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Kaeya and Lumine were the best of friends. Kaeya would even dare to say that he knew everything about Lumine—her favorite hobbies, her favorite color, her favorite flower, all her habits. He thought they were two halves of a whole, that’s how well they clicked in his eyes. Lumine should only have this connection with Kaeya. No other person could come to being this close to Lumine.
So why, why did Kaeya still feel a pang in his chest when Lumine politely declined his offer to go adventuring today? Saying that she had already made plans with Childe , another man? He was the one who was supposed to make Lumine’s heart throb, not the other way around. This throbbing in his chest didn’t stem from jealousy. He knew it couldn’t, for a multitude of reasons.
- The other day, Lumine apologized to Kaeya for not being available to practice their sword fighting because she had already made plans to help Diluc with “something”. Kaeya Alberich would never be jealous of Diluc Ragnvindr. Absolutely no chance.
On that day, Kaeya had spotted Lumine outside the Angel’s Share, and was hoping to steal her away for an afternoon to practice his fighting skills, which was obviously more interesting than being the Cavalry Captain of no cavalry. Lumine was just so—just so intriguing. That was the word.
“Oh? What a pleasant surprise that’d you’d be here, Lumine,” Kaeya had said in greeting.
“Hm? Oh, hello, Kaeya! Not shirking your duties, are you?” Lumine had responded. She had turned around with that look that meant she was thinking. What could she have been thinking about? Kaeya would never know.
“I would never!” Kaeya said, placing a hand on his chest, trying to conceal a smirk. See? She knows me as well as I know her. “Speaking of my duties, would you like to help me hone my swordwork? After all, a good Cavalry Captain needs to be able to protect Mondstadt, no?”
Lumine looked like she was about to agree—after all, they were the best of friends. But, she scrunched her eyebrows and tapped two fingers to her forehead after a moment of silence. “Sorry, Kaeya. I almost forgot! I’m here because I already promised to help Master Diluc with something.”
That wretched word. Something. Something that she wouldn’t disclose with him. Was he not someone she felt she could confide in anymore? Or, perhaps it was an excuse to avoid him? Needless to say, Lumine had gone prancing into the tavern to see Diluc and had pranced all over Kaeya’s feelings as well. She should’ve made time for them to be together, after all. They were the very best of friends, right?
But, all Kaeya could do was to keep the smile from slipping off of his face and quickly fared Lumine a goodbye.
- Once, on another day, Lumine had to decline Kaeya’s proposal to enjoy each other’s company. Instead of getting others to do his work as he usually did, Kaeya did his own work as the Cavalry Captain. This coincidentally landed him within a thirty foot radius of Lumine at all times during that day. Kaeya Alberich has never contracted a feeling such as jealousy before, and therefore would never act on them.
A few days after the Diluc incident, Kaeya had deemed that enough time had passed to request for Lumine’s company without seeming overly clingy. His feelings had been mended slightly by the occasional sighting of Lumine around Mondstadt— without a companion.
This time, Kaeya truly did run into Lumine by chance near the Cathedral, at the plaza slightly below it. Lumine had spotted Kaeya first, waving him over to the stone walling near the edge of the plaza.
“Hey, Kaeya! How’s it going?” Lumine asked when Kaeya reached her.
Kaeya plastered—no, graced Lumine with a small smile. “Why, hello there, Lumine. A pleasure to see you, as always.”
“What have you been up to? I’ve barely seen heads or tails of you since we talked outside of the tavern,” Lumine asked. So she did notice. One can only presume my tactics worked.
“Oh, you know. A bit of work here, a bit of investigating there. Say, are you busy at the moment? I was-” Kaeya tried to pitch his idea of keeping each other company on a lonely day such as that one was, but Lumine interrupted him.
“Oh, I’m sorry Kaeya. I’m actually here because I’m waiting for Venti. I’ve asked him to start giving me lyre lessons, and he agreed on the condition that the lessons are held at Windrise, and are paid for in bottles of apple cider, so my day’s probably going to be busy.” She interrupted me to talk about a bard. Don’t show that you are bothered.
Before Kaeya could utter a response, a certain bard’s cheerful voice could be heard from behind him. “Didn’t keep ya waiting, did I?”
Kaeya turned around while Lumine greeted him. “Venti! Of course you didn’t, I just arrived and was having a chat with Kaeya.”
“Oh? Hope I didn’t interrupt anything,” Venti said, ending with that damned giggle of his. Hehe. How fake. I know you did this on purpose, bard.
But alas, Kaeya couldn’t say anything to the bard in front of Lumine. “No, in fact, I was about to get going. Enjoy your day.”
Kaeya breezed past the pair, not turning around when Lumine called out his name, asking about continuing their conversation. He retreated back into his office at the Knights’ headquarters. On his desk were a few new reports of suspicious activities in the shadows of Mondstadt.
