paradoxical | genshin impact

17 : truth.

This chapter contains slightly NSFW content at the beginning bc it's just Kaeya being Kaeya. No smut though, go home folks.

...

You didn't expect him to be there the morning after.

If Kaeya's habit of letting people close yet still keeping them at an arm's length was anything to go by, he would have made his leave the moment you'd dozed off. Someone as elusive as he was had no reason to stay any longer. That was the very thought that lingered on your mind as your eyelids started to droop—lulled by the rise and fall of Kaeya's chest against your back. But even so, who knew laying with someone like this could be so...calming? The warmth of another person laying by your side was a comfort you didn't know you'd ever indulge in so soon. With each moment you spent with your bodies pressed so close, the more you fooled yourself into thinking that maybe you could have this again. That maybe you weren't just some one-time thing to him. But you knew better.

...or at least, you thought you did.

The birdsong flitting through the cracks in your windowsill told you of the dawn that's just breaking. Your eyes fluttered open—still heavy with sleep as you tried to blink yourself into full consciousness. The soft sheets rustled when you stretched out your legs underneath; a soft yawn stifled by your hand. Admittedly, you haven't slept that good in a while, and it was a bit sad that it was because of Kaeya's presence.

You blinked. Turning your head ever-so slowly, your heart nearly shot up to the roof of your mouth when you saw a very asleep and very naked Captain of the Cavalry lying right next to you—head pressed against the pillows with the occasional snore slipping from his slightly ajar mouth.

Having resigned yourself to the fact that you were going to wake up alone today, you seized into an internal panic. What in the seven nations was he still doing here?! During the time you spent with him, you figured that the Knights had regular morning assemblies back in the Ordo Headquarters everyday. Yet Kaeya was here. In your bed. With seemingly no plans on getting up anytime soon. You scooted away soundlessly, careful not to accidentally rouse him, as you observed the Captain from a set distance. Should you wake him? But...he looks so peaceful like this. Navy hair pooling across the pillows in silken cascades. His normally scheming face relaxed into the dormancy of slumber, and—oh.

He took off his eyepatch.

Your throat bobbed as you eyed the accessory sitting on top of your nightstand, just beside your old collection of shrivelled up crystal cores. You've never seen him without it. Not even the nosiest of maids at the Winery could catch Kaeya without the eyepatch he's worn since Master Crepus had taken him in. And though you've come to respect that he didn't want anyone seeing what he hid underneath, it didn't mean the curiosity had gone.

Kaeya was outstanding in several aspects. Someone that you could barely believe was a human being like yourself. But witnessing him like this—bare and vulnerable, only for you to see...

You drew closer, propping one palm flat against the mattress as you reached out to him with the other. Only the fringe of his bangs concealed the truth you've been itching to uncover for years. In the back of your mind, a voice that sounded strangely like maman's reminded you that it was rude to snoop around another's secrets without their permission. But...what Kaeya doesn't know won't kill him, right?  What could he possibly be hiding anyway? A scar that won't heal? He has lots of those littering his body already, and he didn't seem ashamed of the wounds he'd accumulated over the years. Maybe it was just a prop. Perhaps he's been wearing it for so long that he had no choice but to keep up the act? Hmm, that did sound like a very Kaeya thing to do. Shaking your head, you reminded yourself of the task at hand.