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Chapter Text

Razor wasn't comfortable in a normal bed.
He wasn't used to it.
Being this far off the floor made him feel uneasy and wrong.

He was used to the ground being connected to him, the grass brushing against his face when he slept and the dirt that rubbed off of him being proof that he belonged, but tonight he was somewhere he did not belong. The dirt that didn't rub against his fingers was proof of it.

He had been found, hurt.
He was brought inside and washed and his hair had been brushed and tied back and he had been given bandages and new clothes, ones that didn't feel right. They were tight and they were scratchy.
He had been given a bedroom on the second floor, one where he was expected to lie down on a mattress and sleep without the wolves.

It wasn't right.
He couldn't see the moon out of his window, he was on the wrong side of the building for that.

He refused to sleep.
Actually, he couldn't sleep.
Instead, he had sat on the floor and taken off the pyjamas he had been given and the elastic in his hair. Just his underwear and the blood soaked bandages around his leg were more comfortable than being in those.

Then he was cold so he wrapped a blanket around himself and curled up underneath the window.

He was still too high up.
He was only meant to be this high up when he was on a cliff or up a tree.
This wasn't a cliff or a tree, it was a cold wooden floor that he didn't like on the second floor of a house he didn't know.
It wasn't familiar.

His chest was tight.
The air in this room was stuffy, but he couldn't open the window because it had been locked.
He didn't dare run because his leg would get worse, and the people who put him here would shout at him.

He didn't like this.
He really didn't like this.
His chest was tight and the air was wrong and he couldn't see the sky properly and the wolves were howling but he could barely hear it and he was too high up and his leg still hurt and-

He couldn't breathe.
He clutched his own hair. It was still wet.

He tried to breathe, but his lungs didn't let him.
He felt like a fish out of water. He was in the wrong place.

He gasped desperately for air, for the crisp Wolvendom air that made his throat cold, but it wasn't here.
It was too far away.

He missed Andrius.
He wanted to go home.
His body shook as he sobbed, his face scrunching up and tears falling from his wide eyes.

Inbetween sobs, he grabbed his own hair and pulled. It was still wet from his bath, when that lady had locked him in a room with the filled bathtub and a towel.

He didn't like it. His skin was wet, and it was rubbing against the blanket wrong but if he got rid of the blanket he'd be cold and if he was cold the wet hair would feel worse.

He sniffled loudly and brought his knees up, hugging them and sobbing.
He wanted home.
He wanted home so badly.

He heard the front door of the house close, then talking downstairs and footsteps and tried to hold his breath, tried to stop making noise so he wouldn't be heard.
He failed, sniffles and his uneven breathing too loud in this dark room.

The door cracked open and he covered himself in his blanket.
He didn't want to be shouted at for not being in bed, for not being right, a real human, so he hid.

He heard footsteps coming closer to him and squeezed his eyes shut, choking out a sob.

The steps stopped, and he heard a voice.
A quiet, deep one he hadn't heard earlier.

"Hello?"
He didn't reply. If he was quiet maybe they'd think he was good. If he was quiet maybe they'd let him go home. His hand shook as he clamped it over his own mouth.

"Are you okay? Can you look at me?"
The voice sounded kind.
It sounded like the person was trying to make themselves quiet, like they were purposefully trying to comfort him.

He desperately needed comfort, wherever it came from, and this wasn't the voice of the people who brought him here.

He slowly uncovered his face, peeking out at the person.

It was a man, about thirty years old, with bright red hair tied up and a black suit.
He had red eyes as well, and the very beginnings of a beard on his face that seemed like he'd forgotten to shave.
He was crouched in front of Razor, a small frown on his face.

"Hello." He said again, and Razor stared.
"What's your name?" He was almost whispering but not quite, his voice a low hum in the mainly silent night, only accompanied by Razor's loud uneven breaths.

Razor didn't reply. The man blinked and looked at the door, then back.

"Nobody else is here, and I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay. Can you tell me your name, please?"
He seemed safe. He seemed like he was telling the truth.

"Razor."
The man nodded, offering a small smile.

"Hello, Razor. I'm Diluc."

Razor had heard that name. The people had said it multiple times. Master Diluc will be back by morning. Master Diluc will decide if he can stay. Master Diluc has plenty of spare rooms.

He blinked at Diluc and wiped his eyes on the blanket again.
Diluc frowned a bit, concern fostering his face.

"Do you know where your parents are?"

Of course he didn't. What a stupid question.

He stared at Diluc, who sighed and turned his head.
He noticed the pyjamas on the floor, then saw Razor's shoulder, uncovered.

"Oh. Are those your pyjamas? Why did you take them off?"
"Too tight."
"Ah."
He nodded, as if he understood.
"Okay. Do you want some better ones? They'll be old, but I still have a lot of old clothes that are probably your size. I don't want you to catch a cold."

Razor thought, then nodded.
"Um. My clothes... where?"

Diluc noticed his broken speaking and paused, then thought.
"I don't know. I'll find them, yeah? For now, I can find you some comfy clothes you can borrow. They won't be too tight, promise."

Razor nodded again. He was cold.
He sniffled. His breathing had calmed down. He hadn't noticed.

Diluc smiled again.
"Okay, I'll find them, and then we'll figure out where you need to be. Stay right here where you are, Razor, and I'll help."

He got up, towering over Razor, and walked out of the room.
He left the door open, golden light from the hallway shining in and onto the little boy mostly covered in a blanket.

He didn't know what to do with himself while he waited.
He could make a run for it, but he didn't have his clothes, and he didn't know where to get new ones that felt the same. His clothes were worn in and soft, and he liked them.
He wanted them back, and Diluc had said he'd help.

Razor was pretty sure he owned this house, which made him a bit scared. He didn't want to be in this house at all, and he'd been taken from outside and forced into here.
But Diluc promised.
Razor knew humans didn't keep their promises often, but he really wanted to believe that this one did, and he was too scared and lost to really do much about his worries.

He pulled his blanket around himself tighter and waited.
His leg hurt.

Diluc came back with some pyjamas, striped and blue.
He put them down on the bed and flicked the light on.
Razor winced, the light hurting his eyes.
"Sorry. Here, some pyjamas. They're bigger, and they're quite soft. I'll let you change and then we can talk a bit, okay?"

Razor nodded and Diluc left again, closing the door this time.

He got up, keeping his blanket around him, and limped over to the bed, his feet padding against the floor.

These looked softer and bigger.
He reached out and felt them.
They were soft. They were a nice texture.

He took off his blanket and got changed. The fabric felt very nice, and he rubbed the sleeves between his fingers.

The pyjamas were a long sleeved shirt with no buttons and some trousers with a drawstring.

He pulled his hair out of the shirt and stood still for a second.

Yes. These were better than those ones the people had made him wear.

He sighed in the relief of not wanting to crawl out of his own skin anymore.

Diluc knocked at the door and he jumped.
"Razor? You done? Can I come in?"

He paused, nodded, then realised he couldn't see it and spoke instead.
"Yes."

Diluc came in and looked at Razor in his new pyjamas.
"Better?"
"M-hm."
"Good."

The man paused, a memory seeming to cloud his thoughts for a moment before it passed and he came back to now.
"Do you want to come downstairs? I want to help you find your way home, wherever that is."

Razor nodded and Diluc stepped outside, letting him walk past and flipping the light in the bedroom off.

Razor was limping still, so Diluc frowned and offered his arm. He didn't take it, he just shrunk away.

This house was big. Big and fancy.
Razor wasn't used to this. The most fancy place he knew was Lisa's library, and he chose to go there.
This was just overwhelming.

He stared at the paintings on the wall. He'd read storybooks, usually rich people had a painting of themselves or of their lupical in their house.
There were no paintings of Diluc. No paintings of lupical. Just landscapes.

Diluc led Razor down some big stairs and into a side room, one with a fireplace and chairs.

Razor went in first, and when he looked fearfully at the door when Diluc almost closed it, he opened it again and left it that way.
Diluc was kind, Razor decided.

The man sat down on a chair and pointed to a sofa for Razor.
He did as he was told and sat down, his hands in his lap.

He didn't make eye contact with Diluc. Instead he stared at the floor.

"Razor. Where is your home?"
He sniffed. His nose was still runny.
"Home is Wolvendom."
"Wolvendom?" Diluc sounded suprised. "The woods?"

He nodded, glancing up at Diluc's confused expression. The man was leaning forwards, intrigued.
"You live there?"
"Yes."
"With who? Do you have parents?"

Razor shuffled his feet.
"With wolves."

Diluc sat back, thinking for a second.
"Really? You're not lying? Because if you do have parents, they'll be worried sick right now, and you need to get home to them."

Razor shook his head.
"Lupical... is wolves. I don't... I am not wolf, but I am not boy either."

Diluc scratched his chin, then came to a realisation, raising his eyebrows.
"Are you the kid the Springvale hunters have seen?"
The wolf boy frowned.
"Hunters hurt lupical. Razor doesn't like."
"And lupical is your wolf friends?"
"Wolf family. Lupical is family. Fated family."

Diluc nodded, glancing at the unlit fire.
"Right. So the hunters saw you?"
"Yes."

He seemed to be piecing something together, an understanding of Razor and his existence appearing in his eyes.
"Okay. You live with the wolves. Why are you here, then?"

Razor bowed his head, fiddling with the fabric on his sleeves.
"Got hurt. Leg. Got hurt by hillichurl, and cart, big cart with two people, saw me. Picked me up and taked me here. Lots of people start moving me, put bandages on leg and make me wash and pull at my hair with..." He gestured brushing his hair. "Um. With..."
"Brushes?"
"Yes. Pull my hair with brushes. Take my old clothes, said they are dirty and bad. Made me wear tight, scratchy ones, lock me in bedroom and say Mister Diluc will come and see me."

He chewed on the inside of his cheek.
"I am not meant to be inside. I am wolf boy. Here... is scary."

Diluc nodded to show he was listening, and Razor stopped talking.
"Okay. I understand. I think those people, my staff, were trying to help you, Razor."
He shook his head, frowning.
"Didn't help."

"I know. I know they scared you, and they should be more careful. I'm sorry about them. Can I see your leg? I want to know how bad it's hurt."
He held a hand out carefully to indicate to Razor's leg, and he rolled up his right trouser leg to show the bandages, dyed red with blood.

Diluc winced and got up, reaching to a cabinet near the fireplace and pulling out a first aid kit.
"Okay. That needs to be changed. Can I help with your leg?"
He sat down next to Razor on the sofa, and when the boy nodded he gestured for him to lift his leg onto the sofa.

