Archive of Our Own

Kaeya hasn't really looked forward to his birthday in many years. Certainly he found, as we all do, that after you reach a certain age, the shine on certain holidays tends to wear off a bit--growing up has a way of stripping the wonderment from a lot of things--and after Diluc had turned fourteen and been promoted to Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius, they had both started taking life a bit more seriously. After all, if they were grown up enough to be knights, they couldn't very well continue entertaining such childish notions as party hats and streamers. And after That Night six years ago...

Archons, has it been six years?

He stands before the mirror in the bathroom, his toothbrush in his mouth and his hair still a little messy from sleep, and he peers at his reflection with a shake of his head.

Well, needless to say, he hadn't really felt much like celebrating himself after everything that had happened. And so his birthday had sort of faded into the rest of the noise of his life, and become just any other day. The only people who ever really said anything about it were Jean and Barbara; they'd known him since he was a child, after all. Only a few of his other colleagues at work even knew when his birthday was, and most of the time everyone was too busy to really acknowledge such things.

Rosaria always seems to remember, and he's equal parts impressed and terrified by the way she seems to know intimate details about everyone in the city that none of them have actually informed her of. But something in him is also grateful for her consistency, and the stern yet gentle way she congratulates him over a drink on surviving another year. Mona always remembers, too, but... well, her way of just knowing everything about everything is an entirely different thing altogether, but he appreciates the astral forecast she offers him each year all the same.

Rinsing the toothpaste out of his mouth and placing the toothbrush back in its holder, he looks at the mirror again, bringing his hand up to cover his right eye before threading his fingers into his bangs to pull them forward and down into their usual curtain across the upper right side of his face. He smiles a little as he brushes out the length of his hair and pulls it over his shoulder, then secures the patch over his eye.

Things have changed quite a bit in the past two years, and he thinks that it's really all because of the Traveler. He's not sure anything would have gone the way it has without her, and the slow, gentle repair work that's been carefully piecing the shattered pieces of his own broken history back together is no exception. Two years ago, a mere two months after Lumine had arrived in Mondstadt, he'd found himself compelled to reach out to her when an offhanded remark had reminded him it was, in fact, his birthday. He hadn't actually expected her to take him up on his invitation for a drink, let alone to indulge him when he had suggested a picnic. Last year, she had gone out of her way to come looking for him, presumably immediately after receiving his letter. They had grown much closer in the interim, it's true, but he had still been surprised--and touched--by the vehemence with which she had sought him out. They've spent many an evening cooking together here in the teapot abode since then, but that birthday meal last year remains one of his fondest memories. This year he's left her a letter for when she awakes, though he's quite certain she's well aware already of the date and already has something planned for later. The tradition from her home to give gifts to the person whose birthday it is had struck him as odd when she'd first told him about it, but he can't deny he's a little excited to see what she comes up with this year, and the way all of the people whose lives she has touched have now picked up this tradition as well is quite endearing. It's like having multiple birthdays, now, to both give and receive, and he thinks he could get used to this new custom.

But he doesn't have time to imagine all the impeccably perceptive ways Lumine could make today perfect right now. Affixing his earring and the fluffy stole he wears over his shoulder, Kaeya heads out; there's a lot to get done before this evening.

He's not sure he'll ever get used to the strange feeling of departing the teapot abode--it's not quite the same as the feeling of utilizing waypoints, nor is it like the short-spot teleportation he's always been able to do and uses to his advantage in combat. There's something gentle and cozy about it, like floating upward through warm water, and as the buildings of the city materialize around him he supposes that's rather fitting; the teapot feels more like home now than his apartment here ever has, and he knows it's because of her presence. The Traveler is what feels like home, more than any abode or apartment could possibly hope to be, but he knows she'd just say he's being corny and sentimental if he told her as much.

He thinks maybe he likes being a little corny and sentimental, though, which brings him to the task at hand. It has been the tradition in Teyvat for as long as anyone can remember to give gifts to important friends and loved ones on your birthday, and though he's kept his list of recipients rather small for the past six years, he's decided that's all about to change. The entire axis of his life feels as though it's shifted in the past year, and even if he's never been one to overexalt himself sincerely (his flagrant preening and posturing is almost entirely for show, and the people who know him well know this beyond shadow of doubt), he's determined to share his joy this time around. Jean has given him the day off again, and has insisted he take it for himself, and that's exactly what he's going to do.

His first stop is to the main square, where Sara is waiting at Good Hunter with his standing coffee order.

"You're late this morning!" she says with exaggerated appall as she dashes the top of his coffee with cocoa powder. "I was beginning to worry!"

"I'm only ten minutes later than usual, Sara," he laughs with a shake of his head as he picks up the coffee and inhales the scent. "Mm... butterscotch, today?"

"Can't fool you," she says, snapping her fingers. "I thought for sure I'd trip you up this time."

"Never gonna happen," he says, tapping the tip of his nose with one finger. "I'd say the only person with a better nose in Mondstadt is Razor."

She rolls her eyes good-naturedly. "You think you're the best at everything," she chuckles.

"I do not," he insists, feigning indignation, squaring his shoulders. "You definitely still make the best coffee in Mondstadt, Sara. And, with that in mind..." He sets the coffee down and flicks his wrist to open up his inventory, reaching inside to retrieve a small, flat parcel tied closed with a slender silver ribbon.

"It'll never cease to amaze me what you can do with those crazy Visions of yours," Sara says with a shake of her head, watching with interest as he closes the inventory with a flourish. "Shopping for supplies would be infinitely easier if I didn't have to carry everything by hand."

"It can be quite convenient," Kaeya admits, "but it can also be rather difficult to keep organized if you don't stay on top of things, so it's perhaps a bit of a mixed blessing." He sets the package down on the counter and slides it toward her. "This is for you."

Sara's brow furrows as she picks the parcel up with both hands, and she meets Kaeya's eye with a shake of her head. "What's this for?" she asks, and he grins brightly.

"It's my birthday," he says.

"It is?" Her expression bottoms out in shock. "Why didn't you ever say anything? All the time I've been running this counter and you never told me when your birthday was!"

He shrugs noncommittally. "I just didn't want to make a big deal of it," he says with uncommon sincerity. "Contrary to popular belief, I'm really not a fan of drawing so much attention to myself, usually."

She looks a little puzzled then, holding the package against her heart. "I'm surprised you would want to give me something on your birthday," she says quietly. "I mean... I like to think of you as a bit more than just a regular customer, but I didn't really expect it to be mutual."

"I couldn't get through the day without your coffee, Sara," he says, "and after all the silly requests you've managed to fill for me without complaint, all the last-second mysterious orders you've managed to crank out without question or fail, I daresay it would be rude of me to not consider you a bit more than just the local restauranteur."

Sara huffs a sigh and points to the cup of coffee then. "Well, that is on the house today, for sure, and don't you dare try and pay me for it." She looks at the package then, before asking with measured excitement, "Can I open it?"

"Of course, silly," he says with a snort of laughter. "What would be the point of giving you a gift you aren't allowed to open?"

Sara mumbles something about him always having a good point as she carefully unties the ribbon and pulls open the paper wrapped neatly around the item inside. The paper falls away to reveal a slender book, with silver edging on the pages but no title imprinted on the cover, and she gives Kaeya a curious look as she opens it.

"Collected notes and outlines for early drafts of The Boar Princess series," he explains as her eyes skim the words inside, and she immediately slaps the book closed, her mouth falling open wide.

"No way," she gasps, clutching the book to her chest as a smile splits her face. "Where did you get this??"

He clicks his tongue and wags a finger. "A gentleman never reveals his secrets," he says. "I heard from Lisa that you've borrowed The Boar Princess from the library more than anyone else in the city, so I thought you would certainly appreciate a little more insight into the author's intentions as it was being written."

"And I can keep it?" she asks.

"I mean, if you wanted to donate it to the library once you're through reading it, I'm sure Lisa would be delighted to add it to the collection," he says, waving a hand, "but that's up to you. It's a gift, after all; you can do with it whatever you please."

Sara hugs the book against her with one hand and reaches out with the other, making a grabby gesture, and Kaeya hesitates a moment before offering his hand. She squeezes it tightly, her touch warm through his glove, and he's not certain he's ever seen her smile so intensely before.

"This is so thoughtful, I love it," she says. "Thank you so much!"

He stares at her hand a moment, then meets her gaze and shakes his head with a smile. "Not at all," he says. "I'm glad you like it."

She releases his hand then and reaches beneath the counter to retrieve a little paper bag of pastries. "Your usual," she says, "but definitely on the house today."

"You don't have to--"

"Everyone gets a free pastry on their birthday, Captain," she says, "and I owe you several for all the birthdays I missed because you never told me."

