Chapter Text
“You want me to come to Liyue Harbour with you?” Albedo tilted his head. “I don’t necessarily mind, but is there a reason you need me in particular?”
Aether took a deep breath, wiping his sweaty palms on his thighs. He’d seemed agitated from the moment he’d arrived on Dragonspine, but somehow it didn’t seem to be because of the sort of trouble he usually faced.
“Ningguang’s getting married and I need a date. To bring to the wedding.”
Albedo blinked in confusion, and Aether hurriedly explained, face growing redder by the minute. “N-Not a real date, I mean— It’s just— a lot of people I know are going to be there, and I-I sort of told them I was in a relationship and now they’re all expecting me to bring them to the wedding.”
“Why lie about that?”
Aether sighed. “I was getting a lot of… love confessions from a lot of different people, and they didn’t really seem satisfied with me turning them down until I started saying that. I know it’s not a great thing to do, but…”
“So they won’t leave you alone unless you can prove that you have a good reason for rejecting them?” Albedo crossed his arms. “That does sound like a bit of a hassle.”
“Will you help me? I’ll treat you to dessert after.”
Albedo took in Aether’s hopeful expression. He still hadn’t answered Albedo’s initial question: Why me?
“...I can probably make time for that,” Albedo acquiesced, too nervous to ask again. “When is the ceremony?”
“It’s next month. Gods, thank you so much… You have no idea how much you’re saving my ass here.”
Aether continued to thank him profusely while Albedo’s mind began to wander. Did he choose Albedo to play this role because he thought the alchemist wouldn’t fall for him, as everyone else apparently had? Perhaps he simply felt comfortable enough in Albedo’s company that it didn’t bother him to pretend that they were a couple?
“...I don’t know what to wear to something like this,” he realized suddenly, and Aether suppressed a laugh.
“Don’t worry, I can help with that if you want. We’ve got plenty of time before we have to worry about it anyway.”
—
As it turned out, they did not have plenty of time to worry about it.
A few days later, Aether got word from Ningguang that the wedding had been moved up by two weeks because the original date had turned out to be ‘inauspicious’. Why she had decided to hold it sooner because of this was beyond Albedo, but he very quickly found himself caught up in a series of preparatory events that flashed by at a frantic pace.
First he had to inform Jean of his absence and make sure she didn’t need him for anything (she very rarely did) and let Kaeya know he would be on babysitting duty again, then he and Aether had to make arrangements for the trip, let Ningguang know they were coming, pick out a wedding gift, and find a suitably formal outfit at Mondstadt’s one and only traditional clothing shop for Albedo to wear. By this point Albedo was already feeling exhausted, and they hadn’t even left yet; so he allowed Aether and Paimon to pick out the clothes for him.
“I don’t think we’re supposed to wear white, even though you look good in it…” Aether held up yet another suit vest as if imagining how it would look on the alchemist while Paimon rummaged through a pile of different ties, oblivious to her surroundings. “How do you feel about royal blue?”
“Anything’s fine.”
“Don’t say that, I’m going to take it as a challenge.” Aether shot him a lopsided grin, and Albedo forced himself not to instinctively turn away from the radiance of it.
“Then… yes, I am fond of blue. Whatever shade you think best.”
Aether snorted. “It’s okay to have opinions about things, you know.”
“Believe me, I have no shortage of them. However…” He paused for a few moments, unsure how to finish his sentence. Aether waited for him patiently.
“I trust you,” Albedo said eventually, and Aether made a surprised sort of choking noise. The alchemist smiled at his reaction. “Is that so strange?”
“No, it’s just… I guess I thought you didn’t really care.”
Albedo’s smile faltered. “...Is that what you think?”
“Well, you’re always so cold towards the things you’re not interested in…” Aether opened his mouth, then closed it again, frowning. “Sorry, that was rude of me, wasn’t it?”
Albedo quickly shook his head. “No, you’re right. That is a bad habit of mine. I can promise you, though, that this time my passivity is not out of disinterest.”
“Yeah?”
Everything I do with you is interesting, he thought. As his eyes searched Aether’s curious face, however, the words faltered on his lips.
“Yes. I… simply wanted to know what you thought would look good on me.”
Aether chuckled. “Everything’s an experiment to you, isn’t it? Well… I’ll do my best, then.”
