"Charles! Be a champ and fill this up for me!"

The barman eyed him with a raised eyebrow and an expression that indicated he didn't think the refill was needed. "Are you quite sure, Master Kaeya?"

"Of course I'm sure, my good man. This is a party, isn't it? Can't have a party without drinks!"

The other man sighed but complied, filling the glass the Cavalry Captain extended to him. He kept mumbling under his breath but Kaeya was too far gone to really pay attention to his words. Looking back, perhaps he should have listened to Charles' advice and stopped.

Kaeya sighed in his glass, taking a sip of his Dandelion wine. It was pleasantly cool as it travelled down his throat, the strong alcohol coloring his tan neck with a light flush.

A flush almost as pretty as the one that rose to Sakura's cheeks as she laughed at something that peculiar alchemist, Albedo, said to her.

Taking another sip of his beverage, Kaeya nudged his drinking companion in the ribs, making Jean send him a disapproving look.

"Don't the look good together?"

The blonde woman blinked in confusion. "Who-"

"Sakura and Albedo. Look at them," he said, motioning to the oblivious pair. "They look so good together."

His uncovered eye raked the woman's form, appreciating the way the iridescent blue dress hugged her body, spaghetti straps exposing her milky shoulders. His gaze lingered on the long slit down the right side, and the skin of her strong thigh, peeking from behind folds of rich velvet.

Jean raised an eyebrow. "You're not serious, are you?"

The Cavalry Captain snorted, waving her off. "Me? Of course I am, duh!" he replied, gulping down a good portion of his drink. "Do you think they're dating?"

"Who-"

"Sakura and Albedo. Do you think they are dating?"

"You're drunk-"

"Bah! Of course I'm not!" the blue-haired man said, waving her off. "I bet they are. They have 'perfect couple' written all over them."

Jean's blonde eyebrow shot to her hairline as she regarded her subordinate. "Really now? How so?"

Turning to her with a serious look, swaying slightly on his bar stool, Kaeya waved his finger in front of her face, though she suspected he did it more to get his vision to focus than anything else.

"Look at Sakura. She's this beautiful foreigner with powers the likes of which we've never seen before, and she's so smart and so sweet. She's the girl-next-door but with a lot of extra punch. Has she ever punched you?"

Lips quirking up in barely concealed amusement, Jean shook her head. "Never had the pleasure, no."

"Well, she's punched me!" he exclaimed animatedly, pointing at himself. "She dislocated my jaw."

"I know, I was present. You were being an idiot."

"Shhhh, don't let Diluc hear you say that!" he whispered sharply, stealing a glance at Angel's Share's owner, who seemed to be engrossed in a conversation with Kaeya's current subjects.

"As for Albedo," he continued, his lone eye shifting to the man, "Well, look at him! He's a prince charming, but without the charm. He has this long golden hair and green eyes and he's smart too. They fit. You know, smart people come together. I bet they have the hots for each other."

"While I do appreciate the thorough analysis, I think you might be mistaken-"

"Oh!" he exclaimed, his lilac eye lighting up. "I bet they are seeing each other secretly. Oh, I should have seen this sooner! The signs are totally there."

Sighing, Jean decided to humor him, if only to keep this as blackmail material for the foreseeable future. "The signs you say?"

He nodded vigorously. "Yes! Look, Sakura's leaning close to him-"

"She's leaning on the table-"

"-and Albedo is like, hanging onto her every word! Look at him, he's practically drooling. You know, Jean. The signs."

"Don't let Albedo hear you say that, or your next drink will be a wolfsbane mix. They are probably talking about work, Kaeya. Sakura's a healer and Albedo's an alchemist. You know how they get."

"Ah, yes, work," he replied, winking at her. "A relationship needs work, indeed!"

"A relationship. A romantic relationship. Between Albedo and Sakura."

"Shhh!" he quickly shushed her, putting a finger to his lips, his eyes searching the area around them as if expecting all sorts of villains to jump out and ambush them. "You're gonna give them away! They wanna keep it a secret, didn't you know?"

Jean set her drink down with a sigh, reaching to take the wine from his hand. "Alright, I think you've had enough-"

He pulled his glass away from her reach, swaying slightly, and for a moment Jean feared he'd topple over, but then a hand shot out and grabbed the front of his grey vest, steadying him.

Through his alcoholic haze, Kaeya registered the feeling of a hand on the top part of his chest that his unbuttoned shirt left bare, and he raised his gaze to meet Sakura's green eyes. Her rosy lips were pulled up in an amused smile, her long pink locks falling over one shoulder as she regarded him.

"You don't look too good, Captain."

He smiled charmingly at her, doing his best to straighten his waistcoat and dust his pants. "Why, I assure you, my lady, I am in perfect health. Apologies if I interrupted your conversation," he said, leaning closer to her. "Don't worry, Sakura, your secret's safe with me."

The woman raised an eyebrow, her gaze briefly shifting to Jean. "My secret?"

The man nodded, his eye glinting. "The secret. You know, about Albedo and you."

"Albedo and me. Albedo and I have a secret?"

Kaeya cackled, taking another sip of his Dandelion wine. "Yes! You keep up that act and no one other than us here will ever know."

The woman sighed, shaking her head. "There is no secret, Kaeya. You simply had a few too many glasses. While I don't blame you considering this is our-"

He put a finger on her lips effectively shushing her. "You don't have to deny it, Sakura. Jeanie here and I fully support your relationship. We're your friends. You should have told us earlier."

The pink-haired medic glanced at Jean, who merely shrugged, picking up her glass and making a beeline for the table in the corner of the tavern where Venti and Amber were engaged in a rather animated conversation.

