Work Text:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
—"bring it out."
"N-no.. Brother please. P-please calm down" kaeya pants out
"I SAID BRING YOUR WEAPON OUT."
Diluc cries out eyes wide, eyebrows furrowed, looking at his brother with a murderous intent.
why.. why..WHY.
....Did kaeya really do this?.
WAS HE REALLY A SPY TO KILL FATHER?!
"L-luc hey.. It's me.. Kaeya—"
"No. No you aren't. DONT call me that. Your not the kaeya I know. You AREN'T MY BROTHER. YOU ARE NOT A SINGLE PART OF THIS FAMILY "
Fire. Fire. FIRE.
All kaeya saw was fire. Heat. Diluc lit his claymore up with the undying burn of the amber flames. It was raining. Thunders roaring up from the sky.
"Would you die instead of protecting yourself?.. haah.. pathetic."
Even ice felt more warmer than those words...... it hurt.. He loved diluc. He truly did.. as a brother and as his only friend.. He knew that diluc was not in the right state of mind.. But it was his fault for spilling everything in the worse possible time..
All he remembered was the flames from his very own brother engulfing his right eye taking a blow from his brother's weapon... his own brother.. it was dark.... it was so
... lonely....
______________________________________________________________
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Kaeya
'Haah.. Another week. Another commision.'
Kaeya woke up quite late this morning.. Master Jean might get furious again.
"Now where did my eyepatch go.."
*creak*
Kaeya heard his door creak open with a particular small girl with the signature red spark knight hat.....with oh?
"Good morning mister Cavalry Captain Kaeya!!! Master Jean wanted to give your eyepatch back to you since you dropped it a day ago in a commission! Klee wanted to give it to you personally!"
"-ah..! Thank you so much Klee.. I appreciate it" Kaeya scruffles Klee's hair a bit not much to ruin it.
"Oh! Mister Kaeya! Are you hurt?!"
"Klee? What's wrong?—" Klee notices a mark covered up by kaeya's hair where his eyepatch was supposed to be... Kaeya noticed that she was staring at "That" injury.
-"Ah! Klee no, no.. I am okay.. it's an old injury.."
"Oh! May I know where it came from?"
"...Eum..A-ahem.. well I got it from someone close Klee, So it's okay.."
—"From someone!?!??!?"
Kaeya chuckles at her sudden outburst
"I swear! Once Klee becomes Like master Jean! I will kick their butts!!!!"
Kaeya laughs
"Ahahah.. Klee no, no it's okay.."
—The door then creaks again
It was master Jean..
"Klee? Its time for you to go to your commissions—Oh? Sir Kaeya? Ah! I forgot about your eyepatch—"
"Jean its okay, Klee got it for me, thank you I really appreciate it."
"Oh really? Klee thank you for your good deeds. Now let's go, let's not bother our Cavalry Captain."
"Okay Master Jeannn!!!! Goodbye sir Kaeya! Please stay safe!"
"Stay safe you two..!"
Klee left first waiting for Master Jean outside, but Jean wanted to say something before they parted out of kaeya's room.
—"Oh yes kaeya.....
.....Diluc is back.. I hope you can meet him again after 3 years he'd been away from Mondstadt."
That name....... Diluc?..
Diluc was back?...
"...A-ah.. So he's back?.."
"Yes Kaeya... Please tell me If you aren't alright.. I've known you and your habits. And your relationship with him—"
"Jean. Its okay.. He's my brother.."
.
.
.
...
"...Well then take care sir Kaeya.."
Jean says with a worried face.
"Take care.."
'Well time to start the day.'
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
__________________________________________
Diluc
'Its been 3 years.. ever since I've came back here.' ..'3 years of regret and pain.'
Jean
"Sir Diluc.. Welcome back. I've asked Charles to step down from work last night. Since it is your arrival from the past 3 years.."
"—Thank you Jean. Very much appreciated.."
At the Angels Share
"This place hasn't changed ever since I left mond.."
"—Hahah.. Well.. someone kept this place quite lively..."
Diluc didn't really know what Jean was implying on.. but he just brushed it off.
