flash of pain crossing his face.

Aether knew who this man was too, and he felt his gut sinked. It was Scara, Kazuha’s friend from the tent. “FUCK!” Scara cried out in pain, squeezing his eyes shut as he took in a deep breath. “First Albedo dumped me, and now this? Universe, I fucking swear get the fuck off my dick. I can’t catch a break today!” He grumbled, everything supposed to be under his breath.

“Holy Shit!” Aether yelled out as he covered his mouth as he studied the other, trying to figure out what he should do. He just punched a complete and total stranger. “I’m… I’m so sorry!” He cried out, walking closer to the male who took a step back, not wanting the blond to hit him again, “Are you okay?”

The purple haired man stared at Aether as if he was kidding, anger and hostility shining in his indigo eyes before he sighed and uncovered his nose, raising it up so that Aether could have a better look at it. “Does it look bad?” He asked. Aether stared at it, there was a bit of blood running from the nose, but it didn’t seem to be broken. “Don’t worry about it, you didn’t punch me that hard.”

Aether looked at him with guilt in his eyes, a deep frown on his face, “It’s not broken,” Aether replied. “I believe it could be healed with manipulation… I… wait, no, we need to have running water. I would offer to help…” He rambled on grimacing. “I am so so sorry.”

The other man chuckled softly. “It’s fine, you’re fine,” he told the blond. Aether stepped back, confused at the sudden change in the man’s mood. He wasn’t that mad at him? “I didn’t mean to startle you that badly that you punched me without a second thought. I just wanted to return this.” He held up a small device.

Aether took one look at what he was holding before his eyes widened even more in embarrassment. He had dropped his phone walking through the maze. “I am so sorry.” He repeated.

The guy laughed and shook his head. “It’s fine, please, don’t feel too bad. I have been in way worse pain,” He reassured Aether, but Aether stared at the man in complete and total horror. He shook his head. “How is your hand?” He asked before taking the hand that Aether had punched him with, inspecting it.

The blond had to force himself to not rip his hand away. “It’s fine,” he reassured the other, faking a smile, “I think your nose requires more attention than my hand. I mean… I was the one who punched you. Why? Thank you for recovering my phone. I didn’t notice I dropped it.”

“Because I’m trying to be nice?” The other asked, looking at Aether, raising an eyebrow. “You should really keep a better eye on your stuff.” The male pointed out and Aether tilted his head back, as if to show that he knew.  He glanced over Aether’s shoulder as if he was expecting someone else to come out. “Weren’t you supposed to be with someone?” He asked in confusion.

Aether blew some air as he thought about his best friend, off in the forest. He nodded his head slowly, making a face. “Yeah… I was with someone… but he ditched me to chase after a stranger,” he replied, not realizing just how much venom snuck into his voice. He was really upset with Gorou for just leaving him there. “I’ll have to yell at him later for this.”

The male gently patted Aether’s shoulder. “Some boyfriend, huh?” He asked, rolling his indigo eyes. “You shouldn’t leave your date alone in the forest. Especially not to go run off with someone else. That is beyond rude.” Aether scrunched his eyebrows together. Did he just say boyfriend?

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Aether stressed, “Just my best friend.” The boy gave Aether a look..

Aether didn’t know where he had gotten the idea that Gorou was his boyfriend. “Huh…” The other male whispered, “My mistake. I always seem to see the two of you around together… And Kazuha told me that you were taken…”

Aether pouted, shaking his head rapidly. “I am not taken!” He cried out looking at Scara as if he was insane. “I’m not an object to be owned by anyone! And I’m not dating anyone. I’m not someone’s possession. Nobody is someone’s possession.”

“Of course you’re not.” The male said, as he stepped away from Aether, giving him a charming smile. “He just made it seem like you were in a relationship and I should back off from flirting with you.”

A blush formed on Aether’s cheeks before he coughed and shook his head. “I uh… No. But Aren’t you in a relationship?” Aether asked, changing the conversation onto him instead. “You’re my cousin’s boyfriend, aren’t you?”

Scara tsked softly, scrunching up his face. “That would have been true a few hours ago, but Albedo decided that dating me is not worth the trouble.” He responded, shrugging his shoulders. “Albedo was supposed to escort me here today… but since we just broke up he said he’d rather not.” 

“I’m sorry…” Aether whispered, looking down at the ground, not knowing what to say. Was there anything that Aether could say without knowing the man for that long?

The man reached down before grabbing Aether’s hand and started to pull him towards the direction of the maze, “Come on, let’s get through this maze. I have schoolwork I put off to support my old friends.” 

Aether rolled his eyes, pulling his hand away but walking side by side with the other person. Scara would make dumb jokes about different things here and there, or say the most self deprecating joke ever. Aether laughed each time which made the smile on Scara’s face brighten widely. 

Aether had to admit, if he ever met this Scara person at school, he wouldn’t mind being friends with him. He helped the time go by quickly. 

The two rounded a corner and an actor jumped out at them, targeting Aether as he yelled in Aether’s face.  Maybe he thought that Aether would have been an easy scare, but the blond boy wasn’t having any of that and he went to punch the actor in reflex.

His traveling buddy quickly stopped him, wrapping his arms around Aether’s body and forcing the boy to move to the side a little bit. “Woah there,” He cried out, “It’s just an actor, no need to punch them too.”

Aether struggled in Scara’s arms, looking at the actor who was watching Aether with wide familiar amber eyes. “Jeezees. Sorry Aeth, I didn’t think you would have been that reactive,” the actor said with genuine guilt in their eyes.

Deciding that there would be no harm in letting Aether go, Scara dropped his arms and took a few steps away from the boy. Aether placed a hand on his chest, feeling the way that it was racing. “Fucking hell Xiao!” He yelled out, a pout appearing on his face.

Xiao looked like a kicked puppy as he watched Aether, knitting his eyebrows together. “I’m sorry,” he tried again softly. “You were the first one I saw. I thought that Lumine and Gorou came with you to this event. I couldn’t help myself.”

Aether stopped. “You haven’t seen Lumine or Gorou?” He asked and Xiao shook his head. “The other two went ahead of me, “ he mused, looking behind him. How had he gotten in front of the other two? Maybe Gorou was too busy trying to deter Itto from scaring random people. Hopefully nothing bad had happened to either of them.

“It is a maze,” Xiao pointed out, “Maybe they took some wrong turns.” Aether nodded his head in agreement, looking over at Scaramouche with worry in his eyes. 

The boy was watching the two interact with a frown appearing on his face, he looked at Xiao after he was done speaking to Aether. “We might need a Do Not Scare sticker, Morax. Your little buddy here,” He patted Aether’s back, “Is a puncher.”

Xiao dug in his pocket before bringing out a sticker and handing it over to Aether. Aether looked down at it in disgust. Of course he had to wear this sticker. He looked up at Scaramouche pleadingly but the boy narrowed his eyes and Aether sighed before placing the sticker on his chest. “Why are you here, Scara?” Xiao asked, his tone unfriendly.

The man clicked his tongue, as he shrugged. “Aether punched me,” he gestured towards his nose. There was slight bruising around the area Aether’s first made contact. “So I am making sure that he doesn’t punch anyone else.”

Aether looked away, feeling embarrassed. He tried to punch three people, and managed to hit one of those three people. “He almost punched me.” Xiao deadpanned. 

Scara’s eyes widened as he shook his head, looking at Xiao with a what do you want me to do about that look. “And I stopped him?” He responded.

Xiao looked in between the boy and Aether, not believing his eyes. “But… you two are here together…” He muttered in confusion.

“I was here with Gorou, but he ditched me,” Aether explained and Xiao looked at him as he started to talk. “Scara found my phone and was returning it to me when I punched him.”

A look of relief passed through Xiao’s eyes as he heard the explanation. He narrowed his eyes at Scara. “Scara, I swear to god, If anything happens to Aether, your head will roll.” He threatened through gritted teeth.

Scara made a stink face. “I can see what Kazuha means by you’re taken.” He mumbled under his breath before forcing a smile. “He seems to mean a lot to you Morax,” he cooed out and Xiao growled back. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep him safe.” He wrapped his arm around one of Aether’s. “Come on Aether.” He pulled Aether through the maze without glancing back.

Aether looked behind his shoulder to see the way the teal haired man was glaring after them.

The rest of the maze went by fast, nobody messing with the two. Aether could only guess it was because he had a warning sticker on his chest. At the end, Aether looked around but he couldn’t see Lumine or Gorou, his heart sank. He did beat him there, hopefully they were just struggling through the maze and that was it. Hopefully nothing bad happened to them.

A boy with reddish purplish hair was standing at the end, playing on his phone, when he looked up. “Congratulations on making it through the end. Refreshments are over there. All profit made will go to Anemo High School.” He called out, his voice dead before his eyes lit up, reading the sticker on Aether’s chest. “Wow, we rarely give those stickers out! How did you get that.”

“He’s a puncher.” Scara told him, but didn’t give him any more attention as he continued to pull Aether elsewhere. “Come on, there’s a warm beverage stand. Let me buy you something while you wait for your friends.”

Chapter Text

Anything appearing underlined and italicized means that they are speaking in sign language

The thick piece of wood was the only thing standing between Aether. He stared at the door with wide eyes, wondering if he should knock on the door or not. Part of him was getting fed up with his sister and Gorou. With the way they had been treating him since the Test of Courage event. 

Gorou was being salty because Aether blew up on them both when they finally came out of the maze. Lumine was just being salty in general. The blond boy really wished he could change that. How could he when she was giving him the cold shoulder? After the fight, both had called him rude and yelled back at him.

The ride back was… awkward… to say the least. As soon as Aether got into his room, he spent the rest of the night bawling his eyes out. It took them two hours to finally get through the maze. Scara had stayed for a short bit, before he really had to do the homework he had blown off. Leaving Aether alone as wave after wave of people past through the finish line. The blond had spent his time talking with the worker who was at the end of the maze.

In the days following, neither Lumine nor Gorou had talked to Aether after he blew up.  Whenever Aether saw Gorou, he could tell that the other was feeling guilty. 

If it meant losing his friend, Aether didn’t want to stay angry. He was willing to apologize. Which is why he was standing outside of Lumine’s door, his hand raised as he forced himself to knock on the door. A soft gulp left his lips. “Lu?” He called out, his voice unsure.

He waited for a few minutes, shifting from foot to foot, but Lumine wasn’t opening the door. Just when he was about to raise his hand to knock again, the door swung open, slamming against the wall as his sister stood there. She was in a long hoodie, one of Xiao’s, her arms crossed as she glared at her twin. Aether tore his eyes away from the hoodie and looked into Lumine’s eyes.

“What?” She snapped. The girl looked rough. Her hair was a mess, random pieces sticking from one place to another, and dark circles formed under her eyes. She hadn’t taken a moment's rest, when she really should. 

Aether ignored the want to take a few steps away from her. He faked a smile, which did nothing to help her feel better as she crossed her arms more, glaring him down. “I uh… I was wondering if you wanted to uh…” He stuttered, trying to find the words, but they weren’t coming out.

“Get to the point.” She yelled, moving closer to Aether, a threatening look in her amber eyes.

Aether opened his mouth and instantly shut it, taking a step back and looking at the ground. “I-I w-wanted to s-see if you w-wanted to get food… or something.” Aether managed to stutter out.

The girl took after their mother when she was upset about something. Lumine shifted her weight onto one foot, leaning against the doorway. “Seriously?” She asked in disbelief. “No, I don’t want to get food! What the fuck Aether, I have studying to do! And shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, training with your boyfriend?” She snarled at him

Aether bit his lip as he turned to look anywhere but at Lumine as he scrunched up his face, not sure what to say. “Boyfriend?” He repeated and she rolled her eyes at him. He didn’t have a boyfriend, and she knew that.The only person that he would be training with was Xiao… of course she was jealous.

Aether didn’t have any control over who Xiao chose to spend his time with. At school, he would still choose to spend time with Aether. Maybe before it was unfair since he was helping with Aether training, but that stopped a long time ago. Aether was mostly now trying to strengthen his manipulation control all on his own. Xiao wasn’t anywhere near him.

The girl clicked her tongue annoyingly. “You know, Xiao?” She asked, tilting her head to the side in annoyance. “You know, the boy who worships the very fucking ground that you step on?” Hurt filled her eyes after she said that.

Great. Aether did the one thing that he was hoping not to, hurt his sister. Aether scoffed, knowing that would only add fuel to his sister’s anger. “He does not worship the ground that I walk on Lumine. I don’t know where you are getting your information, “ he denied and she huffed in disbelief. “Xiao is not my boyfriend.”

Her look darkened. “Mmhmm, sure.” She responded sarcastically. ”Keep telling yourself that. You are a traitor and a Liar, Aether.” She stepped closer to the blond before poking his chest.

Aether swatted her hand away as he closed his eyes for a split second, taking in a deep breath. He needed to stay calm. Lumine was hurt and upset. But this was not something that Aether had control over. “How am I a Liar? Or a Traitor?” He asked,hurt and betrayal lacing his voice.

The girl tsked softly. “You knew that I liked Xiao,” she pointed out. Yeah, Aether could get that from the way the girl acted around Xiao. But not once had she ever come up to him and told him.  “You knew and you still went after him.” She stressed, tears appearing in the corner of her eyes.

“I did not go after him!” He raised his voice, not being able to take the way that she was yelling at him. “And besides, YOU knew that I liked him. It is not my fault that we both like the same guy, Lumine. If Xiao asks you out, you will probably still say yes. You can’t control who you love, Lumine.” He argued.

Lumine stayed quiet as she stared at him, the tears rolling down her eyes. “You could have at least asked me before you started to date him, or at least let me know what was happening,” she retorted, her voice softer, filled with so much betrayal. “Instead of sneaking around with him so that I have to find out through the fucking grape vine.”

Aether scoffed, who was saying that the two of them were dating? He sucked in his lips as silence filled the hall. “We are not dating, Lumine.” Aether managed to get out, controlling his voice. “Xiao and I are just friends. Nothing more. If something ever did happen, you would be the first person I would tell. Trust me.” He managed to get out but he could see the mistrust in her eyes. “I have tried to back off, because I know how much he means to you. But you need to know, if Xiao chooses me over you, that is not my fault. At the same time, if he chooses you over me, I would be happy for you. Not giving you this third degree bullshit.”

Lumine faked a smile as she narrowed her eyes at her brother. “And how will he even get to know me?” She sneered. “When he is so busy training you?”

“Oh archons.” Aether muttered, rubbing his face. “He is not training me anymore. He hasn’t since the Test of Courage started. He needs to focus on his own exam-” Aether stressed.

“Which is what I’m trying to do, Aether. And I was doing really fucking well before you decided to start this fight with me,” his sister snipped out at him, cutting him off in his sentence. He stared at her in disbelief, She started this fight. “Some people aren’t naturally good at everything they fucking do. Unlike you.” Before he could defend himself, the door slammed in Aether’s face.

Aether stared at the door, tears gathering in his eyes. Holy shit, he needed to get out of this house. He needed to get away from this all.

Had she just conveniently forgotten the first 17 years of their lives where Aether struggled so hard? He had never thought that he and Lumine would be fighting over a boy like this. Or that he would be unwilling to give up liking said boy. He had tried, but he couldn’t. He wanted to shrug off the fight, chalk it up to Lumine being overwhelmed with the Exams. But was she really that hurt Xiao chose Aether?

The blond backed away from the door before turning and heading towards his room, slamming the door behind him in anger. He walked over and slammed down in his desk chair, the chair sliding a bit from the impact. He couldn’t get his mind to focus on anything but the fight with Lumine. 

He shook his head as he grabbed his phone off the charger, he needed to get out. But he didn’t want to be alone right now.  He opened up his contacts before staring at the options that he had. Xiao or Gorou. 

He didn’t know how Gorou was going to react, where at the same time, he didn’t want to interrupt Xiao’s studying. The boy’s finger ghosted over the names before he touched Gorou’s, placing the phone to his ear. It rang once, twice, before it was rejected. Aether’s eyes widened. Gorou rejected his call just like that? It didn’t even go to voicemail.

The blond pulled the phone away from his ear before clicking onto Xiao’s contact instead, placing it to his ear, only to hear that Xiao’s had gone straight to voicemail. Aether ended the call and stuffed the phone in his pocket, taking a deep shaky breath. If he wanted to go anywhere, it looked like he was going to have to go by himself.

He stared at the wall for a few minutes, trying to calm down his breathing, feeling like he was on the verge of a breakdown. The blond was trying to ignore the voice that was telling him the reason both of his calls went to voicemail was because they were annoyed with him. His friends were done with him. Maybe they were just busy? Studying? Please let that be the case, Aether didn’t think he could handle both of them deciding they didn’t want to be friends with him.

It wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it, if Aether went out alone? Maybe he could go over to a secluded area, practice on his own. THe blond could get some food while he was out there. Let himself cool down before he breaks down. Maybe before he does something drastic when he didn’t know the full story.

Aether needed some fresh air, it all boiled down to that. The blond sighed as he pushed himself off the bed and out the door, walking down the stairs. His mother and father were in the living room, surprisingly getting along for once, both had their laptops open.  No… getting along wasn’t the right word. No… Ignoring each other was more like it.

Hearing her son walk down the stairs, the woman looked up from her device. A sneer formed on her lips. “Are you and Lumine done with your hissy fit?” The woman asked with mock concern. She rolled her eyes dramatically and looked back down at her device.

Aether stared at her for a couple of seconds, wondering if he should give her the time of day and answer her question. Probably not. He turned towards his father who had looked up from his laptop. The man was watching Aether with knitted eyebrows, waiting to see what his son needed. “Dad, can I use your car?” The blond boy asked.

The blond man tilted his head to the side at the question. He didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds.The man’s silence spooked Aether, and the boy was preparing himself to give up, apologize and run back upstairs. “What for?” The man asked.

Realizing that he was ignoring her, his mother looked back up from her laptop and was glaring at Aether. Aether honestly could do without her tearing him down for the smallest problem, and her silence was better than him getting into a fight with the woman. “Food,” the boy responded, lifting his chest up as he tried to sound convincing, “then I was thinking of going to go train somewhere.” The teenager fought the urge to look away from his father, knowing if he did his father would know he was hiding something. Aether knew what his tell-tale signs of lying were, and how to ignore them or play them well in order for him to get his way.

The man put his laptop down on the seat next to him, straightening his posture. “Is Xiao or Gorou going to meet up with you?” He asked, staring at Aether when he said that and Aether couldn’t take his eyes away from his father.

Aether debated with himself on what he should do. Should he chose to tell the man the truth, or let him believe his son was going to be safe with his friends. If Aether told the truth, he would be bombarded with questions. Questions that at the moment Aether did not want to answer. The blond blinked before a wide smile appeared on his face, “yes,” he lied. 

For a second, Aether was afraid that his father didn’t believe him. The man stared the young boy down, raising an eyebrow, giving the boy time to confess the truth. Aether stood his ground, he wasn’t going to budge.  “Alright,” His father finally conceded, digging into his pockets and pulling out his keys, “be back by ten.” The keys were tossed into the air and Aether caught them. 

Aether beamed and placed the keys in his pocket. “Thank you,” the blond boy called out as he turned and ran towards the door. He was hoping to get out of the house before his dad could change his mind.

He stopped at the door when he heard his mother’s voice ring out, “You are seriously letting him go out?” The woman asked in disbelief. An uncomfortable feeling brewed in his stomach, hopefully the woman wouldn’t stop him from leaving.

Aether started to put on his shoes. He told himself that he was not going to be stopped by either one of his parents. “Yes,” his father responded, “there is no reason I shouldn’t allow him to go.”

The woman let out a disbelieving laugh, “He should be training, and if he goes out-” she started to complain.

Aether’s father instantly shut her down before she could say anything else, “I trust him.” A feeling of guilt piled in the bottom of Aether’s gut as he opened the door, “Besides, he has been training enough.” Aether hurried out of the door,  he didn’t control how hard he shut it so it slammed behind him.The blond shuffled over to the car. He got in on the driver’s side and started the vehicle. 

Pulling out of the driveway, Aether thought of what he was going to do now. He was free. He could do anything he wanted. Should he go to the School? The school was closed, and most kids were discouraged from going. It was open for Seniors who needed a place to train. Or maybe the park? It was early enough in the day, nobody would be there, or if someone was there it would be spread out.

In truth, the boy just wanted to get away. He started to drive, trusting his heart’s fire to lead him to the place he needed to be. He took one hand away from the steering wheel and raised it to wipe away tears falling down his cheeks.

Why was everything so overwhelming?  He was on the verge of breaking.

Between the trauma from getting his powers, to kids insisting he was only searching for attention. To the fact it felt like he had lost everyone he held dear to him. Who knew why Xiao suddenly stopped talking to him. Even if he wanted to… Aether knew that he had nobody he could turn to.

What a lonely feeling that was.

The blond stared at the road and drove, trying not to let his emotions win. His stomach grumbled after a few minutes of driving. Aether still needed to get something to eat, and just thinking about going through a drive thru made him want to cry. He didn’t have the energy for that, so instead he pulled up to a gas station. Their food was good enough for him anyways.

The blond walked into the store and headed over to the deli section, picking up one of their subs. There was a section for fruits right next to the sandwiches. He grabbed some  cut up fruit as well. Aether followed the wall of refrigerators before he got to the sections with sodas, grabbing a random one. Once he got everything he needed, he headed towards the cashier. He grabbed some chips as he stood in line, waiting to pay for his food. 

The customer before him and the cashier were in the middle of a conversation. “It is so sad,” the customer said with a deep sigh, “yet another school was attacked by the abyss order.”

Aether bit his cheek gently. The Abyss order was really starting to worry him. The cashier’s face morphed into pity as he started to check the few items the man had, “It is. When are they going to do something about this?” He replied, pausing for a second from scanning the items, “How many more of our kids are we going to lose to these greedy bastards?”

The customer shook his head sadly as he got his wallet out of his pocket, “I can’t believe that the war had finally made its way to the districts,” they grumbled, pulling out some cash and handing it over to the cashier. “After how many years of this war happening? That wanna be king should have never left. He should have just sucked it up. How bad could it have been living under the Abyss Order? Now his kids are the reason that our kids are dying.”

The cashier took the cash and put it into the register. He grabbed the correct change and handed it over to the customer. “Our kids will still die,” the cashier said with a bitter laugh, “Celestia University’s graduates have a huge percentage that join the war. That school is nothing but a place to train young soldiers. They are practically still kids themselves.” 

Aether shifted uncomfortably. Their conversation was really getting to the poor boy. “Most of our kids join the war.” The other replied bitterly, “Hell, I graduated from Geo University and half of my graduating class enrolled in this endless war.”

“Something needs to change…” the Cashier whispered. The man smiled as he grabbed his items, turned and left. Nothing more was said between the two men. 

Aether walked up when it was his turn and placed his items down. The cashier quietly checked his items, deep in thought. “That is going to be 19.58.” He told Aether, with a smile. Aether pulled out his wallet and grabbed his credit card. He slid the card through the reader. “Would you like a bag?”

“Yes Please.” Aether muttered, barely loud enough for the worker to hear. The worker placed everything in the bag and slid it across the counter. “Thank you,” Aether told him as he grabbed the bag.

The cashier smiled at Aether, trying to hide the pity in his eyes. “Be careful out there. It is a scary time for you kids,” he warned.

Really, it was only the attacks. If these attacks weren’t happening, then nobody would blink an eye about where kids chose to go after they finished their schooling. It has been happening for years. Every kid saw the chance to go off to war for their coven as a right, an honor even. Aether faked a smile, dread filling him to the bone as he turned and walked out of the store and to his car. 

The blond continued to drive before he finally pulled into a parking lot.  As he looked around, he was surprised that he had chosen the place.The destination had been on the news a lot lately, Aether didn’t remember what for, but he never paid that much attention. 

This field was said to be a special place to the coven. Although there was no proof, a lot of people believed this was where the two founders met eons ago. 

It was a huge park, with Celestia University built right in the middle.There was a ring of trees around it, before the houses of everyone else who lived in the Celestia district. Anyone was free to visit.

Aether  got out of his car, noticing how eerily quiet the parking lot was. There were no other cars parked. It was weird, but at the same time Aether didn’t find it worrying.

He grabbed out his food, leaning against the car as he silently took a few bites, enough to satisfy the hunger. He wasn’t that hungry and didn’t feel like eating his whole sandwich. Instead, he put the remains in the bag again and threw it into the passenger side and locked the car door.

As he walked into the forest, he had to take a deep breath, popping his knuckles anxiously. His eyes kept glancing around the trees while he walked. When he got into the field, something told him to keep close to the tree line. When he found an area that felt good, he took off his training gloves and placed them on the ground. His golden eyes glanced around the field. 

Nobody was here. A sudden wave of Deja Vu washed over him.

A flash of a dream long forgotten passed through his eyes. A dream of two people happily practicing their powers, lighting up the world. Two people who went out to a field in the middle of the night.. Not just any field, but this field. There were no buildings, a lot more trees. A vision of those same two people falling in love. Aether shook his head strongly, trying to stop the visions in his mind, not understanding why he was seeing theem.

He took in a deep breath and tried to get his powers to show. To get down to the real reason why he was out here. 

But nothing happened. 

His golden eyes widened as panic spread through him like a wildfire. There was a squeeze in his heart. His mind jumped to the worst case scenario. He had lost his powers. He was powerless again.

Aether tried to do more, but nothing came out no matter how hard he willed for something to happen. 

The blond let out a gasp, his heart speeding up, one of his hands reaching up to cover his mouth. What was he going to do? The exams were less than a week away! Of course fate had to spit in his face. Fate had to remind him that he was always going to be useless, worthless Aether.

Aether grabbed his gloves and slipped them back on again. Something felt off, causing him to  look around again. The blond  wondered if he should get out of the field and leave. Being here wasn’t going to help a thing if he couldn’t….

A tall boy appeared almost out of nowhere from near the university. He looked around before spotted Aether. The figure was then running straight for him, and the boy backed up. Aether couldn’t turn and run. A new form of panic filled him. The man was in front of him. The newcomer grabbed the blond’s arm and pulled him behind a tree with a sense of urgency.

Aether stumbled as he was pushed back against a different tree. His foot got caught in the roots, tripping him. The blond fell on his butt. He blinked as he looked up at the other, his eyes going wide, not sure what to say or what to do. 

The man was watching Aether, his green and brown eyes intense before he raised a finger to his mouth. Aether’s breath caught in the back of his throat. Was this how he was going to die? 

The male’s darkish silverish hair was covering one of his eyes as he studied Aether. He kept a clean looking appearance. He had a tight black turtleneck tucked into a black pair of slacks and a long brown overcoat.  

He placed his back against the tree before slowly and carefully looking around the tree, his hand dropping as he scanned the field. Aether bit his lip, not sure what he should do. 

Should he cry out for help? Could he do that?  Was their motive behind why Aether was chosen? Aether was in trouble, but just how much trouble?

The blond watched as he turned back to look at Aether, and stared at him intensely.  Aether rested his hand on the tree, getting ready to stand up and run. “ Do you know sign language ?” The man signed, surprising Aether so much that his hand fell off the tree.  “ Of course he can’t sign ,” he continued, doing a sign language Aether guessed was probably his sign name. He covered his mouth, worry shining in his eyes.

Aether cautiously waved his hand to get the other’s attention. The man turned to stare back at him, raising his eyebrow. “ I know sign language .” Aether signed back at the man. There was silence after that. The man was watching Aether, suspiciously. Deciding there was time for explanation later, Aether continued, “ What is going on ?” The blond knitted his eyebrows together, trying to convey how confused he was. He tilted his head to the side. 

The silver haired man didn’t say anything as he watched Aether. When he wasn’t signing, his face seemed void of emotions. But his shoulders relaxed, showing that he was calming down. Something about it made Aether feel this man was not the threat. “ This is a non magic zone. What are you doing here trying to practice magic ?” The other asked with a deep frown on his face.

Aether leaned against the tree, more confused than before. “ Non magic ?” Aether asked and the other nodded his head. “ I didn’t know that. I wanted to practice magic .” The blond tried to defend himself. Aether did not get the memo they set up a non magic area in the field.

A haunted look passed through the male’s eyes as he took in a silent breath. “ There have been attacks on students training her e.” He told Aether, “t oo many attacks .” The last words were filled with anger.  Sadness crept through the highschooler, he couldn’t keep the emotion away from his eyes.  Aether covered his mouth. It must have been recently, just a week ago he had heard stories of people coming here to train. How inspiring it was to train in the place the Coven was first created. “ I saw someone coming this way .” The other man continued to explain. “ They are part of the Abyss Order. I couldn’t let you be attacked by them. I couldn’t let that be on my conscience .”

Here he was, with rumors of the Abyss Order attacking any kid they saw and killing them, and these same people were apparently near him. He looked at the man, fear growing in his eyes. If he got up, he could make it to his car and leave. It wouldn’t be that hard, but something kept him in one spot.

“The car in the parking lot was empty.” A voice rang through the forest. “I didn’t see any sign of them anywhere around.” Aether stiffened and concern washed over the man as he went to glance around the tree again.  Aether shook his head and he stopped in his tracks. “So…. Geo next? You have infiltrated Geo, right?”

Aether blinked his eyes as he felt tears start to form in them.  He wasn’t good in situations like this. He strained his ears, trying to get a better read on this situation. They were talking about his school. “There is no point. There are only two in Geo who could fit the description of the snotty brat.” Another voice called out, and Aether recognized this voice. It was one of the kids in his class who tormented him. She was one of Lumine’s friends. “The first one is Alatus. You know, that kid who Zhongli took in?”

Aether’s hand shook. The kid that Zhongli took in? There was only one kid that could be, Xiao. He had never heard that name, Alatus.  Zhongli and Xiao lived alone.

The silver haired man nodded at the tree they were hiding behind with his head before signing, “ They are there, aren’t they ?” Aether nodded his head slowly. 

They really can’t know that they were here, not when one knew who Aether was. Especially when one of the people they had their eye on was one of his best friends. “And the other one?” their companion asked.

The girl scoffed loudly. “She’s got a twin,” Aether had to bite hard on his lip to stop any sign of shock from escaping. Lumine. They were talking about Lumine. They were the only twins in school.  “It ain’t her.” Aether could see them attacking his sister and Lumine not being able to defend herself, Lumine ending up on the news like all of those kids who were attacked. Tears rolled down his cheeks.

HIs hiding buddy watched Aether in shock and concern. Aether was breaking down, and Aether himself didn’t know how long he could keep quiet like that. “What about those rumors?” The other asked, and Aether dug his fingers into his cheeks, closing his eyes. Who were they going to think of attacking next? Gorou? “Of that kid whose powers rapidly grew almost overnight?”

No, not Gorou. Aether. They were talking about him now. The girl scoffed again, “Those are just rumors,” she insisted, “He is not powerful in the slightest, he just wants attention. It’s gross.” At least his reputation had one thing working for him.

The other took a while to reply to them, “It might be the kid,” they whispered, “Even if it was rumors, shouldn’t we-”

“No,” The girl insisted, shutting up the other, “He is the girl’s twin. There is no mistake that they are twins. The girl is much more of a fit to the prophecy than his useless ass. “

Aether’s other hand rose to clasp over his hand, trying not to shake. “Maybe we are focusing on the wrong kid. We know who the oldest brat is.“ The other tried to reason with the girl, “Why don’t we just infiltrate the college? Finish off the older kid while we have the chance? It couldn’t be that hard.” 

Infiltrate the college… as in Celestia?  Did the Abyss Order really have the power to do that? Aether shook his head once. “No.” The girl replied. “That is going to be the next step, if we don’t succeed and both of them are enrolled in the college, it would be easier to finish both of them at the same time. If we do it now, we will blow our resources. Don’t act too harshly, besides it was made clear in the prophecy that we need to look out for the youngest daughter of the king.” 

Aether heard a soft movement, too soft for the two to hear, and he opened his eyes to see that the older man was kneeling in front of him, he carefully reached out to place a comforting hand on Aether’s shoulder. “Why are we looking for the strongest student, anyways?” The other asked. “And how do we know when we got the right person?”

“The answers are all in the Prophecy. The Prophecy is about a Girl who has way more powers than any of our Leaders combined. We cannot let her destroy the Abyss Order. Our ancestors have worked too hard to gain control over that wretched country. We can’t let a snotty nose brat take it all back from us.” The girl insisted, scorn lacing her voice.

Aether stared at the male in front of him, furrowing his eyebrows. “Fine, we will skip Geo and go onto Anemo. We also must remember we can’t assume that it’s a daughter we are looking for, the prophecy never states that.”

“But our sources confirmed the Queen gave birth to a baby girl before she died.” The girl insisted. “So the Traitorous King had a Son and a Daughter. We are looking for the youngest of the two.”

“Our sources could be wrong. Let’s go.” Aether could hear noises that he could only assume were them leaving. He stayed still for a while, before moving his hands away from his mouth, using them to wipe away his tears.  Aether thought of Kazuha from the Anemo district and he really hoped he wasn’t going to get hurt. He turned to stare through the trees as the place filled with its eerie silence yet again.

The male waved his hand to get Aether’s attention, he turned back to him, shaking. “ What happened ?” Concern was embedded deep in those green eyes. 

Aether watched him, trying to figure out what to say. “ Did you get any of that ?” He asked, before moving to stand up, the man stood and backed up to allow Aether to stand.

The guy shook his head. “I’m deaf .” He signed. Aether pointed to something around the other’s ears, something that he had assumed to be hearing aids, but apparently not. “ They are dead .”

Aether sighed softly before he started to relay the information of what he just heard to the other male. As he took in the information, his expression grew darker the more that was revealed to him. “ Should we tell anyone ?” Aether asked after he was done with the story.

The other quickly shook his head. He moved to glance around the tree quickly before he looked back at Aether. “ It’s not any new information. I will tell some teachers at Celestia about the threat ,” he assured Aether. Aether sighed and nodded his head, letting his shoulders drop. He felt as if he was going to faint. “ I wonder what Prophecy they were talking about .” Aether nodded in agreement, that had piqued his interest as well. The other’s expression softened as he watched Aether. “ Don’t worry. The teachers will warn the districts, Especially Anemo as that seems to be where they are heading next .”

“ The older kid ?” Aether asked, thinking about the kid that they knew was in Celestia at this moment. This unknown person could get hurt with no warning, and Aether could be that warning. 

The other patted Aether’s shoulder comfortably. “ I’ll watch over him ,” he promised, “ They have to be dumb if they think they can hurt him .” The urge to protect this person shone in his eyes. 

Aether managed to smile, feeling relieved about that. He didn’t have anything to worry about. “ Yeah… ” He paused, wondering if he should tell the other the next piece of information he knew. “ I’m relieved that they are skipping Geo. That is where I go to school .” Aether finally admitted. 

A curious look passed through the older man. “ Do you know the three that they were talking about ?” He asked Aether, tilting his head to the side. Aether nodded his head.  “ Who are they ?”

Aether bit his lip. He had already set his grave already, he couldn’t pretend that he didn’t know anymore. “ My friend Xiao ,” He started, and a look of sympathy passed through the man’s eyes, “ My twin, Lumine.  And then me .” 

The other gave him a smile, trying to be comforting, but Aether didn’t need that, although he did appreciate the other trying to help. “ You sign very well .” He mentioned. “Are you hard of hearing or Mute ?”

Aether shrugged his shoulders knowing both of those options didn’t really fit why he chose to learn sign language when he was younger. “ Selective Mute ,” he responded and the other’s eyes widened as he opened his mouth. “ I learned to sign by communication for the teachers who got mad that I couldn’t communicate verbally. Not many people know I can sign, just my dad really.”   In the past he had tried to convince others to learn how to sign as well, but they didn’t see the need and didn’t. 

The man nodded his head a couple of times. “ I understand that. I am Alhaitham ,” he signed each letter of his name, “ Or ,” he then did the sign he did earlier when he was yelling at himself, “ My friends usually call me Haitham thoug h.”

Aether had heard of that name. He was sure, he stared at the other as he gave his brain some time to catch up. “ Do you… know Albedo ?” He asked as soon as it clicked with him. The other slowly nodded his head. “ I am his cousin, Aether .” 

A look of recognition passed through Alhaitham’s eyes. Albedo must have talked about him to his school friends. “ Albedo swears you look like Kaveh .” He told Aether. “ I don't see it. Your eyes aren’t red .” 

Aether smiled and he tried not to laugh, that was a very simple thing to point out. “ They aren’t .” Aether agreed. “ I have never seen Kaveh but so many people mention him. It’s weird .” He responded, pouting.

Al Haitham nodded his head in agreement as he stared Aether down, looking for other details that didn’t fit Kaveh, probably. “ You are shorter than Kaveh .”

Aether glared half heartedly at him when he heard that. “ I am of an average height .” The blond argued, trying his best to look offended.

The male smiled. He let out a laugh as well. A loud rang interrupted the silence and Aether jumped, before noticing that it was his phone. He quickly dug it out of his pocket and put it to his ear, hoping that the abyss order people were gone. 

“Where are you?” A voice demanded as soon as the phone call was answered.

Aether gulped, not catching who it was that asked him that. Could it be his dad? It wasn’t that late that he was missing the curfew his father had set for him.  “Training?” He responded, cautiously.

“Aeth!” The other cried out in disbelief, Gorou’s voice, “We have been trying to get a hold of you for an hour!” The other insisted in annoyance.

An hour?  This was the first call that had gone through.  “I  didn’t get any call before this?” He asked in confusion.

If they had been trying, then that would have alerted the other people.  And obviously if it just went off now it wasn’t on silence, or off. If his phone had gone off, then both of them would have been in trouble. Alhaitham waved and Aether looked over at him, watching as he signed, “ I should be going, you should leave too .” He smiled before turning and running off back towards the university.

Aether watched him go, not sure what he should be feeling right now. “Well, that’s because your phone has been off,” Gorou accused Aether, bringing him back to the conversation. Aether made a face as he turned and headed through the trees back to his car. 

He felt on edge, worried that they might be waiting for him in the trees or at his car even. “No it hasn’t?” He responded, his voice almost a whisper. “Maybe I was in a dead zone for my phone.” That didn’t make sense. This call wouldn’t have gone through either.

“All I know I know we were trying to get ahold of you,” Gorou responded, his annoyance growing more the longer that the two of them talked. “And our calls were going straight to Voicemail.” That didn’t make sense.

He walked out of the trees and walked as fast as he could to his car, getting into it, putting the phone on speaker and throwing it on the passenger seat. “Who is ‘us’?” He asked as he buckled his seatbelt and got ready to pull out of the car.

Through his back rear mirror he saw two people, Lumine’s friend and a boy taller than her, watching as he pulled the car out of the parking lot. A shiver ran through his body. “

Xiao and I, we wanted to train with you.” Gorou responded in desperation. Aether made a face, where were they when Aether was trying to get in touch with them? “Lumine said that you went off on your own.”

Aether scoffed softly as he made his way back on a main street. “After I called you to train with me. Neither one of you picked up,” he accused Gorou. 

Gorou whispered something, probably to Xiao who was probably right next to him. Aether couldn’t make out what they were saying. Xiao’s voice, barely a mumble, picked up. “Aeth, you never called us.” Gorou told him.

“But I did,” Aether responded, puffing out some air. “Do you still want to meet up? I just experienced the wackiest shit. I don’t know what’s happening, maybe my phone is acting up.”

Aether screwed up his face. He should still have proof that he tried to call both of them. That his phone never picked up any phone calls from either of them. “Yes.” Gorou responded, his voice lifting. “I’ll let Xiao know. The school?”

Aether smiled, a soft sigh of relief leaving him. “Yeah. To the school.” 

As soon as Aether got to the school, he could see that the two boys were waiting for him and he hurriedly walked over to them. “So you never got any of our texts or calls?” Gorou asked, and Aether tilted his head, hearing the word text. He shook his head before tossing him the phone. Gorou, knowing Aether’s passcode, unlocked it before taking a look through it with a frown appearing on his face, he showed it to Xiao who looked just as confused as Gorou.

The three friends shared a look. “So… you mentioned you just experienced something?” Xiao asked after a while of nothing else being said, handing Aether back his phone.

He nodded his head as he placed it in his pocket. “Did you know that Founder Park is a Non Magic Zone now?”

Gorou shrugged his shoulders, not looking surprised. “They just announced that they made it that way a couple of days ago.” He responded.

A pout formed on Aether’s lips as he looked down at the ground. “I didn’t know that…” he muttered softly. “I went there-”

“Aether, there have been attacks there!” Xiao cried in shock.

Aether waved his hands before he went through his story and told them the whole story, both seemed skeptical and Aether couldn’t blame them. Gorou changed the conversation to training as soon as Aether finished the story.

And the three started to spare, more like Xiao and Gorou were but Aether was too distracted. Something bad was brewing. “Aeth?” Xiao called when he easily knocked the other boy over. Aether was staring off into space and he snapped his attention back to the other. “You seem distracted.” Xiao pointed out.

Aether managed a smile. “I’m scared Xiao.” He admitted, looking into Xiao’s amber eyes. “I am so scared. What if the Abyss do come after us? What if they hurt you? Or Lu? Or Gorou?” He glanced over at his best friend who was walking over to him and he watched Aether with concern.

Xiao moved closer to the blond boy, pulling him into a tight hug. Aether stiffened before he hugged Xiao back. “You don’t have to worry about that,” he reassured him, “I will make sure that nothing, I repeat, nothing will hurt you.”

Aether pushed away from the hug, and stared up at Xiao. “How could you-” Xiao silenced Aether in a very effective way. Aether’s brain shut off in shock and Gorou gasped out loudly as he watched the scene in front of him.

Chapter Text

A cold breeze blew through the air, brushing over the blonde as he packed back and forth, biting gently on one of his knuckles. His golden eyes were nervously scanning all of the different things he can pick up on, the different size of the group gathering around him. The students that fell in next to their own friends, talking about different topics.

A worried expression was etched deep onto his face as he forced himself to take in a deep breath. There was a stone wall next to him that he leaned against, closing his eyes as he tried to fight back the nauseous feeling in the pits of his stomach. He was nervous. He was so nervous. It was going to be okay. Who knows what these next 48 hours were going to bring him.

This feels like the climax from the past few months. What he was preparing for for his whole life was finally here. This was finally the end. It all came down to this.

Would he be able to show his worth? Prove that he was not a complete and total failure like everyone had written him out to be? 

Or would he surprise everyone, including himself? Did these past couple of months change his fate?  The senior knew that he had done everything that he could to prepare himself. But… there was still that nagging voice in the back of his head.

What if it wasn’t enough and he was just fooling himself?

Aether took in another breath, a shakier breath then the rest as he squeezed his eyes tighter. He could feel some people staring at him, he could hear the whispers rising around. Unfamiliar voices. Voices asking if he was ok. 

His golden eyes opened and he stared ahead as he focused on his breathing. He slowly looked around the place where he could see more students than before, getting out of cars or walking up from the bus stop.

The doors in front of him would soon open, opening wide and welcoming the students into the auditorium. In that room, they would be welcomed and then be told how the next two days were going to happen. What they could expect from the exam period. 

Another burst of wind blew past Aether, tugging the ends of his blond hair back. It had certainly grew, thankfully. But it wasn’t growing fast enough, in Aether’s opinion.  It was probably just long enough for him to put some of it in a half ponytail style. 

If he had a pony tail on him, he might have attempted to do just that. Aether ran a hand through his hair as he tried to shield himself from the autumn wind.  His arms were crossed as he shivered and rubbed his arms. The blond boy made a face as he shrugged his shoulders back. It would be easier if he had friends here.

But he didn’t know where Lumine was, and he hadn’t seen Gorou around either… or Xiao…

When his mind thought of the teal haired man, heat flushed into his cheeks, and he raised his hand to cover his mouth. Aether fought back the urge to smile widely like a fool as he thought about what had happened when the two were last together.

That night was sure a night Aether wouldn’t be quick to forget. For more than one reason. When the boy had finally gotten home, his father was waiting for him. 

Aether was confused as to why his father was waiting for his return and had asked the man what was wrong. But his father just explained he wanted to make sure that Aether was alright. Aether then went over everything that had happened and what he had witnessed.

When the male heard what the boy had been through, he had told Aether that he couldn't’ leave the house until after the exam. Aether had somehow gotten into trouble, and he didn’t see whyhe did

It wasn't to keep him safe either, Lumine was free to leave the house as she pleased.  She never did though, too busy preparing for the exam. Xiao was too busy training and couldn’t find the time to come over. However, Gorou was over at the house almost every day. The two would train in the backyard and talk about anything and everything. 

Aether’s mother wasn’t too happy about seeing Gorou around so frequently, but Aether couldn’t care less anymore. He only had a few months left with his friend before highschool would be over. That was not something that Aether was ready to let go. 

This morning, Aether was supposed to meet up with Xiao and Gorou. Something they had set up a while ago. But Aether was too restless and wanted to get out of the house as soon as possible. When he had tried to talk to either one of them, neither of them were up and so Aether let them know he was going to go to the school instead via text. 

He hoped that neither one of them would be upset with that outcome.

It wouldn’t have made any difference, he would have spent too much money on food that he couldn’t keep down, like the muffin that he bought on his way to the university. 

“Hey!” A loud voice rang through the chilly air. Not something that was new to the air as friends greeted others. Aether turned to see who was greeting their friends before he blinked, watching as an ashy blond hair came running up to him. He had a huge smile on his face. Aether looked to the way that the other had forced all of his hair into a tiny ponytail and a contemplating look crossed Aether’s face. Would the other have an extra ponytail Aether could nab from him?

Probably not. That would be too weird to ask.

“Hey.” He managed to whisper out as the other blond boy stopped in front of him, his red eyes filled with excitement and nervousness. Aether took in another deep breath and the male gave him a pitying look.

He leaned against the wall next to Aether and reached over, patting the other boy on his back gently. “You look like you’re going to puke.” Kazuha pointed out. Aether let out a breathless laugh, moving his hands down to cover his stomach.

His golden eyes filled with pain as he scrunched up his face. “I might do just that,” he admitted, grimacing. Aether turned to look at the building in front of him, as he tried to find the words to explain what he was feeling. “I hate exams…” was all that he could mutter as he tossed his head back.

Kazuha studied him for a moment before offering up a comforting smile. “Same,” the other responded. The ashy blond put a hand on his chest as he took in a deep breath. “I kept having this dream that I would be the biggest family embarrassment in the past 10 generations,” he admitted. “Every time I closed my eyes, I would see the disappointed and angry looks of everyone. My brain just completely made up some of them too! I don’t think I have ever seen my great-great-great-great-grandfather before.” The boy stopped as soon as he realized that he was rambling on.

Aether looked at him and smiled as much as he could. He knew that feeling all too well. “I am already the family embarrassment,” the blond managed to say and Kazuha scrunched his eyebrows in disbelief as he stared at Aether. “It’s not a fun role… But from everything I know about you, I’m sure you won’t fit that role.” 

Kazuha shrugged his shoulders. “You shouldn’t say that… I’m sure that your family really loves you. But you’re right, my parents love me too much. Getting in this school doesn’t show my worth.” 

Aether shrugged his shoulders as well. “I grew up knowing that I was… It’s hard to believe that they love me sometimes.” The blond admitted, looking down at the ground..

“Really?” Kazuha asked in shock. Aether smiled awkwardly, looking away, not knowing really what to say. “I can’t see that. You and Lumine seemed really close.” The golden blond boy  raised an eyebrow at him, not sure where he had seen that. 

“Sometimes we are..” He muttered. “And other times…”

Kazuha kicked his feet, as a silence fell between the two. He was scrunching up his face as if trying to pick up the courage to say something. That interested Aether, as he turned his body more towards Kazuha. “I have to apologize to Lumine,” the ashy blond finally managed to say, tilting his chin up.  “I…I seriously thought that you were dating Xiao. And that she was trying to pull some shady shit and steal your boyfriend…” 

Aether covered his mouth to cover a laugh that was about to come through, it seemed so dumb said like that. Steal his boyfriend? Lumine would never do that, not on purpose. “It should be ok…” Aether managed.. “You could probably try to apologize, but I’m not sure if Lumine would accept it.. If we were officially together, Lumine would never do that.” Aether rubbed his face. “Though, the fact that we both like the same guy is… strange. A little bit stressful and awkward, she’s angry with me too though.” 

Kazuha pursed his lips. “I think that’s what siblings are supposed to do, though, be angry at each other for no reason?” Kazuha asked. Aether shook his head slowly with a huge sigh. “At least by the end of the day one of your worries will be lifted.”

The blond looked at the other blond, tilting his head to the side in confusion. “What do you mean?” Aether questioned him. Did Kazuha know something that Aether didn’t know? Something about the situation between him and Lumine?

No he couldn’t have… unless…

Kazuha laughed, covering his mouth with his eyes crinkling. “You don’t have to worry about the test?” He pointed out, gesturing to the door. Aether turned to stare at the building with wide eyes as he got what the other was saying and he coughed awkwardly. 

“Right..” He muttered. Of course that was what the other was talking about.. “Hopefully after today a lot of our stress will go away for just a few seconds.” He whispered, his voice almost quietly. 

“Mhm.” Kazuha whispered, pushing himself off the wall. “After tonight, we will both move onto the next round.” As he was saying that, another guy with purple hair came up to the two of them, staring straight at Kazuha with a huge smile. Kazuha turned and smiled as well when he caught the other boy’s eyes and the boy waved at him, Kazuha waving back. 

The new boy opened his mouth as he prepared to call out a greeting. Before a word could exit his mouth, a woman with long purple hair tied back into a braid came out of the building, and the other stopped what he was going to say.  Everyone stopped their conversation and turned to look over at her, just from her presence alone.

 “That’s professor Ei,” A voice whispered next to Aether, causing the boy to jump, turning back and staring at the purple haired boy. “The professor of Electro house.” He clarified, smiling at Aether and Aether gulped as he turned to look at the Professor.

The lady was waving the kids into the building, watching as the group of kids started to move as one. Aether was caught up with the flow. When he was about to pass her, he heard her call out, “Go straight to the auditorium. We will host our welcome speech there. You will be told what you can expect for today. Then, the first part of the exam will commence.” She called out to the group of kids, not caring who heard her as long as they went to the right place.

Aether and his two companions were somehow pushed into the front of the line as the line filtered into the auditorium. They would be the first kids to sit down, so they had to be right in the front, and on the end of the first row. Aether was on the very edge of the line, with Kazuha in between him and the kid who showed up just as the doors opened.

Aether tried to force himself to remember anything about this boy, something about him was so familiar. But Aether couldn’t put a name to the face. He couldn’t even remember where he had seen this other boy before. Right before they sat down, the boy turned around and stood on his tiptoes as his green eyes scanned the room at the kids that were still filtering in.

Kazuha raised an eyebrow at the boy as he gave up before frowning, and sitting down, crossing his arms as he looked at the ashy blond boy. “Kazu, have you seen Xiao?” He asked as he turned to look over his shoulder once more.

Kazuha glanced over his shoulders as well before shaking his head. “Nope, I haven’t seen him, or heard him.” He responded and the other man sighed deeply, his shoulders moving back as he pursed his lips a little bit in a pout. 

He sunk down in his chair, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he tried to catch his thoughts. Aether kept looking at him, entranced, and wondering who this boy was. “Damn…” He muttered as he sighed loudly again. Kazuha rolled his eyes at him. “I really wanted to bug him. We barely have the opportunity anymore!” He tilted his head back as he was whining. “Between him in Geo district and being too busy ‘training the cute boy’,” he glanced over at Aether when saying that, smiling, “His words not mine.” 

Kazuha wiggled his eyebrows at Aether with a giant smile on his face. Trying to clue in the other boy that they were talking about him. Aether turned his golden eyes away from the two of them. He forced out a chuckle, sounding more nervous than he had intended to. “Knowing Xiao, he’s probably at the very back.” Aether managed to offer the man after a moment of silence. He gathered up the strength to look back at the two friends.  Those green eyes were locked onto him, but they didn’t seem to be on Aether. More like he was trying to figure out a hard problem. “He doesn’t like people…” Aether managed to mutter, “Uh, I don’t think that we have met. I’m Aether.” The boy reached his hand across Kazuha to the new kid.

The other grasped Aether’s hand, giving it a firm handshake as a huge smile appeared on his face. “I know you.” He said, and Aether gulped, not knowing what to say to him. “You’re that kid that punched Scara! Big fan, honestly. I’ve always wanted to punch Scara a couple of times.”

Kazuha laughed, covering his mouth. “I’m sure that a lot of people want to punch him.” He muttered out to the boy, kicking him as well. “But be careful who hears that. If he heard you say that he’ll be out for your head.” 

The other laughed as he kicked Kazuha back. They both seemed to be in great moods this morning. “You wouldn’t dare give me away to him.” He turned his attention back to Aether, glee in his eyes, “You had to be guided  out of the maze, because you didn’t stop punching people.” 

Aether’s eyes widened in horror as it finally clicked where he had seen the other boy. “I uh…” Kazuha was covering his mouth again, trying to hold back his laughter. “I usually… don’t punch people…” He muttered softly. 

He chuckled. “You’re cute. The name is Heizou Shikanoin.” He shook Aether’s hand again before pulling his hand back, looking around the room again. Aether sat there shocked, watching the boy, not knowing what to say. 

He slowly placed his hand in his lap as he tried to gather his thoughts. “It’s nice to meet you, Heizou.” He managed to mutter out after a little bit.

The purple haired man looked at him again, chuckling before his green eyes landed once again on Kazuha.  “He’s nice,” he told his friend who nodded his head in agreement. “I like him. Do you think that Venti would allow him to join our little rag tag of weirdos?” He glanced behind him as he said that with a knowing look in his eyes. 

Aether scrunched his face up. He barely knew this guy and he was already asking if he wanted to be friends. He opened his mouth, ready to ask his questions. Who was Venti? He felt like he was going to be dragged into something pretty weird. Kazuha caught his glances and winked at Aether, confusing the boy more. 

“Depends!” A voice from behind the boys called out and Aether scurried to turn and look at where the voice had come from. There was a boy leaning forward, looking between the three boys with a mischievous look in his eyes. He had black hair with a teal ombre, tied into pigtails.  He had his legs crossed as he studied the two. “Does he have any trauma?” His green eyes turned to look at Aether.

It felt like they were staring deep into Aether, and the boy wanted to squirm away from him. 

Aether gulped, not being able to say anything.  “Venti…” Kazuha finally called out, breaking the silence between them. “You can’t just ask that.” It made sense, this was Venti. Which means that both Kazuha and Heizou must have seen him. “You have never even met this boy.” Aether jumped in his seat as Kazuha clasped his shoulder.

The boy behind them frowned and blew out his lips. “But… he knows Xiao.” Venti pointed out, crossing his arms as he said that. He had yet to tear his eyes off of Aether. “Apologize,” he finally called out, sounding as fake as he could. “Hello. I am Venti. Did you have a good childhood? Or did something traumatic happen to you too?” He winked at Aether as well while Kazuha groaned, turning his attention up to the ceiling. 

Aether watched Venti, not moving from his spot. He shrugged his shoulders,  not sure how to answer the other’s question. “Venti.” Kazuha warned, looking back at his friend.

Venti, however, wasn’t paying any attention to Kazuha. “You look like you have seen shit. Something traumatic must have happened,” he stated as he glanced at Aether. A hand flew up to cover Aether’s mouth as he tried not to laugh. He didn’t know what part of this he found funny. 

Meanwhile Kazuha’s jaw dropped to the ground and Heizou bit his lip, trying to stop himself from laughing too loud. Every student turned their attention to the front where the commotion was happening. 

Aether bit his knuckle as he thought about the question. His mother was a bit harsh with him growing up. While Aether tried to form his answer, Venti was looking at his other friends, raising his eyebrow at their reactions to his question. 

Kazuha rolled his eyes at Venti before leaning over to whisper in Aether’s ear. “You do not have to answer that.” He told the boy. 

Aether shook his head slightly, lowering his hand from his mouth. He gave Kazuha a reassuring smile before he stared at Venti. “My mom hates me.” Aether offered up, not knowing if that was traumatic enough for Venti. Probably not. Kazuha shook his head and forced Aether to look at the stage, giving Venti a death glare as he did that. A man was walking across the stage to the center of it, it looked like it was about to start.

Arms suddenly wrapped around his neck, shocking Aether. “Perfect!” Venti’s voice called from next to his ear, shocking Aether even more, it was loud. Like he wasn’t even trying to control his volume. “He’s in. Though, I doubt that Scara wants anything to do with-”

The man on the stage, Aether now recognized as Zhongli, looked over at the commotion as well. He crossed his arm as he stared at the four. Kazuha grabbed Heizou’s arm as well to try and get him to turn around. “Venti.” Zhongli’s voice called out in warning. Venti instantly let go of Aether and he could hear scuffling as the boy sat down again. “I am glad to see that you are excited for a new friend, but we need to get started. We are on a schedule.”

The sound of kids whispering surrounded the room when they said that. “Him and his dumb schedules.” Venti muttered and Heizou hummed in agreement. “It’s why Xiao didn’t hang out with us as much,” he muttered.

“I’m sure that there are other reasons.” Heizou turned in his seat to look at Venti again. Aether glanced at Heizou, but was too afraid to move in his own seat. It seemed like Zhongli meant business right now. “He was probably only using Zhongli as an excuse.”

Zhongli sighed again, moving towards the corner of the stage as he stared the two boys down. Kazuha nudged Heizou’s side and the boy turned around quickly. “Heizou, Venti. Do you need me to move you two? You two are high school seniors. Not Kindergartners, but I can surely treat you as such.” 

“What about Kazuha and Aether?” Venti asked, a whine in his voice. Meanwhile, Heizou who really didn’t want to leave his spot was zipping his lips as a sign to show the male on stage that he was going to be quiet. “It wouldn’t be fair if they got to sit next to each other and the two of us have to move.”

Zhongli stared at the child,looking like he was trying so hard not to show his annoyance with what Venti had just said. He closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath and straightened out his back before he opened them again. “They know not to talk while I am talking.” He told the boy. 

There was a course of laughter from around the room. Aether covered his mouth, embarrassment filling him.  “Jerk.” Venti hissed at the boy Zhongli’s glare intensified as he continued to stare the boy down, obviously hearing the other’s comment.  Venti laughed uncomfortably.

Kazuha glanced over at Heizou, trying to make sure that he wasn’t going to start any fights as well. When there was silence for a minute, everyone turned their attention back at the stage. The tall man shook his head disappointedly before he made his way back to the center, his intense gaze sweeping over the rest of the students in the room. “Hello. I am Professor Zhongli. I am the staff member that usually conducts all parts of the Exam. This year, however, I will only be doing the test part.  Tomorrow, my colleague, Professor Ei, will be taken over for me.” He motioned to the purple haired lady who was standing on the stage, near the back.

Her eyes were glaring over at Venti and Heizou, making sure that they weren’t going to start talking. Aether studied her, curious, before her indigo eyes shifted, looking at Aether for a second. She then stared straight in front of her, at the back of the hall. She gave a slight bow from where she was standing. “It is an honor to help out.” She called out.

Zhongli nodded his head politely at her before looking at the group of students. “As you may have noticed, today we only have students from Anemo, Geo and Pyro district here.” He called out and a lot of the kids muttered when they heard that. “This will be the first batch and students from Electro and Cyro will be taking the test tomorrow. Dendro and Hydro will start a day after them. We are only accepting the top 50 scores from this group of students. Those will be the ones who will be allowed to move on.” 

That caused a mass of panicked whispers to erupt across the group of kids. Only the top 50 scores? That was less than 20% of the people here. “That’s a lot lower chance of getting in than usual.” Heizou whispered under his breath. Aether nodded his head in agreement, he had thought it would be a lot higher. 

Zhongli coughed and all of the whispers calmed down. “The test part will be split up into four sections. Each test you will be given an hour at most to complete. After each test, your exams will be graded. Anybody who did not perform well enough will be asked to leave after that test. You will be given an hour break between each test as well. Lunch will add an extra hour between test two and three. By the end of the day, you should know if you are in the top 50 or not.” Zhongli continued to explain.

Aether looked at Kazuha, worried etched onto his face. Kazuha looked like he was trying to hide how scared he was as well and he forced a smile to appear on his face, mouthing good luck to Aether. Aether mouthed back the same thing. “Now, we will split you up. It is far too crowded here for the test.” Professor Ei called out as she stepped up to the front.

The blond was caught off guard with how fast the day went by. The exams weren’t as challenging as aether had expected them to be. In what felt like a blink of an eye, it was already time for lunch. The kids were all streaming out of the exam rooms, pushing Aether along with them. 

The poor boy felt depleted and wanted to just fall down onto the ground in defeat, but he knew that he had two more tests to go through. If he were to break down now, then he wouldn’t get through the rest of the day. It wasn’t even because of how hard the tests were either, it was the nerves that still ran rampant through his body.

As he walked out of the hall his last test was in, Aether closed his golden eyes as  he felt the autumn sun hit him, forcing himself to take in a deep breath. He was trying to calm himself down. He was okay. He was going to get through this. He had to keep telling himself that. 

These tests were a lot easier than he had expected them to be. He had easily gotten through the first two without a snag. His eyes flashed open with fear shining in them. Even if he was getting through this so easily, that still scared him to death. There had to be a reason they were so easy. Had he missed something? Was everyone else finding these tests to be so much easier?

75% of the tests were multiple choices, so either way he had a good chance of getting everything right, at the same time he had an even greater chance of getting everything wrong.  He could be completely missing something without even realizing it. The other 25% was a free write section. He didn’t think that it was going to be graded. He had heard rumors from other kids that that section was mostly there to assess where the kids' writing skills were for the next year.

Aether stopped in his tracks as he tried to take a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down. A few of the kids that were behind him passed by him, knocking into his shoulders and giving him a rude look as they passed. He covered his mouth as he forced himself to try and calm down.

The blond hair boy shook his head before forcing himself to continue to walk through the college grounds, wondering what his next steps should be.  He should figure out where he could get something to eat. There had to be something to do with the next two hours of his life. Maybe he should find the cafe on campus and get some coffee. By the end of the second exam, he felt like he was about to fall asleep. 

When he was near the end of the exam, he kept blinking the drowsiness away from his eyes, but it kept coming back to him. If he wasn’t on his guard then he would surely pass out. He really should have tried to force himself harder to go to sleep last night.

He could probably look for his friends while he was on the search for coffee. Maybe he could find Lumine or Gorou, ask how their day was. He hadn’t even seen a hint of them all day.  In fact, he hadn’t really seen anyone he knew aside from Venti. Kazuha and Heizou never were in the same room as him, but Venti was in both the first and the second test room.  

It had always made Aether smile when he saw the other in the classroom, he had kept a close eye on him. He was curious about the other, what made him tick. Through watching the boy in the exams, Aether realized that Venti wasn’t taking the exam seriously. 

In exams, there was always that one kid that completed the exam way too fast, turning the test in and making the other kids stress. That was Venti. He was done in less than 15 minutes. Aether knew that he hadn’t put too much thought in his answers. When he had given the test to the proctor, he would look over at the other kids and snicker when he saw them looking up at him with shock eyes before panicking to complete the test.

Aether wondered what was going through Venti’s mind to make him not take the test as seriously, but somehow he always managed to get into the next round. If there was one person that Aether wanted to see their score, it was Ventis. And maybe he was taking it really seriously. Maybe Aether was judging Venti too harshly.

Aether puffed out his cheeks and squished up his nose. He could probably try and find Xiao.. maybe… Lunch with Xiao would be great. Unless…. Aether. What if Xiao regretted the kiss?  And now he was avoiding Aether? 

Or what if he thinks that Aether was avoiding him? He had planned to meet up with him and Gorou, but then he completely ditched them. Neither one of them have responded to his text from earlier that morning. It made Aether wonder if Gorou even made it to the exams.

There was a lot that Gorou had to think about. Gorou was pretty set on Geo University. He was in love with the school, and would bring up the school every time that he talked with Aether. He was pretty sure that he wasn’t going to pass the entrance exam, and he was only going to the exam today because his parents were urging him to at least try.  And yet, he was still toying with the idea of skipping the exam and just enjoying the rest of the free time given by their school. Honestly, whatever made his best friend happy. 

Aether kicked a rock on the path as he tried to make up his mind of what to do. “Aether!” A loud voice called out, causing him to stop in his tracks. He looked up, blinking and looking around, trying to find someone he knew that would call his name. It didn’t take long until his eyes landed on his cousin, standing off to the side, waving at him with a slight smile on his face. 

A lot of the students around them stopped and stared at the boy with  a look before going on, not too interested in what was happening. Aether started to make his way to his cousin, noticing the way that he was surrounded by four other kids. Three of them seemed to be deep in conversation, and didn’t notice when Albedo started to walk towards his cousin as well. 

