Chapter Text
As the Cavalry Captain of the Knights, Kaeya must always prepare himself for the unexpected.
Sure, sometimes his last minute plans to expedite the situation might lead to some injuries here and there; and sometimes he’s unable to control the damage done to surrounding areas. Jean is always perplexed by his tactics, but there’s no denying the results that he gives her.
He works hard—perhaps a bit harder than he needs to. Putting in extra effort where it’s not needed always puts him in a sour mood.
That’s why, when he closes the door behind him and stands in his apartment, Kaeya can finally breathe. The world finally seems to slow down as he unclasps his coat and throws it onto a nearby chair before striding into his kitchen. He flicks on the lights, a gentle yellow glow filling his originally dark apartment, before pulling out a wine glass and a rare vintage he has stored away.
Normally, he would head straight to Angel’s Share after finishing his work, but Kaeya wants to avoid the crowd tonight. He’s sure Rosaria and Venti are probably wondering where he is. But all he wants to do right now is curl up on the couch, read a book, and maybe fall asleep straight after from the alcohol.
He tucks the vintage under his arm and grabs the empty wine glass before walking over to the bookshelf in his living room. Kaeya’s fingers trace over the spines of each book, his eye following the movement before he stops. His finger catches on one particular book before he pulls it out from the shelf and heads over to his couch.
Truly, Kaeya deserves this. Nothing more comforting than going through his tenth reread of Vera’s Melancholy. He always loves striking up a conversation with Jean about the things they’ve never noticed the first time reading, or maybe even during the fifth reread.
He seats himself on his couch, popping open the vintage and filling up his wine glass. Kaeya flips open the book, holding it in one hand while he holds the wine glass in the other. His eye begins to skim over the page, immersing himself in the world.
For a few long moments, it’s quiet except for the moments when Kaeya flips to the next page or he takes a sip from his glass. This is what he needs—a moment of quiet.
He rarely gets time to himself when he’s working for the Knights. Everywhere he goes, he’s bound to run into trouble, and trouble always brings about a loud and messy situation trailing after it.
Here in his home, he won’t be bothered by anyone. It’s after hours, and he’s not working overtime. It’s turning out to be a perfect night for Kaeya.
…Until there’s a knock on his door.
Kaeya freezes just as he’s about to drink the last of his wine.
He takes a moment to regain his composure. Surely that was just his imagination, right? No one would bother him at this hour. He makes a move to drink his wine again.
But then there’s another knock at his door!
Kaeya really wants to ignore the person outside, but he knows there’s no way out of it. They can clearly see his lights are on from outside, not to mention the almost desperate raps made against the wood from the other side. Whoever decided to come to his place must deem this situation important.
“So much for relaxing tonight…” he mutters under his breath as he stands up. The knocks at his door come again, this time even louder than before. “I’m coming, I’m coming! No need to rush me.”
He quickly shuffles over to the door, patting down his hair and smoothing out his clothes. He definitely in a sour mood, but that still isn’t going to stop Kaeya from looking presentable to his uninvited guest. He stands in front of his door, clearing his throat before unlocking it.
Kaeya puts on his best smile and asks, “Hello, whatever can I do for you—”
“Ack, Kaeya, we don’t have time for this. Let us in already!”
He doesn’t have a moment to prepare himself before there’s something, or rather, someone pushing him aside. Kaeya holds onto the door for dear life, his only anchor to reality. Getting his shit rocked at this hour when he’s only one wine glass in nearly sends him out of orbit. He shakes his head, trying his best to make sure the world stops spinning.
“What the…” Once Kaeya’s vision clears up, he finally takes a look at the person who so rudely barged into his home without even so much as a greeting.
However, it’s not just the one person that came in. It’s two. And Kaeya is all too familiar with the renowned traveler and their flying pixie companion.
“Close the door!” Paimon frantically says, waving for Kaeya to close the door behind. He does just as he’s told, only because he doesn’t want anyone outside to hear the commotion that’s about to break out inside his home.
