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The Tavern was quiet tonight.
The squeaks of glass being rubbed against a cloth were all that could be heard in the Tavern. Usually, the tavern is filled with the movement of people, alcohol-induced laughter and the smell of wine. But instead…
Diluc was left to his lonesome.
It didn’t bother Diluc that much; the wine tycoon owner has a few days where the tavern can be a bit dead on the inside. It wasn’t a reoccurring thing that dug into his funds, but it was something that he foresaw when it came to business. However, he did hope that it was even the slightest bit busy, seeing as it was November Thirtieth and well…
This was the day Kaeya claims he was born.
Not that Diluc could even trust if that was even the real date. He can barely trust his brother nowadays to begin with.
All because of that day.
There was nothing he could do though, or that he felt he could. Even if he ever so slightly wished that day never happened. Even if he wished his brother never told the truth. Even if he wished that he could be around his brother without a single worry in the world. At least he told himself that there was nothing he could do while he put aside a bottle of wine aside for his brother and had even considered having someone bake a cake for him, but the wine was the most Diluc felt he could do without feeling like his brother “didn’t deserve” whatever else he was given.
Alas, his dear brother might not get anything tonight if no one else was going to come into the Ta-
The entrance of the tavern was opened, revealing the Cavalry Captain himself; Kaeya Alberich.
“Oh~? No wonder it’s so quiet around here. What, did you chase all your customers away with your grape juice habits?” He joked about, his smooth voice filling the quiet void that was the atmosphere of the tavern.
Diluc had a small sense of relief before it was washed away by his brother’s choice of words. His shoulders tensed, his line of vision went from his brother to the glass he’s been wiping for the past 30 minutes. “What do you want?” His cold voice- Despite being the wielder of a pyro vision- practically barked at Kaeya, showing no room for his antics.
“Relax, we all know I’m just messing with you. I just thought I’d stop by, see what the lack of commotion was all about.” The brother in blue started. Diluc turned around, his back facing his brother while he spoke. “Do you have something planned~? Let me guess; A meeting with a stockholder? A party? A date~?”
Kaeya’s attempts of pushing Diluc’s buttons for a quick giggle were strangely not budging him. The corners of his mouth sloped downwards in a pout. He gave his brother a second while the redhead appeared to be going through the cabinets. After a moment of silence, he decided to speak-
Only to be interrupted by the sound of a wine bottle being placed onto the bar counter.
The wine bottle was a slightly transparent Royal Blue, with a cream colored label that read “Death After Noon”. The bottle looked like it was freshly sealed and unopened, as it still had a cork in it and the mouth of the wine bottle was covered in a gold colored wrapping. At the neck of the bottle, there was a white ribbon with a border the color of Navy Blue. Attached to the ribbon was a tag that read...
“For Kaeya”.
Kaeya’s eyebrows raised, his eyelids rising ever so lightly. “A gift..? For moi~?” He quickly dialed down his surprised tone and returned to his regular tone of voice. His first thought was to jokingly look flattered, like a newly proposed-to wife in the 60’s who had her right hand on her chest to calm her beating heart. “Oh you shouldn’t have-”
“You’re right, I shouldn’t have.” Diluc responded quickly, interrupting any shenanigans that his brother might’ve started. As a result, his brother was taken back, his brows slightly furrowed as he scanned the facial expressions and body language of his broody brother. As his brother proceeded to place two wine glasses onto the bar counter, Diluc continued.
“I shouldn’t have, and yet I did. Not that I wanted to, but I…” He stopped for a moment, almost as if he were struggling to find the right words for once. “I felt it was right.”
“While I’d rather deal with cryo slimes in Dragonspine than spend time with you-”
“Ouch..”
“It would also weigh heavily on my conscience if I just let your birthday pass without attempting something.”
Kaeya went quiet as his face went to a solemn expression. While the brothers had hated themselves for what would probably feel like several years to come, they tended to forget that in the old times, the two were joined at the hip since they were very young. They did so many things together- and yet- now they do everything separately. The blue brother chuckled softly as Diluc handed him a corkscrew to open up his birthday present, preparing himself a glass of wine. While he was quiet, the redhead had already filled his glass with grape juice.
“Y’know, sometimes I get so caught up in our banter, I forget what caused it. Being surrounded by relations such as The Acting GrandMaster and her sister, or Albedo and Klee and I realize… I…” Kaeya paused his rambling to chuckle while he lightly swirled his glass of specially crafted wine. “Maybe I feel some jealousy towards their relationships, before I realized we’re in this because of me.” He took a sip of his drink, finding a familiar taste of something he once described to the Traveler. Guess his brother’s curiosity got to him.
Diluc looked at his brother with an expression he uncommonly used towards him. His emotion matched his brother’s, with his slightly furrowed brows and his mouth corners pulled down a little more than usual.
“Kaeya, while I may hate you, while your name might make me groan in annoyance or your presence may bother me, there’s one thing I’ve realized in these past years; You’re the only one I have left.” His voice got low, a slight voice crack happening at the end. He took a swig of his juice as if it were alcohol that could drown all his worries. Instead he was met with the ever-so familiar taste of fruit juice, something he would favor more to have drowned his words in.
“You’re the only person left from my childhood… And while I may hate your guts…
I don’t think I’d want to lose you.”