Chapter Text
- KAEYA -
what do you do when you find out you have purifying blood? well, when you're kaeya, you do what anyone else would do...
he laughs hysterically. for several long minutes. he laughs until his sides ache and his lungs burn for air.
he slaps his hand against his thigh.
albedo sits and waits for the knight to finish his bout of laughter, documents in his hands.
"sir kaeya." he presses.
kaeya finally calms, wiping a tear that falls from his visible eye. "that's a good one. who knew you were such a comedian~" kaeya sighs.
albedo huffs softly, "i am not quite so sure why you're in denial over this."
this truth came to light a few days ago when the knights of favonius had been urged to go through a medical exam — which occurred every few years to ensure they were in the best shape possible. kaeya hadn't been in the ranks the last time one took place.
"well, i hate to rain on parades but what makes you so sure of this little theory of yours? purifying blood? that doesn't exist. how can it?" kaeya points out. he doesn't even know what that means, let alone how HE apparently has it.
"it means... you have a special blood."
kaeya arches a fine brow. "how does someone like me have 'special blood'?"
"because you're from khaenri'ah. there's a lot that's different about you." he explains, sliding his medical report over to kaeya.
"we noticed something strange about your blood. the color was dark but it almost looked blue. i decided to look into it more and ran some tests. i experimented on creatures from our homeland and it seemed to cause minimal changes, which, so far is fur turning back to skin in the areas it touched. i'm not sure what else it can do, but it was enough to start my theory." he explains, lifting his gaze to look at kaeya.
the knight sits there, staring at his report, expression unreadable. in his mind, he's rapidly melting down. this doesn't make any sense. how can he possibly have this sort of blood? why him? he's so far disconnected from his own home that he should be the last person to have any sort of special, magical blood.
he finally speaks.
"why?"
albedo tilts his head, "well, why not?"
"i- i don't know. i just don't think this is right. i'm just a knight, i... can't be some savior..." no, definitely not. sure, he may be the cavalry captain, he may be one of the best knights in their nation, but it doesn't mean he's a savior . he doesn't even know what he's a savior TO, let alone why he's chosen. it feels... wrong, especially knowing what his true destiny was when he first arrived to mondstadt.
no, he definitely doesn't deserve this title.
albedo tilts his head to try and meet kaeya's eye, "what's so wrong with it?" he asks, curious.
kaeya shrugs a shoulder as he sets his papers down.
"it's just not something i am. even if i did have this special, magical blood, what am i supposed to even do with it? what am i even saving? isn't that what all the archons are for? to save everyone? why is it falling to me now?" no, this just isn't right. this isn't fair.
when he climbed ranks in the knights, he didn't do it for glory or power. he did it because he wanted to save people. he wanted to protect the land he grew to care about.
now he's expected to... to what? to be this new figure everyone looked to when despairing?
yeah, no. count him out.
albedo opens his mouth to speak when kaeya stands.
"sorry, al, but i'm not interested in whatever it is this is. i'm flattered, really, but this just isn't for me." he turns on his heel and leaves the headquarters.
the second he's out the door, he's running. he leaps off one of the walls and unfurls his glider, flying down into the plaza. he lands and hurries through the crowd, not sure where he's going.
in his rush, he bumps into someone, knocking them both off balance.
he catches himself, looking up with a wide eye to see who he bumped into.
"oh, i'm sorry." he apologizes, meeting sea blue eyes. a mask adorns half the blonde's face, but what really gets his attention is the star pupil like his own. the only ever time he'd seen pupils like this was from his father.
did that mean....
it seems the blonde has the same thought as shock and recognition fills his expression.
kaeya shakes out of his daze first.
"sorry, didn't mean to bump you." he apologizes again.
"it's fine." the blonde answers in a rather low, almost monotone voice. he sounds like he's tired.
kaeya itches to know more about this stranger, but after the news he received moments ago, he's not exactly ready to unpack whatever it is this guy has.
