Work Text:
Love has almost always been cold, the irony of his vision he thinks. In his words he’d say love was gripping his arm with frozen hands- instead of caresses there's claws scratching at his skin.
His birth family was cold, just like the weather of the mystical land he called home as a child, although he had an elder brother , the elder preferred to meddle amongst kids his age rather than his own brother. His parents were busy, either with work or just business with others- it left his child self to his own tools, silent and quiet play time, immersing himself with his own dreams and desires at the time- friends, travelling, adventures.
His quiet fantasies don’t last long when he wanders into the forest a bit too far and when he returns there's fire engulfing the place he called home.He doesn't cry- if anything he wishes he were able to have taken some things but time cannot be reversed and so he trudged on. He moves on with a quiet melancholic mood- gathering the few things he can from the wreckage- some jewels ,coins that can be salvaged and a map that somehow escaped the fire only a bit burnt from the edges.
On the map he sees there's the marking of a town ‘mondstadt’ it’s called. Remembering his books speaking of such a place in their text, the land of the free, the god barbatos.
Freedom, he thinks a moment, yes that’s what he wants to have.
He begins the trek.
.
.
.
He passes out at some point- he doesn't remember where but he wakes up in the warmth of a bed,there’s a wet towel over his forehead and kaeya looks around confused, his first instinct is to get out- as soon as his foot touches the ground though- the room starts to spin till he has to sit down against the bed. He lays there till a man comes through the door.
Red headed and with a warm smile.
Kaeya feels the first flickers of love. He meets his now brother, he feels warmer.
Until the warmth is extinguished, it's colder than it was before. Kaeya ignores it, what good could it even do.he starts putting on a mask,to hide the coldness.its something he'll deal with. Piling work until he's ready to collapse, or drinking till he's out cold.
Emotions are fickle, he wishes he didn't have to deal with them, but they're only human.
He's accepted that his life is just meant to be cold, he'd compare it to be akin to the weather in dragonspine, the sheer cold chilling everything in reach.
He meets childe as he does everyone, with a polte smirk and a shake of the hand- he knows about tartaglia and his status as fatui. The harbinger says he's been assigned to mondstadt now,so kaeya treats childe like a person of interest as he would for a case- as the knights of favonius.
He goes on with his life like normal, his interactions and meetings with childe increase til it gets to the point where he's more in the harbinger's company than not.
He feels flickers of flames igniting when one day kaeya gets the lower hand for once and there's a small gash across the length of his arm. There's a protective aggressiveness that rages in tartaglia's oceanic depths he calls eyes, there's crackles of electro and the trio of treasure hoarders seem to realize too late their mistake. They're knocked out in seconds, childe looks at their unconscious bodies with a frown, eyes void of the light.
Though turning back to kaeya his ocean blue eyes waver worryingly at him, swirling with concern. 'Are you alright', kaeya feels warmer than usual, forgetting to answer as he stares at the harbinger. The knight waves off the other's concern, but tartaglia wouldn't be tartaglia without his stubbornness.
Despite kaeya's lax attitude about his injuiry , the scneznayan wisks him away before he leaves to the favonius head quarters.
Childe sneaks the knight inside the place he's staying, past the rest fatui agents, to his room, setting kaeya down at the edge of the bed. The harbinger pulls out a box filled with medical supplies, rolls of gauze and a few bottles, some with liquid some containing tablets,a bundle of cotton fit snuggly in the corner.
As the redhead seats himself on the bed aswell facing kaeya, propping the injuired arm on the harbinger's leg.Childe merely rips a small peice of the cotton from the bundle, pressing it against the mouth of a bottle containing red liquid. Theres a calming comfortable silence thats practically becoming boilingly hot by the minute.
Tartaglia takes his time, scarred hands gentle as they work on tanned skin, dabbing the medicine absorbed cotton against the wound's edges. Kaeya only winces once or twice from the sting, but his skin remains flushed when the fatui agent pulls away, grabbing for the gauze.
Theres a furrow of concentration in childe's brow as he works, wrapping the gauze around kaeya's arm.
Kaeya stays quiet but he feels like he's on fire, 'so this is how it feels' He thinks to himself , his skin feels feverish, he feels the fire under his skin from where childe has a firm but gently grasp on his wrist to stop it from moving as he bandages. The emotion is something he cant place his finger on but it's addicting.
The moment seems to last way longer than kaeya would think, theres a dopey self satisfied grin on the harbingers face as he finishes the bandage with a small bow, the tie holding the the gauze against his skin well.
Kaeya smiles, an honest one,toward childe. Childe seems to flush, its apparent, his cheeks getting pinker as kaeya continues to stare.
Kaeya isnt sure how to continue with the situation- it isnt something he's well versed in or experianced really.
Kaeya lowers his gaze to where childe's hands lay, numerous scars across the backs of his hand, some slipping past into the dips of his fingers and then more. The knight is nervous in his next actions,reaching out to press his fingers to trace the scarring on his hands with a careful touch of his fingertips.
Theres a sharp intake of breath from the redhead. Kaeya contined running his fingertips across the marked skin, childe carefully slips his hand into kaeya's pulling his upward and pressing his lips to kaeya's knuckles, gentle and chaste, staring into eyes that seem to hold the world's collection of stars. The harbinger pulls back, his hand remaining in the other's grasp still.
Ocean and starry sky stare into each other's depths, theres a mutual warmth between them despite their differences.
Kaeya feels like hes set aflame. He tries his chances and leans forward, his other hand coming up to cup the side of childe's face, pressing lips against another pair.
He finds himself surprised when the other presses back, his hands coming to grasp kaeyas waist, the knight wrapping his arms around tartaglia's shoulders,mindful of his injuiry.
Kaeya is beginning to understand why people like the warmth love brings with it. Its addicting, he realizes.