Chapter Text
CHAPTER I: PAVO OCELLUS
A Curious Task
“Big Bro Kaeya, Big Bro Kaeya!”
Kaeya sighed happily when his door swung open on its hinges, banging against the wall. A photograph swung on its hook and he lifted a hand to straighten its crooked end. Paper scattered across his table ruffled as the sudden whirlwind that was Klee, Ordo Favonius’ one and only Spark Knight, barreled into his office. Her timing was utterly impeccable as Kaeya could scarcely come up with a reasoning as to why the use of public property - in this case woefully positioned merchant caravans - was necessary in clearing hilichurl camps near an outpost in Windrise. He scooped up the swath of papers in his lap, and dumped them on the end table just in time for Klee to swing herself up onto his lap.
Smiling around the young knight was quite easy considering how cute she was. Her hat slipped over eyes in her haste to scramble up on his thighs, cream-colored locks tied in messy soot-dusted twin tails that upon closer inspection seemed to be tipped with tiny embers. Kaeya flicked his forefinger against the tip of his thumb. A shard of ice cooled the air and doused the smoldering locks til the embers had ceased to burn. Klee, none the wiser, adjusted her hat and huffed from the exertion. Her reddened cheeks rounded as she turned a bright smile upon him, and Kaeya couldn’t help but return it genuinely despite the rather abrupt interruption.
Still, at such an early hour the sun had yet to even kiss the head of Barbatos’ statue. What mischief - no, adventure - could their little sunspot have gotten up to since she left Jean’s sights this morning. His answer came in a string of words illustrated by wild gesticulations and sound effects. Klee staring up at him with a riled gleam in her eyes. Brows raised, Kaeya leant back against the plush upholstery of his office’s armchair as he absorbed the information so graciously given to him. Once a conclusion was reach, he hummed idly then said, “So, you were given a task by Captain Albedo to retrieve an ingredient he needed…”
Klee nodded hurriedly, her cheeks puffed in an adorable show of irritation. Kaeya did his best not to laugh. Klee could be rather touchy about situations that eluded her. “I went to a lot of places and some were super scary, but nothing made any sense…” She dropped her hands to her lap and flopped across his thighs dramatically, hat slipping off her head and tumbling down to the midnight blue carpet beneath the tea table. Kaeya leant forward to pick it up, patting her back sympathetically.
“Why didn’t you ask Sucrose?” He suggested, wondering when he last saw her after she’d disappeared into the library a few days ago. She’d walked with the fervor of a soul destined for the gallows. Likely something to do with the books she’d been cradling to her chest like a shield.
If only that would stave off Lisa’s wrath - his arm still stung from the last time he’d kept a book past its due date.
Klee folded her arms and tucked her cheek against them, peering up at him with a look that reminded him of Jean - utterly exasperated but determined. “If I asked Sucrose then she would tell Albedo and he would think I can’t do it,” she huffed at him, legs kicking in the air. “I’m a big girl though. I can do anything that he can.”
Kaeya wanted to point out that she still wasn’t able to stay out past sundown out of fear of what lurked in the shadows. Though poking at her insecurities would’ve been too cruel even for him. Logically speaking, there was good reason for caution considering recent events. However Klee’s aversion was a little more of the childish variety much to his relief. If anything were to befall his little clover, there would be hell to pay. Covering his budding agitation with a featherlight simper and a note of levity, Kaeya asked, “Well, why don’t I help you?”
Klee perked up at that, pressing uncomfortably against his thighs as she scrambled to sit up. “You will?!” She cheered, then gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. Kaeya nearly winced at the sharp smack her hands made but Klee only seemed concerned of her volume. In a quieter voice, reserved for children who were barely able to keep their excitement, she whispered, “And you won’t tell Albedo?”
He could hardly think of what would bring his path to cross his fellow captain’s, and of course, how difficult could the chief alchemist’s task be?
“Of course I won’t, it’ll be our little secret,” Kaeya put a finger to his lips to which Klee happily mimicked with a sunny grin. “Although, there’s something I’ll need in exchange..” Her brows raised, lips pulled to one side in a thin line. The look of skepticism and wonder reminded him far too much of Lisa. So to sweeten the deal, he added, “Something that only our Spark Knight could accomplish.”
