Work Text:
Wriothesley is in a tough spot.
Currently, he's outside Third-Round Knockout, a notable restaurant in Liyue. At least, that's what Aether says. How could he know? Finally outside of the Fortress of Meropide and Fontaine itself, he's like a fish out of water. He has no idea where the good places are around here. But the Traveler insisted on showing him, so he told the guards he'd be gone for just the smallest amount of time, and now he's here.
Having lunch with Aether.
Is this a date? Or is he jumping the gun a bit, calling it that? Maybe the man just thought he was a little stressed out, or wanted to spend more time with him outside of work, in a normal space where normal people roam.
"I don't normally do this," Aether says, swallowing a bit of food. "There's just... something about you."
So is this a date? Or is he just being teased?! Because no matter how enchanting, or beautiful, or funny this guy is, it's not nice to tease someone, especially when a little comment like that could probably turn his face red in half a second. Archons above, his face isn't getting warm now, is it? Uh, um-
"You don't normally insist on dragging guys out of work?"
A small smile snakes its way onto the Traveler's face. "I don't normally bring men out on outings at all."
Wriothesley swallows.
The Duke of Meropide is in a tough spot; he developed a crush in less than a month, and now he's having to hide these feelings so he doesn't end up chasing Aether away. But Goddamn, he didn't realise it was going to be so difficult! Why's he so much more outspoken and daring when Paimon's away? (And actually, where is Paimon?)
Aether takes a break and leans on his hand, staring at him. Thinking. Does he have something on his face?
"You have very pretty eyes."
"Well, thank you." He should've written out his will before he left.
The smile suddenly freezes, and those gorgeous golden eyes harden. Did he do something wrong? Did he offend the man somehow? All the previous warmth is gone from his face, and Wriothesley begins to panic. What does he say to remedy the situation? All the possible things he could say escape his mind- but it turns out that the new cold expression is due to the person pulling out a chair at their table.
"Hi, Aether."
There's an adoring smile on the man's face. Aether responds by rubbing his temples and letting out a big sigh. "Afternoon, Zhongli."
Zhongli's eyes dart to him, and narrow slightly. Ah. He should've known. Why didn't he know? Not many people would have the audacity to pull out a chair at a table with two people already conversing at it, even if they were good friends with one. He likes to think that he wouldn't, but at the same time, jealousy (and probably a bit of liquor, if it came to it) makes people do weird things.
Aether's slight frown is suddenly replaced with a big smirk. On the name of Furina, that is so unbelievably sexy.
"I suppose I should introduce you... Zhongli, this is Wriothesley. He's the Duke of Meropide, so a rather important person. Wriothesley... hmm. This is Zhongli, a regular guy. He works at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour." Well, Zhongli looks like he's just been bit by an animal. Wriothesley can't help but wonder if the man is slightly more important than he lets on, if Aether's comment got under his skin so easily.
"You keep making new friends wherever you go; I've always thought this, but it's very impressive."
"Really? Oh, you'd know the answer to this. Is it too early to order a bottle of alcohol?"
A laugh escapes Wriothesley, and Zhongli's attention whips to him. Suddenly, he seems rather menacing. Are his eyes beginning to glow, or is that just his imagination? The Fontainian tries not to fidget, or shrink, but Archons above, it's hard. Is this why the Traveller never takes men out? Because they all act like this?
Well, congratulations to him, then, for being normal.
"If you summon a meteor here, I'm going to kill you."
Sorry?
"Aether, why would I hurt a friend of yours?" The look in his eyes suggests that he absolutely would hurt a friend of his, especially if his name started with a W and ended with a y, and he just happened to have a fancy title to go with it. "Anyway, I have a bottle of Osmanthus wine at my house. It would be my pleasure to share it with you."
Aether pulls an object out of his pocket and presses it to his forehead. It looks an awful lot like a Snezhnayan Vision; he mutters something to it and then slips it back into his pocket. "Zhongli, and I speak for everyone when I say this- including Childe, who's here in spirit- no."
"Childe? Since when were you in regular contact with him?" Good grief, this guy is so jealous. He may as well be the next Geo Archon, he's so overprotective. The next thing he'll say will be something even worse, like You know other men?
