Disclaimer: I do not own Genshin nor the front cover (Source/Link in my profile)
Note: For a better experience while reading this, search up and listen to the cover of In Spite of All the Danger by Ulysse Dufour Music on YouTube.
-Fila Ignium/Viator Story-
~In Spite of All the Danger~
Friendship level: 10
Xinyan realized, she was in a creative slump, and to her, it was a crisis that could mark an end to her rock n' roll revolution in Liyue Harbor.
Despite the positive and lessened negative reception she had been receiving lately, for some reason, the musical spunk she used to have was just not responding well with her.
Even with her consistent consultations with Yunjin and Xiangling, and with other people who were willing to listen to her, she just couldn't get any of her musical impulse to work properly despite the encouragement and pep talk she had been getting from them.
She was sure that it was not because she started doing more things besides rocking out, like her current perchance to embroidery [1] for example, no, it was something else.
Luckily for her, she didn't have to suffer any further as she found just the right person to spark her inspiration.
It was fortunate that she spotted the traveler at the right time after seeing him at the adventurer's guild today, she took the chance and decided to approach him and invite him once more to yet another practice performance with her.
It had been months after all ever since he departed from Liyue Harbor and their last jam session together, he had been making huge waves in Inazuma, Sumeru, Fontaine, and now Natlan, it was a miracle that he had returned to the city of commerce once more and for her to coincidentally bump into him.
And now, here they were, just right at the outskirts of Liyue Harbor, overlooking the entire city, with no one around save for the two of them with a setting sun that had set a rather relaxing mood.
"I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you, I know you've been busy lately, but I just need some material, and I thought that maybe, playing with you on a jam session would help me get out of it..." She said shyly, her voice growing weaker and weaker until she reached the end of her sentence, her expression timid.
The traveler though, just shrugged, not before letting out a soft laugh as he saw how fidgety she was currently being.
"It's fine, Paimon's busy stuffing her mouth at Wanmin, besides, I needed a break anyway..." he waved off, smiling at her.
Xinyan felt excitement course through her, the prospect that he was still willing to play with her making her feel almost giddy.
"Alright! I promise you'll enjoy this session! I've become better than ever since our first one!"
At her enthusiastic reply, the blond sent her a cheerful smile before sitting down on the concrete bench.
"Well, sit down then, we need to get this show started." he beamed, patting the empty space beside him.
Nodding, Xinyan sent him a thumbs up in reply.
Just before sitting beside him, she removed the drum attached behind her, offering it to him.
Staring at the percussion in her hand, his eyes seemed to gain a wistful nostalgia.
"Just a fair warning, I might've become rusty since I haven't played for a while." he shared, taking the colorful instrument from her hands with a self deprecating smile.
She only shook her head in reply.
"It's okay! I'm sure you'll get back into it in no time!"
Nodding at her, he then began to do test hits on the percussion, attempting to recall the muscle memory he had accumulated.
She couldn't help but smile warmly at the sight of him holding her other beloved instrument, fondly remembering the first time he played it.
Her sight lingered at a bit on him before she took out her own instrument.
"If you don't mind, I'll tune my guitar for just a bit, so hang in there for a few minutes!" she informed him.
Aether sent a thumbs up absentmindedly in response before continuing to play with the drum.
Sitting beside him with her instrument in hand, she began to tune her guitar to "EADGBe". [2]
While she was doing so, she then observed him from the corner of her eyes.
'Something about him, changed...'
She noticed, that in the numerous months of not seeing him, a few things about him changed.
For starters, the glow he had on his chest and cuffs were now an reddish orange color, compared to the golden yellow she had seen prior to his departure.
And what was even more noticeable, were his eyes.
He may have been able to fool anyone who didn't know him, but since she had spent enough time with him, and even revealing personal information like him being from another world, she was fairly certain that she knew when there was something wrong with him.
She noticed that his expression wasn't as cheerful and free spirited like before.
In fact, she could see a demented and haunted reflection in those golden orbs of his, as if he suffered so much emotional turmoil.
'What happened to you, Aether?'
And while she kept up with the latest news to what's currently happening in Teyvat, especially since he was mostly involved in every major event that happened thus far in every nation he had been to, she still didn't know how much it affected him emotionally.
She wanted to ask him about it, she really did, but she feared that it may still be a sensitive topic for him to openly discuss with her.
She felt a thump in her chest, and as bright as fiery flames that suddenly lit in her heart, she tightly held her beloved instrument as she stared at him.
A change of plans, she thought.
Deciding to forego playing the usual bombastic rock songs she would usually want to play, an inate need then sprung from within her.
She remembered that she had written a song, and it wasn't the typical rebellious tune she wanted to scream her heart out.
No, it was a very special song that stemmed from a desire, from a realization one stormy night as she lay in bed, unable to sleep.
It was a song that she believed will hopefully soothe the traveler.
She promised that she would write him a rock song. [3]
Just for him exclusively, but she lied, or at least, she intended to write one for him before it changed entirely as it progressed, what she wrote for him wasn't a rock song, it was a song written in a different genre all together.
It was decided, she would sing that purely experimental composition she had written, the song that she had made just for him.
