Uh, I apologize for the extended hiatus right at the end. But also, I really appreciate all of the nice comments I got for the last chapter, it helped me power through to the end.

greywoof/UiUnleashed/Fadingblaze: I'm glad you liked it, thanks!

RunningOutofPens: I wanted for Amber (and really Aether too) to understand just how important she was to him. It was a challenge but one I think paid off.

ASM769476/Guest: Paimon is still the best wingwoman.

dndkeg: I actually briefly thought about making the confession be in the last chapter, but I already pulled that card in the other story.

"So that's where you started from huh?"

"Yup." Aether smiled at her. "It's funny…now that I see it again, it's so small." Putting a hand to his chin, he continued to reminisce. "But for two months I was just doing nothing, probably still trying to make sense of what had happened with Lumine…dealing with the sudden separation…It was lucky that I ran into Paimon, she was the one who encouraged me go to Mondstadt in the first place. Well, more like I fished her out of the water…"

"I see." Amber removed a hand from her brow and faced him again. "To think you were here for that long. Makes me wish I came by this area on patrol more often, we would've gotten to know each other faster."

"Maybe, but…" In a sudden move, Aether grabbed her hand and beamed. "I think everything turned out pretty well for us as it happened, don't you agree?"

Matching his moves, she smiled back. "Absolutely!"

*A-HEM*

The very obvious forced clearing of the throat came from just behind the couple. One would normally expect that sound to come from Paimon, given how frequent the fairy was right beside Aether and how she tended to react with romantic gestures, but not this time. Citing her desire not to interrupt their date (even though both Aether and Amber tried to tell her that her presence would be welcomed for the inevitable awkwardness that would come), she was back in the city watching over Klee for the evening. So instead, the noise came from a familiar face, a bard cloaked all in green, complete with a lyre by his side.

Naturally his appearance came as no surprise to either one of the pair, so their hands didn't release their hold on each other. In fact, despite knowing beyond a doubt that Aether hadn't yet told anyone besides Paimon about what had happened that faithful night, Venti seemed to know the events somehow as well. Amber had actually told him about something similar with Kaeya (as she only told Lisa, Jean, and other close friends), but he assumed that was because of the archer's admitted poor ability at hiding her feelings. Yet somehow, when Aether went to ask the bard for his assistance concerning tonight's events, he agreed without showing any surprise at the request.

However this didn't mean he was willing to help for free.

"Venti, thanks for coming." Before the boy could even think of asking the obvious question, he continued. "And yes, I've already asked Charles to save you some drinks."

His guest's face erupted in a huge grin. "As expected from the Honorary Knight~ You came prepared. First date has to be perfect huh?"

Aether looked away from him as the bullseye was hit. Meanwhile Amber just smiled endearingly at her boyfriend, it was still quite a rare sight seeing Aether get so flustered after all. But his preparation was obvious, as anyone who looked up could tell. Floating high above the trio was a wooden platform with strings holding its' four corners, connecting it to a device that granted it the ability to propel itself in the air. This was actually the same contraption that was used for the gliding challenge back in the Windbloom Festival. Earlier in the day, Aether had gone to Favonius Headquarters and asked for permission to borrow one of them, which Lisa was happy to help convince Jean on his behalf. Once he got the device and received a lesson in how to set it up correctly, he immediately headed over to Starsnatch Cliff and got to work.

As for why he chose this location? Simply put, it was one of the best places to go if someone wanted to experience a nice gliding trip in the Mondstadt evening, exceeded only by Dragonspine's peak and Stormterror's Lair, two areas that had some obvious problems of appropriateness for a "first" date, not to mention accessibility. Aether had also seen another couple in the area before, which meant the cliff seemed to be quite a romantic spot. It was an unintended bonus that the pair could see the beach where his journey began too.

"Amber, while he's recovering, shall I send you up first?" Venti joked upon seeing just how red Aether's face got.

She cheerfully agreed and Venti worked his magic. Raising his arms and slightly floating above the grass, he summoned an updraft that extended much higher than his normal version of this skill. Without waiting around, Amber separated her hand from Aether's, jumped into the new winds, and extended her glider out. The adventurer could only watch as she soared into the sky and proceeded to land on the Windbloom platform above.

