A bright flash filled the entrance of the cave that Aether took shelter in, and the rumble of the Inazuma thunder that followed shook the stone enclosure, the drops of moisture that clung to the ceiling raining down, an ironic mimicry of the maelstrom outside that had forced him into the cave in the first place. Aether pulled his blanket tighter around his shoulders and undid his ponytail, letting the long blond hair fall around his shoulders in wet clumps. He was trying to determine whether or not he should try to allow it to air dry as much as possible, or if he should risk the integrity of his blanket by using it to dry the ends, which would probably soak into the blanket and make it harder to warm himself up.
In the past, he had been able to rely on his sister when things went belly up. The sudden storm had caught him off guard, and his supplies were low. Lumine, he knew, would have had extras stored away. She was always better prepared for any situation, no matter how absurd it seemed.
The Traveler leaned back against the cave wall and inhaled deeply, the charged air that filled his lungs was warm and thick. The air around him bristled and he braced for another crack of lightning just outside, followed quickly by another roar of thunder. Paimon squeaked, rousing Aether from his thoughts, and he turned his attention to his small companion. Paimon was curled up on a blanket, trying to rest, but the loud noise had been too much and Paimon had jolted awake.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, his voice sincere. Paimon looked up at him and shook the fear off vigorously, trying to put on a brave face.
"Of course! A little thunder is nothing Paimon can't handle!"
Another lightning strike and blast of noise seemed to put that thought out of both of their minds, as Paimon shrieked again, taking to the air and bolting behind a large rock. Aether couldn't stop himself from laughing at the sight. Lumine had been like that, as well, boasting about her bravado but being struck down by the most mundane of things. She had often talked openly about her bravery but quickly hidden behind him when anything larger than a boar come hobbling by, foraging for leaves or berries. The two of them had made the perfect companions. Aether was headstrong and overzealous, while Lumine was quick and good at thinking ahead. Now, he was without that extra part of himself, and Aether found himself trying to hold back from rushing into fights with reckless abandon, because there was no one there to take care of things with expertise when his plan of brute strength failed.
He looked up and saw Paimon peering around the hiding spot. Smiling, the Traveler patted the ground next to him, and Paimon hesitantly floated out from behind the rock and zipped over to his side, plopping onto the dirt floor. Paimon really did remind Aether of his sister. He had been alone for a while, before fishing his small companion from the water. There was something so familiar about the small being latched onto his hook, that he felt comfortable when the two began traveling together.
The heavy rain and wind outside was nearly deafening, yet neither of them said a word. The silence between them was palpable, but nearly welcome. Paimon was usually the one leading the mostly one-sided conversations between them, and often spoke the most. Aether had simply come to the end of what he felt was worth talking about from his past, and Paimon had no end of things to discuss that came up in the present. He would discuss the events of the day, or the type of food they would have for dinner, or any number of things that Paimon brought up, but he never wanted to initiate the topic, and this moment of silence felt nice, just being in each other's presence. He couldn't quite put his finger on why he enjoyed it, but the Traveler wasn't going to argue with this sense of comfort.
The hairs on the back of Aether's neck stood up, and he knew another lightning strike was coming. Adjusting in his blanket, the flash outside illuminated the surrounding area, revealing the large Ototgi trees in the distance, and the boy reached for Paimon as the low roar of thunder filled the cave again. This time, before Paimon could react, he had taken hold of the small being and Paimon was pulled to his chest, arms wrapped tight around the tiny body.
Paimon froze in a mixture of fear and confusion. The two of them had been together for some time now, but Aether had never acted like this before. He wasn't averse to physical touch, but he had never gone out of his way to initiate any sort of physical contact, especially never anything so... intimate. Paimon struggled a little bit, but Aether's arms didn't give. Paimon was about to say something, but the heat radiating from the Traveler was sort of soothing, and Paimon settled into the feeling, tiny hands balling into the blanket around his shoulders that was slowly soaking with the water from his still dripping hair. Paimon couldn't think of a time when Paimon had been held in such close proximity to anyone else, and it made Paimon's head spin. But Aether was reveling in the feeling. Paimon's soft form was like that of a warm kitten, and Paimon smelled of sweets. He held his partner close, drawing his knees up and Paimon could hear his heartbeat echoing, drowning out even the storm outside.
"I'm sorry for all this," Aether muttered, barely audible. Paimon shifted and looked up at him, but couldn't get a good look at the Traveler's face.
"For what?"
"Just...all of this. I'm not normally touchy-feely," his actions betrayed his words, as Aether didn't release Paimon, still. In response, Paimon pulled the blanket harder and draped it over both of their shoulders as much as possible.
"Don't be, we all need a little physical touch every now and again, even Paimon! But usually Paimon gets it from Amber or Klee, sometimes even Gorou will give Paimon rubs on the head!"
