Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

A strange child is running about the streets of Mondstadt.

Diluc sees her almost every day, as she passes by the entrance of the Angel’s Share. It’s become quite a normal occurrence.

She’s a pyro vision holder, he knows that much. He’s seen sparks and embers fly from her hands as she skips around the town.

Although Diluc isn’t the biggest fan of a literal child coming so close to the tavern, as long as she doesn’t try to enter there’s nothing he can do about it.

He does silently judge whoever her parents are, however, letting their kid run wild around the city. What if something bad were to happen to her?

“You know, that kid clearly knows how to take care of herself. You don’t have to watch her every time she passes by.”

A nosey, green-clad bard piped up, sipping on what was probably his hundredth glass of dandelion wine that night. Diluc had long given up on trying to cut the literal drunken archon off.

“Sure, maybe she does.” Diluc snatched the half-empty glass out of Venti’s hands, earning him an offended ‘hey!’ “But she’s still a child, and she’s out far later than usual today. Someone needs to keep an eye on her.”

The little girl skipped out of Diluc’s view, and the man turned back to the task at hand.

The last of the tavern’s customers and employees had begun to filter out and head home a few hours ago. Now only Venti remained, glaring at Diluc as he poured the glass he had stolen from him out and began to clean it.

“I was still drinking that, you know!” He whined, leaning back dangerously far on his stool, “I think I deserve a refund on that drink, I didn’t even get to finish it!”

Diluc rolled his eyes, definitely not fighting back a fond smile, “I don’t think you’ve paid for a single drink you’ve ever ordered here,” he finished cleaning the glass and set it down with a soft clink, “there’s nothing to refund.”

Venti leaned against the bar with a sigh, “and yet you keep giving me drinks. Honestly, do you even keep up with my tab anymore?”

Diluc had given up on the bard’s tab months ago, “yes, I do.” He lied through his teeth, Venti let out an annoyed groan. “And at this point, you owe me more mora than one man could possibly earn in a lifetime.”

Diluc stepped forward and looked down at his friend, laying face down on the bar. He flicked his head with a thunk, “Luckily, you have an infinite amount of time to pay me back, all-mighty Barbatos.” He deadpanned.

Venti smacked the red-haired man’s hand away, glancing up at him with a drunkenly flushed face, “Oh, how tragic! I will forever be in debt to the Ragnvindr family...” He sat up and slid off his stool, “Mondstadt’s oh so loving archon, enslaved by the cruel mortal Master Diluc’s greed!” He practically wailed.

The pyro user fought back a laugh at the anemo archons dramatics, “I’m not greedy,” the man stated matter-of-factly, “You brought this upon yourself.”

The green-clad bard pretended not to hear him, “Oh! And what a tragic story that will be for the church to tell!” Venti spun around to meet Diluc’s eyes, “their archon, bested and corrupted by the sins of mortals! And all because he wanted just a sip of Mondstadt’s famous dandelion wine…”

Diluc's face scrunched up, his distaste for general drunkard’s antics conflicting with his begrudging fondness for his friend’s dramatics.

He sighed, “you are horrifically drunk, you consumed enough alcohol to kill the average person today.” He approached the shorter man and gave him a light shove towards the door, “And, as you already know, the tavern closed hours ago. I would like to have some time to sleep tonight if that’s alright with you.” He spoke sarcastically, causing Venti to simply shrug.

“Well, I suppose that’d fine by me—“

knock knock.

A quiet, soft knock sounded at the entrance to the Angle Share. Diluc nearly groaned in annoyance, Venti gave him a pitying look before turning around and plopping back onto a stool.

“Hey, it’s probably just some guy who forgot this place’s hours, just tell them we’re closed.” Venti looked at Diluc with a mischievous smile, “and if they refuse to leave I can always just blow them away.” He winked and twirled his fingers, causing a small gust of wind to swirl around his hand.

Diluc rolled his eyes, “I just don’t understand why people can’t understand that if the door is locked, then the tavern is obviously closed—“

A louder, more demanding knock rattled the door, cutting off the man’s complaint. He quite literally growled before storming over to the door.

Venti smiled apologetically at him before summoning another small burst of wind. He acted out opening a door and blasting the imaginary person on the other side with a gust of anemo energy. He then turned to Diluc with a wink, “just say the word, Master Diluc.” He whispered, “and, then, whoosh…”

Diluc snorted at the bard before taking a deep breath and, finally, opening the door.

“We’re sorry, but the Angel’s Share is closed—“

Diluc blinks.

There's… No one at the door?

For a moment, the red-headed man is convinced that he was getting pranked before he heard fast and tiny footsteps scurrying into the building.

“Oh! Ah, hello there!” A slightly startled Venti politely spoke.

Diluc spun on his heels and frantically looked around, only for his eyes to land on a small, red-figure.

Oh, it’s her.

“Hi! I’m Klee! What’s your name?” The little girl, Klee, apparently, hopped up onto one of the many empty barstools.

Venti giggled at the small child, “You can call me Venti. Nice to meet you, Klee!” He seemed to have quickly recovered from his earlier surprise from the kid darting into the tavern, now appearing extremely entertained by the whole situation.

