AN: So I decided to compile all of my future genshin fics into this one story, just to save some time and space on my part. Hope you all enjoy!
Mika was far from the confident type. Ever since joining the Knights of Favonious, he realized that what little self esteem he had seemed to diminish every time he was in the presence of the other knights, especially those with a higher rank than himself. It had gotten to a point where he could hardly hold a conversation with them outside of their usual work communications, much to the dismay of his older brother, Hoffman. He had hoped that Mika joining the knights as a cartographer would give him a bit of a boost in confidence, but the more he interacted with the other knights, the more clear it became that he was nervous around them.
Kaeya was one of the first knights to try reaching out to Mika. Most of the other knights had just accepted that he was the shy type and would eventually warm up to them. Kaeya wasn't keen on doing the same thing. He was a social butterfly at heart, and he couldn't help but look at him the way he looked at Noel, Bennett, or Razor, as a kid with a lot of skills, but could really use a friend. His first time interacting with Mika resulted in mostly nervous responses to his questions, so he tried joking around like he normally would with friends. This seemed to only make the situation more tense as Mika forced a smile. After that, Kaeya was determined to get the kid to loosen up a little bit. It would do him no good as a Knight of Favonius to constantly be tense when talking to his own co-workers, especially if he couldn't communicate with superiors without stuttering.
Hoffman was the first person he turned to to get advice on how he should get to know Mika better. Who better to ask than the big brother himself? Hoffman was extremely grateful that another knight wanted to make Mika feel more welcome and comfortable among their ranks. He was always worried that he would have trouble coming out of his shell, but at the same time he didn't want to baby him. Mika was an extremely independent person; self reliable, sufficient, and would probably be annoyed if Hoffman was constantly trying to get him to socialize. He had grown up much faster than Hoffman liked though, and even self-sufficient people need friends to rely on.
Hoffman's advice was for Kaeya to try and teach him something. Mika was always willing to learn new things and seemed to be the most relaxed when he was actively learning. Kaeya suggested some combat training, as long as he was willing to accept. Seeing as Kaeya was not only a master swordsman but a cryo user as well, Hoffman thought there would be no better person to train him.
So, with some help from Hoffman, he managed to convince Mika to join him for some one on one training. He had limited experience training with his pole arm, only learning the bare essentials to defend himself in the field, and although he was still unsure about personal training from Kaeya, he figured that if Hoffman trusted him that he should too.
That didn't make the start of the training session any less awkward. Besides the two of them, the training yard was completely empty. Kaeya had known he would probably get nervous training around other knights, so he tried to pick a time when there would least likely be anyone else training. Even though they were alone, Mika still appeared stiff and nervous as he and Kaeya went through some basic exercises on training dummies.
"Alright, let's take a quick water break." Kaeya said, noticing that Mika was starting to break a sweat. The sun was high in the sky and the day was hot, so hydration would be important.
Mika just nodded in response as he laid down his spear, walking over to the bench where he left his belongings. Kaeya had hoped by now that he would have said something, but the only response he ever got from him was the occasional single word answers to his questions. Perhaps a break would be the perfect time to make small talk.
