Chapter Text
Aether entered the library like he had done so many times before. It was quiet. The light broke through the windows, lightning up the otherwise dark hall with shelves full of books. Paimon floated next to him. They both looked around, but couldn’t see anyone.
“Paimon thinks Lisa is not here,” the little floating travel companion thought out loud, hovering from one side to the other, her hands attempting to shield from a sun that wasn’t here to blind her as she was on a lookout.
The blond, shorter man took a few steps towards the desk, his gaze sweeping around. Today didn’t seem to be a particularly busy day at the library. No mutters or hissed whispers of the little girl, who tried to study the language of the Hilichurls. Aether walked to the wooden balustrade, leaning to the side and looked down, trying to steal a glance between the shelves. No, she wasn’t there.
“Well, it is still lunchtime,” Aether remarked, rubbing his neck, turning back around to Paimon and the desk. “I suppose, we could wait a little. It’s not like we are in a rush.”
Both of them continued their way into the library. When they passed by the heavy desk, loaded with a pile of books, Aether stole a glance at the titles.
“Huh? ‘The Properties of Slimes and Elements’ … ‘Elemental Influence on Local Fauna and Flora’ … Hmm… Sounds like alchemy?” he mumbled to himself, unintentionally stepping closer to the pile of books to get a better look.
Paimon turned around, floating over to him and the books as well, tilting her head. She hovered a little up and down next to the pile, reading aloud some titles as well, attempting to keep it down for the library.
“Ah, you’re right. ‘Mondstadt’s Herbal Guide’, huh? Oh, look here! ‘Historical Maps of Mondstadt’. This one doesn’t sound like Alchemy! Paimon wonders if someone ordered them or if they got returned. Hah! That reminds Paimon that we haven’t seen Albedo in a while. Paimon bets he’s all coped up in Dragonspine again.”
Aether nodded and looked up when he heard footsteps coming closer. A young woman walked up the stairs, her gaze focused on a piece of paper in one hand, two books pressed against her body, held by the other, while she seemed to read through the list. Her lips moved quietly. Aether wondered if he had seen the blond woman before. She wore a white blouse and a long skirt. The style was unmistakeably from Mondstadt. The shoes were tidily laced. Her hair was put together in an updo, although some strands were dangerously daring to slip out.
The Traveler leaned back, watching the woman slowly approach them, seemingly unaware of the pair in front of the desk. She was completely engrossed with her work.
“Excuse me?” Aether’s voice rang out.
The young woman startled, almost losing the grip on her books, which she promptly pressed tighter against herself, now with both hands, crumbling the piece of paper against her in the process. She froze, stood there in the middle of the way, and blinked repeatedly.
Paimon floated next to Aether, wondering about the reaction. There was silence. The small travel companion looked at Aether, and he gave her a short side glance, before he focused back on the woman, who slowly recovered. Her posture relaxed a little. She looked less startled, but more confused now, and a little embarrassed.
“Oh, dear! Please forgive my tardiness,” she said, forcing a smile, which didn’t hide her embarrassment at all. Her cheeks started to redden, and her eyes darted from one to the other.
Finally, she started to walk again, passed by Paimon and Aether before she walked around the desk.
“One moment, please,” she said and put the two books on top of the pile, taking a pencil and checked off two titles on what now was recognizable as a list. A slightly crumbled one. She looked up and straightened out some creases on her long skirt, her smile now more natural, or rather professional as Aether found.
“How may I help you?”
The woman glanced towards Paimon, then back to Aether. Her gaze wandered over him, then back to Paimon. Aether wasn't sure if she knew who they were or not. But she seemed to try to verify something, judging from how her gaze wandered over both of them back and forth.
“Ah, well, are you perhaps working here?” Aether wanted to know, not quite sure why he asked a question which answer was quite obvious by what he had just observed.
The woman returned her attention to Aether. She seemed to have to think about something as her reaction was a little slow, but finally she nodded. Her expression was difficult to read. Not because she had a poker face, but more so because different expressions, and emotions, fought to come to the surface at the same time.
“Oh, so Lisa finally has someone who’s helping her,” Paimon exclaimed. “You must be careful, otherwise she will be off enjoying her quiet life, while you’re breaking your back here alone!”
