genshin impact imagines

aether | family addition

| pair: aether; child!reader (platonic)

| summary: aether finds himself unable to fix the mess he made on his hair. while babysitting you, you offer to help him out. aether fondly watches you with the eyes of an older brother.

| words: 619

| warnings: n/a

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“mister aether?” a young voice called out from behind the outlander, small and quiet, with a weak tug on the man’s cape. aether turns to look down on your small figure, a gentle smile on his face.

“yes?” he says while tugging on his braid, failing to untangle the strands of blond.

“your hair is very pretty.”

the sudden compliment from the child flustered him, the smile on his face widening before ruffling your hair softly. he whisper a bashful thank you, letting you be seated near him on the ground. whenever the young man fails to gather enough energy to accept patrol commissions, he takes up the easier ones, like babysitting you while your mother is too busy with knight duties.

not just because he’s tired, but also because he finds your presence calming—you aren’t as loud and annoying as the other children. *ahem timmie ahem*

“how did you learn to braid your hair? is it not hard to do so on your own?” your big curious eyes stare up at him, innocent and adorable. aether finds it hard to stop himself from squishing your cheeks in his hands.

“my twin sister used to do it for me,"—you notice his smile turn a little sad—"she taught me how to do it myself, but i can’t say i’m better than her, though. mine is not as sloppy as hers,” his smile brightens at the memory in his head. he can still remember lumine’s voice telling him that he sucks and that he still needs more practice.

you smile in relief when he seems to be feeling fine, thinking of a way to make him more relaxed. you’ve seen him run around a lot more than usual these past few weeks, clothes dirty, bags under his eyes, and the plaits on his head more dishieviled than usual—with hairs escaping from the messy tangled strands.

oh, that’s it!

“can i braid your hair for you?”

“oh! um— sure, go ahead!”

aether definitely did not agree because his fingers are aching from trying to undo the braid. his scalp is also complaining from how hard he’s been tugging and pulling.

it’s also definitely not because of the enlightened smile on your gosh darn adorable face.

he slid off of the tree trunk he’s been sitting on, letting you comfortably take a hold of his face. your hands were gentler than his, carefully undoing the tangled strands of blond from its braid and brushing through his hair after. he breathed a sigh of relief at the absence of pain on his scalp, leaning his head closer to your small hands.

“does it hurt?” you peek from above his head, mentally patting yourself at the happy smile on his face.

“not at all.”

with his reassurance, you start brushing through his hair, dividing into three strands and redoing his braids, but much more neat and not as tight. aether resists the urge to chuckle at the weak feeling of your hands gently tugging on his hair. he can literally see the concentrated look on your face in his mind.

the both of you kept quiet as you do your work, the only noise were the sound of birds singing their lullaby, the wind carrying people’s dreams, and the soft splashing of the pond near the both of you.

aether can see his sister in you—quiet and shy, but with eyes sharing the same determination to take care of your loved ones.

i’m sure they’d get along if they met each other.

“i’m done!” your enthusiastic voice woke him from his daydream, catching the way your eyes sparkled at your work.

“thank you, little one.”

yeah, i’m sure lumine wouldn’t mind another sibling.