#Kaeya is the weird one of the three

[leeryder]

Diluc and Kaeya doing their best to give Jean a pep talk after her mom’s expectations become a bit overwhelming

[woooyeahbaby]

Genshin men with a streamer s/o

characters: alhaitham, diluc, itto, tighnari, zhongli

warnings: mentions of stream viewers being inappropriate towards reader, diluc is veeery slightly ooc, i accidentally used the words stream/streaming like waaay too much lmao, gender neutral reader i think i tried my absolute best to keep gender and stuff out of it. if i forgot any warnings pls let me know!

Alhaitham

you never really told him, because you never felt the need to, plus you assumed he would’ve found out somehow. whether it was through the internet, or your setup in the room you two “never” used. you were surprised to realize that he only found out when he was reading and he heard you yelling at your chat. he came into the room, observed the situation, and left with no questions asked. it was kind of funny.

alhaitham never really bothers you while you’re streaming, after the last few times he heard you talking to your chat or gaming, he understood your schedule of streams and didn’t want to interrupt. but there was one time where he brought you a meal, and he didn’t show his face but he spoke three words and your chat went absolutely wild.

“BOYFRIEND REVEAL?” “pls say that’s your brother..” “OMG SHOW” and other things related to him filled the chat, which kind of made you uncomfortable at first but once you learned to ignore it, it was fine. after that, you told him and it kind of encouraged him to bring you more things during streams…

sometimes, you’d call alhaitham to your little “streaming room”, as you’d both call it, to ask him a question that was a large debate in your chat. because of how smart he is, he’d quickly reply with the correct answer. however, if it was just an opinion, he wouldn’t quite bother answering and he’d usually just leave the room.

if you have some obsessive viewers, or people asking for your onlyfans or something like that, if you tell him (or if he sees one of them while he’s secretly stalking your stream) he’ll immediately mute/ban them. oh yeah, he’s definitely a chat moderator for you, i forgot to mention. you offered it to him, and he didn’t mind the idea, so he downloaded the streaming service and boom, he moderates your chat now!

Diluc

he actually helped you start your streaming career! not to say that he’s tech savvy or anything, he just let you create the account and such, then advertised it everywhere. hell, he even told kaeya to watch your streams. diluc is very supportive of you!

he doesn’t quite understand it, both the concept of just watching someone play videogames or react to youtube videos live, but you’re his partner, so he’s fine with whatever makes you happy.

the only times he interrupts your stream is when he’s saying goodbye/goodnight or if he’s bringing you something. diluc knows how often you stream, both from memory and from your voice in the room next to him. your followers find his voice really attractive, and they definitely let you know that every time they hear him speak. sometimes you need to remind them to calm down, or you’ll tell them it makes you uncomfortable.

diluc occasionally comes into the room to see what you’re streaming, knowing full well he could just open the app but why do that when you’re right there? he’ll watch you game, or if you’re doing react content he’ll react with you!

weird people in chat? he tries his best to ignore them, but after the stream he’ll ask if you noticed what they were saying. he’ll be a little embarrassed that it made him so annoyed, but what else should he do? you’ll reassure him that the people that comment that type of stuff usually get banned or muted, and he’ll be somewhat okay with that information.

Itto

let’s be honest, he’d probably be a streamer too. but let’s do this in the case he isn’t a streamer. he’d be so happy for you! he’d be like diluc and advertise your account absolutely everywhere, it’s really sweet.

itto would pretty much be in all of your streams, whether he’s in the background watching whatever you’re doing or if he’s playing the game you’re streaming with you. but obviously, if you don’t want him to be he’ll leave you alone.. aka watch your stream on his phone and cheer you on in the chat. if you notice his chats, you’ll say hi and you’ll definitely hear him shout “YAY!!” from the other room, it’s cute.

your chat kind of makes fun of him for how accidentally stupid he can be, like for example if he asks a dumb question about the game you’re playing you’ll answer him sweetly to distract him from the rude chats. “what does he mean, ‘lol why would he even ask that of course the enemies are red’?” “don’t worry about it, they’re just being mean.”

if he sees somebody being disrespectful in your chat, such as being inappropriate or just being rude to you, he’ll either publicly shame them or just point them out to your moderators to mute/ban them. he’ll kiss your cheek every time he sees one of them, feeling bad that you have those types of viewers.

Tighnari

being an outdoorsy type of guy, tighnari somewhat dislikes the thought of going live for a couple hours and only playing videogames or reacting to videos for people to watch. he doesn’t understand it too much, but.. as long as it makes you happy, he can’t hate it.

he doesn’t show up in your streams much, the only time he ever will is when he’s bringing you food or if he’s just checking on you to see if you’ll be going to bed soon. he memorized when you usually stream, so he tries to get everything he needs from you before you get on your pc.

if you’re a little too loud when you’re gaming or whatever you’re doing, he’ll knock on the door or the wall to tell you that he’s a little bothered. chat will sometimes say “oh he must be fun at parties”, not realizing just how sensitive his ears are. you usually ignore those comments, knowing that if tighnari were to hear you talking about that, he’d be extremely sassy to your audience (you may or may not have experienced this once before).

your chat will definitely talk about how nerdy he is once they know more about him, which you aren’t even sure how they did that considering he rarely comes into the stream and rarely uses social media.. but when they do make fun of his dorky personality, it’s very lighthearted. plus.. they’re not wrong.

if someone is being rude in your chat, or inappropriate, he wouldn’t really know, because like i said he doesn’t check in too often. but if he somehow found out, he would sass the hell out of them. it’s funny, honestly. all you can do while he does this is just sit there and laugh until he’s done, then he’ll give you a little goodbye wave and leave the room. you know he feels proud of himself after that.

Zhongli

oh peepaw.. he doesn’t know aaanything about it. he’s been around all this time and doesn’t know anything about streaming. but he must support you in some way, right? he’ll ask hu tao about it, seeing if she knows about it at all, just so he can be a little more educated on your career.

be prepared for horrible backseat gaming. “oh no, watch out for the enemy!” “zhongli.. that’s my character..” zhongli is trying his absolute best to help you while you stream, sitting by your side and trying not to get dizzy as he watches your screen. it’s cute, and definitely sweet, you can’t deny it. you know he just wants to be involved with what makes you happy, but you can’t help but cringe sometimes.

if- i mean, when your chat is thirsting over him, it’s most definitely over his voice. perhaps it’s his face and such, but usually just his voice. he isn’t ugly at all, and your audience realizes, but daaamn will they go wild for this man’s voice! once he realizes, he’ll be very flustered, and try to talk less.

but if your viewers are being rude to you? ohh, no. he couldn’t care less if they were rude to him, but you? the love of his life? absolutely not! he’ll either ask you if there’s some way to have them banned, or he’d use all of his technology knowledge to privately message them and threaten them.

[theastrical]

you’re the only one who understands

what is it like to say goodbye to your partner without saying goodbye?

kaeya x reader

implied major character death, sudden death, teenage angst

notes: please listen to keshi-understand while reading this!! I promise you won’t regret it <3

it was around 7pm. sitting in front of your laptop, your eyes already red, probably from the exhaustion at your university….or maybe, the expectation to greet kaeya at this certain time, while you both have been in this long distance relationship for a while.

you texted him, expecting him to immediately reply, knowing that would happened, it’s currently evening in his area and he’s a night-owl at that, evening is his awakening if you might titled him.

“wanna facetime?”, you send him the text. you were already smiling by that time, just seeing his profile picture or his chat, makes your day…a much better hell.

i expected it, he’s online now…hmm and he’s typing! i wonder if he put my contacts exclusively outside his do not disturb notifications…well, we can wonder?

kaeya called…i guess he immediately knows it’s time, huh?

“hey..”, his voice raspy; sweet i thought. Though it’s weird that he’s tired, it’s still 9pm in his timezone.

“Why so tired”, a gap of silence, maybe he fell asleep?…or maybe his eyes are already sticky enough that it could easily closed down. “…hmm, a bit.”

“you sound raspy, ironic, you’ve always been the one to remind me to drink my water.”

“hey, even that reminder can be exhausted”. He sighs, you can imagine that he’s doing the facetime exactly in his bed, while all of his caffeine products are everywhere around the floor. Kaeya is nowhere near the word clean. He chuckles slightly, continuing his words with question. “Hey, when will you comeback?”

“i don’t know, summer break maybe?”, unsure, worried, and excited. Three emotions in combine, maybe he misses you?

“chonky misses you…and...that applies to me as well.” dang i miss chonky, his cat, his big chonky cat that always purr whenever a stranger pet him. He has no survival skill for sure.

“what? Why? you’ve always texted and facetime me as well..chonky should’ve been the only one to miss me, not you, silly.”

“i need somebody to talk to..”

“you can always text me.”

“no, like real person. Like you and me.”

“you make it complicated kae.”

“fine”, he sighs. You replied, trying your best to assure him despite how much of a bitch that sounds before. “sorry, i know you must’ve been lonely. Diluc says you’ve been bed rotting all day long.”

“Dang, he must’ve worked for you.”, he finally chuckles.

yet he continued his questions, he always been one to prey over small details.

“say, what if i’m going to another place tomorrow? Will you…just say, visit me before i leave..?”

“why not?”, he heard that word and chuckles. “Just say yes or no, please?”, with your ego out of this world, you mumble a quiet…”sigh…yes, i will..”

“then if i go tomorrow? Will you visit me?”

“where?”

“hmmm wanna make a guess?”

“Univ?”

“better”

“New job across the town?”

“even better”

“Fuck i don’t know kae..just tell me already.”

“It’s a secret, just come back already…i miss you so much.”, he chuckles while opening his camera. You can see how he smirks like a childish moron. “If you come back home, i promise i’ll let you see chonky with his tie again.”

“that’s a hard thing to resist urgh!!! Fine i’ll come back tomorrow, i think my siblings won’t mind my existence till next week. I’m free after all..” , you tell him while opening your camera as well and give him the picture of you just moving around the bedroom, you’re currently tidying up your place while in the call. “promise me you will okay? I have a surprise, you’ll love it”, he gives you the small sighting of a…present. A red box. “It’s for your late birthday, sorry i’m not much of a good boyfriend it seems”, he say that before closing down his camera and giggles like a maniac.

“you don’t have to act romantic in order to love me you know, let me thank you properly with a templated paragraph hahaha.”

“idiot.”, he replied shortly, you know he’s happy and that makes you all smiley. Your cheeks are red, yet he doesn’t seem to care for it…cause if he cares, then you would hide it from him. “I’ll end it now okay? I wanna sleep..chonky is being a rascal for making me run to catch him.” , you laugh, you know he’s tired so you just made a muffled “hmm”, before he says,

“i’ll see you tomorrow, goodnight..” he gives off a smooch and end it. You send an emoji to his chat instead. A white love emoji.

[name] 10.12pm : bye kaeya, love you.

he read it.

kaeya 10.18pm : 🤍

ring…ring…ring…

Kaeya? I’m here. Sorry i’m late…

ring…ring….

ring…ring….

kaeya?

your phone is ringing kaeya. Pick it up. I’m here, please call me back.

ring…ring…

20 miss calls from [name] 🤍

kaeya?

why are you so quiet?

It’s not like we’re distant.

i might forget to drink my water now.

I’ll miss you.

And i wish to understand you better,

before you eventually say goodnight to me.

you’ll always stay 21 forever now kae, but i’ll keep celebrating your birthday, even if nobody remembers you anymore.

notification: Today is kaeya’s 30th birthday, do you want to celebrate it? 🎉🎁

taglist: @esthelily @indarius @n0tamused @sangoqueenkoko @voidlesslove @lyralibra @eroxotckv @rikasurl @dailypenpen @daydreaming-paradies

to be included in the taglist, send me ur @ via askbox.

[kaeyapilled]

I’m pretty new to kaeya ships and I want to know how Kaebedo appeals to you!! /This isn't a sarcastic question I promise 😭

So far, the only ship I get is Rosakae because haha bi couple/girl that says bruhh x guy that says hiii

Do you have any recommended kaebedo fanfics? Thank you <33

i think the biggest appeal of kaebedo to me is the parallels between them. both are from khaenri'ah and were abandoned by a parent figure with an unclear mission on their shoulders and ended up finding a home in a place they fear they will have to betray one day. even without a romantic lens there is SO much potential here!!! they must know of each other's secret to some degree, there's no way they don't. they could form such a deep connection based on these shared origins. let them bond hoyoverse!!!!

its insane to me that kaeya and albedo have never exchanged more than five words in game when theres so much material to work with here.. especially because they DO know each other! the game tells us that! kaeya has an "about albedo" voiceline (Albedo, eh? Calm, collected, and incredibly talented. He's the type everybody likes, some even more so than others. What, you into him as well?), albedo doesnt have an "about kaeya" voiceline but he does mention him in one of his "more about albedo" ones (The time required to sketch portraits closely correlates with one's mood. I could spend half a day sketching Huffman, while I might only need three strokes of the pencil to sketch Kaeya — one for the face, one for the eyepatch string... and one for the eyepatch.) and, actually, pairing that with this

from a past event i think we can say it's implied that albedo draws kaeya fairly often. kaeya seems to babysit klee frequently, which is all the more chance for them to get to know each other more..... they live in the same region and have so many themes in common LET THEM TALK! LET THEM TALK!! kaebedo as a ship is kind of built from the ground up with just minimal canon content and our wild imaginations but hey. the potential is right there. also i think they look cute together. anyway, fanfic recs, you say? i have some<3

Calcium, Carbonate, and Other Things That Run Bone-Deep by Princeliest

Albedo comes knocking at Kaeya's office door, and asks Kaeya to kill him. All in all, it's the worst falling-in-love experience that Kaeya has ever had. (Albedo fears a lot of things. He's never reached out for help with any of them, but he's also never had anyone see him and reach out first.)

this is genuinely one of the best fics ive ever read in my life it's SO good. i kept rotating it inside my mind for days afterwards. and the kaebedo dynamic here is one of my favorite renditions of it too!!!!! like they cannot live through a normal love story it has to be weird when they are both involved. and this fic executes the brand of weirdness i expect from kaebedo perfectly. the characterization for both of them was really good. warning for some body horror but if you're okay with that it's part of the charm in this fic i really enjoyed reading those parts

this wordless dance, in the night by untunedviola

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Kaeya mutters into Albedo’s chest. Albedo pulls him closer. Gentle fingers thread through his hair. “You don’t have to.” He sighs. “I know.” Kaeya’s relationship with his mother tongue, his family, and Albedo develops in fits in starts.

i just reread this while searching through recs on my bookmarks and!!!!!!!!! this is THE kaebedo relationship study EVER. it's so good. its more focused on kaeya since it's from his point of view but albedo is a central crucial part of it. it explores their connection to khaenri'ah and the connection they could have with each other because of it SO well it's really amazing! the angst is delightful i love this one.

and you should check out this author's other works!! seriously the way they write kaebedo is like the best ever. i havent read all of them but the ones i have read were immediate favorites. untunedviola if youre out there

The Curious Investigation on the Investigation Captain by evesbeve

“This is not an invitation to spoil me,” Albedo says through a bite, a hand over his mouth. “As you have with Klee.” “I have no idea what you are talking about," Kaeya laughs. “Although… would it really be that bad, if I wanted to take care of you?” (Or: When Sucrose mentions that she's been worried about Albedo and his constant cases of zoning out, Kaeya takes it upon himself to investigate the situation.)

a lighter, fluffier work to make up for the angst of the previous recs. so sweet youll get cavities honestly. works to read while giggling about how much you love these silly little characters. bonus ragbros and other mond characters. really nice read!!!!

i wish i had more recs but i really dont. i need to read more about them honestly.

im deeply sorry for taking like three months to answer!! many such cases im afraid. i hope my kaebedo propaganda has worked on you or anyone else reading this

[mochinon-yah]

I just realized we all technically have the power to ask any questions on this site, and I never got to doing it. So....