Razor did so, turning to his right and resting the injured leg on the red cushion, his knee up.
Diluc carefully and slowly peeled away the bandages, and Razor stared at the wound.
Neither of them were fazed by it. It seemed blood and injuries were a consistent part of each of their lives.

Diluc kept checking Razor's face for hints of pain, though.
He got a small fabric and some antiseptic and wet the fabric with it, checking Razor's face again.
"This will sting. You ready?"
He nodded, and Diluc started cleaning.
Razor winced and squeezed his lips together, but didn't say anything.

Diluc wrapped the wound again, this time with gauze over it to catch the blood.
"There. It'll still hurt, but it should be better now than just bandages. I don't know how they managed to mess that up. Maybe I need to organise first aid training for my staff."

Razor stayed quiet and moved his leg back, and Diluc looked at him.
"Do you have somewhere to stay?"
"Home."
"I know you have home, but this is bad. This is a bad wound, you can't be out running. It's only going to get worse if you do that."

Razor stayed quiet, frowning at the floor.
"Do you know anyone who has a house you can stay at?" Diluc's voice was soft now, trying to gently coax information from Razor.

It didn't work. Razor just stared at the carpet. In truth, he didn't know. He knew people, but being in their houses seemed wrong. Humans and their houses seemed private. He was already uncomfortable being here, he didn't want to go into someone else's den just because he was hurt.
So he didn't say anything.

Diluc sighed.
"Okay. No, then. Look, you can't go back with that injury. You can barely walk. You'll need to stay here-" Razor tensed his shoulders. "-just for a bit. One or two nights, until I can figure out some way for you to be safe. I can't let you go, not if I want a clear conscience."

Razor paused, then looked up at Diluc.
"Consee- conscien- what?"
"Oh. It means I'd feel bad if I let you go like this."
Razor sighed.
"Oh."

Diluc glanced around the room, trying to think of how to make this easier.
"What was it that was freaking you out about your room earlier? I want to try and fix it."

Diluc was nice. He was a nice human.

He had figured out the big issues Razor had, and had chosen a new room for him to sleep in.

Razor liked being near ground level, and he liked seeing the moon, so Diluc chose the sitting room near the front of the house, which had a large window Razor could see out of from his nest of blankets on the floor.

Razor liked the air to circulate as if he was outside and for the door to be open, so he opened the window and door wide and made sure he had enough blankets to deal with the cold that came with it.

He had made sure his leg was in a good position and had made sure he wasn't hungry or thirsty and had made sure his hair wasn't annoying him by being wet.

Yes, Diluc was good.
He had spoken gently to Razor and explained words he didn't understand and kept asking if he knew any adults he would prefer to stay with.
Razor knew adults, like Miss Lisa and Varka and Rosaria, but Varka wasn't here anymore and he didn't want to annoy Rosaria and Miss Lisa.

He curled up in his blanket pile and watched the moon out of the window.
He heard the wolves howling.
He wanted to howl back.
He really, really wanted to.
But he knew humans didn't like it when he did that. He knew from being in the city before and getting told off for shouting.
Instead, he hummed quietly to himself and hoped Andrius would hear it.

God, he was worried about the pack.

He fell asleep fast, but not easily.

-------------------------

Razor woke up to the noise of a knock at the front door, which his sitting room was right next to.
He had light on his face, the sun having risen.

He yawned and sat up, rubbing his eyes.
The normal ground was better for sleeping than this rigid wood. He huffed and stretched, then tried to get up.

His leg still hurt really bad, but he wanted to move. He wanted to be able to run again.

He pushed himself up, using an armchair to lean on.
It felt embarrassing, like he was a baby just now learning how to walk.

He heard the front door open, and moved closer to the door of this room to listen to the conversation that began.

Diluc spoke first, his voice low and raspy from just waking up.
"It's early."
A smooth voice, higher than Diluc's, spoke next from outside, taking on a teasing tone.
"Not even a good morning? Wow. I take offense."
Razor recognised that voice slightly, from the city.

"What do you want? I just woke up for this."
"You need to become more of a morning person. I've been awake hours. Also, is that what you sleep in? No wonder you still live alone in this house."
"It's a winery. Would you shut up? Why are you here?"

It went silent.
"...Well? Why are you here?"
"You told me to shut up."

Diluc groaned, and Razor peeked around the doorframe to see the person.

He froze up.
It was someone he knew.
Someone he was terrified of.

The Cavalry Captain didn't show up at the library often, but when he did, he scared Razor.
Not because of what he did or how he acted. It was because of his clothes.

The way the fur on his shoulder, the cape on his back, his blue hair, eyepatch and the jacket he wore all looked together reminded Razor of an abyss mage. He had bad memories of abyss mages, so he had always been scared whenever the Captain came to the library to see Lisa's new student.

Now he was at Diluc's door, and Razor was scared.

He was in his normal clothes, the ones that made Razor on edge, which was very different from the striped pyjamas Diluc was wearing.

Razor frowned and looked down at his own pyjamas.
They matched.

Kaeya seemed to notice Razor watching and made eye contact.
His jaw dropped and he raised his eyebrows, staring at Diluc, his eyes- or, his eye- wide.

"Luc."
"What?"
He stared at Razor again, who tensed up and tried to hide behind the door.
Diluc noticed and frowned.
"You didn't see that."

"I definitely did."
Diluc shook his head, suddenly deadly serious.
"No. You didn't. I'm looking after him after he got hurt. The hunters won't be happy if it gets out that he's here. Kaeya, you didn't see shit."
Kaeya stared at his brother.
"Jean will kill me if she finds out I'm not reporting this, Luc. That's a whole kid, one we're meant to be tracking."
"He's injured. My staff found him. I can't let him back into the woods like that, he'll die, but if he goes to the city he'll get overwhelmed and will end up running off anyway. You didn't see sh- wait."

He frowned at Kaeya.
"You're tracking him?"
"Yes! He's a lost kid, an abandoned feral child, and Grandmaster Varka found him. Of course we are. If he's anyone's kid, he's Varka or Lisa's, that makes it the Knights' responsibility to know how he's doing."

They both went quiet, and Kaeya glanced back at the door Razor was hiding behind.

"Let me in."
"No."
"This is my house, too. Let me in."
"You're gonna scare him away and he's gonna get hurt."
Kaeya glared and his voice became stern.
"Diluc. Let me in as your brother or let me in as a Knight of Favonius worried about the safety of a missing child. Your choice."

Diluc paused, then moved aside and let Kaeya in.
The Captain walked into the sitting room and looked behind the door.
Razor was crouched there and jumped, looking up at him.

He was cornered and didn't seem happy about it, his eyes wide in fear as he stared at Kaeya.

The Captain moved the door and stepped back, crouching too.
"Hello."
Razor didn't speak. Diluc walked in and crossed his arms.
"You're Razor, Lisa's student. We've met."
Again, silence. Kaeya looked up at Diluc.
"He can hear, right?"
"Yes. He's just scared. Move back. Razor, come sit down and we can speak normally."

Kaeya did as Diluc said and went to an armchair, sitting back and crossing his legs. Diluc scoffed.
"I was going to sit there."
"Too late. Find a new chair."

Razor got up and stood near the chairs, in the middle of the semicircle they formed around the room. He kept the pressure off of his injured leg. Luckily, he had very good balance. Diluc sat down.
Kaeya linked his fingers together.

"You are Lisa's student, yes? I got that bit right?"
Razor nodded.
"And your name is Razor?"
He nodded again.
He didn't really want to speak to this Knight.

Kaeya smiled.
"Okay. Why are you in Master Diluc's house?"

"...Hurt."
Kaeya nodded.
"Where are you hurt?"
Razor lifted his trouser leg to show the bandages.
The man frowned.
"How did that happen?"
"Hillichurl."

Diluc crossed his arms, sat in an armchair near Kaeya.
"He got hurt fighting a camp, and my staff found him last night. He's too hurt to walk, look, he won't put pressure on it."
Kaeya nodded.
"I see. Razor, do you want to be in this house? Did Master Diluc force you to stay?"

Razor fiddled with his shirt sleeves.
"Um. Diluc is nice. Razor... comfortable. Want to find wolves, see if okay, but..."
He indicated to his leg.

"You want to find wolves? Your wolves, the pack?"
"Yes."
"But you understand you can't walk very well, so you stayed here last night."
"Yes."
"Do you want to keep staying here until it's better?"

Razor paused, thinking about it.
This house was the closest to Wolvendom, and it was nice. Diluc was nice, and he was being taken care of well so far.
He nodded.
"This house... big. Scary. But Diluc kind."
Kaeya raised his eyebrows, a smile appearing on his lips.
"Diluc? Kind? My brother Diluc?"
Diluc rolled his eyes, and Razor looked between them.

"...Diluc and Kaeya are lupical?"
Diluc sighed, and Kaeya tilted his head.
"What's lupical?"
"It's a word his pack use to mean family. He uses it for the wolves and people he's attached to, like Madam Minci."
"You can call her Lisa. And yes, Razor, we're family. Brothers."

Diluc shifted uncomfortably.

Razor looked between them.
"Lupical are kind to each other, but Kaeya and Diluc are not."

That seemed to catch Kaeya off guard.
"...Yes. Family are kind to each other sometimes, but..." He paused, pursing his lips.
"Ah, I don't want to explain this to him, Luc. Look at his little face!" He turned to his brother, who huffed. He seemed angrier around Kaeya, less soft and caring.

"You've got all the information you need. Can you stop scaring him now and go?"
Kaeya's playful attitude dropped. He seemed genuinely hurt.
"Okay. Fine. But I'll send someone to check up on him every day. He's not your kid, Luc."

He got up and went to the door, glancing back with a hint of hope in his eyes and then leaving, and Razor watched him carefully.
The front door closed and Diluc clenched his jaw.

Razor frowned.
"Human lupical have paintings. No paintings of Kaeya."
Diluc shook his head.
"No, there aren't any."
"Why?"
"I took them down."
"Why?"
Diluc went quiet. He was avoiding eye contact.

"...Is Kaeya not lupical anymore?"
"No. Kaeya is not lupical anymore."

Razor bit the inside of his cheek. He knew lupical could end. He knew that. But Diluc didn't seem to have wanted it to end, and Kaeya didn't either.
So why did they stop? Why did Diluc take the paintings down, and why did he send Kaeya away?
Razor didn't understand.
He didn't understand at all.

