Chapter Text
Fresh air filled the laboratory as the outside wind blew gently past the shutters from Mondstadt’s outdoors. Albedo was busy scanning over his notes from the day prior, with Aether sat comfortably in the corner of the room watching him work.
The alchemist was trying to find a way to revert the effects of an experiment that had left him with feline — specifically snow-leopard like — features. He was assuming that these were either permanent, or it would take a while for the effects to disappear; since it had already been three days, with very little change occurring since they first manifested.
But, Aether didn’t seem to mind them. He would take any opportunity to distract Albedo so that he could pet his tail or ears. At first Albedo didn’t mind that, since it gave him a small moment to rest — and he didn’t deny that the feeling of being pet by Aether wasn’t at all a bad sensation. It was simply that the traveller would get carried away far too easily, and both would lose track of time.
Or, perhaps Aether was fully aware of the amount of time passing, and just never commented on it. Albedo could see how much he enjoyed petting him, and how he would laugh at every reaction Albedo gave in turn.
The alchemist was trying to focus on repeating the steps in his notes from the earlier experiment; if he could recreate the formula that had given him these features in the first place, perhaps he could use it to reverse engineer a serum to remove said features.
A bell loudly tinkled behind him, slicing through the silence. Albedo almost dropped the vial of bubbling fluid he was holding as his pointed ears perked and swivelled whilst his tail bristled in alarm. He was quick to relax himself, noting it was Aether fiddling about with another of the cat toys that was kept in the corner of the laboratory.
“Aether, please.” The alchemist turned his head slightly as he put the vial back into it’s stand. “I’ve only been working for twenty minutes, let me focus.”
Aether hummed for a long moment, feigning thoughtfulness.
“Nah.” He stated simply at last. “Twenty minutes is too long, long enough for me to get bored here…” he trailed off, his eyes turning mischievously toward Albedo as he rang the bell again.
“I’ll turn you into a cat next if you don’t give it up, and then we can see how you like the experience of being taunted by a toy bell.” He threw over his shoulder sarcastically, returning his attention to the chemicals on the desk in front of him.
He heard Aether shift excitedly from the oversized cat bed he lounged in. “Really? I’d be down for that, if you’re gonna be the one ringing it. When do we start?”
Albedo shook his head with a small smile at the traveller’s enthusiasm. “I’m not going to do anything until I find a way to revert this first.” He gestured vaguely to his feline ears. “If you want to play with a cat so much, there are plenty down at the Cat’s Tail.”
“I don’t know, I think you’re my favourite cat in Mondstadt at the moment… if I went there alone, I might find myself a new favourite.”
Albedo turned to meet the traveller with a smug expression, crossing his arms. “‘ At the moment ’?” He chuckled. “As I just said, my priority is finding a reversal for this before anything else. I don’t mind if you distract yourself with another cat.” He turned back to focus on his work.
Aether sighed dejectedly as he pushed himself to his feet. “Aw, I really thought that would work. Then, I guess I have no other choice.”
He appeared behind Albedo, swiftly wrapping his arms around the small alchemist’s torso and upper arms. He leaned back slightly, lifting Albedo off his feet and causing him to drop his pen in surprise.
“A-Aether!” He yelled, his body stiffening. “Put me down!”
“Nnnope—“ Aether heaved, approaching the laboratory door. “You need to take a proper break. I’m taking you out for a meal.”
Albedo’s long tail stiffened against him as Aether kicked open the door loudly. He pushed his way through, resisting Albedo’s attempts at grabbing the doorframe to stop him from leaving. Once the two were out into the Favonius Headquarters’ corridor, Aether slammed the door behind him and leant against it so Albedo couldn’t get back in.
The moment the alchemist was dropped back to the floor, his body reanimated from it’s stiffness. At first, he tried pushing past Aether to grab at the door handle, but eventually it clicked that he was now outside of the laboratory, and not getting back in any time soon. He hastily threw his hood over his head to hide his ears and grabbed his tail with his other hand to keep it hidden behind his coat as it attempted to lash violently in frustration.
“Let me back in, please—“ Albedo began, trying fruitlessly to move Aether out for the way using his body once more. “I don’t want people to see me like this, to avoid any strange questions or embarrassing situations. Just let me work.”
Aether shook his head. “No, Albedo. You’re hiding it all perfectly fine right now, I don’t see why you can’t go outside. You’ve been locked in that lab for three days, hardly even eating anything. Let me treat you, I promise I won’t draw attention to you.”
Albedo stared at him for a moment. “Alright. But just a quick meal, and then it’s back to working — with no more distractions.” He tightened his grip on his hood, pulling it a little more over his head.
Aether grinned smugly with a nod. “Sounds like a deal.”