Aether choked out a chuckle, trying to hold back the flood of emotions that was welling up inside of him. He wasn't sure whether it was the isolation, the fact that Paimon reminded him so much of Lumine, or even just the feeling of the embrace, but the Traveler felt as though he would break at any moment.
"Are you okay?" Paimon echoed his question, and Aether nodded.
"There's just a lot on my mind," he responded.
"Did you want to talk about it?" Paimon had never asked that question before. Usually Aether had to steer the conversation away if it was leading somewhere he didn't feel comfortable discussing, and it took him a moment to register that he was actually being asked if he wanted to.
"It's... hard to put into words exactly," he said, his grip loosening on his partner, "just that there's a lot going on. We're doing so much travelling, criss-crossing Teyvat and still not finding all the answers we're looking for, just more problems. Some days it just feels hard to continue on." Paimon made a small noise of acknowledgement, but didn't say anything. Aether was quiet for another moment, while he gathered his thoughts. "Hey Paimon, I wanted to say... thank you."
Paimon raised an eyebrow and once again tried to get a look at his covered face. "For what?"
"For sticking with me. I know that you don't really know where you came from, or what you're doing here, and that there's plenty of other people who you could spend your time with, but-"
"Why would Paimon want to do that?" Paimon asked, head resting against his chest again. "You're the best match for Paimon. We get to have lots of fun together, and travel around. We meet lots of cool and exciting people. Plus, you make really good food, and always make lots of extras for Paimon. You can be a little rough sometimes, but you're nice, and you actually care. No matter what you say, you're always there for Paimon when something bad happens. You may have pulled Paimon out of the water, but it feels like every day, you're saving Paimon's life, making everything seem worth it. Paimon doesn't need to know about the past, or any of that stuff. Just being with you now, it's the only thing Paimon needs."
He wasn't able to hold back after hearing that. Aether's eyes squeezed shut as tears began rolling down his cheeks. He buried his face in his elbow and tried to break up the sound of his sniffles with a laugh.
"You dork, you really took advantage of my vulnerable state." Paimon giggled at him and nestled into his chest, eyes fluttering shut. His rhythmic heartbeat was louder than the pounding rain outside or the clap of any thunder. "Are you gonna fall asleep?" he asked, noticing Paimon's head bobbing.
"Yeah, just give Paimon... five minutes," Paimon yawned and curled up in his arms. Aether smiled and curled up around Paimon protectively, the heat coming from the tiny person felt like the sunshine at Dawn Winery, and he, too, felt himself drifting into oblivion.
Aether's eyes cracked open to the sound of birds chirping outside. Pulling out his timepiece, he noted it was nearly noon. It was shocking how late he had slept in, though he was thankful there were no time sensitive obligations working against him. The Traveler turned to his companion, and saw Paimon sprawled out on the cave floor, white outfit stained with dirt, mouth agape and drool pooling in the corner. He laughed at the sight and pulled the Kamera from his bag, making sure to capture the moment for posterity. Paimon snorted a little and rose up off the ground, fists rubbing the sleepiness from Paimon's eyes.
"Is it time for breakfast?" the tiny being asked.
"Soon, sure. I'll go get some eggs and whip us up something." Aether combed his hands through his messy hair, hoping to get it at least decent enough to braid again. "Could you help me with this?" he asked almost instinctively. He and Lumine often did each other's hair up after a messy sleep. He was capable of braiding his own hair, but he always loved the tender way his sister could take his messy locks and turn them into a perfect cord of gold every time. He was about to tell Paimon he hadn't actually said anything when he felt a pair of tiny hands lift his hair up and begin to fold it over itself. He tried turning around, but was met with a loud AHEM.
"Please keep still, Paimon doesn't want to mess up," his impromptu hairdresser said, groggily. The Traveler turned his head forward and kept quiet, hands in his lap. "All done!"
He pulled the braid across his shoulder to get a better look at it. It was messy, and had flyaways at every level. But there was something charming about it. "Have you ever braided hair before?" Aether laughed. Paimon's cheeks puffed up and foot stomped in the air.
"No! But Paimon's seen you do it plenty of times, so it was easy!" He smiled again and let the hair fall back across his back.
"Well thank you," he stood and stretched his legs. "And hey, about last night..."
"Aw, it was nothing!" Paimon beamed up at him, "Paimon loves helping everyone!"
"Oh, that's good, cause I was gonna say, you make an excellent pillow. I might have to use you every night."
"Hey!" Paimon snapped. Aether threw his head back in mock laughter, gathering up his things and strolling out of the cave entrance. Paimon was left floating there for a moment, hands on hips, and glaring after him, before noticing that he wasn't turning around. "Wait up!" Paimon zipped off to follow him into the new day, whatever it would hold.