Chapter Text

People had arrived.
Diluc said they were staff, people who helped with the house and made the wine that the grapes outside were for.
Razor didn't like it. There were lots of them.

He wanted to go outside, even if he could only sit there. He wanted the sun.
But they were all stood there, sweeping and chatting and moving boxes, and he didn't want a fuss to be made over him like yesterday.

Diluc wasn't outside either. He was sat in a room behind a big desk, writing things.
Razor decided to go and talk to him.

He opened the door and peeked in, and Diluc looked up. At first, he looked stern and serious, but he saw it was Razor and his brow softened. He put down his feathered quill.
"Hello. Are you alright?"

Razor walked in fully, leaning his back on the wall.
He was wearing some of Diluc's old clothes from when he was small, a light shirt and dark, baggy trousers with all the seams carefully covered with soft fabric. Diluc had noticed he was struggling with seams and textures, and related, so he had made sure to provide the solutions he had used at that age.

"Want outside."
"You can go outside. I'm not limiting you to inside. I just don't want you running off and getting hurt more."
Razor frowned, and Diluc tilted his head.
"Why can't you go outside?"
"People."
"Ah. Too many of them? Is it loud or are you shy?"
Razor huffed.
"Shy."
It was embarrassing to say. Diluc smiled gently.
"I'm quite shy, too. Do you want me to come with you? Will that make you more comfortable?"
Razor paused, then nodded. Diluc got up, putting the paper he was using into a drawer and putting a cap on his ink pot.

He walked over and held the door open for Razor, who shuffled past.
"Maybe I should get you something to lean on when you walk. Do you think that would work?"
"Maybe."
"I'll figure something out. Limping doesn't look comfortable for you. For now, you can use my arm if you want."
He offered his arm to Razor, and he took it, clinging to the inside of his elbow and balancing himself.

Diluc smiled and Razor looked up at him, grey hair in his red eyes.
"Thank you."
"You don't need to. Come on, we both need some sun."

He led the boy outside, and various staff looked over.
Diluc provided them with glares to remove their eyes from the now very nervous teenager.
Razor glanced around. Usually he'd run if he was overwhelmed like this, but he couldn't do that, and in the past if he tried to scare people who stared, they'd hurt him or chase him back to Wolvendom.
His only option was to push through it, clinging to Diluc and trusting that his status would make them stop.

"Razor, there's a bench over past the grape vines. There's less people there. Should we go and sit there instead?"
He nodded, and Diluc started walking. He went slow to let him keep up with his injured leg and kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't stumble.

Some of the staff could be heard muttering about Diluc seeming less angry than usual and taking care of the feral child most people would be scared of, and he had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes and scoffing at them.

An injured kid, scared and lost, had been brought into his house. What was he expected to do? If he had turned him away, he'd have died or gotten hurt much worse. Plus...

Razor reminded Diluc of himself and Kaeya.
He was just a kid, about fifteen, and he shared various traits with them. He was quiet, like Kaeya had been and like Diluc was now, and he struggled with texture and noise, and he'd already demonstrated a tight bond with anyone he saw as family, as "lupical". Diluc couldn't help but notice the similarities. What was he meant to do, turn the near clone of his teenage self away?

They got to the bench Diluc mentioned and Razor sat down, breathing in long and slow to smell the fresh air. Diluc smiled and sat next to him.
"I'm sorry you can't leave sooner, you seem eager to go home."
"Mm. Miss the wolves. Miss wolfhooks."
"The berries?"
Razor nodded.
"Tasty. And helpful. Make wounds better."
Diluc raised his eyebrows.
"I didn't know that."
"Well. Now Diluc know."

Razor looked sad. He was staring out towards Wolvendom. From here they could see the twisted, curled bare branches of his home above the normal trees.
The boy's expression wasn't giving much away, but he was slumped and was running his finger against the scars on his shoulder, which Diluc assumed came from Wolvendom.

He really was quite similar to Kaeya as well, in a few ways.
He had appeared from a mysterious place with scars he didn't explain, abandoned by whatever parents he must have had.

If Kaeya's father had put him in Wolvendom rather than by the Winery, he'd probably have ended up somewhat like Razor.
Diluc stared at the kid, as if he were staring at an alternate timeline of his little brother.

This morning, Razor had asked him about Kaeya. About why they weren't lupical anymore.
Diluc had just said they'd fought and left it at that, but that wasn't the whole truth.

For years now, he'd been telling himself that he was better off without Kaeya. Who needs a traitor in his house? Not him, even if he himself wasn't there.
When he got back home from his rampage around Teyvat, he'd sold his father's mansion, moved into the winery and taken down their family paintings, but he'd held onto some parts desperately. Parts from way before, from before anything happened between them.

He'd kept the vase. And he'd kept their clothes in the basement, too scared to throw them away.
He'd left his father's old room at the Winery untouched, and only went in when he missed him worse than usual.

But otherwise, everything was different. The decorations were moved around and the walls were filled with landscape paintings and he was different.
He was a new person.

And, when he had finished reinventing his home and opened the Angel's Share as a way of introducing himself back to Mondstadt, a new man walked in as a customer and reminded him he wasn't ready for this.

Cavalry Captain Kaeya Alberich, no longer Ragnvindr, his clothes entirely different from his old uniform, more flashy and extravagant, his personality louder and more extroverted, and his bare forearms covered in burn scars.
Diluc had watched him walk in and had asked someone else to start their shift early.
He had left and gone home and sat in his father's bedroom. Their father's bedroom.

Over time, he had grown more used to seeing his brother. He had acclimated back into civilian life enough to even speak to him.
But sometimes he still sat in his father's room on the carefully untouched sheets and stared at the walls.
Sometimes he picked the vase Kaeya had made up and had to put it down again for fear of his hands shaking too much and making him drop it.

And he still worked as the Darknight hero, because he still knew the Knights could never protect his city, because they hadn't protected either of them.

He still sometimes held back and let himself get hurt so he could feel the rush again, for some twisted nostalgia of the worst day of his life.

He wasn't healed. Nowhere near.

But he refused to bring Razor into this, so he told him they had fought and left it at that.

Razor looked behind himself, back at the building.
Diluc did the same.
"What you looking at?"
"People. Whispered... about me."
Diluc tilted his head.
"They also whispered about me. I heard them. So you're not alone."

Razor smiled a bit, looking at Diluc for a bit then looking at the grass. Diluc let him put together words in his mind, and he could almost see the cogs turning in the kid's brain.
"...I am strange. I am not boy, but not wolf either. People... think strange because of. Leave me alone, run away, or hurt me."
Diluc frowned.
"Diluc does not. Diluc found me and was kind. Was nice. Help. Make leg not bleed and give bed and food and comfy clothes. Diluc not scared to help when I no can walk. Thank you."

Razor met his eyes, and Diluc felt a part of his heart break. Or heal. He couldn't quite tell yet.
This kid had already been through so much, enough that one night of kindness had made him this thankful.

He smiled and nodded.
"It's no problem, really. I know what it's like to be hurt and to be scared. I want to help when I can."
Razor swung his uninjured leg, and Diluc took it as his way of wagging a tail he didn't have.

He stopped suddenly, sitting up entirely straight, his eyes wide.
Diluc frowned, looking around for what had spooked him.
Razor sniffed and spun, looking back at the Winery again.
He gasped loudly and tried to get up then winced and fell back again. Diluc got up and helped him stand, holding onto his arm.
"What's up? What can you smell?"

Razor started walking, pulling Diluc along even though his leg was hurting him, as evidenced by his wincing and hissing.
"Razor, your leg! Be careful, you'll pull the wound apart again."
He didn't listen. He was focused, limping as fast as he could down the path.

Diluc sighed and kept up with him, and when he tried again to see what it was that he'd seen, he saw another visitor from the Knights at his front door.
A large purple hat was definitely enough to tell him who was here. Luckily, he had no quarrel with the librarian of the Knights.

Oh, right, that explained why Razor was so excited. He was Lisa's student, and he hadn't seen her since he was hurt. Kaeya had even said if he was anyone's kid, he'd count as hers.
"Miss Lisa!" The teenager shouted, and she looked around.
"Miss Lisa!" She noticed the two of them and Diluc could see her smile from here.

She ran over, holding her hat on her head, and Razor beamed. She got close enough and crouched in front of him and Diluc let go, letting the kid hug her tight.
"Miss Lisa."
"Aww, hello, my little wolf cub! I was so worried when Kaeya told me you were hurt." She moved back, still holding onto him but checking him over. "You're okay, yeah?"
He nodded, pointing to his hurt leg.
"Hillichurl got me."
She frowned.
"How dare they? So rude."

Razor nodded in agreement, then looked up at Diluc.
"Diluc help. Very kind, nice human."
Lisa smiled and nodded, standing up and meeting Diluc's eyes.
"I've heard so. Thank you, Master Diluc. I don't know what I'd do to you if I found out that you'd turned my poor boy away."

He didn't know why, but the hint of a threat from her genuinely scared him. He swore he saw her eyes glow purple.
He nodded.
"He's a nice kid, Madam Minci."
She laughed, and Razor smiled, holding onto her hand.
"Oh, so formal! Just Lisa will do, or Miss Lisa if you feel like you must. Can I stay for a bit, and speak with my wolf cub?"
"Of course, Miss Lisa. He and I were just sat on a bench over there." He pointed, and Lisa nodded.
"Lovely. Thank you, Master Diluc. Now, can Razor walk on his own or was he not supposed to be running at me?"

Diluc sighed and Razor bowed his head sheepishly.
"He can't walk on his own fully. He's still limping, and I've had to help. I'm planning on getting him a crutch, just until it heals, so he can make his way around independently."
Lisa looked at Razor.
"Is that true? Razor, you should be careful. You wanna get better quick, don't you?"

He nodded, making a sad face.
"Sorry, Miss Lisa. Sorry, Diluc."
Both of them smiled and Lisa patted his head.
"You're real cute, Razor. I can't stay mad. Come on, let's go chat, yeah? I'm sure Master Diluc has work he needs to get through."

He nodded.
"I do, actually. I'll be in my office if you need me, Razor."
Razor smiled and gave him a thumbs up, and Lisa offered her arm to him to help him walk.

Diluc was hesitant to leave, but he knew Lisa was closer to Razor than he was, so he trusted her and went inside.

-------------------------

It was getting dark.
Diluc had barely noticed before Adelinde came into his office and he was forced to look up from his paperwork.