Surprisingly, she didn't feel embarrassed at the thought of singing the song she was ashamed of writing, in fact, now that he was here with her, she wanted to express it, she wanted- no, needed him to hear it.
She also realized that she may not get the opportunity in the future, so she decided to lay it bear to him, to show her true feelings through this one song.
And as she sent a small nod towards the traveler, signalling him that she was about to begin playing, all doubt that clouded her left her completely.
"Okay, Aether, I'm ready."
The blond, who had been practicing on the percussion, nodded at her, sitting upright as he waited for her to begin.
She then began to gently do test strums, this time, the distortion absent as she opted for a more acoustic sound, surprising the blond right beside her.
He gave her a confused look and even appeared like he wanted to ask why she didn't go for the usual heavy tone she usually preferred.
The thumping in her chest became stronger.
She only smiled at him in response and shook her head, her cheeks gaining rosy hue as the chords and lyrics she had written all those nights ago began to float in her head.
"It's fine, we'll go the more...Traditional way for today." she assured him, prepping her guitar properly.
He didn't reply after that and just nodded again, positioning the drums between his legs properly, waiting for her to continue.
Taking a deep breath, her hands then went for a high E string, the melody harmonizing inside her bursting forth onto her prized instrument.
The blond beside her then followed after the establishing melody.
~In spite of all the dangers~
In spite of all that may be
I'll do anything for you, anything you want me to
If you'll be true to me
~In spite of all the heartache that you may cause me~
As she sang, Aether continued to instinctively follow after her with a simple beat ever since she uttered the beginning verse, and despite of its simplicity, it was an impressive show of how far he'd become with the drums ever since she invited him to play for the first time all those months ago. [4]
She also felt energized at his serene expression, as if his troubles that she would never know of weren't plaguing him as he played with her right at this very moment.
It made her sing with more confidence.
~I'll do anything for you, anything you want me to~
If you'll be true to me
I'll look after you like I've never done before
I'll keep all the others from knocking at your door
In spite of all the dangers
In spite of all that may be
I'll do anything for you, anything you want me to
~If you'll be true to me~
With her fingers gliding down her guitar, she then began the simplest solo she had ever done in her entire time as a musician, that the traveler seemed entranced with the elegant sound she was currently producing with her beloved instrument.
And once she was done with her solo, she felt passion she had never experienced before she continued singing the final chorus.
~In spite of all the heartache that you may cause me~
I'll do anything for you, anything you want me to
If you'll be true to me
I'll do anything for you, anything you want me to
~If you'll be true to me~
Despite the song coming to an end, Xinyan decided, she wanted to play it once more.
She looked to the direction of Aether, and gestured to him with her guitar.
The traveler didn't seem to mind, heck she was sure that he was enjoying their current little performance together as he seemed as eager than before to play.
She heaved a relieved sigh, realizing that she had just released a tension she been feeling ever since the song began.
Looking at the direction of the blond once again, she saw him smiling genuinely at her, free of all the emotional weight she had witnessed earlier.
It made her heart flutter.
That smile, she wanted to see more of that smile.
So she continued strumming away at her guitar, with a unique ferocity different from her usual rocking out yet similar in passion.
And to the dark skinned girl, she knew that this was the kind of performance she had been seeking for so long.
Deep inside, Xinyan knew that she just missed him so much, she was only ever using the front of being in a creative slump, she couldn't focus on her music because she worried about him, that she wanted to be with him.
She missed playing with him, and even deeper from the bottom of her heart, she wanted him to know that she would always be there for him in his darkest moments, to be his anchor and ease his pain away.
She poured all of her heart into the same song as she began to sing once more, not caring if she exposed her true feelings, it didn't matter, what mattered at that moment, was the music that guided their hearts into complete harmony, and to Xinyan, it was enough.
And as The Traveler and the rising Rock n' Roll Musician of Liyue Harbor continued to perform to their heart's content, free of their worries, an orange light casted down on their forms, making them glow brightly as the wonderful synchronicity of two people who enjoyed playing music together echoed into the afternoon sky.
-Fila Ignium/Viator Story end-
A/N:
[1] Reference to her Birthday voiceline, where Xinyan makes a Fontaine styled doll of both herself and the traveler.
[2] Standard Guitar tuning, also the tuning used for the song she sang.
[3] Reference to her voice line "Feelings About Ascension: Conclusion", where Xinyan promised she would write a rock song for the traveler, though it's modified a bit in this story.
[4] Reference to her voice line "About us: Invitation", where Xinyan invites the traveler to play the drums with her after finding out he has good sense of rhythm.
The song used in this fic is "In Spite of All the Danger" by The Quarrymen, or The Beatles without Ringo.
I specifically chose a cover over the original version because it had terrible quality since it was sloppily recorded in 1958, also since I thought that the girl in the song cover kinda sounded like Xinyan, it is why I chose it for this fic, I know in this fic it needed a rhythm guitar and a backup vocals given the nature of the song but eh, it doesn't matter lol
Lastly, Retreading Destiny is almost complete, I know I've been saying that for a while now, but I'm super motivated that I'm about 99% finished with it.