He hefts a sigh and takes the bag, opening it to retrieve one of the sweet rolls. "Very well," he says, doing his very best to sound very put-upon about it as he takes a bite. "Ooh, cream cheese and... sunsettia."

"Right again, as usual. Are you going into the office, or have you taken the day off?"

"Yes," he says, and she arches one eyebrow. "Jean insisted I take the day off, but I have plenty more gifts to distribute, so I will be going into the office anyway."

"Then I'll prepare the rest of your usual order," she says. "Today's tea is an import from Inazuma, actually; you had mentioned Lisa wanted to try some Inazuman teas, and I finally managed to find a reliable vendor who didn't charge a fortune in export fees, so if she likes this one I can start stocking it regularly."

"This city would surely come apart at the seams if not for your efforts, Sara," he says with a grin. "Mondstadt truly knows not how hard you work behind the scenes to provide such excellent service."

Sara folds her arms and gives him a wry look. "You, sir, are a flatterer and a schmooze."

And as she sets up his usual drink caddy with his usual cup of coffee for Jean and hot water and teabag for Lisa, he has to admit he's rather guilty as charged.

"Oh, Amber, wait up!"

Kaeya calls out to her as he sees her heading for the front hall, and she turns to give him her usual dubious look, like she's just waiting for him to yank the rug out from under her. So far his gift-giving endeavors have gone quite well: Lisa was delighted with the Fontainian leather gloves he'd procured for her (spared no expense), and Jean had been elated by the special Sumeruan coffee blend. He hasn't seen Albedo or Eula today, as expected--neither of them are at headquarters often, after all--but he was on his way to see if Sucrose was in the alchemy lab on the second floor when he'd spotted Amber.

"Captain, I'm on my way out to a mission, so I don't have time for any tricks today," she says, her lips pursed, and Kaeya gives her a helpless sort of smile. Certainly he and Amber have had a bit of a rocky relationship, but he likes to think she's warmed up to him a little. Sometimes it's hard to tell.

"I won't keep you," he says, jogging over to her and producing a small parcel, wrapped neatly in white paper with a small blue bow. "I just wanted to give you this."

She eyes the parcel suspiciously, but reaches one hand toward it. "What is it?" she asks.

"Well, you have to open it, of course," he says.

"It's not another springy snake gag, is it?"

"Amber that was one time and four years ago, am I never going to live that one down?"

She gives a wicked little chuckle and assures him he definitely isn't. Carefully opening the paper and holding the parcel a little further away from her face than necessary, she waits for something to leap out and her and, when nothing does, she brings it closer to investigate. She lifts a coiled item from the paper and tucks the wrapping into her belt to put it aside, stretching what appears to be a thin rope between her hands, a small buff of fur and two slender strips of leather in one palm as she does so.

"Oh... this is..."

"So I remembered you were complaining about your bowstring a while back," he says, pulling at the back of his neck, "how it 'pulled wrong' and you didn't like how much noise it made."

"K... Kaeya is this a foxfur silencer?" she gasps. "And... boar leather string-groove guards??"

He pulls at his neck a little harder. "I mean, I don't really know much about archery, really," he says. "Diluc forbade me from trying a second time after I nearly shot Elzer in the leg once when we were fifteen."

Amber grimaces. "Depth perception issue?"

"Depth perception issue." He shakes his head. "Really, I dunno how Fischl does it." Then he shrugs and hooks his thumbs into the belt around his hips. "Anyway. I don't really know what makes a bowstring 'pull wrong', but I asked an archer friend for advice and he suggested this particular bowstring from this particular vendor."

He dares not tell her she'll be using a bowstring made by the guy who supplies The Fatui with many of their armaments, that's for sure.

"I got it in red, since... I mean you obviously like red," he adds then with a grin, and Amber looks absolutely flabbergasted.

"I... I do like red!" she gasps, and suddenly she's thrown her arms around his middle, and he makes a startled bleating sound that quickly becomes a laugh. He's gotten a bit more used to being shown affection in the past couple years, but he never really expects it from Amber. "My bowstring pulled wrong because it's a sinew blend and it had been raining and sinew tends to warp when it gets wet and I thought the synthetic material blend was a high enough percentage but it really wasn't so the string got warped and I couldn't really tighten it any more without risk of snapping it so it just pulled wrong and then it was so loud when I'd fire an arrow and like three times I ended up getting spotted by hilichurls because of the noise and I said I wished I had a good silencer and I didn't even think you were listening to me--!"

"Amber, Amber, easy," he chuckles. "I don't really know what any of that means, but... I did okay?"

"You did great!" she cries, and then quickly steps back and sort of smooths the lapels of his outfit, looking a little embarrassed by her own outburst of affection. Clearing her throat, she carefully coils the string back up and clutches the items close to her heart, her expression warm. "Really, this is so thoughtful, I'm..." She squints then. "Are you about to ask me a ridiculous favor or something?"

"Not at all," he says with a shake of his head. "It's my birthday."

Her jaw drops. "It's what?" She swats at his arm. "How long have we worked together and you never told me when your birthday was??"

"Listen, I was afraid you'd booby trap the candles on my cake or something if you knew."

"That is a reasonable concern," she agrees with a very stern nod of her head, "I suppose I can forgive you." She shakes her head then and gives him a smile. "Really, though, these are wonderful, thank you so much. Happy birthday!"

"Why, thank you!" he says, squaring his shoulders, and then holds up one finger. "Ah, actually, one other thing."

"Here it comes."

"No, no, nothing bad," he says, flicking open his inventory to retrieve another small parcel. "I was wondering... you'll probably see Collei before I do," he says, "so... could I ask you to give this to her when you do?"

Amber's eyes widen in surprise as she looks at him and then down at the gift and then back at him, her lips parted a bit, and she looks a bit stumped all of a sudden.

"It's not a trick," he says quietly. "I mean... you know Collei and I started exchanging letters. I know she's still struggling with writing, so I got her a Mondstadt/Common phrasebook with some local idioms and such..."

Amber's expression has warped into something bordering on gobsmacked, and he trails off before clearing his throat and offering her the wrapped package.

"If it's too much trouble I understand, but..."

Amber shakes her head. "No, I just..." She puts a hand on her brow. "When did you get so... nice?"

"Ah, sorry," he says. "I should have prefaced with some teasing remarks, I suppose."

Amber pushes the package gently back against his chest with a smile. "Hang onto it for now," she says; "I wouldn't want it to end up getting damaged or something while I'm out on my mission, but... later." She gives him a nod. "I'll make sure she gets it."

He gives her a nod and carefully puts the parcel back into his inventory. "Understood," he says, "and appreciated. You be safe on your mission, okay?"

She grins broadly and gives him a mock salute. "It'll definitely be a lot safer with a silent bowstring," she says, and then she's gone in a whirl, the sharp scent of Pyro lingering only a moment in the air.

Kaeya rubs his face with both hands, the cool of his palms refreshing against how unexpectedly warm his face is. It's easy to pretend to be outgoing and unflappable when he's playing a role, but when he's being sincere it's more difficult to hide the fact that he's just naturally shy and easily flustered. He's glad maybe Amber has finally figured out that he is nice, when he wants to be, but he's amazed his face hadn't betrayed him by going as red as Diluc's hair at her remark.

All right, no time to tarry; he still has several more gifts to distribute, and he has a feeling Albedo and Eula are going to be difficult to track down.

He's just walked through the gates to head out of Mondstadt City and started across the bridge when the sound of an explosion catches his attention, and he looks up in time to see a bloom of smoke rising from the direction of Springvale. Worried now, he takes off at a run, then skids to a stop when he catches sight of one of the teleportation waypoints, just northeast of the road and up a hill. He grimaces a little--he really doesn't like using them, they make him feel nauseous and his bones feel unstable somehow, but if something has happened in Springvale, he doesn't really have the luxury of taking the scenic route. With a groan, he dashes up the trail to the waypoint and hesitates a moment before pressing his hand against the base of the strange floating mechanism. He really hates teleporting without Lumine, but...

"Desperate times and desperate measures..." he mutters, and closes his eyes.

The waypoint feels oddly warm to the touch, despite the chill of the wintery air, but he only has an instant to ponder this before the world twists and warps all around him and there's a sharp pull on his insides. He grunts in discomfort as the waypoint deposits him at an identical waypoint at the entrance to Springvale, and he leans on it a moment, waiting for his bones to feel solid enough to hold him up again. Once a waypoint has been activated, it seems anyone--at least anyone with a Vision--is capable of using them, but he rarely sees anyone but Diluc ever do so. Maybe it's just that most people don't trust the mysterious technology, but he can't help wondering if anyone else ends up feeling like their skeleton is now al dente at best after the jump and thus never tried again. Diluc refuses to tell him.

