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The dirty-blond-haired boy was busy working on an experiment, until of course, a high pitched voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Big brother Albedo, the Dodocommunication device is ringing!" The bubbly child dashed straight into his office, holding the device in one hand as she waved it around in excitement.
"Is that so?" Albedo chuckles softly, setting down the book he was reading before turning to face the child.
"Yeah, yeah! Pick it up, pick it up!!" Klee giggles, letting go of the device to let it levitate in the air, its glow steadily pulsating as it did.
"Alright, alright," Albedo smiles subtly, before reaching out to gently tap the top of the device as it began to beep in a melodious tune.
Dodo! Dodo! Dodoco!
After a few moments of whirring, the device seems to finally form a connection.
"Hello?" The two could hear the all too familiar voice on the other end, and Klee starts to bounce with joy.
"Big brother Aether!" Klee giggles enthusiastically, seemingly overjoyed to hear his voice.
"Klee!" Aether chuckles, and there seems to be an equal amount of excitement in his voice. "How have you been?"
"Klee's been good, but Klee misses you soooo much!" Klee pouts, and Aether laughs at her statement.
"Really now?" Aether asks, his voice playful. "Well, fret not your highness, the Honorary Knight shall be returning tomorrow, so we have a week till Christmas to spend together!"
"Big brother Aether is coming back?" Klee gasps at this, her eyes lighting up almost immediately, before hopping in place. "Yeah, yeah! Big brother Aether is coming back for Christmas!!" She basically bolts out the door out of excitement, ready to announce the news to the knights, or anyone she bumped into, really.
Her excitement causes the one on the other end to chuckle.
"Aeth," Albedo finally speaks once it's just the two of them over the line.
"Bedo!" Aether replies, enthusiasm evident in his voice, before chuckling. "I was starting to wonder if you were there."
"I didn't want to interrupt her," Albedo smiles subtly. "What's the other world like?"
"Oh, you have no idea." Aether laughs softly. "Funny how I went from wanting my powers back to concealing them upon my own will to fit in with the people here." Aether lets out a huff at the irony of the situation. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but not having elemental powers feels weird now."
"I can quite literally imagine life without a vision," Albedo ponders over the possibility.
"Easy for you to say," Aether chuckles, and Albedo can just imagine him rolling his eyes. "You consider it as 'nothing more than a beaker or crucible'."
At his words, Albedo raises his eyebrows in surprise. Aether had remembered his exact words, and here he was thinking that he hadn't been listening all those years ago. Perhaps, he should've known better.
"Dearest brother," another voice pitches in from the other end of the line. "Would you be ever so kind to stop talking with your boyfriend and actually pay attention to the scenery here?" Albedo can hear Lumine say, and it takes all of his willpower to hold in a laugh. "We're going back tomorrow, for archon's sake!"
"Lumine—" Aether tries to protest, but gets cut off again.
"Jeez, just admit that you miss him and we'll head back to Teyvat already." Lumine speaks again, clearly annoyed.
"Oh?" Albedo pitches in, his voice a playful lilt. "I didn't know you missed me so dearly." He teases, and can hear Lumine laugh out loud on the other end.
"BEDO, WHO'S SIDE ARE YOU ON??" Aether yells into the microphone, and Albedo has to lean away for a moment for the sake of his eardrums. "Hmph, traitor."
"Oh, my sincerest apologies," Albedo takes on a dramatic tone, as if to tease Aether even further. "However shall I make it up to you, my beloved knight?"
"You better give me cuddles when I get back," Aether replies, feigned annoyance in his tone. "Or I'm divorcing you." He says dramatically, earning a chuckle from the alchemist.
"Of course, darling." Albedo hums, clearly amused.
"...Love." Aether mutters, clearly embarassed.
"Ew, get a room, you two!" Lumine speaks again.
"Don't act like you're not buying five bags of souvenirs for Lyney, Lumi!" Aether finally decides to fight back, and it seems to be successful, as Lumine falls silent for a moment.
