VII

Your limbs were sore but you couldn't help the grin that lit up your face or the energy that still buzzes through you. You were excited in a way, proud and excited.

Despite the longing in your limbs for the bed, and Ariel stretching put across his love seat, you didn't even bother collapsing. You dressed in your fitted black pants, a clean white button down that you tucked in, and your boots that shinned even though you waded them through the dirt today.

Buttoning up the last button, you grabbed your mora pouch, walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" You turned and saw Ariel, who instead of sleeping had stood up and gave his best dad pose. His arms were crossed, his head tilted, and his eyes were narrowed in a way you thought was meant to be intimidating but only came off as endearing.

However you, as a grown adult, had nothing to hide. "I'm going out to a tavern tonight to celebrate my accomplishments!"

"You're going to get drunk?"

You shook your head in a so-so manner. "Maybe not drunk but I do feel the longing for alcohol, yes."

He sighed but dropped his arms. "Why do you need to celebrate anyway? All you did was some tasks."

You gasped in outrage, dramatically holding your heart as if you had been shot. "Ariel! No! I did not do 'just some tasks'! I finally integrated myself in this world. I got a job that will help us travel and now I have a steady income so we can move out of the inn and pay back Ms. Blanchard when we can! This is great! Besides, what's one night of fun going to do before I really crack down on my training and work?"

Ariel rubbed the bridge of his nose but he didn't look angry or terribly resistant.

"Alsoooo," you drawled. "Positive reinforcement makes people want to keep doing stuff. If I do this, I might do better tomorrow for training and commissions."

Ariel just looked at you as if you had spouted the biggest amount of bullshit. "I fail to see how a hangover will help you but, be my guest."

You smiled. "I wasn't asking for your permission!"

He smiled back, almost mocking. "But I gave it anyway."

You sprinted out the door, your last view of the room being Ariel grumbling and situating himself back on the loveseat.

You skipped through the now dusky streets. You took way too long in that shower and arguing with Ariel. The setting sun glittered off the dull rooftops of Mondstadt, coloring the city in a way you would never see any other time.

You made your way to the Angel's Share, fingers tingling with not only the anticipation of finally drinking some of the ever famous dandelion wine, but also potentially being able to meet Diluc, Venti, or even see Kaeya again, since you hadn't seen him all day.

The lanterns across the street lit up and caught the people still wandering in its soft glow.The door to the Angel's Share was wooden yet well cared for, laughter booming from the other side.

The door creaked as you opened it but it went entirely unnoticed by the drunken fellows slapping each other's shoulders and guffawing at a joke they probably would've never found funny sober. It was a warm and inviting atmosphere, one you were glad you got to experience.

The excitement bubbling in your chest only grew tenfold when you witnessed a flash of red behind the counter of the bar. You skipped up to the bar, gazing at the menu but already knowing what you were going to order.

You slid into the barstool, kicking your legs and drumming your fingers on the table.

The red hair you saw earlier, pulled into a messy ponytail bobbed its way until it stopped in front of you. Diluc stood there entirely too tired to be there but still held a professional indifference, if not a somewhat grouchy frown that couldn’t help but make you want to laugh.

He seemed to sense that and merely sighed. “What would you like to order?”

“Just a glass of dandelion wine.”

He easily got the glass and the drink in one swift motion, the routine seeming effortless. He slid it over the counter and paused. “I haven’t seen you around before.”

You smirked. “Yeah, I only came to Mondstadt a few months ago, haven’t done much meeting of the locals. I’ve been a little busy.”

“Where are you from?” He busied himself with making a simple drink to the gentlemen on the left of you who had asked for a refill.

You took a sip of the wine. The taste was sweet and airy, exactly what you expected. It slid down the back of your throat easily. “Just a wanderer.” You tired vaguely, but you saw Diluc’s eyebrows furrow.

Honestly you had never thought of how to describe where you came from. Everyone in Mondstadt was just so welcoming that you forgot some people were actually suspicious of anyone who walked through the city walls. Now that you think about it, Kaeya’s lack of questioning throughout the days you’ve known each other could just be to get close to you and determine whether you were a danger at all. That would be a saddening thought, but Kaeya always had struck you as that long term kinda guy.

“I’ve been traveling around since I was young. My late parents never settled so I never considered myself a part of any one nation.” you elaborated. It was vague enough to work and obviously no one could dispute it.

Diluc seemed to accept it, but you assumed that there was something there that still had something against you. The Dark Knight Hero never slept after all, literally. “So how have you been liking Mondstadt?”

“It’s been good, met a few interesting people.”

It looked like Diluc was going to open his mouth but the slam of the bar door grabbed his attention. Both of your eyes snapped to a familiar figure.

