Chapter Text
If there was one thing Aether was hoping for it was that he wasn’t paired with resident mean girl Keqing. She was nice enough (not really) but there was no way in hell that he wished to be paired with her for a project that required gentle parenting. She seemed more like the type to viciously shake her fake child instead of actually tending to it like a normal parent would. Now, he wasn’t trying to slander her by any means, rather, he was absolutely terrified that his grade would tank as a result.
That morning when he walked into health class, he went to sit by his sister as per usual, but he was stopped by the sight of dozens of fake babies piled on top of each other. Needles to say, it was a terrifying experience.
Lumine must have seen the horror on his face, given the way she guffawed at him. They were lucky to be stuck together in health class, and honestly he hoped that she was the one who he was assigned to do this strange project with. Not in a weird way, it was just easier considering they lived together.
“Aether, why do you look like you just saw the ghost of your loved one?” Lumine teased. She had been talking to one of her friends, Fischl, when he walked in, but her attention was quickly diverted at the sight of him. They must have been having a good conversation, because Fischl was quick to give him the stink eye at the mere sight of him.
He, however, just laughed, trying to ignore the dirty look he got before walking over and sitting down next to his sister. “Seeing a bunch of plastic babies can do that to you.” He responded jokingly. He and his sister had always had a teasing relationship with each other, which included back and forth banter.
Lumine leaned forward like she was about to tell a juicy secret. “Who do you hope you get for this project?” She asked in a hushed whisper. “You’re going to have to spend a lot of time with them, you know.”
Aether squirmed under her intense stare. “I dunno...I was kind of hoping we could be paired together for convenience sake. No switching babies back and forth between houses.”
“Lame!” His sister groaned, leaning back into her chair with a long, drawn out sight. “I’m hoping I get Fischl.” She gestured at the girl standing next to her, whose dirty look had turned into a smug smile.
“Who wouldn’t want to be paired with someone such as I?” Fischl put a hand to her chest, about to start some long drawn out spiel when his sister interrupted her with a small laugh.
Lumine gave her the softest look, one that Aether could see from miles away. “I’d be glad to be partners with you, Fischl.” She said genuinely, resting her hand on top of the girl’s with a gentle smile. “But only if you bring your pet too!”
Fischl squawked. “Oz is not a pet!” She folded her arms over her chest, offended.
“Sorry! Sorry!”
Before either of them could get another word in, the bell rang, causing everyone to scatter to their seats. When the teacher cleared his throat, everyone was quiet, waiting in anticipation for something to occur. Everyone was on the edge of their seats--practically dying to know who was paired with who.
The teacher gave them all an unamused look. “I’m sure you’re all aware of what’s going on here.” He sounded bored, picking up one of the plastic babies between his thumb and forefinger and dropping it unceremoniously. “And I’m sure you’d all like to know who you’re paired up with for this project.”
There was a soft chorus of ‘yes’s.
“Unfortunately for you all, I have to go over the project first.”
The resounding groan from the room was enough to earn a sharp glare from their teacher, which shut them all up quickly.
Aether was, honestly, beyond nervous about who he would be paired with. He got along with most people, but there was one person in particular that he didn’t quite get along with. Then again, she didn’t get along with anyone.
Keqing.
And thus why he didn’t wish to be paired with her. She was honestly terrifying, and the few moments he had spent around her were less than desirable. Despite it all, though, she did seem like she didn’t have any friends, which made his heart hurt for her. Having no friends was a tough battle.
Nevertheless, the teacher was starting to speak again.
“This project is, obviously, about how well you can raise a child. It’s a bit archaic, but I’m not on the school board, so I can’t make decisions,” The teacher paused before continuing. “There is an internal grader inside these babies, so you’ll be graded on how well you can take care of this baby. Got it?”
There was a resounding “got it!” from the students.
“Great. I assume you’re ready for your pairs?” The teacher asked, eyeing everyone as they began to nod excitedly.
And with that, he began to list off the names.
“Lumine and Fischl.” Aether waited patiently. “Barbara and Noelle.” The more and more names that were listed off, the more stressed he got. “Aether and...Keqing.”
Aether felt his soul leave his body. The one person who he was scared of was his partner. Even more scary, his perfect grade would, no doubt, end up going down because of this.
The boy hardly noticed when everyone began to shift around the room, sitting by their respective partners. That was why he nearly jumped out of his skin when Keqing sat down next to him. They were partners now, though, so he supposed he would have to become a lot more accustomed to her presence.
“Hey,” Aether said weakly, looking at the girl next to him with a wobbly smile. “I guess we’re partners, eh?”
Keqing didn’t respond for a solid while, arranging her stuff on the desk. It almost seemed as if she was purposefully ignoring him. “Yes. I suppose we’re partners.” She inclined her head at Aether almost respectfully, but it was more stiff and decisive than respectful. “I hope we can work well together and get a good grade on this project.”
Aether seemed to relax slightly at that. He had some hope that they would get a good grade, and at least she seemed willing to work hard and put in the effort to do so. She was still slightly off putting, but she wasn’t as bad as he had initially thought.
