When He Calls My Name

13

I wake up in the middle of the afternoon to a headache and the smell of syrup. My eyes squint at the light pouring in from behind the curtains, and I turn to find a red-haired man holding a tray of pancakes with a side of tea.

"Good morning, Traveler," Diluc says. "Or should I say, good afternoon. How is your head?"

That's right—I slept here last night. I rub my eyes and sit up with a small groan, blinking the fog away.

"It's...not the greatest," I say. "I'm sorry you had to deal with me last night."

He shakes his head. "No, no need to apologize. I'm far beyond used to it with that one as my brother." He thumbs in the direction of another couch, where I see a shirtless Kaeya sprawled out in a funky position across it, clearly gone to the world.

I slowly turn back to Diluc with a frown. "...That only makes me feel worse."

He actually laughs at that, handing me the tray which I gladly take. "Don't worry about it. Here—I know it's noon but I figured you'd want some breakfast. You're of course welcome to leave whenever you're ready. I'll be taking care of some paperwork over in my office if you need me."

"Thanks Diluc," I give a sorry smile. He waves a hand and is off.

I basically inhale the pancakes, the food and drink in my system sorting the headache a bit, when I hear a rumbling from the corner of the room.

"Mmph...fuck."

I turn to find Kaeya detangling his body and fixing himself up on the couch. He too holds his head, blinking away the sleep until finally locking eyes with me.

"Traveler?" Kaeya says, then winces in pain. "Ugh, where the hell am I?" He whines, still with that sultry voice, as his eyes travel to my tray of food. "Diluc made those, didn't he? Where is that stick-in-the-mud of a man? And why didn't he make me any?"

"Kaeya," I say. "You were supposed to make sure I didn't drink too much."

He smirks. "Uh uh, you specifically told me to make sure you had a good time."

"To have a good time, AND, not drink too much."

He chuckles, but winces in pain again, clutching his head. "Oh Traveler, having a good time and not drinking too much is quite the oxymoron."

"I might kill you one day, Kaeya."

He laughs. "Oh come on, looked to me like you had a great time... You sure gave that bard a good time. That's for sure." He smirks again.

I nearly choke on my pancake. "Wait, WHAT!? What bard? What do you mean by that?" My eyes frantically search those devious blues as Kaeya leans back on the couch, legs crossing.

"That's right," he teases. "You made out with Venti last night. Not only that, but you kept calling him whatever your little green-haired adeptus boyfriend's name is."

My eyes widen, lips parted in pure horror. "N-no...no way..."

He chuckles. "It's okay, Traveler. It happens. I won't tell, you have my word."

"It's not that!" I panic. "Shit... I just feel awful about it... You're not messing with me, right?"

"Now, would I ever mess with you?" I glare hard at him, and he winks, holding back his smile. "Fine, but no. You did make out with that bard last night. But like I said, it's fine. You were drunk. I'm sure he'll understand. Or, he doesn't need to. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?"

"It doesn't work like that," I say, feeling the panic rising again. "I...just feel so guilty. I don't know how to bring this up to Xiao... He's super protective of me. I just got him to finally open up a little too... He's going to be pissed. I just ruined everything didn't I..."

"Why do you need to tell him?" Kaeya says.

"Because the guilt will eat me alive if I don't. I just can't do that to someone I love."

"I don't know," he says. "I've heard he's got quite the temper. But, if you feel you must let him know, then do whatever makes you most comfortable. I'm sure you're just overthinking things. He should understand, right? I'm sorry I wasn't in the right mind to stop you. I also didn't feel it was my place to tell you not to make out with whoever."

I sigh, staring down at the last bit of pancakes but no longer interested in eating, as my stomach is now in knots. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have let myself get carried away in drinking. Thanks for inviting me though, Kaeya. I did have a good time... I should be heading back to Liyue soon though."

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TO BE CONTINUED