Technically, it was true and not. Though implications mattered little to Klee who awed at the opportunity and strained to straighten up at attention with a salute. Concern briefly bittered Kaeya’s thoughts on sending the young girl on another errand and he quickly did a mental shuffle around necessities. Perhaps something easier, considering his fondness for Klee outweighed his mirth at seeing Jean’s exasperation toward the girl’s antics. Or his own humor at seeing the mischief she'd wrought on a new day.
Once his quarry was identified, Kaeya expertly weaved a tale of treachery and woe concerning his ardent yet fruitless battle against a shield-bearing Mitachurl. He sighed mournfully for the destruction of an honest fruit peddler’s cart then clenched his fist in a vow to avenge his wares. By the end, Klee’s peach-colored cheeks were flushed a deep rosy red and she sniffled. Panic arose in harsh chains clenching his heart as she rubbed at her eyes, hushed sobs buried in her sleeve.
Ah, perhaps he exercised a bit too much theatrics.
“This is why I need you,” Kaeya intoned softly, patting her back gently. “While this task was far too difficult for me alone, I’m sure with your help, it can be done.”
Klee gave one long inhale and a final eye rub, her face set in heartbreaking determination considering the redness around her eyes. “You can count on me, Big Br— I mean.. Captain Kaeya!”
Kaeya barely suppressed a wince at the use of his title, rubbing her head affectionately. “I am in your debt, Spark Knight Klee.”
Klee perked up and gave him a small smile, extinguishing his panic. “Oh! The story was so sad, I almost forgot.” She tugged her satchel around to her lap, brushing aside the furry pom pom Kaeya swore was staring up at him suspiciously. After she rummaged around, she pulled out a light brown folded square, presenting it to Kaeya. He unfurled it while she talked, swinging her legs back and forth. “Albedo wrote everything down because he said it was instructions meant only for me.”
Kaeya was almost surprised she could decipher anything with the scrawled cryptographic handwriting in greyed ink barely visible beneath splattered ink. The parchment, smooth to the touch and yellowed around its charred brown edges, smelled oddly of philanemo mushrooms cooled in sharp mint. He scanned the passage once then twice, brow raised ever so slightly.
“Do you know what it means, Big Bro K— I mean, Captain Kaeya?”
Kaeya peered over the parchment at Klee’s hopeful expression then folded the scrap again. “I’ll have to give it some more thought,” he said, gripping the bill of her cap and giving it a little twist. Her pout at his aversive answer broke into a warm giggle as she straightened her hat and beamed up at him. “Perhaps while we’re on our way to Windrise the answer will come to me.”
Klee’s eyes glinted like the fuse of her treasures. Which ordinarily would have been a sign of potential property damage. Although, the day was still yet young, anything could happen. She leapt off Kaeya's lap, landing on the carpet in a crouch then rising with a twirl on her toes. An energy abuzz around her like a pyro-wielder who temporarily juxtaposed her image till Kaeya blinked, and was pulled to his feet by her hands grasping his own — beige gloves tugging him away from memories of ones in black and red.
“Come on! Let’s show those hilichurls what for!”
Kaeya chuckled, allowing Klee to pull him out of his office. His strides temporarily halted to close and lock the door although a flash of white fabric, imitative of a dove’s wings, caught his eye as it flitted around the corner at the corridor’s end. An eavesdropper, Kaeya wondered pensively. Mayhaps a quiet observer - though it couldn’t be one of the sentries in search of Klee. There was no panic or interruption. Kaeya's footing shifted to follow but a sharp cry of, “Big Bro Kaeya!”, echoed from behind. His muscles stiffened and he could feel the frown twisting his lips.
Ah, there went the element of surprise.
He shook his head, turning on his heel with a small smile plastered on his face as he followed Klee toward the staircase leading down to the foyer. Out of curiosity, he slipped the folded square out of his breast pocket and opened it once more.
Difficult to ascertain or discover outright
Obvious in darkness, yet hidden in light
A chain to some while freedom to others
Its influence as great as its brothers
Deeper meaning aside, he wondered if something interesting had fallen in his lap. What exactly had Albedo entrusted their young ward to pursue? Kaeya tucked the parchment away, keeping its words in mind long after the second floor disappeared from sight.
Oftentimes, Kaeya forgot the impressive ( and slightly worrying ) reputation Klee amassed during her short tenure in the Ordo’s care. Well-meaning as she was, her inclinations towards good will often led to disaster which was merely a side effect of youthful indulgences. He could hardly imagine what he would have done with her knowledge at such an age. The thought resurfacing memories he’d rather not reflect upon for a multitude of reasons - one, being that it would distract him from the hilarity of two sentries attempting to interrogate his young charge as politely as possible.