As soon as her leggings disappeared from sight, Venti spoke up again. "This is really nice of you Aether."

"I just want to spend as much time with her as possible before Inazuma opens…" He replied in a somber tone.

Upon thinking of the next place he was scheduled to go, a realization hit. He faced the "bard" directly and spoke.

"Venti…I have something important I need to ask you. Do you know anything about-"

"Ah ah ah." Despite the joking tone of that response, the Ameno Archon's face switched to an uncharacteristically serious expression. "This is hardly the time or place for such a long story, am I wrong?"

Aether frowned. He knows what I'm going to say, but… The blonde shot a quick look back up at the platform in the sky and sighed, knowing that Venti was right again.

"Fine…I understand." With no more words exchanged between the two, he copied what Amber had done a few seconds ago. An instant later, he was soaring high in the Mondstadt sky while Venti was nearly impossible to make out.

Shaking the thought of what he was about to ask out of his mind, Aether turned around and spotted the archer watching him maneuver himself. Upon feeling the wooden "floor" under his feet, he smiled at her for a second before reaching up to activate the device. When he completed his task, the platform both of them were now standing on began to float west to Mondstadt at a perfectly consistent pace. It was fortunate this Windbloom device seemed to obey the same logic as the Transport Balloon commission Aether would sometimes take on, as it allowed him to easily understand how to operate it.

With the platform now moving, the two had nothing more to do at the moment but sit down and take in the scenery, which they both promptly did. Amber stretched out her legs into the empty air and sat on the edge, causing Aether to quickly follow suit. Meanwhile the sun was dipping behind the northern mountains, but not before covering the entirety of Mondstadt in a brilliant sunset.

Of course seeing such a magnificent view could not go unremarked on.

"Wow…This is my first time seeing this from so high up…" Aether said slowly, really taking in the peaceful atmosphere combined with the sights.

Amber briefly turned to face him, legs still kicking the air underneath the westbound platform. "Well, I hope you'll never forget it then. I know I won't."

"With you here, I don't think I could…" Without really thinking about how that sounded, a new thought occurred to the adventurer as he continued to stare at the disappearing sun. "Hey Amber, what lies to the north of the city anyway? I've never been."

Unnoticed by him, she had to think for a moment before letting out a small sigh. "I actually don't remember…I feel like I might have heard something about a castle in the mountains, but it's been so long, maybe I just imagined it…"

"Yeah?" This excited Aether, if he was being honest. Thinking there were still more discoveries to be made and places he hadn't seen yet, even in Mondstadt…this world just seemed to never end. For a moment, just like the night they spent with Dainsleif, there was an urge from inside him to take a quick trip over to the mountains. After all, there would be no Paimon to try and talk him out of it. Entertaining that thought for a second longer prompted him to speak his mind.

"Well, I guess that means we have to go there then. You know, eventually." He said with a smile.

Aether saw Amber's mouth begin to turn upwards, but unfortunately for him, he looked forward and instantly knew that they were out of time. The platform had succeeded in taking the couple to the skies above Starfell Lake. The reason it had stopped however, was because the machine part recognized the change in the surrounding area- namely, the absolutely massive updraft that was originating from the lake's central landmass. Typically home to nothing but a genuine Statue of the Seven, these new winds were stretching so high into the sky that even Amber couldn't see the exact end from the Windbloom platform.

Just like with Venti however, the two of them were not surprised in the least at the sight. In fact, both eagerly stood up at once knowing that was time for the date's main activity to start.

Amber darted forward with Aether only moments behind her. Landing in the giant updraft took them even higher than the elevation for the gliding event at Windbloom. After all, unlike that occasion, the participants here weren't just floating down underneath, but rather had a destination in mind: The balcony of Angel's Share.

The two turned to face the visible city and quickly nodded at each other, gliders out. At the same time, Aether began counting down:

"3….2….1…Go!"

This wasn't a starting signal for a race, as much as he had joked earlier about evening up the score from their earlier completion during the festival. Nonetheless, both of them left the winds that were holding them up and began their trip of gliding across the Mondstadt sky, chatting throughout the night.

-0-

"Hey Aether. What's going to happen to the platform?" Amber called out.

