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Over the years since Aether's friends had met him, they became quite familiar with his saint-like patience as he and his twin sister, Lumine, chose to stay in Teyvat. Always smiling at them even though they knew that they're probably testing his unlimited patience. Shaking his head fondly as he fixed whatever messed that they've done, sighing amusedly as he agreed to do something for them, and smiling warmly at them as he comforts them whenever they seek him to share their sob stories.
All of them knew that Aether would always be there. Sharing his happiness, sadness, victories, and lots of things that came to him while staying in Teyvat.
Lots of people in Teyvat adores the Outlander and they knew that Aether adores them back.
Aether loves his friends. Cherished them to the point of staying despite the fact that he already completed his exploration and has finally roamed the whole Teyvat. Adores them despite knowing that his friends' times are limited since they are nothing but mortals and incapable of living forever.
But after a whole week of getting only a few hours of sleep, constant requests and commissions, dendro slimes being a bunch of jerks by suddenly attacking him when all he wanted to do was to stroll, and getting hounded by Childe for a fight.... Aether finally snapped.
"Get in that basket, Childe, or else I'll make you do it." Aether calmly spoke as he pointed at the basket at the corner of his living room. Childe just blinked before letting out an amused smirk.
Snorting, "Do you think that you can scare me with that threat, Comrade?"
He stiffened for a short moment upon seeing Aether's eyes narrowed at him. Grins as he felt the excitement at the chance of fighting the blond again. Ten minutes later, Childe was pouting as he stands inside the basket at the corner of room, Lumine and Paimon laughs as they ate the cake that Aether baked earlier. Childe pouted even more as he looked at Lumine and sees her mocking expression as she enjoyed the food that her twin cooked for them.
Aether just sipped his tea peacefully before looking at him, "Now, do you know what you did wrong?"
Childe looked at him pitifully, eyes large as if he's been bullied, and asked, "Why are you doing this to me, Comrade?"
Aether just raised an elegant brow and stared blankly at the other man, disregarding the sniggering from his sister and Paimon,
"I will not repeat myself for the third time, Tartaglia. Did you know what you did wrong?"
Childe tried to laugh despite shrivelling up after being called by his Fatui title and distract Aether from his anger but after being glared at by the love of his life his comrade, he muttered, voice pitiful, as he bows his head, "Yes, Aether. I'm sorry, please forgive me."
Childe's face is red with embarrassment as he tries to ignore the roaring laughter from the other two people in the room.
Aether just smiled and nodded with approval, pleased and a bit amused at the adorable look that Childe's giving him.
After being freed from his prison basket, the harbinger started eating his food and soon left the teapot dejectedly, keeping in mind to just challenge the blond once every week instead of hounding him every day, or else, he'll be imprisoned to the basket again.
It doesn't end there.
Kaeya is the second one that has been imprisoned to that basket.
Unlike Childe, instead of hounding Aether for a fight every single day— he hounds Aether for date everyday, flirts at the blond at any given moment, and tries to seduce him even while he's in the middle of doing his commissions. Kaeya froze and wore the same pitiful look that Childe got when the blond took the basket from his spatial bag and ordered the Cavalry Captain to get inside of it.
Jean looked shocked and amused as she looked at the imprisoned Cavalry Captain at the corner of her office, while Lisa is giggling amusedly while ruffling the hair of the annoyed Honorary Knight.
Now, every time Kaeya sees Aether, he always makes sure that the blond is not doing anything before asking him to eat somewhere or join him to the tavern.
After the annoying incident with Kaeya, the next victims are a bit surprising and unsurprising. While running a food errand for Wangshu Inn, Aether and Paimon ran into Childe who decided to follow him.
That day ended up as a bit of disaster for the three of them.
They had to return to the inn multiple times since there are times that Aether would accidentally step on a puddle, sprint in frustration, and many more accident, which are not allowed for the mission or else the food would be inedible. Once the blond finished all his commissions in Liyue; tired and frustrated, he invited the harbinger to join him for dinner at Angel's Share in Mondstadt.
Presented with the opportunity to spend more time with the blond, Childe accepted the invitation and joined the two to their journey.
But, the moment that they arrived at the bridge in Mondstadst, a phoenix made of fire and a man with red hair was rushing towards a dumbfounded harbinger.
The fight that is happening between them ended as an irate Aether threw two large baskets to their faces and being yelled at to stand inside that basket. In the end, the two of them are punished by an irate blond to stand inside the basket that he put in the teapot after realizing that punishing the two while they're in public is quite a bad idea.
A few days after the incident, Aether invited most of his friends his harem for a brief celebration; it's been another anniversary of staying in Teyvat and the blond prepared lots of delicacies that he knows the others would enjoy.
The simple celebration sooner turn into a battle for the Hero of Mondstadst attention.
Childe threw a steak at Kaeya's face while screaming "food fight".
Kaeya, furious that the hair that he took hours to perfect just for the Aether, picked a plate of Mora Meat and threw it at the Harbinger.
Diluc, trying to ignore the ongoing battle between his sworn brother and the Fatui Harbinger, received a Mushroom Pizza to his face. He soon joined the battle.
Zhongli, who tried to stop them and warn them about Aether's anger has been hit by a plate of Almond Tofu. He summoned a meteor in retaliation, which ended up completely destroying the area.
The victorious one, the last one standing, and the greatest one would be considered as the best man for Aether. It was such a vicious battle filled with flying dishes, use of visions, taunting, Lumine commentating the ongoing battle alongside with Amber, and Paimon egging them at the side.
Aether was completely livid.
The blond punished the four to stand in four large baskets and no matter their apologies, pleas, and begging, he won't let them out.
Snorting, Lumine rolled her eyes and kneed her brother's shoulders as she mocked the four men while Amber scolded them for causing lots of stress to Aether.
After that, it took quite a while before the blond stops ignoring and avoiding them and since then, the four promised to each other that they would stop fighting and causing problems for Aether as to avoid getting punished. Lumine's amused because before coming to Teyvat, she used to be the one who always got the basket punishment and it certainly heals her soul whenever she saw her brother's harem got punished by her oblivious brother.