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My entire body ached as I left the plane of Euthymia. Burn marks raced across my arms in the skittish pattern of lightning, but I hid it best I could as both the Raiden Shogun’s army and the Resistance waited in baited breath. The Shogun herself stepped forward, outside of Euthymia for the first time in a long while. I barely heard a word as she stood her soldiers down, and spoke to Kazuha and Gorou. Paimon, ever worried about my well being, bobbed over to me. I did my best to give her a smile.
“We won,” I murmured. An attempt at reassurance. It very much fell flat.
“Traveler, are you okay?” she asked, concern not budging. I glanced at the others, watching as they spoke to one another, relief slowly overshadowing doubt.
“Not here.”
Paimon seemed relieved at the response, the admittance that I was not okay, giving a short nod before floating over to others. No sooner had I followed after than Paimon was pulling me away from the crowd, calling out well wishes to the others.
My floating friend guided me out of the Tenshukaku and towards the closest teleport waypoint. Grateful, I gave her a hug, before activating it.
“Let’s go home.”
In a flash of light, we moved from one point to another. The cool breeze eased my sore skin, and I felt for the first time in months that I could finally breath. It was dark out, something I hadn’t noticed in Inazuma, but where the skies always seemed grey and I was constantly moving from place to place, it wasn’t hard to miss. Here, on the roof of the Knight of Favonius Headquarters, I could see the stars spilling across the sky. After a moment to take in Mondstadt, the way my body seemed to relax in the nation’s embrace, I made my way over to the edge of the roof, gliding down without a word. Paimon followed after, a knowing look on her face as I headed straight for the building’s doors. The guards standing to the sides seemed surprised by my presence, though happy as they waved. I weakly waved back, but didn’t linger long. It was as though I was running on autopilot. Soon enough I was knocking on Jean’s door, Paimon hovering beside me. After a moment of shuffling papers, Jean’s voice rang out.
“Come in!”
Relieved, I quickly opened it. Jean was sat behind her desk, looking as worn but passionate as ever. Her eyes widened as she spotted me. Smile quickly grew on her face, and she stood to meet me.
“Traveler! It’s been so long, how are you?”
I glance warily at Paimon, unsure of how much to say. She shrugged.
“I’m… tired. But glad to be back,” I said, voice a bit softer than I’d intended. Jean’s brow furrowed.
“I see… your travels have not been kind to you, have they? Is there anything I can do for you?”
“I was wondering if you knew where Kaeya would be?”
She blinked at the request, before smiling once more.
“Well, I believe he fulfilled a few arduous tasks today and was meaning to head to the Angel’s Share for a celebratory drink with a few of the other knights,” she offered. “I’m sure he’d be happy for you to join.”
My chest tightened at the thought of seeing him again, smiling and celebrating. If that wasn’t a sight I missed dearly…
“Thanks, Jean.”
“Of course, Traveler. If there’s anything else…”
“No, that’s fine. I should probably be going now,” I responded, wincing a bit at the hasty response. Jean, to her credit, didn’t seem to take offence. Instead, she let out a light chuckle, smiling warmly.
“Can’t say I’m surprised. I’ll leave you to it then. Stay safe.”
“I’ll try,” I said somewhat wryly, waving as I left.
Before I knew it, I was breaking into a sprint down the streets of Mondstadt. Paimon tried her best to keep up, but before long gave up and teleported ahead of me, waiting by the door of the inn. With barely a wave of greeting to the patrons loitering outside, I walked straight in, eyes quickly scanning the crowd. It didn’t take long; Kaeya was stood on a table with a drink in his hand, cheering with his fellow knights as 6 fingered Jose strummed away. Diluc seemed to have entirely given up on reigning in the man’s extravagance, grimace stuck to his face as he wiped down the counter. It was only when he noticed me that his expression shifted. Kaeya seemed to notice, having been enjoying getting on Diluc’s nerves. I watched as his gaze bounced from Diluc to me, eyes widening, grin falling to slight astonishment. Slowly, he got down from the table, cheering petering out at the cavalry captain’s sudden shift in mood. Placing down his drink, he weaved through the crowd, coming to stand in front of me. He reached out a hand, as though to check whether I was real. When it came to land on my upper arm, squeezing gently, it was as though the dam broke. Months worth of stress and agony collapsing in on me. Kaeya let out a startled grunt as I threw myself into him, burying my face in the crook of his neck and holding on to him tight. I barely registered my own sobbing until his hand came up to the back of my head, gently running through the strands of hair as he pulled me in just as tight.
