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“What?” Diluc slammed his fork down on the table. He stood up from his seat to look at Kaeya with a shocked expression. “You have never been to a festival before?”
Kaeya was looking down at his plate. He was fiddling with his thumbs as he tried to come up with an answer. Turns out, his silence spoke for him. Diluc looked over to their father who was sitting at the end of the table, listening to the two boys talk.
“Father, Kaeya has never been to a festival before!”
Crepus put his cup down. “Yes, Diluc, I heard him as well.”
Now feeling like he did something wrong, Kaeya uttered out a small “Sorry,” without meeting anyone’s eyes.
It has been half a year since Kaeya started living with the Ragnvindr family, and little to no progress has been made. Kaeya barely speaks at all to Diluc. Most of their conversations were from Diluc initiating it. He can’t get entirely upset about it. After all, it’s a lot better than Kaeya running off every time Diluc comes within a 3 meter radius. Crepus reminded him over and over again to give Kaeya as much time as he needed to open up to them. Even if it takes another year, and another year after that.
“You did nothing wrong, Kaeya. I’m sure Diluc is just surprised to hear such a thing. Would you like to accompany us this year?” The older man asked. “It’s not as big as the Windblume festival or the Ludi Harpastum, but it’s still fun regardless.”
Diluc chimed in. “They come once every few years, and they have a lot of booths where you can play games and win prizes! Dad won’t let me play a lot of them because ‘they're rigged.’ I still don’t know what that means though.” He pouted at the last sentence.
“Oh, I see…” Kaeya listened, taking mental notes as Diluc explained. After his explanation, he gave Kaeya a wide smile.
“Do you want to come with me? I promise you will have fun!”
Kaeya didn’t want to upset the boy, but he fears that his presence would be burdensome. They shouldn’t care so much for his entertainment. Isn’t food and water plenty enough as it is?
“If… If you want me to go.” He muttered to himself. ‘
Crepus interrupted. “You shouldn’t go if you want to go. It’s completely fine either way. We care about your wellbeing after all.”
The child simply nodded. “Alright. I will go. Thank you, Master Crepus.”
“It’s no problem, Kaeya.”
At one point, Crepus did ask for Kaeya to call him “Father,” but Kaeya was hardly comfortable with calling him that. Since Kaeya wasn’t comfortable with the idea, Crepus allowed him to call him whatever he pleases. The man never forced Kaeya to do anything he didn’t want to do, but he does wish that the child will eventually drop the formalities. Diluc on the other hand is vocal about not liking it when Kaeya referred to him as “Young master.” Diluc wanted to be friends with the boy, and it’s hard to do so when Kaeya is being overly formal with the family.
It’s alright. Kaeya will eventually open up.
The town of Mondstadt is as busy as ever. It was decorated for today, and children were running around to different booths.
Kaeya tensed but when he felt Diluc grab ahold of his hand.
“Look! There is a booth that is selling toys from Liyue!” The redhead exclaimed excitedly. “C’mon! Let’s go check it out!”
“Huh? Oh, okay.” Kaeya responded and allowed himself to be dragged off by the child. He looked back at Crepus who waved them off, telling the two of them to have fun. Kaeya slightly frowned. This man is letting Diluc drag him off! He sighed, making peace with having to entertain the young master all day.
The two of them looked at the toy stand to see all the designs from Liyue. The two of them looked at all the different kinds of kites together.
“Did you ever play with toys, Kaeya?” Diluc asked suddenly. Kaeya shook his head.
“No. They weren’t beneficial in any way. My father gets mad when I do anything besides train.” He immediately covered his mouth. He said too much. Luckily, Diluc just tilted his head in confusion.
“Training? What for?”
Kaeya tried to think of an excuse. “S-Sword training. I wanted to become a knight.” A half-lie. Sword training was something he was required to learn, but it wasn’t to become a knight.
Thankfully, Diluc 100% bought it. “Really? I’m studying to be a knight too! Although I still don’t have a vision… I hope I can still get in.”
Kaeya bit his lip. “Young master, if I may-”
“I told you to call me Diluc.”
“Right. My apologies.”
“What did you want to say?” Diluc asked softly.
“I… ahem, You will become a knight one day. You’re already exceptional at the sword. Especially at a young age. I...I believe you will eventually be the next grandmaster!” He blurted the last part out. Diluc smiled slightly.
“Thanks, Kae.”
“K-Kae?” Kaeya jumped at the nickname. Diluc laughed at his shocked expression.
“Kae. It’s your new nickname. I just decided that.” He placed his hands on his hips. “It suits you, Kae.”
