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When Scaramouche had traveled to visit Durin in Mondstadt, he had hoped to catch up with him and maybe spend quality time in the Knights’ library. What he hadn't planned was to “babysit” the entire time. Albedo had told him that the Knights of Favonius were extremely busy as of late and though he apologized, he didn't seem very apologetic because immediately after, he had placed him in charge of watching both Durin and Klee in his stead while he shut himself in his office.
He'd only met Klee once before today and that was all the way back in Simulanka when she had asked to play with Mini Durin. Back then, he didn't understand just how explosive she could be. Scaramouche had let his guard down for a single moment when Klee ran off with Durin towards the water's edge just to hear a loud noise and a surge of water rising into the sky. To his horror, that was enough time for her to teach Durin how to “fish blast.” He'd promised her that he wouldn't tell the knights so long as she didn't do it again, not that he would've but it was better she didn't know that. After that, he'd learned to keep a much closer eye on her specifically.
Now, they were in Windrise– the serene, calm hum of the area being abruptly interrupted by Klee's joyous laughter and Durin hurriedly chasing after her on foot. Scaramouche trailed behind them, holding his hat in place so it didn't blow away in the breeze. It was steady just a moment ago but now, with every step he took towards the tree, it felt like the wind was picking up. He was so focused on his hat, in fact, that he had to stop himself from bumping into Klee when she had run back over to him with her eyes staring up at him hopefully.
“Hey, Mr. Hat Guy! Do you know how to braid?”
The question freezes him in place in a way he hadn't expected it to and he further uses his hat to block his eyes. To no fault of her own, she had somehow asked the perfectly wrong question. “...I do.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Durin's confused expression but luckily, he doesn't mention it in front of Klee as she carries on without a second thought. “Yay! Can you braid my hair like my brother’s?”
Scaramouche's hands twitch at his sides, reminded of how he used to ask a very similar question to his mother all those years ago; it was only natural he thought of her since she had been the one to teach him but even so, it brought him irritation.
“Hat Guy?”
Durin's voice breaks through his thoughts, his worried look now worse than the last time he'd seen it with Klee looking confused back and forth at the two of them– her head tilted as she struggled to comprehend what exactly was going through either of their minds. With a quiet sigh, he walks forward and signals the two of them to follow. “Fine, come sit down.”
Klee instantly lights up at that and sits down on a nearby rock, kicking her feet as she patiently waits for Scaramouche to begin. Just as he begins undoing her pigtails, she's asking another question but this time not directed to him. “Big Brother Durin! Do you want Hat Guy to braid your hair too so we can all match?”
“Of course! I've never had my hair braided before..” Durin has a wide smile at that idea, trailing off thoughtfully as he sits besides Klee on the rock.
“Durin, hold these.” Scaramouche tosses Klee's now removed hair ties to Durin who catches them with ease.
As he begins to work on Klee's first braid, he makes sure to keep his hands steady the best he can, ignoring the unusual tremor in them that the memories had stirred. He gently parts the hair, trying to fall back into the habit he had long abandoned. It had been at least a century since he'd braided last, just before his first betrayal, but he'd already accepted Klee and now Durin's request so there was no way he could turn back now.
Around halfway through, his memory thankfully kicks in and he quickly wraps up with one braid. When he looks up from Klee's hair to get the hair ties from Durin, he's surprised to see the two of them deep in a conversation he had somehow tuned out while in thought. Instead of interrupting, he just extends a hand out and to his relief, Durin understands and gives him a hair tie.
He ties the first braid, internally cursing Albedo for having such an annoying hairstyle. His hands separate more hair for the second one, getting it done in half the time of the previous one. With both sides now finished, he holds the newly finished braid in one hand and unties the previous before holding them both and retying them together in the center of her hair.
This time when he glances in the kids’ direction, their conversation seems to have finished so he looks over his work one more time before speaking, “It’s done.”
Durin peeks behind Klee to admire her new hair, “Woah, that's really good! But… how is she going to see it?”