After all, for all the trouble she caused, Klee’s intentions weren't to cause trouble. She shared a love for justice and took to heart the teachings of their dear Master of Knights. But the potential property damage and disturbance of wildlife tended to put the Ordo in a difficult position, specifically with certain commities dedicated to the prosperity of Mond.
Kaeya tucked his thumbs in his belt loops and lumbered over, whistling in cheek as he listened to Klee recount the story he’d told her with greater embellishments. “Lawerence, Swan,” Kaeya interjected, cutting off Klee in the midst of her re-enactment of Kaeya’s defeat at the hands of the Mitachurl she was entrusted to slay. Both men looked up to him. Swan, with clear skepticism, while Lawrence seemed relieved.
“Sir Kaeya,” Lawrence said with a salute, his blue eyes brightened with unfettered interest as he ushered Klee to turn and face Kaeya with a hand brushed against her shoulder. “Is it true? You were defeated by a Mitachurl and—”
“Excuse him, Captain Kaeya,” Swan interjected, his mouth twisted into a scowl as he shot Lawrence a withering glare. “We were concerned for little Klee — er, Lady Klee’s safety...” He cleared his throat and straightened up beside his less than enthusiastic partner. “There have been sightings of.. questionable entities lurking near the Whispering Woods. Master Jean asks that we are all alert during our patrols.”
Kaeya suppressed a smile and tapped his belt lightly. His Vision swung lazily and Klee gasped, then shook off Lawrence’s hand, trotting over to Kaeya’s side. When she grasped his hand, he allowed an easy chuckle to part his lips. “Rest assured, our Spark Knight is more than capable of handling herself.”
Swan’s scowl deepened and the corner of Kaeya’s lips curled upward lazily. That is what he liked most about the dutiful knights in the Ordo. Akin to protecting all, weak or strong, even those who may seem more trouble than what they were worth. To Kaeya, Klee’s safety was paramount. Nothing to be put into question or deliberated upon. Yet, he couldn’t always be present to ensure her protection. At least he could count upon Swan and Lawrence, if the other knight’s shifting eyes and pensive expression were any indication.
“... And I will be her escort for the evening,” Kaeya added, looking down to Klee as she squeezed his fingers. She’d remained oddly quiet as he spoke and he noticed the wink she’d given him. In plain view of the others no less. A quick glance at Swan told Kaeya that he’d seen it but resigned himself with a sigh.
“Very well, Captain Kaeya, but if any incidents are to occur —”
“Then I will handle them promptly,” Kaeya prefaced. His voice lowered to an ominous, forlorned murmur. “Swan, have I somehow lessened your faith in my capabilities?”
Swan stiffened while Lawrence parted his lips, quibbling, “The Mitachu—”
“No,” Swan blurted out, drowning Lawrence’s question with an almost manic pitch. A few passersby on carts and foot slowed their pace and turned to look toward the knight. His cheeks tinged pink and Kaeya preened, marvelling at how mortified he looked. “Please, carry on, Captain Kaeya and…” He glanced down at Klee, then curtly nodded. “Lady Klee. May Barbatos and his gentle wind protect you both.”
Kaeya folded his hand over his heart and nodded, eye half-lidded. “You as well.” He looked down to Klee, swaying from one foot to the other and looking around at the foot traffic. To be young and blissfully unaware. Kaeya cleared his throat and she twisted around to look up at him, lips curved in an ‘o’ and head tilted. He tapped his hand over his heart and nodded toward the amused duo.
“O-Oh!” She hopped in place then mimicked a bow, a little clumsier as her hat tipped forward. “Uhm…” One hand shielded her mouth as she whispered up to Kaeya. “What am I supposed to say…?”
Lawrence barely muffled a laugh, shoulders trembling while Swan’s seriousness melted away with a genial smile. The power of a child’s innocence was staggering. Kaeya squeezed her hand gently, whispering, “May the Wind protect you.”
Klee flashed him a thumbs up then parroted heartily to Swan, “May the Wind protect you!”
Swan chuckled, the gloom cleared as he stared down at her with a tender fondness. “And you as well, Spark Knight.”
It warmed Kaeya’s heart to see Klee preen at the use of her title. While she wasn’t old enough to swear any oaths and certainly wouldn’t until Jean and Lisa felt she was good and ready, the Spark Knight was a remarkable source of inspiration. Why — the smiles of Mond’s children were what every Knight aspired to protect. At least, any knight worth their wine.
