Archive of Our Own

Oh, archons. You shouldn't have spoken too soon.

You should have known better that trouble always ensues whenever the little red and energetic girl was around.

"You need to calm down," he said as he called your name, seeing how you were starting to get anxious with the whole situation.

To be fair, out of all the possible things you could expect to happen when babysitting Klee, getting handcuffed to a redhead winery tycoon was the last one on your list. You didn't even think it could possibly happen.

How did you get yourself in this situation in the first place anyway?

It all started when you entered the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, ready to file yesterday's reports that you forgot to turn in when a distressed Jean came into view as soon as you entered her office.

"Master Jean, what seems to be the problem?" You asked, briefly nodding at Lisa, who was also in the room, as you set down the folders on the acting grandmaster's desk.

"It's nothing, Y/N. I apologize for worrying you," she sighed, finally sitting down.

You didn't believe her words, glancing at Lisa with a raised brow. The mage simply chuckled as she walked over to where you stood. "It's nothing, cutie. It's just that," she paused before a soft laugh escaped her lips.

"It's just that what?" you inquired further.

Jean sighed as she massaged her temple. "Klee's going out again later, and I can't keep an eye on her. There's a report of rogue hilichurls around Starfell Valley, and I need to look at it personally since all the other knights are busy."

"Oh," you muttered.

You would have suggested Jean take Klee with her, but the little elf was a walking hazard and might end up hurting herself with her bombs if she went with the acting grandmaster. You would have volunteered to go to Starfell Valley instead of Jean, but you have prior commitments at the Dawn Winery.

That's when an idea hit you.

"Well, I have something to finish at the Dawn Winery. Why don't I let Klee tag along with me?" you suggested with a smile, wanting to lessen the burden on the acting grandmaster's shoulders. "It's pretty far from Starfell Valley, and my task is fairly easy. I could keep an eye on Klee for you."

Jean had a skeptical look on her face. It's not that she did not trust you. The acting grandmaster just did not want to bother you with a task as heavy as looking after Klee. The elf might just be a child, but Jean knew how much chaos Klee could cause, and she did not want to bother you because of it.

"I don't know," she started, glancing at Lisa for a second opinion, who just gave her a shrug. "Klee can be quite the troublemaker, and I don't want to cause you any trouble, Y/N."

"It's no trouble, Jean. Don't worry. Besides, I missed spending time with Klee. Letting her tag along with me to the Dawn Winery will be fine."

With a final sigh, Jean reluctantly agreed, but only after a couple hundred reminders to call her immediately should Klee ever cause you trouble more than you can handle.

"I already told you a hundred times, Jean. I'm on my day off anyway, and it won't cause me any trouble. I promise."

And with that, you set out to Klee's room in the headquarters, ready to fetch and bring her along with you.

You gave three knocks on her door before peering in.

Two pairs of eyes locked on you. Well, technically, one pair and an eye. You did not expect Kaeya to be with Klee, knowing he was supposed to be out patrolling right now.

"Y/N!" The little girl gleefully cheered as she ran towards you and hugged your legs. "What are you doing here?"

"Master Jean said I can bring you along with me today so I can look after you," you smiled, giving her a pat on the head.

"Yay! Spending a day with big sister Y/N!" she said, letting go of your legs and dancing happily. "Can we go to Starfell Lake? I promise I won't go fish blasting," she said, turning side to side as her hands swayed behind her.

"I'm afraid we can't go there now, Klee. That's where Master Jean will be patrolling," you told her. Seeing the disappointed look on her face, you crouched to her eye level. "Why don't I bring you there before the sun sets? That way, Master Jean won't be there anymore. For now, how does Dawn Winery sound?"

As Klee nodded her head in excitement, blabbering about catching crystalflies and eating grapes, you heard Kaeya chuckle.

"And what will you be doing at Dawn Winery, my dear Y/N?" he asked with a knowing smirk on his lips.

You looked away and feigned a cough, trying to hide how your cheeks immediately warmed up at the cavalry captain's insinuation. Archons, out of everyone you could have possibly drunkenly told of your affection for a certain redhead Mondstadt bachelor, why did it have to be Kaeya? The brother of the said bachelor who held your liking?

You mumbled a string of curses under your breath towards a particular God of Freedom for being the cause of your drunken stupor that night.

"Stop it. I'm just going to help clean up the aftermath of the Stormterror incident since the winery is a mess right now," you shook your head, trying to look at the cavalry captain sternly. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be patrolling around Stormterror's Lair? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was helping Klee—"

"—make bombs!"

Your eyes widened, looking at the two back and forth. Kaeya froze. His fingers made a zipper-like motion across his lips as Klee's eyes looked back at you sheepishly.

"For once, I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that," you sighed in defeat. "Come on, Klee. We should get going. And you," you added, facing Kaeya. "You should get back to patrolling before Master Jean finds out you're not in your post."

"Duly noted, my dear," he said with a grin before escorting you and Klee outside the headquarters.

—

"And remember, Klee—" You reminded her for one last time as soon as the Dawn Winery came into view. The walk to the winery was quite a bit far, and for fear of losing Klee, you held on to her hand tightly on the way here.

"No playing with my bombs to not make the weird grown-up angry."

"Klee, his name is—"

"Y/N?"

"DILUC!"

You didn't notice you were already at the front of the mansion, not seeing the man in the process. Klee only laughed at your reaction.

"Apologies for startling you, Y/N," he said before his eyes darted to Klee, which you noticed.

"No, no. I'm sorry for being absent-minded. Right on schedule, I'm here to help clean up the mess, and I hope you don't mind Klee tagging along," you apologized before letting go of Klee's hand and patting her head. "Master Jean was supposed to look after her, but an emergency arose, so I volunteered to keep an eye on this little one instead."