Truthfully, Scaramouche hadn't thought about that; there weren't exactly mirrors in the middle of an open field. Klee's sudden giggles grab his attention as she swiftly takes off her backpack and starts digging through it. She pulls out a flat Dodoco shaped item and holds it out, showing it off to the two of them.
“Mom made me a Dodoco mirror just for this occasion!”
Sure enough, when she opens up the small item, it reveals a compact mirror. Just how in the world did Alice come up with these things? Neither Durin or Scaramouche voice their thoughts on it but Klee doesn't mind, too busy admiring her reflection.
“You're the best, Hat Guy! I look just like Albedo.” Klee bounces up from her spot and grabs Durin by the hand to ‘help’ him scoot over to where she was prior, leaving Scaramouche reeling from the sudden compliment. The only other person who ever really complimented him was Durin so it was safe to say, he still wasn't used to it.
His hands fall back into the pattern of braiding, now for Durin, and he's once again reminded of his time with his mother. The purple hues of Durin's hair taunt him, a cruel reminder of what color his hair should've been instead of his natural indigo. Durin holds out the last hair tie and he silently accepts it, eyebrows furrowed in concentration but also annoyance at his unpleasant memories. As he ties the first braid, he can't help but stare at it for a moment longer as he thinks back to when his hair was long, just like Ei's, and she'd spend time braiding it in a similar fashion to hers.
After that, he'd spent countless hours braiding and unbraiding his hair over and over, desperately trying to mimic how she did it. Unhappy with his work and getting more frustrated when he ultimately could not do it exactly the same as she had.
An almost melodic breeze jostles the ends of his hair, reminding him that his hair is no longer like that and he is no longer there. Scaramouche exhales to no one but himself and moves on to the next segment.
“Hey! Mr. Hat Guy, do you like Albedo?”
If his thoughts weren't interrupted before, they were now. His hands falter as he quickly turns to gawk at Klee who was now standing next to him with a beaming smile. His head turns back to focus on the current braid, now restarting the second one due to his initial slip-up as he ignores the slight warmth in his cheeks.
For lack of a better response, all he asks is. “Why?”
“You replicated his hair so well! You must like him if you can copy it without looking!!”
Scaramouche clicks his tongue but says nothing else, tying the two braids just like he had done with Klee's. When he steps away, Klee excitedly points her mirror towards Durin to let him see.
“She's right..” Scaramouche makes a face so Durin clarifies further, “You really can copy his hair.”
“It's not as difficult as you two think it is.” He retorts, helping Klee slip her mirror back into her bag.
“Do you want us to do your hair too?” Durin speaks up and Klee instantly joins in.
“Yeah! We can all match and surprise Albedo!”
Arms crossed, Scaramouche answers dryly. “Let him teach you first.” The sentence doesn't have any real bite to it but besides the fact he knew neither of them had any braiding experience, he wasn't ready to go back to having his hair braided especially in Albedo's style.
Durin nods in thought, a hand on his chin. “It has been a few hours, maybe he's done by now.”
Klee jumps up and down in the air, arms extending outwards in joy. “Let's go ask, let's go ask!!”
He didn't mean this second but when he thinks to mention it, it's pointless, they're already too eager about the idea to convince them otherwise. Remembering what happened on their way here, he's swift to input into the conversation again lest he have to answer to Albedo or worse, the Acting Grand Master, for Klee's explosive tendencies. “We can fly there, it's faster.”
Initially, he expects Klee to fly with Durin as they'd been way more familiar with each other so when she comes running over to him with contagious glee in her eyes, he's taken aback with what she says. “Can I fly with you this time, Hat Guy?”
Without another word, he cautiously picks her up and begins to fly just high enough off the ground to where she couldn't accidentally kick the ground mid-flight. It wasn't often he took flight with anyone else but he'd definitely not flown with a hyperactive child; he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little worried about her getting hurt.
