Aether stumbled to his feet slowly after a moment of trying to get his bearings. He wasn't sure where exactly he was right now, and he knew that needed to change fast. Realizing that the best place to start was to put his clothes back on, he slowly walked towards the neatly folded articles of clothing that were set a safe distance from the fire. He fumbled with his clothes briefly before finally getting them back on. It was clear by the way he was moving that his body had been in a dormant state for some time. He recognized the feeling; he had only ever experienced it once before when he had woken up in the wilderness of Teyvat all that time ago. Aether sighed and sat back down, trying his hardest to remember how he got here and, maybe more importantly, who had been looking after him.

Looking around again, it was very clear he hadn't been alone there. The bed he was lying in was far too big for just one person, there was also evidence of movement all around the makeshift camp, and most obviously, that fire hadn't built itself. Aether frowned and focused as hard as he could. Who was the last person that he was with?

"I'll see you around, Collei."

"AETHER NO DO-"

Aether gasped as the memory of the trap and explosion came flooding back. He was with Collei; they were investigating a withered zone, but… Aether's last memory was of him throwing Collei out the window to safety before...

"My power!" Aether yelled. He remembered now in the split second before he was consumed by the fire, he'd managed to tap into his long-sealed powers and fly away from the explosion. He knew, however, that it must have been too much for his body to bear at that moment as he lost control the second he tapped into it. Aether wondered if his abilities had awoken with him and focused up. Holding his hand out, he summoned what little strength he could and watched as elemental energy began to form in his palm. There was, unfortunately, no sign of his original abilities.

While Aether sulked briefly, he failed to notice that he was being watched from the entrance of the cave he was in. A hooded figure observed him closely while also ensuring they wouldn't be spotted. The figure remained silent as Aether charged up the other elements he had in his arsenal. He must have been ensuring that he still had the elements he'd collected.

"A pity that your true power remains locked away. I suppose you'll just have to keep waiting," a feminine voice said. "Still, the fact that you managed to tap into enough of it for me to sense you from such a distance means you're getting closer and closer to what you once were. No..stronger perhaps," she considered. "I'm happy to see you awake, but...I suppose it would have been nice to spend more time with you. Even if I mostly just healed your wounds," she said in a low tone. "You'd better be careful from here on out. No more letting others lead you into a trap; seeing the memory of that green-haired girl drag you into the trap those mages set was very frustrating."

The figure turned her head to look into the forest. She could sense people coming, they were still a ways away, but she could sense that they were approaching fast. She grits her teeth in anger. It seemed even just a few more moments were too much to ask for.

"Honestly, brother. Why are you popular?" She said before giving him one last look.

Aether felt someone's gaze on him and turned his head in the direction of what looked like the mouth of a cave. Satisfied with the state of his powers, he walked towards the exit and picked up the sword that was lying on the ground not far from where he had been sleeping. The sun greeted Aether warmly as if it had missed his presence. Its light slightly blinded him until his eyes could adjust. Aether could see it was likely just past noon, that wasn't enough information to tell exactly how long he'd been out, but it was a start. He began to walk up to the river bank so he could use it to orient himself, but just then, he spotted something floating up the river. A boat and it was moving quickly thanks to the current. Aether figured he'd just caught a lucky break, he could simply ask the captain of the vessel to take him back to civilization if they were friendly enough, and if they ended up being bandits, then he could just beat them up and still take their boat.

Aether moved right up the edge of the river bank and looked closely. It seemed to be a pretty advanced riverboat; perhaps it belonged to the military; there was a cabin that seemed big enough to fit a handful of people. He couldn't make out any passengers but knew someone must have been on board. Aether cleared his throat and raised his arms into the air.

"HEY! LIL HELP OVER HERE!" He punctuated his call by activating his wind blade and blasting into the trees on the river bank. He hoped that the resulting thrash would draw attention to where he was standing. Aether squinted; the boat seemed to slow down for a moment; he feared he had overdone it and potentially scared them. Then the boat sped up again.

"Think they saw me," Aether said, relieved. His relief was momentary as shortly after the vessel lurched forward, it began to pick up speed, ALOT of speed. Aether blinked in stunned amazement as it went from relatively fast to absolutely hauling ass. Aether took some nervous steps back, realizing that if that was a military vessel, they might think he was a threat. Aether calmed himself down but also steadied himself in preparation for a fight. The wave rider seemed to pick up speed the closer it got to him until, finally, it stopped directly in front of him. Aether held his breath; there was almost panicked shuffling coming from inside the cabin. Then the last person he was expecting popped out. A girl with long brunette hair, a red bow, and a beautiful face that was currently gushing tears came out and looked over at him.

