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Whoever did I wrong to be stuck doing this , Lumine wonders one hot night, shifting her grip on a stumbling, very drunk, very flirty Cavalry Captain.
She enjoyed walking around Mondstadt at night, when the hustle and bustle of the city quietened and there was nothing to do other than watch the stars. Fantasize about finding Aether.
It was calm, the way she could stroll above Good Hunter with no Fatui to drill holes into her sides with their eyes. Nor anyone calling out for her to help them with who-knows-what. Just her, the moon and -
Her head snapped towards the stairs, from where rambunctious laughter rose.
- and a very drunk Kaeya.
She spared the night sky one last glance - some other time - before making for Angel's Share at a quick pace. She'd just check up on him then call it a night -
Kaeya was draped over a table, looking like water in the way he sank in his chair. There was a huge, idiotic smile splitting his face open, as his head lay back, angled towards the sky. One - two empty bottles lay on the table in front of him.
Lumine approached him warily, awkwardly, terribly aware of the disheveled state of Kaeya's clothes. Even though she didn't think Kaeya minded showing off some skin, she had to promptly avert her eyes from his chest.
He hadn't noticed her - Cavalry Captain instincts my ass - so Lumine glanced at him one last time, before opening the door to the bar. The bartender was the only one there, and he looked up at her when she entered, curiously and then almost guiltily.
"How long has he been sitting there?" Lumine asks, pursing her lips in fear of the answer.
"A while. A long while." the bartender says bitterly, but also worriedly. He seemed to hesitate before he continued. "He doesn't usually drink that much. I think something's happened." and then he seems to realize just what he's said, and immediately reaches for a bottle, as if to look busy.
Lumine glances at the closed door. Something's happened...?
"I'll get him home safely," Lumine tells the bartender knowingly. "You can go rest."
Kaeya is - much heavier than he seems. Lumine hasn't even able to push him out of his chair yet. The loud laughter had reduced to a hiccuped, quiet cackle. Lumine leans against the table, panting slightly from extersion. "Damn it," she mutters, and immediately freezes when Kaeya dazedly lifts his head up and stares right at her.
"Trafllr!" his words are mushed together, but there's a distinctly pleased lilt to them now. His eyes sparkle terribly bright, and Lumine suddenly feels as if she's gazing at the night sky itself.
He picks himself out of his pile of limbs, and Lumine almost backs away as Kaeya falls face-down on the table instead. An imbecilic laughter rises muffled from his hunched-over form. Lumine keeps her hands up in the air, unsure whether to touch him or not.
Kaeya's always composed, always holding a smug smirk that showed he knew things you did not, always shoulders pulled back, proud and ready for anything the world had to throw his way. That's exactly why Lumine's so thrown off.
She sighs heavily, before ducking low and propping her shoulder underneath his arm. Lumine snuggled an arm around his waist, before pulling. "Up we go," she heaved, her legs momentarily shaking under both their weight.
Kaeya choked on his laugh, before draping now on her instead of the table. She huffed a breath, blowing away the blue hair strands tickling at her nose.
"Wha- whachsa doin?" his raspy voice rumbled right near Lumine's ear, making her startle slightly. She'd thought he'd fallen asleep. His voice took on a teasing note she definitely didn't like. "Tryin' take avantaj o' me when I'msh drun?"
Lumine felt a nerve pound in her head when she deciphered his words. "No, I'm not. I'm helping you out." she struggled to say. But they'd barely made it to the bottom of the stairs. She wished Hertha were here now to help her, not just tell her about her reputation.
"Mhrrrm," Kaeya cackled a laugh right from the bottom of his throat, the force of it making the both of them sway dangerously from side to side, almost running into a wall. Lumine grit her teeth, tightening her grip on him.
"Where- where do you live?" she asked, not actually expecting an answer. He seemed much to drunk to think straight.
As expected, he gave no answer, instead settling into a bizarre silence. It was so quiet Lumine could hear the faint sounds of the night: a cricket chirping distantly, the breeze running down the walls of Mondstadt, a lyre playing somewhere far away.
She sighed. She'd just take him to the Knights Headquarters - hopefully someone would still be awake.
"Diluc's rude," Kaeya says suddenly, his voice as clear as it is when he's sober. Lumine turns to look at his face in question, but his hair hides his expression. All but his lips, pulled into an odd sort of smile.
Lumine continues watching him, not really knowing what to say. "He isn't rude, he's just," she considers her words carefully, then wonders why she's doing this. It's not like Kaeya will remember anything in the morning. "He's just intense."
Kaeya barks out a bitter laugh and it sounds wrong . "Thas one way to put it," his words had returned to their drunken mush, but Lumine still gazes at him out of the corner of his eyes. She knew Diluc and Kaeya had some sort of connection, but what Diluc done so bad that it had Kaeya drinking so much?