One of those people had silver hair and Aether recognized as the man that Aether met at Founder park. Alhaitham had noticed the way that Albedo was leaving and looked up, looking around to see what had distracted the other man before his eyes landed on Aether and a knowing look passed through his eyes. As Aether got closer, he saw that a male with white hair was showing the other two a deck of trading cards. Alhaitham smiled at Aether and waved at him and Aether waved back.

Noticing the way that the male next to him was waving to someone, one of the people looked at Alhaitham in confusion before he looked at Aether. He turned his attention back to the other and signed something to him. Alhaitham turned his attention to him as well and started to sign something, the two went off into their own conversation then.

At that point, Albedo had caught up with Aether. Ars wrapped around Aether, pulling the blond boy into a tight hug. Aether stopped in his tracks, frozen stiff at the display of affection from his cousin. Albedo was never one to show that, especially not in public.

He hugged Albedo back and gave him a concerned look. Something was up. There was something off about Albedo. Albedo just simply pulled away and clasped Aether’s shoulder with a proud look on his face. “Look at you, you are here!”

Aether smiled and nodded his head slowly in agreement. “Yeah, I’m here.” He responded, looking around at the grounds. “Did you ever think that we would meet on the grounds?” He asked.

Albedo laughed. “Yes, I have always known that one day the two of us would both be here. Aether, you really need to give yourself more credit.” Aether managed a smile. “So, how has the test been treating you?” He asked, a curious look crossing Albedo’s face.

The golden blond boy shrugged his shoulders, avoiding eye contact. He didn’t know what to say, should he tell the truth? He knew from his past when he talked about how easy school came to him people always looked at him weirdly. And this test wasn’t supposed to be an easy one, so why had it come so easy to him. “I think I have it in the bag.” He finally admitted. 

A soft laugh came from Albedo when he heard that. “Of course you do. “ He patted his cousin’s shoulder gently with a proud look forming on his face. 

Aether looked back at his cousin, managing a smile. “Truthfully?  It is a lot easier than what everyone was making it out to be,” the golden boy admitted, feeling the way that some of the kids who were listening to their conversation were giving him death glares. “I thought there were going to be more challenging questions. But nothing had really stumped me in the slightest.” He just kept chugging along in the exam without a second thought. 

Albedo’s eyes widened, looking at Aether with a calculating look. “Interesting,” Albedo muttered under his breath as he frowned. Aether had seen this look a lot, it was the look of Albedo trying to figure out a tough problem. “The test that I took two years ago was extremely difficult for me. I doubt that they would make the test for your year more or less difficult.” 

Aether’s cousin was right. It did not make sense for the test to be easier for this group of students. There has been no evidence that any test for any year had been significantly harder or easier. In fact, most of the tests have stayed the same level of difficulty. In order to make sure that they had the same cut of students from year to year, they wouldn’t dare change the test now… would they?  Could it be that Albedo was pulling his leg?

Aether pursed his lips as he thought about it. “I don’t know…” The young male whispered as he shifted uncomfortably from where he was standing. “It doesn’t make sense but…”  Maybe if he could get someone elses thoughts on the subject, like if he could ask Lumine or Gorou how the test was going for them.

Albedo closed his eyes and shook his head with a soft laugh. “Then again, it is you we are talking about Aether. Nothing really stumps you. Have you seen Lumine around?” He asked, suddenly changing the topic. Aether stared at him in confusion. “There is something that I wish to speak with you and your sister about.” 

Aether puffed out his cheeks before shaking his head, glancing around to see if he could catch a glimpse of her. But of course not. Why would he suddenly get a glimpse of her now? “I have not seen or heard anything from her.” It would have been nice to get a text from her, complaining about the people in her group. But she was still upset with Aether and there had been complete radio silence from the girl. “Or Xiao or Gorou…” He added on, not knowing why he had admitted that to his cousin. It had been a really lonely day, and to have his cousin here… Aether didn’t know what he was thinking about.

Albedo stepped back from the boy, watching him curiously before he looked around the courtyard as well, trying to figure out where he could find the other girl. But just like Aether, he didn’t find a hint of his other cousin.  A defeated sigh left his lips. “That is weird.” The pale blond finally managed a whisper. “I wanted to ask both of you to eat lunch with me. I have yet to catch a glimpse of Lumine either.”

Aether blinked a few times as he took in what the other had asked. Lunch with Albedo? The chance to catch up with his cousin for the first time in forever? To be able to hang out with the boy without worrying if someone was actually going to find out and run to tell his mother?

He was expected to be here for the exam. And Albedo was here because he went to school here. Of course nobody would think anything weird about that. “I would love that. Could we find a place to get some coffee or something? I am feeling a little bit tired after the first two tests.”  Aether responded with a huge smile appearing on his face.

Albedo nodded his head slightly. “Of course.” I am so glad that I actually ran into you Aether. If I had not, then I don't think that we would get to have this conversation.” 

Aether nodded his head in agreement. “I’m glad as well.” He responded, not sure what else to say. 

“Give me one second, I need to go tell my friends.” He turned around before walking over to the group of kids. The white haired man noticed that he was gone, and had put his cards away, and when Albedo got back to him, he said something. The male next to him that was staring intensely at the cards made a face at whatever he said.

Aether watched as Albedo explained the situation to them, gesturing over to Aether. All of them looked at him again. The blond haired kid waved at Aether and Aether waved back at him, unsure about it.  Afterwards, Albedo came back to where Aether was staying. “Lets get going.”

Chapter Text

Albedo led Aether  down a path. There was silence as the two cousins walked, Aether bitting his lip as he tried to think of different things that he could bring up, but never really having the gut to.

It was a weird feeling to finally connect with your cousin, and not know what to say. There was probably just too much to say.  “So.” Albedo finally called out, looking back at Aether with a smile on his face. “What house are you planning on getting into?”

Aether blinked a few times, the question hitting him by surprise. What house? Aether was too worried about getting into the university he had never thought about it. “Uh.. Maybe Dendro…” He admitted, he really liked that element the best. “But… It’s the element that you are most powerful in that you get put into, right?” He whispered softly.

Albedo nodded his head. “Yeah. Usually. Unless you are put into Celestia house.” He winked at Aether.

Aether smiled and shook his head. There was no way that he would be put into that house. He knew himself better than that. “I’ll most likely get put into Pyro.” He whispered, looking down at the gloves that he was wearing. It was what made sense. 

Albedo hummed, studying his cousin. “Pyro? What makes you say that?” Albedo asked and Aether raised his hands up to show the gloves. “You have to wear those because of Pyro, then?”

It was kind of a weird question. To be asked that by Albedo. Of course he would ask that, he has never seen Aether produce any type of elements. He probably didn’t know how… destructive Aether’s use of Pyro can be. Aether swallowed as he nodded his head, moving his hands behind his back as he made a face, not sure what else to say.  

“You do not seem happy with that.” Albedo commented as they came to a crossroad on the sidewalk. Before Aether could respond, the figures of two people caught his eyes. He tilted his head to the side in confusion as they started to walk towards Aether and Albedo.

One seemed to be taller and the other shorter, talking to each other. More like the tall man was talking to the other, on his phone and trying to show the uninterested man different things. He was looking away from the male, when his indigo eyes met with Aether’s and a confused look appeared on his face. He then saw Albedo, and stopped.

The man crossed his arms while his companion, eyes focused on his phone, walked a few more feet, not realizing that the other had stopped. At last, before he almost ran into a pole, he looked up and made eye contact with Albedo. He gulped a few times, turning to his side to look at his friend. That was when he noticed that his friend wasn’t there and instead he turned around to face his friend. His friend tsked loud enough to gain Albedo’s attention.

Albedo turned his attention towards the others, and a genuine smile appeared on his face as he turned to walk over to them. Aether followed after his cousin, concern etched on his face. THis smelt like trouble just waiting to happen. “Scaramouche, Ajax.” The college student greeted the other two politely.

It was clear that the taller one was not expecting him to call that name as he stared at Albedo with wide eyes.  Of course it was Scara and his friend. That one friend with the weird nickname. Aether pursed his lips as he tried to think of it, noticing how both of them were staring at Albedo and not paying him a second thought.

Wasn’t his nickname Childe? So that must mean that his real name is Ajax then.  It was the first time that the blond had heard someone call him anything aside from Childe. And of course it was Albedo who spoke the words.

Aether shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Childe was looking at Scara, an awkward look in his eyes. Scara moved finally, stepping closer to Albedo, the frown on his face deepening as he walked. He had an aura around him, a dark one. As if Albedo did one wrong moon, then Scara would attack him. He was pissed just with Albedo being there. 

He pushed the side of his cheek out with his tongue as he glanced Aether’s cousin up and down. Aether tried to think of what was making this boy so hostile. Unless that was part of his unique charm. Aether didn’t know.  “Albedo,” The boy said, his tone filled with venom. His indigo eyes switched over to Aether, glaring the other boy down as well. Aether shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what made him the reason for the boy’s hatred now. “I didn’t know that you two knew each other.”

Aether scoffed. That was a complete and total lie. Albedo glanced at his cousin and Aether made a face, turning to look away from the other. He didn’t want to mention how when they were in the maze, Aether must have mentioned that he knew Albedo and in what way. That would make this talk even more uncomfortable than it was at the moment.

Albedo tsked, realizing that he wasn’t going to get much out of his cousin. His pale blue eyes stared Scara down before he turned to look over at Childe who squeeked, slapping a hand over his mouth right after. “Aether is my cousin.” Albedo responded and a look flashed Scara’s face but it went by too fast for Aether to read it. “Ajax, surely you knew this already?”

Childe knitted his eyebrows in confusion as he looked at Albedo then over at Aether. “Albedo, listen man, I don’t know you like that, and I have maybe talked to this boy once.” He pointed out, gesturing at Aether who nodded his head in agreement. How would Childe know that of the two? 

Albedo smiled a little bit, freaking out the ginger boy more, who took a step back. “But, he is close friends with Kazuha.” He pointed out. Aether wouldn’t say close, just that he knew Kazuha and talked to the other a couple of times. “Surely Kazuha must have talked to you about him. And I know that you are much more willing to listen than Scaramouche.”

The male’s jaw dropped open as soon as he heard that, and he took a step towards his ex, tilting his head to the side with a hostile look in his eyes. “What makes you so sure about that, Albedo?” He sneered at the pale blond.

Albedo blinked a few times, not at all impacted by how Scara was acting. “Unless the topic interests you, you are usually not a good listener. Meanwhile, Ajax is.” Albedo pointed out. Scara rolled his eyes dramatically when he said that. 

Childe coughed awkwardly, gulping.”Kazuha might have mentioned it at one point, “ he finally managed to mutter out. “He usually doesn’t chat about his friends, however.” He continued to explain as he avoided eye contact from anyone. “So it’s hard to tell. Have you seen Kazuha?” He picked up his voice when he said that, looking between the cousins, trying to find a way to escape this conversation.

Albedo must have finally picked up that something was off as he frowned, looking at his cousin before looking back over at the two friends. “You two…are acting strange.” He finally stated. Scara huffed loudly at the other’s observation. “Scaramouche, you are acting a lot more aggressive than usual, and Ajax, you seem like you want to put as much distance between you two and my cousin and I as possible. Why?”

Scara’s gaze darkened. “You can’t tell?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “Seriously, Albedo… I don’t… what did I even see in you.” He muttered under his breath. “What do I still see in you?” He added even quieter, something Aether could tell was something he didn’t want anyone else to hear.

“Is this because we broke up, Scaramouche? Is that the reason you are acting differently?’ Albedo asked, ignoring both of the under the breath mutters as he stared Scara down. 

The boy with purple hair stared at Albedo in shock, as if he couldn’t believe the other even dared to ask him a question like that. Childe let out an awkward chuckle as he backed up more from the other two. “What do you think?” Scara finally stated, fire shining in his eyes as he tried to hide what Aether could only think was hurt. “I still believe that the reason we broke up is the dumbest shit on the planet.”

Albedo sighed and closed his eyes. “I have explained the reason to you already, Scaramouche. I do not understand what you find so difficult to understand. It is what is for the best. I still care for you deeply though. That will not change, I doubt that it will ever change.” 

A look of betrayal flashed before Scaramouches eyes as he put a hand on his chest, taking a step back. There was silence between them as Aether was left to wonder what made the two of them break up. “”We could have made long distance work.” Scara muttered darkly, licking his lips as his gaze searched Albedo’s face.

The other male’s eyes opened again, staring straight at Scaramouche. “Long distance rarely works out.” What were they talking about Long distance? Was one of them moving?

That piqued Aether’s interest as he wondered about it. Could it be Scara, it had to be. Albedo would have told him if he was going to be leaving. And was it a set deal, a forever deal, or was Scaramouche planning on coming back sooner or later. 

The pale blond male looked at Scara with pity in his eyes, a frown etched deep on his face. “Scara… I am going to say something that you are not going to like.”

Scaramouche laughed darkly. “What could you say that's not already more hurtful than what you have already said.”

Aether glanced at Childe who was etching to leave, moving from foot to foot as he glanced around and down at his phone, as if waiting for something to give him the option to grab his friend and get the hell out of there. Aether felt the same way, but he guessed he was stuck here.

“I liked you, I liked you a lot, and I care about you so deeply. But we both know, I did not love you. Not the way that you deserved to be loved,” Albedo finally said. 

Aether was glad that he was not in Scara’s shoes, that would have hurt so deeply, and he didn’t think that he would ever recover from someone saying that to him. “One day, you will find someone who is right for you.”

Scara was staring at Albedo with a look of pure disbelief, as if he didn’t know how to process his feelings. He glanced at Aether then back at Childe. “So you’re saying these last two years meant nothing to you?” He finally asked.

“Of course not,” Albedo insisted, but Aether could tell that Scaramouche didn’t believe him. “I am just not the one you are meant to end up with. Whoever they are, they are still out there.”

Childe instantly was next to Scara, nudging the boy’s shoulder with a fake smile on his face as he attempted to cheer up his friend. “There are so many fish in the sea!” He pointed out. Scara glared at him. That was not what he wanted to hear. 

“And yet, I don’t want any of those fish.” Scara hissed at him. “There might be so many fish, but how many of them could I actually learn to love?”

Childe clutched Scara’s shoulder tightly, and Aether had to commend him for not backing away and running from the way that Scara was glaring at him. “What about that stranger that you haven’t been able to shut up about.”

A blush appeared on Scara’s face before he turned fully around to glare at Childe. “Say that again, tall freak!” Scaramouche hissed out at him. “You disgust me.” He side glanced at Aether before shaking his head and continued to glare at his best friend.

Childe stared at Scara, a look of annoyance crossing his face. He rolled his eyes. “Oh, you scare me soo much,” he teased the boy. Scaramouche hit Childe, but the other didn’t seem phased by him. “You need to be more honest with yourself, Scaramouche. Anyways, sorry we have to go,” he turned his attention back to Aether and Albedo with a smile. “Kazuha is waiting for us somewhere.” He grabbed SCara’s shoulder and turned him around before pushing him back  away from  the other two. Aether watched as they were leaving, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

He turned back to look at Albedo after the two were farther away. Albedo was watching the two of them leave with a sad look in his eyes. He glanced sadly at the ground, standing there for a couple of seconds before he glanced back over at Aether. He forced a smile, blinking away tears from his eyes. “Relationships are hard.” He told Aether.

Aether nodded his head in agreement. He bit his cheek as he tried to force himself to bring up the next topic. “So… what was he talking about Long distance?” Aether asked. An awkward look replaced the sad one as he coughed into his hand, trying not to look at Aether. Something told him Scara wasn’t going to be the one that was leaving. “Are you… are you leaving?” The golden blond finally asked.

He gulped as he thought about it. That would be just his luck, finally having a chance to hang out with his cousin, only to find out that the male was leaving. That he wasn't going to be able to spend time with the other. And he didn’t even have the guts to tell him, he had to find out from Albedo’s ex about it. 

Albedo covered his mouth, taking a moment to respond, his eyes looking down at the ground. “I am so sorry that you had to hear about it from Scaramouche and not from me.” Albedo finally  responded, catching Aether off guard. He should have known. “I was going to tell you and Lumine about it today. I wanted to find both of you.”

Aether took in a breath. “When?” He asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the other’s answer. “When are you going to leave?”

“At the end of the semester. I am going to study abroad for a year, and then I will be back. It will only be a year.” The other promised, smiling at Aether after he said that.

Aether bit his lip. He had waited so long to hang out with Albedo, he could wait another year right? He stared at his cousin, not sure what to say. What could he say? “That…” He muttered, trying to find the right words. “That is an amazing opportunity for you, Albedo,” He muttered under his breath.

Albedo nodded his head. “We should go. I am getting hungry, and we don’t have much time before I have to go to my next class.” Albedo started before he turned and took off in the other direction.

Aether stood where he was for a few seconds as he told himself that he had to be happy for his cousin. This might be the last time that he saw Albedo. He shook his head before hurrying after him, trying to hide the sniffling trying to come out.

He should be happy for the boy.

The rest of Lunch passed by in a flash, and the last exam went by as well. Aether felt like he was in a dream or something. Maybe a nightmare. He was still trying to wrap his head around his cousin leaving. It felt stupid to him, the more he thought about it.

Albedo didn’t need to be there. It’s been a while since he got to be close with him, so who knows if the beloved Cousin he looked up to was still the same that was there now. Who knows how much Albedo was going to change either. He was in the middle of a test.

He needed to focus. He could put thought into this later.

By the time the last exam was starting, Aether had noticed that a lot of the students were asked to go home. A lot of them didn’t pass, and that shocked Aether. Surely he must be missing something? The test really couldn’t be that easy, could it?  There were too many thoughts running through his head.

If he didn’t get his head in the right headspace, he might really mess up on the last part of the test. The last part… He needed to go on, the end was almost in sight. Next was the power analysis.  A shiver ran through him when he thought of the ways that he could completely and totally fail the power analysis test.

The blond shook his head, he couldn’t think like this. He had to believe in him. There were so few people that did. He shouldn’t be one of the people that were routing for him to fail. That wasn’t fair to himself.  

He would past the power analysis, he had to pass it. If he just kept repeating that in his head over and over again, surely that would be the truth. The power analysis didn’t make up that much in the exam, right? Usually it only came into play for people hanging on the edge of the exam.

But what if… No he can’t allow himself to think like that.

He walked into the last classroom, and a seat was pointed out for him to go sit down in. He kept his head down as he walked over, sitting down. One more test. After that, one more day.

He couldn’t give up now. 

Other students filed into the classroom, some of them talking with each other, but Aether didn’t pay them any attention as he stared down at the wooden desk, taking in the pencil and the eraser provided by the college. He bet that he wouldn’t even know any of the people that were-

“PST!” A loud voice called right next to his ear, dragging the student out of his own thoughts. He jumped, his eyes going wide as he looked around for the cause of the loud noise.  He finally turned to look at the desk next to him. A purple haired male was sitting there with a huge smile on his face, watching Aether with interest in his green eyes. The boy from earlier today, Kazuha’s friend. Aether tried to think of the name. Wasn’t it Heizou?  “Look at you!” Heizou cried out, clasping his hands together. “You made it so far already! That is so amazing.” 

Aether felt his shoulder’s relax when he heard that. It was amazing. Looking at how few students made it to this part of the exam. He offered a slight smile, “You can say the same thing about you.” He managed to mutter out to Heizou. The other boy laughed loudly and nodded his head in agreement.

“Honestly, it doesn't surprise me.” Heizou said with a nod of his head, cousin some people to look over at the group. “Kazuha tends to find people who are really extraordinary.” 

A scoff came from a kid next to Heizou who was listening to their conversation. Aether turned, expecting to see one of the kids who liked to believe Aether wasn’t shit.  It was a kid from his homeroom, one of the quiet ones that sat at the back of the room in the class. “No duh. Don’t you know who this is?” The student asked, gesturing at Aether as he said that.

Heizou’s green eyes blinked a couple of times as he stared at the man before looking back at Aether with a smile on his face. “I barely know him.” He admitted. “I just know that he is friends with some really impressive people.” 

Aether really hoped that the other wasn’t going to start making fun of him. “This is the human encyclopedia, Aether Viator.” The male stated as he slammed his hands on the desk after saying that. “If there is anyone who can pass this test, it would be him.”

A look of surprise crossed Heizou’s face as he let out a soft chuckle, glancing Aether over again before he looked at the student. “I was under the impression that the Human Encyclopedia was another one of my friends. Kazuha Kaedehara…. He is the favorite of getting the top score in this exam. I should tell Venti this, maybe we could have a knowledge off between the two of them.“

Aether blinked in confusion, glancing between Hiezou and the other student, scrunching his face up. “Favorite?” He asked Heizou who nodded his head, “For the top spot? You are making it sound like people are betting on him.” He commented. It wouldn’t surprise the boy, from what he knew of Heizou, if he had found people to bet on Kazuha.

Heizou laughed, covering his mouth with the back of his hand, joy shining in his eyes. “People are betting on him,” the other male assured Aether. Aether bit his lip as he tried not to laugh at that. Of course. “Venti and I are. Kazuha thought that it would be dumb  to bet on something like this. Especially when he is the one that we were betting on. Scara told me to forget his face, and to never speak to him again.” Heizou told him, Aether could only imagine the latter doing that, especially with the venom he had in his voice when talking with Albedo earlier today. He bit his lips as he tried to stop from laughing loudly. “Then Xiao betted on his boyfriend.” Heizou finished.

Suddenly, any joy that Aether was feeling was thrown out the window and his eyes widened, sadness shining in them. He blinked, trying to mask that he wasn't feeling big feelings at the mention of that. “Xiao doesn’t have a boyfriend.” He insisted. He couldn’t have a boyfriend. Aether could feel his heart beat faster, panic filling his body. Xiao had kissed him, he couldn’t have a boyfriend. 

Heizou pursed his lips as he looked at Aether, confusion shining in his eyes. “That is what Xiao said as well.” Heizou responded.  

Aether covered his mouth, trying to calm down the rising panic. “Do you have a name of who you think is Xiao’s boyfriend?”

Heizou shook his head. “Nope, Kazuha was saying that it was the boy Xiao was obsessed with. Both of them aren’t willing to admit that they have feelings for each other… yet. But that is who Xiao is betting on. We were talking about it during the Test of Courage event set up.”

The kid next to Heizou laughed and Aether turned to look at them. “There is only one kid that Xiao is obsessed with.” They said, looking over at  Aether with a knowing look on his face.

Heizou nodded his head slowly. “But, you are saying that Aether has a reputation?” He asked, his eyes brightening as he looked at the other kid. The boy stared at Heizou as if he had a second head as he nodded his head slowly. “Are you willing to bet on him?”

The kid’s gaze morphed into one of horror. “No…” he responded carefully, glancing at Aether after saying that before looking back at Heizou. “Are you ok? Why would you bet on your friends? Aether is the smartest kid in our school.. Probably in our year.” 

Heizou laughed at the question and shrugged his shoulders before he glanced at Aether with interest filling his eyes. Aether did not like that, he felt like he was being pushed into something weird. “Not the smartest.” Aether insisted as he coughed uncomfortably.

“And the most powerful!” A voice rang out and Aether wanted to die right there. This had taken a really weird turn as Sara Wagner walked into the classroom, a huge smile on her face as she went over to her seat. 

Aether rubbed his face, he was not going to get rid of this topic anytime soon, was he? Hiezou was not going to drop this. “Are you willing to bet on him?” Heizou asked Sara.

Sara looked at Heizou, but before she could give her answer, another voice rang into the classroom, “No betting on school grounds!” The proctor ordered as they came back into the room, a student following her into the room.

Heizou pouted as he tore his gaze from Sara and looked over at the Proctor who was giving him a warning look. “Oh come on, where is the fun i-Holy shit. There are two of them!” He suddenly cried, as he quickly glanced back at Aether and then at the other student. “Are you seeing this?” He was looking around to see if anyone else saw what he was seeing.

Most of the kids were rolling their eyes while the student was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh at the boy’s reaction. “Ms. Viator, I believe that your seat is by your brother.” The proctor told her, ignoring Heizou. “Mr. Shikanoin, please settle down. It is almost the end of the day.”

Lumine was chuckling as she slipped past the teacher and ran over to the empty desk next to Aether, sinking down in the chair.

When she got into the chair, Aether turned to look at the girl and she turned to look at him as well. “I thought you slept in!” She whispered at Aether, relief shining in her eyes. “Or that you decided to ditch the exam in general.” Aether made a noise, the fear of even thinking of the repercussions from doing that. “I was starting to get worried.”

Aether shook his head. “I was starting to think the same, “ the boy explained to his twin, puffing out his cheeks. “Did you know-”

The proctor cut him off though, clearing her voice. The twins instantly shut up before turning to look at the front of the classroom. There was time to talk about this later. “Welcome to the last test of the day.” The teacher called out and the room was filled with kids cheering. “When you are finished with your test, turn in your test and leave. Many of you will be asked to go home. Those that are lucky enough to stay will be provided dinner as well as a room to stay in for the night.” 

That was a really nice thing to remind everyone of right now. Aether glanced at Lumine quickly with a worried look on his face. What if he wasn’t asked to stay, or what if she wasn’t? No. He couldn’t think like that. Of course Lumine would get into the school.

Lumine’s amber eyes caught her brothers and she smiled at him reassuringly. Aether returned the smile as best as he could. Heizou raised his hand and the proctor nodded her head at him. “How will we know who is going to stay and who is expected to leave?” Heizou asked. 

Lumine reached out her hand towards Aether and the blond boy reached over to grasp it as well, giving it a soft squeeze. “The scores will be posted out in front of the auditorium one hour after the exam.” The teacher explained. “They will be ranked with the top 50 names on them. If your name is not on that list, then you will be asked to leave.” Her eyes glanced at the kids as they mumbled at that question. “Are there any other questions?”

Aether dropped his sister’s hand and put his hand on his desk as he took in a deep breath. Every kid in the room shook their heads to answer her question. SHe nodded before going around and passed out the stuff they needed. Aether watched her pass out the text booklets, feeling fear eat him up inside. He gulped as one was placed in front of him, staring at the booklet.

When the proctor was done, she moved up to the board again, crossing her arms as she glanced around at everyone. “You may begin.” She called out and the kids quickly started to answer the questions in the booklet. It was silent, almost eerily. Nobody was daring to make a noise, too focused on the test.  Halfway through, the sound changed to that of students flipping through in order to double check their work. This was the final push for a lot of them to put their name in the top 50.

If just a little bit of time was enough to put their name up there, then it was worth it to check and double check however many times.  The first student finished 45 minutes into the test. Lumine stood up, glancing back at Aether. He managed to catch her eye quickly as she mouthed good luck before turning and walking to the front of the room, giving her test to the proctor. 

After that, kids worked as fast as they could to get the test done, daring not to talk to each other as they worked. Aether managed to be the last one. It wasn’t until 58 minutes through that Aether finally was convinced there was nothing more that he could do. All of his answers were correct. He had done the best he could to answer them. The proctor was watching him closely as he worked. He stood up and walked over, holding out the test to her.

She took it from him and placed it on the stack of the others and nodded at Aether. Aether licked his lips before walking out of the room  as fast as he could without running. 

A wave of relief rolled over him as soon as he walked out of that room. When he got out of the room, he could see that someone was waiting for him outside of the door. THey were sitting criss-corss-apple-sauce and learning against the wall, staring stone faced at the door. When the door closed behind Aether, they looked up at Aether, their amber eyes gleaming. They used the wall to stand up before walking up to Aether. 

Aether sighed dramatically as he started to walk over them, a smile appearing on his lips. “That was exhausting.” He whispered. His sister let out a soft laugh before grabbing Aether’s arm and pulling him into a hug. Aether instantly hugged her back.

She pulled away, looking at the boy, a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. “Just wait for tomorrow,” she teased and Aether knitted his eyebrows, “We are only half way there.” 

Aether bit his bottom lip as he stared at her before he closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

 The two of them turned and exited the hall they were in. It was nice, being able to talk to his sister after who knows how long she was upset with him. Aether had started to tell her about what Albedo had told him, trying to gauge if she knew anything about that. It was obvious she didn’t as she frowned, avoiding eye contact with her brother. It was clear Albedo told her nothing as well.  And she took that personally, always feeling as if Albedo didn’t like her as much as he liked Aether.

“If I ever see that cheeky-” She started, raising her fist up before Lumine sighed and let her hand drop again, trying to hide her sorrow.  “Though it makes sense, Albedo has never seemed to look like he felt as if he belonged.”

Aether nodded his head as he thought about it. Albedo really didn’t like being around too many people, that was why it was shocking to find out that he had a boyfriend. Growing up, it seemed as if Albedo had a destiny he was aiming to fulfill, and that it didn’t include the twins. It was sad that his cousin was leaving them.

Surely this wasn’t going to be the last time that they saw him, though. Was it? 

Suddenly, another event appeared in Aether’s head. “Uh… There’s one more thing that I have to tell you,” the boy started, feeling awkward as he brought this up. He had no idea how Lumine was going to react to what he was going to say. The last time something like this had happened… Lumine turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. “About Xiao-”

“You don’t have to say anything,” the girl interrupted in a rush, a panic look appearing on her face. Aether stared at her in confusion. “I was hurt, I took it out on you.” She stated, looking down at the floor as a look of guilt crossed her face. “When in reality I know it wasn’t…” She broke off in her words, not knowing what else to say.

Aether gulped, wondering if he should take the out that his sister had given him, but he knew at the same time, if he didn’t and she found out from anyone else it would probably hurt her more. “He kissed me.” Aether stated anyways.

He instantly regretted, wishing he hadn’t said anything as Lumine looked at him as if her heart was breaking, her mouth opening in disbelief before she shook her head. “Oh damn,” she managed to mutter out, “So… are you dating?”

Aether shook his head to answer her question, a confused look on his face. “No, I don’t think so?” He responded, in fact he felt as if Xiao had been avoiding him.  “We… uh… haven’t really talked about it.” He admitted softly, as his mind replayed the events in his head. “It was mainly to shut me up-” 

He cut off as he saw the pain look filling Lumine’s eyes as she watched her brother, she looked away from him taking a few deep breaths before she turned to look back at him. Her eyes were clouded with forced happiness. “I’m happy for you,” she responded softly, her voice strained.

“Thank you.” Aether whispered softly, looking down at the ground.

The twins waited the hour, walking around the campus, with Lumine showing everywhere that she was going to go when she was accepted into the university. Aether was looking around the place with a smile. He couldn’t place himself at the university. He couldn’t see himself going here, and he didn’t know if it was from the voices of everyone he ever knew telling him he couldn’t or if that was actually going to be the case. 

When it was time, they walked up to the announcement board, a horde of people had gathered around it, muttering softly with friends. There were a lot of kids crying as they backed away, getting ready to turn and head home. Their hopes crushed. Aether felt his stomach turned as he walked up.

When people who knew Aether and Lumine saw them coming through, they moved so that they could get to the board, he could hear a lot of people muttering, but Aether couldn’t make out what they were saying. Aether stopped as he saw his best friend looking up at the board.

He turned around, and he smiled when he made eye contact with Aether, he moved so that the twins could get a better view of the board as well. 

“I’m 47.” Gorou managed to say as Aether glanced over the board, swallowing a lump in his throat. “Holy shit that was close.” Aether glanced over at the boy and smiled as he wrapped an arm around the other boy.

“Congratulations.” He managed to stress out as he turned his attention back to the board, looking for his name, but he couldn’t find it. 

“I’m 22! Right in the middle!” Lumine cried out, proud in her voice as she pointed out her own name. Aether looked at the spot with a smile, trying not to let the panic set in. He couldn’t see his name, no matter where he looked.  “Look! Xiao is 10th!” Lumine continued to say.

The panic soon turned to disappointment as he continued to look around. Heizou was at the 6th spot, and he saw Venti’s name in the 50th spot.  He saw other names that he recognized from his school, but as his eyes scanned the board he couldn’t find his name.

“Well,” An amused voice called from behind Aether, and the blond boy turned to see Kazuha walking over to them. “Obviously there is some competition.” The ashy blond boy had a smirk on his voice as he said that. Aether frowned, not knowing what he was getting at. “Number one.” Aether turned around to look back at the board, his eyes going to the very beginning of the list, not sure why he didn’t think to look there. The number 2 spot was given to Kazuha Kaedehara. Aether Viator was written right next to the number one spot.

Chapter Text

He had another restless night. His stomach refused to settle down as he tossed and turned, knowing that in just a few hours, Aether would be facing the next part of the test. The night before he had been a shell of himself.  He tried to… he didn’t know what he tried to do. Hype himself up?

Something like that.

Lumine had tried to convince him to go home to get a pair of clothes for today, as the boy didn’t think he would make it this far and forgot to pack some clothes. Instead, he had gone to the university store and bought a too expensive hoodie with the college logo on it, getting some other essentials from the shop as well. The hoodie, if he didn’t get into the school, would be a complete waste of money for Aether. 

Maybe wearing it today would be enough luck for him to scoot through the competition. Give him a little bit of luck.

Now here he was, a few minutes away, sitting in the cafeteria as he tossed some fake eggs around a full plate of food. His golden eyes stared down at the plate, an uninterested look on his face. The boy could take a bite, or he could not. Aether’s stomach was gurgling and making him feel like he was on the verge of barfing.

He was first. He was going to be the first person to show off what he can’t do. Why did they have to go off of Exam sores? The blond was going to mess up so badly. What if he performed so horribly they canceled everyone else just to recover from the trainwreck that was Aether Viator. 

How could he ever let the shame he was about to create go? How could he live down the jeers and insults?  Everyone was right, and he was just a waste of space.

Aether shook his head, frustration filling his body, he needed to stop feeling this way. It was starting to make him feel really whiny. Frankly, he didn’t want to be a whiny bitch anymore. 

The blond sighed as he stabbed at some of the eggs and put them on his fork, bringing them up to his mouth to take a bite. He couldn’t help making a face as he took the bite. Aether didn’t know if it was because it was terrible college food, or because his stomach wasn’t willing to do its job.

Every minute that passed, the boy was getting more and more freaked out. More whiny and fretting about everything. Lumine and Gorou had tried last night to get his mind off of today. To try and hype him up, or at least he thinks that was what they were trying to do.  Maybe it was because his parents put too much pressure on this test.

Or society did.

Also, the first examinee set the tone for the whole exam. If the first exam went poorly, then the rest usually went poorly as well. If it went amazing, then that’s the standard that they hold everyone else. 

Aether gulped, he might ruin this from his sister. Why couldn’t he have been last?

No he didn’t want to be last either. Being last you had to prove that you were just as amazing as everyone before. It was like fighting for a spot, a lot harder than any other place. Maybe somewhere in the middle, that sounded like that would be a good midpoint. That's where he typically aimed to be when signing up for presentations. 

Aether sighed, putting his fork down and staring down at the plate with a frown. “It’s not going to come alive and dance around,” a voice called out, causing Aether to jump, “if that is why you are staring at it so hard.”

Confused, the blond looked up, looking around. His golden eyes landed on Xiao coming up to the table, dressed in his usual black and a plate in his hands. “What?” Aether asked, tilting his head to the side, scrunching his eyebrows together as he tried to make sense of what Xiao just said. “That’s… That’s not why I was staring-”

The teal haired boy sighed as he set down his plate of food right next to Aether before sitting down. “I know, it was an attempt at a joke. Though I can see that it didn’t go well.” Aether felt his body lean against Xiao’s as he closed his eyes. He stiffened when he realized what he did, expecting the other boy to pull away. Xiao didn’t. 

“I don’t know if I can do this.” Aether found himself whispering after a couple of seconds, opening his eyes, looking back up at Xiao.  His golden eyes were filled with fright and fear. Xiao shook his head, reaching over and messing up Aether’s hair. Aether made a face and pushed the other boy away from him. “Hey!” He whined softly.

 Xiao laughed before helping Aether fix his hair.  Aether wanted to stop and stare at Xiao for a bit, admiring his laugh because it was… so Xiao. But he knew that he couldn’t. That would be considered creepy.  “It’s going to be Okay.” Xiao promised him.

Aether blew out some air as he stared at Xiao with a disbelieving look appearing on his face. “And how did you come to that conclusion?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “I am pretty sure that I am going to mess up this test.” 

The look on Xiao’s face darkened, and Aether wanted to back away from him.  Somehow he had messed up. “Aether… you got first place. First Place!”  The other stressed.He could feel some people turning to look at the table and whispered under their breaths at how loud they were.  “You are pretty much guaranteed a place at this point. Do you not understand how proud I am of you? As well as so many other people.”

The boy shook his head, refusing to believe any thing that the other had said. “I am going to be the first person that got the top score in the exam and not get a spot.” Aether whispered under his breath. The familiar feeling of tears appeared in his eyes as he thought about just how badly he could mess everything up.

“Aether,” Xiao stressed, a concerned look on his face. There was also another look deep down, one he couldn’t tell what it was, “You are going to do amazing. I promise you.”

The blond boy forced out a laugh. “Amazing?” He asked, his voice squeaking. “Have you even met me Xiao? I always find ways of messing up the simplest things.  I am a hot mess express on wheels. Hell, I burned myself just from being annoyed with my best friend. I wish I could believe you. I really wish this wasn’t the story of my life.”

Xiaos stared at him with a pitying look on his face, a look that Aether hated. He had seen that look way too much recently. “There is nothing to be sorry about.” Xiao promised him, his voice soft. Aether shook his head, knowing that wasn’t the truth.  The teal haired man groaned before he reached over and grabbed Aether’s hand. Aether had to force himself not to pull it away.  Instead, he squeezed Xiao’s hand. He truly was grateful for Xiao. The blond looked down at the table with a defeated look, knowing that he couldn’t fight him. “I know that you are going to knock their socks off.” 

An image appeared in his head of him literally blowing the socks off someone and a soft laugh left his lips. Hopefully they had something in place to keep the blast from reaching the people grading them. “Literally.” Aether muttered under his breath.

Xiao squeezed his hand back as the two of them sat in silence for a little bit. The other male’s eyes were staring at him intensely, studying him with a sad look in his eyes

If he failed, what was going to happen to the handful of people that believed in him? Would Gorou finally turn his back on him? What about his dad and Lumine? Or Xiao? Why did it feel like if he failed they would just toss him aside. 

A soft sigh left the boy next to him and Aether forced himself finally to look back up at Xiao, knitting his eyebrows as he tried to calm himself down. “All you need to do is show them that you are able to manipulate one element consistently. You do not need to do anything more than that.” Xiao stressed, staring Aether down. 

If Aether didn’t know that. It was the one thing that Aether had been hearing his whole life, from people trying to get him to perform better. Always said in a mocking way.

 But now, those words were in a supportive tone, suggesting that Aether could do it.  “That is it. That is all you have to do. You of all people can do that Aether.” Xiao continued, his tone encouraging and a smile on his face, “Venti can only manipulate Anemo, and he is sure that he is going to get accepted. Why else did you think that he aimed for the 50th spot?”

Aether blinked. He guessed that Venti really wasn’t taking the test seriously yesterday.  But to purposely aim for the 50th spot? That was a huge risk.  Venti must have been looking for the thrill of maybe passing. Like it was a game for him.

“Wouldn’t he be pushed out?” Aether asked with an uncertain tone in his face as he thought about the boy. “If he could only manipulate Anemo and he only got the 50th place?” It didn’t seem to sound like a sane plan, to Aether. 

His companion shrugged his shoulders.  “It all comes down to how well he can manipulate Anemo. Each house has a set amount of spots open. They let kids fill those spots depending on how well they do. The 50th spot is just the threshold to allow kids to try for the elemental analysis. Anyone lower than 25 practically has the same score. Any kids that have a high score are guaranteed a spot if they can manipulate. The lower 25 do not. “ Xiao explained. Aether sighed. “ You do not have to try any harder than manipulating one element if you do not want to.  When you get in, we will celebrate with a huge party. We will do anything that you want to do.” 

The golden haired boy gulped, looking at the other boy and seeing the support and the trust shining in his amber eyes. Xiao really believed that Aether was going to make it through. He took in a deep breath before nodding his head. “Alright. Ok.” He whispered as he tried to make a confident face, “I can do this.” 

Xiao smiled brightly instead, before he leaned closer to Aether. Aether felt his breath stop when the other pressed his lips against Aether’s cheek. Xiao pulled away quickly as heat rose to Aether’s cheeks. The boy stared at Xiao in shock. “You can do anything you want, Aeth. Anything at all.” 

A loud crash, followed by a loud “Good Morning!” Made everyone in the cafeteria stop what they were turning and turn to look for the noise maker. Xiao sighed softly and looked up at the ceiling before turning around as well. 

“Venti…” Xiao rolled his eyes as an annoyed sigh left his lips.The newcomer had a bright and cheery look despite it being so early in the morning. Xiao looked over at Aether. The golden blond boy was looking between the two of them, curiously. “Aether, this is Venti. Vent-”

“We have met.” Venti interrupted Xiao, giving the boy a look before he turned his attention towards Aether. Aether managed to give him a slight smile in return. “It is nice to see you again, my dear Aether.” He said, bowing his head at Aether.

Aether bowed his head back, a soft laugh leaving him. “It is nice to see you as well, Venti,” the boy responded, noticing the way that Xiao was looking at Venti with a confused look.

At last he looked at Aether, a deep frown on his lips. “When did the two of you meet?” Xiao asked, glancing back at Venti. “I feel like I’m missing something here.”

Aether opened his mouth, getting ready to explain, when Venti waved his hand to interrupt the boy.. “That doesn’t matter at the moment.” Venti insisted. Xiao looked at him as if he was crazy. To Xiao, it totally did matter.  “I am so glad to see that you are here! What a lovely morning it is! I was going to look for the two of you. Heizou has brought something up to my attention,” 

“That does not sound good.” Xiao muttered under his breath. Venti stopped for a second, giving him a glare before his face switched back to his huge smile. Aether had to admit, it was almost unsettling to see. 

Xiao rolled his eyes and placed his elbow on the table before resting his chin on it. He gave Venti a death glare as he waited for the other to get to the point. “I have made it my mission to go around to ask everyone an important question, and you are the last ones that I need to ask. I need to talk to you about reforming 6reeze.” 

As he waited for an answer, he pulled a chair out from the table the two were sitting at and sat down. He placed both his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together, looking between Aether and Xiao.

Xiao raised an eyebrow, a look of disbelief crossed his face. “Six-reeze?” He asked, turning to look over at Aether to see if the other boy knew anything that Venti was saying. Aether simply shrugged his shoulders. Xiao’s guess was as good as his.

“I’ve never heard of it.” Aether offered up and Xiao let out a sigh of annoyance.  The teal haired boy looked back at Venti, pushing his face more into his hand, and his fingers curling in. 

There was a look of pure joy on Venti’s face when he saw that the two of them were stumped. He chuckled and covered his mouth as his eyes crinkled up. Something about his actions made alarm bells ring in Aether’s head. The mood shifted to a more sinister vibe. 

“Breeze?” Venti clarified and Xiao blinked, shaking his head, still not getting what it was that Venti was laying down. “6reeze?” He glanced at Aether who was staring between the two boys confused, not sure what to say. “Our old band?”

A deep sigh of disbelief left Xiao. The male closed his eyes for a split second. He grabbed the breakfast sandwich that he had gotten and took a bite, chewing really slowly as he stared at Venti, rolling his eyes.

Aether stared at Xiao, waiting for him to say something. But after a moment of silence, the boy turned to look back at Venti. “I thought that the name of your old band was 5wirl.” Aether muttered, scrunching up his face in confusion.

Xiao finished chewing the bite that he was chewing and sighed deeply again, his shoulders sagging. “Yes. It was named 5wirl. The 5 was because there were five of us.” Xiao explained, glancing at Aether who nodded his head slowly. “If Venti has decided to rename the band 6reeze, there is only one reason I can imagine he did that. The reason you renamed the band from 4nemo to 5wirl is you found another poor soul to join. So now you found a sixth member?”

Venti’s face lit up as soon as Xiao had asked him that, and Aether guessed that was indeed the case. “Yes!  You got it, Xiao, spot on! I have indeed found the sixth member. I have yet to invite him to the band. Which reminds me, I need to go talk to Zhongli at some point today. I have a good feeling about this.” 

Xiao leaned back in his chair as he studied Venti. “And why  do you feel like that?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at Venti. “If you haven’t even talked to the sixth member yet? What happens if he says no?”

Venti’s face dropped. He stared at Xiao, looking intimidating. Something that Aether never thought Venti could be from the short time he had known the other boy. “Heizou and Kazuha are both down for it,”  Venti pointed out. “I was able to track down Scaramouche yesterday while I was on campus. He seemed very annoyed to see me, but he told me he was okay with it if it would make me leave.”

“Scara was in your old band?” Aether asked Xiao with a frown, he didn’t think he could ever peg that boy to be a singer of any type. Xiao sighed softly as he nodded his head slowly.  “I never knew that.” The blond boy whispered softly to himself. 

He was under the impression that Scara wouldn’t join any type of social group, especially not a band runned by Venti. “Scara was the reason the band broke up,” Venti chirped. Aether scoffed, covering his mouth to block any other reaction coming out of his mouth. “He didn’t want to hang around highschoolers when he was in College, didn’t want to associate with us kids he called us.”

Aether shrugged his shoulders, that honestly sounded fair coming from Scara. Aether didn’t see too much problem of staying friends with people you knew in highschool, but to each their own. “Valid.” Aether muttered.

“And yet, he still hangs around Kazuha. I find that very rude.” Venti huffed. Oh, that made a lot more sense, Scara didn’t like Venti.  “And he was being really rude at lunch. Though it was probably because he was eating lunch with his friend, Ajax. And guess who else was there? Kazuha. Can you believe it.”

Aether laughed softly  before closing his eyes and shaking his head to answer his question. “No, I cannot.”

Xiao was slowly eating his sandwich as this conversation continued, he put the sandwich down,  looking between the two in confusion. “I thought that the band broke up because I moved to Geo district,” the male questione, “And I got a job.” Xiao glanced over at Aether.

Aether blinked and furrowed his eyebrows, tilting his head to the side. “What are you trying to say, Morax?” He asked, teasingly. “That I’m a job to be friends with?”

Xiao looked taken aback by the way that Aether said that, shaking his head and puffing out his cheeks. “No, not that, not that at all really. I was tutoring you, remember?” He asked.

Aether tilted his head to the side, blinking a few times. “Right… that is technically a job, huh?” He muttered to himself.  

“And a full time job at that.” Xiao stated, knocking into Aether’s shoulder with a small laugh. “I was practically at your house 24/7 for the first few weeks.”

The blond pouted before shaking his head a few times. “And who’s fault was that?” He asked, leaning over to steal a piece of fruit off of Xiao’s plate and plopping it into his mouth. “You were the one who wanted to be over constantly.”

Xiao ruffled Aether’s hair and he screeched as he tried to back away from the other. “Excuse me, can you stop flirting when I’m right here? Thank you.” Venti asked loudly. Aether and Xiao blinked and looked over at the other. “But, no, you’re right, that was one of the reasons. But the main reason was both you and Scara decided to ditch the band that you have been a part of since we were all five years old,” Venti responded, glaring at Xiao as he spoke. The teal haired man rolled his eyes, shaking his head slowly.

“We have not been together that long,” Xiao countered and Venti made a disgusted noise, causing Xiao to roll his eyes again. “You forced me to join the band when we were in fifth grade.” He pointed out, “Then Kazuha came along, he brought Heizou with him in the sixth grade. Scara didn’t even join until seventh grade.” Xiao listed all of the different people on his fingers.

Aether watched the two bicker, the smile on his face growing as he found the talk between the two of them quite amusing. He wondered how long the two of them were friends, it almost sounded like two friends who have been friends for ages bickering.

Venti dramatically rolled his eyes back at Xiao. “Anyways,” he said, raising his voice and causing people from all the different tables to turn and glare at him yet again for the unnecessary noise level, “I just need you to agree. Then I need to have our sixth member agree. I have received his application, and I have approved it. Heizou spoked really highly of him.” The look on Venti’s face showed that he was really serious about every word that came out of his mouth.

Aether stared at him with confusion written on his face, tilting his head to the side. He didn’t know when Venti was telling the truth or when he was over exaggerating. He knew that Xiao wouldn’t dare to do such a thing. The blond looked over at his crush, raising an eyebrow. “You have an application for your band?” Were there a lot of people asking to join the band?

Xiao shocked his head slowly, a soft sigh leaving his lips. “We don’t… not that I know of at least.” He responded to Aether. “It is mostly felt on vibes… Venti’s vibes and we kinda just go along with what he says.” 

“Why?” Aether asked, furrowing his eyebrows, that didn’t sound too fun.

Xiao shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure.” He responded.  “Venti, why do we listen to you?” He asked before turning to look over at his friend.

“Because I’m smart.” Venti responded and Xiao scoffed loudly, rolling his eyes at Venti when he said that. “Hey!”

“I don’t know why we listen to him,” Xiao repeated as he glanced at Aether, “But… if you invite this sixth person,” he switched back to talking to Venti, “And they agree, then I guess I’m in…. Especially if you managed to annoy Scara into rejoining as well.”

“I did not annoy Scara.” Venti defended himself. The looks that Aether and Xiao were given told the boy neither one of them believed him. “I swear..” 

Xiao sighed, leaning back in his chair. “Well, anyways, why do you need to talk to Zhongli.”  Venti blinked a few times as he stared at Xiao.  

He puffed some air and scoffed as if he didn’t believe the other was asking him that question. “Pff, what do you mean why do I need to talk to Zhongli? Silly, we are going to play at orientation. Duh. It is going to be our first big gig, ever. It is why I got the 50th place. I did it on purpose. Gives me more time to go and bug Zhongli.” He pointed out, trying to sound as if it was the smartest plan he ever came up with.

Xiao placed his face in his hands before he rubbed his face, looking annoyed. “If you get in.” Xiao poked at the other, rolling his eyes “You have to make sure that you’re better than a lot of different people.” 

Venti sighed, his shoulders sagging as the boy stared at Xiao, his eyebrows furrowing before he shook his head. “And yet, I am the most powerful Anemo user here.” He responded, his green eyes darkening, a serious look on his face. Venti reached over and stole a grape off of Xiao’s plate

The teal haired boy rolled his eyes before scoffing loudly. “Debatable.” Xiao whispered, slapping Venti’s hand away from his food with a warning look on his face.

Venti gasped, highly offended that Xiao would dare slap him. “My Dear Aether,” the boy called instead, turning to look back over at Aether. 

The blond boy gulped as Xiao turned to look over at him as well. He stared between the two friends, unsure about what they were going to ask him now.  “Y-yeah?” He stuttered, something telling him that nothing good would come out of this. 

Xiao shifted closer to Aether, wrapping a protective arm around the golden blond boy and giving Venti a look. Venti rolled his eyes dramatically at Xiao at his protectiveness. Venti then stared Aether deep in the eyes. “Would you do me the honor of joining our band?” He asked, smiling widely again..

Aether gulped again, a wave of shock passing through his body. He didn’t know how to answer Venti as he just stared at the other with wide eyes. He turned to look at Xiao, hoping to get his input on this situation. “Are you okay with this?” Aether asked, chewing on the side of his cheek, not sure what he should say.

Xiao shrugged his shoulders, not looking too upset about anything. “I’m just surprised that he thinks that he knows you well enough to ask you to join our band.” He replied, grabbing his drink and bringing it to his mouth.

Aether blinked, something about the way that Xiao had said that wasn’t sitting right with him as he moved away from the hold Xiao had on him. “What do you mean by that?” He asked with a pout forming on his lips.

Xiao put the cup down, his eyes widening slightly. “Nothing! Nothing bad. I promise. I’m sorry.” He cried out in panic. Venti was laughing at the two of them. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like that.”

“Well, what were you trying to make it sound like, then?” Venti asked and Aether turned his gaze over at him. There was a gleeful look in the other’s eyes as he watched the two across from him.

Xiao glared back at Venti. “What are you trying to do?” He hissed under his breath, catching Aether off guard.

Venti laughed and shook his head. “I have no idea what you are talking about. I am just trying to help Aether get the answers that he -”

“No you’re not.” Xiao interrupted him and the boy pouted as he stared at Xiao. Xiao turned his full attention to the boy next to him. “I was just saying, I didn’t expect you to know someone like him.” He made a face, glancing back at Venti real quick. “I also know the requirements to join his band. You need to have something tragic happen, have a terrible life, lose someone, something like that.” He turned back towards Venti with no warmth in his eyes, “And I doubt that after the way you drilled Scaramouche when he first joined, you’re going to just let Aether in. Unless that requirement had suddenly disappeared?”

Venti stared at Xiao with an unimpressed look, dropping whatever fake smile he had on his face. He blinked a few times before he smiled widely again, looking at Aether who was sitting there in complete shock and silence. The boy shrugged his shoulders, a soft giggle leaving his lips. “I can see why you would be concerned about that.” He sang.

“Venti…” Xiao called out in a warning tone. 

Venti stuck his tongue out at Xiao before he continued, “I was sitting behind Aether yesterday at the opening ceremony. I have heard many things about him and his past. I like to keep tabs on all of the people I have my eye on.” 

“Don’t have your eye on him.” Xiao hissed.

Venti stared at Xiao for a little bit, he blinked a few times. “It is hard not to. With the way that you constantly mentioned him during the Test of Courage. Before I even met him yesterday for real, I felt that I knew everything about him. You spoke so highly of him, and Kazuha spoke highly of him as well. He also seems to have won Heizou’s heart ove-”

“Heizou likes him?” Xiao growled, his eyes widening. Aether suddenly felt like he didn’t want to be in this conversation anymore.

Venti took in a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling for a second before he looked back at Xiao. “Xiao, please. Stop interrupting me. I’m talking.” He said calmly and Xiao looked like he wanted to punch Venti’s face. “He doesn’t like him like that, calm down. “

“Like what?” Aether asked, glancing at the boy with confusion in his eyes.

Both of them ignored the golden blond boy. “Yesterday, he informed me that his mother was not a huge fan of him. Hated him even. I had realized then and there that maybe it was because his mother is a monster.” Venti continued.

“How did you come to that conclusion?” Aether asked, taken aback from what the other said.

Venti glanced at the blond boy, but didn’t address him directly as he continued, “Aether here is sweet and kind. For him to realize that it was hatred, and not just a strong dislike of him, they must have really made his life miserable. So, I have decided that he can be part of the group.”  Venti finally finished, looking proud of his reasoning.

Xiao rolled his eyes as soon as he was done. “Oh how generous of you,” he muttered under his breath.

“It is very generous of me!” Venti responded as he perked up, finally turning his attention fully to look at Aether. “What do you say, my dear? Would you like to join our band?”

Aether stared at Venti like a deer caught in the headlights. He glanced over to Xiao who looked purely annoyed from everything that came out of his mouth. The boy gulped, as he tried to think of his answer. “I…. I guess so?” He asked. Aether instantly regretted it. He had no idea what he was agreeing to.

There was silence between the three as Venti stared at the two, a shocked look on his face. He blinked a couple of times before a huge smile appeared on his face. “Well, that was two yeses, and three if I have to. Not one no on my first round!” He cried out, clapping his hands. “That is actually pretty good if you asked me!”

“That’s nothing to celebrate about.” Xiao muttered.

Venti scooted his chair out before standing up. Aether wondered just how long did he bug Scara before the other agreed to get Venti to leave him alone. “Well, next on my to-do list is go bug Zhongli. Good luck Aether!” The boy winked at the boy before turning and leaving the cafeteria.

Aether turned in his chair to share a look of confusion with Xiao, raising an eyebrow at him. Before either one of them could speak, there was a loud beeping noise that ran through the speakers throughout the cafeteria. Any chattering around the room stopped to listen to the announcement. “Aether Viator, Please make your way to the auditorium for your Power Analysis!” 

A wave of panic set through Aether as he stood up. Xiao got up as well and Aether turned to look at him with a concerned look on his face. The other boy stared at Aether for a second before pulling him into a hug. “You are going to do fine. Amazing even. You got this.” The boy whispered into Aether’s ear and the boy shivered as he nodded his head.

“Thank you.” He whispered to Xiao. He went to pick up his plate.

Xiao grabbed the plate before he could though. “Just go. I’ll take care of this.” He insisted and Aether took in a deep breath and nodded, holding his head up before he walked out of the room.

As he made his way to the auditorium, he could see a couple of kids starting to gather around the doors. Kids who had gotten there early for the test from the two districts who’s exams started today. As they saw him come closer, they looked at him in confusion. He got to the doors, standing in the same spot he was in just yesterday, shivering and crossing his arms.

He felt like he was going to puke. 

It was crazy to think that just yesterday, he was in their shoes. That he was waiting for the doors to open for the test.It felt a lifetime away, and yet it wasn’t. Time was weird like that.  He waited for a while before the door opened and the purple haired woman from yesterday came out of the building. 

Professor Ei glanced at the other kids who stood straighter, fear written on their faces, before her gaze landed on where Aether was waiting. She moved closer to him and he had to force himself not to back up. There was some chattering from the kids around him as they watched as she made her way over to him.

She gave him one last look before turning. “Follow me,” she called over her shoulder and she started to walk away. “We will be using the training rooms. I’ll be leading you there.” 

Aether sat there with a confused look on his face. He shook his head before running after her. “Don’t you want to make sure that I am actually Aether Viator?” He asked, confusion in his voice.

The woman stopped for a second, glancing over her shoulder and giving him a calculating look. Something about her seemed familiar, but Aether couldn’t pick what. “Please child,” she responded, turning to look forward again as she continued to walk. “You are your father’s child. I can see him in you. There is no doubt that  you are Aether Viator. Trust me, your father and I were in the same year here in Celestia -” She stopped her sentence suddenly, as if there was more that she was going to say. 

Aether let out a small huff as he struggled to keep up with her. They walked around to a giant building a few feet away from the auditorium. They went into the building. In that building there was a giant glass box with a stretch of land inside. People were standing around the glass box, chatting with each other. Celestia students, Aether had to guess. One of the kids near where Aether just entered, looked at him and smiled before mouthing Good Luck to him. The woman opened the door to the glass box and ushered Aether inside. He stepped into the box before the door behind him was shut closed.

The blond boy, not knowing what to do, shifted from foot to foot as he tried to calm down his racing heart. As he glanced around, he noticed that every student had their eyes locked onto him as the woman moved to the center of the group.  The senior took in a deep breath as he tried to think of what they were going to make him do to show he was able to manipulate.

“Mr Viator!” A loud voice boomed, causing Aether to jump as he turned back to stare at Professor Ei. She was now holding a microphone, staring down at him. “Today we will be assessing the strength of your manipulation in each of the elements. We will be asking to see each element one by one. Once we have seen enough, you will be asked to move on to the next element.”

Aether gulped as he took in her instructions, nodding his head. He played with his hands as he glanced around at everyone again, feeling very self conscious. There were so many people here that were going to see him fail.  “Alright.” He managed to speak.

He noticed the way that her eyes moved towards his hands. He dropped them to his side. “Mr. Viator, at this time, please remove your training gloves. The box around you is nearly indestructible. Please, do not hold yourself back in fear of damaging the room or hurting any one of us.” 

Nearly indestructible, what does nearly even mean. “Yeah, Ok.” Aether muttered to himself, pulling off his gloves and placing them in the hoodie’s pocket. Once the gloves were removed, Aether felt even more nervous, this was the real deal. He could only imagine the worst case scenario.

The woman smiled slightly as soon as he was done removing his gloves. She picked up a clipboard and looked at what was written on it.  “First of all, we want you to show us how well you can manipulate Electro. Please continue using Electro until I call out the next element.”

Aether took in a deep breath again before walking to the middle of the area he was in. What exactly were they expecting him to do?

He cautiously raised a hand up, shooting a bolt of electricity at the wall, grimacing as the energy left his hand. The wall wasn’t damageable, he had to keep reminding himself of that. When the bolt hit it, there was no reaction from the wall.

Loud whispers were thrown around the group as he noticed the students all had their own clipboards, writing things down on them. A pair of familiar indigo eyes met his and he stared at him with fear in his eyes. “Don’t hold back Aeth.” The boy called out to Aether. “You got this.”

Aether took in a deep breath, his shoulders raising and shrinking as he nodded his head, determination appearing in his eyes. He closed his eyes, the words of encouragement rolling through his brain as he held his hand out again, willing some electro to build up within his hand, it tickled him a little bit. Like the shock of electricity that came from clothes fresh from the washer when one forgot to put a dryer sheet in with them. When he felt that enough energy had grown, he let it go, opening his eyes again, and he could see all eyes on him.

He forced different strains of lightning to be manipulated into different forms. Little shapes appeared like a neon sign, some of them pulsing, and others not. He had different strands mingle together, trying to hold out the energy and the power as much as he can, hoping that they would find it beautiful. Or to their liking.  

“Perfect.” A voice interrupted him and he dropped the electricity that quickly disappeared. “The next thing that we want you to demonstrate is Cyro. Take some time to breath before you move on.” 

Cyro? Aether nodded his head as he tried to figure out how he could show that he was able to manipulate that element. He was already afraid that what he had shown for Electro wasn’t the best that he could do.

He had never been in this position, where someone wanted to see what he could do, and believed that he was able to. He was always in the position where people would make fun of him by taunting him to show his powers.  Aether licked his lips as he let out a puff of air.

He looked back at Scara, and the kid standing next to him. Ajax. He was leaning down to whisper something into the other’s ear. Scara hit him soon afterwards, and the boy laughed.

What were they talking about? Laughing about?

Surely it was enough to assure them he knew at least how to manipulate some elements. He only had to do that. He had to stop over thinking and just do what they wanted him to do.

How had Lumine bragged about her own powers in the past?

He raised his hands up again as he mulled over the question, imagining some snow or ice forming around him as he bit the corner of his lip. He didn’t realize that a snow storm was gathering around him as he thought. Feeling something land on him, he looked up at the white powder and shock spread through his body. He had to do something,everyone’s eyes were trained on him intensely. He turned his back on them, getting freaked out and waved his hands to make an igloo out of the ice while the snow fell around him . He created a snowman as well, letting it chill by the igloo.

Aether had to do more, he had to keep going. He had to take a creative look at this test. Aether started to make different animals out of ice. Nothing was being said, there was no noise from the people watching him.  Frustrated, Aether waved his hands, tearing down the igloo and snowman at one go before turning them into different pieces of ice, and he threw them over at the animals. Realizing what he had done, he made sure that none of them hit the animals. He turned around to see if he could gauge their reactions.

Nothing about their faces gave away how he was doing. He shifted uncomfortably, wondering when the next element would be called out. He raised the ice shards he  made and willed them to form an ice diamond, rotating it and letting it sparkle from the light around.

He dropped the ice diamond. It came crashing down. What else could he do that wouldn’t make him feel like he was copying Elsa from frozen?

Before he had to speculate, “Dendro,” was called out and he blinked, willing all of the ice and snow to melt away. Professor Ei wasn’t even looking at him, she was looking down at the clipboard while the other students had their eyes trained on Aether.

Dendro… Dendro… Aether could do dendro. He thought back to the time when he made flower crowns with Gorou.  A wave of his hand made the land a grassland and tiny flowers of all different types started to appear out of everywhere.  Aether bent down to pick up one of the flowers, willing the end of the stem to grow out before he let it drop to the ground.

He tried to will a giant tree to form in the middle of the arena, but he felt pushback. Prickles of frustration formed on his brow, but he guessed it was because of the roots and the room that he was in. 

What else could he do? Giant mushrooms?  He started to grow the stereotypical Fly Agaric mushrooms, willing them to continue to grow bigger than they normally will, a few of them popping up at the same time all around the arena.  

He felt at peace, weirdly, as he willed different types of plants to grow, switching to vines and doing what he had done with the electro, making different shapes form. A heart shaped vine, one took the form of a little kid drawing of a cat.  He glanced around again, but yet again there were no looks of surprise. All of them were stoned face. At least there wasn’t any look of disgust, or disappointment. He had to be doing well, right?

Different fruits kept popping up, fruits and vegetables of different sizes, sizes that they normally didn’t come in. “Hydro.” Aether stopped what he was doing. He looked around what he had created with Dendro before he nodded his head. He decided to leave his dendro creations. He willed the room to fill with a rainstorm, water falling all around him and his creation.

He saw that the group of kids were writing stuff down as he willed water animals to appear much like the ice animals from before. Water fishes and water jellyfish floated through the room while water flowers bloomed around him.

“Pyro.” Was called out, the quickest that new element had been called out, and Aether wondered what that was supposed to mean. The water disappeared in a second as he gulped. Pyro. 

