Chapter Text
Aether was just having a regular day. He was busy all day helping Varka organize a whole date with Nicole. For all the guy’s smooth confidence and machismo and whatnot, he was quite soft and nervous when it came to figuring out how to impress her. Aether supposed it was natural. Women were a magical species after all, and angels doubly more so. Aether was sure Varka would do just fine if he was just himself, but he supposed he could help a little bit in making the date site (and the actual date offer) presentable.
This did however mean that Aether spent the week not talking to like… a bunch of his girlies. Oh boy, that was definitely a choice. Okay maybe he didn’t spend all week helping Varka, he also spent it traveling and remodeling his teapot and completing quests which had collected dust in his logs. He had different priorities all week and he was to start a new one trying to rebuild his connections. Women could be so scornful when you don’t talk to them for a week after you swear you’d love them with all of your heart forever. So dramatic.
He was already in Mondstadt, so it was off to go check on Noelle first.
And…
She was happy to see him!
“Hello my darling,” Noelle beamed at him as she embraced him with her classic super strength. Wow, she usually only hugged him like this when she was really happy. What gives?
“You’re in a good mood today.”
“Of course! You’ve done nothing but help me with all the work I had to do, I never realized how busy I was going to be that week and you just made it feel like another round of sunny work!” Noelle swayed him side to side. “I’m so glad to have a helpful boyfriend like you. I knew dedicating myself to you was the right call. You even took time out of your day to help me with my claymore training, I didn’t even know you were such a natural at it!”
“Oh… uh… I did?”
“Oh Aether, trying to not take credit? How humble,” Noelle winked at him before she pecked him on the chin. “As a dutiful maid, I can’t let my master just do that. He gets what he deserves.”
Noelle walked off. “I have to get the knights a new set of swords for the week. If you’re ever in need of some room service, you know what to do!”
With that, Noelle was off.
Ah, Noelle. Ever-reliable Noelle. Aether was glad she was in great spirits, seeing her smile always softened his heart. She’d been there since the beginning and he was unsure if he'd even reached the height that he did without her diligence. She really should become a knight. Maybe he can use his influence to make an arrangement and have her finally become one or something. He was already certain of her aptitude and dedication and how it outmatched most knights in the nation anyways. Ah maybe some other time. Right now he just had to deal with one simple problem.
When did he ever do any of that?!
Confused, Aether continued on. He had to make his rounds, his harem was vast and time waited for no man, especially a woman’s time, or something like that.
He was getting his ass chewed out, basically.
Aether was not getting his ass chewed out.
Right now, Keqing happily fed him some hakaw. She sat on his lap as they ate together in a lunch date in Xinyue Kiosk.
“Thanks for all the help last week, Aether. You really didn’t have to do all of that,” Keqing couldn’t even contain her happiness. “Seeing Liyue so self-sufficient just makes me feel so… content. It’s the smoothest it’s been in years. I’m usually burdened with this and that because Liyue felt so unmanageable, even with my constant hours and the help of both her Lady the Tianquan and good ol’ Ganyu. For the first time in basically forever, I’m actually free of things to do because there’s genuinely no problem! I’m sure they’ll rear their ugly heads again, but I’ll be rested and ready by then. I’ve never been more on top of things, and it’s all thanks to my golden hero!”
Keqing took a hakaw and put it in her mouth, then fed Aether with a kiss.
“Mwah~”
All Aether could think of (apart from the delicious hakaw and the sweetness of Keqing’s lips) was when the FUCK did he do any of that? Did he do that? Nooo… did he? Maybe. He was doing commissions and jive maybe it was like a collective effect. The rest of Liyue seemed to be really grateful to him too. Like that was always kind of the case, he was a legend in Liyue after all, but they were really generous with him this time.
Did he really do all of this? When? Aether couldn’t help but shake his head as he enjoyed the rewards of it, but something felt really off that he couldn’t understand.
“No, Paimon doesn’t think anything’s changed,” Paimon shook her head. “Paimon was with you when all of that happened and Paimon recalled Aether being super duper helpful!”
“I… really?” Aether rubbed his temples. So Paimon backed them all up. “I think I’m going insane.”
“Paimon thinks it’s strange that Aether doesn’t remember, maybe Aether suffers from amnesia after getting bonked in the head?”
