Most AA chargers(even the cheap ones) charge each battery in parallel.

So, I
WOULD NOT short battery holders to speed up charging. It wont work that way
since each battery is energized in parallel. You would end up damaging the
charger. Also, please DO NOT use ordinary AA chargers fro Lithium
batteries(They require specialized ICs to control and monitor their charge
cycle). You may end up over charging the lithium battery and have severe
consequences.

How quickly the battery charges depends on charging voltage.

Most trickle chargers charge the battery at 0.1Q. That is, at 80mA charge
current, if we consider the cell in the picture. Generally it is possible to safely
charge a Ni-Cd or Ni-MH battery using currents upto 1Q. (Maximum charge
current would be 800mA for the cell in picture). Although you should avoid
maximum charge current because not all manufacturers advice 1Q charge
current.

What I would suggest you to do is to first consider the Q value on the cell you
want to charge. The total charge content of the cell(Q) value is calculated by

Q=Ixt

where Q= total charge content of the cell(ideally) I= maximum current the cell
can supply(ideally) t= time for which it can supply(ideally)

Q is always given on the cell in terms of mAh as seen in picture.

Grab a multimeter. Make a variable voltage source. You can build a simple
voltage divider using variable resistors(POTs) and a simple 5v wall adapter/ cell
phone charger. Set the output voltage of the voltage divider to 1.4V. Connect it
to the cell. Measure the current. Increase the voltage suitably to increase the
charge current. I would suggest 0.5Q to be safe(That would be 400mA for the
cell in picture). This charge current would charge your cell in 2 hours! Make
sure you disconnect the charger after 2 hours to avoid overheating the cell and
possibly venting it(damaging it).

Please pay close attention while quick charging.

Link: https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/36700/charge-a-single-
aa-battery-in-a-double-charger