"Amber…?"

Aether hardly had two feet on the vessel before he was caught in a vice-like grip. Amber had always managed to make his heart stop without much effort, but right now, the bear hug he was in may just lead to a more literal interpretation of a stopped heart. This problem was made worse when his floating companion latched herself onto his face, cutting off his oxygen supply.

"Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Paimon thought she would never see you again!" The white-haired girl cried. "We're all so happy you're alive!"

Aether would have responded in kind, but again, every inch of his face was buried in Paimon's cloth-covered body. Aether was this close to screaming out the last bit of oxygen in his lungs when Paimon was removed from his face. Aether took a much-needed deep breath and smiled.

"Than-" he didn't have time to properly thank his savior before her lips captured his own. Aether's face went rose red; his attention focused too much on the women kissing him to hear the 'hoots' and hollers that Dehya and Yelan were making. Collei, meanwhile, was blushing up a storm before Paimon jumped in to shield her eyes. His eyes were shut tightly, but soon he relaxed into the kiss and returned her affection. The two separated after what felt like an eternity and gave each other a longing gaze.

"Wow…what was that?" He asked.

"You're not getting away this time," she replied.

"Hey! Don't get all icky when there are other people around!" Paimon yelled.

"C'mon, Paimon, let 'em' have this," Dehya scolded.

"You're alive!" Came an uncharacteristically energetic cheer from Layla as she laid eyes on the blonde Traveler. She proceeded to break character yet again as she sprinted towards Aether, who had just arrived in Sumeru's capital. She wasn't alone either; Faruzan and Nilou were also quick to rush over upon seeing him. As luck would have it, all three of them were in the right place at the right time to see him arrive.

Aether didn't have time to wave hello before his left side was being hugged intensely by the typically sleepy student. He was going to return the hug, but his right side was shortly thereafter occupied by Nilou. They both started sobbing and speaking into his ears, crying about missing him greatly and wanting to spend more time together. Faruzan being the old crow she was, was, of course, the last one to arrive and pouted when she realized there was no more room on the hug train, so she'd have to wait her turn.

"Oh, these old legs just can't compete with you, youngin," she complained.

On the side, Nahida smiled as her first sage was greeted warmly by her people. Paimon smirked and giggled while Dehya and Yelan chuckled, knowing the young lad was in for a lot more. (They had gotten their fill of him on the boat). Collei squirmed where she stood; between Yelan, Dehya, Nahid, Paimon, AND Amber, she hadn't had a chance to hug the Traveler. Amber, meanwhile, was more or less keeping herself together; she knew that Aether was popular, and competition was only natural, so she would certainly keep her cool. Or she would have if Layla and Nilou hadn't started peppering his cheeks and neck with quick kisses. She could practically see Aether's red face where she was standing.

"Um…Amber?" Collei spoke up. "Why are you drawing your bow?"

Amber's attention snapped to her young friend and then to her hands. Seems that she had subconsciously summoned her weapon. How odd.

Keqing, Ganyu, and Ningguang all gathered in the Tianquans office in order to hear Yelans latest report; according to the letter she sent, it was an important update in the case of Aether's demise. The trio waited in silence until the door to Ningguangs office swung open. There standing in the doorway, Yelan stood, but it wasn't her that caught their attention. Standing right next to her, wearing a warm smile, was none other than Liyue's golden boy himself.

"Hey there! You girls miss me?" He asked.

Keqing and Ganyu were left frozen, they weren't sure what they were expecting when Yelan called this meeting, but it wasn't this. Nigguang dropped her smoking pipe, and for the second time in her life, she was speechless and paralyzed by indecision. Her subordinates, on the other hand, were quick to recover from their shock and were now halfway across the room. Yet again, Aether found himself on the receiving end of a tight glomp. They came at him so strong it almost pushed him to the ground. Keqing and Ganyu were relentless on him, however, squeezing and sobbing like they'd regained something precious.

"I can tell you're happy with my report," Yelan said smugly. "Fyi getting him here wasn't easy. I practically had to beat Hu Tao off with a stick. Seriously, we would have been here an hour earlier. Luckily Yanfei showed up and convinced Tao to wait for him to come back with you all. That way, they can eat together at Wamins. You just know Xiangling is gonna whip up something good; Tao also said she'd get Xinyan and Yujin to come," she said. "You three in?"