Anyway, it's not the time to think about skeletal consistency. The bloom of smoke has lifted high over the town now, hanging like a cloud, but at least it seems there's no additional smoke adding to it--whatever blew up didn't catch on fire and continue burning, so that's good. He moves away from the waypoint (staggering only a moment before his legs feel fully solid again) and jumps down the hill to jog up the road further into town.

"Draff!" he calls, spotting the cat-eared man speaking sternly to one of his hunters. "What was that explosion?"

"Not sure," Draff says with a shake of his head. "There was a big noise and then... if you can believe it, a bunch of fish seemed to fall right out of the sky!"

Kaeya glances up at the brightness of the clearly cloudless sky (not that clouds bring fish, usually, in his experience), and then turns his gaze back to Draff, thinking he might have an inkling what actually happened here, but he's not willing to rule anything out just yet.

"I was trying to get a group together to go investigate, but..." Draff gives the blond man beside him a wry look. "Allan here seems to have a case of the yellows."

"You know I can barely hit the broad side of a boar!" Allan cries with a shake of his head. "If it's something bigger and meaner and... explosive, what do you expect me to do?"

"Never mind that, I'll go," Kaeya says. "Did you see anything?"

"Not really," Draff says, shaking his head again, "but it came from the direction of the lake."

Kaeya doesn't waste time on the pleasantries of thanking him, just sprinting up the hill toward the little lake just south of the village. He knows this place quite well; the lake is fed from meltwater from Dragonspine that seeps up into a reservoir and spills down in a cascading waterfall, and is always refreshingly cold even on the hottest summer day. He has spent many an afternoon lunch break by the lakeside, where calla lilies grow abundantly and Brook is always happy to whip up a nice steak sandwich. There's something comforting about the trio of Cryo totems that crown the hillside next to the waterfall, too. No one seems certain where the elemental pillars came from, or what they're even really for--it wasn't until the Traveler arrived that they even reacted to anything--but he still remembers quite clearly the strange feeling of rejuvenation that had coursed through him when he'd hit the third pillar with a blast of Cryo that day so long ago, and the three of them sent a burst of energy into the sky and began to resonate, a thrumming sort of buzz that one can almost feel more than hear...

As he crests the hill, he can clearly see the aftereffects of an explosion, but it's not until he hears coughing and turns to his right that he can confirm his earlier suspicions were correct. With a long-suffering smile on his face, he jogs over to where Razor and Klee are sprawled, looking dazed and somewhat scorched, in the grass beside the lake.

"Are you two all right?" he asks, taking to a knee and offering a hand to pull Razor into a seated position.

"Not hurt," Razor says, shaking his head and then rubbing his ears with the palms of his hands. "Ears hurt... Whining, ringing, like whistling."

"Yeah, explosions'll do that to you," Kaeya says, ruffling the boy's hair. "It'll stop before long."

Klee makes a startled noise as Kaeya fixes his gaze on her, and she steeples her hands together against her chin, her brow furrowed.

"B-Big Brother Kaeya!" she gasps.

"Haven't we talked about not going fish-blasting in Springvale, young lady?"

Her lower lip trembles. "I was trying to help Big Brother Razor catch some fish for lunch!" she cries.

Kaeya arches one eyebrow dubiously, turning to Razor to see what he has to say. The boy hasn't a dishonest bone in his body, so he's confident the truth will come out one way or another.

He's still rubbing one ear as he confirms, "Wanted fish, fish taste good, like when Lupical Lumine makes grilled tiger fish. Klee say, can catch many fish all at once, I ask how. Hunting fun, fishing boring, want to catch many fish at once, less boring."

Kaeya sighs and rubs his forehead, glancing around the area. Nothing really appears to be damaged; the grass is a bit burnt, and there's about a dozen half-charred fish scattered about, but the lake, at least, seems little worse for wear.

"While I can sympathize with not really being a big fan of fishing," Kaeya says, "you guys could have been really hurt..." He gives Klee a puzzled look. "Did you make some new kind of bomb?" he asks. "I've never seen a cloud of smoke like that just from your fish-blasting."

"It was a regular jumpy dumpty!" she insists, and he looks at Razor again. It's not that he thinks Klee is a liar, but he knows she'll do just about anything to avoid being put in solitary confinement. He's not going to tell Jean about this if he doesn't have to, specifically for that reason, but he does want to make certain he gets the full story, so he can be very clear about them not doing anything like this again.

"Klee say, can throw bomb in water," Razor says, frowning. "I say, fire not work in water, so I help. I use Electro on water. But bomb-fire work in water, I didn't know."

"... Ah." So it was an Overloaded reaction, then. That makes more sense. He gives Klee a mostly benign look of chastisement. "Klee, you know what happens when you mix Pyro and Electro."

"It was an accident!" she says, clutching her hands near her throat. "Klee didn't know he was going to use Electro until it was too late!" Her eyes well up with tears. "It really was an accident! Klee just wanted to get a lot of fish for Big Brother Razor to eat, and no one would even know because the lake is up the hill and nobody is around!"

Kaeya laughs softly and makes a beckoning gesture with one arm; Klee wastes no time rushing forward and burying her face in the fluff on his shoulder, burbling apologies, and he strokes her hair gently.

"Klee, it's okay," he says. "Nobody got hurt, you just startled a lot of people."

"Am I gonna have to go in the room?" she asks, her voice muffled but quite despondent. "I can't go into the room today, I have something very important to do later."

"Oh, do you, now?" he chuckles, and she pulls back to give him a tearful look.

Kaeya truly doesn't have words that fully capture how much he adores this little girl in front of him. He never deliberately set out to surround himself with Pyro wielders, but he's come to find that the energy and warmth of those blessed by the Archon of Natlan bring him a kind of joy unlike any other, and Klee is surely no exception. Her eager smile, her infectious laughter, the bright and boisterous brilliance of her soul, it fills him with something like peace, even if life with Klee in it is rarely peaceful. When he was just a boy, growing up alongside Diluc and Jean, he had yearned to understand what it was like to be the elder sibling. He'd doted on little Barbara back then, and they'd easily rekindled their friendship as adults, but she'd never really seen him as a big brother the way he'd wanted, in their youth. But when Alice had left Klee in the care of the Knights, he had taken it as a sign, that his time had finally come. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and though Albedo was the one everyone considered her actual brother, Kaeya had immediately decided that he was going to be the best big brother to this little child that any village could possibly offer.

And, well... being a big brother means sometimes getting the little ones out of trouble they find themselves in.

He reaches forward and gives one of Klee's pigtails a fond, gentle tug, then wags a finger at her.

"Okay, look, you two," he says: "I'm gonna save your butts today, but I need you to make me a promise, all right?"

Razor looks at him very seriously with a firm nod, and then he looks back at Klee, tapping the tip of her nose.

"You cannot bomb the lake here, under any circumstances, okay?" he says. "I know it's up a hill and there's not any houses around, so it seems like it'd be safer, but explosions are never safe, ever, got it?"

Klee nods sullenly. "Klee gots it."

"That being said..." He looks at Razor again. "If you want to catch a lot of fish at once, your Electro will actually do a decent job. If you electrify the water near the surface, fish in the shallow water will get zapped. Smaller fish it'll kill, larger fish might just be stunned, but they'll definitely stop moving, at least for a little while." He rises back to his feet and lets his fingers rest on top of Klee's hat. "You'll still have to go into the water to get them--and definitely wait until the Electro has dissipated, or you'll get zapped, too--but that's a much less... explosive way to get a lot of fish at once. Okay?"

Razor nods again. "Good advice, I will remember."

"One more thing," Kaeya says then, and rummages through his inventory for a moment. He pulls out two parcels, one larger with rounded edges--it was rather hard to wrap, since he couldn't find a box that was the right size--and the other smaller and more flat. The small one he offers to Razor, and the rounded one to Klee. "These are for you two."

"Not Weinlesefest anymore," Razor says, looking puzzled.

"Nope," Kaeya says with a smile, and Klee jumps up and down and spins in a tight circle where she stands.

"Big Brother Razor, it's Big Brother Kaeya's birthday today!" she says gleefully. "That means we get presents, because Big Brother Kaeya loves us!"

He can feel his ears flushing red at her words; there's something so earnest and honest in the way she says it, and it makes his heart ache a little, in the best possible way. He doesn't know Razor nearly as well as Klee or Bennett, but even extended family is still family, right? Kaeya had been folded into the fellowship of Mondstadt with open arms all those years ago, despite his mysterious origins and the way he had struggled to communicate; he wouldn't dream of leaving out anyone that had made his time here meaningful.

