Work Text:
Childe blinks awake. He lays there, staring at the ceiling.
It’s dark….still night, then. The moonlight filters gently through the drawn curtains. He hears a quiet huff as Kalliope rolls over and nuzzles into his side. She’s his daemon, so she’s awake, he knows. She’s underserstandably none too pleased about it.
It’s night….why did he wake up? His brows furrow, his senses straining for anything amiss. Maybe the click of armor, the rustle of a weapon being drawn-
Instead, what breaks the silence is a loud thump somewhere.
“Shit- Diluc-” Without another thought, Childe springs up from the bed, covers flying as he crosses the small inn room. He hears the small click click click of Kalli’s claws on the wooden floorboards right behind him. A quick glance to the side shows that his travel companion’s bed is indeed empty, no blankets or bird in sight. Shit. Shit.
“Heyyy you in there?” Childe calls as lightly as possible, knocking on the currently locked bathroom door.
He’s met with absolute silence.
“Little birdie, you know we talked about this. I know you’re scared, but running away is more dangerous. Snow’s cold, deadly. You know this…..c’mon, open up.” he says, keeping his voice calm and light.
Silence.
Childe’s nose crinkles as he remembers the small window in there. This is the second floor, the idiot wouldn't dare…. would he? Then again that fever had been messing with his common sense skills….
“Hey. I’m coming in, ok? You better be decent.” Childe announces, taking the lock pick Kalli brings him and getting to work. A couple seconds later the door swings open. And inside….oh.
Well, at least he wasn’t escaping. He’s….not sure if this is better though.
“Diluc….are you okay there?” Childe asks, taking slow steps into the room.
Diluc sits curled up in the corner of the bathroom, wedged between the toilet and the tub, nearly completely wrapped in blankets. His pale freckled face sticks out against the dark fabric. His cheeks still hold the telltale flush of illness, and his wild red bangs hang messily over his eyes. He keeps… staring at a random point on the wall before him.
He’s shaking like a leaf, even with all the bed covers wrapped around him.
He doesn’t move when Childe approaches. So he comes closer, kneeling down next to the man on the floor. The only reaction he gets is the low warble from his bird, who’s curled in front of him, her feathers ruffled as always. He briefly looks to see if- yeah the bandages on her broken wing are still intact. Good. So what….
“Feeling nauseous there, comrade? The walk probably wore you out…you know it’s okay to use the trash….” he trails off when Diluc shakes his head, burying his face in his knees. He’s….shaking all over. His breathing is all sorts of wrong.
Now he’s seen Anthon like this before. Shivering, a little lost. Anxiety, panic attacks, stuff like that. They were always small and brief though. So this was….familiar and yet still so largely out of his depth.
Diluc….was just a guy he’d picked out of his insane colleague’s basement. He barely knew him. What on earth was he supposed to do….
He looks at his own daemon, a little helpless. Hand him a fight any day, something he can stab. He can’t….stab the monsters in this guy’s brain. Well- he could stab his head but that would probably make more problems-
Kalli gives her Person a very unimpressed Look. With a very Put Upon huff, she sits on the tile floor, tail curling over her paws. She leans forward to sniff at the falcon daemon (whose name he still hasn’t gotten out of his skittish companion)….when she doesn’t pull away, Kalli presses her nose into the undamaged wing, nuzzling into the feathers with a low whuff.
Childe’s eyes widen a bit at that, and he turns to watch Diluc carefully. He notes the man’s shoulders, how they continue to shake, but lower a fraction. Huh.
Deciding to test the waters, Childe reaches out a hand, laying it gently on Diluc’s trembling shoulder.
The man flinches, and Childe goes to remove his hand, but is stopped when another hand clamps down on his, the bandages scratchy against his skin. He catches an eye, glazed and red and wild, looking at him, or….trying to.
Diluc’s grip is tight. Desperate, even, like a drowning man.
Childe sighs, going to just….fully sit on the cold floor. He sits, and he breathes slowly, regularly. In through the nose, out through the mouth, loud enough for the other to hear. Over time…..Diluc starts to follow this. Good. Worked on Anthon, works here, good to know.
After a moment, he finally speaks up again. “So…. bad night. It happens.” Red eyes flick up to meet his, clearer but so much more exhausted. Kalli is now sitting with her side pressed to the bird daemon’s side, and the ruffled feathers have smoothed out considerably. Kalli tilts her head.
“Do you need anything? Water? We have some food if you feel up to it.” She offers, her tail swaying to help enforce her good intentions. “Maybe some soup?”
Diluc just shakes his head, burying his face in his knees again. Childe attempts a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder; he still hadn’t been let go so this was. His life now apparently.
“Do you wanna go back to bed? If you need help I can-”
“-zor.”
“Uh, sorry?” Childe blinks, feeling the shoulder under his hand tense a little.
“Razor…..a razor. Please.” Diluc rasps, so quiet and muffled by blankets he barely hears it. Even Kalli’s ears twitch forward, making sure they heard right.
