Work Text:
Silence filled the library room as the two boys sat side by side, both absorbed into their own books, yet comfortable enough in each other's company that the atmosphere was quite cozy.
Diluc held a fiction novel, absorbing the story of the Boar Princess - a classic Mond fairytale. Usually, the boy would read something of higher intellect, such as his growing interest in the game of chess, but even the heir to one of Mond's most sophisticated families enjoyed these types of stories from time to time.
Kaeya, however, was flipping through a novel of a much more romantic nature. A tale of two lovers, destined to be together, soulmates. Back in his home kingdom, he never had access to books that covered such topics, which gathered a question in his young mind.
"Gege- what's a soulmate?-" he questioned softly, a flush of embarrassment on his cheeks, worried that his ignorance on the matter would garner some teasing from the older male.
However, Diluc simply sprung up from his seat in excitement, not caught off guard by Kaeya's question in the slightest. “A soulmate is your other half! The person you’re destined to be with! It’s said that they will complete you and they will love you forever and ever!” he declared, a hand placed on his chest proudly. His eyes sparkled with delight and wonder.
Kaeya's eye piqued in interest, "Ooh-" he nodded, looking back to the book in his hands, but his curiosity still wasn’t quite fulfilled. He looked back up at the red head, scratching his cheek sheepishly, "But...how do you know who your soulmate is?"
Diluc stuck his finger up in the air pointedly, his other hand placed on his hip, “There are some rules. First, on your eighteenth birthday, the older person in the soulmate pair will get a soulmark which can appear anywhere on your body. Second," Diluc lifted another finger, signifying the number two, "The soulmark will be of your other half’s constellation.”
Kaeya's brows furrowed a little, still not completely understanding, "There are tons of people with the same constellation...so how do you know who it is?" He tilted his head.
Diluc smiled coyly. “Trust me, you’ll know.”
Kaeya nodded, looking down at the book, staring at the page, and the word that started this whole conversation. Soulmates…he wondered if someone like him could ever experience something like that.
Kaeya hesitated with his next question, fidgeting a little, "...Does everyone have a soulmate?"
“There’s only a few rare cases of people without a soulmate, but,” he took Kaeya’s hand between his own with a look of determination, “Whoever your soulmate is, I’m sure they will be just as amazing as you are!”
Kaeya's cheeks flushed slightly, as he looked down with a small pout. A passing thought: I hope it's you…
Diluc’s eighteenth birthday.
His father was dead and across from him stood a traitor wearing a familiar face.
“You lied to me! All these years and I was just some pawn for you to toy with!” Diluc’s flames sizzled in the downpour, steam rising off of his clothing. The rain masked the tears running down his face.
From Kaeya, there was no response.
Rage was the only thing that filed Diluc in that moment, a fiery glare burning into the blue haired male in front of him. He tightened his grip on his claymore, and swung .
A dodge came from the other, moving swiftly out of his claymores range. Kaeya seemed reluctant to fight back, and that only enraged the red head further.
Why? Why?
Diluc tried to ignore the ache in his heart and how the tears in his eyes blurred his vision. He focused on the rage and let it burn his ocean of grief.
They fought like that in the rain, Diluc swinging his claymore, missing Kaeya by just enough. It may have been on purpose.
They only came to a stop when his flames hit a countering cold.
A Cryo Vision.
Diluc lowered his weapon and stared blankly at the ice crystals forming around them. His rage flickered and died. All that was left was the pain. He turned his back to Kaeya - unable to look at him. There were so many things he wanted to say. So much he wanted to ask. Did he ever even care? Was everything a lie?
Diluc headed back to the manor without a backwards glance. Let Kaeya do as he wishes. It has nothing to do with him.
Diluc sat on his bed with a heavy sigh. The pink tulips he had gotten as a gift were sitting in the vase at his bedside. They mocked him with their cheeriness. His hands trembled slightly and he stared blankly at the wall. His family was all gone now. He’s alone.
Tears sting his eyes and he stubbornly wipes them away. He already cried enough today. He started to tug off his gloves to get ready for bed, before he stopped.
There, on the back of his right hand, was his soulmark - the bottom of it barely visible with the cloth covering it. Slowly he removed the glove fully only for anger, fear, and sadness to swirl in his gut.
He’s familiar with the shape of this constellation. It’s one he knows by heart. The Pavo Ocellus - Kaeya’s constellation.
Diluc wanted to scream.
“No,” he whispered to himself, his voice colored with panic. “It can’t be. It absolutely can’t be him.”
