Are you ready for some time travel shenanigans? I am! Just a reminder this is purely platonic so for any of you queasy of reading Kaeluc, other so and so ships, uh yeah platonic so yay? And if you do like Kaeluc, uh just deal with it? Or leave, that works not forcing anyone to read, just it wasn't what this was intended for.

It was supposed to be an ordinary day. Of course nothing could ever be that simple for Kaeya Alberich, it started off normal enough, a simple walk through town with his usual smirk plastered on his face.

He didn't remember the last time he took it off. Days? Weeks? Months? Years? It didn't matter. What mattered was the people liked this version of him, and ever the showman he was happy to oblige, it's not like anyone else Diluc wanted him to act any differently.

At around Noon was when the "fun" happened, Kaeya had been hiding out trying to avoid Jean, he may or may not have avoided doing his paperwork… once again...

It wasn't like it was anything urgent! Clearing out the Hilichlurian camps was much more important! The piles of paper just sat there and the prospect of doing said paperwork was getting more and more unappealing by the day…

His life was a joke, a cruel joke by the archons. He shouldn't even be alive right now, for numerous reasons, but the biggest insult plaguing his mind was he was a Cavalry Captain of… NOTHiNG! Glorious Nothing!

Unfortunately he was caught after the Traveler had tracked him down, right in the middle of an investigation, it wasn't a very urgent one that he could get out of whatever assignment Jean had called him back for so here he was strolling through the bustling streets of Monstadt… maybe he was being purposely slow, maybe he wasn't...

Still the day was quite beautiful, Kaeya would be a fool if he didn't stop and enjoy it before he was imprisoned in his office and forced to sign papers. The sun was shining just right making the dew that had fallen on the plants gleam. Nearby merchants shouted out deals or how their fruits were fresher than the competition.

Kaeya couldn't stay there forever though and eventually made it to the Grandmaster's Office, it didn't sound that urgent, but as well known as his reputation as a slacker was, he didn't like being late for things.

The last time he was late was well… Kaeya tried to never think of that...

Jean was waiting for him though, foot tapping away, not good news, but it wasn't like it was the first time this happened. Jean had always forgiven him before, their friendship had withstood allot more than him being late for picking up a mission.

Kaeya fixed a smile on his face as he approached, "Ah, to what do I owe the pleasure, Jean?"

A frown fixed upon her face, she entered her office, Kaeya trailing behind. "There's been a few… complications, Captain Kaeya, I need to meet with the team I sent out yesterday and since you are doing nothing that I know about currently…"

That was the difference between Kaeya and Jean, Jean was more often strictly professional while Kaeya preferred to be more familiar, it made him nostalgic, besides he knew Jean secretly liked it even when sometimes she would pretend to be exasperated by him.

Another thing that was different between the Cavalry Captain and the Acting Grandmaster was that unlike many of the fresh eager recruits, a little too wide eyed and innocent for their own good or as Master Diluc liked to call them "inefficient cowards." Conveniently forgetting that a mere 4 years earlier he was a shining example of said Knights.

4 years felt like forever though.

Wanting to distract his mind, Kaeya focused on the present.

Jean's office was the largest most spacious room in the Knights Headquarters as to be expected, unlike his office which had papers scattered around and billboards tracking crime around the city, complete with messy handwriting nearly ineligible to anyone other than Kaeya, Jean's office was neat and tidy.

Once when visiting Liyue, Kaeya had spent an afternoon with another bluentte with atrocious handwriting, they then proceeded to mock the sky high expectations of the upper class, and had a great time reading some books his newest friend had picked out. It was rare nowadays for Kaeya to genuinely like someone, generally he just pretended too.

Kaeya still felt the Grandmaster's office was turned into really just a second personal library where Jean stored dozens of her favorite books on the shelves, lined neatly in a row of course. The Traveler had taken the liberty of borrowing some last time they were here. That reminded him, he forgot to ask the Traveler about Hilichurl Cultural Customs Vol. III.

Varka was getting on in his years, and even though he tried to hide it, which he was quite good at, Kaeya was still better at reading the signals. Grandmaster Varka was afraid as most were, of dying without significance, meaning he wasn't coming back without glory in his hands and his name surely sung for ages.

So give or take a few more years, which basically means the office was hers to fill with books that Lisa had recommended.

Jean pulled out a particularly hefty stack of papers before responding to my original question, "Captain Kaeya, I assume you have read through the incident reports left on your desk?"

Oh crap.

Uhhh…

Jean was staring a hole through me.

Kaeya casually whistled, leaning forward, if there was one thing he was good at it was making people doubt themselves, "The ones about the treasure hoarders? Perhaps about the Fatui? Could you be a little more specific?"

Totally not because he had neglected his paperwork for too long.

Nope nope nope.

Everknowing Jean simply continued, "By Wolvedom. The ley lines have been sprouting up like crazy, and it's spreading across Monastadt, I fear Lupus Boreas might be acting up again… or maybe even Dvalin…" Jean trailed off and Kaeya grimaced, they did not need another Storm Terror issue, the town was still working on being put back to how it was bfeore, "I already sent a team to figure that out though, I just need you and your partner to hold off the leylines while I meet up with them."

Kaeya paused wondering if he heard her right. Did she say partner?

"Pardon me Jean, but did you say partner? You saw the catastrophe that was the last time I worked with someone. You know I prefer to work alone, is this… absolutely necessary?" hummed Kaeya thinking of Amber and the green haired companion that she had come across… yeah he could have definitely handled that…. Better.

Jean was in a no nonsense mood right now, "Absolutely, you can't clear them all out on your own, so I have kindly enlisted you some help."

Today was going to be a long day, he already knew it. Guess he'd just have to ditch them, or maybe he'd send them off on a smaller, much safer task. At least he could hopefully relax at Angel's Share afterwards, and Diluc wasn't going to be serving tonight so…

Jean, always so annoyingly intuitive, cut those thoughts off immediately, "Don't even think about ditching them."

Sighing, Kaeya got up and followed Jean back to his office. As long as he got the job done he doubted Jean would really mind if he-

The amazing, incredible, Dark Knight Hero, was sitting awkwardly in the chair facing the Cavalry Captains chair, and glaring hudgementally at them, red hair splayed out, Diluc never did learn how to comb his hair properly.

Kaeya decided to withdraw his initial, incorrect, oblivious, overly optimistic assessment of how this day was going to go.

Today wasn't just going to be a long day.

He was absolutely screwed.