[Points S.E.E.S evoker at you]

Who are the fictional characters you ship your mutuals to? Doesn't have to be necessarily their self-ship. I am deadass curious. Spill the tea, Imbibitor's lover—

We can lower that down, brynn- no need to get all aggressive now-

*cough* ANYWAY!

I'll list them down below, and if they're not accurate or you're actually gonna fight them rather than making out with the characters that i chose then yeah, that is probably my plan 😀 /silly

Oh and! I'll mostly be using genshin and hsr characters because yeah-

@beloved-brynn -> heizou and ratio. NGL, YOU + HEIZOU, OR YOU + RATIO, OR EVEN THE THREE OF YOU WOULD TOTALLY BE SO FUNNY AND CHAOTIC 😭☝️ they can counter your wild statements while also being the (somewhat) saner one but could also say smth wild as well. I could see you and one of em (possibly ratio) be like "oh yeah, the other day, i was eating my lunch while watching that gorey movie-" "what." "yeah, i was hungry at that time, so like why not yk-" (this is based on my real experience guys, guess which dialogue is me lmao)

@meimeimeirin -> hmmmm, koh zhongli maybe? Okay, let me tell you the reason why... it's simply because she NEEDS someone who can pamper her! I don't know where that conclusion came from, but yeah. Anyway, if we're talking about other characters, then i think welt, or even zayne from lnd could fit. Basically: "I need someone older, just a little bit colder." lmao (oh, mochi, did this conclusion came up because you know rin's the youngest in her family and now you ship her with men older (and more experienced) than her? whaatt... ofc not, haha-)

@leftdestiny-posts -> absolutely cannot see them with anyone other than dottore. Cute and kind but is secretly crazy "i want to watch the world burn" x The human version of the word 'crazy' "as you wish, my love" would be their dynamic, i suppose...? WAIT OH! I can actually see shiro with ayato or maybe sunday! I bet they would like such a cute, innocent-looking darling to control, but then they would get so surprised and maybe super interested into trying to control the darling despite how crazy the darling actually is- (shiro ily, if ur crazy then we can be crazy together 💐)

@navxry -> arlechinno, and maybe black swan. Yeah, that's it. No explanation needed.

@jessamine-rose -> hmmm, would it be weird if i say capitano? I don't know why or how did i get to that conclusion, but yeah. And maybe blade? IDK WHY I'M PARTNERING HER WITH CRAY CRAY MEN- SORRY JESS, I (subconsciously) THINK YOU CAN LIKE CALM THEM OR SMTH AJFIAWOF-

@stardust-for-your-soul -> funnily enough, i can see her with aventurine. They'll say sweet words that probably have a double meaning and also probably have a teeny tiny bit (maybe a lot lmao) of 'enemies to lovers' moment. (wow, cherry, your new bf is a gambler- /smack). But anyway, i could also see her be with march 7th who is so bubbly and sweet, and i'd think cherry would love to tease march hehe

@teabutmakeitazure -> ACTUALLY NGL DAN HENG????? He would listen to her ramblings and also help her write her fics. It just sounds so cute in my opinion lol. Other than dan heng (who is obviously the best choice), zuri would probably look into red flag charas, like... yeah, aventurine- but still tho, dan heng! But i get what zuri is thinking tho, red is such a sexy color- /smack

@harmonysanreads -> ngl alhaitham or kaeya would be cute if paired up with her! Idk where did kaeya come from, but when i thought about it, instantly "cute!". I think, harmony has this really 'weird' calming aura that could make those two charas just fell in love with how comfortamble she can make them feel. BUT LIKE IDK THO-

@fishanonishere -> Albedo...... i think? Fish, i know what you are- i mean like as in how chaotic and just how 'what in the world is this person thinking???' you are. With how calming and 'would jump into any interesting topic' he is, i think fish and him could be such a cute duo. Fish's ramblings and their drawings are some of the things that make him really interested in fish

[torgawl]

continuing my crepus posting, can we just talk about his delusion for a second? because even dottore thought it was unique. dottore was surprised for seeing someone wielding a delusion, sure, i assume it's not everyday you see that especially in that situation. that's normal, but saying specifically that it piqued his interest, calling it "perfect and utterly peerless", encouraging diluc to grow stronger and saying "i can see a bright future ahead of you"? a bit weird. so this got me thinking, what if this delusion is different than other delusions?

as we can see from the webtoon panel of crepus wielding it, there's two things about the delusion that we haven't seen associated to any others so far: chains and what seems like an alchemy circle. this delusion doesn't just hold elemental power, it can create something (or transform/manifest the power into something physical). we read somewhere someone referring to the delusion fire as "black flames" so probably the chains are embued in that power but the chains themselves don't look like fire. another curious detail about crepus' delusion is the way it interacts with ursa the drake, besides being the only thing able to drive the dragon away, it changed its eye colour from yellow to red! when the delusion finally backfired onto crepus, we can see that the air and diluc's hands after touching his father seem to fill with black dust. and maybe this is nothing, i mean, fire burns and what is burnt generally releases ashes but dust can also be tracked down to alchemy, more specifically the art of khemia (an advanced form of alchemy that sustained the underground kingdom of khaenri'ah). and do you know what's also different in crepus' delusion specifically? the symbol that appears on the orb.

unlike other delusions, it isn't the fatui symbol (or the elemental symbol, like the one visions have) but instead a big circle with a small circle inside it. that's literally the symbol that appears in alchemy tables!!! if you look at it attentively, it looks like a big circle was parted into three and they go around it like orbits. and is it a coincidence that three is a constant number appearing in genshin, including associated to three beings that are always drawn with similar symbols everywhere across the game, three moon sisters - a representation of the moon?

because there's other instances of circles within a circle drawn in the game. it reminds me of an eclipse like the one shown in abyssal moon spire (easily connected to the eclipse dynasty of khaenri'ah where the crimson moon was replaced by a black sun), the moon depicted in tsurumi island (that from what i understand got its hole after kapatcir descended) and the crimson moon that became an eye in perinheri (book about the crimson dynasty in khaenri'ah - the one that preceded the eclipse dynasty). khaenri'ah and alchemy possibly being tied to crepus' delusion doesn't sound so crazy anymore, right?

the insistence that crepus was a "mere businessman" by eroch and that being the reason they couldn't let the people know he saved everyone from ursa the drake (which led to diluc's resignation) also sounds like the perfect little detail to throw for some sort of plot-twist. yes, this is mostly my wishful thinking but also, what if crepus really wasn't just a business man? diluc got his "red dead of night" outfit from his father who had a ceremonial uniform tailored for diluc in advance and diluc modified it for battle. maybe that's where the resemblances with the fatui come from, as a way to go unnoticed or mix in during his time hunting the fatui. at least it's easy to discard it as something deeper that way. but i don't think it's such a crazy idea anymore to think of something crazier when we consider the ragnvindr's connections to the hexenzirkel (the teapots and diluc's jacket patterns being the same as the ones in the hexenzirkel cutscenes) and the fact kaeya was left purposefully at dawn's winery. again, maybe it could just be because the ragnvindr are a prestiged family but also, what if there's something else here? is it that impossible?

[nethercomfies]

🌼 So this is love 🌼

Pairing: Albedo x reader

Content: Pre-relationship, realization of feelings, just very soft, features Klee as well, gender neutral reader

Word count: 868

Note: *taps mic* Hello, hello, does this thing still work? Hell yeah I'm back, in true Fern fashion with some soft Albedo because that's my jam :) Hope you enjoy!

Albedo never really cared for love. It was a foreign concept for him that he only read about in books, but nothing more than that. Nothing worth his time when he's always so busy with research and experiments, and important things like discovering the truth of this world (Or at least discovering what that's supposed to mean.) Between all that, there's no time for butterflies and anxiety, and whatever else the romance novels describe. Not to mention, it seems like love makes other people act a little silly.

Like Glory, who sits there day in and day out talking about how she can't wait for Godwin to come home, when probably everyone in Mondstadt knows that the very man she was waiting now has been meandering just outside of town for months, too scared to come back due to stupid pride, even tho he knows that his fiancé is scared out of her mind for him. Or Timaeus, who scribbles love poems next to his alchemy notes and gets distracted all the time, not even noticing when the potions he was mixing are threatening to boil over. Love seems to make people lose all sense, so Albedo has decided that he's better off without it.

Maybe that's why, as the two of you grew closer, he didn't recognize the signs at all, despite having read and heard about them so many times. The infamous butterflies that make him feel weird things whenever you smile at him. The way he suddenly falls into a daze while working as well, breaking out of it only to find small doodles of your face littered all across his notes. Or how sometimes his every thought gets consumed by a deep desire to just wrap his arms around you and never let go.

But love is such a foreign concept, so far out of his grasp that surely, that can't be it, right?

It's an innocent comment from Klee that makes him question his feelings for the first time.

"Big brother Albedo?" she asks, looking up at him with big eyes as they're walking home one day.

"What is it, Klee?" He smiles down at her.

"Can we invite y/n to our picknick tomorrow? Please?"

Albedo is a little taken aback. Usually Klee deeply treasures their little family outings. She refuses to let anyone get between her private time with Albedo, to a point where she even rejected Kaeya's request to tag along once. "You really like y/n a lot, huh?" He asks with a small chuckle. "I never saw you try to invite someone along to our outings."

"I like that they make you smile. It makes Klee happy too", the little girl responds, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Also, they make really good snacks so I want them to bring some to our picknick." She adds it more like an afterthought, like it's only secondary to her other reason.

Maybe it meant nothing to Klee, but it leaves Albedo thinking. Does he really smile that much when he's around you? People have commented before that he only ever genuinely smiles when he's around Klee, but no one has ever pointed out the same with you. Although, now that it's been called to his attention... He really does feel a lot happier around you. There's something about you that makes it easy for him to let down his guard. It's a strange realization and he still doesn't understand the meaning of it, but he takes a mental note of it and decides that it requires further investigation.

From that day onward, you're always invited to the family outings with Klee and Albedo. It becomes perfectly natural, like you've always been there. Like it's always been just the three of you, exploring Mondstadt together, having fun little picknicks or arts and crafts afternoons.

It's on one of these days that the realization finally hits Albedo. You're sitting on Albedo's couch, Klee fast asleep in your arms while he makes a cup of tea for the both of you. Albedo watches as you run a hand through the girl's hair, a gentle smile on your face as she snuggles closer into your arms. The soft glow of a candle bathes you in a warm light and he's overcome with the familiar urge to join you, to pull you into his arms and hold you close. That urge has been getting a lot more frequent lately, and he was never able to fully make sense of it.

But at this moment, something clicks for him. The urge to be close to you. The thought of how beautiful you look consuming his mind. The smile still tugging at his lips. The butterflies threatening to burst through his chest. All the pieces fall into place and the realization hits him out of nowhere.

He's in love with you.

[ccaptain]

Becoming H:SR Kaeya's love interest, with all the pros:

- You think you're the experienced one? Get that sweet ego boost this boyfailure gives to you when you realize that he has no experience in flirting - Gets flustered easy - Very warm and soft to hold - Touch-starved - Looks like three whole snacks - A bit weird at times! But very emotionally supportive. He just wants to do good - His hands are gelid, and not a good sight, with the tip of his fingers going blue: it's a pro because you can't warm them up, but it's a good excuse for hand-holding - He has good intentions - Will fall asleep on you once he trusts you enough and if that isn't both humbling and cute I'll eat my left foot - Technically immortal? I guess???

Cons:

- He asks uncomfortable questions sometimes, but he'll apologize and drop it if you don't wish to answer it. He just wants to understand the person better - You can't heal him. You can't save him, because there's nothing left to save. You can just become a place where he feels better in. - Once you die, he'll never forget you. He ever forgets anyone that he met.

[mania-sama]

the difference between hurt and injured

Whiskey Lullaby - Brad Paisley, Alison Krauss

➼ 02 - the angels sang a whiskey lullaby ❧ Information (Summary, Chapters, Tags) ❧ Previous Chapter ❧ Word Count: 10,108 ❧ Cross-posted from Archive of Our Own

“You sleep late and wake up at early hours of the morning. No wonder you’re so crabby all the time,” Kaeya said when he slowly entered the kitchen, his speech pattern still a little slurred. The coffee machine howled loudly as it processed the coffee grounds.

Diluc rolled his eyes but refrained from saying anything. It would only serve to further enable Kaeya and his persistent teasing. He did, however, examine his brother’s appearance. The officer moved in small increments and was paler than usual, so he was probably feeling nauseous. A direct result of the Rohypnol the night before but wasn’t life-threatening in the slightest. Instead of being sick like a dog, Kaeya was likely experiencing common cold symptoms.

The owner tilted his head to where the main bathroom was located, which was connected to Diluc’s bedroom. “If you’re going to throw up, do it in there.”

“Ah, forthright as expected,” teased Kaeya. “I noticed the guest bedroom was locked. Desperate to keep me near you, is that it?”

Regret bubbled in his stomach. Not for their shared past as children, but for the fact that he offered to let Kaeya stay at his apartment. He’d forgotten how annoying the next morning was going to be. He replied with a curt, “No.”

“Oh!” Kaeya said while moving to sit at the kitchen table. It was small, rectangular, and wooden with one chair per side. The officer took a seat on a long side. The night before, Venti and Diluc had sat on opposite sides on the short ends. “I don’t remember a whole lot from last night, but if I do recall correctly,” he laughed, “there was a kid in your bar.”

Diluc scowled. “Kids show up all the time thinking they look old enough,” he replied sharply. Kaeya gave him a knowing look.

“He’s in the guest bedroom, isn’t he?”

The coffee was done brewing. Diluc took a nice, long breath and settled his aggravated mind. Pouring creamer into his bitter drink, he thought of how he wanted to respond. The situation definitely looked weird to any outsiders that didn’t know the full story, and a sudden realization burned Diluc’s neck.

