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The door to the Winery slammed shut, Kaeya’s back pressed against the hardwood as he heaved for a second. The run from Mondstadt City to the Winery was tough, harder with the rain soaking his clothes and the ground beneath him. Adelinde was dusting a vase upon his return, a solemn look on her face as she turned to look at him.
“Young Master Kaeya? You look soaked, come in.” She approached him, welcoming him into the foyer hastily.
“Adelinde, have you seen ‘Luc?” Kaeya spoke quickly with hastened breaths, still trying to relax his body.
“Young Master Diluc has locked himself away in his bedroom for the time being,” Adelinde spoke softly, keeping her palms pressed to her sides respectfully.
“Thanks Addie, you’re my savior.” Kaeya smiled awkwardly, rushing off in the direction of the stairs leading up to the bedrooms.
The wind was howling outside, rain pattering against the windows rapidly as he slowly walked down the corridor leading to Diluc’s room. The hallway itself was darkened with the lack of sunlight, the lit candles being the only source of light illuminating his way. With the events that happened prior, and the pit growing in his gut feeding off of his anxiety, it set the perfect stage.
“This world… Truly is fascinating.”
Diluc’s screams of anguish still rung in his ears. He shook them away, now wasn’t the time to get hung up in the past. Now wasn’t the right time for him to grieve for a second father who passed far too soon. He had to stay strong, just like Diluc had for him. He had to be strong for Diluc.
And that came with being open. Being strong meant telling the truth, no longer being held down by the crushing fear of judgment by Father for his original purpose. Diluc would understand. Maybe Diluc would be a little angry at first, but he’d understand. Diluc would understand.
He took a deep breath in and regulated his breathing. He’d be fine. He’d be fine .
Kaeya knocked at the door, the sound echoing quietly through the empty hall. If he listened closely enough, he could hear the heart wrenching sobs coming from the other side, the weak footsteps approaching, and the knob turning as the door revealed Diluc.
“...Kae?” Diluc’s eyes were puffy, rimmed red from the tears that still threatened to spill.
Was telling him now really such a good idea? He looked awful.
“‘Luc, I need to talk to you about something. It’s important,” Kaeya’s mouth spoke for him, his hands clasped tightly into fists at his sides.
“What is it? Did something happen? Are you okay?” The concern that flickered in Diluc’s eyes worried Kaeya even more, prompting him to bite his lip.
“No, no ‘Luc, I’m okay. I just… Need to talk to you outside. Okay?” He backed away, already on the verge of simply retreating.
“What’s this about? Why do you seem so nervous?” Diluc stepped out of his room, trying to close the distance between them.
“I’ll tell you outside,” Kaeya turned away, “When you’re ready, I’ll be in the forest. Where we used to play, you know the spot.”
“Kae, wait-” He could hear Diluc call out to him, though Kaeya didn’t waste any time running off and leaving him at the door to his room.
He ran, down the stairs, past Adelinde who was still dusting, out the door, onto the patio. The puddles he stepped in splashed onto his pant legs, soaking them more than they already were as he kept running. His boots were covered in mud, the static rain in his ears drowning out any other sounds.
The rain. It mourns his adoptive father’s death.
He stood there for a moment, letting the cold water soak his hair, the excess drops running down his face and dripping off his chin. The eyepatch he wore to cover his eye was soaked through now, bothering the eye hidden beneath it. The urge to take it off was strong, but it’d have to wait. He had other things to worry about now.
Kaeya heard footsteps in the distance, the hazy figure of Diluc slowly coming into focus the closer he got to him. He was holding an umbrella, covering himself from the rain that continued to pitter patter against the plastic, Diluc’s hand trembling while clenching the handle.
“I came like you asked me to. What’s wrong?” Diluc cut straight to the point, staring through him with those crimson red eyes.
Kaeya closed his eyes, contemplating before opening them again, “I… Realize now. That it was wrong for me to keep a secret like this from you for so long.”
“A secret?” Diluc’s voice fell quiet as Kaeya continued.
“When I got abandoned on the side of the road near the Winery, it wasn’t without a reason. I was planted as an agent, meant to survey Mondstadt for Khaenri’ah.” Kaeya’s hand raised to his eyepatch, slowly but surely pulling it off to reveal his other eye.
One that, despite looking normal, was colored gold instead of the blue Diluc was familiar with.
“An agent for Khaenri’ah? Kaeya… What?” Kaeya could hear the confusion in Diluc’s voice, see the way his eyebrows furrowed together as he tried to register the information.
“Khaenri’ah wants to start a war, and I’m expected to provide them with the information they need. I… I don’t want to. I love Mondstadt, I don’t want to betray it…” Kaeya’s voice broke, his calmness crumbling with each word he spoke.
To let everything out–all of his fears and worries–felt like the weight on his shoulders was no longer there. He no longer needed to hide behind a thinly veiled wall of lies. Diluc, on the other hand, paused. He fell silent, his head to the ground. Kaeya tensed, his reaction wasn’t what he was expecting.
“So… This whole time, our entire childhood was a lie?” Diluc’s voice was quiet, just barely heard above the rain.
