Zero’s T-word Blog

- my sister has come to live with us after her divorce because she stopped taking her meds and developed acute psychosis which means i’ll have to live with someone who is the complete opposite of me (neat, wants me to be a responsible adult blah blah blah)

- school is also in the way, and I’ll be getting a job soon so i might not even have time to get on my phone.

- speaking of time consuming things, a stray dog wandered into my yard and now we are keeping him for the time being. <3 one of the more positive things that’s happened today.

- also been trying to connect with my actual family more but that’s hard because the only time i can go see them is on the weekends. which sucks.

it’s just been a hectic month and i apologize for how long i’ve been away!!

i’ll start posting more on Monday (i’ve got some ideas running through my head already) but for now, I’ll continue just going on with my day.

“you seem a bit troubled, chongyun. are you okay? ...you’ve been like that for a couple of minutes now..” the cryo user nearly jumped out of his skin upon hearing the voice of the male traveler right beside of him, but was strangely relieved at the same time. he had been so lost in thought that he had forgotten that he was even there, helping him create another batch of popsicles since xiangling was also out today. “..ah, i’m fine. i’m just... unsure of something. it’s nothing too bad, so there’s no need to worry about me.”

aether’s head tilted slightly. “is there anything that I can do to help?” the sweet smell of fruit lingered in the restaurant - seemed like he was making one of those fruity batches that he had made a few days before when he had originally first ran out. the other sighed softly, shaking his head. “if I’m being honest, i’d... like to go see those kids again. ... it was, uh, fun being with them. but ... I guess I’m.. nervous to be around them. is it weird to like younger people’s company? is.. it a bad thing? i.. don’t want to be a bad person-“

chongyun’s mumbling grew softer and softer, until it became incoherent sounds. then suddenly, the bright sound of aether’s laughter filled the restaurant, snapping the exorcist out of his thoughts. “..eh? what’s so funny, traveler? ...did I say something weird..?” the blonde shook his head. “you didn’t say anything weird. i think it’s kinda cute that you want to go back to them. especially since they were asking about you earlier. it’s the reason i came over today, actually. other than ... y’know, making the popsicles,” he said, pointing to the fresh batch that was finished and sitting in his hands. “why don’t we take some of the excess and give it to the kids?”

chongyun’s eyes grew bright almost like a holiday tree, his mouth growing into a small smile that quickly faded away as he turned to the side. “..okay. that sounds good. uhm, are you sure it’s not a big deal? i don’t want to cause you any trouble, you know.” the traveler grabbed him by the hand, the other holding the popsicles.

“hush. you’re not causing me any trouble. i enjoy your company too, you know. And playing hide and seek was fun last time. even though.. you chose a .. terrible place to hide.” aether snickered to himself as the cryo user pouted softly. puffing out his cheeks as he let out a small sigh, the other responded, “well, it was my first time you know! and you don’t have to hold my hand..”

“whoops, sorry. guess i got caught up in the moment,” he admitted, letting go of the other as he continued walking beside of him. the bustling area of liyue was always a nice surprise whenever he visited, especially since it differs so much from mondstadt. “they should be up ahead if they’re still where i talked to them.

chongyun’s mind was racing all the way there. what if he screwed up right then and there? what if the children didn’t like him anymore? he was already feeling lightheaded from the lack of popsicles but now his nervousness amplified the hell out of it. “t-traveler, can you.. g-give me a moment?” the other stopped, face as pale as a ghost.

“too late. look.” aether pointed towards the two children who were already racing to them with shimmering eyes, excitement in every step they took. “hey! look! it’s the nice guy who gave us popsicles! he actually came back!” dalong, the little boy that was too nervous to talk to them when they first met, and his little sister, little le crowded around the young exorcist. aether only smiled as he backed up, giving him room with the people that he was craving to see.

“u-um, ..uh, i.. h-hello. i’m here to, uh, p-play with you once m-more.” chongyun’s light words were barely able to be heard, as his eyes darted back and forth between the children and the traveler.

“chongyun’s been thinking about you two a lot. he’s actually been looking forward to this. but he’s been quite nervous since i told him you’ve also been asking about him.” aether chimed in, setting the popsicles down on a table near them.

“you’re nervous? that’s okay! we can help you.” little le said with a bright smile, grabbing the edge of his shirt. “yeah, there’s a trick our mother does in order to get us to calm down! it’s very easy and gets rid of the nervous energy!” dalong continued his sister’s sentence, following beside her.

“uh.. r-really now? ehe, now what would that be?” chongyun tilted his head slightly, lightly patting their heads.

