"You reached for the secret too soon… you cried for the moon."

Roger Waters, Wish You Were Here

Aether was dying.

The relentless duelling between the blonde traveller and the purple archon had ended in a victory for the despot. Aether had made a momentary lapse in judgement, which had nearly cost him his life. An attack from the Musou no Hitotachi he couldn't sense in time sent him flying into one of the pillars of the many stony torii in the Plane of Euthymia. Blood had finally been spilled, and it had spilled from the hero of both Mondstadt and Liyue. The average person would scream in fear, yet the one person who could see his face right now was grinning with deranged satisfaction.

Aether laid in a dazed state. The collision with the pillar had given him a concussion, and he was pretty sure that he was bleeding in several different places. He couldn't move, or else it would cause him unimaginable pain. Likely a few, or several fractured bones. He could feel his ambition fading by the second, as the Electro Archon drew ever closer to him, flaunting her polearm in triumph. He swore he could hear her giggling.

"Lumine… I'm sorry…" Aether muttered, shedding a single tear from his weary eye. This was all he could let out from his lips until he was forced on his feet by the Shogun, or rather, Ei. She had an extremely stern look in her eye, which was complimented by a smug smile. Aether could not even bear to look at her, let alone contain himself if she taunted him like a schoolyard bully.

"It appears that I am the victor, no? Dear boy… you've bitten off way more than you can chew this time." Ei shot a smirk at him. Aether was not having any of it. Aether channelled the last remnants of Ameno left in him, and gave Ei his final parting gift.

"...Wind… blade…"

A sudden gust of wind launched by the traveller threw Ei away from him, stunning her. He immediately slumped over, trying his darndest to stand up. In front of him, he could see Ei foaming at the mouth. He had truly done it this time. Aether smirked.

"You… insignificant FUCK!" Ei ran full speed towards him, brimming with electro in every corner of her body. Yet, Aether could not help but feel content. He had truly accepted his impending death, and he was about to face the full wrath of it head on.

Suddenly, Aether felt the world around him disintegrating. Soon enough, he found himself right outside of Tenshukaku. It was clear that days had passed since he went inside the Plane of Euthymia, and he had to find a way back to at least the Komore Teahouse to treat his injuries. Or at least, he would've if he didn't collapse at the front entrance to the fortress that is Tenshukaku.

In the labyrinth that is his pocket, a dormant omamori that a certain pink haired kitsune gave him shone a brilliant glow. In an instant, standing beside his unconscious body was the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine. She immediately rushed to check his vitals.

"Come on, come on… pulse… pulse…" Luckily for Yae Miko, she did in fact find a pulse. She immediately carried him in her arms and rushed back to the shrine for emergency treatment by her and the various shrine maidens. Paimon had been told to wait there by the resistance members, so she also had the displeasure of seeing her companions severely wounded state.

Yae Miko, especially, was not feeling the greatest. She had no clue as to why. Aether was causing her to feel feelings she could only describe as… grief. Guilt. Sadness. All in the same day, hell, the same hour. The man was truly remarkable to her, and she had to make it up to him somehow. She wasn't sure what it'd be, but she had to make it worth his while. The floating fairy next to her spoke up, breaking her train of thought temporarily.

"Miko… will Aether be okay? Paimon is super worried about him…"

"I hope he'll be fine, or else my soul is doomed to eternal torment." Paimon blinked, but didn't think much of Yae's one-off statement.

Aether suddenly awoke in a dazed state. He had no idea how many hours it had been, or days. Everything hurt, but he felt substantially better than he did. He did feel rather lightheaded due to the blood loss sustained in the Plane of Euthymia. Beside him was Yae Miko and Paimon, who were both asleep. He could hear the subtle sounds of thunder and rain.

"...Yae?" The pink-haired kitsune in question instantly awoke from her nap that she was taking. Her eyes widened in both shock and joy and instantly smothered Aether in her embrace.