“Oh, I see. Well, Call me what you’d like.” Kaeya tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. He could help but feel a bit… Happy upon hearing the name.
The two of them left the stand after looking at everything. It was fun to look at the kites and lanterns, but they decided not to get anything. While walking around, Diluc told Kaeya about something called a Lantern Rite. He promised to take Kaeya there one day to see the lanterns.
Eventually, the two of them walked around for a while. They did stop for food. Crepus was kind enough to leave them a bag of mora for them to get whatever they wanted. Kaeya sometimes forgets that Crepus is quite a wealthy man. It’s no surprise he left them with a lot of mora. Still, he was a kind man and raised Diluc to be quite humble.
“You never had cotton candy?” Diluc asked, handing Kaeya a blue one.
“No. I do know a bunch of kids enjoy this stuff.” Kaeya analyzed the cone in his hand.
“It’s really good! Trust me!”
“If you insist…” Kaeya closed his eyes and took a small bite out of it. It was… a little too sweet for his liking, but it wasn’t too bad. Plus, having Diluc in his company made the experience a lot more pleasant.
“You’re smiling,” Diluc whispered. “I've never seen you smile before.”
Is that such a big deal? Kaeya didn’t even notice he was. “Oh. I suppose I am.”
“I’m assuming you enjoyed it?”
“It’s too sweet for my liking, but…” Kaeya looked down. “It wasn’t bad. I think it tastes better because you’re here.”
Diluc giggled. “That makes no sense, Kae!”
Kaeya pouted. “Food always tastes better with the company. Master Crepus taught us that!”
“I suppose you’re right.” Diluc went quiet as he watched Kaeya happily eat his cotton candy.
Out of nowhere, Diluc blurted out, “Kaeya, you’re very pretty.”
Kaeya nearly dropped his food after hearing that. “H-Huh?”
“Our father and a lot of our maids refer to you as “pretty” or “adorable.” I never understood it until now. After all, we don’t com..comuni… we don’t talk a lot.” Diluc tapped his chin.
Everyone in the manor talked about him like this? He has no idea how to respond to this new info.
“You’re blushing, Kae.”
“Impossible. Don’t say things like that.”
“What? You are pretty. I’m jealous of your looks.”
“ Gege , you’re embarrassing me.” Kaeya went quiet once more. What did he just say? He silently prayed that Diluc was too stupid to pick up what he just said. It seems that his prayers were unanswered because he ended up getting hugged by Diluc, dropping his cotton candy on the ground.
“Ehe, what did you say~?’” Diluc teased.
“I said nothing.”
“You totally did.”
“Did not.”
“Don’t be shy! I liked it!”
“You’re imagining things.”
“C’mon. I call you ‘Kae.’ Give me a nickname!”
Kaeya looked at the poor cotton candy on the ground. What a waste. All because he decided to open his mouth. After silently mourning his loss, he looked back at Diluc. “Um, how about… ‘Luc? Because… because of your name? Sorry, I’m not good at this…”
“Are you kidding? I love it! Though, Gege was a cuter one. I still like ‘Luc!” Diluc beamed. He finally focused his attention on the dropped food. “Oh. I’m sorry I made you drop it. Do you want another one?”
“No, it’s quite alright. Thank you.” Kaeya kneeled to clean up the dropped food. After cleaning it, the two of them sat near the fountain. Feeling bad, Diluc offered some of his cotton candy.
“We can just tear pieces off. I’m not going to finish this by myself anyways.” Was what the young master offered him. Not wanting to be rude, Kaeya accepted his offer.
The cotton candy tasted a lot better anyways.
After a while, the two decided to check out other booths. Kaeya quietly followed behind the boy as they made their way around. He felt a lot less nervous after today. It’s a wonder why he never tried to hang out with Diluc earlier.
“Remember, Kaeya, you are Khaenri’ah’s last hope.”
Right… Kaeya needed to keep his distance from his family. He’s only staying with them because it’s better than the wilderness. All he needs to be is just another mouth to feed. It’s not his job to get close to Master Crepus and his son- no matter how much they consider Kaeya as family.
Yet Kaeya managed to fail at keeping his distance. Diluc was way too… stubborn. In the end, he managed to go with him to a small festival and chat with the young master. Hell, he accidentally called him big bro after Diluc shared a shred of friendliness with him.
“Kae? What’s wrong? Are you sick?” Diluc stopped in his tracks. Kaeya halted to look back up at him.
“No, I’m okay.” Kaeya snapped out of it. He noticed Diluc’s eyebrows furrowed in worry. He spoke again to reassure him. “I was just thinking of things.”
