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Lumine is, quite frankly, growing rather tired of these two.
Or, well, no. That’s not quite right. It’s not that she’s growing tired of them as people, exactly; Kaeya and Diluc are, individually, very good friends to her, and have helped her out with all sorts of problems during her time here in Teyvat. Overall, she thinks of them fondly and even enjoys stopping in to Mondstadt just for the sake of visiting them.
What she really finds issue with is their absolute inability to communicate with each other like adults.
From what she’s gleaned from each of them, there’s merit to their little song and dance, their vague words with hidden meanings and obscured intentions. Neither of them seems to think that the other has any fondness left for their brotherhood, and in the same way, they imagine that asking after it directly would be an invitation for disdain and derision. Loaded questions that are and aren’t about the situation at hand and loaded answers that don’t quite answer the question posed but answer the question unspoken instead…it’s all they have left to gage where they stand with each other.
But good gods, sometimes there’s only so much of it she can take.
Is it not obvious to literally everyone else in the room when the two of them converse? When they quarrel and bicker and yet choose to go to each other time and time again for assistance? Is it not obvious, when their so-called begrudging cooperation works together so seamlessly? When they speak of each other so often when they are apart?
Honestly. Are they really the only ones who can’t tell?
The worst moments, in her opinion, are the ones where she catches glimpses of them coming so very, very close to the answer…only for it to pass them by completely.
A soft echo of summers past murmuring out of a blue shell held up to her ear. Do you remember? Do you remember being happy, the two of us? I do. Do you want to be happy with me, again? I do, I do, I…
The festivities of last Weinlesefest, the bright and merry warmth of family family family all around, which drew to the surface that bitter ache that stings eternal in Lumine’s chest, a reminder of what she has lost and cannot have. An ache that she recognized almost instantly in that distant expression upon Kaeya’s face as the three of them approached Dawn Winery.
This is my home, too, Kaeya had said so easily, as if he had not gazed upon the manor with such evident grief and longing just moments before.
This is my home, too, he had said, and yet he still flinched away from his brother’s offered hand.
Lumine remembers watching him flee once the meal was done, practically sprinting out the door like he expected the offered hospitality to turn to cinders at any moment. All the while, Diluc stared off into the distance with a thoughtful expression, musing quietly to himself about family.
…She understood, then. Perhaps better than the others imagined. A home that is not home, not anymore, a home that is a person who has changed… Is that how things will be with Aether? Will they no longer recognize each other, when this journey is done? Will that eternal home of their shared company no longer be home, when they meet again at the end?
No. Surely not. She will not allow it.
And in the same way, she will not allow those she cares for to spurn themselves from having family, when they and their own loved ones so clearly, desperately wish for reconnection. It hurts far too much to watch.
Sometimes, in those moments of miscommunication, she manages to take a breath and calm down, reminding herself that these things take patience and time. It wouldn’t be right to try and rush it or push them; that would bring about the opposite of the intended effect and make them feel awkward, pressured. Any resulting talk generated from such actions wouldn’t feel genuine, and in fact might make things between them worse.
The two of them will get to it one day, she tells herself. She just has to wait, and support them whenever she can.
Other times, well… She feels a bit less positively about the whole thing.
Wow, Lumine thinks bitterly to herself as she watches them interact, oblivious. That must be nice. You know, knowing where your sibling is…being able to interact with them on a daily basis…having them help you with just about everything you ask them to, even if you don’t fully see eye to eye anymore…
Must be nice.
Tonight, unfortunately, Lumine finds herself falling into the latter state of mind.
Kaeya had offered an outing to the tavern, to which Lumine had agreed readily, excited at the prospect of trying out the new fruit juices Diluc added to the menu specifically for her perusal. Little did she know that this was partly a ploy on the Cavalry Captain’s part to pester his estranged brother while he’s on the job and can’t escape from his company. Figures.
It’s a bit less unfriendly than the first conversation of theirs that Lumine was privy to, and a bit less confusing now that she knows some of the details.
But that doesn’t make it any easier to bear by any means.
At first, the conversation was something approaching civil. Kaeya’s tone was light, his questions and remarks similarly so and wrought with humor. But, as the wine in his glass grew shallower, he was laughing off the heavier implications of his own words as if they weren’t intended to sting. Diluc answered each barb with short, curt responses that were not unkind, but…not particularly welcoming, either.
So by this point they’ve mostly given up talking. They’ve both realized Lumine herself isn’t in the mood for conversation, either, so the lot of them just sort of sit there, listening to the ambience of what few customers linger at this time of night. Diluc absently cleans a glass in his hands, brows furrowed as he stares through it, Kaeya swirls the remaining wine in his glass with a distant expression, and Lumine wishes, not for the first time since coming here, that the legal drinking age in Teyvat was a touch lower.