"Shut up and just actually focus on the trip, will ya?" Lumine changes the topic, and Albedo can already imagine the smirk Aether probably has on his face for winning against his sister for once.
"Fine, fine." Aether replies. "Well, I'll hang up now, Bedo." He speaks into the microphone again. "Maybe I'll call you when we're back in the hotel or something."
"Fine by me," Albedo chuckles softly.
"Love ya, byeee!"
"Love you too."
With that, Aether hangs up, and the device vanishes into golden fragments once more.
✧✧✧
The next day, Albedo is woken up at exactly seven in the morning by an overly excited Klee, who'd barged into his room and jumped on his bed, refusing to let him go back to sleep.
"Come on, come on!" She dragged him out of bed and towards the washroom, before pulling out a stool and hopping on. "Big brother Aether is coming today!"
"Klee, he said he was coming at ten—" Albedo reminds her, still very much half asleep as he stares at his reflection in the mirror.
"Klee knows!" She picks up her toothbrush before squeezing out some toothpaste. "But Klee wants to get some fish for him before he arrives!"
"You're going fish blasting? This early?" Albedo lets out a long yawn, stretching slightly before splashing water on his face to wake himself up.
Technically, he didn't need sleep. But Aether had always insisted he got at least eight hours. So, even after Aether started travelling to other worlds again, it had already became a habit for Albedo to go to bed. Not that Klee would let him stay up either, of course.
"Yeah!" Klee mutters with a mouth full of bubbles, before spitting it out and washing her toothbrush, aswell as gargling some water. "C'mon big brother Albedo, we don't have all day!"
"Coming, Klee..." Albedo picks up his own toothbrush, and he wonders how Klee has this much energy almost all the time.
At just about a quarter to eight, the two of them finished their breakfast, and were on their way to Starfell Lake.
Klee was speeding along the path, leaving Albedo to basically speed-walk after her.
Once they'd gotten the fish (and almost blown up the entire lake), Klee skipped the whole way back, humming a cheerful tune as Albedo trailed closely behind her.
The moment they walk through the stone gates, Klee bolts off towards Good Hunter to ask Sara to help her in making a meal for Aether for when he gets back, as a 'welcome back meal' as Klee had told Albedo.
And so the alchemist makes his way back to his laboratory in the Knights of Favonius headquarters, wanting to add some final touch-ups to the gift that he was planning to give Aether when he got here.
Switching the lights on, he lets out a soft sigh as he walks towards his desk, where notes and recipes were scattered all over, aswell as a single, brown drawstring pouch that stood in the middle of it all.
He crouches down to search through the drawers, before pulling out what seemed to be a gold lace ribbon. He gives the contents of the pouch one last check, before gently sealing it shut with the ribbon, and attaching a tag that read : 'For Aeth'.
He glances up at the time, half past nine. Aether would be here soon.
✧✧✧
By the time ten o'clock hits, Klee is adding the last few touches to her meal.
A slice of Fish-Flavoured Toast, two sticks of Mondstadt Grilled Fish, aswell as a plate of Woodland Dream and a glass of Wolfhook Juice, put together by Klee with the help of Sara and Albedo.
"There!" Klee drops the small mint leaf on the side of the glass beside the slice of wolfhook, a proud grin on her face as she hops off the wooden chair.
"It looks wonderful, Klee." Albedo chuckles lightly. "I'm sure Aeth will love it."
As if his words had some sort of summoning power, the very boy they were preparing this meal for walked through the gates, arms tucked behind his head as he basked in the languid sunlight.
"Big brother Aether is here!" Klee's eyes seem to light up at the sight of the Honorary Knight, and she darts towards him before knocking him off of his feet and onto the ground.
"Klee—!" Aether chuckles as Klee giggles, before getting back to her feet.
"Big brother Aether!" Klee cheers enthusiastically as Aether gets to his feet aswell. "Klee prepared a meal for you, come look!"