"Thank the archons you're okay, little one. I was worried sick about you!" Aether once again felt the sensation of tears on his body, except this time they were tears of joy. Yae Miko was overcome with emotion, some she had also never felt before at all. But, the youkai was willing to experience it all for his sake.

"What happened?"

"You were out cold for about 3 days, Aether. When we both arrived here I immediately had the maidens tend to your wounds. They were pretty extensive, including a few fractures and a concussion. Most of them were your ribs." To Aether, this explained why his chest was in pain and why it had hurt to breathe. He suddenly remembered the reason why he even ended up in this position, and his eyes slowly filled with anger.

"I failed, Yae. I failed the resistance, I failed you, I failed Ayaka, hell I failed the whole damn island. I failed everyone, all because that damn Archon is so good at sword-fighting. I don't know what to do anymore, Yae. I am positively and certainly fucked from here on out. Hell, for the briefest moment I even accepted my own death. That is the first time that has ever happened, Yae. And now that batshit insane friend of yours gets to claim that honour. I… am… FUCKED!" Aether began quietly sobbing to himself, much to the dismay of the shrine maiden.

Yae Miko's eyes filled with sorrow and regret. She was disappointed and angered at herself for making Aether even fight Ei for a second time. She knew he could barely hold his own the first time he had fought her, yet she foolishly made him do it anyway. She knew she had to make him feel better somehow, so she did the first thing she thought of.

A soft, yet smooth sensation pressed up against Aether's lips. The taste reminding him of whenever he ate the sunsettia fruit. Yae Miko gently cupped his cheek, while pressing more onto his lips. In response, Aether curled his arms behind her neck to get a better grip on her. The two kissed for what felt like eternity, smothering each other in their own warmth, before finally separating. Yae was absolutely lost in his eyes, gazing lovingly down at him while holding his cheeks in her hands. Aether didn't know what to feel, yet that couldn't stop him from blushing profusely, making Yae chuckle.

"You did not fail, Aether. You never did. In fact, I was the one who failed. I am so sorry for making you do all of that, making you fight her a second time is unforgivable. I should've been there sooner, to save you from Ei and her wrath. I failed you Aether, and that kiss was one way to make it up to you. I can understand if you don't forgive me, Aether…" A single tear fell from her eye. Aether's eyes filled with remorse and he tenderly held her in his embrace, which she needed desperately. Still though, Aether could not believe that the normally teasing and harsh kitsune was showing this side of her to him. He knew he had to keep this a secret, lest Paimon or anyone at all sees this.

"Thank you… for saving me Yae. I do forgive you. For overestimating my abilities, anyway." They both chuckled, with the kitsune dragging them both back into a long, drawn-out and passionate kiss. Aether felt her tears running down his face. Yet again, they were locked together for what felt like an eternity, but neither of them noticed that a certain fairy was not there at all.

Paimon was hiding from the two, with many many thoughts running through her head, most of them about Yae and how she was acting. Even that had surprised her, much like Aether. She was also surprised that it was Aether of all people that made Yae Miko fall for someone, but she figured something like it was inevitable.

"Aether… you better not get yourself stolen from Paimon by that dirty kitsune…" Paimon muttered, turning green with envy, though she was also secretly relieved that her best friend was okay.

Inside the Plane of Euthymia, Ei was pacing back and forth, a far cry from her usual indefinite meditation. In the real world, her puppet was doing the same thing. She had no idea why she was acting like this, but there was one thing, or well, one person she couldn't get out of her mind.

Aether.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about him, Raiden. I'm thinking about him."

"Why is that?"

"No clue. He has been on my mind for what feels like days upon days. I never knew that man had so much determination in him. Makes me feel slightly bad for almost killing him and teasing him like that. Maybe I shouldn't have called him an insignificant fuck, however. Reminds me of someone in particular, saying that."

"You underestimate him."