He picked up the pile of clothing he’d brought and disappeared further into the shop. Albedo sat very still on the bench where Aether had left him, wondering exactly what sort of person Aether thought he was, and why he had chosen him of all people for this task.
—
Aether ended up choosing a dark grey suit for him, with a navy blue shirt and matching pocket square. It was a rather conservative choice of colours, except for the boldly yellow silk tie.
When he asked Aether about his own outfit, the traveller’s response was unexpectedly confident. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing now? These clothes work for any occasion.”
“...I’m impressed you can say that after picking out an entire new outfit for me.”
“I’m just kidding.” Aether snorted, giving Albedo’s shoulder a light smack. “Actually, Ningguang specifically asked me not to dress differently than how I normally do. She wants to make sure I’m ‘recognisable’ I guess, since there are gonna be a lot of important political figures there. I told her it’s all the same to me, though.”
Albedo quietly marvelled at how casually Aether could talk about his own importance in the Liyuen political landscape. He knew from experience that Aether meant every word— it really was all the same to him. He couldn’t care less about currying favour from these people, though he seemed to constantly do so by sheer accident. That a person like this, who was considered a hero in Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, and wherever else he set foot, really, considered Albedo of all people when deciding who to pretend to be in a relationship with…
Albedo felt that he shouldn’t be surprised, but he couldn’t help it. Aether always threw him off-balance.
It was late by the time they arrived in Liyue Harbour, but despite this, the streets were still absolutely packed with people. Albedo could see many different decorations being put up, wedding-goers haggling on prices for expensive gifts, and a general air of buzzing excitement that permeated the city. It seemed the whole of Liyue Harbour would be involved with this wedding one way or another, which made sense, considering the vast influence of Ningguang as the Qixing’s Tianquan.
Their hotel, too, was packed with people: various diplomats and folks from out of town who had come to witness the spectacle, even if they weren’t invited (though many of them were). The receptionist looked like she hadn’t slept in days, though she maintained a weary-looking smile at their approach.
“Welcome! Are you here to check in?”
Albedo let his mind wander as Aether confirmed their reservation, gaze travelling across the lobby full of disheartened people who had probably failed to get a room. He suspected the situation was probably the same for every inn and boardhouse across Liyue— almost the entire country seemed to have congregated here in Liyue Harbour for the event, as well as many important figures from other nations.
He frowned. Something was tugging at the back of his mind. There was something off, but—
“Albedo?” Aether’s voice cut into his thoughts. “You okay? Sorry it’s so loud. I know you must be tired.”
“I’m fine.” He shook his head. “Is our room ready?”
“Uh…” Aether looked almost… embarrassed? “Actually, there was a… mistake, with our room. I tried to book us a room with two beds, but the person handling the reservation saw that the room was supposed to be for a— a couple, and…”
“They gave us a double bed?” Albedo guessed.
“Y-yeah. The hotel’s full now, so we can’t switch…”
Albedo chuckled. “I don’t see the issue.”
“I— what?” Aether’s face turned an interesting shade of red.
“I can just draw another bed and materialise it with alchemy. It’s not difficult.”
Albedo watched with avid curiosity as Aether’s expression went through several different compositions before he eventually sputtered, “You— You’re teasing me again, aren’t you?”
“Perhaps.” Albedo suppressed a smile. “As I said before, I enjoy seeing your reactions.”
Aether covered his eyes with one hand. “I hope you wake up on the floor in a pile of charcoal dust.”
—
Neither of them had much to unpack, so it wasn’t very long until Aether was sprawled out on the bed like a starfish and Albedo was opening his sketchbook to a fresh page, intending to make good on his word.
“Hey,” Aether said, his voice a quiet rumble against the warm air underlain with the muffled sounds of many voices, all coalesced into an environment of their own.
“Hello,” Albedo replied, looking up from his sketchbook to meet Aether’s eyes. The traveller’s expression was unreadable; just drowsy enough to convey nothing except that.
“You don’t have to bother with that.” Aether closed his eyes. “Just come sleep here. It’s no big deal.”
Albedo stared at him for a few moments, waiting for him to elaborate, but he did not.
“Is this, perhaps, retaliation for my joke earlier?”
Aether didn’t respond. Albedo watched the soft rise and fall of his chest for a while, sketchbook still clenched in his hands, but now forgotten.
