chapter 18 - an invitation

I was dirty and smelled like shit.

We were on our way back to Mondstadt with Klee. After our short stay at the city, we headed to the desert, we happened to find some treasure too. We were wandering in the desert for around a week, then we decided to go home, with some small stops on the way.

It was the first week of December. The climate of Mondstadt is basically the same all year, only fall and winter are slightly cooler. A sweater is enough on the coldest days.

We couldn't have a proper bath or shower since the desert, we made quick dips in lakes and in the sea.

I almost kissed the bridge of the city of Mondstadt once we reached it. I held Klee's hand, she wasn't that loud and cheerful now, she was tired as well, and she was missing her home. I knew she enjoyed our two months of adventures together, but she was still a kid after all.

We were walking through the gate, the knights guarding it greeted us. It was almost the evening, people were out on the streets. Many of them greeted us, asked one or two questions but they saw the Spark Knight almost falling asleep standing, so they didn't hold us up for a long time.

We reached our apartment. My priority was a bath and unpacking a bit. Klee could barely stand on her feet, but she needed the bath too.

"Sweetie, once you are clean, you can sleep, okay?" I assured her. She slightly nodded, sitting down on the couch. I went to the bathroom, poured some liquid soap to the tub, and started to fill it with warm water.

"Get these clothes off, okay?" she stood up, and went to the bathroom. She was so tired I had to help her to get in the bathtub. She weakly moved the sponge around her tiny body, while I helped her with washing her straw blonde hair. She was clearly too tired to take care of herself. Once she was clean enough, I wrapped a towel around her. I got rid of the bathwater, I decided to pour fresh one for myself.

Once I prepared for my bath, Klee was already done with dressing up in her pajamas.

"Good night, big sis" she yawned as she went to bed. I had a soft smile on my face, looking at her. Poor thing.

I got rid of my dirty clothes and sank in the hot water. I enjoyed the warmth as it soothed my aching muscles and joints, worn out by the long travels. My skin was nicely tanned after being out in the sun for so long, but I also had some mild injuries as well, scratches and bruises after fighting some monsters. I dived my had in the water to wet my hair, I went through my whole body to get rid of all the sweat and dirt.

When I got out of the bathroom, I spent some time to stare at my face in the mirror. I looked.. okay. Maybe even good. My skin looked healthy and glowing. Relaxed. Maybe I should be outside more often.

I just shook my head. I already missed traveling, but it was the best feeling to be at home finally. I put on my nightgown, but the bath suddenly made me feel refreshed, so I decided to unpack before going to bed.

The next day would be busy... I need to do the laundry, go shopping, cook food... But I was looking forward to these simple tasks. I sat down on the couch just for a second, but somehow I remained there and fell asleep...

When I woke up, the sun was barely just raising at the horizon. Klee was still asleep in the room. I quickly chose some clothes to wear, then I left the house to do some shopping. Some stores were opening, I wasn't in a hurry. I bought ingredients for the upcoming meals of the week, for breakfast I decided to make pancakes.

At home, I was busy with the laundry and by the time Klee woke up, breakfast was ready.

"Klee should probably report to Master Jean that Klee is back" she stated, rubbing her eyes. The statement sounded unusually mature from her.

"Yeah, maybe you should." I smiled at her. "But I think I have to go with you" I added. "I requested your little break so maybe I have to sign something"

So we headed to the Favonius Headquarters. I did need to sign a paper. Klee stayed there, with Jean, and I decided to stroll in the city for a bit.

"Hey, Tessa" I heard Kaeya's voice behind me when I left Jean's office.

"Hello" I waved and stopped to wait for him.

"When did you get back?" he asked.

"Yesterday, in the evening" I answered. "We were so tired we just passed out"

Some knight were calling Kaeya, he turned around.

