Work Text:
It all started with an inconspicuous visit from Klee and Albedo one Saturday morning. Kaeya was doing a little spring cleaning after coming back from a business trip when the doorbell rang.
“Kaeya-gege, we’re here for a surprise visit!” Klee’s cheerful voice came from the Intercom, Albedo standing quietly behind her holding something Kaeya couldn’t see.
Opening the door, the first thing Kaeya expected was for Klee to jump at him, only to end up holding something warm and furry.
It was a Golden Retriever puppy.
“What?” Kaeya dumbly stared at the puppy and the puppy innocently stared back at him.
“It’s Dodoco! Albedo-gege brought Dodoco to life!” Klee answered, bouncing on her feet.
Kaeya turned to the girl clad in red then to her taciturn guardian slash uncle. “What?”
Albedo signaled with his eyes to speak with him alone, so Kaeya put the puppy down for Klee to play with and went to the kitchen with Albedo. “What’s going on? How did Klee’s stuffed doll turn into a dog?”
“A three months old puppy to be exact, but no, it is certainly not Dodoco. As it happens, Klee lost Dodoco on her last school trip and it saddened her tremendously. Then, Alice came up with the idea to buy a dog and temporarily claimed it as Dodoco until she finished making another Dodoco for Klee,” Albedo explained matter-of-factly.
“I can see so many things wrong with that answer, but if that makes Klee happy, sure. Now, why are you two here in my humble abode?”
Albedo didn’t answer directly. “You know how Klee and Alice have planned this meet-up for a very long time and how dejected Klee would feel if she couldn’t meet her mother?”
Kaeya nodded, not being able to forget even if he wanted to when Klee told him time and again that she was going to stay with her parents throughout the summer break. That was why Kaeya had to go on the business trip because Albedo took a long leave from work.
“And what’s that have to do with anything?”
“Upon further investigation, it seems that our flight forbid bringing pets, and Klee’s father just so happen to be allergic to dogs. So, we are hoping that you’d look after Dodoco for a month until we return.”
If Kaeya wasn’t grateful to Albedo’s family for looking out for him after his parents passed away long ago, he would’ve shoved the two trespassers out along with their dog.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Albedo shook his head. “Unfortunately, I am not.”
“But I don’t know how to look after a dog! And if you haven’t noticed, I’m also doing a double portion of work covering for you!” Kaeya protested, sure that the dog would die in less than a week if left in his care.
Albedo opened his mouth to say something but got interrupted by Klee’s arrival. “Kaeya-gege, you can’t look after Dodoco?”
Kaeya was about to give an affirmative response when he saw the downcast expression on her face.
“Then, Klee just has to wait until mom and dad come back in two years to see them.”
Kaeya choked up at that, guilt crashing onto him in waves. And seeing Albedo’s condemning gaze didn’t help. “No! Of course not! Dodoco can stay here for as long as he likes!”
Klee beamed at her favorite big brother before frowning. “Kaeya-gege, Dodoco is a girl.”
“Oh, then Dodoco can stay here for as long as she likes.”
Albedo chimed in. “That’s not what you told me befo—”
Kaeya subtly stepped on Albedo’s foot to shut him up. “Now, why don’t Klee write down everything gege has to know about taking care of Dodoco? Gege has never taken care of a pet before, so gege will need Klee’s help.”
Klee nodded, dashing towards the living room to take out her notebook and pencil case in her bag. Kaeya watched her go before his sight landed on the dog lying on Klee’s lap. “What breed is that dog again?”
“Puppy. And Golden Retriever. Why?”
“Just in case something happens to that dog, I’ll know which breed to buy,” Kaeya answered honestly, dreading what would become of the following month.
Albedo put one hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine.”
As the person who knew himself best, Kaeya would beg to differ. But, for the sake of his two favorite people in the world, he would try his best to look after the puppy.
How hard could it be to take care of a puppy? If Klee could do it, then so would he.
Kaeya couldn’t do it.