Sleeping in the same bed didn’t necessarily carry romantic connotations. In fact, it shouldn’t— He and Aether were not dating. It was all a means to an end.
Which was fine. That was how it should be.
But…
Albedo set his sketchbook aside, shuffling closer to the bed so he could reach out and lightly brush Aether’s hair out of his face. There was a faint scar above one of his temples, just a small white line over his tan skin like the stroke of an eraser.
“Is this, perhaps…”
He trailed off, hand hovering over Aether’s sleeping face.
After a few more moments of the silence that was made up of faint, indiscernible muffled voices, Albedo stiffly climbed into bed beside Aether, very careful to neither touch him nor jostle the mattress.
Even if it is, it would be best to let sleeping dogs lie.
—
The ceremonies began very early the next morning on Yujing Terrace. Albedo, not personally knowing many of the people involved, did not pay much attention, content to merely listen to Aether’s occasional anecdotes. Through these, he was able to piece together that the tough-looking woman in red named Beidou was the groom, and that Ningguang was supposedly also present behind a large jade screen that had been set up in the plaza. The crowd was enormous, and Albedo was not very tall, so it was difficult to catch a glimpse of either of these things.
“I didn’t realise there would be so many people,” Aether marvelled. “I bet the whole of Liyue is here right now. We’re lucky to even be on the terrace, look… There’s a whole bunch of people standing on rooftops down in the main city trying to see.”
“Good thing Paimon can fly!” Paimon giggled, hovering just above their heads. “Paimon can describe it to you if you want!”
“No thanks,” Aether huffed.
Albedo hummed, trying to keep the smugness out of his smile. “Would you like a better view?”
“Huh?”
Wordlessly, Albedo pulled him closer, forming a Solar Isotoma under their feet. A few people around them made surprised sounds as they ascended a few feet above the heads of the crowd, but most people’s attention was focused on the ceremony.
“Ha!” Aether let out a surprised laugh. “I keep forgetting you can do this.”
“Hey, that’s cheating!” Paimon complained, hands on her hips.
“And flying isn’t?” chuckled Aether.
He sat lightly on the edge of the flower, legs dangling over the crowd below. Albedo seated himself on his knees next to him.
In the centre of the plaza, he could now clearly see the white jade and gold screen, Beidou with a red flower tucked into her hair and an enormous claymore in her hand, and what appeared to be a… wild Geovishap?
“Are you making fun of me, Ningguang?” Beidou’s voice rang out over the excited chatter of the crowd. She hefted her sword, glaring at the jade screen. “I thought you were gonna give me a real challenge.”
“Apparently, this is the custom in Liyue,” Aether said close to Albedo’s ear. “The groom has to prove themself worthy of the bride by overcoming a series of challenges. I think this should be the last one.”
It seemed like he wanted to say more, but his voice was drowned out by the wild cheering of the crowd as the fight began, and even louder cheering when victory was very quickly secured by the captain.
Albedo frowned, waiting for the cheers to die down before speaking. “I’m a little worried about the ethics of using a wild beast for this purpose. Wouldn’t it have been better to duel another person, with dulled blades?”
“Yeah, probably.” Aether snorted. “But I’d bet you all my Mora there’s not a single person in Liyue Harbour willing to duel Beidou.”
After the swift dispatch of the Geovishap, which was an impressive display of power on Beidou’s part (and of the unfathomable ability of the wealthy to toe the line of good ethics and go unquestioned for it on Ningguang’s), the Tianquan herself finally emerged from behind the screen. She was dressed in a long red gown that trailed on the ground behind her— or it would have, if the ground hadn’t been carefully covered with gold, exquisitely patterned carpets beforehand. Her hair was pulled back and very elaborately interwoven with glaze lilies, which also appeared to have been somehow sewn into her dress. She was the very picture of elegant beauty, and the murmurs of the crowd fell utterly silent at the sight of her.
Albedo stole a glance at Aether beside him. The two of them had both been given small red flower pins when they’d arrived, and Aether had clipped his onto the front of his scarf. Albedo allowed himself to picture, for a moment, what he’d look like with that flower tucked into his hair instead.
“This is your real challenge, Beidou.” Ningguang did not speak loudly, but her voice was crystal clear in the silent plaza. “Will you stay here with me?”