A sinking feeling appeared in his chest as he stared around at everyone in shock. “Are you not comfortable with Pyro?” Professor Ei asked.

Aether shook his head, making eye contact with Scaramouche again. The older boy nodded his head at Aether.

The blond sighed, closing his eyes and willed a ball of fire to appear in his hands. He flinched, remembering the feeling of fire burning off his hair. The accidental burning of his hands.  When he thought the ball was big enough, he threw it at the wall, expecting that to be it. Maybe he could go about his way, acting like he couldn’t do Pyro as much as the other elements. Move on quickly from this element.

But something was wrong.  A pull in his gut made him realize that he wasn’t able to control the element. It was going to get out of hand.

The fire continued to form in his hand, starting to twist into a fire tornado. The boy gasped as he raised his hand up, hoping to disrupt the manipulation. But the flames started to flick back down Aether’s hand. He could once again feel the fire searing onto his hand, burning the skin. A pained scream left his lips. Fiery orange flashed before his eyes as the flames engulfed the insides of the box. Aether’s breathing sped up as he started to panic.

He willed a rainstorm to form, to put the fire out. In just a second the flames were gone, but his hand still hurt. He felt woozy, like he couldn’t focus, like he was going to barf.

He felt weird. It felt like he was in a dream suddenly. He would have believed it was if it wasn’t for the throbbing pain. Aether sunk down onto his knees, not realizing that he was still screaming out, tears rolling down his face. He was clutching his hand to his chest, shaking in pain.

A figure was by his side suddenly, they were pulling him to their chest into a hug. “Hey, Hey.” A voice whispered in his ear, Aether was shaking his head,feeling as if he wasn’t really there anymore. “Hey, It’s okay. It’s Okay. You’re safe. You’re Okay.” 

“My hand hurts.” Aether managed to whimper out, everything in his head twisting and turning. He couldn’t think straight. He coul- Suddenly Aether passed out, his back hitting the other’s chest as his eyes closed.

When the blond finally came to, he was feeling much more grounded. He had a splitting headache. He sat up in shock, there were no lights on in the room. The only light that came was a window high above his bed. The pain in his arm was still prevalent. Aether swung his feet to the side of the bed and tried to get up.

He grimaced as more pain shot down his arm. He stared down noticing that his whole hand was wrapped in a bandage, all the way down to his wrist.  The blond needed to know what was going on. He forced himself up and to get out of the room. There was a girl sitting at the desk, looking through something. It hit him. He was in the nurse’s office. Of course he was. 

“Hello?” He called out, shocking himself from how weak his voice sounded.

The girl spun around in her chair, her pink hair spun into twin buns at the top of her head. A soft smile appeared on her face “Ah, you’re up!” She called out, she didn’t look that much older than him, maybe a year or two. “How are you feeling?”

Aether moved to hold his hand against his chest, the pain he felt reflecting in his eyes as he tried to figure out how to tell her how he felt. “Like shit?” He offered up.

Her face morphed into a look of pity. “I’m sorry. I tried to heal your arm. But by the time you were brought in, it was already badly hurt. I got it to the point where it wont bug you as much-”

“It still hurts.” Aether interrupted, before  mentally slapping himself for being rude and speaking over her. “Sorry…” 

“Oh!” She cried out, “Let me get you some pain medicine.” she turned around and started to shuffle through her desk while Aether watched, unsure what to do. “It has been a long while since I saw a burn that badly.  It looks like it might scar.”

“Oh…” Aether muttered softly. She pulled out a single dose of pain medicine and got a bottle of water, handing them to the boy. “Are you the nurse?”

As he waited for her response, he opened the pills as best as he could, placing the bottle of water on the desk before he could open them. She shook her head, watching him. “Uh… We don’t really have nurses. I mainly stay in here, though, to help people. More than anyone else. My name is Kokomi. I typically come in here because my powers are great for healing.” She responded with a smile, grabbing the water and untwisting the cap for him, handing it to him.

Aether took a drink, clutching onto it with his unhurt hand. “In the…was anyone else hurt?” He asked as he glanced to see different rooms around the place. 

Kokomi shook her head. “No. Though I will admit, that was a powerful surge of power. The training room contained it though. Nobody entered until after you doused the fire.” She reassured him. Aether let out a sigh of relief. “Though, you used up too much of your power. That is why you fainted. I can only imagine how much pain you were in as well.  You will be tapped out for a couple of days.”

“Tapped out?” Aether muttered, sipping from the bottle, as the pain started to magically fade from his arms. 

She nodded her head. “Yeah, too much power used up can cause that. I do not want you to use your injured hand for two weeks. “ She picked something off the desk and held it out to him. He placed the water bottle down and took it from her. “This is a cream that will help your burn. The committee is done analyzing your powers. They will get in touch with you later.”

He knew it. Aether messed everything up. 

Chapter Text

As Kokomi looked Aether over for any more injuries, he was required to stay in the nurse's office.  Now that he was conscious, the girl also tried to heal more of his burn. Nothing worked.  A new name would be called out from the speaker every now and then for the power analysis. The sound was gibberish to his ears. 

 “Alright,” she finally said, when she had done everything that she could. There was a smile on her face as she looked up to the blond boy. “I believe that you are good to go.”

The blond boy couldn’t help the look of happiness that passed across his face as he scrambled to get up.  He grabbed his arm and held it close to his chest. “Thank you for the help,” he called out to the pink haired girl, a grateful smile on his face.

Kokomi laughed, amusement filling her eyes as she waved her hand to gesture to him to leave. “Don’t mention it. I am just happy that I was able to help in any way.” She responded. “And I am sorry that I couldn’t do more.” 

Aether stared at her for a bit, not sure what he should say next before nodding his head once. He awkwardly shuffled out of the room. It would be best if he just remained silent. He didn’t want to put his foot in his mouth by saying something wrong. He looked at the ground as he walked down the hall, away from the nurse's room. Heavy footsteps caught his attention, causing the teenage boy to look up. As he did, he saw someone walking briskly down the hall. They looked at the student before slowing their pace. The look of concern was quickly replaced with relief as they continued to walk towards Aether. 

Aether stopped in his place before he ran into the other. When the person came up to them, he gave Aether a once over before sighing heavily in relief.  It took some time, longer than Aether would have liked, to notice that it was Zhongli. The older man looked as if a weight was lifted off their shoulders when they saw the blond boy. “Aether, I am delighted to see that you are alright.” Zhongli greeted the boy and Aether awkwardly nodded his head, “when I heard that something went wrong with the exam…” The professor sighed before shaking his head. “That is neither here nor there. I am just relieved that you are alright and safe. Now, please, excuse me, I must talk with Ms. Sangonomiya.” 

“Of course...” Aether whispered. The boy took a step to the side and Zhongli rushed past him. As the older man passed, his golden eyes followed him until the Professor disappeared into the nurses office. He tilted his head, confused before he shook his head and left the building that he was in.

He made his way to his car, not knowing what else he was supposed to do. Exiting the building, the blond noticed that not many people were around. Unlike this morning. Which means the other group of kids were still in their tests… and the people taking the power analysis exam… Aether looked down at the ground and continued to walk, not wanting to think about the exam anymore. Every now and then, a rock would appear in his vision, and the boy kicked it around, almost like a soccer ball. 

The  boy’s stomach was twisting and turning as nervous thoughts ran rapidly through his head. What could have caused this accident… what would be the… He couldn’t get a straight thought out. 

Aether brought a hand up to his mouth, and his other hand covering his stomach. He couldn’t think about this. He couldn’t… he didn’t have the mental energy to think about anything.

When the ground shifted to the asphalt of the parking lot, Aether forced himself to look up, making sure no car was coming. The teenager slowly lowered his hand from his mouth, moving to rest it at the base of the front of his neck. His eyes were wide as they darted around, despite how he tried to force them to be still.  

It felt like ages before he made it to his father’s car. He leaned against the vehicle, his golden eyes closing as his hand dropped again. It was now resting on top of the other  that was wrapped around his stomach. The atmosphere was silent. Aether leaned his head against the car window. He strained his ears to try to hear anything, but he didn’t pick anything up.

There were no students running to their car after classes, or examinees like him leaving in a rush. Out here, he couldn’t hear the speakers announcing who was up next. The blond reasoned with himself that he should probably leave.

If he wanted to wait for Lumine or someone, he could easily stay in the area. He had the whole day to himself, and he really didn’t want to head home. Maybe he should go buy some pain medicine for his hand. There was still a slight sting, no matter how hard Kokomi had tried to lessen the pain. Maybe get some water or something. 

The boy was kicking himself for not bringing one of his comfort water bottles. His throat was starting to feel dry from the prickles of thirst. His best chance was getting a random bottle of water from a nearby gas station. Or there was also a nearby grocery store.

The blond boy opened his eyes and straightened his back. He let his arms drop to his sides. Voices and the sound of footsteps started coming closer to him. He stopped, curious as to who they belonged to and what they were saying. Aether knew that it probably didn’t concern him. That didn’t stop his brain from wanting to eavesdrop. 

“I feel like they were grading a bit harshly,” were the first words that Aether could pick up. Aether felt like he knew who was speaking. Their voice was familiar. “Like…” The person stopped for a pause as they gathered their thoughts before continuing, “It was like they weren’t really impressed? By anything that I did. It was very annoying.”  

The blond boy bit the corner of his lips, he knew the feeling. His mind flashed back to the different unamused looks. The way the other’s tone sounded very scripted, very robotic. He glanced around his car to see if he could see who was coming. His brain wasn’t coming up with any ideas of who it might be. His mind was completely fried 

The friend that they were walking with let out a loud laugh. “I know right?” They responded, amusement lacing their voice, very different from someone who would be pissed or scared. “It didn’t have to be that hard.”

“That’s what she said.” Their friend joked, finding the chance and taking it. Both voices stopped for a moment before the duo started to burst out laughing at the immature joke.  

It took a while for them to calm down. As if the joke was the funniest joke they could have told. “But no… It must have had something to do with Aether.” The second boy responded after they calmed down. “It was a good 30 minute lag between your exam and when he should have gotten done….” Had it… was that too long of a lag? What if Aether had just taken really long. Confusion and fear raced through the boy’s mind. “Did you notice the weird burnish tint to the ceiling?”

The figures walked closer to his car. Aether’s brain finally decided to start working and he finally recognized them to be Kazuha and Heizou. Their own exams must have been completed. Aether stood there for a second, wondering if he should reveal himself to the other two. The two didn’t seem to notice Aether as they walked closer.

“I didn’t notice that,” Kazuha whispered, a confused look on his face as he scrunched up his nose. “But… you’re right. It must have something to do with Aether. I hope that he is okay.” 

This was the moment that Aether had to make a choice. Either stay hidden or reveal himself. A voice deep down in the blond’s voice reminded him that he did not want to be alone right now. “Hey.” He finally called out, moving out of his hiding place. The blond made a face as he realized just how weak his voice was.

The two boys stopped when they heard Aether call out to them before they turned around to look at him with wide eyes.” Aether!” His pale blond haired friend cried out. Heizou walked closer to the teenager. 

The purple haired boy pulled the boy into a tight hug. Aether stiffened, surprised by the hug, before he slowly hugged the other back. He tried not to react as his burned hand rubbed against the bandages covering them. A spike of pain shooting up his arms.

The hug didn’t last long, as Heizou pulled away. He looked Aether up and down with a concerned look etched in his green eyes. When he decided that there was nothing too serious, he looked over at Kazuha. “Are you ok?” He asked, turning back to look at Aether.

What a loaded question that was. Was Aether alright? A voice deep down pointed out that he didn’t want to go over what had happened as he gulped and nodded. “Uh… yeah.” He responded. Kazuha took a quick glance down at his bandaged arm.

Kazuha blinked before looking Aether in the eye. The blond hoped he didn’t bring up the injury. He wasn't sure he could lie about that. “How did you think you did?” Kazuha finally asked before he looked over at Heizou and smiled at his friend.

Aether shifted, gulping. “I…” He whispered, thinking of his answer carefully. “Uh… I think I messed up any chances of getting in.” He finally admitted, trying to fake a smile. His golden eyes looked down at the ground, hoping that it came off as a joke.

Kazuha and Heizou did not take that as a joke though. Aether’s shoulder’s sagged as the other two stared at him, matching concerned looks appearing on their faces. “What do you mean?” Kazuha asked.

In truth, Aether didn’t want to say what happened, didn’t want to admit how badly he failed to his friends. “They didn’t finish my assessment.” He fessed up. A disbelieving look appeared in Kazuha’s eyes. “I only got to Pyro.” The golden blond boy continued. Did they even go in the same order? “I didn’t get to show Anemo and Geo…” He broke off.

The two friends shared a look. Kazuha turned his gaze back at Aether, a serious look on his face. “That doesn’t sound right.” He declared, catching Aether by surprise. Did the other boy think that Aether was lying? “They don’t stop assessments randomly. The only time that they stop is if it is unfit for the examination to continue. And if they stopped your assessment, I doubt that ruined your chances of getting in.” How would Kazuha even know that?

Tears started to form in his eyes and Aether tried to blink them away. He didn’t want his two friends to notice he was tearing up. “Huh…” He whispered softly. Kazuha gave him a comforting smile before he patted his shoulder. “I wonder why they told me that I was dismissed.” Aether muttered. It didn’t make sense.

“Maybe they were worried for your own safety?” Kazuha asked as he tried to help Aether figure out the questions.Heizou nodded his head in agreement, a thoughtful look on his face. “It did take a while for you to do your test. When I was called in, I noticed some things... Scara wasn’t there, and he was supposed to be there. Childe looked scared….” Kazuha scrunched his face as he remembered. “No.. not scared, that’s not the right word… more like worried.” 

Aether swallowed harshly. He tried to convince himself that the other had to be telling the truth. But, something about what Kazuha said didn’t sound right. “You… You knew that Scara was going to be one of the judges?” He asked in confusion. He didn’t think that examinees could know who was going to be the judges. 

What if they influenced if the other person got in or not. 

“The pale blond nodded. “Yeah.” He responded. “He wasn’t supposed to tell me, but both Childe and him managed to let that slip when we were at lunch yesterday. Those two can’t keep a secret to save their lives,” Kazuha laughed as he shook his head in amusement. “Then he told me that he was going to be super hard with judging… and then he wasn’t there.” 

A flash of Scara encouraging Aether ran through his head. “He was there when I took my test.” Aether responded. “That is really weird?” 

Did they ask the indigo haired man to step out because he was friends with Kazuha? No… Then they would have asked Childe to step out as well. Aether looked over at Heizou, wondering if the other saw Scara as well in the room?

Could it have been that it was him who had caught Aether? Could he have taken Aether to the medical wing as well?

Heizou’s green eyes were trained on Aether. Before Aether could bring himself to ask about Scaramouche, Heizou spoke up. “What really happened during your exam?” He asked, crossing an arm and placing his other under his chin, resting his elbow on his crossed arm. Kazuha whipped his head to look at Heizou with a look of annoyance. “Don’t lie to us.” Heizou added, ignoring the scarlet glare Kazuha was giving him. 

It felt like Heizou was staring deep into Aether’s soul. “I… Uh…” Aether chewed on the side of his cheek anxiously. “I used up too much power?” He offered up, not sure what the boy was looking for “I-”

“You tapped out.” Kazuha finished for him. His voice was almost a whisper as wonder shown in his scarlet eyes. Aether nodded his head slowly to confirm it. “Damn Aeth…”

Was the other upset with him? Aether shuffled his feet. “I didn’t mean to!” He insisted. “I- '' he dropped off. He didn’t even know what tapping out ment, or that he could.

Silence grew between the friends as Aether braced himself for any other questions they could throw his way. “When are you leaving?” Heizou finally asked, changing the topic completely. The question caught Aether off guard and he looked at the boy in confusion. “You know that we’re free to go, right?” He clarified before gesturing towards the car behind Aether. “Why are you just standing by your car?”

Ah… right. Was he even able to drive his car? That would include using his hand. Kokomi had just warned him not to use it. But…  “Yeah… we’re discouraged from talking to any of the remaining examinees.” Aether responded, to say something, “until they are done with their exams.” The other two nodded their heads. “I wanted to wait for Xiao, my sister, and Gorou.” Aether reasoned, listing off his friends. The blond knew that wasn’t the full truth. He ran his unhurt hand through his hair and looked away from the other two. Maybe he wanted to wait for his friends.

He would have to wait a while for Gorou though if he waited for him. His name was close to the end of the list. There were 50 of them there as well. 

“Gorou’s here?” Kazuha squeaked, covering his mouth after he did with embarrassment shining in his eyes. Heizou rolled his eyes at Kazuha, giving his friend a knowing look. The golden blond slowly nodded his head. Kazuha laughed before forcing a cough and looking away quickly, dropping his hand from his mouth. “Well… uh.. While you’re waiting, do you want to hang out with the two of us?” He offered the other boy, trying to gain back any confidence he lost due to his reaction to hearing Gorou was nearby.

“Are you sure that I won’t be a bother?” Aether asked, uncertainly. He didn’t want to intrude, and he didn’t want to impose on them.

Kazuha’s eyes closed for a split second as he shook his head.“Of course not.” He responded, one of his hands reaching out to clasp Aether’s shoulder.  “We will be waiting for Venti to finish his exam.” At the mention of the other boy, Kazuha seemed to struggle not to roll his eyes. The pale blond sighed and shook his head. One of Heizou’s hands flew up to cover his mouth as an amused laugh left his lips. “That dumbass purposely got 50th place…” He complained, looking unamused. “But we would love to have your company.”

Aether’s eyes lit up. “Yes.” He answered quickly after Kazuha had finished explaining. He coughed awkwardly. “It… it would beat waiting here.” He tried to explain, make it sound like he wasn’t crazy with how fast he answered..

Kazuha beamed at Aether’s answer, sharing a look with Heizou. “Excellent.” He whispered softly.

“We are going to be celebrating Kazuha’s birthday later as well,” Heizou piped up and Aether turned to look at him.  “If you want to join us! It’ll be quite later, since we are waiting for Venti to get done.” 

Aether’s attention snapped back to land fully on Kazuha. “It’s your birthday?” He cried, shock shining in his eyes. “Happy Birthday! I’m sorry, I didn’t know!”

Kazuha smiled and shook his head a few times, waving his hand a few times.” No, no.” He responded and Aether scrunched his face in confusion. “It was a week or so, maybe more, a go. I was too busy studying and preparing for today. None of us were able to celebrate and so Vents had the brilliant idea of celebrating it after exams, and Heizou suggested it to be right after the exams.”  He explained as he knocked his shoulder into Heizou.

Aether nodded his head as he followed along. “Ah…” He whispered. “Happy late birthday, then.” He corrected himself, smiling brightly.

“Thank you.” Kazuha said happily. “Oh, but celebrating isn‘t the only thing I’m excited for once these horrible exams are over.” 

Aether blinked, confused. “Huh?” Aether asked, tilting his head to the side. He wondered what the pale blond meant by that.

Maybe he was talking about not having to study for the exams. “I'm ready to start working again.” He pointed out.

Aether’s eyes widened at the clarification before he nodded his head. Truthfully, he wasn’t quite sure if he understood.Sometimes he did miss the kids he tutored. But it was a lot of energy. “Ew,” Heizou muttered, making a face, “Work… There’s a time to work. And that is after we graduate.” the purple haired man pointed out and shook his head slowly.

Kazuha laughed and nudged the other boy again. He rolled his eyes playfully. “But the money,” The pale blond boy pointed out, “I missed the lifestyle I had when I didn’t have to ask my parents for money.” 

Aether could relate to that. Asking his dad for things did get…weird. “I can’t wait to start earning money again either,” Aether agreed. Heizou clicked his tongue. The boy turned his golden eyes on him as Heizou gave Aether a stink face. “I’m trying to save up for a car, and not having a job doesn’t really help in that aspect. Borrowing my Dad’s car is getting to be a bit… much.”

 He wanted to have the freedom that came with a car, to be able to go where he wanted. To not have to explain, or lie, to his father about where he was going. Then there was Lumine who also competed with Aether to see who could get their dad’s car first.

Their mother’s car was only used for when Lumine had an emergency, like today. 

“What do you do for work?’ Kazuha asked, curiosity lacing the words as he studied Aether. “I don’t think I know what kind of work I would envision you doing.” He pointed out. 

Aether rubbed the back of his neck as Heizou nodded his head in agreement, looking at Aether. “Well…” The boy muttered. “It’s only a job for when I’m still in school. A temporary school… I don’t know what I actually want to do with the rest of my life.” He tucked a loose piece of hair behind his ear. “I thought that I knew what I wanted to do, but as more time goes on…” He shook his head quickly, realizing he didn’t answer the other’s question. “I tutor people.” He said quickly. “What about you, Kazuha, what do you do for work?”

Kazuha laughed, looking Aether over once more with a calculating look. “That makes sense now…. Getting a better look at you, it fits pretty well. That’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah, I don’t know you that well. But I always got the feeling that you were going to be someone who helped other people,” Heizou agreed. Aether puffed out some air and shook his head, not sure what to say. “Smarty pants Aether, sharing his smarts to the whole world around him.” 

Before Aether could have a chance to react, Kazuha’s eyes shifted to one of mortification as he glanced over at Heizou with a warning look. “He didn’t mean it like that.” Kazuha rushed to say, looking back at Aether.

Not realizing why Kazuha was reacting the way he did to his words, Heizou stared at his friend in confusion, tilting his head to the side. “Like what?” The purple haired boy asked.

Kazuha sighed and facepalmed as he shook his head. He then looked back up at his friend. “Sometimes the way you say certain things makes it sound like you are making fun of them.” He explained to Heizou. The boy blinked as he listened to what Kazuha told him and gave Kazuha a look showing he didn’t believe the other. “It’s your tone of voice and the words that you choose.”

“It’s fine.” Aether whispered before Kazuha could go on. He didn’t think Heizou would say anything to purposely be mean to him.

“Are you sure?” Kazuha asked fretfully. Aether smiled reassuringly at Kazuha as he nodded his head. The blond boy sighed softly. “Well… I work at a Coffee shop. It’s pretty fun. I typically work the morning shifts and weekend shifts. I like it. I get free drinks and sometimes they allow me to bring in desserts to sell.”

That did sound pretty awesome, Aether had to admit. “Kazuha is one hell of a baker.” Heizou added, slamming his hand against his friend’s back. The force of which made Kazuha stumble a few feet.

Kazuha glared at him and Heizou stuck his tongue out at him. “That’s amazing.” Aether interrupted the two’s fight.The friends looked over at Aether again. “You’ll have to tell me where you work. I love coffee shops. There’s one on the border of Anemo and Geo-” 

“That’s where I work!” Kazuha cried out, his eyes going wide. “It’s the closest to the school. I’m never late and if the teachers know that I’m working, they usually excuse my tardiness. I also don’t have to go to homeroom.”

That sounded like a pretty lit deal, getting to miss a class like that. Even if it was only Homeroom. “Oh seriously?” Aether gasped, “I don't think that I have seen you there! But that is where I like to tutor people. It’s nice, out of the way, and has good atmosphere.” When he did go there, it was usually a woman at the counter. She was always very friendly towards Aether.

Kazuha whistled in surprise. “No way.”  He wrapped an arm around Aether’s shoulder, a sparkle in his eyes as he looked at the other. “When you start tutoring again, drinks will be on me!” He promised.

The generosity threw the golden boy off. Aether quickly shook his head, he didn’t think that he could accept something so big from the other. “I can’t ask you to do that for me,” the blond insisted, “that would be so rude of me.” 

The other’s gaze darkened as he shook his head. “If I am offering it up,” the boy responded, his voice serious, “then it is not rude. My friends get free drinks… as long as I don’t abuse that. It’s a job perk of me being the owner’s son. Childe and Scara can honestly suck it, Heizou and Venti don’t like going there… So who else am I going to spoil?”

The look in Kazuha’s eyes told Aether that the boy wasn’t going to accept no for an answer. “If you insist.” The teenager replied awkwardly, knowing deep down he couldn’t abuse the kindness the other was offering him.

“All of your friends too.” Kazuha added, glee forming in his eyes when Aether agreed. “The drinks used to go to Xiao, so you have to make sure that he keeps going to the store. But let’s go to the nearby Convenience store. We can get some snacks there while we wait!” He unwrapped his arm from Aether’s shoulders only to wrap it around Aether’s arm and started to pull him to a car. 

Heizou skipped after the other two, happily.

If there was one place Aether would never expect him to be, it would be in a park with Heizou and Kazuha. Watching as the two of them spared with each other. He was leaning back in the grass as he watched them fight, glancing between the two of them.

He was glad that they didn’t ask too many questions, and it was obvious that neither one of them were taking it seriously, probably having used up a lot of their powers during their exams. Aether could tell, the more that time went on, Kazuha was getting more and more curious about the bandage on his arm, but Aether would divert his attention, or Heizou would thankfully.

Kazuha had just sent a blast of Air at Heizou. When the blast hit him, Heizou scooted back a few fete backwards before regaining his footing. To retaliate, he did a full on flip, kicking some air back over at Kazuha. The first time that Aether saw that, he was really surprised, but it was one of Heizou’s favorite moves.

Kazuha knew this, and he moved away from the attack before sending back a weak stream of water as a counter attack. Aether’s attention was diverted as his phone started to ring. The blond boy sat up straighter, a confused look on his face before he did a mad search for his phone.

The two friends stopped what they were doing before looking at Aether, curiosity shining in their eyes as Aether found the device and placed it next to his ear, not bothering to look to see who was calling. “Hello?” He called out, sounding unsure. Who would call at a time like this?

“Aether.” A voice rang in his ear. A heat rose to Aether’s cheek and Kazuha started to laugh while Aether glared at him. “Where are you?” Xiao asked. Aether fell quite, words suddenly not knowing how to come up. “Aether?” Xiao’s voice  called out again.

Aether coughed a few times. “I… uh…I’m at a park?” The boy answered, his voice cracking. He knew that wasn’t helpful. There was a lot of different parks. Kazuha was walking over to him, while Heizou took some time to practice his martial arts air attacks, suddenly disinterested in what Aether was doing or who he was talking to. “Kauzha, what park is this?” Aether aske the boy.

Kazuha sat down, grabbing a thing of sour gummy worms from the pile of snacks they got. He popped one in his mouth, chewing a few times, making sure to take his time. Before he finished though, Xiao responded with a quick, “Got it,” before hanging up the phone.  It was a quick hang up, quicker than most people would have time to respond.

Aether pouted as he pulled the phone away from his ear, looking down at it, not sure how he should feel about that. “What did loverboy want?” Kazuha asked, popping another gummy worm into his mouth.

An uneasy feeling washed over Aether as he tried to think about what made Xiao just hang up.  He placed it down on the grass as Heizou landed weirdly and let out a screech before picking himself up and dramatically limping over to where the other two were at.

Aether shook his head to answer Kazuha’s question. “He hung up before I could figure out what it was that he wanted.” He responded as he looked over at Kazuha. 

“Xiao?” Heizou asked and Aether nodded his head slowly. Heiozu laughed softly. “Don’t worry about it.” He tried to take a gummy worm from Kazuha.

Kazuha gasped, offended as he moved it away from him. “What do you mean?” Aether asked as he looked at the two of them, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling in his stomach.

“He knows what park we’re at. You just had to say Kazuha’s name.” Heizou responded as he stopped attacking Kazuha for a split second. 

Aether blinked in confusion, tilting his head to the side. “How?” Aether asked, he knew Xiao. He was not a mind reader.

“We used to come here all the time after school.” Kazuha offered, seeing the way that Aether looked confused. The male gave Aether a comforting smile. “When we didn’t want to deal with Scara’s mood swings.” He joked

Heizou started to laugh, keeling over at Kazuha’s joke. “Oh, I can hear Scara right now, complaining about us calling them Mood swings.” He cried out. Aether suddenly felt like he was out of place. Way more than he did before.

It was obvious that these two knew each other well, that they knew Xiao well as well, and yet he just met Heizou and he barely knew Kazuha. “Oh…” the golden blond muttered softly. “I thought he was upset that I was hanging out with you two.” He admitted. He also got the feeling that Xiao didn’t like it when he hung around them.

“Why would he be upset?” Kazuha asked, frowning deeply, shaking his head in confusion. Seeing his chance, Heizou leaped over Kazuha and grabbed a handful of gummy worms before stuffing them into his mouth. 

Aether thought of a way to answer the other’s question, but the truth was he didn’t know. “He’d be a bitch if he was upset.” Heizou said, almost shouted, as he chewed on the snack he just stole from the other.

“Eww,” Kazuha whined, grabbing some more gummy worms and throwing them over at his friend. “Don’t talk with your mouth full! Nobody wants to see that.” He whined, “But Heizou is right Aeth. He would be a bitch.”

Heizou grabbed the fallen worms before stuffing them into his mouth as well and showing Kazuha his mouth full of worms. Aether rolled his eyes playfully as he watched the two of them. “Eloquent.” He joked as Heizou turned to look at him, shutting his mouth again. 

Aether looked down at his hurt hand. He knew that Xiao would have some questions, mostly concerning how Aether got it. He didn’t want to explain it to Xiao. Which means, he had to hide it from his crush. He got his glove out of his pocket before putting it over the bandages.

Kazuha watched the glove with an unimpressed look on his face, and Aether figured that he was about to ask about his hand. He couldn’t get away from not talking about it for much longer. “I thought that you weren't going to bother with putting on your gloves since you can’t even use your powers anyways.” He commented.

Aether stared at the boy and shrugged, careful of how he put his glove on. It still brushed against the bandage and it shifted against the burn. He paused a few seconds before taking in a deep breath and finished putting the gloves on. “Like hell I’m going to explain to Xiao why I have a burnt hand. I know the people around me. Lumine and Xiao would both over react.” He responded, just seeing it now.

Or he would probably get a lecture from them both. They would have to remind him how to be safe. Some shit about his manipulation and being careful with it. Scold him for pushing himself too hard in the exam. He didn’t want to deal with that lecture. He didn’t have the energy for that.

Kazuha smiled softly at him, “You should tell Xiao eventually. Plus,I doubt that would feel good though,” Kazuha pushed on. Aether shrugged his shoulders, it was starting to feel better either way. “I once burnt my hand so badly, any clothes on it felt like it was on fire again.” He held out his own hand and made a face as if he was reliving it.

“These gloves are specifically for my pyro being out of control,” Aether reassured him with a smile. They both looked at him, waiting for him to explain more. “There is a cryo cooling agent inside of them. I’ve burnt my hand before and the gloves made them feel better.”

A soft laugh left Heizou, “Do you make a habit of burning your hands?” He asked. Kazuha hit his shoulder and gave him a warning look.  

The blond shook his head quickly to answer the question. “No,” he assured the other with a quick smile, “I typically don't even like using pyro because it gets out of control.” He raised his hand up to play with the ends of his hair. “I burnt my hair off once.”

A look of shock passed through Kazuha as he glanced down at Aether’s hand, looking quickly back at Aether’s eyes afterwards. “Your pyro gave you that wound?” He asked.

Aether nodded his head slowly. “Yeah…” He whispered. “It also caused me to faint, it was too powerful for me to control.” He responded softly, crossing his arms uncomfortably.

Kazuha and Heizou stared at him with a look of pure shock. Heizou eventually shook his head before muttering under his breath, “Shit man, I have never had my own manipulations hurt me.”

Kauzha made a noise in agreement and Aether coughed awkwardly, feeling embarrassed. Of course not, it was practically unheard to be hurt by your own manipulation. “I…” He started, trying to explain himself. He couldn’t think of a way how.

But it didn’t come to that. “Hey,” A voice called out, saving Aether from the awkward silence. Aether’s head whipped around as Xiao was walking over, a bag in his grasp. Aether’s eyes lit up as he moved to get up.

“Hey!” Aether called back at the other. The blond could hear the way that Heizou and Kazuha were laughing. His golden eyes glanced over his shoulder to give the two of them a look and Heizou stuck his tongue out again, this time at Aether.

Xiao smiled brightly at Aether, his eyes fully on the other boy. He didn’t even take a second to greet the other two. He pulled Aether into a tight hug and the blond instantly hugged the other back. Aether pulled away from the hug and grabbed Xiao’s hand. He forced the other to sit down next to him. 

Xiao wrapped his arm around Aether right after he sat down. The golden blond boy tried to hide the blush on his face as he leaned against Xiao’s shoulder with a smile on his face. That was when Xiao nodded at the other two and Heizou started to giggle again. “Did you eat something?” The teal haired boy asked, ignoring the other two and rummaging into the bag of food that he had bought.

Aether shook his head truthfully, knowing that this wasn’t something he couldn't hide from the other. “No” He muttered, resting his head on Xiao’s shoulders and closing his eyes. A soft sigh left his lips. This felt safe. “No… I didn’t have the appetite.” He continued.

Even with his eyes closed he could feel the way that Kazuha was staring them down. It was like the other’s scarlet eyes were burning a hole into the two of them. After a while, he opened his eyes again, glancing at Kazuha who seemed to have a question for them.

Kazuha smiled softly, playing with his fingers when they looked at him. “Are you two finally dating?” He finally asked and Heizou let out a loud laugh like a hyena. 

Aether froze up while Xiao gave Heizou a weirded out look before glancing at Kazuha. “No.” He snapped quickly. Aether moved away from Xiao quickly at the answer, looking away. He didn’t see the hurt look that crossed the other’s face. “Why?” 

Kazuha shrugged his shoulders, his eyes wide. “It was just a genuine question.” He responded. “You two just seem really close.” He looked at his friend to back up his story and Heizou nodded his head in agreement. Xiao stared at the two of them with an unimpressed look.

There was a weird feeling that settled over the group. “So..” Heizou muttered, shifting from where he was sitting. “How did your exam go, Xiao?”

Xiao looked at him and Aether finally peeped back over at the other boy. “It was okayish.” He responded, glancing over at Aether and Aether quickly avoided eye contact with him. “They weren’t really that impressed with anything I did. My guess is that someone powerful had already came through and rose the bar really high.”

Aether shook his head with a soft sigh. “No…” He responded and Xiao sighed softly as he turned to look at the other boy. “They were like that with me too. Anything I did they showed no reaction.” He pointed out and Heizou hummed as he heard that. “Even before the session was disrupted.”

Aether suddenly regretted saying that as a concerned look washed over the other boy. “You didn't finish?” He asked in disbelief, “That is so rare.” 

The blond pursed his lips as he stared at Xiao before shaking his head slowly. “I didn’t finish.” He repeated as he let his shoulders sag and he threw his head back, looking up at the sky again. “I think that I blew it.” He responded.

Xiao shook his head, but didn’t say anything for a while. “What happened?” He asked and Aether glanced at the boy he had a crush on. “What made it so that you didn’t finish?” Concern shined in his amber eyes as they studied Aether. Aether stayed quiet as he stared back at him. He didn’t want to tell Xiao.

Aether sniffed softly and shook his head, “It doesn’t matter” he muttered, trying to make it sound as if that was that. “It’s over now. Let it go, I don’t want to think about this day ever again.” He declared while he sat up straighter. “I will let you know, though, that it was really really bad.”  

Xiao stared at Aether in shock. He was being stubborn. Aether knew he was being stubborn. But he couldn’t not be stubborn. “Alright.” The teal haired man whispered softly. “I won’t bring it up.” He grabbed the bag that was in front of him before grabbing some food out of it and handing it over to Aether. “Here, you should eat something.” He gave the other boy a look. A look saying he would have to eat something  “You need to eat something. You barely touched your breakfast this morning. I think the only thing that I saw you eat was the food that you stole from my plate?”

Aether took the food from Xiao, chewing on his cheek as he tried to think of a way to say no. “You stole food from Xiao?” Heizou snickered and Xiao’s head snapped around so that he was giving the other a warning glare.

The boy nodded his head as he put the food down in front of him. “Yeah, it was just a grape or two.” Aether responded. “But, isn’t this your own food?” He asked Xiao, raising an eyebrow at him. What if Xiao was hungry? Aether didn’t think he could take the food from the other boy if that was the case. 

The look on Xiaos face softened as he shook his head before leaning over and placing a kiss on Aether’s forehead. The senior felt his whole body freeze up as his senses went into overdrive. His cheeks flushed and he could feel the heat raising up to his ears. “I got it for you,” Xiao responded. Aether’s heart skipped a few beats when he said that. “I knew that you would be hungry.” 

Aether stared at the other before shaking his head, “But I said that I didn’t have an appetite.” He pointed out, but he knew that Xiao wasn’t going to budge as he opened the food and took a bite of it.

Kazuha glanced between the two with an amused look on his face. “How sweet.” Kazuha mocked, elearning against Heizou and Heizou nodded his head in agreement.

Xiao rolled his eyes at the two of his friends. “And they claim that they aren’t dating.” Heizou chirped, sharing a look with Kazuha. “If I had a boyfriend and he brought me food without me telling him that I was hungry, I would never let him go. You have a good one there, Aether.” He gave the blond boy a thumbs up after saying that.

Aether glared at the two of them while they laughed loudly, Heizou throwing himself to the ground. He took another bite of food, suddenly realizing just how hungry he was. He swallowed the bite slowly. “It’s not dating,” Aether responded. He was fighting with the urge to scarf down the food in front of him.

Xiao hummed next to him. “Yeah,” Hemuttered, as if he was trying to back Aether up. His voice sounded really strained though. Aether looked at him with a confused look on his face. The teal haired male smiled at Aether, not saying anything.

Kazuha threw the bag of gummy worms at Heizou and grabbed some of the chips, throwing it over at Aether. Aether raised an eyebrow at him. “Did you know that when you tap out your powers, you suddenly become ravenous?” Kazuha chirped with a teasing smile appearing on his face.

Aether gave the other a warning look as he knew that the other was trying to say, “Although it is rare to get tapped out from the exams,” Heizou called out, sitting up as he started to eat the gummy worms one by one this time, “ schools always have a pizza party just in case one of their examines do. We were going to go to ours, but then Venti pulled his dumb ass 50th place shit.” The boy huffed and rolled his green eyes. “They were going to get the really good pizza too.”

Aether made a face as he thought about Pizza. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Pizza, it just didn’t sound very delicious to him right now. “That doesn’t sound too appetizing. Did our school do something like that?” He asked before looking over at Xiao again who was watching Aether closely. He didn't think he remembered the school talking about a pizza party. 

Xiao shrugged his shoulders to answer the other’s question, “I really don’t pay any attention to stuff like that,” he responded, “Maybe ask Lumine, she might know more about it then us.” Aether nodded his head, his twin really did know a lot about what was going on in school. “But I would not want to be one of those kids who tap out.” Xiao physically shivered when he thought about the fate.

Aether pouted, tilting his head to the side as he stared the boy down. “Why not?” He asked, trying to make it sound like he was more curious than the genuine fear that was starting to overtake him. What did he mean by that? Xiao was one of the few people Aether would take any type of advice about different things. “Do they have less of a chance of getting into the university?” He never thought about that, but what if that was the case, and he already knew right then and there that he wasn’t going to get into the university. 

But that would make sense, right? If they tap out and they can’t show what they have learned, then maybe they didn’t show they can keep up with the university.

That was why his exam was interrupted.

He looked over at Kazuha, hoping that the other had the answer. Kazuha gave him a reassuring smile as he shook his head, “No, that's not it at all.” He responded. “Most people who tap out usually get into Celestia house.”

Aether felt like he was thrown out of the loop as soon as he heard that. He knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, tilting his head to the side. “Then… Why wouldn’t you want to be one of those people?” he asked, looking at Xiao again. That sounded like a pretty sweet reward. He wanted to ask Kazuha about the usually part, but maybe now wasn’t the best time. Maybe later where Xiao wasn’t around to worry about Aether.

“They can’t manipulate for a few days,” Xiao responded, shrugging his shoulders. Aether’s eyes widened when he heard that. Could it be possible that… no. “Some of the more severe cases,  I hear that they can go a full month without manipulating. It all depends on how powerful they are. But if you almost tapped out, you’re good in an hour or so.”

Aether licked his lips as they suddenly felt really dry. “after a nice big meal,” Heizou added, nodding his head in agreement, “When you get close to tapping out, you still get pretty hungry. God, I can’t even imagine getting to that point.”

Kazuha nodded his head in agreement, scrunching up his face. “It takes so much power to get nearly tapped out,” He agreed, shivering as well. “It’s why people who get tapped out get into Celestia house nearly every single time, there has only been a couple of cases where that hasn’t been the case.”

Aether sighed softly, part of him wanted to feel relieved, hearing that. Surely that couldn’t be him though. He was probably one of the rare cases that don’t. “When they do get tapped out, he started, carefully thinking of how to word this question, “Do they… if they tapped out in the middle of a power analysis…” Aether was fumbling over the words.

How could he explain it to the other three?

Xiao gently placed a hand on Aether’s shoulder as he gave the other a comforting smile. “It is very rare that they tap out in the middle of it,” Xiao explained, understanding what Aether was trying to ask.  “If someone taps out, it usually happens at the very end, when they already know if the person can manipulate or not.”

That didn’t tell Aether anything about what he was thinking about now, but he nodded his head anyways, grateful for the little explanation at least. “But not being able to manipulate for a couple of day’s isn’t that bad.” He insisted, trying to reassure himself.

“It also has the added benefit of generating more power each time you tap out,” Heizou called out with a small chuckle, “I know a few kids in the past who would purposely tap out to try and get more powerful for the exams. We should make a bet!” 

Kazuha raised an eyebrow as he heard the proposal, looking at Heizou. “What type of bet are you proposing this time?” He asked before falling back into the grass around him.

Aether continued to eat the food that Xiao had gotten him, eating slowly before he reached over and grabbed the bag of chips Kazuha had thrown at him. He finished Xiao’s food but he was still feeling the pangs of hunger. “What if we bet on who can go the longest without manipulating?” Heizou asked.

The other three froze “No.” They all said at the same time, with matching unimpressed looks on their faces.

Heizou pouted, folding his arms against his chest and huffing. “Why not?” He whined, glancing between the three of them.

He looked at Aether first to hear his answer, a knowing look in his eyes. “I’d rather not.” The blond boy responded. “Besides, aren’t I at a bit of an advantage?” He held up his hands as he said that, raising an eyebrow. 

Heizou booed. “You’re no fun, it's because you are at a disadvantage you should have said yes, I could have made a lot of money betting on you.”

“Who said we were going to bet money?” Xiao questioned as Heizou turned to look at him unimpressed. “Besides, it sounds dreadful to me. I don’t think I could even go an hour without manipulating, it is a huge part of who I am.”

“You’re just weak.” Heizou challenged the boy and Xiao sighed unimpressed with the other.

Heizou then looked at Kazuha, opening his mouth to ask Kazuha the question. “Besides, Aether is tapped out right now. It’s so obvious that he would win. Why would I go up against that?” Kazuha asked before the question could be asked. Aether felt the world shatter around him as he stared at the other in shock.

Xiao stopped suddenly and Aether flinched, he really didn’t want Xiao to know he was tapped out. “You’re tapped out?” He asked Aether and Aether slowly nodded his head. Aether waited for him to lecture him, saying anything about it, “So that is why your exam takes such a long time.” He whispered softly.

Aether made a face, looking at Xiao in confusion. “How does that connect?” He dared to ask, glancing between the three of them.

Kazuha let out a soft hum. “You really don’t know much about tapping out, huh?” Aether shook his head. “How do you not know this? We were taught this in Freshman year.” 

The blond thought back to freshman year and how little hope he had of even manipulating one element. “I didn’t think it would ever affect me, so I tuned it out.” Aether admitted, suddenly feeling shitty. “What does me being tapped out mean to how long it took between our exams?” Heizou stared at him with confusion in his eyes, but didn’t ask anything.

“Once you tap out, and shortly after all of your power is used up, you faint,” Kazuha let him know with a slight sigh. “If you fainted, that means that someone had to take you to the nurses office, and they would have to make sure that everything is alright with the arena.” 

Xiao nodded his head in agreement and Aether pursed his lips, that made sense. He thought. He would have to look up more on what it meant to get tapped out. 

Xiao then glanced at Aether’s hands that had the gloves on. “Why are you still wearing your gloves?” He asked and the boy gave the other a confused look, not knowing why he was asking. “You don’t have to worry about manipulating by accident, which is why you usually wear them.”

That was true. Aether had hoped that Xiao wouldn’t have noticed the gloves. It was so normal for Aether to wear the gloves.“Habit?” Aether answered weakly, offering the other up a fake smile. 

Unlucky for him, he had two people that knew the truth. “He got hurt,” Heizou blurted out and Aether turned to glare at him, betrayal showing on his face, “He doesn’t want you to worry about him.” Heizou continued to explain.

“What?” Xiao cried, a deep frown appearing on his face as his amber eyes studied Aether with an unimpressed look appearing on his face. “What happened?” 

Xiao grabbed the other’s hands before Aether could attempt to do something dumb, like hide them. The blond made a mental note to plan his revenge on Heizou as he shifted in the grass, looking away from everyone. “When I was demonstrating Pyro, I lost control.” He confessed,, hoping that he could get away without too many questions from the other boy. “There was a huge spiral of fire that shot out and it backfired. It licked up my hand. It happened before, I have hurt myself before when I lost control of Pyro.” Aether responded, shrugging his shoulders. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.

Kazuha tilted his head to the side in confusion as he heard Aether brush it off that quickly. “How many times have you hurt yourself with your own flames?” The pale blond asked, confusion shining in his eyes. 

It didn’t help the fact that Xiao didn’t look shocked that Aether got hurt before. “This is the third time.” Aether answered the boy, licking his lips nervously. “The first time, I burnt my hair off back in September like I mentioned before…” He shivered as he remembered the big fireball from earlier in the year, “Then I burnt my hands when I got  annoyed with Gorou… we were in school and the nurse forced me into wearing the gloves.” 

Heizou and Kazuha stared at Aether with wide eyes, both of them looking at each other while Heizou whispered who is this boy. “Fuck..” Kazuha said softly. “Thats… kinda…”

Xiao ignored the others, shifting closer to the other boy and looking at his hands. Aether freed his uninjured hand from him to take off the glove and Xiao inspected the bandage, a confused look on his face. “The nurse didn’t heal it?” He finally asked.

The golden blond shook his head as he thought back to Kokomi. “There wasn’t a nurse. There was a student who stayed in the nurse's office, but she said that she couldn’t heal it.” 

He gently pulled his hand away and placed them in his laps, not sure what he could say after that. “But you healed your own burn the last time you hurt yourself.” Xiao responded and Aether huffed. He didn’t know how to respond. It was probably a lot worse than the burn from before, anyways.

Kazuha’s mouth fell open as he looked at the boy. “Excuse me? What?” Kazuha called out and Aether glanced at the boy, raising an eyebrow. “You can heal too?”

“Yeah… I guess so.” Aether muttered. “Uh… this was a worse burn than before, and she said it was too late by the time I got there.” A soft sigh left Xiao’s lips.

Heizou laughed softly, “What can’t this boy do?” Oh so much Heizou, so so much.

Chapter Text

The sound of rushing water filled the room. The blond boy was silent, zoned out. His eyes stared at the burnt mark on his hand, a deep frown on his face. He would be the first one to admit the burn was bad. A lot worse than what he had suspected. Either that or he wasn’t taking care of the wound as well as he should have. The boy could see that being the case. In his spare time, he would spend many nights and days looking up different remedies for burns and other ways he should be caring for this wound.

Aether wouldn’t have bothered, but the burn had been hurting non stop since the power analysis. That day really left a mark as now there was a red angry burn twirling down his hand. The mark ranged from the very top of his finger down to the part where his gloves ended when he put the gloves on. 

It was well in the night. Aether knew that he should be asleep. But this time of night was the only time where he could sneak into the kitchen. Nobody was around and he could take care of his hand without worrying anyone. Everyday he ran his burnt hand under some cool water, trying to ease the burn and pain. The pain wasn’t supposed to last this long. There was something wrong. Maybe he should go to a doctor to get it checked out. 

But there was a stubborn voice in the back of his mind insisting that the pain had almost run his course, and it wasn’t much longer he had to deal with it. 

He thought back to the medicine and the burn ointment he was given. That was supposed to help but it didn’t. It stopped working a week or two ago. What was frustrating was it felt that Aether was expected to act like there was nothing bothering him.

Some nights, the ache was manageable. Other nights, like tonight,  Aether’s mind couldn’t focus on anything but the searing pain left behind. He hated it. 

It’s been a few weeks. Why was it still plaguing Aether? The golden blond did as Kokomi advised him. He avoided using his hand as much as he could get away without people looking at him weirdly. He could only imagine the worry that his father would show if he ever found out about his burn.

Or the anger in Xiao’s eyes, knowing that the boy didn’t come to him. But this wasn’t something to bother anyone about. Hell, he didn’t even bother Gorou, or Lumine. 

It was starting to feel like the burn was an ever lasting reminder that the Exam did not go smoothly for him. But that was not the only reminder. After he got tapped out, his power hadn’t come back to him. Aether couldn’t even do the simplest of manipulations. Anytime he tried, he felt like he was trying to reach for something in a giant empty well. Nothing was there. He was scared he lost his ability again.

Before it felt like a disconnect, not like there was nothing he could reach for.  He couldn’t let anyone around him know that he got tapped out, he could only imagine the ridicule from everyone around him. Aether is useless again now, how suiting. Xiao never questioned why Aether refused to manipulate, he just assumed that Aether got better and the boy didn’t have a need to manipulate. 

Xiao hasn’t even asked him how he was doing after the exam. 

The other two people who knew, Heizou and Kazuha, would sometimes reach out to the blond boy. They would always bring up the subject as soon as they found space in the conversation. But even they didn’t know everything that Aether was fighting with. The blond boy always made up some excuse that allowed him to skirt around the subject. It wasn’t fair to them. It wasn’t fair to anyone who cared about Aether. When the truth finally gets out, they were going to be so upset with him.

If the truth ever gets out.

Keeping his pain a secret from everyone was getting easier each day. The only person he had to skirt around was his sister, who always seemed to walk in on him when he was about to take care of his injury. That is what led him to be in the kitchen late at night. Could he keep doing this?

The water ran over the wound, calming down the feeling of a fire raging through it. It was going to scar. He would always be reminded of his exams just by looking down at his poor hand. Eventually, the pain eebed away, and a soft sigh of relief left Aether. His shoulders sagged and he closed his eyes, leaning against the sink.

All of his supplies were set up around him, the burn ointment, some clean bandages, and his gloves all stacked neatly next to the sink. Aether figured that a few more minutes would be enough to cool his hand down for the night.  There were tears of frustration and pain rolling down his cheeks.

A sudden door slammed, causing the boy to jump. He quickly turned off the water. He strained his ears, trying to figure out who it was that was up so late, so close to midnight. Maybe if he stayed quiet, he could wait till they left and continue.

“Yes!” A voice hissed, sounding angry. Aether could also pick up sounds of footsteps coming closer, “Yes, I know what we are up against! I know what would happen if we fail! Trust me! I know!” Aether waited with bated breath, wondering if they were going to go outside, or come towards the kitchen. 

Just to be safe, Aether quickly and quietly grabbed the supplies, stuffing the ointment and bandages into the pocket of tonight’s chosen hoodie.  He stuffed his hands into his gloves, trying not to make a face as the cyro reacted to his wet hand. “I promise! Listen to me, They are safe.” He recognized his father’s voice now. The older man came into the kitchen, the boy stiffening. “What makes you think that I can’t take care of them?” He was on the phone. The man turned on the kitchen lights, and Aether stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights. He shrieked, placing a hand over his heart. “Oh my fu- Aether, what are you doing?” He hissed as he looked his son over. “You gave me a heart attack! I swear…” 

Aether stared at the man, wide eyed, not knowing what to say or what to do. He glanced around the room to see if he could come up with a good excuse. “I… Hi Dad…” He whispered softly before faking a smile.

His father started to walk closer to him, studying his son before he frowned softly. “Were you crying?” He asked, concern shining on his face. Aether quickly looked away from him and reached up to wipe his tears away. “Hey, I’ll call you back.” His father called out before putting his phone away in his pocket. 

Now he had to work on why he was crying as well in the middle of the night… in the kitchen… with the lights off. What was a good enough excuse that most people used when they were crying at night? Aether blew out some air before scrunching his face, “Nightmare…” He finally said, hoping he didn’t have to explain more to his father.

He glanced back at his father, watching as the concern shifted to sympathy as he gave the other a slight smile. “Was it a bad nightmare?” The man asked. The teenager nodded his head slowly. The man sighed softly as he stared at Aether before pulling him into a tight hug. Aether stiffened more, his arms falling to his side. “I’m sorry.” 

The blond boy scrunched his face as he tried to figure out what the correct answer would be to that reaction. He knew that his father wasn’t apologizing for the nightmare, and that it was a way of him showing empathy.  A loud sigh escaped Aether as he hugged the older male back, burrowing his face into the other’s shoulder. 

A soft feeling of warmth surrounded Aether after the hug. He didn’t realize just how much he needed comfort. “‘S fine…” Aether managed to whisper out.

The male pulled away from the hug and offered his son a smile, before looking around in confusion. “So.. were you down here for a drink of water? Or something?” There was a tone in his voice, as if he knew something, but what he could have known Aether didn’t know. He didn’t even know Aether was in the kitchen until he turned the light on.

And there was no cup either. Aether blinked a few times, staring at the other. “I… uh…” He made an awkward smile before turning around, grabbing a cup from the cabinet and shutting the door. He filled the cup up with water, hoping that was enough for his father. 

He placed it to his lips, taking in a sip as he watched his father. He wondered if the older man would simply turn and leave the room. But the man was watching him with an interested look on his face. “I do actually need to talk to you about something,” the man called out. Aether scrunched his face in confusion, tilting his head to the side. “I was going to talk about it to you later, but now would be a good time.” 

“What about?” Aether asked, wondering if he had done something that would have brought concern to his father… or if he had figured out anything about what his son was trying to hide.

The look on his father’s face shifted, as if he was expecting what he was going to say next was not something that would go over well with the boy. “I do not want you to do anything, go anywhere without someone with you. And by someone, I mean Lumine, Gorou, or Xiao. And I would prefer it if you had more than one person around you.”

Aether furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at his father as he took in what he was just ordered to do. “What?” He finally asked, his voice raising a level. “So… I’m…” Why was his father asking him to do this? What about all of the different places he needed to go, and his job and the tutoring jobs he just started to pick up again. “I’m supposed to have one of them with me when I go out to tutor someone? You want someone to babysit me at all hours of the day? I’m 17.” 

“Not babysit, but to be around you,” His father clarified, nodding his head with a worried look on his face. “I know that you might not like this-”

“Why?” Aether interrupted him, taking in a shaky breath as he crossed his arms. He tried to keep calm as he stared at his father, but his thoughts were starting to run rampant.

His father was obviously expecting this reaction. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Because I worry about your safety?” He finally responded, opening his eyes and looking Aether deep in the eye. Safety? That was laughable. He knew for a fact he wasn’t going to tell Lumine that she needed to be babysat. “You are my son, Aether. If anything happened to you, If the ab- if someone got to you, I would never be able to forgive myself.”

Aether scoffed in disbelief when he heard that. “I bet that Lumine doesn’t need a chaperone.” He snipped, not being able to hold back.

An awkward look passed through his father’s eyes. “Lumine is different, Aether…” It felt like Aether’s whole world fell apart when he heard that. Aether held back any sign of the betrayal he felt. Of course Lumine was different. How could he forget his whole entire life up until this point.

But he couldn’t let it go. Part of him wanted to hear his father admit what he was thinking. That people still saw him as powerless, despite this new surge of powers. Despite him finally feeling like he found his footing in life. 

“How?” He demanded, shifting his weight onto one foot as he glared his father down. “What is it that makes her so different from me? Are you not worried about her safety?”

His father looked away from him, pursing his lips. “Aether…”  Aether felt a spark in his injured hand, one different from the painful feeling. The man didn’t say anything else.

“Oh right,” Aether choked back some laughter, “I’m so dumb,” fresh tears threatened to roll down his cheeks. “She can fight off the Abyss Order if they appear. It’s because she is so powerful. The perfect child, a manipulation prodigy. Of course you never have to worry about her. Then there’s me, the worst case scenario, a failure child, I’m just poor useless Aether.” He stressed the last couple of words, he couldn’t stop himself. The bitterness of all of his past feelings boiling up and being let out through his words.

“Aether!” His father stated again, an angry look appearing in his face, as he moved closer to him. He moved to reach out, “That is not the reason, that is not even true! There are other reasons…” 

He couldn’t explain it, he couldn’t deny it. “Save it.” Aether snapped, placing the still full cup in the sink before shrugging his father off of him, and hurrying out of the room. His feet pounded on the stairs as he ran up them

At the top of the stairs, he could see his sister’s door opening, Lumine exiting the room. The blonde looked at Aether with confusion in her amber eyes. “Why are you and dad fighting?” She asked, rubbing her eyes tiredly. They must have woken her up. 

Aether ignored her as he went straight back into his room, slamming the door hard behind him. The blond slid down to the ground, his back to the door as he hid his face in his hands, tears rolling down his face. The boy didn’t know how long he stood there before he shook his head, getting up and numbly walking over to his bed, sitting down on it. 

His mind flashed back to the spark he felt during his conversation with his father. Confusion washed over him, it felt like his manipulation powers were trying to activate, but that was physically impossible with the gloves. He stared at the gloves and willed pyro to activate, but nothing happened and he sighed softly.

What was he expecting? Maybe he was just imagining this? Aether didn’t know if he felt relieved or disappointed, what would happen if the gloves stopped concealing his manipulation powers? Aether started to take everything out of his pocket. He set them next to him and grabbed the burn ointment, applying it onto the red marks. He was slow and careful, trying to calm his racing mind and stop the self pitying thoughts.

The boy looked at his hand, turning it over as he studied the mark. Were the marks considerably less angry than before? They felt like they faded. The pain was also nowhere near to what it was before. Curious, he cautiously touched where the mark ran across his palm, expecting to feel even just a slight sliver of pain. 

To his surprise, there was no pain at all. As he stared at them, a flicker of flames flashed from his palm for a split second, and a strong overwhelming wave washed over him. It felt like he drank 3 energy drinks at once, before the feeling washed away. Relief washed over him, knowing exactly what that meant. He was finally able to manipulate again.

The blond boy shook his head to clear his mind before reaching for his phone that was charging on his nightstand. He unlocked it and stared at the screen, not sure what he wanted to do. 

Maybe he could scroll through an app and watch some funny little videos, or something like that… 

Aether found himself clicking on the message app and navigating to his messenger app. Something led him to click on the conversation with him and Xiao. He stared at the last message, a funny little cute little gif that he had sent Xiao earlier that night when Xiao wished him goodnight. 

He typed out a message, asking the other if he wanted to walk to school tomorrow. Although he did not like his father’s dumb rule for him being around people, he knew that he couldn’t follow his father’s dumb rule

He also didn’t want to go with Lumine either. He knew that she would try to figure out what the whole fight with their father was like, and he would eventually cave. She would have something to say and talk his ear off. Or he wouldn’t and she would get angry with him. Or he would get upset and take his frustration off on her with harsh words.

The boy was about to put his phone down, assuming that Xiao was probably asleep. It was the middle of the night, and they had already said their goodnights earlier. His phone buzzed as a message popped up from Xiao. 

He replied instantly. Aether could feel his cheeks heat up. His eyes looked at the message, a simple Yes with a little heart emoji right next to it. A huge smile appeared on Aether’s face, and he covered it.

But Xiao was still up. Why was he still up? He sent a message back asking back that exact question.

It didn’t take long for Xiao to respond with one word, Homework. 

What would Aether have expected? It is getting close to the end of the semester, and a lot of big projects in school were given out to the students. Aether glanced over to the call button, wondering if he should call Xiao or not. He wouldn’t mind talking the night away until he had to get up. The teenager knew that he didn’t think that he would be able to sleep. 

Before he could click the button, Xiao sent another text message. You should sleep. I’ll see you later. And another heart emoji.

Aether’s heart filled with disappointment as looked at the message, but he knew that the other was right. Aether sent a heart emoji back before sitting his phone down. He crawled under his blanket , curling up to one side as he closed his eyes.

Despite trying to will himself to sleep, Aether didn’t. He couldn’t even keep up with what his brain wanted to think about. It would jump from one thought to another, worry about this, worry about that. He wanted his brain to shut up, but his brain said no.

The teenager had managed to get out of the house the next morning without encountering anyone in his family. Xiao was waiting for him as soon as he walked out of the house. The other instantly knew something was off. It was clear that the male had something on his mind. Aether didn’t want to talk about it right at that moment.

The next day passed by quickly without anything too significant happening. At most, the blond boy had suffered through the whole school day trying to force himself to stay awake. There may have been a time at lunch when he fell asleep. Just like that though, the school day passed and the last bell rang.  Aether walked over to where Gorou’s locker was, watching as the boy put stuff away he didn’t need to take home. “Hey, do you wanna go to a cafe?” He asked.

The brown haired boy jumped, the question from Aether being so sudden. He turned around to look at his best friend, his eyes wide. “Holy shit, Aether,” he whispered, placing a hand on his heart. Aether blinked before forcing a slight smile to appear on his face. “Sure, I would love to go to a cafe with you,” he answered his best friend's question without asking him to repeat it. “Just… I need to let my parents know I won’t be home right away.” 

Aether nodded his head. “Alright,” he muttered. That wasn’t too much of a hassle. He leaned against the locker next to Gorou’s as his friend finished putting everything away. He closed his eyes, his shoulders sinking. He could have almost fallen asleep right there. 

Gorou eventually tapped his shoulder and he opened his eyes, looking at Gorou who smiled. “Are you ready?” Aether nodded his head before leading Gorou out of the school. Neither of the boy’s said much as Aether started to head towards Kazuha’s cafe, every now and then looking back to make sure that Gorou was still following him. “So…” Gorou called out.

Aether stopped, letting the other catch up. “So?” Aether muttered, covering his mouth and yawning.

“What’s wrong?” Gorou asked, concern appearing in his eyes as he looked the boy over. Aether tilted his head, knitting his eyebrows together in confusion. “It's like you have this black rainy gloomy cloud hanging above your head. It’s been there all day.”

The boy sighed, looking away from Gorou. Gorou of all people could pick up when his vibes were off for the day. “It’s just something about my dad,” Aether muttered, hoping that he could leave it at that, but Gorou nudged his side to try and keep him talking. The blond found himself ranting about the dumb rule his dad gave him. “Like…” Aether finished when he got through the bulk, “What good is it going to do me if I have somewhere near me at all times?”

“I can see where he is coming from,” Gorou muttered. Aether felt a pang when hearing that his friend wasn’t going to agree with him like he hoped that he would, “The abyss order and their attacks are getting out of control. I don’t want to go anywhere alone,” Gorou stressed, “I barely can get myself to go to school and to go back home. It is only a matter of time before they attack Geo high.” 

The blond blinked a few times, he could only imagine the fear that would happen when it was Geo’s turn for the abyss attack. “I…” Aether muttered softly, he knew that his best friend was right. “But… He has me on such a short leash,” the boy complained, sliding his feet as he walked, his shoulders sagging. “I know it’s only because I can’t manipulate as well as Lumine.” 

His friend scoffed silently at Aether’s complaints, and Aether turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow to see what he had to say, “I am positive that is not the reason.” Gorou told him, giving him a pitying look.

The blond boy shook his head, he knew that it was the case. “She doesn’t have to abide by these rules,” he hissed, “He never said it but I know that it’s true. Like… What other reason could there be? I’m just so sick of living in Lumine’s shadow all the fucking time.” He kicked a stone that was coming up on their path, but he missed.

Gorou stopped walking, watching as his friend sulked ahead of him, and he shook his head. “Honestly Aeth?” He called out to him.

Aether stopped, realizing that his friend wasn’t by his side anymore and he turned to look at his friend. He couldn’t fight the annoyance that filled his eyes. It would be a lot easier if Gorou just agreed with him. “What?” He snapped as he crossed his arms and made a face.

Gorou looked taken aback and there was a sparkle of hurt in his eyes that disappeared quickly. “You…” Gorou stopped, not sure if what he was going to say was going to upset Aether more or not, “You have this tendency to get yourself into danger.”

“No I don’t,” Aether interrupted him and Gorou raised an eyebrow at him. “I don't.”

He shook his head. “But you do Aether. And sometimes I am scared that one day… you will walk into a situation that is so dangerous and you will get hurt. That you won’t recover.” His voice cracked as he said that. “I’m sure that your dad feels the same way. You have been getting into trouble a lot recently.” 