Her question went unheard, however, as Keqing and Ganyu kept their vice-like grip on him. Aether, now very familiar with this kind of sensation, hugged back and held them close. He knew this was the best way to react to their doting. He even began to whisper back to help erase their nerves. Ninggaung, after an uncharacteristically long pause, finally stood up and addressed the young man.

"Traveler, I think I speak on behalf of the Quixing, no, of Liyue when I say we're happy to see you back," Ningguang said, trying to regain her regal disposition. Aether smiled at her warmly, she would have gone to give him a hug of her own, but Ganyu and Keqing seemed determined to be greedy.

"Hey, wait! Who are you!? You can't just come in here without authorization!" A voice yelled out from outside the office. Everyone turned to look in the direction of where the yell came from, wondering what could be the cause of such a ruckus in such a normally silent area.

"Where do you-Gah!" This time it sounded like something was thrown or possibly that someone fell.

"What's all that about?" Aether asked. The women in the room all took a step forward and listened closely. It was clear something was making its way through the jade chamber and working towards Nigguangs office.

"I'm told he was here. Where is he?" A voice called out in an aggressive tone.

"That sounds like…." Ganyu said, trailing off.

The group momentarily ended their reunion to go out and investigate the sudden chaos occurring in the hallways and adjacent offices. Upon exiting, they moved their way through the crowded space right for the source of the noise. Once they had a clear view, they gasped at the sight but then quickly sighed in an exhausted but amused exasperation.

"Hey Shenhe, good to see you," Aether called out.

The platinum-blonde woman turned her head away from the frightened security of the building, her eyes now gazing rather hungrily at the young man that held her affection. She smiled; even through the bonds of the red ropes, she smiled. It was such a brilliant smile that it made the finest jade seem dull by comparison. The combination of Shenhe's suddenly overwhelming emotions and her already superhuman attributes meant that this hug was liable to do Aether some real damage. Thankfully there seemed to be something rather silky and soft that cushioned the impact. Whatever it was, it was also blocking Aether's vision entirely. It also, for some reason, felt oddly satisfying but somehow scandalous to be making contact with it.

"Shenhe, be careful! He needs to breathe!" He heard Ganyu say.

It was then that Aether realized where he was and that Ganyu had a point. He was indeed finding it harder to breathe while his face was full of Shenhe. He, however, couldn't say he was displeased. Every breath he managed to take was filled with the floral scent of this woman's perfume, and frankly, he knew that if he really did die here, it would be as a happy man. It took some gentle coaxing, but eventually, Shenhe was convinced to release the young Traveler. It was a bit disappointing for both parties, but they shared a look and knew they'd likely pick up where they left off later.

"Aether, I am…so happy to see you alive," Shenhe said. "When I heard what happened, I nearly retreated to the Adeptal abode. Remaining among the people of Liyue seemed…pointless," bitterness was evident in her tone.

"Hey, thank you for sticking it out. It must have been hard," Aether said, placing a hand on her cheek. "That shows me how strong you are; I'm proud of you."

Red ropes and lungs be damned; she was going to hug him again.

Aether had made a point to send word of his survival to Inazuma before he arrived; he didn't want to shock his friends there too much after all. That being said, he did, unfortunately, send notice late due to how preoccupied he was in Liyue. Now that he was here, though, he was starting to think otherwise. Barely had Aether set foot in Inazuma before he spotted a maverick of cryo energy hurtling towards him from below ground. He braced; this one looked like it was gonna hurt. Much to his relief, though, the cryo girl hopped out of the ground just before she made contact. As she rose from the icy wave, Aether couldn't help but be in awe; Ayaka wasn't in her typical samurai wear; rather, she was in a dress that he'd never seen before. It fit so gracefully well on her that he felt his heart skip a beat. She landed in front of him with her fan, partially hiding part of her face. Had she rehearsed this?

"Aether," her tone was breathy, and her eyes were glistening. He was fairly certain that she had planned to say a bit more to him, but it looked like her emotions got the better of her, and in a now very familiar sensation, Ayaka was clinging to his chest, trying not to ruin her makeup with tears.

"Hey," he said. "I missed you too." The two remained in each other's embrace. Ayaka tried her best to start forming coherent sentences; it didn't help that Aether started to whisper sweet nothings into her ear. She truly could not thank whatever gods were looking over her for this moment.