Beidou grinned. “Sure. For a while, anyway.”
Loud, raucous cheering suddenly erupted from one corner of the crowd, and Albedo could hear loud calls of “That’s our captain!”
Ningguang shook her head, though she was smiling. “I suppose that’s good enough.”
The two went to stand in front of the jade screen, and from behind it appeared a young woman with pale blue hair and ram’s horns, who looked rather nervous, though she seemed to calm down significantly once she actually started talking.
“Recently, we all experienced a significant tragedy with Rex Lapis’ departure. I know many of us were severely affected by this change. But… I’m really glad to be able to officiate this wedding in his name, and I’m even more glad to see joy return to Liyue Harbour.”
This prompted another series of cheers from the crowd. Albedo leaned closer to Aether, waiting for a moment quiet enough to speak.
“Who’s that?”
“That’s Ganyu. She’s an adeptus, and she’s lived in Liyue Harbour for a long time. She’s also Ningguang’s secretary.”
Albedo took a moment to marvel at the fact that Ningguang had an adeptus working for her as a secretary, missing her next few words. When he tuned back in, Ganyu had already moved on to the vows.
“What is the promise you, Tianquan Ningguang, will make to your beloved?”
Ningguang, with limitless poise and grace, gave a small smile. “I promise to watch over you, no matter what happens. I promise to be your anchor when you feel you are adrift. And lastly, I promise to stay by your side— not as Ningguang the Tianquan, but as your wife and partner, for as long as I live.”
A ripple of emotion passed through the crowd. Albedo felt Aether hum quietly and lean against his shoulder.
“What is the promise you, Captain Beidou, will make to your beloved?”
Beidou rubbed the back of her head, suddenly appearing uncharacteristically sheepish. “I, uh, promise to love ya like you’ve never been loved before, Miss Ningguang.”
There was a moment of confused silence as everyone waited for her to continue, but evidently that was all she had to say, because she suddenly let out a frustrated growl and grabbed the sides of Ningguang’s face, surprising the crowd, Ganyu, and especially Ningguang with an aggressive kiss.
When she pulled away, both were red-cheeked with embarrassment, but Beidou at least seemed satisfied. An enormous grin grew on her face as she turned back to the audience.
“And now we hit the booze!”
This was, predictably, met with the loudest cheering yet. Albedo wondered how many of these people knew that the reception banquet would be held in the Jade Chamber and was not a public event like the wedding was— though it was likely many of them would go home and have a party of their own anyway. If there was one thing in common between Liyue and Mondstadt, it was that neither of them needed much of a reason to celebrate (and to bring out the liquor).
As the crowd began to disperse and Ganyu politely signalled for the actual invitees to come towards the platform that would take them up to the Jade Chamber, Albedo turned to Aether to ask him if he was ready to descend the Isotoma. To his surprise and alarm, however, Aether seemed to suddenly be in very poor condition.
“Aether? Are you alright?”
The traveller kept his face buried in Albedo’s shoulder, but the alchemist could see the sheen of sweat on the back of his neck, as well as the way he clenched his fingers in the fabric of Albedo’s blazer as if attempting to silently ride out an intense pain.
“I-I’ll be fine in a minute.”
Albedo quickly shifted to support him with both arms, unsure how best to help. After a few trembling moments, Aether let out a soft exhale and sat up, wiping sweat from his forehead.
“Phew. I’m okay, don’t worry.”
“What happened?”
“Dunno. My head got kinda fuzzy for a minute.” He gave a shaky laugh. “Maybe I’m more tired than I thought…”
Still concerned, Albedo continued to support him as he gently lowered the Isotoma to the ground. Once they stepped off of it, however, Aether waved him off.
“I’m fine, really. It was just a little dizzy spell.”
“Have you ever experienced this before?”
“Well, no,” Aether admitted. “But I feel fine now. I really don’t think it’s anything worth worrying about.”
Albedo opened his mouth to argue, but Aether cut him off, clearly unwilling to continue the topic.
“Where’s Paimon? I haven’t seen her since the ceremony started.”
Albedo cast a quick glance around. After a few moments, he spotted the telltale glittering constellations that rose from Paimon’s cloak, and slowly pushed through the still-dispersing crowd, making sure to keep Aether in sight behind him.
