Chapter Text
The enemy forces have moved closer to the main encampment, as of late.
The colder weather, typical of Mondstadt's winds these days, has pushed the knights very far off the boundaries, meanwhile the opposing soldiers seemed to advance more than ever. Every Captain, Commander and Colonel has taken a loss of ground today, not at all in stride.
Ever since their city was attacked and taken over, not much could be done to stop the advance of their opposition. Not even the skills of 'The Heroic Dark-Night-Hero' were enough. The issue was serious enough to warrant a war.
Enough to... force Diluc, the brooding lone wolf that he became, to work with other people. War unfortunately demanded that of him and everyone else, joining forces in a group when individuality has failed.
Working alone... It wasn't enough, anymore.
That didn't mean it was the standard type of teamwork. Or a normal one.
When Fatuii and the Abyss Order joined forces, Diluc knew, deep down - despite joining up with the Ordo Favonius, he could count only on himself.
...Well.
Maybe one more other person.
But that was a different matter entirely.
Now, he's stuck trying to hold the war line, some men under his command following his lead.
Stuck in this battle-tent, barely larger than his room in the winery.
Working among his soldiers stationed just outside, probably regrouping for another battle after today's loss.
Diluc sighs deeply, looking over through his tent's window, seeing the sights for himself. The knights he was commanding were working their hardest to get supplies in order, walking from tent to tent carrying weapons and food alike, thick winter clothing hindering their movement.
There were many people that ended up injured after today's rough fight, and the brisk chill wasn't helping much...
Looking down, Diluc's red gaze moves to the right, slowly landing on the singular source of heat nearby - a bright flame, dancing within the fireplace.
It is a saturated, warm crimson.
Wine red like his own fire, red like blood of the many people he has burned today, cutting through their line of defense.
If he closes his eyes, he can still see them in the flames...
Touching his slightly singed hair-endings, he thinks about how much more trials and tribulations await him in his next battle.
How many additional bodies will need to be brutally burned - just as they burned his city.
Just how many Mondstadtians will need to be sacrificed under his command..? How long it will take until he himself will be..?
--There is a knock at his door, the frail wood giving a soft sound with the force. A voice breaks through from beyond the threshold.
"Diluc, are you in there?" A familiar tone says as the redhead blinks the exhaustion out of his eyes.
It seemed like Kaeya came to visit this lone wolf of a brother, right in the midst of his thoughtful reverie.
"...Yes. Come in." Diluc says, tonelessly.
There is a brief squeak as the knight enters inside.
"Hi there..." Kaeya begins, handling the door and letting himself in. The cold chill of the outside enters alongside him, up until the door closes back up again.
Diluc hums, while Kaeya walks further into the tent. Seeing the other man listening, despite being slightly turned away, the blue knight takes a few steps closer to the fireplace, warming his hands near the fire. He speaks up only after a whistling breeze passes by the window in a moment of stillness.
"I saw what happened today on the field." He shifts as he says it, although Diluc cannot exactly determine how, because he can't see him. He doesn't feel the need to observe the man all the time. The memories of charred hellfire have taken over his sight.
And yet, there is a certain note of ... something, in Kaeya's voice, that Diluc doesn't quite like - making him wish he could see, if only just a little.
Kaeya seems to not mind, as he gets straight to the point.
"You need to be more careful out there, Diluc. You almost--"
"-I didn't need any help." The redhead huffed automatically, but only because his pride was too loud and snappy. It wasn't letting him admit any truths, not even with his subconscious knowing that his brother was simply worried.
Deep down, he knew it, but still...
"...Oh? Like you didn't need any help when you disappeared for four years? ... I saw your Vision flicker, then. This isn't your first close call."
Diluc flinches.
Kaeya is persistent, and presses more. "You can say it's ... 'just like the old times' - right?"
Diluc sighs. That wasn't how he wanted this conversation to go.
He turns around, looking Kaeya straight in the eye. He only now recognized that they were both equally tired. Dully-colored exhaustion reflected in both of their irises, one icy blue against two crimson red.
Both after battles, both after close calls, both after an exhausting ordeal of dealing with all of this, and each other, as well.
Diluc didn't know why Kaeya even wasted his time coming here.
He could figure it out if he only thought about it harder and longer, of course - but in that moment, he couldn't get anything through his head, only seeing an inconvenience. Interrupting.
"What could you possibly know about that? Hmph. I got myself out of that sort of thing before, so-"
At that, the bluenette laughs - and to the redhead's surprise, it sounds very genuine. It wasn't fake, or pretend, or acted out. Like something Diluc said was actually, legitimately funny to Kaeya.
"Alright, alright... How about another question, then: Who will protect you, if i'm not on the field next time around? Someday, i might be too late, or not here at all. I can get tired. - So... who will cover for you, then?"
