an experiment || kaebedo angst oneshot

an experiment

it was a bright and sunny day in mondstat, the sounds of nature mingling with the voices of people in the streets. birds flew overhead as the citizens of the city of freedom roamed about- buying ingredients for a meal or two, drinking at the tavern, wishing in the fountain, or visiting the statue of the anemo archon to pray for guidance in whatever trivial matters they faced. on this particular day, the knights of favonius were less busy than they usually were, with the arrival of the traveler and paimon tremendously helping in taking care of the citizen's needs.

the dandelion knight and acting grandmaster of the knights, jean, was in her office, sorting through files of information. she would've flinched at the door opening so suddenly if she weren't so accustomed to visitors during her work.

she lifted her head from her papers to greet who she thought was her sister or even klee, but was surprised to see the cavalry captain standing in the entrance to her office.

kaeya alberich, the usually cool and composed knight was now out of breath, breathing hard with a very noticeable flush of red across his dark olive face. his icy blue eye was wide and flowing with emotion, and jean could practically see the gears turning in kaeya's head as he managed to finally put his thoughts into words after a few seconds of just staring at each other.

kaeya swallowed, before looking jean in her periwinkle eyes, noticing the confusion and concern lacing her expression.

"how do i get ready for a date?"

kaeya sat in front of the mirror in the room, repeatedly going over his appearance and smoothing out any ruffles in his clothes or stray strands of hair. he was very obviously nervous.

come now, kaeya. this isn't like you- you're the casanova of mondstat- no- the entirety of teyvat! this is one date, what's the huge deal??
he thought this to himself as his hand trembled, unable to suppress his anxiety. lisa watched from a seat nearby, shaking her head in pity.

"you poor thing, never gone on a date before~? you must be sooo nervous" she gently teased, adjusting her gloves as she watched the pitiful bundle of nerves before her.

it was almost unheard of for the cavalry captain to be flustered or embarrassed, only ever showing this side to those he trusted most, such as jean and lisa (occasionally diluc, but that was years ago).

"no, o-of course not! i'm not nervous, who's nervous?" kaeya muttered, before yelping when jean entered the room where kaeya had been getting ready.

"he's here, kaeya. it's now or never" jean stated, giving the man a reassuring smile that managed to calm his nerves a bit. jean had always been good at reassuring others no matter the situation. kaeya did his best to do the same for her, but it was difficult when she tended to rely on herself for most issues.

he sighed and tried to compose himself as he grabbed the rose he set on the table near the mirror, its petals a beautiful shade of red, representing the passion of two lovers on a starry night. he wasn't ready for that much yet, but he could at least send the message that he liked the guy he was about to go out with. walking out of the door past jean, he barely registered lisa's 'go get 'em, tiger' or amber's cheers of support from down the hall as he headed towards the entrance of the knights of favonius headquarters.

closing the door behind him, he felt his nerves returning as he saw him there, stationed by the entrance.

his light sandy hair was halfway pulled back like usual, his cyan eyes studying something in the distance before focusing on kaeya as he walked towards the beautiful blonde boy.

neither he nor kaeya wore anything special, but it was evident that kaeya put effort into his appearance for this date. he'd put on his favorite lip gloss, along with faint eye shadow that he had lisa help him pick out. he was no cosmetic expert, but he managed to prevent himself from turning out a disaster of beauty products.