“I’m not–”

Kaeya’s laugh cut him off. “I know you’re not. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make what you're doing less illegal.” The officer’s eyes trailed to the open door. Even though he knew Venti wouldn’t be awake for several more hours, the bartender clicked the door shut. Kaeya resumed talking once the action was complete. “I didn’t think you had it in you. You’ve always avoided children like a disease.”

“Get to the point,” grumbled the owner as he sipped his coffee. Kaeya scoffed.

“Fine, if you insist,” he said, giving a childish pout. Talking to his adopted brother wasn’t too dissimilar to talking to a young child. “How many times has this happened?”

Diluc sighed despondently. While he didn’t want to give Kaeya any more information than he strictly had to, Diluc recognized the position his brother held. “Including today, three. I don’t know where he stays otherwise.”

Kaeya nodded, a tan hand absent-mindedly running over his lips. “He’s a runaway, then?”

“I thought you already knew that,” Diluc accused.

“Just confirming,” said the police officer, shrugging. “Any good, self-respecting cop would’ve already taken him to a shelter or back to his home now.” Kaeya narrowed his eye. “You should be behind bars as well. Harboring a runaway is considered a felony in Mondstadt.”

Despite his logical brain knowing that Kaeya was leaving an empty threat, Diluc’s heart was nervous. Humans were made to empathize no matter what a person had done or what they were like. A primal instinct in people was to find the similarities in every being, and the owner of Angel’s Share was no different. It may have been cruel and may have not been, but he did it anyway.

“He’s an orphan, you know.” The amount of tension Diluc created with just one word was incredible. Kaeya, for the first time in his life, was silent. His usual fast-thinking was likely slowed by the aftereffects of the drug still, but Diluc considered it his personal victory in the conversation.

Slowly, Kaeya drawled, “That doesn’t change much of anything, does it?” Diluc stayed silent. “I was never going to take the kid, and I’m not going to arrest you. The streets are rough; it’d be too immoral even for me to remove his sanctuary.”

Kaeya stood up from his chair in a manner that made it look painful. A smile was on his lips, but it was obvious to the redhead how forced it was. “If I see him out there, I’ll have to return him home,” he said. Diluc understood that very well, and he also knew that Venti would suffer greatly in that scenario. “You’re going to have to do something eventually.”

He really didn’t want advice from his brother. It always managed to sound condescending, even when Diluc knew it was just his personal bias seeping through. Before anything impulsive came out of mouth, Kaeya clapped his hands. “As you well know, I have a sufficient eye injury that needs taking care of, then I’ll get out of your red hair.”

Once in the morning and once at night, an injection was needed to keep the eye from infection. For a very long time, Kaeya hadn’t been able to do it himself, needing help from either Diluc or their father to administer it for him. It had been when they were around fifteen years old that he was finally able to inject himself. At eighteen, the two brothers separated from each other. There was no question, however, that Diluc still kept the medication in his apartment. It was another part of their promise he had yet to break.

Diluc watched him open the door, still feeling the remnants of agitation. Kaeya stopped, hand on the doorframe. The bartender thought he was going to say something, but the officer simply resumed his pace. He left a crack of the door open as he left.

—

The text history between Kaeya and Diluc was rather depressing to look at. Mainly because every message sent between them was left unanswered, as well as being at least a month between each one. It was no surprise that when Diluc sent a text inviting his brother to see their father, Kaeya didn’t respond. He knew it was seen, though, despite the man not having his read receipts on.

Diluc stepped out of his car and onto the paved pathway. He’d informed Venti of his plans to leave for the day the night beforehand, because ever since the drugging incident, the kid had been staying at the bar before it opened. Not staying the night necessarily, just being in the building during the morning unlike before when he would wait for the bar to open in the afternoon. Since this new development, Diluc had taken to doing all of the ‘behind-the-scenes’ work for Angel’s Share to the bar so he could keep an eye on Venti.

Now that he wasn’t going to be there, he had to tell Venti. He couldn’t be seen in the bar alone during the day, not just for the obvious drinking problem, but for the fact that anyone could see him in the window. Luckily, the boy had taken the news well, and it ended up not being a big deal. A part of him still worried that Venti was going to pick the lock of the bar and break in anyway.

The sidewalk continued on to the back of the church, ending abruptly to favor dark green grass. Whoever kept the churchyard was doing a fantastic job at the very least. They kept it looking nice even as the approaching fall weather crumbled leaves and wilted grass. It really didn’t match the gloomy atmosphere of the cemetery that was placed on it.

Muscle memory easily guided Diluc through the graveyard, passing all of the other headstones and bodies that lay underneath the ground. His father didn’t have an extravagant grave, but it was a bit bigger than most of the others. That was what he wanted in his will, so that was what he got. If a day were to come that Diluc’s body did not remember the way to his father’s grave, he would still be able to find it easily due to its size.

Nobody was waiting for Diluc at the headstone. He expected as much; Kaeya enjoyed being fashionably late. Annoyance pricked at his chest, yet the melancholy of the graveyard evened his mood. He leaned down and placed the bundle of calla lilies in front of the stone, evenly matching the line where the grave and ground met. There had been other flowers before but  were eventually removed by the church due to their wilting.

He heard footsteps behind him, and he didn’t have to turn to know it was his brother. Kaeya stepped up beside Diluc and gently laid the flowers he brought: roses. He looked much better than he had a week ago.

It had been a concern that Kaeya wasn’t going to show up. Due to their lack of proper communication, he could never be quite certain what his brother was going to do. He could guess, and he could be confident in that guess, but there was no real knowing. Relief loosened a few of his muscles, but tension at the situation kept the rest of them tight.

A decade was a large amount of time in mortal life, yet stubbornness had kept the two from visiting their father’s grave at the same time for that long. His heart beat uncomfortably in his chest, unsure of what to do with his brother next to him. When he was alone, he would say a few words to his father. Usually it was about the wine business, or about how his month had been going. Sometimes, he talked about something as mundane as the weather or as significant as his mental state.

There was someone present to hear him outside of his father now. Diluc didn’t talk about his emotions to people– he’d been that way since he was a child. It only worsened after his father died and his brother confessed his secrets. DIluc’s mouth remained wired shut, and the only sound he could hear was the tweeting of birds in nearby trees.

“If I may ask,” Kaeya said, breaking the silence. His voice was back to its usual smooth timbre, lacking any slurring or croaking. “What’s so special about today?”

There wasn’t anything different. It was a sunny day with a few puffy clouds in the sky, and an early autumn breeze brushed through the cemetery. There was nothing in particular that set the day apart from all others, but that wasn’t what the man was really asking. Kaeya had always been one for cryptic questions.

“A few people changed my routine,” replied Diluc. It was more than that, truly, but he was willing to play by Kaeya’s rules just this once. Diluc had a harder time discerning and creating sentences that meant more or something different than the words used, yet his brother did it with ease. It wasn’t something to be admired, per se, but it was another aspect that set them apart.

Kaeya huffed but didn’t comment any further on it. Diluc was somewhat grateful for it; a cop recognizing the existence of a runaway was never a good thing, even if it was from an officer who wasn’t going to do anything about it unless he absolutely had to. The danger was still there.

The adopted brother changed the topic, though in hindsight it wasn’t much better. “They interrogated him, Karl Bierhals.” The name of the man that drugged his brother set a mix of anger and anxiety in Diluc’s stomach. “I watched the interrogation footage, and he simply admitted to everything he was accused of.” He laughed without any humor. “I wasn’t wrong when I said he was giving all the information I needed– turns out, he was hiding the wrong thing.”

Diluc could read between the lines on this one pretty easily. There was a layer of regret and embarrassment under his relaxed tone. It told the bartender everything he needed to know: Kaeya was blaming himself. That night when Diluc was pouring another Arnold Palmer, his brother stated that there needed to be more flavor in the undercover mission. It was probable that the officer had let down a guard so he could be surprised by something and be challenged. He obviously hadn’t expected to be drugged.

Comforting wasn’t his strong suit, especially when it came to the brother he tried to kill ten years ago. The image of a terrified, blood-stained Kaeya trying his best to fight back against Diluc’s rage-induced chokehold kept Diluc awake at night and haunted him during the day. A broken nose, several bruises on the neck and face, and an irreparable, shattered bond between two brothers was the result.

Now his recurring nightmare was of a dedicated police officer, who was too cautious for his own good, slumped over on a table and delirious from a drug he was forced to take. And yet, here Kaeya was alive in spite of the odds. Somehow Diluc still couldn’t find the words to tell his brother that it wasn’t his fault. He still couldn’t apologize.

Instead, his vocal cords chose to say, “He’d be disappointed in us, wouldn’t he?”

Crepus Ragnvindr was the name etched onto the gravestone in front of them. It was Diluc's biological father’s name and Kaeya’s adoptive father’s name. For a long time after his death, Diluc considered himself to be the only son Crepus ever had. At least something in him changed from all those years ago. He’d been able to invite his brother to see their father’s grave, and Kaeya was able to show up.

“That depends on how you would like me to answer,” Kaeya said with a breathy chuckle.

“The truth, if you can do that,” Diluc retorted sharply. He hadn’t meant to, but resurfacing memories combined with irritation had a tendency to brew tart words.

Kaeya made no indication the response hurt outside of a slight frown. “Old Man is rolling in his coffin right now, that’s what I think.”

He never could answer with a simple yes or no, even when they were children. It was annoying, but Diluc didn’t disagree with what he said nevertheless. They hardly got along even in front of their father’s grave, and the only reason they were even together was due to a third party. To say Crepus would be disappointed if he were still alive would be an understatement.

Diluc didn’t want to fight on top of his dad’s dead body, so he made the first move to leave. He didn’t say or wave good-bye, and neither did Kaeya. The police officer was left to stand alone at his adoptive father’s grave. The bartender, however, went to his car and turned the radio up loud so he couldn’t hear himself think.

—

The bar was empty when Diluc arrived back, which made sense since it was still a few hours before opening. The present he bought after he left the cemetery was safely tucked inside its case and the strap was clasped in Diluc’s right hand. His gaze swept over everything in Angel’s Share before he stepped on the first stair. The owner didn’t get any further, however, for he saw a head suddenly peak over the island counter.

Venti and Diluc made direct eye contact, and the bartender almost dropped the expensive present he bought. The kid had blood running down his nose and a swollen lip to match. His green jacket had dirt crusted on top of it and his braids were falling apart, yet he had the biggest goddamn grin on his face.

“Mister Diluc!” Venti shouted, teal eyes sparkling with unadulterated happiness. “I am so happy to see you!”

All of the wine cabinets appeared locked as they had been when he left in the morning. Nothing else in the bar was touched or disturbed. Venti’s presence had gone by completely unnoticed, but there he was with his face freshly beaten.

Setting the case gently on the ground, Diluc called, “What happened?” He quickly moved to inspect Venti’s face closer, ignoring the way the child flinched when he grabbed his jaw. Diluc tried to be gentle, truly, but anger was piercing his judgment.

“I think I did something you would be proud of!” Diluc’s mind was racing as he fished out a clean rag, wondering how getting beat up was something to be happy for. “I cut it off with a… bad person. He wasn’t very happy, and he punched me a few times, but I’m faster!”

Venti never ceased to amaze Diluc. “So you ran here?” The entrance had been locked when he left that morning. Judging by the freshness of the blood from Venti’s nose and his still-bleeding lip, the kid couldn’t have been at the bar for very long after getting punched. It made Diluc wonder just how fast he could pick a lock.

“Yeah. Are you… upset?” Venti asked, voice dropping about ten pitches. The bartender ran the rag under hot water. Then once it was sufficiently wet, he violently squeezed out the excess water so it wouldn’t drip over the floor.

He shook his head. “No. It’s not easy to break ties with bad people,” he replied honestly. “You did good, kid.” There was an amount of warmth in his heart from knowing that the Angel’s Share was someplace the kid genuinely felt safe. Unfortunately, Diluc wasn’t all for the sappy stuff, so the feeling made him a little uncomfortable.

If Venti had asked if he was upset at the dealer, then that would’ve been an entirely different answer. Anger had been simmering from the surface since before his meeting with Kaeya; he could go for punching a few criminals.

“You’re not even mad about the fight part?” The boy asked, eyes watching Diluc as the man wiped away the blood under his nose.

“You didn’t start it, so no. It would be hypocritical if I were to be mad, anyway.” He knew he was going to regret it the moment he let the words out of his mouth. Venti’s slightly nervous yet happy demeanor turned into a curious and excitable one. 

“Did you get into fights all the time when you were a kid? How old even are you? You look forty.”

Forty? No way he looks that old. It must just be a trick of the light, or the fact that Venti was so young. “I’m twenty-eight,” Diluc said incredulously. Venti laughed at him, narrowly avoiding a mouthful of warm, wet, and bloody rag. “But yes. I lived for two years off-the-grid. I fought a lot of drug lords and gang members.”

It had been an interesting time of his life, especially considering he was on the path to becoming a police officer alongside Kaeya. Looking back on it, Diluc thought he had just thrown a very large temper tantrum. That’s what his father would say, at the very least. Crepus had always believed family came first, then it was one’s dreams and aspirations.

“You were a modern-day vigilante! Wait,” Venti paused, staring at him with wide eyes as Diluc rinsed out the rag. “I need you to answer me this with one hundred percent honesty.”

The bartender turned and leaned his lower back against the sink. He raised an eyebrow for the boy to continue, but he was in the process of climbing on top of the island. Diluc’s third worst enemy showed itself: the unpredictability of adolescence.

Once he was safely on top of the island counter with his legs crossed, he leaned forward and asked, “Are you rich?”

“I’m wealthy, yes.” That wasn’t something Diluc could begin to deny. He only lived in an apartment because when his father died, Kaeya had inherited the estate while Diluc got the business.

Venti nodded seriously. “Do you have a butler that you can trust with your business?”

“... Yes.” In fact, Diluc had entrusted his butler, Elzer, to take care of the wine business and Angel’s Share while the man lived off the grid. Even now, Elzer still attended to affairs concerning the business that Diluc didn’t have time for nor wanted to do. It was more than a little strange that Venti could guess something as specific as that.

“Did you wear a mask while fighting crime?” Venti persisted.

Diluc was going to ask if Venti had seen him in Mondstadt at some point during those two years, but the kid would’ve been four years old. There wasn’t any way he could remember something like that, and besides, he’d only helped one person under the age of ten, and it had been a literal baby.

Hesitantly, the bartender nodded. He watched as Venti opened his mouth to presumably ask another question and quickly held up a hand. “I have something for you. If you ask another question, you aren’t getting it.” It was an empty threat Diluc wasn’t going to act on, but he needed a way to halt the conversation before it got out of hand.

The boy clamped his mouth shut and gave Diluc a toothy grin. He moved to retrieve the case he left at the bottom of the steps in his moment of panic. It wasn’t wrapped as he hadn’t had time to, but Venti should like it anyway. Diluc didn’t know how many presents Venti had gotten in his life, yet he had an inkling of a feeling that the amount could be counted on one hand.

