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When the first snowfall begins in the land of Freedom, each person in the Ragnvindr household immediately steels themselves for the busy days ahead. The winemakers would be checking on the sweet wine that has been fermenting since the summer harvest, making sure that it is up to the Master’s standards and is worthy of being served during the holidays. The maids would be busy planning out the decoration that would be put up to make the manor look livelier just in time for Yule. The head of the household himself would busy himself with preparing the program for the gathering that would occur in the winery.
The young master,—on the other hand—would be up and early, running around outside the manor. He would be trying to grab onto the crystalflies that loiter near the grapes, carefully holding the cores in his tiny hands.
“Master Diluc?” Adelinde calls from the door, holding a bundle of warm clothes in his arms. “Master Diluc, please wear your coat before you catch a cold.”
“Hold on, Adelinde.” Diluc whispers, eyes trained on a crystalfly that perched on one of the vines. He approaches it slowly, careful not to startle it away. He holds his breath as anemo particles dust his cheeks together with the snow before he reaches out and catches the crystalfly with ease, its wings scattering into the wind. A small smile creeps onto the young master’s face, his nose and cheeks red from the cold but not giving it much thought as he rubs the surface of the core with his thumb.
“Master Diluc!”
Diluc rolls his eyes before stuffing the cores into his pocket. “Coming!”
The snow crunches underneath the soles of his shoes as he walks back to the manor’s entrance, eyes still flitting around the grapevines in case he missed any of the crystalflies. Once he’s sure that he had gotten each one that morning, he directs his gaze to the Adelinde standing by the door. His eyes widen when he spots another person standing next to her.
“Good morning, Father.” He greets the man, bowing slightly with a small smile. Adelinde quickly places a wool coat on his back, which he pulls closer to himself as Crepus ruffles his hair. Adelinde quickly bows and retreats back into the manor, leaving the two alone to speak.
“What are you doing out and about so early, Luc?” Diluc perks up at the question, pulling out a single crystal core from his pocket and showing it to his father. The light reflects off its surface, flashing pockets of light onto his hand. “Crystal cores?”
Diluc nods enthusiastically and Crepus immediately figures out the reason for his son’s excitement. “It’s for Kaeya!”
“For Kaeya?”
“Yeah!” Diluc replies, sniffing slightly from the cold. “I thought it would make for a pretty suncatcher. I read about them from a book from the library once, about how they harness energy from the sun and help you feel happier. So I thought… maybe Kaeya would like one.”
Crepus huffs out a laugh, nodding his head as he leads Diluc back into the house. “Yes, I’m sure he would love it.”
Diluc peers at him. “You think so?”
“I know so.”
Diluc wears a huge smile at the response as the door closes behind them. Crepus tells him to warm up by the fire as they wait for Kaeya to wake up and for the food to finish cooking before leaving for his office once more. The young master obliges, sitting down on the floor by the fireplace and scattering his haul onto the plush carpet, admiring the way it scattered the light from the fire. He hums a random tune as he sorts through them, separating the bigger ones from the smaller ones while thinking of how he would string them together. Perhaps he could ask for some stained glass from his father or Elzer. He also thinks of other gifts he could give the other for his birthday in case he doesn’t finish the suncatcher on time.
He becomes so lost in his thoughts that he doesn’t notice Kaeya crouching down in front of him, his eye still bleary as he peers down at what Diluc was doing. “What’s that?”
Diluc lets out a yelp, jumping back slightly as Kaeya laughs freely in front of him. He pouts slightly as he huffs out a breath, shaking his head. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”
“Good morning, Luc.” Kaeya greets back as soon as he stops his hiccuping laughter. “What were you so focused on that you didn’t notice me sitting right in front of you?”
Diluc hums exaggeratedly before smiling. “Nothing! It’s a secret.”
“Eh? That’s unfair.” Kaeya pokes one of the cores before picking it up. “Are you making potions with Lisa?”