“Mister Venti!” the little girl proudly slammed the palm of her hand on the surface of the bar, “may I please get a cup—“ Klee hesitated, squinting at the table for a moment before her eyes lit up with remembrance, “No! May I please get a shot of…” The child furrowed her brows, “Death… Death After… Death After something…?”

She glanced up at Venti for guidance, the bard had a hand over his mouth as he desperately choked back laughter.

“Did you mean ‘Death After Noon?’” he asked in a wobbly voice. Klee jumped up, literally standing on the stool now as her eyes lit up.

“Yes! Yes, that's what I meant!” She grinned proudly and confidently pointed at Venti, “Mister Venti! May I please have a shot of Death After Noon, and um…” She glanced behind the bar before turning back to Venti with a smile, “And a shot of apple juice! Both to-go, please!”

As Klee finished her ‘order,’ Venti completely lost it. He choked on an almost painful sounding gasp, before completely breaking into hysterics. He rolled back a bit too far on his barstool, and it fell to the floor with a crash!

The bard hit the floor along with it, coughing up a warbled ’ow!’ between wheezing laughter.

Diluc did not find any of this funny, at all.

Klee seemed to agree with Diluc, her expression becoming more and more confused and embarrassed by the second. She slowly and wobbly lowered herself back into a sitting position, thank Barbatos, and weakly attempted to glare at the bard.

“Did I… did I say something wrong?” She seemed genuinely upset, and pity welled up in Diluc’s chest.

“No, you didn’t,” Diluc finally intervened, Klee jumped at the sound of Diluc’s voice as if she hadn’t noticed him before, “Venti here is just an idiot.”

The anemo archon didn’t even try to retaliate against his friend’s insult, still desperately gasping for breath on the tavern’s cold floor.

Klee gasped as she looked up at Diluc, and let out a long, exaggerated ‘Ohhh…’ before nodding wisely.

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense.” She continued to nod, a serious expression on her face, “I’ve met a few idiots before, so I’m kinda an expert on them.” She crossed her arms confidently.

Venti let out another wail of laughter at that, much to Klee’s dismay. Diluc fought back his own snort at the strange child’s ‘expertise’ as well, but ultimately sighed.

“I’m sorry, uh, Klee?” He awkwardly questioned, the girl nodded at him, “Right, yes. I’m sorry Klee but I cannot serve you—“

“Oh!” The excitable girl cut him off, “Can you take my order instead of Mister Idiot?”

A pained wheeze sounded from the floor. Diluc frantically opened his mouth to refuse the child’s request, but he barely got a breath in before she jumped up in front of him.

Now, once again, standing on her barstool, Klee was nearly at eye level with Diluc.

“Hello!” She exaggeratedly waved at the tall man, “My name is Klee! May I please get one shot of Death After Noon,” she held up one finger on her right hand, “and one shot of apple juice!” She held up another finger on her opposite hand, “Both to-go, please!”

Diluc was sweating bullets, he did not do well with children. Klee was looking at him with so much hopeful joy, but obviously, Diluc couldn’t serve this nine-year-old alcohol and—

The man desperately looked down at Venti for help, only to find him still face down on the floor, his weak giggles the only indicator that he was even still conscious.

It looks like Diluc is alone on this one, but that’s nothing new.

“I’m sorry, Klee, but you are far too young to drink—“

The small girl huffed in annoyance, “It’s not for me!” She stomped her foot, still standing on the stool, “It’s a gift for my big brother! He’s been on a very important mission for a few days now, and he’s coming home tomorrow! And I have to surprise him with his favorite things!”

Klee’s annoyance had seemingly completely dissipated as she began to talk about her brother, stool wobbling under her feet as she happily swayed back and forth, “Death After Noon is his favorite drink, and Calla Lilies are his favorite flower!”

She swung a bag off her back and proudly showed it to Diluc. It was nearly bursting at the seams with Calla Lilies, a few stray Cecilia’s were also mixed in. She gently pulled one of the lilies out and cradled it in her hands.

“I spent all day picking these flowers,” She beamed up at Diluc, “and now all I need is his favorite drink to finish off my perfect present for him!”

Diluc sighed, this was all very cute, but it didn’t change anything. It honestly just made Diluc hate whoever this poor girl’s brother was, letting her run loose and unsupervised nearly every day. On top of that, he was clearly some type of drunkard, his little sister familiar enough with his drinking habits to even know his favorite wine by name.

But something Klee had said caught Diluc’s attention. Her brother is on a mission?

“Excuse me, Klee, that all sounds lovely but—“ he cleared his throat, “is your brother perhaps on a mission for the Knights of Favonius?”

Klee nodded excitedly, “Yep! He’s a knight! And he keeps all of Mondstadt safe all the time!” She hopped off the barstool she had been standing on, “And I’m a knight too!” She made a small salute at Diluc, “Spark Knight Klee of the Knights of Favonius, reporting for duty!”

Diluc definitely didn’t want to meet Klee’s brother now.