In less than a week, he wanted nothing but to leave the dog on the streets and never looked back. And he almost did that yesterday, when his mood was already sour because of a mishap at work only to come home to a mess. But he kept reminding himself that the dog was Klee’s and he would rather stab himself than make Klee sad.
So he turned a blind eye to his chewed-off clothes and papers, the loud barks that kept him up at night, decorations falling from their places, and missing pair of shoes. He just needed to endure it for a month and he would have his old life back.
“Take her to a dog park to burn some excess energy and play with her as much as you can, it’ll do wonder,” Huffman, his close subordinate, suggested when Kaeya came to the office looking worse for wear.
At that point, Kaeya would do anything to get the dog to stop destroying his house. And if that meant he would have to sacrifice his weekends, where he usually did nothing but work anyway, then he would gladly do so.
That following Saturday, Kaeya took Dodoco to the nearest dog park in his neighborhood, a big smile on his face when he saw a lot of playmates that would keep Dodoco entertained.
Taking off the leash, Kaeya let Dodoco run wild whilst he sat down on a nearby chair and fiddled with his phone.
“You might want to reconsider buying a new leash, especially since you have an energetic puppy.”
“Huh?” Kaeya looked up, startled that someone would speak to him.
“That leash, replace it with a harness since I saw that your dog tends to pull or use a sturdier material, like leather,” a gorgeous man with blazing red hair pulled into a high ponytail and equally red eyes was standing over him lecturing about stuff Kaeya had zero ideas about.
“I’m sorry, what are you talking about?”
The man with red hair and eyes stared at him, loosely pointing at Dodoco who was playing with a Beagle. “That puppy is yours, right? She’s an active one, jumping and pulling, so using a harness will be more comfortable on her.”
“Right...” Kaeya wasn’t sure what the man was expecting from him. “Thank you?”
The strange man kept staring and Kaeya stared back, watching as the man took the empty spot beside him. “That dog isn’t yours, is it?”
Kaeya slowly nodded. “Ah, yes, a friend of mine left it in my care since they’re currently out of town.”
“And you have no expertise on taking care of a pet, I assume?”
Kaeya nodded again, still unsure of where this was going.
“I expected as much. My name is Diluc Ragnvindr and I own a pet cafe around here. I used to own a dog myself until he passed away a few months ago. I’m sorry if my questions confused you, I just can’t help but notice that you look like you might need some help with taking care of your puppy.”
“Oh…” Kaeya unconsciously looked down to check his expression on the black screen of his phone, wondering if he was sending some sort of S.O.S signal to all the pet owners here.
Seeing as Kaeya didn’t answer him, Diluc continued to explain himself. “Of course, if you’re uncomfortable, then I’ll apologize. It’s never my intention to put you on guard. I only wish to help out other pet owners with my expertise and help them get closer to their pets.”
“No, no, you’re not making me uncomfortable, I was just wondering if I looked as if I was in distress or something. And that’s a noble intention, so if you’d please help me make sure I don’t kill the dog for one month, I’d be eternally grateful, Diluc.”
Kaeya smiled at Diluc as Diluc kept staring at him.
“Your name?” Diluc finally asked as the dark blue-haired man did not seem inclined to introduce himself.
Kaeya internally face-palm. “Oh, right, Kaeya. Kaeya Alberich, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Kaeya. For the lesson, would you mind if we do it in my place every Saturday or Sunday? I need to man the cafe as I’m the only worker there every other day but I usually have a helper on the weekend.”
“I don’t mind at all, let me just pick up Dodoco and we can go.” Kaeya stood up, going over to where Dodoco was still having the time of her life.
Diluc nodded, leaning back slightly to observe how Kaeya would do it. Seeing as he was able to bring the puppy safely outside, it seemed as if he wasn’t as clueless as the man himself believed to be.
Kaeya could feel Diluc’s eyes on him which made him feel somewhat nervous. It was as if he was in the middle of an exam and the teacher was keeping a close eye on him.
“Dodoco, come.” Kaeya went down, clapping his hands on his knees to catch Dodoco’s attention.