"Come on, Kaeya, I'm taking you home before you do something that will have Diluc hunting us down," she sighed, slinging his arm over her shoulders and urging him to lean on her. She helped him up, grabbing the jacket of his grey three-piece suit from the back of her chair, and bid Charles a hasty goodbye as they exited Angel's Share.

XxxxX

Kaeya's home wasn't too far from the tavern so the walk there was relatively short, though Sakura had no trouble holding the man up, smiling at the merry little tune he kept trying - and failing miserably – to whistle.

Fishing the keys from the pocket of his jacket, she led him inside, making sure to lock behind her, and immediately took him to the bedroom.

Helping him lie down, she immediately unlaced his dress shoes, that she was almost certain he had pestered Diluc into lending him, before taking off his waistcoat and shirt.

Giggling at the alcohol-induced flush on Kaeya's tan cheeks, Sakura made to unbuckle his belt, when he grabbed her wrist in a weak, sloppy hold.

"Ugh, I don't think that's a good idea. Albedo will be mad-"

Unwrapping his fingers from around her wrist, Sakura snorted in amusement. "For the last time, Kaeya, there's nothing going on between Albedo and myself. Please stop trying to pair me up with him. I'm certain he won't appreciate getting coupled with someone without his consent," she mumbled softly, pulling his pants off and folding his clothes neatly.

The blue-haired man frowned, his gaze half-lidded and unfocused. "Eh? Why?"

Sitting beside his half-naked form, she raked her hand through his low ponytail. "Because I'm already engaged."

The Captain's lilac eye widened. "To whom?!"

Giggling and mentally vowing to tease him mercilessly in the morning, Sakura pinched his cheek. "To you, dummy."

"To me?! Really?!"

"Yes, really. Tonight was our engagement party."

"I proposed and you said yes? You want to marry me?"

Nearly melting at the adorably hopeful expression on his handsome face, Sakura held up her hand, proudly showing off the white-gold band and the glowing crystal core in the middle of it.

"I got the ring to prove it."

Kaeya froze for a minute, staring at her in stunned silence, and Sakura briefly contemplated shaking him out of it, but then his lips split in a brilliant smile that made her heart skip a beat.

Without a warning, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down to him, pressing her close to his bare chest.

"Damn," he whispered in her hair, "I scored."

Sakura's eyes immediately softened, and she snuggled deeper in his embrace, laying her head where his neck met his shoulder.

As she drifted off, safely nestled in Kaeya's arms, Sakura vaguely registered that she was still wearing her blue velvet dress.

XxxxX

When Sakura woke the next morning, it was to soft groans and someone shifting beside her.

Popping an eye open, she watched as Kaeya rubbed his temples, probably in a vain attempt to lessen the raging headache that he was undoubtedly experiencing.

Placing her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles, she tried not to alert him, but her shaking shoulders gave her away, and the man turned to her.

Kaeya glared at her half-heartedly, pinching her thigh. "Oi, stop laughing."

Barely keeping her composure, Sakura smiled prettily at him. "Aw, is the hangover bothering you, darling?"

"Ugh, not so loud."

The pink-haired medic stretched het body up to kiss him on the cheek. "Don't be like that, Kaeya. Here," she said softly, touching two fingers to his temple and sending a burst of healing chakra to alleviate the headache. "That should help."

Rubbing his eyes, he cursed under his breath. "How much did I drink last night?"

"I don't have the slightest idea. I just found you sitting with Jean and insisting that Albedo and I are in some sort of secret relationship."

Turning to her, he draped his arm over her thighs. "I did what?"

"Oh, yes," she continued, "You were quite adamant. Apparently, Albedo and I dally in secret and you're fully supportive."

His hold on her tightened. "I did…not say that. There's no way I said that."

Tracing a path from his jaw to the middle of his chest with the tip of her finger, Sakura pressed herself closer to him. "You most certainly did. You even reassured me that you're so very happy for us. With how insistent you were, Albedo may have gotten a few ideas-"

Flipping her on her back, Kaeya climbed on top of her, hands gripping her waist tightly and headache long forgotten. His mouth descended upon hers, her lips parting willingly under the caresses of his tongue.

Sakura moaned in the kiss as she wrapped her arms wound his neck, tangling her fingers in his long blue locks and tugging, guiding his open-mouthed kisses to the white slope of her neck.

He sucked on her skin, biting down and making her gasp, her body arching into his. There was no doubt in her mind that by the end of the hour, her neck would be a mosaic of bitemarks; Kaeya's marks. The whole of Mondstadt knew that the Adventurer's Guild's pretty pink-haired healer had the Cavalry Captain wrapped around her little finger so Kaeya made it a point to remind them whose embrace she returned to every night.

Raising his head to look at her through his half-lidded lilac eye, Kaeya smirked roguishly, fingers already slipping under her dress and squeezing her bare hips.

"Ideas, huh? Let me rectify the situation. I promise to be thorough."

TBC

I have never simped for anyone as hard as I simp for Kaeya.

This hot snowflake broke my simp-ometer.

Heya!

Here's something light-hearted cause we're gonna get our fair share of angst later on, so I thought I'd start on a positive note. Needless to say, Kaeya is my absolute favorite Genshin Impact character and my main tank in-game. He is easily the most complex figure of the story and he slays!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

I'm not sure who will follow but a few more tidbits regarding Sakura's stay in Mondstadt will be included.

Reading your thoughts always makes my day, so drop me a review if you have a minute to spare.

Until next time,

Lots of love!