“No… No, Diluc that’s not what I meant-” Kaeya tried to reassure, to no avail.
“This whole time, you were nothing but a traitor.” Diluc looked up at him now, Kaeya could feel his blood run cold.
His crimson eyes were burning bright with rage. The vision at his hip glared through the rain, shining brightly in the dark. Kaeya backed away, distancing himself from his brother.
“No, no I’d never. Diluc, I told you, I don’t want to betray Mondstadt.” Kaeya attempted to calm him down, rapidly shaking his head.
“Was his death your fault too? Was that your doing?” Sparks of gold summoned from his hand, his claymore materializing.
Kaeya could feel his heart stop. His mouth fell agape, the words dead on his tongue. Diluc thought Father’s death was his fault.
Was Father's death his fault?
“‘Luc… I-” Kaeya was forced to stop, narrowly dodging a strike aimed for his right side.
“Stop talking, traitor. Draw your blade,” Diluc growled, preparing for another swing.
On an ordinary day, without the searing anger from Diluc and the petrifying fear from Kaeya, he’d see this as a spar. A playful fight between the two of them to hone their skills as swordsmen and strengthen their bonds.
Not today. Not in the rain, with Diluc glaring down at him as he summoned his Favonius-issued sword to his side, his reflection on the blade facing him. He was being forced to fight. Kaeya didn’t want to. He didn’t want this.
He didn’t want to fight Diluc, not like this.
Diluc’s next strike vaporized the rain, leaving steam behind as flames engulfed his claymore.
Back and forth, strike after strike. Clang after clang.
Kaeya’s energy was growing weaker with each hate-filled strike he had to block, Diluc’s claymore easily overpowering his smaller, lighter sword. The first wound was a deep slice to his right arm, the burning pain overpowering his senses and causing him to cry out in pain.
Diluc kept going, kept relenting against Kaeya’s pleas to stop and listen to him.
The second wound was a deep gash to his abdomen, the blood dripping off of Diluc’s claymore and onto the muddy ground beneath them. It reeked of the scent of copper, Kaeya nearly toppled over in pain, his hand immediately reaching to cover the wound.
“Stop acting defenseless and fight back. I know you can do it.” Diluc sneered, a mockery of what he’d say before.
“ Come on Kae! I know you can do it, just a little more okay?”
How cruel.
He deserved it. Every spike of pain in his body, every harsh word thrown at him by Diluc, he deserved all of it. He never should’ve gotten comfortable in a home he didn’t belong in. He never should’ve let them into his heart, trusted him with his life as they trusted him with theirs.
“I… I Can’t. I refuse to fight you Diluc, you’re my brother…” Kaeya couldn’t finish.
The third wound, a strike to his right eye. The pain was blinding, Kaeya dropped his blade and fell to his knees, his other hand clenching over his eye as he sobbed. He sobbed, his tears mixing with the blood as they fell to the ground in droplets.
It hurts.
It all hurts .
He heard footsteps approaching him. And for a moment, just a moment, he could see the regret in Diluc’s eyes. The realization that he’s hurt Kaeya, the sobs overpowering the harsh sound of rain around him.
That regret didn’t last more than a second.
The claymore burst back into flames, and Kaeya knew. With the claymore drawing closer to him, he knew he’d die. This was it.
This was how he’d die, at the hands of his brother after telling the truth.
“Fate truly is a cruel burden to bear.”
The air froze around him. The rain that was supposed to fall shattered into bits of ice, a shield of cryo surrounding him. Diluc’s claymore was on the other side, burnt out and unable to shatter the ice protecting him.
Why? Why? Why? Why?
Why now? Why was he given a vision now, just as death was about to be handed to him? Was this some cruel joke played by the archons?
Lying in the mud in front of him was a humming cryo vision, shining brightly amidst the dark clouds. It pulsed in tandem with his heartbeat, rapid and uncontrollable. The red-haired man across from him stared at it in shock, before the look of disgust quickly disguised it.
Diluc pulled away, turning his back to Kaeya. The shards of cryo that flung in self defense sliced his arms and cheek, Kaeya noticed. Blood was dripping from his arm, mixing with the mud just as his own blood did. Diluc didn’t seem to care, ignoring it just as he ignored Kaeya.
“You’re no longer a Ragnvindr. Go. I don’t want to see you here again.” Diluc’s words sliced through him, and Kaeya could do nothing but beg his brother to come back as he walked away, leaving him to the rain.
Just like his father had. Just like Crepus had. He’s always been left to the mercy of rain.
Diluc left him. He lost his Father… No. He lost Crepus and Diluc on the same day.
His hands dug into the mud, his body hunched over as he sobbed, sobbed until the pain became too much. He was so tired, so drained. His body felt so weak, the pain was starting to numb. He couldn’t feel anything.
Jean. He needed Jean. Jean could help him.
He nearly toppled over standing up, his head spinning from the blood loss that accompanied his deep wounds. He brushed his hair over to cover his eye, the eyepatch he wore forgotten on the ground. The vision was picked up, shoved into his back pocket as he slowly made the walk towards the city.
Home was no longer home anymore. The Winery was nothing more than a past memory tainted with regret.