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you were not a night owl. at all.
you were someone who always rose and fell with the sun. it was how you were raised, and you never took any issue with it. might as well embrace the daylight, right?
that was until you met kaeya alberich.
you met kaeya as a result of a date gone wrong. dating in mondstadt was kind of the worst. it made sense that no one would want to tie themselves down in a city so free, but man would it be nice to go on more than one date with someone.
regardless, you had begrudgingly agreed to another date. a fellow shopkeeper invited you to the bar after work (because there weren’t better daylight options..?). so you dolled yourself up and made your way to angel’s share.
he was not how he presented himself earlier in the day. he’d seemed polite, maybe even charming, when you spoke at the shop earlier—clean, well-dressed, with a steady gaze. but now he was flushed, loud, and unsteady on his stool. you swirled the last sip of your drink, pretending it was more interesting than anything your date was saying. if you stared long enough, maybe it’d open a portal and suck you away. he seemed to drabble on and on about whatever, you couldn’t convince yourself to really pay attention or care. and when he tried to rest a hand on your upper thigh you gently swatted it away—silently thanking the anemo archon that your date was too drunk to notice or care. as your date (what even was his name again?) droned on and on, you found yourself catching the eye of a stranger across the bar. a fancy outfit, beautiful navy hair, and piercing eyes—or well, eye, with the other being obscured by an eyepatch.you blinked—twice in quick succession, a silent morse code for please get me the hell out of here. thankfully, this beautiful stranger was intuitive enough. he snaked his way through the busy bar to you and threw an arm around your shoulder.
“well, look who it is! after all this time—how could you forget me?” he said, dramatically. you guess you were old friends now, at least in this moment.
“oh—wow, yeah! It’s… been forever, hasn’t it?” you wince at your own delivery, but at least you’re playing along. “we really should catch up!”
the stranger gives your shoulder a gentle squeeze—reassuring, confident. you get the message: time to go. you rise without hesitation, not even glancing back. your date mumbles something incoherent, too far gone to care. without as much of a parting word from either of you to your date, the blue-haired stranger whisked you through the crowd and to the outside.
in the misty night air, you hoped to just disappear into the night. you thanked the stranger, and attempted to depart, but not before he stopped you in your tracks.
“what, that’s it? i orchestrate your daring escape and don’t even get a name? at least let me walk you home—call it a knight’s duty.”
you stumble out an agreement, another thanks, and your name. you weren’t normally this tongue-tied. but the way he looked at you—like he already knew your name, your story, your favorite pastry—made your heart skip. it wasn’t fear. it was something far worse: interest.
somewhere between idle banter and small talk, he slips it in casually: kaeya, cavalry captain of the knights of favonius. suddenly, the dramatic flair, the polished look, the whole “knight’s duty” thing—it all made a lot more sense. you didn’t mind the company on the way home, though. it had been a while since you’d enjoyed taking with someone so much. he had a way with words that kept you wrapped around his finger, and what seemed to be a genuine interest in what you had to say. and almost too soon, you reach your humble abode. he bids you farewell, and departs into the night.
what a weird evening you’ve had.
you flop down onto your bed, trying to process everything that just happened. the details of the bad date begin to blur and fade, leaving behind only one vivid image—your walk with kaeya. the way he moved with effortless calm, yet sharp and watchful. the way the moonlight danced in his single, striking eye. he felt like a mystery wrapped in quiet confidence, someone you suddenly longed to know more deeply. and then, just as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone.
it was as if he existed only in that fleeting moment—a beautiful, unexpected pause after a night gone wrong.
that is, until he walks into your store the next day.
the next morning, the scent of fresh bread filled the air as you unlocked the bakery. it wasn't much, but it was your own, and you were extremely proud of what you had created. but your mind wasn’t on pastries or ovens. it was on the stranger with the eyepatch and the way he’d slipped into your evening like a secret waiting to be discovered.
it was five minutes past close. just as you were starting to lose yourself in the rhythm of cleaning, the bell’s familiar tinkle jolted you back to the present. you could’ve sworn you locked the front door.