"Diluc, you've been working a while. Get up and walk around a bit."
He frowned.
"Is Razor still outside?"
"I think he's still with Madam Minci."
He got up and nodded. Adelinde came over and started cleaning his desk.

"You don't need to clean up for me."
"You won't clean up for yourself."
He frowned again, taking offense.
"I do clean up!"
She smiled.
"Not your desk. Go find Razor, tea is nearly finished."
He sighed but did as she said and went to find the kid.

The sun was setting, low in the sky, and Diluc could hear laughing from inbetween the vines.
He walked down the path, checking along each row, until he found both of the electro users sat on the floor, eating his grapes.

"Hello?"
They both jumped and looked up at him.
Lisa smiled, and Razor just looked guilty.
"...You're eating my stock."
The woman waved her hand dismissively.
"The vineyard is massive, we only had some."

He crossed his arms.
"You'll be paying me, Lisa."
She huffed.
"I was entertaining Razor. You're lucky you don't have a bored him on your hands, he has a lot of energy."
Diluc glared at her. Razor bowed his head.

"Sorry."
He sighed and shook his head.
"Razor, don't be sorry. Lisa's being a bad influence."
Lisa scoffed, holding a hand to her chest. He raised an eyebrow.

"You've been here hours. Do you not have work today?"
"Jean gave me a day off."
He nodded.
"Of course she did."
"What's that meant to mean?" She got up and helped Razor stand.
Diluc shrugged.
"Whatever you want it to mean."

Razor looked between them.
"Don't fight. Please."
Lisa turned to the boy.
"Oh, don't worry, darling, me and Master Diluc are just playing."
"We are?"
She glared at him, her eyes almost glowing with electro energy.
"We are."

Razor wasn't a tiny kid. He was fifteen-ish, surely that wouldn't work on him-

He nodded, picking another grape from the vine and putting it in his mouth.
"Okay!"

Diluc sighed.
"Razor, please don't eat those."
Razor gained a guilty expression and opened his mouth.
"Don't spit it out either. Finish that one, then no more. Adelinde made us food."

Razor smiled again, chewing and speaking through it.
"Food is what?"
Lisa held up a finger, stopping Diluc from speaking.
"It's, "What kind of food did she make?". Go on, try."
The kid swallowed the grape, then tilted his head.
"What kind. Of food?"
He glanced between the two adults. Lisa nodded.
"Go on."
"Did she make?"
"All together."
"What kind of food did she make?"

Lisa smiled and nodded, patting his head. He grinned, and Diluc smiled a tiny bit.
"She made steak."
He gasped and grabbed Lisa's arm tight.
"Ouch, ouch. Razor, no. Be careful."
He let up a bit.
"Sorry. Steak?"
"Yes. I know you likely eat meat a lot when you're out. Do you like steaks especially?"
He nodded enthusiastically.
"Meat is good. Makes Razor big and strong and is easy to hunt. Kill boar, three wolves eat. Kill ten, thirty."

Lisa sighed and smiled.
"You're so good at maths, Razor. I guess I'll be going if you two are going to eat soon."
Razor frowned, and she patted his head.
"I can come back another day, don't worry. Sleep well for me, okay, darling?"
She kissed his head and he huffed, crossing his arms.

"Don't need kisses. Sleep fine. Lisa sleep good too. Bye."
"Aww, you're acting tough! Okay, little guy, I'll see you! Bye-bye! And bye, Diluc."
She waved goodbye to Razor and Diluc and walked off. Razor puffed his cheeks up, and Diluc offered his arm.

"Food time?"
Razor took his arm and nodded.
"Not actually angry at Lisa. Lisa nice, very nice. Teach me lots."
"I know you aren't angry at her. She's very kind to you."

They walked to the winery and as they ate, both of them focused on their plates and didn't say a word, comfortable in their silence. It was nice.
Diluc gave Razor his pyjamas and helped him to bed and changed his bandages and made sure he was okay again, and then he left the room and Razor hummed to the moon and fell asleep, his belly full and his breathing steady.

This time it was easy. This time he knew the walls and the floor and he knew he would be going home soon, so he could let himself relax and let the silence of the room swallow him.

He liked the winery. Maybe he'd visit even after he was better.

Chapter Text

Diluc was leaving Razor.
Just for the day, until it got dark. He was going into the city to work in the Angel's Share, a place people went to drink the wine from the grape vines outside.
He had loaded a big horse drawn cart with barrels and boxes, and was leaving with two staff members.
Razor was stood nearby watching. He was a bit spooked by the horses. They were big.

When the cart was loaded, Diluc hopped down and came over to the boy.
"I won't be gone long. Adelinde will take care of you if you need help, okay? And remember, the staff are here to help. They're nice. Don't run off, and don't break anything, and you'll be fine."

Razor had nodded and fidgeted as he watched the cart leave.

He'd then gone and sat down on the floor of the hallway and when someone said they needed to sweep there he got up, with difficulty, and went and sat on the sitting room floor and stared at the ceiling.
He was bored.

He swung his feet and tapped a tune into the wood beneath him and tried to figure out how to plait his hair, but he couldn't get it right and had to give up, slouching his posture and sighing.

A knock at the door.
He sat up straight and listened carefully.
Adelinde opened the door and he heard her greet someone and then he heard a voice he recognised.
Kaeya spoke with the head housekeeper, and Razor heard his own name being mentioned.

The conversation ended and he could hear footsteps and then the door of the sitting room opened and Kaeya was there, still dressed like an abyss mage and with his hands behind his back.

Razor stared at him from the floor, and the Captain smiled and tilted his head in what seemed like an attempt at bowing.
"Hello there. I'm just here to check up on you. Can I sit with you?"

He didn't get an answer, but his smile didn't falter. He walked in, keeping his hands behind his back. Razor frowned and tried to see what was in them, getting up and limping around Kaeya's side.

Kaeya moved so he couldn't see and got a glare from the small boy.
"Ah, ah! One minute, I wanna explain how I got this."
"What in hand?"
"A present for you."

Razor's glare softened up into curiosity, and he tried again to get behind Kaeya, who turned again with the reaction speed and grace of an expert swordsman.
"So, I heard you struggle with textures and clothes not being quite right. I remember Diluc also struggles with that, so I know it can be very frustrating." He gestured with one hand while he spoke, keeping the other on whatever the present was.

Razor huffed.
"And I heard you usually wear the same clothes, and that you don't have them because someone took them."
He raised an eyebrow, and Kaeya tilted his head, his eye sparkling.
"I may have managed to find something."
"Show."

The Captain nodded and brought his hand around, a neatly folded pile of Razor's old clothes in his hand, even his boots and gloves balanced on top.
Razor gasped, his eyes wide.
Kaeya grinned.

"How..."
"Someone didn't hide them very well, whoever it was that took them, and I managed to find them quite fast."

Razor stared, and Kaeya moved his hand forward, offering him to take it.
He did, clutching the pile to his chest and looking up at Kaeya, entirely unsure of how to thank him.

He'd missed these clothes so much. They were exactly how he liked them.

He decided and started pushing Kaeya out of the room.
Kaeya laughed.
"You wanna get changed into them? Okay, let me close these curtains and then I'll leave and you can do that."
He did, and then he left and closed the door and Razor got changed as quickly as possible, tugging on his green trousers and his soft yellow shirt and his jacket and boots and gloves but having to be careful of his wound.

When he was done, he stood there with a massive smile on his face and started shaking his hands about and giggling. They were perfect.

Kaeya knocked on the door and Razor limped over, opening it, still shaking his hand in glee.

"Good? Comfy?"
Razor didn't know what to do. He wanted to thank Kaeya, but he was too happy to put together words well, and he didn't think they were quite close enough for a hug-

Ah, whatever.
He hugged Kaeya tight, squeezing his eyes shut and basically headbutting him in the chest.
The man made a noise of suprise and the wind being knocked out of him, then smiled and hugged back.
"I'm glad you like them. Good gift?"
Razor nodded, still hugging him, then let go, absolutely beaming.

These clothes were his. They were his and only his, and they were made to be his. He had learnt how to fix clothes when they got broken and patched them up, and he had cut off the sleeves to make it easier to avoid overheating, and he had worn them in so they were the softest things ever and he loved them so, so much.

Kaeya could tell, grinning right back. Maybe he wasn't an evil abyss mage, after all.
Razor decided he quite liked Kaeya, actually.

-------------------------

Kaeya was taking Razor on a morning walk. It really wasn't a walk, since it involved a horse and sitting on said horse. It was really a morning horse ride.
Razor had never rode a horse before, but Kaeya said he was very good at it, and that the "cavalry" in Cavalry Captain meant horses, so he was an expert.

He'd helped Razor on and got him to hold on tight to him and squeeze his legs a bit, so he did, and then Kaeya moved the rope he was holding and the horse began moving.
Razor yelped and clung to Kaeya's cape, and the man laughed and stopped the horse.
"You okay? You're not hurt, right?"
"No. Not used to horse."
"You wanna stay on or should we walk?"

He paused, thinking. The horse was a bit scary, but Kaeya had control of it, and he wanted to go explore. His leg meant he couldn't really run or walk that far, and this way he could let the horse and Kaeya do the work.
He huffed and nodded, and Kaeya smiled.
"That tells me nothing. Horse or walk?'
"Horse."
"Okay then! Let's go!"

Again, the horse moved slowly, and Razor clung to Kaeya's clothes.
"It's best if you hold onto me instead of my jacket, but you don't have to."
Razor took the advice and wrapped his arms around Kaeya's chest, watching the floor fearfully.

The door of the winery opened and Adelinde came out. She looked angry. Kaeya turned to see and pulled a scared face.
"Kaeya Ragnvindr, get yourself and that boy down from that horse this instant!" She shouted. "You know Diluc said he can't walk, do you think that means ride a horse instead?!"

Razor squeezed Kaeya.
"Go."
Kaeya raised his eyebrows over his shoulder, then smiled.
"I like your rebellious attitude. Always a good thing to have."
"Go!"

Kaeya grinned and Adelinde clearly realised what was going to happen, because she glared and put her hands on her hips.
"Don't you dare-"
"She's gonna move real fast, so be prepared."

Kaeya made the horse start walking, but faster than earlier, like she was jogging. Razor squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, getting shaken about by the movement. He opened one eye, and they were at the edge of the vineyard, facing up towards the house. Adelinde was still shouting.

