Pushover | Aether x Reader

Four

Aether stared at the shopping list he had in hand, wondering how it had come to this. Just a day ago, he vowed to himself to try and follow (Y/n)'s advice. He vowed to say no to favors... however, that plan completely failed when his History teacher, Mr. Zhongli, approached him and asked him to purchase a few things for the classroom.

He was disappointed in himself; not because he put unnecessary things on his plate, but because he was sure that when (Y/n) finds out she will be incredibly disappointed in him. What if (Y/n) gets so irritated she stops being his friend? Aether didn't even want to imagine that.

He sighed to himself as he began to walk towards the exit of the school when he saw a particularly suspicious-looking figure walk out of the art room.

A beige-haired artist left the room with a photograph in hand. The way he held it with such care as he looked around him cautiously was what caught Aether's attention. He knew that Albedo was a frequent visitor of the art room, but why did he look like he was stealing something?

His gut somehow told him that it was probably something related to (Y/n), but then again he was just thinking of (Y/n) so that probably also wasn't true. Nevertheless, the blonde boy approached the beige-haired boy with confidence, ready to confront him if necessary.

But as he took step after step, Albedo seemed to walk faster and faster. The people around him speaking amongst themselves seemed to get louder as his consciousness worsened. His mind told him he was being a terrible person for being so nosy, but he remembered the saying everyone seemed to always get wrong, "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back."

Albedo turned around the corner in the crowded hall, and this is where he lost him.

"Where did he go?" Aether questioned under his breath as he skidded to a stop, looking around for any sign of the artist. "How did he disappear so quickly?"

Aether sighed in disappointment, giving up on the chase. He turned around, ready to just head back to minding his own business when a hand was placed on his shoulder.

He whipped around, ready to see the person he had been following when he meets eyes with a certain white-hair girl.

"U-Um... I hope I'm not interrupting." Ayaka looked at the ground, a faint blush on her cheeks. She seemed to be holding something behind her back. This was a common clichè confession scene in Teyvat High. Even Aether knew that.

"Not at all, don't worry." Aether gave her a smile. "Is there anything I can help you with, Ayaka?"

"N-Not really," Ayaka said quickly, voice going up to an alarming pitch. "Sorry! I'm just so amazed to finally see you up close! I've never had the courage to talk to you before! Here." She handed him her letter. "I hope it makes your day."

Aether looked at the letter in his hand before smiling back at her, "... Thank you."

This was his 345th confession, yet he was sure he still wouldn't be able to return anyone's feelings. After all, they only saw him for the facade he put up, not really who he was.

__________

"So, you just make your introduction about two sentences long, your content six sentences, and your conclusion two sentences max." (Y/n) smiled as she diligently wrote down the instructions on a piece of paper as a certain blonde girl sat in front of her.

"But these limits are absurd! How can I, a noble Princezzin of the Immernacht, reduce herself to such a ridiculous amount of sentences when her ideas cannot be contained to such limitations? The professor clearly does not know how to teach! If thy professor truly knows their craft, then the professor would not subject their miserable subjects to such absurdity!" Fischl protested.