Chapter Text
There was nothing remotely terrifying about the dreamscape Kaeya found himself in. In fact, Kaeya should have been fascinated that he was dreaming at all. It had been so long since his restless sleep had allowed anything more than brief flashbacks of a rainy day, of blazing eyes, of cold betrayal.
If anything, Kaeya should have welcomed the change, accepted the dream for what it was, but something about it shook his heart with fear. If he could place the reason, he would.
As it was, the dream was barely coherent.
Flickering lights… Gentle ripples… Blue and gold…
A mother’s gentle smile, her loving embrace…
Calm silence… Comforting presence…
And a place that felt like home.
There wasn’t much to go on, and perhaps it would have made anyone else relax and fall deeper into sleep.
But it scared Kaeya. And before the figure beside him could come into focus, before his mother could smile at him once more, Kaeya closed his eyes and turned away from the lie in front of him.
And then…
The dream changed.
There was nothing remotely calm about this new dreamscape, yet Kaeya found himself breathing a sigh of relief.
As he watched, the world fell around him, a destruction he had never seen with his own eyes but had heard many tales about.
His people, plagued with the curse, all gathering and moving as one, deep below the ground to their final resting place.
Piercing blue eyes, a grim stare through which Kaeya could clearly see the sorrow that had multiplied over the years.
Kaeya turned away once more, despite not being afraid. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the woman near him, crumpled by the edge of a worn fountain, the waves still glinting sapphire in a world without light.
She stared blankly into its depths, silent tears rolling down her face and disappearing into the pool of water. Slowly, she lifted her gaze, her eyes still blank, but her smile wide and bright as she looked at her-
The smile terrified him, and Kaeya closed his eyes.
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Kaeya supposed he really should have seen this coming. After all, he’d been on edge ever since the Qixing representatives from Liyue came to discuss the Chasm with the Acting Grandmaster.
It was quite hilarious really, now that he thought about it. Jean hadn’t even thought of Klee when they said they needed a demolition expert to explore the old abandoned mines. Perhaps she would have sent Amber, along with Eula, but Klee had come bursting into her office right at that second, an explosion sounding from behind her as she did so.
Klee, apologetic and clearly expecting to be reprimanded for once again destroying part of Favonius HQ, had practically lit up with joy when the Qixing took one look at her and said they wanted her help.
The expression on Jean’s face was priceless but in the end, she gave her permission on the condition that Kaeya accompany her there.
Kaeya didn’t mind of course. He had no idea what the Chasm was to be honest. But when he heard the details of what was happening… About how Hilichurls were seen going in and never coming back…
It had been a few days since he heard of the news and the thought still sent chills down his spine. Now that name… The Chasm … it always tickled some memory in the back of his mind. A terrifying memory that he would rather not remember.
But again, he should have expected the fragmented past to show itself in a dream the very night before he and Klee had to leave for Liyue. He’d been putting on a brave front for days, despite not wanting to go near anything that might have to do with-
And now, he was scared , uncertain , as he lay awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Any minute now, Klee would be here, raring to go, and here he was, too scared to move, to think about what he saw in that dream.
A sound at the front door shook him from his reverie and Kaeya sighed heavily, letting his eye slide shut. He allowed himself only a moment more to gather his bearings, listening for Klee’s excited footsteps as she bounded into his house.
Normally, he’d already be awake, ready to greet her at the front door with a bright grin. But for today, he settled on simply sitting up, smiling tiredly when she threw open his bedroom door.
“Big Bro Kaeya!” She laughed, launching herself into his arms.
Kaeya’s smile faltered as he returned her hug, but he brought it back just as she glanced up at him once more.
“Morning, Klee.” He greeted. “Ready to go?”
“Yes!” She chirped. “But it looks like you’re not! You’re so silly, Big Bro Kaeya! Did you forget about today?”
He hadn’t. Obviously, he hadn’t. It was all he could do not to let the idea of today consume his thoughts.
But he chuckled sheepishly for her sake, closing his eye as if to hide his true feelings from her.
“Seems I did.” He lied. “But I’m awake now! Just give me a few minutes and then we can head out.”
Klee slid off his lap, but the smile was gone as she stared up at him. Kaeya froze, the smile still on his face, even as panic gripped his heart. He knew that look. Klee had seen right through him, in a way only children could.
“Big Bro Kaeya…” She began. “Did you really forget? You never forget things though…”
“Ah, well…” Kaeya grinned, trying to play it off. “Looks like even the great Cavalry Captain makes mistakes.”
There was an edge to his words that he didn’t mean. Was he really so unsettled by everything that he couldn’t even keep his tone steady? He glanced worriedly at Klee, waiting for her to react. But in the end, she simply held his gaze for a while longer and then sighed.
“You don’t have to lie to Klee.” She said finally, smiling gently in a way that made Kaeya’s heart twinge. “Klee knows you don’t really wanna go to the… the…”
She frowned, unable to remember the name of that damned place and Kaeya didn’t have the heart to remind her.
“Anyways, Klee knows you don’t wanna go to Liyue.” She finished, smile widening. “You’re really bad at lying, you know that?”
Kaeya didn’t know what to say to that, his mind blanking at her words. Bad at lying? Wasn’t his entire life centered around a lie though? They were useless thoughts, he knew. So he simply sighed and lowered his gaze, frantically searching for what to say.
Eventually, he settled on, “I’m sorry… I know you were excited, Klee.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Klee chirped, tilting her head so she could catch his eye. “You’re lucky Klee likes you better than she likes her bombs!”
