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Jean's heels click too loudly on the ground, the sound echoing through the entrance hall. She is not rushing - it's far too hot for that, even within the mighty stone walls of the Knights of Favonious headquarters - but walking fast creates a little breeze that cools her down. And if she strengthens that breeze with a bit of help from her Anemo Vision, then that is training.
There is a stack of papers in her arms. All important documents that need the Grandmaster's signature. Jean knows Varka hates the paperwork, hates being forced to sit still for hours, and sometimes she feels sorry for him, but even her sympathy has limits when he's such a great escape artist, leaving her to deal with it in his stead.
She hasn't been going easy on him since his grand return after the expedition, either. She knows.
But Lisa has been in her ears forever to take a step back and rest, to let Varka handle the responsibilities of his job rather than taking them out of his hands herself.
He is the Grandmaster of Mondstadt, after all.
(Maybe she'll find Kaeya later and ask him to chill a nice bottle of wine with his Cryo. Something to cool down after the day's work is done, as a reward. Varka will surely appreciate the gesture.)
She stops in front of the office and knocks on the door.
It feels a little strange to do so, when it has been her office for the past years but her manners won't allow her to just storm in without notice. But she does not wait for an answer (she's fast but Varka is faster, if he decides to run) and pushes the door open.
There’s a chance that Varka isn't even there anymore and she knows that, too. With how hot it is, their elusive Grandmaster might not feel inclined to pour over endless stacks of paper. It wouldn't be the first time Jean has entered the office just as he was about to jump out of the window, gone with an enormous burst of Anemo and laughter on the wind.
“Grandmaster, these documents all need your… signature…?”
She falters mid sentence, trailing off, the words tangling on her tongue in surprise. The sight before her takes her off guard.
The office isn't empty. That's good, that's more than she expected. But what stills her in her steps isn't Varka's presence - it is the fact that he is not alone.
Varka is, in fact, sitting on the chair behind the big oak desk, just as he's supposed to, stacks of documents piled up in front of him. But in his lap and with Varka's limbs wrapped all around him, sits a man Jean has never seen before in her life.
He has long purple hair and he's very, very pale. There are dark bags under his golden eyes - and those eyes give Jean a chill the second they settle on her. He's dressed all in black, with a high collar on his long coat that hides part of his chin.
He's striking. He's unsettling.
He cannot be human, Jean thinks immediately, distracted. No human could be wrapped in so many layers in this heat and getting bear hugged by Varka, and still be fine in this heat.
“Ah,” the stranger says, when Jean's stunned silence stretches on a little too long. He makes no move to get up - or maybe he can't. Varka's hold on his waist looks rather tight. How they're both not just dying from the heat is beyond Jean. “I believe we have been caught.”
“You make it sound so scandalous,” Varka grumbles. His voice lacks his usual energy, which is a true testament to the summery temperatures. One would think someone as hotblooded and energetic as Varka would thrive in the heat. Funny how the opposite is true.
He looks up at Jean and gives her a nod.
“Hi, Jean. Still got more work for me, I see. Well then, give it here- No promises though that I can finish all of that today! It's too warm!!”
She stares at him. At both of them. She waits for more, for an explanation, an introduction, anything.
There's a stranger in the office, in the Grandmaster's lap, and Varka acts like it's the most normal thing! When neither of them say anything, Jean heaves a sigh. Never a boring day, when Varka is your boss.
“I don't believe we've met,” Jean says to the stranger, giving him the standard knight salute. “I am Jean Gunnhildr, Acting Grandmaster of the Knights of Favonious. At your service.”
The stranger inclines his head. He's very handsome, even more so when he smiles but Jean still cannot help but feel a little off. It's not the same feeling as she sometimes gets around Venti, so he's probably not a God. But everything about him screams different regardless.
“My pleasure, Lady Jean,” he greets, genuine. Something old flickers in his unusual eyes, and the way he says her name makes her shudder. “I am Kyryll Chudomirovitch Flins, one of Nod Krai's Lightkeepers. Please, call me Flins.”
That… does not explain everything but it explains a little. At least Jean can deduce now that Varka must've met this man in Nod Krai, although why Flins is here, in Mondstadt, and so casually wrapped up in Varka's arms during one of the hottest days yet, she doesn't understand.
She requires answers. Jean fixes Varka with a glare. “What are you doing?”
Varka grins back at her, a little more cheeky than before. He's not sweating, she suddenly realizes, even though it should be unbearably hot, given how closely pressed to Flins he is. But he looks comfortable and relaxed. Where Jean can feel her hair plastered to her face from sweat, Varka looks suspiciously unbothered by the temperature.
“I'm working!,” he answers. Suddenly there's a pen in his hand and he makes a show of scribbling something on a paper in front of him. His other hand never leaves Flins’ waist. “Doing important Grandmaster business, you see- “
Jean's brow twitches.
“Try again. Where did Mister Flins come from? Why is he here? Why are you two…” She gestures vaguely towards them, but they do not seem perturbed. Flins merely closes his eyes, looking faintly amused. Varka drops his head on his shoulder. It's clear that they're familiar with each other, comfortable with the proximity.
“You heard him,” Varka says. “He's from Nod Krai. His boss demanded he take a vacation, and so he's helping me cool off!”
Jean can only stare at him.
“He's helping you cool off.” Her voice is full of disbelief she can't contain. She will blame her next words on the heat too. “It's burning hot outside, and you're in here cuddling. How is that cooling you off? Aren't you melting?”
Varka honest-to-Barbatos pouts. “Flins is nice and cool to the touch,” he defends, and thus confirms Jean's initial suspicion that Flins must be something other than human. Is that not a secret he keeps? Is it okay for Varka to just… imply that Flins is colder than a normal human should be?
She shoots a look at him and ah- it is a secret. Flins’ expression now is a little pinched, although he still looks more amused than genuinely upset.
“My dear Varka,” Flins says, and his tone, at least, has Varka leaning back while his brows climb to his hairline. He's clearly alarmed by Flins’ sweet tone. “Could you perhaps be a little more careful with your words, please? I am not supposed to be cold to the touch, after all.”
Varka looks at him, then at Jean. And it probably really is the heat meddling with his normally clever mind because Jean is treated to the sight of Varka's real life realization that he just blew Flins’ cover.
“Whoops!,” he says - and goes right back to octopus-hugging Flins. Flins… does not object. The subtle way in which he leans a little more into Varka's chest speaks volumes.
Jean suddenly feels very, very tired.
Flins looks at her, the gold of his eyes unnaturally bright. “Lady Jean,” he starts, voice soft and polite. “If I may be so bold to request that you forget this conversation… I do not make a habit of exposing my identity-” and here, she almost argues that he didn't expose anything other than not being human, but she holds her tongue. “-and I humbly ask that you keep my… constitution… a secret.”
Jean finally steps forward to deposit the papers she's been holding this entire time on Varka's desk. Some of the edges are a little wrinkled and damp from the sweat on her hands. She does not feel embarrassed.
“I've only been here to deliver these papers and get them signed by tonight,” Jean answers. “I haven't witnessed anything else.”
She pointedly looks at Varka. “Please see that you get this done today. I will be back to collect them. Mister Flins-”
She turns to him and salutes him once more. “It's been my pleasure. Welcome to Mondstadt and please enjoy your stay. Have a good day.”
And then she leaves, heels clicking too loudly against the floor, stepping out of the office to leave Varka and his mysterious, inhuman maybe-friend-maybe-lover behind. There's still work left for her to do… but maybe Lisa will join her for a walk, and maybe they will run into Kaeya and maybe he will conjure some Cryo to cool them all down.
The door of the office closes behind her with a click.