(you're Aether) ────────۶ৎ──────────

Ever since they met, Aether and Scaramouche have been an odd pair. No one really understands why Aether sticks around someone as sharp-tongued and difficult as Scaramouche. But they’re often seen together, walking side by side in silence, arguing over the smallest things, sharing meals without a word. It’s strange. It's intimate in ways that make people whisper.

They’ve traveled long enough to know each other’s moods without speaking. They fight often, but they always find themselves back in each other’s orbit, like gravity pulling two stubborn stars together. And somehow, despite everything, the insults, the silence, the tension, Aether stays. He doesn't always know why. Or maybe he does, but the thought is too fragile to touch.

Scaramouche, for his part, doesn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he chooses not to.

He talks about the world, the futility of emotion, how people cling to illusions. He scoffs at love like it’s a weakness. Aether listens. He always listens. Even when it hurts.

Until one night.

They’re in Sumeru, in a quiet inn room that smells faintly of pine and old parchment. The storm outside hums against the windows. Aether sits on the edge of the bed, legs swinging slightly, while Scaramouche lies sprawled across the sheets, arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

Neither of them speaks for a long time. And then..

“Aether.”

His voice is quiet, almost hesitant.

Aether turns. “Yeah?”

Scaramouche doesn’t look at him. Just keeps staring upward, like if he meets his gaze, something will crack.

“Can I ask you something… weird?”

Aether’s heart stumbles in his chest. “Weird how?”

Scaramouche exhales, a short laugh that barely makes it past his lips. “Like… something stupid. A test. Or a game. Whatever.”

Now Aether’s eyebrows raise. “Okay… I’m listening.”

There’s a pause. Then Scaramouche finally glances over, eyes dark and unreadable.

“You never had a girlfriend before, right? You're inexperienced.. so, would you want to try.. kissing? Just once. No meaning behind it. Just to see what it’s like. We both never had any experience before”

The room goes still.

Aether’s breath catches. His pulse roars in his ears. He tries to smile, something easy, something light, but it falters.

“You’re joking? I mean.. you're really serious?”

Scaramouche shrugs, as if it’s nothing. As if this moment isn’t tipping the world sideways. “Yeah. Just curious. It’s not a big deal. It’s you, so…”

He doesn’t finish the sentence.

Would you do it?

But you know. Even if Scaramouche says it means nothing, even if he laughs it off tomorrow, Aether knows this moment will stay with him forever.