Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Kaeya
Kaeya wanted to relish and appreciate the current peace and prosperity in Mondstadt, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to.
His duties had been cut back significantly; It was the same for all the Knights, really.
Obviously, this was something that Jean was struggling with. Two months had passed since they’d rid Mond of the Abyss’ sickness, and while the damages had been surprisingly minimal, any losses were too many for her.
Ordo Favonius had managed to solve the issue without causing public panic, mostly due to a certain someone who’d went completely rogue. Still, even after instructing the citizens to avoid any freshwater sources and setting up a proper medical bay for the ill, eight people had passed away during the whole affair.
They were already sickly or elderly, but that didn’t make it any less heartbreaking. Especially the one child who’d died at the young age of seven.
While Lisa had been surprisingly successful reigning-in the over worked Acting Grandmaster, Kaeya was almost equally as unsettled by the matter, though he hid his concerns far better.
Such a large scale assault on the people of Mond, without having any sort of actual assault whatsoever…
Clearly, he’d missed something.
But for the life of him, Kaeya just couldn’t figure out what it was.
That was what unnerved him the most. Being kept in the dark.
Despite all of this, after leading the Knights to clear out any and all remaining monsters within Mond’s borders, there was a surprising lack of leads. The past month or so had been quiet patrols and simple commissions that normally would have been handled by the Adventurer’s Guild.
This didn’t necessarily mean that Kaeya’s life was boring at the moment. It just meant that he had no outlets or distractions for working out his restlessness.
After yet another uneventful patrol that ended with accompanying an elderly man on his way to the city, Kaeya was once again out of things to do. Quickly finishing his meagre pile of reports, he made his way to the Acting Grandmaster’s office.
He paused before knocking, taking a moment to listen in on the muffled voices on the other side of the door.
“I still think we should be doing more. For once, we actually aren’t overworked and can actually take preventative measures to…”
“Jean, we already are taking preventative measures. The increase in patrols has been working, and with your cutting back on your duties, we’ve actually caught up on paperwork and domestic affairs.”
A brief silence followed.
“Listen, I’ve come up with a new plan that would both benefit the merchants coming and going from Mondstadt as well as our patrols–”
“You only have four minutes left on your shift, so be quick with it, Jean.”
Kaeya figured this was as good a moment as any to knock on the door. These types of conversations were quite common nowadays.
“Come in– Oh, it’s you, Kaeya,” Lisa said with a relieved sigh, speaking for her superior.
Jean gave the librarian an annoyed frown but otherwise didn’t say anything. This new arrangement of no work or work-related conversations outside of the Acting Grandmaster’s shifts was quite the interesting little experiment.
Kaeya gave the two a slightly forced lazy smile. “Paperwork is done, and nothing new to report other than Mr Johnston’s apple trees underperforming this season,” he announced.
Jean nodded. “That’s… good. Now, as I was saying–”
“–And how have you been holding up, Captain?” Lisa interrupted.
“Fine, as usual,” Kaeya sighed, indulging in the librarian’s little ruse. “Bored out of my skull, but fine.”
“Oh, well that’s good to hear. It’s Friday night, isn’t it? Dinner should certainly liven up your day,” Lisa continued.
‘Liven up’ was one way of putting it. ‘Intensely uncomfortable’ would be closer to Kaeya’s own description.
“Yeah, I’ll be heading to the Winery soon. Should be another riveting conversation at the dinner table.”
Jean looked as if she had something to say, but paused before speaking.
“…Tell Diluc I said hi,” she said succinctly, seemingly having given up on whatever was on her mind.
Kaeya nodded. This was the second part of her new arrangement; no hovering or worrying over other’s affairs that didn’t concern her. Honestly, this was probably the hardest part for her.
“I’ll be off, then,” he excused himself with a polite waive.
“Oh! Would you look at that. Seems it’s past 5 o’clock. I guess you’ll have to finish telling me your new idea tomorrow, Jean,” Lisa chirped cheerfully.
Even with his back turned, Kaeya swore he could feel the weight of Jean’s scowl.
