Stardust

K A E Y A

Present day, Mondstadt, Knights of Favonius headquarters

The shuffle of boots to a familiar tune, one foot forward then back again, and an upward strike. Kaeya could recite each step by heart. He watched Albedo practice his sword work so much he was sure he could replicate his style down to the last flourish.

Unlike other swordspeople, Albedo's artist heart touched everything he did. A jab became a stroke, a parry a pirouette–a dance of blades, too refined for Geo if you asked him. Why the Archons gave Albedo of all people the element of contracts when he was born from Gold's sacrilegious breach of them was beyond Kaeya. Despite his insistence that Hydro would have been far more appropriate, even Kaeya had to admit Morax got one thing right.

'Gold suited him.'

The diamond at his throat accentuated the star Kaeya felt a burn in his own pupil–neither of them able to truly shine anymore. Not since Khanri'ah. Not since the Cataclysm. It should be an unforgettable day, and in some way it was, but so much of the details escaped Kaeya as the years wore on his memory.

One thing he would never forget was the meaning of their stars–a bond between a prince and a knight, between soulmates.

Albedo spun his sword, shoving it into his Abyssal dimension before popping out again in a show of Khemia blended impossibly with Geo. Kaeya wondered if that little portal was where he stored his heart when he stole it all those years ago. If that's why every time he met those azure eyes it felt like he was being run through.

Soulmates were supposed to be inescapable, a bond down to one's last breath. Kaeya could hardly be surprised it was not true. The prettiest promises were simply well-tailored lies–just like the Cavalry Captain himself.

Kaeya knew Celestia cursed them, but how could you be soulmates forget one another? It was just another bad joke in a life full of them. 

Still, Albedo stood before him five hundred years later bearing the same title of knight he so willingly abandoned. Teyvat was a strange place. Always upside down and backwards at the best of times.

'I can't decide if I hate him or love him.' Maybe both. Kaeya felt that way since the first time he saw Albedo, back before the Cataclysm. When Albedo was his knight and they knew nothing of the world beyond the castle halls. Before Kaeya blinked and five hundred years passed.

Kaeya wondered everyday how Albedo got here, and why he did not seem to remember him at all. If Albedo did remember, he made no inclination to show Kaeya that their past was a shared one. That this was not another secret under which Kaeya was being crushed alone.

As if he could hear Kaeya's musing, Albedo turned to him. The only evidence he saw him was a small twinge of the lip and a soft nod. Kaeya wondered if the wound at his throat, their broken bond, bothered Albedo too. 'Stop being delusional, Kaeya. It's only a pretty lie,' Kaeya thought.

Kaeya felt like one more secret inside him and it would all come tumbling out. To Albedo, to Jean–there were only so many secrets the world could expect one man to hold. 'There's a whole world you don't remember,' Kaeya might say. 'In it we were nothing, but you were everything to me.'

He dared not speak a word. Not that he thought uttering a single Khanri'ahn word would spark Celestia's attention. No, the only reminder he needed for his silence was the curling licks of flames carved into his skin by the only person he ever called 'brother.'

"Captain Kaeya," Albedo said as he brushed his sleeve against his perfect forehead. A learned gesture to mimic the living. As if dust could sweat.

"Al-be-doh," Kaeya smiled eagerly as the alchemist approached. Stars and skies why the man insisted on those tights he wished he knew. Even before, Albedo acted like it was a crime to walk around in pants.