Razor wastes no time tearing the paper off the package, lifting the item inside to examine it. He gives it a sniff, plucks at a bit of the fur he can see on it, then tilts his head and looks curiously at Kaeya. "Smells of snow, and... rabbit," he says. "Not food, though."

Kaeya chuckles, reaching out and carefully taking it from Razor's hands.

"Pull your hood back," he says, and Razor does so. Fitting the hat over Razor's wild mop of silver hair, he tugs on the two pieces that hang down on either side of his head. "This is called an ushanka," he says. "They wear them in Snezhnaya; these flaps are for extra warmth. You can leave them down, to keep your ears warm," he says, closing his hands gently over Razor's ears through the flaps, "or you can tie them up and they'll keep the top of your head warmer." He demonstrates how they can be tied up at the crown of the hat, and then steps back. "You were right, though, the fur is rabbit," he says, "but it's probably not very good to eat."

Razor's eyes have gone wide, and he smiles a little. "Snow hat," he says, closing his eyes and pressing his hands over his ears through the furry flaps. "Very warm, very nice. Lupicals are born with fur ears; mine have no fur, get cold in winter."

"Yeah, I wondered if that hood did much to keep your poor head warm," Kaeya admits, pulling the hood back up and patting the top of Razor's head. "It still fits over the hat, though, so you don't have to change your style at all."

"I like it," Razor says with a nod, and though his tone is rather flat and deadpan as it tends to be, there's a softness to it that is sincere all the same. "Thank you."

Kaeya turns to look at Klee, who has valiantly been waiting her turn to open her package, and looks like she's about to burst from anticipation. He laughs softly and gives her a nod, and she voraciously annihilates the paper on the parcel, lifting a length of bright red heavy fabric from the shredded wrappings, her mouth falling open in awe.

"It's--! It's--!!" She shakes her arms and then thrusts the fabric at Razor so she can pull her backpack off her shoulders and remove her coat, which she proceeds to drape over Razor's head so she can grab the gift back. Swirling it onto her shoulders, she spins in a circle and then holds her arms out to her sides. "It's--!!"

Kaeya laughs. "Yes, Klee," he says, "it's an official Knights of Favonius field coat." He's actually quite proud of himself for this one; it wasn't an easy thing to commission the Knights' tailor to make that coat to such an unusual size, let alone in such an unusual color, but Klee is one of them, as much as any other knight, and it's about time she had a little more to show for it than just a title hardly anyone uses. "You're getting taller, you needed a new coat anyway, right? So I decided it was high time you had a proper one."

"And it's red!!" she gasps, hugging herself in the garment and spinning in a circle again. "And! And! And it has the Knights' Shield on the shoulder!!"

"Yup, it's the real deal, kiddo--oof!"

He has to physically take a step back when she slams into him with a fierce hug around his hips; she's nearly big enough to actually bowl him over these days, if he's not paying attention, and it still catches him off guard. Wasn't it just last year she was barely toddling across the lobby between Jean and Lisa's open arms? Wasn't it just last week she stood in awe holding her brand new Pyro Vision in her tiny hands?

Wasn't it just yesterday she was begging for bedtime stories and to be tucked into bed and given a goodnight kiss on the forehead?

Well, he thinks she'll probably be doing that for a while yet, no matter how big she gets, but there's still a part of him that wonders where the time has even gone.

He shifts to go down to one knee so he can look her in the eye then, and her smile is so big it nearly splits her entire face.

"You have to wear this with pride, okay?" he says, adjusting the lapels of the coat and folding the collar down where she's already managed to pop it in her enthusiasm. "It won't be long now before you get sent on real missions, outside the city, doing more than just looking for lost kitties or hanging up posters. So take good care of it, so everyone will see your red coat on the field and know, 'that's Klee, the Spark Knight, and she's awesome'."

"Klee is awesome!" she cries, throwing her arms around his shoulders and burying her face in his fluffy scarf again. "And you're awesome, and this is awesome! Thank you so much, Big Brother Kaeya!!"

He gives her a squeeze and then pulls back to ruffle her head gently.

"You're welcome, Klee."

"Happy birthday, Kaeya," Razor says, having folded Klee's discarded coat surprisingly neatly beside him where he sits in the grass. "Lupical says, humans have birthdays to keep track of time, but wolves count winters." He smiles a little. "Kaeya's birthday is also winter; easy to remember. I wish you lupical protection, one more year."

Rising back to his feet, Kaeya smiles broadly at him. "I appreciate that," he says. "Thank you, Razor." Then he jerks his thumb westward. "You two should probably get out of here before Draff manages to round his hunters up to come check on what happened, though," he says. "Don't go back through town, take the side road and head to Wolvendom that way, okay?"

"Okay!" Klee says.

"We'll keep this our secret," Kaeya says, pressing his index finger against his lips. "I'll tell Draff it was just some Pyro and Electro slimes, and when they got too close to the lake--boom. So don't worry, no solitary this time."

Klee's eyes widen. "Big Brother Kaeya, that's a lie though..."

He leans forward and pinches her cheeks, pulling them gently outward before smooshing them back together. "Not if you and Razor pretend you're slimes for the day," he says with a grin, and Klee giggles. "Now go on, get outta here before you get caught and I get in trouble, too," he laughs, and watches them scamper off up the hill to head for Wolvendom.

The neatly folded square of red that is Klee's old coat still rests in the grass, and he stoops down to pick it up. There's no sense it just getting rid of a perfectly good coat just because it doesn't fit anymore, so he stashes it in his inventory for now to give to Bernhard later, for the next charity donation box. Perhaps one day, some little girl without a family will be given Klee's old coat for the winter, and all the warmth and love that it carries will bring her the same joy Klee brings into the lives of everyone she meets.

By late afternoon, he's mostly finished handing out all of his gifts to their recipients: some spicy chili chocolate truffles from Sumeru for Barbara, a few omamori from Inazuma for good fortune and protection for Bennett (though he isn't sure how effective they'll be), some heat- and lemon-activated inks for Vile to use for her more discreet messaging needs, a basket of spices and finishing oils for Mona to continue working on her cooking skills, a selection of fancy dyed silk hair ribbons fit for a prinzessin for Fischl, a mint tea sampler and a spinning fidget toy for Diona (which she insists she will never use, but he can see her fiddling with it already as he leaves the Cat's Tail), seeds from Inazuma and Sumeru and a potted Zaytun peach sapling for Noelle to continue cultivating her gardening hobby, and specially made sweetflower and valberry yalda candies for Sucrose. Only a few on his list have evaded his search so far today.

He was told Albedo wasn't at his camp, but no one was certain where he'd gotten to. It saved him a trip up the mountain, but he's a little disappointed he didn't get to give him the special paints he'd had made for him. Childe had told him once that Snezhnaya has rich ore deposits that are quite scarce in other parts of Teyvat, and so he'd humbly requested a few samples. For purely scientific reasons. After all, they don't come much more scientific than Albedo. The colors the mixer was able to get from the flakes of gold and iridescent platinum are quite unique, if he does say so himself. Ah, well, he's sure he'll run into the alchemist at some point. The mist flower corollas he collected for Eula may need to be replaced if he can't find her in the next few days, but he supposes he doesn't mind that particular errand. Mika is nowhere to be found, either, but that doesn't surprise him one bit; he supposes he can always give Mika's gift to Huffman when he gives him his own and ask him to pass along, but it's apparently Huffman's day off, so he hasn't run into him today, either.

His last stop is Angel's Share, where he's rather confident he'll find Diluc, Venti, and Rosaria.

Sure enough, as he strolls into the bar, he spots the nun and the bard at the table closest to the bar counter, leaning together conspiratorially as they speak. It's Charles behind the bar, though, which surprises him a bit; he'd hoped to run into Diluc, to give him his gift and a few things for the staff at the Winery. He's never sorry to see Charles, of course, the man has certainly been a great help to him over the years, but he really had wanted the chance to see Diluc today.

"Good to see you, Captain Kaeya," Charles greets jovially; "allow me to personally wish you a happy birthday."

"Thank you, Charles," he says, sliding onto the stool in front of him. "Has the day been treating you well?"

"Most certainly," he says, taking a glass from the shelf behind him. "Will you be having your usual?"

"Most certainly," he says, "and another round for my friends over there, as well, if you would."

"Coming right up."

Kaeya watches as Charles quickly sets to mixing him his Death After Noon, resting his chin against the heel of his hand.

"Have you seen Master Diluc at all today?" he asks, and Charles shakes his head.

"Not today, no," he says. "Though he did leave a note that you can have a drink on the house today, for the occasion."

Something in Kaeya is a bit stung, somehow, to hear that. If Diluc had just forgotten his birthday, that would have been one thing, but... to remember, enough to leave a note, but make no other effort to even say hello hurts, a little.

