Archive of Our Own ^beta

Xiao stumbled down the road; the only sound piercing the night air was his own steps and harsh breathing. It had been a rough mission, multitudes of demons swarming him as he tried to cut them all down, but they kept coming from all sides. Overwhelming him with sheer numbers while he tried his best to be rid of them; while he was distracted by the lower ranks, the higher demon he was truly chasing, one strong enough, took their chance and pierced his side before fleeing. It took everything in him to finish the last of the cannon fodder and come to terms with his mission being a failure. Losing his footing, Xiao sloppily leaned against the closest building. The wound on his side kept on oozing blood between his fingers no matter the pressure he put on it. His lungs hurt from his gulping breaths to keep himself going. All he could think about was who was waiting for him, the person whose arms he could fall into with no worries, the only person who took his vow to protect them and made a vow to protect him in return.

He didn't know how long it took him to fumble his way home, his pale body leaning against the door as he struggled to turn the knob before it fell into the entranceway. Pulling himself to his hands and knees, Xiao crawled away from the door. Barely managing to kick it closed, making it into the small living space, he remembered when they first moved in; the excitement and anxiety he felt was like a raging storm inside him. Blackness started to consume his vision; he sucked in deep and heavy breaths to keep awake; he needed to see his lover before he passed on, just one last time, but as his body finally started to shut down from the exhaustion and blood loss; he thought he heard a voice shouting to him; screaming in terror and anguish; gentle hands gripping him by the shoulders was the last thing he felt before slipping into the darkness.

When he awoke, he could only think about how blinding the light was. He tried to cover his eyes, but his arms felt heavy, he couldn't feel his fingertips too well since his hands were stiff, and most obvious was the pain running from his side; all he could vaguely recall was getting slashed or cut with razor sharp claws during his mission. The memories of him coming home were hazy, and he couldn't think about it when he got home. How long had it been since he's been asleep? How did he even get in bed? The last thing he remembers is slowly crawling his way through the living room before everything went black. What the hell is going on? Then, just as he was about to force himself out of bed, he heard a soft voice, "What are you doing? Don't get up right now!" Xiao would recognize his voice anywhere. His Aether slowly moved his head to the side, took a peek, and there he was in all his glowing glory; he gave Xiao a soft smile full of relief and adoration.

    "Oh, how I've missed you. I feel like I've been away for a long time even though I know it was only a week." Xiao said. He looked on with worry, though, as Aether started to cry, silent tears streaming down his cheeks as he quickly shuffled over to Xiao's bedside.

  "It's been longer than a week since you've been home. You're covered in blood— your own, to be exact. I found you crawling on the floor when I got up for water at night. You scared me. You didn't wake up for almost three days! "He explained.

  "Three days! "Xiao exclaimed. He tried to sit up quickly but was pushed down by his lover. "I need to get up and report to the church if I've been gone for three days with no report. They might have thought I tried to leave— especially with my mission failing! We could both get severe punishment." Xiao exclaimed, running numb hands across his feverish face. "Or worse, they could drag you back to the cathedral and force you to take your oaths. You'd become their bait once more!" Aether just shook his head with a withering smile

"Don't worry. I've contacted them already." That calmed Xiao down somewhat. "But I still don't know why they need to keep you chained to them! You're not a true demon. Yet they make you hunt for them as a way to repay sins you have not committed!" Aether scowled in disgust. "All because you couldn't sit back and watch them bleed me dry. Lord Barbatos never asked this of me. To tear my body apart just for these heretics to tighten their fist over this nation. Slowly choking out anything good to come here." Tears flowed freely down his face, but Xiao's hand softly stroked his cheek, bringing his attention back to his lover.

"Even if I have not committed the sins, it's still my burden to bear. Even if I'm not a true demon taking on your burden and duties to set you free from being a Saint to the church, I will never regret my decision." Xiao gave his lover a sad smile. "I would never want you to become bait for them to lure out the demons they hunt. You are too precious to be made to bleed for their sport only for them to turn around and sneer when you ask for help to tend to your wounds." A slight blush accompanied the following words out of Xiao's mouth; though he's said it many times, the thrill and peace he gets from being able to utter those words "I love you," he whispers, gently pulling Aether into bed with him. Careful of his injuries, they both snuggled close, trying to rid themselves of the doubt and fear that would be upon them now that Xiao was awake, but for now, they laid with each other in silence and basked in the love they felt for one another.