It’s unbearable. She almost wants to shout at them, to tell them look up! Can’t you see you’re both just as miserable? Wouldn’t you rather talk to each other the same way you so easily talk to everyone else?
But she doesn’t. She sits there, watching them avoid each other’s gaze, and stews in her frustration.
After all, after the past half hour, it’s likely that both of them think the other is more contented by silence than by conversation and do not speak up to break it. Or, perhaps, they simply don’t want to say what’s really on their mind when they have such a captive audience.
Well, Lumine knows how to fix that particular problem. Or, at the very least, knows a few people who are capable of it. She’s sure she could do some favors for Yae Miko in return for locking these two in a realm of consciousness together until they sort out their issues.
After a while, the silence is broken as the last remaining customers head for the door, stumbling drunkenly as they go and wishing the three of them a merry farewell and good night. Lumine nods with a small smile, Kaeya gives them a bright smile and a wave, and Diluc nods with a thank you, come again…
And then the building is empty save for the three of them, and silence falls once more.
…
Lumine can’t take it anymore.
Realistically, she knows it’s not her place to well and truly take matters into her own hands. After all, she’s been told time and time again that she is the witness to all things that happen in this world. She is here to transcribe the stories that may yet be lost and forgotten, to engrave them upon her heart and carry them on forever through the stars and tell them to worlds anew. She is not here, it seems, to interfere overmuch in personal affairs of less world-ending proportions.
Regardless of how frustrating it is to watch them like this, here at this point in their entwined tale...the two of them have not yet finished the full chapters of their lives, and as such, what meddling Lumine can manage is limited.
But…maybe they don’t need much. Just a little push can’t hurt, right?
So, she finishes her drink and sets it down on the counter with a huff.
“You know,” she begins, propping her chin up on her hands as she leans her elbows against the counter, “Paimon and I have been talking, and I think she’s starting to convince me on her point.”
“Hmm?” Kaeya hums inquiringly, as both of them turn to face her. “And what point is that, exactly?”
“Well…” she frowns, feigning thoughtfulness. “If Diluc and Jean were to get into a fight…”
Behind the bar, Diluc groans and rolls his eyes, having heard this particular debate before.
“…who do you think would win?” Lumine finishes, smiling sweetly at Kaeya.
“Hmm?” Kaeya blinks at her, wide-eyed. “My, I’m hoping this is a hypothetical question you’re posing, Traveler.”
“Of course it is. And a ridiculous one, at that,” Diluc grumbles, sending a half-hearted glare Lumine’s way, to which she responds by sticking her tongue out at him. “I see no reason why I would ever come to blows with her.”
Appeased, Kaeya smiles and gives a shrug. “In that case…”
He takes a long moment to think it over, before ultimately letting out an unsatisfied hum. “Well, I suppose it depends, doesn’t it? A lot of specifics can turn the tide of a battle. The terrain, the weather, the combatants’ emotional state—”
“That’s a non-answer and you know it,” Lumine says dryly. “In a straight, fair fight, who do you think would win?”
“Oh, in a fair fight?” Kaeya casts a not-so-subtle look Diluc’s way. “Jean, absolutely.”
“Really?” Lumine brightens. “Why do you think?”
“Because Jean fights fair,” Kaeya says with a wry smile. “As for our dear Master Diluc…well, he doesn’t usually need to adhere to the Knights’ standards of what constitutes a fair fight, now does he? If he were forced to conform to the rules, I imagine some of his fighting style would be lost in the process.”
“I am literally right here.”
“Hmm,” Lumine hums, ignoring him. “I guess that makes sense. Then, would your answer change if I said it was a no-holds-barred, free-for-all fight?”
“My answer would change depending on the specifics of that fight,” Kaeya says easily. “Which you have so helpfully declined to provide.”
“Fine,” Lumine grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest. “Then…in a sheer test of strength, who do you think would win?”
“Ooh, now that’s a tough one,” Kaeya says, leaning his elbow against the counter and setting his chin in his hand, considering. “I’m not entirely sure. Their strengths are visible in different ways, so it’s difficult to really gage if one could be considered stronger than the other. One might be tempted to say Diluc on principle, since he wields a heavier weapon, but…well, one shouldn’t so easily overlook the strength of the Acting Grand Master.”
Another non-answer. Luckily, Lumine has a way to measure the strength she’s looking for, even if she doesn’t entirely believe the words that come out of her mouth next.
“Hmm. Maybe you have a point,” Lumine says. “Jean is a lot stronger than people give her credit for. I can certainly remember how easily she picked you up, that one time.”
Diluc casts a curious glance his way, and Kaeya lets out a nervous chuckle beneath his gaze.