"I can't hear you, sorry, Adelinde! We won't be long out!" Kaeya shouted, a hand cupped around his mouth.
He smiled at Razor.
"Any preferred destination?"
Razor tilted his head.
"Any?"
"Anywhere at all. Obviously, we aren't going to Liyue, but we could probably reach anywhere in Mondstadt. We have all day."

"...Wolvendom. Please."
"Easy. Let's go."

The horse was fast and jolted around a lot, but Razor found that once he got used to it, he quite enjoyed it. He had managed to sit up straight, and the wind in his hair and the scenery rushing past reminded him of running through the woods.
Kaeya was enjoying himself, Razor could tell. He had a big smile and his scent was happier than usual. It was still cold, but more like a refreshing breeze than suffocating ice. Razor liked it.

They went very fast, and since the winery was near Wolvendom already, it didn't take long for them to reach the edge of the dark forest. Kaeya stopped the horse.

Razor stared into the trees. The comforting darkness of his home stared back, and a wolf slinked out of the shadow.

Kaeya looked between the boy and the wolf.
"Do you want help getting down?"
"M-hm."
The man jumped off the horse and helped Razor get down too, being careful of his injury.

Razor knelt on the ground and the wolf moved forward, cautious of the horse and man.
"It's okay. Nice."
He held out a hand and the wolf sniffed him, then leaped at him and knocked him over.

Kaeya gasped, getting ready to pull it off of him, but he stopped when Razor laughed, the wolf licking his face.
He sighed in relief and smiled, crossing his arms.

Razor let the wolf lick his face for a bit then sat up, looking into the shadows and back at the wolf. It barked a couple times, making Kaeya grab his horse's reigns and stroke her to make sure she didn't get scared.

Eyes appeared in the dark. Two, four, six, eight, ten.
Razor stared back at them, and they began emerging, getting closer cautiously. Five massive wolves. Kaeya was on edge.

Razor smiled and the wolves realised it was him and started making a fuss over him, licking him and rubbing their heads on his arms.
He giggled, hugging a couple of them. He smelled their fur and felt it against his face.
Home.

He was home. Finally.
He looked up at the Cavalry Captain.
"Bring me here. Thank you."

Kaeya had a soft smile on his face.
"It's no problem. I am gonna face the wrath of Adelinde when we go back, though." He chuckled, and Razor's smile faltered a bit as he remembered he did need to go again. Kaeya noticed.

"We can stay here as long as you want, and I'll gladly take you back here again another day." He offered, his voice gentle.
Razor nodded.
"Wolvendom... home. Miss home when away."
"I know the feeling. It's nice to be back, isn't it?"

A wolf huffed and Razor raised an eyebrow at it.
"Kaeya, take me into Wolvendom? Razor no good walk, but..."
Kaeya frowned.
"Why do you wanna go in?"
"Andrius."
Kaeya paused, thinking. He didn't know any Andriuses, and he hadn't heard of any other humans living with Razor.
"Who's Andrius?"
"King of wolves. Big and strong. Want talk me."
"The king of wolves?" Kaeya frowned, but shrugged.
"Okay. You wanna ride Snowflake there?" He gestured to the horse, and Razor shook his head.
"Horse scare wolves. No help. Just walk, but need Kaeya arm."

He tried to push himself up from the floor, and Kaeya helped him, letting him lean on his arm to stay upright.
"Where is he?"
"Middle of forest. Dark for Kaeya, and scary, but OK. Razor and wolves no scared."
Kaeya chuckled.
"Okay, you can protect me against the dark."

He tied Snowflake to a tree and helped Razor into the woods, several wolves following them and licking Razor's hand as they walked.
Razor looked happy to be here, but slightly sad to be going so slowly. Sometimes a younger wolf would run forward a bit and turn around again, confused that Razor wasn't following, and he'd frown, unable to explain other than gesturing to his leg.

They went further and further into the forest, twisted wood surrounding them in a way Kaeya couldn't distinguish as any particular direction. He was lost, but Razor seemed to know where he was going, so he trusted him.

Eventually, they got onto a path and Kaeya sighed in relief.
"It's this way to Andrius?"
"Yes. He is far in."
Kaeya nodded and looked up ahead.

He saw stone, a massive circular arena appearing from behind the thick forest. He'd heard people guess about ancient ruins in Wolvendom that nobody was able to discover, was this what they were talking about?

The entire arena came into view, and it was breathtaking.
He stared at the carvings in the stone, old drawings of wolves and wind and, opposite the entrance, the face of a wolf. Its eyes looked like they were glowing.
Wind could be heard swirling around, creating a sound that reminded him of the wolves howling at night.
It wasn't taken care of, a tree half fallen into the circle and the walls being chipped apart. There were scratches on the floor that seemed new, not worn by time.

He breathed out slowly, his eye wide, and Razor saw.
"We go in now."
"In? In that?"
The arena was lowered, partly in the ground. They were now stood at the edge of it.
There were a few rocks stacked up by someone, likely intended as steps, but they were steep and unstable.
"I don't know if you can make that jump with your leg, Razor. Can Andrius come here?"
Razor frowned. A few wolves hopped down into the arena.

"Andrius is in here. No leave. Stuck. We go in now."
"He's stuck?" Kaeya frowned, and Razor nodded.
"Spirit only. No can leave, stay here. We come to him."
Kaeya didn't understand, and he wasn't entirely sure Razor was using the right words, but the boy was determined, so he looked for a different plan.

"Okay. I'll go in first and I'll catch you. Then you won't land on your feet, and your leg won't get worse."
Razor smiled and nodded, and Kaeya let go of his arm and climbed down, his shoes clicking when he landed on the stone. The wind blew, as if a wolf were howling at him, and he turned to face the eyes on the other side of the arena.
Those were totally glowing.
He shuddered and turned back to Razor, holding his arms out.
The wolf boy crouched and lowered himself to hang from the side of the arena, checking Kaeya was there and letting go.

Kaeya caught him with an "oof" and nearly fell over, but managed to keep his balance and planted Razor's feet on the ground.
"There. Your leg okay?"
"M-hm!"
"Good. Diluc would kill m-"

The wind howled again, louder, and Kaeya stopped speaking, his shoulders tensing. Razor's eyes lit up and he looked at the eyes carved into the wall behind them. Kaeya didn't want to turn around, but he was here to look after Razor, so he did.

His heart nearly stopped.
A massive white and blue wolf, nearly the size of the winery, was stood in the middle of the arena. It had the same eyes as the wall did, and they glowed an ominous blue.
The wolves were all gathered around him, rubbing their sides against his legs and howling at him.
Razor pulled at Kaeya's arm, barking at the wolf with a massive smile on his face, his voice shrill and young compared to the other wolves.
It stared directly at them.

"Is that Andrius?"
Razor nodded, pulling Kaeya along. He did not want to get close to that thing, his shoes scraping against the ground as he tried to resist.
"He is nice! No hurt you!"
"He doesn't look nice."
"He no scary!"

Razor eventually managed to drag him close enough to Andrius to feel the cold coming off of him. This kid was weirdly strong.
The kid barked again, and Andrius sniffed him, huffing and making eye contact. Razor was beaming.
"Friend! New friend! Nice human. Oh, hurt. Leg get-" He pretended to hit his leg. "And humans find me. Take me house. Human house. Find nice human, fiery but cold, and this human. Ice but warm."
He pointed at Kaeya.
"I okay. Go to human house because no walk, but home soon. When better, I home."

He was only hearing one side of this conversation, he realised.
"Is he talking to you, Razor?" He looked at the boy.
Razor nodded, and the wolf faced Kaeya.

A booming voice entered his brain.
"I am, and you would do well not to interrupt, human." He said human like it was an insult.
Kaeya stared up at the wolf.
"Hello." His voice sounded small, nearly whipped away by the wind. He wasn't usually like this. He wasn't like this with people, but this wasn't a person. This was some kind of spirit, and it was terrifying.

"I only care to speak to children of Mondstadt. Why are you here with my boy?"

Kaeya frowned.
"I am a child of Mondstadt."
"No. You are a child of a family that turns us gods away. You can only bring despair to the land of a god. Leave, Alberich."

That hurt.
The wolf's eyes felt like they were piercing through his skull.

He belonged here now. He had since he came here.

Andrius huffed.
"No child of the abyss belongs in my forests."
He swore he had thought that.

The wolves turned to face them, and Razor frowned up at both of them.
"Kaeya nice. Very nice human. Help me."

Andrius stared at Razor, beginning a conversation Kaeya wasn't allowed to hear. He watched the fur on Andrius's back flow, watched the way the morning sky appeared as if it was night. He shivered.

This wolf was bullshit. How dare he call him not a child of Mondstadt, just because he was a descendant of a Khaenri'an family? He'd been here years. He was raised on Mondstadt traditions, food, and stories. He knew of the feats of Barbatos and the four-

Realisation hit him like a truck.
The four winds.
The Wolf of the North.

He stared up at Andrius, his un-eyepatched eye wide.
He grabbed Razor's arm.
"Razor, we need to go."
The kid frowned, pulling his arm away.
"But..."
"I know. I know we only just got here, but- but he's-"

Razor stared into Kaeya's eye, dead serious.
"Andrius god. Razor knows."
Kaeya paused.
"What?"
"Andrius know Barbatos, and Andrius make wind fast. Andrius has no body. Andrius a god. Razor knows, but Andrius nice. Not scary god."

Kaeya pressed his lips together into a thin line.

"He's not called Andrius."
The god watched, not saying anything. Razor nodded.
"Is to me."

Kaeya glanced behind them, at the pile of rocks by the wall, and then up at Boreas Lupus.

"Kaeya can go. Come back when Razor need go to Diluc."
Kaeya stared at him.
"...Don't run anywhere, and be careful. Send a wolf or something when you need me, and I'll take you to the winery."
Razor nodded.
"Be careful." He repeated, and then he began walking, climbed up the wall, and he sped up until he was running through the woods.

He felt like a coward. He hated feeling like a coward, but that was one of the four winds directly in front of him, telling him that this wasn't his home.
He couldn't handle that, so he ran to his horse and sat down next to her and gathered his breathing so it would do its job.
The air was cold and pierced his throat, even though it was sunny.

Oh, it was sunny again. In the arena, the sky had stars.
He shuddered.
Did Lisa know that Razor was being looked after by one of the four winds? By Boreas Lupus?
Did Grandmaster Varka know? He found the kid. Had he kept this a secret the whole time?

He crossed his legs and stared at the sky.
He needed to think for a while.

