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Kaeya peeked into his father's bedroom, standing halfway into the doorway and halfway against the wall. Crepus was leaning against the headboard of his bed reading a book near the candlelight. "Papa?" Crepus is startled by the sudden voice but his face softens when he sees little Kaeya peering at him from the door.
"Kae, you scared me," he chuckles, now setting his book down. "Come here, what's wrong?" Kaeya quietly enters the room, head held low as he dragged his favorite stuffed animal on the floor behind him. Crepus pats the bed beside him and Kaeya climbs up, kneeling and sitting on his legs beneath him. "Is something the matter?"
"Diluc is upset, papa. I can't calm him down." Crepus becomes much more alert now, sitting up and readying himself to get out of the bed.
"Let's go see what's bothering him, hm?" Kaeya nods and climbs down before walking towards the door. Crepus follows close behind. As they near the boys' room, Crepus can hear angry sounds coming from his son. He takes a deep breath before opening the door. "Diluc?"
The young boy is sat on the floor, face red with tears and low-toned screams filling the room. He's viciously tugging at his clothes and kicking his legs, clearly in an intense state of discomfort. "Hey, hey," Crepus says softly, kneeling down and gently wrapping his hands around Diluc's wrists. Diluc screams louder and fights against the touch, throwing his body in multiple directions to try and escape Crepus' hold on him. "Kaeya, come here." Kaeya slowly approaches, lip trembling and tears threatening to fall as he watches his brother's tantrum. "I know it's scary, but you need to help me hold him down."
Just then, Diluc screams even louder and uses all of his strength to push against Crepus, knocking him back. "Okay, never mind. Don't touch him, Kaeya." Diluc breathes heavily, having exhausted himself, and continues battling his clothes. Crepus then realized what the problem was. "Luc, calm down boy. I'll help you take them off."
Crepus reaches for Diluc's shirt and the boy yells again, pushing himself away. "It's alright, dear. Let's take your shirt off, okay?"
Kaeya admired his father's patience. He watches as Diluc slowly lowers his hands, chest raising up and down as he breathed heavily. Crepus gently grabs the bottom of Diluc's shirt and lifts it up and off of his head. Diluc huffs then begins tugging on his pants. "Sh, sh, sh," Crepus whispers and helps Diluc out of his pants. He goes a step further and takes his socks off as well, assuming they'd go next anyways.
Finally, Diluc's tears have stopped and his breathing slows. He wipes at his face and sniffles, his tantrum now coming to an end. "Does that feel better, little owl?" Diluc nods and wipes at his eyes some more. "Do you want a hug?" Diluc furrows his eyebrows and shakes his head. Crepus whispers an 'okay' and lets his son continue to calm down.
"C'mere, Kae," Crepus then says, noticing the younger boy's pale face. He runs into Crepus' arms and the tall man hugs him. "It's alright. He just got a little overwhelmed."
"From jammies?"
Crepus has to stifle his chuckle. He supposed it would seem silly to a child. "Your bother is extra sensitive sometimes. He has moments where if he senses too many physical touches, he gets overwhelmed. That's why he got angry with me for touching him."
"But your hugs are nice," Kaeya frowns. "He doesn't like them?"
"Hey now, everyone likes papa's hugs," Crepus says softly. He glances towards Diluc, who was much calmer now and visibly growing sleepy. "Sometimes Luc just doesn't want to be touched." It was hard explaining Diluc's situation to Kaeya. He wasn't quite old enough to comprehend his brother's needs, though he tried very hard to be a good sibling. Crepus has made sure to teach him that.
"Can I hug you, Diluc?" Kaeya then asks, lifting his head from Crepus' chest. Diluc looks up from the floor at his brother and thinks for a moment before nodding. Kaeya leaves his father's embrace and hugs Diluc very quickly, ensuring not to upset him again.
"See? It just happens every now and then. We just have to learn what he needs." Crepus watches as Kaeya holds out his hand for Diluc to take and the red-head does before Kaeya leads him back to his bed.
"You want your blankie?" Diluc nods again and Kaeya helps tuck him into the bed. Crepus was silently thankful, because he worried Diluc would catch a cold otherwise, being undressed now.
"Alright boys. Sleep tight."
"And don't let the bed bugs bite," Kaeya replies with a smile.
Crepus chuckles and adds, "If you need anything, don't be afraid to wake me up, okay? Papa's just down the hall." Once Crepus is gone, Kaeya turns to walk to his own bed but Diluc grabs his hand. He turns to face his brother and watches him scoot his body over then point to the bed beside him.
"You want me to sleep with you, Luc?" Diluc nods and Kaeya smiles as he climbs in next to his brother. They both lay on their sides, facing each other. "I'm sorry I didn't help you, Luc. I will learn what you need and be the best brother ever, okay?" Diluc softly places a hand on Kaeya's cheek and gives him a warm smile. Kaeya learned then and there that communicating with his brother wasn't as hard as it seemed. He understood him more than anyone else did, so he'd use that to always help and protect him forever.