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It was an ordinary evening in Angel’s Share. Kaeya had come here, as usual, to drink away his troubles for a while.
He sat down at the bar. “My usual, please, Charles.” He paused. “...Charles?”
“Hm?”
“The, uh, the missing poster outside. The one for Aether’s sister, I think it must’ve fallen. Wasn’t there when I came in.”
“Huh… wonder if it has anything to do with that.” Charles motioned towards a table in the corner, where a familiar blond was sitting, staring depressedly into his drink. “Didn’t wanna bother him, he and I aren’t exactly close, but… seems like he could use a friend.”
Kaeya was already heading that way, his wine forgotten on the bar.
“Aether…?” He sat down beside the traveler, his eye widening in alarm as he noticed three things.
One, Aether had clearly been in a fight. Two, he was crying. And three, perhaps the most alarming, he reeked of alcohol. Kaeya had never known Aether to drink. In all the time they’d known each other, he’d never seen them touch the stuff.
Aether looked up at him. “Kaeya… what’re you doin’ here?” He slurred, looking a bit dazed.
Yep. He was drunk.
“Same as you, apparently… how about you give me that drink and we can talk about it, yeah?” Kaeya asked gently, carefully taking the drink away from Aether and maneuvering it out of their reach. “What’s got you so upset, huh?”
“I… I found her. Lumine… my sister…”
Oh. Oh, Archons, was she… “Is… is she… dead?”
Aether laughed bitterly. “No. She’s… she’s with the Abyss Order.”
“She.. what? Like, they’re holding her prisoner?” Kaeya knew that wasn’t what he meant, but… he couldn’t quite believe the alternative.
Aether shook his head. “She’s one of them, Kae. Worse than that, she’s… she’s their Princess.” They let out a choked sob. “How could she…”
Kaeya’s eye went wide. “She’s… oh, Aether, I’m so sorry…” Somehow that seemed so inadequate, but he wasn’t sure what else to say. How was he even supposed to respond to that? For once in his life, Kaeya Alberich had no idea what to say.
“I-I just… she’s my sister… I wanna hate her, but…” Aether trailed off as he dissolved into sobs.
“...I know exactly what you mean.” He gently rubbed the traveler’s back, his heart breaking a bit as he listened to them cry. He knew all too well what it was like to have a sibling turn on him… although Aether didn’t deserve it. Not like me, he thought. I deserved even worse. He should’ve killed me.
Aether’s ragged breaths had turned into heaving, choking sobs, and it seemed like he was having trouble breathing. “Hey, hey, whoa. Easy, you’re gonna make yourself sick. Deep breaths, Aether.” He took a few slow, exaggerated breaths himself, helping Aether get their breathing under control. "I've got you, yeah? I'm here."
Eventually, Aether’s breathing eased a bit. "I-I don't… don't understand… she… the Abyss, I-"
"Shhh. Shh, I know. I know." Kaeya's heart ached for him. Going through all that to find his sister, only to discover she'd taken up with the enemy…
Was Kaeya any better? Was he just going to hurt Aether the same way his sister had, the same way he'd hurt Diluc?
He pushed those thoughts away. He could throw himself a pity party later; right now, his friend needed him.
"How about I walk you home, yeah?" Kaeya asked gently.
"I don't have a home," Aether reminded him.
"To my place, then. I don't think you should be alone right now…"
Aether nodded weakly. "Okay."
Kaeya helped him up, not missing the way Aether swayed a bit on his feet, and noticing the first time that, based on the number of empty glasses, he'd only had a couple drinks. "You really can't hold your liquor, huh?" He teased good-naturedly.
Aether shook his head as Kaeya led him out of the tavern. "Don't drink much… just thought… it seems to work for you…"
Oh. So this was his fault.
"I… might not be the best example, bud."
"Think I've figured that out… shit."
Kaeya didn't even need to ask what was wrong, quickly leading Aether into the alley behind the bar so they could throw up somewhere a bit more private. He rubbed Aether’s back gently, holding his hair out of the way. "Yeah, this part sucks. Just wait until you get to the hangover, that'll really make you regret things."
Aether glared at him. "Not helping."
"Sorry."