"Woah—" Klee grabs him by the wrist and drags him in the direction of Good Hunter, before seating him down on one of the wooden chairs before the table covered in food. "Hey, Bedo." He chuckles awkwardly as Klee takes a seat beside him, eagerly awaiting for him to take a bite.
"Hello, Aeth." Albedo smiles fondly, his chin leaning on his palm as his elbow rested on the table. "I think you should eat your food first, or Klee's going to burst of excitement."
"I think I should," Aether grins, before glancing down at the meal before him, choosing to take a bite out of the Woodland Dream first, then the Fish Flavoured Toast. "Mm, this is amazing, Klee!" Aether beams at her, seemingly content as he caresses the top of her crimson red hat, earning a giggle from the child.
"Yeah, yeah! Big brother Aether likes it!!" She basically hops off of her chair to do a little happy dance, before wrapping her arms around Aether, pulling him into a tight hug, causing the other two to chuckle softly.
"By the way, Lumine decided to head to Fontaine first to visit Lyney and Paimon decided to follow her," Aether states, taking a sip out of the Wolfhook Juice as he speaks. "She should drop by on Christmas."
"Noted," Albedo smiles fondly as he watches Aether eat his food.
After he's done with his meal, Albedo invites the two to his laboratory, saying he had a surprise for Aether.
Arriving at his laboratory, Albedo opens the door for them to enter, before switching on the lights.
"Ah, haven't been here in awhile," Aether takes a seat on the couch to the left of the laboratory, Klee hopping on and sitting beside him, cheerfully swinging her legs back and forth.
"It's a little messy, but I'm sure you're already accustomed to that," Albedo smiles awkwardly at him, and Aether gives him a reassuring nod as he walks up to his desk. "Here, I thought I'd get you a little Christmas gift."
"A Christmas gift?" Aether raises a brow, grinning out of curiosity as Albedo held out the pouch wrapped with a gold lace ribbon, before taking it. "Isn't there a week left?"
"Yes, consider it an... early Christmas gift." Albedo smiles subtly as Aether gently unties the ribbon, and glances into the pouch to see its contents.
A few multicoloured and vibrant jelly beans were sitting in the pouch.
"Jelly beans?" Aether lets out a chuckle, seemingly surprised, aswell as intrigued.
"They're so pretty!" Klee leans closer to take a look, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the jelly beans.
"Yes, but they aren't just any jelly beans." Albedo crosses his arms, seemingly proud of his creation. "Each one of these jelly beans has a function."
"Okay, now you've got me curious." Aether grins, urging the alchemist to continue.
"Well, I've infused each one of these with a potion, and fret not, I've made sure they're all safe, as usual." Albedo leans onto the desk with a subtle smile. "So, everyday up until Christmas will come with a surprise."
"I see, so I have to take one everyday, I'm guessing?" Aether takes a jelly bean out, curiously glancing at its bright red colour.
"Yes, the effect wears off after twenty four hours." Albedo replies, seemingly confident.
"Alrighty, I'll take one tonight, then." Aether chuckles, setting the bright red bean back into the pouch.
"Suit yourself, I won't force you if you do not wish to," Albedo chuckles along, letting his arms fall back to his sides. "After all, this is all just for fun."
"Eh, I'm pretty excited." Aether shrugs, seemingly interested in this whole gift thing.
"Then that's good," Albedo smiles fondly.
"Big brother Aether, big brother Albedo, Klee's bored!" Klee pouts, earning a chuckle from the other two. "Let's go out and play! Klee heard the knights set up some Christmas activities!"
"Christmas activities? Sounds exciting," Aether glances Klee's way, brimming with excitement. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
✧✧✧
The three of them end up having fun till the sun dipped below the horizon, signalling evening's arrival.
Klee had fallen asleep after many rounds of activities, and was carried back to headquarters by Albedo to rest.
"Well, she's fast asleep," Albedo closes the door behind him, before glancing towards Aether, who was waiting outside the door.