Aether’s eyes narrowed as he glared at his friend, not saying anything at first. It wasn’t fair to Gorou to feel this way. If he had a clear head that wasn’t riddled with sleep, maybe he would be able to think clearly. But Gorou was telling him something he didn’t want to believe even though deep down he knew the boy was telling him the truth. Aether wanted to be in his bad mood, he wanted to find a reason to prove that he was justified.

A spark in his hand, just like this morning, caught his attention. He glanced quickly at his hand before bringing it up to his chest, clutching it. Gorou watched the boy with confusion in his eyes. Aether took in a deep breath, knowing that it wasn’t right if he started to yell. “Gorou…” He muttered, struggling to keep his voice calm. “When I find trouble, a lot of the time you are with me.” 

Gorou tilted his head to the side. “So?” He asked, confused. “That means that I know just how much trouble you can get into without thinking, Aether.” 

Aether stared at Gorou, unimpressed. He didn’t connect the dots . “I’m not allowed to be alone,” he said, slowly and Gorou nodded his head, an annoyed look starting to appear on his face as well. “But… I can be alone with you? Suddenly there’s no problem with that? If it is because I get into trouble, wouldn’t my father try to separate the two of us.” 

Gorou tsked softly, “But  he tried in the past, that didn’t work.” The boy muttered under his breath.

The blond bit his cheek, knowing what Gorou was trying to get at, but he shook his head. If anything, in the past his father had tried to make it easier for Aether and Gorou to hang out. “That was my mother,” he pointed out, “Not my dad. Dad helped us. He specifically called out your name when saying who I can hang out with as well.”

His friend rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly. Aether sighed, realizing that he wasn’t going to change Gorou’s mind. He turned and continued walking, sulking even. “Aether.” Gorou whined, trying to grab onto the other boy. “Aeth, it’s not that big of a deal! How many places do you actually go to alone?” He asked and Aether glanced over at him. “At least when you are with me, then it’s the two of us with our chaotic energy,” Gorou smiled at him, trying to reassure the blond, “It doubles our odds.”

Aether shrugged him off with a downcast look on his face. “Sure…” He muttered as he tried to squash the feeling of sadness that was starting to fill him. “I don’t want to rely on other people for my own safety.”  He stressed as he caught Gorou’s eyes, “I don’t want people to think that I have to rely on them. I can take care of myself and…” He raised his voice as he talked before sucking in his bottom lip, pausing as he tried to calm himself down. “I just want people to take me seriously.” 

The brown haired male stared at his best friend with sadness. “Oh my fucking god, Aether,” He whispered in disbelief. Aether flinched as he prepared himself for Gorou to start yelling at him, he wouldn’t blame Gorou if he did. Instead, Gorou pulled him into a tight hug. “Your dad just wants to make sure that you are safe! That is the only reason that he is doing any of this.” Gorou muttered, his voice ringing right next to his ear. He was speaking not too loud, but not too silently either. “Nothing else,” he promised.

Aether raised his arms up to hug Gorous back, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to let his friends' words comfort him. “It still feels like a fucking slap in the face,” AEther admitted, opening his eyes again and staring down at the sidewalk. “An insult even… Lumine-”

His best friend laughed, cutting Aether off and Aether looked at him. Gorou stared Aether straight in the eyes. “Listen. You want to know what the difference between you and Lumine is?” He asked. “Lumine wouldn’t hesitate to slap a bitch out when she’s in trouble, she would get away quickly.”

Aether pouted as he heard that, did Gorou not think that Aether was able to defend himself. “I can do that.” The blond boy protested. 

His friend stared at him with an unimpressed look on his face, and Aether knew that whatever came next from the boy’s mouth, he wasn’t going to like. “Do you remember Founder’s park?” Aether blinked in confusion. “That day you went there alone?” A flashback of that day came and Aether grimaced. “There were abyss agents there. You could have run, you could have tried to look for help, do anything.” 

That honestly didn’t sound right to Aether, “What if they found me? What if they had caught me?” Aether countered back, “I didn’t have my powers. They made Founder’s park into a dead zone.” he reminded the other. Hiding would have been the only thing that Aether could have done. 

“What would Lumine have done if she was there?” Gorou asked, causing Aether to grow silent as he thought about it. “Lumine would have fought them to her last breath. She would have threatened them. She doesn’t need her powers to do that. At least, if she couldn’t fight back, she would have ran. They weren’t looking for you, if you had ran you would have had a head start. But Aether, you have no regard for your own safety sometimes. It’s scary. That curiosity of yours is going to get you k- into harm one day,” Gorou finished.

Was Gorou telling him that he couldn’t fight? Aether could fight. His mind flashed back to the test of courage event, where he had fought people. “I have punched someone for scaring me,” Aether muttered under his breath. “I can fight people.”

The brown haired knocked into his friend’s side with a small chuckle. “Itto doesn’t count.” He responded and Aether looked at him in confusion, who was Itto?

“I’ve punched someone that’s not Itto.” Aether replied, rolling his eyes. Gorou let out a laugh when he heard that. “I’m sorry… I’m in a bad mood.” Aether muttered, pulling away from Gorou and rubbing his eyes. “I-”

Gorou stopped him, shaking his head. He patted the top of his friend’s head, there was a smile on his face, showing that Gorou wasn’t mad at him. “No. Don’t apologize. I totally get it.” His best friend insisted, “I would not want to be put in your shoes.” 

A genuine smile appeared on Aether’s face at Gorou’s words. 

Before either one of them could say anything else, a loud voice called out, “Of course you two are fighting.” Aether jumped. “Why are you so angry, Aeth?” They called out in a sing song voice. 

The golden blond turned towards the voice, watching as his sister walked towards the two friends. He opened his mouth to defend himself, but he could see the humor dancing around her eyes. “I think he woke up on the wrong side of the bed today,” Gorou offered the girl, elbowing Aether in the side

Aether whined at the slight jab of pain and covered his stomach, pushing Gorou away from him at the same time. “I didn’t.” He defended himself, sticking his tongue out at him.

Lumine watched the two fight with a glimer in her eyes. “That doesn’t explain last night though,” Lumine said with a soft laugh, “He woke me up last night by fighting with our dad. And then he shook the whole house when he slammed his door.” The blonde girl pouted as if she was remembering the night. Aether rolled his eyes, knowing that she was blowing his mood out of proportion, “He has been avoiding me all day and was gone before I woke up today.”

Gorou blinked, looking at Aether ready to hear him deny what the girl had said. But he didn’t. “Oh, so it was an actual fight then?” Gorou asked his best friend who shook his head a little bit, not sure how he would describe it. It wasn’t a fight, but it wasn’t not a fight?

Lumine hummed to the other’s question. She nodded her head in agreement with Gorou, looking at Aether with a curious glint in her eyes. “Yeah, our dad was fuming!” Lumine cried out with amusement still dancing in her eyes. “So whatever the fight was about, it had to be bad.” 

Aether pursed his lips, looking at the blonde girl. Should he tell her what the fight was about? He knew that she would eventually find out. She wouldn’t give up before someone eventually told her. “Dad has forbidden me from going anywhere on my own without a body guard.” He managed to tell her, not wanting to fight against her. A pout formed on his lips. 

Lumine was not someone who he ever would take his side against their dad’s decision. The blond got ready for Lumine to roll her eyes and call him a baby.  But a look of genuine confusion crossed her face as she raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? She asked, scoffing loudly, looking taken aback. That obviously wasn’t the reason she was thinking about. “Where does he even get the gall?” The girl hissed. “He didn’t tell me that I was forbidden from traveling these roads alone.” The blond shrugged his shoulders, trying to ignore the feeling of happiness that someone got just as upset as he had. “There has to be something that he’s keeping from us.”

He looked down at the ground, he didn’t think it was that deep. “Honestly, I think that it is because I suck at manipulation… and he thinks I can't defend myself.” He muttered softly, the familiar feeling of self pity washing over him.

Lumine waved her hand, knowing that wasn’t the case.  “That’s not it.” Lumine chirped, certainty in her eyes when she said that. Aether looked up at her, catching her glance and she gave him a genuine smile. “You don’t suck at manipulation. Did you start manipulating later than others? Yeah… but you can be fucking Scary.” She reasoned with him. Aether stared at her after she said that, not sure what to say.

Gorou hummed and Aether turned to look over at him instead. “Which means there has to be another reason.” Gorou offered up, slinging an arm around Aether’s shoulder.

Aether stared between them in shock, opening his mouth and closing it. “I….”  He was so set on that being the case that his father gave him that restriction. However, the fact that these two believe in him…

Lumine shifted from foot to foot as they haven’t moved in a while. “So,” she whispered, looking around at the houses they were by. “Where are you two going?” She asked, managing to change the subject completely.

Gorou looked at her and a huge smile appeared on her face. “We are going to a cafe. You know, get that good caffeine kick.” Gorou told her, a huge smile on his face as he said that. It looked like from the second Aether asked him to come with him, he was set on getting caffeine.

The girl’s eyes brightened, and Aether could tell she would want to come along with them. “Oooh!” She called, clapping her hands together with a bright smile on her face. “I need a caffeine kick, Do you mind if I tag along?”  She asked as she leaned against Aether. Aether stumbled from the weight of both of them. “I have been feeling very sluggish today.”

It was clear the girl wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “I don’t see an issue with that,” Gorou called out happily. The blond boy looked at him with a look on his face, “Everyone decided to have a nice caffeine kick when they are feeling sluggish.” Not being able to help himself, Aether covered his mouth and laughed softly. Gorou perked up happily when he saw that, “Look! Mr. Sour Puss decided to cheer up,” the brown haired male cheered.

The blond boy shrugged his best friend off of him. “Gorou,” he called out playfully, “Shut up.” Gorou frowned deeply, looking at him like a puppy who was kicked.

Lumine looked between the two of them before rolling her eyes. “Boys…” She muttered before straightening up, walking away from the two boys and they stared at each other before running after the blonde girl.

 A comfortable silence formed between the trio, every now and then Aether would yawn.  Gorou glanced over at him with a concerned look on his face. “Did you not sleep well?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Aether yawned again, squeezing his eyes before blinking them open as they threatened to stay shut. He shook his head. “I didn’t sleep last night.” He admitted, realizing just horrible of an idea it was to not get any sleep. His skin felt weird, he didn’t know how to describe it, and his stomach hurt in that way it does when he doesn’t get sleep.

“Dumbass.” Lumine hissed and Aether looked at her with a pout on his face. “But… Did you guys realize how the teachers just gave up on us seniors.”

Gorou laughed uncomfortably as he heard that, looking over at the girl. “That was a change of subject.” He pointed out and Lumine made a face at him.

Aether puffed out his cheeks, thinking about the question that Lumine had proposed. “I havent… I don’t think that's true,” he replied and Lumine stared at him with an unamused look. He get it, he was probably one of the few people to trust with questions about this. “It’s the end of the semester. I’m not surprised that they don’t want to teach. All of them are burnt out.”

Gorou looked at his friend before over at Lumine as he nodded his head in agreement. There was a thoughtful look etched onto his face. “Yeah… It has been a wild semester as well.” He pointed out, “There has been so much bullshit with the Abyss order.” 

The teenage girl made a face when she noticed that neither of them would agree with her. She rolled her amber eyes. “How many of our classes have a final?” She asked, looking between the two of them after asking, “Most of them are projects that they announced at the beginning of the year. A lot of kids are already done with them at this point.” She responded. 

The brown haired boy puffed his cheeks out as he took in what she had said before he shrugged his shoulders. Aether shook his head slowly. “But there is the fact that we just took a bunch of entrance exams. Some of us more than others.” Aether pointed out, “Seniors usually don’t have a final exam for the winter semester.”

Lumine rolled her eyes at her brother. “You only took one entrance exam.” She pointed out and Aether sighed.

“Which was fucking Celestia’s. That shit was hard.” Gorou defended Aether. “I should know, I took the Geo one, which was a lot easier than celestia.” He pointed out. Lumine didn’t say anything. “Most of us have just suffered through one of the hardest tests of our lives. Finals are canceled so that we can have fun and do fun shit.” Gorou pointed out.

Aether nodded his head in agreement. Lumine glared between the two boys before a sigh left her lips and she threw her head back. “But, why can’t we be special?” She whined softly. “We deserve special treatment. Please give it to us.” 

Aether smiled and a soft chuckle left him. “Not having finals is kinda like special treatment. If you think about it.” He insisted. The three of them laughed. Nothing else of the matter was said. Aether fell silent, watching as Lumine and Gorou made fun of each other. Each one tried to mess with the other. AT one point, Lumine had said something before taking off running, and Gorou was racing after her.

Aether furrowed his eyebrows, watching them run off and wondering if he should run after them. “Aether!” The boy jumped when his name was shouted from behind him. Gorou stopped where he was chasing Lumine, turning back to look for the source of the noise.

Aether looked at Gorou, tilting his head to the side as he watched Gorou cover his mouth in shock. “Oh Archons.” He muttered softly.  Aether turned around to see what his best friend was looking at, only to find Xiao walking towards them, holding a bouquet of some of Aether’s favorite flowers. His eyes studied the flowers before looking up at Xiao. He felt like he couldn’t say anything. “Hey Xiao!” Gorou called out.

Aether glanced over his shoulder, noticing how Lumine had stopped running and the two of them were walking over to him. He tried to gauge his sister’s reaction. He didn’t want to upset her, knowing that she also harbord feelings for Xiao. 

The golden blond boy turned back to look over at his crush. He was looking over his shoulder at Lumine and Gorou, a frown appearing on his face. “Gorou,” Xiao greeted, and he looked at Lumine again before focusing his attention on Aether. Aether smiled slightly at him. “Are… Are you all hanging out without me?” A sad look appeared in his eyes after he asked that. 

Aether blinked at the other’s question and an unimpressed look crossed his face as he crossed his arms and he raised an eyebrow at the other. He better not be feeling left out that Aether was hanging out with his sister and his best friend. “I did ask you if you wanted to hang out after school at lunch,” It had been right before Aether had tried to get a nap. Xiao had tried to shake Aether off as soon as he could, looking very nervous that he was around. “You told me that you had something important to do.”

The teal haired man looked at Aether with wide eyes. Shock was written across his face as he glanced back at the other two quickly. Nothing else was said for a split second before Lumine let out a booming laugh. “God, I love it when Aether gets spicy.” She called out. The blond boy turned to glare at his twin, just in time to see her punch Gorou’s arm. Gorou whined and pushed her away from him with a nasty look. He then took a few steps away from her. “We are going to a cafe,” she told Xiao.

Xiao blinked as he watched the two and nodded his head. The sadness was soon replaced with nervousness. Gorou watched Xiao before smiling, “Honestly, it was going to be only Aether and me. Somehow Lumine wormed her way into hanging out with us.” The boy called out to Xiao.

The teal haired man coughed awkwardly, nodding his head a little bit. He glanced between them, not saying much while Lumine gasped in disbelief. “Me? Worm my way?” She asked and Gorou nodded his head, “I asked and you said yes. But to be fair, if you said no, I would have still come along.” 

Aether felt nauseous suddenly, and he covered his mouth, taking a deep breath as he turned to look fully at Xiao again. “Besides,” he mentioned and as soon as he started talking, Xiao instantly looked at Aether. “From now on, it won’t be that surprising if one or both of them are by my side. My dad told me that I basically needed to be babysat every single moment of my life.” Aether made a face as he said that.

“He said what?” The teal haired man asked, with a frown appearing on his face, before he looked at Lumine. “Did he tell you the same thing?”

Lumine shook her head. “Nope!” Aether felt the bile of anger from before raise up. He bit the inside of his cheek, knowing that Xiao of all people would be angry with the conclusion he came up with. “Aether’s the only one getting special treatment.” She walked closer to her brother before clasping his shoulder. Aether stumbled a couple of feet forward from her added weight. 

He tried to shake her off, giving her a warning look. “That’s weird,” Xiao muttered softly and AEther looked back up at him with confusion. “I would think that he would ask Lumine not to be alone, not Aether…” 

Lumine gasped, her eyes shining in betrayal. “Why would you think that?” She asked as she made a face at the teal haired boy. Aether watched her tiredly.

A look of pure confusion crossed Xiao’s face as he stared at her before looking over at Gorou as well. Gorou had a confused look on his face, but he was also looking at Xiao. “Because…” The teal haired started, his voice cautious. “He’s better at manipulating?” Xiao asked, his tone suggestions he thought it was common knowledge. “Besides, he’s been getting lucky with getting away from danger. You though, Lumine, haven’t been in much danger so he could-”

“That is probably why Dad put that dumb rule,” Lumine scuffed, interrupting them and everyone looked at her as she said that, “Aether tends to get in too much trouble. A lot more than me.” 

Aether scoffed in disbelief, feeling betrayed by his sister’s words. He shook his head. A soft chuckle came from Xiao, “That he does.” The teal haired man said as he looked at Aether, affection shining in his eyes. 

As the blond boy looked back at Xiao, he felt his brain go haywire as he watched him, gulping a little bit. He coughed awkwardly with a smile on his face. “So… What’s up Xiao?” He asked, wanting to get away from this conversation. And the way that Xiao appeared, there had to be something on the other’s mind.

The boy stared at Aether with wide eyes as he looked at him before trying to look anywhere else. “I…” he whispered before shaking his body and standing up straighter. He moved closer to Aether. “I have something to ask you.” He said before going quiet and Aether tilted his head to the side, “These are for you.” He offered the flowers out to Aether. 

Aether forced down a squeal that was making its way through him. A huge smile appeared on his face as his golden eyes glimmered. He reached out to grab the flowers. If he had to be honest, this event alone made his whole year. The blond boy brought the flowers up to smell them with a content look appearing on his face. A guy had bought him flowers. That was something that the blond never thought would happen.

The blond boy looked up at the male who had given him the bouquet with a huge smile on his face. “Thank you…” He whispered softly before he glanced over at his best friend who was watching Aether with a happy smile on his face. “He bought me flowers.” Aether whispered softly, smelling them again.

Gorou laughed and shook his head as he walked up to Aether, patting his back. “I see that.” He responded softly to his best friend. He then looked up at Xiao, a serious look crossing his face, waiting to see what Xiao had to say.

Xiao’s eyes were focused mainly on Aether, and he had a huge smile on his face as he saw the boy’s reaction to his flowers. “Yeah..” He whispered before awkwardly moving his hands, not knowing what to do with them now that Aether had the flowers. “I… uh… the question that I wanted to ask is,” he continued, looking around wildly as if he lost all the momentum that he had before.“Uh…”

Gorou shifted from where he was standing with an unimpressed look on his face. “Oh my god.” He whined as he threw his head back. “Would you just spit it out already?”

Aether’s smile dropped as he turned to look at Gorou, a horrified look on his face. He gently hit his best friends with the flowers, making sure that he did not damage the gift Xiao had just given him. “Gorou!” He cried out with a warning look on his face. “Let him ask me at his own time.” 

Gorou stuck his tongue out playfully at Aether before glaring at Xiao again. Xiao laughed softly, watching them before coughing awkwardly. “Yeah, Gorou.” He responded with a taunt. The teal haired man then took in a deep breath and looked over at Aether again. His amber eyes stared deep into Aether’s golden ones, “Would… would you like to be my boyfriend?” He asked, pausing for a bit in the middle of his sentence.

The golden blond boy stared at Xiao in shock, his mouth dropping open. It was one thing to expect Xiao to ask him out, it was another for him to actually do it. And he thought it would have just been a date, but to be asked to be his boyfriend? Aether glanced over at his two companions, trying to gather up the words to answer him.

Both Gorou and Lumine looked just as shocked as Aether felt. “Holy shit,” Lumine whispered under her breath as she looked at Xiao with an impressed look on her face, “You actually asked him. I knew you were talking about it. But I didn’t think that you would actually do it.”

Aether’s eyebrows furrowed when he heard his sister say that. “You knew that he was going to ask?” He asked her in shock.

Lumine turned to look at her twin. She rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah. He asked me if it would be okay. He also kinda asked Dad as well if it was Okay to date you…. What are we doing talking about this? Say yes, you dumbass!” She pushed Aether’s shoulder after saying that.

Right, right. Aether had to answer Xiao. The blond turned back towards Xiao again who was watching him, fear shining in his eyes as he waited for the other’s answer. A smile appeared on Aether’s face. “Yes.” He told Xiao, “Of course I would love to be your boyfriend.” He rose the flowers up to sniff them again, trying to hide the smile that was appearing on his face. 

The teal haired boy seemed to relax as soon the blond boy answered him. “Really?” He asked, not believing that Aether actually said yes to him. Aether smiled and nodded his head rapidly. He felt like it was one too many times, but he couldn’t stop himself. A huge grin crossed the teal haired man’s face. “Are… are you free this Friday?” Xiao stuttered, looking nervous again.

The golden blond boy blinked before nodding his head again. “Yeah.” He responded happily, part of him couldn't believe that this was really happening right now.

Xiao’s eyes lit up. “Would you like to go on a date?” He continued to ask, sounding a lot more confident now that Aether had said yes to his question. “We could… we could go to the movies, or ice skating. There are a lot of different things that we could do if you don’t like those options-”

He was cut off as a soft giggle interrupted him. Aether actually giggled. It was really sweet to the blond hearing the way Xiao was rambling about the date. Aether gave his flowers to Gorou who looked at him confused. Aether rolled his eyes at his best friend as he walked up to Xiao. The teal haired boy watched him as he walked closer, fear shining in his eyes before Aether pulled him into a tight hug. 

The boy hugged him back, his eyes growing wide. Aether leaned closer to whisper in his ear. “I would love to go on  a date with you. Anywhere. Any time.” He closed his eyes as a content smile formed on his face.

Xiao squeezed him gently and the two of them stayed there for Aether didn’t know how long. It couldn’t have been more than a minute before Xiao pulled away from the hug. He gulped as Aether opened his eyes to look at him, tilting his head to the side. The teal haired man suddenly looked very nervous again. “Can.. May I kiss you?” He asked, sounding unsure.

The blond boy stared at him before a soft laugh left his lips. “You didn’t ask me the last time you kissed me,” Aether pointed out with a teasing smile on his face.

An awkward and pained look crossed Xiao’s face as he remembered the last time he had kissed Aether. He nodded his head slowly. “I know… I should have. Not asking for your consent was dumb. I’m… I’m really sorry.” He said, blinking his eyes.

Aether shook his head slowly and laughed again. “Yes.” The blond hair muttered. “Yes you can kiss me.”

He watched as the teal haired man’s face brightened at the other’s permission. Xiao grabbed Aether’s chin, pulling it closer. The two stared into each other’s eyes for a couple of seconds, a nervous butterfly feeling settling deep into his stomach. He waited for what was going to happen with Xiao. The boy then leaned in closer, connecting their lips together and Aether instantly kissed back.

It only took a few seconds for the butterfly feeling to be replaced with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Something was off. This wasn’t right. Aether couldn’t point out what was wrong, but there was something. Aether pulled away and looked at Xiao with a confused look on his face. But the look Xiao gave him, he didn’t feel something was off. Aether could only see affection swimming in his amber eyes.  Maybe it was Aether’s brain pulling tricks on him.

There was an awkward cough, and Aether turned to look over at his best friend who shifted uncomfortably as he watched. “So…” He called out, “Are we going to go to the cafe or nah?” The brown haired boy folded his arms. “I really want a drink, you know.”

The blonde haired girl next to him scoffed and turned around to hit him. “Gorou!” She hissed, rolling her eyes dramatically and Gorou made a face at her. “They are having a moment, Can’t you see?” She gestures towards her brother and his new boyfriend.

Aether slowly pulled away from Xiao, a hand coming up to cover his mouth as he stared at the other boy again. He blinked a few times while Xiao stared back, there was a huge smile on the other’s face. “Kazuha’s cafe?” The teal haired boy asked, Looking over at the other two and Aether finally managed to break his gaze away from the Teal haired man.

Lumine’s face dropped when she heard Xiao utter the name. “Kazuha?” She asked as she gave her brother a look, furrowing her eyebrows.

Gorou seemed like he straightened up as an excited smile appeared on his face. “His cafe?” He asked, looking between the two who knew of the cafe. “He owns a cafe?”

The blond boy blinked before he quickly shook his head to answer the other. “No. He just works there.” He responded as he reached out to Gorou. Gorou quickly handed him his flowers back and Aether grinned widely. “But yeah. His cafe, Xiao.”

Xiao smiled and held his hand out to Aether. The blond boy reached out as well, grabbing his hand. Xiao squeezed his hand tightly.  “Well, let's get going then!” Xiao called out, sounding really happy. “I’ll pay.” 

The brown haired man frowned when he heard that, looking at Xiao unimpressed. “You’re coming?” He asked. 

Xiao slowly nodded his head. “Yeah…” He nodded his head, “And I’m paying?” Xiao replied, not seeing why he was suddenly upset now that he was coming.

Gorou blinked as he realized what the other was saying. His eyes widened before he nodded his head. “Oh! Right, let's get going then!” He cried, grabbing Lumine’s arm and pulling her along.

Aether smiled, shaking his head with a sought laugh, leaning against Xiao. The two of them followed.

Chapter Text

The sun was bright, although cold air would breeze past the two figures walking down the street. “You know?” One of them, Lumine, called out as the blonde girl practiced her balance. She placed one foot in front of the next as she walked along the edge of the road. Her hands raised as she tried to keep her balance. Her amber eyes were trained on the ground as she walked. “I almost got into Celestia house,” the girl bragged.

Her twin brother, who was walking right behind her, made a noise to show he heard her. He didn’t say much else. His mood was as gloomy as it had been for days.  Lumine had just received her letter from Celestia. As soon as the letter had been in her hands, she talked about it nonstop. It would be an understatement to say that the girl was excited. Rightfully so, it was rare to get into Celestia University. The letter even told her what house she had gotten into. 

And Aether?

He was trying to be happy for his sister, he really was.  Ever since she got her letter, there had been an uncomfortable feeling settling in his stomach. He tried to ignore that feeling and the disappointment that rose up inside of him.

It did not help that the boy had gotten the mail that day. 

He could still remember that day. His father had asked him to get the mail when he finally sulked down from his room. There was only one envelope in the mailbox, addressed to Lumine. When he held the letter for a couple of minutes, his shoulders slumped and tears threatened to roll down his cheeks. He had only just managed to return, placing the letter down before sulking back up to his room.

He had to stop feeling sorry for himself. Act like he was happy for his sister. He knew how much this meant to her. Yet, he knew that he was missing out on it. Something that he had hoped he would share with her, but now it felt like a wall had built up between them. He was watching her through a window as he tried to hide how upset he was.

At the very least he could pretend he was happy for Lumine. That wasn’t much of a stretch, because despite his own disappointment, he was happy for her. 

He would listen to the same story, over and over again. To anyone she met who hasn’t heard it, she would launch into debating the different houses and how well of a position she was put in when she got into Anemo.

“I just… Hydro is really hard for me to get a hold of you know? I don’t know…” She whispered softly and sighed, turning to look back at her twin, she tilted her head to the other side to get his input.” It’s like.. Hydro just doesn’t want to come out.”

The blond boy stared at her silently as she looked over at him. He morphed his grumpy expression into a fake smile. He had been getting to use to doing this. “I get that,” he agreed with her. Aether didn’t know what else to say that wouldn’t hurt her feelings.  He could have easily told her snarkily about how for the past 17 years of his life he felt like he couldn’t manipulate even the basics. But the blond had enough sense  to bite his tongue. He didn’t want to come off as vindictive here. 

It was a blessing Lumine could manipulate the other 6 elements, and almost to a master level. To be complaining about not yet understanding how to manipulate one? When she could smoothly manipulate the other 6 all her life? And here Aether was, having tried so hard, but it felt he fell just short of his goal. The amount of people he felt like he let down.

Would he have gotten into the school if he had more chances to manipulate? He didn’t know. There was also the bitter feeling as he remembered what Xiao and Kazuha were talking about when they were alone at the park. It felt like a lie that people who tapped out usually get into the school. Usually get into Celestia house. A lie that people said he just had to show he could manipulate. He did that and he didn’t get in.

As he went about his days, there was a want to scream into the void. To let all his frustration out.To declare that it was unfair, that he was told lies from everyone all his life. He should have gotten a letter, he should have gotten in. But he didn’t. He didn’t want to seem like a brat.

“But… Anemo isn’t that bad of a house,” Lumine continued with a smile when Aether didn’t say much else. It was clear the girl did not know the inner war Aether was fighting with himself. The girl turned around again and skipped a few steps as a soft sigh left her lips. She shook her head before moving to walk on the sidewalk properly, like Aether was. “I’ve heard a lot of things about Professor Faruzan. A lot of kids insist that she is supposedly one of the strictest leads in the whole school.”

There were seven professors that ran the whole school, a lot of them were around the same age. Aether knew of a few of them. Faruzan was a new addition to the university. The Professor joined about two years ago. She had made a name for herself. Her practices were really old school and her beliefs differed from the other professors a lot of the time. 

“But I love that type of teaching,” Lumine admitted with a smile on her face, “Like,  if anything she pushes her students to be the best.” She reached behind her and gathered her hair, pulling it up into a ponytail as she walked. 

The blond haired man nodded his head in agreement. He didn’t want to admit that his mind was in a different place and he was not sure what he was agreeing with. Aether had checked out a long time ago, and was focusing on trying to seem happy. “Yeah…” He muttered, glancing over at her.

At least the girl was alright with him not being completely in the conversation. “Professor Ei is really scary though,” Lumine continued to talk,as she brought up the next professor. “The people in Electro house have to deal with her. I hear that she doesn’t like change.” the girl shuttered as she thought about it. That caught Aether’s attention and he forced himself to actively listen to what she was saying.  “Some people say that she likes to have everything exactly the same year to year. I hear that she expects her students to act just like her past students.” Lumine huffed out some air.

That made Aether scrunch his face. “That’s not possible,” the boy muttered under his breath. A professor can’t dictate how everyone around her acts. No matter how powerful she can be. Maybe it was a different way and people just over exaggerated how strict she actually was. Besides, from what he remembered Professor Ei didn’t seem that scary when she was instructing the Test Analysis, right? Aether thought about her reactions and how stoic she seemed. It felt like the purple haired professor showed no emotion when anyone was showing their powers off… Aether didn’t know, maybe there was something that he was missing.

If Lumine heard Aether’s comment, she ignored it as she continued, “then there is professor Zhongli,” Any talk about Professor Ei was left unsaid.  Did it really concern Aether or Lumine anyways if neither of them would be in her house? “I hear that he can talk your ear off.” 

A soft smile appeared on Aether’s face as he remembered Zhongli. Through the couple of times he had met the other, Zhongli would talk about random things. To Aether, they had really good conversations. One of his favorites was talking about his favorite wine, Osmanthus wine. “I can see him doing that.” Aether muttered.

Lumine nodded her head at the boy’s comment. “It’s really easy to get him off topic, and some kids claim they don’t learn much about the given topics he was supposed to be teaching them.  But he knows about a lot of different things. He’s one of the best teachers to go to when you need help with homework. And then there is professor Baizhu-” 

Lumine never got to continue her thoughts, she didn’t even get to finish talking about Baizhu.  A loud call cut her out, “hey!” Lumine paused what she was saying before she looked over her shoulder. Aether watched her, noticing the way that a huge smile appeared on her face, and maybe even the sight of a blush. He stopped, turning to look behind them and watching as Xiao came running up to them. The teal haired man blinked a few times as he wrapped an arm around Aether’s shoulder. “Are you talking about Celestia?” He asked Lumine with a smile. 

Aether closed his eyes as he scooted closer to Xiao, smiling. “Good morning to you too,” he joked to the other boy.

“Good morning.” Xiao responded before he leaned down, pressing a kiss to the top of Aether’s head and the boy’s eyes opened quickly as he looked up at the teal haired male. He leaned down again, pressing a kiss to Aether’s lips and Aether felt a blush appear on his cheeks. 

Lumine was watching both of them with a guarded look in her eyes, and Aether couldn’t figure out what the girl was thinking about. Xiao looked over at her again and she smiled widely at the boy. “Yeah,” Lumine chirped happily. “I got my acceptance letter on Saturday! The section that told me what I needed to work on only said Hydro.” 

Would rejection letters also have the sections Aether needed to work on? The blonde could only shutter, thinking about just how long that section could be for him.

Xiao smiled politely at Lumine, nodding his head at her. “That’s nice Lumine.” He responded politely before turning his full attention back at Aether. “I got my letter on Saturday as well,” Aether blinked a few times before forcing a smile, trying to hide the sinking feeling that once again appeared in his stomach. Of course Xiao did. “What houses did you get into?” He asked, looking between the two of them.

The complete support in Xiao’s expression made Aether’s heart hurt as he forced himself to look away. Xiao’s eyes filled with concern as he watched the other boy. “I got into Anemo!” Lumine cried out happily with a smug look on her face.

Xiao smiled at the girl kindly when she said that. “Oh, nice.” He responded, obviously very happy for her. “I was also put into Anemo.” Aether blinked a few times as he tried to not think about how for the next two years, the two of them would be so close to each other and Aether would be who knows where. His future never looked more bleak.  “What about you, Aeth?” The moment that Aether didn’t want to come was here now. “What house did you get into?”

Aether stared at his boyfriend, watching as the support in his eyes slowly shifted to one of confusion as Aether stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. He shook his head quickly to answer Xiao’s question. “You didn’t get a rejection letter,” Lumine reminded him, a huge smile on her face, that didn’t make Aether feel any better as he looked over at her. “There is still hope that you got into Celestia. Don’t let that hope go, Aether!” 

Too bad, that hope was out the window. Never to be seen again. Xiao stared at the girl, staying quiet. Aether blinked as he felt tears starting to appear in his eyes. “Maybe they haven’t sent yours out yet?” Xiao asked him, squeezing the boy in a comforting manner. 

Aether searched his face, trying to find a crack that showed he didn’t believe that. But of course Xiao did, of course the other had so much hope for him.  Maybe there wasn’t a rejection letter yet. It still felt like a rejection, and a strong one at that. Why would Aether not get his letter? “Why wouldn’t they send ours together?” Aether finally managed to whisper, looking back over at Lumine.

Something had to have gone wrong with Aether’s test. Could it have been because he didn’t finish the power analysis test? If they wanted him to finish it, wouldn’t they have eventually contacted him to get him back to the school to finish? Maybe the pyro he unleashed seemed unstable. Too dangerous. There was a complicated answer as to why Aether didn’t get a letter, and he could feel it. He also knew that he wasn’t going to get to the bottom of it any time soon. 

His twin shook her head, a look in her eyes showing how determined she was to convince him. “I’m not sure why you didn’t get yours, but you HAVE to get in Aether. You deserve to get into the school. More than anyone else. With how hard you have worked?” Aether bit the corner of his cheek, he didn’t agree with that sentence. That is like saying anyone who got in didn’t work hard enough, or the ones who didn’t get in as well. He shook his head. “You will probably be in Hydro. Or Pyro house. What if they are sending them out house by house?” 

Aether felt himself shrink. He didn’t think that they would send letters out house by house. And he couldn’t bring himself to hope for them to do that. Just in case he never got a letter. Or he got a rejection letter. It would be too painful for him. He also doubted they would ever put him into Pyro house when he couldn’t control it. “Yeah, if you get into Hydro house, we can then all work together to get into Celestia house!” Xiao called out as he dropped his arm from Aether, walking a bit ahead. Aether watched him walk away, a frown on his face. He didn’t want to ruin their hope. Their vision of something to work there, but Aether knew he wouldn’t be in that vision. “I hear that they only have three kids in Celestia this year.” 

Aether scrunched his face as he thought about that. That was random for Xiao to know. The two of them started to walk towards school. A realization passed through Aether. Kids would be talking about who got into Celestia. They would be spectating if he actually got on or if he embarrassed himself so badly.  

“How do you know how many kids are in Celestia house?” Lumine asked, turning to look at Xiao when he caught up with her and they continued to walk. Aether stayed behind, watching them walk. 

Aether felt like he couldn’t breathe. “Zhongli?” Xiao responded as he looked over at Lumine with a confused look on his face. “He won’t tell me who the kids are though. But they are so lucky. Zhongli even admitted that the power analysis was hard this year. They weren’t going to change the results though.”

They were walking farther and farther away, Aether needed to start moving, to catch up with them. Or to at least speak up. He felt himself take in a shaky breath, trying to force himself to breathe. Xiao instantly stopped, turning to look at him with a concerned look on his face. “I-” Aether managed to call out, finally being able to breathe, but it started to go too fast. He was about to change the conversation. Was he really that petty to not want to talk about Celestia anymore? Was he really just going to shut down the whole conversation? It hurt, Aether didn’t know what did, but something hurt. He was too afraid of the building they were heading to, too afraid of school, and of the kids in the building. 

The blond boy shook his head and tried to force himself to continue, to act like nothing was wrong. But as he caught up to them, Xiao reached out for his hand and Aether allowed him to take it. The boy squeezed Aether’s hand, with a small smile on his face. Lumine stopped, looking over at Aether as well and she tilted her head to the side, “What’s wrong?” She asked Aether.

Her twin gulped, not sure what to say.  He didn’t want them to think that he was being annoying, or a hindrance on them. “I don’t think that…. I don’t want to go to school today.” He finally managed to whisper, blinking away the tears threatening to form. He could just start to hear the jeers of the kids when they found out he didn’t get in. Aether forced himself to take in a deep breath, his shoulders raised and fell with his breathing. “I… I.. I can’t handle the jokes.” He finally managed to whisper.

“What jokes?” Xiao asked in a soft and gentle voice as he walked up next to his boyfriend, concern etched on his face.

As he studied his boyfriend’s face, Aether pursed his lips, his mind working hard to figure out how to explain to Xiao. He wouldn’t know just how bad the ridicule had been in the past years. “The other kids have bullied Aether’s over the years,” Lumine piped up, saving Aether from explaining. A wave of emotion passed through Xiao’s face, from sadness to anger and everything in between. “Especially in the past couple of years…” Aether slowly nodded his head in agreement to his sister, that was the best way to say it.

“That is stupid.” Xiao muttered under his breath. “Your self worth isn’t tied to manipulation.” Aether felt like sinking into the ground as he heard him say that. “I’m sorry people actually suck.”

The blond boy shook his head, not sure what to say to that. “Well… Lets skip then!” Lumine cried out happily, clapping her hands together.  “We can go to Kazuha’s cafe and get breakfast or something! Have a mental health day!”

Although Aether had never in the past even thought about skipping, hearing that come up as an answer sent a wave of relief through his body. That was an easy way to get out of having to go to school for one day. “Skip?” Xiao asked in confusion as Lumine came up and grabbed Aether’s hand, pulling him in the opposite direction of school. Xiao followed after them, refusing to drop Aether’s hand. Xiao was also not one of the kids who broke the rules, scared of what might happen if he did something Zhongli didn’t expect. 

Although Zhongli would probably do nothing to Xiao except maybe express disappointment. But that was really it.

The girl looked over at Xiao before she rolled her eyes at him. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” she pointed out before looking ahead. “You can let go of Aether’s hand, turn around and head off to school. However, Aether and I are going to spend the day away from that hell hole.”

Xiao made a noise as she said that. “But what about the repercussions of us skipping classes?” He asked, fear in his voice.

The girl sighed, stopping and closing her eyes as the two boys crashed into her. She turned around to look at Xiao, dropping Aether’s hand. “You two have near perfect attendance. Especially Aether. Your attendance record from preschool,” she stressed the last word, “tell now have been golden. You have never been out. If you want, we can even call Gorou and make it a fucking party or something.” The girl shrugged her shoulders after saying that and Xiao sighed in annoyance.

In truth, there has never been a time where Aether was more grateful to have this girl in his life. Aether was really wanting to take this chance and run with it. He was already feeling better with the promise of not going to school. “We can’t invite Gorou,” Aether spoke up. Lumine looked at him as if he was crazy, Gorou was on the same page of Aether with his attendance record. He rarely missed school. “Gorou has an interview with Geo University today. He got one of the first slots for the day, so it’s quite early.” He explained.Lumine just stared at him, not saying anything. “But, let’s do it, let's skip.”

Aether looked over at Xiao with a pleading look while Lumine cheered. “Yes! What about you Xiao?” She asked as she turned to look at the other boy. “Are you going to follow us? Or are  you going to go to school, like the goodie two-shoes you are?” She joked, raising an eyebrow at the teal haired man.

Xiao tiredly blinked his eyes, watching the girl, but then he looked back at Aether, a soft smile appearing on his face. “I don’t understand that saying, but let's do it. It is finals after all, and most of our teachers are just going to watch movies in class.”

“I doubt they are even going to take attendance.” Aether muttered under his breath. 

Lumine clapped her hands excitedly when they said yes. “Exactly! Now we just need to get you two to agree to skip when it’s a day with lessons.” She joked and Aether whipped his head to stare at her, fear appearing on his face before he shook his head slightly.

“No.” That would put us so far behind,” he insisted, biting the side of his cheek as he thought about missing too much of one class and getting so behind..

Lumine blinked before she shook her head. No it won't.” she insisted, “I do it all the time.” She insisted and Aether watched her with an unimpressed look. “Come on, let's go! The cafe awaits us!”

It was almost laughable, the amount of times that Aether found himself wasting his time at a park these past couple of months. Here he was, yet again, at another park. The other two were talking with each other while Aether allowed himself to sulk on the grass. 

They had instead stopped by a convenience store, and Lumine had convinced Xiao to allow her to paint his nails. Convinced was too strong of a word, she had asked and he said yes instantly. She had even tried to get Aether to let her paint his, but Aether refused. He came up with the excuse he didn’t want to take his gloves off for too long, he didn’t want either of them to see the scar left behind from the burn on his hand.

Aether didn’t focus on what the other two were talking about, and he just played around with the grass around him, pulling it up and placing it on his knee before growing some back. It didn't even occur to him that he was wearing his gloves. Something that he shouldn’t be able to do. 

Lumine said something that finally caught Aether’s attention and he looked over at her, “I feel like I barely know anyone who even goes to Celestia.” She said with a slight whine. Aether glanced over to his boyfriend who was using Anemo to dry the freshly painted blue nails with sparkles, making sure it didn’t rub off before they were dried.

The blond boy pursed his lips when he heard Lumine’s comment. “I don’t really know that many people either.” He agreed. And Lumine looked at him in shock, not expecting the boy to speak. “I only really know Scara. And that is debatable.” Aether made a face as he thought about the other boy. “We kind of just ran into each other every now and then.” He muttered.

The blonde girl twisted the top other nail polish up before putting it off to the side and grabbing one of the drinks that they had bought, taking a drink of it as she gave Aether a contemplating look.  Before she could respond, Aether’s phone started to ring and all three of them looked at the device with wide eyes.

This might be it, the point where they got caught by their parents and yelled at. Lumine was watching her brother’s movements closely as he picked up the device, fear shining in her eyes. He didn't blame her, that robotic phone call that let parents know when their kids didn’t make it to class must have already gone out. So, eventually their parents would call them to lecture them on the importance of going to class.

As he stared at the caller ID his shoulders relaxed, he too was a bit afraid of getting on his parent’s bad side. He looked back up at the other two as he answered the phone, “It’s Gorou,” he mouthed before he brought the device up to his ear. “Hey Gorou!” He called out louder.

There was a loud drawn out sigh of relief from Gorou. Lumine leaned back into the grass, a look of relief passing her face, that was replaced by no emotion. “That was so stressful!” Gorou cried out, not bothering to greet Aether at all. “I really wanted them to like me, so much that I bought a new suit and everything!”  The image of a nervous Gorou dressed to impress passed through Aether’s mind and he laughed as he pictured it. “I have to get into this college, Aeth. you don’t understand.” Gorou whined, dramatically.

Aether covered his mouth so more laughter wouldn’t get through. He knew that Gorou was being overly dramatic on purpose, and Gorou wouldn’t mind if Aether laughed. But still, it was probably rude if he did. “So, your interview is done then?” Aether asked to clarify.

Xiao stood up from where he was sitting next to Lumine once his nails were dried before sitting down next to Aether, resting his head on the other’s shoulder. The blond looked down at the teal haired man and a smile appeared on his face. “Yeah!” Gorou called out, to reply to his question. “I am so happy that I decided to did it as well.” An almost depressed sounding sigh came from Gorou. 

Aether tilted his head to the side, before stopping as Xiao suddenly moved so he could press a kiss on Aether’s cheek and then resting his head on Aether’s shoulder again. A bright smile appeared on the blond boy’s cheeks. “What do you mean?” Aether asked Gorou in confusion.

There was a pause from the other end of the phone before Gorou sighed again. “I got my rejection letter from Celestia. I knew that it was a long shot. But at least I still tried, right?” The boy responded.

Aether’s heart hurt for Gorou. Although he knew that Gorou’s heart was never on Celestia, the other had come so close to getting in. “I’m sorry.” Aether whispered sadly. He tried to ignore the voice in the back of his mind trying to tell him If Gorou had gotten a rejection letter, shouldn’t Aether have gotten a rejection letter as well? Or any type of letter?

The teenager didn’t want to get his hopes up reflecting on the implications. What if he did get a rejection letter later on down the road, or worse, he never heard from the university ever again. 

Gorou laughed at the apology and Aether could only imagine the way he was shaking his head. “Don’t be,” Gorou insisted, “It’s alright. What about you? Did you get accepted?” From that sentence alone, there was so much joy and hope in Gorou’s voice, “Like I knew you were going to be?”

Well, that was a bit of a jump. The blond boy frowned, wondering how he should let his friend know. Aether took in a shaky breath. “No.” He responded softly as he looked down at the grass, blinking back tears.

There was silence on the other end of the phone and Aether flinched, getting ready to hear his response. “Bullshit,” Gorou called out in anger. Aether gently moved the phone away from his ear, trying to ignore just how loud Gorou had called out. “How dare they reject you! That makes no sense.”

Aether was so lucky to have a friend like Gorou. He smiled slightly at the other’s support. “Technically, they haven’t rejected me yet either… Or maybe they did… I don’t know. I didn’t get a letter in general.” He responded with sadness in his voice.

“Maybe they didn’t send yours?” Gorou asked, hope replacing the anger in his voice, “Maybe yours is still coming and you just have to wait.” 

“No,” Aether responded, shaking his head rapidly. He could feel the way that the other two were watching him with sadness in their eyes. “Lu and Xiao both got theirs already. If I were to get a letter, it would have already come.” Xiao started to run a hand through Aether’s hair, playing with the ends of it. It felt pretty nice, Aether closed his eyes. “I wonder when I couldn’t finish the test… When they told me that I was free to go… then that means that I wasn’t good enough.” He whispered softly, not sure if he had told the other’s that bit of information yet or not.

Aether could still hear the way that Kokomi told them they would contact him soon. Those words had bounced around his brain a lot recently. But they haven’t contacted him, and it was getting later and later. Maybe they weren’t going to. “No!” Gorou called out, in a firm voice. It made Aether jump slightly. “I am sure that is not true, Aeth.” He insisted. 

But Aether knew it was true. “Then what is it?” He asked. He felt dejected and deflated, and he just wanted to know why he never got a letter. What happened to his?

Gorou stayed silent on the other end and Aether bit his bottom lip as he waited for everything. “Maybe it got lost in the mail?” Gorou offered, quietly.

That could be an option. But… if that was the case, how would Aether ever find out? Would they eventually send him another letter or something? Maybe he could ask Zhongli about it one day, after it’s been a while. Aether made a stink face, he didn’t want to talk about this anymore. He wanted to get the conversation away from this. “How was your interview?” He asked, deciding he would rather hype Gorou up instead.

His best friend hummed as he collected his thoughts. The blond shifted closer to the teal haired man next to him, giving him a reassuring smile. “It was great, Aether,” He responded, excitement filling his words, “Like really great. I think I did so well, though it was stressful. But they seemed to really love me, Aether.” Aether laughed softly, he couldn’t think of anyone who would hate Gorou. The brown haired man was really that type of person who everyone easily got along with. “I’m waiting to go on a tour of the campus. They even gave me a free pass for their Cafeteria, and their cafeteria food is amazing. Guess who else is here though?”

Another phone ringing caught Aether’s attention and he looked over at Xiao as he slowly drugged his phone out of his pocket. He had a scared look on his face. He looked at the phone before back at Aether. He mouthed Zhongli before standing up, placing  a hand on top of Aether’s head before he walked away so he could answer the phone call. Aether watched him, hoping that Xiao didn’t get into too much trouble. “Who?” Aether asked, almost forgetting he was talking with Gorou.

“Itto!” Gorou called back happily. He obviously didn’t know what was happening on Aether’s side of the Phone call. Lumine was also watching Xiao with a worried look on her face. 

Even after hearing how excited Gorou was saying the name, it didn’t bring back a memory of the name. “Who? Aether repeated, feeling bad that he couldn’t remember who his friend was talking about.

His best friend laughed softly, obviously finding Aether not being able to remember this man hilarious. “That idiot that we met at the Test of Courage event we went to.” Gorou responded. Aether blinked a few times as he tried to think of the boy. “You are an idiot, Itto!” Gorou hissed to someone. “You were scaring people and didn’t think that you would get thrown out of the event!”

A huge smile appeared on Aether’s face as he suddenly remembered the dumbass that he had almost punched when he jumped out of a tree. “Right, the stranger you ditched me for.” Gorou gasped loudly, but before he could deny it, Aether continued, “How is he doing?”

Lumine’s phone started to ring as well. Aether gave her a confused look as she pulled the phone out of her jacket pocket. Something felt off, there was a weird shift of energy. Lumine looked over at her twin, looking as if she was going to throw up or cry. “It’s dad.” She hissed before she got up, moving away so that she wouldn’t interrupt Aether’s conversation. “Hey daddy!” Her voice traveled as she walked away, “Look, I know that we skipped-”

The blond sucked in a breath, really hoping that his father wouldn’t be angry with them when they got home. Or that he wouldn’t tell his mother. Aether shivered at the rage that woman would show towards him for skipping. 

“How are you on the phone?” Gorou suddenly asked, sounding very confused. Aether glanced between Xiao and Lumine, trying to see if he could listen to either of them talking, not paying Gorou any attention. Xiao was silent, listening to what his cousin had to say. But with every second, his face was darkening. “I thought that you were in the bathroom…” 

“No, uh…” Aether responded, trying to focus back on the conversation with his best friend, but his mind was currently racing, an uncomfortable feeling brewing in his stomach.

“I swear to god that I just heard Lumine,” Gorou continued to talk, muttering under his breath.

The blond boy coughed awkwardly, switching towards Lumine as she started to plead with their father. “Yes, that’s Aether daddy. Don’t be mad at him,” She begged and he felt like every hair on his body was standing up. “It was my idea to skip school,” she tried to convince him.

“We, uh, we skipped.” Aether stuttered, knowing that Gorou was still waiting for an answer to why he was able to talk to him during school time. Suddenly everything felt like it was crashing down, everything seemed to be too overwhelming and his skin felt like it was brushing up against something uncomfortable as he looked around at everyone.

He hoped that was enough for Gorou and he didn’t ask more questions, he wasn’t sure if he could offer the explanation that the other would want. “Oh! We-” Gorou started, but stopped, and Aether could hear someone talking, their voices muffled and the blond couldn’t pick out what they were saying, “Oh, Sorry, it’s time for my tour, I’ll catch up with you later!”  Gorou promised and just like that the boy hung up before Aether could say goodbye.

The blond boy made a face as he pulled the phone away from his ear, placing it down in his lap as he looked around with a confused look on his face. Lumine must have just finished her phone call as she started to walk back over to Aether as well. “What did Dad say?” Aether asked as the girl sat down next to him. His twin shook her head as she placed her phone into her backpack. Aether furrowed his eyebrows, that didn’t seem like a good reaction. “Was it that bad?” He asked.

Lumine shrugged, picking up the bag and placing it onto her shoulders. “Not really… He kinda just said good and then hung up? From the sound of it, it sounded like he was actually relieved that we decided to skip today?” She responded, looking more confused as she said that.

Something bad must have happened. There was nothing that would make his father okay with them skipping. Lumine had gotten into a lot of trouble in the past for skipping. But for him to just say good. “That’s weird… Maybe he’s just glad that we are together?” Aether asked, trying to figure out what was happening. 

The blonde girl shrugged her shoulders before looking over at the teal haired man that was still on the phone. “Xiao has been on his phone for a while.” She commented and Aether nodded his head in agreement.

He really hoped that Xiao wasn’t going to get in trouble. Xiao had seemed hesitant at first when Lumine brought up the idea of skipping. He was about to get up and walk over to his boyfriend when the other pulled his phone away from his ear, closing it and walking back to them. He looked completely confused as well as Aether scrambled to get up, grabbing his phone off his lap, so he wasn't the only one sitting.  

Aether offered Xiao his hand, smiling when the other boy grabbed it and Aether gave it a comforting squeeze. “What did Zhongli say?” Lumine asked, looking between the two boys. “If you get in trouble, just tell Zhongli that it was my idea-”
He shook his head and she stopped speaking.  “I don’t think Zhongli knew that I skipped… He didn’t bring it up.” The boy responded as he made eye contact with Aether. Aether stared right back at him. There was panic and fear crossing his face. “I think that something bad is happening, or is about to happen.”

Aether sucked in a breath when Xiao said what his gut was trying to tell Aether. He looked over at his sister who had a confused look on her face. The three of them stayed there for a second, not knowing what to do. 

Lumine eventually scrunched her nose in distaste. “What is happening?” She asked as she turned to look over at the direction of school. “I wonder if we were in school, we would know. Isn’t it weird that both of our parents called at the same exact time.  And neither one of them brought up the fact that we are currently skipping school?”

Xiao slowly nodded his head in agreement, “It was almost like Zhongli was relieved that I wasn’t at school…” Xiao whispered. “I don’t think he registered that I was skipping, but he was relieved that I was away. When I told him that I was with you two, he asked me to make sure that all three of us stayed safe.” Aether let go of Xiao’s hand to instead wrap his arm around the other boy’s shoulder. A ping came from his phone signaling that he got a new notification. Since it was already in his hand, Aether opened it up, seeing that it was an email from school. 

Aether quickly scanned the email, and he almost dropped his phone, a soft gasp leaving his lips as his hand started to shake. “This is bad…” He whispered, trying to calm himself down. 

Lumine looked at the golden blond boy, tilting her head to the side as she noticed he was reading something. “What?” She asked, walking over to peer over his shoulder. “What are you reading?”

Aether showed the phone to both of them, a sense of helplessness filling him. “It’s an email from the school,” He explained and the other two fell quite again. “Threats were made to all of the highschools,” he scrolled to the top of the page before reading, trying not to stumble over any of the words, “Today, We received an email informing us that a bomb was planted in one of the seven highschool.”

Xiao let his weight fall against Aether, glancing at his boyfriend’s phone but not saying anything, Lumine gasped out, “a bomb?” She asked biting on one of her fingers.

Her twin nodded his head, scrolling past useless information that was in the email, “The bomb is set to trigger the second someone attempts to leave the highschool, we weren’t told which school the bomb was set in.” 

Lumine scoffed in outrage. “Why didn't they cancel school?” She asked , her eyes flashing in anger, “If they knew that there was a bomb in the school, they should have just sent everyone away. People are going to die. Shouldn't they protect the kids?”

The blond boy scrolled through the flowery language, trying not to get annoyed with how much fluff they put in school emails. “We received news about the bomb an hour after school started. All of our resources at this moment are going towards figuring out which school they planted the bomb in. Please stay with us as we try to make sure that our kids return to their parents safely. This is the work of the abyss order,” As he continued to read, he could feel his voice cracking.

Lumine’s hand rose to cover her mouth in shock as she stared at Aether with her eyes wide. Aether shook his head, looking over at Xiao who was reading the email over Aether’s shoulder before he looked over at Aether, a sad frown appearing on his face. 

This must be the reason that everyone was calling them and checking in on them. Lumine sucked in a deep breath as Aether put his phone in his pocket, a feeling of shock rolling over him. It felt like his mind was about to shut off. “Most of the schools are out for break,” Xiao whispered, realization setting through his eyes, straightening his stance so he wasn’t leaning against Aether anymore. “There are only three schools that have a later break than the others. They have a one in three chance of figuring out which school it was planted in. Maybe… Maybe they’ll figure it out quickly and everyone will be alright?”

Aether shook his head, deep down he knew that something bad was going to happen and that someone was going to get hurt. That was too much hope when considering its the Abyss order. “What three schools?” The blond asked, knowing deep down he didn’t want to know. He knew that Geo was one of those three schools. The schools tend to offset breaks so during fall and spring break it wasn’t overrun with students. 

Lumine looked over at Xiao. “uh.. Geo obviously,” she whispered, “Hydro… and then… I don’t know the last one.” She whispered, shaking her head.

“Anemo.” Xiao finished for her and Aether felt his stomach drop and he wrapped his arm around Xiao, hiding his face in his shoulder. Xiao rubbed Aether’s back, comfortably. “It’ll be alright.” Xiao whispered, “Let’s go to my house. It’s close by and I don’t want to be here anymore…” Xiao suggested.

“You’re house?” Lumine echoed and Xiao nodded his head once, “Are you sure that we should go there?” She glanced around the trees, looking spooked.

“I just want to be someplace where…” Xiao started to explain, but then dropped off as he tried to figure out the right place.

“Someplace you feel safe.” Aether offered and Xiao nodded, Aether raised his head up again and looked at his boyfriend.

He then looked over at his sister who was looking between the two of them. “I get that…” Lumine whispered, “Let’s go.” 

The three highschoolers left the park and Xiao started to lead them towards his house, never once letting go of Aether. Sometimes he would pull the other boy towards him. Aether couldn’t tell if he needed the comfort or if he was trying to comfort Aether, or a mix of both. The walk to his house was quick and nobody said much. Xiao opened the door and ushered them in, Aether took his shoes off and Lumine followed suit. “Go sit down.” Xiao told the two of them as he slipped his shoes off as well. He nodded over to the direction of the living room before he turned and walked into the kitchen.

Aether watched his boyfriend walk off before he turned to look over at his twin. “You gok,” he told Lumine, ignoring the awkward look that crossed Lumine’s face. But she nodded and Aether followed Xiao into the kitchen. “Xiao?” Aether called out 

Xiao was already by the fridge, looking like he was getting some stuff together. As soon as he heard Aether’s voice, Xiao turned to look at him. “Aether… I thought I said for you to go sit down…” Xiao muttered, but he didn’t seem to be too upset. Aether studied the boy, noticing how there were tears in his amber eyes and he tried to force a smile. “I’ll be right there, I promise.”

The blond shook his head as he  walked over to Xiao. “I wanted to check up on you.” He muttered softly and the teal haired man sighed softly. He hugged Xiao and Xiao instantly hugged him back “Are you okay?”

He looked at the teal haired man, his golden eyes wide.  The fake smile turned into a genuine one as Xiao pressed a kiss to Aether’s forehead. “I’m just going to grab some food for us. I’ll be right there. But I think your sister might also be needing some company.” Xiao glanced over to the livingroom.

Aether looked over as well before he looked back at his boyfriend. “But what about you?” Aether asked, pulling away from Xiao. “

Xiao looked away from Aether, taking a moment to reply, “Yea, I will be.” Aether sighed softly, not believing the other’s answer. “I’m going to be alright, Aeth. Go to your sister. I won't be too long.” He pecked Aether’s lips before turning Aether around and leading him out of the room.

The blond boy looked back at him with a frown. He knew that there wasn’t going to be much of a fight. He turned around and walked over to where Lumine was squished up towards the corner of the couch. It was clear that she had never been here before, and she didn’t know what to do. Aether grabbed one of his blankets from a basket next to the couch before he walked to sit down next to her, wrapping the two of them in the blanket. 

The blonde hair girl looked over at him before she moved closer to him, curling into his side, “Kids should feel safe at school.” Lumine whispered and Aether made a noise of agreement. “And… and they shouldn’t have to worry about bombs!”

“Yeah. Bomb’s shouldn’t be anywhere near schools.” He agreed. There was a moment and he looked up as Xiao came back into the living room, a tray of snacks in his hand. “I’m worried about Kazuha, Heizou and Venti,” Aether admitted as he looked at the teal haired man.

Xiao blinked sadly before he nodded. “I am too,” He admitted, looking away from Aether. He sat down next to the two siblings , not too close though. Lumine reached over before grabbing the Television remote, turning on the TV. The blonde haired girl mumbled they should be covering this under her breath.

And it was being covered on television. On every station, Lumine flipped through a few before settling on one. Aether’s golden eyes were trained on the television, and he breathed in sharply. There were so many people surrounding the schools, trying to make sure that all of the schools were safe. Police and volunteers flooded the grounds around the schools.

There must have been a plan or something to get everyone out of the schools, or maybe they deducted which school the bomb was planted in. Hydro highschool had footage of all of the kids running out of the building. Aether watched as parents waiting on the sideline ran up to wrap their kids in tight hugs. Others were escorted to their cars and directed to get out of the parking lot and leave. A lot of the Hydro students looked confused, a lot of them probably not knowing why their finals were interrupted. 

The next school it switched to was Geo High School. Lumine and Aether both watched with bated breath, clutching onto each other as they watched their classmates and schoolmates get ushered out of the class. It was a lot slower than before and he could see that a lot of the kids were panicking and looking around. They must have found out what was going on. Both of the evacuation of the other two schools had ended up taking a few hours.

As the last student got out of the highschool, Aether glanced over at his boyfriend. The tv switched to footage of Anemo high school and Xiao started to shake his head. He got off the couch. The end of school was getting closer. “I’m going to see if I can get in touch with someone.” Xiao muttered, standing up. “I don’t like not knowing.” He avoided eye contact as he pulled out his phone and called a number. They must have picked up, because Xiao called out, “Venti!” Aether forced himself to look at the television and give the tela haired man some space.

He hoped that they figured out what to do with the bomb and that everyone in Anemo highschool was about to get out safe. That all of the kids got to go home and see their parents. It had to be in Anemo highschool. That was the scariest part. There were so many volunteers at this part and parents standing by, pacing as they waited for their kids to get out. Maybe this whole thing was a hoax and there was no bomb. 

“Venti,” Xiao’s voice called, causing Aether to look over at him with concern. “Don’t say shit like that. Don’t you dare say goodbye to me! You are going to be fine,” He begged his friend and Aether blinked away tears that started to form. “I can see on the television they have gotten a lot of kids out of your school. It is going to be fine. You and Heizou will be fine. You have to believe that!” 

The kids started to get restless, and a group of them looked at each other before nodding. They ran across the threshold of the school, ignoring the protocols they had placed and ignoring the screams of their schoolmates asking them to stop. When they didn’t, other kids looked at each other and then everyone started to run away. Aether could see a couple of kids standing at the entrance, ushering everyone out. They both started to send waves of Anemo to push them away from the building. Volunteers moved to get the kids to safety as soon as they could.

Everything happened too soon. Way too soon. They were about to run after their fellow students when the last ones were pushed out. There was a loud noise as an explosion flashed on the screen. One of the two kids that were helping was pushed back with the blast, crashing into some volunteers. Aether watched, waiting for them to move, to get up. But they didn’t. 

“No…” Aether muttered as he stared at the screen, his eyes widening in horror. He threw his end of the blanked at Lumine before he stood up, looking around. “No… they were so close.” He shook his head a few times, not believing that this was the outcome.

His boyfriend was looking at the tv in horror as well. “Venti,” Xiao started to beg, desperation ringing in his voice, “Venti, Please… Please tell me you got out?” Tears were starting to fall down his face. All three of them could only watch the tv, Lumine looking at the other two with wide eyes every now and then but not saying anything. Volunteers tried to make sure that the kids who were out stayed safe and they didn’t get hurt as rubble from the school started to fall down on them. “Venti!” Xiao nearly screamed into the phone when the other didn’t respond.

Aether’s sister gasped, covering her mouth as she started to shake her head. Tears were also starting to roll down her face. “No.” She muttered softly. A choked sob left someone’s lips, Aether didn’t know who. He couldn’t move, his mind not being able to contemplate what was happening. 

His boyfriend suddenly threw his phone down on the ground and the twins looked at him. Tears of frustration were rolling down his cheek. “I got disconnected!” He cried out in anger, “I… What if I was on the phone with Venti during his last moments?”

Aether felt a shiver roll through his body. Lumine stood up and walked over to Xiao. “Xiao, I am so sorry,” Lumine whispered. Aether watched as she hugged him, a feeling of shame and disgust filling him. He should be the one comforting Xiao, but he couldn’t. He wanted to move to hug the other, but he couldn’t move an inch. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, no no no no,” Xiao muttered, hugging her back. “Please, no.” He hid his face into her shoulder and Aether watched the two of them. Everything was too much, the world seemed too loud, everything seemed wrong. Aether couldn’t get himself to move, let alone get him to think straight. He didn’t know if he could get himself to breathe and function.