Should he get involved? What can he even say? Will Zhongli spare him a second glance, or will he act like he's not even there, giving Aether nothing but his full attention and then some? (Which is fair enough, hey. He's only known the Traveller for two months himself, but if their positions were swapped, you can be damn sure he'd be the same. Well, not exactly the same. Probably.)
"Hey, Zhongli, we were trying to have lunch..."
"You can eat. Who's stopping you?"
Aether presses his lips together, firmly. Too firmly. You can laugh Aether, it's okay. He'll understand. Zhongli's orange eyes, which would look pretty on anyone else, do nothing but burn holes right through him. Distaste simmers underneath carefully formed sentences and gentle words. He picks up a pair of chopsticks and spins them in his fingers before easily stealing chicken from his plate.
No, not Aether's.
His.
Wriothesley can feel frustration starting to build. He's not stupid; he can understand unspoken warnings from a mile away. Everyone must be able to tell that he's a foreigner, even just by the fact that he's not using chopsticks. He wouldn't be surprised if they were secretly laughing away at him as he ate. Zhongli's just fucking showing off. How is this day turning so sour so quickly?!
"Perhaps I should reintroduce you two." Aether's face is unimpressed, and his tone is dry. "Zhongli, this is Duke Wriothesley of the Fortress of Meropide in Fontaine. This would be the man that kept Childe imprisoned and left me with this goddamn thing." He holds up the Snezhnayan Vision up to the light, and Wriothesley hates that his breath hitches when he sees the care that he takes with it, even though it belongs to one of the highest ranking members of the Fatui. Seriously, how head over heels can you get?
Cold, golden eyes flick back to the Liyuen. "And Wriothesley, you're looking at the man who got so sentimental that he gave up his Gnosis to the Eight Harbinger, Signora. Yes, that's right- Rex Lapis Morax himself. Let's see, what else did he do?"
"Aether, please-"
Relief overtakes Aether's face as he regains control of the conversation. "Morax can create Mora with his Gnosis, but forgot to save up before he gave it up. He made the poor outlander looking for his sister run around preparing a funeral for a man that wasn't even dead. Dragged a cute traveller into not one, but two big fights with dragon creatures. By the way, you're solely to blame for Childe."
He can't help but laugh at Aether's description of himself, who suddenly lets out a deep sigh. "Well, if I wasn't unforgettable before, I'm about to do something incredible. Wriothesley, give me your hand." Wordlessly, he obeys.
"Aether, what-"
"I hear Mondstadt is nice this time of year. Bye."
The traveller waves his hand, light dancing in his eyes, and then the pretty scenery of Liyue is gone, and- and yeah. They're in Mondstadt; in a tower above what he assumes is a statue of Barbatos. He turns to see Aether leaning on a familiar thing he's grown to associate with some kind of ancient civilisation. He's seen them all throughout his life, and they even exist in the Fortress. Sure, he noticed them turn blue and float a little, but he's obviously had bigger problems to deal with, and a couple of floating blue ancient things are not one of them.
Oh.
"You're pretty special, huh?"
He internally whacks himself as he sits down on the ledge, legs hanging in the air. That is like, the least smooth thing he could've said. And listen, he doesn't know what he would've said, but he could've said something different! Pretty special is just... it's just so casual. It's like something he'd say to an acquaintance. To a guard. A prisoner. Hell, even that Childe guy would warrant that kind of question. Not Aether!
"So I've heard. Do your guards know you're spending time with a criminal?"
"They know I'm spending time with you. You've served your sentence."
Aether laughs. "Oh, that's so funny. I forgot I was technically a criminal. It was so different to all the other times I've been chased by the law, so being a criminal in Fontaine was kind of like being on holiday." Well, he doesn't really have any words for that. It's true that the Fortress is a home away from home for some people, but why has he been chased by the law more than once?!
There's also something kind of funny about him, the man in charge of Fontaine's prison, falling for a criminal. A criminal that will probably break the law again, and seems to have no qualms about that- almost like he expects to. If Neuvillette hadn't sent him into the Fortress, would Aether have broken in to rescue Childe? He decides against addressing that.