“Paimon…,” Aether reproached the little girl and gave the other woman an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. At times her mouth is a little too fast.”
“Hey! Paimon heard that! Not true! Paimon always knows what she's saying!” the little girl huffed in offense.
The woman seemed to be confused now. Her eyes blinked a few times, before she laughed a little breathy, clearly showing her discomfort with the situation, but she didn’t utter a complaint.
“Oh? Me lazying around? Letting my lovely assistant break her back?”
“Hiiiiihhhh!!!” Paimon squeaked as a well-known voice could be heard from behind.
Lisa approached the small group and chuckled, putting her hands on her hips. She wasn’t truly upset, but couldn't help but use the opportunity for a little tease.
“My, here I was taking my lunch break and Paimon is already badmouthing poor me,” Lisa quipped, narrowing her eyes.
“Oh, I’m sure she didn’t mean it,” the other woman behind the desk attempted to defuse the situation, yet her voice was a little too quiet, but still well audible in the library.
Aether raised his hands in a placative gesture. “Paimon is… well, Paimon… Sorry, Lisa. … Paimon, apologize,” he said quickly.
“Ugh… Paimon is sorry. Paimon’s mouth was too fast. Paimon’s brain couldn’t catch up,” the little girl said, clearly showing her fear for the possible consequences, now retreating from her earlier statement.
“Hoooh…? Well, if our adorable Paimon apologizes, I will be the bigger person and overlook it this one time,” Lisa said, giving Paimon a smirk and a wink, before she turned to the other woman. “Lucia, the day has finally come!” The librarian turned towards Aether and Paimon, gesturing towards them, her voice almost sounding triumphantly. “These are the Honorary Knight and Paimon, the best travel guide in Teyvat.”
Both Aether and Paimon looked from Lisa to the other woman. The other librarian, who was called Lucia, looked at them almost with sparkling eyes. Aether smiled politely. Paimon didn't quite know what was going on. She only knew they were just introduced, so she puffed out her chest and put her tiny hands on her hips.
“Yes! Paimon is the bestest Travel Guide!” Paimon declared herself.
Aether gave Paimon a short side glance with a wider smile than before. Then he turned back and said: “Nice to meet you, erm… Lucia. How come I’ve never seen you around here? Are you new?”
It was the second time the question came up. Lucia’s expression turned into one of awkwardness again, Lisa’s into one of amusement. At this moment he knew that the answer was likely a no, but he couldn't take it back now. Only one way to go, and that was forward, hoping he didn't ask any more questions with obvious answers.
“Oh, cutie! Only because you haven’t seen someone doesn’t mean they didn’t exist before,” Lisa quipped with a little chuckle. “Lucia has been my assistant for quite some time now. Alas, her luck when it comes to you doesn’t seem to be existent. She wanted to meet you for such a long time already, but every time you’ve been in Mondstadt, she was somewhere else. Mostly chasing after some late books or doing some private deliveries.” When Lisa mentioned the last part, she winked at Lucia, who quickly looked to the side and cleared her throat, before she turned back, attempting a polite smile, which was only half successful.
“Nice to meet you, Honorary Knight. It’s true. I truly wanted to meet you for quite some time now, but I only heard about your visit once you’ve departed already,” Lucia said with a lopsided smile, her eyes still a little sparkly. She really seemed to be quite happy about the meeting. Now, Aether also knew why she had earlier looked over them like she had done. She had tried to figure out if they were who they were.
“Huh? Why did you want to meet the Traveler?” Paimon tilted her head while she asked.
“Do you really have to ask, Paimon?” Lisa answered in Lucia’s stead. “The Traveler is the hero of Mondstadt. The tales of his deeds reached us even from Liyue and now from Inazuma.” She turned directly to Aether. “You’re becoming more famous by the hour it seems.”
Lucia nodded in agreement, while she played with the pencil in her hand. She had heard all the stories as well. Some out of first hand reports of her friends, others only through tales. The Traveler was famous in all of Mondstadt.