Why was he feeling this way?

The sound of the door opening caused Xiao and Lumine to jump at the nose, but Aether still didn’t move. Zhongli came into the house, looking around and Lumine let go of Xiao, moving back, looking down at the ground.

As Zhongli came into view, the look on his face was something that Aether thought he would never see on the man’s face. He looked completely defeated. There was fear and worry running through his eyes. As soon as his eyes landed on his cousin, he threw whatever he was carrying down and the ground and ran over, pulling the teal haired man into a tight hug, squeezing his cousin.

The boy hugged the brown haired man back, squeezing him back tightly, clinging onto him for dear life. “Zhongli…” Xiao muttered softly, taking in a deep breath.

Zhongli started to shake his head as he pulled back to look at his cousin, looking him over. “You are safe. Thank god you are safe.” He whispered before looking at the other two kids in the room. He smiled, and Aether didn’t know if he knew they were there when he came in or if it just registered they were also there. “All of you. I was so scared and so worried when I heard what was going on. I am so sorry that you had to go through that.”

“We didn’t go to school.” Xiao muttered under his breath, and Zhongli turned back to look at him, confusion in his eyes, “We weren’t near the school when it happened. Thank god we weren’t near the school.” 

Lumine nodded her head in agreement while Zhongli studied the trio. It seems to be news to him as he tilted his head to the side. “You didn't go to school?” He asked, looking back over at Xiao. The teal haired boy quickly shook his head. “That is so unlike you,” he commented, blinking a few times.

Xiao was going to get in trouble. And it was his fault. Xiao looked at the twins before back at his cousin, and suddenly all three kids started to talk at the same time.

“Don’t be mad!” Xiao pleaded with him, taking a few steps away from Zhongli.

“It was my idea,” Lumine insisted, taking in a shaky breath as she shifted in her spot.

“It was my fault, be mad at me please if you’re going to be mad.” Aether moved closer to Xiao, offering his hand to Xiao. Xiao looked at it before holding it, squeezing Aether’s hand comfortingly. 

Zhongli looked between all of the kids with a soft smile on his face. He shook his head a little bit. “I’m not mad,” He reassured them. “I am just so glad that you are all alright.”

Aether and Lumine looked at each other, not sure what to say. Aether hoped that their father would feel the same. He hoped they wouldn’t get in trouble, and that their mother never found out. He swears that women would find a way to pin this all on Aether. 

The kids stayed quiet. “So,” Zhongli asked, looking around, “Why did you skip? I promise I won’t get mad, I am just wondering.” The tone of the man was so calm and collected as he glanced between the kids.

Xiao coughed softly, “Aether needed a mental health day,” he explained and Zhongli nodded his head, “Lumine was the one who suggested it. We all skipped in order to keep him company.”

Zhongli blinked before he looked over at Aether.

The blond boy bit his lip as he waited to see what the other was going to say. “A mental health day,” he stated calmly. He was looking at Aether with a calculating look. “Why would you need a mental health day?” He asked.

Aether took in a deep breath as he tried to search for the explanation needed. “I…” He stated before going silent. His mind had gone blank, it had been such a long day and he couldn’t think straight anymore. He shook his head slightly, not sure what to do.

Xiao looked at his boyfriend that was struggling before looking back over at Zhongli. “He didn’t receive a letter,” Xiao offered up. Aether felt himself freezing up.  “Despite the fact that both Lumine and I did.”

Aether stared at Zhongli, wondering if he could get some type of answers from the other. He felt himself watching his expression to see if he could figure out what was missing. “Of course…” The man whispered, nodding his head, but didn’t say anything else. He didn’t look confused at all. So there really wasn’t a letter for Aether out there.

A loud sound came from the television. Everyone slowly turned to look at it while a man walked up to a podium featured on the television. He was one of the higher ups in the city. He was in charge for looking after all of the 7 highschools. He looked around with sadness shining in his eyes. “Our heart goes out to the families of Anemo high.” He called out. Lumine walked over and grasped Aether’s shoulder. He looked over at her but didn’t say anything. “Nobody should ever go through the pain of losing a child, or Children losing their friends. Our Children should feel safe in our schools.” Lumine nodded her head in agreement to what he was saying, an angry look on her face.  “We have failed to protect them from the Abyss Order recently, massively so. Due to these attacks, we will be issuing new rules that will go into effect. Meant to protect our children so attacks like these wont happen again.”

Aether looked over at his twin and watched as she stared at the screen, confusion and fear laid thick through the room. “DId someone die?” Lumine asked as she looked around to everyone else who looked just as confused as Aether felt. 

A pained look crossed over the teal haired boy. “I hope that Venti is okay.” He glanced at Aether who slowly looked back up at him. He coughed softly, “And Kazuha… and Heizou…” 

Something told Aether that wasn’t the case. 

But before anyone could speculate further, the man on the TV continued. “Geo, Anemo and Hydro High will all go on break starting now. Winter break will be extended by a week for all schools. We will have trained officers in the school. Anemo high students will be split up to continue their learning at the different highschools around the city as we rebuild the school.” The man’s gaze scanned the crowd that was there live. 

The blond covered his mouth as he continued to watch the television in horror and Lumine hugged him tighter, hiding her face in her shoulder. “Will that even help?” Xiao muttered under his breath. 

“They will be looking for any types of dangers. The bombs were put in the school in the middle of the night. Now we will be installing new alarms to be put in each school. Today, at 8 PM, a new curfew will be set for all of our Children under the age of 18. Indefinitely. To protect the kids who are training at our schools, we will also be providing tactics to help them in case they are ambushed.”

Xiao’s phone started to ring again and he bent down to grab his phone, he looked at the screen. Aether watched as a wave of emotions washed over his face and Xiao quietly excused himself out of the room.

Zhongli watched Xiao leave as well before he looked at the twins. The man on the TV stepped away from the microphone as a lot of people started throwing questions at him. “I don't want any of you going out alone,” he told them, “If you leave and go anywhere, please use a car to travel.” The twins didn’t say anything after he asked that, looking at each other.

The phone call wasn’t long and Xiao came back into the room, tears were streaming down his eyes. He looked over at Aether and the blond felt his stomach drop again. “They…” Xiao started and he coughed as he wasn’t sure what to say.

Aether shook his head, he knew what Xiao was going to say. There was only one reason the other was crying like that. “No…” He muttered softly, grasping. “Please no.” 

His boyfriend’s gaze softened and he looked over at Lumine who had a worried look on her face as well. “Heizou and Venti are both in the Hospital…. That was Venti’s mother. That kid that you saw thrown backwards was Heizou…”

Aether bit his bottom lip as he shook his head. “No.” He repeated. It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t.

Xiao stopped for a second , trying to get Aether’s attention. When the blond boy finally looked back up at him. “They can’t find Kazuha either. It’s not looking good.”  Aether wrapped his arms around Xiao’s neck and hugged him tightly, tears running down his face. He didn’t know what to do. He really didn't.

Zhongli watched the three kids with an exhausted look on his face. He sighed softly. “I am so sorry.” He whispered, but it was unclear if any of them heard him.

Chapter Text

The blond felt so numb, so scared. A wave of sadness felt like it would swallow him whole as the reality stared Aether dead in the face.

If the Abyss Order can go after a whole school of students, did go after a whole school, what else could they do? The boy really doubted that the group was going to stop now. How far would they go in order to get to their goal?

There was a persistent stabbing pain in his chest, worry fighting its way up inside of him as he stared at nothing in particular. It honestly felt like all hope was gone at this point. There was nothing to look forward to. 

He just lost someone who he considered as a close friend. And sure, maybe he didn’t know the three Anemo students for that long. But that could be said for Xiao too, and Xiao was a huge part of his life now.  Maybe they didn’t get to hang out as often as he and Gorou did. But they were still his friends. They would still hang out any chance their schedules lined up. One in particular had become someone that Aether really treasured, was really glad they were in his life. They weren’t complete and total strangers any more. Maybe Venti was, sure. But Heizou and especially Kazuha? They weren’t anywhere near just strangers, he felt like he could call each one of them his friends. He wouldn’t give those moments he was able to hang out with them up for the world.

After the news had dropped, Lumine and Aether had stayed at Xiao’s house for what felt like a long time. Zhongli wouldn’t let them out of his sight until he knew they were okay. Lumine was trying to be there for both the boys. Aether wished he could be there for Xiao. Wished he could also try to comfort the other. But he was just a shell of himself.

It felt as if the news affected him harder than Xiao, which wasn’t fair. These were some of Xiao’s closest friends. He could see the way that his boyfriend was breaking, how Xiao was trying to stay strong. For what? Aether didn’t know. It couldn’t be for him. Aether wanted to reach out to Xiao, to tell him that everything was going to be okay.

But if the blond boy didn’t believe that himself, how could he convince Xiao?

After realizing that there wasn’t more that he could do and that they needed time, Zhongli insisted on driving the twins home. It was a couple of hours before the curfew started. Xiao didn’t come with them, at some point he had gone up to his room without saying goodbye. Aether remembered watching from the couch, trying to force himself to stand up and follow Xiao. But he didn’t and the regret and pain added on to the mountain of emotions Aether was already feeling.

The short drive home was filled with more of the same silence that surrounded Aether, his golden eyes staring out the window. Staring out at nothing. His mind felt blank. He didn’t even register when they got to the house, Lumine had to elbow him in the side in order to get his attention.

The two walked up to the house, Lumine unlocking the door when she noticed that neither of their parents were there before she escorted Aether in. The teenager  walked into the empty house slowly as his twin looked after with a concern etched on her face.. 

Aether took off his shoes silently and threw his backpack to the side. For a couple of seconds, Aether continued to stare at it. He knew deep down that the bag wouldn’t be moving anytime soon. There wouldn’t be school, and he didn’t feel the need to take it to his bedroom.

A hand patted his shoulder, and he slowly turned to look at Lumine, showing no reaction. She looked taken aback before forcing a smile on her face. “I’m going to go make sure that Mom or dad aren’t here.” She told him before walking out of the room and further into the house.

Aether watched her leave, not giving any signs that he even comprehend what she had just said. He could hear her moving around, sometimes hearing her call out for either one of their parents. It took a while before the blond made his way over to the couch, sinking down and staring at the living room wall.  

“Aeth?” Lumine’s voice called out as the girl made her way back into the living room. She glanced over to where her brother was and a sad look appeared on her face.  “Are you alright?”

She walked over and the couch sank in next to him as she sat down, pulling the blond boy into a tight hug. She rested her head on top of his. “I-” Aether managed to whisper, trying to get his thoughts together. Was he going to be okay? “They…” A haunted look passed through his golden eyes as he stared at the wall. “They are going to get away with this…” There was no way that they could be caught now.  The Abyss Order successfully targeted a school, three schools even, and got away with it. There will be no justice for any of the kids that they have killed. “And for what?” He asked as he raised his voice. “Just for a kid? They are hurting so many people Lu,”  anger filled his tone, he rubbed his face angrily,  “and… and I don’t understand it… I really don’t…”  Aether’s voice died down to a whisper. 

The girl rubbed the boy’s back gently. “I know…” She whispered softly, searching her brother’s face. “I know… I don’t understand it either. But, what kind of world would it be if they don’t get what is coming to them? Eventually karma has to catch up with them.” There was so much hope in her voice, so much trust. 

The teenanger knew this world. He knew how unfair it can be. He knew how easily it was for people to get away with horrible things. Aether  shook his head. “But they hurt our friends,” Aether stressed out. “They hurt people who were close to me and Xiao… I.. I can’t-” The boy started shaking as he thought about today’s events. “I… What am I supposed to do?” His boyfriend came to his mind, “And what am I supposed to say to Xiao?” He felt like he failed Xiao, he didn’t try hard enough. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do.

His sister straightened up before running a hand through his hair gently.Aether finally looked at her as she gave him a comforting smile. “Aether…. Kazuha, Venti and Heizou will be alright.” There was so much hope, but Aether couldn’t allow him to believe it. “You don’t have to worry about them. They have to be alright. If anything, all you have to do is just be there for Xiao. Let him know that you are there for him.”

Aether blinked back tears, or maybe he didn’t. He couldn’t tell anymore. “What if I can’t be?” The blond muttered, fear filling him up. What if he’s so affected by this attack himself he can’t be there for Xiao when he needs him the most. “What if they aren’t okay?” A disbelieving look crossed Lumine’s face and Aether shook his head, There was no guarantee they were alright. The explosion was huge. To survive that? “This isn’t a fairy tale. As much as I want them to be okay, it doesn’t work that way, Lumine.” He felt the frustration, fear, and hopelessness rolling off of him in waves.

The blonde watched her brother, sadness and fear in her own eyes. She scooted away from the boy before looking down at the ground. “I know…” she whispered softly. Aether shook his head, she obviously didn’t know. “But… we have to have faith, right? We have to have hope.” She stressed, pain in her voice. “If we don’t have that, then what do we have left?”

That question hit Aether deep in his stomach. What did they have left?

They were only Highschool students. They couldn’t do anything! At least nothing yet. They had to wait if they wanted to help. Lumine was staring at him, waiting for the answer. “I don’t know.” He admitted softly. “They have taken so much from us.” 

“I really hate the Abyss Order,” Lumine hissed as she got off the couch, pacing around the room. “I really don’t…” The girl took in a deep breath before looking away. She stared at her brother before shaking her head and looked over at the kitchen. “I’m going to go find something for us to eat.” She then turned before leaving the room.

Aether watched her go. The blond boy was left alone again. His heart hurt as he stared after his twin. The room fell empty until his phone started to ring. The blond boy jumped at the sudden noise. He sat there, confused before it registered what was happening. Aether brought out his phone before placing it up to his ear. “Hello?” He called, unsure of who was going to be on the other end.

 Aether scooted to the side of the couch, bringing his legs up next to him. “Is this Aether?” A voice asked. The blond boy sucked in a breath. Who was this? How did they get his number? He didn’t usually get calls from people he didn’t know. “Kazuha’s friend?” They clarified.

It felt like the world stopped spinning when he heard those words. This was about Kazuha… but who was calling? Now that the teenanger thought about it, the voice started to sound familiar to him, but he couldn’t put a face to it just yet. “Yes….” He responded, cautiously. He hoped this was a call saying that everything was alright. Hopefully this was good news and not bad news. “Is… is he-” He started to ask but stopped, not sure what else to say.

The other man on the other end of the phone sighed softly as he listened to the start of Aether’s question. The blond could feel the sorrow and hints of anger in the other’s voice.  “He-” The other began to explain, trying to keep his voice calm and collected. Aether jumped when he heard a loud bang noise that came from the other side of the phone, “What the fuck Childe!” The boy yelled. Suddenly it clicked. Aether knew who was on the other end of the phone call. “I know that this is a fucking sensitive topic, I’m not stupid!” 

Aether felt a slight smile appear on his face. Somehow, it was nice to hear the other’s voice. “Then don’t lie to him!” A voice called out, muffled from the other end of the phone.

“I’m not going to-” The other boy started to say, a huge sigh leaving their lips, “Who the f-”

Aether closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “Scara…” He whispered as he tried to ground himself, “How is Kazuha?” He might as well get to the point instead of listening to Scara and Ajax fighting. That also must be the reason the other called him right now. Scara had gone silent while Ajax was still trying to pick a fight. “Is he safe?” The blond boy added on.  Part of him wanted to hope that since the two friends were fighting like kids, that he was alright. That if something bad happened the two would be more civil to each other.

There was suddenly silence from the other side of the phone. Before one of Aether’s worst nightmares happened, “He is not okay,” Scara informed the other, frustrated. Aether gasped out in pain, his freehand covering his mouth. His golden eyes squeezed tightly as he tried to force himself not to burst out crying. “Sorry!” Scara suddenly cried out, panic in his voice. Aether’s eyes flew open, and he tried to keep his breath even, “I shouldn’t have said it like that. He wasn’t a part of the attack.”

Aether tilted his head to the side. Confusion rushed through him as he took in a shaky breath. How was that even possible? “But… I saw Anemo High-”

Scara groaned on the other end and Aether shut up, “Aether… if you interrupt me, You won’t be able to get the full information.” Scara pleaded with him. The blond nodded his head, not taking into account that Scara couldn’t see him. He blinked the tears from his eyes. He could tell that Scara was trying so hard not to be mean or harsh, despite how his tone of voice came across. “He didn’t go to school today.” Aether made a confused face. Why would Kazuha skip school? “When he learned that the letters for Celestia went out today-”

The story was starting to sound familiar. Aether’s eyes widened. Kazuha probably didn’t get an acceptance letter… but if he didn’t get a letter did that mean… “He didn’t receive a letter, rejection or acceptance.” Aether whispered, the answer

Scara groaned loudly again at Aether’s interruption. “Aether.” He called out, a warning tone in his voice.

The blond boy blinked a few times before Aether smiled awkwardly. He just realized that what he said could have seemed rude. “Sorry…” Aether whispered. “I didn’t mean to.” 

Scara huffed softly, still sounding a bit annoyed. “But no. He did not receive one.” The other boy confirmed with Aether. The boy tilted his head to the side, confused about that. Why would Kazuha of all people not receive a letter? Did Aether himself ruin Kazuha’s chance, since Kazuha went right after Aether? There was a sinking feeling in the boy’s gut. “He met with Childe and instead of going to school to ask if our letters were delayed when we had received ours last year.”

The blond boy scrunched up his face. “Why?” Aether asked, hoping that his confusion would carry over the phone. Was there a certain condition that caused letters to be delayed? Aether knew he probably shouldn’t be asking this, that this could be something personal. But he wanted to know about his own letter. He wanted a reason.

There was a silence over the phone for a couple of seconds as if Scara was trying to figure what he can or cannot say to the other boy. “Because…” Scara finally responded, his voice sounding stressed, a warning for Aether not to push that question

Well, the blond boy knew that he had to respect that.  Aether sighed softly. “Well, were your letters delayed?” Was that something that Scara would answer? And now, knowing that Kazuha was safe, it felt as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

“No.” Scara responded simply. “Kazuha is here with us right now. But, he is not mentally well. He just watched his school blow up with two of his closest friends inside,” Aether made a face, he knew that feeling. Almost. “And then two of his other friends were trapped in a school,” Aether coughed, awkwardly, knowing that at some point he had to explain what Xiao and the twins were doing that day. Scara stopped talking, and sighed again. “What, Aether?”

“Uh…” Aether reached up and tucked the edge of his hair behind his ear. He licked his lips nervously. “We didn’t…exactly go to school… Xiao and I.”

A loud sigh of relief flooded through the phone, catching Aether off guard. There was silence between the two for a second. “So, are you ok?” Scaramouche asked, his voice softer. “You and Xiao? And that other friend of yours that I sometimes see around?”

Aether smiled bitterly as he heard that question. “I think Gorou was so far removed from the scene, he was at Geo University today… But Xiao and I? No.” Scara made a noise of frustration, “we just watched our friends' school attacked,” Aether pointed out. He felt that he could hear the other male roll his eyes on the other end of the house. “We knew nothing about how they were doing for the longest time. Or what happened. All we know that two are in the hospital, and one was missing… until now..” His voice felt tight with pain as he remembered the fear from just a little bit before.

Before a response came from Scara, there was the sound of shuffling from the other end of the phone. “Aether.” A new voice called out. Aether froze. There was more noise as Lumine walked into the room, a sandwich in her hand. She stared at Aether before walking over to where he was.

The girl offered the sandwich to Aether and he paused before taking it. “Kazuha,” he responded, and Lumine gasped softly when she heard the name, “Are you alright?”

Kazuha laughed in pain when he heard that. “No.” He whispered, “It is going to be a long time before I’m okay again… I just got the phone call,” The boy took in a deep breath and Aether felt his stomach twist.  “Venti died. They..,. They couldn’t… He was barely alive when he reached the-”

He was trying to rattle on, trying to collect his thoughts. Panic was filling his voice. “Dont,” Aether stopped him. “You don’t have to continue.” His phone started to shake as fear shined in his eyes. Aether grasped the bottom of his hand, trying to stop it. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“Hei,” Kazuha continued, his voice starting to shake, “Hei is still in critical condition. They aren’t hopeful.” Aether took a shaky breath.

Lumine gently tapped Aether’s shoulder to try and get his attention before sitting down next to her. Aether looked over at his twin. “Is everything alright?” She whispered softly with sorrow in her eyes. Aether blinked before slowly shaking his head. “Is Kazuha alright?” She asked again and he shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t truly know about that. Were any of them okay? Are they ever going to be okay? 

Kazuha continued to explain, and the pale blond said something that sent chills through the golden blond boy. “Venti and Hei- They were the last two students in school,” Kazuha whispered. It sounded like the other boy couldn’t believe it.“They refused to go until everyone was out of the school. They were both trying to use their powers to get more people out. In the end, it was just them and the teachers left.”

Meaning they had almost gotten away. The blond boy covered his face. “How many…” Aether started, not sure if he wanted to know the answer to his question. At the same time he needed to know, “How many students got hurt?” What if they had tried so hard to get everyone out. What if it was all for not. Somehow that outcome would make everything worse.

Kazuha stayed silent for a while before a sigh left his lips “One student and most of the teachers were hurt, about half of the teachers could still walk. One student and a handful of teachers were killed.” Kazuha whispered softly. “It was mostly the teachers that got hurt.” Aether breathed in deeply. “The volunteers did well to make sure everyone else was safe but…”

The blond fell silent. He wanted to feel angry and wanted to blame someone. But who could he blame, aside from the Abyss Order? The scared kids who couldn’t wait? If he was in their position, could he have waited? Was it even them that set off the bomb? What if it was a timer that started as soon as the first person escaped.

Another question remained though. One that Aether spoke, “Why would they do this?” Aether muttered softly. “If they are looking for the missing prince, why would they go after innocent kids.”

Kazuha laughed bitterly. “Because they are the bad guys.” The male whispered, as if it was as simple as that. As if it was black and white. And maybe it was.

There was a scoff from Kazuha’s sign. Scara must have still been listening to the conversation after Kazuha took the phone from him.  “I am going to fucking find who the fuck did this. I swear to the archons, they won't make it out in one piece. I will show them how fucking sorry they can be.” Just by listening to the other’s voice, Aether could tell that he was serious and a shiver went through his body.

“Scara!” Kazuha called out, fear in his voice, that he could lose his best friend.  “You can’t do that! The Abyss order is too big for just one person.” 

Aether slowly shook his head. He agreed with Scara. “They have to be taken down, “ the blond insisted, “they have to pay for what they did. They can’t get away with this.”

“Eventually they will face the consequences of their actions ,” Kazuha agreed, a pleading tone t0 his voice “But the two of you can’t do shit right now. They sent two of the strongest kids in my school to the hospital. What do you think you can do to them? What will they do to you for even trying?”

Aether paused, he knew that was true, but part of him didn’t care. He didn’t care what would happen to himself if he went after them right now. But he knows he might fail if he tried right now. “I don’t care.” Scaramouche hissed. Everything that was weighing down on Aether suddenly became too much. Tears rolled down his eyes as he dropped his phone, his whole body shaking. Lumine instantly wrapped her arms around her brother without a second thought. The blond’s arms shakily rose to hug her back. 

The only noise in the room was Aether’s cries. Loud sobs that raked through his body that he couldn’t hold back anymore. His twin sister was whispering It will be okay, rubbing his back, trying to calm him down. It had to be okay. She was trying to convince him and herself at the same time. Her voice was broken, and tears were also running down her cheeks. Aether had never felt as small as he did right now

The front door swung open, banging against the side of the wall. Their father came racing into the room, throwing his stuff down. His eyes looked around the room frantically before they landed on his children.

Lumine looked up at her father before letting Aether go and quickly getting up off the couch. Aether slowly turned to look over at him as well, it took him a bit before he stood up next to his sister. His golden eyes looked down at the ground with a frown appearing on his face. His father rushed forward and his arms instantly wrapped around Aether, squeezing him tightly. Shocked, the blond boy hugged his father back before burying his face into the older man’s chest. It was only a few seconds though before the older man pulled away, moving to hug his daughter as well. 

“Thank the fucking Archons you are safe,”The man whispered, looking over at his son.  Aether could see the fear and pain written all over the man’s face. Showing just how long he had to endure not knowing if his kids were alright. 

Aether wrapped his arms around himself, watching his father as soft whimpers left his lips. He was trying to calm down, but he couldn’t convince his mind he was safe. “How…How can… How could…” He couldn’t get the question out.

He was lucky that his father knew him well as a disgusted look crossed his face. “People are sick,” His father interrupted him. “We don’t know why they think that it was okay for them to do this, but trust me Aether. It wasn’t okay. This should never have happened.” 

Lumine looked at their father with a concerned look on his face. She tilted her head to the side as she opened her mouth but thought against it and shook her head. Aether watched her with a confused look. “Lu?” He managed to whisper out.

Lumine looked at Aether before looking back at their father. Aether couldn’t read how she was feeling. Aether blinked a few times. “Is this the missing Royal’s fault?” She asked.  Aether gulped, ready to hear their father say no, for their father to ask what missing royal. Anything.

It was just a theory, after all.

But, no. “No!” Their father loudly cried out with anger and pain. A lot faster than a normal response would be. His father coughed awkwardly as he realized that, looking away from her real quick.

The blonde girl shared an unimpressed look with her twin before she looked over at them again. “But…” 

The man shook his head firmly. Lumine shut her mouth and looked away from them. “The missing royal had no say in h- their father’s decision to give them up. It was their father who decided to get out of the Abyss Order as well. They were not even born yet when their father died. The child has no idea of their true identity.”

“But they are still killing trying to find the missing Royal.” Lumine pointed out. The blond boy couldn’t say anything, didn’t know what to say. He knew that if he was the missing royal, he would feel like the biggest shit in history. So much responsibility for the abyss killing laid on their shoulders.  “They aren’t going to stop until they find them.”

Their father pulled away from her and raised his hand to his mouth. “It’s not their fault,” he reiterated as he sighed heavily, “The abyss order is a bunch of sick people. They are the ones that think it is okay to hurt children for their selfish gain. It is them that will eventually face the archons after life. Not the poor Royal who has no say in this matter.” 

Lumine crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one side. She looked like she didn’t believe what the other man was saying. “Why do you sound like you are trying to convince me?” The girl asked, “You’re trying so hard. As if you’re trying to influence how the missing Royal thinks. How do you know so much about the Royal?” She asked, challenging what her father was saying.

The blond boy nodded his head in agreement. It felt as if there was a bit of the story being left out. The details his father was bringing up, it made it sound like the male knew who the Royal was. It didn’t make sense to the boy.

Their father smiled sadly, looking at the girl. There was so much that was shown in his eyes, and yet nothing at all.  “One day… The royal will start to have the same questions. “ He whispered softly.

Lumine made a face at the answer. It raised more questions than it did answer. She stared at him unimpressed for a couple of moments. “That doesn’t really answer my question though. Does it Dad?” She responded with a snap, raising an eyebrow up at him.

Aether tilted his head to the side as he watched the male, waiting to see what he had to say. “It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what you think. Or what everyone else thinks. But there has to be someone out there that can reassure the pri- the Roya that it was not their fault.” Their father insisted.

“Why?” Lumine pushed.

The man sucked on his cheek as he stared at the girl before shaking his head. “When they finally find out their identity, they might not understand that it wasn’t their fault. The guilt over something they had no control over could eat them alive.  Maybe I’m not trying to convince you, but I’m trying to point out the facts. As for your last question, that is something that you do not need to know at this time.” That made no sense to Aether. The blond boy looked at his twin to see what she was going to say to that.

The girl’s face fell when she heard the male’s answer as she stared at him in shock. “What?” She asked, “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t we need to know that answer?”

The man gave her an unimpressed look, the world filling with silence for a split second before he closed his eyes. “It doesn’t concern you, Lumine,” He insisted with a warning tone, showing he was done with the topic.

But Lumine wasn’t done.And if there was one thing about Lumine, she liked to push. “Do you know who they are?” The girl demanded, “It sounds to me like you do.”  

“Lumine,” The man sighed softly, shaking his head with an unbelieving laugh, “Of course I don’t know who they are. Or where they are. There are only a few handful of people who would know any information about the Royal. Why would I be one of them?” Their father pointed out, before turning to look at Aether for the first time since he started talking about the Royal and he smiled at his son.

The girl tsked softly and he glanced back at his daughter with a tired expression. “But it’s like… you seem to be assuming a lot of things about the Royal. Like their personality. What if they don’t feel sorry for the kids that were killed while the abyss was looking for them?” She asked.

Aether bit his cheek gently, that was true. What kind of person was the Royal? “It would take a really low person to not think this was their fault,” Their father responded, but Aether knew that wasn’t the case. Many people would feel bad but not assume it was their fault. “Everyone I know is trying to pin this on them.”

“But what if they are narcissists?” Lumine counted, raising an eyebrow as if she felt she just got the male.

The male rubbed his face , “Lumine,” he warned again, “Don’t…” 

Lumine pursed her lips, tilting her head to the side with a defying look on her face. “Don’t what?” She asked, her voice raising, “Don’t go poking around? Why shouldn’t I? Will I find an answer that I don’t like?” She pushed and their father opened his mouth to say something.

Before he could, a loud knock echoed around the room from the front door. Everyone fell silent as their father whipped his head around to look at the door. Fear showed in his eyes as he glanced at the two children. Lumine didn’t move her glance, staring the male down and Aether shifted uncomfortably.  

He glanced over at the door, wondering who was here at this time. He glanced back to everyone that was still there. I’ll go get it.” The boy muttered, wanting nothing more than to get out of the room and away from them.

The blond boy started to walk towards the front door. “STOP!” His father yelled loudly. Aether stopped moving and turned to look over at him with a confused look. “Don’t.” The man begged him. “I’ll get it.” He then started to walk through the door and Aether stood where he was looking around awkwardly. 

Lumine scoffed awkwardly as the older man passed her and he turned to look at his daughter. “Why can’t Aether get it?” She questions as she gestured towards her twin. Aether glanced at the door, curious. What was on the other side of the door that his father didn’t want him to encounter?

The man sighed, closing his eyes for a couple seconds trying to calm himself down. “The abyss order is out attacking Highschoolers,” he pointed out and she glared at him, not showing she got where he was coming from. “They will be trying different ways to find the Royal.”

Aether made a face as he figured out what the man was insinuating. Would they really stoop so low to attack people in their own house? “So?” Lumine asked, obviously not thinking the same thing as her brother.

Their father sighed and looked up at the ceiling before looking back at his kids again. “If this is the abyss order, I do not want either of you to get hurt,” The man explained, shaking his head. “We do not know who is on the other side of the door, while I am better equip to defend myself, so I’ll go.”  He started to head towards the door again.

Lumine made a noise of disgust at their father’s explanation. “Are you saying that we are weak?” Lumine called after him, straightening her posture as she said that before she looked at Aether with a question of can you believe him in her eyes.

“I’m saying that you are still children,” the man responded, looking over his shoulder, “Lumine please, don’t make this a problem. There is nothing more than me wanting to protect my children.”

He continued walking after saying that and Lumine followed him with her eyes. Aether shifted uncomfortable as he watched him leave. “He’s paranoid.” Lumine whispered, moving closer to her twin.

Aether nodded his head in agreement. There was something on his father’s mind, he really didn’t want his children to get hurt. “But why?” Aether asked, looking back at her.

The man sighed as he obviously heard his kids' comments. He was right by the door and he turned to look at the twins. “Maybe he doesn’t want to see his kids hurt?” He called out to them, raising an eyebrow before shaking his head in disbelief and opening the door. 

Luminne shook her head, glancing at their father, “The last attack must have really gotten to him,” she whispered. It really has, seeing as the way that he was reacting to them.

The man sighed in defeat, but before he could say anything, someone came running into the room, dodging behind their father. “Aether!” A loud voice called out and started to head straight towards the blond.

Said blond flinched, his eyes growing wide before arms wrapped around him tightly, hugging Aether. Aether awkwardly hugged the other back, realizing that it was his best friend. “Gorou?” He asked in shock as he noticed another person appearing, talking to their father. “What are you doing here?”

Lumine was staring at the boy as well with a confused look on her face, tilting her head to the side. “You mean I can’t come by to check on my best friend?” Gorou asked as a pout appeared on his face, “I just wanted to make sure that you were Okay man. Mom and Dad said that it was okay if I came over here. I really needed to know if you were alright.” 

Aether sighed softly, closing his eyes. He must have heard about the attacks. It made sense, he would probably be asking why he didn’t have to go to school tomorrow.  “You must have heard then.” He muttered and Gorou nodded his head. A look of pure terror passed his face for a split second. If Aether had blinked he would have missed

Gorou hugged Aether tiger, a sigh leaving his lips. “I don’t know what I would do with myself if something had happened to you.” He whispered. Aether held the other back just as tightly, he shared the same feeling towards Gorou. “I am so glad that you are safe.” 

Aether smiled softly at his friend and shook his head slowly. He knew that he wasn’t, but he didn’t think he could tell Gorou that. He pulled away from the hug, smiling at his friend. “Yeah,” he muttered softly, “I’m alright.”  He thought that would be it, but Gorou was giving him a look and Aether tilted his head to the side in confusion. “What?”

Gorou looked him up and down with a deep frown appearing on his face. Aether should have known the brown haired man always knew what was going on with his best friend.  “You don’t look alright, Aether,” the brown haired boy pointed out, “And nor would anyone expect you to be alright either.” 

Gorou’s parent stopped talking to Aether’s dad before turning and leaving the house. The twin’s father sighed as he shut the door. He stood there for a second before turning towards the living room and going over to the kids. He glanced between his two children before sighing again. “Are you two okay if Gorou spends the night?” He asked, as he placed down a backpack and watched the three teenagers. 

Aether looked at his father excitedly. He would give anything to be able to spend time with his friend. It would mean the world to him if he could have his friend be here. The blond boy was about to open his mouth to say yes, but Lumine spoke up before, a distrusting look in her eyes, “Aren’t you too afraid that he might be from the abyss order?” She sassed her father, placing a hand on her hip.

Aether’s eyes shifted to a look of sadness while an offended look appeared on Gorou’s face. The father looked at the boys before giving a warning look to his daughter. “Lumine…” the adult warned.

Gorou must have realized that he must be missing something. The boy looked over at his best friend to try and figure out the missing piece of information. “What’s that about?” He asked, nodding over to Lumine. Aether gave his sister a look, not wanting this to be messed up because Lumine decided to be difficult.

Lumine rolled her eyes at her brother, before looking back at their father, looking at him with a defiant look in her eyes. “I mean, you are so paranoid that someone will come up to the door. At our house. Where we are supposed to be safe,” she pointed out, gesturing over to the door, “but we were supposed to be safe at school, right? Yet the schools were still attacked, right? What if our friend we have known for years-”

An annoyed look crossed the male's face as he stared at the girl. “LUMINE!” Their father called out in anger before he grabbed the girl’s arm before pulling her out of the room. She struggled in his grasp as he led her way to a place they could talk without the other two boys hearing them. 

Aether sighed in dismay before looking back at his friend who was looking around with a confused look on his face. “I’m sorry,” he muttered softly, stepping closer to the other again. He really hoped that Gorou wasn’t offended by Lumine. But he would get it. The brown haired boy was still watching the place that Lumine and her father had disappeared. “Lumine-”

Gorou turned back to look back at Aether, raising an eyebrow.“I’m not from the abyss order,” The brown haired boy interrupted him. He looked like he was afraid that Aether wouldn’t believe him. “I would never do those things to kids,” betrayal shown in his eyes. He didn’t know how anyone could believe that he was in the Abyss Order. Especially someone who he was close with like Lumine.

Aether patted his shoulder gently, giving his friend the best smile that he could muster. “I know,” the blond boy insisted before glancing back at the spot, “Lumine knows that you aren’t in the order as well,” He insisted.

His best friend pursed his lips as he tilted his head to the side. “Then why was she saying that I wasn’t?” He asked in confusion. That might be a bit hard to explain to his friend. If he had been there when Lumine and his father were bickering, then maybe Gorou would have gotten it. 

He stared off in space for a while before looking back at Gorou with concern in his eyes. “I think it’s her way of dealing,” he explained, looking away sadly. “And I think that Dad knows a lot more than what he says he knows.”

Gorou tilted his head to the side, blinking his eyes a couple of times, not really following what the boy was trying to say. “What do you mean by that?” Gorou asked in confusion.

The blond quickly shook his head, trying to figure out a good way to explain to his friend while Gorou watched Aether, ready to hear the explanation “He was trying to let us know that it wasn’t the missing Royal’s fault the kids were hurt-” Aether started before he saw the look Gorou was giving him.

The brown haired boy looked taken aback. “Of fucking course its not their fault!” Gorou cried in outrage, Aether took a step back from his friend and the boy made a face. “Who would even think that it was their fault? They have no idea what is going on! And if the Royal was, I don’t know, let’s say Lumine, why would anyone pin that on her?” He cried, gesturing over to where they had left. “She didn’t make the Order hurt those kids. The Abyss Order should feel ashamed for what they did. Grown adults killing innocent kids” He ran his hands through his short brown hair as he took in a breath to calm himself down.

Not knowing what to say, Aether stared at Gorou in shock. He could see where the other was coming from. “Yeah…” He whispered softly, “I think Lumine is just hurt and confused,” He muttered softly, figuring he still had to explain his twin’s behavior. “She wants to feel safe. But My dad is paranoid. He’s making it hard for her to feel safe here…” 

The blond boy shrugged his shoulders, an uncomfortable look on his face. Gorou stared at his best friend with a confused look.“What do you mean by that?” Aether’s best friend whispered, “Why is your dad paranoid?”

Aether puffed out his cheeks, moving back to sit on the couch. He tried to think about a good reason that his father was acting paranoid. “Well… uh… I don’t know.” He admitted, “He’s acting like anything that comes through that door is going to hurt us,” he gestured to the front door.

At perfect timing too, as just as he gestured towards the door, it swung open. Aether’s mother walked into the house with a sour look on her face. She tossed her keys into the key bowl they had placed by the door before placing her bag down and taking off her shoes.

She hadn’t noticed the two boys yet, and Aether hoped it would stay that way. “Well, he’s not wrong,” Gorou grumbled as he watched his best friend’s mother. 

Aether’s eyes widened in disbelief. His best friend’s eyes darken, staring at the woman.  Any chance that the woman would move on without noticing the boys was gone. “Gorou…” Aether muttered softly. So many things have happened today, he did not need his mother angry at him for no reason.

The woman, hearing Gorou’s voice blinked before looking at the boys and her sour look deepend as she stared at the boys. Her glare focused solely on Aether’s best friend.  “What is he doing here?” She hissed, trying to seem intimidating. 

The blond opened his mouth, trying to hide the hatred that was starting to trickle inside of him. “It’s nice to see you too, Mrs. Viator,” Gorou spat at her with false politeness before Aether could say anything. The woman’s eyes narrowed.“I’m spending the night.” Gorou informed her with a smug look on his face.

The woman glanced at her son before looking back at Gorou. “No.” She responded, her voice calm and collected. “I don’t think so. Who gave you the impression that you are?”

Gorou chewed on the inside of his lip. The woman seemed to be getting angrier by the second. “Oh, but I am, Mrs. Viator,” he responded, gleefully.  “My parents already dropped me off. In case you didn’t know, there’s now a curfew in place that,” He pulled out his phone from his pocket, looking at the device before showing it to the woman. “Has already past. I couldn't go home, even if I wanted to… which, in case you’re wondering, I don’t.”

Gorou’s response made Aether want to chuckle and he had to cover his mouth with his hand so he didn’t let any of his emotions be seen. “What the fuck did you just say to me?” The woman asked as she stepped closer to Gorou, disbelief in her eyes.

The boy did not look as if he was afraid of the woman. He stared back at her, blinking calmly. “It’s not nice to curse at Children.” Gorou told her, with a smile. That was enough to make the woman much angrier. “It’s also not nice,” he curled a finger along his chin, looking as if he was in deep thought, “to emotionally abuse your children either-” he faked a look of shock. The woman moved before he finished talking. She raised her hand, about to slap Gorou. Aether, seeing her intentions, got up quickly from the couch and stepped in front of his friend protectively. His mother’s hand made contact with his cheek and a painful sting was left behind. His golden eyes shut in pain as he made a face. 

It all seemed to happen so fast. His best friend let out a loud gasp of shock before yelling, “what the fuck is wrong with you!”

The woman looked at her son in confusion before her eyes darkened. Although her attack didn’t land on the right person, it was clear that she didn’t care either way.  “He deserves it,” the female hissed angrily and Gorou huffed at her. Aether glanced at the door, wondering if the other’s in the other room was hearing the commotion. “Especially inviting friends over when he wasn’t accepted into Celestia.”

Ah there it is. It was only a matter of time before she brought up Celestia. “I already said that Gorou could stay,” his father’s voice boomed and the woman turned to glare as he walked over to them. The man had his arms crossed across his chest.

Aether covered his cheeks as soon as her attention was on the man, trying hard not to cry from the pain. He was taking in many deep breaths while Gorou was trying to look at him, to see if he was alright. “Are you ok?” Aether nodded his head, faking a smile.

“I already told you,” Aether’s father continued, “You do not get a say in what Aether can or can’t do anymore,” Lumine was following their father back into the room, looking around the room in shock. 

When her eyes landed on her twin, she noticed Aether covering his cheek and she was instantly by her twin brother’s side with a questioning look in her eyes before she stared at the woman. “Did you slap him?” The blonde girl hissed at her.

Their mother looked taken aback and she tilted her head to the side. “Lumine… sweetheart,” she called out, sickeningly sweet, “You don’t understand. Aether has embarrassed this family by not getting into the university.” She shook her head and closed her eyes as she said that. “Besides, I didn’t mean to slap him, he stepped in front of me when I was trying to slap-”

Guessing where the woman was going, Lumine huffed in anger. “You were going to slap a child that isn’t even yours?” Lumine hissed, glaring the woman down. “Where do you even get the nerve.” 

The older woman clicked her tongue, unimpressed, “It was his own fault for protecting Aether,” she replied, annoyed, rolling her eyes dramatically, “I have half the mind to disown that sorry b-”

She started to step towards Aether again but their father stood in her way. Aether didn’t know how or when he got in between them “Not getting into the university is normal, “ Their father cut the woman off before she could say any insult to the boy and she turned to glare at her husband. “Get the fuck away from those children now!”

“Everyone in our family has gotten into the university,” the woman argued, trying to get away from him. “And he suddenly doesn’t? How embarrassing is-”

The man started to laugh darkly as he heard that, “I can tell you right now. None of our family fucking cares. That is not something you can blame Aether for. “ He hissed at her as Lumine grabbed at Aether’s arm, trying to pull him away.  “We still do not know if he got into Celestia or not. You have no power to disown him. If any of your family found out how you have been bullying this child, that would be way more embarrassing.”

As the man scolded her, the woman’s face grew red, whether from embarrassment or rage, Aether didn’t know. “I can, and I will disown him,” she insisted as she raised her nose up. “It is obvious that he didn’t get in. Lumine got a letter. Aether didn’t, Where’s your letter, Aether, huh?” She sneered, turning to look at the boy with pure hatred in her eyes.

Gorou looked at her as if she was crazy, trying to push past Aether’s father to stand up to her. “They sent out rejection letters as well,” Gorou informed her, “If he didn’t get a letter, his acceptance is still unknown.” 

The woman looked at him with disgust, raising her hand to slap him again, “Nobody asked for your opinion you little-” Aether’s father caught her arm and forced her to look at him with anger raging in his eyes. 

“Try to hurt one of those boys,” Aether’s father growled and she gave him a nasty look back, “Hurt them, I dare you.” 

The woman rolled her eyes as she ripped her arm away from the man, glaring at him. “Do you really want to try me, Dainslief?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at him, no fear in her eyes. “I know all of your secrets. I know everything that you have tried so hard to keep. I can expose everything. I can ruin-”

A flash of fear appeared in the man's eyes. It was just for a second though. He looked at the three kids. “Kids. Upstairs. Now.” The man ordered. “I don’t want to hear a word.” The three kids looked at each other and Lumine grabbed Aether’s hand, pulling him up the stairs, looking behind her as she did.

Aether looked at the ground as he allowed the two of them to lead him into his room. Gorou shut the door behind them before he looked at his best friend. “Are you okay?” He asked with sadness in his eyes.

Aether sniffed, rubbing his nose as he looked at Gorou before he nodded, going to sit down on the bed. “Are you?” He asked.

Gorou smiled, sitting next to him and the bed dipped down next to him. “I wasn't the one who got slapped.” Gorou asked, placing a hand on his shoulders.

The blond smiled back at him, resting his head on his best friend’s shoulder. “I’m fine.” He responded. “It’s not like she hasn’t slapped me, and it's not news that she doesn’t like me.”

There was silence after he said that. “Let me see,” Lumine demanded, going closer to him. Aether didn’t try to fight it, closing his eyes. Today was too much for the boy.

Chapter Text

It felt like the night went by with a blink of an eye. Although the sun hadn’t risen yet, it was technically the next day when the golden hair boy decided he couldn’t sleep anymore. He reached out, searching for his phone before grabbing it. He rubbed his golden eyes as he looked at the ungodly time.  Aether sat up  and stretched, looking around the room. His eyes landed on the form of his best friend that was still sleeping a few feet away from him.

Gorou had eventually forced the blond boy to at least try to sleep a few hours ago, telling Aether that if he ruined his sleep schedule over winter break the boy was really going to regret it. And the Blond had to give it to his friend, he was right. But he also knew he couldn’t sleep. He might as well just chug energy drinks or something to stay focused and pull an allnighter. What was the worst that could happen? 

Both boys had decided to sleep in the living room as Aether’s room was kind of a mess and there wasn’t that much room for Gorou. They never really slept in Aether’s room whenever Gorou had the rare chance to spend the night. Somehow, Aether couldn’t fathom how, his father had kept his mother away from the two boys.

There wasn’t much talking from the older man either. He kept his distance from the boys. Lumine did too, but sometimes he would hear her trying to pick a fight with one of their parents every now and then. 

As the blond boy took in his surroundings, he noticed that there was a weird glow to the room… that wasn’t the right word to describe it. Aether couldn’t think of the word though as he got up slowly. His golden eyes glanced over at the big living room window. As if he was being lured by something, he slowly made it towards the window. Small white flecks were slowly drifting down to the ground. A light blanket of snow was already gathered on the ground.

That was where the light was coming from, with the moonlight hitting at the right spot, making the snow sparkle. Aether rested a hand on the window as he stared out. He stood there for a while, just contently watching as the snow fell around him. 

Could this be the first snowfall of the season? Aether couldn’t remember if it had snowed earlier at the moment. And it must have been a while, the air was getting colder and if it had snowed, then it didn’t stick around for very long. 

To Aether, at least, the snow was welcomed. Growing up, he always loved the cold flakes and the winter season. Most importantly, what the season brought and promised. Whether it was the feeling of a new start with the New Year just around the corner, or the Christmas spirit. He had a soft spot for winter time.

It was a magical time. As little kids, Gorou and him would hang out and make Snowmen and snow angels. If the snow was right they would make igloos and have snowball fights until they would be called in. Then they would drink hot chocolate as the sat in front of Gorou’s fireplace. His mother didn’t want him home during those times, and Gorou’s house was always open and welcoming. Sometimes, Gorou’s mother would invite the boys to make cookies with her.

Christmas was a time where the whole world was filled with kindness.Despite the fact that he never got as many presents as others, the world around him still gave him feelings of hope. Aether used to read a series as a kid where they would talk about how winter and the snow gave a chance for the land around them to restart.

The blond slipped out of the house before walking over to the yard, stepping into the snow. The boy didn’t bother to stop to put on shoes or a jacket. The cold didn’t bother Aether. This was a habit for the boy. He would always come outside during the first actual snowfall of the year, no matter what time it was. He held his hand out, watching as some snowflakes landed on his palm, staying for a split second before they melted away. The teenager walked further into the yard. As his feet touched the snow, there was a slight sting from the cold but he ignored the feeling. When he got to the middle of the yard, he closed his eyes and took in a deep, calm, breath.

A sense of peace washed over him. A moment of calm before the next storm his life was sure to bring him. For right now, he didn’t have to think about anything. Right now, he just wanted to stay outside in a place where he didn't have to do anything. The soft sound of the door opening didn’t pull him from his trance. 

He didn’t care enough to open his eyes and see who had come out. There were only a few people that it could be, anyways. Sooner or later, they would try to get his attention. After a couple of minutes, Aether opened his eyes and looked over at the door.

The blonde girl watched her twin by the door, shivering and crossing her arms to try and get warm. A confused look was plastered on her face as she watched her brother. “Aether?” She called out to him.

The boy blinked and smiled at her. “Lumine.” He greeted his twin as he prepared himself to hear her nag him. Nobody in his family quite understood why Aether would do something like this. He would always get scolded by either Lumine or his father for going out in the cold without any preparation. Whether it be to just let the snow fall down around him, or when he went to get mail or deliveries without bothering to find shoes. Rarely he would wear slippers.

Lumine shivered again as she looked around her before she looked back at her brother again. “What are you doing?” She asked, making a face.

Aether glanced back up at the sky before answering her. Some of the cold specs started to land on his eyelashes. “It’s snowing,” Aether pointed out..

His twin made a face at his explanation, tilting her head to the side with a displeased expression on her face. “You are in your Pajamas though,” she stated. The girl gestured at what the other was wearing. Aether shrugged his shoulders. Lumine stepped closer, getting to the edge of the porch. “It’s four in the morning,” she continued, yawning and covering her mouth.

Aether scrunched his nose, not getting her point. The fact meant nothing to him. “So?” Aether asked as another cold wind blew past the blond boy, tossing the ends of his hair. Lumine shivered again when the wind reached her.

“You are going to catch a cold,” she pointed out, dropping her arms and glancing back at the door. “Come on, Aeth. Let’s go inside.”

Aether shook his head. He didn’t want to leave this calm and peaceful moment. A defiant look appeared in his eyes and his sister sighed, “No,” He said simply, “I don’t want to.” 

The girl’s displeased face deepend as she glared at her twin for a moment. She muttered something under her breath. Lumine hated the snow, and Lumine could never understand Aether’s point of view. Lumine was more of a summer person whereas Aether was the type who felt Summer was way too hot and stuffy.  “Come on Aether,” She protested, a defeated look on her face.

He honestly didn’t understand why it was such a big deal to her. “It’s so nice and peaceful out here,” He pointed out, trying to reason with her. The blond boy took a step backwards. “You can go inside, but I want to stay out here.”  There was nothing that she could do to make him go inside. 

Inside was chaotic and stressful. Inside was too much for him.  Out here, he could at least get a break from that world.

Lumine watched as he took a step back, an unimpressed look on her face. “Aeth…” She muttered as a figure appeared next to her. The figure exited the house and walked up to the edge of the porch, glancing out over at the blond boy..

An affectionate smile appeared on Gorou’s face. “You dumbass,” the brown haired male laughed before he walked closer to Aether. He was carrying a blanket and a pair of slippers in his arms. As he got to Aether, he draped the blanket over his best friend’s shoulder. “If you get sick, who is going to take care of you?” Gorou scolded his friend.

Aether pursed his lips as if that was something to think about. He wrapped the blanket closer around him, enjoying the warmth and comfort. “Me?” He answered his best friend. The other boy laughed, shaking his head. He then handed Aether the slippers. As soon as he received them, Aether started to put them on.

He looked up at his twin to see a look of disbelief in her eyes that Gorou was able to get to him more than her. Gorou also glanced at her quickly. “Then…” Gorou started as he tried to think of a good question, “Who is going to go Christmas shopping with me?” Aether’s eyes widened at the question, “Who will tell me not to buy something for someone because it’s too dumb?”

Aether tried to stop the bright smile that threatened to appear on his face. Gorou didn’t need someone to tell him what he shouldn’t buy. He was an excellent gift giver. But that was not why his friend was asking him to go with him. He didn’t like to be alone when he shopped. “You want to go shopping?” The blond boy asked. Gorou turned and started to walk into the house and Aether followed after them.

Lumine, seeing that the two were coming back inside, went inside ahead of them. “Sure.” She muttered under her breath as she entered the house, “he can get you inside…”

Obviously hearing the girl’s comment, Gorou rolled his eyes at her before looking back at Aether. “Yeah, Itto invited us to a Christmas party,” the boy explained, “I said yes, so you and Xiao need to buy a white elephant gift. It’s Pirates themed.” Aether stopped walking, wondering how he had just got forced to go to a party. A party that Xiao might not want to go to. Xiao really wasn’t the most social person.

An icky feeling sprouted inside of him. He needs to talk to Xiao about this as soon as possible, to make sure he would be okay with going to the party. Gorou seemed set on them coming. Aether really hoped that this didn’t lead to any miscommunication. “Who the fuck is Itto?” Lumine piped up, listening to the boy’s conversation. 

Gorou glared at her, not saying anything for a second,” He’s a friend of mine,” he responded and Lumine looked even more confused. “He is going to go to Geo University with me next you.”

Aether shuffled closer to his friend,” I should let Xiao know of the party,” he muttered, hoping that was enough to let Gorou know that they might not be able to make it to the party. “When is it?” The more information he had to relate to Xiao, the better. Especially so he could answer any question that Xiao might bring up.

His friend hummed softly as he thought about his friends question. “Mmm, it's going to be on New Year's Eve… And we would really like to have you attend. Though, I understand if year don’t want to come to the party. If you want, I’m sure that you can come too, Lumine,” Gorou smiled at the girl after saying that. The girl glanced at Gorou, looking as if she was thinking about the question.

“Well, come on in.” She muttered, gesturing the two inside, “If Dad sees us letting the cold in, he’s not going to be happy.”  Both twins shivered at that. Their dad was really strict with keeping doors and windows open for too long.

Gorou nodded his head in agreement as a soft sigh left his lips. “Well, might as well.” He whispered, going inside the house, “are you going to come in Aether.”

Aether really wanted to stay outside for a bit longer, but there was time for that. Maybe when he was dressed in clothes that wouldn’t make them worry about him. Or a time when they weren’t hanging around to nag him. The blond boy sighed, his shoulders sagging as he nodded his  head. “Yeah, I’m coming… Maybe I’ll make some Hot chocolate or something.”

Just the thought of the warm drink brought a smile to his face. He felt himself perk up as he looked forward to grabbing the drink. “Hot Chocolate sounds really nice,” Gorou agreed as Aether entered the house as well. Lumine shut the door behind them, and made a face at the two of them. Gorou turned to look at her with a confused look. “What?” The brown haired boy asked with a bit of snap to his voice.

Lumine glanced between the two friends. “I just…” The girl stared as she searched for the right words, “I don’t think we have Hot Chocolate,” Lumine pointed out, “Dad usually doesn’t buy that until it gets colder in the year.” 

Aether pursed his lips as he shrugged his shoulders. He started to walk towards the stairs. “Dad buys the generic brand,” Aether muttered, figuring that would explain it. “I don’t like the generic brand,” he looked over his shoulders, noticing how both of them were following him now. Lumine was looking even more confused with following her brother upstairs and not into the kitchen.

Gorou nodded his head in agreement, “Yeah, Aether likes more of the Caramel mix or the Dark Chocolate Mix of Hot Chocolate,” the male agreed.That didn’t clear anything up for Lumine as the girl looked between the two friends.

“But…” She whispered, “We don’t have that. Dad would never buy that stuff….” Aether shrugged his shoulders as he started to go up the stairs and into his room.  He walked over to his closet and opened a drawer with his different drink mixes he stashed. Like Hot chocolate. He grabbed a few packets of the chocolaty drink.

Lumine was watching him before a disbelieving look appeared, replacing her confused look. The blonde haired girl shook her head. “You are insane.” She whispered and Gorou nudged her in the side. “Ow!”

“It’s his money,” Gorou pointed out, rolling his eyes at the girl, “He can buy whatever he wants with it,” He then looked back over at Aether, “Do you have Candy Canes?” Gorou liked to mix his hot chocolate with candy canes and watch as they melt because of the heat. It would also give that little minty taste to it as well.

The blond boy shook his head slowly, his storage of candy canes was low at the moment. “No,” He muttered with a pout. “I haven’t had the chance to buy some more this year… Maybe I’ll get some at the store when we go out.”

Gorou hummed softly as he nodded his head in agreement, “We should figure out what we are going to do today.” Gorou muttered, turning and heading back out of the room now that they got what they needed. Lumine followed him, glancing between the boys with a stink face. Aether closed his drawer and closed his closet before carefully stepping over piles of stuff gathering on his flor. He left the room and the trio went back down stairs, Lumine heading in front of them. Gorou wrapped an arm around Aether’s. “We should talk about what stores we are going to, and if we are going to get coffees. The important questions.”

Hearing the matter of fact way his friend was laughing, Aether couldn’t hold back a soft laugh. He really hoped this little outing they were planning would help him get his mind off the horrors of yesterday. Let him get his bearings. The three went into the kitchen and Lumine leaned against the fridge while Gorou moved to sit on a counter. 

The blond haired boy got the kettle and made sure to fill it up with water before turning it on. He moved towards the cabinet to get three mugs and started to prepare the powder so all that was left was to pour the hot water in and stir them.

The three teenagers stopped as a loud thud came from upstairs before they could hear what sounded like whispered yelling. They looked between each other before heading out of the kitchen. It was like all of them agreed to go spy on the situation. “Are you seriously kicking me out of the house,” A loud voice yelled out, ignoring the tone the other was trying to set with the whispers. When they got to the stairs, they could see their parents standing at the top of it, a pile of bags surrounding them. “My house?”

The other sneered, a disapproving frown appearing on their face, “But, it’s not your house, is it?” They asked them, crossing their arms, “You knew that it was given to us. You know whose house this actually is.” Aether wondered what that meant. Whose house was this if it wasn’t their parent’s house. He shared a confused look with his twin. “Now, will you keep your voice down? The kids are trying to sleep.”

That was laughable, when all of the kids were at the bottom of the stairs already, all three watching them fight. The other scoffed when they brought up the house. Something told Aether that didn’t matter to them.“Must I remind you, I have enough information to uncover this lie that you have spent years trying to spin, that you have been trying so hard to protect,” the other parent hissed back at them. Lumine reached out to grab Aether’s hand and Aether took it, giving it a slight squeeze. “I can ruin their life. I can ruin-”

“But in doing so,” the other cut them off, “you will ruin our daughter’s life. You could never do that to Lumine.” The parent getting kicked out fell silent as soon as that point was brought up. Was this about Aether? It couldn’t be about Aether… right? “If you even try to hurt him, you won’t last long. I also have enough shit on you that I can ruin your life in a snap of my finger. Don’t try to threaten me.” 

Lumine squeezed Aether’s hand back before dropping it and coughing loudly to get their attention. The adults turned, looking down the stairs and their eyes widened in surprise to see the kids all gathered there. “Mom, Dad, What’s going on?” The girl asked, raising an eyebrow at them. Aether glanced over at Gorou who had a curious look in his eyes.

There was a flash of shock and fear that passed through their father’s eyes before he forced a smile on his face, staring straight at his daughter. “Nothing sweetheart,” he lied, his voice becoming a lot softer than it had just a second before, “I thought that you would all still be asleep… What are you all doing up?” 

He looked between the kids as Lumine and Gorou both looked at Aether. The boy shuffled uncomfortably. He technically was the reason everyone was up so early “It’s snowing…” Aether muttered and his dad furrowed his eyebrows, tilting his head to the side. “And I wanted Hot Chocolate.” The blond finished lamely

The male sighed softly, “Were you out in the snow?” He asked the boy and Aether nodded his head to confirm the statement.  “Aether…” He sighed, “We talked about this.”

Aether made a face, “I don’t see what the big deal is.” The blond boy muttered and his father just sighed again.  It wasn’t them in the snow, and he rarely got sick. He knew when it was too long. If he wanted to hang out in the snow, shouldn’t that be on him?

The woman glared at her spouse before coming down the stairs, grabbing her daughter’s hands and squeezing them tightly, “Lu, sweetie, come with me,” she suddenly begged. Gorou let out a noise, attempting to move closer to her, but the woman chose to ignore him. “We could li-”

Lumine tugged her hands away from the woman, glaring the woman down. “Why would I choose you?” She asked.

As the question sinked in, the woman’s face fell. Gorou nodded his head in agreement. “I mean, you are the worst.” The boy muttered. 

The woman tsked softly but didn’t dare try to reply to the boy, “Lumine…” she called out in a begging tone, “I love you so much. If Aether is going to be staying with your father-”

Lumine held a hand up and she stopped talking, looking at her daughter with fear in her eyes, “But It’s my choice.” The girl pointed out. “I have a semester left of School before I go off to college. So tell me again… Why in the world would I ever choose to live with you?”

It was clear that the woman didn’t expect for her past actions to come back and bite her in the ass as she watched Lumine with sadness in her eyes. The woman took a quick glance at her son before back at her daughter, “But Lumine… You are my daughter. That alone is such a strong bond,” The woman tried to plead with her, a depressed look appearing in her eyes. 

The blond girl looked over at her brother and Aether looked back at her. Waiting to see what she said, and what Lumine would do. “You are right,” Lumine responded and their father gasped in disbelief. Lumine gave him a look. “The bond between a daughter and a mother is strong.

The woman smiled brightly. It seemed like Lumine was taking her side and she was going to get her wish. “So… you’ll be coming with me?” The woman asked, glancing over at their father with a smirk on her face, a look that said that she had won. The man looked worried as he glanced between the two of them. It really seemed like he was going to lose his daughter.

Lumine took a step back from her though, disgust shining in her eyes. “I said that a bond between a girl and her mother is strong… But… a bond between a girl and a monster that is pretending to be a mother? That’s not strong.” Lumine hissed. Gorou whistled as he heard the girl’s burn and a wave of relief passed through their daughter.

The smile dropped off of the woman’s face again. Lumine kept backing away, trying to get as much space between her and the woman as possible. The blonde girl was shaking her head. The woman took a few steps closer to her for each step she took back. “Lumine, how could you call me a monster?” The woman asked, with pain in her voice. Fake sadness showed in her eyes. “I’m not a monster, what ever could I have done to make you think that?”

Gorou covered his mouth as a scoff came out of his mouth. Lumine glanced at the brown haired boy before at her brother, giving him a slight smile and then back at the woman before her. “You are my mother… but aren’t you also Aether’s mother?” She questioned as she gestured to her twin. “Yet, while we grew up, I watched you treat him like trash. How you still treat him as trash. I watched as you made him feel worthless. I watched how you got away with abusing him.”  Aether felt himself stiffen as soon as his sister brought him up. The woman already hated him, there was no point in making her hate him more.

The woman glared at Aether finally, anger washing off of her in waves. As if it was Aether’s fault Lumine felt this way. Abandoning her mission to get to Lumine, their mother started to come towards the boy. In a flash, Aether’s father was in front of him, standing in a protective manner and glaring at the woman.  She glared at the man before turning back towards her daughter, “Lumine… this isn’t about Aether. This is about us,” she tried again. 

Lumine watched the woman with pity shining in her eyes. “It’s sad knowing that you think that way. Aether and I might not get along sometimes, but that is what siblings do. He is still one of my closest friends. My twin brother, and I can’t be around someone who bullies him for no reason.” A warm feeling filled the blond at his twin’s words as he watched her.

“Lumine, princess,” she called out, about to try another tactic. Their father moved away from his soon and walked towards the woman, placing a hand on her shoulder with a warning look. She tried to get away from him and get towards Lumine. But the blonde teenager ducked away from her parents and ran, standing behind Gorou, watching the woman with a warning glare in her eyes. “You don’t understand-”

Lumine shocked her head, she understood enough to know what her mother was doing was wrong. There was silence and Lumine looked away from the woman. The woman tsked as she took a deep breath.

“That’s enough!” Their father cried out before the woman could say anything else. All the patience in his voice was long gone. “Lumine said no. She will not be going with you. Respect her wishes and leave. Now!” He strengthened his grasp on her shoulder as the woman tried to push past him towards their children before pushing her towards the door. 

Their mother realized that she wasn’t going to get anywhere and ripped away from the man’s grasp. She started to head towards the door, before turning to glare at him. “Fine,” she hissed, turning her nose up, “But what about my bags? Are you going to throw me out with just the clothes on my back?”

Aether glanced back at the bags that still sat on the top of the stairs and then down at her. “I’ll get them.” Gorou offered as he ran up the stairs. Seeing a kid she didn’t like dare to get her bags, she turned and tried to go after Gorou. But their other parent wouldn’t let her pass him. Gorou stuck his tongue out at her as he passed her with the bags, walking past and setting them down closer to the driveway before he came back inside and walked over to his best friend’s side, wrapping a protective arm around him.