Then in a literal sense, lightning struck. Ayaka opened her eyes as the sound of electro hitting the ground rang out. She would have snuggled deeper into Aether's embrace to hide, but she did a double take as it registered that her arms were now just hanging in mid-air. One look around told her she was now about 3 meters to the right of where she had been. And standing exactly where she was and should be standing was Aether, whose expression she couldn't read because his face was currently buried in the bosom of the electro archon.

Ayaka was suddenly less thankful to the gods.

Aether was, for his part, stunned but not resistant. Ei's squeeze, much like Shenhe's, was backed by superhuman abilities, leaving him stranded between bliss and panic.

"I feared the worst had happened. I remained in the plain of euthymia for days after I heard the news…." Ei said. "To think that I would only learn of your return mere moments before your arrival."

That was odd to Aether; he had sent word of his arrival late but still a few days in advance. He quietly pondered if someone had purposely delayed the news of his arrival, but he couldn't imagine who would do that.

"Mighty Shogun, you grace me with your presence," Ayaka said. Her words were chivalrous, but something about the look on her face said they were laced with poison.

"Ah, the Shirasagi Himegimi, you managed to arrive here just before I did. How lucky you are," Ei said, momentarily dropping her somber attitude for a regal one. "You did well to welcome the Traveler to our shores; I will take it from here."

"Your excellency, if I may be so bold. I have made arrangements as part of a small celebration to welcome him back. I wouldn't want to interfere in your daily duties," Ayaka said, more insistent this time.

"Your request is noted. However, for the time being, I, as Shogun, will take it upon myself to welcome the Traveler back to Inazuma. You are free to leave."

Paimon, who had chosen to remain silent during the reunion for the sake of not ruining the moment, was beginning to feel a bit uneasy. When Ayaka chose to again defend her position, she could feel the Shogun's patience start to be tried.

"Aether and I are very close, your excellency, I may be stepping out of place, but I would be very grateful if you allowed me to accompany him," Ayaka said.

"Yes...I am aware the two of you are..close. However, I also share a closeness with Aether. You will be allowed to accompany him after he and I have had our time."

Aether felt a superconductive energy begin to flood the atmosphere. He needed to step in and say something before things spiraled out of control. Just before he could step in, though, he felt himself get held back. Sure enough, upon inspecting his flanks, his arms were occupied by a country girl and a grand priestess.

"Yoimiya, Yea Miko, what are you guys….?"

"Hush now, little one, enough time has been wasted here. Let's go enjoy ourselves. Right, Yoimiya?" Yea asked the extra cheerful fire hazard.

"Yup! We gotta lot to do today, Aether! C'mon, no use hangin' around here. Remember you said you'd tell me all about your adventures when you came back! I'm just itchin' to know!" She said, hooking her arm under his and cuddling right up.

"Precisely! Come now, little ones."

"Shouldn't we do something about those two?" Aether gestured to the Ei and Ayaka, who still seemed to be in a sparky conversation.

"They'll probably stop bickering once they notice their dearest is on the move, so the quicker we go, the better," Yea answered, finally pulling Aether along the path with Yoimiyas' help.

Seeing what Yea's plan was, Paimon decided it was about time to jump in.

"Hey, you two! Look, Yea and Yoimiya ran off with Aether!" She said. The two women broke from their tense trance to see that their respective friends were indeed carrying off their Traveler like a box of pilfered goods.

"Hey!" They yelled in unison before chasing after them.

The open, green fields of Mondstat never failed to soothe Aether. The past couple of weeks were filled with celebration, cuddling, and tears, and he was certain that his arrival to Mondstat would be no different. Knowing he was sure to once again be near suffocated, not that he minded.

"Aether, you're here!" The familiar voice of Amber caught Aether's attention. Turning back to see her running towards him. He felt warmth spread through his chest. The two had to separate in Liyue so she could return to her duties in Mondstat as well as send word of his arrival. "It's about time! Don't tell me those sweet hearts of yours held you back for this long," she said with a mocking pout on her face.

"Haha, very funny," Aether said with a chuckle. "I figured you'd be the one to greet me. You gonna take me around Mondstat to say hi to everyone?" He asked.

"No, I have a bunch of stuff to do today; I think Jean might be trying to get me out of the picture," she joked. "Anywho, that being said, that doesn't mean I'm leaving you on your own. There's someone who's been dying to see you, and since they're a good buddy of mine, I couldn't turn them down," Amber said with a sneaky grin.

Aether was about to question her sudden change in demeanor when he heard his name from behind.