"Venti will take care of it, he promised me. You don't think I offered him wine just for setting up the updrafts did you?" Aether winked at her, even though he was positive that she didn't see it. That was something he had quickly learned when getting everything ready for tonight: A gilding date throughout the region was easy to say, but actually quite tough to put together. Not to mention that it wasn't exactly like the idealized version in his mind of he and Amber, hand-in-hand, floating down to the city.

The most important thing when gliding, as he knew all too well from her, was courage…which he had plenty of. Unfortunately, the NEXT most important thing was balance. Reading stories of people that had lost their gliding license almost always had the unwritten truth of them getting distracted and losing their balance, causing a crash. Naturally that ruled out any real contact between the two, as they weren't so in synch as to make up for their differences in weight and gliding form, especially in only a week's notice.

But regardless of that, it was still an enjoyable moment for both of them, Aether especially. Doing an activity he loved with the person he loved the most…this was perfection. In the deepest reaches of his mind, Aether quickly thought about the many days he would spend with Lumine doing this exact same thing. Those precious memories…even knowing everything that had happened since then, he couldn't help but look back on those days fondly.

But catching a quick glimpse of Amber gliding beside him over Cider Lake ended the trip through his past. Right…I can't forget this, thought Aether as he criticized himself. Amber isn't Lumine. She's not a substitute, or a replacement, or anything like that. Amber is her own person…and she's perfect.

An urge to speak that thought aloud triggered within him, but he held it back out of concerns of throwing off her balance. Amber's gliding form was a work of art, one that came as natural as breathing, no doubt thanks to her strong drive and training as an Outrider for years. Aether felt himself getting mesmerized by this, so he quickly looked away and refocused on his style.

"There it is!"

Amber pointed ahead, just over the stone wall that the two ran across so long ago. At the inside of Mondstadt grew closer and closer, there was an obvious nostalgic feeling. Everything had been set in motion because of that one evening in Angel's Share, especially on the balcony that the two were about to touch down on right…about…now.

Amber promptly spun around and cheerfully celebrated. "That was a lot of fun, thanks!"

"No problem. Watching you glide is something else…I love it."

Upon saying that, both of their faces began to heat up. Despite having confessed a week ago now, neither of them were quite used to hearing (or saying) these kinds of things. Nevertheless, they kept on smiling at one another before Aether remembered his next move.

"Alright, go inside and get a table and I'll talk to the bartender, probably Charles."

Receiving a quick nod as an answer, Aether leapt off onto the ground below while Amber opened the door, face still quite warm.

-0-

"Unfortunately, Noelle and I never quite figured out who this guy was, but at the end of the day, we decided to let him leave Mondstadt without pressing too much. Maybe that was naive of us, but she seemed adamant about it."

"No I think you did the right thing…I didn't even know about this, so whoever this person was seemed to have gotten back safely." Sound reasoning coming from her, but then Amber accidentally let out a hiccup after finishing, turning the conversation back to a lighthearted one.

"Man, you really can't hold your alcohol can you?"

"S-Shut up!" A happy smile cut through her own words.

Just like when there was a party to show their appreciation to Jean, the pair was drinking. Even Aether this time, as despite the look Charles had given him, he was under orders from Diluc that "this was an exception". Now it was nowhere near enough to make either of them drunk or even particularly tipsy, but enough that their lips were ever-so-slightly more free than normal. Perhaps because of the level of alcohol within him, it was just enough for Aether to ask a dumb question.

"So… how was your week?"

A pause. From across the table, Amber's face grew a small smirk. On the other hand, Aether immediately winced for clear reasons.

Asking what he just did implied that the two didn't get the chance to see each other for several days in a row, an assumption that was hilariously inaccurate. Although they had made their new relationship official (even if only a select group of people knew about it currently), their daily activities hadn't changed in the slightest. The Outrider still went on her patrols both inside and outside Mondstadt, meanwhile the Honorary Knight had finally resumed taking up commissions. The one difference was that Jean seemed to give Amber a temporarily lighter workload upon her return to duty, which allowed Aether to bring her with him on missions a bit more frequently than usual.

But because of that, the question posed was pretty dumb as he already knew the answer, a fact which the archer was sure to playfully pounce on.