-------------------------

A wolf's wet nose nudged Kaeya's arm, and he opened his eye. Oh, he'd fallen asleep. He groaned and turned to look at the animal. Sleeping while leaning against a horse wasn't good for his neck.

Somehow, Snowflake wasn't spooked. He smiled.

The wolf huffed and turned to the forest, looking back at him.

"You want me to follow you?"
It huffed again, and he got up, stretching. It began running, and he had to sprint to catch up.

It led him through the forest and to the stone arena.

There was no Boreas, just Razor with a group of wolves in the middle.
He sighed in relief, and also because he was out of breath despite being a Knight. Wolves were fast, man.

"Razor!"
Razor turned to look at him and smiled, waving hello.

Kaeya clambered down the wall and walked over, his shoes tapping with every step.

He helped Razor stand and let him lean on his arm.
"You alright?"
"Mhm. Need Diluc. Bandages red again."

Kaeya frowned.
"It started bleeding again?"
Razor avoided eye contact.
"Maybe was walking with wolves."

Kaeya sighed.
"Walking?"
"Maybe was walking very fast."
He tutted, and Razor bowed his head.
"I told you be careful."
"Yes, but run- um, walk fast, I mean- very fun. Razor like."

"But now you're hurt. You see why I asked you not to do that? Does it hurt bad?"
He shook his head.
"Good. This is why I told you be careful, and you didn't listen, and now you're hurt."
"Sorry" Razor grumbled, and Kaeya chuckled.
"It's okay, let's get you back. Say bye, now. We'll go fix your leg up."

Razor patted a few of the wolves and Kaeya began leading him back to the rock steps.
He helped Razor up the wall and they made their way back to the edge of the forest.

Kaeya felt bad. Razor didn't look happy to be leaving. He was staring over his shoulder at the shadows he seemed to belong in. It was more natural to him than a fish in water or a bird in flight. A boy in a forest, running with the wolves as if he were one of them.

This kid was made for this place.
No, actually. He was changed for this place.
His hair was as messy and unruly as the wolves so often found at his feet, and his eyes never stayed in one place for long. He had scars everywhere and broken nails and bags under his eyes. He didn't speak Mondstadt's language like he spoke Wolvendom's, and his arms and legs were formed for running and fighting.

For being a wolf.
But he wasn't made for Wolvendom. He'd been changed to fit it. As a baby, he would have been like every other kid in Mondstadt.

Kaeya thought of himself.
His hair was how he liked it, and it had been taken care of by his father, his real father with red hair and caring hands, until he had learned himself how to brush it and care for it. His eyes always lingered, searching for a way to do his job as a Knight most effectively, in a way he'd trained into himself. He had burn scars on his arms from a night he didn't want reminders of, and nicks and cuts from his time learning how to wield a sword.

He didn't speak Khaenri'an. He couldn't read ancient documents or ruins, and the stars on his outfit weren't because he wanted to go back to live underneath Sumeru, they were because he liked the sky on Starsnatch Cliff here, in Mondstadt.

If his biological father had kept him, would he have turned out different?
Yes. That wasn't a question, really. The real question was how different?

He sighed. He supposed he'd been changed to fit in, too.

He helped Razor onto the horse. He didn't like to be taking him somewhere he didn't really want to be, but he was reminded by the boy's hiss of pain when his leg got bumped that he needed to be in a real house, with real medical supplies. Diluc could provide that, this forest could not.

He got onto the horse in front of him.
"Ready?"
He didn't get a reply. He turned over his own shoulder and saw the boy staring at the trees wistfully again.
"Hey, Razor." He gently nudged him, and he finally snapped out of it and met his eye.
"We gotta go. You ready?"
"Oh," He put his arms around Kaeya's chest to keep himself steady. "Yes."

They rode home, and Razor seemed less excited by the wind in his hair this time. He just seemed sad.

Kaeya was determined to fix this. When they got back, he'd somehow cheer him up. He was good with kids, surely that extended to teenagers, right?

They got to the Winery and Adelinde stormed outside.

Kaeya smiled at her, and Razor avoided eye contact.
"Kaeya Ragnvindr." She had venom in her voice. He didn't correct her on his name.
"Dear Adelinde! How are you? Me and Razor went for a little bit of fresh air."
"What you did is you kidnapped a child under the winery's care and left for hours."

He jumped down from the horse, tilting his head.
"Has it really been that long? I fell asleep."
He lifted Razor down, and Adelinde scoffed.
"You did what? Where was Razor?"

The boy spoke up.
"With wolves. Leg need... uh, clean. Blood."
Her eyes went wide, and she put her hand on the kid's shoulder defensively.
"Kaeya! He's hurt again?"
The Captain held his hands up in surrender.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to, he just went running. I warned him to be careful, but he just went and-"
"That's not good enough. Come on, Razor. Let's get you sorted."

She glared at Kaeya over her shoulder as she helped Razor into the winery. He sighed, tying his horse's reigns to a post and patting her on the head.
"I'll be back soon."

A cart rumbled up to the winery, and Kaeya froze.
Red hair.
Wasn't it only afternoon? Why was he here now?
"Shit shit shit shit-" He ran inside, and as he did he heard Diluc shout his name.

He was gonna kill him for letting Razor run about.
He looked about for somewhere to hide. Adelinde was in the sitting room, and Diluc would check the dining room and office too quickly.
Aha.

He ran up the stairs and opened the door to where their father's room used to be.

Oh, nevermind.
Where their father's room still was.

It was like he'd been transported back twenty years.
The wallpaper was the exact same red colour, the bed carefully made and untouched.
No dust, no peeling paper.
This had been preserved purposefully.

He breathed out slowly, scared to disrupt the perfect stillness of this room, his original goal forgotten.

He stepped forward and picked up a small wooden box on the bedside table.
He opened it.
His eye went wide.

A delusion.
He nearly threw it across the room.

"Kaeya, I swear-!"
Diluc barreled into the room, clutching the doorframe and stopping in his tracks when he saw what his younger brother was holding.

Kaeya turned to him, confusion and disappointment in his expression. Diluc stared at the delusion, entirely serious.
"...Luc."
"...Get out."

It was silent.
"I said get out."
"No."

The older brother met his eye.
"Kaeya. This doesn't concern you."
"You have a child in the house, and you kept this?"
"I had this before he got here. I don't use it."
"How can I trust that? How do I know?"
"You don't."

Kaeya looked hurt. Hurt that this thing even existed.
He looked down at it and closed the box, putting it in the drawer on the bedside table and tucking it away like the awful secret it was.

Diluc sighed.
"This room-" He began.
"It's the same. Has it been the same since-?"
"Yes."

Kaeya sat on the bed, staring at the wall blankly.

He huffed a sad smile, memories clouding his gaze.
"Remember when I'd get nightmares when we stayed at the winery instead of the house, so you'd comfort me and bring me in here so dad could help?"

Diluc stayed silent. Kaeya laughed quietly, but it died in the quiet air of the old room.

"...I miss you." The Captain whispered, both to the father and the brother he'd lost. His hand felt the duvet.

Diluc stared. Kaeya didn't meet his eyes, breathing in the air of his childhood and closing his eyes.

"You remind me of him recently, Luc."
His heart sank, a pit opening in his stomach.
"What?"

Kaeya stayed still for a minute, then stood up and walked past, out of the room.
"Oh, that reminds me. I went out with Razor today. I found his clothes, and we went on a ride on Snowflake. And, um-"

Diluc closed the door.
"Kaeya."
"And I've got some information for you, but it might be best to write it down so you don't forget. Do you have paper and a pe-"
"Kaeya." A little louder.

His brother ignored him, back turned. He walked down the stairs slowly, and Diluc followed, going faster and trying to overtake him.
"I just- just a small piece, it's not much, just a couple lines."
"Kaeya." He stood in front of him. Kaeya turned his head so his eyepatch only faced Diluc.

"...What did you say about me?"
"Nothing." His voice was a whisper. "I have to go now."
"Look at me."

Kaeya sighed and did, turning his head so Diluc could see his eye.
He was on the verge of tears.
Diluc paused. Shit, what did he do now?

"Can I go now, Luc? A couple minutes ago that was all you wanted." His voice shook.

Again, silence.

The door to the sitting room opened. Neither of them looked, both focused on each other.

"Diluc?" Razor muttered. Kaeya glanced over and wiped his eye on his sleeve, and Diluc turned.

The boy was stood in the middle of the hallway, his head tilted. God knows where Adelinde had gone.

"Hey. Razor." He looked at the kid's clothes. They were new. Or his old ones.

"Kaeya... sad?" He frowned. Kaeya shook his head, walking past his older brother and towards the front door.
"No. I'm not sad. I'm gonna go, okay? You rest your leg. No more running. We can go out again sometime. Bye."

"Kaeya." Diluc called. They met eyes when Kaeya was halfway out the door.
"...I'll send a letter with the information, Luc. Goodbye."
The door closed, and Razor looked back at Diluc.

Adelinde came out of the sitting room.
"What happened?"
"...I don't know."

She sighed.
"I'll make some tea."

Chapter Text

Diluc wasn't happy. Razor could tell.

Kaeya had left and Adelinde had made a pot of tea and told the staff who were staring and peeking around corners to go away.
She had poured three cups of tea, two with milk and sugar for her and Razor, who were sat in armchairs, and one with neither that she placed in front of Diluc as he sat on a sofa alone, staring into space.

His stare was vacant, and his expression held no emotion Razor could pick out, but he wasn't happy.
He was leaning forward.
He kept glancing over at a vase.

Razor tried his tea. He didn't like it, and Adelinde said that was okay and he didn't have to finish it.
Diluc didn't drink any of his. It went cold.

It was mainly silent in the sitting room. Razor didn't enjoy it, so he tried to start a conversation.

"...Kaeya take me home."
Diluc's stare became more present. He was listening.
"And he give me clothes back. And bring me back when I hurt."
Adelinde nodded.
"I don't think we need to talk about Kaeya right now, Razor."
He frowned.
"But Kaeya and Diluc argue. Lupical no meant to argue. Not this bad."

Diluc clenched his fist and his jaw went tight. Adelinde sighed, and Razor kept talking. He needed to understand.
"Kaeya-Diluc brothers." He said their names like it was one, like they were one person.
"Brother meant to be friend. Be kind. Not kind to each oth-"

Diluc stood up and stormed out of the room, his blank expression suddenly angry.
The front door closed loudly, and the room was silent again.

Razor's shoulders were tense.
He felt scared. He'd made Diluc mad. Diluc was scary when he was mad.
He turned to Adelinde.
"Diluc... angry?"
She sipped her tea.