Aether looked from one woman to the other. He scratched the side of his face with a slightly lopsided smile. Lisa wasn’t wrong about Paimon’s and his adventure at times already having been, at least partly, the talk of their friends back in Mondstadt when they came for a visit. Although it was rarely very detailed. He always assumed a certain bard must have caught the news from the wind and then decided to spin an entertaining tale out of it.
Paimon meanwhile looked Lucia up and down. Something seemed to bother her, judging from the frown between her brows. Finally, she exclaimed: “Wait! Paimon thought Lisa is the one getting the late books, and then it all goes zip zap and people are left twitching all over the place.”
Lucia widened her eyes and opened her mouth to protest, but couldn’t find the right words. So, no sound came out. Now, she merely looked shocked and flustered at the same time.
Aether froze and closed his eyes for a moment. Well, it wasn’t like he wouldn’t have had the same thoughts. He certainly did. Just the delivery was improvable. Quickly, he glanced at Lisa, hoping for her mood to not dip, already calculating how quickly he could pull Paimon away and run, to evade any incoming lightning strike. It was something he had plenty of practice by now, considering how prevalent lightning had been in Inazuma.
“Hoho!” Lisa laughed theatrically, covering her mouth with one hand. “My, I’m not sure what you’re suggesting, little Paimon. However, it is well known in Mondstadt that the rules of the library aren’t merely suggestions. And the ‘zip zap’ as you call it, usually doesn’t happen that easily. More so, because Lucia’s charming self is able to retrieve quite a bunch of the missing books. Which leaves the notorious forgetful people to me, who then need some help to remember the rules, naturally. Right, Lucia?”
Lucia had closed her mouth in the meanwhile. She looked at Lisa, holding her breath, before she sighed deeply. The blond librarian wanted to defend her superior, but it was quite the task when she herself basically said she electrocuted rule offenders. Mondstadt had laws, but zapping certain people didn’t result in any punishments, it seemed.
Lisa chuckled when she saw the reaction of her assistant, before she turned to her completely, her tone taking on a little more professional edge: “Now, dear. Are you done with the list? It’s time for your break. Give it to me, I can do the rest, if necessary. A little up and down on the ladders after a nice meal can only help the hips. Although… I must admit, I would prefer a few quiet moments.”
Lucia looked down at the list. There weren’t many titles left. She gave it to Lisa, explaining the current state of affairs: “Only a few more titles. Miss Sucrose will come in the afternoon. But the pile is too heavy for her. So, someone would need to help her.”
Lisa hummed when she took the list and listened, while she read through the remaining missing titles, then glanced at the pile and back at the list.
“Now, Albedo should have thought about this before he placed the order. It’s not your task to deliver the books,” Lisa remarked, studying the list further. “We are a library, not a delivery service.”
“Huh? … Hah! Paimon knew it! Albedo ordered the books! They all sound so alchemy-stuff-like,” she exclaimed too loud, pointing at the pile of books. “Only Albedo would be so greedy and order all at once! He only has research and alchemy in his head!”
Lisa looked up from the list and smirked, waving the piece of paper back and forth while she started to explain: “Well, the books aren’t only for him specifically. Our dear head alchemist came up with a more efficient system for the Alchemy Department. After everyone came running in and out, requesting books every time they had the slightest interest in a topic, he decided to compile a list, sorted by importance. So we aren’t busy only servicing one department. However… occasionally the list gets a little too long, as you can see.” Lisa finally gestured with the list towards the pile of books.
Aether nodded. It did indeed look quite a lot. Especially since it all would go into one place. It was probably more efficient, but it also meant that one person had to carry a lot or go more than once. Especially someone like Sucrose. While she was quite intelligent and capable, even so she still lacked some self-confidence, the Traveler couldn’t imagine her having an easy time with the books. Except, if she had trained hard during his absence and became quite muscular. His mouth twitched in amusement when he imagined her with heavy, muscular arms, bulging under piles of books while she carried them. Quickly, he shoved the mental image aside, and tried to keep a straight face.
“Oh, I don’t mind,” Lucia could be heard and drew Aether back to the conversation. She smiled, and looked at Lisa.
“Of course, you wouldn’t. But I do!” Lisa gave back. The librarian turned towards Aether. “Honorary Knight! It seems you came at a quite fortunate time for us. Would you be so nice and help Miss Sucrose to carry the books to the Alchemy Department?”