Dodoco merely gave him a side glance before she continued playing.
Kaeya tried again. “Dodoco, we’re going.” This time he loudly clapped his hands.
Dodoco stared at him and Kaeya stared back. It went on for a few seconds until Dodoco turned away from him.
“So you have chosen to do this the hard way.” With that said, Kaeya got up, planning to do what he had done earlier, to grab the dog and put the harness before the dog realized what was happening.
Until a hand on his forearm stopped him. “Try using this.”
Kaeya looked down to see a bag of dog treats was offered to him. “Food? Won’t that make her get even chonkier?”
“It won’t, as long as you use them moderately. Here, watch how I do it,” Diluc proclaimed, walking over to Dodoco.
Dodoco titled her head slightly, watching as Diluc sat down beside her and called her name, then devoured the treat Diluc offered. It went on for a couple more times until Diluc stood up and took a step back, dropping the treat in front of him.
Lured by the treat, Dodoco came over, looking up when Diluc called her name once again. “Good girl,” Diluc praised, handing her another treat for a job well done.
“Aren’t you giving her too many biscuits?” Kaeya commented as he watched, shutting up when Diluc gave him a look.
Diluc took a few steps back, dropped another treat, and showered Dodoco with praises when she answered upon being called. He kept doing that until he reached where Kaeya stood, Dodoco happily wagging her tail beside him. “This is how you get your puppy to come to you, forcing them to do something will only backlash on you in the future.”
“Oh, do I have to keep doing this every time I need her to go somewhere?” Kaeya crouched down to put on the leash.
“No, do this maybe one or two more times, if she still doesn’t come when you call her. Though I won’t be surprised if she already gets it just by doing it this once, puppies tend to learn things fast.” Diluc also dropped down to give Dodoco a treat when Kaeya finished fastening the leash.
Kaeya made a mental note to bring a treat with him next time and pay back the number of biscuits Dodoco ate to Diluc.
“I’m giving her a treat so she won’t resist the next time you put a leash or harness on her. To put things simply, if you need her to learn something, always shower her with praises and treats afterward. And be patient, getting mad at her won’t help her progress.”
Kaeya dutifully nodded. “Got it, Rome isn’t built in a day after all.”
Diluc smiled at that, probably for the first time since he came to talk to Kaeya, and Kaeya almost lost his last functioning brain cell seeing it. The man’s face was just that dazzling.
“For today, I will teach you the other basic training. Keep practicing them at home because I want to see some improvements the next time we meet,” Diluc said, stern, and Kaeya snapped back to his senses.
Giving Diluc a thumb’s up, Kaeya followed Diluc to his cafe, Dodoco sniffing and pawing at every little thing she saw in front of them. It was very peaceful, something Kaeya never expected he could have after having Dodoco with him.
And it was all thanks to the person walking beside him.
Although Kaeya had agreed to do the lesson on the weekends, that didn’t mean Kaeya didn’t come to the cafe on the weekdays. At first, it was purely because of Diluc’s godly skill to get Dodoco to behave, but afterward, it was because he truly enjoyed Diluc’s company.
“Here, try this too, let me know if there’s anything I should add or change.” Diluc put a plate of Sakura Powder Mochi and a bowl of Sticky Rice Pudding in front of Kaeya.
Kaeya looked down at the half-finished cup of Berry Mint Jelly he was currently munching and suddenly feared for his blood sugar level.
When Diluc said he needed someone to taste test his cooking, Kaeya didn’t expect he would do it every so often and by a lot. He thought it would be one or two cooking a week max. How very wrong he was to think so.
But there was no backing out now. Not only was Diluc’s cooking taste heavenly, but the soft, pleased smile Diluc had every time Kaeya enjoyed the food did things to his poor heart.
“Sure, but what’s with all the desserts? Yesterday too, it was all chicken-based food. I’m starting to see a pattern here,” Kaeya commented, putting another mouthful of minty berry goodness into his mouth.
Right beside him, Dodoco was enjoying a bowl of Invigorating Puppy Meal with a flourish, as if Kaeya hadn’t fed her for a week. That glutton.
