Work Text:
The office was buzzing with the aroma of coffee in the air on the morning before Christmas when Aether arrived, a box of ornaments in hand. A headband with reindeer horns was fastened to his blonde hair, which jingled softly as he walked to his chair. He placed the box on the chair and began to unpack the ornaments.
"Good morning!" Another blonde colleague appeared in the doorway, wearing a funny Christmas jumper and elf hat. Aether found his outfit charming.
"Good morning Lyney!" Aether turned and held a box of ornaments in his hand. "Can you help me put these on?"
Lyney hesitated for a moment, as if expecting something else, and finally just nodded. The blonde elf wanted to say more, but soon more of his colleagues gathered at the door, asking for ornaments, so Lyney was pushed far out of the crowd. Aether gave him a final nod and said they'd talk later.
Everyone joined forces to decorate the whole floor. An hour after Aether arrived, Lumine came in with the rest of the decorations. Lyney, with the help of Lynette and Freminet, secretly hid a few mistletoe among the decorations. Lyney had had a crush on Aether for months and this was a good opportunity for him to steal a kiss from him. If all had gone according to plan. But no.
The other workers quickly noticed the mistletoe and smiled at the little prank, lightening the mood.
The first person to stop under the mistletoe was Ganyu, as she leaned wearily against the wall with a pile of paperwork waiting to be signed in her arms. She was adjusting her glasses half-handedly when Keqing approached her at a fast pace, two takeaway coffees in hand. Slowing down for a moment, she kissed Ganyu gently on the cheek and kept on moving. The blue-haired secretary looked after her colleague in surprise, a deep blush decorating her cheeks. Papers almost slipped from her arms until Yanfei smiled and drew her attention to the mistletoe above her head. Ganyu chuckled softly at this, then kissed Yanfei on the cheek and went on about her business.
The second incident, which caught the attention of the office staff, would have been hard to ignore, with the noise it created, was Kaveh and AlHaitham. On his way to the office kitchenette, Kaveh bumped into one of his subordinates, AlHaitham. He could have spoken to him, but as usual the taller man was wearing his noise-cancelling headphones. He was less in the Christmas spirit. When he finished his coffee, he turned to Kaveh with the hot mug. His eyes spotted the green plant above his head, so when Kaveh glanced at him, Haitham placed a quick kiss on his forehead, hugging his waist. Kaveh froze for a moment, and by the time he realized it, AlHaitham was long gone. Puffing loudly, he berated his subordinate's childish behaviour for at least 20 minutes, to which the office chuckled.
The first proper kiss was given to Lumine. A few watched in surprise as the office's handsome blonde prince, Dain, kissed Lumine without hesitation. A few whistled, while the female staff watched the pair with rather amorous sighs. Lyney involuntarily sought out Aether with his eyes, wondering if they would have the opportunity to do so later in the day.
After a series of unsuccessful attempts, Lyney went out on the balcony to smoke in frustration. It was all his idea and he seemed to be the only one who couldn't get things to work. Aether ignored all the mistletoe when Lyney was around, always running up and down the corridors quickly with some excuse, his deer headband jingling.
Lyney pushed away the tick and started in. If only he hadn't.
As soon as he entered he noticed the crowd, his gaze caught on Aether's blonde curls as he kissed his shorter dark-haired colleague on the cheek with a smile,then a second later he was gone and spinning on. Something in Lyney's heart broke at the sight.
"While you're down here sulking, you're missing your chance." Lynette noted before sipping her tea. Lyney couldn't stand the office atmosphere any longer and preferred to have lunch in the cafeteria with Lynette. He couldn't believe that even her sister was bumping into other people under the mistletoe. In his heart, he would have called in sick and gone home.
They had hardly returned to the office when Lyney noticed Aether. The perfect opportunity was right nearby a mistletoe! Maybe if he directed Aether that way... But as soon as he had the plan all worked out, Aether was on the run. He sent a smile towards Lyney, ignoring the ornament hanging over their heads. Lyney wanted to call after him, but all that came out of his mouth was an "Ae" and Aether was out of sight.
Lyney sighed in exhaustion, lost in thought for a moment. It was only pulled back when Venti, who had passed by, gave him a kiss on the cheek, giggling as he immediately moved on.
The funny Christmas sweater hung unfurled on Lyney's chair, the elf hat thrown on top of the printer. Stupid habit! Lyney sat sulking in his seat, trying to bury himself in his work while all his other colleagues laughed and enjoyed the mistletoe scenarios.
The hustle and bustle of the office slowly died down and everyone went off to finish their Christmas shopping. The lights were still on at a couple of monitors. Lyney put the folders back in the cupboard, stopping under a mistletoe on his way back to his desk. Sighing, he leaned against the wall, disappointment getting the upper hand. He had planned everything so well and his siblings had helped so much.
"Lyney? Everything all right?" Aether looked at him worriedly, the jingling deer headband still on his head. Lyney nodded with a faint smile.
"Yeah, I'm just... tired." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.
"The mistletoe was a good idea. It brought people together."
"You- How did you know it was me?" Lyney panicked for a moment, but Aether just laughed at his reaction.
"I saw you put it on in the kitchen when I went to get coffee." Aether replied with a shrug. Lyney mentally kicked himself in the ankle for passing up that opportunity as well.
"Well, I'm glad if it got others together." Lyney cleared his throat. "At least they succeeded." He muttered under his breath. Aether tilted his head to the side and watched Lyney's face.
"Would you have liked to get under the mistletoe with a special someone?" Aether watched Lyney's face flush slightly. "Maybe next time you can." He tried to make his friend happy. Lyney turned his head back to Aether, trying to ignore the plant looming over his head, but involuntarily glanced up anyway. Aether noticed, his eyes followed Lyney's, and he saw that they were standing just below the mistletoe.
What happened next seemed to happen to Lyney in slow motion. Aether leaned closer to him, his soft pink lips, which Lyney had been watching for long minutes before, gently touching his cheek. Lyney froze for a moment, not daring to believe that this was finally happening. Before Aether could pull away, Lyney grabbed Aether's wrist, not allowing the blond man to move away. Aether noticed Lyney's reluctance and immediately put it together. Carelessly, he dropped the folder in his hand to the floor and leaned back against Lyney, this time straight to his lips.
Aether's free hand went to Lyney's face, holding his head in one place, not that Lyney wanted to pull away. He stood there frozen, pressed against the wall as Aether kissed him with a smile. It took a few seconds for Lyney to realize that Aether had actually kissed him. Once he managed to relax Aether only kissed him more fiercely, running his hand around Lyney's waist and hugging him closer. Lyney shuddered underneath him, slowly letting go of Aether's wrist, whereupon the other immediately laced their fingers together.
The clock struck six more slowly than usual. Aether pulled away, smiling at Lyney's dazed look as he composed himself.
"I'm sorry I overlooked your efforts." He pressed a soft kiss to Lyney's lips. "Still... I need 10 minutes to finish the job, but then let me make it up to you." Aether picked up the discarded folders, then put them away in the locker. Lyney's heart was still beating frantically and he couldn't comprehend what had happened. Seeing that Lyney was unmoved by the shock, Aether grabbed his wrist and led him back to his own chair. "Get dressed and wait for me here! I'll come when I'm done." Aether gave Lyney one more kiss on the lips and, patting him on the waist, went on to finish the rest of his business.
Lyney fiddled around until Aether was ready and returned about fifteen minutes later, dressed.
"Let's go!" Aether suggested, pulling his scarf a little lower from his face so he could kiss Lyney again.
Lyney turned off his computer and they left the office holding hands