“Hey! We’re not here to work!” Paimon complained, eyeing the books on the desk. Then she glanced at Aether, knowing he would agree. He often said no first, only to do it anyway. Paimon narrowed her eyes suspiciously, thinking he might not even attempt to decline.
“I don’t actually mind,” Aether answered as expected, resulting in Paimon letting out a heavy sigh. “I could even bring them now. But, if you wouldn’t mind first, I was actually looking for a book.”
“Ah, a trade of work! Perfect!” Lisa purred, turning back to Lucia. “See, all is handled. Now, go and take your break.”
Lucia glanced from one to the other. She didn’t want to burden the Traveler with her work. Even less so at their first meeting. She hadn’t even been able to properly introduce herself yet. The whole conversation wasn’t at all how she had imagined it. No matter how she looked at it, it had gone into all the different directions, but not where it should have gone. A complete and utter failure!
“Now, go! Shoooh,” Lisa waved Lucia away, interrupting her spiraling thoughts, making sure she wouldn’t find another excuse to stay and look for the rest of the books on the list or perhaps even carry some of them.
“Oh, well… then… I suppose I'll take my break now,” she stuttered. “Honorary Knight, Miss Paimon. It was a pleasure to meet you. I hope we'll get the chance to… uhm… meet again.” She nodded and received a smile from each, before she quickly left, feeling the heat crawling into her cheeks. This was definitely not how she had imagined it. Not at all!
“Paimon still thinks we shouldn’t need to work!” Aether’s travel companion huffed, her arms crossed in front of her chest, her cheeks puffed. “You just keep doing it! Taking on the menial tasks!” Paimon continued her rant, floating closely beside Aether, occasionally eyeing the pile of books, hoping they would stay in place and not decide to jump down and adventure all over the ground. Lisa wouldn’t be too amused about creases on the pages, she feared, and Paimon for sure wasn’t in the mood to experience the zip zapping she had talked about earlier. “You should have taken less at least…”
Aether was carrying a small pile of books, the ones which were marked with a higher priority. He had to admit, they were heavier than he had anticipated. But Albedo’s office wasn’t too far away, fortunately. Right at the stairs. And it was good training. Although, the Traveler had to admit, he didn’t want to run laps with them. Useful training or not, it would become a torture pretty quickly.
While he was on his way to deliver the first books, Lisa would finish looking for the rest of the ordered books. After that, it was his own order’s turn. He only hoped that the book was available, or even existed in the library. Now that he thought about it, no one had guaranteed him to find it here. It had merely been his best bet. What should he do, if Lisa couldn’t find it? Aether decided to think further about it, if this would be the case. No reason to worry about it now. Instead, he focused back on Paimon.
“It can’t be helped,” Aether tried to soften Paimon’s mood while he began to walk up the stairs in the Knight’s headquarters.
“It can be helped! You didn’t need to agree! At least negotiate some tasty treats! Have you learned nothing? You’re embarrassing Paimon! Never work for free! Either it’s for Mora, treasure or treats! Remember this important lesson!” Painmon didn’t seem to let herself get calmed down. She huffed even more, her face crumbled up in an upset expression.
Aether snickered, when he watched her, then quickly cleared his throat and tried to make a more serious face, before he continued to speak again: “You have a point. But you see, this way we’ve surely got a favor on our account. You never know when it will come in handy,” he said with a wink.
Paimon frowned even more, and rubbed her chin, thinking about the whole thing from this perspective. Aether had to bite on his lower lip to not start laughing. At times, she could be too cute, or just unintentionally entertaining.
“Alright! Paimon must admit that you’ve understood the lesson better than she thought.” Her expression slowly softened the more she thought about it. “Yes, that’s true! Now Lisa is owning us something, right? Oh, oh! Paimon knows, we will ask her for a treat later!” While she spoke, she got so excited about the prospect of something tasty, that she stomped with her short legs into the air, waving her hands at the same time, clearly going through the options in her head.