"Is there anything else you'd like to do before we turn in for the night aswell?" Aether grins at Albedo, an inquisitive look in his eyes.
"Honestly? No," Albedo admits as they begin to walk. "But I'm fine with anything."
"Hmm, how about we go for a walk?" Aether subtly reaches out to intertwine his fingers with Albedo's, a bright smile on his face. "To Windrise and back?"
"Sure," Albedo chuckles softly, giving Aether's hand a gentle squeeze.
So, as the sky was dusted a shade of purplish pink, they set out for Windrise. The breeze was calm, and it was silent outside the city, bringing forth a rather peaceful atmosphere as the two just enjoyed the comfortable silence between them.
✧✧✧
By the time it reached eleven o'clock, the two of them were back in Albedo's room in the Knights of Favonius headquarters.
"So, which one should I take?" Aether grins at Albedo, loosening the ribbon that kept it sealed, before glancing into the pouch once more.
"Pick one of your choice," Albedo chuckles, taking his coat off of his shoulders before hanging it on the clothes rack nearby. "Even I don't know which one does what, the colours were picked out by Klee."
"Okay," Aether smiles, before taking out a jelly bean that was blue in colour. "Well, here goes nothing."
With that, he puts the jelly bean in his mouth, Albedo watching in amusement as he ate it.
"Do you feel any different?" Albedo asks, his voice tinged with curiosity.
"No, but it tasted like wolfhook—"
Before he can continue, a puff of smoke engulfs him, and Albedo holds his arms up to shield his eyes.
Once the smoke clears, Albedo opens his eyes to find a cat that was yellow in colour, now in Aether's place on the bed.
"Oh my," Albedo's lips form a slight smile, as if he didn't know whether or not to laugh. "How very adorable."
Meow...
Albedo chuckles as he approaches the bed, before gently stroking the cat behind the ears. He'd expected this outcome — it was one of the many functions he'd added to the jelly beans.
But he certainly hadn't expected Aether to be this cute.
The cat seemed to relish in his touch, before reaching a paw out to attempt to hit his hand.
Meow.
"You said you wanted cuddles, right?" Albedo grins subtly, finding this a tad bit amusing. "Well, you're in the perfect form for just that, don't you think?"
The cat just wags its tail from side to side, seemingly a little annoyed that it couldn't exactly respond, yet finding this interesting at the same time.
And so, Albedo gets under the sheets, before reaching an arm out to bring Aether close to his chest, his chin nuzzling in between his cat ears.
Meow...
The cat just seems to relax in Albedo's embrace, purring softly. And so they call it a day, and fall asleep.
✧✧✧
The next day, Albedo isn't awoken by Klee. Instead, he found himself being awoken by the meowing of a cat.
"...Hm?" Albedo slowly opens his eyes, the morning sunlight beaming in through the windows as he found himself face to face with small, amber eyes. "...Are you filling in for Klee?" Albedo chuckles, still half asleep as he shifts slightly.
Meow.
The cat uses its paws to tap Albedo a few more times, as if wanting to wake him up, and to not let him fall asleep again.
"Alright, alright..." Albedo lets out a laugh, before getting up and gently scratching the cat behind the ears. "I'm up."
With that, the cat hops off the bed, seemingly gesturing for Albedo to follow as it strides out the door.
Letting out a yawn, aswell as doing a few stretches, Albedo takes his coat off of the clothes hanger before draping it across his shoulders, and heading out the door.
"Are you hungry?" Albedo smiles in amusement as the cat starts leading him towards the washroom, receiving a silent, subtle yet noticeable nod. "Okay, I'll make you food."
After freshening up, the two are about to head out when the door to Klee's room flings open, and she walks out.
"Good morning, big brother Albedo!" She greets enthusiastically, before noticing the cat that walked alongside him. "Hey, that cat looks a lot like big brother Aether!"
At her words, Albedo tries to hold in a laugh, as the cat seems to glance up and glare at him.
"That's because..." Albedo trails off, glancing back at the cat. "...It is, Klee."
