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Kaeya knows what white torture is. He’s never used it and, to his knowledge, the Knights haven’t either but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know what it is.
White torture is a type of psychological torture technique aimed at complete sensory deprivation and isolation. It’s the process of locking a prisoner in a room that’s completely void of texture and completely white with lights that never turn off.
Complete isolation, intended to drive the prisoner out of their mind.
………………..
Adelinde is over the moon when Kaeya takes Diluc back to the Winery. The Knights had insisted he take him back to the Cathedral. Or at least, they’d insisted until the saw the sharp look Kaeya had given them, tucking his brother closer to his chest.
Normally he’d agree that the cathedral is the best place to recover and be helped after torture—and being locked in a white room is torture, even if Diluc hasn’t sustained any physical wounds—but Diluc has just spent the last five days locked in a pure white room and in case the Knights haven’t noticed, the Cathedral is white too.
So Kaeya takes Diluc to the Winery instead. Though the sisters at the Cathedral might be a little more equipped than Adelinde to help, home is going to be where Diluc feels safest.
Diluc had hardly spoken on the trip back, beyond quietly mumbling that Kaeya was real. He did the same thing with Adelinde, too, and Kaeya saw the head housemaid’s eyes water though no tear fell as she assured Diluc that she was.
“Why don’t you get him into a bath, Master Kaeya?” She had asked sweetly. “I’ll prepare him something light to eat.”
Kaeya knows that the only reason Adelinde isn’t making Diluc eat now —even though she surely wants to—is because his brother still hasn’t released the strand of Kaeya’s hair that he took hold of, when Kaeya took him out of the room.
Kaeya nodded wordlessly and turned to carry Diluc up the stairs to the young master’s own room, pushing the door open with his shoulder and heading to the attached bathroom.
Diluc remained silent the entire time, face buried in Kaeya’s neck as the younger brother took a seat on the edge of the tub, settling Diluc in his lap and removing one hand from him to start the water.
“ You have to remember, Captain Kaeya,” Lisa had warned him. “If Master Diluc is being held in a Domain, it’s likely that the passage of time will be far different for him than for us.”
Yeah, Kaeya remembers. But that only makes him angrier , seeing how pale and thin his brother is compared to the muscle he’d had when he disappeared. His long red hair is tangled and matted and greasy and Kaeya worries about how much it’s going to hurt to brush that out, if Adelinde doesn’t just suggest cutting it off.
Kaeya hopes she doesn’t suggest that. He thinks the last thing Diluc needs is to have his hair cut.
Once the tub is hot and full, Kaeya gets to work removing the white garments from Diluc, all too happy to toss them aside. While he’s sure Diluc could manage to undress himself, Kaeya is highly skeptical over whether or not Diluc will want to release him long enough to do so.
Once Diluc is undressed, Kaeya helps him stand on shaking legs and carefully climb into the bath. Diluc makes a small noise when the hot water washes over his legs, hand tightening almost painfully on Kaeya’s wrist.
“Diluc?” Kaeya called, worried that something hurts. But, eventually, Diluc relaxes ad lets out a quiet sigh, hold loosening though his hand remains on Kaeya’s wrist.
Kaeya chuckled quietly as he shifted and moved to stand behind his brother, allowing Diluc’s hand to remain on his arm.
“Can I wash your hair, Luc?” Kaeya asked gently.
Diluc was quiet for a long time. Quiet enough that Kaeya worried something was wrong. When he stepped back into Diluc’s line of sight, reaching out to brush a strand of red hair off of Diluc’s face, his brother flinched when Kaeya’s fingers touched his cheek.
“Kaeya?” His whispered, voice hoarse and hardly audible.
“Yeah, it’s me,” Kaeya replied.
Diluc stared at him. “You–”
“I’m real, I promise,” Kaeya assured, keeping his hand pressed firmly against Diluc’s cheek. “I’m here, I’m not going to leave. Can I wash your hair for you? It really needs it.”
Diluc hesitates for awhile before finally, slowly, nodding. “Okay,” he whispered.
Kaeya smiled, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to Diluc’s forehead before sliding a hand to his brother’s shoulder.
“Can you lean back and get your hair wet?” He asked.
Diluc nodded and shifted in the tub, keeping hold of Kaeya as he slowly tilted his head back. With Kaeya’s help, he was able to saturate his thick hair with water and sit up again. This time, Kaeya remained in Diluc’s line of sight as he poured a very generous amount of soap onto his brother’s head, smiling when Diluc’s hand wrapped around his elbow as he started working the shampoo into those thick locks.
He did this several times, rinsing and adding more shampoo until he felt that Diluc’s hair was as good as it was going to get. He’d have to brush it—which was certainly going to hurt—before he would be able to determine how much of Diluc’s hair was salvageable. But for now, it was good enough.
He let Diluc soak in the warmth for a little longer, in no hurry to get his brother out. Once the water started getting cold was when he prompted Diluc up and out, handing him a towel and standing close for support as Diluc shakily toweled himself off.