"I see," he says, managing to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "Well, he's a busy fellow..." He hefts a sigh, then digs into his inventory again to pull a large, empty, clear glass bottle from it, setting it on the countertop. "This is for you, my friend," he says, and Charles pauses a moment in his drink mixing efforts to stare curiously.

"Is this another joke about wine that can only be seen by the chosen?" he asks with a dry grin. "Because you're not going to get me with that one twice."

"Not at all," Kaeya says, sliding a small wrapped box across the counter at him. "Here, perhaps this will make things clearer."

Charles gives Kaeya a slightly suspicious look, finishes mixing the drink, and pushes it across the counter toward him before picking up the box. Carefully untying the ribbon, he lifts the lid to find a collection of small pieces of cut wood, colorful cord, and swatches of fabric, as well as a bag of what looks like blue-colored sand. He rubs at his beard and looks back at Kaeya.

"Well, I would say this looks rather like a model kit," he says, squinting, "which, I'm impressed; I think I only mentioned that I enjoy building models once, a few years ago."

"I never forget anything, Charles, haven't you figured that out yet?"

The bartender chuckles, then looks at the empty bottle again. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand the bottle, still," he says, and Kaeya shifts on the stool, picking up his drink and sipping at it slowly.

"As it turns out," he says, "I was reading a bit of Mondstadtan history a few months ago, in the library. There's truly so much that people don't seem to know, or have forgotten, you know? One of these little bits of lost historical lore is about a man, a pirate, actually--"

"Pirates, again, sir?" Charles laughs, and Kaeya just gives him a knowing look.

"This pirate, whose name was never recorded, was famous for his Impossible Bottles, as he called them," he says. "He would put together models of buildings he'd seen on his travels, and create landscapes of islands he'd discovered, all inside bottles, and for centuries no one knew how he did it, as you can clearly see that there is no way a model of anything larger than a pebble would fit through the neck of the bottle."

Charles looks like he's not certain he's buying this, but it's really what Kaeya expects anymore, when he starts telling this sort of story. He lays a hand across the open top of the box.

"This is a model of that pirate captain's ship," he says, "with instructions for the long-lost technique of getting the ship inside the bottle." He gives him a grin as he takes another sip of his drink. "Wouldn't you like to be the successor to this ancient lost art, Charles?"

The bartender laughs brightly, shaking his head, and then gently places the lid back on the box. "This is a terribly thoughtful gift, Captain Kaeya," he says with a smile. "I shall look forward to learning these age-old secrets, with your blessing."

Charles quickly pours another round of drinks for Venti and Rosaria, and knows better than to protest when Kaeya slides too much mora across the counter for them, before he swipes a serving tray from the stack near the end of the bar and makes for the table where his friends sit.

"Felicitations, friends, on this most festive of days," he greets with a flourish, setting the tray down in the center of the table, and Venti's face lights up with glee.

"Kaeya, hello!" he says. "Happy happy birthday! I was wondering if you'd make an appearance today, or if you'd somehow convinced the Acting Grandmaster that you weren't taking the day off."

"Not this time," Kaeya says, spinning the nearest chair around so he can fold his arms on the back of it as he sits. "No, today has been a free day spent very well, I assure you."

"Well, happy birthday, old man," Rosaria says with a grin as she retrieves her refill from the tray, and Kaeya gives her a look.

"Aren't you nearly a full year older than me?"

"A gentleman never asks a lady her age."

"I'm glad to see you in high spirits," Venti says then, taking a drink of his dandelion wine and then twisting the glass between his fingers. "It seems to me in the past that your birthday was regarded with... melancholy, so I'm quite pleased to see that something has changed. What have you been up to today?"

"I could tell you," Kaeya says, "but I think I would much prefer to show you."

"Ooh, a demonstration?" Venti rests his chin in both palms.

Kaeya reaches into his inventory to pull out a woven basket, piled high with apples of every color, and with a grunt of effort, he plunks it down on the table in front of Venti, who sits back abruptly in surprise.

"These," he says, dramatically wiping his brow as if the basket had been far heavier than it really is, "are the pride of Inazuma's apple crop. There are six varieties, ranging from the diminutive Araumi Gold, to the decidedly gargantuan Narukami, which I'll have you know was not easy to get, as each crop is personally blessed by the shrine maidens and only available at certain times of the year."

Venti's eyes have gone wide, and he reaches out to pluck one of the small gold and pink-blushed apples from the top of the pile, bringing it to his face and inhaling the sweet fragrance. "Oh, I haven't had a Koseki apple in... a very long time," he says, and Kaeya bites back a laugh, wondering just how long constitutes a long time, in Venti's eyes. "I hear that they've grown much sweeter since the thunderstorm on Seirai Island has calmed down."

"Well, why don't you try it and find out?" Kaeya chuckles, and Venti purses his lips.

"It wouldn't be rude, to eat one right now?" Venti asks, clearly wanting very much to do just that, but just as clearly not wanting to share, and Kaeya laughs again.

"Do you really think me so cruel as to give you an edible gift and then tell you not to eat it?" he asks, and Venti seems to need no further permission, taking a huge bite of the apple and giving a contented sigh.

"Ish shweeter zhan I remember," he says softly, his eyes closed, and Rosaria just shakes her head.

"Really, bards have no manners," she says, taking a napkin from the stack on the table and placing it in front of Venti to catch the juice dripping down his chin. She looks expectantly at Kaeya then, and he smiles.

"I certainly haven't forgotten you," he says, and she wags a finger at him.

"If it's another gimmick to get me to quit smoking, I will punch you," she says.

"Well that wouldn't be a very fun present, for either of us, now would it?" Kaeya asks a little indignantly, and then shakes his head. "You really should quit, though," he adds, more quietly; "those things'll kill you, you know?"

"I'll stop smoking when you stop drinking," Rosaria says blandly, and Kaeya grimaces.

"Touché." He retrieves a long, slender box from the inventory and offers it to her with both hands. "I think you'll like this, though," he says. "I assure, you I agonized over the choices... You have to promise not to use it on me, though, okay?"

"Oh, this sounds interesting," she says, and uses the sharp claw rings on her hand to slice the ribbon open and lifts the lid from the box. Setting it aside, she folds back the tissue paper and takes a moment to examine the gift within, and Kaeya finds himself growing a bit nervous. Rosaria is hard to shop for; she has few hobbies, and though she enjoys sleeping in and bucking the rules, her work is what she's really most passionate about. Besides, perhaps, having a good drink with a good meal.

A long moment passes before she carefully lifts the item out of the box to examine it more closely, and Kaeya clears his throat.

"Ah... if there's a better style for you, please let me know," he says, pulling at the back of his neck; "these things aren't especially in my area of expertise--"

"It's excellent, actually."

He straightens his back and blinks at her. She doesn't smile--she rarely does--but there's a look of awed appreciation in her tired eyes as she turns the little dart over in her hands. Though her weapon of choice is a polearm, she always carries a rope dart on her, along with several smaller knives; Rosaria is a woman who appreciates steel more than most, and so when he noticed her usual rope dart looking a bit dinged up, the cord fraying in several places, he decided to try and find an adequate replacement for her.

"This is Liyuen, isn't it?" she asks, examining the grooves in the dart and the red stone. "White iron? And... oh, the inlay is red jade, that's quite rare."

"It's an alloy of white iron and crystal ore, actually," he says, "which makes it much more durable than iron alone. And yes, the inlay is red jade--you've a good eye."

She unhooks the rope from the end of the dart and balances it on one finger, nodding slowly. "The balance is excellent, and the cord is actually waxed?"

"Well, of course it is, that's the best way to reduce friction, is it not?" Kaeya gives her a grin as he takes a sip of his drink. "I may be a swordsman by trade, but let it never be said I don't pay attention to advice from those who have mastered other weapons."

"You even found a feathered flag for it," Rosaria says, affixing the wine-red triangle of fabric and glossy black feathers to the ring on the dart before placing it back in the box. "So I can distract my enemies before exacting divine punishment--thank you, I'm quite impressed."

"That's our Kaeya," Venti says through another mouthful of apple; "always thinking of his friends."

Kaeya pulls at the back of his neck and chuckles softly. "I mean, it's tradition, right?" he says, and then blows a sigh up toward his hairline. "I did a lot more gift-hunting this time around than in the past--when did I acquire so many wonderful people around me, I wonder?"

Rosaria spins the dart around her fingers before placing gently it back in the box. "That's your own problem," she says dryly, though he thinks she might have the barest hint of a smile on her lips. "Perhaps if you weren't so damn thoughtful, you wouldn't end up having to buy so many gifts."

"Ah, yes," he says with a snort of laughter, polishing off his wine and setting the glass down on the tray. "Well, with that done, I have to get going. I have plans to cook something quite special this evening with Lumine if she's available."

