Days in Mondstadt

Chapter 2-Anything But Paperwork

Y/n's face almost hit Jean's desk as her head drooped. She quickly sat up and rubbed at her eyes. The skin of her knuckles was raw and chapped and her nails were as short as they could be. They were meant to be out in the field wielding a sword, not cramping up from writing with a quill pen all day. She sighed and shuffled the papers on the desk together.

This was Jean's job, but since she was gone, Kaeya had been left in charge. That would usually be fine, but he was in one of his moods and refused to lay a hand on the paperwork. He was probably off drinking or sparring. As annoying as he was, y/n couldn't help but be envious.

Y/n finally sighed and gave up. She wasn't getting any work done and she wasn't going to magically finish later, so she did the next best thing: quit. Kaeya could take full responsibility later. It would totally serve him right.

Now y/n had a whole afternoon stretching out before her. She had been itching to move all day, but she didn't have any missions assigned to her at the moment, so she would just have to find something to do.

I haven't been to see my parents in too long. I guess now would be the perfect time to head over to Springvale.

...

The air in the woods was clear and laced with the subtle scent of Sweet Flowers. The birds were singing, the butterflies were fluttering, and even the wild boars were more lively than usual.

Amazing! I can't believe I almost missed out on this.

She followed the trails until she finally came upon the sign that welcomed her to Springvale. The small collection of houses was just like she remembered, although she hadn't expected much change from a few months.

Her parents had retired in a cozy house on the edge of the water near the waterfall. It was like a second home to anyone who stepped inside it. The sounds of laughter was forever floating out of the windows,  and the scent of fresh baked bread could be smelled nearly every day.

They used to be the butler and housekeeper serving at the Ragnvindr manor which was how y/n had ended up knowing Diluc and Kaeya for as long as she could remember. They used to be like the three musketeers-thick as thieves and always ready for an adventure together. The manor had been their castle and Master Crepus had treated her like his own daughter.

All of that changed when Master Crepus had been brutally killed in a 'monster attack'. The bothers were constantly at odds now, one factor being that Kaeya had stayed loyal to the knights, even as they covered up the real cause of his adopted father's death. Diluc had given up his vision and left only to return three years later.

He had definitely changed. When he'd left he had been a passionate and fiery 18 year old. Now, he was a man who's temper burned like a steady candle.

Y/n remembered the day he had returned. She had been sparring with Kaeya in the front room of the winery manor when Diluc had walked in like he hadn't been gone for more than a day. His hair had grown and he now sported a flamboyantly tailored coat, but those were the only external changes she could see.

He had looked down his nose at them and the first words out of his mouth were:

"I hope you don't think this is really an appropriate place to spar, Kaeya. The knights do have a training ground, you know."

"Good to see you too." Kaeya had replied.

Diluc had ignored y/n and stalked past them to the stairs. At the top he said,

"As you know, Kaeya, the winery is my inheritance. I've been fine with you living here in my absence, but I won't have you freeloading anymore. I want you out by tomorrow night."

Kaeya had stood in stunned silence before y/n had asked if he needed help.

"I should have guessed this was coming. He's always been such a bad sport."

Y/n was still technically living at the manor for a few weeks after that, but it got progressively more and more awkward. Her parents had already retired so they essentially had the house to themselves. Y/n began to dread dinner. Any mention of Kaeya or Master Crepus were totally out of the question. The Knight's Of Favonius weren't much better, although y/n hadn't understood why.
Y/n had tried asking about his journey, but somehow he never had much to say about anything that happened in the course of 3 years. Pretty soon she was taking dinner in her room or at Good Hunter as much as possible. The last straw had been when she'd joined the Knights of Favonius.

She'd bursted into his office -completely ignoring the awkward weeks before- and shouted out the good news.

"I did it! I passed the exams! I'm finally one of the knights!"

Diluc had stared at her for a long moment before clearing his throat and saying,

"Gather your things and get out."

"What?"

"You're staying with the rest of the knights, now."

"Well, I'd thought about it, but I don't want to just leave you all alone in the manor..."

"I'll have the servants help you pack your things. Goodnight."

He hadn't uttered a single word of congratulations or even acknowledged her huge accomplishment, even though he had been the one to push her and Kaeya to their limits years before. He had been the one to beat them black and blue with the flat of his sword until they could block it but there was none of that fiery motivation now.

Only after she had officially joined the knights did she find out about the previous corruption. She had glided over to the winery manor as fast as possible and pounded on the door. She wanted with all her heart to apologize, but he refused to see her. Even now, after they had begun tenuously speaking again, nothing was the same.

...

Y/n realized she had been staring at the front door for a while now. She shook her head to dislodge the thoughts of the past and walked inside. Her mother was standing next to the wooden counter, delicately fluffing a bouquet of flowers. Her round arms moved each flower around until they were all in a complementary spot.

"Good afternoon mom!"

The woman jumped in surprise.

"Well, look who finally decided to visit. How are you y/n?"

Her mom folded her into a tight hug.

"I'm great mom, seriously."

Her dad came in through the side door.

"Surprise surprise, I almost forgot I had a daughter."

"Hey Dad, love you too."

Y/n's mother let go of her and bustled around the kitchen to make some tea. She sat with her dad at the dining table and they were just starting to catch up when someone knocked on the door. It was one of the neighbors. Apparently her cat had gone missing.

"Oh, well, you know our daughter is one of the knights. I'm sure she'd be happy to find him for you."
And that was how it started.
First she found the cat, (up a tree) then she helped pull some carrots from one of the gardens, and then ended up killing a few hydro slimes that had shown up near the waterfall.
After a long afternoon of small chores and laughing with her parents, she finally headed back to her apartment.
As she flopped down onto her bed, she thought,
I guess I really will do anything to avoid paperwork.