A disbelieving scoff left the woman before she turned and started to walk out the door, realizing she couldn’t make a bigger stink of anything else. She stopped before she was fully out the door and looked over at her shoulders, glancing at her husband. “You know… I regret saying yes?” 

The man sighed tiredly, looking at his wife before looking at his children. “I know.” He whispered, his voice sounding broken, “I knew as soon as you realized it. You’ve changed so much. I got so caught up in hoping you would realize your mistake and become the woman I fell in love with. But I now realize I made a mistake. I should have done this sooner. I should have protected my son against you.” The man glanced at Aether before shaking his head and turned before leaving.

The woman watched him leave, before trying to go after him, but Lumine and Gorou blocked her place. “I think that it’s time for you to leave,” Lumine told her with a fake smile. “Nobody wants you here, and there’s nothing you can do to change that.” Gorou nodded his head in agreement as the woman glared at the two kids.

The blonde haired woman stared at her daughter, falling quiet for a while before she turned to look at Aether. Her eyes darkened and her eyebrows narrowed at the blond boy. “You will all regret this.” She promised before grabbing the door handle and slamming the door behind her, gone from their life. At least for now.

Lumine shivered and looked as if she shrunk as soon as the woman was gone. Her twin leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. Gorou looked between the two siblings with a frown on his face. “It feels like something is missing.” The boy muttered under his breath.

Lumine laughed and shook her head as Aether looked at Gorou, blinking a couple of times. “Welcome to our world.” She hissed. The girl then turned and stormed upstairs, obviously done with the conversation, “I’m headed to my room!” She yelled over her shoulder.

Gorou pouted as he watched the girl leave, shaking his head. “What about the Hot Chocolate?” He asked as the friends watched her disappear. She ignored them and shut her door hard. Gorou rolled his eyes before turning to look back at Aether. “I think that the water should be ready by now.” He offered the blond with a smile.

The blond boy blinked before nodding his head, he guessed it should be ready right about now. He wordlessly started to head towards the kitchen and Gorou followed him, talking to fill up the silence left behind. Aether looked at the mug he got down for his sister and sighed softly.

Deciding to make it, he grabbed it before walking up stairs, careful to not let one drop spill. When he got to his sister’s room, he knocked on her door. The blond boy waited, but she didn’t answer. “Lu, the mug is going to be next to your door!” He called out as he gently placed the hot chocolate next to the door.

After dropping off the hot chocolate, he walked downstairs, his eyes trained on the steps. He really should have stayed out in the snow, in the calm. When he got to the living room, he saw that his best friend had taken the other two mugs to the living room and was waiting for Aether. He had pulled up a movie on his phone. Aether walked over to him, sitting down next to him and resting his head on his shoulder as he closed his eyes. Gorou patted Aether’s knee gently in a comforting manner.

A couple of hours passed as they watched a couple of movies.  After it ended, the boys finally decided to leave the house. The idea of shopping really lifted Aether’s spirits. He wanted to get away from the house as fast as possible. Hopefully, he could find a way to stay away for a long while too. A voice in the back of his mind was telling him that if he stayed away, everything would turn out all right again. 

His sister had come down the stairs just as they were packing up the living room. Aether looked at her and smiled before passing by so that he could go talk to his father. His father was in the middle of making breakfast for himself. 

When Aether came into the room, he looked up at Aether and a smile crossed his face. “Good morning Aether.” He called out.

Aether walked over to where a bowl of fruit was, taking an apple from it, tossing it around. “Good morning dad… Can we borrow the car?” He asked, deciding that it would be best to get right to the punch.

His father looked at him, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “We?” He asked softly and Aether nodded his head as he took a bite out of the apple.

Fear started to sink in his stomach. What if his father decided that they couldn’t use their car. Then they couldn’t really go Christmas shopping. “Gorou and I.” Aether clarified, looking anywhere but at his father.

The older male blinked a few times at the question and fell silent, thinking about the question. “Yeah,” he finally answered, “The keys are by the door.”

Hearing an answer he liked, the blond boy smiled widely. He started to turn around and leave to go tell Gorou the good news. “Aether,” His father called out and the boy stopped, “be safe out there. Call me if you need anything. Anything at all. Do not get into-”

“Dad,” Aether interrupted him, sighing softly as he looked at the older man. “I’ll be safe. I promise.” He gave the other a reassuring smile. 

A conflicted look appeared on the older man’s face. Aether suddenly started to worry that he was going to take back his permission. “The abyss order did just attack-”

He stopped before finishing his thought. Aether sighed softly. He got why the other was concerned for him. “I’ll have Gorou with me,” the blond boy reassured him. “That was the agreement right? You trust Gorou.” The man sighed softly, knowing that he couldn’t fight with that, “We’ll be back around Lunchtime or something. If not, we’ll call to let you know.” Aether turned around and left the room before the man could change his mind. 

As he walked back to where his friend and sister were, he could hear them arguing and bickering. “But I want to go with you! Why can’I go shopping with you two?” His twin wined as she followed the brown haired male.

Gorou placed his backpack next to the stack of blankets that he had used during the night. He stopped for a second, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. He then looked over at the girl, unamused. “I’m sorry Lumine,” He started, shaking his head. “But you can’t come with us.” The boy insisted.  “I need time with my best friend, alone. Before he breaks.” He stopped when he caught sight of Aether and he smiled at his friend. “Can we use the car?” He asked.

Aether blinked a couple of times before nodding his head to answer his question. “Yeah.” He responded with a smile. “Should we go then?” He turned, heading towards the door, wanting to get out before anything could blow up. 

“Really?” Lumine whined as she followed him out of the room. “Dad let you use the car?” Gorou looked at the girl and rolled his eyes, clearly getting annoyed.

He stopped walking as he turned around to face her, folding his arms against his chest. “Why wouldn’t he?” Gorou asked before turning to open the door. “Besides,” Aether didn’t know how the other got to the door first. But when his friend opened it, a teal haired boy was standing at the door, raising his hand as he was about to knock. “What do you want?” Gorou snapped at him.

Xiao blinked a few times, taken aback, tilting his head to the side. “Hi?” His voice was filled with confusion as he stared at the other boy. “What are you doing here?” He then looked over at his boyfriend, hoping to get some type of answer.

Gorou hummed softly as he tilted his head to the side. “Being a badass?” He responded with a straight face. If anything, that just made Xiao look more confused. “Aether and I are going to have a best friends day. We are going shopping. To clear our minds.” 

The confusion on Xiao’s face was quickly replaced with frustration as he sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging. “I was kinda hoping to spend some time with my boyfriend,” He muttered, turning to look over at Aether as he said that with a pleading look.

The blond wanted to spend some time with Xiao as well. And maybe hopefully he could come with them? Before he could say anything, his best friend tsked softly, “Well..  though luck. I got there first.” The brown haired boy looked over at Aether, copying Xiao’s pleading face.

He gulped. He really hoped that it didn’t end up with him having to choose between the two of them. Aether looked at Xiao with an awkward look. “I’m sorry Xiao…” He whispered softly. “We decided this earlier in the morning, and I’m kinda looking forward to spending time with Gorou. Maybe we can spend some time together tonight, after we get back from shopping?” He responded, hoping that didn’t upset either one of them.

Xiao sighed heavily and closed his eyes before he nodded his head slowly. “Can I join you two?” He asked, looking straight at Aether. Aether opened his mouth, getting ready to say yes. He didn’t see a problem with letting the other join. He’s hung out with him and Gorou lots of times before.

“I swear to god,” Lumine cried, deciding to pipe in. Her voice boomed in outrage, “If you let Xiao join you guys, and not me, I will rage.” The blonde haired girl crossed her arms and stopped her foot like a little kid.

Gorou blinked at her, looking unimpressed before he shook his head disappointedly. He turned to look back at Xiao before shaking his head again. “No.” He responded and Xiao’s face fell. “Are you kidding me? We are going to be shopping for Christmas gifts. I would rather neither one of you come. When else are we going to pick out your christmas gifts if you guys are around all the time?”

Aether rubbed his face, squeezing his eyes tight as he tried not to be disappointed in Gorou’s decision. He knew that Gorou would be upset if he tried to insist Xiao come with them. But he also knew that Gorou did deserve to have some time alone with his best friend. He couldn’t open his mouth to say much else, when Lumine piped up instead, “Why don’t you come shopping with me?” Aether’s eyes flew open as he stared at his sister in shock. “I need to find an outfit for a New Years Eve Party and someone to sit in the dressing room telling me all the clothes look fine as they play on their phone.”

Oh… That was how the party was going to be brought up. Before Aether could have a chance to talk to Xiao in private. The boy coughed awkwardly, wanting to be the one to tell Xiao before it got too out of hand, “About that party,” He started.

But his best friend cut him off, not realizing that Aether was trying to say something and the blond boy fell silent. “You’re going to that party as well,” He told Xiao happily. Aether looked at his friend with a look of pure mortification. 

Xiao gave Gorou a confused look as he started to shake his head. “I never signed up for a party.” The teal haired insisted, looking over at Aether. “What are you talking about, Gorou? Aether did you-”

“My friend Itto is throwing it,” Gorou responded before he could continue, smiling at Xiao, “You and Aether are going to go as a couple. Unless… you have something better to do?”

Why did Gorou have to phrase it like that? As if it was already decided they were going to go, before Aether could even talk about it. Aether scrunched his eyebrows together as a frown appeared on his face. “You don’t have to go,” He told Xiao in a rush, hoping that it would appease the boy. “I can go alone if you don’t want to go to the party.”

His boyfriend made a stinkface as he glared at Aether. Aether wanted to take a step back. “Why would I back out now? It’s obvious that Gorou is set on the two of us going together?” Xiao rescinded as he narrowed his eyes at him. 

“Xiao,” the blond boy started, “Let-” 

Before he could try to appease his boyfriend or talk to him, Gorou interrupted, “Great! You need to get a white elephant gift!” He called out and Xiao scoffed. “It’s going to be pirates themed. Itto came up with the theme all by himself.” Aether stared at his best friend, not knowing if he had a motive to try and push this so much on him and Xiao. 

Xiao turned his glare at Gorou before he looked at Aether with an unreadable expression on his face. Aether shifted uncomfortably where he was standing. “Fine.” The other responded, looking away from him.

Aether stepped closer to Xiao, trying to get his attention, when Xiao finally looked at him, Aether tried to peck his lips but Xiao turned his head away and Aether awkwardly pressed the kiss to his cheek instead. “I’m sorry, Xiao.” Aether muttered. “I’ll hang out with you later today. Promise.” 

Xiao huffed in annoyance, looking down at the ground. “Don’t even worry about it, Aether. Suddenly, I don’t want to hang out with you anymore.” Aether sucked in a breath, trying not to feel hurt by him. “But, sure. I would love to go shopping with you, Lu.” He looked at Lumine as he said that.

Aether blinked back tears that were starting to form, trying to tell himself that he was going to be strong. “Seriously?” Gorou called out from where he was standing, wrapping his arm around Aether’s shoulder. Couldn’t a hole appear and swallow Aether right now? “Don’t be so salty Xiao. I asked him to hang out with me first. He has a right to hang out with friends. He has had a lot of shit he needs to take his mind off of.” 

Xiao made a face. “And you don’t think I do? That's why I wanted to hang out with him.” Xiao responded, raising his voice at his best friend.

Gorou rolled his eyes dramatically at Xiao. “Fine. Aeth, let’s go. Before something will be said that is regretted later.”

The blond boy nodded as he glanced at Xiao, knowing Gorou was right. “I’ll speak with you later.” He told the boy, trying to catch his eye. But Xiao wouldn’t even look at him. 

Lumine watched her brother with a frown on her face before she moved out of the way. “Come on in Xiao. I need to get ready if we are going shopping.” Lumine called out to Xiao.

Xiao brushed past Aether, angrily slamming his shoulder into his boyfriend’s as he passed but still not even sparing a glance. Aether watched him go before he looked at the ground, leaving the house and Gorou followed after him. The blond looked at his best friend. “Did… Did I do something wrong?” The blond whispered, not sure how else he could have handled that.

Gorou glanced at the door with an angry look on his face as he shook his head. “No,” he responded, looking back at Aether and giving him a smile. “Xiao is just being a dick. Don’t worry about it.” 

The blond wanted to pipe up, to point out that Gorou wasn’t being that friendly with him either, but he didn’t think he could handle having two of his friends mad at him at once. He bit his cheek anxiously. “Lets go…” He muttered softly. “Do you mind driving?”

Gorou shook his head. “Not at all.” He responded and Aether tossed him the keys before getting into the car, taking a bite of the apple that he had somehow brought with him this whole time, looking out the window.  “What’s wrong?” Gorou asked as he got into the car, looking at his friend with worry in his eyes.

Aether looked over at him and shook his head. “I don’t know…” He muttered truthfully. “Part of me wonders if I should hang out with him. I mean his friend did-” Aether stopped, not being able to bring up the horrifying events from yesterday. He shook his head.

“Doesn’t matter,” Gorou insisted as he buckled his seatbelt. Aether made a face. “You, my friend, are hurting as well. Plus that bitch of a mother of yours just left your life for good. I think it’s time for a celebration.” Aether sighed softly.

The blond boy stared down at the instructions in front of him with a confused look on his face. Why did people have to be so cryptic about how they explained things? His hair was half up so it didn’t get in his face as he looked at the instructions, still in his pajamas with an apron tied around his waist in case he got dirty.  He couldn’t find any that wasn’t separated by a person’s personal experience.

He gets it. That’s how some people express themselves. At the same time, he wanted to find a good recipe. This was Xiao’s favorite dessert, and he had to get it right. He had to make it perfect. Xiao and Aether were on rocky terms right now, and Xiao rarely let Aether even talk to him.

After a while, he finished following the recipe, but it looked nothing like the picture and a groan of frustration left his lips. “What are you doing?” A voice called out. Aether jumped and spun around, watching as his twin walked into the kitchen. She was rubbing her eyes tiredly.

It was pretty early in the morning, but he wasn’t being that loud. Not loud enough to wake anyone up. Lumine walked over to the fridge, pulling out a single serving bottle of apple juice. “I’m practicing my Christmas gift for Xiao…” Aether informed her, putting on the finishing touches to the desert, hoping it was alright. “I’m trying to learn how to cook Almond Tofu… but it looks so ugly..” 

The boy was a bit of a perfectionist, and he hated it. Maybe for others, this would be enough, but not for him. “How does it taste?” Lumine asked, walking over to her twin and looking down at the dessert laid in front of him.

The blond blinked and looked up at her, tilting his head to the side in confusion. “Taste?” He asked. He hadn’t had a chance to taste it, so he wasn’t sure how it tastes.

The girl nodded her head, opening the bottle she just grabbed and taking a drink from it. “Yeah. If it tastes fine, why don’t you just go with that?” She asked, walking over to grab a fork. “Can I try some?”

Aether sighed softly, “Sure,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. This wasn’t going to be the final gift. So someone tasting it wasn’t that bad of a case. “Because it’s a gift. It has to be absolutely perfect. “

Lumine took a bite of the food and her eyes widened in surprise, she turned to look at the boy. “Aether! This is amazing!” She told her brother.

Aether shook his head with a soft sigh. “I just need to learn how to make it look presentable.” Aether responded to her. “And then I got him a little phone case. I saw that his was beaten up… and like, I don't know. I know he won’t replace the case until it gets really bad.”

His sister stared at him, blinking. “Why are you trying so hard?” She asked, throwing Aether off.

“What… what do you mean?” He asked, collecting all of the dirty dishes around and throwing them into the sink. He might as well try to continue with this later on.

Lumine shook her head as she leaned against a counter. “Aether you haven’t been going out that long,” the girl pointed out. While that was true, Aether didn’t see what she was trying to get at. 

He glanced over his shoulder. “This is a thank you for everything.” Aether muttered softly. Xiao has done so much for him. All of this was for Xiao. “Even if we haven’t been dating for so long, he still means the world to me. I want to show him that.”

The girl shrugged her shoulders, pushing against the counter and moving to leave, “Mmm, sounds weak. But Ok.” She turned before leaving the kitchen, “I can guarantee you that he will not try this hard for you.”

Aether watched her leave with a sad look. He didn’t care if Xiao tried this hard. He just wanted to show Xiao how much he cared for him, and these days when he couldn’t think of what to say, this seemed to be the best course of action.

Chapter Text

New Year's Eve. A night that was supposed to celebrate the old year and bring in the new year. A night that Aether will never forget his last New Years Eve of highschool.  The senior didn’t know what he was expecting to have happened. Maybe he expected to have some fun with his best friend. Even more than that, to have some fun with his boyfriend. Connect with people he hasn't seen in a while.  He knew what he did expect. This night was supposed to be a good night, a happy night. Everything was supposed to be alright. Everything was supposed to go his way. And god, did he feel like a child thinking that?

Why did the world have to spit in his face like this? Make it the worst night in his life?  Why wasn’t anything going the way Aether wanted?

The feelings washed over him, crashing over his head like waves. Feeling like it was dragging him down into a deep ocean. The boy felt like he was going to burst. It may be dramatic, but it made him feel like he wanted to die. And the worst part is, Aether knew. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to feel like this. He knew this was wrong. He knew that he was being dramatic as hell. He shouldn’t be out in the cold letting the wind wash over him. He shouldn’t be sitting there, curled up on himself while hiding his face in his knees.

But he couldn’t stop it. That knowledge alone hurt him even more than anything else in his life.

He hugged his legs tighter as he tried his hardest not to cry. Aether kept repeating to himself. Saying that he wasn’t going to cry. He wouldn’t give those two the satisfaction of seeing him cry. Would they care though? He doubted they would even come looking for him. Not when they didn’t pay him any mind at all night.

The memories still haunted him. He was sure they would haunt him for a very long time. They kept playing in his head over and over like a dvd skipping and going back to the beginning. Or a TikTok that he hadn’t scrolled away from yet because he was too busy doing something else. To the point where it got annoying and he knew he had to move on.

He had wanted to hang out with Xiao. Why did Xiao have to ignore him? All he did the whole night was sit there chatting the night away with Lumine. And the one time that he had managed to get Xiao’s attention… His eyes. Xiao’s amber eyes stared at Aether with so much disgust, so much disdain for Aether. 

And then Xiao had turned around and acted as if nothing had happened. Had turned around as if he didn’t notice Aether. As if Aether was just a ghost in the back of his mind. Which hurt more than any wound Aether had ever received. And his sister? She acted the same exact way.

Obviously this was all Aether’s fault. How could it not be? If he had more class… If he had handled this situation more gracefully… Could it be possible that maybe this bad dream would be over.

A bad dream. That sounded nice. Why couldn’t this be just a bad dream? Why couldn’t he have opened his eyes and it was the start of finals all over again? Why couldn’t he have that? Why was the world never kind to Aether? 

The blond could hear a nagging voice in the back of his head telling him, insisting, that he should have been prepared for their reactions. If he had looked closer enough to the information laid on the table. He should have seen the warning signs. It was enough to make him wish he just stayed in his bed and cuddled up with a warm blanket. 

But he ignored the signs. He told himself that it had to have been all in his head. That it was his rejection sensitivity acting up on him. At the end of the night, he and Xiao would make up.

And for a while that’s what drove Aether on through the night. Reminding himself that Xiao doesn’t even celebrate New Years that often and when he did it was nothing big.  His family makes more of a big deal for the Lunar New Year. 

Aether wanted to believe that maybe the biggest problem they had, the real reason for his downfall is that there was no communication. And that was honestly on Aether, he knew it was on him. He was always so horrible with communication. He wanted to believe that Xiao wasn’t mad at him.

But if he wasn’t mad at him, then why was Aether here on the porch, alone with his thoughts, watching as couples and groups of people came into the house before turning and leaving as they laughed and had fun. Like you’re supposed to do on New Year's Eve. Aether lifted his head and wiped the tears away from his eyes. 

The morning of New Year's Eve should have told him that something was off. But the blond boy had woken up with a feeling of excitement running through his bones. He had his outfit picked out, he had a goal set for the day, he was so excited to go out and have some fun. He would finally be able to see Gorou again. 

Gorou’s parents had taken their son out on a cruise for Christmas. The brown haired man had left shortly after the day the two boys had gone shopping. Aether hadn’t had the chance to meet up with him since that day either. Part of him was really glad he was able to spend that day with his best friend. That he had some time before Gorou was gone. 

With Gorou being back, the blond might have a chance to hang out with someone for the rest of winter break. He wouldn’t have to stay in his bedroom alone all day again. His boyfriend had been putting some distance between the two of them. Whenever Aether tried to ask Xiao if everything was alright, or whenever he tried to even talk to Xiao, it felt like he would close off to the teenager. If he wasn’t ignoring Aether, he was fighting with Aether, or trying to start a fight with him. 

Xiao was obviously upset about the party, and Aether didn’t know what to say or what to do. The blond was really confused. He had tried to tell Xiao every day that he didn’t have to go to the party, and if the other didn’t want to go then Aether would understand. Aether would even skip the party for Xiao. All he wanted was to hang out with Xiao.

The blond had even considered doing just that. The amount of times he was on his phone, wondering if he should call Gorou and tell him that the couple couldn’t make it. When he had brought it up to Xiao as an option, the teal haired man was against it. The other boy would comment on how it was obvious that Aether was missing his best friend. His tone whenever he talked to Aether was always a snappy one though. Especially when the party was brought up. Aether tried his hardest to keep the talk about the party to a minimum.

Aether didn’t want to think about this. He shook his head before throwing his feet to the side of his bed and standing up. He walked into the bathroom to take a shower, grabbing his outfit for the day on his way out. It was a cute purplish bluish Christmas sweater with a reindeer on the front with snow falling all around him. His father had given it to him for Christmas.His pants were a simple green and red plaid pair of pajama pants. This party was supposedly a christmas party and a new years eve party mashed together. 

When he was finished, he looked at himself in the mirror and played with the ends of his hair, trying to decide if he liked them or not.  Trying to decide what he wanted to do with his hair.

The golden locks were really starting to grow out now. Aether’s hair was just long enough for him if he wanted to do some type of styling. Which made getting ready a lot more complicated now. Would Xiao like his hair up? Aether pulled it up into a ponytail, looking at himself in the mirror. That didn’t feel right. He didn’t want to do a braid either. Not a full braid at least. Aether shook his head and dropped his hair. He wanted to do something different. He wanted to do something that he never really did with his hair.

What if he spiced it up and did a half up style instead? The blond boy carefully combed some of his hair into his hand and held it up like that, studying himself in the mirror. It looked wrong still, but he knew that he was on the right track. What if he braided the pieces of hair until they came together in the back? There was only one way to find out if he would like that. Aether started to carefully braid the pieces of hair he wanted to, looking at himself in the mirror. Now that looked right. Was it the prettiest? No. If he wanted to do this more often, he would need to practice more. There was something about it that felt good though. Aether couldn’t explain the feeling. Right now, as he stared at himself in a mirror, it made a huge smile appear across his face. 

Having the hairstyle that he wanted, the boy turned and walked out of the bathroom and went downstairs. He was quiet as he started to gather everything for the party. He made sure that everything he needed he had. Wouldn’t it suck if he managed to leave something?

As he was finishing, he heard the patter of someone walking down the stairs. Aether stopped what he was dong, half expecting his mother to walk through the door and start yelling at him. But no, it was his sister.

He glanced at her but didn’t say anything. Lumine had a salty look plastered on her face, and her arms were crossed. Aether didn’t say anything to her when she walked in. He didn’t need to. She decided to speak up,“You are already ready?” She asked as she judged the outfit choice that Aether had chosen. 

Aether shifted uncomfortably, hoping that she didn’t say something that would make him hate the outfit he had chosen. He turned to face her and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?” He replied, matching her unimpressed tone. “I’m going to be leaving soon?”

She scrunched up her nose as she heard that. “The party isn’t tell the afternoon.” She pointed out as if that would change his mind. But why would it. Aether shrugged his shoulders, “And it’s so early in the morning. Do you really want to be at Gorou’s friend’s house so long?”

The boy shrugged his shoulders again, refusing to say anything. He didn’t really find a problem with spending some time with Gorou and Itto. “I volunteered to help set up.” He admitted after the two sat in silence, “It’s going to be a big party, and I can’t leave it just to Gorou and Itto.” 

He didn’t add how it would be nice to spend some time with his best friend. He could also use the set up time to get to know Itto, who was starting to be a huge part of Gorou’s life. All Aether knew about his best friend’s crush was there was one time he tried to scare people and Gorou was so in love with the boy that it hurt to watch. He wanted to know more about the boy who stole Gorou’s heart. Lumine scoffed at his answer and rolled her eyes.  The blond sighed deeply,  getting ready to deal with her bullshit. “What?”

The girl shrugged her shoulders, walking over to grab a glass of water from the kitchen. Aether watched her as she took her sweet time. When she was done, she turned to look at her twin. “I really hope that you aren’t expecting Xiao to arrive at the party with you early.” She said with a fake smile on her face. A  smile that was too sweet as she stared him dead in the eyes.

Aether had to control himself and fight the urge to roll his eyes. “I’m not expecting him to come early.” He stated. He was so done with her and this awful attitude she had for no reason. Speaking of his boyfriend… He might as well let Xiao know that he would be helping Gorou all day and wouldn’t be able to hang if Xiao wanted to. Not that Aether expected him to want to hang out with him.He reached over for his phone.

He called his boyfriend and put the device up to his ear, grimacing as it rang and rang. Aether bit his lip, hoping that Xiao would answer him, and not let it go to voicemail. Maybe Xiao wasn’t up? 

Right when the phone was about to go to voicemail, and Aether was about to hang up the phone and text him instead, Xiao picked up the phone. “What?” His boyfriend hissed out.

Aether’s eyes widened.  Xiao sounded like he was very angry.  The blond gulped. Did the other know that it was Aether?  Or maybe he woke Xiao? “Hey…” Aether whispered, too scared to say anything in case it angered Xiao more. “I was… I was just going to go to the party early. See if they needed any help setting up and I was-”

“I don’t believe this.” Xiao muttered under his breath, interrupting Aether before he could finish his thought. The blond’s hand shook and he almost dropped his phone. “You want me to go early with you? To a party I didn’t even want to go to?” Xiao seethed across the phone line. Aether grabbed the counter and tried to blink away tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He wasn’t going to cry. Not today. That was his New Year's Resolution. He was going to cry less than he had been these past few months. 

He shook his head, wanting to explain to Xiao that’s not why he called. That would never be something he would ask of Xiao. Not when he knew Xiao didn’t want to. “That’s-”

“I didn’t want to come with you to this dumb party in the first place,” Xiao repeated, “What makes you think that I want to come with you to set up for-” Xiao cut off, Aether heard him cut off. He was going to say something he knew he would regret.

Aether took in a deep breath, trying to center himself, so that his voice didn’t crack as he responded. He could feel the way that Lumine was watching him. An unimpressed look seemed to be permanent on her face. “You don’t have to come.” Aether whispered.

“I’m not coming to set up.” Xiao responded, “I thought that I made that perfectly clear to you, Aether.”

“To the party,” The blond clarified, gulping a little bit. “You don’t have to come to the party. If you’re not going to enjoy it… I can tell them that you aren’t coming,” he made a face as he said that, “And… I wasn’t ever going to ask you to come over early. I was just trying to let you know that I was going to go over-” It felt weird the way he was trying to explain to Xiao. Did everyone have to explain to their boyfriends why they are calling?

Aether stood still for a while, listening to the silence from the other end of the phone. He stared at the counter, wondering if Xiao was even there.He hadn’t heard the phone disconnect, and he could still hear the other’s angered breathing. “So…” Xiao whispered with a slight chuckle, but it wasn't a good chuckle. It was a bad chuckle. It was a very bad chuckle. “So… you want to make me the bad guy now?” He cried out.

Bewilderment filled Aether. How did Xiao get that idea? What part of what Aether said made Xiao the bad guy? He pulled the device away from his ear and stared at it for a couple of seconds before placing it back to his ear so he could talk again. “When did I ever say that?” Aether asked, trying to keep his voice calm and collected. “I am not trying to make you the bad guy in this situation. You wouldn’t be the bad guy.”

“Have you thought about how it would make me look towards your friends?” Xiao catechized, stopping Aether in his tracks. Aether made a sound of confusion, not being able to control it from escaping.  “If you go to the party, and have fun they will ask where I am. When you say that I didn’t want to go with you, I look like an asshole. An asshole who’s staying home and refusing to go to this dumb party of yours. I don’t want your du- your friends to think that I am a horrible person.” 

“Gorou wouldn’t think that.” Aether whispered softly. “Gorou… Gorou is your friend too.” He pointed out.

“Is he, though, is he really my friend, Aether?” Xiao responded, confusing Aether even more.

“Of course he’s your friend!” Aether cried out. “Can you stop with this bull-” Aether stopped, and took a few deep breaths as he tried to keep himself calm. He was supposed to be calm. He wasn’t supposed to yell at Xiao. Not here. Not now. “I don’t have to go to the party either then.” He muttered softly. “We can just do something else if you want to.” He could spend time with Gorou later. All he wanted was to spend the day with Xiao. And Gorou would understand if they didn’t go to the party. Neither one of them were very social, after all.

His boyfriend scoffed again, not satisfied with the answer that Aether had given him. “Go to your dumb Party Aether.” He finally spat. The line went quiet, and Aether knew that he hung up the phone.

The blond shakily pulled the phone away from his ear, looking at the wall with wide eyes, his lip trembling as he repeated don’t cry in his head. Not yet. Did this mean that Xiao wasn’t coming to the party? Just how angry was Xiao at him? And should Aether go to the party? What was he supposed to do in this situation? What was he going to do?

If he didn’t go to the party and Xiao did…. Xiao would end up being a lot more upset with Aether than he was now. And Aether didn’t want that. He wanted Xiao to be less upset. He wanted to fix this with Xiao. But was he expecting Aether to show up at his door? And what if Aether did that and it just set Xiao off again?

He guessed he would continue with the day that he was planning with. This was just one little hiccup. He was going to get past this… right? He had to get past this situation.

 The blond sighed before grabbing all of his presents and leaving the house, heading straight to the car. He hoped his father didn’t find out. He didn’t want to get in trouble with him either. He knew that the curfew was still in place. There was also his father’s rule of him not going off on his own.

With the curfew, he could use the excuse that he was going to meet with his friends. He was only in his car. But as for his dad? Aether didn’t know if he could convince his dad that he wasn’t breaking his rule. Making his dad angry would just be the cherry on the top fo this very horrible day.

He kept the  ride silent, letting his mind race and think of all the questions he had on his brain. About today, about his own relationship. Was this relationship with Xiao even worth it at this point? 

He pulled to the side as the GPS told him that he had arrived at his direction. He looked at the house and his eyes went wide. It was a very pretty house. It must have been very expensive. A very expensive and huge house. Was he at the right house? He had to be. Right?

Aether pulled down the overhead mirror, staring at himself through them just to make sure that they didn’t give away that he was on the verge of crying. If Gorou asked him if he was okay, Aether was sure the tears he worked so hard to keep back would start to fall down his cheeks. He sat in the driveway for a while, trying to get up the courage to leave the car and walk up to the house.

He didn’t know how long it had been before he did just that, and after he finished knocking on the door, he stood there awkwardly. He shifted from foot to foot as he took a look around the porch. There was a porch swing that faced the road and a few porch decorations. A little table with a small plant on it. The door swung open, startling Aether, causing the blond to nearly jump out of his skin. 

Gorou stood in the entrance with a confused look on his face before he saw Aether. The blond watched as the brown haired man’s confusion melted away and he pulled the boy into a tight hug. 

Aether smiled slightly before hugging him back and burying his head in his shoulder. Suddenly it felt like everything was going to be okay. Even if he didn’t have Xiao, he still had Gorou who would do anything for him. Right? “Aether!” Gorou cried out happily. “I’m so happy to see you!”

Aether smiled and laughed when he heard that. “Me too.” He admitted. “There’s so much to talk to you about. So much that we needed to catch up on!” And yet it felt like it hadn't been that long since he talked to Gorou.

Gorou paused for a split second with a concerned look. He gently patted Aether’s back before pulling away from the hug. He looked around with a confused look on his face. He looked like he was looking for something. Aether wondered if he had forgotten something “Where is Xiao?” He asked. Oh… he wasn’t looking for something. He was looking for something.

Aether glanced away from Gorou, trying to hide his emotions. He faked a smile at Gorou, hoping his friend wouldn’t call it out. “He is going to be coming later,” he answered the question, trying to stay as vague as possible,“I hope.” He added under his breath before shaking his head. “I should go and get my presents.” He glanced back over towards his car, trying to find anything to get off the Xiao topic.

Gorou brightened up at the mention of presents. He nodded his head a few times before setting off towards Aether’s car without looking back at him “Let me help you get them!” He cried out before Aether could respond.

The blond boy fought back a smile and shook his head before running over after his friend, unlocking the car. What did he do to deserve such an awesome friend like Gorou? “Is there a place in the house where I can refrigerate something?” He asked as he opened the trunk to start getting his gifts, passing some of them to Gorou. There weren't a lot of them. Just a gift for Gorou, a gift for Itto, his white elephant gift, and his gifts for Xiao. Gorou looked at him weirdly. Aether knew that it was a weird question to ask. He wasn’t told to bring any food for the party, and it didn’t look like he had come with food either. “My gift for Xiao…. It’s a dessert that I made.” He explained, patting the tupperware where his Almond Tofu resided.

Gorou’s eyes widened as he understood then what Aether was looking for. The brown haired boy nodded his head. “Oh!  Yes, there’s a fridge! Let me take you over there so you can put it in there!” Aether smiled and finished getting everything out of his car and Gorou turned before walking back up to the house. “I’ll make sure that Itto knows too. That way nobody else eats it.” He called out over his shoulder. 

Aether smiled as he walked behind Gorou, silently paying attention to Gorou as he gave Aether the full tour of the house. It wasn’t that big of a house. It totally felt a lot smaller than it looked on the outside. Aether unloaded everything that he had in different spots as they walked. Gorou used the time to talk about Itto’s family, more important the way that Itto was adopted by a really rich family when he was young.

When they got to the part of the tour where Gorou showed him the kitchen, the final place, Gorou took the last present in Aether’s hands, the gift for Xiao. He walked up to the fridge and placed it in there. Aether smiled gratefully at his friend and glanced around, noticing how Itto was in the room. He looked to be in the middle of baking something, his eyes knitted together as he finished a recipe or something. 

He finished the step  that he was on before looking up, probably trying to see what was the noise that happened around him when he was concentrating. He smiled at Gorou before he glanced at Aether and his eyes brightened. Aether wouldn’t have expected Itto to remember him all that well.

But he did. As apparent as the way that Itto yelled out, “Aether!” And ran, legit sprinted, towards Aether and pulled him into a bone breaking hug. Aether stiffened before slowly hugging him back, patting his back awkwardly. “My bro, my dude!” Itto cried out happily before he pulled away from the hug, choosing to clasp Aether’s shoulder’s instead. His face was so bright and cheerful. No, not his face, his whole personality just screamed sunshine. “It’s so good to see you again!” 

Aether tried to give him the best smile that he could. He could see why Gorou was so entranced by this man now that he met him when he wasn’t in the middle of the woods.  “It's.. It’s good to see you as well.” Aether replied. He couldn’t believe it as Itto beamed happily at Aether. How did he get even more bright than he was before? The blond boy pulled away and took a few steps back, and went back to shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, his anxiety racing in his mind. “I…. “ He didn’t know what to say, “I uh… I’m here to help you set up. So wherever you need me, put me to work.” 

The man before him beamed more before moving back over to the spot where he was baking, studying Aether with his bright red eyes. “Perfect!” He cried happily. “There is still so much to do! I was kind of getting nervous, not knowing if we would get everything set up in time or not! Gorou said that you might be here. And I am so glad that you actually are here.”

Aether glanced over to his friend who smiled brightly at Aether. He looked so happy. These two, it seemed, brought the best out of each other and they weren’t dating yet. Were Xiao and Aether like that? No. No they couldn’t be. If they were, then Xiao wouldn’t feel this confused, would he?

Gorou placed a hand on Aether’s shoulder, clearing the blond’s head from his fretting. The blond let out a sigh of relief as he felt a wave of peace rush over him for the first time in a long while. “I’ll let you know what you need to do, we are going to be on the set up team.” He explained to his best friend who slowly nodded his head. He glanced back over at Itto, “I put something of Aether’s in the fridge. Don’t let anyone eat it! It’s a gift for someone!” He warned the other boy.

Itto hummed, looking at the fridge before looking at Gorou, a serious look appearing on his face. “Will do, you got it my dude!” He cried out and gave him a thumbs up, “I would help you two set up, Aether, but I have to be baking so I wont be able to help you. I forgot to do some stuff last night.” Gorou rolled his eyes playfully at the other man. Aether smiled and shook his head, he totally felt that. “So… is your boyfie here?”

The blond felt everything in him stop as he heard that question, looking a little taken aback. “Boyfie?” He repeated, wondering if he had heard the term correctly.

The white haired man nodded his head, not looking at Aether as he continued whatever it was that he was baking. But he had a huge smile on his face as he did continue. “Yeah! Gorou said that you are helplessly in love with this really emo looking dude,” Itto cried out and Aether glanced at his friend with a look. He didn’t know how much of it was Gorou saying that and how much it was Ittos words. “I was really hoping to meet him. Just see how emo looking he really is.”

“He’s not emo…” Aether whispered, making a face as he tried to defend his boyfriend. 

Gorou shook his head a little bit. “I did not use those words to describe Xiao,” Gorou let Aether know. “I just showed him a picture of Xiao… he was curious cause I kept talking about you and him.” He muttered the last part under his breath.

Aether blinked slowly, figuring that was alright. He slowly nodded his head a little bit. “Oh… uh… right.” He muttered softly and closed his eyes, realizing that they were still curious about where the teal haired boy was. “Xiao is going to be coming later.” He hoped that Xiao was coming later.

He forced a smile, hoping that Gorou was too distracted by Itto to notice or for him to comment on it. Gorou hummed and nodded while Itto looked at Aether deeply. His red eyes scanned Aether up and down and he tilted his head to the side. 

There was no way. There was no way that Gorou missed how fake his smile had been but Gorou had seen right through it. “You don’t look too sure about that.” Itto commented.

Gorou stopped what he was doing and turned to look at his best friend, he also scanned Aether and looked at Aether concerned. “Is everything between you and Xiao alright?” He asked, his voice sounding scared.

“Oh it’s just fine,” Aether lied, waving his hand with another faker smile. “Uh… Xiao might not be too happy about the party. But he’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.” Aether explained. When the two of them kept staring at him, the blond sighed, knowing he had to explain more. “I don’t think that he wants to even come to the party, to be honest.” 

Gorou blinked a few times and tilted his head to the side. He opened his mouth, getting ready to say something that was probably going to be comforting. “Then why is he coming?” Itto asked instead.  He had a confused look on his face as he asked that. “Don't bring down the party vibes if you don’t want to come. Just say you don't want to go then don’t go. It’s that simple.”

The blond blinked a few times, taking in what Itto was saying. He knew that the other had a point. He took in a deep breath and shook his head, not sure what to say. “I think he thinks that I’m forcing him to come.” Aether muttered softly, “And if I say that he isn’t coming because he doesn’t want to you’ll think he’s an ass.”

“He’s behaving like an ass.” Gorou muttered. “Let's get this party set up before I say something mean.” The brown haired called out before smiling at Itto. “I’ll see you later! Have fun with baking! I call to be the first taste tester when they are out of the oven.”

Itto looked at Gorou and a gentle smile appeared on his face. “Of course.” He responded, “I’ll come and find you when I’m ready.” Gorou beamed before turning and leaving the room. Aether waved at Itto before following after his friend as well. 

The set up for the party went by fast. It was the most fun that Gorou had in a while. Before Itto was done with the baking, Gorou would talk about this cruise. He would try to figure out what was happening with Xiao, but everytime Xiao was mentioned, Aether would relate the conversation back to Gorou instead. He felt like he was jumping hoops trying to avoid talking to Gorou about the other boy. When Itto had finished baking, he had come to them with a little plate full of different snacks. He offered some to Aether, but the blond politely declined thinking that he would get his full during the party.

The teenager had to admit that he had a really great time hanging out with them.Gorou and Itto seemed to really enjoyed being around each other. They thrived around each other. Itto seemed to gravitate towards Gorou a lot and Aether could see just how much the brown haired boy liked Itto. It was nice to see that the two of them got along pretty well.

It wasn’t until around the time when people started to come for the party that Aether was left alone. Itto had wanted to be a good host and Gorou had to go with him to make sure he didn’t say something stupid. Or so Gorou said. Aether knew it was because Gorou didn’t want to be away from Itto. 

That was how he used to feel about Xiao. Now here he was, dreading when he finally met up with the boy but at the same time, he really wanted to be next to Xiao. A happy Xiao, not this angry Xiao that the boy had been for a while. When the two left, they left Aether alone, the boy not wanting to socialize just yet. They had people coming from a lot of different places in their life. Aether was sure he wouldn’t know anyone aside from Gorou, Lumine, and Xiao.

A lot of the guests  were Itto's friends or someone who knew Itto.  As he walked around, he found Xiao and Lumine talking with each other. Seeing the two talk to each other surprised him. He didn’t even notice that they had arrived. They hadn’t told him they were on the way. 

Aether walked over to the two of them, trying to fake a smile and a cheery outlook. “Hey!” He called out to the two of them. He got a glance back from Lumine, but Xiao refused to even look at him.

“You know,” Xiao said, glancing over his shoulder away from Aether. “I’m going to get something to drink, I’m feeling very thirsty.” 

Before he could get an answer from either he turned and walked away. Lumine looked at Aether again. “That sounds nice.” She called out before following after Xiao, running to keep up with him. Aether stared after the two of them with wide eyes, not sure if he should follow after them or not.

He shook his head, but by the time he made up to go after them, Xiao had made sure to get lost in the crowd and Aether lost sight of them. The boy tried not to start crying when he realized what was happening. They were icing him out. He tried to find them again, looking around for them, thinking maybe Xiao didn’t hear him or saw him. But after a while, Xiao and Lumine continued to avoid him and he never had a chance to speak to them at all. Xiao completely ignored Aether, never even bothered once to try and get his attention and recognized that Aether was trying to get his attention either.

By the time that White Elephant rolled around, Aether felt really confused and hurt. Everything came to a head when Aether tried to sit down next to Xiao when he saw the other, tried to pick up a conversation, but Xiao completely ignored him.

Aether couldn’t take it anymore as he stood up and walked out of the house, not bothering if anyone was looking at him or not. He stopped, realizing he didn’t wear a sweatshirt and shivered, but he didn’t care as he walked over to the porch bench and sat down on it. He stared out at the porch, feeling numb and empty and feeling like everything would never be alright again.

He didn’t know when or how, but he started to cry, pulling his legs up against his chest. He shoved his head into his knees and allowed himself to go into a deep shame spiral. He had never felt so alone, which was saying something.

Hell, he hadn’t even seen Gorou all night after Itto and him had disappeared. A sting in his chest made him worried what if Gorou thought he was being a bad friend because he did everything he could to try and talk to someone he didn’t even know. If Heizou or Kazuha were here, would they have been able to spend some time with him? Would he want them to?  And it scared him not knowing the answer to that. “Where did I go wrong?” Aether whispered softly.

As he sat there, trying not to freak out, he could hear the sound of a door opening before shutting again. He figured someone was going to leave. “Hey!”

Chapter Text

“Hey!”

Aether heard the voice. He heard them, but he didn’t bother to look up at them. What was the point, when it wasn’t him that they were yelling at. He wasn’t going to be nosey, he wasn’t that person. He wasn’t, right? 

“Hey!” The voice called out again and Aether squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that they would just disappear, just leave him alone again. He didn’t know the voice, so obviously it wasn’t him that they were - A hand was placed on his back. The blond’s full body jolted before he opened his eyes and turned to look over at the person.

It was a blond boy, a boy Aether had never seen before, or at least, he didn’t think he saw them before. He looked very familiar, his hair pulled back away from his face and watching Aether with crimson eyes, concern swimming in them. When Aether looked at him, he forced a smile to appear on his face. “Hey?” Aether responded, a slight awkward smile on his face to mirror him. “I’m sorry, do I-”

“Do you wanna play cards?” The boy interrupted before Aether could ask him who he was. The senior blinked a few times and narrowed his eyebrows, caught off guard by the random question.

 Did he hear the other correctly? Aether stopped, sniffing before he reached up to wipe the tears away that were running down his cheeks. “Huh?” He muttered softly, trying to figure out if the boy in front of him was a real person or a figment of his imagination that he created just to make himself feel better.

The other’s smile grew… more warm? Aether couldn’t understand it really. He motioned to sit down and Aether moved so that he could sit. He cusped Aether’s shoulder. “Do you want to play cards?” He repeated. Aether stared at him dumbly as he tried to think of an answer to him. He had to, why would he ask a random person at a party to play cards.

“Do I know you?” The blond couldn’t help but ask.

The older male, he had to be older than Aether, a couple of years older or so, laughed, his eyes crinkling as he did. He looked so carefree, so happy. What Aether wouldn’t give to be like that. “We need a fourth player. It would really help us out if you joined us.” The other responded. “And no, No we don’t know each other.”

Aether chewed on his cheek as he stared at the other and nodded his head slowly as he heard the other’s explanation. “Why me?” He whispered. “Why go after the person crying on the porch when there is somebody in that room that probably won’t bring the mood down.” 

“Everyone else in there blew us off.” The male responded so casually as he shrugged his shoulders a little bit. “Besides, you seemed like you needed company. Nobody should be crying out on a porch during a New Years Eve party.” 

The boy looked down at the ground, thinking about his offer. Part of him wanted to just say no, to just leave and go home because he didn’t want to be in that house for a second longer. But at the same time, he knew he should try. And besides, if he came home early he would hear an earful from his dad. He was supposed to spend the night here. That was the plan. “Sure.” He finally responded, making up his mind that he was going to try and have a little bit of fun tonight.

The other man’s face shifted into happiness as he stood up. He then held his hand out for Aether to grab. “Great!” He cried out as Aether accepted the hand and he was pulled up by his new friend. “We were flirting with the idea of playing with a ghost player. Two of us were down for the idea, but our other friend hated the idea. He said that it wasn’t really playing the game and being true to the game.” The blond male rolled his eyes as he said that before sighing. “He gets very serious about the game, if you get what I mean.”

He winked at Aether before turning and walking into the house again. Aether stood there for a second, taken aback. What did the other mean? He shook his head before following after him. He was waiting for Aether in the house. Aether’s eyes glanced around, hoping to get one more look at Xiao. “What game is it?” Aether asked as his eyes caught Xiao’s. The teal haired man stared at Aether in shock before he glared at the boy and glanced away. 

The very pretty male shrugged his shoulders as he glanced back at Aether as the boy glanced away from Xiao. He looked over to where Xiao was and a confused look appeared on his face for a split second before it was back to the happy go lucky look. “It’s a card game. It’s called TCG.” Aether nodded his head slowly. “Have you ever heard of TCG?” He suddenly asked, stopping and turning around to stare Aether down. He was a lot taller than Aether. A lot taller. It felt like he towered over him. 

Aether gulped, trying not to feel intimidated by the other male. “No.” He answered, glancing away from him. “Never heard of it.”  

The other hummed as he turned around again and continued to walk.k Aether looked back up and hurried to follow after him. “Ahhh, well you can use my Roommate’s deck. He was supposed to come with us to the party, but then he canceled at the last minute.” He laughed, “He tried to feed me some lie about him running a fever.”

“You know it was a lie?” Aether asked and his new companion nodded his head. “And you aren’t mad about it?”

The male shrugged his shoulders. “I was half expecting it.” He admitted. “He’s not the best at social events. He has severe social anxiety, does a lot better on his own.” He admitted, pulling his phone out of his pocket, turning it on to glance at it. Aether caught a quick glance at it, seeing that his background was a picture of a famous architectural structure, but Aether couldn’t think of what it was, it was very pretty though and he didn’t know the other well enough to work up the guts to ask him what it was.  “He honestly might be asleep already. I’ll have to remember to bring him some of Itto’s food.” So he was one of Itto’s friends. He turned around again, his eyes going wide, “Have you ever had the chance to try some of his baked goods? They are to die for, you know.” He was very expressive, this man.

Aether shook his head to answer him “I don’t believe that I have ever gotten the chance to try some.” Aether muttered, and it was at that point that Aether realized that since the party started to tell this point he couldn’t remember if he had eaten anything at all. His stomach started to growl to point out that it was hungry and needed some food.

His companion looked back at him with a pitying look. “Well…” He whispered. Aether was sure he was going to say that Aether was too late, and all of the cookies had been eaten already. That would be just Aether’s luck, “We have some when we get back to our corner.” Did he just say corner? “One of my friends adores his cookies and he kind of stole the whole tray when nobody was looking. But we cannot tell his boyfriend or else he’ll get mad at him for breaking the rules.” He rolled his eyes again.

Aether smiled and chuckled softly. This guy sounded like he really loved his friends, which was refreshing to hear. Aether hoped they wouldn't mind him crashing in on them, even if this male was the one who invited Aether over.

“So…” Aether called, the curiosity was starting to eat him alive. “How do you know Itto?” The man that he was following suddenly took a sharp right and headed straight for a corner. Aether guess he wasn’t joking when he said their corner. There were two other people sitting there, one had pulled over an ottoman or something and was sitting on that while the other was fully on the ground, shuffling a deck of cards. He was muttering something under his breath.

But when he heard the sound of feet, he stopped his shuffling, closed his eyes before opening them and his red eyes looked up at the two, giving Aether a once over before he looked at his friend. “Who is this?” He asked.

His friend ignored him at first, looking at Aether to answer his question, “My cousin is friends with him at school.” He responded and Aether nodded his head slowly. That made sense. Itto seemed to be a very friendly person, maybe not the brightest but still a good person deep down. “And this is just a person.” He responded as he placed his hands on Aether’s shoulder and forced him to sit down. “We are just borrowing him for the night, so there is no need for introductions.”

As Aether sat down, he took a good look at the other two males that were staring at him now. The card shuffler had a more intense look, he had long white hair that was pulled back into a bun and a deep purple hoodie on. Meanwhile, the other was chewing on a cookie with a matching hoodie in green, he had black haired with a light green undercoat and bright green eyes. 

“So, you invite a random stranger to play a game with us? Insead of doing a 1v1?” The friend shuffling the cards asked, rolling his scarlet eyes.

His friend scoffed and threw a bit of his cookie at his friend. “You were the one that said no to a ghost player. This all could have been avoided. Besides, he seems like a nice enough boy.” He responded.

The blond boy that led him to the group nodded his head in agreement. “He seemed really lonely, so we needed a fourth person, and he needed to come in from the cold.” He responded as he reached over to a tray of cookies and stole a cookie, handing it over to Aether before daring to go back for another one.

Aether accepted the cookie, looking at it and wondering if it was safe. But then again, who would try to poison someone at a party? He took a bite of the cookie as he noticed that he was being watched closely by the green eyed male. Aether looked over at him as the male tucked some of his hair behind his ear. “That's the guy that has been trying to get the teal haired male's attention all night, is he not?” He asked and Aether felt himself cringe. People really were paying attention to him and the horrible day that he was experiencing.

The male scrunched his face in discomfort and glanced over at Xiao, shocked at two things. One, he was still there, and two, Xiao was glaring at Aether with anger in his eyes. He shivered before glancing back at his new friend. “I’m… It may seem weird for me trying to get his attention…” Aether whispered under his breath, “Especially if you don’t know the full story.” The black haired male shrugged his shoulders. “But he is my boyfriend…. “ Was Xiao still his boyfriend? Aether didn’t think they broke up… yet. 

The guy shuffling the deck stopped shuffling for a second. He blinked a few times, keeping his eyes closed for a second before he looked over at Xiao and hen back at Aether. He rolled his eyes. “Seems like a dick.” He muttered and his blond friend nodded his head in agreement. “Is he borrowing the dumbasses deck of cards?”

Aether was glad that he wasn’t drinking anything or else he would have spit it out and choked, he started coughing to cover up a laugh when he heard the name of the other. That was one way to call your friends, Aether guessed. The blond boy sighed softly. “I really wish that you didn’t insist on calling him that.” THe blond whispered.

His friend shrugged his shoulders. “Well tell him when he stops being a dumbass, I’ll stop calling him a dumbass.” The other responded, “It’s as simple as that.”

His friend threw another piece of cookie at him. “Be nice. We have a new friend here!”

The blond sighed softly. “Yes. You have his deck with you, don’t you?”

The white haired man nodded his head, putting his deck down before grabbing a backpack that was next to him. He pulled out a deck of cards before throwing it over at Aether. Aether had the sense he was a very serious dude with these cards, so he made sure to catch it. After he did, he started to pull the deck out and look at the cards.

As he went through each of them with a confused look, the male spoke again, “I hope that he’s not like your roommate and purposely loses.” He stated, making the gesture for air quotes when he said roommate. 

The blond stranger rolled his eyes when he heard that, staring his friend down and raising an eyebrow at him. “He does not lose on purpose.” He tried to defend his friend, but both of them looked like they didn’t believe him. He sighed and his shoulders dropped. “At least, he doesn’t when we play alone.”

The white haired man suddenly screeched loudly, grabbing his heart. A lot of the guest turned to look at the group of people as the black haired man threw his head back and groaned loudly. “You play TGC without me?” He cried, sounding very betrayed. “I can’t believe that you would do that to me!”

The blond male sighed and face palmed before he shook his head, “Please.” He responded, looking back up at him, “I am not betraying you. We live together and sometimes it's nice to play with someone who doesn’t hand our asses to us whenever we try to play.”

“I was the one who introduced you to the game!” The white haired man cried, slamming a fist down on the ground next to him. “And  you go around playing without me?”

“It’s not like we don’t play with you!” The blond snapped, “People play this game without you you know!” 

Aether smiled as he listened to them bicker. It reminded him of how he and Gorou used to be. He covered his mouth as he laughed, trying to be polite. “I’ll try not to lose on purpose.” He called out to break up the play bickering and the white haired male’s scarlet eyes landed on Aether again, “But I don’t know how to play…” Aether really hoped that they wouldn’t get upset and frustrated with him as he tried to learn how to play.

The male with green eyes smiled encouragingly at Aether. He reached over to pat Aether on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it,” He insisted, “You’ll learn how to play by the end of the night,” he then nodded over to his friend who was glaring at the spot that his hand landed on Aether’s shoulder, “My own boyfriend does not stop talking about the game. Even when we are playing. If you’re lucky, sometimes he tells you exactly what to do, ro what his plan is going to be. It’s how I beat him every now and then.” He winked at Aether after saying that.

The white haired man’s gaze dropped as he listened to what his boyfriend was saying. “Don’t judge me.” He responded as he made a face, scrunching up his nose, “I can’t help myself. Whenever I see a card, it reminds me of the lore.” He then looked back at Aether with a very serious look on his face, a look to show he wasn’t playing. “If you get into the lore, it is a really interesting card game.”

The couple’s friend laughed as he pulled the deck away from Aether. Aether allowed him to, watching as he started to shuffle the deck a few times before handing it back to Aether. “That just means that a game that should only last ten minutes at most spans on for hours.” The blond responded, “He’ll talk about his move, then your move, and then he’ll talk about his options. Which is why Hai always loses on purpose, he doesn’t find it interesting when you have already said your plan.”

Aether smiled politely and nodded his head. He took the time to glance over once more at Xiao again. He was now dead on glaring at him, and Aether couldn’t tell how long he had been glaring at him. The white haired man also looked over at Xiao and made a face before glancing back at the blond boy. “What’s his problem?’ He asked as he tilted his head towards Xiao. “I know you said that he’s being a dick but-”

“I did not use those exact words.” Aether responded but he sighed softly and shook his head. “If only I knew…”

The white haried’s boyfriend patted his shoulder comfortingly. “Relationships are hard.” He muttered softly. Aether knew that, he got that. At the same time… “Don’t worry about it. The younger you are, the dumber you are. Especially in relationships. “

Aether played with the ends of his hair, looking at the male as the green eyed man shuffled his own deck of cards. “I just… I never expected a relationship to be this hard…” He admitted, rubbing his arm uncomfortably. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. And he won’t talk to me either.” he blinked his eyes a few times as  he felt the tears starting to come back. Why was he such a cry baby? “I just… I just don’t get it.” 

The blond boy next to him scoffed as he heard that and glanced over his shoulder, giving Xiao a dirty look before he scrunched up his face. “Dick.” He muttered under his breath.

Before Aether could realize what he was doing, he was nodding his head. When he realized what he was doing he stopped and quickly picked up the deck that was given to him. He started to shuffle them, mimicking the way that his new white haired friend was shuffling the cards when he had first walked up on the group.

They started to play the game, and just like they had said, Aether had managed to pick up on the rules quite quickly. He played a few rounds with them, laughing and enjoying the cookies that the green eyed boy had stolen.

It was refreshing to see their dynamic. The three friends had a lot of inside jokes, mostly about the blond boy’s roommate. Sometimes, one of them would stop in order to explain the joke to Aether, but it didn’t help the boy understand what they were saying. The white haired man also really loved puns, and the more he got used to Aether’s presence, the more puns he would say, and his companions would groan.

But playing with them really did help. The night went by in a flash and before Aether knew it, it was almost midnight. They finished the last game before they all started to pack up the game. “Thank you for playing with us.” The boy who pulled him over to the group called out, smiling at him, “But I think it’s time that we go annoy our friend. He can’t have a bad new year if I’m not there to anger him. It takes a while to wake him up.” 

Aether smiled gratefully at them as he handed the deck they had lent him. “Thank you for allowing me to play with you.” Aether replied, his voice filled with sincerity. They had taken a bad night and turned it into a night that Aether didn’t think he would be forgetting anytime soon.“It was kind of a relief to spend some time at this party without me moping around.”

His blond friend smiled before clasping Aether’s shoulder again as he shook his head. He glanced over to where Xiao was still glaring at them. “I’m sure that everything will work out in the end. If the guy doesn’t get it together, he will regret it.” He responded with a serious look in his eyes, as if he didn’t doubt what he was saying. “He’s going to lose one of the coolest people that I have personally met randomly crying on a porch.”

His other two friends nodded their heads in agreement, the white haired looking as if he was trying to hold back a laugh. “Yeah,” the TCG genius agreed, rolling his scarlet eyes as he grabbed his backpack after all four decks were returned to him and he stood up. “Highschoolers are really dumb. I do not miss those days.” He shuddered as if thinking about his own highschool days.

“And you were popular. Imagine being the nerd that nobody wanted to hang out with.” His boyfriend scoffed. “Or being the weirdo who won’t shut up about buildings.” He glared over at his blond friend after saying that. “But seriously, enjoy your highschool years, before you know it, you’re going to miss them.”

Their friend scrunched up his nose as he glanced between the two of them. “You two are only what, two years out of highschool?” He asked before rolling his eyes. “You’re not that much older and two years are nothing.”

The blond stopped as he looked between the friends, feeling taken aback when he realized that they weren’t highschool students. He actually hung out with college students for most of the night?  “You’re… you’re not Highschoolers?” He asked in shock. Then again, he had thought the blond was a few years older than him. Maybe it was more of a shock that he was entering his last semester of highschool.

The group of friends shook their heads all at the same time, glancing between each other and then back at Aether. “No.” The white haired male explained, “We are all second year university students.” 

The blond blinked as he heard that, his eyes widening. “Oh…” He whispered softly. So they would be in the same year as Albedo was then. They did look to be around that age if his head wasn’t playing tricks on him. “What… What are you studying?” He didn’t know what else to say, to be honest. That was one thing to ask college students though, right? What are they majoring in?

The blond one next to him smiled and straightened his back. “I’m studying Architecture.” Aether nodded his head slowly,  that really didn’t surprise him. From his phone background to his friends making fun of him loving buildings. It suited him. “I’ve always loved the way that buildings were formed and the histories behind each style. My dream one day is to build-”

“To keep him from geeking out, “ The white haired man interrupted , slamming a hand over the blond’s mouth. Aether turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. The blond college student whined and peeled his friend's hand away from his mouth before he rolled his eyes dramatically.  “I’m studying criminal Justice. Have you ever seen the show Criminal minds?” Aether shook his head slightly, he didn’t think he heard of the show. “That’s what I want to be like. All cool and knowing who’s the bad guy just by profiling them.” 

The man’s boyfriend rolled his eyes before elbowing him. “Oh shut up.” He mocked and the white haired man looked at him insulted, rubbing the spot that he had just elbowed him. “I’m studying Organic Chemistry and Biology. Learning about Plants and Herbology, different stuff like that you now?” Aether nodded his head, that sounded pretty cool. “What about you? Have you ever thought about what you want to do? What you would be majoring in.”

What he would be majoring in? Nobody had asked him that question, and he hadn’t really put too much thought into it. The blond stared at everyone as his eyes went wide.  He had been too focused about getting in that he forgot what he wanted to do after college. “No…” Aether admitted. “My one goal has always been to get into Celestia... I’m not even sure if they have degree paths like that…” He shifted on his feet. He knew that the university was mainly focusing on helping kids control their powers. But then again, they had to right? Because their kids still go out and get good jobs.

“Oh they do,” The white haired man said, shrugging his shoulders. “Of course they do. I mean, obviously the professors there only really know about the houses they are in. But they have online programs for the actual major parts. The houses are just where you sleep if that’s what you’re worried about. It’s chill. And if you don’t have it figured out by the time you get there most people change their major at least once.”

The black haired man suddenly elbowed his boyfriend out of the way. “What he’s trying to say,” he interrupted with a smile appearing on his face. “You have time to figure out who you are and what you want to do with your life.  And I’m pretty sure that you have a bright future ahead of you.”

The highschooler smiled at them thankfully as he took a deep breath. “I’ll have to think about it.” He whispered softly. He thought back to Xiao and how he should try to clear the air between them before the end of the year. Start them off on a good foot, right? “I should… I should probably go find my boyfriend… see if he would at least want to spend the first moments of the New Year with me.”

His new friends stared at him with a pitying look, a look that Aether really didn’t want to see. He was done with people looking at him like a kicked puppy. “I really hope that your boyfriend stops being a jerk to you,” the blond one called out to Aether, “you don’t deserve that. Nobody deserves that.”

Aether smiled at the other boy. “Thank you.” He muttered softly. “I really hope so too…” He doubted it though. He felt like this next year was going to be one of a lot of hardships for him. He also hoped that these three friends weren’t just some random people he met at a party and he would be able to see them again. Aether turned before walking away from them to go over to where Xiao was still standing. Gorou and Itto were standing there with Lumine as well at the time.

As soon as Itto saw Aether, he beamed brightly before he walked up to him. “Aether!” he cried out which caused everyone to turn and look over at him. “My dude!” He ran up before pulling Aether into a tight hug. Aether hugged him back. “I was under the impression that you had left already!”

Aether smiled apologetically at him, and before he could apologize for not talking that much to Itto, Xiao spoke up on his behalf. “Oh no. He’s been talking shit about me all night long.” The teal haired man hissed out.

Aether blinked a few times as he looked at the male, his mood dropping. He took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to yell, he didn’t need to yell at Xiao. Start off fresh, that was what he was going to do. A nice clean plate for the new year.  “What?” He whispered softly.

Gorou looked at Aether before looking at Xiao, his eyes filled with annoyance, annoyed that the boy would actually accuse his best friend of doing something so shallow.  “I’m sure that’s not true,” Gorou stood up for his best friend, taking a step towards Xiao.

But Xiao brushed Gorou away, looking straight at Aether, “But you were, weren’t you? WIth that little group of friends you were playing that stupid card game with?”

“We didn’t…” Aether whispered before rolling his shoulders back and lifting his face, clearing his throat, trying to keep his emotions in control. “We weren’t talking shit, why would you think we were?” Aether responded, looking at his boyfriend with a challenging look in his eyes.

Lumine looked at her brother and nodded. “Yeah, they weren’t.” she called out in her twin’s defense, something that Aether never thought he would hear. He was so sure that she was on the warpath with him. He also didn’t know if this would be one of the last forms of support he would ever get from her.  “I heard their conversation when I passed by them. It was focused purely on the dumb game that they were playing.”  Aether bit his lip, not liking the way she called the game dumb.

If it was his white haired friend, he would attack Lumine viciously with harsh words for calling his favorite game dumb.

Xiao glared at her before looking back at his boyfriend, not backing down. “I just find it so weird how you were more willing to hang out with those strangers than with your own boyfriend.” He responded as he crossed his arm and raised an eyebrow at Aether.