"Okay, well, aside from that- how was your day before I dragged you off?"
His day? Awful. There are stacks upon stacks of paperwork in the drawers of his desk and he's behind on most of it. Right before Aether wandered into his office, a mischievous look in his eye, someone else had come in and given him more work to do, as well as announcing that Clorinde was coming in sometime that week (didn't give him an actual day though, of course not). And despite all his responsibilities-
"Boring, until you walked in." He tries his hand at flirting back. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to faze the Traveler one bit, who only smirks back, and sits down next to him. His hand brushes his thigh and Wriothesley can't tell if that was on purpose, or simply just a matter of adjusting his position. Those big, innocent eyes don't make it any easier to tell.
Either way, he wants him to do it again.
"I thought you'd say that. I was surprised that you'd abandon all your work for me, though."
"Oh, there's not so much." Is he really that transparent?!
"Really? That's not what your guards told me."
They snitched?!
"I'm a fast worker." Aether doesn't look like he believes him, with a half-smile on his face, but moves on easily and freely, fitting for the land that they're currently in. Conversing with Aether is so easy- they talk on and on until a chill hits him; his giddy happiness quickly turns to panic as he realises the afternoon has moved on and the sun is already beginning to set.
"Hey. Aether."
"Yes?"
"We're, uh- we're a lot further away from Fontaine now. It's going to take me a little while to get back..." The Aquabus lines only stretch so far, and the center of Mondstadt is not one of the places that they stretch to.
"Trying to escape me already, o' Duke of the Fortress?"
There's a poorly hidden smile in his words, but Wriothesley tries to remedy the situation anyway. "No! I just..." Remedying it doesn't quite go as planned. The sentence dies in his throat as he tries to figure out what to say.
"Don't worry. We can walk back."
Walk?!
The horror at the idea must show on his face, because Aether does actually laugh this time. "Why not? I walked across the deserts of Sumeru to get to Fontaine. Liyue isn't even that far away- what are you, a thousand years old? Put your back into it and start walking. If we get started now, we might make it by tomorrow night."
Well aside from the fact that most people go to Liyue in order to get to Fontaine, mainly to avoid trekking through the desert for hours at a time, he literally cannot afford to lose a day- even if it's with Aether. It's not like the paperwork will disappear on its own, and what if Clorinde actually does show up tomorrow?
"Aether-" Seriously, what does he say to convince him? He's not even sure he can get down from this tower on his own!
"Oh, I suppose you want me to teleport you back. Yeah, I could do that, I suppose."
"Really?!" Thank the Archons. Seriously. He might be a Duke and all, but he would be in really big trouble if he ditched for a day and a half.
"Sure, as long as you do one thing for me."
"Anything."
Hang on a second. Shouldn't he have hesitated before giving an answer like that? Because yes, of course he would do anything, but what if that comes off as a desperate? And he does actually hold a decent amount of power in Fontaine, so saying "Anything" holds a bit more weight than your average guy. There's a light smile on the Traveler's face.
"This is why I like you, Wriothesley."
Oh. Never mind then.
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Turns out the one thing is a gift for the Melusines, more than anything else. Very early this morning, he was asked to gather together as many as he could, and tell them that for one day only, they were free to stick stickers all over him. Of course, they leapt onto this opportunity, and he's faced with the knowledge that he'll have to put a lot of work in to scrub them all off.
A Hydro Vision would be really helpful in this situation, actually. Is it possible to trade them in?
Sure, he could just, not do it, but Aether said he'd come in today to check, and after finding out about his guards telling him (which he later scolded them for) about his workload, there's no way he's going to leave things to chance. So now he's sitting at his desk, covered in stickers, and starting to get real sick and tired of signing things. His nose itches. That's because there's a big sticker on it.
The words begin to blur together as the door downstairs opens and closes. Is that more paperwork, or Clorinde? He's not sure what would be worse at this point.
"Oh, you look as cute as I thought you would!"
He sits up straighter- how sweet of him to say!- as his heart skips a beat. Aether just called him cute~ that's easily the highlight of today. Which isn't particularly hard because he's covered in stickers and work has sucked! But it's easily the highlight and that's what he's going to focus on at the moment.