When it came to getting dressed, Diluc needed a little more help with pulling on a loose pair of trousers since his balance was already off. He remained silent the entire time, but Kaeya didn’t miss the way his brother always made sure he was touching Kaeya in one way or another.
Once Diluc was dressed, Kaeya stared at his hair as he tried to decide whether he wanted to work on it now or let Diluc get something to eat first.
His decision was made when a knock came at the door and Adelinde stepped in, took one look at Diluc’s hair, and murmured,
“Oh my.”
“Yeah.” Kaeya chuckled quietly. “I was just trying to decide if we should figure that out before or after he eats. It’s going to hurt.”
“Not if you’re gentle,” Adelinde told him, as though assuming Kaeya was intending to be violent. “Why don’t you sit him down at his vanity? I’ll go get his dinner. He can eat while we work on his hair.”
“It’s not going to hurt?”
“You need to be gentle , Master Kaeya,” Adelinde lectured. “My goodness, it’s like you’ve never brushed Master Diluc’s hair before.”
Kaeya just shook his head as he guided Diluc to sit in front of the mirror, keeping a hand on his brother’s shoulder the entire time.
“I’m still here, Diluc,” he promised, when Diluc looked up and caught his eye in the mirror. “I’m real, I promise. You’re home and safe. I swear.”
Diluc didn’t say anything—Kaeya figured it would be awhile before he started speaking again—and Kaeya let out a quiet breath when Adelinde returned with a warm bowl of soup.
Diluc just stared at it, for the longest time, when it was placed in front of him. Adelinde nudged Kaeya then and murmured,
“Give him time.”
Kaeya nodded then, moving to stand next to Diluc with his back against the edge of the vanity while Adelinde took up the hairbrush and put herself behind Diluc.
“Let me know if it hurts, Master Diluc,” she requested. “I’ll be as gentle as I can.”
The room was silent after that, beyond the sound of the hairbrush working through Diluc’s hair. Adelinde started at the very tips, working as gently as she could through the matting and the knots. Throughout the process, Diluc remained completely silent.
He did, eventually, begin eating and Kaeya let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding when he saw his brother lift the spoon and bring it to his lips. Diluc ate slowly, as though he hadn’t eaten before, but Kaeya was just glad he was eating at all.
It took hours—both Diluc’s eating and Adelinde working with his hair—but, eventually, both were finally finished.
“I’ve done as much as I could,” Adelinde said, setting the brush down. “It will need another run through tomorrow though, certainly.”
“Are we going to have to cut it?” Kaeya asked.
“Hopefully not,” Adelinde replied. She gave Diluc’s shoulder a gentle squeeze, the young man flinching and looking up first at Kaeya and then at Adelinde in the mirror. “Master Diluc, would you like to go to bed?”
Long moments passed as Diluc processed the words before he nodded and Adelinde smiled before saying to Kaeya,
“I presume you’re going to stay in here with him tonight?”
“Of course I am.”
She smiled. “Of course, sir. Let me take Master Diluc’s bowl down and then I can bring you up something to eat.”
“Thanks Addie.”
Checking over Diluc’s hair one more time, Adelinde turned and left the room. Once she was gone, Kaeya reached out and placed his hand on Diluc’s back.
“Let’s get you to bed, okay?”
“Stay?”
It was the first thing Diluc had said, since Kaeya found him, that didn’t involve asking if he was real. It pinged something in Kaeya’s chest that he hadn’t expected. Helping his brother to his feet, Kaeya followed Diluc over to the bed and pulled back the duvet.
Once the redhead was settled, Kaeya got him tucked in and took a seat n the edge of the bed.
Diluc burrowed under the blankets, tugging the duvet to his chin and simply…staring.
“You’re alright,” Kaeya promised, reaching out to place his hand on Diluc’s shoulder, over the blanket. “I’m right here. I’m not going to leave. I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise.”
It took another few moments before, finally, Diluc closed his eyes.
He was asleep within moments and only then did Kaeya let himself deflate, closing his own eye and letting out a shuddering breath. The sound of the door opening had him turning to find Adelinde slipping inside.
“He’s already asleep,” he whispered.
“He certainly needed it.”
Kaeya nodded. “Why Diluc?” He asked. “Why him? I’m not saying I’d ever wish hat on anyone else, but…but why him ?”
“I don’t think we’ll ever know, Master Kaeya,” Adelinde assured as she placed a glass of water and bowl on the side table. “Here. Your dinner.”
“Thanks.”
“Are you going to sleep with him tonight? Or shall I bring in a chair for you to sit and watch over him?”
“A chair please. I want him to be able to see me as soon as he wakes up instead of having even a few minutes thinking nothing was real.”
“Of course, sir.” Adelinde smiled sorrowfully at the two of them. “Goodnight, Master Kaeya.”
“Goodnight, Adelinde.”