Still, he was honestly glad that Lisa and Barbara had come up with this plan. Jean was overworked and burnt out, and needed time to recharge and recover.
Truth be told, they all did.
Kaeya felt a familiar heaviness in his chest, though he tried his best to ignore it. As he exited Ordo Favonius’ headquarters, he found little comfort in the cheery sunset that stained the sky pink.
He was well aware of the keen eyes that followed his every movement, despite his feigned ignorance. It was almost a routine at this point.
Kaeya subtly scanned his surroundings to find the figure toying with their dagger in the shadows. Her piercing gaze was unmistakable, but he refused to indulge her by acknowledging her presence.
Reaching into his jacket, Kaeya made sure there were no Knights watching him before pulling out his flask. Even though he was technically off-duty, he liked to at least try to pretend he had some form of decorum.
Taking a long sip of his dandelion wine, he continued to ignore the nun’s presence as he descended into lower Mondstadt. He restrained himself, tucking away his flask long before he would have liked to finish.
Kaeya wouldn’t allow himself to–
Guilt gnawed at his chest. As terrible as it sounded, he really did hate these weekly dinners, for more reasons than he cared to count.
He’d long since abandoned the hope of an improvement over time, coming to expect the award tensions and silent glares.
The trek to Dawn Winery was painfully uneventful, not even a stray hilichurl to hunt down. Kaeya felt as though his pent up energy would cause him to explode at any given moment.
Still, he pushed forwards, arriving at the winery just before the sun settled behind the horizon. Even the usually bustling winery was uncharacteristically quiet.
Kaeya didn’t bother knocking, knowing full well that Adelinde would only chastise him for doing so. He entered into the empty lobby, waiting patiently for the sound of heels approaching.
“Kaeya, dear!” the maid exclaimed, pulling him into a tight hug. You’d otherwise think that it had been ages since they’d last seen each other by her warm welcome.
“Dinner will be ready within half an hour. How was your day at work?”
“…Fine,” he sighed. “Boring as all hell, but fine.”
Adelinde seemed to ignore the pessimism in his response. “That’s good to hear. Is Jean well? You all work so hard that you deserve this break.”
“She’s doing good. Lisa’s been keeping her on a short leash.”
“Good, good. We’ll have to invite them to join us for dinner soon.” The maid maintained her cheery attitude in spite of Kaeya’s clipped responses.
“…Is he still upstairs?” He asked.
Adelinde’s expression fell ever so slightly, but she quickly recovered. “Yes, and I know he’d really appreciate the company. Just make sure to come downstairs before dinner gets cold.”
Kaeya scoffed. Somehow I really doubt he’s wanting company, he thought to himself.
Adelinde disappeared back into the kitchen, and Kaeya started making his way upstairs. His feet felt heavy as he dragged himself along, knocking on the door knowing full-well there’d be no response.
He sighed and let himself in. The room was dim with the curtains drawn closed, the floor scattered with loose paper and broken objects, the bed a twisted mess of sheets and blankets.
Exactly the way it had been last week, and the week before that, and the week before that…
Kaeya pulled an envelope out of his jacket and dropped it next to the man hunched over an equally chaotic desk. He suspiciously eyed the half-finished glass of wine perched on top of a pile of papers.
“It wouldn’t hurt to let in some sunlight every once in a while, you know,” Kaeya grumbled.
Diluc turned towards him, opening up the envelope and scanning its contents. “Nothing new, I take it?”
“Not much,” Kaeya sighed. “Mond is still uncharacteristically more peaceful than usual.” It was true. Other than a few smugglers and Treasure Hoarders going after merchants, there’d been little to no threats or dangers.
Diluc hummed in agreement, tossing Kaeya’s reports into another undistinguishable messy pile. He scribbled a few more notes onto his own sheet before handing it to him.
Kaeya folded the paper and tucked it into his pocket for safekeeping. “Are you ever actually going to tell me your theories, or are you going to just keep passing me these useless reports?”