"Let's go to the Coupon Cafeteria, I'm interested in gambling." He's never heard anyone suggest that, ever. But hey, whatever Aether wants, he gets. (Except his sister.)
Meekly, he follows the Traveler out the doors and towards the cafeteria, ignoring confused and concerned stares from both prisoners and guards alike. The Melusines are dotted around the place, giggling away to themselves, and he can't help but let a small smile cross his own face at seeing their joy.
Their meal is short, and Wriothesley suspects that Aether just wanted to show the public his current state. Still, he takes the opportunity to ask the man about something he's been wondering about- his little flying fairy companion that apparently never leaves his side, has left his side.
"Tubby ended up telling me that I can actually lock people in the teapot. So I locked Paimon in the teapot. Just so we could be together, alone." So basically, he can never escape Aether's flirtatious nature; that's what he's learning here. But what the hell is "the teapot"?
"Oh... yes, I suppose I'll have to look at getting you an invite, won't I? I think you'll get along well with Diluc." Diluc... the Diluc Ragvindr from Mondstadt? Ah... Wriothesley decides this is another thing he probably shouldn't press the Traveler upon. After all, he doesn't want to end up in the same category as Zhongli, constantly getting pushed away.
Soon after that, they go back upstairs to his office, where he sees Clorinde.
Haha.
"What the hell is up with you?"
The first answer to pop into his head is I'm gay. He does not say that; he moves his hands in a meaningless gesture and says nothing. Aether starts to dig around in his bag, and pulls out a familiar device that he recognises as a Kamera. Clorinde's eyes move from him to the Kamera and then back to him. What is there to say? Isn't the answer obvious enough already?
"Clorinde, can you take a picture of us? I want to remember this moment."
For whatever reason, she chooses to cooperate, and Aether directs him into what he calls the perfect pose- pushing him back against the desk, and wrapping his own arm around his shoulders. His fingers lightly dance on Wriothesley's shoulder, and he suppresses the urge to freak out. He just has to hold it together for one picture. That's like, 20 seconds. He can do it.
She takes the picture.
Aether jumps off the desk, and immediately goes to investigate it. "You have a talent for this! Uh, I'm sorry to ask you again, but I just realised we need a second one for him to keep on his desk. Do you mind taking another?"
There's a sigh, but he suspects it's all just for show, because she readies the Kamera again without complaint. Wriothesley takes a deep breath. Twenty seconds. Easy.
His deep breath and steady counting does not prepare him for the quick and gentle kiss to his cheek. The flash goes off and Aether hops off the desk again, and all he can feel is heat on his cheeks and if he looks in the mirror, will his face be bright red? He laments the fact that not even his Cryo Vision can save him now as he watches Aether trace the picture lightly.
"Wow, Clorinde. You got it right when his cheeks turned red. That's amazing."
Clorinde nods in acknowledgement- as Aether finishes the compliment, he looks up, away from the photo. There's a sultry look in his eyes, and Wriothesley has to grip the desk, knuckles turning white as the man licks his lips, gaze suddenly dropping further down his body. He swallows, hard. Words don't even seem to cover what he's feeling right now- only need. The traveler holds up both pictures.
"Which one do you want to keep? Be honest."
A final, weak protest: "Which one do you want?"
"I asked first."
Of course he did. And of course he kind of knew that would be the reply he would get, so weren't his words all for nothing? A dance where Aether instinctively takes the lead and he's left following along? Someone once told him that his hair reminded them of a wolf- at the time, he was fine with the comparison. Doesn't it suit him and his position well?
No, not in this game. But, finally surrendering, he finds that that suits him quite well. Silently, he points to the one where he's bright red, covered in stickers. Eventually, he'll surely be able to look past it and focus on the fact that immortalised in that image is Aether kissing him. In the background, he can see Clorinde rubbing her temples.
A knowing smile pulls at Aether's lips as he leans in, his words a gentle whisper. It's a hard contrast to his breath, hot against his ear. "Oh Wriothesley. I knew you would pick that one."
And with that, the Duke's knees give way.