Chapter Text
Three years after Ajax’s betrayal, Diluc is back in Mondstadt, the nation he tried so hard to avoid for so long. He had spent another two years in Shneznaya, encountering a small organization of people committed to stopping the manufacturing of Delusions and taking down the Fatui. From there, he quickly rose through the organization’s ranks, committed to avenging his father.
He later returned to Mondstadt, taking up his inheritance and running Dawn Winery in Master Crepus’s wake. His time in the north had given him a place to vent his anger, and air out his grief, even if he didn’t succeed in destroying all the existing Delusions. His heart still ached for all he had lost, of course, but upon returning to his childhood home, he had started making peace with himself.
When Diluc did return, he had started secretly protecting Mondstadt, and his return went mostly unnoticed, though his old friends were grateful to see him return mostly unharmed. He’d even started to make up with his older brother, though if he was being honest, Kaeya was even more insufferable than when he left. He’d fallen into an easy rhythm, between taking care of the winery’s affairs, bartending at Angel’s Share, and protecting Mondstadt, he was ever busy, and the work soothed him.
And it was one day, on an ordinary spring afternoon, Diluc was cleaning glasses at the bar when he heard the door open. “Kaeya, it’s not even three in the afternoon, why are you here so-” He turned, setting down the glass, expecting to see the long blue hair and cocky smile of his brother. Instead, he’s greeted by someone else, the newcomer’s messy ginger hair and bright blue eyes all too familiar.
Diluc’s heart stops as Ajax walks into Angel’s Share, letting the door swing shut behind him.