Whether or not they are directly linked, or the characters know each other, I think of my stories as all having happened within the same little world! In my stories. I frequently mention things that have happened in others I have written, but most of them should be able to be read stand alone without issues.

Also, while I try to keep it very close with Genshin lore, I don't know every single bit of lore, and can't remember it all. So, some things are slightly different, there are also some things that are only guessed. I'm just here to write stories for people to read, should they choose!

As always, thank you for reading, I hope everyone enjoys it!

Feel free to leave a comment :)

Piano Keys andVases

It was Kaeya's birthday, and by noon, it had already been a very long day. He wasn't on duty, but had somehow been roped into helping various people throughout the day.

First, there was a little girl in urgent need of help finding her cat. Kaeya had a soft-spot for children, and so asked her to describe the cat. He had never realized how many different black and white cats there were in Mondstadt. Black cats with white paws, white cats with black paws, ones with white on their faces and chests, some with stripes, or just a white tip on the end of their tail.

Kaeya lost count of how many cats he caught just to have her say it was the wrong one. After what must have been nearly two hours, the cat marched up behind them. Kaeya was just happy that she found her cat.

Not long after, he was stopped again. An elderly woman had lost her coin purse. She assumed she had set it down at one of the many shops she had been at, but her feet were tired from being on them all day. So, she told Kaeya every store she had been to, and what the purse looked like.

He asked each shop owner if anyone had turned in the lost bag, only to find it on the next to last shop. After Kaeya had returned it to her, he helped her walk home, letting her lean on one arm, and carrying her goods in the other. She was a kind lady, and made a cup of tea for him.

From there, Kaeya had to rush to Good Hunter. He'd promised to meet Klee there for lunch. The tiny pyromaniac was waiting with Lisa, who didn't stay, but he was more than happy to just have the Klee's company, and she talked enough for several people anyway. No one would have gotten a word in edgewise.

As he left Headquarters, he was spotted by Lumine and Paimon, who invited him to do a "birthday commission" with them. They really had an odd sense of fun. Hunting down Miss Megistus for a rent payment, and walking all the way out to the winery, just to deliver a letter, then returning to Mondstadt without a drop of wine, weren't quite his idea of fun. Fortunately, the traveler, in all her kindness, offered to buy Kaeya a drink. Now that was much closer to what he felt was having a good time.

Kaeya was surprised by how quiet the tavern was from the outside. On a normal day you could easily hear people talking loudly, laughing, and singing. He didn't even hear a glass clank. Paimon insisted that Lumine open the door for the birthday boy, and she obliged. The moment he stepped in the door, an entire crowd of people, friends, yelled "SURPRISE!" at him.

Well, surprised he was, indeed. He really hadn't seen this coming. He didn't even tell most people about his birthday. Lumine only knew because she had pried it out of Diluc the year before. He supposed the shock must have been clear on his face, because at his silence his brother was next to him in a heartbeat, looking worried.

"I'm sorry, Kaeya. I… I thought you might like it…" the redhead said quietly.

Kaeya looked at Diluc's worried face, so unlike him in public, "You did this?"

"I—uh. Yeah?"

Really, it was kind of fun to watch his brother stutter, but Kaeya wasn't going to torture him for long. He lunged at Diluc and wrapped his arms around him, catching the redhead, and everyone else in the tavern, off guard. After a moment, Diluc patted his back and muttered a happy birthday to him. Everyone cheered, and the party started, carrying on into the evening.

Kaeya hadn't drunk much, but his brother walked him home anyway, making sure he got in safe.

"Happy birthday Kaeya. I hope it was a good day for you."

Kaeya smiled genuinely, "It really was, thank you Diluc."

The redhead gave a small smile, and headed off into the night, Kaeya went inside with a tired sigh. He dropped the keys on the table next to the door, turned the lights on, and froze.

Somebody had been in his home.

On the opposite wall from the couch, between the two windows, sat an upright piano, and on top of it a vase nearly ugly enough to rival the one he gave Diluc.

Kaeya approached it slowly, then ran a finger along the smooth surface of the fallboard. The piano was a beautiful deep brown, and the entire surface was glossy. It was love at first sight. Laying by the vase, there was a small card. He knew the handwriting straight away. It made sense, Diluc was one of the few people who knew he played, and just how much he loved it. Plus that ugly vase.

Kaeya opened the card;

Kaeya,

I hope you haven't forgotten,

but if you have, perhaps you

Could use the vase as inspiration.

Happy Birthday.

— Luc

Kaeya chuckled. He supposed he had that coming. The vase he'd given his brother was really quite ugly, but it was the only one he could find at the time. He cringed every time he walked into the winery, and it was set to where it was practically the first thing anyone would see when they entered, but he was honored that Diluc valued it.

Kaeya pulled off his eye patch, sat on the bench, opened the cover, and tested the keys. It was in perfect tune. He positioned his hands, and began to play their father's favorite piece. It had been years since he'd played, but it all worked out on reflex, having played this melody so many times that he knew every stroke of the keys by heart.

He could picture Crepus, sitting on the couch behind him, eyes closed, lost in the music as Kaeya played the piano, and Diluc played along with his violin.

~xxx~

Diluc leaned against the outside wall of Kaeya's small home, right next to the living room windows, so he could hear the music. It was as beautiful as it always had been. Peaceful. Kaeya had a natural gift for playing the piano. Diluc could picture their father simply enjoying the sound of his sons playing his favorite music.

He hoped he was listening from wherever he was now.

Happy Birthday Kaeya.