Klee led him through the gate, the disparity in their sizes making the act comical considering how she pulled and tugged at his hand.
Swan and Lawrence resumed their posts, requests for permits and questions of mercantile pursuits fainter now as Kaeya followed Klee across the stone bridge overlooking Cider Lake. Her hand slipped from his as she bounded forward to chase warbling pigeons blocking the path of a few carts. Their flustered, wide-eyed look culminated in an en masse departure from Klee’s approaching figure. Her arms outstretched with whooping laughter as she hopped and called to them. Almost seeming as if she’d take flight herself.
Kaeya almost buried his face in his hand to muffle his laughter but the nearby cart drivers and adventurers, lined faces weary and worn, shared smiles and laughter as they passed Klee by. She returned their waves jovially then turned around to beckon Kaeya over from one of the bridge’s recess. As he strode by, ushering curt nods and quaint greetings to those he remembered, few persons were given a brisk assiduous look.
Seemed he would be a little busy when he came back.
“Big Bro Kaeya!” Klee called, impatience edging her cheerful tone.
He sighed, the thought allowed to dismiss. She took up his hand with glee and pulled him across the bridge seeming to shine brighter than the sun when their boots met the grass.
Kaeya was reluctant to believe Albedo would be so cold and dismissive toward Klee to send her on a fool’s errand. While she often trailed at the alchemist’s heels, beckoning him to teach her newer techniques to bolster her treasures - he never expressed outwardly annoyance. Frankly, Kaeya could hardly recall a time where he’d seen annoyance twist the young man’s features.
His eyes - big, clear, and blue, glistened like sparkling water when Klee bounced up to his legs. Sucrose seldom in a panic when her mentor abandoned the books in his hands to catch Klee. Only with a quick Anemo spell did she manage to stop their fall but Albedo was unperturbed. Thanking her with a backward look over his shoulder, Klee giggling all the while as he scooped her up in his arms.
Jaded as he might be, Kaeya could see no lie in those eyes. Which made their current predicament all the more confusing. The parchment pinched between forefinger half-consumed his thoughts when his eyes wandered away from Klee’s roaming figure, poking into little burrows and climbing over small boulders. Her wide-eyed enthusiasm when startling the occasional nestling Dendro slime or tucking away different manners of flora from lamp grass to wildflowers made the trip a little less boring. Kaeya never had a love for escort missions and even less for uneventful ones.
Nevertheless as they wandered the meandering roads where thin, verdant grass was flattened by wheel, boot and hooves, Kaeya hoped his desire for excitement wouldn’t bring about a skirmish. For how could he beckon excitement if it put their intrepid little knight in harm’s way? His only saving grace from outright boredom when Klee’s findings took her further from his side was Albedo’s writing. Admittedly, Kaeya relinquished his attention on the message’s meaning to analyze its composition. There was a lilting almost whimsical way about like a private musing or a stream of conscience. Yet, he got the impression its rhyme was almost intentional.
Kaeya hadn’t known Albedo had an ear for poems. Perhaps he should set Elzer upon the alchemist so they could wax lyrical purple prose.
“What’re you laughing about, Big Bro Kaeya,” Klee chirped, tugging at his pants leg eagerly. She must have returned from chasing another Dendro Slime. Leaves plastered across her cheeks and blades of grass stuck out of her hair. Neither deterred from her hopeful grin. “Did you figure out what it is Albedo needed?”
With a twist of his thumb, Kaeya closed the parchment with a hushed flap. “Not quite. I was merely admiring how messy it is. I’d always thought our dear Albedo was a touch tidier than this.”
Klee giggled, her eyes twinkled with mirth as she skipped at his side, kicking up loamy soil as she went. “Albedo tries, but he says sometimes chaos happens!” She stuck up a finger and seemed to strike a pose that vaguely reminded Kaeya of the alchemist’s habit of touching his chin while thinking. “It’s important to learn from mistakes so you do not repeat them.”
“Wise words,” Kaeya complimented dryly, a coy smirk twisted his lips as he tucked the parchment away. “Perhaps you should keep them in mind when you are next sentenced to the confinement room.”
Klee made a sound like a choked gasp and glared up at him. “That’s not funny, Big Bro Kaeya!”