One supposed deal of the black market near Windrise. How perfect. It’s as if Celestia knows that Lumine should be with me today, not a suspicious bard. Another report of Treasure Hoarders sighted near Whispering Woods—no, that won’t do. Kaeya quickly tucked the second report into the pocket of his coat, digging through the older papers on his desk. He quickly found what he was looking for—a report of Fatui spotted in the Cat’s Tail tavern from a few weeks ago, not on diplomatic business. He was supposed to “keep an eye on them”, so that’s what he’d do—just a few weeks later.
On that day, Kaeya returned home with all of his selected reports done, yet was sporting a frown on his face. It had absolutely nothing to do with the traveler he shared a deep bond with, nor a mora-less alcoholic bard—how could he be put in a foul mood by someone of the like? The answer was, he wasn’t.
- A few weeks of doing selective reports of suspicious activities left Kaeya anxious for Lumine’s safety. How could she be so trusting of those she hung out with? She was too naive, too good to know who could and would harm her. So, Kaeya took things into his own hands to protect Lumine from the dangers of Teyvat. Kaeya Alberich would never go against the admiration, trust, and respect the residents of Mondstadt have for him.
Kaeya was in Jean’s office, handing in the day’s reports as usual. But, this time, Jean paused him before he left her office. “Kaeya,” Jean said, sounding tired as usual. “I’ve been noticing that some of the more recent reports you’ve been turning in are from weeks ago. Weeks, Kaeya. I know you’re one to secretly do things behind the scenes, but are you doing okay? The citizens of Mondstadt can’t see their Cavalry Captain slacking off like this.”
Kaeya’s visible eye widened for a fraction of a second before a look of impassivity washed over his face. He needed to hide his thoughts. Appearances? Is that all you care about? Kaeya couldn’t help but think bitterly. He had been helping Mondstadt, a nation that wasn’t even his, for how long? He expected gratitude, at least. “No...no, I’m fine, Jean.”
Jean smiled at Kaeya, though Kaeya wished it was Lumine who did. “Good. Then, I hope I’m not troubling you too much by asking you to try and stay on top of your work.”
Kaeya gave a small nod, though he was internally rolling his eyes. He’d much rather be making sure Lumine stayed safe from those...those wolves out in Teyvat. That’s what everyone else was—a wolf who would chew Lumine up and swallow her whole. His precious, precious, pure star.
Kaeya strode out of the headquarters and started heading back to his house, but his feet led him somewhere else. Before he even realized it, he was up and through the window of Goth Grand Hotel, entering a certain ginger-headed scum’s room. This was the wolf Lumine was traipsing around town with, touring him. He was the eleventh Fatui Harbinger, Childe. Normally, Kaeya would applaud such cunning acts to try and infiltrate Mondstadt, but not this time. Not with his Lumine.
Kaeya summoned his sword, and quickly slashed a thin, miniscule line over Childe’s neck with it. Effectively waking Childe up, Kaeya held his sword over the Fatui’s neck. Said Fatui’s eyes flipped open, ocean blue eyes staring up at Kaeya’s starry indigo one.
“Stay away from Lumine, Fatui,” Kaeya said. “I’ll take her away from people like you trying to harm her.”
“And who is this to try and order me, Childe, around?” Childe lazily blinked, adjusting his eyes to the darkness of the room. “Hm...is that Mondstadt’s beloved Cavalry Captain? What would the crowds think if word got out that their Captain is going around threatening diplomats?”
“They won’t think anything, because you won’t tell them,” Kaeya said flatly. Part of him wondered if there was a more elegant, honey-coated way to put it.
“Well, if it’s a fight you’re looking for, bring it on!” The sound of water splashing could be heard as Childe summoned his water blades. Childe swiftly knocked the sword off of his neck and jumped onto his two feet.
What a nuisance. He thinks his crutches will help him? “Freeze!” Kaeya said, using his vision. This froze the Harbinger’s blades, rendering them useless. An additional benefit was that Kaeya was now able to control the blades through his vision. “How pathetic. One of the Fatui’s great Harbingers are so cocky that they bring the weapon they are least skilled with into enemy territory, and use these—these crutches that are so easily persuaded to fight against you.”
With that, Kaeya flipped the blades so that the pointed ends were pointed at Childe. “So how about it, Childe? Staying away from Lumine doesn’t seem too bad in exchange for your life, eh?”
It was such a delight to see Childe’s jaw move slightly as he gritted his teeth. That’s right, pretty boy. You’re helpless. But, Childe just didn’t know when to give up. He summoned his bow and tried using his poor aim and grip to fire an arrow at Kaeya, but it was easily blocked by the frozen blades. Then, Childe tried summoning more water blades, but Kaeya simply froze those, as well. What a moron. Does he not have any space in his brain for battle strategy?
It was quite obvious who was winning this little spat, yet Childe still wouldn’t give up. Kaeya decided that he couldn’t risk the rat calling for his little rat pack, so he quickly sent all four of the frozen blades flying towards different pulse points, knocking Childe out. He must’ve gotten the message by then.
