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Aether couldn’t help but smile as Paimon eyed the food hungrily. The entire first floor of the Serenitea Pot had been converted into a massive buffet: containing all manner of foods from all the nations they had visited, all of them were lined up and prepared with the utmost care. A satisfied sigh left Aether’s lips as he finished preparing the drinks, everything was ready, now all they needed to do was wait.
A series of polite knocks on the door caught his attention, making his way over to it he couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face as the younger children of The House filed in, eyes lighting up when they took in the smorgasbord that had been prepared. The younger children were followed by the older: Lyney offered a smile, Lynette gave him a friendly wave, Freminet - like Lyney - smiled but his was more of a ghost of one.
Finally, he saw her: Arlecchino walked with practiced ease, but he could tell by her eyes she appreciated everything he and Paimon had done. He offered her hand a gentle squeeze: a simple but very intimate gesture from her perspective, something she reciprocated by squeezing his hand. Nothing was said between them as they joined the children in picking out their food and sitting around the mansion.
A serene calm made its way amongst everyone attending. The small pang Aether felt in his heart was overshadowed by how homely everything turned out: he wasn’t an otherworldly outcast, and none of the children present were spies in training, tonight they were just a family celebrating the birthday of someone they all held dear. Glancing over to the head of The House, he caught a small melancholic shimmer in her eye, they both were thinking the same thing: after tonight everything would go back to normal, and by the time they met up again it may be an entirely new set of children at his door. He grasped her hand in his and gave it a firm, reassuring squeeze, the sadness in her eyes left instantly, and the calm collected mask was back on, a feeling of understanding washed over his body at the sight.
A small shake of his hand brought him out of his thoughts, glancing down he was met with the wide eyes of one of the younger children. Despite how they were raised, the little one spoke with a small catch in their voice: “Traveler.. can you tell us about some of your adventures, please?”
“Of course,” he said with a smile, causing the child to smile back at him. Standing up, he put his empty plate on a free space on one of the tables and cleared his throat to gain the attention of everyone present. “I have some stories, if any of you’d like to hear them.” The response was instant as the children scrambled to put their plates to the side, all following him outside, eagerly chatting amongst themselves.
As they all stepped outside, they stood in front of a small fire pit that he made ahead of time, knowing somewhere deep down one of the children would be eager to learn about what he had been though. Lyney lit the fire with a somewhat dramatic flourish and a bow at the applause he received. With the fire lit, everyone took a seat as he began to tell his story.
His speech started out more languid and slow, as starting from the beginning made him think of just why he was here talking to any of them. Casting a glance to the side, he saw Arlecchino standing near the back of the group, but even from the distance, he could see the look of understanding in her eyes, she nodded at him in a way that said “take your time.” After moving on from the initial hiccup, he let himself get lost in the tale.
He - of course - started with how he met Paimon, or “The Best Travel Guide in all of Teyvat” as she proudly titled herself, arms crossed over her chest, as she floated next to him. A few chuckles left some of the audience after hearing about how he had saved the little Faerie, causing her to stomp her foot in indignation and usher him along to him defeating Stormterror. “He was bigger than a million Paimons’!” his small friend exclaimed, floating higher in the air and doing a flip to try and emphasize her point further.
Liyue was next, he told them how he came to blows with Childe, how he had managed to beat him. His recollection of the event caused some of younger children’s eyes to widen at the feat, some of the older ones arched their eyebrows, while Arlecchino offered a proud smirk. He told them of how he had saved Liyue but made sure to emphasize how he couldn’t have done it without the help of those he met along the way.
Inazuma followed and he tried to approach the situation carefully, as Arlecchino had told how La Signora had visited the House quite frequently, and while he had no doubt they had learned of her death, he didn’t want make any of them too upset. When he finally arrived at her death, he assured them that it was a quick one, something they all accepted with an unsettling ease.
Each tale was accompanied by Paimon floating and zipping around, adding an energetic “boom” or “swoosh” to liven up the tales. Smiling at his friend’s theatrics, he continued, and was about to start his adventure into The Chasm in between Liyue and Sumuru when he heard a yawn come from one of the children. The yawn caused a chain reaction, some rubbed their eyes struggling to stay awake, some were using each other as makeshift pillows, even Paimon was struggling to stay afloat.