Venti’s eyes widened when Diluc brought it to him as if he hadn’t seen it a couple of minutes ago. His mouth was agape as the bartender opened each of the locks on the hard case, lifting up the top to reveal an acoustic guitar inside. The body, which looked too big for the small boy, was made of some sort of pale wood, and the neck seemed too long for Venti’s arms. Diluc bought it with the intention that Venti would eventually grow into fitting perfectly with the guitar.

“I thought you could use an instrument to play with your songs,” he said, picking it up out of the case and handing it to Venti. The child shakily grasped it.

Nothing was said for a long time while Venti silently held the guitar like it was his lifeline. The kid carefully set the guitar next to him on the island. He hopped down from the counter and with glittering eyes barreled into Diluc’s chest. Venti’s arms wrapped around the middle of Diluc’s back and his young body wracked with sobs.

It’d been years since Diluc last hugged somebody. That was something else changed drastically when his father died; he became closed off and no longer let anybody touch him outside of strict necessity. Now here he was, elbows raised in surprise at the tight embrace a young boy had around his abdomen. Mixed emotions swirled in his mind as he tried to comprehend the situation. Slowly, as if Venti were a scared animal, Diluc lowered his hands onto the child’s shoulder blades and returned the hug.

“Thank you. Thank you,” the boy repeated. It was a pitiful sound, choked and produced in between cries. A guitar itself may not mean much to an individual, but to a child who never had a proper home, it meant everything.

He wasn’t sure how long it’d been when Venti finally detached himself from the man’s body, rubbing away the tears that had eventually stopped running down his face. The bartender was still a bit stunned from the interaction to do anything else but stare. He really hoped that wasn’t going to become a common occurrence between them.

Venti pulled the guitar off of the table and held it again, gently running his fingers over the strings. “Um, I have no idea how to play, though,” he said with flushed cheeks.

Leaning down Diluc pulled another object out of the guitar case. A flat hand-book containing a beginner’s guide to playing the guitar. Venti instantly started going through, eyes skimming over every page at an incredible rate. Diluc wasn’t sure if he’d seen any person more excited than Venti was at that moment.

“Mister Diluc… Do you happen to know anything about birds?” Venti asked, still firmly clutching the guitar in hands. The notebook had been set on the island once he was done looking through it. Yet again, children prove to be unpredictable. It was hard to keep up with.

The bartender nodded in the affirmative. “I had a pet Umbertail Falcon.” It had died four years back, and he hadn’t been able to adopt another since. She had been a graceful yet feisty bird, only bound to her owner by her own free will. The day she died had been one of the worst ones he had since his father passed. The pair of gloves Kaeya had ‘anonymously’ delivered to him the next day were hidden deep inside Diluc’s closet.

Venti grinned, entirely unaware of the still-lingering pain from her death. “I have one too! Sort of. Anyway, I think it's time you know where I’ve been sleeping, because I need your help,” he said. Ever since Diluc got used to the constant stink exuding from Venti, it was easy to forget he was still a runaway with no proper house outside of the occasional sanction found in Diluc’s apartment.

“Aren’t you still on the run from that bad guy?” Diluc asked, but he was already moving towards the door alongside Venti, who made the sorrowful decision to leave his guitar case in the bar.

The kid looked the man up and down before responding, “You look scary enough. As long as you don’t leave, nothing will happen.”

Diluc tactfully chose to not take the comment offensively. Diluc locked the door behind them, and the two started off down the street. The weather hadn’t changed at all from when he was last outside with Kaeya, so it was neither unbearable hot nor nail-biting cold. Perfect walking weather that settled the nerves that crept up on the bartender.

A lot of trust was being placed on his shoulders by the young boy, more than he thought Venti knew. After keeping it hidden for so long, Diluc almost felt like he shouldn’t know. The warning words of his brother rang in his ears and reminded that he had to find out eventually. He was glad it was on the kid’s terms, though, and not anyone else’s.

The owner of Angel’s Share kept a watchful eye out for suspicious or malicious individuals that may be the person that hurt Venti. Diluc could probably find them off with relative ease, given his history of fighting, but he’d rather not be snuck up on. If he saw them first then he could get Venti out of harm’s way faster.

Just when Diluc was starting to question if Venti was lying to him about where he was taking him, they walked into a small field in a corner of Mondstadt’s city limits. Unlike the cemetery, the grass was overgrown and yellow. Snakes enjoyed that kind of environment, so he made sure to watch his step. Venti’s pointed finger pulled Diluc’s attention to the main attraction of the field: a huge oak tree with luscious green leaves, still untouched by the impending autumn.

“There! That’s where I stay!” Venti shouted unnecessarily then broke out into a dead sprint. For apparently running from someone that really wanted to see him get hurt, he sure had a ton of energy. Diluc huffed and ran after him.

It was an impressive sight, the tree Venti lived in. Its branches provided the necessary shade to cool Diluc down after his sprint. Venti leaned against the tree, face red and sweaty but laughing nonetheless. For the first time in a long time, Diluc let out his own laugh. It was foreign to him, the light and bubbly feeling in his chest needed in order to make such a sound.

“I call it Windrise,” said Venti once he caught his breath. “And my pet bird lives here, too. Vanessa!” He called, hands cupped around his mouth to make his voice louder. A hawk’s shriek answered the grinning boy back.

That’s when Venti started to climb the tree, and Diluc was hit with the realization that perhaps Venti wasn’t so wrong when he called the bartender old. Watching the boy scurry up the tree like he was some breed of monkey, Diluc went through all five stages of grief in the span of seven seconds.

Once safely on top of a high branch, Venti called out, “What are you waiting for? She’s up here!”

Diluc felt that if he responded with the truth he would be mocked mercilessly, so he kept his mouth shut. Sucking in a deep breath, he placed both hands on the tree and dug his right boot into the truck. It took a lot longer for him to reach the same place, and once he got pretty close, Venti stuck out a hand to help him the rest of the way. Since the boy was twelve and thin with no muscles, the support he provided wasn’t physically helpful in the slightest. It did give a bit of comfort to know that Venti wasn’t judging him for his slow ascent, though.

“She might get scared by you, so just keep quiet and move slowly. Don’t touch her, either. She might have rabies,” warned Venti. Diluc furrowed his eyebrows.

“Birds can’t get rabies,” he informed.

Venti blinked owlishly. “Oh.”

The boy climbed up a nearby branch, and immediately a bird screeched. “Vanessa, it’s okay! I’m back,” Venti said in a placating tone. Vanessa, the bird’s apparent name, shrieked at him again.

Diluc eventually made his way up to where the boy was, pulling himself up onto the branch opposite so he could have room. Nested in the middle of the high-up tree fork was a large stick-made nest, and sitting inside it was the hawk it was likely made by. Vanessa looked Diluc straight in the eye and screeched.

“Do you know what’s wrong with her? She’s all puffy and hasn’t moved since yesterday!” Venti was obviously severely distressed by this, but the truth of the matter was much simpler. If Diluc hadn’t known any better, he would’ve chuckled at how silly the boy’s worry was.

Letting a small smile settle on his face, he said, “She’s fine. She is about to lay eggs, though.”

“What?” Venti exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise. Vanessa shrieked at the sound.  “I thought birds did that in spring?”

“They do. Sometimes they can just be a little late,” he said. That was the simplified answer, especially in consideration that there didn’t seem to be a male hawk anywhere. Venti hadn’t mentioned another bird, either.

Venti turned to look at Vanessa. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! Aw, the babies are gonna look so cute! I can’t wait to hold one!”

Alarmed, Diluc said, “Absolutely do not. Vanessa may like you but she isn’t domesticated,” the hawk shrieked in agreement with his words, “and she will attack you.”

“Boo,” Venti called but didn’t argue. Diluc couldn’t say he necessarily disagreed with the kid’s wants, though. Even now, with enough knowledge of and experience with birds to become a licensed professor of ornithology, he still wanted to reach over and pet the hawk. Vanessa’s type was the red-tailed hawk, arguably the most majestic and dignified type amongst the hawk family. It was difficult to resist such temptations as a grown adult; he couldn’t imagine how hard it was for a twelve-year-old.

The two settled into easy conversation about birds, mostly just Venti making incorrect assumptions or comments and Diluc correcting him. There were many things he’d done with or because of Venti for the first time in a long time, and talking about birds was one of them. Nobody really wanted to hear a bartender speak on subjects outside of alcohol or their job. Diluc had maids and butlers back at the estate that could entertain him on the subject, but he’d avoided that place ever since his brother inherited it.

It was peaceful. The way the wind blew through the leaves and branches made it feel like it was coming upwards instead of across, sticking true to the name Venti gave it. He understood why the boy liked it so much, now. The unclipped expanse of grass mixed with the dotted white and blue sky was beautiful, and he could imagine how the sunsets and sunrises looked.

A calm silence after their long discussion was brought by the easy-going breezes. It felt like a warm, fuzzy blanket made to entice young children to sleep. At some point, Diluc had closed his eyes and nearly drifted off into a nap before Venti suddenly called out in a reminiscent tone.

“Mister Diluc.” The sound of his name prompted him to open his eyes and blink the sleep out of his bleary vision. “When I die, I want you to spread my ashes around this tree.”

Just like that, the previous tranquility was dispersed like puffballs from a dandelion when blown on. Diluc sat up, the sudden strangeness of the comment alerting his still-muggy system. The boy across from remained in his laid-back position, but his eyes were glazed with a distant look. A lazy smile rested on his lips.

“I’ll be dead before you, kid,” he said tentatively. Diluc was twice the kid’s age, so that should’ve been true. A nervous knot clenched his gut and didn’t let go.

Venti ignored him. “Make sure I’m on a breeze, too. I want to fly like Vanessa and be free.”

There wasn’t a way to respond to that other than verbal denial. But Venti had already stopped talking and shut his eyes. Diluc got the feeling that whatever pitiful attempt he could ever make to console the boy would fall on deaf ears. Against the alarm bells screaming in his hand, the bartender laid back down as well and joined Venti in his attempt at sleep. Vanessa had gone entirely quiet as well, obeying the peace between the two humans.

It was hard to sleep when his heart was pounding, but he had nothing else to do besides his return to his apartment. He took the day off to get out of Angel’s Share, though, so going back so early would disregard the whole point. Eventually, dreamless sleep found him on the Windrise branch.

—

It appeared a natural-born musician was lurking underneath Venti and ready to burst forth the moment it was given the chance. The boy was able to make his own basic tunes within two weeks of starting to learn. Given how hadn’t put down the instrument since he got it, the development wasn’t necessarily surprising but was still impressive. The patrons at the bar loved it, too. Most were incredibly encouraging, and if Diluc’s eye wasn’t tricking him, he saw a little cash being slipped to the boy here and there. Anything was better than alcohol, so he let the transactions be.

Venti came into the bar one morning with a wide smile on his face and rhymes on his tongue. Diluc had been washing dishes he and his employees hadn’t bothered to do before closing up the night before. His mental guard was already up since Venti tended to rhyme in private only when he wanted something from Diluc or was up to something mischievous.

“Oh! Master of wine, master of bird. Many a story I have so heard,” he said easily, pulling his guitar case from where it was resting against the stairs. The two had come to the conclusion that it was too risky for Venti to take the guitar with him to Windrise for it might get damaged or stolen, so he left in the care of Diluc until he came back the next day.

The bartender frowned at him. “What do you want?”

“You think so little of me! I am wounded. Do you wish to be excluded?” Despite the over-dramatic hand on his heart, a playful smile remained on his lips. He climbed on top of the island and sat with his legs criss-crossed. The case rested in his lap without any attempt at being opened. Something was definitely wrong.

Waving a free hand in the air, he said, “Spit it out.”

“Do you remember a couple of weeks ago when you told me about your past and all?” Venti asked, dropping the rhymes but keeping his attitude. Unfortunately, Diluc did recall the half-interrogation of his time as a ‘modern-day vigilante,’ as Venti had put it. “Well, I don’t know if you knew this, but you are exactly like Batman.”

Diluc stared unblinkingly, unsure if he heard those words correctly. A giggle came from the boy, indicating that the bartender hadn’t misheard. “I’m not like Batman,” he deadpanned.

“Yeah, you are. Batman became a vigilante and worked outside of the law, just like you did. He is rich, just like you are. He wears a mask, and you did, didn’t you?” Venti listed them off, sticking out a finger for each one. “He also has Alfred, a butler he trusts with his life and his business! And you- you have your own Alfred!”

The boy was overcome with laughter, doubling over his guitar case as tears streamed down his eyes. He had a tendency to cry a little when he laughed for too long or for too hard. It was contagious most of the time, but the subject of the matter wasn’t the least bit funny to Diluc so he remained unaffected.

He was familiar with the DC comic superhero Batman, and Diluc could safely say they were nothing alike. They ran completely different businesses, had completely different personalities, and led completely different lives. The only other similarity they had in common was the whole dead parents thing, but that wasn’t something he was going to bring up.

Crossing his arms, he said, “I’m not… Batman.” The name was hard to push out, as it felt wrong on his tongue.

“Yeah- yeah you- you,” Venti was laughing so hard that he couldn’t get the words he wanted out. He took several deep breaths, attempted to start a new sentence multiple times, and failed miserably. Diluc impatiently for the child to pull himself together.

“Sorry, sorry. I just,” he cut his sentence short, gigged a little, then shifted to pull something out of his pocket. The pants he wore were relatively new ones that the bartender had bought for him just a few days prior. “I’ve been getting some tips at the bar, so I figured-” he giggled again, “-I should use what I have and buy this for you.”

Unraveling his crossed arms, Diluc picked up the object in the boy’s hands. It was a small Batman figurine, one that he had seen a thousand times at the general store. The price was probably ten dollars, maybe more or less than that considering the cheap fabric the cape was made out of yet had a generally good quality to the overall design. He never thought something so simple and inexpensive would be so difficult to buy.

After running his fingers over the action figure, he looked up and said, “Thank you. I’m…” He paused, not sure what to say. “Definitely not Batman, though.” After years of never giving personal gratitude to someone, he found it difficult to express what he felt. Therefore, his mouth decided to say the next best thing to come to mind.

Luckily, Venti wasn’t at all upset. He continued on with, “You know who would say that?”

Oh no. “Don’t say it.”

The child giggled. “Bruce Wayne.”

Diluc pressed his lips firmly together. Closing the figurine in a tight fist, he decided his pride could take a blow, just this once and just for Venti.

“And who is that?”

“Batman.” Venti exploded into maniacal laughter.

—

I have to try . Those were the words the bartender repeated in his mind when he heard Kaeya knocking on the window to Angel’s Share. He was doing this to set an example for Venti, he reminded himself sullenly as he motioned with his head for Kaeya to come inside the bar.