"Huh?" Klee is about to be confused, as the cat comes up to her and starts to circle her, before she remembers the gift Albedo had gotten Aether. "Ohh, those cool jelly beans!" Klee finally recalls, before bending over and picking the cat up to hug it real tight. "He's so cute!"
Meow!
At the sight of this, Albedo can't help but let out a chuckle.
"Don't hug him too tight, Klee." He speaks again, amusement in his tone as he watches Klee continue to hug the cat, or well, Aether.
"Klee's going to invite him to Klee's tea party!" She giggles, arms still wrapped around the cat as it meows in defeat. "There're so many things we can do! Climb a tree, fishblast... Ooh, ooh! And—"
Klee starts walking off whilst listing the things she wanted to do while Aether was basically stuck in this form for a day.
"Klee, wait up." Albedo lets out a soft laugh as he trails behind her.
✧✧✧
By the time midnight strikes again, Aether has three ribbons tied to his tail, and a bow on his right ear.
Shifting back into his human form, he lets out a sigh in relief.
"Well, that was something." He lets out a chuckle, scratching the nape of his neck. The ribbons on his tail were now on his braid, and the bow was on the right side of his head.
"I can tell," Albedo chuckles along, reaching out to help Aether get the bow out of his hair. "How was it?"
"Well, if you count almost falling off a tree twice, and getting fed half-cooked fish fun, then..." Aether says with feigned annoyance in his tone. "Yeah, today was just... awesome."
"You've got to admit, it was quite funny." Albedo lets out a huff as he loosens the ribbons in Aether's braid, letting his hair loose.
"Shut up," Aether nudges him gently in the shoulder, before reaching into his pocket to get the pouch again. "You know what? Why don't you take one tonight? Then I'll take another one tomorrow."
"If that's what makes it fair for you, then..." Albedo lets out a laugh in amusement, seemingly considering the idea. "We have a deal."
✧✧✧
The next few days are spent turning into a variety of animals.
After taking the jelly bean, Albedo had turned into a finch, then Aether had turned into a fox, and so on.
Before they knew it, the 25th of December hit.
"Hold on," Aether pulls out the pouch again when Albedo finally changes back to his human form. "Didn't we finish the last jelly bean yesterday?"
"Yes, we did." Albedo chuckles softly, glancing towards the clock. Midnight was in two minutes.
"Huh, so nothing for Christmas then?" Aether grins at Albedo, a hint of disappointment in his tone.
"Well, I wouldn't say... nothing," Albedo arises from the bed, before walking towards the small desk to the right of his room, and kneeling down.
"Oh?" Aether raises an eyebrow in curiosity, wondering what Albedo had in store for him.
A few moments later, Albedo closes the drawer he'd opened, before walking back to the bed, and taking a seat beside Aether, his hands holding a small, white lace drawstring pouch.
"Let me guess, it's... another jelly bean," Aether chuckles, receiving the pouch from Albedo, before loosening the ribbon that sealed it shut, and it turns out he was right.
In the pouch, was a golden jelly bean, sitting at the very centre.
"Indeed, but—" Albedo smiles subtly as he watches Aether take it out of the pouch, its golden hue glimmering in the light. "—this one doesn't have any special properties."
"So it's just a normal jelly bean, then?" Aether grins, eyeing the jelly bean, before glancing towards Albedo.
"Yes, and it's your favourite." Albedo chuckles lightly, eagerly awaiting Aether to try it.
"Berry?" Aether raises an eyebrow again, and Albedo nods. "Aww, you remembered."
"Of course I did," Albedo smiles fondly, watching as Aether ate the jelly bean, before cupping his cheek with one hand. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't remember everything about you?"
"Oh, hush." Aether lets out a laugh, the taste of berries on his tongue as he wrapped his arms around Albedo's neck. "Merry Christmas, you idiot."
At his words, Albedo lets out an amused chuckle, leaning closer to place a gentle kiss on his lips.
"Merry Christmas, darling."