Disbelief and anger filled Aether’s body. He walked up to the other, trying not to shake from the rage. “What are you trying to do?” He asked him, forcing his tone to stay the same tone.  He balled up his fists as he stared at the other with disbelief shining in his eyes. 

Xiao rolled his eyes at him. “I’m trying to point out what you are doing is not fair,” The teal haired man responded. Aether started to laugh as he started to shake his head in disbelief, but it didn’t stop at one shake he just kept doing it over and over again, “Aether-”

“I know you’re not insinuating that I was the one ignoring you.” He said, his voice raising in disbelief, “That is not what you are doing. Why are you trying so hard to fight with me here? Why are you trying to make it seem that I am the only one in the wrong? This whole night, this whole fucking night, I’ve been trying to get your attention. I’ve been trying to hang out with you. The only reason that I was playing with them is because one of them noticed that I was alone.” Aether pounded on his chest as his face scrunched up. “So I said yes to him. Where did I go wrong in this situation?”

Xiao didn’t look taken aback that his boyfriend was asking him these questions, didn't seem like he realized that he might be wrong as well in this situation. His amber eyes were boiling with anger as he stepped up closer to Aether as well, his nose up against Aether’s now. “I told you that I didn’t want to come to this stupid party,” He screamed out at Aether. “You seriously don’t see where the fuck you went wrong? You can’t even fathom what it is that’s making me so angry right now?” He poked Aether’s chest. “You’re smart Aether. Tell me where you went wrong.”

Aether bit his lip and made a face as he looked at the other. He shook his head slowly. “I told you that you didn’t have to come to the party.” He pointed out, slapping his hands together. “And yet you insisted on coming. I told you that I didn’t have to come either. And yet you insisted on coming, we could have been out there doing anything else.” He gestured around with his arms as he spoke, his arms flying around. “If you had wanted to do anything else I would have been in on it. You can’t pin this on me. At least not all of it on me! It’s not fair.”

“Not fair?” Xiao screamed, his eyes bulging. “Not fair? No. You know what is not fair? You want to know what’s not fair? Being forced to go to a party I didn’t sign up for. Don’t sign me up for a party without clearing it by me first.” He pushed Aether as he talked, trying to get the other away from him.

Aether stared at him with sadness in his eyes.  He took a step back from the other before looking away from him He didn’t have anything to say. He knew that was true, but at the same time Xiao could have talked to him. Why wasn’t he talking with Aether? Instead of playing this game where Aether alone was the bad guy. 

Gorou glanced between the two friends. The tension was tight as everyone stared at the fighting couple.  “That was my fault,” Gorou defended his best friend instead when the silence went on for too long. “You shouldn’t be mad at Aether. I signed both of you up seconds before you found out about it.” He pointed out, trying to get in front of his best friend, trying to direct Xiao’s anger away from the blond boy.

Xiao stared at Aether before staring at Gorou, an unimpressed look on his face. “Well I am mad at him.” He responded, his voice filled with so much coldness it made Aether want to shiver.

Tears filled his eyes as he stared at Xiao. Aether gulped, trying not to burst out crying yet again. “You know what Xiao?” He whispered softly, knowing that what he was going to say next wouldn't mean anything to his boyfriend, “All I wanted tonight was to hang out with you. Even if it wasn’t at this party. I have given you so many chances. So many fucking chances. For you to back out of this party. This is not my fault, at least not my fault alone. Fuck you.” The blond then turned and stormed towards the door, letting the tears roll down his face.

He was almost homebound and to his car when someone grabbed his hand, stopping him from taking another step. He ripped it away and turned around, expecting it to be Xiao standing there. But it was only Gorou who was watching him with a concerned look. “Aether….” The boy whispered with a pleading look. “Don’t leave.”

The blond sniffed and rubbed his eyes again before shaking his head. “I can't be here.” He muttered softly. “I’m sorry. I need to leave. You should go back though, Gorou. Go back and hang with Itto.” He turned and went to leave again but Gorou didn’t let go of his hand and pulled the blond boy back. 

“I’m not letting you go home alone.” Gorou insisted, shaking his head a few times, “Not this late at night anyways. If you want to go, then I’m coming with you.”

Aether stared at him, opening his mouth to try and convince him. But he could see in Gorou’s eyes he wasn’t going to back down either. “Fine…” The boy whispered. “I’m still leaving though.” He turned and started to walk out the door, glancing behind him as he watched Gorou following after him. The two walked over to Aether’s car and got in. 

But when Aether started the car and started to back out, he didn’t know where he was going to go. Should he just go home? Aether didn’t know. “Let’s go to your house.” His best friend called out, “Get some sleep.” Aether looked at him and smiled before nodding his head. His head was starting to hurt, and if there was one thing he knew, he needed sleep before he was able to interact with people again.

The ride to the house wasn’t long, and the two of them got out of the car before walking up to the house, Gorou trying to comfort Aether every step of the way. When Aether threw the door open, he saw that his father was sitting on the couch. Hearing the door open, the man jumped before turning to look over at the two boys.  “Aether?” He called out in shock.

The blond blinked a few times, trying to register if he was seeing his dad there actually or not. Was his eyes playing tricks on him? Why wasn’t the older man asleep? Why did life have to make it so today was just a mess for Aether? “Dad?” He responded. “What are you still doing up?”

The man didn’t answer him though, concern etched on his face. He got off the couch before walking over to Aether. The blond wanted to take a step back but forced himself to stay in his spot. When his father got to him, he cupped his son’s face before inspecting it. A sad look appeared on his face. “Have you been crying?” The man’s voice was barely a whisper. “I thought you two,” he glanced over at Gorou as well as he talked, “Would be spending the night at the party.”

The blond boy laughed bitterly at that, scrunching his face up in all the pain that he was feeling. Obviously that’s not what happened and there was a change of plan. But how much did he want to tell his dad what had happened “I got into a fight.” He muttered softly, refusing to look the man in the eye, knowing that he would be angry and upset at him for fighting.

A look of shock and worry passed through the man’s face as he started to look Aether over for any injuries. “A fight?” He echoed. Aether nodded his head slowly. 

The man looked over at Gorou with concern in his eyes as his son prepared the man to start yelling at him or scolding him. “A verbal one, with Xiao,” Gorou clarified and the man sighed softly in relief.

He glanced at Aether again before pulling the blond into a tight hug, resting his head on top of Aether’s. “I’m so sorry Aether…”

The blond clutched onto his father’s shirt, feeling like he was a little kid again, but didn’t say anything. Gorou stood there awkwardly, watching the father and son’s interaction.  “Mr. V, do you have any ice cream?” Gorou asked after a couple of seconds, turning away and walking over to the fridge. “It was an ice cream fight type of fight.”

The man scrunched his face up. “It’s too late for- Yes I do have ice cream,” the man responded, sighing as he probably realized with Gorou there was no point in debating when Ice cream should be eaten. He pulled away from the hug and looked at his son with worry in his eyes. “Come here baby, let's go sit down, Aeth.” 

The blond boy allowed him to be pulled over to the couch, before noticing that there was a box on the table. He sat down as he picked up a picture, sniffing. “What’s this?” He whispered. There were a lot of different people in the photo. People that Aether didn’t think he had ever met.

His father looked at the picture and a sad smile appeared on his face. “That was my old friend group.” He responded with a soft laugh, “Back when I was your age….”

Aether nodded his head a little bit. If these were his father’s friends, why had he never met them before? “You don’t hang out with these people anymore?” Aether asked and looked over at him.

The man’s smile turned sad as he looked at it before sighing. “No. We all went our separate ways. Some of these people are dead now… and the others… your mother pushed him away from me when we were dating.”

Aether noticed his head, not knowing what to say. He looked over them before his eyes landed on one of them. He looked exactly like the blond boy he met tonight at the party, except he had gray hair instead of blond. It looked like it was dyed though. “Who’s this?” He asked, placing a finger on his picture.

The male looked at it and he laughed again, Aether looked over at him and noticed that he looked like he was about to cry. “Ah, Caelus. He was my best friend. The first one that your mother pushed away. We promised we would grow old together…. He got into a car accident years ago, they said he didn’t survive.” 

“I’m sorry.” Aether whispered, not knowing what else to say. He couldn’t imagine feeling the pain of losing his best friend. He glanced over to the kitchen where he could hear Gorou still shuffling around in there

His father nodded his head slowly. “I lost contact with him way before though… We used to date and then we figured out that it didn’t work out. For reasons that you wouldn’t understand Aether. But we had decided to stay friends instead. Tried to stay friends but then your mother wanted him out, afraid I would crawl back to him, if given the chance.” 

Aether stared at the man that looked so familiar to him, but a man that he had never met with sad eyes. He looked up at his father and opened his mouth, getting ready to apologize again. “Here you go!” Gorou called out instead, sitting down on the other side of his best friend with a tub of Ice cream.

Aether grabbed the icecream and gave his best friend a weirded out look. His father looked at the tub before sighing. “You couldn’t have at least gotten a bowl?” He asked.

Gorou stared at the man straight in the eye. “Have you ever been broken up with, Mr. V?” Aether noticed the way his father eyed Caelus again before a sigh left his lips. “Felt a huge heart break?”

“We didn’t break up.” Aether insisted as he took one of the spoons Gorou had and took some ice cream.

“If I was in your shoes, I would have thrown him out.” Gorou mumbled. Aether rolled his eyes at his friend.

The rest of Winter Break passed in a blink of an eye. Aether didn’t think he would be able to survive  the full break. He was sure at any moment, he would explode. Yet, here he was about to face the day he dreaded most. The day he would have to go back to school and see everyone he had been avoiding. 

It was his last day before his last semester of highschool and he was currently talking with Kazuha on the phone. The pale blond was letting him know that Heizou had finally been released from the Hospital. The doctor had finally cleared him as well enough to move around on his own after the attack. Heizou had been unconscious for a couple of days and his injuries had been pretty severe.  The two chatted with each other on the phone for a bit when there was a knock on his door. Aether looked over at it and sighed. “Hey Kaz, I have to go. I'll see you later.” He whispered before he hung up his phone and placed it in his back pocket.

The blond boy then got up and walked over to the door, swinging it open to see Xiao standing there. The boy looked awkward, looking down at the ground. “Hey… I uh… I’m sorry.”

Aether blinked a few times, not knowing what to do with the apology he had gotten. He knew he should probably apologize as well, but Aether didn’t want to. “Ok…” He muttered softly.

Aether saw the look of pure disbelief in his boyfriend's eyes when he didn’t say anything in return to him. “You’re not going to say sorry too?” He cried out and Aether shook his head a little bit. “All you have to say to me is just Ok?”

The blond boy scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I don’t see why I should say sorry, to be frank,” Aether muttered, crossing his arms. “I wasn’t the one who ignored their boyfriend for no good reason.”

Xiao scrunched his face in anger. “No good reason?” He huffed. “I had good reason Aether!” He glared so heavily at Aether, that if looks could kill Aether was pretty sure he’d be dead.

That was laughable. The blond rolled his eyes at him and shook his head. “Being upset with me is not a good reason. Being upset with me for something out of my control, at that.” The blond hissed at him, anger filling his body.

Xiao stared at him for a while. “Don’t be so dramatic,” He hissed. Aether wanted to scream. He wanted to point out that Xiao was the one being dramatic, the one that was dragging this on way too far. Aether wanted to slam the door in his face. “At least I have a reason to be upset. You don't have one.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Aether asked, his voice lowering as he stared at the man. Was he really saying that Aether wasn’t allowed to be upset? That Aether wasn’t allowed to feel? What a bunch of baloney.

Xiao rolled his eyes dramatically. “My best friend died, Aether,” He yelled, hitting his hands together as he said that, as if that would make what he did to Aether any valid.

“And I’m sorry for that Xiao.” Aether responded, “I tried being there for you. But you keep pushing me aside. That does not give you a free card to be an asshole. You don’t think I’m not affected by this?” Aether cried, slamming his hands on his chest as he said that.

“How the fuck can you be affected by any of this Aether?” Xiao seethed at the boy and Aether furrowed his eyebrows at the boy. “You knew Venti for one day. One fucking day Aether. I’ve known him for longer. So much longer. Venti has been my friend for years!”

Aether scoffed, rolling his eyes. He couldn't help himself. He knew that Xiao was right, but at the same time he was so wrong too. “It does affect me. I have spent so much time with both Kazuha and Heizou, without you. Sometimes I spent some time with Venti as well cause he chose to come hang out with us too. It wasn’t just one day. It was so much more as well.”

Xiao’s eyes widened before they darken with betrayal. “You spent time with my friends without me?” He asked, his voice sounding so defeated.

Aether laughed. “Yeah. Cause they are my friends too.” Aether replied. “They invited you out to hang out with them plenty of times. But you always say no to them.” 

Xiao shook his head a few times. “I have a reason for not hanging out with them.” The teenager insisted.

“What reason?” Aether asked, laughing in disbelief. “You being ashamed to be friends with them? How was it you put it when we first talked about them?  They were your acquaintances?” 

“Aether.” Xiao called out, his eyes widening in shock. “That's not-”

But he stopped talking, and Aether knew why. “Now. If you'll excuse me, Kazuha just invited me to hang out with him and Heizou. They are celebrating because Heizou got out of the hospital today.”

“They didn’t invite me?” Xiao whispered, his voice broken as he stared at Aether with sadness in his eyes. 

The blond boy smiled and shook his head. “Probably because they are tired of you pushing them away. Tired of asking you to hang out and you always say now.” He pushed past Xiao after saying that, “Now if you want to go cry about how I hurt your feelings or something, Lumine is in the house. She will listen to you whine.” 

Chapter Text

What was the point of time? When it goes by too fast when the times were good but too slow when the times were bad. The next month of Aether’s life drew on and on, it almost made him feel like it had been two or three months instead. Every day, the end of his highschool years were drawing closer and closer. Every day, the feeling inside him grew more and more. Something bad was going to happen. He knew, he can just taste it. And yet, the past month Aether felt like he was on auto pilot.

The teenager wanted to scream. He wanted time to stop, for him to regain his missing time, the time he decided not to do anything. These days, no matter what he did, no matter what he said, he offended one of his friends or someone in his family. Was this really what his life was going to add up to?

It didn’t help the deep shame in his chest that everyone still tried to talk to him and ask him what happened. The didn’t stop when he just ended up pushing all of his friends away. He didn’t mean to, and hell he didn’t even want to. But isolating himself just sorta happened. What a dumb thing to say, didn’t he have to actively try to isolate himself? The shame grew more and more when the blond could still see the disappointed looks on their faces whenever he managed to find an out in the conversation. Managed to avoid them in the hallway, find an escape and disappear.

He knew why at least. He just didn’t want to talk about his feelings. What point would that do if not to make him feel even more alone. Feel even more like a fraud. There were a few times that someone had managed to coax him into a conversation. But, they never got to talk to him for long before he disappeared again. The blond boy didn’t feel like himself.

How he wished he could go back to who he was a few months ago. How he wished to rewind time. To a time where he had no cares in the world except getting into a college he had no chance of getting into. Sure, it was sad to think of that as the good times, but it was simpler, he understood that time a lot better.

 He didn’t want to live in this reality, despite now he had a chance, he had grown power wise. But that was the only thing he felt was going his way. The blond had to live with the fact that everything that he had been through in the past year, every part of him getting better, was now just a punch to the gut. It was painful to remember any of it. If he wasn’t with Xiao, he didn’t want it. How can a boy make him feel like this? He felt like life was weighing him down and about to crush him. He could feel the impending doom. 

Aether felt the shame everytime he noticed Gorou or Kazuha walking his way. He immediately tried to lose them before they could talk to him, tried not to make eye contact with them, and acted like he didn’t see them. He knew this wasn’t healthy and at one point it would all come to a crashing halt.

It didn’t help that Kazuha was now in his classes, in his school, trying to catch his attention every moment of every day. Everywhere he looked at school, either Kazuha or Gorou was there. Which made him feel worse that he couldn’t even complain about how lonely he was. Because he wasn’t. He was just being stubborn.

When Anemo high was attacked and the building destroyed, they had to move the kids so they could continue to get their education. They split them up into six groups, sending students to the remaining schools, and Aether was so lucky that the one person he had tried to ignore, tried to make it seem like he didn’t want to talk with because talking to him makes Xiao even angrier at him, goes to his school now.  It hurt seeing the way that his friends would watch him come and watch him go, the hurt in their eyes when he finds a way to escape another conversation. He wanted to assure them that it wasn’t them, that it was Aether. But he would have to deal with questions he didn’t want to answer. Didn’t know how to answer. Aether didn’t know what else to do.  He knew that he was hurting his friends, he got it, he really did. He was the villain here, he had to be. There was something inside of him that was blocking him and he couldn’t figure out his own mind. 

The one person he did try to ignore that was one easy for him to ignore and two not something that made him too bad was his twin sister. Lumine only just wanted to fight with Aether, wanted to get under his skin. She would often try to rile Aether up, pointing out just how unfair he was being to Xiao. As if Aether didn’t know.

She tried to find every point to blame Aether for something, sometimes the stupidest things until Aether left the room or flat out ignored her when he couldn’t get away from her. Everything led up to today where Aether couldn’t take it anymore. The twins walked home from school together, silent at first. It was something they had to do, in order to make their father feel better that they weren’t going anywhere alone.

The girl slammed her bag down in the hall when they got in there before she turned on her heels, her amber eyes blazing in anger as she glared at Aether. “You had to remind the teacher about the homework?” Lumine screeched at her brother, her arms crossing as she took a few steps towards the boy.

Aether gave her a look before shrugging his shoulders. He didn’t want to touch that, and didn't want to give her the satisfaction. Instead of giving her a reaction, he walked off to get some water in the kitchen. How he hoped that would be enough. Hoping she didn’t follow him to try and continue talking with him. Sure, what she was yelling about was Aether’s fault, but he didn’t care. 

It’s not like he had done it in order to hurt her either. Aether had arrived at class late, having had to do a task for a different teacher. The boy didn’t really understand why they wanted Aether, but he didn’t complain. Just did it so he didn’t have to talk with Kazuha who was coming down the hall with a furious look on his face. 

The class he was late to had a huge rule for turning in homework. Homework was a huge part of the grade and Aether didn’t want his grade to slip just because he didn’t turn in his work. Near the end of the class, when he knew that he wouldn’t interrupt the teacher, he had turned in his homework. Everyone was having independent work. That caused her to remember that everyone in the class hadn’t turned in their homework. She then asked for the homework which caused a groan from every kid in the class. Aether wasn’t the kid to purposely remind the teacher that she still needed to collect the homework.

To add salt to the injury, Aether’s own twin sister didn’t do her homework for that class. She had been stressing over an essay that was due in a different class that was demanding more and more of her effort, more than a highschool class should. She had gotten a scolding from the teacher for not doing her homework as if homework was  important and not just some busy work. Obviously, Lumine getting into trouble was Aether’s fault. She had almost gotten away with it if it wasn’t for her bothersome brother.

Much to the blond boy’s dismay,  Aether walking away didn’t cause Lumine to stop, “Like, how dumb can you fucking be?” The girl yelled as she followed him around the kitchen. Aether glanced at his sister and rolled his eyes, making sure that she could see him. “You knew that I was having trouble with my essay!” The sound of the door to the garage opened and their father walked in, looking exhausted from work. He stopped as he looked at his two children with confusion, unprepared for the fact he just walked into a war zone. “I thought I had gotten a get out of jail free card! I could do the homework tonight! I had just finished the essay. I could have actually focused on it!”

Aether rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything else, taking a sip of his water and refusing to turn around and look at his sister.  Dainsleif looked over at Lumine, “What is going on?” He asked, trying to keep his voice steady. “Why are you yelling at him? Aether, why is she yelling at you?” He glanced over at his son, hoping that he would get an answer out of him.

The blond looked at his father with a dead look in his eyes. Couldn’t he just climb into his bed and fall asleep. 

Lumine scoffed when he didn’t say anything else, crossing her arms and glaring at Aether, waiting for him to say something. When a minute went by without anyone saying anything, their father coughed. And Lumine groaned softly. “Aether is trying to make me fail.” Lumine tattled with a pout, obviously an over reaction. He didn’t purposely want to hurt her. “He wants me to fail so that I don’t get into Celestia University because I had to repeat a class.” 

Their father sighed deeply and closed his eyes before looking at his daughter again. “I am sure that is not the case.” He responded, glancing over at Aether now. “Right Aeth, that’s not true?”

Lumine rolled her eyes again, not giving Aether a chance to defend himself. A chance that Aether didn’t think he would take for himself. “But it is true,” She insisted, “he’s so upset that he ruined his own life and that his own life is going downhill, that I have to suffer as well because I’m his twin.”

The blond bit his cheek and scrunched his nose, trying so hard not to say anything, keep his head down. He didn’t want to get into a screaming match with his sister. And then get in trouble with their father for fighting over something dumb.  He heard his father sigh deeply and muttered something under his breath. “Lumine…Aether…” He muttered, “What do I do? What should I do?” There was silence between everyone and Aether moved to leave and head into his room, to crawl under his warm and comfy blanket, to stop listening here. “Stop.” His father ordered and The blond stopped in his tracks. “Come on you two, we are going to get some food.” 

Aether took in a breath, his shoulders raising and falling before he turned around to face his father. He blinked a few times and crossed his arms, furrowing his eyebrows. The blond tried not to let his annoyance shine through, but it was hard. It was really hard. “Why?” He asked, not helping the snappiness in his tone. He tried to think of a way to get away from his father, get away from his sister. Get away from this dinner. He didn’t want to go to this dinner. Maybe he could bring up the non-existing homework he had. His homework was already done for weeks, the blond completing it way before it was due because of the suddenly huge amount of free time he had on his hands.

His father stared at AEther, a frustrated look appearing on his face. Dainsleif closed his eyes and sighed. “Because… we are family.” He didn’t sound like he believed that, why didn’t he believe that? “And as a family, I am not going to let you two continue to fight and ruin your relationship with each other. Over something so trivial as homework.” Their father told the two teenagers, glancing between them. The teenage boy opened his mouth, saying it was mostly Lumine complaining than fighting. To fight two people need to talk to each other, and Aether simply refused to talk to her. “Don’t say anything. Not a word, Aether. I do not want to hear it.” The man called out and Aether shut his mouth shut tight. Lumine laughed as she witnessed the boy getting in trouble. Their father turned to glare at her next, shaking his head. “Don’t you say anything either.” 

And that was the story of how Aether found himself stabbing the food on his plate, refusing to look at either his father or his sister. He had almost tried to not order anything, but after trying his hardest to make the waiter skip him, his father ordered something for him. He didn’t know what. He didn’t care. He wasn’t hungry. He refused to register what was on his plate. Lumine’s amber eyes were glancing at him with an annoyed look as she also refused to eat her own dinner. His father had to order something for her as well since she was being just as difficult as Aether was.

Their father was looking between the two of them, looking exhausted and wanting nothing more than to have the two kids speak to each other again without it leading to a fight. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He had to calm himself down or else he would end up taking his frustration out on them by yelling at the twins. “So…” He called out, his voice tight as he kept his voice even. Aether placed his fork down and looked at his father. Annoyance shined in his golden eyes, but at least Aether wasn’t ignoring him. The man knew it would be no good to try and talk about the twin’s fight right away, in fear that it might start them fighting in the restaurant. “It’s been a while since I saw Xiao…” Hearing his boyfriend’s name, a barely audible growl of frustration left Aether. The blond picked up his fork again, slamming it down onto a random vegetable and stuffed it in his mouth. It was rude to talk with your mouth full and Aether didn’t want to talk about his boyfriend. Was Xiao still his boyfriend? Aether didn’t know. “And the last time I saw Gorou,” Aether flinched when he heard his best friend’s name instead. A sharp flash of shame flooded through him. But he still didn’t say anything. “Was when he had stolen our ice cream to try and cheer you up.”

Aether finished chewing the food in his mouth, chewing it slowly before he answered his father. He knew that his father wasn’t going to accept silence from the boy much longer. “We haven’t really talked.” He muttered, keeping it as vague as possible. Couldn’t he just skip through this night and this conversation?

The man stared at Aether, waiting for his son to say more, say anything before he sighed and nodded his head slowly. He opened his mouth to question his son more, but his chance was stolen by his daughter, “They aren’t talking because Aether is being a boring basic bitch.” Lumine hissed out. Her insult contained so much viciousness, something that Aether would never expect to hear directed at him. The blond looked at her with pure shock and hurt in his eyes, not being able to mask his reaction. He tried to think if there was a reason Lumine had decided to come at him that harshly. 

He could feel a lot of people turn to look at their table, caught off guard by what Lumine had said and how loud the girl had said it. “Lumine!” Their father called out, a warning tone in his voice. He gave a concerned look at Aether who swallowed what he was chewing and tried to look as if he wasn’t bothered by her yelling at him.  He fixed his daughter with a stern look, staring her down. She stared back at him, raising an eyebrow at him and crossing her arms. “Language! And do not call your brother names!”

Aether made a face but didn’t say anything. Lumine rolled her eyes dramatically before she finally took a bite of her food. She looked unbothered despite being scolded by her father. She turned towards her twin and stared her brother down, trying to get a rise out of him.“But that is the best way to describe him though.” Aether clutched his fork tight, his knuckles turning white as he looked down at the plate. He wasn’t going to be bothered by her.

Their father threw his head back before composing himself. He closed his eyes for a brief second before they opened wide again. He set down his silverware before turning to look fully at his daughter, “Oh my god, Child-” He started, with a tone he used when he was warning them not to push their luck further. Usually the kids listened at that point

But Lumine interrupted him, raising her voice so more people could hear her, “I’m not a child.” She protested, sticking her nose up in the air as she said that, a defiant look in her eyes. “In nine months or so, I will be 18.”

Aether wanted to point out that Age doesn’t determine whether or not someone was a child or not.   At least, she was acting like a complete and total child. The blonde girl was acting like a four year old right now who had gotten her toy stolen. But he knew that if he said that, he would risk getting in trouble with their father. So he kept quiet.  

The man stuttered as he tried to figure out his response before he coughed, “An adult would treat their brother better.” He finally managed to say, “An adult wouldn’t make someone’s life a living hell for no reason… Now… Aether,” He turned to look at his son fully and Aether looked back up at him. The teenager’s eyes showed just how tired Aether was, and for a split second, concern appeared in his father’s eyes. “Is everything alright?”

Aether searched his fathers eyes before he said anything, trying not to portray how wide his eyes were, how he really felt. His heart was racing and he could feel the start of a panic attack rising deep in his gut. He didn’t need anyone to worry about him, not his dad at least. Aether didn’t deserve anyone worrying about him. The boy blinked a few times before smiling slightly. His smile was not a convincing smile. “I’m just fine.” He responded before stabbing his food again. He really didn’t want to prove Lumine right in one sense, he felt like he was failing life. But he wasn’t trying to take her down with him. This was a train with one passenger that was surely going to crash and burn soon.

His father sighed softly and one look at him told him that he didn’t believe Aether even in the slightest, but at the same time he wasn’t going to fight him. “How is Xiao?” He asked instead, trying to get something out of his son.

Aether looked at his father frustrated without saying anything. Why should he care if Aether was okay or not? At this point, Aether was alright with not being okay, he didn’t want to do the hard work to fix everything. He didn’t know what he needed to do to fix anything. He didn’t know how Xiao was doing. How could he tell his father that Xiao refused to even look at him? Let alone speak to him? “Dunno.” Aether responded, shrugging his shoulders and placing his fork down.  He knew that he wasn’t fooling anyone.

There was a staring match between the two. His father was trying to squeeze any bit of information out of Aether that he could. And yet, the blond refused to give away how he was actually feeling. The man sighed softly as he realized just how stubborn the other boy was going to be and he wouldn’t back down. “What about Gorou?” He asked instead, “How is he doing?”

The blond blinked a few times before he shrugged his shoulders again. He tried to ignore the icky feeling that was rising up inside him, the feeling letting him know that he was the reason he didn’t know about Gorou. At least with Xiao, he had an excuse. “Dunno.” He managed to spit out, hoping that his father would stop with his questions. Why did he have to ask so many questions? Luckily, as far as his father knew, Aether didn’t have any other friends than Xiao and Gorou. So he couldn’t bring up more people and ask about them.

 The man made a face at the lackluster answers his son had given him. He glanced over at Lumine who didn’t seem like she would give anything away. The blonde girl was content with glaring at Aether as she ate her food. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Have kids they say,” He muttered under his breath but just loud enough. Just to make sure that both of his kids heard him. Lumine slammed her fork down and crossed her arms as she glared at their father instead. “It’ll be fun and rewarding…” He shook his head before taking a bite of his own food. “So… Have you been talking to either one?” The real question that he wanted to ask, the one that he had been dancing around all night.

Aether scrunched up his face. He needed to find a way out of this conversation. He knew that his father was going to be upset with his answer. He didn’t want to disappoint the man. “No.” He whispered, trying to keep any of his emotions down inside of him, whether that be because he felt annoyed, or sadden about his relationship status with his friends. This was the huge mess that he had created.  He didn’t want to make a scene at the restaurant and yet deep down he knew that was where they were going.

His father nodded his head slowly, making a face as he tried to think of an answer. “Why haven’t you been talking to them?” His father asked him. Why have you just thrown your friends to the side, that’s what he ment. How he wished he had an answer to that question.

Aether swallowed harshly, blinking back tears that were threatening to appear. He stared at his father, wondering if he had to answer. His father was staring him down.. After a few minutes of him saying nothing, his father raised an eyebrow at him and Aether sighed softly, there was nothing more that he could do to stall. “I just….” He started before he realized that he didn’t know how to explain. 

Did he feel wronged by Xiao? Of course he did. But at the same time, was that the full reason he didn’t want to talk to Xiao? He couldn’t say that, because he did. He wanted to get his boyfriends attention, he needed to get his boyfriends attention. But no matter what he did, it was something that he couldn’t grasp. And he didn’t want to hurt Gorous feelings as well. Aether was confused, he was just confused. “I don’t feel like it.” He finally responded, hoping that his father would get the hint.

But his sister groaned from where she was sitting next to him and she rolled her eyes dramatically.  “Aether is just making a mountain out of a molehill.” The girl interrupted, clearly annoyed with how the conversation was still going on. Annoyed that Aether kept on refusing to answer him. Annoyed Aether successfully avoided each and every question thrown his way. When she obviously had the correct answers “And that molehill was one that he created, by the way. It’s obvious to anyone who looked in when knowing the full details. He just doesn’t want to admit that he was the cause of it all. He wants to continue being the perfect boy to you. Not the messed up child he knows he is and Mom knows he is”  She turned to glare at her brother again this time, her eyes narrowing at him

Aether stared back, his heart starting to race even faster as he heard her accusation. Was it true? Was it that obvious to everyone? Aether’s mouth fell open slightly as he blinked his eyes, not knowing what to say or what to do, he glanced around looking for an escape. He had to get out of here, he couldn’t let anyone see him crumble.  “Lumine!” His father cried with a warning in his tone. “What in the world would make you say that he’s the cause of this?”

The girl rolled her eyes so dramatically that they rolled to the back of her head before she looked over at the man again. “Jesus fucking christ. Aether isn’t the fucking perfect little kid that you think he is!” She yelled loudly, slamming her hands on the table and his father looked at her dumbfounded. “He can make mistakes! And hurt other people’s feelings! Which is what he did, and now because of his actions he thinks it’s alright for him to be pissed at Xiao, which by the way Aeth, it’s really unfair to Xiao. You know, the person that you say you love.” She flung some food at him and Aether let it hit him as he sat as still as a statue, not knowing what to do.
Aether took in a shaky breath as she heard her. He made a face as he pulled away from the table, staring at her. “That is… That is a super over-simplified answer.” He whispered, trying to keep his breathing calm, trying not to freak out. He knew she was right, he knew it.

But did she have to say it like that? The girl scrunched her nose at him and moved closer to him, looking her brother deep in the eye. “Am I wrong, though?” She asked him and he took a deep breath again. Why was he finding it hard to breathe? Breathing was the easiest thing to do. Why was he such a failure that he couldn’t even do basic human tasks like breathing?

The blond wanted to scream into the void. But he would have to wait for that until he got home later that night. He stared at Lumine, blinking sadly before he shook his head. He pushed back his chair and refused to look at anyone. His father snapped his head towards him, fear in his eyes as he tried to figure out what Aether’s next step was going to be. “Aether.” He called out with a warning look in his eyes. He thought that Aether was going to retaliate. 

“What do you think is happening here?” Lumine suddenly yelled out at him. He glanced at her with a tired look on his face.  “Why are you so pissed, because I’m telling you the truth? You two haven’t talked at all, and that’s because of you. Deep down you know that I’m right. Deep down you know that you have blown this whole thing out of-” Every word out of her mouth was like a bullet straight to his heart and it hurt more and more. Because she was right.

“I’m not pissed.” Aether interrupted, his voice level as he clenched his fist to his side, he bit his lip tightly. “I’m not pissed, I’m hurt, I’m so fucking hurt and you cant seem to get that through your mind.” His voice started to break as he spoke, blinking back the tears.

Their father cleared his throat and Aether turned to glare at him, not wanting to hear what he was going to say. “Aether, Language! You two are being ridiculous right now.” He cried out with anger in his eyes. “We are out at Dinner right now, why aren’t you behaving yourself?” Aether glanced at him, trying to force back the anger and frustration that here he was allowing Lumine to completely tear him down. And the moment that he tries to defend himself, he gets yelled at. Relationships weren’t worth it if it led to Aether fighting his family.

“A dinner you forced us to go to.” Lumine pointed out, “We didn’t want to go, so why did you force us? If you didn’t want us to make a scene? And we are teenagers, Dad. We are going to cuss.” The man glared at her the more that she opened her mouth. Everything around Aether started to blur. 

Her voice echoed through the room and everyone turned to look at the table, now everyone was watching them. Aether rubbed away some tears that were starting to fall down his cheek. His father sighed as he tried to calm himself down so he didn’t yell and make even more of a scene. “Why aren’t you talking to your best friend? To your boyfriend?” He finally asked Aether, ignoring his daughter. All he wanted was an answer to that. Which was absurd. Crazy. Can’t he just accept the fact that Aether didn’t want to talk about it?  “I just want to know what’s going on. The two of you being at each other’s throats is not something that I’m used to.”  He looked between his children as he said that. “And if you aren’t talking to your friend, who are you talking to Aether?

Aether took in a short breath as he stared at his father.  His eyes finally betrayed him and showed just how hurt he was, the tears starting to roll down his cheeks. “Xiao started it.” He whispered, sounding really childish. It made him want to cringe. What a little kid's answer. There was so much more than just Xiao starting the argument. Their father groaned in annoyance and Aether realized he needed to explain more. He needed to start talking. He had to… he couldn't’ keep it to himself anymore. “He… He started to ignore me and I had enough. We fought and now I…. now I…” He shut his mouth, knowing he had nothing else to say anything about Gorou. He was breathing too shallow. Why couldn’t he breath normally? He blinked, trying to get rid of the tears. 

“Please.” Lumine muttered, rolling her eyes again. Aether glanced over at her, “You ignored him first you know.” She pointed out and Aether bit his lip, making a face.

“I have never ignored him.” The blond insisted as he shook his head, taking in a shaky breath. His father stood up as well looking at Aether with a concerned look on his face. When had he ignored Xiao?

But his sister wasn’t backing down as she placed a bite of food in her mouth and chewed it as she glared at Aether. “That day. Don’t act stupid. You know what happened. He came out to hang with you, and yet you ditched him.” Aether blinked as his mind tired to think of what she was talking about. He tried to figure out what day she was hinting at. “When you ditched him for that best friend of yours that you aren’t even talking to. Just to go shopping with him and him alone?” Aether’s eyes widened as it hit him. He shook his head. “You did!” 

“I never ignored him.” Aether whispered under his breath, gasping for air. “I didn’t - I didn’t mean to. Gorou asked me to hang out with him first. I had accepted before I knew- Xiao came when - I-” Everything started to breath.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked over at his father with wide eyes. “Aether, breath.” Their father whispered softly and he tried to take in a deep breath as he covered his mouth and backed up a few times.

Lumine slammed her hands down at the table and glared at him. “His friend had just died! He needed his boyfriend to be there!” She yelled at him and Aether squeezed his eyes shut, knowing she was telling the truth. “He needed comfort and support.”

He sniffed, not knowing what else to say. He started shivering, why was he shivering?  “How would I have been any comfort?” Aether muttered, opening his eyes. It hurt him to say this, it hurt to admit this. “If I was not even there?” If he had been there, he could have made it worse… then again how could anything be worse than what was happening right now. He was so useless he couldn’t even be there for his boyfriend when he needed him the most.

His sister wasn’t going to give up, not when she was on a roll though, “You weren’t there because you ditched him. To go have fun.” Lumine accused him. Was there truth in that? “And yet you still want him to believe that you were affected by his friend's death?”

Their father’s eyes widened when he realized just how far the girl was going to go. Aether was gasping for breath, trying to breath too fast, he didn’t think that he was getting much air. “Lumine! That's enough!” Their father cried out.

Aether shook his head over and over again. “No. No… No… I I …. My friends got hurt… One died…” He took some shaky breaths as he tried to say anything.

The girl scoffed and rolled her eyes at him. “Please.” She called, looking at her twin with a deadpan look on her face. “Don’t even try with that shit. I’m not going to be fooled by it.” She scooted back and crossed her legs over against each other. “They were barely-”

“Don’t.” Aether begged. He knew what she said, it was the same thing that Xiao had told him over and over again. That he had no right to be shaken up by their death. He knew that he had gotten attached to the new friend group too quickly, but it still didn’t hurt any less. There was nothing he could do to make it hurt any less than it already did.

“Lumine. Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” Their father warned him, anger on his face as he glared at the daughter. “Aether, please, just sit down. Finish your food.” He begged, with a look that showed he regretted getting this conversation started here in the restaurant. Aether messed up again, didn’t he.

The girl turned to glare at their father. “Why are you always on his side?” She cried out, pointing at Aether. “It’s unfair you know! Especially because what I am saying is true! Aether is a crappy person,” Their father started to walk towards the girl as Aether took in a shock gasp. “A crappy friend, and an even crappier boyfriend. How Gorou managed to be his friend for so long surprises me. Aether always makes everything about him.”

“Lumine!” Their father cried out again. Hurt and shock shined in his eyes as he looked at his sister, his shoulders sagging. Shock and silence filled the air as everyone awkwardly went back to their own table, realizing that this wasn’t something that concerned them. Aether’s face morphed into a look of complete betrayal and he opened his mouth, feeling as everything around him was going in slow motion, but he didn’t know what to say. What a theme of his life right now. 

As if on Auto pilot, he took in one more shattered breath as he looked at his twin, watching as regret filled her eyes and she covered her mouth, the impact of what she just said hitting her. The blond boy turned around and walked off. He let his feed guide him, he didn’t know where he was going. Did he want to run out of the building, and if he did, where was he going to go? He needed to get away. He needed to get some fresh air.  His feet started to run faster and before he knew it he was outside of the restaurant, he looked around, trying to figure out where to go.

He had to disappear. He turned to the side, not realizing that the restaurant had a seating area. As he was running off to the side, someone stood up and grabbed his shoulder, causing him to stop in his tracks. 

Aether tried to pull his shoulder away, looking over at his shoulder with wide and terrified eyes but he stopped when he saw who it was standing there. “Aeth?” Kazuha whispered softly. Aether blinked as the world that had disappeared started to form around him again.

It wasn’t just Kazuha who was sitting at a table right next to a portable heater, but Heizou and Scara were also there. Heizou was looking at him with a confused look on his face, but deep down there was another emotion, Aether didn’t want to point it out. The indigo haired boy was watching him with a concerned look on his face.

He felt himself start to panic again.They were going to have him talk again. He didn’t want to talk. He wanted to get away. He wanted to flee from the world. He wondered if he could make a break for it. Scara patted the empty seat that was next to him, staring Aether in the eye. “Sit.” He commanded the blond boy.

Aether took in a shaky breath but he didn’t move, looking between the three of them. How rude would it be for him to run right now? To disappear. “I dont… I don’t know…” He muttered softly, at least it was easier to breathe out here.

Kazuha didn’t take that as an answer as he started to push him towards the seat as well. He rolled his eyes at him. “Sit.” Scara repeated. There was nothing much more that he could do. He had been cornered by them. The blond sat down, an awkward look on his face. “What is wrong?”Aether stared at him with wide eyes. “Take some time, breathe, gain your composure. Then answer me. What is wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong.” Aether tried to admit but Scara saw straight through that lie. Looking at the other two he could tell they were worried about him. He was expecting Kazuha to have some anger shining in his eyes, but there was only concern.  He shook his head a few times, taking in a few breaths to try and calm himself down. They all stayed quite as they watching him patiently. “Nothing.” He managed to say, trying to convince himself and the other boys as well. Trying again, now that he had control on his breathing. “Nothing…” He repeated under his voice, the voice wavering when he realized that none of them looked convinced. He didn’t blame them. How could he blame them? “I wish it was nothing…” 

Kazuha sat down next to Heizou again, resting his elbows on the table as he glanced over at the blond boy with a disbelieving look on his face. He shook his head slightly and Aether shut up instantly, waiting with baited breath to see what it was that he was going to say. “You and Xiao aren’t talking.” He pointed out. It was more of a fact, not accusatory, like it had felt when his father and Lumine tried to pry.

Aether shrugged his shoulders as he forced himself to say, “Sometimes couples don’t talk to each other… That’s-” He needed to explain himself, right?

“You didn’t let me finish.” Kazuah interrupted him, holding up a hand and Aether looked down at the table, tears appearing in his eyes. “You two aren’t talking to anyone,” he continued and Aether pursed his lips. It wasn’t that weird for Xiao not to talk to people, honestly. He usually didn’t like to be social with other people, it gave him social anxiety. A look of realization appeared in Scara’s eyes as he angled his body to look at Aether. The way that his indigo eyes were trained on him made Aether feel like he was bearing holes into the blond boy. “I watch as Gorou follows you everywhere at school. He keeps trying to talk to you, trying to get your attention. You keep pushing him away.” He didn’t sound mad, but the words he chose. He had to be angry. He had to be, right?

“I’m sorry- '' Aether started but stopped, not knowing what it was that he was apologizing for. He knew that he needed to but… He couldn’t find the words. His mind felt like a mess of wires that can’t be sorted out.

He glanced over at Scara who smirked as he let Kazuha finish. He stared at the other with an unamused look on his face. He didn’t know if he was ready to hear whatever snippy response Scara was going to give. “Are you and Morax fighting?”  The man asked at Aether, raising an eyebrow with a smile on his face.

The blond knows that the way he stopped in his tract gives it all away. “No.” He responded too quickly. He bit his lip and tried to ignore the scoff Scara gave at the answer.  But… this was the truth. “If we were fighting…. You need to talk in order to fight.” He pointed out. Scara shrugged his shoulders but didn’t say anything. It looked like he accepted that question… Why did Aether even care what he accepted as a question. “Either way, I am not going to talk about it with our friends.” He responded. “Not mutual friends.”

Kazuha’s eyes blinked as he watched Aether with a concerned look. “Sometimes you need to talk to friends though.” Kazuha told Aether, trying to give him a comforting smile.

Aether knew that it was true, but he still shook his head, closing his eyes and sighing. “Xiao… it feels like he’s on the warpath and everything I do is wrong. I am not going to be accused of poisoning our friend's mind when he’s not here to have a chance to give his point of view” He replied, trying to sound like he was set on that.

“Xiao? Our friend? That’s fu-” Heizou started but stopped as Scara jabbed him in his side and he whined in pain. Kazuha looked at the two and shook his head tiredly. 

Scara looked back at Aether with a serious expression on his face. “Then…. Don’t tell them. Tell me. These two will only listen. If Xiao ever gets upset, I’ll be the one that told them. “ He reasoned. It sounds like a smart solution. And yet ... Aether opened his mouth, not sure how that would be any different, “Xiao and I stopped being friends way back when my aunt passed.” Scara said before Aether could ask. The blond blinked a few times, not sure what he meant by that, questions appearing in his head. “He wouldn’t think that you poisoned my mind. He’s already clear about the way that I feel about him.” 

The blond blinked to show his confusion, and he tilted his head to the side. Scara sighed realizing he was curious about what had happened to Xiao and Scara’s friendship. He knew that there was a falling out, but he never got to figure out what caused that falling out.  “Why?” He asked, not being able to hold back his curiosity. He spoke slowly, cautiously. 

It must have been a heated fight, because Kauzha and Heizou both looked at each other with wide eyes before looking over at Scara at the same time. Scara simply stared at Aether before he closed his eyes and sighed. He shook his head a little bit, “I completely shut down after she died.” He whispered and Aether made a noise to show he understood. Scara looked over at Aether. “My mom did as well… but she was a lot worse than me, which caused me to fall apart even more. It was understandable now that I look at it. She was very close to her sister… and she lost her in the blink of an eye…”

“It was still unfair how she still treats you now.” Kazuha pipped up, “It’s unfair that she wasn’t there for you and she still isn’t there for you.” Scara looked at Kazuha with a look that showed he understood that feeling all too well and he waved him off. Kazuha bit his lip and a soured look appeared on his face as he looked down at his lap.

The indigo haired man smiled bitterly before he continued to tell his story, his voice staying steady although Aether knew it was a story that caused him a lot of pain. “She completely and totally stopped talking to me. She stopped taking care of me. My father died before I was even born so I never knew him. Even to this day, she rarely looks at me. It has been…” he stopped and made a face as he tried to figure out just how long it’s been before he shook his head, “Apparently, I remind her of her sister. I have the same mannerisms as she did. I look a lot like my aunt, but my mother as well. When I lost my aunt, I lost my mother too and I didn’t talk to anyone, kind of how you are right now, but worse. I didn’t want to talk about it. A lot of people didn’t care enough to try and make me talk to them. Kazuha was by my side until I opened up to him again, and Heizou goes wherever Kazuha goes if you haven’t noticed. Back before my aunt died, Xiao and I used to be close friends. He never forgave me for the way I responded to my feelings…”

“What is he upset about right now?” Kazuha asked and Scara kicked him, making Kazuha groan. “What? I can't ask any questions?”  Aether shook his head at the two of them.

The blond tried not to make a face, and tried not to react to how Xiao had acted. Did it surprise him? No it didn’t. Not really. Not when he was doing something similar now. He feels like there was probably something that was being left out, but not on purpose. A portion of the story that Scara himself didn’t know. The blond sighed softly as he slouched against the table and slowly shook his head. “He’s pissed at me.” He finally whispered. “Not just upset….” 

As soon as he said the one thing he was avoiding it made him want to scrunch his face up in pain. “That much is obvious.” Scara said sarcastically and Aether looked over at him as Kazuha reached over the table to punch his shoulder with a warning look in his scarlet eyes but Scara just rolled his eyes at him. 

Aether sniffed and ran the back of his hand under his nose. “He’s pissed.” Aether repeated as he tried to gather the words he wanted to say. “Because after the attack,” he couldn’t help but glance over at Heizou as he said that, “I didn’t drop everything to be with him. He thinks that I purposely ignored him, and now I’m starting to think that I did as well. I-”

“There is not one bone in my body that believe that you did it on purpose.” Scara said and Aether raised his eyebrow at the other boy. “It’s just a vibe I get from  you.” He shrugged his shoulders.

Kazuha chuckled softly at Scara’s words. “If you don’t mind answering,” Kazuha called out and Aether looked over at his friend, “Why didn’t you hang out with him?” Aether felt himself freeze up. Here was the point of time when they would find him guilty, that they would realize why Xiao was pissed at him.

But he knew that if he kept this from him, they wouldn’t get the full story. “I needed a break,” He whispered softly and Kazuha tilted his head to the side, waiting to hear more about what he ment. “I needed a mental break. Gorou saw that. Gorou wanted to take my mind off of everything. He knew that everything that had happened that day was weighing down on me, and it wasn’t just the attack that I was dealing with. And he decided that the best way was to have a best friend's day out…. It was just me and him going shopping and he refused to let anyone join him … us. Xiao was upset that he wasn’t able to come with us.” 

“Did you want Xiao to join you?” Heizou asked in a soft voice, and Aether turned to look over at him, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “If it was up to you, would you have asked him to come with you?” 

Aether sighed and rested his head on the table. “I’m going to be honest with you, Hei. I don’t know what’s wrong with me but… There’s not any point in time that I don’t want Xiao around me. If I could be with him 24/7, I would be content…” He admitted, a thought he had gotten so used to, it scared him sometimes. And yet, he couldn't’ have Xiao be near him now, which hurt even more. “I wanted him to come.”

Scara watched him talk with a confused look on his face. When Aether looked at him he sighed softly and stopped, figuring that there was a question brewing in his mind. “Who is Gorou again?” The man asked, startling and confusing Aether.

The blond looked over at Kazuha, as if to ask if Scara was serious but his pale blond friend just shrugged his shoulders without knowing what else to say. “My best friend…” Aether responded carefully, but the confused look didn’t pass Scara’s face. “The boy that you thought was my boyfriend?” He asked again and Scara’s eyes lit up as he remembered.

“Wait….” Heizou whispered as he looked between the two of them. “Wait.. you two know each other? Like you actually know each other?” He asked and Kazuha sighed and face palmed at his best friend's question. He whispered obviously under his breath. “Like… I thought you knew each other from passing. But it sounds like you have had an actual conversation and actually hung out with each other.”

Scara blinked at him. “Bro…” He sighed, “You were there, at the maze.” He studied Heizou as he tried to decipher if the other was pulling his leg or not. “He’s Albedo’s baby cousin?”

Heizou made a face and shook his head, looking even more confused. “Albedo?” He asked, but the boy still was confused. If anything, he looked more confused.

“My ex?” Scar responded before he looked over at Kazuha with an annoyed look on his face. “Kazuha, why did you insist on bringing Heizou? He always ends up ruining the vibe.” He whined.

Heizou pouted and crossed his arms. “I do not!” He protested and Scara shook his head. “I almost forgot that you had somehow managed to get someone to fall in love with you.” He insulted the other before sticking his tongue out at him and Scara scoffed in disbelief.

Scara’s eyes shone in anger. “Oh shut up!” He cried out at Heizou, raizing his hand as if to punch him  and Heizou flinched. “He’s the guy that punched me in the face, remember?” He cried out, dropping his fist and gesturing at Aether wildly. Heiozu tilted his head to the side, looking like he still didn’t get it. “During the Halloween Maze?” Kazuha’s eyes brightened as he remembered the incident himself. He covered his mouth to conceal his laughter. Scara turned to glare at the boy. “It’s not funny!” He cried at the other boy.

Kazuha grinned and shook his head a little bit, wrapping his arm around his stomach as if it hurt from laughing too much. “It’s a little bit funny.” He responded and laughed more as Scara gave him a stink face.

As Aether listened to the two bicker, a slight smile appeared on his face as he glanced between the three of them. Heizou had noticed the smile first, before he looked at the other two and pointed over at Aether. “Your bickering is working!” He cried out happily. His words startled the blond and Aether looked back at him with wide eyes, “Keep doing it!”

The blond boy looked away from the table as he noticed Heizou and Scara both looking back at him. “Shut up.” Aether muttered as he tried to hide the fact his cheeks were starting to heat up from the embarrassment of being caught feeling. The other two continued to stare at AEeher for a split second and then like a spell was placed on them, all four boys started to laugh. Aether felt lighter. He felt better, a lot better. It felt like some type of weight had been lifted off his shoulders as he laughed with them, wiping his eyes as tears were starting to fall down yet again. 

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t put the frown back on his face. He felt like the corner of his mouth was now slightly turned up into a slight smile as he watched his friends. After he was done with his laugh, Kazuha stared at Aether as he calmed himself down. “So…” He started and Aether tilted his head to the side. “What else happened then?” Aether furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, not sure what Kazuha ment. He had just wanted to know why Xiao was upset, right? Aether had given him the answer to that, did he not?  “The night of the attack? You made it seemed like there was something else on your mind that Gorou wanted to distract you from.”

Aether sniffed, his eyes darkening once again as he remembered the fight that happened between his father and his mother. He made a displeased look as he sighed heavily and closed his eyes. “Nothing much…” He admitted, trying to sound casual. Other people wouldn’t be as hurt as Aether had been, right? “My mother yelled at me and then my father kicked her out of the house.” He recalled the night with an awkward cough. The golden blond teenager reached up to tuck a piece of his hair behind his ear and looked away from the others. Part of him feels like it wasn’t that big of a deal that he was making it out to be. 

Scara made a face as he looked at Aether, tilting his head to the side. “Why?” He asked. “Here I thought I was the only one with Mommy issues.” Kazuha had taken that time to bring his cup of water to his mouth, and he almost choked on his drink at Scara’s comment and he pounded on his chest, glaring at Scara with a disapproving look on his face.

Aether watched as Heizou made sure that the other was okay before he shrugged his shoulders a little but. “Uh.. I’m… There has been problems in their marriage.” He muttered, trying to dance around the issue, as he was not sure how he should tell them about his mother’s issues with him. “Namely me…” 

Scara pursed his lips together as he gave Aether a look before he started to shake his head. “How could you possibly be the cause of the problems?” He asked, scoffing and rolling his eyes. The blond boy coughed awkwardly, not knowing what else to say to him.

He shrugged his shoulders and shifted in his seat uncomfortably, hoping that when he told him this they weren’t going to think of him any less, like a lot of people Aether knew would. “I…” He realized he couldn’t do it. “I really don’t want to talk about it right now,” he finally said, looking around at the few people who were brave enough to eat outside in the chilly weather. “Not here anyways.” The blond didn’t know if he could ever open it up about it to the people.

He seriously hoped that they weren’t going to push him to answer their question when Scara shrugged his shoulders. “Okay. I’ll find out about it some other time.” He promised, “If it’s not something you feel about talking about in public then that is alright.” Aether made a face and bit his tongue before he could say that he’d rather the indigo boy never found out his secret. “Does Xiao know how your mother treats you?” Aether nodded his head to answer the question. Xiao hated his mother because of it. “Does he know that your father and her got into a fight that night?” He blinked, realizing that it never really came up. He shook his head, not having a chance to tell him. “Does he know that your mother was kicked out of your house?”

“Why does that matter?” Aether whispered under his breath. No, he didn’t know that his mother was kicked out. But it shouldn’t matter.

“No matter what the reason was,” Kazuha piped up and Aether looked over at him, “That’s still a traumatic event. It was a huge change in your life. No matter how it made you feel at the time or how it makes you feel right now.”

Scara nodded his head in agreement and Aether fell silent again, looking at the table. He puffed out his cheeks as he stalled, staying quiet before he shook his head. “I never had the chance to tell him.” He finally admitted. After the attack, it felt like whenever they talked they fought until Xiao had enough and completely ignored him. Aether could never figure out what to say to have a real life actual conversation with him. “XIao just… He ignored me afterwards… he’s still ignoring me and it's been a good while. He hasn’t let me say anything to defend myself…”

Scara rolled his eyes at that before glancing at Kazuha whose nose was scrunched up. Nobody at the table said anything and Aether waited for them to tell him that was overreacting. “That’s fucking rude.” Scara finally huffed. “Xiao is a fucking bitch.”

The blond boy sighed, wondering to himself if he had made it a lot worse than it was actually. If some of his own rejection sensitivity played a part in how big he blew this problem up. “Maybe I could have handled this whole situation a lot better myself.” He managed to mutter under his breath.

Maybe he could have found a way that would have allowed him to at least be allowed around Xiao. Maybe he should have apologized when Xiao asked him to. Maybe he could have let Gorou down gently that day. There were a lot of maybes that were running in Aether’s head. A lot of them that Aether was sure if he had let played out, other problems would arise over time

He took in a deep breath as he started to hyperventilate as he thought about the different options that he should have taken to fix this whole mess. 

“Fuck that Jazz,” Scara finally spoke up and Aether looked over at him, sniffing. “Be petty. Be hurt.” He urged him and the Blond opened his mouth, getting ready to say how that seriously couldn’t be the best options that he had. “I would be if I was in your shoes. A lot of people would be. He hurt you Aether.”

The purple haired man turned toward the darker indigo haired man and rolled his eyes at him. “You don’t have good coping mechanisms.” Heizou said and Scara turned to look at the purple haired man as soon as he said that, scrunching his nose.

He crossed his arms. “What the fuck do you mean by that?” He cried out angrily. “You don’t know shit about-”

“You have really bad coping mechanisms,” Kazuha repeated what Heizou said and that instantly shut down Scara’s anger as he looked over at the other boy, his face still scrunched up. “And that's coming from someone that does know you.”

Scara huffed angrily and rolled his eyes while Kazuha patted his arm in a comforting way before the male shrugged him off of him. Heizou took that chance to stick his tongue out at Scara and the other moved towards Heizou, making the man flinch. Kazuha rolled his eyes at both of them. “But honestly.” Heizou said as he looked back at his friend, “If he’s being a bitch about it, and trust me he is Aeth, I would give him some time… Allow him to marinate in his anger before he realizes just how wrong he is. Let him come to you before you talk to him.”

Aether made a face, knowing that Heizou’s advice was sound, but he didn't know how long he could go with Xiao ignoring him like that. “Wait tell he misses you.” Kazuha added and Aether glanced over at him, seeing the soft and comforting look in his eyes. “That’s when he’ll really listen to how you feel.” 

“But how long will that be?” Aether muttered under his breath. He sighed softly and shook his head, “Yeah,” He said a bit louder, “Yeah, you’re right… I know you’re right… But now I just have to deal with my sister.” As he remembered the words she yelled at him he scrunched up his nose. “Who is also being a bitch about it…” He tried to say the last part more quietly. He knew that Kazuha didn’t like Llumine and Lumine didn’t like him.

He didn’t want them to gang up on her and give her a reason to be upset with him again. Just as he expected, Kazuha rolled his eyes as he listened to Aether’s words. '`Are you talking about the sister who clearly has some weird secret crush on your boyfriend?’ He asked and the blond glanced at him with a weirded out look.

Aether opened his mouth, but didn’t know what else to say. During that part of the conversation, he didn’t see his sister sulking up to the table, her arms crossed against her chest. He didn’t see the way her eyes lit up in anger as well as shame when Kazuha said the fact about Xiao. “I do fucking not have a crush on him!” The girl huffed out in anger. That was such a lie, she had never let go of her crush on Xiao. Everyone who saw Lumine could see the giant ass crush she had on Xiao.

The blond turned to look at his twin with defeat shining in his golden eyes. He didn’t want to fight anymore. Why was it always fighting between the two of them? He was just so tired at this point.

Kazuha scoffed, obviously not tired of fighting. “Yeah…” He responded as he looked up at her with a displeased look on his face.  “You kind of do have a weird crush on Xiao. That’s your brother’s boyfriend… isn’t it, I don’t know, kinda embarrassing? To thirst over not only a taken man, but a man who is with your own family member?”

Lumine’s eyes lit up in anger before she started to storm towards Kazuha. “What the fuck?” She cried out as everyone turned to look at her. She raised her hand as if she was going to go for a slap. “I-”

Before the girl could slap anyone though, someone grabbed her arm and Aether saw her father standing there with a pissed off expression as he glared at the girl. “I told you to go get your brother.” He hissed at her, gripping her hand tightly. He was holding boxes of food in his arms and an embarrassed look shining on his face. “I did not tell you to cause fights with the people that he was talking to.”

The girl tugged her arm away from him and looked at the man with anger in her amber eyes. “God!” She cried out at him as she took a few steps back, “If I knew that I would get the third degree from you, I would have accepted mother’s offer to go with her!” She then stormed off.

Aether grimaced as he watched the girl walk off before he looked at his friends. “I’m really sorry.” He whispered to them. His father gave the three a tired look and smiled before turning and walking to follow his daughter. “Well, it looks like im leaving…” He whispered. “I’ll see you all later.”

“See you at school tomorrow!” Heizou called out as he waved at the other boy with a friendly look on his face. “You better talk to us this time!”

Chapter Text

The words kept running through the male's head over and over again. The advice that his friends had given him lived in the back of his mind. He didn’t know how long it had been, a couple of weeks? He couldn’t figure it out. Time just went by too fast for him. 

As the weeks rolled by he found himself watching after Xiao with a pitiful look, trying to figure out if the other was getting to the point he was ready to talk. Maybe it was just hope talking, but he swore he could see the anger dying down in Xiao’s eyes. Maybe he was just wishing that now there was a look of regret, a look of longing in those amber eyes.

The blond highschool student knew that they were still children aht were handling this relationship. They were treating this relationship like children, if there was a relationship still there. The boy thought that  a relationship wasn’t supposed to be this hard. It shouldn’t be lacking communication. The two should be talking about their problems. They shouldn’t be ignoring each other, refusing to be the one to break first and admit that they were wrong.

Aether had an icky feeling that filled his chest, and every day the fight went on, the icky feeling grew. He hated himself for how he was dealing with the fight. He hated himself for not reaching out to Xiao. The feeling amplified because he was stressed out of his mind.

Of course the trolls from the years before decided to grow bolder when the blond was vulnerable yet again They were grasping at straws to bully Aether. To keep pushing his nose down in the fact that he didn’t get into Celestia. He tried so hard, but there was nothing left to show for it. Aether didn’t make it.

He didn’t make it, and he was facing the trolls at school and disappointment at home. His father was starting to add pressure on him, adding to his mountains of problems. He didn’t know how much more of this he could take. 

He didn’t think he would make it to the day where his father sat him down at the table, looked him in the eye and told him he needed to give up on Celestia. He had to be thinking reasonably. He had to face the fact that if he hadn’t heard anything by now, he wasn’t going to get into the university. The invites were out, and Aether didn’t get one. He needed to start looking at the Elemental Universities instead. 

And was that such a bad thing? That was such an easy in. They worked based on grades and not manipulation like Celestia did. 

And yet, Aether also knew he could take a gap year before applying for them. He didn’t need to get in right after college, there was still time. And maybe that’s what he needs, a gap year, a year to understand who he was. To decompress from the garbage mess that was this year.

And he didn’t think he could go to a school when he was so close and yet so far. He hadn’t realized just how much he himself wanted to get into Celestia. And yet, if he can’t visualize him getting past his next birthday, what was the point of getting into a university? 

All in all, everything was starting to wear down the Highschool Senior, and he felt he was struggling to survive.Aether felt like he was running on air, not getting anywhere, and part of him wanted to stop trying. He wanted everything to stop. He wanted to escape.

What a scary thought that was. A thought that he couldn’t share with anyone around him. He couldn’t search for comfort from his family and friends. He had lost so many relationships, and the ones he had left he didn’t want them to worry about him.

It all came to a hold one day. All the feelings around him.

Aether was sitting in his homeroom, in the back, working on his homework for math class. More like, homework that wasn’t due for a couple more weeks. He had found that he had a lot more time to himself without struggling to train his powers. And he couldn't fill it with friends when his friends didn’t want to hang out with him anymore. 

Homeroom now looked completely different after the exam, it was almost startling. Now the period was just a time for the seniors to chill. They could prepare themselves for the rest of the school day, do whatever it was that they needed to do. For many, they did homework in class. Others caught up on gossip, or scrolled through instagram or tiktok. The teacher himself was sitting at his desk, playing solitaire on his phone.

He would rarely look up to make sure the kids were alright. He trusted his students. These kids were adults, most of them were. Those that weren’t, they were almost  adults. They could handle themselves and had enough sense in them to ask him for help if they needed anything.

When that did happen, and a student would come up to him for help, he would put away his phone and give them his full undivided attention even if it was teaching AP Calculus to them, which was something that teacher didn’t teach. 

Another change was  he could care less about where students sat. Some refused to sit in chairs anymore and would instead sit on the floors, others would push desks together to make a giant table, as long as they returned the chairs to their right place at the end of the period. 

Aether didn’t have to sit next to Xiao anymore, and instead, he decided to sit on the floor in the near corner, feeling safe and protected there. From that corner of the room he was able to see everyone around him.  Anytime that he would sit in his assigned seat, Gorou would find that as an option to sit down next to him and try to get Aether’s attention when the boy just wanted to work. 

There were many times when that scenario would play out, and after a while of trying to get Aether to talk to him, the brown haired boy would grow frustrated as he looked over at Xiao and accuse him of breaking his friend. Then the two of them would get into a fight. There was always something for the two of them to pick a fight over.

Gorou was making it very difficult to even talk to him. And Aether didn’t know if that was his own sensitivity washing over him or what was going on with Gorou. It felt every time he tried after realizing he needed to talk to his friend, Gorou would make a crappy comment on Aether actually talking to him. It would make Aether feel like shit that he shut the other out, and so instead of dealing with that, Aether hurt himself more by shutting him out again. The rare chance he didn’t make that comment, Gorou would sit there and insult Xiao, or ask Aether when everything was going to get back to normal.