A soft chuckle left his lips which turned into a smile as some of the older kids knew what to do: Lynette picked up two of the smaller ones and carried them into the house, Freminet and Lyney following her lead. Aether turned to the fire and put it out with a casual flick of his wrist a jet of water extinguishing it. He fondly patted Paimon on the back as she decided to latch onto his face, muttering about Sticky Honey Roast. Floundering a bit, he couldn’t help but sigh as a he felt Arlecchino gently grasp his hands and lead him inside.
Once they were inside, he saw Paimon gently be pulled away from his face by Freminet, he cradled her small form to his chest and took her to one of the downstairs rooms, returning a minute later as he very carefully shut the door. With all the younger children in bed he, Lynette, Freminet and Lyney went about cleaning up. It helped having two masters of magic as they didn’t make even the slightest noise, not wanting to disturb their brothers and sisters.
Arlecchino attempted to help in the clean up, but all four of them sent her a look that said “We’re doing it”, and he could tell by her eyes that while she was a tad put out, she knew arguing against them would be rather pointless and would keep them all up. An understanding nod and a loving “good night” directed at her children was what she left them with, as she made her way upstairs. With their combined efforts, they finished rather quickly, a sigh leaving all their lips as they did.
”Entering ‘sleep mode’,” Lynette said with a tired yawn accompanied by a long stretch, making her way to one of the rooms.
“Lynette, if you want to find something to sleep in there’s a closet in the room with something more comfortable,” Aether whispered to her, causing her to give him a lazy thumbs up as she entered the room. Lyney patted him on the shoulder as he made his exit.
“Thank you for doing this for all of us, organizing parties can be.. rather difficult.” Freminet said softly, causing Aether to wave his hand dismissively and smile.
”It all went well I think, spared you guys the trouble of having to do it. I’m just happy you all enjoyed yourselves.” the blonde said earnestly, causing the closed off boy to smile a fuller smile then before. A soft “goodnight” was what the diver left him with as he went about finding a free space in one of the rooms. Stretching and letting out a yawn, Aether glanced around the room one last time, wanting to spare Tubby any extra hassle, and, not finding anything out of place, he made his way upstairs.
A smile it’s way onto his lips as he entered his and Arlecchino’s shared bedroom: she was lounging on the bed, reading a book from the shelf that occupied the room, his entrance caused her to set the book down on the nightstand next to the bed and stand to meet him. She brought his hands to her lips and gently kissed his knuckles, the mask of cold indifference had left her face, instead being replaced by one of a tenderness she had only reserved for him.
”The children are all in bed, I take it?” she asked with an arched eyebrow, causing him to nod.
”Did you buy this?” the soft question caused his eyes to trail gently down her body. The “this” she was referring to was a rather soft looking red nightdress: nothing extravagant, the accents of gold going down the sides being the most stand out feature.
”I.. made it actually,” he admitted rather sheepishly, causing her to peck his lips lovingly.
”Thank you, Aether.” she said with sincerity, the use of his real name only adding to her words and how she felt. Pecking her lips, he moved to undress himself until he stood in nothing but his underwear. A small shudder left his lips as he could see the barely restrained desire in her eyes, but they both knew it wouldn’t do with all the children in the house, so instead she simply kissed his neck teasingly as she helped undo the braid in his hair, making sure to leave a mark.
Eyes lighting with mirth, he decided to repay her in kind as he moved to undo her hair, adding small rubs down her back as the braid came undone.
”You’re playing a very dangerous game, mon cher.” she warned, before closing her lips to hide a moan.
”I know you’ll make me pay,Peruere, in fact I’m looking forward to it.” he let his breath hit her ear as he said it. A chuckle left his lips as her response was to turn so she was facing him and pull him down with her as she fell back onto the bed. A content sigh left his lips as he rested head comfortably on her chest.
”But until then,” he said, raising his head up from her chest, looking her softly in the eyes, with nothing but love and adoration. “Joyeux anniversaire, ma belle lune,” he said sincerely. His words caused her to smile gently and run her hands through his hair.
”You allowed my children a day of normalcy, for that, you have my thanks.” her eyes softened as she spoke, closing the distance as she claimed his lips in a searing kiss. Moving one of her hands she used it to turn off the lamp on the nightstand, enveloping the room in darkness. The day’s events had caught up to both of them, as they both fell asleep quickly in each other’s arms.