“sorry! we’re cl—oh! um, hey again?” it was kaeya. he gave you that same beautiful smile that he did yesterday when saving you from that terrible date.
“hope i’m not keeping you, but i heard this place was great. i thought i would indulge myself after such a long and exhausting day of work.”
well, i mean. it has to be hard being a knight, right? and you had leftovers to toss anyways…
“yeah, sure! they’re better fresh, but these are my favorite.” you grab him a bearclaw from the display case. “a little sweet, a little buttery, and i prefer mine with almonds, but there’s several different ways to make them and even more ways to garnish them.” you’re bad at small talk, but you are good at bakery talk. this was your pride and joy, after all.
and thankfully, he enjoyed it too. you put together a small box of assorted pastries that were going to get tossed out anyways, and slid it over the counter to him. “consider this a proper thank you for coming to my rescue yesterday.”
“i’m not going to say no to a gift, but i would’ve done it anyways” he said with a smile. archons. was his eye actually twinkling? you found yourself with those butterflies in your stomach again.
you both sat and taste tested, and before you even knew it was dark outside. he offered to escort you home again, and who were you to deny him? you weren't sure if it was kindness or charm pulling you in—but either way, you followed.
you hadn’t expected to see him again—yet the very next evening, just as you flipped the sign to “closed,” the bell tinkled softly. There he was: kaeya, stepping through the door with that familiar, easy smile.
and when he came again the following night, you didn’t bother hiding your grin. you’d already saved your latest batch of tarts, warming them behind the counter. without asking, he took a bite and said, “you spoil me.”
you waved him off, but your stomach flipped. that was new.
what started as a thank-you visit became something of a tradition—night after night, week after week, him coming in after closing, the both of you chatting for a while, trying whatever new recipe you had dreamed up. you found yourself challenging yourself to create new things, just so you’d have something new for him to try. and then, after the sun had set, he’d escort you home.
he always showed up just after you flipped the sign, and you both pretended it wasn’t planned. he’d sit at the same stool, lean his elbow on the counter, and ask what today’s “creation” was like he wasn’t the reason you kept experimenting. it became a dance—quiet, familiar, and warm in a way the mornings never were.
you found solace in this nightly routine of him escorting you home.
until one night, he didn’t. instead of your normal route home, he took a different turn. he turned left, away from your street, and you gave him a look. But when he asked you to trust him—well, who were you to deny him?
together, you left the town behind, the gentle night wrapping around you as you made your way toward the quiet banks of cider lake. you didn’t know exactly what he intended, but you didn’t mind—there was a strange comfort in trusting him, maybe more than you ever had before. words flowed between you like a soft current, pulling you closer not just in conversation, but in something unspoken and quietly profound.
when he slipped a gentle arm around your waist, you realized this was more than just conversation. you rested your head on his shoulder, and the world fell away—no words needed, only silence, warmth, and the steady rhythm of your breath.
after what felt like too long and not enough time, you lifted your head to catch his eye.
“kaeya… what is this? what are we?”
he seemed to shine in the moonlight, as if he was born to live in it. damn the sun, you thought.
he reached out, his hand gentle as it cupped your cheek. his mouth said nothing, but his face said everything. you weren’t sure which one of you closed the gap first, but in that moment, it felt as if the stars themselves had aligned—no work, no early mornings, no responsibilities, just two people beneath the vast night sky.
all good things must come to an end, though. and damn it, you did have work in the morning. he escorted you home wordlessly, your hands intertwined. at your doorstep, he bid you farewell with a soft “goodnight” and a gentle kiss to your knuckles.
he was supposed to walk you home. you were supposed to say goodnight. that’s how it always went. but tonight, with the stars still shimmering above cider lake, routine didn’t matter anymore. you didn’t want the night to end.
you looked at him, your heart caught in your throat. “stay. please.”
and who was he to deny you?