“You know Paimon I don’t even think that’s a bad hypothesis,” Aether shook his head.
“Aether…” came a voice. Aether flinched as they turned around and saw none other than Ayato, Head of the Kamisato Clan, who stood right behind them. Aether entered a defensive stance, he knew this could have only been bad news, though Ayato gave him an odd and questioning look. “Why the sudden hostility? Oh,” Ayato gave a smile, “I suppose old habits die hard, hmm?”
“What are you going on about?”
“Mischievous as always,” Ayato nodded. “I thought I’d grant you an update that Ayaka has done well, having already completed 8 of the 12 labors you’d set forth for her.”
“I… huh? What?”
“Sorry Ayato, Aether is having memory problems today,” Paimon butted in, “but rest assured, Aether will keep his promise!”
“Woah hey! What’s going on?!”
Ayato and Paimon gave Aether a strange look, and the latter had to explain. “Does Aether really not remember? Did Varka accidentally bonk you in the head with his sword? Probably. Aether went to Inazuma and wanted to settle things completely with Ayaka. Aether took Ayaka on a big date all from Aether’s own mora pouch! Aether was so romantic and Ayaka looked calmer than ever!”
Ayato nodded. “Then afterwards, you said you were willing to marry Ayaka so long as she agreed to a series of terms and completed a series of labors. We already agreed with the terms, it is merely the labors she must complete, one she must complete on her own as the stipulations say.”
“I… uh… huh….” Aether honestly froze right there. He genuinely doesn’t remember doing that. Resolving things with the Kamisato clan. What could he have said? “I… okay… maybe I remember,” he lied, “I’m glad to know she’s doing well. I’m… uh… yeah my mind’s just really hazy today.”
“Well be careful now, Aether,” Ayato bowed, “it is best you take a rest to cure your mind of its burdens. The mind after all is like a blade, it requires a whetstone to keep it sharp for constant use will inevitably dull it, regardless of how impeccable its edge retention is.”
“Yeah, you’re right, thanks Ayato,” said Aether. It felt weird to say that after so long. He never thought he’d say it again, but there it was.
He had to have been growing crazy.
Aether danced with Nilou, who he’d apparently gotten a whole new outfit. New horns, new garb, new shoes. One of several, actually. Apparently he noticed that she had a busy two months ahead of her full of a variety of performances and thought he could make it easier on her by purchasing for her a whole new set of attires. In fairness, he was right, the new outfits were a perfect fit and allowed her to move even more freely than thought possible, and they looked gorgeous too. Regardless of what event Nilou was dancing for, she blossomed into this whole new force that just couldn’t be matched. The outfits only served to better emphasize her dancing expertise.
Now if only he could remember why the hell he did that. He somehow dug into his fragile resin supply and crystal cores and forged a number of condensed resins and just went ham on every gold-bearing leyline he saw, apparently, because despite all of these expenses he was actually richer than he remembered.
Aether swore he was going insane. Did he genuinely just black out and he was only realizing now what’s been happening? He was losing himself.
Aether gulped down some water. How did Furina get so many sweets? It was preposterous but here it was. Right now the two were by a new pastry shop in Fontaine and she’d dragged him along to a more private area where it could be just them. There Furina gorged herself on all sorts of pastries. Honestly if it weren’t for the fact that Aether liked the idea of a thicc Furina, he’d probably tell her to stop.
“I still can’t believe you don’t remember this place, you’re the one who dragged me here!” said Furina. “You even bought me so much cake. Like more than what’s right here now! It’s like you’re a whole different person.”
“I… huh?”
“Oh you joker you, what did you do with the real Aether?” Furina winked, teasing him as she got on over and sat on his lap. Yep. She was heavier alright. At least all that cake went to her hips. “C’mon, last time you showed me this rich strawberry cake, it’s just full of it. I’d buy one every day if I could.”
“Well I mean technically you can-”
“I can? Like as you want me to? Yipee!”
“Furina that’s not what I-” Aether would get cut off by Furina filling his mouth with the rich strawberry cake.
“You’re finally back,” Citlali leaned on her doorframe, “I guess you were out perusing your other ladies, huh?”
“Well… yeah, I’ve been having the strangest past couple of days.”
“Well come on in,” Citlali winked. “I knew you gave me all of these books so I wouldn’t be so mad while waiting for you, I at least put that to good use.”
