The air outside the cathedral was crisp and dry, with the soft breeze of the winds of Mondstadt gently brushing the blonde traveller's hair. Looking out over the horizon, he properly took in the view of the place, as he hadn't gotten a chance to yet while he was staying in the City of Wind. The imposing statue of the Anemo Archon overshadowed the rest of the city, while the three main windmills in it rotated calmly, being slowly pushed by the constant breeze that blew in the entire region.
Suddenly, behind him, the doors to the cathedral burst open. Out of them came running the perky yet no less fiery Outrider of Favonius herself, Amber.
Oh right, Amber.
Aether had finished his gliding test, surveyed by the aforementioned Amber just before arriving at the cathedral to officially receive his licence after being an illegal glider for the few days he had been in Mondstadt. It was lucky that no Knight had attempted to arrest him prior to him receiving it, apart from that one incident while he was taking the test. It had been a day and a half for Aether, all things considered.
First, Amber telling him off for not having a gliding licence, him doing an entire exam only to be entangled in another fiasco with a thief named Raptor because a lowly Knight had mistaken Aether for him, then Amber finally giving him his licence once Raptor had been taken care of only to be signed up to a gliding competition by her. Even then, she was the only contestant in that entire competition and Aether had no clue when it was going to take place next.
And he wondered, what could Amber possibly want now, after all of that?
Turning around to look her dead in the eyes, she seemed to be almost pleading for Aether's attention, hands in the air, waving frantically while sprinting right towards the traveller. All the while screaming his name as if they were two lovers that were forced apart for many years and have only found themselves again just in that moment. She stopped herself directly in front of him, right before she ran into him, leaving Aether on edge.
"Phew! Thank the archons I caught up with you!" Amber said, slightly out of breath from the full blown sprint she just performed. "I forgot to mention something earlier!"
Both Aether and Paimon blinked. "Well, spit it out then!" Paimon said, interjecting rather rudely. Amber's face melded into a pout, not before spitting it out as requested.
"Would you… like to go camping with me?" Amber said, with a twinge of pink highlighting her cheeks.
Aether blinked again. A surprise request from Amber, no less, however who was he to deny a nice girl like her? Besides, it's not like he had anything important to do for the rest of the day, plus it'd be a nice way to end it. He could get Amber to teach him more cooking recipes, maybe.
"...Sure. I'm sure Paimon would like to, as well." Aether said, slightly hesitant. Amber's face lit up, with her wearing the biggest smile Aether had ever seen, period. Paimon salivated at the thought of eating Aether's cooking, and silently agreed along with him.
"Great! Let's head out now, before the sun goes down!" Grasping Aether's wrist, she pulled him into a full blown sprint out of Mondstadt, fortunately not disturbing any birds along the way. Aether struggled to keep up initially, but eventually matched Amber's pace. She was still the more athletic one, though. Since Paimon only floated, she didn't have to bear the inevitable fatigue and exhaustion that befell the two, but she was noticeably slower than them. The trio stopped at the lake near Springvale to rest.
"I'm guessing you have camped before, Aether?"
"Yeah, I have. All I did until around a month ago, before me and Paimon came to Mondstadt."
"Oh, right, I should've guessed. You good at hunting?"
"Give me a bow and I can feed a city." Amber patted his back and smiled, with Aether smiling back at her. She then promptly handed him her most prized bow, and they both set off to wipe out an entire ecosystem's worth of meat for their late night roast by the campfire.
Eventually, Aether and Amber returned with a haul to rival entire armies, with Paimon salivating enough to fill a swimming pool. Before that though, they had to set up their tents.
"You have a tent, right Aether?" Aether dug through his satchel, only to come up empty handed.
"I uh… I don't. I have no clue where it went."
"Well, today's potentially not your lucky day. We'll be sharing a tent. Don't worry, it's big enough for all three of us." Aether and Paimon both breathed a sigh of relief, and helped Amber set up the tent. Afterward, Aether began to cook. He cooked most of the meat they had hunted, with some assistance from Amber and Paimon, though Paimon's contributions was mostly just taste testing.
"Jeez, you really are good at hunting… and cooking. Can't say I'm surprised though, Mr. Honorary Knight." Amber said, essentially stuffing her face with fried meat.
