Chapter Text
Fiddling with her Dodoco keychain, Klee watched Diluc’s crimson eyes squint at papers and shuffle through piles of paperwork. She rocked back and forth, tapped her foot, and even bit her lip as she stared at her drawing of Dodoco.
Kaeya and I were supposed to play today! Klee whined to herself. We were supposed to go fish blasting today, but then he said he had to go on a mission. And the rest of the Knights are busy too! So I can’t hang out with Sucrose, Albedo, or Lisa!
She was bored out of her mind. Not even thinking of new gunpowder formulas or bomb designs was enough to keep her entertained anymore.
Earlier that day, she asked if she could get out of the room, but Diluc refused. Although he was wealthy enough to afford getting the Dawn Winery manor rebuilt in case of emergencies, he would rather not go through all the hassle. What’s left of his late father’s old paintings were also very valuable to him (and his brother) as well.
However, Klee couldn’t handle the boredom, so she tried to ask again.
“Mr. Diluc, can I please go out to play and go fish blasting?” asked Klee. “Pretty please? With a valberry on top?”
“No,” Diluc responded without looking away from his paperwork. He dipped the tip of his quill back into the ink and turned to a different piece of parchment.
Watching the grumpy grownup do his paperwork was the most boring thing in the world! It was just as bad as solitary confinement- at least to Klee.
“But whyyyy?” Klee whined. She slouched into her seat more before continuing with, “This is like solitary confinement!”
“It’s not that boring, Klee. I have plenty of old toys that you can play with. And if you’re hungry, Adelinde can always prepare some food for you-”
“But I already played with the toys,” Klee interrupted, stomping her foot. “I already asked Addie for snacks and lunch too.”
“Wait, what did you say?”
“I already played with the toys-”
“No, not that,” Diluc corrected. “Did you just say ‘Addie?’ Now who told you about that nickname?”
“Kaeya sometimes says it!” Klee cheered. “And he always lets me go out to play too!”
“I’m still not letting you go out.”
❤︎
For another hour, Klee did everything she could to stave off her boredom. She read the Ragnvindr clan’s books on the wine industry, hoping that she could relay that information to Diona. She read the Dawn Winery’s brochures on which snacks to pair with wine in hopes of telling Kaeya. And lastly, she
If she could stay in the Library of Favonius instead, she’d be able to read up on alchemical reactions for her bombs!
Klee sulked… until an idea popped into her head: What if Klee could make a deal with him, like how Kaeya taught?
The little girl giggled mischievously and silently thanked Kaeya for teaching her so many things. He taught her to ask questions, make deals, and so much more- whatever it takes to get her out of trouble with enemies.
“Mr. Diluc, are you really, really busy right now?” Klee asked as she tried to stifle her giggles.
“No, not right now,” said Diluc as he put his quill down. He rose from his seat and stretched his arms up. “If you’d like to play with the horse and slingshot with me, I have enough time to do so.” He fondly remembers the times he and Kaeya would use those toys to pretend to be knights when they were little. The dream of becoming knights slowly turned into their reality as they grew up. With how passionate Diluc was, who knew that dream could quickly turn into a nightmare?
“Well…” Klee began. “Can you go out and play with me, pretty please? I’m not a baby anymore! I promise I’ll be a good girl, and I won’t explode anyone or anything- well, except for fish, of course-”
“Under several conditions, though,” Diluc added with his index finger raised. “One, we must be back in time for dinner, and then you must eat all of your vegetables. Two, no wandering off. And three… please don’t say anything about this to Jean.”
“Okay!” Klee confirmed.
❤︎
After hours of blasting fish and finding treasure chests, Klee couldn’t help but tell Diluc she was done for the day. As they were walking back to the Dawn Winery at dusk, she spotted a shrub of wild sunflowers far from the path they were walking on. The bunches of golden yellow flowers glowed in the light of the setting sun.
Skipping towards the flower and pointing, she marveled, “These are so pretty!”
“Slow down-”
“Don’t you think they’re so, so pretty and yellow?” Klee rubbed the little petals between her fingers and started jumping up and down.
But on closer inspection, though, she found a familiar pigeon nestled under the flowers. She ducked down to take a closer look at the pigeon.
She remembered seeing this pigeon whenever she was with her big brother in Dragonspine. It seemed to have a scroll attached to it, titled ‘To Albedo,’ as always. Using her tiny fingers, she held the pigeon and pulled the scroll out.
Diluc walked up to Klee’s location and squatted down. “Ah, that seems to be a Favonius carrier pigeon. It must have been attacked by some hilichurls and gotten hungry for some sunflower seeds. We need to tend to its wounds,” he explained. He gently took the bird from Klee and started feeding it the bird seeds he carried around at all times.
“Can you tell me more about the birdie? Like, where did it come from?” Klee asked, tilting her head.
“Columba Iivia, which was domesticated by mankind, was originally from Fontaine and Sumeru-”
“No, no, not that, who’d you think sent it out here in the cold by itself?”
“One of the Knights, for sure,” Diluc responded. He put his palm out and commanded, “Give me the letter it had.”
“The letter says it’s for my big brother, so can I please give it to him myself?” Klee pleaded. “What if it says something about me?”
“Fine,” Diluc sighed. “But if there’s anything important in there, you need to tell me. Either way, it’s important that we send it to him as well.”
Little did Diluc know that Kaeya’s nosiness has rubbed off on Klee.
❤︎
When she got back to the Dawn Winery, Klee opened the letter. It read:
Dear Albedo,
How are you, my love? It’s been around a month since we’ve last seen each other. You know, it’s getting kind of cold and lonely in the city without you.
I’d love it if you can come back, even for just a little while.
Your dear sister Klee has been a handful lately, as always. Always throwing bombs at fish and such, so Jean’s a little furious with her. Maybe a little bit of your sunshine sprat would be enough to calm her down. She could never turn down your cooking, after all!
I miss you, by the way. Archons, it’s been quite a long time since we’ve seen each other! And although I love writing to you, it’s just not enough to satisfy my longing for you. When you get back to our place, I’d love to kiss, cuddle, and cherish you. Let’s meet up in my office at 5 in the evening on Saturday.
So come back home, yeah?
Yours truly,
Kaeya
Klee couldn’t believe it. Kaeya and Albedo were two lovebirds this whole time! Those multiple times Albedo and Klee visited Kaeya’s office weren’t just for nothing! Bubbly laughter escaped her lips; she was so excited to ask Kaeya all about the letter!
But before she could ask or tell anyone about it, she had to send the letter to Albedo. Otherwise, Kaeya might think that Albedo ignored him!
Klee ran down the hallway with her arms outstretched until she reached Diluc’s office. She slowly pushed the door open and found Diluc with the pigeon bandaged and cradled in his arms.
“I read the letter, and-” Klee began. She shook her head as she said, “Please don’t read it! It’s very private and it has a secret inside!”
“Are you ready to send it back?” Diluc asked, standing up from his desk. Klee nodded her head. “The pigeon’s in no condition to fly back, so I’ll just send my falcon to look for Albedo.”
❤︎
The air was still warm and calm despite the fact that it was late at night in Autumn. Could it be the Anemo Archon’s blessing, or just the effect of Pyro resonance in that area? Either way, it was good for the falcon.
“Stay safe,” Diluc whispered to his falcon as he patted its head. His bird chirped back and nuzzled into his palm.
“Bye-bye, birdie,” Klee waved to the bird with her right hand, and held onto Diluc with her left one.
And with that, the falcon pushed itself off Diluc’s arm and spread its strong wings to fly into the night sky.