“Making desserts is the one thing I’m not confident in, so I thought I should practice more. Besides, didn’t you say you are craving something sweet before?” Diluc said, refilling Kaeya’s glass of mineral water before taking a short trip to the kitchen to check on the Moon Apple Pie baking in the oven.
“Well, yes, but this is a lot for a person to finish alone — man, how is this jelly taste so good? — not to mention I can’t talk with you since you keep walking back and forth, Luc,” Kaeya pouted, eyes shifting between Diluc and the empty seat beside him.
Diluc lightly shook his head but a smile was blooming on his face. “Alright, I’ll join you once the Apple Pie finished baking.”
If the smell was anything to go by, Kaeya already knew how good the Pie would taste. “Good, I would like to monopolize you before the customers come for a late dinner.”
“Oh? That’s quite bold of you, Mr. Alberich.” There was a playful look on Diluc’s face, the redhead leaning on his elbows on the counter, looking for the world like a cat playing with its prey.
There was a tint of red on Kaeya’s cheeks as the man kept shaking his head. “I meant your time, your company, not you per se. It was a slip of the tongue.”
“But, if you’re taking up all my time, then indirectly, you are monopolizing me for yourself, aren’t you, Kaeya?”
“No? I wouldn’t dare. Elzer will kill me if he finds out the sales of your cafe is dropping because of me,” Kaeya leaned back a little as Diluc inched closer to him, that roguish smile still on his damnably handsome face.
“He would congratulate you, more likely, he’s been pestering me to go out and do something fun. God knows how happy he was when he found out I will have companies coming every weekend.”
Kaeya had heard from Diluc how he was originally working in his father’s company but got booted out due to his workaholic tendencies. That was how the man found himself running a pet cafe his father built for him.
“Then, your customers will kill me if I don’t let you serve them.”
Diluc hmmed. “Should I have you as my sole customer then? That way you can monopolize me all you want, Kae.”
Kaeya’s face was as red as a ripe tomato from all the teasings. “You’re too close, Diluc, I can’t think clearly if your beautiful face is so close to mine!”
Diluc’s eyes widened before he burst out laughing, Kaeya groaning as realization hit him too late. Burying his face in his hands, Kaeya wished a hole would appear underneath him and eat him whole. “Can you please pretend you didn’t hear me say anything?”
Diluc grinned like a cat that got the canary. “I don’t know, maybe if you tell me one more time how the very sight of my face takes your breath away?”
Kaeya turned his back on Diluc, hands still hiding his reddening face. “It’s not just your face, though, everything about you is beautiful. You’re so beautiful sometimes I can’t believe I’m really here talking and laughing with you, Diluc.”
Since he had already embarrassed himself, Kaeya decided he might as well go all the way and told Diluc what he thought of him. Having heard no comeback from the cafe owner though, Kaeya swiveled around and peeked from between his fingers.
There, Kaeya found Diluc blushing, face as red as a boiled prawn. Feeling as if the situation had been reversed, Kaeya smirked. Who knew Diluc was weak to compliments?
“Really, you are so good at everything you do, you always take such good care of me and Dodoco, you are always the first to reach out to someone who needs help, and you have the loveliest smile I’ve seen. I don’t know how such a perfect human being exi—”
Diluc put his hand over Kaeya’s mouth to stop him from talking, or else he will explode with bashfulness. Even with his mouth covered, Kaeya kept talking, muffled as his voice was. With his first attempt thwarted, Diluc glared, trying to look as menacing as possible to get Kaeya to stop.
Their playful back-and-forth continued for quite some time until Dodoco barked, a faint smell of something burnt wafting from the kitchen.
“The Pie!” Diluc ran towards the oven as if his life depended on it, Kaeya peering anxiously through the small window above it.
Moving the Pie to a serving plate, Diluc gazed at the black-ish crust forlornly.
“It’s okay, it’s still edible,” Kaeya tried to console the cook. Even if it was burnt to a char, Kaeya would still eat it if it meant he could cheer Diluc up.