“A razor for like. Shaving?” A pause. “You wanna shave? Now?” he asks, only getting more confused. Sure the guy was a little scruffy, but a bit of facial hair never hurt anyone. But…..Diluc nods.
Okay. A razor. He could do that.
“You’re gonna have to let me go so I can get the shaving stuff, though.” Childe says, softening his voice a little. The man before him had steadied a little but he was still shaking….
Still, slowly, his hand is released. He pats his thin shoulder, then pulls away.
“I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere~” he adds as a joke, and gets a low grunt for his troubles. Good enough.
He steps out of the bathroom, turning on the lights, prospects of sleep far away by now. He rummages through his bag for his shaving supplies, eventually coming up victorious with a little wooden box. It had been a gift from his Dad, and the supplies were well taken care of…
He heads back to the bathroom, and finds Diluc in much the same position, his breathing a little slower than before. Kalli is still on the floor, giving the bird daemon a messy tongue bath of sorts. Childe chuckles.
“You know that’s more of a cat thing, right Kalli?” he teases, and only smiles more when she shoots him a look.
“Spit has healing qualities. You know this.” She chuffs, continuing her bathing project. Through their thin, weak connection, he swears he catches something like…. All pups ….are pups, feathered or furred….
Childe rolls his eyes, still smiling. Whatever makes her feel better. Regardless, it seems to be calming both Diluc and his bird down….
“Hey Birdie. Brought the goods. You ready?” he asks lightly, sitting across from the man on the floor. He opens the box with an audible click , and Diluc peeks up over his knees. Childe picks out the bottle of shaving cream and his razor, holding them out. “I can get you a mirror too if you need-”
“No. N-No mirror.” Diluc blurts out, making Childe stop short. Why’d he sound scared of a freaking mirror? Whatever.
Trembling hands take the blade and cream, and Childe internally winces at how he holds the blade aloft like it might bite him.
“Ooookay. Good luck with that then.” he says, raising an eyebrow. Kalli makes a curious humming noise, flopping into the bird’s side. The shaking in Diluc’s hands eases a fraction.
He watches as Diluc applies the shaving cream, a little sloppy but passable. He’d lowered his knees to avoid getting it all over the blankets, thankfully.
Then he brings the blade close to his face. The shaking gets….so much worse. Childe looks away, watching the tub faucet drip, offering his companion some privacy.
Drip….drip….a sudden sharp inhale. A muttered curse. Childe looks back over and-
“Oh shit, that’s not good.” he mutters, snatching the razor from Diluc’s fingers. It’s smeared with blood, and more of it drips sluggishly down the man’s face. “This is why I suggested a mirror-”
There’s a low whine, one he’d think was from Kalli, but he knows that wasn’t from her. Diluc is shaking his head frantically, shivering and tugging at his hair.
Childe sighs.
“Right, okay, no mirror. But you can’t….do this. You’re way too unsteady.” he says, grabbing some toilet paper and pressing it to the man’s face. “Hold this here while I clean up a bit, kay?” he instructs, and a pale hand comes up to hold the tissue over the cut. At least he can follow that.
Childe busies himself cleaning the razor, drying things off and putting them back in place, considering the dilemma before him.
Something about Diluc’s face is wigging him out. The beard? It was a scratchy, sparse thing, dark red like his hair. Nothing super spooky about it as far as he could tell. But clearly he wanted it gone, to the point that even looking at it sent him into a panic attack….
Childe sighs, coming to crouch down in front of Diluc. “Alright, all cleaned up. Now….” he runs an absent hand through Kalli’s fur, who leans into the touch. “You can go back to bed….or….I could shave for you.” Red eyes snap up to him, bewildered. “Hey, I’m not letting you get cut again, so those are your options. Pick one, bird boy.”
Diluc stares at him, looking for….something. It looks like he finds it, because he seems to deflate a little. “Shave…..please.” he rasps, shoulders slumping. Childe clicks his tongue. Better not give him time to second guess it.
“Alright then! Up you go.” and without further warning, he hoists the thin man up onto the edge of the tub, holding on a bit longer to make sure he’s balanced there. Diluc shivers, clutching the blankets around his shoulders, but he stays steady. With some help from Kalli, the bird manages to hop into his lap as well. Maneuvering around her would be a bit of a challenge, but he’s always liked challenges.
He closes the toilet lid, sitting down on Diluc’s eye level. “Alright. Ready?”
The man nods, taking a deep, steadying breath. Good enough.
Childe sets to work cleaning away the dried blood and left over shaving cream, grimacing at the state of the facial hair. Patchy, greasy….if nothing else it was badly kept and grown. Come to think of it, that should be expected under Dottore’s “care”.
He applies more shaving cream, being careful around the new cut on Diluc’s face. The man watches him closely, but remains still and quiet. It’s not until Childe leans forward with the razor that Diluc reacts, his eyes blowing wide as he flinches back, nearly tipping into the tub behind him.