Kaeya jumped out the window, making sure to stay hidden under the cover of the night. He looked around, checking for any witnesses. There were none, so he called the four cryo blades out of the window and to him. These will look lovely in my house. Oh, speaking of which, I should map out different plans to keep Lumine safe aside from these miserable reports.
When Kaeya said everyone, he meant everyone was a wolf. The only people who didn’t receive his worry for Lumine were the Knights of Favonius, and his dearest brother Diluc. The more he got to hang out with Lumine and comfort her as a result of his actions, the more he believed he was doing the right thing. Of course, there were still a few flies lingering around Lumine, but projecting his worry onto others was like a fly swatter doing its job.
- Kaeya Alberich is the top candidate for grandson-in-law in all of Mondstadt. Kaeya Alberich would never feel jealous of anybody, the only jealousy to be associated with him is the jealousy of other girls directed at whomever Kaeya favors.
Kaeya had just arrived at Lumine’s lodgings in the Knights’ headquarters—after all, she was the Honorary Knight. He raised his hand to knock on her door, other hand holding a new non-alcoholic drink from Cat’s Tail—Fantastic Summer-Serendipity Coral Sparkling Tea, he thought it was called. He had heard from Barbara that when she had gotten it with Lumine, the traveler had loved it. Though, in reality, nobody should be getting anything with Lumine but me.
Before he could even knock on Lumine’s door, the door burst open and Lumine almost ran into Kaeya’s chest. His reflexes were fast enough so that he was able to use his free hand to swing an arm around Lumine’s waist, redirecting her, slowing her down and keeping the drink safe.
“Woah, woah, slow down! What’s got you in such a hurry, Lumine?” Kaeya asked, letting his arm stay around the girl’s petite body.
Kaeya heard a sniffle before he felt Lumine hugging him, burying her face into his shirt. Sensing that Lumine was going to start bawling her eyes out, he slowly guided them to sit down at the table in Lumine’s room. He sat Lumine down in his lap, stroking her back. Kaeya set the tea down on the table, then noticed an article spread out on Lumine’s table. The headlines read “ Boy from Wolvendom found dead. ” Ah. So she now knows. Kaeya didn’t feel too bad, as the boy from Wolvendom was one of the few flies who still stuck around Lumine—perhaps an effect of him not knowing the human language well.
Eventually, Lumine’s sobbing quieted down. Kaeya caressed a lock of Lumine’s beautiful hair. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” Kaeya asked.
He felt Lumine’s whole face tremble at the question. “T-teyvat Times s-says,” she hiccupped once. “a b-boy from Wolven...endom is d-dead.”
“Boy from Wolvendom? Do they mean Razor?” Kaeya murmured the boy’s name into Lumine’s ear, knowing fully that she’d get sad from the mention of his name. She muffled another sob, slowly nodding her head.
“I...I was t-teaching him our language. He w-was doing...was doing s-so well,” Lumine mumbled.
Kaeya hated to see the normally strong traveler cry, especially over another person. But he comforted her anyways, murmuring sweet nothings to her. That must’ve been what she needed.
Kaeya spent the next few hours with Lumine in his arms, though she was talking about Razor. I should do this more often. Who cares about Razor? I’m the one here right now. Kaeya thought, but of course, he wouldn’t give voice to these thoughts. To cheer Lumine up, Kaeya offered to bring Lumine to her first Windblume festival. She reluctantly agreed to meet at the plaza the next day at noon.
But, the next day, when Kaeya was making his way to the plaza with a bouquet of lilies and wind asters in hand, he was paused multiple times by female passerbys asking who the flowers were for. They would glare at each other like they were competition for the flowers. He would just smirk and say it was a mystery, and preen under all the attention like a swan, getting so sideswept that he kept his precious Lumine waiting. From the plaza, the shopping district of Mondstadt is visible, and Kaeya knew that. This is her punishment for rambling on and on about Razor. When Kaeya finally arrived at the plaza, Lumine was gone, and the sun was high in the sky. Jealousy doesn’t look good on my star.
Conclusion? Kaeya Alberich would never do any of these things he’s accused of. Stalking? Threatening? Killing, you daresay Kaeya Alberich would do? Lumine, my dear, dear friend, you must be mistaken.
And mistaken she was, for the stalking was simply Kaeya secretly protecting Lumine from the dangers of the world. The threat was to anyone he couldn’t trust with Lumine—everyone who wasn’t him—to take Lumine away from them, who could and would harm her, so she could shower only him with gratitude, attention, and affection. Killing? The only killing done was the purging of the disgusting interest others had in his Lumine, the best of them all.
“Why...why are you doing this to me?” Lumine had asked, her bottom lip trembling.
“Now, now, don’t cry. I can’t bear to see the star of my life cry,” Kaeya said, kneeling down to fuss over Lumine. He didn’t miss, but ignored the way she tried to flinch away. There’s no way his best friend would ever be scared of him. Kaeya purposefully avoided the question. In truth, he didn’t know why. No, wait, he did. “It’s because I should be the only one who shares a special bond with you. No other person will ever become this close to you like I have.”