"Make too much, so you have no choice but to share," Venti says with a fetching smile, and Kaeya rolls his eyes with a grin.

"Glad to see you've still got your priorities straight," he says, getting to his feet and picking up the tray, gesturing for them to place their empty cups on it so he can take everything back to the bar. "Don't drink too much, okay?" he says, and Venti scrunches his nose up.

"You're the only reason I got a refill at all," he says; "Diluc told Charles to stop letting me run up a tab."

"Such the killjoy," he says with a click of his tongue before taking the tray back to the bar and wishing Charles a good afternoon.

He isn't exactly tired upon returning to the teapot abode, but there's something a bit specifically draining about being so social, he finds, even when it's just among dear friends. It's rare for him to interact on such a personal level with so many people all in one day, and as important as all of those people are to him, he's glad to return home.

Something seems off, somehow, as he materializes on the porch of the house. The rolling hills and sunset-tinged sky look the same as always, the landscape of Mondstadt within the abode feels as authentic as usual, and the gentle creaking of the windmill across the field sounds as comforting as ever. The house is lit warmly from within, and Tubby is in her usual spot by the porch, though the lid on her little teapot house is closed, and he assumes she's sleeping. Still, something feels off, and he can't put his finger on it; there's an energy in the air that isn't normal, and while it isn't a bad feeling, it's definitely different.

Shaking his head, he figures it's likely nothing--he knows no one can access the teapot without Lumine's strict permission, so there's nothing to be worried about. Pushing the door open, he steps inside and closes it behind him, moving to his left to remove his boots.

"Lumine?" he calls without looking up. "Are you here? I wanted to..."

He sets his boots aside and straightens, lifting his head, and the words die on his tongue. The entire front room of the house is decorated with flowers, balloons, and streamers, and a banner is strung between the pillars by the entrance, reading 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAEYA' in neatly painted letters. The tea table to his left is stacked high with boxes and bags in every imaginable color, overflowing with ribbons and tissue paper, and Kaeya exhales, feeling a little lightheaded.

"'Bout time you got here," a voice says then, and Kaeya turns to his right to see Diluc seated on one of the couches near the fireplace, his arms folded over his chest.

"... Diluc?" Kaeya makes a confused face and shakes his head. "What... what are you doing here?"

"I got sick of waiting upstairs," he says, pointing toward the ceiling.

Kaeya looks up toward the second level of the house. Behind the balcony stands at least a quarter of the city of Mondstadt, including almost everyone he visited today, each of them holding a colored balloon in their hands, all with smiles on their faces, and something warm and heavy wells up in his chest. As he watches, they all toss the balloons up in the air so they cascade down to the first level like the descending of a brightly colored cloud, and once they land, bouncing softly against the floor, he sees Lumine standing at the far end of the room with a confetti popper in her hands.

"Happy birthday, Kaeya," she says, pulling at the end of the popper and sending a bright burst of color and sound into the air.

"You did this for me?" he asks, then startles when Diluc moves up alongside him and bops him on the head with a balloon.

"How many other Kaeyas do you know who have a birthday today, dummy?" he asks.

"This is why you weren't at the bar?" Kaeya shakes his head, his ears hot and surely bright red. "I..."

"Pay attention, everyone," Diluc says with a dry grin, "you'll likely never see my brother speechless again."

There's a ripple of laughter through the group on the second floor, and as they file down the stairs to the main room, Kaeya rubs his face with both hands and leans against one of the pillars holding up the banner. That not-exactly-tiredness he'd been feelings has all but vanished now, replaced instead with a kind of thrumming energy he can't quite find the words to describe, filling his throat and making it hard to swallow. All these people... are they really here for him? And Diluc... calling him his brother, in public? It can't be real.

Reaching up and pinching his cheek hard, Kaeya grimaces, and Diluc swats his hand away.

"What are you doing?" he asks. "You're not dreaming, okay?"

"Do you need a chair?" Lumine asks, jogging up to him with a grin on her face as the crowd fills out the room. She looks at Diluc. "I knew he'd be surprised, but he looks like he might faint."

"How long were you planning this?" he asks her, and Diluc swats at him again.

"Excuse me, she didn't plan it alone," he says.

Kaeya blinks in bafflement. "Wait, you...?" His words trail off, and he puts a hand over his face. "I think I do need that chair now."

Lumine laughs as she slings Kaeya's arm over her shoulder and leads him to the couch, where he sits with his elbows on his knees and his hands on his face, and she rubs his back in small circles.

"I was planning on doing something for you since like... June, silly," she says. "You've always seemed so... lonesome and somber on your birthday, so I wanted to show you that you're not nearly so alone as you think." She nudges him with her shoulder. "Telling you over and over never quite seems to sink in."

"Cryo apparently isn't very absorbent," Diluc says, leaning his hip against the couch, and Kaeya turns to look at him, still a bit lost for words. "Lumine came to me to ask for some advice on what to do, about a month ago."

"And what he isn't going to tell you is that he told me he'd been trying to plan something for a while already," Lumine says.

Diluc makes a sibilant noise. "Snitch," he grumbles, and Kaeya laughs helplessly.

"I know you get overwhelmed in crowds," Lumine says, "and... also when people blatantly care about you at you..."

He gives another helpless bleat of laughter, covering his face with his hands again, and she gets to her feet, standing in front of his knees.

"The whole crowd won't be staying long, don't worry about awkward overstaying or anything," she says, her voice quiet. "Also Childe wanted to be here, but..." She gestures to Diluc. "We all agreed he would likely not be especially well received, given his reputation. And affiliation. I think Amber in particular isnot ready for him yet."

Kaeya chuckles. "You are, of course, probably correct," he says, "but the thought is appreciated."

"He did leave you a gift with the others, though" she says; "everything is by the door so you can open them when you don't have an audience and you're not so... flummoxed. Honestly... your friends know you better than you give them credit for." She reaches out and makes a grabby gesture, and he gives her his hands so she can pull him back to his feet. "But there's cake, and a few people you missed today who wanted to wish you well."

He turns over his shoulder to watch Noelle roll out a little cart with a cake on it, neatly decorated in blue and white and gold, and she holds out a blunt knife, giving Kaeya a smile.

"We know your swordsmanship is unmatched, Sir Kaeya," she says, "so would you do us the honor of cutting the cake?"

"Who am I to turn down such an important mission?" he says, and there's a cheer from the group as he shakes off that overwhelmed feeling and strides toward the kitchen to take the utensil from Noelle's hands. He holds the knife up over the cake, round and with the words Captain Birthday scrawled in gel frosting across the top, and then neatly divides it in half, and again, and again, until there's plenty of slices for everyone. "I hope you all took notes," he says, handing the knife back to Noelle and dusting his hands off. "I don't break out the Alberich Cake-Cutting Technique very often, this was a once in a lifetime demonstration."

"Oh, like hell it was," a voice crows from across the room. "This is about to become an annual tradition, didn't you know? So you'll be giving us refreshers for many years to come!"

Kaeya startles at the very unexpected figure standing near the stairs.

"B... Beidou?" he stammers as she swaggers toward him, that bawdy, reckless grin of hers set firmly on her face. "I... can't believe you came all this way."

Lumine laughs as Beidou grabs Kaeya's head and proceeds to grind her knuckles into his hair. "You know I never miss a good party," she says as he swats at her shoulder with the flat of his hand to tap out. She releases him and then reaches up to fix his hair for him before patting his cheek. "When the little Traveler told me what she was planning, I knew it was my sworn duty to make sure I was in town for the big day. It's been way too long since we hung out, Blue, how come I never see you anymore?"

"Because you live on a boat for like eleven months of the year?" he ventures, and she barks a raucous laugh, clapping him fondly on the shoulder before she turns her attention back to the cake and punch at the table.

Kaeya runs his fingers through his hair and then hefts a soft sigh. He has a gift for her, too, but he really hadn't expected to see her any time soon. He'll make sure she gets it before she leaves. He's about to turn to Lumine to ask what kind of cake it is when he's snagged into a gentle hug from the other side, and he immediately recognizes the scent of Jean's shampoo, lifting an arm to half-return the embrace.

"I have to run," she says, "HQ isn't closed yet, I left Huffman in charge, and when I was leaving he looked so tense I was afraid he was going to sprain something, but I couldn't miss this."

Kaeya laughs and shakes his head. "I'm honestly honored and humbled that the Acting Grandmaster took the time to grace my surprise party with her presence," he says, and she gives him a mildly incredulous look. "Go, go," he says, taking her head in both hands to impulsively press a kiss to her forehead. "Your countrymen need you. Take a piece of cake with you, and take one for Huffman as well."