Warmth carried in his laughter as he patted the top of her head. “Ah, it’s so nice to be ‘Big Bro’ again instead of Captain,” he said, snickering at Klee’s scandalized expression and the way she pressed her hands against her cheeks in horror.
“O-Oh no…” Her lower lip quivered and the humor died almost instantaneously. Kaeya tried not to feel too horrible but he couldn’t exactly leave her like that. Accustomed to his title as he was, Klee referring to him as such spoke of terrible formality and distance he could only tolerate from one individual.
And there were moments when even that grated at his nerves.
“I know you’re a big girl,” Kaeya acquiesced in a soft tone, nudging her hand away from her cheeks with a finger. She looked up at him with watery eyes and he failed to keep the fondness from his voice. Guilt stabbed him in the chest at that crestfallen look. “But don’t be in such a rush. You’re fine just as you are, Klee.”
Tears blinked away, she seemed to shine brighter and the guilt twisting his chest gradually pulled out - leaving only an aching wound. “You really think so..?” She asked, her voice small and a bit fragile. “Even… even when I make a mess, and Jean gets mad…?”
Oh, if only she knew why Jean was upset. Though now Kaeya had to wonder if Klee did know. Jean wasn’t very good at recognizing her own limitations and tended to push past them even when hindered. Fretting over Klee had become a habit albeit far from a malicious one considering how distraught Jean was overtime she sent the girl to the solitary confinement room.
Am I being too hard on her, Kaeya?
A few questions came to mind unbidden. For one, when had his opinion been considered ideal when dealing with children? For two, why did Jean look at him so earnestly and for comfort no less? And lastly, why did she explain none of this to Klee.
“We all make mistakes, Klee, even Jean…” Kaeya found himself saying, perplexed by the gentle tone as he led her down a forked road. Her fingers tucked against his palm while she held his hand, squeezing with all the strength she had.
“Jean does?”
Curse or blessing as it was, the idea that the Dandelion Knight would ever be anything less than perfect was almost considered heresy. Limitless as Kaeya’s blackmail was on Jean’s less than stellar track record of self-care and sustaining habits, he knew her heart was in the right place. It didn’t surprise him that Klee also saw Jean as untouchable. The girl idolized her in a way other children did their own parents.
Ah. Well, that certainly explained a lot.
“Yes she does, but because she’s made mistakes, she tries to ensure others don’t. Others like you.”
Klee gaped at that, then looked down, “Oh.”
“So even if you make a mistake, Jean still cares for you,” Kaeya assured with a squeeze to her fingers. Klee didn’t seem to register the squeeze or give Kaeya’s words any recognition aside from her head’s slow bobbing. Try as he might, he couldn’t fathom why he tried so hard to convince her of Jean’s affection. That was a mistake their acting grandmaster should have fixed on her own, if she noticed at all. Sighs parted Kaeya’s lips as he spared Klee another glance, her feet dragging in the dirt, creating small trenches in the soil.
Leaving her to her thoughts was heinous but vigilance was necessary whilst out in the open. A breeze swept through the plains, rustling Kaeya’s hair with a westward breeze. He turned his head and gazed out at the distant greyed faces of mountains, their peaks half-hidden by wispy clouds. The sun’s descent cast streaks of light across the swaying boughs of a mighty tree further off their path.
Kaeya could almost make out a dim ethereal blue glow surrounding the Anemo Statue at its base. The number of hydro slimes rolling around the riverbank doubled since his last trip this way. One, shifted slightly from its path and blinked in their direction to which Kaeya smiled. Frost crept along his palm in a tiny flurry of swirling ice particles but a soft high caught his ear, and he glanced down at Klee.
The particles pressed against his glove’s threads unable to escape without his permission much to his chagrin. With the temperate weather, the shards slowly melted against his palm and dripped through the finger holes in his gloves. Kaeya sighed inwardly, deciding to pretend he hadn’t seen the Hydro Slime as they strolled past, following the winding river cutting past the highland.
Silence wasn’t a trait Kaeya attributed with Klee and despite his best efforts concern began to ebb in the back of his mind. Her downcast eyes and solemn demeanor was such a stark contrast to her normal jubilance. Pursing his lips, Kaeya reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. It balanced snuggly on his thumbnail and with a flick, a metallic shing broke the silence as the coin went sailing into the air and twisted around with a few flips. As it came down, the sun glinted off its face and his heart leapt in his throat.
Years of muscle memory came rushing back as he opened his palm and snatched it out of the air. Careful to seem surprised when he gazed down at the coin in his hand, then glanced down at Klee staring up at him in awe.
