TW: Mention of blood and injuries.

People always think that the Kaeya we see today is because of Crepus' death and his fight with Diluc, but I think there's the possibility that he's always been a bit like that.

Not denying that particular piece of trauma or anything, but Khaenri'ah is the root of all Kaeya's troubles, not Diluc. So it makes more sense that his life there is what built the foundations of his many masks.

AKA: Kaeya gets injured. Jean is impressed by his reaction to severe pain.

If someone asked Jean what Calvary Captain Diluc was to her, contrary to popular speculation, Jean would most definitely not say he was her arch nemesis. Yes, he did reach the age of recruitment earlier because he's two years older. And yes, with the help of Diluc's vision he was able to progress within the Ordo quicker than everyone, but as one of his comrades, Jean had witnessed all his hard work first hand, so she knew that he deserved everything the Knights had given him.

He was one of her closest friends, and nothing could change that fact.

Indeed, she had a slight disadvantage due to lacking a vision, but that did not mean that Jean could not become successful on her own.

Even when Jean was on the verge of screaming in frustration under her mother's constant nagging for her to train more. Even when Jean lost sleep trying to think of ways to make herself strong, faster and smarter in battle. There was always one thought that prevented her from spiraling into an unhealthy void of endless, toxic competition.

For every one of Jean's successes, she gains a bit of recognition. And her failures are brushed away.

Every.

Single.

Time.

And Jean is fortunate because of that. .

Jean watched Diluc work day and night to transform himself from the mangly, cheerful, mischievous boy into the youngest Captain in Mondstadtian history with her own eyes. Jean also saw people in the Ordo who cannot hold their heads high no matter what they do. Who will never rise in the ranks as they are held up by single, tiny mistakes while masterful plans that they created and carried out are discredited or ignored.

All for the foreign blood that runs through their veins.

All for protecting the country from a mere child who arrived starved and battered and abandoned in the freezing rain of early April.

"You should've become an adventurer," Jean once told Kaeya, red faced in fury for the treatment he just received from one of the captains. "People all over the world are there, and you won't have to deal with all this political nonsense."

Kaeya himself didn't seem upset about the situation at all, emitting a sense of control over his own feelings that both Jean and Diluc severely lacked. "Their wariness makes sense and isn't wrong," He said. "Besides, I wouldn't get to hang around you and Diluc every day if I was an Adventurer."

Jean's cheeks flushed pink and she lowered her head. Not of shyness, but of embarrassment for losing her temper.

Before she could reply, Kaeya was hastily summoned away by Diluc. From what the messenger said, an emergency field mission involving Treasure Hoarders was involved near the border between Mondstadt and Liyue.

Nothing prepared Jean to run straight into an extremely distressed Diluc on her way into the Ordo the next morning.

She didn't have time to assess the situation. He gave her just enough time to glance over his dirt and blood matted hair before grabbing her by the wrist and sprinting to the cathedral.

All to say, other than being aware that things were bad from Diluc's panic stricken expression, she was frozen in shock once they entered a room in the cathedral's infirmary wing.

Kaeya was sitting on the edge of a bed, bloodied back facing the entrance to the room. The Head Healer Sister Hanna, was slowly but surely threading together the muscles of a wound so large and deep you could practically see bone. At the sound of the door, Kaeya turned his head, and grinned brilliantly upon his visitors.

"What happened to you?" Jean blurted out, wincing just looking at the almost grotesque wound on his back.

"A Ruin Hunter," Diluc croaked, moving to his brother's side.

"Nothing to worry about," Kaeya said. "It won't kill me."

Sister Hanna scoffed and rolled her eyes, "From the amount of blood you lost and the high possibility for an infection, it sure will kill if you don't stay on bed rest for at least a month!"

Kaeya simply chuckled in response. Diluc sniffed. Jean groaned.

Sister Hanna gently slapped the muscle around Kaeya's half-closed wound.

Kaeya hissed. "That hurts you know!"

"I didn't see you screaming when Captain Diluc brought you in here half delirious from blood loss!" Scolded the concerned healer. "And I am quite literally sewing your wounds closed with no painkillers because you insisted on letting us use our limited supply on the rest of the entourage when yours should be the one causing you to writhe with pain with tears streaming down your cheeks!"