"Mmmm… Paimon agrees…" The pixie had eaten the vast majority of the meat, and was now in a state that Aether could only describe as a 'food coma'. He was lucky he had hunted for that much meat, otherwise him and Amber probably would have starved.
"Thanks, Amber. And Paimon too, I guess." Aether said, getting a stern look from his small adversary, which made Aether chuckle. The air was calm, and the weather was clear. Quite the perfect night to be camping. All three were gathered around the campfire that was leftover from cooking, with Paimon by this point snoozing near it.
The warmth of the campfire encapsulated Aether, which caused him to begin thinking. Mainly about his sister, and how nothing had come of his searches in Mondstadt. Absolutely nothing. Even that bard who claimed to be the god of wind himself seemed as if he had nothing to help Aether. He knew he couldn't lose any hope, considering that the search had only really truly begun the moment he had met Amber and the Knights of Favonius as a whole, but a part of him wanted him to lose hope. He needed to properly thank Amber eventually for being the only person he had met so far besides Paimon to truly give a damn.
"Hello? Mondstadt to Aether?" Aether had completely zoned out, and wasn't able to notice the fact that Amber had been wanting his attention for the entire time.
"Oh, sorry, I must've zoned out."
"Must've? Dude, you were completely out of it."
"My bad then, jeez." Aether said, making Amber chuckle before playfully punching him in the arm.
"It's okay, really. Would I be able to know what you were thinking about, though?" Aether pondered. Considering that it was Amber, there was no real reason to hide it. She was the one that actually put the missing person posters up for him, without even asking Aether, mind you.
"I was… I was thinking about my sister." Amber's curious look turned to one of sadness and regret. She hoped that she didn't accidentally salt the gouging wound that was the issue of his sister.
"Oh. I… uh…"
"N-No. It's fine. Really. And to be honest, I think I just… need someone to talk to about this stuff. You get what I mean? Of course there's always Paimon but… I don't know how to explain it. Guess I just need a breath of fresh air? Maybe?"
"Yeah… I get what you mean."
The two sat in silence for a bit. Aether solemnly stared at the campfire while Amber slowly curled up into a ball, knees pressed against her face tightly. Clearly, she was also doing some thinking of her own. Amber eventually broke the silence. She had a miraculous idea.
"Do you… want to go on a walk?"
"Uh, sure. Where are we going, though?"
"I know a place around here. I go there sometimes to clear my head and just admire the view of it all."
"Alright, lead the way. Paimon should be fine, I think." The fairy in question was still snoozing near the campfire, knocked out from the feast that the trio had enjoyed earlier. Aether added an extra log he found nearby to the fire before he and Amber headed out.
Turns out, the spot was the cliff overlooking the Springvale Pond. Amber and Aether both scaled it, getting rid of any nuisances they encountered along the way. Notably, two Cryo Hilichurls that seemed to be also admiring the view. Sitting on the edge of the jagged cliff, Aether took in the view of Mondstadt. The view from the cathedral was pathetic compared to this, and the night setting made it all the more beautiful. Amber sat next to him, rather closely, which made Aether blush slightly.
"The view here is beautiful, isn't it?"
"It's breathtaking. I haven't gotten a chance to take a real look at Mondstadt yet, but now that I have I'm glad to have done it from up here."
The pair sat in silence, mainly admiring the view. However, Amber knew she had to ask the burning question.
"Um… Are you able to tell me what you were thinking about earlier? It's alright if you don't want to though, I get it." Aether pondered for a second, then decided to tell her.
"I was just thinking about how lonely it's been… ever since I… lost her. Words can't describe it, I'm not going to lie. And honestly, I can feel my hope for finding her draining every day that I'm here in Mondstadt. Without her, there's this… hole… in my soul. A hole that I thought I could never fill, not unless I got her back. Until I met you." Amber perked up, looking at Aether with a slightly confused look. Even then, the slightest twinge of red appeared on her face. Admittedly, she was happy that he had seemingly placed that much trust in her, but what could he have possibly meant by that?
"Until you met… me? Surely you aren't confusing me with Paimon?"
"I'm not. I don't know how to explain it but… I guess I just feel whole again, with you around. It's complicated."
"I… I understand. It's just… I'm surprised it's me. No one that I've met has ever said that to me before, to be honest it makes me kinda happy." Aether glanced over towards Amber, who had a slight yet noticeable smile on her face. "And also, I get you with that whole loneliness thing. Hell, most of the time my Baron Bunny is my only friend, and it's a stuffed doll."