"I underestimate his ability to generate sympathy for him and anger towards me from even my closest allies, like Miko, maybe. A noble goal he has, a story much like mine. I can understand his loss deeply, as you may know. Oh, Makoto…"

"Indeed. I do not exactly comprehend why you two are more at odds than myself and him. You appear to want each others' blood to spill, yet you let the boy run free the moment you ran at him. Why is that?"

"I am unsure as to why I let him go. Maybe pity?"

"I honestly doubt that you pitied him. It's likely something else, buried deep within you. Maybe… feelings of a higher caliber prevented you from killing him?" Raiden smirked. Ei squealed in defiance of this claim. How cliche, Raiden thought.

"I-I DO NOT! How could you even think about something like that?! I swear Raiden, sometimes I think I need to reprogram you…"

"I am perfectly fine. You should worry about yourself instead."

Ei blushed profusely, both out of anger and genuine embarrassment. Raiden was unfortunately right. She had begun to develop feelings for the man she had hated the most. How cliche. Both Ei and Raiden thought. She never knew she programmed her puppet to have a teasing function, albeit dry. She hoped that Raiden wasn't capable of… truly independent thought.

The feelings weren't mutual. Ei and Raiden knew this, but they didn't accept this outcome. Not. One. Bit. Or at least, Ei didn't.

Aether suddenly awoke in a cold sweat. Beside him was his new… lover? Girlfriend? Fling? Whoever Yae Miko was to Aether, she was indifferent to it as she would not let him go anywhere at all. She had slung half her entire body over Aether, as if she was protecting him from the outside world, with her nose nuzzled lovingly into his neck. As far as he can remember, Paimon had her own room, so she wouldn't disturb the pair that currently laid on the grounds of the Grand Narukami Shrine. The whole reason he even jolted awake was a dream, or to him a nightmare, he had had about Ei of all people. He planned to try and remember it in the morning, not before a certain youkai straddling him woke up.

"What are you doing up at this hour, Aether?"

"I had a nightmare." Yae Miko giggled at this revelation, causing Aether to blush.

"Oh, how cute. Does my little one need consoling?" She said teasingly, cupping his cheek with one hand and making circles on his chest with the other. Aether begrudgingly nodded. "Well then. Tell me what happened."

"It was about Ei." This piqued Miko's interest almost immediately, not that she wasn't interested already.

"Ooh, do tell! I am very curious now."

"It was essentially me in Euthymia. Except she didn't let me go. She was… quite deranged. Her view of eternity had been embedded in me, so to speak." Yae Miko was confused.

"What do you mean by that?"

"She said something about… me being her eternity. I was trapped in the Plane of Euthymia for eternity, after I lost the duel we both had. Instead of her freeing me she kept me there under her "personal care" or whatever. It was terrifying, to say the least."

"Oh, so she became obsessive AND possessive of you, huh? I can remember a few light novels pulling that exact same trope…"

"Yeah. I hope this doesn't reflect her genuine character and the one I encountered in Euthymia was merely just a facade."

"I've known Ei for what feels like eons. It's certainly not off the table but it's very unlikely that she is the type to do that. Besides, you're mine, little one." Yae Miko poked his cheek teasingly. Aether was still processing her physical confession of her love to him. Calling him hers is a stretch, but Aether was definitely not complaining.

There was a solid minute of quiet between the two. Miko silently hummed an Inazuman tune, while Aether came to an unfortunate revelation.

"I'm gonna have to fight her again, aren't I?' Miko silently nodded. Aether sighed.

"Don't worry. When the time comes, I'll have your back. So, shine on, you crazy diamond." Yae kissed his cheek and nuzzled back into his neck. The two eventually drifted back to sleep.

Inside the Plane of Euthymia, something was brewing.

A/N: YET AGAIN... SMALL CHAPTER! I promise the next one will have stuff in it. Anyways, thanks 4 reading...

-nbcman67