“How’d you know where it was going to go…?” She asked meekly, voice barely above a whisper.
Oh, he didn’t like that at all. Forcing his lips to a slightly crooked smile, Kaeya shrugged. “Luck,” he lied smoothly, flicking a finger toward her. “Didn’t you know? You’re a good luck charm, Klee.”
Her head inclined slightly, “Good.. luck..?”
Another metaphorical dagger twisted in his chest but he smiled all the while, nodding. “Mm, that clover on your cap is proof of it.”
Klee seemed confused but she gingerly raised her hand, petting the clover curiously. As if the luck would wash off on her fingers when she pulled them back to inspect them seriously. For a second, Kaeya considered leaving it at that. Distractions tended to help when emotions grew too strong. Of that, he was far too certain of. But melancholy didn’t suit Klee. It feels wrong, terrible, and almost too much for him to bare.
Kaeya shook his head, slowing their walk alongside the wreckage of an abandoned carriage left off the roadside. Slowly, weeds and plantlike covered broken wooden boards and curled around wheel spokes. A few wind wheel asters turned lazily in the warm winds, their pale barely visible beneath the carriage’s underside. Klee glanced over and seemed poised to run off and inspect them when something froze her in place, and she shuffled awkwardly, her hand limp in Kaeya’s own.
Deciding enough was enough, Kaeya knelt down and let their joined hands fall to rest atop his bent knee. “Since I shared one of my secrets with you, perhaps you can impart one to me?”
Klee peeked at him, the faintest flicker of curiosity flashed across her face. “It’s a secret?”
“That you’re the Ordo’s good luck charm?” Kaeya feigned a scandalized look, his voice a touch breathy for the dramatization of it all. “But of course! Why if everyone knew, then surely they would want the Spark Knight to come to their rescue.”
Heartbreaking as it was that Klee seemed somewhat doubtful, Kaeya pressed on with fervor. “That is why Jean doesn’t mind if you cause a mess, or when your adventures take a turn for the worse…” He smiled gently, unable to creep away from this nagging feeling in the back of his mind as he laid a hand on her shoulder. This scene felt too familiar but there were details that were too wrong for him to fully feel back then.
The warm sun rays lighting up a cloudless sky instead of a cold dreary grey bereft with dark, angry clouds.
Klee, despondent and melancholic, but otherwise unharmed instead of dust-covered and moth-bitten too tired and hungry to concentrate.
And him —
“Big Bro Kaeya..?”
Kaeya swallowed, absently humming to show he was listening as she stared up at him with sad red eyes — red, not one covered and the other a deep blue.
“Do you still like me even then… even when I’m bad… even if I make you mad?”
He wondered what expression he was wearing for Klee to make such a face, downtrodden and hurt. Had he done something to make her feel one way or the other?
None of that mattered. In this moment, Kaeya was beginning to see that what he said next would be something Klee carried with her for the rest of her life. It would be at the back of her mind in every encounter they had from here on out. Perhaps even shaping how she made friends in the future or viewed herself. Archons, perhaps Barbatos took pleasure in watching him flounder about trying to consider the feelings of someone other than himself. A Mondstadtian, born and raised, looking to an outsider for closure and belonging. This was far more than he’d signed up to embark on when he asked her to come with him.
Another moment of silence passed between them with only the gentle tweeting of birds, droning insect cries, and dull trickling waters to fill where words should be.
Lies were Kaeya’s greatest talent, of that no one could tell him otherwise, but at this moment — he couldn’t stand to lie to her. In one fell swoop, Kaeya scooped Klee up in his arms, somewhat grateful he’d checked her backpack before they left the Order. If all of her Dumptys were stuffed inside she wouldn’t have been as easy to pick up. Which suited him quite well with how she perched on his forearm and stared down at him with barely kept glee, momentarily brightening her expression.
“Of course I do,” Kaeya said, grateful that her sudden hug around his neck hid his shocked expression from view. His hand brushed against her back and patted gently. Fine threads starkly different from threadbare cloths but the press of her arms, he knew well. The fabric of her clothing was well-made, would keep her warm, was lovingly hemmed and it tugged at his heart.
He recalled how meticulous Jean had been in gathering the materials. How happy she was despite the tiredness in her eyes as Klee twirled around her office in her new dress.
Love spoken in subtle ways.
Yet, materialism and good intentions paled in comparison to perceived rejection.