“you have to sit down on the ground and close your eyes. then we’ll do a magic trick!”

chongyun questioned this in his head, wondering what sort of voodoo magic they were about to do. but nevertheless, he decided to comply with their wants and sat down, his eyes shutting softly. even aether was questioning silently what they were about to do, especially with the look on his face. “okay, so what n-no—“ before he had time to finish his sentence, the children got to work using their ‘magic trick’. little le pushed him to the ground with all the strength she had, while her brother wiggled his fingers up and down his sides, slightly clawing at his stomach.

needless to say, it surprised everyone with the noise that came out of chongyun. he, himself, hadn’t even expected that they would try to do this. but here he was, his face entirely flushed as he turned away from them, embarrassment seeping through his skin. “no way, you’re ticklish, chongyun?” aether asked as he strode to where the kids had him basically pinned.

“n-no. you j-just.. ehehe- no! you just c-caught me.. by surprise.. that’s all..” though he was trying to put on an act, everyone could see right through it. he was breathing so heavily in hopes to keep his emotions under control, and to aether? this was the greatest moment of his life. the once calm, cool and collected exorcist getting tickled to death? this was something he had to see.

“oh really? just caught you by surprise, eh? then why don’t i help these kids do their magic trick? i’m.. well versed in the arts of magic, too.” aether’s grin had a sort of sadistic look to it, which made chongyun’s thoughts swirl. he was always incredibly ticklish, something he’s managed to hide for a long time - except for two moments. one with xingqiu, and ... right now. but now aether’s sitting right in front of him, about to exploit it in front of people that were traveling by. god, they were gonna think that they were killing him!

but alas, chongyun dug his own grave by denying it. of course, it wouldn’t have mattered either way - the outcome was still the same. “i.. sure hope not,” he muttered under his breath, slightly shaking from the kid’s soft and agile fingers gently caressing his sides. just keep calm, chongyun thought with closed eyes. little le sat on top of him, looking down at him with a bright grin. “are you feeling less nervous now? if not, we can always amp up our magic trick!”

“n-no! i’m fine-!”

“hmm, he’s stuttering. it doesn’t look like he’s fine. maybe we should amp up the ‘magic trick’,” aether hummed softly as he gently grabbed at the boy’s knees, squeezing them as gently as possible. arching his back slightly, trying not to hurt the little girl on top of him, he kicked his knee out, praying that he didn’t hit aether in the face.

“p-plehehease.. d-don’t..!” chongyun cried out, shutting his eyes as his whole facade was being torn to shreds. aether pondered the request for a minute, looking down at the now entirely red-faced boy before deciding on an answer. “don’t what, exactly?”

“t-tihihickle me!” his eyes grew wide as he realized what trap he just fell into. aether’s smirk only grew wider as he tilted his head. “oh? so.. you want me to do this? aww chongyun, i didn’t know you liked this~.” he quickly became a giggly mess, especially with the traveler’s teases. “nohoho- t-that’s n-nohohot whahahat i meheheant!” he managed to cry out, throwing his head back against the soft grass they were laying upon.

“cuhuhut ihihit ohohohut! ack-! ahaha-!” chongyun wanted to get more out before he continued dissolving into laughter but the words would not come out no matter what he did. man, this was worse than what xingqiu usually did!

“you’re very ticklish, mr. chongyun,” dalong muttered as his small hands continued exploring his upper body, making his laughter rise an octave. “d-dohohohn’t tehehease mehehehe-!! aCK! aETHER!” chongyun looked down to see the other scratching as his inner thighs, gently pinching on one side and scribbling on the other. normally he would’ve been kicking out in a futile situation, hoping that it would’ve done something but with his knees buckled inwards, there was absolutely nothing he could do but sit there and take it, his laughter growing louder with every agonizing touch.

“oh? bad spot?” aether mumbled softly as he looked up at the cryo user, watching the other’s adorable expression. the bright smile that he had never seen on him was a different change of pace. his flushed face and teary eyes gave way to a sign that maybe it was getting to be too much for him. especially since he knew about his pure-yang energy, and the difficulties with heat sources with him.

“hmm, maybe we should give him a break,” aether chimed in through chongyun’s loud laughter, slowing down his brutal attack on him. the other children quickly nodded, now standing over the other’s body as he covered his face, clearly embarrassed with what just went down.

“mr. chongyun? are you feeling less nervous now?” little le mumbled softly as she fiddled with her hands, hoping that their trick had worked. in actuality, chongyun was feeling a whole lot less nervous than he was before. their ‘magic trick’ actually worked, which brought him mixed emotions.

“i guess.. so,” he muttered, still trying to regain his breath back from the recent onslaught.

“yay! now mr. chongyun can play with us!” he turned to aether who was smiling softly at him, reaching out his hand to grasp the other. “c’mon, i think it’s time to get this play date started for real.”

chongyun only smiled back.