He had completely shut everyone and everything related to the knights out of his life long ago. While he still saw the occasional knight visit the bar, Kaeya particularly comes to mind; although he made an effort to only come to the Angel Share when Diluc was off duty, he had been widely successful at avoiding hearing anything about the knights. He had no clue what had happened in his absence from them other than small tidbits about random missions he had overheard from random people, and he fully intended to keep it that way.

He most certainly doesn’t miss anyone, that would be foolish. Not Jean, not Lisa.

And definitely not Kaeya.

But, apparently, in the time since he had cut them off, they had recruited some random alcoholic and his nine-year-old sister to their ranks.

Yeah, definitely sounds like the Knights of Favonius to me.

Diluc took a steadying breath and shook away his thoughts, he needed to get this child out of his bar.

“I’m sorry, Klee, but even if you were old enough to order that drink, I’m afraid the Angel Share closed over an hour ago.”

Klee’s face fell, but Diluc’s stayed in a trained poker face. He was not about to fall victim to a child’s puppy dog eyes.

Strangely, the pleading expression on Klee’s face felt familiar in a way Diluc couldn’t quite place.

“But—!” She yelped, but Diluc cut her off.

“No, I will not serve you. It’s very late, you need to get home.”

Klee looked on the verge of tears, “But—but my perfect gift won’t be so perfect anymore!”

Diluc bit his tongue, goddamnit, now he felt awful. He glanced around the room for some idea on how to cheer the kid up. An idea sprung to mind.

“Hey, do you like to draw?”

Klee looked up at him with big, sad eyes as she gave a weak nod. Diluc forced a small, nervous smile.

“How about Instead of getting his favorite drink, you draw him a picture… or something?” He shuffled nervously as he stared down at the seemingly unblinking child, “It’s more personal than a simple drink.”

Klee stared at him for a few more drawn-out, nerve-racking seconds, before she suddenly gasped.

“That’s a perfect idea! I’ll make the perfect drawing for my perfect gift!” Klee jumped up and darted towards the door, all sadness from before forgotten, “I’ve got to go! I left all my crayons at home and I’ve got to get my drawing done really fast!”

She reached for the door but hesitated at the last second. She quickly turned back towards Diluc and reached into her bag, rustling around for something. She seemed to find it with a proud little ‘aha!’ and held out the object for Diluc.

It was one mora, the golden coin looking huge in Klee’s small palm, “here you go! Here’s a gift from me to you for your help!” She smiled.

Diluc hesitantly took the coin out of the child’s hand, not even being able to mutter a ‘thank you’ before she swung her bag back on her shoulders and dashed out the door.

“Bye-bye Mister Grumpy-Face!” She yelled excitedly as she slipped out of the tavern, “bye-bye Mister Idiot!”

Diluc didn’t even have time to question the insulting name Klee had just called him before she disappeared around the corner. A soft giggle sounded from the floor.

“Well, what a strange character we just met, Mister Grumpy-Face.” Venti teased, having finally picked himself up off the ground, “Hey, can that one mora go towards my tab?” He joked sarcastically.

Diluc slipped the small coin Klee had given him into his jacket pocket, “sure, Venti.” He sighed.

The bard simply hummed in response, seeming to notice Diluc’s slightly strained expression, and began walking towards the door.

Diluc followed closely behind, slipping out of the bar a moment after Venti, and turning to lock the building up with a soft click.

“It’s a bit later than we usually lock up, Master Diluc,” Venti turned and smiled casually, having waited for the taller man to lock the door, “would you like a bit of help from the oh so kindhearted anemo archon to get home a bit quicker?”

Diluc smiled fondly back at the bard, “You’re going to do whatever you want no matter what I say.”

“Ah, you know me far too well, my friend.” Venti sighed, flicking his wrist as a mighty wind current picked up, “There, that should take you straight to the Dawn Winery.”

Diluc huffed a quick ’thank you’ as Venti merely nodded in acknowledgment.

“Have a good night, Mister Grumpy-Face,” Venti grinned, beginning to slowly walk away from the taller man, “till we meet again.”

“Goodnight to you as well, Mister Idiot,” Diluc mumbled teasingly. Although he said it far too quietly for the bard to hear, the breeze seemed to carry echoes of laughter to Diluc’s ears.

Diluc allowed the wind current the archon had summoned to simply rush around him for a moment as he collected his thoughts. Meeting Klee had been… interesting, to say the least, but certainly not bad. She seemed like a nice kid, if not a bit hyperactive, but her relation to the knights had thrown him off.

He chose to drift away from the knights, he chose to not keep up with them. After everything that happened, he knew it was the right choice.

He had made the right choice.

But, as they say, curiosity killed the cat. And Diluc couldn’t help but wonder about the young ’Spark Knight’ and her Death After Noon loving brother.

Honestly, the knights were insane. Was Klee actually a knight? We’re the knights actually allowing a nine-year-old to protect the entire city of Mondstadt?

They had truly gone off the deep end in my absence, hadn’t they?

Diluc swore he heard the wind mummer in quiet agreement.