At these words, Diluc felt himself shiver.
He stood silent and still, rigid as if he was frozen.
"What do you mean, are you going somewhere?" The Pyro allogene asks, hiding his nerves under anger and stubbornness. Faux, he knows, but visible enough for a cover.
Kaeya just laughs harder. His voice echoed off like jingling bells, tugged by the wind.
"Relying on others is difficult for you, right Diluc? So, just answer the question. You came close to brushing with death today. What is your solution for that?"
Eyes widening a tiny bit, Diluc realizes that... Kaeya, no matter how much it tore down Diluc's pride, was right.
He remembers now, how today, his attack was met with a very close call. A few hours ago he almost got himself stabbed through onto the enemy lance, his fast run-up stopped only by an alarmed, yelled out warning, and a very slow reflex he felt afterwards.
Diluc completely blocked out the memory until this moment. Remembering the event felt like it just spilled somewhere outside his mind, not sinking in. Locked away.
Kaeya did indeed save him today... So it was a reasonable question - all that he just asked Diluc.
But Diluc had no answer for him.
Kaeya only sighs at the quiet, observant enough to catch onto what was happening.
"Ah. You almost gave me a heart attack back there, you know? This... It cannot stay like this any longer, Luc." Kaeya comes closer, making sure his presence exercises pressure on the other man.
"Let's hear it, now. What, exactly, do you plan on doing about this issue?"
The redhead only looked down, his red bangs covering his eyes like red waterfalls with the motion. It was enough of an answer for the Cryo user in the room.
The ice-blue eye focused on this, warily, with precision. Just as Kaeya was about to ask once more, persistent to figure out a solution, he suddenly caught sight of something.
A moment later, the star-shaped pupil expanded and softened its gaze, an idea lighting up the knight.
"Hey... Do you need a haircut, perhaps?"
When Diluc shook his head, Kaeya tried another way of getting through his stubborn nature.
"Maybe you would like... a new hairstyle, hm? These hair-ends don't look healthy~"
"-No. No, thank you."
But the redhead turned, and spotted himself reflected in the conveniently placed glass window. His tangled red locks were noticeable, his messy coiffure not looking the best.
Just as he reached up to touch his strands of crimson hair, Diluc heard a distinct whoosh of air.
Teleporting closer in the blink of an eye, Kaeya leaned forward above the shoulder of his sworn brother.
"You know," Diluc flinches, not expecting the other being so close. "-Maybe less of these red bothers, covering your eyes - is a good idea? ... It might help you see oncoming dangers or obstacles better. Uncovering your ears might help with hearing enemies getting closer, for example..."
The wine tycoon calms down his beating heart. The sudden closeness and warmth took him completely off guard...
Kaeya moves away, then slowly, step by step, circles around.
"I can also bind this... blanket of hair, so it's stops warming up your back and neck when you do your attacks?"
A second pass, turning slightly, casually looking at the older fighter, Kaeya walks a full circle around Diluc before continuing.
"Eliminating the need for brushing and tangles would also be useful. Well, at least for a while..."
The redhead snorted through his nose in scorn. "...Leave it alone," He said, but thinking about it from another angle, these advantages started to slowly win him over...
Touching his mane again, unclean from war efforts and unfortunately unkept, he saw some sense in Kaeya's proposition.
He still felt sweat on his neck from today's fights. The low ponytail really wasn't enough, not in these circumstances. His brother was right. The current setting just wasn't cutting it anymore...
How many times has Diluc seen the red crimson of fire and blood and the eyes of their enemies at the corner of his eye, turning, tense and battle-ready... Only to see that it wasn't an aggressor, but a wisp of his own strands..?
He knew the war lead up to paranoia. But for him to fall to it...
...and today's battle... maybe, just maybe...
Hm.
"Alright then. I won't press you any longer." Kaeya turned around and started walking towards the wooden doors, gait slow and calm. His own navy hair was in full view, now, barely reaching his back.
It was cut.
Kaeya trimmed it short as soon as he was assigned soldiers in a battalion unit, being placed to lead them into battle. Receiving a squadron to take care of, along Diluc and Noelle a few months after the war officially began, the blue knight has made that decision without any doubts in his mind.
Without complaints or his usual theatrics.
The bluenette didn't seem sad about it, back then.
But back then, Diluc wasn't looking closely enough.
The truth might have been entirely different, for all he knew...
Kaeya was getting further away, and the wine tycoon found himself feeling cold all of a sudden. A void opened up in his heart, and he felt ...
Empty...
Wrong...
"Wait!" The redhead shouted hastily. Catching Kaeya by the wrist before he left the tent.
A cheeky smile lit up Kaeya's face, despite the fact that the redhead couldn't see it when he faced the bluenette's back. The knight was quite pleased with the successful persuasion he has performed on Diluc, chuckling under his breath.