“Things? Like what?”
Kaeya played with the hem of his shirt. “What… am I to you exactly? I never tried to talk to you before, but you’re always trying to speak to me. You even allow me to call you names other than your title. I don’t understand why you want to be my friend. There are plenty of kids your age.”
Diluc frowned. He reached out and took Kaeya’s hand. It felt a bit cold upon touch and his fingers were thin. Still, it made him happy knowing that Kaeya is allowing this behavior.
“Well, I always thought you were pretty cool. Since you live with me and Father, I wanted to be around you. Heck, I always wanted a little brother growing up!”
“L-Little brother? You barely know me.”
Diluc lightly squeezed his hand. “Then, I want to learn everything about you! We can make up for the lost time!”
Kaeya smiled slightly. “I don’t have a lot to tell. You’re going to think I’m boring.”
Or a threat and run away screaming.
“No way! I’m really really interested!” Diluc argued. Kaeya looked down at their hands. He sighed and squeezed back.
“Okay. I’ll tell you about it.”
Everything except the fact I’m sent here as a spy.
Pleased with Kaeya’s answer, Diluc continued walking around town, refusing to let go of Kaeya’s hand.
A while later, they stopped in front of a booth that caught Diluc’s eye. “Look, Kae! It’s an Inazuman stand! I think I heard of this game. It’s called a Kin… a King…”
The man overheard them and finished the sentence for the young boy. “Ah, it’s called a Kingyo Sukui. Would you boys like to play?”
There was a long and shallow tank filled with fish. People were kneeling in front of it trying to scoop out fish. Diluc overheard them complaining about how difficult the game is, but to Diluc, it looked extremely easy.
“What are the rules, mister?” The redhead asked the man.
“Ah, It’s simple.” The man held out a small plastic frame with paper covering it. Diluc took it by the handgrip.
“This is called a Poi. It’s what you use to catch the fish.” He handed a bowl to Kaeya. “This is a bowl used to place the fish. Make sure you fill it with water before dropping the fish inside. The goal of the game is to catch as many fish as you can until the poi breaks. If you manage to catch a fish, then you can take it home with you. Are you boys up to the challenge?”
“Yessir!” Diluc responded. The man chuckled and held out a hand.
“That will be 500 mora.”
“Eh?”
“C’mon, kid. I have to make money somehow.”
Before the redhead was about to refuse, Diluc looked over at Kaeya who was already staring at the fish in awe. There was a small glint in his eyes. Diluc sighed in defeat and forked over the cash before sitting down next to Kaeya.
“Are you ready?”
Kaeya filled up the bowl with water. “Good luck, young ma- I mean, ‘Luc.”
***
“Oh, come on! That’s the fourth time the thing broke!” Diluc whined, holding up a broken poi.” This game sucks!”
“You need to be more patient. The fish are swimming away because you’re scaring them.” Kaeya responded. “Come on, we don’t have to stay here.”
Diluc pouted. “No! I saw the way you’re eying the fish. I… I want to win you one.”
Kaeya blinked. “Huh?” He failed to realize Diluc’s true intent. Feeling a bit responsible, he placed a hand on the redhead’s shoulder. “You don’t have to. Thank you for trying.”
“But… You look so happy watching the tank. As your big brother, I want to do everything I can to please you!”
“You’re going to spend all of our money…”
Diluc didn’t listen. Instead, he had another idea. “How about you fish and I hold the bowl? Maybe you’re better at it than I am!”
Kaeya hesitated for a moment before deciding to give it a try. “Alright, then. If you don’t mind.”
They switched places shortly after. Kaeya placed a new poi into the tank and slowly moved around. His eyes were focused, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. He drowned out every other noise. Nothing could distract him from achieving his goal. He didn’t even listen to Diluc complaining about him taking so long.
A fish swam in the direction of the poi. Almost there. Just a little more and…
“Got it!” Kaeya exclaimed as he lifted a fish out of the water. “Diluc, the bowl.”
Diluc wasted no time bringing the bowl towards the poi. Kaeya carefully placed the fish into the bowl shortly after.
“You did it, Kae! I knew you could do it. You’re so cool!” He placed his hands on Kaeya’s shoulders, smiling brightly.
Kaeya averts his eyes. “It wasn’t anything special…”
“You’re too modest! Seriously! I have the coolest bro ever!”
Kaeay’s face flushed. He’s not used to genuine compliments. He slowly handed the bowl to Diluc. “Here. Let the man know that we caught one.”