"well, it's nice meeting you. if you need anything, please ask any of the knights at the headquarters or put in a commission with the adventurer's guild. i'll maybe see you around."
with that, he waves off the blonde before departing. he makes his way to angel's share, sighing in relief when he sees diluc behind the bar.
he sits on one of the stools, resting his chin on his palm as he watches him.
diluc catches his gaze before immediately moving off to prepare his usual. when finished, he slides the tankard over, kaeya sighing in relief.
the captain takes a long drink. he wipes the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand and slumps.
"well, if you're drinking like that, something tells me you're more troubled than usual. what happened, did jean tell you to finally wear a shirt properly?" diluc's voice drolled out, the redhead cleaning a glass with a dishtowel.
kaeya rolls his eyes, "no. i wish." he drums his fingers on the bartop.
diluc arches a brow, coming over to stand in front of kaeya.
"what is it then?" he asks, making an attempt to be there for the other.
kaeya stares into his drink, dull blue star staring back.
they sit in silence for a moment, and just when diluc thinks kaeya isn't going to tell him, the captain speaks up.
"have you ever heard of purifying blood?" he asks, voice unusually quiet.
the winery master pauses in his tracks. he tilts his head, purifying blood? he never once heard of such a thing. he never even knew to think about the concept.
"um no, i haven't. why?"
kaeya sighs softly. "because i have it." he answers, afraid to look up, afraid diluc would think he's finally lost his mind.
the redhead sits in stunned silence, staring his brother down. this had to be a trick, right? kaeya is known for pulling his leg and trying to get a rise out of him. part of him wants to believe that, but after the recent events that transpired between them, and the attempts at reconciling, he knows kaeya wouldn't lie about something as outrageous as this.
diluc takes a breath, "explain." he prompts.
the frost swordsman shuts his eye. "i did a physical exam for the knights. albedo called me in today to talk about my results and he told me i had this... special, magical blood. when he said it, i... i laughed in his face. it's crazy. there's just... no such thing."
he pauses, finally looking up to regard diluc, "it's crazy... right?"
diluc hums softly as he lowers his head and takes a moment to think about it. he still doesn't know much about kaeya nowadays, only what he chooses to reveal to everyone, but he does know he isn't crazy. he clearly didn't think kaeya had anything like this, though. yet another surprise on the list of neverending surprises.
though, that doesn't mean he understands this revelation. he isn't sure what to make of it, actually. he would need more information in order to really cast judgment.
"i honestly don't know. i don't think it's crazy, but i don't know what it means either."
kaeya frowns, shoulders drooping. diluc has never seen him so miserable.
"all albedo told me is that it's because of where i come from — that i'm this... savior. my blood healed a hilichurl, reverted parts of its body back to its original state."
crimson eyes widen at the news, having not expected this turn of events. he doesn't know much about the creatures that plague their home, so he hadn't assumed that they had an original state to begin with.
he did always wonder about them, though, about how some were more intelligent than the others.
what did that mean for all the other creatures? are they also like them?
"okay, so wait... they have an original state?" he asks to clarify before his mind can spiral with endless questions.
kaeya sighs, lowering his head as he realizes he really does have to divulge everything about his former kingdom. it instills a fresh wave of anxiety, knowing what happened the last time he revealed the truth about himself.
still, kaeya nods, "all the creatures you've fought — the hilichurls, the abyss order — they're... they're all former people from my homeland."
diluc feels his blood run cold at this knowledge. those creatures… are all people? granted, diluc has fought actual humans before, but something about this feels… wrong.
the redhead bites his lip. he should have known that there's more to the world than meets the eye.
"okay." he takes a breath, "this is going to be a heavy topic, so, i'm going to close up early and we can head home and discuss it there. alright?" he proposes.
kaeya looks up in surprise at diluc, heart thrumming with warmth when he realizes diluc had said "home."
he nods, "i... okay, yeah, that works."
"good. then it's settled."
what they don't know is the listening ears of the mysterious blonde from earlier that had followed kaeya in.