"Well then sir Diluc I must depart on duties now. Please take care."
"Take care too Master Jean."
Kaeya
'Ah.. seriously? A fatui agent?.. Really. The first commission in broad day light.'
—"Yes sister?"
"Barbara please keep an eye on Kaeya.. I've heard he was given quite hard commissions this week. I'll inform him that your coming with him."
"Yes Master Jean! I'm on it!"
"..Thank you Barbara.."
__________________________________________
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Your sister? She might get hurt Jean..—"
"Kaeya. Barbara is a skilled healer... I trust her far enough on tough missions. The honorary knight too has the same commission as you so you may depart with them.."
'Haah.. okay Jean you win this time..'
"Your giving me that giving up look huh sir Kaeya?" Jean lets out a smug look on her face
"Fine, fine I admit defeat..!"
They both chuckle
"Now sir kaeya, they might be waiting outside.. I can dissmiss you now, please be careful and take care.."
"Yes of course dont worry Jean I wont get hurt.. Take care too."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Well wasn't that the most stupidest goddamn lie.
—"Sir kaeya! SIR KAEYA!—"
"—Wake u..— ... ...ake up!–"
"—he..-s still breathi— ....in..-g!"
"Maste...—r Jea...—..n!
"H...–es ble... edin-g.. t—oo ...much!"
"G..—o to the... C—...athedral—..No—.w!"
Diluc
'Just then I swear I heard a huge fuss outside.. was someone hurt?..'—
"Sir Diluc!—*pant* *pant* 3 glasses for the bard please!"
Diluc sighed..
'Archons.. Venti..'
"Oh yeah.. venti.. weren't you outside just a few moments ago..?"
"Yeah? What's the problem sir Diluc?"
"Well I heard a lot going on.. what happened?.."
"Hmm.. I dont think I was quick enough to catch the event! Sorry!"
'Sigh'
"It's okay.. I was just curious.. Mond isn't much the violent type of a city at all.."
"Mm.. that is true sir Diluc!"
...'I wonder what happened though..'
__________________________________________
Jean
'Fuck!'
"Sister Rosaria is Sir Kaeya okay?"
Jean says in the most worried tone..
"Master Jean.. Dont stress yourself out.. He's in critical condition right now.. But he will live."
"-a-ah fuck t-this is all my fault..—"
"Master Jean. It is no ones fault.. you mus'nt take the burden for everything. Sir Kaeya will heal. Please focus on yourself right now—"
"HOW COULD I FOCUS ON MYSELF IF I COULD LOSE ANOTHER PERSON!"....
Rosaria flinched at the tone
"—s-sorry rosaria I didn't mean to raise my voice at you..!—"
"Its okay Master Jean.. I understand your situation. Dont be worried..I will go visit Barbara for further updates. Take care Master Jean.."
"Take care of him.."
__________________________________________
Kaeya
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"N-no.. w-wait! ....I'm not a traitor!..—"
"Luc please w-wait I cant e-explain...!—"
"DAD!!"
"L-luc..."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
".....brother......"
'..was it all just a bad dream..?'
"F-fuck ah... what happened.. why am I in b-bed —AH!-"
"Kaeya! Slow down, rest!.. You were bleeding so much.. you lost so much blood.."
......
"I w-what? –ah!-"
"Sorry sorry.. you shouldn't really talk right now.. a commission you were in went wrong this morning."
"...does Diluc know about this....?"
"..no"—"should i tell him?—"
"N-NO— AH- a-ah!.. sorry I meant no.."
Jean looked confused but mostly worried.
"Kaeya be careful...! But why dont you want him to know..?"
"Just no. I dont want him to get into this situation. He has a lot on his plate already, also you Jean.. You are the Acting grand master, take a r-rest ah- I'm fine.. I should head back.."
"Stop right there. I dont buy the "I'm fine" act here kaeya. Your hurt."
"No one would care less.. I am truly okay Jean"
'Fucking bullshit kaeya. Haah..'
"Atleast let me escort you.."
"Fine, fine.."
__________________________________________
"Here.. take care.. dont go out and sneak through the windows just like when we were young again.."