“No. I don’t think Lisa would even let me near an alchemy table.” Diluc laughs, continuing to sort the cores. “It won’t be a secret for long, you’ll see soon enough!”
Kaeya hums, placing down the core into its proper group. They sit together in silence for a moment, Kaeya simply watching Diluc do his work and humming along to his tune. Soon enough, he feels a slight growling in his stomach and asks Diluc what was being prepared for breakfast. The other boy shrugs, talking about how he hoped it would be something savory to which the younger boy agrees to.
—
After breakfast, Diluc immediately takes off to their room with some tools in his hand. Kaeya is the only one that had training that morning, which he took as an opportunity to keep the suncatcher a surprise. He takes his time to carefully drill holes big enough for the string into the cores without breaking them, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration. Elzer soon walks into the room with a small pouch of sanded glass shards—ones he requested for as Kaeya got ready to ride to the training grounds. He thanks the older man before going back to his work.
He doesn’t notice how much time has passed, only ever looking up from the cores when he accidentally nicked himself. He hears the horses’ gallops stop in front of the manor when he drills a hole into the last crystal core, stretching his arms above his head. The sun has moved past the zenith already, indicating that it must already be time for lunch. Diluc places a cloth over the cores before greeting his brother from the veranda, waving his hand and sticking his tongue out when Kaeya complains about training alone.
Crepus asks Diluc how the suncatcher is going when Kaeya leaves to wash up before lunch, inspecting the wound on his son’s finger. “It’s going well! I think it’s going to be the best gift Kaeya will get this year. There’s no way anyone in Mondstadt can top it!”
“Not even the gift I got him?” Crepus teases, sharing the same smirk as his son.
“Especially not yours, father.” Diluc replies cheekily. Kaeya soon returns after that, talking about how he’ll take Diluc down in their next sparring session. Diluc only rolls his eyes playfully, taking it as another one of their friendly competitions.
—
“What happened to your finger, Luc?” Kaeya asks later that night, poking at the dressing on his brother’s finger. Diluc shakes his head, trying to dismiss it. “It’s nothing. I just accidentally nicked myself on something.”
“It’s not very like you to be clumsy.” Kaeya points out, fluffing out his pillow before placing it behind him. Diluc snorts, lighting up a candle on his desk. A silence falls over them as Diluc pulls out a book while Kaeya prepares to go to sleep. “I’m supposed to be the clumsy one.”
“You aren’t that clumsy.” He replies absentmindedly. “If you were, then you and I would’ve been caught during so many of our stupid ideas.”
“That’s true.” Kaeya laughs and hums. “We are the best duo in Mondstadt.”
Diluc smiles. “That we are.”
—
Diluc manages to wake himself up before the sun manages to rise, quietly grabbing his tools and materials for the suncatcher and tiptoeing down the stairs in order not to wake Kaeya up. He sits by the fireplace again, thanking Adelinde when the maid lights the fire for him. When he’s managed to rub the sleep off his eyes, Diluc finally picks up a core and begins to thread a string through the holes he drilled yesterday.
Crepus finds him as he manages to finish the first string, lifting it up and complimenting his son’s work. Diluc grins brightly before asking if his father could help with making the base of the suncatcher, to which the older man eagerly agrees. Crepus continues to watch until Diluc manages to finish the third string, watching the sunrise from the window nearby. He mentions it to the younger boy, who immediately panics since Kaeya would be waking very soon.
“I’ll try to stall Kaeya when he wakes up. Work hard, Luc.” Crepus cheers with a laugh, leaving his son—not without telling Elzer to grab a metal ring from the shack.
By the time Diluc makes the last string, he hears the telltale footsteps of his brother pattering down the staircase. As promised, his father immediately pulls Kaeya into a conversation to which the younger responds enthusiastically. He peers over the couch to see his father wink at him before guiding Kaeya into the kitchen and he takes it as an opportunity to rush back upstairs to their room.
—
“I feel like you and Father are hiding something from me.” Kaeya finally blurts out during their training for the day. Diluc falters in his step, frowning slightly to keep up his act.