“Woah! You know you’re gonna get hurt again if you move around like that, right?” Childe says, steadying him with a hand on his shoulder. He’s shaking badly again….
“S-Sorry…..sorry I- I-I’ll stay s-still…..m’sorry-” he mumbles, doing nothing to support what he’s saying with all the shaking. Childe’s brow furrows. What a mess.
Kalli gives a sympathetic whine, coming close enough to lightly brush her tail on the shaking man’s leg. In another time (another life), Childe would be able to tell what feeling she was sharing with him….but now he just had body language to go off of. Something in his chest clenches at the thought.
Promisingly enough, Diluc’s breathing evens out a fraction.
“I’m sorry. I….I want….it gone. I need….” he sighs, his breath shuddering. He’s been watching the razor in Childe’s hand the entire time.
The Harbinger’s jaw clenches. Next time he had the “pleasure” of meeting Dottore, he’d have a few words….maybe some blows even.
He sets the razor on the sink counter, and Diluc’s face scrunches.
“I’m sorry-”
“No no. This won’t work for now, and I get why. At least, I can take a guess.” Childe sighs. “We can try something different though, if you’re up for it.”
Diluc watches him with weary curiosity as he waves his hand through the air, gathering the moisture around his fingers until they’re coated in water. His control over it is very good, so he could feasibly shave off some facial hair. He’s done it himself in a pinch.
“Alright Birdie, hold still.” Childe hums, reaching forward. Diluc huffs.
“Stop calling me that.”
“No. 💖 ” Childe says amiably. Arguing the nickname was a good sign. The bird daemon warbles in irritation, taking a quick noncommittal snip at Childe’s elbow. Of course it doesn’t connect, but he still snorts.
Diluc is as stiff as a board as Childe works on shaving his face, little by little. But he doesn’t flinch. He’s not having a good time, obviously , with fear written in every line of his face, every small spasm of his jaw…..but it’s still an improvement.
“Honestly this is good practice.” Childe says conversationally, keeping his eyes trained on his work. Careful precision….let his mouth run while the work gets done…he feels Diluc eye him dubiously.
“I have little siblings, y’know. Our littlest, Teucer- cutest little guy- he saw me and dad shaving and just had to be involved.” He chuckles, flicking away some cut stubble into the tub, forming new water blades on his fingers. “One day he strutted in with the most awful thing on his face, like an animal crawled up and died there.” Childe snorts. “Turns out he gathered shed fur from the cat and glued it to his face. Now that was a tough shave.”
He feels Diluc’s lips twitch up, and Childe’s own smile grows. Archons, he missed his little brother so much sometimes….
He went on to tell more stories as he worked, sharing the warm memories and letting them wash over the both of them. At some point he realizes Diluc had stopped shaking entirely, and he’s not sure when that was.
At last, his travel companion is cleanly shaven. His cheeks, no longer covered by stubble, are now stark in how sunken they are, the bags under his eyes so painfully dark against his pale skin. His eyes have that haunted look he’s only seen from people who’d lost terrible battles….or people….
But there was a warmth in them now. It was slight, extremely fragile, to the point he thought he’d imagined it. Like the last embers of a dying fire, clinging to life.
Man…his colleagues usually hate his stories of home. Who knew they’d actually help for once?
“Alright, you’re all done, little bird.” Childe says, ruffling Diluc’s hair as he flicks his other hand free of water. Diluc grunts, weakly batting his hand away. “Would you like to take a look at my work?”
Diluc tenses, and Childe goes to take it back, but Diluc speaks first.
“Y….Yeah. I….I want to….to see.” he mumbles, clutching the blankets as the bird butts her head into the crook of his arm. Childe shares a look with his own daemon, and he shrugs, going to retrieve his little hand mirror.
Straightening up, he leans over and holds the mirror in front of himself and Diluc, watching him closely.
The man stares at the haggard reflection facing him, his eyes wild and searching. He pats his face, fingers trailing over the now smooth skin, brushing the freshly scabbed cut near his jaw. He doesn’t say anything. But a moment passes, and something like relief washes over his face.
He lets out a long sigh, slumping to the side.
“Woah, hey!” Childe scrambles to catch him before he topples over, his head hitting his chest with a dull thmp. He doesn’t make a move to get up. The harbinger raises an eyebrow. “All tired out now, huh.” he mutters. His only answer is soft, even breathing.
He can feel the too warm heat of Diluc’s skin through his bedshirt. Right. Back to bed with this guy. Childe gathers the man’s gangly limbs up into his arms, careful not to touch his bird without blankets over his hands. Careful….
Heading out, and right before he sets Diluc down in bed, he hears a quiet, nearly whispered….something. Something almost like “Thank you.”
Childe pauses, just staring as he dozes off again before him. He ignores how he can see Kalli’s tail wagging out of the corner of his eye. He shakes his head, pulling the blankets over Diluc’s thin form.
“Yeah, sure. Like I said….good practice.”