Kaeya, ignoring the fact that his back was still open, laughed loudly in response.

Diluc let out a choked sob. "It's not funny Kae."

Jean spun towards him, and all of a sudden Diluc was no longer the esteemed Calvary Captain of the Ordo Favonius. He was just a concerned, worried older brother shaking with guilt.

It was easy to forget your own age and the age of your friends when the environment around you consists of nothing but dirty political battles and bloodshed.

13 year old Kaeya seemed to realize Diluc's discomfort the same time Jean did. "It wasn't your fault Diluc."

"I led you guys straight into that when you told me not to do it."

"Everyone else also thought my suggestion was insane. So if we go by your logic, the entire Calvary's at fault."

"You almost died."

"It was just a Ruin Hunter's blade. And I'm pretty sure I'm doing quite very well, thank you very much."

"What were you thinking, running towards it like that?!"

Kaeya fell silent, and his face darkened for the first time since Diluc and Jean entered the room.

The shadow was gone as quickly as it came. "I just thought it was the best way to approach the situation," he stated cheerfully. "We didn't have time to coordinate, so I went straight in."

Sister Hanna sighed, cut the thread on Kaeya's now closed wound and aggressively smeared healing salve over his entire back.

"Ow!" Kaeya proclaimed, having been taken by surprise.

"Next time I see you, whatever happens has to be out of your control or I lock you outside this Cathedral. This is the fifth time this year when you get injured by choice, and it's only September!"

Kaeya responded to that by sticking his tongue out at the older woman.

"I'm serious!" The healer said. "You keep on running headfirst into danger. And you never listen to resting instructions."

Diluc glared at Kaeya at that, the ends of his thick mane on the verge of catching fire. "You've received instructions after injuries before?!"

Kaeya laughed. "Sister Cynthia isn't here today, so there aren't any healing allogenes in the building?"

Jean decided right then and there that yes, despite everything, Kaeya deserved a little pain right now for his laughing eyes and idiot jokes. So she kicked him.

Hard.

On the knee.

With a back injury of that scale, there was no way the kick did not trigger great pain.

Kaeya simply laughed in response, not even flinching, mischief glimmering in his starry gaze. "Is today abuse Kaeya day or something? Remind me to mark that in my calendar when I get released from this place."

Diluc groaned, still wiping tears from his eyes. Sister Hanna huffed loudly and stormed out of the room in anger after screwing the cap onto the salve.

Jean's jaw dropped and stared at Kaeya as blatantly as a goldfish would.

If someone asked her what she felt at that moment, she would tell you a wave of unexpected admiration and respect. No normal human being, let alone a mere teenager, would be able to remain as calm as Kaeya after receiving a devastating and painful injury like that. She would not have been able to do what he did.

In her adolescent years, Jean greatly envied Kaeya.

She was a mature child, an old soul. A girl of many talents and abilities. A girl who has seen more bloodshed at the age of 13 than most people in their entire lives. Yet, she was still a child after all.

A child with burning blood and hope aflame in her chest. A child who has never seen the unfairness of the world, much less the wrath of fate itself.

Kaeya could understand both people and tactics in just a mere glance. Kaeya's effortless charisma that could charm his way into people's hearts with nothing but a mere smile. Kaeya's unnerving calmness when forced into any stressful situations.

How Kaeya had been like this from their very first meeting.

As a teen, Kaeya seemed so smart, so understanding, so much more grown up in every way that Jean was not.

Yet, when Jean herself personally experienced the horrors of the world, she discovered that the only difference between herself and Kaeya in their childhood was that Kaeya had lost childish innocence long before she met him.

She grew to despise her old sense of envy.

She was, however, so incredibly proud when he finally received a promotion to Lieutenant of the Calvary (albeit after a life-threatening injury caused by noble sacrifice).

This chapter turned out way more cheerful than my original intentions! However, I do hope you enjoyed!

A little clarification on how Kaeya not only survived the injury, but seemed so energetic after the initial "semi-loss of consciousness" when he got brought into the cathedral.

Abyssal powers unconsciously triggered.

Doesn't help with the pain though. Kaeya's just tough like that.

Either way, this is definitely the happiest chapter in this entire story. Next chapter's the aftermath of Diluc's 18th birthday…with a bit (just a bit) of Kaejean fluff before entering the angst.