「ｏｆ ｗｉｎｅ ａｎｄ ｐｏｅｍｓ 」; genshin oneshots (?)

moments worth cherishing | kaeya

"Happy birthday Kaeya!"

Diluc's cheery voice filled the room as Master Crepus held out a big cake, candle already lit, waiting for a certain bluenette to make his wishes. Adelinde and Elzer sat in the corner of the table, holding balloons as Elzer clapped (Adelinde looked like she was about to burst into tears). Jean, Lisa and Eula were there too, holding what seemed to be presents. The inside of the winery was decorated in themes of blue and silver, the boy's favorite colors along with a sign that says "HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAEYA!!"

On the dining table were all his favorites-- sweet madame, pile 'em up, and of course-- chicken mushroom skewers, as well as some others, an array of sweets ranging from moon pies, mondstadt hashbrowns and-- some others he can't name for sure... There's also some Liyuean cuisine mixed in. He remembered the time he and Diluc first tried the cuisine and couldn't get enough of it, which of course, led to Diluc throwing up for 5 whole minutes upon having eaten too many. Ever since that, Diluc had always tried to manage the food on his plate... minus the time Kaeya caught him stealing cookies and sweets Adelinde would bake for them (which were meant for snack time), Kaeya however did not have it in him to tell Adelinde. Besides, the maid was most likely well aware of Diluc's antics, if the small smile that would break from the brunette's lips were to say anything.

Moments like those were something worth cherishing to him, even though he learned to never cherish anything because-- Ehem. Life had never been that easy to the small boy, even though as he was basked in warmth and comfort of his new-found family-- the heavy guilt in his chest ate him from the inside, every smile Diluc flashed at him, he felt both happiness and sadness. And on that one night... relief, pain, sadness, everything washed all over him at once. He'd finally confessed it all, the dark and ugly truth behind his innocent and sweet facade, finally, he'd come to terms with it... or so he'd thought. He had finally let it all out so why? Why? What was the feeling of painful stabbing in his chest? The guilt? The anger? The indescribable feeling of seeing Diluc's angry and disgusted face directed at... him.

He remembers every single moment of that night, a constant reminder of what he was, of how different he was, how he didn't belong...

"Kaeya, come blow your candle!! The wax is going to get on the cake if you don't-- hey... are you crying?!" The small redhead panicked as tears trickled down Kaeya's face, he felt... happy? Sad? Relieved? Guilt? He couldn't explain. But feeling those warm arms embrace him in a tight yet gentle hug... he knew... that everything was alright, everything was okay, even just for a fleeting moment in time, even if it was a moment of warmth of the firewood in azure frost... even if his very own cold will extinguish those very flames he swore to protect. "Kae, it- it's okay... I'm here now, so don't... don't cry..." Sniffles, he could feel his shirt getting wet, wait was Diluc crying too?"

"Pfft-- but you're crying yourself." Kaeya softly chuckled in between sniffs as Diluc only hid his face further in Kaeya's shirt, soaking it further, "N-no I'm not!" This caused another chuckle to erupt from Kaeya, squeezing the other into the embrace and patting his back instead.

The weather was great that day, even Eula had surprisingly been allowed to hang out with them, with the previous ones with her sneaking off with the help of the other four-- And, a letter was addressed to Kaeya from Inazuma, and who was it aside from none other than Thoma himself! It had been a while since they heard from him after he sailed to Inazuma with his family. The rest of the day they had spent playing and catching crystalflies in the vineyard, having an eating contest (to which Diluc had been left out of course) and overall just, having a good time.

Once, they had been kids, free from the worries of the world, nothing weighing them down, full of hopes and dreams... how they wished they could go back to that...

Kaeya's first birthday party.

Moments worth cherishing indeed.

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