[He knows he's made a huge mistake. He should've controlled himself better. What he feels or wants doesn't matter... But Childe chases after him, calls him out, his fingers are gentle against Aether's skin and the prince finds himself staring right back into the endless blue of his knight's eyes.

The spell is broken quickly. Aether sharply moves away and closes his eyes to try and calm his loudly beating heart. A voice in the back of his mind is telling him that this is all okay - he's not actually married to anyone and nobody has to know about what happened in this room anyway--

No. This is all wrong. He doesn't feel anything towards Childe, he can't.]

...Don't be ridiculous. You're making it sound like there's something between us.

[Irritated with his own words, he runs a hand over his hair, then moves even further away from the knight. He doesn't want to admit to his own feelings.]

There's nothing. There will never be anything.

[Just why does it hurt so much to say it?]