Chapter Text
A violin started the song alone, quiet but confident notes were being played. It was peaceful, yet lonely. The sound of a piano came in quitely and shy, and the violin started being louder and louder, trying to give the piano confidence. It took very little for the two of them to match perfectly, as if they were destined to play together.
"Kaeya, you have to make a wish before blowing the candles!" the young red haired explianed to his brother, giving him a bright smile that could rival the sun itself.
"A wish?" confusion was read all over the face of the younger boy. Since when did you have to make a wish on your birthday? Since when did bithday cakes exist? Where he came from, birthdays were just normal days, but since he was a prince his father was tougher with him, teaching him the importance of his role and the things he had to learn. In Khaenria'h there wasn't such things as wishes and birthday gifts.
"Yeah! A wish! You know, things like 'I want a horse!', or 'I want to be stronger!'. But you can't say your wish aloud or else it won't come true!"
It was Kaeya's first birthday with the Ragnvindr family, and it was completely different from what he expected. Instead of lectures and lessons of how to behave like a noble, he got a lot of presents and food, accompanied with the smiles of everyone around him.
"But if I don't say it aloud how can anyone know what I want?"
"Well, that... You know what? Just say it!"
"Hmm... I wish I could join the Knights of Favonius with you and go on adventures together!!" determined eyes looked at Diluc, as if making a promise telling him 'I will join the Knights, just you wait'.
"I'm sure your wish will come true, brother! We'll be the bestest members the Knights have ever had!!"
A pair of red eyes looked at the children proudly, a warm smile on his face.
But then, the song got gradually faster and louder. It was complete chaos, until everything went silent and the piano started playing again. Quitely, but this time it wasn't shy, it was wary. The violin was out of control again, and the sound of the piano started dying letting the violin get complete control of the song, and silence filled the air again.
"You traitor!! How could you??! After everything we've done for you, scum!!" despite the rain, the flames that surrounded the claymore didn't seem to die anytime soon.
"Please, let me explain, Luc!! Listen to me!!" Kaeya's desperate cries only added fuel to Diluc's anger.
"I already listened enough!! You fucker, you should have died instead of father!!" the words escaped without control, breaking Kaeya inside.
Realizing there was nothing he could do to calm his brother down, he threw his sword to the ground accepting his fate as a phoenix came flying down to him, but a bright light stopped it, revealing a new cryo vision between them.
"... You're not my brother anymore. Get out and never come back, you're not welcome here."
A sad piano was left alone, playing a sad tune while it waited for the violin to join again. It kept playing without losing hope and, after what seemed like forever, the violin came in, but the notes were deep, almost threatening.
Kaeya, now Cavalry Captain, entered Angel's Share. It became a habit to drink after work. He took his usual seat without taking a glance at the person in front of him.
"A Death After Noon please, Charles" but the voice that answered him wasn't the one he expected, and felt fear realizing whose voice it was.
"Charles is not here today. You should be more conscious of your surroundings, Sir Kaeya."
Kaeya's hands trembled without his consent, and his eyes refused to look at the person across the counter.
"Oh, welcome back, Master Diluc. It's nice to see you again." he tried to look confident, but his acting skills never worked when it came to Diluc.
"I wish I could say the same. Your Death After Noon will be ready in a few minutes."
No words were exchanged between them that night.
Over the time, the melody of the piano and the violin became more confident, but it was as if they were playing different songs at the same time. Suddenly, the piano stopped and a flute joined the song loudly with notes too quick to appreciate, while the violin tried to match its new companion's rythm.
The tavern was filled with people, yet it felt as if it were empty for the pyro user. The barstool usually occupied by a certain blue haired had been empty for the last three days. Diluc tried not to worry, but he couldn't help but think something happenned to Kaeya. He pushed those thoughts aside as he started attending another customer.
The tavern went silent as the Acting Grandmaster appeared slamming the front door. It was rare to see Jean outside the Headquarters, much more seeing her inside a tavern. This alarmed Diluc, knowing something definitely happened to Kaeya.
"Master Diluc! It's Kaeya, he's asking for you!!" she was clearly worried, but her voice sounded almost demanding.
"Did something happen to him?! Is he okay?!" he didn't want to admit it, but he was worried sick about the man he tried to convince himself he hated.
Once outside the tavern, Jean told him something he wished was a joke.
"Kaeya, he... Somehow he turned into a child. We found him in that state three days ago and he woke up today, screaming and kicking everyone, asking where you and Master Crepus were. It seems not only his body went back in time, his memories too."
Both instruments went quiet, filling the room with silence. The silence before the storm.