“We both know they’re not useless,” Diluc mumbled. Another truth. The former knight’s uncanny intelligence gathering was one of the main reasons for Ordo Favonius’ current efficiency. Between him, Kaeya’s own methods of gathering information, and Jean’s coordination, Mond was probably as most protected as it could be.
Although, it wasn’t willingly that Diluc was working so closely with the Knights. It was more out of necessity.
He’d effectively been under house arrest for the past two months, unable to protest given his current physical state. But surprisingly enough, it was his own decision to hole up in his room, refusing to so much as go outside for a walk.
If it weren’t for his efforts at keeping tabs on Abyss activities, Kaeya was certain that Diluc would have gone stir crazy by now.
…Which wasn’t necessarily to say that he didn’t already look deranged enough. Diluc had apparently given up entirely on maintaining his appearance. The grey streaks in his messy ponytail became more and more noticeable without being regularly dyed, and he occasionally scratched at the grey and red stubble on his face.
“You should get Adelinde to help you shave again. You look terrible,” Kaeya stated matter-of-factly.
“Wouldn’t be a problem if she’d just let me shave myself,” Diluc grumbled under his breath.
“And we both know why that is.” Kaeya crossed his arms, unimpressed.
Diluc gave him an spiteful scowl but otherwise didn’t say anything. While Kaeya knew it probably wasn’t the best idea to antagonize his brother, it was nearly impossible for him not to.
“I see you’re enjoying the training swords,” he pointed out, looking at the broken wooden blades scattered around the room.
“Those things are useless,” Diluc complained. “They’re unbalanced and too light.”
Neither brother had used such swords since they were young children, and even Kaeya had to agree with him. But it was better than the alternatives of letting Diluc run wild or go insane without any training.
The redhead finished scribbling down some notes before rolling the paper up and applying a blank wax seal. His usually impeccable handwriting was nearly illegible, thanks to the quill that he could no longer hold steady in his shaky hands.
Diluc handed the letter to his falcon resting on its perch, giving her an affectionate pat before opening the window to let her fly away. Under other circumstances, Kaeya would have wasted no opportunity to make fun of his unkept, hermit of a brother whose only company was a bird.
“Come on, Adelinde should have dinner ready,” Kaeya gestured towards the door. With a sigh, Diluc reluctantly got up from his desk and followed the knight out of the room.
Although he no longer visibly struggled descending the stairs, the redhead still kept a tight grip on the railing, while Kaeya watched him closely in case he lost his footing.
“Stop hovering behind me,” Diluc snapped, clearly still annoyed with how he was being treated by others. Kaeya let out an exasperated sigh and stopped midway down the staircase, allowing his brother to walk down the rest of the staircase with several steps between them.
Kaeya had to stop himself from making another snide comment. It came as no surprise that Diluc was less than thrilled with his current situation, although his frustrated temperament made him even more difficult to get along with than usual.
Dinner was already served by the time they got downstairs. Adelinde appeared in the doorway to the kitchen just as they were sitting down.
“Lovely, you two are just in time,” she chirped, taking her seat as well.
As much as Kaeya dreaded these dinners, he had to admit that he did always look forward to Adelinde’s cooking. The three of them started to eat in silence, although Diluc poked at his food more than he actually ate it.
“Diluc’s appetite has really improved lately,” the maid said suddenly in an attempt to fill the silence. “Hasn’t it, Master Diluc?”
The man in question mumbled something in response, taking the hint and reluctantly taking a bite of his dinner.
“Unfortunately, Elzer couldn’t join us tonight. The Winery’s business has been busier than ever lately,” Adelinde continued.
Kaeya nodded, but continued to stare at his plate. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Diluc’s frown deepen at the mention of Elzer currently running his own empire.
…As if he didn’t have a problem leaving it to Elzer and Adelinde for three years, Kaeya thought cynically, although he kept these notions to himself.
He half listened as Adelinde carried on the conversation all by herself, trying to ignore that familiar heaviness deepening in his chest.
Kaeya knew better than to take out his frustrations on Diluc, but gods it was hard not to, which only made him feel more guilty.