"Not at you. Him and Kaeya have a complicated past, so sometimes they argue and he gets angry. He'd never take it out on you, though. Don't worry."
He nodded.
"Why Kaeya-Diluc argue?"
She sighed.
"No reason I should be sharing."
"Oh."

"...Kaeya-Diluc have parents?"
"Yes. They had a father, he used to own this place. He was called Crepus."
"Was? Crepus is not alive?"
She shook her head, and Razor frowned.
"No. No he isn't. That's part of why Diluc is angry."

He paused. Why would Diluc be angry if he died of normal stuff?
His eyes went wide.
"Kaeya killed Crepus?!"
Adelinde gasped.
"Oh, god, no! No, he didn't. We should stop talking about this, Razor. Look, let's find something else for you to do."

-------------------------

Diluc's best friend ever ever in the whole wide world was his little brother, Kaeya.
Kaeya was a couple years younger, so he was only three, but Diluc didn't care. He was still his little brother, so he got to hang out with him and Jean and Thoma and they always included him in their games. He was the baby, and Jean was the mummy, and Diluc was the daddy, and Thoma was the dog. Thoma liked being the dog for some reason.

Kaeya had come here from somewhere else. He had another daddy, one that Diluc didn't know, but that daddy had left him here all alone in the rain, so he wasn't nice. Diluc's daddy was nice, though, so he decided to make Kaeya his little boy. That meant Diluc got a baby brother without having to hear him cry all the time like very small babies did. It was good.

Diluc loved his little brother Kaeya. They knew they didn't look like brothers, but in every sense of the word, they were. For ten years now, they'd been raised together. They were inseparable.
Sometimes they got in fights, and Diluc got angry, and since he had a vision Kaeya sometimes got scared, but Diluc always promised he'd never hurt him. Never, because he was his little brother. He'd get angry, but he'd never take it out on Kaeya. That was too far.

Both of them wanted to be Knights, and now they were nearly teenagers, they were getting closer to being allowed.
Diluc thought he was gonna get in faster, but Kaeya would definitely be better at collecting information. He could remember way more way easier. Maybe Diluc could be a fighter and Kaeya could be a spy, and they'd work together like they always had and always would.
Yeah, that would be awesome.

Diluc liked Kaeya. He was more rebellious, like Thoma was, and they both encouraged Jean and Diluc to do stuff they weren't meant to, like drinking even though they were only sixteen.
Even though he didn't like the idea of the consequences they'd face if anyone found out, Diluc enjoyed sitting in a field drinking stolen wine with his friends and Kaeya. It wasn't because of the alcohol, either. They'd watch the stars and make stupid jokes and it was relaxing. More relaxing than being a Captain, that was for sure.

Sometimes Kaeya would go off drinking with people Diluc didn't know and wouldn't get home until it was late.
Somehow, their dad never noticed.
Diluc did, though, and always told him off and told him to be careful.
Kaeya didn't like that, and sometimes it resulted in an argument, but they always ended up being friends again, and it never ever came to blows. Diluc couldn't even imagine that.

Diluc didn't know what to feel about Kaeya anymore.
He just didn't know.
He loved him, of course. That was his baby brother, who he'd always looked after, but...

Rain hit Kaeya heavily as he stood at the door, tears and rain soaking his face.
Diluc stared.
"I'm so sorry, Luc."
"Don't call me that. Don't you dare-"
He gritted his teeth.
The rain hit him as well, since the door was open now.

Kaeya sighed.
"I never wanted this. I never wanted to follow his plan, and today, after what happened... I needed to come clean. After what you did-"
Diluc shouted out, pushing his brother to the rain-soaked cobble with a splash. He stepped out of the door. Kaeya scrambled back along the ground, scared.

"I'm sorry! I understand why you're angry! I get it!"
"No! No you don't! You didn't even try to save him!"

He summoned his claymore and Kaeya's eye went wide. He rolled over and dodged the slam into the ground that Diluc dealt, jumping to his feet again. He didn't protest, just summoned his sword and stood there, ready to fight.

Diluc glared.
How dare he? How dare he come here and tell him this? Today, of all days?
The blood of his father was on his hands, and Kaeya had decided to add on that nothing had been real.
The last fifteen years, all of it... was fake.

The next few minutes blurred together. They fought, he knew that. He also knew he went overboard. He used his vision against his brother, something he swore he'd never do, and he landed hit after hit against him.
Blood merged with rain on the floor.

Diluc was winning.
Kaeya was now crouched against a wall, holding onto his side. He wasn't looking at Diluc, but staring into nothing, his expression terrified and distant.
Diluc scoffed.
Good.

He lifted his sword and felt the anger, the grief and despair in his heart, swell through his hands and into his attack. A phoenix of bright flame to exact his revenge leapt through the night, straight for Kaeya, who braced for impact.

A glow.
A blue glow before him, shining in the dark and interrupting the attack.
Diluc stood up properly and stumbled back in shock.

The wet ground had been frozen around Kaeya.

What was that?

A shield.
A cryo shield, surrounding him.

Oh.
Kaeya had something in his hand, glowing a light blue, nearly white.

They both stared at it, and then Kaeya met Diluc's eyes, his expression terrified.

The rain hit heavily.
They both panted for breath, and Kaeya coughed, hacking up blood onto the ice.

Diluc suddenly became aware of what he had done, what he was planning for that phoenix to do.

It was silent.

He turned and ran, horror festering in his chest.
He ran, and he ran, and he kept running.
He couldn't see the road. He could only see blood and visions and black fire.

He only stopped to tear his vision from his belt and throw it to the muddy ground at a crossroads.
He stared at it. He stared at it for a while.

He felt numb.
Everything that had happened today was too much.
It was all too much, and so he felt numb.

He couldn't even make himself cry. He was certain if he cried, that he'd feel at least a small bit better. He'd be able to face people and fix this mess, but he just couldn't.

Instead, he screamed.
The rain covered the noise, hiding it from anyone who could hear.

He screamed, doubling over in the effort of emptying his lungs as much as he could.
He screamed and he screamed and he screamed until his throat hurt, and then he stood up straight, gasping for air.

He could see part of the sky turning orange. The sun was rising.
Good. This wretched day would be over, finally.

He looked back down at his vision.
He'd need this, still. He didn't want it anymore, now that he'd used it against the wrong person for entirely the wrong reason, but it carried his father's hope, in a way, and that he could never abandon.

His father never got into the Knights, and he never got a vision.
Diluc managed both before he was even sixteen, and now he was the heir to everything else his father had owned, the day he was eighteen.
He clenched his jaw and picked up the gem, tucking it into his pocket.
He didn't want to look at it.

He also didn't want to go back home. Not tonight. Adelinde would have taken Kaeya inside to look after him, and Diluc couldn't face him now.

The winery had rooms. He'd go there, and since he owned it, the staff would have to let him in.

He set off, the rain still pelting him.
The wind howled, and he felt like Barbatos understood the anguish he was in.

-------------------------

"...A "mere businessman?" Are you kidding?"
"Fame and glory benefit the living. The dead have no use for them."
This scumbag. He gestured his hand as if he were speaking truths of the universe while spouting bullshit about his father.
"Boosting the prestige of Ordo Favonius can benefit Mondstadt in many ways. If your father was still alive, we would have welcomed him into our ranks, just like he dreamed of in his youth."
He pointed at Diluc loosely.
"Too bad he's no longer with us."

Diluc couldn't believe this shit.
This was what the Knights now were?

His emotions from last night surged back, and he tore his coat off, vision attached.
"Fine! Don't consider me a Knight anymore!"

He threw the coat to the ground, his vision clattering. The room was silent apart from him.
"Don't forget- don't you dare forget- Mondstadt exists thanks to people like my father." He spat the words out as if they would poison him.

The Knights around the room stared at him, and he turned his back and left, the door slamming behind him.

This city was awful. He hated it all.
He walked out of the headquarters for Ordo Favonius and down the path to the gates.
He passed the Angel's Share.
It was closed.
It had been closed all day.

He kept walking.
Maybe he'd keep walking until he reached Liyue. Maybe he'd go until Sumeru. Maybe he'd swim to Inazuma.

First, he needed home.
He went to the mansion and to his room and he found the box with his father's delusion, discarded in a corner.

He took it and he told Adelinde that she was in charge and he left.

He didn't know if he'd be back. He didn't care. He needed to fix this, somehow. This was how.

-------------------------

Diluc sat on the ground. The edge of Starsnatch Cliff was quiet tonight, in contrast to his own brain.

He wasn't meant to be still worrying about these things. What he was meant to do was make wine, sell wine, and defeat anyone who tried to hurt Mondstadt or its people.
Three things.

Why was he still worrying about Kaeya? About his father?
This part of his past was supposed to be over.
He and Kaeya didn't talk, unless Kaeya wanted to annoy him, and then he turned him away and they didn't talk again.
That was it, so why-?

Razor. It was Razor.
He was the reason Kaeya was at the Winery today, and he had been reminding Diluc of Kaeya the whole time he was here.
Diluc groaned and put his head in his hands.

That kid. He was lovely, but this was an annoying situation.

He looked at his own vision, resting on his thigh.
He was sick of this. This complicated life he had been leading. Before he was eighteen, it was just follow father, do your job as a Knight and go fool around with your friends.

Well, his friends were gone. He had forfeit his job and had taken his father's life, and Jean was too busy and he didn't like Knights anymore and he wasn't friends with Kaeya for too many reasons to list and Thoma was either off in Inazuma or dead.
That was it. All three. Gone.

Someone sat down next to him, and he jumped, turning to face them.
They were wearing an adventurers guild uniform, and they were quite short, with pale skin, short black hair and green eyes.
He didn't recognise them.

"Hello!" They chirped, and he frowned.
"Hello. Can I help you?"
"I think you mean can you help me. Well, like can I help you. And I can. You're troubled." They tilted their head, and Diluc sighed.
"That's not your business. Go do your commissions or whatever it is you adventurers do."
"I finished those."
"Then do your homework, you look young."
"No. I like to take charge in life."

He raised an eyebrow.
"That doesn't apply to obligations."
"So what does it apply to? Taking charge? Control of your destiny?" They tilted their head.
"It applies to most other things, just not stuff you have to do."
"So what have you done lately to take charge? I need an example to follow."

