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Aether wakes up at the crack of dawn, he was lead with most of his lovers, Rosaria hadn't moved an inch that night, he smiled as her nightmares haven't remerged since that night, Eula had moved further up his body her head now nuzzled against his shoulder. Aether tried to move but he feared he would wake up Eula who was asleep soundly. Jean slowly stirred awake, she looked at him with tired eyes and whispered
"Aether Dear... where are you going * Yawn* it's so early... come back and go back to sleep" Jean rubbed his arm, the contact made goosebumps appear
Aether smiled at her and gently rubbed her cheek; she leant into his palm and sighed happily "Jean I want too but I need to leave early"
Jean sighed then pulled his back down and hugged his tight, she kissed his cheek and told him "If I get to sleep in you need to stay until I do... ok~"
Aether eyes opened wide has he fell back onto the bed; he stroked her hair his nails gently scratching her scalp making her feel calm and content
"Fine Jean, I'll stay but not for long... ok~" he told her gentle snuggling her.
Jean sighed happily and thanked him , she nuzzled against his shoulder slowly drifting off again, Aether did not, he kept snuggling her and roughly 20 minutes later he gently and quietly get out of bed, he was surprised he could get Eula off him without waking her, she really was a heavy sleeper. Aether got dressed into his normal clothing and looked at the group of lovers and smiled, he tips toed his way to bed and kissed them on the forehead telling them all...
"I love you; I love you so much~"
He left the HQ and went back to his home to grab his supplies and wake up his traveller buddy and ' Guide' for this world. He shook the pixy, and she woke up, she wasn't in the best of moods that morning
" Aether why did you wake Paimon up so early! Did you know how much sleep Paimon got!" The pixey wailed as she stomped the air, Aether chucked and rubbed her hair
"I know and I'm sorry, but we can't get to Liyue so late Paimon, you can sleep in my bag when we go, I won't promise it will be a smooth ride however" he told her as he opened a cushioned pocket he stitched just for her
Paimon smiled and spun around the air clapping and smiling "Ok... Ok... Paimon agrees just make sure not to wake Paimon up too much!"
Aether nodded, as he gathered all his supplies he opened the door and walked in... a person, the Acting Grand Master looked at him her eyes stern, she reached over and pinched his cheek causing Paimon to giggle before covering her mouth, Aether winced in pain before Jean spoke
"Honorary knight! I gave you one order, stay in bed until I wake up, so tell me why I wake up and find up Missing!"
He had never seen Jean so mad before, he looked at the floor and told her, his voice filled with Guilt "I uhh didn't know how all of you would react if you saw me leave, I don't think I could stand to see you guys cry, so I wanted to Leave early so... T-"
Jean cut his off with a kiss rubbing his cheek gently as she did, Paimon covered her eyes with her hands, but spread her fingers spread so she could see the two lover's kiss
Jean pulled him through the door to see the rest of his lovers looking at him, some furious some slightly annoyed, surprisingly they all said in unison "What will we do with you?"
Jean grabbed Aethers hand and lead him down the steps to the group of his lover, their faces going from a face of mock fury to a warm smile, Lisa shook her head as she slowly walked towards him swaying her hips as she did, Lisa hugged him pushing his head against her breasts.
"Goodness Cutie what will I do when your gone, you need to visit when you can~" Lisa told the young man kissing him on the lips, not getting to intimate as they were... In the middle of the streets on Mondstadt.
Amber came up to him and kissed him, wrapping her arm around his neck as she did so, she pulled back and smiled at him, it made Aether skip a beat as he saw it, she was drop dead adorable
"I'm gonna miss you Aether, you're the only person I can compete against and the only person..." Ambers words get stuck in her throat "Only person I love and ever loved" She admitted Amber's face became just as red as her attire, making the man blush just as bright.
Aether looked away and covered his mouth as he told her "I'll miss you too... Amber"
Aether felt someone tap him on the shoulder, Aether turned to his left and saw Noelle, she stood there back straight, her hands resting on her stomach on hand over the over, in her polite and cinerite voice she began to speak
"Mind my impudence D...D... Dear..." from the mere notion of calling her ' Lover' Dear. Noelle stopped and blushed bright red her hands coming to her cheeks as she began to short circuit
Aether chuckled at the Maid which made her come back to her senses
“Aether if you ever in need a Maids service, please call Apon me!” she told him doing the knights of Favonius salute as she spoke
Aether smiled, he walked towards his rose and brushed stay hairs from her face and kissed her on the lips “I will Noelle, you are my most faithful and wholesome maid”
Noelle blushed once more and nodded scurrying back to catch her breath, Aether just smiled, it was the only thing he could do seeing him most wholesome lover in such a state.