“I… what?”
Citlali rolled her eyes as she grabbed Aether by the collar and dragged him inside. There it seemed her collection of books had ballooned into a full athenaeum, each and every single one of them being something she took great interest in. Citlali rested on a bean bag and she placed Aether’s head on her lap as she reopened a book. “There we go, much better.”
“Citlali, I’m going to be honest, I think I’m on a detective mystery or something,” said Aether. “Everywhere I go I keep finding all these things that are shady. Like the.. Uh… rest of the harem… they seem all happy because I did things for them but… I don’t remember doing any of them.”
“Maybe you were such a shit boyfriend your conscience had enough and took over your body,” Citlali giggled as she stroked Aether’s hair, “it’d explain why you were so keen on making me happy last week. You were so romantic. The heart of red flowers, all these new books, the romantic walks by the beach. Honestly I was surprised you didn’t even try to fuck me during that entire week either.”
Aether shot up a moment.
“Okay, that definitely wasn’t me.”
“Oh haha, Aether, I get it. You’re a horndog,” Citlali nuzzled him. “But you’re my horndog. You just don’t want to admit you have a big soft side and you genuinely care for me beyond sexual pleasure. You’re not a big naughty douchebag like you insist you are.”
“I AM NOT CRAZY!” Aether said as he got up. He pulled his hair. “I DON’T REMEMBER ANY OF THIS!!!”
With that, Aether teleported away, leaving Citlali stunned.
“Aether!” Paimon flew right into his serenitea pot. There she found Aether on a chair, he leaned back on it with his feet up on his desk. He had Tubby in his hand, the small subspace spirit looked a bit uncomfortable which made sense because Aether’s face was quite unhinged. “Paimon has been looking all over for Aether. Why did Aether leave Citlali? Citlali is very concerned. This memory thing is really hurting Aether.”
“Maybe I did do all of them,” Aether put Tubby down gently, “You said you were there, right? Paimon? You promise you’re not joking with me?”
“I promise,” Paimon crossed her heart.
“Good, because if all of this really is true then maybe it’s the point of no return,” Aether slicked his hair back. “It’s been a long time coming anyways, I guess I’ve just been holding out on it.”
“Holding out on what?”
“On actually dedicating myself to any of these relationships,” Aether said as he stood up. “I’m old, Paimon. Outrageously old. Do you want to know why I yearn for my sister so much despite her active betrayal? Because she’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve known her for so much longer than any of these people I’ve come to know have even existed. When you’re that old and that estranged from this world it becomes hard to form attachments. I still try to, I still find merit in them and their love valid, but it’s hard. I’ve known these women for years, I’ve gone the distance with quite a number of them too.”
“Paimon… Paimon doesn’t understand.”
“Oh I think Paimon definitely understands,” Aether said as he stepped closer to her. “Any sane person would’ve proposed to any of those girls, but instead I keep them at an ultimate distance, I devalue the meaning of our sex to something casual, and I never seem keen on taking our relationships to the next step. I just collect them en masse to fill this shallow hole and it just continues to gnaw away at me because I know I’ll still be here for a long time by the time they wither away and the world forgets their name. Not to mention that my sister and I still have to take our leave once I’d set her straight and this Abyss nonsense is over with… but now, now I’m in too deep. I’ve cracked. Last week, I’ve apparently put my entire heart into loving all of my girls, showing them how I truly could be. And those are just some. Imagine the others. One of these days, I might be married to Navia. Perhaps by the next time I regain control of my body, I’d have an entire family with her or with someone else and Fontaine’s sewers aren’t some over-bureacratized slums. Time itself has warped and I’ve lost myself.”
“Aether… Aether is scaring Paimon…” Paimon but on a sad face.
Then, somebody walked into the room.
“A visitor?” Tubby whispered. She didn’t recognize who it was. Aether’s abode usually received little companions for the sake of his privacy, and those who came in were usually identified, but not this time. As far as Tubby was concerned, there were only three people in the serenitea pot right now. Her, Paimon, and Aether.
So who was this other person?
And why were they another Aether?
“What?!” Aether took a step back, his eyes widened as he looked at the other Aether. It was an exact copy of him, but only with a large smile. Paimon gasped as well as she looked at the Aether here and the other Aether there.