"Ah, leave me alone" he muttered. "Angel's share tonight? Then you can tell me about your travels"

I grinned at him. "Sounds good"

"Oh and, you didn't send a letter. I will remember this" he pointed his finger at me, but I knew he wasn't serious. We only sent one letter to Jean, and that was all. Two months are not such a long time.

Honestly, I did nothing the whole day. I prepared some food, cleaned up a bit... nothing worth mentioning. I was looking forward to the night.

I've missed the tavern, and not for the drinks.

That night I took my time, I didn't want to arrive too early. And I wasn't sure about the bartender of the night either... I decided already that I would be strong and control my own life, but I didn't want to start it with facing Diluc right away.

And I had good instincts - when I entered the tavern full of people, behind the counter, there stood the crimson haired man and thankfully Kaeya was already there.

"Hello, guys" I greeted them.

"Hello, Tessa" Kaeya nodded. "Your first round is on me"

"Thanks" Diluc said hi to me, now waiting for my order. He looked... relaxed tonight. Or I don't know how to describe him. As usual, it was impossible to read his emotions off his face, but he didn't look as grumpy and annoyed as usual.

"A dandelion wine, please" I said. I chose a simple drink right for now, honestly, I missed its bittersweet taste.

We were casually chatting about the past two months, I was talking about my travels a lot of course.

"Hold up" Kaeya stopped me. "And who is this Kaveh guy?" he asked, glancing mischievously at Diluc. Diluc's face was still expressionless, I didn't know what Kaeya expected. But I didn't let his small mocking have an effect on me.

"A friend from my Akademiya days" I shrugged.

"A friend?" smirked Kaeya. "A close one perhaps?"

Diluc slightly tensed. Good. I didn't forget what Kaveh said. I will not run after him anymore. I will live my life and see what would happen.

"Yes, really close" I smirked back, but didn't say anything else. I let them to make their assumptions. They were probably wrong though, we never had anything between us, other than just being good friends. And I saw in Kaeya's eyes that even though the thought of me having an intimate relationship with Kaveh crossed his mind, he wasn't really sure of it. But Diluc seemed like he was fully convinced.

Oh god, I don't want them to believe that I sleep with every guy I meet.

I had my fun, I decided to tell the truth. "But, he's nothing more than friend to me. I am not even sure he is into girls. So stop your dirty thoughts you two" I grinned.

Diluc sighed very audibly, while Kaeya needed to comment on this naturally. "Oh? You are more boring than I thought. I was expecting some more juicy secrets about our sweet Tessa"

"Secrets are secrets for a reason, Kaeya" I winked at him.

Diluc cleared his throat, he was probably done with us. "Before I forget..." he started, reaching under the counter. He pulled out two envelopes and handed them to us.

It was a nice envelope, with our names on it, with Diluc's pretty handwriting.

"The yearly Christmas Ball is coming up at Dawn winery" he announced. "We already started sending out the invitations, but as I knew you two would be here tonight, I decided to give them two you personally"

I opened the envelope that contained the fancy invitation card. 18th December was the date, it is always a couple days before Christmas.

"Thanks, Diluc" I smiled at him. "I'll be there"

"Me too" nodded Kaeya, with slightly red cheeks. He still couldn't really handle when Diluc was nice to him.

"I'm glad" answered Diluc, and I had a feeling that he truly meant it.

———-

Author's note

So uhm I know I just uploaded yesterday as it is pretty rare that I update so soon, I'm just in a good flow with this story right now, I already have a draft for the next chapter lol We'll see how soon I will finish that.

Aaanyway, I did some research on Tevyat's climate to make it accurate and I found that the weather is pretty much the same in the whole year, but I already wrote in previous chapters that the weather got chillier so I explained it a little in this chapter. Sorry, I know it is just boring and meaningless but I'd prefer writing my story as accurate as I can to the lore and stuff, bc it annoys me personally in other fics when something doesn't fit right. Sorry, it's just my hyperfixation..

Umm so I will shut up now. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter.

See you next time x