“Paimon, Aether, you know I love you guys,” Kaeya starts out, pinching the bridge of his nose, “but why in Teyvat are you guys here right now?”
“We’re really sorry about that,” Aether says with a nervous smile. “But this was urgent. You’re the only person we could’ve come to about this.”
Kaeya is about to come up with some witty remark when he notices that Aether is holding something in his arms. It’s an item that he’s quite familiar with—the person who wears it has a penchant for wearing all black and doing things all on his own in the shadows.
He frowns, quest for a witty remark forgotten as he asks, “Why do you have Diluc’s coat?”
Aether and Paimon start laughing nervously. Kaeya folds his arms across his chest, raising an eyebrow at them. Something about this is a bit suspicious.
“Well, you see, funny you point that out…” Paimon starts out, pressing her pointer fingers together as she looks over at Aether.
“The reason why we came here actually has to do with Diluc…”
“Diluc? And why exactly did you guys deem me the most appropriate when it comes to talking about him, let alone dealing with him?” Kaeya nearly laughs, but nothing about the situation is humorous. Just from their tones alone, he can tell there’s something very wrong.
“Here’s the thing—“
Aether begins talking, but then he’s suddenly cut off by the sudden thrashing that comes from Diluc’s coat. Kaeya takes a step back in surprise. He failed to notice it earlier, but now that he looks closer and his head has cleared up from the alcohol, Aether has been carrying something in Diluc’s coat the entire time.
A voice comes from the coat.
“Hey, who is that? Is it Kae?”
Kaeya freezes in place. It has been years since the last time he heard that familiar nickname, and there were only a select few people who addressed him as such. Among the people who did, one claimed that they were no longer family as it was raining. Even the storm couldn’t drown out his screams of grief.
But to hear it now, not as gruff as this person’s voice sounded upon returning to Mondstadt, and instead in that same childish voice from all those years ago is—
Well, it should be absolutely impossible, yet there’s no denying that voice.
Still, Kaeya has the nerve to point at Diluc’s coat and ask Aether and Paimon, “Guys, just what exactly are you hiding from me?”
Paimon sighs. “Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag. Aether, just show him.”
Kaeya stands there waiting, keeping a close eye on the traveler as he slumps in defeat, bringing one hand up to uncover who is beneath the coat. His breath is caught in his chest and—suddenly Kaeya realizes that he’s nervous. He tries to tell himself over and over again that maybe it’s just some random kid that Aether and Paimon had bribed into pulling off this prank with them. He tells himself that it’s absolutely impossible for this to ever be a reality.
But the moment Aether uncovers the child wrapped in the coat and a blur of red emerges, Kaeya comes to the sudden realization that this is anything but a dream.
“Diluc…?” he calls out to the child. If anything, it’s to truly confirm his suspicions and nothing more.
The child has their head turned away, but their response is immediate, turning to face him. Large red eyes meet his single blue one, curious and full of wonder. Bright and burning with an ambition that Kaeya hasn’t seen in years.
And upon seeing Kaeya, he seems to immediately light up.
“Kae!”
The child—or rather, Diluc—squirms in Aether’s arms, as if attempting to free himself from his grasp. Aether struggles, trying to prevent Diluc from leaving. But Diluc has always been a stubborn child despite his beaming smile, and it’s not long before he’s nearly tumbling out of Aether’s arms. His landing is far from graceful, one side of his body colliding with the wooden floor.
Kaeya almost scolds him, also wanting to check if he’s hurt, but Diluc hardly seems phased. He quickly regains his footing, standing up and running over to Kaeya. The shirt that he’s wearing is far too big on him, almost like one oversized dress that drags across the floor.
Diluc laughs (he laughs for Archon’s sake!) as he runs over to Kaeya, latching onto his leg. Kaeya looks down at him in shock, not even able to shake him off even if he wanted to. Diluc looks back up at him and flashes him a smile.
“It’s really you, Kae! We found you!”
Suddenly, Kaeya feels a bit faint.
He really could go for a Death After Noon just about now.