Fortunately for Aether, it didn’t take too long for the two to reach the Alchemy Department, or rather Albedo’s office, which he shared with his students. Now Aether stared at the closed wooden door. He looked down at the pile of books he carried, then back at the door and finally at Paimon. One other round, more demonstratedly, before he said: “Paimon? Would you be so kind?”
His little travel companion perked up, returning to reality. She looked at Aether, then at the door and back. Aether could clearly not open the door like that, not that he should do it as it was terribly rude. But he couldn’t even knock, Paimon realized.
“Ah! Of course! Paimon is super good at knocking on doors!”
Aether’s companion floated over to the door and knocked as loud as she could. “ALBEDO! SUCROSE! ANYONE THERE? DELIVERY!” Paimon shouted and held her breath, tempted to press her ear against the door to see if someone was on the other side.
The Traveler almost flinched when Paimon shouted without a warning. He was sure, whoever was in there surely had no excuse to ignore them now. At least something, he thought dryly to himself, as he shifted the weight in his hands to get more comfortable.
Only a moment later steps could be heard from the other side, then the door opened. A blond man with teal eyes and a star on his throat looked at the visitors. “Traveler!?” Albedo sounded quite surprised, then paused, before he continued: “Paimon…,” sounding a little too flat. He looked from one to the other, then at the books, before he opened the door quickly and stepped back. “Please come in. Put the books on my desk over there.” His gaze followed the visitors as they entered.
Sucrose looked at the two visitors with the book delivery. She perked up in surprise, a small smile playing on her lips, which suddenly vanished. Now she looked flustered.
“Oh no! Is it already time?” She looked around, back at the experiment which was currently running, and again at the visitors, while Aether already had made his way to the desk and put the books down carefully.
Albedo looked out of the window. He tried to gauge how late it might be. His eyes narrowed in concentration while he calculated the time. Then he shook his head gently, relaxing his features, his tone calm and measured: “I doubt it.” He turned to Sucrose, while he closed the door. “Sucrose, please focus on the experiment. A sudden rise in the temperature will make the liquid unstable. Then we will have to start over again.”
Sucrose’s head snapped back to the beaker, her focus returning. Her eyes were sharp and concentrated. She started to take notes again. The shy young alchemist was gone, replaced by one who seemingly didn’t notice anything else but her experiment.
Satisfied with Sucrose’s attention returning to the experiment, Albedo turned towards Aether and Paimon. The latter floated closer to the experiment. Albedo’s gaze followed her for a moment, before he focused back at the Traveler. His gaze flickered towards the books for a moment. In his mind he tried to puzzle together what must have happened in the library.
“I presume, Lisa has convinced you to deliver the order?” Albedo asked for clarification.
Aether nodded, watching Albedo as he stepped closer. But instead of coming directly to him, he walked around the desk and looked through his notes, shifting paper here and there, until he pulled out a list. Aether noticed the chaos on the desk. He wasn’t sure if it all had something to do with Sucrose’s experiment or if it was completely unrelated. Either way, he realized they had come at a difficult time, and could already imagine how the meeting would go. After all, he slowly started to get a better feeling for the alchemist.
Albedo stepped back, this time directly next to Aether. His finger trailed the titles on the list as he compared them with the ones on the books. He didn’t seem hurried. Occasionally he paused, left his finger on a line, while he glanced at Sucrose, checking on her and the experiment, before he continued comparing the titles.
“Lisa said you’ve got a new system?” Aether asked out of curiosity, hoping Albedo would be somewhat in the mood to answer him.
Albedo merely nodded, still focused on comparing the delivered books with the titles on the list. His hand reached into a coat pocket. He frowned. The list changed hands, when he looked for something in his other pocket. The frown deepened. Then he sighed, heavy and annoyed, Aether thought, but kept it to himself. Finally, Albedo leaned over the desk and grabbed a pencil, half hidden under some papers, checking off some titles.
“It is more efficient this way,” he explained curtly. When he was done, he looked up at Aether. “What about the rest of them? Are they ready?” His voice was calm and collected as usual. Although he was clearly in working mode and sounded a little distant.
“There are more. Um… I can bring them, if you want. Lisa needed to finish the list, though.” Aether couldn’t help himself. He had to suggest it after all, glancing over to Paimon, who looked at the experiment from different angles. The Traveler returned his attention to Albedo, wondering if he should propose hanging out, to get to know him better, and noticed how Albedo looked straight at him. He openly observed Aether.