How could Kaeya possibly be his soulmate? Had this happened yesterday, Diluc would have been thrilled. He would have ran to Kaeya and happily proclaimed their soulmate status.
However, over the course of one evening, his life had rapidly changed course. His father revealed some terrifying power and died using it. Kaeya lied to him, hid a dangerous truth. How much have they both lied about? How much longer until Kaeya disappeared too?
Diluc thought he knew Kaeya - they were the Twin Stars, always in sync with each other. He was so sure that he could read Kaeya effortlessly and vice versa. Except that wasn’t the case at all. Kaeya kept him in the dark. It was all just a giant game of pretend.
But now Diluc’s soulmate was supposed to be Kaeya?
Diluc covered his right hand with his left. No. It doesn’t have to belong to him just because the constellation was the same.
It’s not Kaeya. It can’t be Kaeya.
What would it mean if his soulmate lied to him the entire time they knew each other?
The next morning, everyone would find that Diluc Ragnvindr had left town.
Kaeya's eighteenth birthday.
It had been two years since Diluc had left. Kaeya wasn't sure if he was used to being alone yet.
Nevertheless, he pretended to be happy when a few of the Knights had thrown a party for him. He always thought he would be spending this day with Diluc.
The taste of wine was bitter at first, but Kaeya thought that was fitting. It reminded him of his life with Diluc. By the end of the night, he had gotten rather used to it.
Blue tulips.
He was gifted a bouquet in celebration, and he accepted them with a smile. He wondered just how many of his smiles in the past two years had been fake. Maybe Diluc was right.
Kaeya Alberich was nothing but a liar.
He went home after the party, his new home that never quite felt like home. It was smaller compared to the manor he lived in two years prior, but somehow felt even more lonely.
He shrugged his jacket off and removed his shoes, laying down on the bed with a long sigh.
His 18th birthday...
Ah, right.
Kaeya sat up, looking into his mirror and surveying his body for any new marks. As he expected, there was none.
He figured as much. Why would a sinner like him have a soulmate? Kaeya breathed a soft, spiteful laugh.
Tracking down the Fatui and clearing out their bases led Diluc to Snezhnaya. The falling snow almost made him forget that it’s late spring, but the purple tulips blooming serve as a kind reminder. He adjusted his gloves to make sure they kept out the cold.
He stopped at a Statue of the Cryo Archon, the Tsaritsa, for warmth.
He remembered that once upon a time, she was revered as the goddess of love and that soulmates were hers to assign. Diluc doesn’t know if that’s true, but on the off chance it was…
“You made a mistake,” he whispered to the Statue. He watched the gentle snowfall - firmly refraining from glancing at his hand. “You made me his soulmate when I could never deserve him.”
The Statue is silent, but he didn’t expect an answer.
“It hurt when he told me the truth and I’m still angry, but… I should have accepted him in the end. I hurt him. So you chose him instead.”
Diluc sighed, feeling lost and confused. “Why?”
The Statue remained silent.
Diluc closed his eyes and walked back into the cold.
Kaeya was perhaps the last to hear about Diluc’s return to Mondstadt.
Honestly, he was pretty surprised. Most had seemed to think Diluc had died, though, that's not what he believed. He just thought that there was no way Diluc would ever want to look at him again. So coming back to Mondstadt was certainly the last thing he expected to happen.
Just like that, he had taken over the Dawn Winery and started working at Angel’s Share. That's the first place Kaeya had seen him. It seemed that those 4 years were hard for the both of them.
Kaeya didn’t know if he was looking at Diluc, or a stranger.
He sat down at the bar. Diluc didn't seem to notice him yet.
"A glass of Death After Noon, please." He smirked, resting an elbow in the table. His eye made a quick analysis of his grown childhood friend. Diluc had gotten quite handsome.
Diluc’s cast his gaze on him for a moment before looking away. He prepared Kaeya’s drink in silence.
"It's good to see you back." Kaeya spoke, not expecting a reply anyways. He meant it. But his voice couldn't hold back a teasing muse.
Diluc glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, but only for a second. The redhead simply continued making Kaeya’s drink - adding in the dandelion wine. He still doesn’t respond.
Kaeya let out a slightly snarky sounding laugh, "What? Did you lose your ability to speak on your journey? Or are you holding a grudge?"
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” The redhead’s voice was flat and detached, but bit back against Kaeya rather aggressively.
Kaeya was taken aback by that. Was Diluc just going to pretend nothing happened? Was he just going to pretend he and Kaeya were perfect strangers?
