Chapter Text
Kaeya woke with a jolt, gasping like a drowning man. He slowly sits up in sweat-soaked sheets so as to not stir the peacefully sleeping Albedo next to him. Recalling the nightmare he grimaces, sliding out of bed and shoving his feet into soft slippers before they hit the cold, hardwood floor.
They’re silly little bunny slippers, ones gifted to him by Klee, but he can't help but remember when he had similar ones to protect his small feet from the frigid floors at the winery. He’s been remembering a lot of memories from his childhood recently, even the one before Crepus and Diluc, the one his brain had all but decided to forget.
Before his life at the winery all he remembered was small moments of peace with his birth-mother and hugging her before being escorted to a foster home. He knew, when he was older and had looked into his birth-father’s convictions, what else had happened to him in that home, but he read the articles with a sort of disconnected point of view. It never really sunk in that the daughter that had been subject to all those horrid, disgusting things was him .
That was until recently. He remembered being taken by his father, he remembered those drugs being shoved down his throat, he remembered being beaten until his right eye ruptured, and he remembered the pain when the injury was neglected. He remembered watching the same things happening to his mother, and could vividly recall how she had been dragged outside by her hair after being beaten for defending him when he had gotten in trouble for interrupting his father’s meeting because he was hungry, only to be locked outside the house on the cold winter night.
Not only did he suddenly remember his early childhood, but he was also suddenly having night terrors of that stormy night Diluc had thrown him out. He remembers the sound his fist had made when it connected with Diluc’s face for the first time that night, of how his nose looked wrong, wrong, wrong when it came away. The way Diluc had pulled back with a look of shock before shoving him out the door. Of dragging his bloody and bruised self to the Gunnhildr household and awakening in a hospital room.
Kaeya was on the verge of going to an overnight store to buy himself cheap wine to drown his woes in again after not drinking a drop of alcohol in so long.
He left the warmth of the bed to go to the connected master bathroom, turning on the tap and splashing his face in icy cold water. When he looked in the mirror he saw a man with frizzled, knotted hair and dark, dark, circles under tired eyes. His lips were chapped, jaw covered with short stubble beginning to come in. He couldn’t help but stare at the mangled scar in and around his empty eye socket, for one of the first times in his life knowing what happened to make it look like that.
He sighed at the sight of himself, scrubbing a hand over his face.
“Kaeya?” It seemed his attempts in letting his husband sleep had been in vain, “Another nightmare?” He asked, his voice raspy with sleep.
Looking at the mirror he saw a tired Albedo rubbing his tired eyes, a mess of bed hair atop his head.
He almost smiled at the sight of his sleepy husband, but the thoughts swirling in his mind kept his mood weighed down, “Yeah,” He breathes, “Sorry for waking you, darling.”
“You didn’t wake me, it was just… cold without you.” Albedo assures.
Kaeya hummed. Still staring in the mirror, contemplative.
“Hey, Albedo?” He bugun, “How do you feel about paying a visit to my mother?”
***
Not a week later Albedo and Kaeya had dropped Klee off at school before setting the GPS to a new address. Kaeya’s mother’s address.
Kaeya’s wide hands gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles drained of all colour. What would await him? Why did she want to contact him? His mother was a good woman, he knew. She fought for him, always did, but he couldn’t help but be scared. That man, who he once called his father, was locked up, he knew, but the anxiety didn’t let up.
A hand on his thigh startled him out of his thoughts. He could see Albedo, just in his peripheral vision, and could see how concerned he looked.
“Hey, are you okay?” He asked quietly as they pulled up to his mother’s apartment complex. It was a rundown building, the architecture outdated. Kaeya could remember living in a similar apartment when he was younger, it was all he could afford then.
“I’m fine… just anxiety.” He answered with a sigh, “Um, we should probably get going now.” He said awkwardly, scratching his head.
Albedo nodded, stepping out of the car and taking in his surroundings. Kaeya was close behind and soon they were stepping into the elevator.
It was a creaky thing, the elevator rusted and loud with squeaks as they ascended. It certainly wasn’t safe, but it delivered them to the fourth floor without too much issue. Kaeya could tell the high pitched noises it would make weren’t agreeing with Albedo, and he squeezed his hand in hopes to offer some comfort.
Before Kaeya could fully register it, they were standing in front of Selene’s apartment. He was going to see his mother now, and he couldn’t pretend he wasn’t a little bit scared.
He looked to his husband, and Albedo gave him one of small, encouraging smiles, and so he knocked.
The door unlocked with a loud click and opened to reveal a tall, thin woman, with hair the same midnight blue as Kaeya’s. Her eyes were a honey brown, her tanned skin marred with wrinkles and moles, but it was charming, comforting even.
“Mama,” He said in a breath.
Suddenly Kaeya was being crushed in a hug, and after a brief moment of pause, he returned it in earnest. He felt tears stain his shirt, but he couldn’t seem to care.
His mother always felt so large and loving and comforting. She brought warmth when cold seemed to wrap him like a blanket. He felt so safe, even now, in her arms and his arms tightened even further.
It forced a breath out of her, and it sounded kind of like a laugh. She pulled away, cupping his face, and she said in that soft voice of hers, “Oh, my Starlight. You’ve grown into such a handsome young man.”
Kaeya smiled at that, the warmth of validation from his mother washing over him. He leaned his cheek into her scared hands before they retreated.
“Come, come in.” She insisted, opening the door for both Albedo and himself.
The inside of the apartment was tiny, the living area and kitchen joined in one room with zero room for a dining table. There was a hall to a bedroom and bathroom and that was the extent of it. It was decorated in handmade curtains and quilts and vintage furnishings.
It was homely, in a way that made Kaeya nostalgic.
They plopped down on a tiny white sofa at the back wall, while Selene instead pottered around the kitchen, settling a kettle on the stove. She brought a silver tray of chocolate chip cookies, cookies, she explained, that she had baked herself.
“Mama,” Kaeya called, “this is my husband, Albedo.” He said, gesturing at the man to his right.
Selene paused before laughing awkwardly, “I’m sorry for ignoring you,” She started to Albedo, “I’m just so excited to see my son, I’m sure you understand. It’s wonderful to meet you.”
Albedo smiles, “It’s not a problem, Miss. It’s lovely to meet you too.” He responded, “I’m just happy to be here.”
Selene scoffed, “I’m your mother in law, call me Selene or mama. No need for formality.” She insisted.
The kettle whistled then, loud and pitchy and it made Albedo cover his ears. Selene rushed over to the stove, settling the boiling kettle on the counter. She poured the boiling water into three teacups, stream billowing from the rim of the porcelain cups. Setting a teacup to rest on the lip of the cups, she joined them once again.
“I’m so sorry about that. What were we saying?” She asked, settling down on a chair just across from the sofa.
Kaeya looked to Albedo, taking his hand in his. With a breath in he asked, “Is there.. any reason why you chose to contact me now?” He asked his mother.
She paused, her face contorting into a frown, “I..” She began, “I really did want to reconnect with you. But well, there was a deeper reason. I’m sorry.” Her hands were wringing in her lap as she spoke, her eyes fixated on the ground.
“What is it?” Kaeya insisted, “If it’s something important, you have to tell me, mama.” He stressed, “You make it sound like.. like.. He’s getting out of prison.”
Selene sucked in a breath, squeezing her eyes shut, “That’s because.. your father is.”