“Aetherception!” said Paimon. “Aether! This Aether is saying weird things! Also why is Aether smiling like that?!”
“Hheeeennnnhh…. Hheeeennnnhh…” Aether couldn’t help but let out some crazed wheezing, he seemingly dug his fingers into his eyes, and from golden they would become blue. Then he’d rub his face, causing small dots, freckles, to be somewhat visible. “I did things…”
Aether then watched as Aether reached for the back of his head and tore off his scalp, but there was no blood for his scalp was nothing more but a wig and a cap. A bob of light blonde hair fell and the identity of the false Aether was revealed.
It was Freminet. He had a big smile on his face, which disturbed both Aether and Paimon since they weren’t used to him smiling this expressively, and there was just plain crazy in his eyes.
“Freminet… of course! You donned the Aether costume, you became some… Imposter Aether… an ImposAether!” Aether pointed at him. “You were the one who dated all my girlfriends and gave them gifts while I was not paying attention to them at all! But why?!”
“It’s hard being a child of the House of Hearth sometimes,” Freminet said. He pretended to have a kamera in his hands as he did small clicking noises. “Father cares but she’s awfully strict, and I’d not forgotten your place in what she’d done to me recently.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Aether shook his head. “Arlecchino grounded you.”
“She took away my diving helmet, Aether. I’m not allowed to dive in the ocean, I can breathe down there just fine but without my helmet even the bottom of the sea feels so noisy. My fairytale world is what brings me joy, Aether, you know this, and it exists on the other side of that visor, and she has it,” Freminet wheezed. Aether couldn’t help but frown at seeing him having gone off the deep end like this. “I can’t even… I can’t even cry anymore… Father doesn’t like it when children cry, I know she can hear me if I do it in my room… I can only do it at the bottom of the sea. My helmet makes my voice silent just like how it silences the voices outside it.”
Tears formed at the edge of Freminet’s eyes.
“So I decided to become you.”
Aether hugged Freminet tightly.
“I’m sorry, Fremi,” he said. Freminet dug his face into Aether’s shoulder as he finally let it out. Aether couldn’t help but think about what he’d done to make Freminet feel this way. It was already one thing for him to lead all those girls, but in the end they all know they’re part of a harem. Freminet? He was his friend, his buddy, and he just dragged him along and just pressured him to say yes. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
Aether brought Freminet along to a nice fishing hamlet by the Inazuman coast. Freminet was back to wearing his usual attire and he snacked on some seafood. Later Aether was going to take him diving. There were some diving helmets to go around and though they weren’t his own one, they’ll do for now. Anything will, really.
Aether watched Freminet try to comprehend the I’m-sorry-I-dressed-you-up-like-me-and-then-threw-you-into-my-pack-of-my-rabid-girlfriends seafood package gift. The boy never was good with gifts, especially large ones. He was especially scared of saying the wrong thing, like something that could be interpreted as stupidly ungrateful. His catatrophizations were strong enough to usually render him silent. Aether didn’t mind though. This wasn’t about him, this was about Freminet.
Though he couldn’t help but sense that someone had come to disturb the peace. Off the corner of his eye, Aether noticed Arlecchino approach. He could already see the displeased look on her face. Though for once in his life, Aether matched her with steeled nerves. Before she could come any closer and have Freminet notice her, Aether excused himself for a moment and darted on over to meet Arlecchino.
He wasn’t surprised that they found them. She was The Knave, after all.
“Aether. If you think-”
Arlecchino couldn’t even finish her sentence as Aether slapped her in the face. She stood there, wide-eyed, stunned that Aether had the balls to do that to her. Aether looked up at her with a completely serious expression.
“Everything that happened during the disguise thing was my fault. Don’t take it out on Freminet, okay? You can rat my ass out all you want, I don’t blame you, but leave him out of it,” Aether growled at her. Growled. Not a sexual growl that he did with his women, like a genuine bestial expression. “You’re his father for fuck’s sake. You know what he’s like. You can have him stay in his room but don’t take his fucking helmet. What’s wrong with you?”
“I….” Arlecchino touched her cheek. She looked past Aether to see Freminet at least somewhat enjoying himself. He’ll grow to smile again once he’s a couple more bites in. She took a deep breath, “of course. I’ll… leave you two to it. But I have my eye on you.”
“As long as it’s on me, that’s fine.”