“Ah, that was when I sprained my ankle on that expedition of ours, wasn’t it? Jean was quite insistent on getting me to safety so I could be treated, so…up I went.” He sighs. “Never mind that I told her multiple times I was fine. She can be quite stubborn when she puts her mind to it.”
Lumine doesn’t miss the way that Diluc’s shoulders tense at Kaeya’s recount of their misadventure. She can practically feel him bite back a chastising remark about not walking on an injured ankle and how Kaeya should take better care of himself and prioritize his own wellbeing.
“Well, then. It sounds like there’s a pretty straightforward way to see if she and Diluc are comparable in strength, huh?” Lumine says, not bothering to hide the sly smile on her face as she takes in Kaeya’s barely-concealed dawning horror. She turns to Diluc with a gleam in her eye. “Diluc, do you think you could pick up Kaeya?”
“Hey—”
“Most likely,” Diluc says with a shrug.
“I—wh—” Kaeya’s head snaps to him, indignation winning over against hesitation and sprawling across his features. “Hey, what do you mean, most likely? Are you implying I’m too heavy to hold?”
Diluc raises a brow at him and tilts his head. “Your weight has nothing to do with it,” he says. “Unless you actively resist it with equal force, I could pick you up.”
“That’s…” Kaeya trails off with a laugh, his embarrassment fading away as he leans forward on the counter and shakes his head. “My, you’re quite sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing.”
“Hmm,” Lumine hums smugly, cutting in before they can devolve into another not-quite-argument. “I don’t believe you. You’re going to have to prove it.”
Diluc sighs. “I see no reason why I would want to—”
He stops short as he turns and spots the meaningful glare Lumine is sending his way.
Over time, she’s found that he isn’t exactly the most competitive when it comes to proving himself, especially to the Knights, double especially to Kaeya, so…a bit of direction is needed here. She flicks her eyes toward Kaeya as he drains the rest of his glass, then gives Diluc a meaningful look that she hopes is easy to interpret.
A beat, and then surprise shifts to realization across Diluc’s face. Realization bleeds away to uncertainty.
…
After a moment more, he sighs, visibly relenting and steeling himself for what’s to come.
“This is…not exactly the most comprehensive test of strength, perhaps, but…if it pleases you, and there are no objections, then…sure. I see no reason why not.”
Kaeya blinks at him, a rare look of sheer surprise on his face. It disappears as quickly as it came, followed by a bright smile. “What, really?”
“Unless you’d prefer not to,” Diluc amends with an easy shrug, without an ounce of mockery or judgement in his tone. “In which case, I imagine this little thought exercise will remain a hypothetical forever.”
Kaeya huffs a laugh. “My, you say that as if there’s something wrong with hypotheticals, Master Diluc.”
There’s a crack in Diluc’s newly-formed neutral mask then, a sliver of disappointment making its way to the surface of his expression. After a beat, he returns his gaze to the glass in his hands.
“…No,” he says. “I suppose there isn’t.”
Disappointment comes cascading tenfold on Lumine as she watches this tableau of miscommunication unfold.
Ah. Maybe they really do need more than just a little push after all. Maybe they need more help than she can reasonably provide. Maybe she really will have to wait until the end of this journey to see the two of them reconcile.
…If they ever do.
In that moment, confusion scrunching his brows, Kaeya casts a look her way.
She pushes back her disappointment and flashes him an encouraging smile.
A beat. Confusion turns to realization. Realization gives way to bafflement.
…
Kaeya sighs, and his barstool lets out a long noise as he pushes back from the bar and stands.
“Alright, alright,” he says, a mischievous smile on his lips. “You’ve piqued my curiosity.”
Diluc’s gaze snaps up to him, a shadow of Kaeya’s own surprise etched across his features.
“You…want to?”
Kaeya spreads his hands out in a lackadaisical gesture to himself. “I’m standing, aren’t I?” He shakes his head with a smile. “I suppose there’s no real sense in leaving this particular mystery unsolved when the answer is so easily obtained, is there?”
Just for a second, Lumine thinks she sees a glimmer of genuine delight in Diluc’s eyes.
“Alright,” he says, his voice steady and even as he sets the glass down on the counter at last.
He circles around to the other side of the bar, a thoughtful frown on his face as he casts an appraising look at Kaeya.
“So…how did Jean do this, exactly?” he asks. “If this is to be a comparison of strength, it should be as accurate to the original act as possible, correct?”
“She picked me up like a spring bride,” Kaeya drawls, an amused smile twitching his lips.
“Yeah, she just kind of—” Lumine mimes a demonstration, both arms held up in front of herself, palms upturned.
Diluc watches carefully, and then nods. He turns his attention to Kaeya, and then…
To Kaeya’s credit, the startled noise he lets out as Diluc hoists him up into his arms is remarkably dignified. Lumine gives an appropriately awed ooh! as Kaeya’s arms flail about for a moment.
