The Boy on the Verges

Part 4: The Journey Home

Crepus still had his head resting on the table, by the time that the clock ticked to 9:30 am. Inferring that he wouldn't be awake on time by his own accord, Charlotte shook his shoulder cautiously. "Sweetheart, get up. We need to go get Kaeya." She uttered as the man gave a sleepy murmur, but was rather quick to raise his head. "We have half an hour to get there, okay?"

"Half an hour?!" The man blurted, almost immediately shooting up from out of his chair, stumbling a little in the process. Not bothering to change out of his current attire, he steered straight to the door, still wearing his shoes - he had never removed them, the night before. "We need to go-" he insisted as he immediately left the building and ignited the engine, just to prevent a late arrival. The woman assisted their son out of the house and latched up the door, before buckling his seatbelt and getting herself into the front.

Before long, they had reached Mondstadt city, just five minutes before their required time. Scurrying out of the vehicle, he assisted his family along to the adoption centre as fast as they possibly could. Pushing the building's door wide open, Crepus glanced down at his watch. 9:59 am. They had made it.

As they sauntered through the entrance, he headed in the direction of the front desk, when the sound of sniffling caught his attention. Looking to his right, he saw a little boy, with his head in his knees, with long blue hair matted in every direction. Besides him, was a little girl, patting his shoulder. "Good morning sir." A voice spoke from the reception. Jumping on the spot, he craned his neck back around, muttering a rather nervous greeting back.

Upon hearing the abrupt, familiar voice, the child lifted his head, then immediately sprinted over to the man, clutching onto his knees. He jerked again and slowly looked down, only to realise who it was - the sleep deprivation had very much affected his comprehension abilities. The receptionist rolled her eyes but stayed quiet as the two were able to interact.

"Kaeya.." he spoke affectionately, crouching down to offer a hug to the young one. However, rather than embracing him, the boy had other plans, tears still streaming down his face. Slamming his fists onto his shoulders respectively, he began shrieking something over and over again in Khaenrei'ahan. Whilst he didn't understand the meaning, it didn't take a genius to know that the child was insanely frustrated and upset. Not bothering to push him away, he simply allowed the other to let out his riled up emotions, even if it would leave some nasty bruises.

Once he had worn himself out, the weeping boy pretty much collapsed in Crepus' lap, from a loathsome combination of exhaustion, hunger and dehydration. Cuddling him close, he tried his very best to hold in his emotions, but he wasn't able to succeed doing so. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he cradled the boy in his arms. The woman at the desk cleared her throat to navigate some attention to herself, then slammed some papers on the desk. As the man was unable to pay any attention, Charlotte stepped forward to talk to her.

"There's your proof of adoption. Please take the feral brat out of the establishment immediately before it causes more issues for us." She snarled, dumping the carrier bag of Kaeya's dirtied clothes on the desk - which was uncleaned, still drenched in vomit. "He decided to throw up everywhere, then later refused to consume anything." Charlotte nodded without a word, picked up the bag, feeling a little queasy, then took the papers too.

"On behalf of me and my husband, thank you. We'll, uh, be taking our leave now.." she murmured, nudging Crepus' back with her foot. "Come on, quickly, let's get out of here.." she confided to her weeping husband. The man soon scrambled onto his feet, holding Kaeya in his arms, who was rather close to drifting off to sleep. Charlotte hence held Diluc's hand as they all headed back to the vehicle.

"Hmmm, Didi? Want to sit in the front? Let dad sit in the back, just don't press any buttons okay?" She spoke. Diluc nodded enthusiastically, very fond of the idea. The woman turned to her fatigued husband once again. "I'll drive, you can stay in the back with Kaeya." She hummed as the man accepted it with a nod.