March 7th 2021

Aether looked up to the sky and sighed; the city lights had blotted out any stars that would've been visible – and it spurred an unconscious comparison within him between Mondstadt's nightscape and Sumeru's.

"I miss it there," he whispered, settling his weight on the balcony.

It had been 6 months since he'd transferred over to the Mondstadt branch of his company, where he'd attempted to reconnect with an old flame he thought never properly ended. But despite the impressive actions he took for said reason, Aether had ended up stubbing the flame out instead of relighting it.

"I'm delusional," he laughed, taking another sip of his coffee.

If he went back to Sumeru now, what would they think of him? Suddenly, a question of whether he had a right to go back surfaced in his mind – but it was a valid point: could he even go back if he wanted to?

When he'd left for Sumeru all those years ago, he held Mondstadt in his heart, even after meeting new people who would stick with him through thick and thin. But when he came back, he realised something: the more he continued to stay in Mondstadt, the more he grew homesick for Sumeru.

Mondstadt, his previous home, was now the very place in which he was feeling homesick – and Sumeru, at some point, was now where he belonged.

Aether chuckled, feeling as if his mind had finally cleared. "I'm really stupid." He took another sip, thinking of his friends on the other side of the world. They kept in touch once in a while, which was quite admirable, and it sent a warm, fuzzy feeling to his chest.

At the very least, even now, he wasn't totally alone.

Aether pulled out his phone and gazed over his contacts. He scrolled and scrolled, stopping at one name: Nilou. Aether hovered his finger over her name for just a little while; she hadn't called in three weeks.

In fairness, it had been six months, and every time she called, all she'd hear about was his futile moves on Amber, despite her asking purely about his well-being. But she always rooted for him. And each time she did, the time that would last between each call would increase.

I'm probably a total asshole, he chuckled, pressing her name and bringing his phone to his ear. The call rang for several seconds... until he then heard a distinct click patch him through.

"Aether?" her voice chimed through.

She sounded so beautiful. So sweet.

"Nilou," he smiled, his eyes glossing over with longing; "I miss you."

The call was silent for a little while.

"...W-what?" Her voice sounded a little uneasy – startled, probably. "Aether, are you okay? Is something–"

"I miss you," he repeated again, adding weight to every word he said. "I want to see you again."

The call, again, was silent for a little while. And then–

"Well... then you better come back here, dummy."

Aether smiled, revelling in the softness of her voice. Was she blushing right now? Was she flustered? It wouldn't be fair if he was the only one feeling as if he'd just run ten miles.

"I will," he replied, "if you'll have me."

A clattering sound came from the other side of the phone, amusing Aether.

"I-I've got a lot to say to you! We'll deal with that later when you get here!"

Aether nodded meekly, his cheeks flushed red. "Yes, ma'am."

"Um, what time is it there?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"It's ten in the evening."

"...Is that so? Then, um, you should go sleep now," she said, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"And, um," she cleared her throat, "I... I miss you, too."

Aether's lips spread from ear to ear. "I miss you more."

"Wha–!"

Before she could retort, he swiftly ended the call and laughed.

In the end, maybe this was how things would have turned out anyway. After all, the truth was that he did succeed in reconnecting with his old flame – with Amber. He'd unearthed their secrets, found their flaws and admitted to their faults.

All there was left was to start again – but he refused.

He refused because of a pang in his heart.

And that pang was from Nilou.

"All's well that ends well," Aether smiled, looking at the sky once more– "Oh?"

This time, just somewhere to the left, he saw a bright, sparkling star.

"Hehe."

Brainfart, guys. The Nilou/Aether within me took over and seized control of this Amber/Aether fic.