we have such history , you and i . @ aether
If youād asked Aether as recently as a year (and some change) ago whether he could imagine traversing Chinju Forest with Childe at his side ā with Childe as his companion ā he wouldāveā¦Ā Well, he actually wouldnāt have anything, because, as recently as a year ago, the chance of that developing was as much of a non-reality as the possibility of leaving Teyvat is shaping up to be.Ā Ā
A year ago, the suddenly-picturesque scenery of Inazuma still made him sick ā a vague, indescribable sort of uneasiness he forced himself to sit with every time a commission brought him back to the islands.Ā He couldnāt avoid it / wanted to and refused to in equal measure / so he stewed in his ill-ease and let Paimon do her best to distract him from how much this place ate at him.
A year ago, his injury still ached in the small hours of the night, leaving him shaking and with sweat beading his forehead and neck.Ā He refused to look at it, then, the branching scars as perfectly splendid as Inazumaās scenery.Ā Itād made pretending this world hadnāt permanently altered him impossible.
In some ways (in a lot of them), meeting Nahida, saving her, paying for the gift of her life with over a hundred deaths, the same way heād paid for Inazumaās peace, settled him.Ā He was tired, and he still hurt more than he didnāt most nights, but the heartsickness had miraculously disappeared, like a piece of his soul being set to rights.
In the wake of that, seeing Childe in a different light came almost naturally.
āThatās a loaded sentenceā¦āĀ He kicks at a stone in his path, watching it skip across the dirt and into the murmuring stream.Ā Glances at Childe, checking his expression for anything amiss.Ā Now that heās decided to look, now that heās truly open to it, thereās a lot of details hidden amidst the planes of Childeās face one can focus on that give him away. Ā āBased on our historyāāĀ ixnay on the etailsdayāĀ āyou get sentimental when something badās about to happen.Ā Should I be worried, @slaygue?ā