Despite making huge improvements from barely being able to stand a couple months ago, Diluc’s condition was still nothing less than agonizing. Even now, his clothes hung loosely on his frame as he returned to dressing fully covered, not even removing his gloves.
Kaeya clenched his jaw as he chewed. He tried his best not to think of the chain of events that had led to this current predicament, but it was nearly impossible not to attribute a large part of the blame to himself.
“…is more than sufficient. Also, I have some good news from Barbara,” Adelinde continued.
The mention of the Deaconess stirred both brother’s from their thoughts, their gazes instantly fixating on the maid.
Adelinde’s grin widened once she got their attention. “Since Diluc’s condition has greatly improved, she’s suggested letting him return to some of his normal activities. We agreed that tending to the bar at Angel’s Share would be a good first step–”
“I’m not going out like this.” Diluc dropped his fork on his plate with a loud clank, crossing his arms in defiance.
“Diluc, I know you’re miserable being cooped up like this,” she continued. “Starting to go out again would really be helpful–”
“No.”
Kaeya sighed in frustration and dropped his face into his hand. This was Diluc’s second problem; his complete refusal to do anything other than stay locked in his room.
Diluc was never one to sit idly, but he seemed to have no desire whatsoever to return to any part of his old life or responsibilities. Any mentions of visiting Mond were quickly shot down.
“Well, if that doesn’t interest you, Barbara and I thought that you might like to start doing some physical training with Master Kaeya.”
Kaeya choked on his food, covering his mouth as he coughed. He had to take a long drink of his water, completely blindsided by Adelinde’s suggestion.
Part of him wanted to yell at her for blindsiding the both of them, but he also knew that this was specifically why she did it; Neither brother would ever have agreed to this if approached without the other.
“I think we’ve all had enough of Master Diluc destroying his room,” Adelinde said pointedly, Diluc’s eye twitching slightly as he glared at her. “Wouldn’t it be better if you two could work together and train outside without breaking anything?”
The maid really wasn’t willing to let up with this one. She’d clearly put in a lot of thought; This would force Diluc to stop isolating himself, encourage him to actually try to get better, and would force the two brothers to actually spend time together.
For Adelinde, it was a win-win situation, although it was more of a nightmare for the other two.
Truthfully, it wasn’t a terrible idea. Diluc would still be under Kaeya’s constant supervision, and he would be able to keep the redhead’s destructive tendencies under control.
Still, Kaeya dreaded the very idea. The absolute last thing Diluc could ever want was to spend more time with his estranged brother. Kaeya looked toward’s him expectantly, but Diluc stayed silent with a slight look of indecision.
Why doesn’t he just…?
Suddenly, the realization hit him. To say no was for Diluc to admit that he wasn’t willing to put in the effort get better, while saying yes meant that he would effectively have a verbal obligation to at least try.
Against his own will, Kaeya thought of how it felt when he nearly lost his brother because of his own actions, and how he’d vowed to to better. For Diluc’s sake, at least.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Kaeya exclaimed wth fake cheeriness. The redhead frowned at him but didn’t protest aloud. As much as he didn’t want to brave this awkward arrangement, Kaeya knew it was better than the alternative of letting Diluc rot in his room.
“Perfect! Barbara and I will arrange with Jean to make Kaeya’s schedule more flexible.” Adelinde clapped her hands together, clearly very pleased with herself.
Diluc didn’t say anything for the rest of the meal, and after leaving to head back to Mond, Kaeya was once again left to ruminate in his own thoughts.
He’d known his newfound freedom wouldn’t last forever. With Lisa looking after Jean and Adelinde looking after Diluc, Kaeya was basically left to his own devices. And he honestly was grateful for the solitude in a twisted way.
No one was there to nag him or tell him what to do. He was able to reflect on his flaws and mistakes with only a good glass of wine to keep him company. It was freeing, in a way.
Kaeya finished off his flask on the walk back home. He’d figured out how to pace himself, drink throughout the day to satisfy his cravings without actually getting drunk.
...He wouldn’t let himself get drunk. Not again.