“It won’t taste as good though.”
“If it’s something you make, no matter the state, it will taste wonderful.”
Seeing the look on Kaeya’s face, Diluc was assuaged, albeit slightly. Walking out with the Pie, Diluc put it down in front of Kaeya before taking the seat beside him. “If it does taste bad, don’t force yourself to finish it.”
Kaeya took a big bite out of the piece Diluc cut out for him. “Mm, so good. There’s a slightly bitter taste, but it contradicts nicely with the sweet apple filling. A breath of fresh air from the other sweets I have eaten.”
Although Diluc still looked a tad glum, there was a warm feeling in his chest upon seeing the delightful expression on Kaeya’s face as he gobbled up his second piece. Grabbing a spoon and a plate for himself, Diluc decided to join the feast.
Unbeknownst to Kaeya, all the food Diluc cooked for him was all based on careless remarks he said about wanting to eat a particular dish. And because if Diluc didn’t make him something, Kaeya would only eat unhealthy instant meals for the rest of his life and die from malnutrition.
One month passed by in the blink of an eye, as much as Kaeya initially abhorred the idea of looking after the puppy, he had grown fond of having Dodoco with him. Not to mention Dodoco was the reason he became acquainted (and close) with Diluc, the red sun in his blue life.
But all good things came to an end, and so was his time with Dodoco. Albedo was coming back and that meant Klee would take her puppy back with her.
When Kaeya told Diluc that Dodoco’s owners would come to pick her up, the cafe owner insisted on being there, wanting to be with Dodoco until the last possible second.
Since Albedo didn’t seem to mind when Kaeya informed him, who was Kaeya to stop Diluc from enjoying his last moment with Dodoco.
What Diluc didn’t tell Kaeya was that he wanted to come because he knew Kaeya would feel sad and lonely once Dodoco was gone.
But, what nobody expected was for Dodoco to not want to go with her owners, and very adamantly at that.
“Dodoco? What’s wrong?” Kaeya crouched down, trying to calm down the growling puppy.
“Dodoco?” Klee retracted her hand as Dodoco seemed as if she was going to bite it any second, a sad expression on her face.
“Hm, I see. Klee, let’s go.” Albedo put his hand on Klee’s shoulder, his tone booking no argument.
Kaeya looked towards his long-time best friend with a confused expression. “Huh? You’re not taking Dodoco with you?”
“It’s because they couldn’t even if they wanted to. Dodoco chose to stay here with you, Kaeya, and they are trying to respect her decision,” Diluc explained, subtly patting Dodoco’s head to praise her for a job well done.
As much as he sympathized with Dodoco’s original owners, it was pretty much apparent who needed Dodoco more in their life.
Or it was just him being biased.
Kaeya still looked confused. “What? Why would she do that? I’m a terrible owner.”
“Well, she’s still alive, that alone speaks volumes of your capabilities,” Albedo bluntly pointed out, remembering the near-breakdown Kaeya had a month ago. Not to mention the fact that Dodoco’s stuff had tripled since the day Albedo dropped her off here.
Klee put her hand on Kaeya’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Kaeya-gege, Klee already has Dodoco with her so it’s only fair if Kaeya-gege has one too.”
“Huh? But there’s only one Dodoco here? Did you two buy a new dog?” Kaeya shifted his gaze between the other three occupants, asking for an answer.
Albedo slightly frowned, wondering how his friend lost most of his IQ in just one month whilst Klee merely giggled seeing how puzzled Kaeya seemed, a complete change from his usual suave confidence.
Diluc gave Kaeya an affectionate smile. “I’ll explain it to him, you two can go if you have to.”
Albedo shifted his gaze between Kaeya and Diluc, studying the two before coming to a conclusion. “Let’s go, Klee, I’ll buy you your favorite ice cream on our way back.”
“Yes! See you soon, Kaeya-gege, take good care of Dodoco for Klee!” Klee waved her hand as she followed behind her uncle. “Oh, goodbye to the weird grown up too!”