Standing with a heavy smirk in the threshold was the elusive Kaeya still in his usual uniform (it had been quite a shock when one day he had the day off and decided to train alongside you and he showed up in something different). Out of the corner of your eye you saw Diluc's jaw tense as he didn't even try to put on some kind of professional smile.

"Master Diluc!" Kaeya sauntered over, his grin becoming slightly more genuine when he saw you. "I didn't know you knew my dearest [y/n]."

He swung an arm over your shoulder and you laughed, leaning into him.

"You know him?" Diluc's jaw was intended now, a look of indifference taking over.

"Yeah." You answered easily, matching Kaeya's grin with a small smile of your own. "I met him while practicing with my bow, he was stalking me." You widen your eyes with faux fear and cover up a laugh at Kaeya's gasp of outrage with a shallow cough.

"I was not stalking you!"

You hummed. "I think watching someone so closely throughout the day is enough."

"And if I was simply admiring you?" He leaned in with his eyes half lidded.

You scoffed and pushed his face away. "Then it'd still be creepy."

Kaeya leaned back with a chuckle, gently taking your wrist and removing it from where it was pressed against his cheek.

Turning back towards your nearly empty glass you noticed a strange combination; Diluc's eye had been twitching but they shimmered with curiosity. You couldn't tell if he was irritated or intrigued about how you two knew each other.

Irritation quickly took over when Kaeya's voice called for a Death After Noon and Diluc left to go make the drink in intense sibling annoyance.

"How did everything go today? You took your first commissions right?"

You grinned. “They went well. I’m going to be doing more tomorrow and hopefully I’ll be taking more dangerous missions soon. I need to start making some money quickly.”

“You should branch out to other weapons.” Kaeya mused, taking a sip of his Death After Noon that Diluc had slid him.

You nodded, stretching your achy legs littered with bruises. “I was thinking the same thing, but I didn’t know where to start.”

He hummed and tapped his long, tan fingers on his glass. “I could always help you learn the sword when I have time.”

Your eyes brightened, not only at getting the opportunity to learn from an amazing sword user, but to also have an excuse to hang out with someone who was quickly becoming a good friend in this world.

Kaeya seemed to notice your smile and chuckled, turning to Diluc who had busied himself with cleaning glasses behind the counter while Charles mixed some drinks for other drunkards. “And I’m sure Master Diluc would be happy to teach you the art of the claymore, isn’t that right?”

You waved your hands. “That’s alright!” You said frantically when Diluc looked up. “I don’t need to learn the claymore just yet and I’m sure Master Diluc is busy with his own work.”

“It should be of no consequence to him.” Kaeya shrugged, a smirk dancing on his lips as he leaned his head on his shoulder. “After all, all he does is paperwork and bartending, he needs to get out once and a while.”

“I’ll have you know, running a business is more work than any of the Knights of Favonious could even comprehend.” Diluc grumbled. He looked over at your dejected look, which you tried hard to keep off your face but couldn’t help it leaking through a little. You didn’t have the best poker face. He sighed. “But I suppose I’ll occasionally be able to aid you in your practice, I certainly wouldn’t want you to injure yourself simply because you had no competent teacher.”

“Aren’t you confident in your abilities Master Diluc?” Kaeya teased.

“Well I wouldn’t be here today if I wasn’t.”

“No you wouldn’t.” Kaeya’s smile seemed to waver at the thought and you noticed the atmosphere tensing faster than you could think.

Forcing a beaming smile on your face, your heart aching for Kaeya, you turned to Diluc. “Thank you Master Diluc. I appreciate your help.”

He huffed and nodded but you thought you spotted a small smile on his face. He slid you a second glass of dandelion wine and you took it gratefully.

Life was going really good, you realized, through the rest of the night. You had a life you never even dreamed of simply because of how impossible it was and you could never be more grateful.

As much as you could say you missed your old life, that homesickness overtook you, it didn't. The monotonous work weeks, the stressful assignments that turned your brain to mush, and the friends you could never quite get close enough to to call them real, it was a whole quickly filled by Ariel, by Kaeya, by Mrs. Blanchard, by learning archery, by the beauty of this world, by the potential.

It was so freeing to be in this land, so different from the restrictions of your old home. Unlike from your parents, the pressure to do something great, be something great, wasn't there.

It wasn't the easiness that caused you to be so apathetic, nothing was ever easy you knew that, it was the possibility. All the options of what you could be were open to you. From being an adventurer like you were now, to being a knight, to being a chef, to whatever the hell else you could be!

You could learn about anything, you could be anything and that euphoria stayed with you always.

It just got a little fucked up when the dragon came a year later.