She's gone in a whirl of half-frantic Anemo energy, but he is once again interrupted before he can inquire about the cake by a tug on his cape. He turns and, seeing no one at eye level, his gaze shifts downward, where Klee stands wearing her new coat, a big smile on her face and a small box in her hands.

"Oh, what have we here?" he says. "It looks like someone destined to be a captain one day, don't you think, Petal?"

Lumine steps up beside him and smiles broadly. "I'd certainly say so," she agrees. "What a very official coat!"

Klee wiggles where she stands, laughing softly, then thrusts her hands up to offer Kaeya the box in her grasp.

"Happy birthday, Big Brother Kaeya," she says, and two dots connect in the back of his head as he takes the box and drops to a knee in front of her.

"This was the very important thing you had to do later, huh?" he asks, and she nods eagerly. "I'm very impressed you kept it a secret. You know I'm very good at getting secrets out of people."

"It was so hard not to tell you!!" she gasps, covering her face with both hands. "I really really wanted to tell you but I knew it had to be a surprise and I could not ruin it!!"

He laughs and plucks her hat from her head, ruffling her hair and plunking the hat down on his own head. "You did a great job," he says, and then points to the box. "May I open this now?" he asks, and she nods quickly, her hands clasped together beneath her chin. The bow on the box is a bit lopsided, which tells him Klee wrapped this all by herself, and this makes the entire thing that much more charming. He's no stranger to Klee's creative handmade gifts; the shelves in his bedroom upstairs are adorned with a great many of her drawings and sculptures, and he adores every one of them; she puts so much love into everything she does, and it makes the space that much warmer to have her work filling it.

Untying the ribbon, he lifts the lid off the box, resting it on his knee so he can move the tissue paper aside, and his lips part in surprise, that feeling welling up in his chest again, something stinging behind his eyes as he recognizes exactly what Klee has made for him.

"Is this... my own Dodoco?" he asks, lifting a small, pale blue stuffed creature from the box. It has pointy ears and a fluffy tail just like Klee's, but this one has an eyepatch and a fluffy mane around its neck that quite resembles his scarf.

"Yes!" she says, the word bursting out of her like she could barely refrain from explaining. "Klee is never lonely going on missions," she says, "because Dodoco is always there! But... I thought, Big Brother Kaeya goes on missions by himself a lot, and wouldn't they be more fun with a friend? So I asked Mama to help me make a Dodoco especially for you. That means his name is DodoKae!"

Diluc barely manages to stifle a snort of laughter, and Lumine daintily hides her grin behind one hand.

"Klee, maybe Kaedoco would be a better name?" she suggests, and Klee taps her chin in thought.

"I guess that works, too," she says, and grins at Kaeya. "Whichever one you like better."

"Dodoco means 'Best Friend', right? Isn't that what you've told me?" Kaeya asks, rather less amused than Diluc at the idea of being called a dodo, though he knows Klee certainly doesn't mean it that way. Klee nods, and he smiles at her. "So... that means Kaedoco would mean Kaeya Friend, wouldn't it?"

Klee's eyes widen. "You're right!" she says, clapping her hands. "Kaedoco is the best name, then! And he will keep you company on all your adventures!"

"I will clip him to my belt, right next to my Vision," he assures her, "so he'll fight right alongside me every time."

"Kaedoco will keep Big Brother Kaeya safe!" Klee says with a broad smile.

Kaeya sets the box on the floor and clips the little ball of fluff to his hip, then opens his arms, and Klee rushes into them, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Klee," he says. "It's a wonderful gift."

After a moment, he releases her from the hug and takes her hat off his head to place it back on hers, giving both her pigtails a gentle tug.

"All right, kiddo, go have some cake," he says. She nods and dashes off, and he calls after her, "Just make sure somebody saves me a slice!"

"Kaeya Alberich, I heard you were looking for me earlier today."

Eula's voice makes his spine go rigid and sends goosebumps marching up his arms, and he snaps to his feet and turns to stare at her like a deer in the path of a Ruin Guard. He knows Eula is far kinder than she acts, but she has one of the most intimidating auras he has ever encountered, especially when she catches him off-guard.

The Spindrift Knight's eyes are soft as he meets them, belying the sternness of her words as she continues, "And yet, you were unable to find me. Such shoddy scouting skills, and you're a captain? I'm not sure if I should seek vengeance against you or Grandmaster Varka for hiring you."

"Why not both?" Diluc snorts, and Eula points one finger at him severely.

"I was not speaking to you," she says. "You are now on my list as well."

"Wasn't he already?" Lumine asks, a hand on her chin.

"If I'm not on there at least seven times by now, I haven't been trying hard enough," Diluc says, his eyes rolling toward the ceiling.

Kaeya snaps out of his startled trance and takes a step back, giving Eula a slightly awkward smile. "Exact vengeance if you must," he says, a hand over his heart, "but would you do me the honor of accepting a gift before I am smote?"

Eula grips her chin between her thumb and forefinger, then gives a nod. "I suppose I can allow that."

Kaeya retrieves a small box from his inventory and offers it to her.

"Very nicely wrapped," she says, untying the ribbon and opening the box. Inside are several vials of shimmering blue-white powder, and she furrows her brow, giving Kaeya a questioning look. "These are... powder from mist flowers?" she asks, and he nods.

"I wasn't sure if maybe mist flowers from different nations produced powder with differing effects," he says, "so I was able to procure some from Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, and this one..." He reaches into the box and taps a vial marked with a white snowflake emblem. "This is from Snezhnayan mist flowers," he says. "I figured maybe they're the original, you know? So maybe they'd be the most... I dunno, potent, or something."

Eula blinks, looking startled for a moment, and then exhales quietly. "So, you eavesdropped and heard me telling someone I use the mist flower powder on my bone whistle," she says, "and then presumed to provide me with some that you collected specifically for this purpose?"

"... Yes?"

"Vengeance will be swift and come when you least expect it," she says, gently closing the box and holding it close to her chest, "but... perhaps not today. It would be a disgrace to end a man on his birthday." Lumine stifles laughter behind one hand as Eula nods sharply then. "I will accept these," she says, "but only because rebuffing someone's genuine efforts such as these, which took him to other nations, even, would also be a disgrace."

"That means 'thank you, they're lovely'," Lumine whispers as Eula saunters off, perhaps to look for Amber, and Kaeya snaps his fingers.

"Ah, right, I need to find Amber," he says then, flicking open his inventory again. "I need her to deliver something for me."

"Oh?" Lumine asks, and out of the corner of his eye he sees her making a waving gesture.

"Yeah, I had something for Collei," he says, turning his attention back to the inventory, "but I don't think..." He pauses. Wait. Lumine had that sly and knowing tone in her voice. He turns in time to see a petite figure attempt to duck behind the Traveler, her green hair completely unmistakable, and Kaeya can't help the laugh that escapes his throat. "You... invited Collei," he says with a shake of his head. That explains why Amber was so adamant he hang onto the present. She's become a much better actress over the past few years--she'd actually had him fooled when she pretended not to know when his birthday was.

"H... Hello, Kaeya," Collei stammers, her posture ramrod straight and her face a comically serious dour mask. "Ha--Habby Pirthday!" Her expression falls and she slaps both hands over her face with a moan. "No, no, I meant... I mean happy birthday, oh noooo..."

Kaeya just laughs, and it seems even Collei can tell that it's a sincere, joyous laugh and not a laugh of mockery, because her shoulders loosen a bit and she steps out from behind Lumine to offer him her hand.

"I've... enjoyed your letters," she says, her voice a bit sturdier now, "I just wasn't sure... what I would say... if I ever actually saw you again." She takes a deep breath, holds it a moment, and then looks at him, her magenta eyes clear and bright. "So I guess, besides happy birthday, I'll say, it's nice to see you again."

He tucks her gift beneath his arm and takes her hand between both of his, which seems to startle her a little, but not nearly so much as the way he squeezes it gently and meets her eye with a look of contrition.

"I've heard from Lumine and Amber about what you've been through," he says, "and I'm glad to see you've come out of it so strong and brave." He shakes his head then. "I've owed you an apology for a long time, Collei, so I hope you'll believe me when I say that I'm sorry for what I did, years ago," he says, and Collei's eyes widen. "I'm not particularly proud of my actions at that time. Please understand that while I thought I was doing what was necessary... I was mistaken, and I'm sorry you nearly paid the price for that."

Collei's face has gone crimson, but there's a shallow smile on her face as she quickly claps her other hand against Kaeya's and bows her head.