They both chuckle
"Jean I wouldn't dont worry, I wouldn't be able to do it without diluc pushing me out the window.. haah..Take care.."
"Take care kaeya."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Those memories.
Were they all just an act?...
.
.
.
.
.
.
'I should cut my hair... I dont need to look like "him" anways.. Archons I could have just died in that commission for all I care.. Could have been a dream come true for him. If I died that time I could have made someone happy atleast.'
Gulp. Gulp. Gulp
Wine. A beverage to clear the mind...
God kaeya just wanted this night and pain to end..
__________________________________________
The next day
Diluc
'Not much customers lately.. probably way too much work this week.—'
Diluc says thinking but got cut off
"Hey have you heard that the Cavalry Captain got hurt badly from a commission yesterday.. heard that he lost a ton of blood.."
"Yeah.. yeah.. then he-"
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
'What?.......
'Kaeya?..'
'Hes hurt?....'
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Diluc's ears were buzzing. Did he.. hear that right?....—
"Sir Diluc? Are you okay? You look pale."
'Pale?..'
..'I can't breath properly'
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Kaeya?..."
.....silence
"K-kae?.."
............silence.
"I-I can explain L-luc I-!"
"YOUR A SPY. A TRAITOR. A MURDERER."
Slash.
"S-stop..!"
Slash.
–"A-Ah...—Eu....A— Di-L..uc"
Slash.
"Would you die instead of protecting yourself?.. haah.. pathetic."
.
.
.
.
.
."YOUR NOT FAMILY."
"YOUR AREN'T MY BROTHER."
.
.
.
__________________________________________
Jean
—"Master Diluc? What brings you here—"
.
.
.
.
.
"Kaeya's hurt?"
'Ah.. he found out..'
..."Yes Sir Diluc.. I'm sorry for not reporting you this matter in an earlier case since you two are relate—"
Jean stopped talking.. Dilucs face. He looked distraught... he looked like burden was crushing him.
"Master Diluc..?"
"....ow bad.."
"Ah sorry may you repeat that Master Diluc?.."
Silence..
"Sir Diluc?—"
"H-how bad..?"
Jean was surprised. Diluc? Diluc worrying about Kaeya?.. she remembered clearly that the two had something going on 3 years ago.. It was bad.. really bad.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"CAVALRY CAPTAIN JEAN!—"
"KAEYA'S HURT..!"
Jean was still the Cavalry Captain of Mondstadt.. things happened so quickly..
'What?'
..
"Barbara get the other sisters! This is a third degree burn where did he get this from...!?"
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"It hurts."
"It hurts Jean..!"
...
"Kaeya breath in and out.. Please.. Please Stay with us.."
A third degree burn. The most painful degree a human being can take. On the sides of the eye close to the sclera.
....
"I've done my best Jean.. I'm so sorry..
Sir Kaeya is.....
" is halfly blind.."
__________________________________________
Diluc
"Jean..?"
"A-ah sorry I was thinking about something regarding the matter.."
"Ahem .. He's... hes okay and well.. he just lost a lot of blood thats all.."
'A lot of blood...? And hes okay with that?..'
"Sir Diluc?"
"Ah.. I see.. that's all I needed to know thank you Jean.."
"Take care.. Diluc."
Diluc nods and heads back to the tavern.
......
...
..
.
.
.
Well supposedly at the tavern.. but oh..
....'of all places why did my subconcious take me here.'
__________________________________________
Infront of kaeya's quarters
Beat. Beat. Beat.
'Archons why are you so nervous..'
*knock knock*
"Kaeya, its me. Open up."
.....silence
'Haah.. I'm getting Deja vu from this.'
Diluc then knocks again but even louder this time.. but still no answer.
'Fuck am I overthinking this. No way hes dead..'
'Sorry you can kick my ass later Kaeya—'
What in the devil possessed him to break his own brothers door.
But the sight was yet to see.
Diluc froze....
Kaeya?
He saw his brother laying down on the floor with a thin blanket barely fitting his small frame.. and and chair next to him. A wine glass on the table tipped, dry wine seeping out on the floor and on the table close to the fire place mistaken for blood.
...
The sight broke him.