Her grip tightens as they reach the top of the stairs, and the light from the teleport waypoint makes Kaeya look almost ethereal, like he's the traveller from another world.
There's a moment of silence in the city, and Lumine finds it to be much more pleasant, standing here with Kaeya - even a drunk one - instead of alone. It almost makes her feel whole again.
She jumps when a finger pokes her cheek, and when she turns around, Kaeya's face is horribly close, his warm breath fanning on her face.
"You're lonlier than all of us, arentcha," this sentence isn't slurred either, and it's more of a statement than a question anyway. Lumine blinks at him, gazing into his rusty eyes. He's -
She huffs a quiet laugh. It hurts. "No," Lumine says, even if it feels fake on her tongue. She doesn't look up, but she can feel Kaeya's gaze drilling holes into her side.
"You're real preshy, didja know jhat?" he laughs, taking a step forwards and almost pulling both of them face-down on the pavement. Lumine holds them upright, and feels something hot rising to the top of her ears.
She sniffs, trying to sharpen her gaze. Focus on the mission, Lumine. Find Aether. "You're only saying this because you're drunk off your head." she smiles at him, patting the hand she's holding placatingly.
Kaeya pulls to a dead stop, and Lumine can't do anything to make him move. It's like trying to push a tree, he's rigid. "Nosh true." he says, shaking his head so hard it makes his shirt fall halfway off his shoulder. Lumine reddens up immediately, and looks away immediately, trying to pull it back up but only managing to pat at random skin. She feels like she wants to die .
Thankfully, Kaeya doesn't notice, still stuck on what he'd been saying before. Lumine nods distractedly, having already forgotten what they'd been talking about. He seems pleased, and his eye, if possible, shines even brighter.
He drapes over he once again, making her knees creak under his added weight. "My hero~" he wails dramatically, making Lumine viciously hiss at him to shut up, lest they wake up the whole of Mondstadt.
“I like you, y'know,” Kaeya breathes right near her ear, and Lumine curses out once she nearly stumbles again. Can't he go just one moment without saying something ridiculous -
“Shush it, Kaeya,” she says fervently. If his obnoxious laughter hadn't woken up everyone yet, then his loud words would surely do. She completely ignores her heart picking up pace.
He grumbles something against her shoulder, something between 'mean' and 'no'. She can feel his smile against her. She has to pull herself together, this is just drunk Kaeya talking. Lumine can't afford to be distracted by silly words with no real value.
“You don't believe me,” Kaeya says, once again quite clearly. He's looking up at him through a half-lidded eye, a smile that makes Lumine wary on his lips. “Thas alrish.”
Lumine rolls her eyes, but lets an amused, teasing grin of her own form. “I can't wait to see your face in the morning.”
“Aw, I know I'm handsome, but I'm feelinsh terribly compli- complimentesh!”
Lumine nearly drops him, ears burning. “That's not – That's not what I meant!” she gapes, feeling the urge to violently strangle Kaeya when he starts hiccuping dumb laughs.
“Preshy,” he repeats simply, then points at something in the sky and promptly starts cackling his ass off. Lumine shakes him let and right, hissing at him to shut up but it only serves to make him laugh harder. Even covering his mouth with her hand does nothing to muffle his wild laughter.
A door slams open nearby, making Lumine's head whish in the direction. “Who in Barbatos' name is laughing - “
Another window opens. “What punk wants to meet my rake - “
Lumine shirnks on herself, willing Kaeya to cover her enough so she can't be seen.
“Who is talking so loud - “
“Isn't that – Captain Kaeya?”
“Huh? Ah, there he is, you're right. Let's get back to sleep.”
“It's just the Cavalry Captain. Come on, put the rakes away - “
“Wait! Who's that with him - “
Lumine bites her lips, cursing Kaeya over and over in her head. He's still laughing, the little bitch.
“Isn't that the Honorary Knight?”
“It's just Lumine, let's go back to sleep. Weird time for them to be strolling though, but, whatever, I could never understand the way lovers think.”
“Good luck, Lumine!”
“Don't do something I wouldn't do, Captain!”
Kaeya waves at the people until every door and window is closed, grinning like a madman. Lumine feels like a tomato, what with how red her whole face is. She heaves a heavy sigh, before starting the trek towards the Knights Headquarters again.
“Lovers...” Kaeya repeats, as if entranced. Lumine regards him warily. His smile widens so far he looks like a shark. “I like the sound of that.”
Lumine exhales tiredly. “Sober you wouldn't.”
“Oh, he would,” he replies simply, not elaborating and completely ignoring the questioning glint in Lumine's eyes.
She shakes her head, turning to look at the night sky and feeling a smile pull at her lips. Her heart feels unbearably full.
What a weird man.