Chapter Twenty-Five

Kaeya dropped into his ninth domain run, checked his NRE stash, and bounded lightly forward to take up his preferred position. He'd run this domain enough times to be more than familiar with the enemies by this point. He was always amused by the random assortment of strangers, friends, and dubiously tolerant teammates that swapped in and out indiscriminately as the evening wore on. He'd seen Eula Lawrence for a brief second, but she'd dropped out almost immediately and he half-thought she was just a figment of his imagination. A girl with flat bangs and a penchant for waving a fan around had been a constant teammate for a while, along with Mika, (Kaeya had taken the opportunity to verify that Noelle had returned home safely with the surveyor). There was a pink-haired girl who lobbed jellyfish into Kaeya's face every time his health dipped alarmingly, a boy with the worst haircut he'd ever seen who kept speaking in book quotes, and others. A tall woman with a white braid kept showing up, and he quite approved of her skills, since they augmented his own Cryo and physical abilities. She'd seemed mostly normal until he caught her informing another teammate of her homicidal tendencies in the most nonchalant way. He kept a close eye on her after that. Even Barbara had shown up once or twice, to his surprise. The normally shy deaconess had gotten an adrenaline rush when she and Kaeya decimated the enemies on her first time through, and Kaeya had to wait for her to sprint all the way back across the arena after she accidently ran off the side on her way to the great tree. She'd been too embarrassed to continue, and had signed off with pink cheeks after that round.

There was another familiar face arriving this time.

Idly Kaeya checked his sword and wondered when the host was going to start the domain.

"What ho, comrade! We meet again!" The blissfully confident voice could only belong to one person, and Kaeya dropped his sword gracefully and turned, smirking.

"I was wondering when you would join us. I didn't think you could resist a good battle for long."

Childe burst out laughing, holding a hand lightly across his stomach. "Ah, we only traveled together for a few days, and already you know me so well!" When he'd recovered from his mirth, he glanced curiously around the expansive arena. "I suppose that fiery brother of yours isn't a good fit for this domain. No one around to step in for you this time, you'll have to pull your own weight!" Despite the slightly combative gleam in his blue eyes, Childe didn't seem to mean anything malicious by his words.

Kaeya shrugged. "I've carried the team a few times in here already. And besides, our first meeting with you was a bit of a one-off. I have to admit, it was quite the shock when Diluc actually jumped in." His voice trailed off with a mildly dreamy quality as his mind tugged fruitlessly at the puzzle that was Diluc Ragnvinder.

His companion shot him a surprisingly keen look. "There's some bad blood between the two of you, isn't there?"

Feigning innocence, Kaeya laid a hand on his chest. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."

Childe smirked. "Sure you don't." He fell quiet for a moment, then asked slowly, "Were you close? Before your falling-out?"

For an instant, Kaeya felt a desire to wrap his arms defensively around his middle. As if that could fill the gaping loneliness in his soul that suffused his whole being the night of their ill-fated duel. Hah. Forcing himself to speak, he automatically gave a disarming smile along with his words. "Perhaps a little, but at this point, Diluc is far too grumpy to get along with, as I'm sure you know." That night I lost the only two people I really trusted in my entire life. I'm certainly not about to entrust my… varied background to a sketchy battle-junkie.

But Childe didn't take the bait. His eyes were uncomfortably knowing as he studied Kaeya, and his tone was softer than Kaeya had suspected the carelessly destructive young man was capable of when he quietly responded, "But he's still your brother." A tense silence hung in the air for a moment. Abruptly he released Kaeya from his keen scrutiny, stretching in preparation for the upcoming battle. "I've got a couple of siblings myself. I know what it's like." He grinned at some memory. "Sometimes they drive you mad and you wish you could go live at the top of a mountain to get away from them. But at the end of the day… they're still part of your family. And you'd do anything to protect them. I haven't the slightest idea what went down between the two of you, but I do know how a family works, and how it doesn't. At some point, you'll have to decide which is more important; your brother, or your guilt and pride? Someone has to take that first step, you know."

Kaeya was silent.

Shrugging, Childe added blithely, "But what do I know? I'm here for battle, not heart-to-hearts." He sauntered off to start shooting Hydro-infused arrows of annoyance at their host. The blue-haired archer (whom Kaeya strongly suspected was an Adeptus) still stood motionless at the base of the stairs. She was probably reviewing the loot from the last run.

Relationship advice from a bloodthirsty battle junkie? Now that's an experience I never thought I'd have. Kaeya chuckled slightly, but his heart wasn't in the sound. He kept turning Childe's words over in his head.

Someone has to take that first step, you know.

But what if I take that step, and he retaliates? We have a fragile peace right now… is it worth the risk?

And yet…. is this the way I want our relationship to be? We were brothers for so long… Why can't we go back to being siblings in perfect sync?

Someone has to take that first step, you know.

I guess… there's only one way to find out.

The blue-haired girl with the bell finally darted up the stairs and started the domain, and Kaeya absently engaged in the fight. He fought with only half his attention, but he still performed admirably enough to feel satisfied when the round ended and he collected his rewards. The tall Cryo user nodded a farewell to Childe as the ginger gave him a casual salute, then left the domain.

"There you are! It's been fooooreeeever! Paimon just wants to go eat already!" The high-pitched voice broke into his musings, and he looked up, smiling.

"Oh, come on. You saw me only four runs ago, when Lumine had to condense more resin for me."

Paimon snorted. "Yeah, but this time it took longer! What were you doing, testing Kokomi's jellyfish heals by charging off the edge as fast as you could?" Hastily she added, "Not that we've done that, of course!" The little pixie crossed her arms defiantly.

Kaeya chuckled. "Of course not, I would never accuse you of that, Paimon. Although I did see someone with a jellyfish in there. Is there a story behind that, or…?"

Lumine shrugged. "She just really likes fish. A lot."

"Maybe she'd get along with Klee, then."

Blanching, Lumine shook her head violently. "Not like that."

"Oh. Never mind, then. I'll let Albedo know to keep Klee away from pink-haired women with jellyfish."

Paimon held a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "That honestly seems like a good survival plan for any kid."

Kaeya nodded. "True. Oh, before I forget… here's the rewards I collected." He handed over the mess of artifacts and Mora.

Lumine eagerly dug through the pile, but her hopeful expression died by the time she reached the end. Sighing, she said softly, "Diluc will have to wait a bit longer to get his artifacts upgraded properly."

"What about this one? It's a Pyro Damage Bonus, woohoo!" Paimon yanked a mug out of the pile. "Oh wait… it's a Lavawalker. And it's double HP with a side of DEF. What a hunk of junk!" She turned to the domain and shrieked, "WHAT A RIPOFF!" Snorting in annoyance, she continued, "I say we recycle it immediately! TO THE MONDSTADT CRAFTING BENCH!" Waving the offending artifact vindictively over her head, the little pixie charged off down the path.

Kaeya watched her go. "Do you think she forgot how the waypoints work?"

Lumine shrugged. "She'll remember in a minute." She nodded to him, smiling slightly. "Thank you for helping."

"My pleasure." Kaeya performed an exaggerated bow. "Now then. I have a… difficult conversation ahead of me. Would you mind returning me to a certain windy hill in Sumeru?"

The light in the Traveler's eyes was speculative, but she didn't pry as she brought up her map. As she tapped the icon and Kaeya began to vanish, he thought he heard her say, "Good luck… I certainly hope it works out."

Me too, Lumine. Me too.