That forced a chuckle out of Kaeya and he finally lifted his head, watching as Klee stepped back, eyes bright as she continued to smile.
“Is that so?” Kaeya said, the words tired but amused. “Well… I’m glad, then.”
He almost apologized again but knew she wouldn’t hear of it. Besides, it seemed like she had moved on to her next plan of action. The smile faded, replaced by an adorable frown as she began to pace his room.
“We still have to deal with Master Jean.” Klee proclaimed. “She’ll be mad for sure if we try to chicken out now.”
Kaeya grinned at her wording and nodded, pushing his thoughts to the background and matching her thoughtful frown.
“So…” He said. “What can we do to convince her to let us stay back? Any ideas, Klee?”
Klee paused in her pacing, a determined glint in her eyes.
“The only way to do this is if Klee can’t leave Mondstadt in the first place! Klee doesn’t like solitary confinement, but for you, Klee will destroy something so Jean will be forced to… to…”
“Discipline?” Kaeya asked with a grin.
“Right!” She said, nodding. “Jean will be forced to discipline Klee!”
And then Klee sighed heavily, shaking her head as she gestured for him to follow.
“Oh, the things Klee does for her Big Bros.” She muttered.
At those words, Kaeya smiled genuinely for the first time that day.
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In the end, though he did feel terrible for Sara at the Good Hunter, he couldn’t deny that maybe Klee was just as much of a genius as her big brother. She made sure to make it look like an accident and somehow knew that Jean would be nearby, taking a mandatory break on Lisa’s command.
Maybe the walls were thinner in her room than they’d realized.
It ended just as they’d expected it to. With Klee once again behind bars and Jean cradling her head in her hands.
Kaeya almost felt bad for her.
Almost.
He was too busy marveling at the fact that Klee’s hilarious plan had worked out. Even if he ended up having to serve some time with the little menace, he wouldn’t have minded. It was worth it.
But as it turned out, Jean had called him to her office almost right away, and Kaeya followed readily. Now he was standing in the doorway, waiting for her to speak. When it was obvious she was waiting for him to make the first move, he grinned, easily falling back into his usual facade.
“No jail time for me, Grandmaster?” He teased.
Jean huffed out a laugh, putting Kaeya’s heart at ease as she finally lifted her gaze to his. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped short, frowning instead. Then she stood from her desk and took a step forward as though she wanted to come closer but ultimately stayed put, her hand idly tracing the edge of her desk.
“Is that what you want?” She asked finally, perhaps a joke, or maybe a question with a deeper meaning.
“Well, it’s only fair.” Kaeya smirked. “I had a hand in Klee’s destruction of course.”
“So you admit to being her biggest enabler.” Jean sighed, clearly having given up.
Kaeya simply chuckled at her words, watching as she shook her head in resignation. “I did no such thing.”
“Kaeya…” She said suddenly, her tone serious.
Kaeya smiled, keeping his gaze level with hers. Nothing could dampen his mood now that he could stay safely within Mond’s walls. Whatever it was she had to say, he could take it.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a bad liar?”
Kaeya blinked, the smile melting off his face, his heart stuttering at the words. Why did everyone keep saying that to him? Lying was the only thing he was good at-
“Mother, why won’t you tell me the truth?”
Kaeya winced, a phantom voice in his head clouding all other sound, demanding to be heard. A spark of pain shot through his temple, and he shook his head harshly against it.
“Kaeya…?”
Jean’s voice was overtaken by another, a voice that he shouldn’t recognize but somehow did.
“I don’t want you to become a liar, Kaeya. And you can’t lie if you don’t know the truth.”
“Kaeya!”
“Kaeya!”
And then the roaring in his ears vanished, the strange voices receded, and he was back in Jean’s office. She was staring at him worriedly, hands on his shoulders, steadying him.
He stared back at her blankly, his thoughts running a mile a minute, trying to make sense of what he could only describe as a flashback. That wasn’t normal , he barely remembered anything from his past, what-
That was right, he couldn’t dwell on this right now, not when Jean was right in front of him, looking as though she’d seen a ghost.
“Kaeya, are you alright?”
And so he pushed his thoughts to the side, smiling albeit shakily and nodding, moving away from her grip. Her hands hovered uncertainly, eyes watching him intently. She stepped back, concern giving way to irritation.
“Lying again…” She sighed softly, as though speaking to herself.
But Kaeya heard her clearly, his smile faltering at the words.
“Anyway, as I was saying…” She continued. “You don’t have to lie to me, Kaeya. I noticed you seemed hesitant after hearing about what was going on in the Chasm. I was waiting for you to come talk to me about it but well…”
She gestured vaguely in the direction of Klee’s solitary confinement room, sighing as she did so.
“You went ahead and pulled that stunt.” Jean turned to him, blue gray eyes piercing. “You’re clearly not well, so if you think hanging out with Klee will help, I’ll allow it this once. And please… Just know that you can tell me anything. You know that, don’t you, Kaeya?”
“I do…” He sighed, the haze in his mind making words harder than they should be. “I’m… sorry.”
“No need to apologize.” Jean replied tiredly as she went to sit back down at her desk. “Take care now, Kaeya.”
Thoughts still roaming frantically, Kaeya simply nodded before pivoting on his heel and walking out. Having escaped the Chasm of Liyue, he now had to contend with the chasm of his thoughts.