A/N: Here you go—some Keqing and Aether fluff.


A Place in the Stars

Chapter 1 - Getting Drunk, A Typical Rom-Com Cliché


"Wherever you go, whatever life throws at you.. in Teyvat, the stars in the night sky will always have a place for you."

Aether hoped that was the case. It's been about 6 months, half a year, since he woke up. And now, after having met Venti—who's actually Barbatos, the Anemo God—and exploring non-stop for several hours every day, going into domains searching for answers, fighting a shit ton of animals, talking to who knows how many people, banging his head countless times, punching so many trees in frustration—and sometimes screaming—he couldn't find anything about his sister. The only thing he's kept on hearing about was the Fatui and the Abyss Order. Where was his sister?!

Now he's in Liyue. And he's here, sitting in front of the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing, in an expensive, private restaurant, only to ask one question—one question that took him ages to finally ask to the person in front of him. Was asking a question to one of the leaders in the Qixing that hard? To be fair, it was about his sister, but was taking out 20 hilichurl camps, defeating a Pyro and Cryo Regisvine, an Electro Hypostasis, and solving several matters and problems with her in the span of two weeks worth it? For just one simple question?

Aether inhaled, tightening his already clasped hands tighter.

"Have you ever seen or heard of anyone—with your amount of contacts and knowledge—that looks like me?"

And in less than a second, those two weeks of hard work went to waste. Absolute, fucking waste. All for a slight shake of the head from the Yuheng. Great, back to square one... as always. Was there something—fate, even—that was stopping him from achieving his goal? Because there have been so many inconveniences that he just can't keep up! If only Rex Lapis was alive, maybe things could've gone different. Maybe, just maybe, he might've gotten at least the tiniest lead to his sister, giving him a bit of progress—because so far, it's zero.

He was alone. He didn't have his family here. He didn't have his closest friends here. He had no one.

With a deep, long sigh, though he knew it was bad manners, Aether dropped his head to the table with a light bang.

Absolutely, certainly none was with him.

As if he had no care in the world, Aether gave the most unappreciative, monotone, and fed-up 'thank you' in the history of 'thank you's. Though he wouldn't dare grumble. Even if he'd already spent 2 weeks with this... perfectionist goody-two-shoes, she'd probably go angry, going off about the effort to make time for him.

Repeatedly, this time out loud, he muttered quietly, "Back to square fucking one. Thanks a lot, Keqing. You've really helped me out." Sitting up from his chair, Aether began to walk off, only to feel a hand grip his wrist nervously.

"Wait, I don't think that was a fair trade. Y'know, for all the things you've done for me... so, how about I treat you to some drinks? Besides, I went through all the effort to make time for you."

Called it.

Did she just say drinks? Oh, thank the archons, it's been so long! Everyone's been refusing to give him one since he looks like a kid, but now he could finally get one! Besides, his choices were either punching another tree, looking for more possible opportunities—which is hard to come by (it's been a month since he came to Liyue)—or he could drink his troubles away, even if for just an hour or so. Remembering that he'd spent half a year in this world already, with the countless things he's done, he's got way too much mora on him.

"I'll take you up on that offer."


Either Keqing had shit tolerance or the drinks were strong, because about three cups in and her cheeks had gotten a bit flushed. As for Aether, he's on his sixth cup and the effects have only started to appear. Though, to be honest, seeing Keqing in such a vulnerable state proved to be quite amusing for him. Sitting at the bar, the boy witnessed a tiny, cute grumble escape her pouted lips, her face burying itself onto her crossed arms. She slowly turned her head towards him, eyes gazing straight into his.

"Must suck for you... huh?" She loosely spoke. "S... sorry for being... such a bitch these past two weeks—I had way too much... on my plate."

Her long purple hair fell from the table like pools of lavender-coloured water, shining ever so slightly from the lights above them, blocking a bit of her right eye. He subconsciously smiled, and there was this strange feeling in his stomach that made him feel... mellow? Normal? As if his sister wasn't missing, as if he wasn't all alone in an unknown world separated from everyone, as if he was back home. Was this strange? They've only been with each other—stuck with each other—for 2 weeks because of some circumstances. It had its moments, but was she more an acquaintance, or was it okay to call her a friend?

"Sorry for the problems... I've caused, and... a-and sorry about whoever you're... looking... for, and about you... you getting hurt..."

The girl laughed self-deprecatingly to herself.

"I say that humans shouldn't rely on gods... yet here I am... praying that you were okay..."

Holy shit, she cared about him. Wait, no fucking way. As if this person—who's practically abused him physically and mentally every single day they were together—would care for him. Drinks in Teyvat really do something to someone's mind. What would've happened if he was the drunk one?

Keqing wasn't usually like this—obviously—and not in a good way. if he had to pick between scolding, angry Keqing, or this... apologising mess that acted like a sad character, he'd pick the former any day. They say being drunk gets you to release your inner feelings, so now suddenly, feeling sorry for himself has switched to feeling sorry for Keqing. Hesitantly, he rested his hand gently on to her head as if she was fragile glass. His mom always did this. He noticed her amethyst eyes widen to some extent the moment he laid a hand on her, her body going stiff—but it only lasted for a second before she gave Aether a cross between a smile and a frown.

Gradually, he began to stroke her hair, keeping to the area closest to him, which was near the ear, at the side of her head. The boy's fingers seemed to flow through her hair, his thumb making circles on her head, his palm going up less than a centimetre high, then gradually going back down. He wouldn't have minded if he stayed there with her for a few more hours, staying just like that. She let out a content sigh, oddly sounding like a cat's purr. Could Aether take it to mean that Keqing really was a cat-girl?

She uncrossed her arms, the right one going for his free hand. Aether couldn't stop the ever-increasing smile on his face, his fingers going underneath her palm and scooping it into his. Once again, it was the perfect size. It was like crossing your arms the way you usually wouldn't, then crossing them the way you usually did; it just seemed to feel... how could he put this... right? Like fitting the first correct pieces of a hard jigsaw puzzle together, finding that right stroke for a drawing, finding that perfect sleeping position, that perfect balance of being cold enough to make you stay in bed but not too cold to be freezing, like seeing your most favourite ship become canon on the best anime you've watched, like getting a great 5-star after all your hard grinding.

Yeah, the last one seemed to be the best analogy. It felt incredible and somehow impossible to believe, because getting a 5-star was probably the most hardest thing in the entire world.

Since she always wore gloves, and since they never held hands—that was obvious—taking a closer look, it wouldn't be an overstatement to say that they were that of a hand model's. Keqing's slender fingers weakly grasped his, her nails lightly tickling the back of his hand.

Aether noticed, from the very start, that her body heat was incredibly warm. Yes, no doubt it felt welcoming and gave him the urge to just keep head-patting her forever, but it slowly dawned on him that she had a fever. He only just noticed, but the girl was sleeping, and it isn't as if Keqing was gonna pay—and although he'd been with her for 2 weeks non-stop, he still didn't know where she lived. Oh, he wouldn't dare make her camp, so the only other option was Wangshu Inn, but the only problem was that he hadn't yet activated that teleport waypoint for himself. He'd have to at least walk for 15-20 mins if he went to the nearest waypoint.

"Bill, please."

It's decided. He'll just have to give Keqing a piggyback ride.


A/N: Of course, more is to come. As if I'd stop here! I'm only halfway through.