“It’s Diluc,” Diluc corrected but waved back all the same.
Albedo gave Kaeya and Diluc a small nod before closing the door behind him, a soft smile on his face. It seemed his parents could stop worrying about Kaeya’s future now, especially about his (lack of a) life partner.
“What just happened?” Kaeya asked, befuddled, Dodoco all snuggled up in his arms.
“Congratulations on becoming a full-fledged dog owner. I’ll be expecting you and Dodoco in my class next week.” Diluc patted Kaeya on the back, giving the man some time to digest everything.
Kaeya merely nodded, still at a loss but happy all the same with the unexpected addition to his household.
It wasn’t until dinner time (which Diluc cooked obviously) that reality sunk in.
“Holy shit, I own a dog now?!” Kaeya almost sent his seat toppling over by how fast he stood up.
Again, Diluc patted the man on the back. "Yes, congratulations.”
Kaeya turned towards Diluc, aiming for his hands. “Please stay with me, I don’t know how I will survive without you.”
Dodoco barked from where she ate as if in agreement.
“And you can’t leave me to look after our daughter alone,” Kaeya added.
Diluc laughed, a warm feeling washing over him hearing what Kaeya said. “I never had any intention to leave in the first place.”
Now that he had a taste of what true happiness felt like, Diluc would never let it go. Especially after all the courtings he had done to win Kaeya over, dense as the man could be.
Omake:
“Vanessa, time to go for a walk!” Diluc shouted, harness in hand.
A two-year-old Golden Retriever ran over as soon as she heard her name being called, her name tag jingling with every step she took.
“Hm? Where’s your dad?” Diluc asked since he last saw her with Kaeya.
Vanessa, or previously known as Dodoco, barked, sitting down so Diluc could put on the harness.
“He’s playing a game of chess with Master Crepus. It seems the Master is adamant on reclaiming his title as the best chess player in this house,” Adelaide, the head maid, answered.
“Ah, father finally got him to do another rematch I see. I doubt they’ll be finished by the time we return, but if they’re looking for us, tell them we’re taking a walk, Adelinde.”
The head maid nodded. “Have a wonderful time, Young Master Diluc and Young Miss Vanessa.”
“We will!” With that, Diluc left to walk Vanessa around the yard.
“Wait for me, Luc!”
Diluc barely managed to cross over the front door when he heard his name being called.
Turning around, he saw Kaeya running after him, Crepus looking down at them from the second floor with a forlorn expression.
“You’re already done, Kae? That was quick.”
Hearing what his son said, Crepus let out a big sigh. “As soon as Kaeya heard you were going out, he checkmated me in record’s time.”
“That’s only because you went easy on me. Let’s have a proper rematch tonight, I won’t tolerate anything but the best from you, Uncle Crepus.”
“And so do you, Kaeya. Be prepared because I’ll show you how much I’ve improved.”
“We shall see who’ll have the last laugh tonight.”
Diluc looked at his father and his lover with a fond expression, glad to see the two were having the time of their life.
Initially, he was a bit worried that his father and Kaeya might not hit it off in their first meeting, but soon enough, the two acted as if they were two long-lost friends reunited.
“If you two are done, Vanessa still needs her afternoon walk and I have a morning meeting to prepare for,” Diluc reminded.
Kaeya smiled sheepishly, sliding over to Diluc’s side and linking their hands together.
From above, Crepus shook his head at his son. “Just keep being a workaholic and Kaeya will leave you soon enough.”
“Whose fault do you think it is that I have a cafe and a company to look after?” Diluc deadpanned.
“My granddaughter needs me, how do you expect me to go to work when she whimpers every time I have to leave?” Crepus tried to defend himself, blowing kisses at Vanessa who wagged her tail happily.
Diluc sighed, already resigned with his fate to take after the company from his father whilst juggling with managing his cafe.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you. I can always postpone the rematch anyway, as long as you need me.”
At least he had Kaeya with him this time, something he was truly grateful for.
“Woof!”
And of course, Dodoco, who brought the two of them together.