"Unless you acquired amnesia while you were away, there's no way you've forgotten." Kaeya pouted, of course in sarcasm.
Diluc set the drink down harshly, the look in his eyes cold and withdrawn. “Do you have a point or do you just like hearing yourself speak?”
Kaeya was silent with that comment, looking back into Diluc’s red eyes with an equally cold gaze, "No. I suppose there is no point."
“Here again, Sir Kaeya? The knights must really find their duties lacking for you to be here night after night.”
"I'm surprised you're suddenly so concerned for the Knights efficiency. Or- according to you- lack thereof." Kaeya smirked.
“Someone has to be concerned, or Mondstadt will completely fall apart.”
"Hm, yes. That's why you've been going on your nightly escapades." Kaeya's blue eye pierced into him knowingly.
Diluc ignored him in favor of making Kaeya’s drink - but a small smile tugged at his lips.
Once finished with his drink, Kaeya reached out to take it, his hand brushing against Diluc’s.
Diluc flinched at the touch and nearly dropped the drink. That was his marked hand. The mark he still hasn’t told Kaeya about. Guilt and fear clouded Diluc’s head - he doesn’t deserve Kaeya after everything that happened, he can’t stand to face Kaeya’s disappointment.
Diluc let out a sigh after everyone left the Angel’s Share. His mind swirled with thoughts of Kaeya - something becoming more and more frequent over the last month. Diluc glanced down at his gloved hand with a frown. He should tell Kaeya everything, but everytime Kaeya comes into the bar, all the words die in his throat. Kaeya would be happier without him. What right does Diluc have to intrude on Kaeya’s life?
After a second of hesitation, Diluc removes his glove and the mark stares back at him. He didn’t have many chances to admire it, given it was constantly being covered, but he took the time now.
Kaeya’s constellation really was lovely. Grandiose but elegant, much like the man himself. Diluc stroked the mark fondly. His heart squeezed in his chest.
Diluc tried so hard to deny reality and hate Kaeya during his absence, but he couldn’t. He tried to keep him at arm’s length when he returned, unsure how and where he fit. When he first laid eyes on Kaeya upon his return - he seemed like a stranger. Diluc didn’t know how to speak to him when he was the one keeping secrets, when he was aware that he hurt Kaeya too.
Yet despite everything, Diluc was in love with Kaeya and he couldn’t stop it. He loved Kaeya before the mark and he loved him after.
Diluc smiled gently at his soulmark, lifting his hand up to the light.
It had been only a few moments that Kaeya had walked back into the tavern, but he was met with quite a surprising scene.
The first thing his eye laid upon was Diluc’s hand, and the mark that was placed upon it. He couldn't see too clearly from where he stood, but he could feel his heart squeeze in- hope? Anxiousness? Apprehension?
"Diluc?-"
The redhead jumped in surprise and immediately lowered his hand - hiding the mark from sight. He turned to Kaeya with wide eyes, evidently caught off guard.
"Your hand-" Kaeya brought up slowly, carefully.
“It’s nothing,” Diluc responded, his eyes averted from Kaeya.
Kaeya took a small step forward, contemplating whether to press on more, or leave it at that. Once he made up his mind, Kaeya too, averted his eyes, “It looked a lot like a soul mark.”
“And if it is?”
Kaeya shifted a little, unsure again, “Then I suppose it’s none of my business.” He paused, “After all, I am just a sinner.” He mumbled bitterly.
“I-” Diluc cut himself off and extended his right hand with a slight flush to his cheeks. His gaze still pointedly looking away from Kaeya. “Here.”
Kaeya raised an eyebrow, looking back at Diluc, surprised that the redhead gave in. He still approached rather slow, gently taking his hand to get a closer look at the mark.
It was clearly his own constellation.
Kaeya stared at it for a moment, a few complicated emotions running through his mind.
“This is...mine?”
“...Yes.” Diluc’s voice was quiet, an audible quiver.
Kaeya ran a finger over the mark, letting out a small sigh, “I suppose we have a lot to work on.”
“Are you...disappointed?” Diluc’s voice grew softer.
“Of course not. I dreamt of this since we were kids.” Kaeya admitted, a warm smile on his lips.
Diluc looked to Kaeya, his face unguarded and vulnerable. “I did too,” he continued softly, “I’m sorry, Kaeya. For everything.”
A small smile returned to Kaeya’s lips as he lifted Diluc’s hand to his lips, “I’m sorry, too.”
Diluc smiled gently and his blush darkened on his cheeks. “I’ve already forgiven you long ago.”