When he was finished, Kaeya resumed leading Aether to his apartment. He only slept here about half the time himself; the other half, he fell asleep at his desk, not that he'd ever admit that to Jean.
Kaeya guided Aether to the couch, carefully sitting them down. "What kind of tea do you want?"
"...hm?"
"Gotta get something in you other than booze. Trust me, it'll help. Figure you're probably not up for eating, so, tea it is. What kind do you want? Sweet flower okay?"
"Sounds fine."
Kaeya nodded, putting the kettle on to boil. "Hey, um… the missing poster. Outside the bar. Did you…?"
"I took it down. She's not really missing anymore, is she?" Aether laughed bitterly.
"I guess not…"
"Can't stand to look at em… 's like they're taunting me…"
Kaeya frowned. "...tomorrow I'll help you take them down, yeah? If you still want to."
Aether shrugged. "They hurt, but… I dunno… I still want-" He let out a choked sob. "I still want her to come back to me… even knowing what she is, she's still- she's still my sister…"
Kaeya sat down beside him, putting a comforting arm around him. "I know. And.. maybe she will!" He wasn't sure he believed that, but… Aether could use a little hope right now. And Kaeya was a good liar. "Maybe she'll still come home someday."
"...do you have siblings, Kaeya?"
Kaeya was caught off guard by that. Luckily, he was saved from having to answer when the kettle whistled, and he quickly got up to prepare the tea. Aether didn’t seem to notice that he was avoiding the question, for which he was grateful.
He returned with the tea, carefully handing Aether his cup. "Careful, it's hot."
Aether gave him a Look. "I know how tea works."
"Hey, just making sure! Don't want you to burn your tongue." Kaeya blew on his own tea before taking a sip.
"Can't you like… use your Vision to cool it?"
Kaeya laughed. "You would think so, wouldn't you? Turns out, all that gets me is a block of ice in a teacup."
Aether giggled, a soft, genuine giggle, and Kaeya smiled softly, just glad to hear them laugh. "I hear iced tea is all the rage in some places."
Kaeya snorted. "Yeah, I'm not sure that's what that means."
Aether shrugged, leaning on Kaeya a bit. “...thank you…”
“Hm? For what?”
“Just… being there… didn’t realize how much I needed someone.”
“Of course… I’m your friend, Aether. I’ll always be there.” Kaeya realized he believed it. If Aether came to him, he knew he’d drop everything to help his friend.
“I’m so tired…”
“You should get some rest… you’ve had a rough night.”
“No, I mean… I’m tired… of this, of- of being a hero.” Aether’s eyes welled up with tears. “I’m not a hero, not really… I’m just some guy! All I want is to find my sister and get her to come home with me, I never set out to- to slay dragons or save cities. All that is just… something that happened to me. I don’t regret it, I’d never turn my back on people who need me, but… I’m tired, and scared, and I feel like such a fraud! They all think I’m something I’m not, some legendary hero… I was just in the right place at the right time.”
Kaeya frowned. He knew a thing or two about feeling like a fraud… “Aether… you are a hero. You may not have set out to do those things, but… you still did them. You could’ve run away. You could’ve said no, and no one would’ve blamed you. But… you didn’t. You took on every challenge, accepted every request for help. You saw people in need and decided you couldn’t just let them suffer. That’s what makes a hero.”
“I… I guess you’re right… I never really thought of it like that…”
“You don’t have to take on everything, though. Even heroes need their rest… and you certainly don’t have to take on everything alone.”
“I-I just… I feel like if I say no I’ll be letting people down.”
Kaeya shrugged. “Maybe. But… maybe that’s okay sometimes. Sometimes you gotta put yourself first. You can’t do a good job of helping people if you’re always exhausted and broke and pissed off.” Oh, what a hypocrite he was… despite what most people thought, Kaeya worked himself to the bone. He slept at his desk, he hid injuries, he ignored his own needs and piled on more and more work. But that didn’t mean Aether had to. Aether didn’t deserve that.
“I guess you’re right… thanks, Kaeya.” Aether smiled weakly. “I think I should get some rest now…”
Kaeya nodded and stood up. “I’ll get you a pillow and a blanket.”
“Thank you… and, Kaeya?”
“Hm?”
“You should try taking your own advice.”