"I-It's okay, I forgive you!" she gasps. "I know you just thought I was a threat to Mondstadt--I thought that, too, so I c-can hardly blame you!" She kind of whimpers then, like she's not sure where to go from here, and Kaeya can hardly believe this shy girl is the same person he met three years ago, who hissed and spat like a frightened cat, trying to keep anyone and everyone from getting close to her. Amber has told him she doesn't like to be touched, warned him not to try anything funny if he ever met her again, so the fact that she offered her hand first was already something like forgiveness, he thinks.

She gently withdraws her hands then, and he offers her the package. "You don't have to open this right now," he says softly, a little conspiratorially. "I... get a bit overwhelmed when people give me gifts, too."

"You do?" Collei's voice drops in awe, like she's just learned something completely earth-shattering, and then she clutches the package against her chest and bows again. "Th-thank you so much! It's an honor to be given a gift on your birthday!" she gasps, and then hesitates, apparently not sure what to do now. She stands there a moment, still bowed forward, and then takes a deep breath. "I'm... going to go find Amber now!" she says, rising and turning all in one motion and disappearing into the crowd again.

There's a beat of silence and then Lumine, Diluc, and Kaeya all laugh softly together.

"She seems less feisty now," Diluc says.

"Much," Kaeya agrees. "But I think it's because she's less afraid now."

Lumine nods, then pats Kaeya's arm. "I'm very proud of you for not teasing her," she says, and Kaeya snorts.

"I'm not that boorish," he insists indignantly. "I told her I meant to apologize if we could ever actually meet again, and I'm a man of my word, thank you very much."

"Except when you're lying through your teeth," Diluc reminds him, and Kaeya folds his arms.

"Look, I only do that when I'm working, now," he says, and this time Diluc's laughter is a bit louder, a bit freer, and all Kaeya can think is how much he's missed that sound.

As Lumine had promised, the crowd thins out fairly quickly after the cake has been cut and the punch has been served. Albedo finds him to thank him for the coat for Klee, and is visibly pleased by the gift of paint. Even Adelinde was brought into the teapot for the occasion (curing Kaeya's curiosity of whether or not one must be an Vision holder to access the abode), and he adds 'Adelinde's hugs' to the list of things he really has missed so terribly, alongside 'Noelle's baking' and 'Diluc's genuine laughter'. He sends Adelinde off with the gifts for the rest of the Winery staff, and before he knows it, it's just him, Lumine, and Diluc in the front room by the fireplace, seated on the couch, with nothing but the crackling of the fire to break the quiet.

"Thank you for this," Kaeya says softly, draping his arms across the back of the sofa where he sits between them. "It's... been a very long time since I really felt I had anything to actually celebrate."

Lumine rests her head against his arm and peers up at him. "Then I'd say it's high time that changed," she says.

"Oh, actually, I haven't given you your gifts yet, have I..." Kaeya sits forward and carefully pulls a small parcel from his inventory to hand to Diluc, and then retrieves another for Lumine.

"Kaeya, if this is another one of..." Diluc sighs heavily as he opens his package and picks up a small, five-sided tile with an Inazuman radical carved into it. "I know this is some game from Inazuma," he says. "Are you ever going to actually tell me how to play it?"

"All in good time," Kaeya assures him. "These are the hisha and ryuuou pieces. You've got almost the full set now."

"One day you'll give me a board and a set of instructions, I presume."

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

Lumine takes a moment to carefully open her little box, reaching inside to pull out a pair of tiny earrings. They're understated, just a gold post with a pair of tiny stones that dangle close to the lobe; he knows she has simple tastes, all things considered, and he hasn't forgotten the way she has worried in the past about wearing anything fancy or delicate, given her tendency to end up engaged in fisticuffs. But he hopes the four-pointed diamond gemstone star set next to a six-pointed Shivada jade piece makes an obvious enough statement.

"You sap," she says, nudging him with her shoulder. "Is this so I'll have a little bit of you with me wherever I go?"

"It's like you know me, or something," he says, and she carefully tucks her hair behind one ear to put in the earrings, and then shakes her head so they catch the light from the fireplace. "They suit you."

"Of course they do, I love them, thank you," she says, and then sticks the very tip of her tongue out at him. "It's like you know me or something."

He laughs gently and drapes his arms over the back of the couch again. "It means a lot that you were here, D," he says to Diluc then. "I know you hate parties, and... I know you think most of my friends are too rowdy."

Diluc gives him a watery smile. "Well, I figure I owed you this much," he says, trying to sound casual, but Kaeya can tell he means more than what he says. "There were... a lot of missed birthdays." And then he makes a face. "Most of your friends are too rowdy, though," he says dryly. "I thought that bard was going to make off with the entire second cake."

"Well, that's what happens when you have a cake made with bourbon in the presence of a lush, I suppose," Kaeya snorts. "That was a nice touch, though, the alcoholic cake option."

"That one wasn't my idea," Diluc insists, and Kaeya assures him he believes that.

Lumine makes a wordless noise then and sits forward. "Oh, that reminds me, now that things have cleared out..." She gets to her feet then, walking over to the table full of gifts and retrieving a large, squarish box from the floor near the table. "Venti asked me to make sure you open this tonight," she says. "He said it was important."

Kaeya's eyes widen. "That's a pretty big important," he says, rising from the sofa and taking the box from Lumine's arms. "Oof--! Heavy important, too. Heavier than it looks, anyway." Setting it down on the floor, Kaeya kneels and carefully unties the ribbon, letting it fall to the sides. He lifts the lid off the box to find a letter resting on top of whatever is below, penned in Venti's scrawling hand.

"What's it say?" Lumine asks, a hand on Kaeya's shoulder as she leans over him.

"'My Noble Knight'," Kaeya recites, and Diluc makes a noise.

"Corny."

"He's a bard, what did you expect?" Kaeya says, sticking his tongue out. "He wrote me a poem, okay, it's charming."

Diluc leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. "So what's your corny love poem from the bard say?"

Kaeya takes a deep breath, clears his throat, and recites,

Kaeya pauses, looking a bit puzzled, and Diluc blows out an audible sigh.

"Lyrical," he says, "but still corny."

Kaeya flips the note over to find one last bit of writing scrawled along the bottom edge.

'May you soar to new heights in the coming year.'

Puzzled and curious, Kaeya sets the note down and pulls back the tissue paper surrounding the gift. He realizes quickly exactly what it is, and so does Lumine, who takes a step back to help him as he lifts it from the box and the wings of a glider gently slide open. Taking one of the wings, Lumine pulls cautiously as Kaeya pulls in the other direction to expand the wings fully, and Diluc whistles.

"Wow," he says, sounding genuinely impressed. "Your own customized glider? Fitting gift from the god of freedom, I suppose."

Kaeya barely hears him, honestly; he's focused on the design woven into the fabric stretched between the fine boning of the wings. They're bright turquoise at the top, the color of Anemo, the color of Mondstadt, and then fade gradually to a deep indigo dotted with stars and washed with purple and bright blue, like the multicolored river of the galaxy that stretches across the night sky across Teyvat. Along the inner edge of each 'feather' is a streak of dark red, but it's the design at the center, at the joint of the wings, that has him captivated. The point at which a glider connects together is often decorated with a symbol of the nation or establishment it represents, or a token that is meaningful to the person who designed it. At the center of these bright, starry wings, is a symbol Kaeya has never seen, but can immediately identify the pieces of, and there's a fierce squeezing sensation in his chest at the recognition.

Connecting the wings is an eight-pointed star, the symbol of Khaenri'ah, the emblem of his people, worn on the armor of the Royal Guard and flown on the banner of the crown. But behind the two smaller points at the top of the star, he can make out a pair of wings: the wings of Anemo. The wings of Barbatos.

He lays his hand over the emblem, closing his eyes, and for a long moment he's not sure he can speak. Venti's message is clear enough: whatever the future brings, whatever choice he may have to make, Venti knows Kaeya could never turn his back on Mondstadt. If a war is on the horizon, if the Abyss comes calling, if Khaenri'ah demands their regent back and won't take no for an answer, Mondstadt's archon will stand by him, for how could he possibly choose between them? He is both of Khaenri'ah and of Mondstadt, and in that he is also neither, but something else entirely. He had always felt isolated and alone because of that, all these years, all these birthdays he had opted to spend alone, as if to ignore the passage of time entirely, to deny the imminence of that inevitable choice he is so loath to consider having to make... but maybe he's been looking at it wrong the whole time. Maybe the whole point is that when you are truly so invested in two very different things that will inevitably be pitted against one another, you find ways to stand by both.

Just as Venti stands by him. Just as Diluc stands by him. Just as the Traveler stands by him. They too have made their choice, and between the nation of Mondstadt or Kaeya Alberich of Khaenri'ah, they have chosen both.

These years he has spent with these people who love him, they are the feathers that allow him to soar.

And maybe, in the end, that's what truly matters.