“Traveler…” he muttered. I tightened my grip. “What in Teyvat happened to you…”
It seemed less as though he was asking me and more voicing a thought. At the very least, he didn’t seem to expect a response. As the rest of the tavern watched on in bewilderment, he tucked me closer to him, guiding me towards the door. Paimon stayed back, relaying reassurances to the patrons and fellow knights.
Back out in the cool night air, Kaeya brought me to a somewhat secluded area. He continued to comfort me until, finally, my tears ran dry. Even then, he didn’t move to let go until I did, and continued to hold my hand even after.
“Do you have somewhere to stay for the night?” he asked softly, worry plainly written on his face. I shook my head, voice still lodged in my throat. “Would you be opposed to staying with me? I’d hate to leave you like this.”
I shook my head once more, gripping his hand tight. Kaeya hummed.
“Alright, lets go.”
I’d never been to Kaeya’s place before. It was small, cozy, if not somewhat unlived in. I didn’t get much of a look though. He was quick to guide me towards the sofa, sitting down beside me.
“Is it alright if I hold you?” he asked, oddly tentative for the usually confident man. I lieu of a response, I clung onto him, burying my head in the crook of his neck again. He sighed, pulling me in close until I practically covered him. I felt his chin rest atop my head. Slowly, he began to untangle my hair, gently easing out any knots until it was splayed out neatly around me. He hummed softly as he went. From there, his hands slowly trailed to my shoulders, massaging the tension out of them. He continued that treatment down my back until I was limp against him.
“You don’t have to talk about what happened, but I’m here, Traveler, if you need me,” he murmured, gently tracing shapes I didn’t recognise on my back. I mulled it over for a moment, relaxed enough that the idea of talking didn’t seem to impossible.
“Inazuma… it’s nothing like Mondstadt,” I started, barely a whisper though he seemed to hear it by the way he stilled for a moment, before continuing his movements. “I felt claustrophobic there, like the world was pressing in on me. Every time I turned a corner I felt like I had to prepare myself for another fight. I know Mondstadt like the back of my hand. Inazuma… Inazuma was something I couldn’t prepare for.”
Kaeya’s hold on me tightened every so slightly, his hand moving in small circles instead as he focused on what to say.
“You’re here now. You can let all of that stress go. I know it’s hard, but we’re here. I’m here. I’ve got you.” Kaeya’s voice was soft as he spoke, yet unyielding. I curled up tighter into him, breathing in his scent. It was like mint and sweetflowers, with a hint of celias from running around Mondstadt all day.
“Thank you, Kaeya. I-“ I cut myself before I could say anything dumb. The ever watchful man noticed though, and before I could try to come up with something else, one of his hands moved to my cheek, gently guiding my face to look up at his. My breath caught in my throat. He was usually so guarded, but in that moment, I felt like he lay his emotions bare for me to see. There was no point lying to him. “I love you.”
I heard his breath stutter for a moment, but instead of pulling away, he leaned closer, resting his head against mine as his eye closed.
“I love you too, dearest Traveler,” he said near reverently.
It was not nearly the revelation that I thought a confession of love might have been. Instead, it was merely speaking aloud what we both knew to be true. I settled against him, taking in this wonderful man, my refuge from the storm that had been following me for months. His thumb slowly swiped across my cheek. His eye opened once more, gaze darting lower on my face.
“May I kiss you?”
“Please.”
It was gentle. The soft press of his lips, cold from his Vision a balm against mine. He was slow, gentle, ever so careful not to hurt my already split lip. The tenderness of his touch had tears spring to my eyes once again. He continued to press light kisses across my cheeks, and then to my forehead.
“Hold onto me,” he said, shifting slightly so my legs bracketed his hips. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and as soon as he was sure of my grip, he lifted me off the sofa. He was careful not to jostle me too much as he walked towards his room, and lowered me onto the bed. Soon, he followed after, and guided me to rest my head against his chest. The soft thumping of his heart was like a lullaby, and I melted into his embrace as he pulled the blankets up and over us.
“Rest now. I can tell you haven’t slept well in a long time,” he said, carding a hand through my hair. “You can relax here. I will keep you safe.”
It was rare to have someone protecting me rather than the other way around. After all, I was the hero of Mondstadt, the protector of Liyue, the Rebellion’s sword in Inazuma. Always front and centre, with no room for error. Being the one protected… it was a foreign concept to me. But it was in no way unwelcome. What really made it important was that I truly trusted that Kaeya would keep his word. He would protect me, if the time came. It was just a fact.
For the first time since I left Mondstadt, I settled. I could feel sleep creeping up on me, weariness from the hard battles, tough domains, and long distances catching up to me.
“Good night, love.”