Chilled Grip (a chaeya fanfiction)

Chapter Six: Frigid Past

The sheets rustled softly, rousing Childe from his sleep.
Immediately realizing what was happening l, he reached out quickly, seizing Kaeya by the wrist.
Obviously guilty, the knight sighed softly before falling back down onto the bed.
Childe pouted.
"You were going to leave again."
Kaeya flinched.
"Ah- well. I was just... going to get breakfast."
The copper haired man raised an eyebrow.
"Right. And you were going to cook, then?"
Averting his gaze, the knight tugged himself out of Childe's grasp.
Being stubborn, the harbinger simply pulled Kaeya closer, resting his hand on the curve of his waist.
"Oh, come on..."
Lamented Kaeya, now face to face with Childe.
He simply received a wide grin, and his heart skipped a beat when the hand on his waist travelled along his back.
"Ajax, no." But
Childe laughed.
"Of course not, you're most likely still hurting from last night."
"Not at the moment, but it'll hurt like a bitch when I go to work today."
"Work? Why can't you stay and cuddle.."
Kaeya rubbed his temples.
"I have a job, Ajax. Some people have to earn money."
The ginger frowned.
"I can buy you what you need."
"I can take care of myself."
Childe grinned.
"You're so independent, it's really sexy."
Heat spread across Kaeya's face.
"You-"
"Hmm?"
"I'm going to get dressed."
Said the knight curtly, turning and heading for the shower.
"Nice ass!"
Called Childe after him.
"Shut up!"
Kaeya heard a giggle from the other room.
Dumb stupid ginger.
He mused to himself.
Fuck, Childe was pretty.
Most days, he questioned why the man had any interest in him.
With extreme trust issues and difficultly of commitment, Kaeya was constantly running away.
No matter how many disguises he had, it seemed his past always caught up to him.
The boy in the abyss 11 years ago, of course it had been Ajax.
He had been 14 then, and was entirely unprepared for the responsibility that would come with his coronation.
Well, at least I don't have to worry about that now.
He thought bitterly.
Kaeya was the king of a broken nation, destroyed by the Archons years ago.
How had Ajax escaped?
Time ran different in the abyss.
The 2 months that Kaeya had spent hiding, had really been 2 years.
When he emerged, he immediately felt himself age, and the pain of growing from 5'6 to 6'2 put large amounts of stress on his bones.
His hair had grown longer, and his body underwent new changes.
Kaeya was 17 when he met Crepus Ragvindr.
As he wasn't an adult yet, the man had taken him in as a son.
He spent around a year with the kind man, trying to get to know his cold son.
Diluc was quite cold, treating Kaeya with immediate distaste.
Excited to have an older brother again, the knight tried many different ways to get to know the redhead.
The one way that had worked was swordplay.
They each started out with wooden swords, and there were many times where the young men had snapped each other's swords from the sheer impact.
Tired of remaking new ones, Crepus had simply given them each a lightweight sword.
Though the blades were dull, Diluc swung with so much force, that he shattered his blade entirely.
He was then given a claymore by their father, a heavy yet seemingly fitting weapon for the teen.
Each equally matched, they blocked eachother's attacks perfectly.
Soon, they began clearing out camps around the manor, covering each other's backs perfectly.
It hurt at first, when Kaeya killed his people.
He didn't understand the language, but each day he prayed that he hadn't hurt his father, who may have been among the ranks.
It's still why he encouraged the killing of treasure hoarders instead, teaching Bennett that hillichurls were mostly peaceful animals.
One day, he decided that he would attempt to learn hillichurlian.
He wrote out a single sentence on a letter, with Venti's assistance.
He didn't know if Barbatos knew his identity, but if he did, he either didn't care, or just ignored it entirely.
Abyss mage attacks were increasing per day, and Kaeya had to eventually fight them himself.
He made an attempt to avoid the cryo ones, praying that his father was safe somewhere.
Only using his sword, he put his vision away entirely, wary that someone would connect the dots about his lineage.
That day, he exchanged language with the hillichurls, showing them the parchment.
They were in fact, peaceful creatures, who were fearful for survival.
Their intelligence was quite low, but they had learned how to use fire to assist them.
Kaeya still remembered the fear in their eyes, the blue blood on Kaeya's fingertips as his silenced a shrieking abyss mage.
His blood, his people.
That could have been his father, for all he knew.
His fathers blood, his hands.
If it was his father or not, he didn't care.
His family, his blade.
Mi muhe ye.
'I come in peace.'
That may have been true, if he hadn't had rushed.
His blood, his kingdom.
If he had been there for the destruction of Khaeneriah, would he have been a mage too?
Surely his royal blood would mean something.
Even now, his eyes marked the legacy of his clan.
Purple eyes with starred pupils, the telltale feature of royalty.
His other eye had been slashed by the bough keeper, Dain.
A traitor to the royal family he served, the blonde man had drawn a blade on his own prince, using Kaeya's newfound blindness to escape.
He had left through a portal, and had never been seen since.
If he was ever given the chance, the prince would no doubt kill Dainsleif where he stood.
His purple eye was now a permanent cataract, the scar tissue never fully healed.
An ugly scar ran from his lower eyelid to his brow, only noticeable in light.
And of course, the only person who had seen it was Childe, in almost pure darkness.
He would have to talk to the harbinger, and explain everything about the past four days.
His chest tightened in panic as he tried to come up with a convincing lie.
Childe had seen him in his disguise.
Lydia was the persona crafted by the Tsaritsa, who was one of Kaeya's closest allies during the archon war. She had hid him away, and had given him his vision when he needed it most. Ironic how the brother who has covered his back so well, could also have snuffed out his life entirely.
If only he had been a tad more careful...
Kaeya was too anxious. He had exposed himself, and had embarrassed himself at the golden house last night.
Childe was kind, but he definitely had an ulterior motive.
Trust wasn't something earned through sexual contact.
Throwing on a red shirt that was way too small for him, he headed back to the bedroom, where Childe lay absentmindedly, spinning a knife between his fingers.
As Kaeya approached, he seemed to immediately forget the small blade, his eyes lighting up.
"You're back- wait, is that my shirt?"
Kaeya cursed himself.
"Yeah, I think so. You're shorter than me so it's pretty small."
Childe stiffened.
"I'm not short."
A small smirk formed on the knight's face.
"Okay, stand up then."
Kaeya immediately knew he was taller, as he stood at 6'2, while the ginger stood at only 5'10.
He held in a laugh as blue eyes looked up to meet his.
"Okay maybe you're a little bit taller, but I'm still stronger than you."
"Right, cause you have electricity powers and all."
"Electricity- No! Because I could kick your ass into the cobblestones!"
"That's a large assumption for someone who stands 5'9 at most."
"I'm actually 5'10, but that's besides the point. You still owe me an entire day of bed rest."
Kaeya rubbed his temples.
"I have work today."
"Didn't Jean tell you to rest?"
"How-"
"I work with the fatui, I have intel everywhere. Besides, it's not like I have anything better to do."
Kaeya snorted.
"So you're stalking me then?"