"I promise I won't use my bombs, Mr. grown-up," Klee pitched in, an adorable expression on her face.

"Klee?" you sighed, giving her a knowing look to correct what she called him.

"I mean, Mr. Diluc," she grinned.

It was strange to hear him chuckle, but not in the wrong way. It was just uncommon to hear that sound come out of his lips. "Don't worry, Y/N. Klee can tag along. She can play in the orchard. That way, you can still keep an eye on her. I'll also have one of my maids nearby to ensure she doesn't go too far."

"We wouldn't want to cause you trouble, Diluc."

"It's no trouble. I assure you," the redhead said with a small smile before guiding you and Klee toward the mansion.

—

The aftermath of the Stormterror incident definitely was the least of your favorite things to handle. Sure, it was a breath of fresh air when you tagged along with Diluc, Jean, Venti, the Traveller, and Paimon to Stormterror's lair. The adventure of stopping Dvalin and purifying his tears gave a rush of electricity in your veins. But the mess created afterward was not fun to deal with.

Good thing your anemo powers came in handy in blowing away the leaves and other debris scattered across the winery, or else, it would be a pain to sweep all of it up with merely a broom.

Holding out your hands, you channeled your anemo abilities to create a gust of wind acting as a vacuum to gather the mess. Once you had collected it all, you went to the pile of trash on the side and gently placed the leaves there.

As you were about to turn around, your eyes caught Klee playing in the orchard and chasing the crystalflies around. As you continued to watch the little girl, a smile soon grew on your lips.

Seeing someone so carefree and not minding the troubles around her was refreshing. All of her focus is solely on the crystalfly.

"Y/N? Are you alright?"

It was good that you didn't jump in surprise when Diluc came up to you this time. He must have noticed you missing from your previous position for quite a while and came looking for you.

"Oh, Diluc! Sorry I didn't see you there," you told him, your eyes leaving Klee and meeting his. "Yes, I'm alright. I was just watching Klee."

He nodded. "You seemed lost in thought, though. Has anything been troubling you?"

"Ah, it's nothing. Really. It just came into mind how refreshing it is to watch Klee," you explained to him. "Everyone around seems so tense, and I don't blame them. After all, this incident with Dvalin definitely affected us all. I guess just watching Klee temporarily made me forget the dilemma at hand."

Diluc paused, taking in your answer. But as he opened his mouth, ready to pitch in his thoughts, your eyes widened immediately. You briefly looked back to where you last saw Klee, only to find that she had disappeared.

"Klee?!" You called out frantically. Even the maids around you nervously looked around as it seemed that the little elf managed to slip past their fingers and went off somewhere.

You ran to where Klee was last seen, lifting up every crate, boulder, or anything else she could hide behind or in with your anemo powers. To no luck, you couldn't find her.

"Jean... Master Jean is gonna kill me," you muttered as you continued searching for Klee. You wouldn't forgive yourself if something happened to her. It was a simple job. Look after Klee and bring her back to the headquarters. Now, she was out of your sight. Some knight you were.

And Diluc. Oh, dear. This would cause so much trouble to Diluc. You thought. Because of your negligence, this would prove to him how the Knights of Favonius are indeed inefficient. 

"Y/N, calm down," Diluc ran, catching up to you. He held you by your wrists, making you drop the crates and boulders suspended in the air. "Breathe. We'll find her. She's still on the premises since the others did not see anyone enter or leave."

You inhaled deeply, trying to calm yourself down. You really shouldn't let your overthinking get ahead of you because as soon as you calmed down, something cold wrapped around your wrists. Your eyes widened in surprise and relief upon seeing Klee.

"Klee! You had me worried!" you exclaimed and went to hug her when a slight force tugged your hand back, making you fall back to Diluc. You yelped in surprise as your back hit his chest.

Your brows furrowed in wonder as your eyes trailed down to your wrists. Too worried about finding Klee, you did not even notice the handcuff she had already put on you and Diluc.

"Klee? What is this, and where did you find it?" You asked, bringing your wrist up to examine it. The handcuff emitted a faint green glow. When you tried pulling it open, you yelped in surprise when it gave you a mild electrocution.

"I found it hanging on one of the vines! It looked so cool!" Klee cheered as she explained where she had found it, even pointing toward the direction where she had found the handcuff.

"That's great, Klee. But can you give me the key so we can get out now? I still have a lot to finish, and I'm sure Diluc is needed somewhere else."

"Uh-oh," Klee muttered timidly.

Two syllables. It took only two syllables to make your heart quicken its pace once more. What did Klee mean by uh-oh?

"Don't worry, Y/N. This handcuff must have fallen out from the boxes delivered today from Sumeru. I'll have Adelinde look for the key immediately," he interjected before you could begin panicking again. "Why don't we wait inside and have a snack? How does that sound?"

"Oh, let's go, Y/N! I'm starving." And with that, Klee ran off inside the mansion.

You could only shake your head as you gave Diluc a smile before the both of you finally followed the little girl. Today was not good for your heart. Seeing Diluc, the man you liked, already made your heart skip a beat. Being handcuffed to him only made you want the ground to swallow you.

It's alright. You thought to yourself. Everything will be alright as soon as Adelinde finds the keys because my heart can't take this anymore.

Unfortunately, you once again spoke too soon. Celestia nor the archons weren't on your side today, that's for sure.

"Master Diluc, there were no keys in any of the boxes."

Right then and there, you swore you could have melted on the spot.

Oh, Lord Barbatos. Forgive me for whatever I have done to end up in this situation.