Silence fell between the two of them, only the bubbling of the experiment in the background, the scratching of the pencil when Sucrose jogged down some notes and Paimon’s questions could be heard. Well, perhaps it wasn’t silent after all. Aether wanted to look over to his little travel companion and remind her to be quieter, but he couldn’t rip his gaze away from Albedo, wondering what he was thinking.
Finally, the alchemist broke his silence, and only uttered one name: “Lisa?”
Aether was perplexed. He nodded slowly, confirming what he had said earlier, but still was confused as he spoke: “Yes, you know… the head librarian Lisa,”
Albedo huffed quietly, his eyes narrowing a fraction.
“I am aware of who Lisa is. It would be more than a simple embarrassment at this point, if I did not.” There it was, the slight edge of annoyance that sometimes stole itself into his voice, when someone said or did something that kept him from going back to his research. It was so weak that it had taken Aether quite a while to pick up on. But now he was sure of it. It was there and directed at him. Aether swallowed. Today he seemed to have a day of stating the obvious. He was tempted to facepalm, but he didn’t move. Instead, he attempted a polite smile, but Albedo already looked back down at the list. He glanced again at Sucrose, who was still busy taking notes and adjusting the liquid, occasionally stirring it, all while Paimon bombarded her with questions. Albedo sighed.
“I appreciate the thought,” the alchemist started, and turned back to Aether. “But this will not be necessary. I will take care of the rest myself.”
The Traveler nodded, glancing over at the other two in the room. He could imagine how Albedo already tried to find a reason to kick them out. Sucrose tried her best to stay focused while answering Paimon, but she struggled. He shouldn’t make things difficult for the head alchemist, Aether decided. Better letting him finish the experiment with his student, and catching him later at a better timing, to suggest spending more time together.
“How long will you stay?”
Aether looked back at Albedo, who suddenly had asked him an entirely unrelated question to their actual conversation. His heart made a jump, and he already feared the alchemist had learned to read his mind, or any mind. One could never be too sure. Aether blinked a few times, and watched Albedo waiting patiently for his answer, even so Aether could swear the alchemist got a little impatient with him. Perhaps it was merely his imagination… or not. He should definitely answer the question!
“Ah, well… a few days. Maybe a week. I'm actually looking for an old travel report of a Mondstaedter. I heard about it in Inazuma, but couldn't find anything there. I just need to verify a few things.”
Albedo nodded, tilting his head, his gaze fixed on the list he wasn't reading anymore. In his mind he calculated a few things, then nodded and mumbled towards himself: “This should work.” He looked back up, directly at Aether, turning his body to face him completely. “I would like to invite you to dinner. Lunch, if it suits you better. The seasonal menu in Good Hunter is quite pleasant.”
Aether stared at Albedo again. Silent. He blinked. His thoughts had come to a halt, as he considered his earlier lighthearted suspicion about Albedo having learned to read the mind of others.
“Oh! That's… unexpected, but very welcome,” Aether finally managed to say in a hurry after his first slip-up. He wondered what Albedo would want to discuss over a meal. It was unprecedented. Maybe Albedo had become more social? Aether couldn’t help but smile slightly, hoping he would get his chance to get to know the alchemist better.
Albedo nodded again. Nothing in his demeanor had changed. He didn’t seem particularly happy, nor disappointed. He seemed like he always did, calm, collected and entirely focused on something in his mind.
“Good. I presume, you will spend some time in the library?” Albedo asked further.
Now it was the Traveler, who nodded quietly, his mind still trying to come up with a reason for the unprecedented events of this moment.
“Excellent. Let me just verify a few matters. I will come and look for you in… let us say, two days,” Albedo informed Aether calmly.
Aether nodded again. He waited for any more information, but didn’t receive anything. And before he could ask anything further, Albedo turned around and walked towards Sucrose and Paimon.
“Paimon, Sucrose needs to concentrate. She is close to succeeding this time.” The alchemist let his gaze wander over the experiment. Everything seemed to be still in order, despite the distraction. “If there is not any urgent matter, then please see yourself out.”