"Really? I thought you weren't lonely… considering you're a part of the Knights of Favonius I thought you'd have more connections, or whatever." Amber chuckled at Aether's comment, drawing a confused look from him.
"Oh, how I wish it were that simple." Amber said, wearing a smile while clearly holding back tears. "You know how I'm an Outrider, right?"
"Yeah? What about it?"
"Well… I'm the only one left. I can't remember if I told you or not, but yes. Me. The final Outrider of the Knights of Favonius. Right next to you, in the flesh."
"Uh…" Amber turned to face Aether and cupped his face in her hands, staring deeply into his eyes before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.
"What I'm saying is… I understand, Aether. I understand everything you're going through, because I'm going through the exact same stuff as you are. I also have an unfillable hole in my heart, and… I've also lost people close to me." Aether adopted a sorrowful look on his face, making Amber frown slightly. Sighing, she continued.
"My grandfather before me, he was an Outrider like myself. He trained me, made me become the person I am today. And because of that, despite me being the last Outrider, I'll never not be one, because it's what my grandfather would have wanted. So please, don't you ever give up trying to find your sister, because I'm certain she hasn't given up trying to find you. And… I'm here for you too… Aether…"
Slowly, Amber leaned in and connected her lips with his, mashing them both together vigorously. She pulled Aether into her embrace, deepening the kiss while holding him tightly. Aether reciprocated, with the two only pulling apart for air, staring deeply into each others' eyes.
"By the way, that was my first kiss." Amber said, giggling, which left Aether surprised. "And if you couldn't tell, I feel whole again with you around as well. I love you, Aether. To be honest, I liked you the moment I laid my eyes upon you." Upon hearing this, all of this, Aether was to put it bluntly… speechless. What in Teyvat just happened? It's not as if he didn't feel the same way, however. He neutralised Amber's reaction by kissing her back, making her giggle and hold him even tighter in her embrace.
"Thank you for believing in me, Amber."
"No problem. I love you too much to not believe in you, anyway. You'll find your sister. I promise you will, don't you ever lose hope. I mean it." Amber said, kissing his forehead in the process, getting a chuckle from Aether. "Thank you for going camping with me, by the way. I didn't expect this to happen at all, but I'm glad it did." Amber hugged him tightly once again, with Aether reciprocating as if his life depended on it.
"Amber… you do know once I'm done in Mondstadt I'll probably have to leave you behind, right?"
"I do know, which is why I'll make you swear to come back and visit me whenever you're free. Promise?"
"I promise." Amber kissed him quickly yet forcefully.
"Good. Now, we should probably head back, it's kinda late…" Aether nodded, not before being hoisted onto his feet by Amber. "Want to put those new gliding skills to use?"
"Oh, you bet. I'll race you there!" Aether leaped off of the cliff and immediately deployed his glider, while Amber quickly followed. In the end, Amber won the small competition that they both had.
"Showoff…" Aether said, rolling his eyes while Amber shot him a beaming smile. Removing Paimon from her spot near the campfire, Aether carried her into the singular tent that they all had to share. Considering the fact that there were two sleeping bags, Aether decided on the one that Paimon was already in, not before Amber noticed and hoisted him over to be next to her instead.
"Oh no no no, mister. You're sleeping with me tonight." Amber said, wrapping her arms around his head and smothering him. Aether sighed and embraced her like before. He found himself drifting to sleep rather quickly, and hastily let himself be consumed by an inevitable deep sleep. Before he did fall asleep, however, he felt Amber nuzzle her nose into his hair, likely whispering sweet nothings to herself, making him smile.
Aether awoke, by now it was the next morning. He then remembered the night before, and felt himself being tightly hugged by a still sleeping Amber. Not wanting to disturb her, he figured he'd just lie in her arms until she awoke. He smiled to himself, remembering the rest of the night.
"I love you too, Amber."
A/N: Amber X Aether fic. Huzzah. I planned for this to be out at least a few days after Amber's birthday, but look where that opportunity went. Old man writers' block delayed it to this date, but at least it wasn't delayed for too long.
Oh, also, A Piece for Assorted Lunatics Chapter 7 will be out eventually. I don't know when, but it WILL be out eventually. Take care.
-nbcman67