“What do you mean?” He asks, correcting his stance as he handles his sword.
“You guys are plotting something. I can feel it in my bones. Should I be sleeping with my only eye open?” Kaeya jokes, swinging his sword against the dummy with a huff of laughter.
“We’re not hiding anything.” Diluc replies.
“Are too."
“Are not .”
They stop their bickering after hearing their teacher’s huff of annoyance. “Please pay attention, young masters.”
—
And finally, the eve of Kaeya’s birthday arrives.
Diluc has finally managed to weave the strings onto the metal ring his father had given him, letting the cores and stones reflect the light from the window. It scatters into different directions, lighting up the wall in spots and even creating false rainbows on the surface. An excited smile finds its way onto Diluc’s face, before carefully putting it in a wooden box that he had prepared the day prior.
Meanwhile, Kaeya stands downstairs, entertaining the guests that have arrived at the manor in order to greet him an early birthday. Jean has also tagged along, handing Kaeya an embroidered eyepatch as a gift.
“Luc! Look what Jean gave me.” Kaeya calls out once he sees his brother walk downstairs. Diluc smiles, greeting the guests before turning to Kaeya and complimenting Jean for her handiwork. Kaeya skitters off into a room for a minute before coming out, wearing the new eyepatch. Afterwards, they all talk and play for the entire afternoon, catching up with each other on an outdoor picnic Adelinde has prepared for them.
When Jean finally left the manor, night had already fallen. Diluc stands in the middle of their room, the varnished wooden box snug in his arms as Kaeya prepares for bed.
“Luc?” Kaeya calls out once he notices Diluc’s unmoving form. “What’s that?”
“Well, tomorrow is your birthday. This is a gift from me. I would’ve given it to you tomorrow instead, but I’m afraid the two of us would be too busy with festivities in order to give it to you.” Diluc explains, rolling his eyes when Kaeya simply raises an eyebrow. He walks towards the other’s bed, placing the box on the mattress before sitting down next to it.
Kaeya squints his eyes at Diluc before slowly reaching out towards the box, lifting off the lid and peering inside. His eye lights up with recognition, glancing up at his brother before picking up the suncatcher. Diluc hums when the cores and stones hit each other, creating a faint chiming noise. “It’s a suncatcher. They say that it collects the sun’s energy and makes you feel happy.”
The suncatcher twinkles lightly with the candlelight, Kaeya’s eyes widening in awe as he holds it up in his hand. Diluc smiles, letting out a sigh of relief. He watches as the younger places it back in the box gently and yelps when the other tackles him in a hug. “Thank you, Diluc. I’ll treasure it my entire life.”
“Happy birthday, Kaeya. Please always be happy, that is all I could wish for.”
—
Kaeya frowns when he finds himself surrounded in crystalflies that night, the vivid memory playing in his head as he watches them flutter by. One of them lands on his outreached hand, its wings making the surface of his glove glow as it fades away, leaving its core. It shines underneath the lamp post, uncanny to the way the suncatcher scattered the light from the window in their youth.
He pockets the core, looking wistfully at the rest of them before sparing a glance at the winery. There’s light being emitted from what he knew was Diluc’s room, indicating that the man was still up and about despite the time.
Perhaps in another life, he would be celebrating the day of birth with his brother like he used to. Maybe he would be having fun and be happy, instead of loitering outside a place he knew he was no longer welcome in. And just maybe, he wouldn’t be carrying the burden he was forced to carry all these years.
But it was not this life. In this life, he is a traitor. A sinner that isn’t worth mentioning in anyone’s story. A life that isn’t worth celebrating.
He grasps the core in his palm, feeling its sharp edges dig into the material of his glove before he decides to catch a few more. He lets himself be a child at that moment, stealthily collecting cores in his palms until he feels he’s had enough.
He stares at the cores in his hand before stuffing them into his pocket.
Maybe he could make another suncatcher, just for himself.