"Oh? I don't know…this week has been SUCH a blur, let's see…me and someone else fought hillichurls and Abyss mages, did some deliveries for Good Hunter, and…I think he had to climb the tree in Windrise for Dr. Edith. Hmmm…who was it?" She touched her chin with a finger as she exaggerated these points.

"Alright, I get the picture." Aether rubbed the back of his head with visible awkwardness. "I guess I'm just nervous…"

"Well stop being nervous!" Amber suddenly got up from her side as she said that, trotted over to Aether and sat right next to him so that their shoulders touched. Leaning into him as she continued, "Listen! If you're going to Inazuma soon, we need to make every moment count while you're here! And that means plenty of dates like these!" Flashing a big smile at him, she reached across the table, grabbed her food and proceeded to dig right back in.

Aether couldn't stop a grin from forming, but the expression of his face shifted into one of surprise at his girlfriend's next statement.

"You're going back to Liyue for a bit I hear?"

What the? At the sudden question, Aether felt his jaw slightly drop. "H-How did you know? I was planning to tell you here, I swear…!"

"Katheryne told me."

Oh. Like a deflating ballon, suddenly all the pressure left at once, prompting him to calm down, speak freely and explain.

"Well, she told me that someone there had some kind of present to give. I don't have any clue what it could be or why couldn't they just send it over using the Guild, so I guess I'll have to go down there and see for myself…Oh, but I'll be back the next day, so you don't have to worry." He actually wanted to go there as soon as he heard about it, but the typically-emotionless receptionist turned stern in a second and told Aether that he had "more important things to prepare for". Honestly, this just made him wonder who in Mondstadt would've told her about them…or did she somehow already know? He shrugged. Even now, Katheryne was perhaps the biggest mystery in Teyvat.

Amber chuckled at what the blonde said. "Lighten up Aether, I can keep myself occupied for when you're not here. How do you think I managed when you left Mondstadt the first time?"

"By throwing yourself at your Outrider duties?"

"Exactly! Never underestimate me!" Both of them laughed at this thought for a while.

But afterwards, now it was time for Aether to ask a question. "Speaking of Liyue…isn't your family from there?"

Another brief silence, but this time with a hint of sadness. The adventurer instantly knew he could have worded his question better and saw to quickly correct himself.

"O-oh I'm so sorry…I should NOT have said that." He wanted to blame the drinks the two had, but he knew that was just an excuse.

"It's alright Aether." She reassured him. "We've talked about this before, I just wasn't expecting you to ask that. But yes, my grandfather was from Liyue before he came to Mondstadt."

He exhaled. C'mon Aether…you can't do that with your…girlfriend. Clearing his throat now, he faced Amber directly.

"While I'm over there, can I ask for your help?"

"What do you mean?" She tilted her head, not understanding what he was getting at.

"Well…I figured that I could…maybe… put up some missing person posters about your grandfather?"

Aether was really expecting a third silence to occur. But instead Amber grew a look of mild surprise and fired back.

"But that was over four years ago, there's no point."

Remaining steadfast, he pressed on. "Maybe you're right and no one will be able to help. But I know important people there, like Ganyu. There's a chance that they have files on him, it's worth a shot."

Amber put a hand to her chin and thought. Was Aether really doing this?

Seeing the look of consideration on her face, he dove in for the kill. "You were nice enough to put up posters of Lumine here without knowing anything about me. That's…actually what made me really notice you in the first place…" He confessed embarrassingly, catching her attention once more before continuing. "I want to return the favor now…it's the least I can do for you." He gave her a sheepish smile through his reddening face.

Amber needed no convincing. She hadn't ever considered doing this before, shockingly enough, and Aether was willing to help. And maybe…just maybe…they would find him. Or at least some kind of clue as to his whereabouts.

That thought alone got her to nod back energetically. "Alright, let's do it!"

"Great! Thank you Amber!" Giving her a quick but loving hug, Aether hurriedly stood up and ran down to ask Charles for hopefully some stationary.

Amber watched in awe from the balcony as he eagerly did all this, for her. Was it possible that this was a secondary goal for the date all along? Smiling from ear to ear, she couldn't stop from mouthing a few words.

"No, thank you Aether. For everything."

One more chapter...