That was laughable. Normal. What was normal anymore? He didn’t think that he could even go back to something that resembled normal anymore. The task seemed even more daunting when he wanted to make up with Xiao. But everytime he tried to talk to Xiao, the other would make an excuse and leave the room. If he couldn’t leave the room, he would act like the blond boy was invisible and focused on anything but Aether. 

Aether couldn’t do it anymore. So when the blond woke up that morning, he made a promise to himself. He hoped that he could keep it. He would do everything in his power to keep it. He was going to talk to Xiao. He was going to try and get past this funk. He was going to be more sociable with his friends. He had to.

And yet, as he sat on the ground, finishing up the last question for the math homework he had to bribe his teacher to give him, he closed the book, placing it away in his backpack. He straightened up and looked over where Xiao and Gorou were already fighting. It didn't take much these days. And the brown haired boy insisted on pressing the teal haired man’s buttons whenever he had a chance. Aether almost closed his eyes and let out a sigh, but something was different.

Xiao wasn’t staring at the front of the room with an annoyed look on his face as he ignored the other male. No. His body was turned as he looked in Aether’s direction. His shoulders were sagging as he looked upset, listening to Gorou as he hissed insult after insult at him. Xiao wasn’t fighting at all, and instead, it looked like he was taking each and every insult to heart.

Aether knew that Gorou was just upset, and he didn’t mean any of those insults. But when Gorou gets upset, he rants, and doesn’t stop. 

The blond boy couldn’t let Xiao keep taking these insults from the other. He took in a deep breath as he tried to convince himself to stand up. That’s when he noticed where Xiao was looking. He wasn’t looking in Aether’s direction, he was staring at Aether, and their eyes met. Pain and regret shined in his amber eyes, the same pain and regret that reflected in Aether’s own golden eyes. 

This fight was hurting both of them. And it was time for him to get over it. 

The blond boy got up before walking over slowly, holding his head up high. Deep down, he wanted to turn and hide. He wanted to run with his tail between his legs. He didn’t want to confront Xiao. He didn’t want to risk ruining their relationship more. But if he didn’t fight, if he didn’t talk, then what relationship was there? 

As he walked, the whole room grew quiet. Everyone’s eyes were trained on Aether, everyone of their conversations stopping. Everyone had noticed how the two of them were not talking to each other and everyone had their separate theories as to why. Aether had heard them whispering about different reasons. Some believe that one or the other cheated, another believed that they needed space from each other after the attack, and a majority believed that Xiao was an ass about Aether not getting into Celestia.

The couple’s eyes stayed locked as the blond got closer and closer, each step a bit more unsure from the last. He could also see the panic that was growing in Xiao’s eyes as well. 

Aether wondered why. Was he waiting for Aether to start yelling at him? Was he waiting for Aether to end it all? Did Aether want to end it?

Gorou, the only one who hadn’t noticed Aether walking up at first, stopped talking, glancing over at his best friend when he was right next to them. He opened his mouth to say something. Aether didn’t give them the chance as he called out, “we need to talk.” As fast as he could. Before he could back out and run away. They needed to talk. They needed to. 

He found himself chewing on his lip as he waited for the other’s reaction. There was no backing out of this now. This talk was going to happen. He waited, expecting his boyfriend to start fighting him. He half expected him to yell at him, half expected for Xiao to get up and run out of the room. But the teal haired man gave him an awkward smile, catching Aether off guard. The other hadn’t smiled at him in so long. 

But it looked like he was tired of the fighting as well. He nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah.” He whispered, his voice barely audible. Aether blinked as he tried to think of what to say next, before Xiao coughed and called out louder, “Yeah, we should-”

The boy was cut off by a loud ding. The noise bounced around the room.  The students stopped looking at the couple before turning to look over at the wall instead, still hushed and silent. There was only one meaning for that ding. Everyone knew what was going to happen.

The silence was broken up by a boy whispering to his friend, “I wonder who got in trouble today?” His voice carried throughout the room since it was dead quiet. Aether kept looking at Xiao, not bothered by the noise.

He didn’t care who was in trouble. It could be anyone. He was trying not to show his annoyance. The announcement had ruined his confidence, it had ruined his flow. Something told him this talk wasn’t going to happen. 

“My bet is the freshman who always takes naps during gym.” A girl called out from the other side of the room.

The students blinked before nodding their head in agreement. They had been called up to the office manytimes. “Or that one sophomore,” Her friend called out from next to her, “the one who’s always skipping classes and their excuses are pretty weak.”

Hearing the commotion, the homeroom teacher sighed. He put the phone down and held his nose, closing his eyes. “No placing bets at school,” he scolded, opening his eyes again and looking between his students with a stern look on his face. “Going to the Principal’s office does not automatically mean that you are in trouble,” He added.

It was more fun to imagine that the kid going to see the principal was in trouble. As long as it wasn’t you. The kids all groaned, some muttered party pooper before everyone went back to their own thing.

It would have been fine, they would have called the kid and everyone would forget it. Also, it had been a while since the ding, so maybe it was a false alarm like the intercom was pressed by accident. Aether opened his mouth, “When-”

“Aether Viator, to the principal’s office.” The secretary’s voice called through the building. Aether felt his blood run cold as he processed who it was that they called. What could he have possibly done? Did he upset someone and didn’t realize it?

Or would they possibly try to talk him into looking into the other schools? Surely they couldn’t know what schools he had applied for right? Aether turned to look at his best friend, wanting him to comfort him and to give him some support. For Gorou to tell him that it was going to be okay.

But Gorou looked as confused as Aether felt. He didn’t say anything. Instead, the room filled with a loud and collective, “Oooh!” From all of the students, echoing off the walls. Everyone was staring at Aether again with a shit eating look on their face.

It didn’t help that the teacher was caught off guard. He was also looking at the blond boy with a questioning look on his face. The teasing went on for a while. “Enough!” Xiao called out, standing up from his desk and turning to look at the other kids. “Leave him be!”

The kids all stopped talking. Aether glanced around as he took in a few deep breaths. He opened his mouth, getting ready to talk about, but instead there was a soft chuckle coming from Gorou and Aether looked at him, trying not to be offended by the teasing glint in his eyes. The brown haired boy stood up and swung an arm around his shoulders. Aether didn’t know why, but he didn’t push the boy away. “What did you do~” He called out in a sing-song voice.

It was something so simple, a tease that reflected how their relationship was in the past. The way he would tease him about Xiao. But right now, Aether couldn’t handle it as he blinked away tears threatening to run down his face. “I don’t know.” The boy muttered under his breath. 

But he knew that he was going to have to face it. He couldn’t keep the principal waiting. He shrugged Gorou off before turning, grabbing his things. It wasn’t the reaction that Gorou had wanted. As Aethre grabbed his things and turned to leave, he could hear Gorou cry out in frustration, “Xiao! This is all your fault!” He cried out.

Aether stopped for a second, pondering what Gorou had meant by that. Could it be possible that Xiao did something that would get him in trouble? There was a sharp pang in his heart as he thought about Xiao going to the principal to get him in trouble. But no. Xiao wouldn’t do anything like that. He wouldn’t sink that low, no matter how upset Xiao was with Aether. And besides, what could Xiao have even said? If he had gone to the principal about something, it was a lie, a rumor that wasn’t true.

He glanced over his shoulder, and noticed that the teal haired man looked as confused as Aether felt. “What the fuck did I do?” He asked, holding up his hands. He didn’t understand why Gorou was suddenly throwing him under the bus. 

Their teacher sighed softly. “Language, Mr. Morax!” He scolded the teal haired boy, giving him a warning look at the same time, “We are still in school. All of you. I am starting to think that letting you guys have so much free time was a bad decision on my part. I thought that you could all handle it.” There was a challenging look in his eyes as he looked at all of his students.

The class went silent, fear in their eyes as they thought of what he could do to try and retaliate against them. “No it wasn’t!” Some of the kids called out. Aether understood why. They didn’t want to be the only ones in the Senior Class that had a Homeroom that still forced them to do stuff again. “PLease don’t take our free time away.” They begged the teacher.

Aether looked over at him, watching as he sighed and closed his eyes, resting a hand on his forehead. “Then stop getting into people’s business.” He called out to all of them. “It is not healthy being nosey. Trust me, I’ve tried it and it didn’t get me very far in life. Stop placing bets in my class, and most importantly, stop cursing.”

A kid coughed and he turned to look at them, a challenging look in his eyes. “But Aether got in trouble,” a kid whispered, “Aether did! The kid who couldn’t hurt a fly! More like wouldn’t. We know that he could but he wouldn’t.” 

The teacher shook his head a few times, “And that is why I doubt that it could be anything bad.” The teacher pointed out. The kids seemed to take his point into consideration and made a face, knowing that he was right. “When has Aether ever gotten in trouble?” Nobody made a peep after hearing that. The teacher then looked over at Gorou with a look. “And Mr. Ookami, what could Xiao have possibly said to get Aether in trouble?”

Gorou blinked a few times, confused as to how he was getting in trouble now with the teacher. He shook his head a few times with a wide expression on his face. “I’m not talking about him getting Aether in trouble,” the brown haired man clarified and a few kids started to whisper around them. All it took was one glance from Gorou to make the peanut gallery shut up. “I’m mostly talking about how Xiao made Aether a shell of a person.”

Disbelief flooded Aether’s senses as he looked at his friend. “I am not a shell.” Aether protested, though he could see where Gorou would get the hint. Gorou scoffed in disbelief. “And even if I was, Xiao wasn’t the reason.” If anything, he just got weighed down by everything stacking on top of him. Everything that Aether never had a chance to take a break from. He didn’t have time to stop and breath. He didn’t want to explain himself anymore. He didn’t want to try and make everything work when more things weigh him down.He couldn’t do it anymore. “ I have to go.” He hissed before Gorou could say anything.

He grabbed his things before walking out of the classroom again. As he walked the halls to the principal’s office, he didn’t dare look back. He didn’t dare to see which kids were looking at him with a curious look, and how many teased him behind his back as soon as he left the room. After walking a few feet down the hall, he stopped where he was going and leaned against the wall, taking a few breaths to calm himself down. He reached up to wipe away the tears in his face and waited before he felt like he was ready and could face whatever. He shook his head before pushing himself away from the wall and continued his walk.

When he got inside the office, the secretary looked up as he entered. He expected her to be angry or upset, anything. Instead she smiled brightly at the boy when she saw that it was Aether. That had to be a good sign, right? “Ah!” She cried out, “Mr. Viator you are here! Perfect, go ahead and have a seat, I’ll be with you in a moment!” She gestured to the chairs and the boy sat down.

She finished typing something on her computer before picking up the phone. Aether watched her with a curious look on his face. He wondered if his father would have to be called, if that was the type of trouble that he was in. “Hello sir! Mr. Viator is here!” She called through the phone. She waited for a bit before smiling and hanging up the phone. “Go on in, sweetheart.” 

Aether stared at her with a scared expression on his face before glancing at the door. What was behind those doors? What was waiting for him in that room? He stood up before walking into the room. He glanced over his shoulder before he entered, wondering how much trouble would he be in if he turned and ran.

On the other side of the door, he saw the principal in deep conversation with someone, both of them sipping on their tea. The Principal stopped when he saw Aether. He was a man in his mid thirties with black hair that had silver streaks in it and icy silver eyes. A lot of the students were afraid of him, but to those students that he knew, he was actually pretty chill to be around. “Welcome, Mr. Viator.” He called out with a rare smile appearing on his face. “Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the chair next to his guest.

Aether looked at the chair before daring to look at the guest. It was none other than Professor Morax. Aether felt a shock rise through him as he went over and took a seat next to his boyfriend's cousin father figure. Why was Zhongli here? Maybe Xiao really did say something to get him in trouble. But not to the principal, but to Zhongli. And he was here to make sure that Aether wasn’t bullying his cousin, child, whatever Xiao was to him.

He looked over at Zhongli with a frightened look, afraid that the other might hurt him, before he noticed that the other had a warm expression on his face. He felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. “Hello Aether.” Zhongli greeted him.

The blond boy gulped before nodding his head politely at Zhongli. The older man didn’t seem angry at him, but Zhongli was a hard one to read. “HAve I done something wrong?” Aether asked instead, looking between the two educators, trying to figure out if he was missing something.

The principal laughed as he grabbed a new cup of tea and poured it for Aether, pushing it across the table. “No.” He responded, waving his hand around. “No, of course you haven’t. Not you, Mr. Viator.”

Aether blinked and awkwardly grabbed the cup of tea, bringing it to his lips and taking a small sip of it. “Thank you.” He whispered, placing the cup down again. “If I didn’t do anything wrong, then why am I here?” He asked, looking between the two.

Zhongli moved, grabbing something out of his coat pocket before presenting it to Aether. “I needed to give you this, and to talk to you about something. I have been meaning to hand this to you for a while now.” Aether glanced at the envelope with a distrusting look on his face. “But, alas, the events of the past few months have gotten out of hand and it seems like I have lost track of time.” 

He handed the envelope over to the boy and Aether hesitated for a couple of seconds before reaching out and grabbing the letter. Was this the letter? The letter that he had once hoped had gotten lost in the mail? His golden eyes scanned the package, and yes. It did come from Celestia.

His hands shook as took the envelope from Zhongli. He turned it over and over again, wondering what he was going to find. When he found the nerves, Aether pulled the letter out of the envelope and opened it up, his eyes scanning the contents of the letter.

It both looked like Lumine’s and yet at the same time didn’t. There were a few key things missing. A few things that glared up at him. Where Lumine’s had said she was part of Anemo house, Aether didn’t have a house. Where Lumine’s had her to work on her Hydro, his was blanked.

He looked back up at  Zhongli with a confused look. “It doesn’t have a house.” He pointed out, but the other didn’t look surprised, “Or what I need to work on…” This felt like a prank. But that would be cruel.So fricken cruel to get his hopes on.  And he knew he wasn’t making things up. Lumine’s letter had been posted on the fridge. He saw it every time he decided to get something out of the fridge. It was enough to make him want to order take out instead. Maybe he was going crazy. That had to be it.

But the man just smiled at Aether, nodding his head. Nothing about his demeanor gave anything away. Aether couldn’t read him and it was frustrating. “That is true.” He responded. “You are very observant, Aether. That is not a complete letter. Not yet. We don’t have enough information yet to place you into a house.”  

The boy wanted to laugh at that. He wanted to cry, he had to hold back the tears that were threatening to roll down his cheeks. “You don’t have enough information?” He asked, trying not to scoff. That sounded like an excuse. “What else do I have to do to show you? I know that I did well enough to at least prove my capability to use my powers. I was able to consistently manipulate the elements. I was told that was all I had to do. What else are you looking for?”

He almost felt bad for getting upset, for showing how confused he was. But then again, he needed answers. He deserved to get answers. “That is true.” Zhongli responded, nodding his head, and Aether opened his mouth, getting ready to say something, “However, if you remember, you didn’t finish your power analysis test. It would be unfair to you if we put you into a house when we don’t know how well you can manipulate the missing elements.” 

Another excuse. Aether smiled, not believing this is what Zhongli was telling him. He shook his head a little bit. There had been a long time between now and then. He could have shown his powers then if they asked him to come in. But here he was, learning that he didn’t get accepted on a technicality. On him passing out. And he was accepted, but wasn’t? 

Was he supposed to call them? That couldn’t have been the case. He remembered Kokomi clearly saying that the university would be in touch. And then they weren’t. “With all do respect sir,” He called out, trying to keep his voice calm and collected. If he started to yell at Zhongli, he knew that he wouldn’t get anywhere, “why did it take so long to hear about this? Or for this,” he held up his letter, “To be handed to me?” Why did they let him slip through the cracks?

Everyone else had received their letters months ago. Aether was there for that. He remembered the day after winter break when everyone who got in was chatting with their friends excitedly, and yet, Aether was left out. Everyone knew what their next steps after they finished highschool would be.

And here Aether was, feeling like he was swimming in an ocean of uncertainty. He was so close to drowning because he was tired of trying to stay afloat. Should he have looked into other schools? Or should he have kept his hopes up that he would get into Celestia when the school seemed to have forgotten about him.

Zhongli didn’t say anything at first. He stared at Aether with a pitying look on his face. Aether glanced over at the principal who was peacefully sipping his tea, watching the two of them. He wasn’t bothered by this.  “Aether,” Zhongli called out and the blond boy looked at him again, “you are not the only one who we couldn’t give their letters to just yet. Two other students didn’t get their letters either. Your case was special. It had to put everything on hold. Something that has rarely happened.”

The blond laughed, covering his mouth. He couldn’t believe this. He couldn’t believe the man. “What makes me so special?” He asked him, blinking rapidly as he felt those troublesome tears starting to form. Why did he have to wait so much longer than anyone else?

Zhongli blinked a few times, but didn’t answer his question, he coughed and straightened his posture, “We sincerely apologize for the long wait, aether. It was not supposed to be this long of a response.” Zhongli insisted and Aether just hummed, unimpressed. “There had been a couple of events that pushed back our response time.  Your exams got top scores, there was not a single mistake. We had to validate that there was no cheating done.” 

He bit his lip as he listened to the acquisition. A cheater? Aether? That made the blond want to laugh loudly. Here they were thinking that he of all people cheated on a test. He had no gain for cheating. But then again, the school didn’t know him. And before this year, he didn’t have the manipulation power to boost his application.  Was that the conclusion that they had come to? “I would nev-” He started to deny the acquisitions, his tone filled with disbelief.

Before he could get too far into his sentence, Zhongli held up his hand to stop him. Aether shut his mouth tightly. The older man gave him a kind smile, an apologetic smile. “I know.” The other man assured him, reaching out and placing his other hand on Aether’s shoulder. “The University knows. But it is a precaution as it has happened before. We still needed to check with your school for your history. It is all part of a process.” 

So then, shouldn’t it have all been cleared already? He had gotten top grades since he started school, they could have looked at that. Little tiny Aether had made it his life goal that if he couldn’t manipulate, he wasn’t going to let people assume he was dumb. “It wouldn’t take this long to validate the fact that I am not a cheater.” Aether pointed out, there had to be another reason for the long wait. 

The other man chuckled awkwardly as he nodded his head again. “You would be correct. But we also had to wait two months.” Aether scrunched his face up, wanting to ask why two months. That was such a long time, “When you tapped out in the middle of the power analysis you are given two months to recover. To be fair to you.”

He blinked a few times, trying to understand why he needed to wait. Why wouldn’t it have been fair to him if he had come back when his powers had been recovered. Something wasn’t adding up, and maybe it was just him not knowing the full procedure.“Why?” He asked, his voice soft, “Why did it have to be two months?”

Zhongli sighed softly. “With you being tapped out, we couldn’t see if you could manipulate Geo and Anemo as well. You are a special case, we needed to see if you could.” The blond shook his head. Why they would need that information was beyond him. Couldn’t they pick one of the houses he had manipulated well in and put him in that house. “We needed to know if we could put you in a specific house or not.”

“So, was what I was told wrong? When I was told all I needed to manipulate one element and only one element?”The blond boy asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at Zhongli. “Because, I could have been put into a house already.”

Zhongli sighed softly, and Aether could see that he was trying to keep his cool. He wasn’t expecting Aether to fight him on this as much. “That is true. But, Aether. You are a special case.” He repeated. He kept saying that. Kept insisting he was special. Special in a good way or a bad way?

What made him a special case? Was it because his pyro was too dangerous? Was Aether a risk being there and they had to figure out a way to contain that?  Maybe the boy was jumping to conclusions.But he couldn’t help himself. Maybe he should hear the other one out. “How?” He asked, raising his nose

There was a second of silence as the professor stared at Aether. After a while, he closed his eyes again and took in a deep breath. “We are in between putting you in two different houses.” He responded and Aether opened his mouth to say something, “Either Hydro house with Professor Neuvillete, or Celestia house.” The principal explained to him. Aether felt a wave of shock roll through him. They were thinking of putting him into Celestia house? Was that really how powerful he was? “In order for us to do that though, You need to show mastery in all seven elements.” He continued to explain. Aether nodded his head, feeling like all his fight was starting to die down. Maybe he was starting to catch on to what the other was saying. Lumine couldn’t get into Celestia because she didn’t have mastery in Hydro. “You have mastery in all of the other elements that you have already been tested on. Now we need to see if you can be put into Celestia house, because I really want you to be put in Celestia house.” Why were they thinking of putting him in Hydro versus Pyro? Aether wanted to ask but he knew that wasn’t relative right now. He stayed quiet, thinking about everything he was just told.

The blond boy bit his lips as he let all of the information set in. He had convinced himself that he had managed to screw up. But they were saying he scored the school's mastery level? A level that was so hard to obtain, in all of the five elements he has already tried. “But…” There was still something that confused him, “But the test was back in November. It is the first week of February.” He pointed out, the timeline didn’t make sense. Why was he just now learning about this? “It has been more than two months, barely, but still more than two months…. And… why would you leave me out of the loop? When I regained consciousness, I was told that the school would be in contact. But they never were.  I was under the impression that I was rejected from the school or forgotten about.”  Aether asked, letting the pain and confusion he had felt for the past few weeks come out in what he was saying.

Zhongli furrowed his eyes in confusion, obviously not following Aether’s train of thought. Aether stared at him, getting ready to hear whatever it was that he had to say. “Rejected?” The brown haired man  asked in confusion. The blond nodded his head. The man sighed deeply, muttering something under his breath.. “Why would you be rejected?” He asked Aether.

The blond laughed softly. He couldn’t believe that the man was asking this question.He shook his head a couple of times, rubbing the back of his neck.  “I don’t know,” He admitted as he made a face, the tears that had been gathering in his eyes rolling down the familiar track. “Maybe it has to do with the fact that I wasn’t told anything. Everyone around me was starting to get a letter.”

“But to jump to the conclusion that you were rejected?” Zhongli asked him, looking very weirded out and uncomfortable with the blond's tears. He looked over at the principal. “Would you have assumed that you would have been accepted?”

The principal shrugged his shoulders, grabbing the teapot to refill his drink. “Honestly.” He responded, “It depends on the situation. And this isn’t about me, Professor Morax. This is about Mr. Viator here. If he felt like he was rejected, he probably had good reason to feel that way.” 

 Aether smiled softly as he heard the principal backing him up. He coughed slightly. “Professor Morax,” He called out to get Zhongli to look at him again. He didn’t think that he would have to point this out. He would have thought that Zhongli would know this next fact already, “You know as well as I did, before this year I could not manipulate.”

Zhongli shook his head a few times, “But this isn’t about last year.” He pointed out, “The power analysis is to show how well you can control your powers at that point in time. It’s to prove that you have what it takes to keep up when you join Celestia. That you have potential to improve during your time at Celestia.” He told Aether.

The boy bit his lip, staring at him for a second. “But don’t you see?” He asked, “It has everything to do with me not manipulating before this year. Without powers  has led me to grow up around people who told me I was not good enough. People who insisted that I would never be good enough. I was told over and over again it was a joke for me to even try to get into Celestia.” 

Zhongli shook his head again, “Aether, you of all people deserve to be in Celestia. That is not a joke.” He tried to insist.

But Aether ignored him, he knew that the other wasn’t getting the point, “With the information I had, it made it easy for me to believe them. For me to doubt myself. So when I didn’t get the letter, when Xiao got his, or when Lumine got hers, and nobody contacted me, I thought that was it. I thought that everyone was correct and I shouldn’t have even thought about applying for Celestia.” He finished explaining, reaching up to wipe away the tears, trying to get rid of the icky feeling of feeling sorry for himself.

Zhongli stared at him with a look of pure shock as he finished. Aether guessed it would be hard to see just how much words have affected him, just how much words hurt.  An angry look slowly replaced the shocked one.. Aether for a second believed that  he had somehow messed up and angered the man. “Why would someone still say that?” He asked in confusion. “You have some of the most powerful manipulations in some of the elements that I have ever seen. And this is when you are still a child and have so much room to grow still.” He didn’t get Aether’s point. He really didn't.

“Professor Morax…” Aether started again, sighing, fearing that he hadn’t listened to anything that he was saying, “Your cousin and I first met because I needed a tutor for manipulation. I refuse to use my manipulation in school because it scares me just how powerful it can be and how little control I have. I have to wear these,” Aether raised his hands with his gloves still on, “Because I’m too scared that one emotion will trigger my pyro and I would hurt someone that I love.”

Zhongli coughed a little bit as he looked at the gloves before he smiled and nodded his head, an awkward look on his face. “Right.. Ah, I’m sorry. I forgot for a second. To answer why it took so long, it has taken some time to get back on track for us after the attack on the highschools.” He admitted, changing the subject because he felt awkward about it. As the attacks were brought up, Aether flinched as he remembered just how devastating the attack had been. He never wanted to experience anything like that again, but he knew that there would be so much more hardships facing him. 

He sighed softly, figuring that he couldn't fight it anymore. He blinked a few times. “So…” He whispered softly. “All I have to do now is finish my power analysis?” That's what it was sounding like, and maybe that's why he was pulled away from class to talk about when he could do it. Zhongli nodded. “When can I do that?” Hopefully it was sooner than later. He didn’t think that he could go on waiting.

The professor pushed his chair back and stood up. Aether froze as he watched him, confusion in his eyes. “Now. You will come with me back to Celestia University. I will ask you to show only Geo and Anemo so it won’t take that long. Once we verify that you can manipulate Geo and Anemo and give you a grade on them, then you will be free to go. It might take a while for us to process the results again. There are some other kids that are also waiting to figure out where they land in the house. It will all be based on the outcome of your test,” so no worries or anything like that, right? Aether gulped. “It would be better if we finished this test as soon as possible.  Afterwards, you will be free to go and do whatever you want.”

Aether took in a deep breath as he thought about it. It wouldn’t take that long to finish the test, at least not the rest of the day. From what he knew, it would at most take an hour. Maybe fifteen minutes. It hadn’t taken that long the first time either. It was only two elements. He could do that. What he couldn't deal with is people trying to figure out where he had been for the rest of the day. 

“You will also, understandably, be excused for the rest of the day.” The principal offered up with a smile on his face. He sighed softly. Looking at everything, it sounded like a good plan. And he could rest the day away after he got home. Aether slowly nodded his head.

Chapter Text

The car ride to the university was silent. Awkward. Something Aether wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy. The blond boy didn’t want to talk to Zhongli, so instead he mostly stared out the window. What was there that he could say to the other man? 

Besides, the older man looked like he had something on his mind as well. Every now and then, he could feel his brown eyes glancing at him. He noticed the way that he would open his mouth before shutting it tightly again. He gave off a very curious aura. Anytime he would get close to  saying something, he would shake his head and look back at the road. Deciding against it. Aether was glad. He didn’t want to talk. Especially to Zhongli of all people

Thankfully it was also a short ride. It only took a little while before Zhongli pulled up to the campus. The professor got out and Aether took a few deep breaths, centering himself. How many deep breaths had he taken today? Too many. He needed to work on that.  He could do this. It was only showing that he can manipulate. And it was only two elements. Not all seven elements. They didn’t need him to redo pyro. It was only Anemo and Geo. 

The blond glanced to where he noticed that the professor had started to walk without waiting for Aether to get out of the car. The boy cursed under his breath before hopping out of the car and jogging to catch up with the other man. He decided to walk a few steps behind him, looking down at the ground and at his feet.

Nobody was around. The campus was pretty dead. It wasn’t eventful, and soon enough they made it to the room with the glass box. As soon as they entered, Aether stopped in the doorway. He turned around, memories and flashes of pain and confusion flashed in his mind as the last time he was in this room came back to him.

His golden eyes shut as he shook his head. He wasn’t going to think about this. This wasn’t the time for that. He wondered if he could just deny doing this and ask if they could just put him into Hydro house instead. But Zhongli had already made it to the front of the glass box, an expectant look in his eyes.

Aether was going to do this. The boy walked into the glass box slowly, shivering as it closed behind him. He kicked the dirt up off of the floor, looking down at the ground. “Alright Aether,” Zhongli’s voice called out. Aether glanced up to where he was watching Aether with an interesting look on his face. “Show me Geo.”

The blond boy stared at the male for a while, everything he knew about showing off powers slipping out of his mind for a split second. And, how much was he going to show? Was he going to show off like last time? Or just show off Geo and call it a night.

The boy licked his lips and rolled his shoulders back. His golden eyes never left the figure in front of the box. Why was it so much scarier when there was only one person in the front and not a crowd of people judging him on how well he can manipulate? 

Was it because this was Professor Morax? This was his element. This is what he had mastery over. Was he going to grade Aether harder? And was he a harder grader than Professor Ei? No. Professor Ei had been a harsh grader, unforgiven given how many people supposedly made it into Celestia house.

Aether bit his lip, he needed to focus. He couldn’t keep thinking about this. Hills started to pop up from around him, the boy making sure that some were higher than others, some had little details sketched into them as well. Some of them reached the top of the glass roof. 

He got ready to raise his hand, to have some pebbles come off of the structures and float around. Maybe have them do a little dance and something before he sends them flying towards Zhongli. Would Zhongli flinch?

But he was thrown off when he noticed that Zhongli was watching him in surprise, his arms crossed and one hand on his chin as he watched Aether closely. Was that even a look of proudness that was shown in his boyfriend’s cousin’s eyes? The pebbles that Aether had started to summon to him dropped to the ground. The older man coughed softly and shook his head before smiling widely at Aether. “Great job!” he called out, and Aether believed him when he said that. “Now…. Can you show me Anemo?” 

The boy closed his eyes as he tried to think of what to do. He didn’t know the best way to show Anemo when it was just wind or something. He tried to think of something. An idea popped up in his mind and his golden eyes opened. He spawn around to look at the structures, glancing over them as he thought about it. They would do fine. There was very little he needed to do to prepare the Anemo presentation.

He knew that Zhongli would look at him weirdly as he waved his hands and flowers started to sprout from the stony hills, grass and flowers bringing them alive. Vines started to hang down from the tallest ones. “That is…. Dendro.” Zhongli pointed out from behind him.

He must have thought that AEther was going crazy. The blond smiled and laughed to himself. He watched the flowers start to appear, tilting his head to the side. “I know.” He responded. As soon as everything was in place to start his Anemo demonstration, Aether glanced back over at Zhongli. The male was watching him with a confused look on his face. Aether found him staring the other straight in the eyes again as he waved his hand around. A tornado appeared from behind him.

He controlled the massive Anemo created twister, having it pick up different flowers and with a wave of his hand, he released it, turning around again to watch as it danced around the box, the flowers blowing here and there. It started to blow towards Zhongli before Aether decided to grab control of it again, pulling it towards him. He waited until it was over him. Powers weren’t supposed to hurt the manipulator. So, the tornado didn’t affect Aether. As he stood in the eye of the tornado, he flicked his hand and the winds dispersed.

The flowers started to fall down around him, some of them falling on his head, others falling more slowly. As he watched them an idea popped up in his head. He started to toy with the flowers, sending gusts of wind to stop them from falling to the ground. He had them spiral around and when he was done, he sent them straight towards Zhongli.

When he had his fun, he looked up at Zhongli again. The male had a huge smile on his face and Aether felt himself start to smile as well. “Amazing, absolutely amazing Aether.” He called out, clapping his hands. He was brimming with pride for him. “And with that, I believe that your power analysis test is finished.” 

A weight really was lifted off of Aether’s shoulder this time when he heard that. “Thank god.” he muttered softly. He turned and started to walk out of the box. This had gone so much better than last time. He knew how the examinator felt about his powers. And most importantly, he was walking out of this box.

He stopped at the edge before he left, glancing \over his shoulder before waving a hand and letting everything disappear. His eyes caught sight of something and he raised his hand up to stare at it. A hand that still had his training gloves on it. That was not possible, was it? He shouldn’t be able to use his powers when he had the gloves on.

“-Geo High?” He blinked, realizing that he had just missed what Zhongli was saying, he looked up and noticed that the other was walking up to him. Aether scrunched up his nose as he tried to figure out what Zhongli had asked him. “Do you need a ride back to Geo High?” Zhongli repeated himself.

He grimaces, thinking about going back to the classes. He was done with school today. He was done with today. He could feel a wave of exhaustion washing over him. He didn’t want to talk to his friends explaining where he had gone. He didn’t want to explain to Lumine where he had been. He didn’t have the strength for school. “Uh… if it is at all possible, do you think I could have a ride to my house instead?” He asked with an awkward look appearing on his face. “I…. I don’t have a car. And with the rules set in place…” By both his government and his father, it said that he couldn’t travel alone.

He didn’t want to walk home from school either. Not alone. Not today. 

A soft chuckle left Zhongli. “I understand,” He reassured Aether, placing a hand on the young boy’s shoulder. Aether jumped, not expecting the touch. “You don’t need to explain anything.” He then turned and started to walk out of the building. Aether raced after him, following him back to the car. And thankfully he didn’t need to give the man directions to his house. The other had given Aether a ride home so many times before. 

It would be too simple if it had been a silent ride home, like the ride to the college had been. He knew that the older man wanted to talk to him about something. Aether hoped he would be too scared to mention it, as he looked out of the window, watching as the scenery rolled by. His shoulders sagged as he thought about everything else that was still weighing him down. 

“I haven’t seen you around much recently.” Zhongli pointed out. Aether stopped, glancing at the man and blinking a few times. That’s what he wanted to know about. He wanted to know about him and Xiao.

The blond shrugged his shoulders, not sure what he could say about that. It was hard to find a reason to go to the other man's house when Xiao didn’t want to see him. “Xiao and I are fighting.” He whispered softly, he hoped that the other would drop it. And not talk about it.

He didn’t want to be the one to explain Zhongli’s cousin's feelings about Aether to him.  He didn’t know how to explain why Xiao was upset with him. But that was one thing about Zhongli. He needed to know everything that concerned Xiao. “Why?” The older man asked. Aether sighed softly as he shook his head. Why indeed?

Aether chewed on his cheek as he tried to find the right words. What exactly could he say? “He’s mad I’m friends with his friends.” Aether muttered under his breath. At least that's what Aether could gather at this point. And he knew that wasn’t the full truth, but he didn't want to face the full truth. Zhongli hummed, a look on his face showing that he knew that there was more. “He is also upset that I wasn’t there for him when the attack happened.” 

The older man fell quiet for a couple of minutes. That was the answer. Aether was hoping that he wasn’t going to try and dig deeper. He hoped that he wouldn’t ask Aether why he wasn’t. “But…. you and Lumine were both at my house after the attack.” He finally spoke up. “You were both there.”

Aether chuckled softly. That wasn’t what he meant, but good on Zhongli for trying to make him feel better about it. “Not Mentally.” Aether responded. “The day after the attack I wasn’t there for him. He had come to my house to hang out with him and I blew him off.” Zhoingli was going to ask why. Zhongli wanted to know what happened. And he would be on Xiao’s side. Aether wouldn’t be surprised if Zhongli pulled over and forced Aether out of his car. Bar him from ever getting into Celestia.

Zhongli glanced at him with a concerned look in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. So Aether chewed on his cheek before continuing, “Gorou had invited me to go on a shopping trip. He was trying to get my mind off the attack. Off of some other stuff that happened that night. I couldn’t talk about the attack, it had affected me. Venti was my friend too. I shut down. Right before we left, Xiao arrived at my house and asked if I could hang out with him. When I rejected his offer, he took it personally… and there isn’t a day that goes by that I wish I had made a different decision.” 

“You…” Zhongli started, and Aether tried to find any anger in his voice, but he sounded more confused than anything, “You do not owe him that. You di not owe him that. You have a right not to hang out with him and to hang out with your friends as well… Is there more? Because that does not sound like a good reason to start this magnitude of a fight.” 

Aether licked his lips, they were starting to feel really dry as he knew he was getting to the part where Zhongli would get mad at him. “Gorou had invited us to a party… but Xiao wasn’t there to give his input. And the way that Gorou asks, is he suggests it and makes it seem like you can’t say no. but you can. He won't take offense if you said no. He worded it in a way to Xiao that made Xiao feel like he was expected, and Xiao got really upset for me offering him to go to a party he didn’t sign up for.” 

Zhongli was silent again after he heard the rest of Aether’s explanation. He stared out in front of him, not saying anything until they pulled up to a red light. “I’m sorry.” Zhongli whispered. But… it felt like Zhongli was hiding something. It felt like there was more that the other wanted to say. “And trust me Aether, Xiao has some issues he needs to work on. There’s a lot more going through his mind than what you may think.”

“No, I get it.” Aether interrupted. “I get why he was mad at me. If I was in Xiao’s shoes…” He stopped before he could say that he would be mad too. Would he? Or would he be a bit more understanding? Which isn’t fair to Xiao. Aether sighed, his shoulders rising and falling. “I just…. I don’t think that I can deal with this anymore.” Hearing those words out loud scared him. 

It shocked him that he managed to get them out, no matter how true they were. It came with the feeling he had been avoiding for a while. He was trying not to face the question about if relationships were worth it.

If this was how each one was going to be, what was the point of relationships? Aether didn’t want to walk on eggshells when talking to his boyfriend. He didn’t want to feel like he couldn’t even hang out with his best friend without his boyfriend getting mad. He didn’t want to deal with the way that Xiao keeps shutting him out when Aether messes up instead of talking to him.

Zhongli reached over and patted Aether’s knee quickly before the light turned green and he started to drive again. “It willl be okay.” The man encouraged him. Aether shook his head. He couldn’t believe that. He couldn’t force himself to believe those words. When they proved to be wrong, it would be too painful. “Everything will work out eventually. If it was meant to be, then it was meant to be. All the good relationships are built on good communication and good trust.” Aether didn't think the other knew he just told Aether his relationship wasn’t a good one. It wasn't built on trust. There wasn’t good communication. If there was good communication they wouldn’t be in this mess. “It just takes time to get the right footing. Right now, it may seem like all hope is lost, but this is just your first fight. If couples do not fight, they are not in love. Everyone fights Aether. Everyone.” 

The blond boy sniffed and took in a deep breath. “But…. what if Xiao and I aren’t meant to be?” He asked softly. He didn’t want to lose Xiao. He didn’t want to lose this relationship. He thinks that would be his final blow. “What if this whole relationship has just been doomed from the start?”

What if it wasn’t worth it? Wasn’t worth the tears and stress? Wasn’t worth the relationship that Aether had given up to be with Xiao. Lumine hates him, even more now with this fight with Xiao. She refuses to look at him, and he feels like he has lost a good friend in her. How a boy could come between their relationship was beyond Aether. 

Zhongli sighed softly as he glanced at the blond boy. “Have there been good times with Xiao?” The other asked. He didn’t even need to think about it. Aether nodded his head, there have been some really good times, there have been times when he was with Xiao that he had been the happiest that he ever was. A lot of moments he wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. “That alone makes it worth it.” Aether sniffed as he thought about it. “You are both still so young. Relationships are hard work.Sometimes it feels like it is not worth it. Maybe you and Xiao will not make it, but that is not the end of the world.” Aether flinched, just thinking about him and Xiao not making it. “That does not mean it was all for not. And Maybe you will make it. You just have to wait and see.”

As Aether listened to what Zhongli was saying, he sighed softly. He wasn’t supposed to hope for something like that. He shouldn’t get his hope up. “I don’t know…” He muttered under his breath. It felt like Xiao wouldn't even look at him anymore.

There was silence between the two of them. Aether rested his head against the car window as he tried not to feel sorry for himself. “Do you want my opinion?” Zhongli suddenly asked after some time had passed. Aether glanced over at the other man, but didn’t say anything. Zhongli knew Xiao the best. He would have valuable input on the situation. He would be able to tell Aether what he thought Xiao would do. Maybe even tell Aether how to fix his relationship. But did Aether want to hear it? What if he said something that Aether wasn’t ready to hear? The blond sighed and nodded his head. He might as well hear it. The blond readied himself before he got hurt from the other, trying not to show how much he was flinching. “Everything happens for a reason.”

Aether made a face. That saying. He knew that saying. He’s heard that saying. And it was a load of bullshit. “Everyone says that.” He whispered. “But it’s not very helpful. Everything happens for a reason, but sometimes the reason is you.”

Zhongli smiled softly, laughing. “True… but Even if you two do not work out, It will be okay.” Was Zhongli saying that he didn’t see Aether and Xiao working out? He closed his eyes as he thought of that outcome. It scared the blond boy, but he knew it was an outcome. He knew it was probably the most probable outcome as well.  “You still have those happy memories. No matter what happens, remember the happy memories. Let them shine like gold.” 

Aether sniffed and ran his hand under his nose. “I’m sorry.” He whispered, not wanting to talk about it anymore. “I’m just being a worry wart.”

It was at that moment that Zhongli pulled up to Aether’s house and turned to look at the boy. He placed a hand on his shoulder. “Do not be sorry, Aether. No matter what happens to you and Xiao, I will always be there to lend an ear. I am not Xiao, so I cannot tell you what he will do. He does not talk about this with me either. I can only tell you that you will be okay, if not right after or eventually.”

Aether looked away and nodded. It wasn’t something that he wanted to hear, but he knew it. “Thank you…” He whispered before he got out of the car and grabbed his backpack. He wasn’t sure what he was thanking Zhongli for, the car ride or the advice. Aether walked up to the house and entered, wondering if anyone was there. Lumine should still be in school.

As he was walking into the house though, his father was running out of the house. He stopped as he looked at Aether with a confused look on his face. “Aether?” He called out. “Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” He looked over his son’s shoulder and watched as someone pulled out of the driveway. “Who was that?”

“I…” Aether looked at him with wide eyes, not sure what to do or what to say. He didn’t want to talk about this with his father. He just wanted to go up into his room and hide from the world. “Uh… That was Zhongli…. I had to do something at the University?” In that moment, Aether couldn’t remember if he had ever told his father that he never finished his exams. He hoped that he told him, but if he didn't, this would be very confusing to him. “What are you doing home?” His father should be at work. Aether hoped he could change the topic off of him and onto the other male.

The man looked at him, scrutinizing him and trying to decide if he believed his son or not. “I spilled coffee on myself.” The other responded with a sigh. “I have to get back…. I have an important meeting. I’ll talk about this to you later.” He placed a hand on Aether’s shoulder and squeezed it before he was running out of the house and to the car that Aether just noticed was parked in the driveway.

The blond boy watched his father go before a sigh left his lips and he shut the door. He stared at the door as he tried to figure out what he was going to do now. Maybe go upstairs to his room. After a while, he did just that before pulling out his laptop and pulling up his comfort show.

Oh how he needed comfort right now. He got a few episodes in when he decided to look at his phone. It had been a while since he checked it, having not checked it since he was called into the Principal's office.  He cringed when he realized that there were a lot of text messages. Some were from his twin trying to find the gossip, Gorou trying to make sure that he was okay. A lot of them were from Gorou. Kazuha and Heizou both sent him a text as well. Kazuha asking if he was okay, and Heizou well… Heizou was like Lumine, trying to get him to spill the tea.

Aether didn’t have enough energy to respond to any of them, and he realized that he was starting to feel really sleepy now. He closed his laptop and pushed it to the edge of his phone and placed his phone on top of it before he curled up and closed his eyes. He didn’t see the wave of texts from Xiao also asking him if he was alright, or the missed calls from Xiao. The exhaustion washed over him and lulled him into a sleep.

Thankfully, he got a good nap in.When he woke up, he didn’t realize just how much he needed that nap. He didn’t know how long he had been asleep. He blinked the sleep away from his eyes as he took a look around. He sat up and stretched, trying not to shiver as the blanket fell off of his shoulders. Something had woken him up. He knew something had woken him up, but what was it?

He searched around before he registered a loud ringing noise and he glanced over to where his phone was ringing on his nightstand. Aether reached over and grabbed the phone, wanting to stop the device from making noise. Who could be calling him? He placed the phone to his ear. “Hello?” He called out.

Nobody answered right away, before he heard a soft chuckle. An adoring chuckle. “Did I wake you?” The person asked, amusement lacing their voice.

Aether sniffed and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up. He didn’t know who was on the other side of the phone, and if he was so tired he couldn’t hear them he wouldn’t know who it was. “Yes?” He responded as a soft yawn left his lips. “What do you want?”

Hopefully he can get through this phone call. Hopefully they would leave him be and he could get more sleep. Maybe it was one of his friends checking up on him. “Did you eat?” The other person asked and Aether wanted to groan. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep again, the need to sleep slowly fading away as he woke up. 

“What?” Aether asked, furrowing his eyebrows as he wondered if he had heard the other correctly. Who was so concerned about Aether that they wanted to know if he had eaten yet? Maybe he heard them right.

There was another soft chuckle. “Did you eat lunch yet?” The other asked, trying to control their voice. Aether could hear laces of concern in those words now. 

The blond hummed slightly before shaking his head. He stopped what he was doing, realizing that the other couldn’t see him. At least he hoped the other couldn’t see him. “No. No, I haven't eaten yet.” He answered truthfully. He didn’t know why he was giving this person the time of day.

The other sighed at the answer. Aether wanted to cry, realizing that the other wasn't given Aether any information on who they were. “Where are you?” They asked and Aether made a face.

Suddenly he felt his need to be secretive about his information. He didn’t know who this was, and what if they were someone who was trying to do him harm? He knew that he could pull the phone away and figure out who this was, but he was too lazy to do that. And if he wanted to get this person off his back, he might as well answer their questions. Or hang up. He could hang up. “Who is this?” He asked, debating with himself if he should just hang up.

His question was met with silence from the other end of the phone. Aether swung his feet to the edge of the bed and stood up, tilting his head to the side. The other sighed out loud, Aether got the impression they only just realized Aether didn’t know who they were. He could hear some mumbling from the other end of the phone. Aether felt like he should know who this was. “It’s Xiao?” 

The answer made Aether drop the phone in shock. He scrambled to pick it up quickly as he shook his head. Now he could tell that it was Xiao. He clutched the phone tightly, a feeling washed over him that he didn’t want to upset the other boy. “Oooh…” He mumbled under his breath. Guilt wrecked his body. Had it really been that long since they last talked that Aether couldn’t pick out his voice? Or maybe Aether just couldn’t recognize his voice at first. “I’m at home.” The blond boy suddenly whispered. 

Maybe he can ask Xiao to come over. Maybe they can talk. They needed to talk. “I’ll be there soon.” Xiao responded before hanging up the phone. Aether felt his breath catch as he heard that. He didn’t have to beg or anything. He was just coming over. But why was Xiao coming over?

And what would he find when he opened that door?  Aether could feel tears of anger and frustration start to fill his eyes. This was too confusing for him, and he didn’t even know why he was getting angry. He shouldn’t be angry. 

Maybe he was angry about their relationship falling apart. But he shouldn’t even be angry. It was his fault after all. Maybe he was angry with himself. Angry that he let their relationship fall this far out of control. 

Either way, he couldn’t help his anger. He really couldn’t. AS he stood there trying to calm himself down, he heard the doorbell rang and the anger was replaced with fear. Who was at his door? Surely, it was too soon for Xiao to be at his door? But then again, Aether had no idea where Xiao was. He said that he was coming over.

Obviously it had to be him.

Unless… What if it was someone from the abyss order? Someone who meant Aether harm? Who knew that he was home alone?

The blond knew he was over thinking things. He was too anxious. But he couldn’t help it. He shook his head and grabbed his cellphone, his hand shaking as he clicked on the recent calls and pressing the icon appearing next to Xiao’s name for a call back. He placed the phone up next to his ear. 

He expected it to ring a few times. Maybe even go to voicemail, as it had since their fight. INstead though, the line connected. “Hey.” Xiao called out.

Aether wanted to scream. He wanted to throw his phone across the room. Hey? That's all he had to say? Just hey?

Aether forced himself to breathe. He wasn’t thinking rationally. “Is that you who rang the doorbell?” He asked, not wanting to go downstairs and chance it in case someone was waiting for him.

There was a pause on the other end and then another ring of the doorbell. Aether jumped, almost dropping his phone again as his eyes went wide. What if it wasn’t Xiao? What was he going to do? “Yes.” Xiao responded with a slight chuckle in his voice.

“Don’t do that!” Aether begged, blinking away tears. 

Xiao continued to laugh, he probably didn’t realize just how scared Aether was. “You don’t have to be so afraid,” didn’t he? “Can you please come and let me in?”

Aether felt himself stiffen. He thought once more about what if this was a trap. “Yeah…” He muttered. “Yeah… of course…” He started to walk towards the door. “Can you stay on the phone with me?” He suddenly asked.

“Sure.” Xiao responded, as if it was the easiest answer in the world. Aether bit his lips and started to walk down the stairs. He didn’t explain why, but he ran to the door and peeked through the peephole. A sigh of relief left him when he saw that it was just Xiao standing there. 

The blond didn’t know what came over him as he swung the door open and flung himself at his boyfriend. When he realized what he had done, he stiffened, half expecting Xiao to push him away.

But instead, he felt strong arms wrap around him, pulling him closer to Xiao. He rested his head on Xiao’s chest as he felt Xiao rest his head on top of his. Aether closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth and the security the hug came off. He could almost forget that they were fighting. Xiao squeezed him tightly when he tried to pull away from the hug and Aether stopped, allowing the hug to go on a split second more.

He was done. He was tired of fighting, and he just wanted to move on. 

“I’m sorry.” Xiao whispered, shocking Aether. He pulled away from the hug and looked at him, fear in his eyes that Xiao was going to apologize for the hug. That Xiao was going to start fighting with him. Instead, Xiao cupped Aether’s face and rested his forehead against Aether’s. “I’m so sorry. I have been treating you fairly. Treating you at all how you deserve.” 

Aether closed his eyes, not saying anything as he breathed in Xiao’s scent. He opened them again, pulling them away and pressing a soft kiss on Xiao’s cheek. “I’m sorry too… I hav-”

Xiao shook his head and Aether stopped talking. “Aeth…” There was a sad look on his face as he looked at his boyfriend.

“I’m so sorry.” Aether tried again, gulping a little bit. “I’m sorry about Venti, I’m sorry about not going with you that day Gorou wanted to go on the shopping trip. I wanted to ask you to come with us, but then Gorou was trying to make it so Lumine wouldn’t tag along and I don’t know if he would go for you tagging along either. I wanted to be with you, I di-”

He was babbling, he was ranting. And he stopped when he felt a pair of soft lips on him, shutting him up. Xiao pulled away and looked at him. “Don’t apologize.” Xiao interrupted him. “You don’t have to apologize. I should be the one apologizing.”

Aether chuckled bitterly, kissing Xiao back and shaking his head. “Maybe we both need to apologize.” Aether insisted, “Because I feel that I have to and that you don’t have to.” 

“No, don’t.” Xiao responded. “I hurt you so badly and I never meant to do that. I never meant for it to go that far. You were right and you were hurting as well. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. It wasn’t fair to you.” 

Aether shook his head again, resting his head against Xiao’s again. “That doesn’t give me the right to treat you the way I did.” Aether responded. “It didn’t give me the right to push you away. I feel horrible. I feel so horrible and it’s unfair that I tried to take it out on you.” 

“I know.” Xiao whispered, brushing Aether’s cheek. “I know. I feel the same way.” Aether smiled before kissing Xiao again, he wrapped his arms around Xiao’s neck before pulling away and pulling Xiao into the house.

Xiao closed the door behind him and Aether let him go, taking a few steps back, rubbing his arms awkwardly. “What happened with the principal?” Xiao asked as he moved to the kitchen. Aether noticed that he was holding some food in his bag.

The blond boy shook his head as he followed Xiao, grabbing his hand before he could go into the kitchen, stopping him. “It was just a test.” He responded, shrugging his shoulders. “It wasn’t anything bad.” He found himself promising. He had hoped that it would clear that up for the other.

But he still looked concerned for him. “What… what kind of test takes you away for the whole day?” He asked as he looked at Aether, making a face as he tried to think of it.

The blond shrugged his shoulders, playing with Xiao’s hand in his. What was the best way to describe it without giving it away? “Just one that I passed out when I was taking it.” He responded, hoping that Xiao would understand what he was talking about. But that just made him flash Aether an alarmed look. “It was only the power analysis test.” He quickly explained. 

The teal haired man blinked as he registered what Aether had told him and his eyes widened. “Oh!” He cried out. “Oh, really? How did that go?” He asked with a huge smile on his face.

The blond shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t really know. “Good, I think?” He looked at the bag of food that Xiao had brought with him. “Is this for me?”

The boy smiled and nodded. “You said that you didn’t eat.” He responded. Aether leaned up to press a kiss on Xiao’s cheek, pulling away. He was seriously so sweet. He then leaned forward and kissed Xiao’s lips, the other returning the kiss immediately. 

“Well then, let’s take it up to my room.” When Aether pulled away, he grabbed Xiao’s hand and pulled him up to his room for them to hang out up there.

Chapter Text

The broken piggy bank stared at him. It haunted him. The dull black eyes seemed like it was looking deep into the boy’s soul. He bit his lip, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand before reaching over to turn the pig around, so it wouldn’t continue looking at him. It wasn’t enough. There wasn’t enough. It wasn’t fair. He had done everything he could do.

It wasn’t fair.

He did what he was supposed to. He got a job, he saved his money. He saved a lot of his money, and he still didn’t have enough money. He couldn’t even buy a junkyard car with this amount of money. Not these days anyways. Why did cars have to be so expensive?

It didn’t help that his tutoring jobs seemed to dry up the second word got around he didn’t get into Celestia. He has yet to tell anyone aside from Xiao that there was still a chance he might get into a school. He wasn’t being fair to himself, he was sure that he was definitely in.

Aether didn’t know what to do, or what he was going to do. Time was running out. The last days of school were starting to tick down, and summer was right around the corner. When school ended and the sun blazed the earth, Aether knew that he couldn’t get tutoring jobs for the life of him then. There wasn’t a demand. Maybe he should look for a new job. Find something else to do.

But did he really want to waste his last summer before college working a job he knows will stress him out to the point of burn out? Maybe. He needed a car.

Besides, when Celestia starts their classes, would Aether even have enough time to even continue his tutoring job? Aether couldn’t think of an answer to that question. He didn’t know. There were so many questions that he didn’t know of. Like if he would even want to continue tutoring. Maybe he should look for a new job. He knew that he couldn’t deal with karens, so customer service was out. 

But what if he couldn’t work through University? Would that be a bad thing? He knew that the university was supposed to provide everything for free that he needed. Would he be willing to give up the life he lived now? Giving up the extra things that he thought made life more livable? And wouldn’t he have to give up his wish of owning a car? Would there ever be a time that he owned a car?

The blond sighed, getting up and taking the evil piggy bank and putting it back on his dresser. He grabbed the last few things that he needed before school started. He was too young to have financial problems. Way too young. And it was getting late, he couldn’t keep thinking about this. At least not now.

He wiped away the stress tears from the corner of his eyes before walking out of his room. When he opened his door and walked out, he saw his father walking downstairs as well. They stopped as they crossed past and the man nodded his head in greeting. Aether sniffed before trying to force on a smile. That sniff caused the older man to study the boy’s face, trying to find out what happened. “What’s wrong?” His father asked as he put a hand on Aether’s shoulder in a comforting way.

The boy faked a smile before taking in a shaky breath, shaking his head. “Nothing… Nothing much.” he muttered as he turned to look away from his father. How would he explain it to him? “Just money problems.”  He replied.

The older man had an amused smile appear on his face when he heard that. It kind of hurt to know that he wouldn’t take this seriously. “You are too young to be worrying about money problems,” he pointed out and Aether wanted to scream that he knew that he was too young. But his father wouldn’t understand that. Aether just shrugged his shoulders, signaling that he really didn’t feel like talking about this with him. 

He then looked at the stairs, trying to figure out a way to get out of this conversation. “I should get going…” He muttered, knowing that his father might not believe him as it was too early for school to start, “Gorou is going to be picking me up any minute now and we were going to get some breakfast before class.” 

Through the corner of his eyes, he caught the way that his father’s eyes lit up when he heard Gorou’s name. To him, it sounded like Aether and Gorou were really starting to become friends again. But Aether didn’t know about that.  It was a lot better  that Aether was accepting a ride from Gorouwhen just a month ago he refused to even talk to Gorou.

But how could it be an improvement when it felt like Gorou had to hang that fact over Aether’s head? “Alright.” His father responded with a sigh when his son brushed him off. “But… we can talk about this later, alright?”

Aether didn’t want to talk about this later. He didn’t want to get into a fight with the others about money problems. But he knew that his father wouldn’t take no as an offer, unless he can figure out a way to skip out on the talk. Then hopefully his father would forget about it. He just smiled at his father, not giving him a straight answer. Afterwards he continued to run out of the house, picking up his backpack on the way out.

He leaned against the door and closed his eyes as he took in some deep breaths, trying to calm his mind down. He opened them again, looking straight ahead but not focusing on anything. Gorou wasn’t here and he wouldn’t be here for a while. He didn’t know how long he waited before he heard the noise of a car zooming past.

He looked up and watched as his best friend pulled up in the driveway. Aether took another sigh before pushing away from the door and walking up to the car. He got in and strapped himself in, placing his backpack on his lap and resting his chin on top of it.

“Good morning Aether!” Gorou’s forced cheerful voice called out. It was always forced these days. Aether didn’t know if Gorou would actually ever be happy to see him again. He glanced over at Gorou and noticed the bright and cheery look his friend had on his face. It was laughable to the gloomy feeling inside of his blond friend. Aether was such a bad friend, Gorou deserved better. 

Aether tried to swallow down those feelings as he smiled back at Gorou, waving at him slightly. “Good morning, Rou.” He called back. Gorou beamed, turning to look at the front of the car. He seemed happy with the other’s response.

The brown haired boy hummed as he placed his hand behind Aether’s headrest, looking behind him as he started to pull out onto the deserted street. “So.” Gorou called out, “What has gotten you down so early in the morning?”

Aether’s heart dropped when he heard that.Was he really that much of a gloom that Gorou noticed him feeling sorry for himself already. “I… what?” Aether replied as he tried to force a smile. Try to make it seem like he wasn’t battling with his own mind today.

The boy laughed softly as he started to drive towards the restaurant they had agreed to go get some breakfast on earlier this morning. “Don’t tell me that I have managed to burst your bubble so early in the morning. It would be a new record if I did.” There was a bitterness to those words. 

Aether chuckled awkwardly. He didn’t want Gorou to think that his bad mood had anything to deal with Aether. “No.” He replied quietly, he didn’t know if the other even heard him. “I was… I uh…” He stopped talking as he tried to think of how to explain to his friend. But then this was Gorou. He would understand if he just told him flat out. “I don’t have enough money for a car.” He finally forced himself to whisper. 

Gorou tsked when he heard that and rolled his eyes. “No duh,” he whispered. Aether froze up and hugged his backpack tighter. He was worried that he had angered Gorou. But the boy just kept his eyes on the road as he drove, no sign that he was upset. “Cars are expensive as hell.” He then glanced over at Aether with an empathetic look. Aether felt himself relax before he nodded his head slowly. “I’m lucky that Mom and Dad are giving me their old car.” He shook his head as he patted the steering wheel of the car.

The blond could feel the icky feeling of jealousness start to rise in his chest and he had to try hard not to let the jealousness shine in his eyes. If his dad were to ever give someone their car, it was going to be Lumine. Lumine was the golden child still and Aether felt he was still fighting to even be noticed. “They are?” He asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Realizing that he might have said something wrong, Gorou stayed quiet for a split second, afraid that he upset his best friend. Gorou had to walk on eggshells around Aether recently. It was unfair to the boy.  He looked at Aether and  he smiled, nodding his head. “Yeah…” He replied awkwardly, “Uh… they are getting a new car… Instead of selling their old one, they are giving it to me.” He shrugged his shoulders as he continued to drive towards the school. Aether blinked and nodded his head, he could understand that. Didn’t most people do something like that?  “Something about not wanting their son to go to college without a car to visit them.” 

The blond boy had to bite his tongue before he could blurt out just how close Geo University was. Especially to Gorou’s house. It was at best a thirty minute walk, if he didn’t decide to take the bus home. But he knew that Gorou liked the idea of having a car as much as he did. That having a car would still give Gorou a lot of freedom. Freedom that university students needed. “That’s amazing man.” He whispered instead, wanting to be supportive. He didn’t want to deal with these negative thoughts spiraling in his hand. “I wish I had parents that would do that for me…” He shook his head a little bit.

Gorou hummed in agreement and gave Aether a pitying look. Aether glanced away from him, not wanting to see that look in his eyes. He was sick of people feeling sorry for him. “It’s kinda hard to be a twin…” Gorou reasoned as he pulled into the driveway. That’s not the problem. Being a twin. But Aether didn’t want to fight with Gorou. Not on something like this, so he just shrugged his shoulders “What is it that you want?”

Aether looked at the selection before shrugging. His eyes glanced over it, not taking in anything before deciding on what he always got. “The breakfast burritos with orange juice please.” Gorou nodded his head and ordered the food for them. “But, it’s not that hard being a twin… sometimes it is pretty awesome.” He tried to convince the other, not sure how convincing those words were coming from him.

Gorou laughed as he started to drive up to the window to pay for his food. “Yeah… I wouldn’t give away my freedom for a sibling anyday. Some people hate being an only child but I love it. I don’t have to share my parents. Whatever your dad does for you, they have to do it for Lumine too.” He replied. It was such an easy way of thinking. A way Aether wishes he could think about it. Nothing much was said while Gorou waited to pay for the food. Aether didn’t respond, not wanting to have a random worker hear his complaining. That’s what it was really, just complaining.

He waited until the worker closed the window. “Yeah…” He muttered softly. “They always have to make sure that Lumine gets what I get or she’ll throw a fit.”

Gorou laughed. “And vice versa.” Gorou responded, stopping as the worker opened the window and handed over their drinks. Gorou passed them to Aether who shoved his backpack in between the dashboard and his knees. The worker then handed over the bag and Gorou put that between them.

He pulled into a random empty parking spate so that they could eat their food. The blond shook his head to continue the conversation. “Not really… I don’t complain when Lumine gets something and I dont… not as much as I did when I was a kid.” Gorou gave him a look but didn’t say anything as they ate in silence. 

After they ate their food, they drove the rest of the way to school quietly. Not really quite, Aether had put on the stereo and Gorou started to scream along to each and every song. When they got to the school, Aether got out of the car quickly, wanting to run from the awkward feeling that was filling up the car. “Thank you for the ride!” He called out to Gorou.

Gorou only looked at him and smiled. He pulled out his phone as he got out of the car, texting something to someone before he answered Aether. “Of course. I’ll meet you in home room! I have to go talk to a teacher about a missing assignment.” He called out before turning and walking away.

Aether watched him go and tried not to sigh. He missed the time when Gorou would walk beside him up to the building instead of trying to ditch Aether as soon as possible. The blond boy sighed and started to walk towards the building. 

The relationship between him and Gorou was still so strained. Although it had been a couple of weeks since he made up with Xiao and Gorou, it really felt like the relationship was strained. The boy could stare at the wounds that were left behind. And yeah, wounds took time to heal. But at the same time, he was scared that he would never have the same relationship he had with Gorou. He was scared that he completely ruined their relationship and Aether didn’t know what to do about that. 

As the blond boy walked into the school, his shoulders sagged and his feet dragged. Instead of heading to his locker, he headed off to his homeroom instead. There wasn’t anything he needed to get from it. When he got into the homeroom, he sat in his chair in the front of the room and got out his phone, scrolling through different social media apps. He felt his mind getting restless as nothing helped the feeling of boredom filling him. 

He was about to put his phone down in frustration and stare at the board when he heard, “hey!” right next to his ear. The blond boy stiffened and he had to force himself not to jump. When he turned towards the voice calling for his attention, he relaxed. It was just Xiao. The boy had an awkward look on his face as he shifted from foot to foot. 

The blond gave him a shy little wave with a bright smile, before tucking some of his hair behind his ear, playing with the end of it. “Hey…” He responded and a huge smile appeared on Xiao’s face. The awkwardness started to wash away from the other boy. Xiao sat down next to him and moved his backpack off to the side. Aether watched him, chewing on his cheek as he tried to think of what to say to Xiao. “So….” He whispered, “Uh, how is it going?”

Aether rested his chin on top of his hands as he looked over at Xiao, studying the other man. He watched as Xiao made a sound, not answering Aether right away as he busied himself looking through his backpack. He pulled out a notebook. Aether pouted when he realized that the other was stalling. Did he ask the wrong question? “Uh…” Xiao finally muttered and Aether tilted his head to the other side, “I’m… I don’t know what I'm doing right now.” Xiao responded with a slight laugh and scrunching his face up awkwardly. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel.”

The blond boy gulped as he listened to that. Was he making this harder for Xiao? Was he trying to push Xiao too fast? “Oh…” Aether mumbled, trying his hardest not to sound disappointed or upset.