“Yeah! I hope we can do well on this project!” He flashed her a bright smile, one that didn’t seem to phase her in the slightest. She still had on that resting bitch face that made him feel a little discouraged. Nevertheless, he persisted. “What do you want to name our baby?”
“Is there really a need for a name?” Keqing responded sharply. It seemed like she wasn’t in the mood to mess around whatsoever--she was all work, no play. That was exactly why Aether felt like this was going to be a long project.
Aether gave her a small smile, though, hoping to conceal his exasperation. He was nothing if not considerate and polite towards everyone he met. “Why not? It would make our baby feel like ours!”
He must have made a mistake in saying that, because he earned a harsh look in response. “Don’t call it our baby. It’s merely a project we’re working on together, not a real baby.” She sounded slightly miffed at the idea, turning her head away so she could busy herself with straightening her stuff on the desk once more.
“Sure it’s just a project, but wouldn’t it be fun to take care of it like it was a real baby?” He was trying to get her to loosen up a little, but it clearly wasn’t working. “It would make the project a lot easier if we pretended it was real rather than a robot.”
Keqing seemed to consider it for a second, before she waved her hand dismissively. “Fine. Do whatever you wish.”
It was better than nothing!
Aether physically brightened. “Great! Do you have any ideas on what we should name her?”
“Her?” Keqing raised an eyebrow. “Since when did it become a her?”
“Since now.”
Keqing looked bothered, but she followed along anyways, taking a moment to consider. “Biyu.” She said finally, messing with the stuff on the desk before reorganizing it. It seemed like a sort of comfort for her. Or, at least, that’s what Aether noted.
“I like that name,” He said warmly. “It sounds pretty.”
“It is,” She said shortly, looking up from the desk when the teacher approached, setting the baby down onto the desk carefully. She looked like a perfect replica of Aether, minus the long hair. But she was blonde and pale, so he could safely say that she was his child. Joking.
Aether picked up the child carefully, jumping when she immediately began crying. He panicked, unsure of what to do before Keqing took the child out of his arms, rocking her with a practiced ease.
“Wow…” Maybe she was better at this than he had originally estimated. “Maybe you should take her for tonight. You seem to know what you’re doing.”
Keqing shook her head, placing Biyu ungracefully back in his arms. “No. You’re a part of this project too. I”m not doing all the work just because I know what I’m doing.” She said flatly. “Plus, it’s a learning experience.”
Yeah. Learning experience.
Aether gave her a tight lipped smile, his face dropping when she immediately began crying again. Babies were a lot more work than he had anticipated. Was he going to be the one that dragged her down in this project?
Keqing hid her smile behind her hand, pushing it down a moment later. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” She said bluntly, taking a look at the clock and starting to pack her things. “Good luck.” There was almost a bemused tone in her voice as she got up to leave when the bell rang.
Aether would have given her a wave if his arms weren’t full of a crying baby. This was going to be one interesting project to say the least. He’d need a lot of good luck to get through this stupid thing. He knew it was a big part of their grade, but he was still starting to resent it nevertheless.
Before he could get another thought in, Lumine was bouncing back over, her own baby in her arms. “Ready to go?” She looked like she was positively glowing, which was the stark opposite of how he was feeling, a strained smile on his face.
“You seem so excited,” Aether pointed out, trying to rock his baby so she would stop crying. His sister’s baby was an angel compared to his, blissfully quiet. “My partner abandoned me with her.”
Lumine patted his shoulder sympathetically. “You’re a single father now.” She said, completely seriously. It made him crack up, at the very least. He was starting to feel a bit better about the circumstances at hand--his sister always made him feel better.
When Aether stopped laughing, he set the baby down on his desk and started to pack up his stuff. As soon as he set her down, she stopped crying, which was just cruel in his opinion.
Even his sister gave him a look full of pity. “It really doesn’t like you, huh?” She shook her head, clicking her tongue. “Shame. What did you name it! Did your partner let you name it? She seems like kind of a stickler...I feel bad that you got paired up with her.” Her voice quelled into a hushed whisper yell.
“She’s not that bad,” Aether defended, pulling his backpack onto his back and picking the baby back up. She immediately started crying once more. “And my baby isn’t an it. ” He huffed. “She’s a her, and her name is Biyu.”
“Oooh! That’s a pretty name!” Lumine proudly held her baby up. “This is Ignatius, isn’t he pretty?”
“He looks like every other baby,” Aether snorted, walking with Lumine out of the door. “Plus, what kind of name is Ignatius?” He crinkled up his nose at the name, rocking Biyu in his arms as they walked towards the buses together.
If his sister could punch his shoulder, she would have, given the expression on her face. Although, it was clear she wasn’t actually upset. “Ignatius is a great name!” She defended. “Fischl picked it out for him.” Again, she was giving goo goo eyes to the air at the mere thought of the girl.
Aether tried to hide his laugh as they got on the bus. This project was going to be a wild ride.