The officer was dressed in uniform with a walkie-talkie hanging on his left shoulder and his badge right under it. His walk was composed and his smile was controlled. That was the way he carried himself while working, and he failed to drop the act when he entered the bar. Or perhaps this meeting was a part of his job and he wasn’t just dropping by in a vain attempt at getting a free drink.

“Barkeep Diluc, what a surprise,” Kaeya said coolly. Diluc scowled. “I don’t suppose you can pour me one at this time, can you?”

“Angel’s Share is closed at this time. If you want a drink, go somewhere else,” the owner replied. People who drink alcohol in the morning are the people Diluc objectively disliked the most.

Kaeya hummed, taking a seat at the island. “The door was unlocked, though. Anyone can walk in if they are so pleased,” he said with a look that indicated he already knew the reason why. Venti hadn’t shown up yet, though usually by this time of day he’d already been at the bar for two hours or so.

“Say what you came here for,” Diluc demanded, crossing his arms. It was an unofficial police interrogation– he could already tell. In the presence of his adoptive brother, Kaeya didn’t go undercover, he just used fluffy words until he got under the bartender’s nerves. There were more than a few reasons why Diluc hadn’t tried to amend their relationship, and Kaeya’s sly and annoying attitude was half of them.

Kaeya huffed and placed an elbow on the table. “Impatient and won’t serve me any drinks. I don’t know how your bar remains so popular.” Diluc’s jaw clenched so tightly that his gums were starting to hurt. I have to try. “There was a murder of a middle-aged woman on Lawrance Street early this morning and the criminal is on the run. You happen to know someone who lives on all the streets of Mondstadt, don’t you?”

Diluc breathed deeply and repeated the mantra again. The police officer never says what he truly means, which meant that the question was open for interpretation. His mind chose to interpret it negatively, but replying angrily would only give the man more information than needed. He had to keep a cool head if he was going to get through this.

“A twelve-year-old like him couldn’t kill a woman,” he answered, keeping his voice level.

The officer’s eye narrowed. “No, but he could’ve seen someone.” It was with those words that Diluc realized what Kaeya was really asking for. He placed his hands on the inner counter to stabilize his balance, knuckles turning white from how hard he pressed.

“He’s not here. I haven’t seen him at all yet.”

“Then we can wait,” Kaeya countered. “A murderer is running the streets of Mondstadt, Diluc. The police make sure people are safe; it’d be a shame if I wasn’t looking out for the young ones as well.”

The implications were understood without being said. Kaeya wasn’t only waiting to interrogate Venti, he wanted to make sure he wasn’t hurt as well. That was the first thing he’d said all morning that they could both agree on.

Standing in silence wasn’t trying, Diluc thought as the two watched the door like hawks. He’d made a promise to himself and to Venti, and he intended on keeping it. Despite the frivolous words and insistent goading, Kaeya was doing a favor for Diluc. He could’ve arrested the man a long time ago for harboring a runaway– Diluc wasn’t the only one trying.

He began, “I need your opinion on something.” Kaeya turned back around his chair immediately, curiosity evident in his body language. “Should I hire a bouncer for more crowded nights?”

In reality, there was no better person to ask other than Kaeya. He had gone undercover in multiple bars and clubs alike; he’d interacted with a dozen and more bouncers and knew what they did for those establishments. The officer also knew Angel’s Share like the back of his hand and was aware of the tight community the bar had. However, he also had first-hand experience what an impact the increase of patrons could bring.

Kaeya took his time to answer, undoubtedly running over all the benefits and drawbacks a bouncer could have. Eventually, he came up with his answer. “Not right now,” he said. “If a fight breaks out, then consider it further. I wouldn’t break what you have built in the present.”

Diluc would’ve appreciated the honest and direct answer, the first one he’d gotten from his brother in years, had it not been for the Angel’s Share door weakly opening. A young boy stumbled in, his hair torn out of his braids and clothes completely disheveled with tears and stains. He slipped into the bar, the entrance shutting heavily behind, and took only two steps forward.

There was blood everywhere. Two knife-shaped wounds, one on his shoulder and another just below his collarbone, oozed an ugly crimson liquid onto his once green jacket. Venti promptly fell forward, landing harshly on his knees and hands before collapsing all the way down. Gut-wrenching sobs were the only sound the owner could hear.

At one moment, Diluc was standing behind the counter in shock. In the next moment his clothes were getting soaked by blood that wasn’t his own and shouting, “Call an ambulance!”

Venti, in between broken cries, managed to say, “You can’t! They’ll take me away!”

If they brought Venti to the hospital, that was exactly what would happen. They would take care of him and then report him to the authorities, and they would take Venti back to the system. Diluc looked up at Kaeya, who was standing over them with his phone to his ear and a horrified expression. On the other hand, he held the walkie-talkie to his lips and said, “Critical victim at Angel’s Share. No backup required. Jean, I need a really big favor.”

A response buzzed from the device that Kaeya didn’t answer. Instead, he started to speak to whoever was on the other line of the phone call. Diluc didn’t hear any of it, his ears only picking up the pained and blood-curdling cries of the stabbed child. Somehow, Venti’s begs for them to not take him to the hospital were worse.

Venti was moved so his back was lying against Diluc’s front, legs sprawled out at uncomfortable angles and body shaking in tune with his sobs. The man was applying pressure to the wounds, but the blood was seeping past his fingers at an uncontrollable rate. With his phone pressed between his shoulder and ear, Kaeya brought a wet rag and applied it to the collarbone wound. Diluc moved his hand out of the way and focused on the boy’s shoulder.

The scene was so familiar yet so different at the same time. Crepus was already dead by the time Kaeya showed up, and his brother had been useless to ease their father’s passing. Later that day, Kaeya revealed the truth about himself and his purpose in the Ragnvindr family.

Diluc watched his adopted brother through glazed eyes as he frantically spoke over the phone and kept pressure to the chosen wound, entirely unbecoming for a police officer renowned in his constant confident and conniving demeanor. Kaeya was helping. He was here. He was getting an ambulance to their location and trying his best to keep Venti alive. The only secret that remained was the one Kaeya had kept for Diluc for over a month.

Elements were similar, but the story was not the same, and it would not end the same. Venti was still crying and still alive when the paramedics showed up. Jean had come, too, and was saying something that Diluc couldn’t discern through the ringing in his ears. A blanket was wrapped over his shoulders at some point. Shock. That word pierced through his impermanent deaf world, but he didn’t know who said it. Multiple people, probably.

He was aware of the blood that drenched his bartender uniform and clung to his skin. Someone put him in a car, and the driver was someone he hadn’t said sorry to yet. He couldn’t see anything past his crimson-stained gloves.

—

“They’re investigating your apartment,” Kaeya said while getting into the driver’s seat.

Diluc frowned and sat in the passenger seat next to his brother. “Isn’t that illegal?”

“They have a warrant,” the officer answered with a wave of his hand. “It’s just to make sure it’s clean and livable for Venti. That will be the easy part; it’s the bar that’s the main concern.”

Venti survived, somehow. He had lost a lot of blood, but the knife hadn’t hit any vital organs, even though it was clear the murderer had been aiming for the heart. They managed to find the criminal that had murdered the woman and attempted to kill Venti. In most cases, there is a reason behind homicide. A motive, a reason, or whatever one wanted to call it. In other cases, there isn’t any, and the murderer is very simply put: psychotic.

The boy had no affiliation with the insane woman; he just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. According to him, the only reason he got away was because the woman had claimed to hear footsteps in the alleyway he was dragged into and loosened her grip on Venti. Upon investigation, there hadn’t been anybody else near the alley at the time.

The medical bill was covered entirely under the Ragnvindr name. In turn, Jean pulled every string she could to keep Diluc from being charged with harboring a runaway. It worked, but the rest of the situation went as disappointingly as reality often was. Venti would be entered back into the system after Diluc– hopefully– fostered him for the time it took to find him a new placement home.

Diluc couldn’t return to his apartment for the reason Kaeya had mentioned when they got in the car. The bar was being properly cleaned by professionals as well, which meant that Diluc got the absolutely wonderful opportunity to stay in a hotel for a few nights. He would’ve slept in the hospital, but they didn’t allow people to stay overnight.

The car ride was silent after that. He didn’t know what he was going to do if they deemed Diluc’s apartment unfit. Venti only had one person he trusted, and Diluc wasn’t sure how he was going to fair if they didn’t have a few more days together. He had an inkling of a feeling that Venti was just going to run away again, and there would be no one to shelter him on the rainy nights, to let him play guitar for a crowd full of people, or give him something to drink outside of wine.

Kaeya walked him up to the room he was staying in, which was a much nicer room than strictly necessary for one person. The officer was his escort since Diluc wasn’t technically allowed to drive with his mental condition. They didn’t say good-bye to each other when Diluc unlocked the door to the hotel room. Kaeya, for everything in the world, looked like he wanted to say something.

Yet he didn’t. Diluc sat on the couch of his apartment-style hotel room for the next few days. It was lonely and quiet. It reminded him of his actual apartment before Venti had shoved his way into his life. There wasn’t anything personal in the master bedroom. It lacked a large, ornate vase that didn’t match anything else in the room. There wasn’t a batman figurine propped up on his nightstand.

—

A splitting headache greeted Diluc the moment he woke up. The time on his phone read to be seven o’ clock in the morning, an hour past when he usually woke up. Diluc blamed it on the stress– he’d been waking up a little later every day since Venti had been placed in his apartment. Everything had to be perfect, from letting the boy feel safe and comfortable to making sure he hadn’t escaped the apartment while Diluc was bartending.

There was also a decision he’d been mulling over for quite some time. He had only two legal options available to him; adopt or let Venti go. Unfortunately, Venti had been uncharacteristically silent for the past week he’d been staying at the apartment, the only noise he ever made being the sound of his guitar. It had to do with the physical and mental trauma of the event and their eventual forced parting, but it also meant he wasn’t able to get the boy’s opinion on the matter.

Kids didn’t like Diluc, and Diluc certainly didn’t like kids. Venti somehow stepped out of this majority, passed all of the barriers Diluc had set up, and changed his life for forever. He didn’t want to let go of Venti so easily. 

The fact of the matter was that he wasn’t well-equipped to raise another human being. Diluc had a multitude of his own problems, and the fact that he lived on top of a bar was not helping the matter. The kid had stopped drinking at some point, had started to get rid of nasty habits and heal from past wounds. Teenage years and adolescent angst could ruin that progress in a snap, and Diluc wasn’t sure if he could handle it. He wasn’t ready to be a father.

Unfortunately, his routine morning shower hadn’t relieved him of his headache. Coffee didn’t do it, either. He contemplated making and eating breakfast before taking any painkillers, but the piercing pain was becoming too much to bear. It was unlikely a meal would settle the problem, so his feet found the medicine cabinet easily.

It was concerning that when he walked in, there were a few ibuprofen tablets scattered on the floor. He hadn’t taken anything last night, but it was possible Venti had. He was allowed two tablets if the pain became too much, and with one of the injuries being at his shoulder, he tended to make a mess when taking them. 

Pulling the ibuprofen bottle from the cabinet, Diluc quickly realized the mess hadn’t been just a mistake. When he last checked the bottle, it had been halfway full. Even with an injured boy in the house, it was unlikely they were going to get through the entire bottle before Venti had to go back to the system. Now there were only a few white tablets left in the container.

Diluc knocked on Venti’s door, even though his muscles were taut and urged him to just break it down. If he was wrong and Venti hadn’t taken the pills, then he would end up just scaring the boy. He resorted to calling through the door after knocking a few times. “Venti? Are you awake?” He knocked again, this time with more force. “I need you to answer this door! Are you okay?”

After several seconds of not getting a response, Diluc twisted the door handle even though he knew Venti always kept it locked. To his utter surprise, the door opened easily for him. 

He walked in, voice raised to a near shout, “Venti, are you–”

Nobody was there. The bed was unmade and vacant, and his signature guitar was missing from his room. The guest bathroom was empty as well, and panic began welling inside of Diluc’s stomach. His headache only got worse as he called for Venti in the loudest voice he could but received no response to any of them.

The door to his apartment was unlocked as well. He double checked that lock every night to make sure it was locked, and double turned into triple when Venti started staying with him. There was no way he left it unlocked, so that only meant Venti had left the apartment.

His heart raced and body sweated as he descended the stairway into Angel’s Share. Diluc was praying, praying to the gods he hadn’t talked to in ten years. He prayed that Venti hadn’t gone far, that he could still catch up. It was too soon– he hadn’t made his decision yet, and he still hadn’t asked Venti his thoughts. He just needed more time.

The gods answered Diluc’s prayers, for Venti was still in the bar when the owner all but fell into it. He was sitting on a chair at the bar island, arms folded and head resting on top of them. His head was turned in the opposite direction of the stairway, so Diluc could only see the back of his mess of black hair. It was braided, but Venti had undone his braids every night before going to sleep. Diluc had taken to re-braiding them every morning.

His heart was in his throat, and he knew. He knew Venti hadn’t taken a single breath since Diluc had found him. Yet he still walked up to the counter, he still pressed a firm hand to the boy’s shoulder and called, “Venti, it’s time to wake up.”

Venti’s body moved too easily. Diluc put a hand to the cheek Venti had turned up, and it was cold to the touch. The fingers that were visible were yellow, standing out in comparison to the rest of his pale skin. Tremors shaking his entire being, Diluc pulled Venti’s body into chest. He was all-too aware of the limpness, the way his arms dragged across the island at Diluc's pull. The boy’s eyes were closed and lips formed into a peaceful smile.

Tears tasted salty in Diluc’s mouth. Angel’s Share was so quiet; it lacked the livelihood brought on so suddenly by a runaway boy. Even during closed hours, the sounds of his guitar and poetic songs drifted through the stall air. That guitar was sitting on the ground next to Venti’s hanging feet.

There was a reason Diluc hadn’t prayed to the gods in so long, he remembered. They may grant you what you want but will add their own cruel and wicked twist. This wasn’t what he meant by close. He could hear the gods laughing at him from their divine thrones while he caressed the corpse of a boy he treated like his son.

—

The harsh blowing of the wind rubbed against tall, uncut grass and created an occasional melodic sound. Windrise’s leaves remained untouched by the cold touch of autumn. The tree stood still, strong and beautiful, against the intense breezes. The sun wasn’t covered by the few clouds that lazed across the sky, yet its rays weren’t strong enough to ease the cold whips of the wind.

I want to be buried here, if I ever die.

A hawk screeched overhead, and Diluc knew it was time. He released the ashes in his hands in the direction of Windrise as a particularly strong gust barreled through the grassy plain. Venti flew on the breeze, finally free from his twelve long years of pain.

All of the remains were carried from his fingers. The boy he cared for was officially gone. Diluc’s eyes were glazed, and it took all he had not to break down in tears.

The guitar was locked in its case in Diluc’s closet, but the Batman figurine remained in sight. It rested against an ornate vase that didn’t match anything else in the room.