Diluc, meanwhile, tried choking out a few words. He still wasn't completely used to the brother he just gained back, as well as any sort of assistance, or ... teamwork. Especially the kind that requires asking for help...
"Can... Can you.... Um, could you...--"
Kaeya is facing him now, a knowing look in one icy eye. Bright and shiny like the earring next to it, lit up with glee.
"-Yes." The knight agrees, the smile entering his words as he steps closer to look Diluc straight in the eye.
"It's no trouble. Follow me..."
Kaeya gets to work almost immediately, visibly excited and eager. All his previous tiredness seemed to disappear, if only for this one moment. He was almost hopping around the room while getting the supplies necessary, a happy spark in his steps.
Eventually settling down onto the sleeping mat, both of them sit down, no more words passing between them as the wind picks up and fills the silence with gentle humming.
Brushing Diluc's hair to the side, dividing the red rivers with his nimble fingers, Kaeya sets the beginning of a simple braid.
Handling the brush like a sword with its swiftness and precision, all the while keeping it gentle like he was handling a precious flower, Kaeya makes sure to perfectly prepare Diluc's hair for all types of binding.
Having the three strands ready, the bluenette slowly and gently makes his way down, grasping additional locks as he goes along. It reminds him of the old days, when they were just learning how to do this from Adelinde and the other maids in the house.
The sun filled afternoons of warm summers and a vineyard, crystalflies and games all day long.
Getting their hair tied better when Crepus scolded them for having a tangled nest on their heads when they left it loose.
"Am i tugging too much? Is this hurting?"
"No. It's alright."
Kaeya nods, and continues his work, a little nostalgic still. He is taking all of the escaping strands under his pinky, weaving them into the nearby structures, making sure to bind them tightly yet comfortably.
Tight - like he felt, seeing Diluc charging at a solider with a lance prepared. Almost getting stabbed through, the weapon unnoticed by the redheaded Pyro allogene.
Comfortably - like how he felt now, with everything safe and sound, sitting behind his brother and braiding his hair akin to red flames.
Pausing for a second, Kaeya looks thoughtfully at his planned-out working field. "...Let me just arrange this properly. It will take less time that way."
"Mh-hm." Diluc hums, about to nod until he remembers that wouldn't be smart when someone is holding his hair.
"You don't have to worry, i won't mess it up..." Kaeya says, mistaking Diluc's non-verbal response as anger or wariness.
"I promise~! Knight's honor~!"
Diluc backtracks, catching on. "That's not what i meant..."
After being done with one small braid at the side, the Cryo allogene quietly moves onto the space right next to it, pressing under it with his hand so he doesn't take any unnecessary additional strands. His movements seem more tense, however.
Diluc feels a little bad.
"Kaeya. I know you won't mess up. I know you won't hurt me..."
"Oh? How can you be so sure?" Kaeya seems surprised, going as far as to stop his work. His fingers stay still, near Diluc's spine.
It was making the strands fall out from his hold, after just a second, though, the stillness passes - and Kaeya resumes his binding.
"I can be sure, Kaeya," Diluc says, after he's sure that Kaeya finished the braid, "-because i know you. And because i say so."
Kaeya seems amused a little, tying off another braid. "Hah. I see..."
Diluc's insides constrict when he hears the bluenette ask something unexpected.
" If you trust me with this, say, why won't you trust your own small battalion..? Your men..? Why not rely on their help, too? "
"..."
One strand binds with another.
Kaeya binds information with intel. Dissuaded. "Ah...- Truly fascinating..."
-Then, he seems to perk up. " Hey, Diluc - You know how you held your hair in one single ponytail before? One band. One single stream of hair... Say, how has that worked out for you? "
Diluc stays silent, a little confused. What was Kaeya getting at..?
"On the other hand, these braids that i'm making..."
Red strands, one after the next, twisted and gently merging together.
"... they need multiple locks of hair to work, together. Bound, they are stronger, and easier to handle. Don't you think so, brother?"
"...I suppose so." Diluc says, looking off to the side. Staring through the same window, onto the winter chilly atmosphere out by the tents. His battalion of people was working in tandem, helping each other, taking care of their supplies with caution and precision. Carrying weapons and bandages, lighting up the torches and bonfires to get some food ready.
None of them were... inefficient, not at the moment. None of them were traitors, like inspector Eroch was. All they wanted... All Diluc wanted....
It was the same thing.
"Just... don't forget that. The next time you go into battle - think about it. Alright?" Kaeya says, letting out a sigh. After the last braid is tied up nice and tight, he lets them fall gently against Diluc's back. Feeling their weight, the redhead reaches a hand to touch them, not sensing even a strand out of place.
"Alright..." He swears. He promises. And Kaeya feels a weight lift off of his heart. Diluc only feels a gentle touch on his shoulder.
"I will."
