Chapter Text
"I'm not a therapist, you know."
The knights were, as Diluc always told, always been insufficient. And this just made him feel more right than ever, almost questioning how he could be so right about them even after all the years passed.
"Master Diluc, I know you two aren't on best terms but we really need your help. We tried everything, nothing worked. And our only hope is you."
"Then you better stop hoping, Master Jean," Diluc answered rather aggressively. "You can come and ask for help with anything, absolutely anything I say. But not something that involves him."
Jean sighed, she knew the result she would get, but still wanted to try her chance by visiting Dawn Winery herself. She now understands why it used to be so hard to convince Kaeya to get even near Dawn Winery. Even the idea of being near the melancholic place made Jean feel emotions she thought she left behind years ago.
"I don't care if he's not looking good or working well, if you have any problems with him, just talk instead of trying to find a therapist. He should be able to get help if he's in a bad condition."
Diluc rolled his eyes, he couldn't believe he had to quit everything and meet with Jean, just because Kaeya was being dramatic over absolutely nothing. Considering his cool and laid-back personality, his whinings always seemed out of place and often annoying to Diluc.
To think about it, Kaeya quit whining and trying to annoy Diluc a surprisingly long time ago. It's been a month and he didn't see Kaeya at Angel's Share. Normally, he would work even harder that day to finish his duty early so he can spend the rest of the night making Diluc angry.
"Why don't you try talking with him instead?"
"He's acting cold, especially to me and Barbara. We both have no idea what caused him to get mad at us, but considering his situation, we would like to assume it's just the side-effects of a gloomy mood."
"What the hell is wrong with Kaeya?" he thought. He might be upset for something Jean did, perhaps the new duty hours don't delight him. But what could Barbara have done?
"Then just wait for him to quit acting like a baby. If he doesn't, threaten him by firing or something, I don't know."
"Master Diluc, you don't understand."
"I understand well, Master Jean, I understand better than you. He has nothing to be upset about," Diluc wrapped his arms around his torse, quite annoyed and mad already. "I've been through a lot worse. If I can handle everything that happened, then he has to be doing okay."
"You can't compare emotions, Master Diluc," Jean couldn't stop herself, even though she knew no such force can change the way Diluc thinks. "I don't know what is going on in Kaeya's life either, but he definitely needs help with something, and I'm sure he'll be more open to you."
"As I said, I'm not a therapist. I won't help you with anything about Kaeya. And if you insisting on trying to change the way I think, I will kindly ask you to leave."
And there was nothing left Jean could add. Every sentence she readied before arriving there had no meaning from that point, considering Diluc asks her to leave if there's nothing else she can talk about. Even her disappointed expression didn't affect Diluc the slightest.
This was indeed, a very bad sign.
"Thank you for listening, Master Diluc," Jean spoke formally and coldly.
For the rest of the evening, Diluc tried to busy himself with work. A way of avoiding things that are upsetting him has always been working. Reading tons of papers and signing papers constantly seemed much better than losing in his thoughts.
And there was, sitting in his office and trying to find more work to do. But every time he looks around, thoughts he's trying to avoid end up bothering him again.
"All because of that fool," Diluc grunted.