Kaeya pressed his hand against Diluc’s shoulder. When he didn’t react, Kaeya stepped forward and placed his other hand against Diluc’s other shoulder blade. Gently, he guided Diluc into his arms.

It was warm. An apology formed on Diluc’s lips, meant for his brother and perhaps someone else, and the wind carried it out of his vocal cords. Diluc grasped onto the back of his brother’s shirt. Kaeya didn’t say anything back, but Diluc felt liquid dripping onto the back of his shoulder, conveniently where Kaeya’s head was resting.

[genericwizard]

Venti :3

Ehe... under the read more for space

How I feel about this character Venti makes me unwell, he also makes me want to live so it all works out. He was my first love in Genshin and also my strongest. He is my forever favorite, even if I accept other characters may do more, be more, he is my one and only clown husband. I cried when I had to leave Mondstadt without him (and rejoiced that we'd never be apart once I rolled for him three months later). He inspired me to leave my shitty job. Character of all time to me.

All the people I ship romantically with this character I am the KaeVen CEO for a reason....... this is the only ship for the character that matters to me because I see so much intrigue. There's the mortal/immortal aspects of it but also because they are very similar characters IMO. They're both "outsiders" in their own home. People don't trust them because they're hiding behind their smile. Neither like taking credit for their good deeds or that their reputation precedes them, etc. I like the drama of "how could they ever forgive me for what I've done?" "am I worthy of being loved/ allowing myself to fall in love?" "I didn't think you of all people would understand me". And they've had more substantial moments in canon together than frankly any other Venti ship, but who's counting?

When I don't have brain worms I actually like exes zhongven a lot, I think they had a longstanding relationship that doesn't work out for various reasons, and they probably know each other quite well, or at least they used to. I also like RosaVen in a genderweird way, Rosaria realizing she thinks he's annoyingly cute and doesn't know what to do about it is fun. I also like one-sided Venlumi and Venti/Vanessa, because I know he longs for powerful women who don't reciprocate in that way... sigh.

My non-romantic OTP for this character One no one will mention- Miko + Venti friendship is S tier, I love that he gossips with her over drinks. I also prefer platonic XiaoVen, they're close but not in that way to me. As mentioned I also like Venlumi, and I'll take platonic KaeVen too since I eat crumbs. Historically I care about his relationships with Vanessa and NB but I am fixated on Venti in the current timeline so I don't think about them much.

My unpopular opinion (s) about this character Hoo boy. Well for one I actually don't like his archon design very much. I kind of dislike some of the elements that I think don't make sense on his body and also were only shown in the comic depiction, like his glowing anemo tattoos or w/e, I don't really get the point of those so I omit them in my writing. His archon design and all the discussion around it bleeds into my dislike of people who label him a tr*p or something similar/worse. Despite this, very pro Venti as a sex-haver, I don't think there's anything wrong with sexualizing him, I just have my own icks. Also pro Venti having weird gender, even if I still prefer he/him pronouns for him.

I guess I dislike that people distrust him so much. It's like, sure, he's withholding info from us, but to assume that means he has ulterior, evil motives makes 0 sense to me. I also don't like corrupted Venti for the same reason. He's fine. He just has the usual kinds of despair, from the existential crisis of his existence, perception of time, and all the loss he's faced that drive him to sleep for hundreds of years at a time. Far more tangible reasons to be "corrupted" to me than "ooooh the abyss made him Evilllll" Besides, Celestia made all that is forbidden evil, even if he is full of abyssal knowledge/power that's not a good metric of someone's morality when Celestia is our main antagonist!

I guess thinking Kaeya is his best ship is unpopular, but that's redundant ATP.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Carmen Dei: Chapter II. Or really any new story/event appearance where he's allowed to be more than a glorified emcee / convenient plot starter.

[dandelion-wings]

Things I should have done today: chores. Things I could have done today: worked on any of my actual WIPs. Things I did do today: write 5k of loosely-connected and wildly wandering snippets of the AU where Fredrica raises Kaeya to marry Jean, omegaverse version, because my 2024 mood is that I can do whatever I want, forever, and today I wanted to do this. I tried to pack in everything @theabysscomeshome and I have kicked around for their teenage years, and almost (if not quite) managed it!

---

Today is a rare occasion: Mother is letting Jean go out shopping with Diluc, *alone*. It's the first time she's been allowed to spend time with him without Mother's supervision since Mother and Father divorced.

Okay, 'alone' isn't quite true. Mother insisted that she take Kaeya along. But she'd given Jean the purse, and told her she was responsible, and Kaeya is so quietly obedient that she can almost forget that he's there. And that the instructions Mother has given her about looking after him are identical to the instructions she used to give regarding Barbara.

Jean won't let him replace Barbara. It would be weird if he did, wouldn't it? He's going to be her mate someday, after all, and her husband, and so he can't also be her little brother--he's just someone under Mother's care, and anyone her Mother is responsible for, Jean is responsible for as well. Even if he's the alpha and she's the omega, Jean is a *Gunnhildr*, and he isn't yet. Won't ever be one the same way that Barbara is.

The same way that Barbara *was*.

Eager for a distraction from that thought, Jean slows in front of the bookstore, pausing to survey the display in the front window. The bright cover of a romance novel catches her eye: there's no question that the woman on the cover is supposed to be Vennessa, even though she's holding a style of sword that wasn't developed for another three hundred years and everyone knows that Vennessa preferred a claymore. She's holding that sword to the throat of a muscular, short-haired woman whose Lawrence insignia is half cut away, and while the pose is aggressive, the painter has put a look in both their eyes that makes it very clear who this romance is between.

"Are you going to buy that one?" Diluc asks beside her, startling Jean from her reverie.

"Of course not." Face hot, Jean tears her gaze away. Her mother would disapprove of her using the money she'd been given for any frivolous romance, but *especially* this one. No matter how compelling Jean finds it. The cover is so well-painted, that's all, Jean tells herself--it doesn't mean she would truly enjoy the subject material, not when a Lawrence is involved.

"There's a new book from Liyue about economics," she says, scanning the other titles on display. "That sounds educational. Mother would approve if we bought it."

She marches inside to do exactly that. Before she can get to the counter, she sees Barbara, browsing hymnals in the company of a nun.

"Big sister!"

Barbara flings herself into Jean's arms, and Jean instinctively hugs her close before remembering they may have an audience. Diluc won't tell, and the nun is smiling, but she still makes herself pull away. If Kaeya sees and tells Mother....

She can't make herself pull away immediately, though. "How are you? Are you making friends at the Church?"

"I am! I'm spending time with the orphans. None of them are as much fun to spend time with as you, though. I miss you a lot."

Jean feels a pang at Barbara's innocent words. Swallowing hard, she reminds herself that she should be mature about this. She can't encourage Barbara to continue to pine for her when they're always going to live apart. "I'm sure they could be, if you give them time to get used to you. If they're orphans, they're probably shy."

"But they're not *you*," Barbara says, tears welling in her eyes. "I really wish you were there. I don't know why you had to go away. And now you have a new brother-"

"He's not my brother," Jean says, fiercer than she'd meant, and hears a sharp little inhale behind her.

She looks over her shoulder to see Kaeya, whose expression flattens as soon as she looks, and Diluc, who goes wide-eyed and grabs Kaeya's hand to pull him away. Heat tingles in her cheeks. He's *not* her brother, though, she reminds herself again, defiantly, he's her betrothed, and that's a different thing. She didn't say anything wrong, or a lie.

"Oops," Barbara whispers, staring worriedly after them. "Is- is Mother going to be mad?"

"No," Jean says, though she knows all her perfectly correct arguments won't matter in the face of being told that Jean was talking to Barbara in the first place. Her stomach sinks at the realization that Kaeya has every reason to tell. Mother will approve of him if he tells, and disapprove of Jean, and if she hurt his feelings, even though that really shouldn't have....

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Jean reaches out and squeezes Barbara's hand, doing her best to give her a reassuring smile.

"Barbara, dear, I think I've picked out a hymnal," the nun says. "Why don't we leave Miss Jean to her own shopping and check out?"

"Okay," Barbara says, reluctantly.

Jean lets go of her hand just as reluctantly, with one last squeeze, and makes sure to nod politely at the nun. "Don't let me keep you."

The nun takes Barbara's hand and hurries away to the counter, while Jean goes and searches the stacks for the economics text she'd seen in the window. She finds a few simple books for Kaeya, too, ones meant for children, which means he can probably read them. Maybe Mother will be less mad if she can prove that she was looking out for him like she was told.

Diluc and Kaeya are over in the fiction section, heads bent together, whispering furiously. Jean doesn't know what they're talking about, or which book Diluc takes to the counter, cover tucked to his chest like he's hiding it, when she's done with her purchases. He has it wrapped in brown paper before he hands it to Kaeya, who squirrels it away in his jacket with a nervous look at her.

Jean pretends not to see, and doesn't tell Mother, either, when they get home. Either that makes him decide to hold his own tongue, or Diluc bought it as a bribe in the first place, because he doesn't say anything to her about Jean's encounter with Barbara in the shop. Jean is relieved and grateful enough for his silence not to ignore him when he tugs on her arm in the hall on the way to their rooms after dinner and evening drills.

"I'm not trying to be your brother," he says softly, looking down at the floor. "I promise. I know what I'm here for, and that is isn't that. And I know that family is important, even if you can't be with them anymore. I won't... if you want to see her, I can help."

Which is a ridiculous offer. His training schedule is even stricter than Jean's, and even if he had as much free time, he doesn't know anything about Mondstadt. But some of the resentment Jean has felt all day subsides at his words. She nods, and smiles at him, and Kaeya slowly, shyly, gives her a relieved smile back.

***

Once Jean is an apprentice knight, she has more money and significantly more freedom. Spending an afternoon out with Diluc isn't as much an occasion; the apprentice knights are encouraged to spend social time together, it's why they're given twice-weekly free afternoons, so Mother can't do more than make oblique comments about who she spends them with. And having Kaeya along hasn't been an annoyance for some time now.

It's sometimes a convenience, even, when Barbara also happens to be out and about. He's better than anyone at contriving the sort of brief meetings that even Mother couldn't object to, and better yet at finding places for them to talk without prying eyes and discreet methods to get them both there. Which even Barbara, by now, agrees is far better than his strategy of his first year in the Gunnhildr household, when he kept contriving to be injured just badly enough for Jean to have to take him to the Cathedral, but not badly enough for Mother to come along.

If he and Diluc tend to duck off on their own now and then on these trips, too, Jean doesn't have room to complain. It could be a good thing. Mother might not let Kaeya get away with possessive behavior, but all the romance novels she sneaks from the Ordo library make a point of just how strong alpha instinct becomes when other alphas get too close to their mate. If they're friends before Jean and Kaeya ever marry, then Kaeya won't have to wrestle with that instinct in the first place.

She hopes, anyway. She knows better than anyone else just how much Kaeya does wrestle with the instincts that puberty is stirring in him, and that Mother's strict standards aren't the only reason they make him upset. Not to mention just *how* much he enjoys spending time with Diluc on their outings, and why.

*'If you're something other than an alpha, the Church has ways to fix it,'* she'd whispered to him, the night she'd found him crying in the bath. *'Mother isn't so cruel she wouldn't let you, if you tell her what you really are.'*

*'First I'd have to know what I am,'* Kaeya had answered, his expression twisted up in ways she didn't understand. *'All I know is what I'm not, and they can't fix *that*. Besides, I don't plan to leave you in the lurch.'*

He'd looked desperate when he said that, despite his attempt at a smile. Jean could understand. Mother wouldn't stop him from seeking the Church's services, no, but if Kaeya wasn't what she wanted him to be anymore, the well-behaved alpha mate who wouldn't try to dominate the first Gunnhildr omega in uncounted generations.... He's not a Gunnhildr yet. She'd end her guardianship of him and send him to the Church to take a place amid their orphans, or if he was lucky, to live in the Ordo dorms as a rare fostered apprentice. He wouldn't be part of Jean's family anymore.

Jean is selfish enough not to argue with his determination. She doesn't want to lose him any more than he wants to leave. That means that if whatever he *is* under all the uncertainty is someone who can look at an alpha the way he sometimes, when he thinks neither of them are looking, looks at Diluc....

They aren't married yet. He isn't her mate yet. Jean doesn't mind looking the other way and pretending she doesn't see. She just wishes for his sake that Diluc was only pretending that he hasn't noticed.

Out of the corner of her eye she can see Kaeya giving Diluc just that look right now, while Diluc picks through the tailor's display of new Inazuman silks in innocent ignorance. Jean turns back to her own contemplations. There's a beautiful robe here, pale green patterned with purple cranes picked out in charming detail, that she can't resist reaching out to touch. The fabric is smooth under her fingers. She traces the line of a crane's neck, turns over the price tag, then sighs and pulls her hand away.

When she looks back again, Diluc and Kaeya are both watching her. She smiles at them, embarrassed, and puts her hands behind her back.

"Mother would disapprove, wouldn't she?"

"If she doesn't pay for it, she can't stop you," Kaeya points out. "Let her frown at you all she wants."

"It's out of my price range, anyway. I'm going to look at their hair ribbons. I could use a few new ones."

Diluc frowns, but Kaeya shrugs, turning back to the silks and commenting on one Diluc seems to have liked. Their voices fade behind as she moves across the store to the hair ribbons, and she doesn't see them again until she comes to the counter with her selections. They're just ahead of her, Diluc counting out mora as the clerk ties string around two tissue-wrapped bundles. Diluc hands the smaller one to Kaeya before smiling at her and stepping out of her way.

It's far from the first time Diluc has given Kaeya such gifts on these shopping trips. It's a generous gesture, but it's also an *alpha* gesture, a courtship gesture, the kind of kindness that has a weight from alpha to omega or alpha to beta that Diluc probably doesn't even imagine it has here. That it wouldn't, alpha to alpha, if Kaeya was the alpha that everyone thinks.

As soon as her ribbons are paid for, Jean follows them out of the shop, clears her throat, and asks, "Kaeya, can you go ahead to Good Hunter and put in our order? I'm getting hungry, but Diluc and I should stop at the cobblers and see how the new boots for the apprentices are coming along. The Grand Master will expect a report."

His eyebrow goes up, but all he says is, "Of course," before taking himself off.

"Since when is it our job to check on the boots?" Diluc asks her, baffled, though he's heading down the street towards the cobbler's even as he asks. "No one said anything to me."

"It isn't, but Mother will appreciate that we took the initiative. Besides," Jean adds, her voice dropping as they pass a fruit cart, "I wanted to talk to you alone. I think... maybe you shouldn't buy things for Kaeya anymore. I think it might be giving him ideas about- about what you want from him."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jean doesn't want to confess Kaeya's crush for him, but she forges on with as good an excuse as she can muster. "Kaeya... doesn't like being in debt to people. And- and at your age- for alphas- some of the things people say to him about, um, about us, that he's mentioned or I've heard about- he might think he needs to pay you back a... certain way."