“That wasn’t quite how Jean did it,” Kaeya grumbles, as one arm comes to rest across Diluc’s shoulders. He would be the picture of unaffected calm, were it not for the white-knuckled grip his other hand has in the lapel of Diluc’s coat.
“Shit,” he hisses as Diluc adjusts his hold on him slightly. “Do not drop me.”
“That would defeat the whole purpose of this experiment, yes,” Diluc responds dryly. He shakes his head and glances over at Lumine. “How long did this last, exactly?”
“A little less than a minute, I think?” she says, tapping a finger against her chin. “Though…she was running at the time, so…”
Diluc hums, casting a look around.
“Don’t even think about it,” Kaeya says immediately. “That particular part of the equation can be disregarded for this experiment, I think.”
“Hmm? Why’s that?” Diluc tilts his head at him, the hints of a smile hiding in the corners of his mouth. “The nights are lovely this time of year. I see no reason why I couldn’t go for a run.”
“Oh, leave me out of it, would you?” Kaeya says, not without humor as he rolls his eye. “I’m fairly certain you get enough exercise as it is with…whatever it is that you do on your midnight strolls without adding any additional weight.”
“I don’t know, I think it could be a marked improvement,” Diluc muses. “Part of maintaining an exercise routine is pushing oneself outside the realm of comfort—”
“I said don’t even think about it,” Kaeya says dryly, shoving his hand into Diluc’s face. “And yet here you are, thinking about it.”
“How rude,” Diluc grumbles. “Were you this ungrateful to Jean, when she rescued you?”
Kaeya laughs once, making clear his disbelief of Diluc’s words. “And what, exactly, have you rescued me from, Master Diluc?”
“Ignorance,” Diluc responds easily. “Your own curiosity. I’ve quenched your thirst for knowledge, shouldn’t you be thankful?”
“Oh, pffbt—” Kaeya blows a raspberry at him. “You’re so full of shit.”
“Kaeya, c’mon,” Lumine calls, amused at this whole situation. “You are the one who said you wanted to know. Commit to the bit, Captain.”
Kaeya glowers at her, and then rolls his eye with a huff.
“Yes,” he says, voice dripping with sardonic sweetness. “I am ever so grateful that you’ve managed to rescue me from this made-up conundrum. My hero. How ever should I repay this life-long debt?”
“Well, you could—”
Whatever Diluc planned to suggest is lost to the winds, as Kaeya pulls himself forward to plant a kiss on his cheek.
…
Absolute silence fills the bar.
“Ah,” Kaeya says quietly, eye rounded like he’s just realized what he’s done. “Uh—”
“Is that long enough, Traveler?”
“Uh, y—yeah, I think so…”
Diluc carefully sets Kaeya back on his feet. Neither of them look at each other.
“Well. I suppose I’ll get to tell Paimon that my original intuition was correct,” Lumine says smugly, in an attempt to dispel the stifling silence. “Thank you for indulging my curiosity, you two. And thanks for the drinks!”
“Of course,” Diluc says with a nod.
“Any time,” Kaeya says with a slightly-strained smile. He casts a glance Diluc’s way, almost as if he wants to say something more, but ultimately decides against it.
The three of them exchange farewells, and Lumine heads out the door as Kaeya lags behind to pay.
…
She lingers on the other side of the door for a long moment, and lets out a heavy sigh.
That was certainly…something. She isn’t entirely sure if she should be disappointed by the way things turned out or not. But…well, she didn’t exactly go in with a clear plan in mind, past getting the two of them a bit closer to each other. In the end, she supposes she should simply be content that nothing disastrous took place.
Just as she begins down the street, mulling all of it over, a breeze brushes by, ruffling her hair.
The benevolent wind, ever her accomplice in the lands of Mond, carries to her ears words that were, perhaps, not intended for her to overhear, but were born from her meddling nonetheless.
“…apologize if I…overstepped my bounds with all of this.”
“Hm? Not at all.” A pause. “…I had fun.”
A startled laugh. “Fun? You?” Kaeya’s disbelief is tinged with humor. “I didn’t know you were still capable of experiencing such a thing.”
“I admit it was a bit of a surprise to me, as well,” Diluc responds. Then, with enough warmth in his tone to indicate a smile, “But it was…pleasant.”
A pause, and then Kaeya hums, thoughtful. “Really? Then…perhaps we should make such occurrences more frequent in the future,” he muses. “That way, they’d be a little less surprising, at least.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea,” Diluc says.
“My, what a coincidence. Neither would I.”
“I figured as much, since you volunteered it,” Diluc says, a touch dryly. A pause. Then, softer, “But…I look forward to it. Thank you. Have a good night, Kaeya.”
“Of course. You as well.”
Lumine smiles to herself, and heads for home.