Mona walked towards him and told him something she needed to tell him, she took a deep breath in and began to speak
“I may have used my scryglass to take a peep into your future and throughout your travels you will meet M any other women, who you will fall for and they in turn will fall for you even harder. This is what Fate had decided but please” Her voice began to tremble as she hugged him “D... Don’t leave us behind”
Aether looked in shock, less about the many more lovers part but the part where she thought he would leave then behind, hugged the astrologist tighter and kissed her on the lips, they sighed into the kiss their eyes closed, lips locked, Lisa seeing this giggled at Mona’s boldness and Noelle was on the verge of fainting
Aether broke the kiss and grabbed her shoulders wiping a stray tear that had fallen “Don’t assume just because I will love so many doesn't mean I will stop loving you, I love you all equally, if your heart breaks I will put it back together piece by piece until it was perfect”
He reassured her, all she did was flash him a smile and nod making her way back into the crowd, the Prinzessin walked towards him, flaunting her regular flair
“I the Prinzessin will hope to see thee again but thee vanishing from thy mortal life for many moons will not affect the Prinzessin but witnessing thee once again would be a wonderful sight indeed” Fischl told him one of her hands pressed tightly against her chest the over covering her eye patch.
Oz appeared and translated “mein Fräulein will miss you significantly and seeing you again would wonderful”
All Fischl could do is stamp her foot in annoyance, despite that she looked at the floor and nodded before shuffling back
Sucrose was in a rush that day as Albedo needed her for his research task, but she made her appearance non the less, she handed him 5 lime green potions and with a smile said “Stamina potions to make the trip easier”
Sucrose ran off waving him goodbye Albedo doing the same before walking off. It was a shame, but her pursuit of science will always be at the forefront of his mind. Barbara walked towards him, reached out her hands and grabbed his left hand, she looked up at him and beamed a smile.
“That dress, its wonderful and I’ll take a picture and get it delivered to Liyue as soon as I can” She promised with that same smile he loved so much
Aether rested his hand on her forehead, her skin was smooth and cold, it felt nice, Aether bent down and kissed her forehead, he put his forehead against hers and he began to whisper
“I will cherish it, now I think the church is calling for you, there are sisters tracking down there Precious deaconess”
Barbara nodded and walked away humming the song she had sang the day they got together
Eula walked towards him and looked at him her cheeks flushed, she bent down and whispered in his ear “Thank you Aether, you showed me that people for me more than I think, I may be part of a dishonoured clan but you taught me I have a place where I belong, if Mondstadt doesn't accept me, I know you will”
Aether gave her a warm smile as he hugged her... Then he kissed her cheek, then her lips making the knight blush brighter. He flashed her a smug smile and in a smug tone he asked
“Where is the vengeance you always speak off, do you have no need for it?” He asked looking into her eyes
Eula grunted and said gritting her teeth “Vengeance will be mine, Mark my words!”
Aether stroked the back of her head his fingers running through her hair as he said in a warm, loving and tender tone “That's my girl, now remember Eula, I love you so much, more than you know”
Eula got even more flustered, gritted her teeth harder and told him “Now I really will get my Vengeance!”
She stormed off but stopped momentarily, she looked over her shoulder, flashed him a smile and waved him goodbye blowing him a kiss to catch him off guard... Which did not work, it just made the man's smile wider
‘ Gods, I love her ’ He thought to himself
Finally, Rosaria, she walked towards him and hugged him, her chin resting on his shoulder giving them a heart to heart
Rosaria spoke, her voice much warmer than when they first met “Thank you Aether, you may not know it, but you saved me, you saved me from so much pain and torment...” She hugged him tighter nuzzling their cheeks together “Thank you...”
Rosaria kissed him, it was tender and thankful, words didn’t need to be spoken, him and everyone present knows he loved her, and knows she loves him just as much. She pulled away from the kiss and hugged him again.
The only one's present was Jean, Lisa and Rosaria, they all looked at him with love and longing, Jean walked towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders and began to speak as the Acting Grand Master
“Honorary Knight, I, Jean the Acting Grand Master of the knights of Favonius absolve you of your duties as a knight. But may you return to Mondstadt you may become a knight once more” She leaned forward and whispered “It has been an Honor to meet you and become your lover; I will miss you”
Aether smiled weakly and walked towards the gates, waving them goodbye, all his girlfriends would miss him so much, some considered going to Liyue for a ‘Vacation’ just to see him again but alas their duties came first...
Little did they all know, it would not be long until they saw each other again