***
It was getting late. After exploring a while longer, the two of them went to locate Crepus before it got dark. It wasn’t too hard to look for the man. He was having drinks with other adults.
“Daaad! Look at what we got!” Diluc ran over to him, holding out a bag containing a black fish. Crepus looked at it in surprise. He left them alone for a few hours only for them to come back with a new pet fish.
“That’s very nice, son.” Crepus managed to smile. He reached out a hand and ruffled Diluc’s hair. He looked up at Kaeya with the same kind expression. “Did you have fun, Kaeya?”
Kaeya nodded in response.
“Dad, Kae is amazing! He caught this in one try. He keeps saying that it’s no big deal though.”
Crepus paused. “‘Kae?’”
“Mhm! It’s my nickname for him! I think it suits him!”
These kids are way too adorable.
“I agree. ‘Kae’ is a good name.”
Diluc pouted. “ I’m the only one who gets to call him that. You may have father privileges, but I have big brother privileges!”
Crepus chuckled. “I can’t call him ‘Kae?’”
“Nope!”
“Awe, now I feel left out.” The man teased. He didn’t actually mean it, but Kaeya felt a little bad.
“Master Crepus? I don’t mind if you… called me ‘son.’” Kaeya said quietly. It was a bit embarrassing to say such a small thing. He remembered how Crepus asked him to call him “Dad” or “Father,” but Kaeya wasn’t comfortable calling him that yet. In return, Crepus never called him ‘son’ to prevent Kaeya from feeling uncomfortable. As time went on, Kaeya felt more and more at ease with the man. In fact, he feels different from his birth father. He was everything his father was not.
Crepus placed a hand on top of Kaeya’s head. “That’s fine with me. If you ever change your mind, let me know, son.”
Strangely enough, Kaeya’s heart felt full at that moment.
Two days passed and Kaeya found himself being around Diluc a lot more often. It’s gotten to the point where if Diluc wasn’t around him, Kaeya would seek him out instead. It’s a bit silly how he’s grown fond of the boy, but he was Kaeya’s very first friend. He’s new to making friends. It doesn’t help that they finally considered each other brothers, so Kaeya is struggling to figure out how to be a good brother and a good friend to Diluc.
Right now the two of them are sitting in Diluc’s room, watching their new fish swim around in its bowl.
“Next time, we are going to catch it a friend,” Diluc said suddenly. “I bet it feels lonely in its tank. It reminds me a little of you.”
“Me? Why’s that?” Kaeya focused his gaze on him.
Diluc tapped his chin. “Well, you were all alone when dad and I found you that night. You hardly spoke to us at all. When we got you inside and dried off from the rain, you looked so… sad and lonely.”
“Did you only want to be my friend because you felt bad?” Kaeya asked, sounding a bit offended.
“Oh, not at all! It’s not every day Father takes someone in. Especially when that person is my age. I wanted to be friends with you regardless.”
The smaller boy smiled upon hearing that. He scooted closer and rested his head on his older brother’s shoulder. “I’m glad…”
Before Diluc gotta say anything else, he heard Kaeya’s breathing slow down. Did he fall asleep? Doesn’t matter. Diluc is just happy to have Kaeya by his side.
Is this how it feels to have someone you’d like to protect?
***
Kaeya woke up to the sound of Diluc screaming in horror. The sudden noise scared the crap out of him, but he was mostly worried about Diluc’s wellbeing than himself at the moment. He looked in the direction to see their pet goldfish on the ground.
“What happened?” Kaeya managed to ask. Diluc crouched to the ground, scooping up the fish.
“It jumped from its tank! It’s… it’s not moving!” Tears welled up in his eyes. Just then, Crepus slammed the door open. There were two maids behind him. They must have heard the commotion.
“What’s going on? Is anyone hurt?” He asked worriedly. He eventually calmed down when he noticed both of the boys were physically unharmed. Sighing in relief, he waved the maids off.
“Dad, o-our fish. I think it’s dead.” Diluc sniffled. Crepus placed a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry to hear that, son. What happened?”
“It jumped out of its tank.”
“Oh?”
“Is it our fault it died?”
“You did nothing wrong, Diluc. I should have done more research on taking care of pet fish. It’s okay. It’s in a better place now.”
Diluc looked over at Kaeya. “What should we do with it now?”
Kaeya shrugged. “Eat it?”
Crepus turned around and tried his best not to laugh. One of his sons is very traumatized right now, but Kaeya’s blatant response took him off guard.
“Kae, we can’t eat our friend!”
“Fish is a source of nutrition. Oh, Is eating pets wrong?”
