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“Aaah… am I turning red?” Freminet spoke, exasperated.
Aether was stunned at that moment. He'd been completely caught off guard by the sudden interest Freminet had sparked in him since they started working together on the Thelxie commission, but goodness that face was doing things to him. The traveler had already been captivated by Freminet's kindness, the familiarity he interacted with his siblings sparking a bittersweet nostalgia in Aether's chest. He seemed so sweet, like he'd make such wonderful sounds.
Aether shook his head, forcefully banning such thoughts from his mind.
Freminet, perceptive as ever, even in his embarrassment, noticed his distress “Traveler, is everything alright?” Paimon then turned to him as well, worry in her round eyes “are you okay? Did you get hurt during the fight in the ruins? Paimon was going to suggest picking up some snacks but we can call it an early night, Paimon isn't even that hungry” the pixie spoke, hovering around Aether's head, checking for nonexistent injuries.
Aether felt his own cheeks dust with warmth. The pretty people of this world made him act like a fool.
“Nothing is wrong, really, there's just something I wanted to discuss with Freminet in private. Want to go ahead and pick a table for us?” Aether answered, the excuse well practiced by this point, the bag with mora he handed to her already on easy access in his front pocket.
The pixie squealed in excitement, the promise of food as effective as ever in redirecting her attention. She snatched the bag from his hand, turning to fly towards the nearest teleport point, when suddenly she steered to a stop and flew right back up to Aether's face, pressing her forehead to his “you better not be thinking of pulling a fast one on Paimon again, mister. Last time you left Paimon to eat by herself” ok so no longer as effective as it once was.
Aether moved his head around to rub their foreheads together, the pixie spluttered, pushing the traveler's face away to fix her fringe.”I promise, Paimon, I won't be long” he smiled genuinely at her. That seemed to be enough for her, as she nodded, huffing, and flew away to actually leave this time. He didn't feel good about lying to her so often, but absolutely dreaded the day he'd have to come clean and admit he sent her away all those times so he could suck dick.
Freminet watched their interaction with that seemingly neutral expression he always carried, but after spending enough time with him, Aether realized his eyes were slightly more open than usual. He was amused. When he noticed Aether had turned his attention to him, he cleared his throat “So, what did you want to speak with me about?”
Aether took the few steps of space separating them, stopping at arm's reach. “Freminet, I want to ask you something and I won't be upset if you tell me no” he stated.
Freminet's eyebrows twitched in surprise “Um, go ahead” Aether looked around conspiratorially, smiled at the man and spoke in an almost whisper
“May I kiss you?”
It seemed to have no effect at first, then Freminet's eyes blew wide, his brows pinched and his slim lips fell open in befuddlement, and of course that wonderful red bled into his cheeks and nose. Aether wondered if it went all the way down to his chest like his brother's.
The traveler patiently waited for the young man to stutter his way into forming an answer. “I-I-I, well- I mean- you- this-” his voice failed him, his mouth moving but otherwise making no sounds.
He summoned his diving helmet, shoving it onto his head. His tense shoulders relaxed, and he shook his head before looking back at Aether. “This is… very sudden” his muffled voice spoke, his feet shuffling. “But… I don't think I'd hate that…” he spoke, quieter with each word.
Aether tilted his head in an exaggerated show of consideration, took a step closer to Freminet and slowly placed his hands on the sides of the helmet “That didn't sound like a ‘yes’ to me, Freminet” he gently lifted the helmet from the younger man's head, his face somehow redder still.
As the helmet dissipated, Freminet looked at the ground between them, and with apparent effort whispered “...yes, please”
Now there's that consent that Aether adored. He couldn't contain the giggle that made its way up his throat at the ‘please’ he didn't even ask for, but was definitely not complaining about.
He reached a hand out and wrapped it around Freminet's wrist, encouraging him to be the one to come closer this time. The young man tripped on his way to doing so, leaving both of them chest to chest, Freminet's other hand flying up to steady himself, landing on Aether's shoulder. The corner of the traveler's eyes wrinkled in amusement.
Freminet seemed suddenly very interested in Aether's scarf, so the traveler decided to spare him further anticipation, gently holding his chin and tilting his head up. Up close Aether could almost count every freckle in his face, covered by that lovely shade of red.
Aether slowly leaned towards the younger man, not completely closing his eyes as he wished to watch as much of Freminet's expressions as possible, who screwed his eyes shut as soon as Aether began to move. Aether wondered how often he'd been kissed, if ever, perhaps.
If Aether was, somehow, Freminet's first kiss, he could only imagine Lyney's reaction if, or rather when, he found out.
When their lips met, Freminet completely froze against the traveler. Aether gently caressed the other's surprisingly soft lips with his own in short, sweet kisses, hoping to encourage the other to loosen up his rigidness. The hand loosely wrapped around Freminet's wrist moved upwards to cup his neck, caressing his thumb against the skin connecting it to his jaw, which elicited a shiver from Freminet.