His expression must've given away his thoughts because Durin calls out, “Make sure not to give Hat Guy any problems, Klee.”
She nods happily, “Of course! I'll be on my best behavior.”
With that promise made, Durin and Scaramouche fly back towards the Mondstadt gates, his hands secure on Klee the entire time even with her word.
—
The short flight goes without any problems and the group safely makes it back to The Knight of Favonius headquarters in practically no time at all. Almost immediately after Scaramouche had released her at the top of the steps, The Spark Knight had run inside and was on her way to Albedo's office.
The other two were much slower in their ascent, Scaramouche acutely aware of the fact Durin had been silent most of the way back. He stops in his tracks, just before they get to the second part of the stairs.
“Alright, spit it out. What's on your mind?”
He looks surprised that Scaramouche had read him so easily but he recovers just as fast. “Do you actually like Albedo?”
On instinct, his face deadpans. “What? That's seriously what’s bothering you?”
Durin rubs the back of his neck, tail swishing behind him as he thinks about his words. “Well.. no, not exactly. You were just acting weird earlier when braiding our hair and I was wondering if Klee had been correct in her assumption, that's all.”
Ah, so he'd noticed that after all.
“That wasn't the reason. You shouldn't concern yourself with my problems.”
“You don't have to explain but.. you're my best friend. Of course I'm going to be worried.”
A light exhale escapes his lips as he nods, “Yeah, I know.” The weight of his memories still played heavy on his mind sometimes and though he did want to tell Durin some day, right now wasn’t the correct time.
“I'll explain to both you and Albedo eventually.” He only realizes the error in his phrasing once he says it.
“..Wait, so do you like Albedo?”
Scaramouche doesn't dignify that with a response, only making a noise of dissatisfaction at the mood shift and continuing up the stairs to Albedo's office as Durin tries to get an answer.
The door is already wide open by the time they finally get there, Albedo seemingly done with whatever he'd been cooped up in there for. Klee was sitting in his big desk chair, reciting some story about the day.
“Oh, Durin, I see Hat Guy must've done your hair as well.”
“Do you like it?”
“Of course. I have to say the braid work is very well done.” The compliment doesn't feel as good as Scaramouche hoped it would. Thankfully, the topic doesn't last and Albedo moves on, gaze shifting to Durin. “Well since I'm free now, I'll treat you two to lunch.”
Klee, pleased with that, rushes off again with her arms at her sides. Durin quickly follows, only to stop when he gets to the doorway. He looks back at Scaramouche once, as if he wants to add something. Scaramouche simply motioned for him to go, hoping that Durin wasn't still presuming he meant to tell him about a crush on Albedo.
Albedo clears his throat to help snap Durin out of his thoughts. “Best not to let her get too far.”
His eyes widen as he looks behind him and then further down the hall when he realizes Klee had entirely vanished. Swiftly, Durin hops over the railing and glides down to the first floor and out of sight.
With the kids now gone, Albedo redirects his attention to Scaramouche. “You're free to join us if you'd like.”
“What makes you think I haven't had enough babysitting for one day?”
Albedo hums thoughtfully, taking a step into his space. “You're still here, aren't you?” He observes his face before a small teasing grin finds its way to his lips, “Though according to Klee, maybe you're here for something else.”
Scaramouche's hand drags across his face as he groans in embarrassment, face burning at the implication. He opens his mouth to deny it all and clarify that she'd based it off a misunderstanding, prying his hand off his face only to see Albedo was now closer in proximity than moments prior.
The words suddenly escape him as Albedo speaks first, “Thank you for watching them today, I was able to get a lot done because of it.”
His hat is tilted ever so slightly upward and before he can question why, Albedo leans in and presses a chaste kiss to his cheek.
“I do hope to see you at lunch.”
Scaramouche barely catches his final words before Albedo is out the door, following Durin and Klee who are now long gone. His face flushed even more now as the kiss played again in his head.
He pulls his hat back down to block his face and is on his way to his unplanned lunch before he even has the chance to change his mind.