Paimon wasn’t hard to locate, as she was loudly bawling into someone’s arms. “P-Paimon can’t believe it… it finally happened… Paimon is just so happy, the tears won’t stop!!!”
“Yes… um. There, there.” The woman holding her awkwardly patted her head, looking like she would rather be in literally any other situation. Next to her, a young man was blowing his nose, also teary-eyed.
“Keqing! Kazuha!” Aether greeted them enthusiastically, as if to shrug off Albedo’s concerns for his health. “You guys are headed to the banquet too, right?”
“That we are.” Keqing immediately held Paimon out at arm’s length, like a person relieved to hand a baby back to its parent. “We can go up together, if you like. It’ll be more efficient that way.”
“Aether,” wailed Paimon, “Paimon is feeling so many emotions all at once… Paimon doesn’t know what to do!”
“Me too,” Kazuha agreed, sniffling. “Captain Beidou is like family to me. During the ceremony, I thought a lot about love and connection, and the profound fulfilment that comes from relationships between people. I think that I was very lucky to get to experience something like this.”
“It was really nice,” admitted Keqing, a smile creeping onto her face. “But the food will be even nicer, I promise.”
“Oh! The food!” Paimon immediately sprung back into the air, twirling excitedly. “We gotta get to the banquet before everyone else eats it all!”
—
“So, when did you two start dating?”
Albedo froze, fork halfway to his mouth. He shot a glance aside at Aether, who seemed equally caught off-guard.
The girl who had sat herself across from them giggled, bringing a hand to her chin. “Bad topic?” She glanced slyly at Aether. “Or maybe you’re just embarrassed, seeing as you kept his identity a secret for so long…”
“No, it’s… uh, what are you even doing here, Hu Tao?”
“The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is a highly respected establishment that has worked closely with the Qixing many times before. It’s only natural that they would invite its director to an event like this.” Hu Tao leaned her head on one palm. “So? Are you going to answer my question, or just leave me hanging forever?”
“He offered to help me with my research,” Albedo spoke up, sensing that Aether was getting flustered. “After spending an extended time working together, our relationship eventually grew into… something more.”
“Ooh! And now you’ve graduated from lab partners to partners in the mysterious field of love~? How romantic!” She tittered, clearly enjoying herself. “You guys make such a cute couple. Wait, let me get my Kamera. Can you pose like you’re smooching?”
“Hu Tao, are you drunk?” Aether asked uncomfortably. This prompted another burst of giggling.
“No, sorry, I’m just like this. Anyway, lean in closer. How do you work this thing?”
Aether quietly slid out of his seat, tugging on Albedo’s sleeve. The alchemist quite happily followed him away from the table, where Hu Tao’s mumbled curses as she fiddled with the buttons on her Kamera grew more and more nonsensical.
“Sorry,” Aether muttered unhappily. “She’s normally… Well, no, actually, that is what she’s like normally.”
“It’s alright,” Albedo assured him. “That’s why I’m here tonight, no?”
For some reason, Aether only looked more unhappy hearing this. Unsure whether he’d said something wrong or how to resolve the sudden tension in the air, Albedo quickly cleared his throat.
“I’ll go get us something to drink.”
“Just get me juice or something,” Aether murmured, eyes downcast. Albedo hesitated only briefly before stepping away.
He thought about pouring himself some alcohol, but his artificial body tended to regard it as a toxin and completely nullify the effect, so there was little point. Instead, he poured out two cups of some sort of pinkish-red juice that smelled vaguely of sunsettias, bringing one to his lips briefly to check the taste.
“Ugh… Paimon can’t eat anymore…”
Albedo watched in morbid fascination as Paimon rolled out from behind a bowl of punch, a half-eaten lobster clutched in her hands.
“How much did you eat, if I may ask?”
“Paimon had… one of everything…” She burped loudly. “It was totally worth it… but now Paimon’s starting to feel sleepy…”
“You mean to say you had at least one of every different kind of food they’re offering?” Albedo did some quick math. “You’ve eaten over four times your own body mass, then.”
“That’s because… it was all so delicious…”
“I’m terribly curious how you’re able to store that much food. You ought to let me study you sometime.”
“Absolutely not!” She belched again. “Paimon’s secrets will stay secret until the day she dies!”