Diluc only looks more confused. "He doesn't have to pay me back at all. It's my allowance, and I like buying things for the two of you with it. He knows that. What way do you mean, anyway?"

"With- kissing, and things." Jean blushes furiously, as much at the mental image of the two of them kissing as at the other word she can't bring herself to say. "Like I said, I *know* people talk like that about... us, and his debt to the family, and he's said some things to me, so I just...."

"Oh. *Gross*. No. Why would I even want that? I'll tell him so," Diluc says firmly. "And if anyone's making him feel weird about it, I'll punch them. The same if anyone makes you feel weird about it, either."

Jean's stomach drops, but at the same time she feels a rush of relief. She doesn't want Diluc to hurt Kaeya, but it has to happen sooner or later, and better that it happen before Kaeya gets too many ideas. And this way, by blaming the gossip that she honestly has overheard, she doesn't have to give up any of his secrets to Diluc. She'll keep those safe, just like he does hers. She'll just keep this conversation secret too, while she's at it.

***

However he might feel, Kaeya is an expert at *pretending* to be an alpha. It actually helps, she thinks, that Mother has spent years drilling into him that he can't be overbearing with her. If he smiles and demurs instead of posturing, and slides his way sideways out of most attempted challenges, and doesn't say a word about anything Jean does when another omega might look to their alpha for approval, then people blame Mother and not Kaeya himself. Mother meets every criticism with a pointed reminder that all dynamics are meant to be equal in freedom-loving Mondstadt, and Kaeya meets any scorn with a smile and an exact echo of her words in a faintly sardonic tone.

In the meantime, Kaeya mimics everything that Mother wouldn't reasonably have stomped out of him with aplomb. Most of it, she can tell, Diluc has taught him. Jean doesn't know when he'd shared that particular secret, or if he even has--Diluc may simply think that he's counterbalancing Mother's repression--but he imitates Diluc's straight shoulders and fierce grin when he does have to accept a challenge, and Diluc's careful backstep to signal disinterest when he's introduced to a new omega, and Diluc's fashion of cupping his hands around her own when he gives her a gift.

Which he does now and then, now that they're dating. The dating itself is a gift, too, Jean is well aware. Kaeya's disinterest in omegas is just as real as Diluc's, and it encompasses her, isn't because of her, despite the public facade that's all that makes those other omegas believe it. But she hadn't been able to keep herself being wistful, this past Windblume, and it must have been so openly that he had caught it, because she'd found herself the recipient of a bundle of roses and the worst poem she's ever read, and he'd taken the calla lilies and heartfelt if clumsy lines of her response with a smile and a cheeky reminder that, as a captain, she could afford better than he could to pay for a dinner out.

It's the least Jean can do to thank him for bothering.

Now that they are dating, Jean tries hard not to look too closely at things she isn't going to buy these days unless she's very sure that he can't afford it any more than she can. This jewelry set, though.... It's ridiculous, heart-shaped earrings and a heart-shaped pendant, set with colored glass in exactly her favorite shade of blue. Mother would disapprove of how cheap it is even if the motif wasn't so childish. Jean couldn't possibly buy something so gauche. No matter that it's cute.

And Kaeya can't buy it for her either. Necklaces are symbolic in ways that Mother would *despise*, and this particular one, with the romantic motif, would be utterly inappropriate for an alpha to give any omega but their mate. Even one they're betrothed to.

"What are we looking at?" Kaeya pokes his head over her shoulder just as Jean had expected, leaning in close. Jean enjoys the press of his shoulder against hers, and the brush of his breath on her cheek; that he means nothing by it doesn't mean that she can't take pleasure in it, so long as she doesn't discomfit him by letting it show. "Oh, that's pretty."

"I can't imagine where I would wear it, though. Mother would have a fit, and it wouldn't be appropriate on missions. It wouldn't be worth the mora."

Kaeya sighs against her ear, and it takes all Jean has not to shiver. "You don't have to talk yourself out of anything you think you want too much, you know."

"I just don't want it that much, that's all. There's no need to blow things out of proportion. And don't buy me a necklace you can't give me," Jean adds in warning. "You know how Mother would react."

"Yes, I know." Kaeya chuckles and leans back again, and Jean fights down a pang at the loss of his weight against her shoulder. "Sister Barbara! fancy seeing you here. You wouldn't happen to know how Sir Taute is holding up, would you? Jean's been worried."

Which is, if not a lie, *mostly* an untruth--Jean knows Taute is fine--but she grasps eagerly for the excuse, turning to smile at Barbara. "Yes, I would like to know."

"Let's step aside, for her privacy," Barbara says, in a cue Kaeya has long since taught them both, and smiles back at Jean as she leads her aside for a private conversation.

It doesn't occur to Jean how much of a distraction that was until hours later, when Kaeya stops her on the front porch to cup her hand and set a small box into it. Jean opens her mouth to scold him, then closes it again when she opens it. She had only told him not to buy her the necklace, after all.

"I still don't know where I'll wear them," she protests, resisting the urge to clutch the little box with its heart-shaped earrings to her chest.

"You can wear them on missions if you pass the Grand Master's uniform test. Which you should ask to take anyway. Half of your earrings dangle, and I know you wish you could wear those more often. You'll pass it with flying colors if you do."

Jean swallows down a sudden surge of emotion and puts the lid very carefully back on the box before smiling back up at Kaeya. "Maybe I will. Thank you, Kaeya."

"You're welcome."

He leans down and brushes his lips against hers in a familiarly chaste kiss, one that sends a thrill through her nonetheless. Jean takes a deep breath, taking in the rich spice-edged fruitiness of his scent, which seems to grow stronger every day. Then she pulls back before she can give into the urge to try and coax more out of him than he wants to give.

She doesn't comment on the second box she feels briefly through his jacket while they're pressed close. Kaeya may be an expert at pretending to be an alpha, eschewing jewelry for more prominent displays of ornate clothes and ornamented hair, but he ought to be allowed to experiment in private without Jean's prying. All her dreams of buying him whatever he *does* like most founder on the realities of their situation, so perhaps it's better if she doesn't know what he spends his mora on when she's not there.

Just as she shouldn't dream of a necklace to go with the earrings, and a claim he wouldn't want to make even if he dared.

***

Mindful as she is of Mother's disapproval, Jean does take advantage sometimes of having her own money to buy things that she knows Mother would never have let her spend her allowance on. The romance novels in particular. It's been years since she's had to skim them quickly in the shop or sneak them out of the Ordo library. Now she can buy them herself, at her discretion.

As long as she has good enough cause. Mother may not object aloud anymore, but Jean can still hear her voice in her head when she indulges too frivolously in some luxury she doesn't deserve.

This week, what she doesn't deserve is a beautiful first edition, with gilt edging on the pages and the author's signature on the frontispiece, of one of her favorite romance novels. She already owns a copy of the book, so it's an utterly self-indulgent purchase, but she'd thought she might have been able to earn it for herself anyway if only her company had come first in the survival games Grand Master Varka has decided the Ordo needs to run.

Unfortunately, Diluc, as always, outdoes her. Very slightly--a handful more points on foraging, which would have been balanced out by her company's better score in scouting if he hadn't made it back to base camp a mere hour before her--but it puts her company in second place, while his is first, and second place isn't good enough. She doesn't need Mother to tell her that.

Mother tells her anyway. "You *cannot* let an alpha outdo you," she says through gritted teeth, an old refrain, as she paces back and forth across their front room. "No Gunnhildr can let themselves be outdone by their peers, and that only goes double for you. Every alpha in the Ordo is primed to dismiss you, whatever excuses they may give for it. That means that you cannot give them *any* to seize upon. We have been over this."

"If it's anyone's mistake, it's mine," Kaeya says, even though he should know better than to interrupt Mother in the middle of a lecture. "I was the one who fumbled the net and lost us all those fish."

"And you cannot let him defend you!" Mother rounds on them both. "Never, *ever* let him defend you. The moment anyone perceives you as hiding behind an alpha, it will be him they look to in order to win your obedience."

"Mother," Jean begins, because ill-advised as Kaeya's words were, she owes him her defense in return.

She never gets further. Mother has significantly more to say, first to them together and then to Jean alone, and afterwards she sends Jean out with the instruction to send Kaeya in. Half of what she says to him is audible through the door.

Jean knows that all this anger is on her behalf, that it covers up the fear Mother has always felt that people will look at Jean as lesser, will disregard her accomplishments because of what she is and how she was born. That doesn't make it any less cutting. She's still raw and smarting by lunchtime the next day, though she makes sure not to let it show when she dismisses her company for their meal and heads herself to the Cathedral on the pretense of checking on two of her knights who had been particularly foolish in the games.

If that route takes her past the bookstore, well, she can look, can't she? Even if it's sand in the wound?

Maybe it should be a relief that the book is gone. The bottom drops out of Jean's stomach, though, and the rest of her day is dismal, only made more so by the discovery that Barbara is in choir practice when she arrives and won't be out before she has to go. She goes through the motions with as much efficiency as she can muster and is grateful for her bed.

She's more grateful still when Kaeya slips in through her window. Mother stopped checking on them after bedtime years ago; Jean still doesn't know if that's out of trust, or because she has some concept of what she might find teenagers up to on their own, not that Jean knows if Kaeya can stomach touching himself in the same way she couldn't resist doing in the rush of all the hormones at that age. If she still does so after he departs again from these nighttime visits, well, she's only overwhelming the room with her own scent to disguise his, or at least that's what she would try to claim if he knew.

"You know I wasn't defending you as your alpha," Kaeya says without preamble.

"I know."

Jean doesn't bother ask if Mother believed him. She doesn't know what Jean does, and Barbatos willing she never will. Not until he and Jean are married, anyway, and Kaeya is a Gunnhildr whether Mother wants him to be or no. Jean is determined to insist that he can present as whatever he is, then, or not present as whatever he isn't, and never mind the Gunnhildr reputation. It will be as welcome to her as it is to him when he stops playing the romantic alpha she wishes for in public.

Kaeya sighs in relief, as if he somehow thought she might not believe him, and sinks down onto her bed. Above the covers, while she's below, but Jean pushes the quilt down a little to bare her shoulder and he nuzzles into her neck as if he's seeking her scent. His own clouds around her. Jean breathes it in and feels herself relax.

"Do you want-"

"*Please*," Jean says, her voice nearly cracking. "Otherwise I don't think I'll sleep at all."

He pulls his face from her neck and leans down to nip at her shoulder, well below the line of her uniform, where no one, even Mother, will notice a mark. Well away from her bonding glands, too, which Jean refuses to be disappointed by. She'll get what she wants once they're married, once, if probably never again, and until then this is kindness enough.

The pinprick of pain as his teeth sink in is soothed by the brush of his tongue. His venom sweeps through her, calming her almost immediately, relaxing her muscles until she's lying nearly limp on the bed. As soon as it eases her tension away, she can feel the exhaustion throbbing in her temples surge forth to start ushering her into sleep.

She's selfish, though. Kaeya is already giving her one comfort, and she still wants another, something pleasant to take into her dreams. They used to do this through letters, hidden beneath matresses and passed back and forth in secret during the day, writing answers before bedtime to titillate each other with their secret fantasies. But they're both braver now, if only with each other. All she has to do is ask.

"If you were a pirate-" Kaeya likes pirates, so much that she's fantasized sometimes about saving up to buy him a tame dusk bird, as if Mother would ever permit such a beast in her house "-and I was a stowaway you found in the hold, what would you do with me?"

"A stowaway, hmmm?"

"A beta stowaway," Jean adds impulsively. "Promised by my family to-" she yawns "-to a powerful mated couple in, hmm, Fontaine, whom I loathed enough to flee."

Kaeya props himself up on one elbow and cups her cheek, running his thumb gently down it. With his venom in her veins, Jean couldn't resist her shiver if she wanted to.

"Well, if *that* was the case, you'd be quite a prize, wouldn't you? You'd have to convince me that it was worth my while not to give you up for a reward...."

He starts to detail exactly how Jean might convince him in warm, suggestive tones. Jean lets his voice wash over her, and as she sinks into sleep, all her disappointment fades away. She doesn't need first place, or that book, or even Mother's approval. She already has everything she really needs.

***

Her future with Kaeya is so certain, so solid a factor in Jean's life that she doesn't realize how fragile it actually is until Mother, with one private meeting and the slash of a pen, throws it all away.

Jean is still reeling as she follows Mother home, her throat hoarse from shouting protests that went nowhere against the united wall of her and the Grand Master and the Seneschal, all furious in different and equally terrifying ways. Mother's fury is quiet, grim, and sharp, and leads her straight to Kaeya's room. She doesn't even seem to notice Jean right on her tail.

She tosses Kaeya's room with vicious efficiency, emptying drawers, flipping his mattress, digging into the back corners of his closet, and then circling back to pry at solid furniture and slit everything soft in search of hidden compartments and stashes. Which Kaeya *has*, as it turns out. Jean is only briefly shocked; she would have hidden some of this from Mother, too, if she'd had certain of his secrets, or even if she'd simply known how to conceal things as cleverly as he has.

None of it, though, is evidence. Mother's frustration mounts as she dumps out jewelry and hair ribbons, toys and harnesses that under any other circumstances would make Jean blush, and books with featureless red covers that even now do. She tosses a necklace atop the pile of earrings and bangles with a snort of disgust, not seeming to recognize the blue glass heart that makes Jean freeze in place, nor note that betraying reaction. While she turns back to the closet, Jean reaches out with shaking fingers and dares to snatch it up. Had Kaeya bought that for himself...?

The back of the closet is full of bedding that Jean knows no Gunnhildr has ever purchased. Most of it is the same shade of pale sky-blue as the necklace, just enough lighter than Mondstadt blue a proper Gunnhildr should prefer that the difference is obvious. None of it has the feather and bird motifs that Kaeya most likes, nor the diamonds that are his second-favorite; there's a duvet embroidered with fine white dandelion seeds blowing in an invisible wind, a scarf with orange tabbies, a pair of pillows with several increasingly pale shades to suggest clouds, a brown-and-green quilt whose interlocking blocks are, she realizes, in the shape of tortoises.... Mother tosses another piece upon the pile, a green silk robe decorated with purple cranes.

"This is nesting material," Jean says aloud, her voice scratchy in her throat.

"He had *ambitions*, didn't he." Mother's lip curls. "Let's both be grateful that his nerve failed before he got that far."

Jean swallows hard. Mother moves on to the closet's top shelf, where the red-bound erotica had been, and pulls out a few more books that she tosses out atop the pile with such carelessness that Jean nearly cries out in horror. All are romances, and every one is familiar, from the old and yellowing one where Vennessa holds a Lawrence at swordpoint on the cover to the fine leatherbound, gilt-edged first edition she hadn't won the right to buy last year.

Kaeya has never cared for romances. These are all to Jean's taste, ones that she had wanted and for some reason or another had never purchased. She doesn't remember the details, but she finds herself certain anyway that she'd either eyed them or mentioned them in Kaeya's presence.