Crepus leaned against the wall to stifle his laughter. May Barbatos forgive him for thinking this interaction is hilarious. After calming down, he placed one hand on Diluc’s head and another on Kaeya’s.
“How about we give it a proper farewell?” He asked the two boys. Diluc wiped his tears and nodded in agreement. Kaeya decided to go along. Mostly because he wanted to apologize for suggesting that they eat their pet fish, but also because he didn’t want Diluc to be sad.
They held a little fish funeral near the body of water next to the mansion. Crepus suggested flushing it down the toilet, but Diluc argues that he wanted a proper sendoff. They found a small box that was light enough to float on water. They watched as the box carried the fish away into the distance.
“‘Luc? Are you alright?” Kaeya took his brother’s hand. Diluc wiped a tear away before giving him a sad smile.
“Yea. I’m fine. It’s in a better place now.” The redhead responded, squeezing its hand back. “Thanks for cheering me up, Kae.”
“Mhm.” That was all Kaeya responded with. He felt a bit happy knowing that he made Diluc feel a little bit better.
Their moment of peace was interrupted when a bird swooped down and picked up their dead fish. Both Kaeya and Diluc watched in horror as the bird carried it off into the sunset. Crepus clamped a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from laughing. This family can never catch a break.
“Did… did a bird just eat our pet fish?” Kaeya asked.
Crepus tried to form some sort of excuse. “Um, you see boys, that bird was helping it ascend to Celestia. Don’t worry, it’s in a better place now.” He explained, trying his best not to crack a smile. The situation is messed up, but it was a little funny to the grown man. Thankfully, he managed to keep his composure and sell the lie to his children.
“Birds carry fish to Celestia?” Diluc asked. “I never heard about that before.”
“You never asked me.” Crepus placed his hands on his hips. “Anyways, your pet is safely being taken there to be watched over by the gods. Don’t be sad. It’s a huge honor for it.”
Their father’s words were enough to calm the both of them down.
The walk back to the mansion was spent with Crepus lecturing them about the importance of researching before bringing home a new pet. Probably explains why their pet tortoise is living lavishly at the moment.
That night, Diluc woke up to the sound of his bedroom door opening. He sat up to notice Kaeya standing there in the doorway.
“Kae? What’s the matter?” He asked sheepishly. Kaeya but his lip, internally debating whether to tell him or run out the room.
“Did you have a nightmare?” Diluc asked another question. Kaeya nodded in response. The redhead moved to one side of the bed and patted the side next to him. “You can stay here.”
Kaeya wasted no time moving to the other side of it. “Thank you.” He whispered.
“It’s no problem. Father used to let me sleep in his bed when I couldn’t sleep at night. Since I’m a big kid now, I need to make sure you’re not having nightmares anymore.”
A small laugh. “Aren’t you only ten?”
“Ten is like… the beginning of adulthood!”
“Are you going to start shaving like an adult as well?”
“Ah, I don’t have a beard yet.”
Kaeya snuggled closer. He didn’t comment on Diluc’s silly remark. After a while of comfortable silence, Diluc spoke up again.
“What was your nightmare about?”
Kaeya didn’t want to tell him. It was him watching Mondstadt burn to the ground. How easy the statue of Barbatos crumbled to the ground. The last thing he remembered was him standing over Diluc. Those kind loving eyes were replaced by hurt and anger. It was almost as if he hated him. No words were exchanged when he finally shoved the tip of his dagger into Diluc’s neck. Upon seeing his brother lay there with blood pooling out of his neck- red enough to match his hair, Kaeya could see life draining from his eyes...
“It’s nothing. Really.” Kaeya responded. “Don’t worry about it.”
Respecting his decision, Diluc decided not to press him on the issue. Instead, he pulled Kaeya into a hug. “Whatever it is, it won’t hurt you. You have a father and a big brother who loves you very much. We won’t let anything hurt you.”
Kaeya decided to keep this fantasy of his to himself for just a while longer. For just a while, he wanted to pretend that he’s just a normal kid who's been adopted by a wonderful… wonderful family. Pretend that he didn’t come here with ulterior motives and that there will be a day where he will emerge victorious among his fellow men from Khaenri’ah or a day where the knights of Favonius will strike him down. Either way, he cannot picture happiness in either outcome.
But for now, he’s happy. Happy and comfortable in the arms of someone who cares dearly for him. His future is inevitable, but he can at least enjoy the present.
And that he did. That night he fell asleep enveloped with warmth and love. He decided to enjoy moments like these for as long as he can. Who knows what the future will bring?