The tenseness in the diver's body slowly ebbed away, he exhaled deeply against the traveler's cheek, his breath, that Aether had expected to smell like salt water, turned out to be more akin to morning dew being evaporated by the first rays of sunshine.
Aether's hand stuttered on Freminet's neck. He wanted to push this man against the table in the camp and kiss him till he looked as wrecked as Aether felt.
Patience.
Freminet seemed to steadily be mustering up his courage, his lips parted just enough that Aether could feel his tongue peeking through. The traveler's other hand slid behind Freminet's head, gently guiding him to tilt it, better slotting their lips. Freminet's own hands shot up to grip at Aether's arms when the traveler's own tongue grazed his, but otherwise did not seem like he was trying to push Aether away, more like stabilizing himself.
Oh fuck, was Aether actually taking his first kiss? That most likely meant he never experienced anything further either, or so Aether hoped, he wasn't the biggest romantic, but even he appreciated a little peck before jumping to sex.
Aether could only hope Lyney would make his death quick and painless…
The traveler giggled into Freminet's lips, the diver separated their lips, his slightly glassy eyes looking into Aether's “what is it? Am I that bad?” He pressed his hand to his lips, looking away in embarrassment.
Aether quickly realized his mistake, kissed the back of the hand in front of him “You're wonderful. It was my mistake, I let my mind wander”
Freminet nodded, the hand on his lips twitching. He chanced meeting Aether's gaze through his pale lashes, then slowly turned his palm, pressing the place Aether had kissed to his own lips.
Aether's mind blanked. A familiar high pitched voice helpfully reminded him he promised he wouldn't be long. So he decided he'd make one final brash decision tonight.
Aether circled his arms around Freminet's hips, lifting him up with ease as the younger man squealed in surprise, his legs instinctively wrapping around Aether's waist, the traveler turned towards the table in the middle of camp, and completely uncaring of whatever was strewn around the top of it, sat Freminet at the edge.
Freminet stared at him in complete silence, eyes wider than Aether had ever seen them. He couldn't decipher what that expression meant yet. Aether waited for him to collect his thoughts, keeping his hands still on the man’s waist but otherwise remaining still, unsure how to proceed until Freminet gave him some kind of signal.
The diver’s mouth soundlessly flapped open and closed, a quirk Aether was quickly becoming endeared by. Aether was surprised when Freminet scrunched his brow in frustration, the action making his nose twitch, then shoved his head against Aether’s shoulder, his legs loosely wrapped around the traveler’s waist tightened their grip, bringing them flush together “Sorry if I’m assuming, but… is a kiss really all you want?” his voice came out muffled by the fabric of Aether’s shirt.
Aether was used to the notion at this point that his reputation simply traveled faster than he’d ever be able to while cramped in a physical body, and he quickly learned his personal life outside of grandiose adventures wasn’t exempt from that. Also that teyvatians especially enjoyed gossiping about his sex life for some reason. Thankfully the manner in which Freminet had asked didn’t seem judgmental, a tone he had unfortunately become very familiar with over the years.
Aether gently pushed at Freminet’s shoulder so he could look at the young man’s face, his bangs covering his eyes in a way that would not allow Aether to gauge his reaction, so he brushed his fingers over the blond fringe, revealing Freminet’s icy blue eyes. If Aether looked hard enough, he could see specks of purple near the irises.
“I won’t lie that if you’d allow me to, I’d like to bring you to my bed. But we can also stop right here, I’ll be more than satisfied I just got to kiss you” he concluded by kissing the tip of Freminet’s nose, who made a non-committal sound in response, his eyes examining Aether’s face with much more scrutiny than he had at any point before.
Aether was struck with the sudden doubt of whether the expression he was making, keeping his face relaxed while the corners of his mouth held up a small smile, was normal enough by human standards.
Freminet bit his bottom lip, eyes darting from side to side as if turning something in his mind “I’d…” he cleared his throat “like that, actually”
Aether smiled, his hands leaving Freminet’s hips to cup his cheeks so he could kiss his incredibly soft lips again. Freminet, much more confident now, was quick to press back against the traveler, and soon after Aether felt his tongue swipe over his bottom lip.
Abruptly, Aether pulled away from Freminet, the younger man leaning forward to chase his lips, frowning as he looked up at Aether inquisitively. The traveler stepped away from him, picking up the hand he had previously kissed to once again leave a peck at the back of it. “I promised Paimon I wouldn’t be long. Is it alright if we get a raincheck on this?”
Freminet slowly nodded, his eyes still dazed, then shook his head, and nodded more firmly “Oh, right, yeah, I mean, yes, that works for me”
Aether rummaged inside his back pocket, pulling out a slip of paper “this is a key to my home, just press your palm to it whenever you want to see me” Freminet gingerly picked up the slip, squinting at it “yeah, ok, yeah, um… will you be busy this weekend?”