A feeling is stirring inside her that isn't shock, or grief, or even horror. Jean realizes, staring at the hard lines of Mother's back as she jerks a hidden bag out from where it was tied beneath the wardrobe and pours out only mora, that it's defiance.

She takes a step back, then another, then turns and flees the room while Mother is still distracted. Nothing in there is going to be evidence. Not of Kaeya's supposed treachery, nor of the loyalty that Jean can't help but believe in. One way or another, she'll have to find her own.

Mother has discarded enough of Jean's family. She was a child when she lost Barbara, and powerless to act; now she's a woman grown, a knight and an officer, with a Vision at her waist and all the power of her recent promotion at her disposal. This time, Jean won't let Mother throw away someone she loves. She'll get Kaeya back.

[applesapplesimrunningwithapples]

I’m open for art trades if anyone wants to do one with me so here’s my genshin impact oc’s for reference

Mosiah he’s a Khaenri’an and the son who’s the duke of Fontaine he’s about twenty five years old and the second cousin to kaeya alberich with a short build about five foot two and pretty muscular

Aífe she’s twenty six years older and she lives in aaru village in sumeru and she’s a doctor and a only and she’s a wheelchair user and about four foot nine and flat chested and slightly chubbier

Alexia she’s a khaenri’an woman who’s about five foot five and a mildly muscular woman with blonde hair that she hasn’t cut in all of her life except the top part which is a short shaggy looking with soft curls, and she’s about twenty two years old and lives with alhaitham and kaveh with their some what weird love triangle, she grew up in snezhnaya with her adoptive uncle and spent her summers in liyue harbor and chenyu vale with her adoptive father doctor baizhu, her burns are caused by her trying to save kaeya from diluc trying to kill him but she ended up catching on fire

max has they/she pronouns and is a sumeru scholar and is the older sibling to Alexia

rules for drawing my art with what I’m comfortable with.

one no nsfw I’m not comfortable with nsfw art work

two don’t draw aífe with anyone in a romantic setting she’s married to a different Oc I’ve named hessian

three please be respectful when drawing my oc’s

and you can dm me or comment if you want to do a art trade

[nuttytani]

Bloody Mary Zhongli summoned by normal human Ajax

"Tsk, fine I'll do it. I'm not a wimp," Ajax grumbles as he goes to the bathroom. Everything is set. There are candles, some weird acrylic painted summoning circles and what not. He lost the bet, so he has to do it. As if anything will happen.

Ajax locks the sliding door and turns the lights off. He lights the candle sitting on the bathroom counter.

Taking a deep breath, he looks into the mirror, and recites bloody Mary three times.

Absolutely nothing happens. Aha. Total bullcrap. He knew it was all just a myth.

Laughing to himself, Ajax turns to turn on the lights but something weird happens. The lights flicker by themselves and there's a weird static noise. No way… It can't be. It must be some electrical issue. Yeah that's it. He once again tries to turn on the lights but they flicker. Once more. At this point it's not a coincidence. It can't be. So he looks back, at the mirror. There is something… Someone reflected onto the surface of the mirror. He should feel scared, horrified or run out immediately. But he could only look stay rooted in place.

A man, probably around his age, looked at him with sad eyes. They were bright like amber and glowing in the dark room. It looks like the person... or thing, whatever it is, was trying to communicate with him. His mouth mumbling words that he could not hear and hands that smacked against the other side of the mirror.

"Ayo, Ajax? Don't tell me you passed out in there. Come on out dude, I really gotta use the bathroom."

And just like that, the reflection of the sad man disappeared and the lights turned on by itself. It's not an illusion at this point.

He's sure of it now.

"Coming Kaeya, geez, can't even use the bathroom for one second. There's another one in the guest room you know?"

He opens the door and immediately gets pushed away by his friend and the door gets locked.

"So…. Did you see anything?" Hu Tao peers into his eyes, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"Nope. Not a thing, I'm disappointed." He shrugs.

As if he'd tell her whatever weird shit that happened just minutes ago.

"Hmmm…. if you say so." She shrugs.

*

Ever since that day, there's been some weird things happening in his house. For example, the lights would turn on and off by itself, weird shadows would pass by the windows and weird slamming sounds could be heard.

Any sane and logical person would assume that their house is haunted and would leave the place immediately. But not Ajax. He knows it's related to the strange man with amber eyes. So what does Ajax do? Well, obviously he tried to do the bloody mary ritual again and failed.

Perhaps it was an expected outcome. But he didn't stop trying. He tried tarrot cards, making magic circles on the floor and what not but they all failed. Then one day, he had a realisation. Why not the ouija board? He ran off to the nearest store and bought a set of ouija board.

Unfortunately, it was the season of October and many halloween and spooky related items were out of stock, he DID get a board tho, although pink and sparkly in colour. Sure, it looked childish but hey, desperate times calls for desperate measures. Plus, the colour shouldnt matter.

So he walks home with his big pink and sparkly ouija board in tow (yes, he received many weird looks and snickers by people passing by, but no matter).

[saywha413]

Heyyy there it’s me!! Name’s Sarah, he/she/they! Bi, ace, demiromantic, genderqueer, and agendary :) pronouns page I primarily blog abt pokemon, but there’s some cookie run, and other things!!

If you know me from discord, then you’ll know abt my silly usernames lol. If you want to call me Arven/Hugh/Felix/Kaeya/Eugene/Rolf go ahead.

also I’m a big oc guy. if you don’t like oc/canon, self insert/canon, or selfshipping please dni. other than that, relatively basic dni! you know who you are

Asks are always open! Feel free to ask me about anything you want!!

(please look through the “keep reading” before interacting!)

i am the mod several blogs! Ones in the same universe will be marked with the same colored emoji !

Pokemon Ask Blogs 💕 @ask-sarah-and-co 💎🎸 (inbox: 22)

Pokemon Irl Blogs 🌸 @arven-x-drayster-4ever🥪🐉 (temp. hiatus)

🌺 @icy-chill ❄️ (eeby/faller, temp. hiatus)

🌷 @pens-and-coins 🔮🪙 (lore blog, temp. hiatus)

🎀 @silvallyandweavile 🌘🪶 (temp. hiatus)

💐 @perrins-portfolio 📸 (temp. hiatus)

🦩 @g-max-wildfire 🎇 (temp. hiatus)

💗 @suckerpunch-n-toxic 🎶 (temp. hiatus)

💧 @glacial-waltzes ❄️ (faller, active)

Daily Drawing Blog (also kinda on hiatus (at least while I work on other stuff)) @sarahs-daily-malewives

Although I’d prefer questions on those blogs specifically, feel free to ask about them here too :)

I have a whole bunch of pokemon ships, so here’s a list (which I update every once in a while)

and if you’re looking for the old pinned (where I drew 12 ships) that’s here :) (individual drawings here)

here’s my old banner! linking to save for myself mostly lol

art tag is #my art writing tag is #my writing

random links: ao3 / artfight / toyhouse / pinterest / pokefarm / flight rising (I am very inactive on pokefarm and flight rising. I only check occasionally)

Interests + favorite /r ships, favorite /p ships, & fave char (if they apply) !

Major! (I talk/think about them a lot)

Pokemon (games + anime (fixated on jn but never finished it, interested in hz but never started it)). just check the ship list linked above (or oc/hugh if that counts). Silver & Hugh & Gladion are so friends to me. Hugh

Cookie run (kingdom). Crunchyvelvet/Velvetchip. Red Velvet and my hc for his cousins, Black Raisin & Crowberry & Prune Juice. Red Velvet

Mythology (specifically Greek, but I like all of them!). Athena

Cats. generally.

Cassette beasts. Eugene/oc. Eugene

Unicorn overlord (I am insane abt this rn). Alain x Rolf x Aubin x Aramis x Ithilion. Alain & Lex. Rolf I think

Minor! (I do post about them, just not as much!)

Octopath traveler 1. Olberus/Eisenbright, Olberic/Erhardt. My current party (H’aanit, Therion, Olberic, Cyrus) is so found family to me (two gay dads and their lesbian daughter/gay son. I LOVE THEM). H’aanit, Therion

Fire emblem (three houses). Felileth/Bylix. Byleth & Black Eagles. Felix

Dislyte. Lufal. Falken

Monster hunter (stories (2)). Alwin/oc. Alwin & Navirou & Protag. Alwin

Dragon quest (xi). Luminerik, Henjasp. Erik

Animal crossing (new horizons). It feels weird to say I have ac ships but I’m a Bianca/Audie and Freya/Fang truther. Raymond

Afk journey. Valen x Merlin/oc ig. Valen

Background! (I like these things, just don’t rlly talk abt them! Feel free to ask abt them though!)

Zelda (botw/totk). Sidlink, Revalink. Link & Zelda Link

Hades game. Thanzag. Zagreus & anyone (I love his silly ahh banter). Zagreus

Stardew valley. Leah x farmer, Sambastian. Leah & Abigail. Leah

Mario. Bowser

The owl house (and the shows you would kinda associate with it? amphibia, the ghost and molly mcgee, she-ra, etc). Goldric/Huntric, Willumity. Luz & Hunter. Luz, Hunter

Encanto. Luisa

Miitopia

riordanverse or whatever it’s called (specifically pjo, hoo, and magnus chase)

Grishaverse (specifically soc duology). The crows. Wesper.

Sims 4

Omori (got into it from a yt playthrough, never played it myself). Heromari

I’m not really into these fandoms, but there’s probably like one ship I really like in there lol

Sonic the hedgehog. Sonuckles, Blazamy. Sonic & Tails & Knuckles. Knuckles

Kingdom hearts. Soriku. Sora & Riku & Kairi. Riku

Disney descendants. Jaylos. Core four

Star vs the forces of evil. Tomco, Janstarkie.

Ace attorney. Wrightworth

Miraculous. I actually hate the show (even though I watched the whole thing (it was like so bad I couldn’t tear my eyes from it)) but alas. I do like Lukadrien and Zoegaminette.

dunmeshi. Labru, kinda also Farcille. (I could watch it. but like. it’s only subbed afaik and I cannot watch anything without eng vas bc I basically just listen to things while I play video games or draw or smth. I do want to watch it though and I might at some point))

if we are besties (read: mutuals), feel free to ask for discord/switch friend code! I have the right to politely decline if I feel we’re not close enough though! (no need to worry though. there’s a good chance I accept)

divider credit: x / x icon/banner/header credit: x pokemon sprites: x

[quaggyday]

Am I the only one who NEEDS more Kaeya and Lumine and Paimon platonic interactions. These three have this weird thing where nobody thinks about the possibilities with their characters

Btw this is all strictly platonic

Lumine and Kaeya have both lost brothers and are both kinda liars. They wear facades all the time and are within worlds they care about but so desperately want to get back to their homes. I imagine Kaeya and Lumine understanding each other even if they still lie a bit, even if they hesitate and keep their secrets tied a bit tighter. Kaeya takes in Lumine as a friend but theres a lot more pain between them that isn't ever spoken

Paimon is also interesting because she’s a small child terrified of being abandoned by her only form of family and torn between something she can’t remember nor tell. And with the spy theory Kaeya is essentially looking at a mirror image of his childhood in the form of a kid trying to survive. Or with the theory she's from Celestia what's he gonna think of her with that info? A part of me wishes she and Kaeya could understand each other better and give Paimon an arc of bettering herself, learning from her mistakes, and growing but Hoyo sucks at writing Paimon as a character soooo

[dilucofdawn]

Blog Intro:

- This blog is for my OC x Canon Universe, AUs may be introduced at somepoint, and will be under #au you can ask messages to the AU, but please specify. I use my own headcanons here and my version of Diluc, it may vary from what you wish/want/or perceive as canon. I wouldn't say my version necessarily but just, "my writings/written Diluc" / "how I write Diluc"

-Diluc will respond as the OC x Canon Universe version regardless of the ask, although unless Lily is mentioned, there really isn't any need to specify this.

-This blog skips around in the timeline often, if you wish to ask a question to a certain part of time,please specify

-You can ask romantic questions, it will be tagged as #noncanon since it is.. not canon to any universe I have. Honestly if you want to do this just ask me to roleplay with you in dms, its easier and more fun for me, I prefer writing vs simply replying in character though. Lit Roleplays they are called right? >< Minors please do not ask direct romantic questions, general things as "what is your dream date" are fine but I don't want to write any romance for a minor.

- I have not run a blog like this before, be aware of that

- the in universe explantation for this blog is that lady beatrice gave everyone a book and they write and receive questions and no one else can read the book..or .. simply it doesnt matter. Basically Diluc is aware of the universe he is receiving questions from is a paraell of 'Lilys Original Universe' (think that book from sunset to twilight in equestria girls.. that was the main inspo)

-This takes place in a world without lumine and aether, I'm sure theres plot holes with that, but it isn't serious enough to fill them. I do have an AU with Lily with the traveler but I don't talk about it much. Lily is suppose to take the role of the traveler I suppose. Does she look like lumine? I hate to tell you but one of the multiple names I was given was Lily (complicated on how I have three names) and I happen to be blonde and decided to cut my hair short a few years ago before genshin. Am I secretly Lumine? Feel free to speculate.

- Questions can be sent for Kaeya, Claret, Lily and other ocs if I ever add any more (specify or it default's to diluc)

-You or you're ocs can reply, if its an oc, please specify for me

-Lily is literally just me, but as a written (fictionalized) version of me that is in Teyvat, there are differences since.. she is an alternate me essentially. Although what she says does not correlate to me always. If Lily is rude to you/your oc it doesn't mean I am. I think writing an Isekaied version of myself and the problems/dynamics it has is super fun and interesting. Lily has a third person perspective on Teyvat and knows more about it, due to being a 'reader' Diluc meanwhile lives in it. Also Genshin is simply referred to as /the story/ since it gets too idk I just like it like that lol

- I do full literate roleplays in DMs Only, I have the right to decline, say I'm too busy etc (although.. this is rare for me) I can do OC's or as previously mentioned. I find it super weird to have anyone share my writing where anyone could see the roleplay/full roleplay. I do prefer to roleplay on discord if its a full literate roleplay.

- do not be scarred to talk to me PLEASE.. i am begging for people to interact with 😭

-NO NSFW, I do not mind jokes but I keep that strictly to my friends (my mutuals are friends) if we are friends just talk about that casually with me lol

- Proship (yes that includes k/eluc) do not interact, I am adopted myself, my partner is chinese, we know Kaeya is adopted. Please leave me alone and stop making weird comments about my family origin and adoption as a whole. I will block you. If you're blocked on my main blog, I'm not going to respond to you here either. Didn't read all this? PROSHIP DNI

-important tags include (will update as needed):

#diluc #kaeya #claret #lily #beatrice #character intro #au #noncanon #ooc #ask #bloginfo #dilucsdiary #timeline

Tags are in the bottom of this post for easily finding it

Diluc's Intro: