Archive of Our Own

There’s a wave of heads bobbing, and the bravest child quickly says, “Yes please, Mister Kaeya!”

Kaeya smiles, one blue eye twinkling. The other is hidden by a black eyepatch, and a kid whispers to her friend, wondering if he’s a pirate.

“There are no other pieces in the museum that are quite like this one. Thirty or so years ago, the Frozen Homeland’s Demise was found at the site of two meteorites crashing into Earth at the same time. Curiously enough, no fragments of space rock were ever found. Only this hourglass was left in the craters—slightly dusty, but none worse for the wear.”

He peers at the plaque on the display. A look of amusement passes across his face, as if there’s an inside joke between him and this hourglass.

“What does it say?” a child asks.

“The only thing that I haven’t mentioned is that ‘this timepiece has unknown origins. It cannot be connected to any civilization that previously or currently exists on Earth.’ That’s it for the official museum description!” Kaeya pauses, then looks at the children, eyebrow raised. “I do know a story about this hourglass though. Want to hear it?”

A chorus of “Yes!” fills the museum room. The kids are all fascinated by him, and his voice enchants them.

Kaeya sweeps an arm out at the benches pressed up against one wall of the room. “Why don’t you take a seat?” He waits as they scramble to get seated, small legs swinging back and forth, before he speaks again.

“Our story begins in Khaneri’ah. A nation not governed by gods, but ruled by the people. Few plants naturally exist on Khaenri’ah grounds, but humankind manages to survive by developing the ability to create life—the art of Khemia.

“And so, the people can thrive below the surface of the Earth. But there are those who long for the sunlight. Two adventurers break away from their homes and make their way to the surface, where they find this timepiece.

“But how does this story even begin? It begins with a small question, spoken into existence under the cover of night, that lights a spark and starts our adventurers on their journey.”

–

“Don’t you ever wonder what real stars look like?” you ask wistfully. Your hands are tucked under your head as you recline on a blanket spread across your roof. “These Starlight Crystals probably aren’t the same.”

Kaeya looks at you out of the corner of his eye. You’re staring up into the “sky,” though it really is just the expanse of stone that forms the roof over Khaenri’ah. Starlight Crystals glow brightly, chasing away the darkness with a steady blue light. Though the question you ask is vaguely interesting, he’s more fascinated by the shadows dancing across your face, and the way your eyes shine with reflected light.

“Mmm, sure,” he says in response. “Seeing real stars would be pretty neat. Although, I’d rather see what real snow is like. I wonder if it’s anything compared to what I can do with my Vision.”

That’s a lie. If he had the power, Kaeya would find a way to let you see the stars. Not just to grant your wish, but to satisfy his own curiosity: would you look even more beautiful under real starlight?

But his comment makes you snicker. “All you can do is make little snowflakes–” that isn’t true, but you like to tease, “–and there’s no way you could beat a blizzard.”

“How would you know?” he shoots back, poking you in the side. He laughs when you yelp and twist away from him, and the sounds of his amusement make you even happier. “You’ve never seen one.”

“Yeah, well neither have you!”

Kaeya scoffs. “If we ever see a blizzard, you’ll realize that you’re wrong.”

You open your mouth to shoot back a response, but your name is called from inside the house.

“It’s late; come back inside! Kaeya, you head to bed too!”

You sit up and look at him. He stares back at you, blue eyes shining even in the dark. Then he grins. “How do they know that I’m here?”

Rolling your eyes, you smack his shoulder and get to your feet, gathering up the blanket. “Because you’re always hanging around me like a pesky Syrupfly. I just can’t seem to get rid of you.”

Kaeya stands up too, handing you the blanket he was lying on. “Really? Because it seems to me that you don’t even want to get rid of me.”

“Oh please,” you say, holding back laughter, “I only put up with you because we grew up together.” Your name is called again, with more impatience this time, so you know you have to go. You hold out a hand. “Help me home?”

His slightly cooler hand slides into yours, and he nods at your question. “Of course.”

With a sweep of his free hand, the air turns chilly, making you shiver and clutch the blankets closer to your chest. Frost crystalizes on your roof and spreads as the temperature drops. More impressively, however, is the icy staircase that starts from the edge of your roof and stretches down to stop at your bedroom window. Though Kaeya has done this for you hundreds of times—ever since he got his Cryo Vision and was able to start creating structures out of ice—it never fails to amaze you.

“Thanks, Kaeya.” You withdraw your hand from his and start making your way down the steps. “Goodnight!”

A soft smile spreads on his face as he watches you toss your blankets through your window, before climbing in yourself. “Goodnight,” he calls after you.

Only once you’re safely inside your home and the bedroom window shuts behind you, does Kaeya move from your roof onto the roof of his own home. He creates his own ice platforms to slip inside his room, where he throws himself onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

The question you asked whirls in his mind. He imagines running away with you to go and see the surface of Khaenri’ah. Would real stars actually look different from the Starlight Crystals?

But then his dad calls for him, and Kaeya’s daydream crumbles into nothing.

He’s only fourteen—just barely a teenager—and is starting to train to be a knight. You’ve been attending school to learn the art of Khemia, and you love it there. Most nights when you meet him on the roof, you talk on and on about the new concepts you learned, questions you have, or the classmates that you’ve become friends with.

(His chest always hurts the slightest bit when you sing Albedo’s praises. Surely you like Kaeya better, right?)

The point is, both of you are still young, and you both have a bright future ahead. You can’t throw that away for a moment of curiosity.

So Kaeya buries that seed of a question, and goes downstairs to see what his dad wants.

But buried seeds are still seeds that are planted. That tiny question asked in passing will grow and grow and grow, until it bursts through the soil and stretches for the light, making its presence known. And by then, the roots will have taken such a deep hold that no force will be able to dislodge it.

–

Kaeya hisses and flinches away from your touch, scooting back on the dining table he sits on. His cheek stings, skin scraped and raw after a tough day of training.

“Stop moving!” you snap. Though your voice is harsh, your hands are gentle as you cup his face in one hand and dab on ointment with the other, and Kaeya knows you’re just concerned.

After all, the two of you only have each other now. It’s been nearly two years since a large Khemia-related accident took out a handful of buildings. You and Kaeya were out for the day, while the rest of your family were at home getting dinner ready. Instead of coming home to dinner, you and Kaeya returned to find rubble in a haze of acrid smoke. He hasn’t been quite the same ever since; the loss of family has forced him to grow up, as it did you, in order to take care of yourselves.

An ache starts in his chest, but he’s pulled out of these dark memories by your voice.

“What the heck do they make you do in training? Shows of strength that gets you hurt instead? Such a useless way of teaching.” You keep muttering complaints under your breath as you move on to cleaning the scrapes on his knuckles.

Kaeya smiles slightly but doesn’t comment. It’s better to let you think that all his injuries are from sparring with his peers and instructors. He doesn’t want you to know that his bloodied knuckles are the result of a few disgusting peers who made one too many dirty comments about you for him to stand. He was supposed to spar against them with a sword, but he taunted them enough to make them throw the first punch. And of course he had to use his fists to make the fight more fair. If you found out, you’d scold him for getting into a scuffle, and worry over it hurting his chances of becoming a member of the Royal Guard.

You don’t need to stress over him. He’s at the top of his group of trainees, and all his instructors love him. It doesn’t hurt that he’s learned to be more charismatic over the years. As he grew taller and his voice became deeper, he mastered making words flow off his tongue like honey and wine, and even you aren’t unaffected.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he says. “It doesn’t hurt, especially since you’re here. Although a kiss would help me feel better; you up for that?”

You snort and smack his shoulder, hiding your embarrassment by turning to put the tin of ointment away. “In your dreams, Kaeya.”

You’re used to him giving some kind of retort so the silence is unexpected. Brows furrowed, you turn around and look at him.

Oh.

He’s flustered. One hand covers the lower half of his face, and his head is turned to the side. His eyes flit around the room, looking anywhere except at you. Then he decides to take a leap of faith and mutters, “Yeah,” and now you’re the one with heated cheeks and the sudden inability to look him in the eyes.

Something bright and hopeful flutters in your stomach. “Yeah?” you echo, drawing on your courage as you move back toward him. His legs spread apart so you can step between them, hands settling on your hips, and you're back in the same position you had taken when you were putting ointment on his cheek.

But this time, the air is thick and full of tension. You’re very aware of the breaths that leave your mouth, and of the way his chest rises and falls, white shirt clinging to his shoulders.

“You dream about kissing me?” Your voice is soft and gentle. The hope that flutters in your stomach escapes through your mouth, coating your tongue in sugar.

“I do,” Kaeya says. His response is more confident, gravely and hot, especially after seeing your reaction.

You rest your forearms on his shoulders, fingers lacing together behind his neck. “Why don’t we make that dream a reality?”

“It would be my pleasure.” The following smile and his darkening eyes warms you from the inside out.

There's pressure on your hips from Kaeya squeezing slightly, pulling you even closer so his thighs are unyielding by your sides, your chest pressed against his. You look into his eyes, pools of deep blue that flicker from your eyes down to your lips. And then, he leans toward you.

He brushes his lips against yours, gently at first, as if he’s kissing the wings of Crystalflies. It’s sweet and slow, both of you testing the waters of what it feels like to finally kiss each other. When you pull away, delight sparkles in your eyes and a slow rush of warmth travels from head to toe.

You want more.

(You’re the sweetest thing he’s ever seen, tasted, touched.)

Kaeya seems to read your mind—or he feels the exact same way—because one hand leaves your hip to rest at the back of your neck. He pulls you in for another kiss; this time slotting his mouth over yours like he’s there to steal the air from your lungs, like he’s there to consume every bit of yourself that you’re willing to give. He’s been longing for you to see him as more than a friend for years and years. And now that he knows how you feel about him, he’s not going to hold back.

The kisses seem to last forever. Your mouth moves against his, and he even runs his tongue over your lower lip, pleased by the soft noises he draws from you. When you have to break away for air, his eyes don’t leave yours until you lean back in for more.

Finally, the two of you separate, the scorching heat turning into a simmer. You can see that his lips are swollen, and know yours must be too. His hands return to rest on your hips, and he gently maneuvers you to sit sideways on his thighs.

You look at him. “So where does this leave us?”

“Well…” Kaeya starts, then pauses. He wants to be sure that he’s wording this question the right way. “Would you want to be in a relationship with me?”

A wide smile spreads across your face, and you duck your head down for a moment to hide the delight that tingles through your body at his question. When you look back up, you nod eagerly. “Yes! I- I’d like that very much.”

Kaeya grins at your reply. He winks at you, and his smile turns into more of a smirk that makes you roll your eyes before he even speaks. “You just can’t seem to get rid of me, huh?”

“Maybe I don’t want to get rid of you anymore,” you huff, pushing off his lap.

“That’s quite a change in tune from what you were saying that night we stargazed.”

Your eyes widen at his mention of the memory. Does Kaeya treasure that moment as much as you do? “I was fourteen back then! You don’t tell your crush you want them to stick around when you’re in your early teens. Don’t worry,” you continue, “I won’t try to get rid of you as long as you stay out of fights from now on.”

A noise of surprise punches out of Kaeya’s lungs. “How did you know?”

Your eyes gleam. “I had my suspicions, but your reaction just told me.”

“Damn it,” he mutters. “I can’t hide anything from you; you know me too well.”

“I really do. But Kaeya, promise me that you’ll at least try to stay out of fights with other students again. I don’t want you risking your standing as a Royal Guard candidate.”

He hesitates, but nods a moment later. If you’re asking him to try, he’ll try his hardest for you. “I promise—only if you’ll seal it with a kiss.”

Your smile is sweet and it’s the most beautiful thing Kaeya has ever seen. “That, I can easily do.”

–

The ringing of the bell towers reverberates through your bones, jolting you out of your thoughts as they signal four o’clock with deep and loud chimes. There’s a flurry of movement as you rush to clean up experiment papers into organized stacks before you slip them into the appropriate folders. Crumpled balls of paper get swept off your desk and into the waste bin. A few miss and hit the floor, so you crouch and pick them up, chucking them into the trash before checking your desk for anything else to clean up. It’s spotless, so you grab your satchel and hurry out the door.

As you leave your office, you pause as you pass by an open doorway. A familiar head of ashy blonde hair is hunched over a dark paper as sticks of pale chalk sketch designs from a genius’ mind.

“It’s time to go, Albedo! Don’t stay too late.”

He makes a sound of acknowledgement, but doesn’t change positions. But at least you’ve reminded him to leave soon, so you move on past his doorway and hurry to exit the top Khemia guild in Khaenri’ah.

You don’t know how you’ve made it here—although Kaeya always tells you that it’s because of your intelligence, hard work, and kind heart—but you’re lucky to be able to work at a place like this. However, when the work day is over, you want to hurry home and see a certain Cryo user that you can’t ever seem to get rid of.

You rush through the guild gates and immediately head down the path to take you home, when a familiar voice stops you in your tracks.

“What’s the hurry, sweetheart?”

A smile lights up your face at the smooth words, and you spin around. “Kaeya!” He’s already stepping toward you, and it’s easy to melt into his embrace as strong arms pull you tightly against his chest.

“What are you doing here? Did training end early?” You pull back from the hug to look at him.

He nods, then gestures his hand at the road that leads to home. You start walking as he replies, “Mm, it did. Today is the last day of group training. I’ll never have to see some of them again, thank goodness; half of them are as bright as Iron Chunks.” A look of amusement briefly flits across his face when you snicker at his comment. It’s no secret that he dislikes over half of his peers for one reason or another—and they probably dislike Kaeya for his quick wits and sharp tongue in return.

(Though that tongue can be quite sweet when he wants it to be.)

“Next week is for us to train individually. We’re supposed to exercise self discipline as we make a final push before the Royal Guard assessments. But…” he trails off.

You see a particular twinkle in his eyes, and shake your head in fond exasperation. “What are you planning on doing instead?”

“The question is, what are we planning on doing instead?” He slides his hand under the strap of your satchel and lifts it up. In one smooth movement, he slings it over his shoulder and spins to walk backwards down the road ahead of you. He’s grinning from ear to ear, and who knows what he has in store for you.

“C’mon, Kaeya, tell me! What are we doing instead?”

“Well,” he starts off, then looks around. He takes your hand and pulls you to his side, slinging his arm around your shoulders so he can whisper into your ear. “We’re going on vacation.”

Your eyes widen. “To the less crowded places of Khaenri’ah? That’ll be great for you to get some more training in, and we can both enjoy some time away from all these people.”

Blue strands of hair brush against your cheek as Kaeya shakes his head. “We’re going to a place that isn’t anywhere near this underground prison.”

A shiver runs down your spine. You haven’t thought about the confining walls of the cave that blocks Khaenri’ah off from the surface in so long. But now that he’s mentioned it, you want to break free.

“Where?” Your voice is the quietest whisper, hope catching in your throat and making the word caress Kaeya’s ear.

“Where else can we go but up?”

An indescribable noise of excitement escapes your mouth, and you stop in the middle of the street to throw your arms around Kaeya. He hugs you tightly in return, until you break away and pull him into an alley.

He follows willingly, stopping as you back up against a wall. His hands shift to cup your face, thumbs rubbing gently against your cheeks, forehead pressed against yours as he stares into your eyes.

You break first.

Your mouth meets his in a wave of passion. You’re expressing your surprise, your delight, your gratitude in these kisses. And he lets you do that, groaning as you nip at his lips, then soothe the sting away with your tongue. He gets caught up in the kisses—how could he not, when the one he loves is lighting a fire that burns through all that he is?—and it takes minutes, or maybe hours, for him to slowly pull away from you.

He swipes his thumb gently across your glistening lips, then presses his mouth to them one last time.

“You’re beautiful,” he blurts out, because you’re so breathtaking that he can’t help it.

You turn your head to ghost your lips against his palm; the barest of kisses. “And you’re too good to me. We’re really going to see the stars?”

Kaeya nods. “We really are. Only the best for you, sweetheart, as you deserve.”

Your smile is brilliant as he takes your hand in his, leading you out of the alley and onto the main street, where you head for home.

–

It takes one day for Kaeya to plan everything, because when he puts his mind to something, it’ll be done in no time. This leaves five days for your trip to the surface, and one day to return home and for him to prepare for the exams.

You do what you need to do at work: take the following week off to the surprise of your boss (you’ve never asked for vacation before, so she’s more than willing to let you take it), and give Albedo a spare key to your office so he can water the plants (if he remembers to pull his nose out of chalk drawings and experiments). Then you get home to pack bags for both you and Kaeya (because even though he has a sharp mind, he thinks he can survive off of one change of clothing).

By the time night falls and the Molten Sunorbs have gone out, you and Kaeya are ready. Your stomach is full from a warm meal, and you’re vibrating with energy after a long afternoon nap that Kaeya insisted you take.

“Ready to go?” Kaeya asks, leaning against the doorframe to your bedroom.

You look up from your bag, and nod. “Yep, just one more thing.” Grabbing a picture frame off a shelf, your eyes soften as you take in the smiling faces.

A warm hand settles on your lower back, and Kaeya looks at the picture too. “That was a long, long time ago.”

It’s a drawing of you, your family, Kaeya, and his father, standing behind the dining table and grinning at the artist. The small piece of artwork catches part of a birthday cake, with two numbered candles sticking out of it to show that you’re turning ten. Kaeya—being the little rascal that he is—has a hand behind your head, making two fingers stick up from your hair like bunny ears.

“I want to take them with us to see the stars,” you tell Kaeya softly, a little embarrassed.

His smile is reassuring. “That’s a good idea. Pack it in your bag, and we’ll be sure to give them the best view.”

You carefully put the picture frame into your bag. Kaeya helps you into a jacket, telling you that it’s supposed to be late fall up on the surface, so the nights will be chillier than it gets down in Khaenri’ah.

The weight of your backpack settles on your shoulders, and you do one last sweep of the house to make sure you have everything.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Kaeya leads you through the streets, choosing to walk on alleyways and side streets to avoid being seen as much as possible. Then the city is behind you, and it’s just a winding road heading north and trees and bushes all around. You’re traveling toward one of the few entrances to the surface, one of the smaller ones that shouldn’t have as many guards patrolling the area.

In fact, as you crouch in some bushes with Kaeya by your side, you realize this entrance is barely guarded at all.

Only two figures stand before the opening in the rock wall. You look at Kaeya, and raise an eyebrow in a silent question.

Through the dark, you can see Kaeya’s answering grin, before his arm sweeps up over his head. It takes a second for you to realize that he’s throwing a handful of stones into the bushes far away from your hiding spot.

The stones strike against the leaves, creating a wave of rustling in the silent night before they hit the ground.

“Did you hear that?” one of the guards asks, alert and nervous.

“It would be wise for us to take a look around,” the other says, his voice smoother and deeper than the first.

As soon as the guards move away from the entrance to search the bushes, you and Kaeya start moving too.

The sound of guards walking through the bushes covers your own footsteps as you rush to where the foliage ends. There’s a stretch of ground to cross between you and the entrance, and it’s wide open and exposed. If the guards were to turn around, you’d be caught in an instant.

But you’re so close to seeing the outside. You can’t stop now.

So you nod at Kaeya, and he counts down with his fingers. Three, two, one, and you run. Feet as quick and light as possible, arms pumping, breath rushing out of your mouth.

Though you try to be quiet, you hear a guard’s voice as you sprint through the opening and exit the city of Khaenri’ah. Kaeya moves even faster at the words, taking your hand in his and guiding you along.

“Hey! Dainsleif, did you hear that?”

“No,” comes the reply, “but look here. Something is moving.”

“Where?!” There’s a pause, then a groan. “Dainsleif, that’s just a squirrel.” The guard shakes his head, and gestures back to the passageway, unaware that there was much more than a squirrel hiding in the bushes a few moments ago. “C’mon. You need to get some sleep once your shift ends.”

The guard turns his back on Dainsleif, taking up his position by the entrance. He misses the slight quirk of the blonde’s lips, and the words that Dainsleif whispers.

“Let the stars lead the way, and guide you straight and true.”

–

You and Kaeya miss the rest of the guards’ conversation as you take your first steps on land outside the cave walls of Khaenri’ah. Here, the ground is mainly rock, with the occasional hardy weed sprouting through cracks and reaching for the sky.

Kaeya takes the lead, moving at a quick pace for a good chunk of time, surefooted despite the limited light that the waning moon provides. As you follow, pale clouds puff out before your face as you exhale, before getting blown away by the wind. Your eyes widen at this phenomenon. It’s never gotten cold enough below ground for you to see your breath before your face. And the cold bite of wind brings scents of open space and sky; it’s freedom from the confines of your underground home.

It has only been ten minutes since you left the walls of the cave, yet you’ve experienced so many new things already. You wonder what incredible wonders the rest of the journey will bring.

After there’s no sign of guards chasing you down, you and Kaeya come to a stop. He shrugs off his pack and sets it down by a rock before helping you with yours. You’re more out of breath than he is, and he can’t help but poke fun at you.

“Don’t work out much, do you?”

You groan and roll your shoulders, trying to relieve the pressure of carrying the heavy backpack full of supplies. “Yeah yeah, laugh all you want. We both know you’re the one that spends all day training while I’m in the lab making things that can blow you up.” You end with a haughty sniff and plop onto a flat rock, then laugh as Kaeya fakes a full-body shudder of fear.

“Why I decided to date someone who could potentially concoct something to kill me is beyond me,” he responds, sitting down by your side.

“You love it,” you say with a cheeky wink.

“Yeah. I love you.”

The declaration warms you from the inside out, and you snuggle into his side and rest your head on his shoulder. “I love you too,” you murmur, as he wraps his arm around you, pulling you in even closer.

By chance, your eyes sweep up to the open sky above. Your breath catches in your throat.

Though it is night, a multitude of colors fill the expanse up high. It’s nothing like the slab of solid black that the cave walls of Khaenri’ah becomes at night. This sky, the real sky, is like one of Albedo’s vibrant paintings, but more.

Deep blues blend with rich purples, and swirl with brighter colors that remind you of Kaeya’s eyes and hair. And though the sight is gorgeous, and unlike anything you’ve ever seen, there’s something else that holds your attention more.

Absentmindedly, you reach a hand out and tip Kaeya’s chin up. His mouth parts in wonder as he takes in the beauty up above.

“The stars,” you breathe. “Real stars.”

An abundance of lights glitter and shine against the tapestry of the night sky. Some are silvery, others slightly yellow or red or blue. There are large stars and small stars, some that seem to blink out of existence for a second before reappearing, and others that shine steadily.

There’s so many of them in such a large expanse of darkness, that it makes you feel so small, and almost lonely.

But there’s a bit of movement against your left side, and Kaeya’s presence reminds you that you’re not alone at all.

“So?” Kaeya asks. “How does it feel to fulfill a childhood dream?”

You take a second to respond, trying to figure out how to express everything that is welling up within you right now. “It’s surreal,” you breathe. “I mean– who would have thought? There are more stars in one patch of sky than there are Starlight Crystals in all of Khaenri’ah. It’s beautiful.”

Kaeya looks at you out of the corner of his eyes and loses all air in his lungs. Your eyes shine with the reflected light of countless stars. Puffs of white air escape your sweet, parted lips. The expression on your face can only be described as awestruck, as you bask in the glory of the night sky.

And he thinks you are just so, so– “–beautiful.”

“Right?” you ask, looking at Kaeya. “The stars and the sky-”

“No,” he interrupts. “You’re beautiful.”

A bashful smile spreads across your face and you turn your face to press a kiss against his shoulder. “Thank you.” The genuine and involuntarily uttered compliment makes you feel warm and comfortable; an intangible barrier that wards off the cold.

He watches as you return to stargazing before he eventually leaves your side to start setting up camp. It takes a few minutes to find a patch of ground flat enough for Kaeya to assemble the tent. Putting it together goes rather quickly, and soon you have shelter for the night.

By then, you’ve reluctantly torn yourself away from looking at the sky to start a fire. You have always been better at dealing with flames than Kaeya and the difference in skill had only become greater once you started studying Khemia. The flames crackle and eat away at the small branches you gathered from what little vegetation grows nearby. Using the warmth, you heat up pieces of already cooked meat you had prepared, sharing the slices with Kaeya. He breaks off pieces of bread from a loaf in one of his bags, passing some to you as well.

As the two of you eat, Kaeya pulls out a map. It’s a map of the ground above the city of Khaenri’ah, showing valleys and hills and one giant, sloping mountain.

A long, slender finger taps at the peak of the mountain. You peer at the text right above his nail. “Blizzardpeak Ruins?”

Kaeya nods. “That’s where we’re heading. It’s the highest place around, and we should get the best view of the stars and the land below from there.”

Your teeth catch your lower lip before you speak. “That sounds wonderful, but… isn’t the name a little ominous?”

“Oh?” He grins. “Worried about a bit of snow?” Kaeya pretends he doesn’t see your eyes rolling. “Don’t worry, it’s not winter yet. It wouldn’t be natural for blizzards to appear right now.”

(His words are true, in the fact that it’s just nearing the end of fall. But not all blizzards are due to natural causes; a little magic, or the pull of fate, can go a long way in stirring up a storm.)

Slightly satisfied, you nod and say, “I guess we’re going to Blizzardpeak Ruins tomorrow, then.”

The two of you settle in for the night, trying to get enough rest for the climb tomorrow. Though you each start off under your own piles of coats and blankets, you eventually end up tangled in each other’s arms. Drawn closer together through a search for warmth, or pulled by the flames of attraction that burn bright between you.

And as you sleep, the stars twinkle down from above. They shine steadily, even as thick clouds roll over the sky like curtains, concealing the light with layer upon layer of water droplets that start to crystallize in the cold air high above a mountain peak.

–

“Kaeya, why the heck is there a blizzard here?” you shriek. The wind whips the words out of your mouth, freezing your lips and chilling your lungs. Snow pelts your face, and the speed of the flakes makes your face sting.

Kaeya doesn’t know how to respond. He only pauses until you catch up to him, before wrapping an arm tightly around your shoulders to help you push through the snow and brace yourself against the wind. Violent shivers travel through your body, and it shakes his arm as well. The feeling makes his lips thin, concern forming in the pit of his stomach.

As a Cryo user, he’s resistant to the cold. Yet he is starting to lose feeling in his fingers and toes, despite wearing gloves and boots, and he can only imagine how bad it is for you.

He is beginning to regret ever suggesting that you visit the ruins.

He fears that if he cannot find you shelter soon, you’ll be in ruins.

For now, he can only urge you to keep going with quiet encouragement, and hope that he’ll get you to a safe place sooner rather than later.

–

You, too, are hoping. You’re not quite certain how you got into this mess, but you desperately want to get out of it.

There had been no signs of an incoming blizzard. Sure, there had been thick clouds in the sky when you awoke and started the trek up Blizzardpeak Mountain, but the air grew warmer the longer the sun shone. Then as if you crossed some invisible boundary, the wind picked up, temperatures dropped, and big flakes of snow started falling from the sky. You and Kaeya had tried turning around, but the path that was behind you seemed to have disappeared. No matter how far you tried walking downhill, you only returned to the path leading farther up the mountain.

And that leads you to this moment: freezing from head to toe, trudging through shin-high snow, leaning more and more on Kaeya as you lose the strength to talk, to walk, to breathe.

It feels warm now. Almost too warm, with your fingers prickling and burning with heat, hotter than they should be feeling with all the snow and wind around you. Your eyelids are heavy, lashes frozen together in crystalline spikes, and it’s getting harder to open your eyes after every blink.

Kaeya’s voice seems to grow more quiet, fading to join the howling of the wind that only drives you toward slumber.

“Kaeya?” You somehow manage to push his name past your frozen lips.

It’s spoken so weakly, yet he hears you. “Yes, sweetheart?”

“I’m kinda tired. Is it okay if I s-sleep?”

His heart stops. He stumbles over his own feet, catches his balance. “N-no, no, my love, stay awake for me, okay? I’ll- I’ll get you someplace safe, someplace warm. Just keep moving for me, promise?”

You hum, concentrating on doing what he asks by putting one foot in front of the other. “I’m always safe when ‘m with you,” you say after a bit of silence. Kaeya is scared by your voice; it’s haunting, dreamlike. He’s afraid you’ll be nothing but a dream if he can’t do something. “And I’m warm enough now, just… tired.”

“You can’t- you can’t sleep now, keep your eyes open. We’re almost there. Just focus on walking and listen to my voice, stay awake for me. C’mon, let me see those pretty eyes of yours.” He knows he’s rambling, begging desperately, but he’ll do anything to keep you awake. You don’t react to his pleading, nor his flirty line, but you’re still moving and that’s enough for him.

Kaeya keeps up the stream of words, just so you have something to focus on besides pushing through the snow. He speaks even when his throat turns raw from breathing in the biting air, even when he can’t feel his lips move. He speaks, because as long as he can see white puffs of air escape your mouth before being whipped away by the wind, he has hope.

That hope dwindles the more he climbs, pulling you along; he’s starting to lean on you just as much as you’re leaning on him. There is no end in sight.

But then-

-a spot of darkness appears in the distance, standing out against the bright white terrain. Kaeya squints, lashes encrusted with snowflakes. He’s trying to figure out what it is but his thoughts are slime condensate, and the only thing he can focus on is taking one step at a time, dragging you with him.

By the time he reaches the object and realizes it’s a broken pillar of stone—and the ruins must lie just beyond it—he does not have the energy to carry on any further.

If I had the strength to cry, I would, he thinks, as his legs buckle and he drops to his knees in the snow. His arms can barely slow the fall for you, and his chest heaves in an almost-sob at the knowledge that this is the end. This is the end, and he has failed you.

There are two copies of you in his vision, and darkness is devouring the white of snow. It’s a sluggish shuffle for Kaeya to wrap himself around you, cradling your upper body in his arms as he ducks his head down into the curve of your neck. Your slow, shallow exhales against his cheek are the only thing he can feel.

He hopes, as the darkness closes in, that the warmth of his body will allow you to live just a little longer.

If this is how he has to go, at least he has you in his arms.

–

Kaeya returns to the world slowly.

He’s disoriented at first, unsure of where he is or what he is doing since his eyes are shut. Then he feels the heat. Warmth envelops him from head to toe which is strange because, because-

It takes a long moment for him to recall why being so warm is weird to him. (Howling winds, snow, blizzard, slipping into eternal sleep while cradling your cold body in his arms.)

Everything rushes back to him at once.

Oh, please, no.

His chest has to be torn right open with the pain he feels, and the pain is all-consuming; he is so, so empty. Tears start to form, slipping out of his shut eyes. Kaeya presses his face harder into the side of your neck, crying in anguish, desperately wondering why he’s still alive when you are so still in his arms. The tears track a silvery trail across his skin, reminiscent of starlight, before they drip onto your neck, sliding until they soak into your clothes.

With his entire body shaking from the strength of his sobs, it’s no wonder that he doesn’t notice your eyes slowly opening and one hand reaching up to gently stroke his hair in an effort to comfort him.

“What’s wrong, Kaeya?”

Your voice is scratchy from the cold, but it’s the sweetest thing he’s ever heard. He jolts, pulling his head up to gaze down at you, blue eyes glistening yet wide open in wonder. It can’t be.

Somehow, there you are before him, a concerned look on your face. Your hand cups his cheek, thumb stroking across his skin to catch the tears that slip down his face.

“Y-you- you’re…” He fumbles over his words, trying to reconcile the grief he was feeling just moments ago with the pure relief that rushes through his veins. It’s like his heart just started to beat again.

But you don’t give him time to recover before your right hand grabs his jacket and pulls him down toward you, and his lips meet yours. It’s a bruising kiss; the impact presses teeth against lips with a sting of pain, but that pain reminds you that you’re alive.

It’s a kiss of relief, of celebration, a promise that neither of you will let the other get that close to the end ever again. It’s a kiss that says “we’re reunited” and “you’re mine” and “I am so in love with you.”

When you finally pull away from him, you have to spend a moment catching your breath. His eyes never leave yours as the two of you sit on the ground in silence, and he keeps his arms around you as if you’ll disappear if he lets go.

There are so many things that are said in the quiet moment between you. You’d love to kiss Kaeya some more out of relief, but you are still stuck in the middle of a blizzard, although– “Is it just me, or is everything a bit orange?”

At your question, both of you look around, taking in the warm haze that is orange and yellow and red like firelight, caused by a dome that encompasses both of you. Then slowly, you lift up your left hand, staring with wide eyes as you uncurl your fingers.

A Pyro vision rests on your palm.

–

“Out of all the different elements in the world, you just had to get the one that’s the complete opposite of mine, huh?” Kaeya teases, watching as you melt some snow in a cup to drink.

You wink at him. “Someone has to keep you on your toes, and Pyro is the best to go up against your Cryo. Maybe I’ll be the one to beat Kaeya, the mighty Royal Guard.”

An amused chuckle fills the space. “You’ll have to train with your Vision first to figure out what you can do before taking me on.”

“I can heal, that’s for sure.” You turn solemn, recalling your close call out in the blizzard. It was only thanks to your Vision—appearing at just the right moment—that you both were able to survive the cold, healed as you were encompassed by the warm shield created with your newfound powers.

Sensing your change in mood, Kaeya moves closer on the stones you sit on, wrapping an arm around your shoulders to pull you close to him. “And you do a wonderful job of it.”

You sit in silence for a bit, gazing out at the landscape before you. After regaining consciousness, and under the protection of your Pyro shield, you decided to make your way into the ruins. Seeing the broken column had given you hope that there would be some type of shelter if you explored further. And you were right. In fact, the amount of shelter that is available to you was a surprise.

There’s something strange about this place. Many of the stone buildings stand tall, somehow not crumbling from the flow of time. The blizzard swirls around the outskirts of the ruins, but not a flake of snow touches the ground beyond the broken column. So you don’t need to constantly keep your Pyro abilities active, and it honestly isn’t too terrible in the shelter of one of the buildings. You’ve even found food in some of the houses, and none of it has gone bad—as if it’s been preserved by something, just as the buildings have been kept well.

Deep in thought, you continue to stare out at the buildings as if by looking hard enough, they’ll reveal their secrets to you.

–

A few hours later, you decide to further explore the not-quite-ruins. After all, you’ve been spending most of your time on the edge by the blizzard.

Kaeya stays by your side, passing you some dried fruit to eat as you walk. The stone buildings are all the same style, just like the one you and Kaeya have selected to stay in. It’s a bit eerie though, to be walking down the empty streets with only Kaeya and the howling winds as company. All the streets slope upward toward the peak of the mountain, and when you suggest following the road to see where it leads at the top, he agrees easily.

It takes maybe fifteen minutes to get to the end of the road. There’s a circular area in the middle of the small town, which is nothing strange except for the pedestal in the center. And on that pedestal rests an elaborate hourglass.

“Woah.” Your eyes are wide as you step closer for a better look.

“That’s interesting,” Kaeya muses. He bends to peer at it as well, taking in the details.

It’s completely made of blue crystal, dark blue on either end that fades into a lighter blue near the middle, where a substance flows through one bulb of the hourglass into the other. But what flows in the glass is not sand. Instead, little particles mimic the snow that swirls around these ruins in the blizzard. More peculiarly, no matter how long you look at the snowflakes in the bottom half of the hourglass, they never seem to accumulate at all.

The khemist in you is fascinated. “Do you think we can touch it?”

Your eagerness makes Kaeya smile, and he nods in encouragement.

Although the hourglass is pretty large—the height of your two hands, and the base almost too big for you to grab with one hand—it’s surprisingly light. You lift it up and turn it slowly, allowing both you and Kaeya to take in the elaborate design. It’s baffling, too; you truly cannot figure out how the snow seems to never accumulate in the bottom and never deplete from the top.

(That is one mystery you’ll never be able to solve.)

As it makes a full rotation in your hands, you once again stare at the diamond shaped gold and silver filigree on the front side. There’s a slight tingle in the fingers of your left hand, which builds and builds to the point where– “Ow! What the heck?” –you have to drop the hourglass back onto the pedestal and shake out your hand.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Kaeya’s hands are comforting on your shoulders as he turns you to face him.

Flexing your fingers, you open your mouth to respond to him. But when you look into his eyes, all you can do is gasp in shock. “Kaeya, y-your eye! It’s glowing.”

His brows furrow, and one hand reaches up toward his face. “Are you sure? Which one?”

“That one, your right one. It’s shining like gold.”

“It doesn’t feel any different,” he murmurs as you cradle his face in your hands and peer at his golden eye.

It’s luminescent, shining more brilliantly than the Molten Sunorbs that brighten Khaenri’ah in the daytime. And honestly, it suits him rather well, adding a bit of warmth to the otherwise cool blue of his natural eye and hair color. But how and why did it change when you touched the hourglass?

Kaeya’s hand wraps around your own, bringing your left arm down between the two of you. “You’re glowing too.”

Golden swirls of light thread across your hand. Tendrils snake up to your wrist, where they trail off and fade back into your skin. It concerns you, just like Kaeya’s eye does, but it doesn’t hurt at all, nor does it feel like anything has changed.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asks. His fingers lightly dance across your skin, tracing the patterns of light.

You nod firmly. “I think the hourglass has a lot of power. It’s probably what preserved this town; it kept the buildings frozen in time. I’m just worried about what that means for us.”

“Hopefully nothing,” Kaeya says, “but regardless of what happens, we’ll get through it together, alright?”

“Alright,” you echo softly, warmed by the thought that you have this man by your side. “Together.”

–

Four days pass by rather quickly. You’ve explored many of the buildings in this frozen town, started to practice using your Pyro abilities, watched Kaeya keep up his sword drills, and pored over your Khemia notes to try and design something new. But now, as dusk falls, you and Kaeya need to start thinking about going home.

“The blizzard is still going strong,” Kaeya says over dinner.

The bowl of soup warms you up, as does the fire you had lit within a couple minutes of you concentrating on a pile of kindling. “We need to leave tomorrow though, if you’re to make it back in time for the Royal Guard exams. Even if the blizzard is still there or not.”

“Can you do it?” He refers to the idea you mentioned: activating your healing shield to keep out the cold as the two of you move through the blizzard.

Your lips press into a thin line. It’s only been a few days since you got your Vision. You don’t even know how you activated the shield in the first place, let alone how it started healing. But you won’t let Kaeya sacrifice his future as a member of the Royal Guard just because he took it upon himself to fulfill your wish to see the stars.

“I’ll do it. I have to.”

–

You don’t have to. The skies are miraculously (or perhaps, magically) clear of clouds on the fifth morning. Though pristine snow layers the ground and threatens to blind you as it reflects the sun, the wind is much more gentle and you can trudge through it all the way home.

(That is, if you have a home to return to.)

And so you make the journey down the mountain, leaving the not-quite-ruins and the strange, powerful hourglass behind.

It’s a long trek, and the snow makes your legs ridiculously cold—until you remember to flare up your Pyro abilities and just warm you up overall. Kaeya complains about you not helping him out, and you spend a couple minutes bickering with him (“You’re a Cryo user, you’re supposed to be fine with the cold!”) before relenting with a roll of your eyes and a good natured grin, expanding your circle of warmth to encompass him too.

You leave the snow behind by the afternoon, and the slope of the mountain levels out into rolling hills of stone and weeds.

By the time you get close to the entryway to Khaenri’ah, the sun has started to dip below the horizon, and the sky is painted in flames of orange and blood red hues. It is under this ominous backdrop that you walk to the tunnel you used to exit the city.

But there is no tunnel, or city, at all.

You can’t breathe. “K-kaeya?” Your voice trembles, just like your legs.

He can’t find the words to respond. All he can do is stand by your side at the edge of this cliff, tears forming in his eyes at the silent wasteland that sprawls out below.

The cave doesn’t exist anymore. It’s as if a giant meteor hurled to the ground, collapsing cave walls and crushing everything that once was your beloved city. Amid the rubble, there are patches of scorched and long-dead grasses. A few lone arches and pillars are visible among the rock. You don’t recognize your home anymore, and emptiness swells in your stomach as tears start to fall.

“What- what happened?”

“The gods happened,” a stranger answers.

You and Kaeya spin around, and there’s the sound of sliding metal as he instinctively unsheathes his sword, taking a step forward to place himself between you and the newcomer.

“Who are you?” Kaeya demands.

The stranger is calm despite the blade that is pointed at him. “I am Dainsleif. We have not met—officially, at least—though we did have a run-in five hundred years or so ago.”

Your eyes are wide and no longer full of tears, startled and wary of Dainsleif’s sudden appearance. “What do you mean, five hundred years ago?”

“I was a guard, once, and was tasked with watching a tunnel that led from Khaenri’ah to the outside. During one of those shifts, a guard on duty with me was certain he heard someone. After investigating, we discovered only a squirrel in the bushes—but I know there were two other people in the vicinity that night.”

Kaeya immediately recalls that night and the voices he heard as he ran through the entryway. “So you deliberately let us go? Why?” he asks.

“I took fate into my own hands because the two of you play an important part in the future of this world. The stars told me so.” He doesn’t elaborate on those cryptic words, instead holding out a brown sack. When Kaeya hesitantly takes it, Dainsleif speaks yet again. “If you are to avenge our fallen city, there is much for you to learn. First, change into those clothes. It will be difficult to assimilate into Mondstadt with the outdated garments that you wear now.”