Sucrose glanced up for a moment. She smiled at Paimon and Aether, before she focused back on the experiment. Certainly, she was tempted to have a little chat with the two of them, but it had to wait. The experiment was more important.
“Right…,” Aether muttered. “Paimon, come. We're done here. They need to focus on their experiment.”
Albedo turned around to Aether, giving him a grateful nod, before he shot Paimon a pointed look.
Aether waited for Paimon. They said their goodbyes. Before Aether left the office, he turned around to the two alchemists one more time, quietly watching them for a moment longer, before he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
Kaeya watched his friend stare at the gloomy sky which promised rain. Then there came a sigh. The third one he counted. He smiled, his one visible blue eye sharply focused on the blond woman in front of him, seemingly having forgotten about her lunch, the shared Sweet Madame, a piece of bread, and the soup of the day.
The cavalry captain had met her on his way out of the headquarters and had joined her for lunch in Good Hunter, betting on a nice and relaxing chat without any stakes. Truly a pleasant coincidence, he had found with satisfaction. Although the imaginary non-stakes seemed to still exist somewhat. Likely nothing truly terrible to worry about for him, he mused.
“Alright,” he finally said, putting down the cutlery and leaning forward. “Now, pray, tell, Lulu. What happened?” His voice had his usual slightly amused cadence, smooth and pleasant to the ear, light, but without the sharp edge he so often tried to hide.
Lucia startled out of her thoughts, blinked rapidly for a moment before she focused on the man on the other side of the table. He had a light smile on his lips, but his eye was sharply focused on her. A habit of his, she knew. Something he did with many, especially if he wanted to solve a puzzle, or so was her impression. Lucia wasn't privy to a lot of the inner affairs of the higher-ranking knights, considering her own low rank, something she never felt truly bothered by. After all, she had found her perfect place already: the library.
“What?” The question stumbled out of her mouth before she could even fully register his question.
“You’ve been staring at the clouds and keep sighing. Don’t make me demonstrate my sharp perception by telling you it was three times already, and I fear more are to come. So… What happened? Tell your dear friend, Lulu.”
Lucia’s eyes widened. Then she looked to the side, her own cutlery still in her hands, unmoving. Was it that obvious? Probably. She had completely blanked out, while she mentally went through the conversation in the library from earlier. Additionally, the evening’s chores joined the dance as well, making things not easier for her already worried mind.
“Well…,” she started, her gaze slowly wandering back to Kaeya. “Well…,” she repeated, her thoughts trying to put a proper sentence together. “I met the Traveler. … And his little travel companion.”
Kaeya’s smile widened, and he perked up. He looked truly pleased and happy about the news.
“Oh, finally! This is good news! Congratulations! Barbatos blessed you at last.”
Lucia shook her head and sighed for the fourth time. Kaeya tilted his head, his eye still sharply on her. Her reaction wasn’t how he imagined it would be, considering the streak of missing the Traveler for years at this point.
“No, Kaeya. Not good! Not at all! No congratulations deserved, and if it was Barbatos’ blessing, then it felt more like a joke!” She put the cutlery down and started to play with her fingers. “It was so… awkward. I’m sure he must have had the worst impression now!”
Kaeya raised a brow, his smile still in place. He knew what she was doing. Something she usually did. Blowing up something small, worrying for days until she couldn't stand it anymore, all while everyone else had already moved on or wasn't aware of any issue to begin with. Well, he wouldn't complain about extra cookies as an apology for something she never did, but it didn't mean he enjoyed her riling herself up like she tended to do.
“I’m sure you’re overthinking, Lulu. You’ve got a bit of a bad habit there,” Kaeya tried to calm his friend down. “But enlighten me, what have you done that could warrant the Traveler to think the worst of you? Ah! No! Wait! Let me guess!” Kaeya leaned back, tapping a finger against his chin, his brows furrowed as he went through a few possibilities. “He greeted you, and you ran away!”
“What!? No! Why would I run away?” Lucia exclaimed, now looking rather flustered than depressed. He could see a slight red starting to color her cheeks. It was so easy to tease her. But all in good measure, otherwise he had another cookie embargo coming, and nowadays she wouldn't end it prematurely anymore. All thanks to a certain someone. He knew what the other person was after: more cookies for himself! Truly, the worst.