Just as he’s about to turn and walk back to the city, a voice calls his name—one that he knows too well to not recognize. He schools his expression as to not show surprise before facing the very men he both did and did not want to see at that moment.
“Master Diluc. To what do I owe the pleasure?” He says, wearing his signature smile. He tries his best not to flinch when Diluc frowns, an unreadable expression in his eyes.
“You are standing in my winery. Shouldn’t I be asking that?”
“Ah,” Kaeya lets out a small chuckle. “I do deeply apologize. I didn’t mean to loiter and I was just about to leave when you called my name.” He waves his hand vaguely, looking away and avoiding the other man’s gaze. “I meant no harm. If that is all, then allow me to take my leave. Have a good night, Diluc.”
“Kaeya.”
“Yes?" He replies, hiding the hopeful undertone in his voice.
Diluc doesn’t speak for a few beats, glancing up at the sky before looking back at Kaeya. “Nothing. Please excuse me.” He says in the end, turning back around and stepping back inside the winery.
Kaeya disregards the disappointment he feels as he watches Diluc’s retreating back. Ah, what was I expecting ?
He makes it back into the Knights of Favonius headquarters half an hour later, making a beeline for his office when he sees a certain blond haired traveler waiting outside his door with a package in his arms.
“Well if it isn’t Mondstadt’s beloved Honorary Knight. What can I do for you on this fine night, almighty traveler?”
Aether startles slightly, his expression morphing quickly into something glad as he approaches Kaeya. The taller man eyes the package in his arms, the traveler following his gaze before speaking. “Happy birthday, Kaeya. Sorry for intruding so late, I was caught up with something so I hope you don’t mind!”
Kaeya shakes his head. “Not at all. It’s always lovely to see you.” He pauses, opening the door to his office. “Would you like to come in? How long have you been waiting for me?”
“Uh,” Aether shrugs sheepishly, entering the office with the Captain. “Not long. Where did you head off to anyway?” He asks, placing down the box on Kaeya’s table, placing his hands on his hips after.
“The Acting Grand Master gave me the day off. I wasn’t in the mood for drinks so I opted for a stroll instead.” Kaeya explains, letting out a laugh when he sees Aether’s disbelief at his aversion to alcohol. He shrugs, looking away and continuing his explanation. “I ended up going a little further out than I expected, only to find… crystalflies around me. Speaking of which—” He brings out the cores he collected from the winery, reaching for Aether’s hand and placing them in the middle of his palm. “I’ve heard that you’re quite fond of shiny little trinkets, so they’re all yours.”
“Oh. Thank you.” Aether smiles, pocketing them. “Anyway, I came here for this!” He taps the box sitting on the desk, a knowing smile on his face as Kaeya raises an eyebrow in question. “I received a special commission. The person who placed it told me that you would probably recognize who they were but in the case that you don’t, they also asked to hand you this letter.”
Aether hands him an envelope, unsigned and unsealed. “But I should head off now, Paimon might wake up and come looking for me.”
“Ah, but of course.” Kaeya smiles. “Have a good night, Aether. Please thank the commissioner for me.”
Aether shakes his head. “Thank them yourself. Happy birthday again, Kaeya.” He waves and leaves Kaeya alone in his office, wondering who this mysterious commissioner was as he eyes the package. The box looks slightly worn out, its varnish chipped and the shine lost. He runs a hand over it for a moment before sighing and lifting up the lid, just to get it over with.
Inside lies the same forgotten memory from all those years ago, dust slightly obscuring the glimmer of the crystal cores inside. The unreadable expression on Diluc’s face from earlier made sense in Kaeya’s mind now as he lifts the suncatcher from its box. He doesn’t know how the other man found it once more—or rather, why he kept it with him. He sets it down for a moment, picking up the envelope that Aether had given him. Inside is a note with a very short message, written in neat and distinguishable script. His eyes scan over the words, a pang in his heart making him frown before sighing. Perhaps another stroll is in order.
My wish for you remains the same. Happy birthday.