You’re still heartbroken at the discovery of your destroyed home, but your desire for more knowledge—to understand exactly what happened—outweighs your grief. And truth be told, there wasn’t much left for you back in Khaenri’ah. On the night you journeyed to see the stars, you had brought your whole world with you in the form of the man that stands by your side.

So, you nod in acquiescence and step aside with Kaeya to change into your new clothes.

–

“Is all this red because of my Vision?” You tug at the hem of your jacket—a red and black piece with golden accents. Kaeya’s own outfit is in many shades of blue, seeming to match his Cryo vision.

He looks… great, you think, feeling your face heat up.

His lips curl into a smirk and warmth fills him at the flustered expression that he incites from you.  “Looking good,” he says, eyes lingering on the way the jacket and white shirt underneath clings to your chest and shoulders. A long finger hooks into your belt, and he tugs you forward so your body is right up against him as he captures your lips with his own in a kiss.

Though you want to, you don’t let yourself get lost in his affection, aware that someone is waiting for you. With reluctance, you pull away from Kaeya to face Dainsleif.

Dainsleif says nothing but glances over both of you, satisfied with how the new clothes make you look like Mondstadt citizens. Then his gaze pauses on your hand that glows with golden patterns, and Kaeya’s radiant eye. “It would be in your best interests to cover the effects of the timepiece.”

“You know about the hourglass?” Your eyes narrow. This man needs to start talking soon, and catch you up to speed on what has been happening in the past five hundred years.

“I have much to explain, and will have the time to do so as we travel to Mondstadt. Shall we?” With that, Dainsleif turns his back on you and starts walking away from the ruins of Khaenri’ah.

Kaeya returns your searching look with a shrug, before tilting his head in the direction of the other man. “If he knows the events of the past five centuries, we’ll need to go with him to get as much information from him as possible. After that, we can decide how to proceed, yeah?”

“On to another adventure, I suppose.”

And so, with Kaeya by your side, you follow the stranger from your homeland toward another nation you know little of (but is a nation you soon will call home).

–

“Aww, man!”

“Mister Kaeya, is that it?”

“You can’t just stop there!” The children whine and plead, longing to hear more of this fascinating story.

Kaeya laughs at their enthusiasm and holds up a hand to try and calm the chatter. They immediately stop talking, sitting straight with wide eyes staring intently at the man who is much more than just a museum staff member.

“Not to worry, there’s still much more to cover in this tale of adventures. However,” he pauses, glancing at someone who leans against one of the exhibit room walls, “I’m afraid we are out of time today. It looks like you all need to join the rest of your class.” Immediately, groans of disappointment fill the room. “If you ever return to this museum though, I’ll be more than happy to continue the story.”

As the children reluctantly get off the bench, one girl approaches Kaeya. “Can you give us at least a little sneak peek? Pleaaaase?”

He can’t say no to those wide eyes and adorable pout that reminds him of you from a long time ago, so he smiles and says, “Alright. I’ll tell you this: the next part of this adventure involves friends old and new, a handful of dangerous enemies, powerful archons that have lived for centuries, and the fate of seven nations that are ruled by them.”

“What about the hourglass? How does it get down to Earth?”

Instead of answering directly, Kaeya presents a question. “How does anyone enter or exit a room?”

Another child pipes up, face scrunched up in careful thought. “By walking through a door?”

“Exactly. This story will end with a doorway, and that is how the hourglass—and our protagonists—make their way to Earth.”

(It’s a little bit more than that; magic was involved too, just as it was with the blizzard. But it’s enough for the children for now, and is all that time allows.)

“Kaeya!”

Kaeya turns at your voice, affection shining in his visible eye. All the children turn to face you too, studying your red, black, and gold outfit, as well as the vibrant red charm that hangs around your neck.

“Are you telling them those myths again? Their teacher is waiting for them!” You stride over to him, and poke him once in the chest as you reprimand him.

His grin comes easily and he lifts his arms up in surrender.

Before you pull your finger away, he quickly grabs your hand and presses a kiss to the back of it, though his lips touch the soft leather of a glove instead of bare skin. Though he’s been doing this for years, the public display of affection never fails to fluster you, and you can only stare at him with parted lips as your body temperature rises—no thanks to your Pyro Vision.

Kaeya winks at you. He knows you can turn it around on him in an instant if you so wished, as you also never lost the ability to render him at a loss for words, but you won’t do so right in front of these children (you’ve gained a bit more self control than him over the years). He straightens up and turns to the kids. Some of them are staring at you two in expressions of open disgust that only elementary schoolers can manage, but that doesn’t faze him. “Come on. Let’s get you all back to your teacher.”

He leads the way, placing a hand on your lower back to escort you along with him. “How was your group of children?” His voice is low and gentle in your ear.

“They were a pleasure to work with. None of them were menaces like you when you were a kid. Actually, you still are a menace.”

He chuckles, and you scrunch up your nose at him. “Well you fell in love with this menace, so I’m certainly not the one that got the short end of the stick.”

Your retort is cut off by the approach of the second graders’ teacher, looking relieved that all of his students are finally present and accounted for.

“Thank you so much,” he says. “I’ve been hearing raving reviews from the students so far, and I’m sure this group will only have good things to say as well.”

“It’s our pleasure,” you respond. “They are all such lovely students and I truly enjoyed showing them around.”

The teacher exchanges some more words with you and Kaeya, before he starts to corral his students toward the bus.

As they leave, a boy who had listened to Kaeya’s story turns around. He’s an observant child, as most kids are, and he has the bravery that comes with being young so he unabashedly asks, “Mister Kaeya! Is what you told us really just a story?”

“I don’t know,” Kaeya says with a grin. “Why don’t you tell me?” He lifts up his hand and snaps. The crisp noise cuts through the air, just as a single snowflake drifts from his fingers and floats toward the child, only stopping when it lands on the kid’s nose and melts into a droplet of water.

The child’s mouth falls open. He can only stare as Kaeya winks and you wave with your gloved right hand, before both of you turn and disappear into the depths of the museum.

To some, the story behind the hourglass is simply a myth. But to you and Kaeya, it once was—and still is—your reality.