Kaeya didn't let his thoughts betray him. He chuckled, waving his finger, continuing his little tease to get her thoughts to go into a different direction.
“Because that’s what you tend to do when you get flustered. But fine, I was wrong. So, let’s see… No running away; that leaves us with… hm… a horrible impression…”
“It’s not a game! Kaeya, it’s serious!” Lucia interrupted his guessing a little louder than she wanted to, and quickly looked around before she focused back on Kaeya.
The cavalry captain raised both hands in a placative gesture. His smile was pleasant and satisfied, having gotten her out of her inner loop. At least she could get annoyed with him right now instead of thinking about all the possible ways she might have offended the Traveler, which, Kaeya thought, might be a challenge in itself. Not that he tried to offend the Traveler, but he had a surprisingly thick skin, and it only seemed to have grown thicker over his adventures.
“I know, I know. Don’t take it too seriously, Lulu. Now, tell your dear friend what actually happened. Once I know, I can put in a good word or two for you.” He gave her a wink, which did look more like a deliberate blink, considering he wore an eyepatch, already convinced nothing actually had happened.
Lucia took a deep breath and sighed. Number five, Kaeya counted. Her fingers laced into each other, and her gaze wandered back to the cloudy sky.
The thought of washing some towels was something she had given up already. Her plan for the evening had to change. She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly, bringing her thoughts back to the topic of the conversation and another even worse problem for her for the current moment. Towels couldn't judge her, at least. They just increased in numbers or decreased, depending on which pile she wanted to focus on.
“I didn’t introduce myself properly…,” she almost whispered, her voice tense.
Kaeya blinked, trying not to let his smile go too wide. He knew it. He knew her far too well. She was too much of a people pleaser. One who tried to recover, but she still had a long way to go. Now, Kaeya had to play it cool, although his smile definitely wanted to grow on both sides. His lips twitched as he tried to keep himself in check.
“How come?” Kaeya urged her gently to continue, so he could get the full picture, while his eye continued to scan her to not miss the slightest hint. After all these years, he could nearly read her like an open book.
“Ugh, well, I was busy finishing up the list for the Alchemy Department and got a bit startled there. And… ugh… His little companion was very chatty, and then Lisa came, and somehow I got asked again and again… well, twice… if I was actually working in the library… And then Lisa sent me to take my break.”
Kaeya nodded along. He could picture it roughly. Who knows what the Traveler or Paimon actually said? Lucia’s interpretation probably differed from reality. The two of them probably had already forgotten about the encounter. Lucia could leave an impression. The library, however, wasn't the place for it, normally. Although, apparently, some people thought otherwise, thinking about his cookie rival.
“I see. Sounds like the usual chaos energy,” Kaeya said after a short moment of thought, taking his cutlery and starting to cut some meat. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. But you wouldn’t know what the Traveler wanted?” His tone returned to a casual, chatty one.
Watching Kaeya return his attention to the meal relaxed Lucia. Maybe she was truly overthinking it. She should ask Lisa later.
“I don’t know. He was looking for a book,” she said, looking at her lunch. The freshly baked bread looked far too inviting, and slowly she felt the hunger.
“A book?”
Lucia nodded, then shook her head and shrugged, not really knowing which would be the correct reaction.
“I don’t know the details. Lisa shooed me out before the Traveler actually said what he was looking for,” Lucia said, now thinking about the matter. She would probably easily find out once she returned. It did interest her what the Traveler liked to read.
“Hm… sounds like Lisa. Making sure her assistant is taking care of herself,” Kaeya continued in his casual tone. “Who else is going to bake the cookies or make the tea? The more you do, the less she needs to take care of the afternoon tea, no?”
“Kaeya…,” Lucia grumbled, slightly shaking her head about his audacity. “Be careful; if she hears you, you're done for.”
The cavalry captain took a bite of the Sweet Madame, chewing on the delicious meat with a satisfied smile. Distracting Lucia from a worry, especially one that wasn’t based on reality, was child’s play for him.