"YOU!" Aether felt two soft gloved hands grip his cheeks and turn his head away from Amber. There staring into his eyes, was Eula, filled with relief, anger, jealousy, and who knows what else. "How could you do this to me! I lost sleep because of you!" her tone was trembling, and her grip was firm but shaky. Deciding it was about time he took some initiative, Aether wrapped both hands around the woman and embraced her.

The normally cold and prideful woman held her tongue as she felt his arms wrap around her. She had never been the type to openly admit her vulnerabilities, but the past few weeks had tested her resolve. Now though, she could relax and enact her vengeance.

Aether Eula and Paimon parted ways from Amber shortly after that, the young woman promising to come to see him later. The three of them were now on the path to Mondstats city, the whole time Aether smiling and teasing Eula while the brunette tried and failed to stop herself from grinning like a schoolgirl. The trio was a stone's throw away from the front gates when Aether's attention was drawn toward a violet figure that darted past him. Aether and his companions halted and observed the figure closely.

"Is that…" Eula said, trailing off.

"It's Oz!" Paimon finished.

"If Oz is nearby, then doesn't that mean…." Aether suddenly felt a weight yank on his arms. Mildly shocked, he steadied his grip and realized that he was now holding the blonde shadow princess herself bridal style.

"You've returned! Oh, retinue, this is indeed a most glorious day!" She shouted as she steeled into his arms. "The Prinzessin was lost in the deepest voids of damnation and despair upon word of your doom! Your return has, however, returned me to the highest peak of joy and adulation!"

"What my fraulein means is she's happy you're back and that she missed you," Oz clarified.

"I must also add that Lady Megistus will be here to give you her personal greeting as part of the grand celebration that is to be held in your honor!" Fischl added.

"Fischl! I thought I told you to play it cool," the familiar voice of his astrologist friend called. Once she realized she'd been noticed, she dusted herself off and tried to regain her composure.

"Traveler, you're here right on schedule," Mona said, shaking a little. It was clear she was trying to maintain her normally proud and elegant demeanor. "Of course, I knew that there'd be no way you'd perish despite my inability to gaze into your future, so I remained ever weary of the reports of-

"She cried for three days when she heard you were gone. Then for another three days when she heard you were alive," Fischl said, cutting her off.

"FISCHL! I told you that in confidence!" Mona said, running up to the girl who was still in Aether's arms. Mona would have continued to scold her, but finally getting close to Aether and seeing him smile made and forget her rage and instead wrap her arms around his neck. It was a bit uncomfortable, especially for Fischl, who has sandwiched now, but neither girl was ready to give up their place.

It took coaxing from the spindrift knight, but eventually, she was able to get the two of them off the Traveler with promises to see him again later on. They set back on to the trail towards the Knight of Favonius HQ and thankfully encountered no more interruptions. Upon Aether's arrival at the HQ, he was greeted by the friendly faces of all his other friends and comrades. Much like before, he was hugged and kissed by the women of the order, Lisa, in particular, seemed to be trying to sneak the boy away, but Eula's vigilant eye ensured no one could steal him away. Aether also noticed while he was getting passed around that Diluc and Kaeya had come to see him. They would have gone up to see express their relief to see him alive but found that it was best not to get in between Aether and the abnormally intense stare he was getting from Jean. Instead, the estranged brothers decided to wave while conveying their pride and pity for the young man's situation.

Aether let out a long sigh as he exited the bath of his Teapot; after the last several hours reuniting with the knights as well as all his other close friends in Mondstat, he was a bit overwhelmed. He was glad that he had a chance to stretch his limbs and rest; he'd need it for the week that his friends had planned. As he walked back to his room in the Teapot, his mind began to recollect the events of the past few weeks and the reactions and treatments he'd gotten from all the friends he had made. Feelings he hadn't ever noticed had suddenly become so obvious to him, both his own and those of the women he'd grown close to. To think that he'd caught the attention of girls outside of the ones he suspected, like…

"Amber," he felt his cheeks flare up. He'd stopped in front of his door. There in front of him, there was a red bow with gold highlights tied around his door knob. That hadn't been there when he left to shower earlier. "Well…she did say she'd pay me a visit," Aether said to himself. Slowly Aether gripped the handle and turned the knob; once the door was open, his eyes went wide, and he wasted no time shutting and locking the door behind him to avoid any interruption. The sound of a girlish giggle echoed out into the hallway.

It was good to be back.

XXX

Hey there, hoped you enjoyed the read. This fic along with a few others have been added to my barely used profile here on ff. If you want to check out my others stories, specifically smutty ones, then feel free to stop by A03 where you can find the rest of my content under the same name Slash17. Take care!