..kaeya was known to drink when he was stressed.. sad.. irritated.. who knows, the list can go on.
Diluc frowned.. he drunked himself unconcious again?..
He mentally face palmed at the crooked door. 'Could have just barged in quietly instead of breaking it.. jeez'
Kaeya started squirming under the air coming in from the broken window..
'Shit he's waking up—'
But he didn't
"N-noo.. n-no I-im not a t-traitor..!"
Kaeya said halfly asleep.
...
Diluc had his eyes wide open.
'What?'
...
'He's having a nightmare about that night?..'
Kaeya started squirming even more
"Hey kaeya wake up its just a bad dream.."
Diluc spoke with a poor attempt.
'Haah shit. I used to be good at this when we were young..!'
But then Diluc got a bit distracted on his brothers hair.. it got....... short?
He knew that kaeya loved his hair long.. but now its... short?..
He caressed his brothers hair even if it was cut short.. Kaeya calmed down a bit..
When they were little kids.. Jean, him, and Kaeya would brade their hairs for fun. Kaeya loved it. He loved getting his hair touched.. but all of that fun ended in that faithful night.. the last night Diluc had been in mond for the past 3 years.
"BRING YOUR WEAPON OUT"
"traitor."
"YOU AREN'T MY BROTHER."
... Diluc really regretted it..—
Kaeya statted squirming again but harder.. shaking his head left and right. Flinching at everything.
Diluc panicked..
"K-kaeya.. get yourself together its just a dream—"
"IM NOT A TRAITOR!—"
Shit.
He woke up
"A-AH—"
From the state of shock kaeya was on he accidentally used his vision on his brother.
'Eh?—'
......
'EHHH??????—'
__________________________________________
"...L-luc?.."
"DILUC I SWEAR TO THE ARCHONS IF YOU DONT WAKE UP—"
"K-kae?..."
....
...Gods Kaeya was relieved. But now his mood turned into utter confusion.
.
"W-what are you doing here?.."
Kaeya said in skeptical tone.
...
"....I thought you were dead?.. well I was worried.. At least I was wro—" Diluc stops his sentence mid-way and looked at kaeya with eyes once opened wide again
..
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
"What?"
Kaeya says confused at the red head who suddenly stopped his sentence looking at him worriedly.
....
'Oh.'
Kaeya forgot to wear his eyepatch again.
....Diluc was staring at "that" ..
"A-ah! That's nothing...it's nothing."
"Liar. Let me see."
"L-luc n-no—"
Kaeya tried his hardest to conceal his eye..
But he failed to do so.
Red.
Dry red skin.
Almost a full white blinded eye.
Slash.
Slash.
SLASH.
...
"L-luc?..."
'Huh?.. hes...hes...
'HES CRYING!!?'
"A-AH— eum L-luc!— s-stop...!"
"I c-can explain..!"
"Brother..!"
Brother..
BROTHER.
"H-hey Luc why are you crying..?—"
"M.. sorry....."
"H-huh..?"
"...i-im sorry...."
"...I didn't mean to hurt you...."
Im sorry
Im sorry
Im sorry
Im sorry..
"Hey! Luc look I made a paper airplane for you and Jean!"
"Luc Im scared.."
"Luc don't worry! Even if Im weak, I'll protect you and everyone in Mondstadt!
"I love you and dad Luc!"
..
...
.........
"N-no please..! I dont wanna fight you.. I DONT WANNA HURT YOU—"
"I SAID BRING YOUR WEAPON OUT"
"L-luc"
"I-im sorry l-luc"
"A-AH—"
"Traitor"
"AREN'T MY BROTHER"
"family"
"Rain."
"Fire."
..."brother"
"Shhh.. It's okay luc.."
....
"HOW CAN YOU STILL FORGIVE ME!?"
"—A-AFTER ALL THESE YEARS I LEFT MONDSTADT—"
—"AFTER IVE HURT YOU—
AFTER...After.."
Diluc cried even more in his brothers touch
...."its okay Luc... You burden had been already lifted.. never once in my life I've ever come to hate you.. Thank you for being with me.. Luc.."
Ahh the night was long..