—
Leaving Paimon to sleep off her food coma, Albedo made his way back to where he had left Aether. When he got there, however, Aether was nowhere to be found.
Feeling a little dispirited, Albedo wandered around the vicinity for a while before finding a place to sit where he could easily see Aether if he came back. He sipped absently at his juice, hoping that whatever he’d said, it hadn’t offended Aether badly enough that he’d want to ditch him.
Aether wasn’t angry with him for lying to Hu Tao, was he? That didn’t make sense— the whole reason he’d asked Albedo to come was so that he could continue to hide the truth.
Maybe he just felt genuinely uncomfortable pretending Albedo was his lover.
Albedo raised his cup to his lips, only to find it empty. He hadn’t realised how much he’d been drinking. With a quiet sigh, he placed the cup on the bench next to him.
Honestly, Albedo couldn’t blame him if that was the case. He wasn’t even human.
“It’s you,” a voice addressed him with a faint note of surprise. Albedo looked up to see Ningguang, still in her opulent red gown, but now with a glass of wine in her left hand.
“Miss Ningguang,” Albedo said automatically, then corrected himself. “Sorry, that should be Mrs now, shouldn’t it? I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with you yet.”
Ningguang raised her eyebrows. “Really? I could have sworn we’d already spoken. Although… It has been a long day for me.”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
She gave him a tired, but genuine smile. “I’m glad you could make it. You may not believe me, but I didn’t invite you and Aether here only for political reasons.”
Albedo looked at her askance. “No?”
“Well… not only that.” She snickered. “I do have to admit I was also curious to see who had caught the Traveller’s attention after so long, but… more than that, I am genuinely honoured to have the both of you here.”
“Thank you.” Albedo bowed his head slightly. “I’d like to offer my best wishes to you and your wife.”
Ningguang smiled wider, swirling her wine around in her glass. “Accepted. Tell me, are you enjoying the banquet?”
“It’s lovely, yes.”
She chuckled a little. “No need for pretense. I can tell this isn’t your kind of thing, and that’s perfectly alright. Don’t hesitate to take a break from all the socialising if you need it.”
Albedo nodded slowly. “...Is there another reason you came to speak with me?”
“Very observant.” She tilted her head. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing nefarious. I was just curious about something.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve heard you’re a well-known scientist in Mondstadt. Do you perhaps know anything about complex machinery?”
“It’s not my field of specialisation, but it would depend on the type of machine, really.” Albedo crossed his arms. “Why?”
“Well, as you know, I oversee all of the imports to Liyue Harbour, especially those of valuable or hazardous materials. Recently there’s been a bit of a hassle involving machine part importation.” She sighed, taking a long sip from her wine. “I don’t suppose you would be able to tell what kind of machine could be built by looking at a list of materials for it?”
“Unfortunately not.” Albedo brought a hand to his chin. “If it were me, I would probably write to the Kshahrewar scholars at the Akademiya about it.”
“Hm,” Ningguang hummed thoughtfully. “Yes, I suppose that’s all I can do. Thank you for your advice.”
She gave him a polite wave and disappeared back into the gathering of guests. Albedo waited on the bench for a while longer, trying not to get too caught up in his own thoughts, until he finally saw Aether wander back into the vicinity.
“Albedo!” Aether’s face lit up the moment his gaze landed on him. “I was wondering where you’d run off to.”
Albedo refrained from commenting that it had in fact been Aether who had run off, getting to his feet and picking up the two juice glasses from the bench beside him (one of which was now empty).
“Your juice,” he said quietly, offering the still-full one to the traveller, who looked confused for a moment before taking it.
“I already had some, but thanks…”
Albedo fixed his gaze on the ground.
Aether had… forgotten he was there.
That was… that was fine. There were likely lots of other people present at this banquet whom Aether wanted to spend time with. Albedo was only here to fill a role, to be a name on a card, after all.
It didn’t matter.
“You okay?” Aether rested one palm gently against the side of his shoulder. “You look pretty worn out. We can step outside for a bit if you want, and find somewhere quiet in the courtyard—”
“I’m fine,” Albedo said, sharper than he meant to, and he quickly cleared his throat. “I’m fine,” he repeated softly. “Please, don’t worry yourself over me.”
Aether’s eyebrows drew together, and he looked deeply pensive for a moment before turning away.
“If you say so.”