Chapter Text
The City of Mondstadt was chatting the night away. Vendors were cleaning up the shop and stands. Closed signs were placed at the front. The whispering winds tried to lull the people to calm, but calm rarely happened at night in Angel’s Share.
Diluc sighed. He poured another glass to a tipsy patron. He momentarily glanced at the tavern lights. They were warm in colour. Some lingering moth fluttered around the soothing glow. The sound of clinking glass and bursts of drunken laughter was Diluc’s white noise. Tunes of a bard played through the building.
At nights where Diluc wasn’t being a noble vigilante, he was busying himself by bartending. The people who knew him would say, getting information . Loose lips and scents of booze is what he was familiar with. It was astonishing how much could be shared under the influence of wine.
He shook a drink, using a cocktail shaker. The container was high in the air. The night-blue drink flowed down gracefully to the glass in front of him.
“Why,” a man of blue chuckled, “you know me so well, Master Diluc.” He inspected the glass of Death Afternoon . He fogged up the side of his drink with a breath and polished it with his sleeve.
“Kaeya,” Diluc greeted curtly. He goes back to sorting bottles on the shelves and listening in to other peoples’ conversations.
Kaeya slightly leans towards the counter. An elbow acted as his stand while he traced the rim of his glass with a finger. He was careful to make it seem he was in the tavern for pleasure and not work. He gave a few smiles and a raise of a glass to people that breezed past him.
While Diluc brushed past him to get an empty cup left by a customer, Kaeya muttered for only Diluc to hear, “Rumour has it that some Harbingers have been lurking around again. My intels also have confirmation.”
He got a raise from an eyebrow as a response and a nonchalant shrug. “I have had a few run-ins with some of them,” he commented, not elaborating. He adjusted his gloves and worked like he was not conversing with Kaeya. He turned to the wall, adjusting a picture frame of the winery.
“If I went looking for them, would you miss me?” Kaeya raised his glass to his lips. He quickly glanced at Diluc’s back then back to the drink.
Diluc’s shoulders visibly tensed. His arms were midway from going back to his sides. He faced Kaeya, “What nonsense is that?”
Kaeya swirled the drink in his hand lazily. His iris studied the dark blue drink, contemplating. “I just have a question for one of them,” he sat down his Death Afternoon and stood swiftly, “thank you, Diluc. It’s been a nice run.”
The door clicked open and shut. He left Diluc standing at his bar alone. He gave the door a look of bewilderment and stared at the empty seat.
What Kaeya had said to him left him incredibly concerned. Even with patrons asking for new drinks, he could not stop to think if Kaeya was okay.
Diluc's fingers tapped rapidly on his crossed arm while his face scrunched up in annoyance. He couldn’t shake the bad feeling off. Maybe it was time to listen to his gut feeling.