He rolled his eyes.
"Okay, I looked after a hurt child and gave him a room in my house. That was a choice."
The adventurer nodded.
"Is there anything else you did that you didn't need to do?"
He paused.
"Like what?"
"Like, an argument you chose to resolve through violence instead of talking it out."

He huffed a laugh. The adventurer tilted their head again.
"What's funny? Any arguments recently?"
"Yes, but they're not your business."
"Okay, then. What do you plan on doing to take charge in the near future?"

He turned to the side.
"Are you taking a survey or something?"
They smiled and shook their head.
"I'm just a curious person. I wanna learn how to control my own life and take it into my own hands. Don't you? Otherwise, nothing really changes."
The adventurer grinned, and he stared.
"You look familiar."
They shook their head.
"No I don't. What will you do tomorrow that you don't need to do?"

He frowned.
"I don't know."
"Okay, let me come up with something. How about you go and start a dance party in the middle of Mondstadt city?"
He went silent, ignoring them and turning away.
"How about you give someone a free bottle of wine? A bard you particularly like, perhaps."
He scoffed.
"Now you sound familiar, too."

"So that's a no?"
"Yes."
"It's a yes?"
"It's a no."
"Oh."

The adventurer hummed.
"You seem like you want something serious, something dramatic. How about you go repair a lost friendship?"

It was silent, apart from the wind.
He watched the water, way down from here. The moon reflected on it.
The adventurer nudged him, and he shuffled away.
"Not a good suggestion?"
"Why are you even here?"
"Only lonely people and couples come here. I like to help the lonely ones."

Diluc picked at the grass. The adventurer looked up at the starry sky, and the wind blew a breeze at the two.
"I've found that when you talk with people, wounds can heal. I recommend a long conversation, and I recommend listening to other people's side of the story. It's like bandaging a hurt leg and helping a little feral boy learn to make friends again."

That was too specific.
He frowned and turned to look at them, but they were gone. The spot next to him on the grass was empty.

He stood up and looked around.
There was nobody here.

"What the fuck?" He muttered. What was that? Some kind of ghost?

He rubbed his eyes. He had slept well last night, this couldn't be a dream. He pinched his arm. It hurt. He was awake.
So who was that?

The wind blew.
He shuddered.
He never thought this, but he needed a drink.

-------------------------

The Angel's Share was closer than the winery, and he didn't want to be anywhere near his father's room, so he went there instead.

He opened the door and a few people cheered and shouted his name.
Oh, yeah. It was Saturday night. That meant people.

He held his hand up in a wave and went to go behind the bar, but stopped when he saw the group taking up the stools.

Rosaria, Venti, and Kaeya.

He glanced around and sighed.
Venti turned to look at him as if he knew he was there already and tilted his glass, smiling.

Rosaria and Kaeya also turned, Rosaria looking for Kaeya's reaction.
He saw Diluc, paused, then turned back to the bar.

Diluc looked back at the door.
Maybe he shouldn't be here.

He turned back and Venti was stood directly in front of him.
He jumped.
"...Hello, bard."
"Why, hello, Master Diluc! Had any interesting conversations recently?" He spoke over the noise.
The bard's eyes sparkled, and Diluc stared blankly.
"I, personally, have been taking charge of my destiny and playing wherever I feel like!"
Diluc groaned.
"I knew it was you."
"Hmm? I don't know what you're talking about, I'm afraid."

Diluc glanced at Kaeya's turned back, and then looked back at Venti.
"Have you received any good advice lately?" The chipper god chirped.
"No. Only terrible advice, thanks."
"Thanks? Oh, you're welcome!"

Diluc didn't reply, and Venti looked over his shoulder then back.
He tapped the man's shoulder and beckoned him down, whispering in his ear.
"It hurts to see my children hurt."

Diluc frowned, and Venti stepped back. A hint of sadness was quickly extinguished from his face, and was replaced with his usual stupid grin.
"Today or tomorrow, air your sorrows."
"That was shit."
"Not my best, I'll admit! HAH! Got you!"
He downed the last bit of his drink and handed Diluc his glass, patting him on the shoulder.
"Farewell, good bartender, but do think twice."

Diluc stared at him, waiting for a second line. Venti frowned.
"Uhh, something something... take my advice."
He grinned proudly and skipped out of the tavern.

Diluc sighed and went behind the bar, staying away from the side Kaeya and Rosaria were sat at and greeting the bartender on duty.
He hung his coat up, cleaned Venti's glass and poured himself some wine.
He could be having something stronger, but he hadn't been drinking much alcohol for the last... well, ever, so he decided starting with just wine was the best choice for now.

He basically downed the glass in one go, and a patron cheered.
He huffed. The faint taste of alcohol lingered in his throat, overtaking the taste of the wine itself. He didn't like it, but as he glanced down the bar he realised that he really needed this. He couldn't bear to think properly right now.

Kaeya ordered another, and Diluc poured himself another glass.

They shared a glance and Rosaria looked between them, whispering something to Kaeya.
He scoffed and stared into his glass. Diluc downed another and put the glass down, sighing and wiping his mouth.

He knew drinking entire glasses of wine like shots wasn't an effective way to get drunk, but he didn't like when alcohol tasted too strong. This was closer to grape juice, which he much preferred.

Jose, the bard, came over. He was drunk.
"What's goin' on, Master Diluc? You're drinkin'. You don't do that."
He huffed. Jose looked down the bar at Kaeya and raised his eyebrows, whispering in a way that really wasn't whispering, so he could be heard over the noise.
"Is it somethin' about Captain Kaeya?"
He didn't answer. Kaeya looked over when his name was mentioned, and Diluc met his eye.

"You remind me of him recently, Luc."

What did that even mean?
They stared at each other and Rosaria put a hand on Kaeya's shoulder, some sort of comfort.
Had he told her Diluc was the one who did something wrong?
If he hadn't been poking around, he wouldn't have found anything.
If he hadn't been trying to get Razor's favour, then the kid wouldn't be bleeding still.

He stared at Kaeya, who looked away first, his hand going to rub his forearms, the skin scarred and stretched.

Jose was watching carefully and looked for Diluc's reaction.

He looked down at his glass, then walked down to be stood in front of Kaeya.
Rosaria glared at him.
"What do you want?"
"I want to talk to my brother." He muttered, loud enough for her to hear.

Kaeya huffed.
"Barely that anymore, am I?"

Diluc stared at him silently.
Words kept bubbling from his throat and he clamped his jaw to trap them.
This didn't make sense. He shouldn't be trying this.

But part of his head said it did, he should be. He should be trying, because he hadn't tried in going on nine years now.
He was nearly thirty, for gods sake. This had been going on since he turned eighteen, and he was sick of it.

"What did you mean earlier?"
Kaeya looked up from his glass.
"What?"
"You remind me of him recently. What did that mean?" He spoke louder.

Kaeya huffed.
"Isn't it self-explanatory?"
"No. Explain yourself."

Kaeya looked around.
"It's loud here. Come outside."

He got up, nodding at Rosaria to let her know it was okay.
Diluc followed him out of the tavern and into the cold street. The loud atmosphere of the room shut off when the door closed. There were a few people outside, but it was quieter.

Kaeya stood at the corner of the building, and Diluc walked over.
"So? What did it mean? Tell me." He crossed his arms.
"Well..."
Kaeya was leaning against the wall. He was drunker than Diluc.
"Go on."

"It means Razor reminds me of me, and you remind me of dad, okay?" He met Diluc's eyes.
His voice went quieter.
"You took him in, and you're caring for him like a father. Truth is, it made me nostalgic, and then I went into dad's room and-"
He stopped, sighing and leaning his head back against the wall.
"And that was even worse."

Diluc didn't know what to say.
He caught his reflection in the dark window of a house.
Dad didn't wear a coat, but he'd taken his own off.
His white, rolled up shirt sleeves, the red hair on his head and arms and starting to grow on his chin because he hadn't shaved, and his build and height...

He stared into the window for too long, and Kaeya joined in.
"You look like him. Sometimes it hurts to look at you." He whispered.
Diluc's heart was close to breaking, if it hadn't done that already.

"It'd hurt more if you didn't have a baby face."
Diluc frowned at him, and Kaeya smiled.
"I don't have a baby face."
"You do. You look, like, thirteen!" The Captain chuckled.
"That's a massive stretch."
"Okay, eighteen."

They both went quiet. Kaeya's smile turned pained.
"We've grown up, haven't we?" He whispered.
Diluc looked back at the window. At his reflection, the perfect replica of his father, and a near stranger stood next to him, the Khaenri'an he didn't know anymore.

"We have." He muttered.

The wind whispered, and Diluc swore he saw a flash of green behind a building.
He payed no mind.

He looked at Kaeya, at his brother.
Were they even that now?

Kaeya looked back at him, and for a moment they were silent.
"...I get why you keep it." Kaeya nodded his head.
"The delusion?"
"Yeah. I get it. You relied on it for so long, and it's why... y'know. So it probably feels wrong to get rid of it."

Diluc sighed.
"Yeah."
"Have you used it recently?"
"No. It stays up there."
"Okay. Good."

Again, it was silent.
"Do you ever wanna meet your birth father?"

Kaeya huffed, staring up at the sky.
"Big subjects tonight, huh?"
He chuckled, then became serious.

This was why everything was wrong.
His birth father.

"I don't know. I guess I wanna know why, but I think I guessed that already, so... maybe not. He abandoned me, why go back? As far as I'm concerned, I was raised a Ragnvindr."
"But you changed your name back."
"Yeah, I did," He shrugged. "but people change their names all the time after leaving home. Doesn't change where they were raised. Doesn't change who their family is."
He met Diluc's eyes.

"Some stuff does change that, though." The older brother said, and Kaeya paused and nodded.
"Some stuff, yeah."

They both stopped talking, and Diluc thought.

If it was never real, did Kaeya even care? Did he ever care?
Diluc remembered his tear-filled expression earlier today, and his brain filtered through all the times he'd seemed to care.
All the crying and all the laughing and hugs and midnight ghost stories and the arguments that never ended in a fight and the one that did.

He missed them. He missed being a brother. He wanted it back, but maybe it had been too damaged. Maybe he had burnt it to a crisp nine years ago.
Maybe he was stupid for trying, but he wanted to.
The winery was too quiet nowadays.

"...Razor keeps asking about us."
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
"Like why there's no pictures of us and dad in the winery. He knows humans have paintings of their family, especially "fancy humans" like me, so he's confused."
"And what did you tell him?" Kaeya tilted his head.
Diluc sighed and went quiet. Maybe he should have started that conversation differently.

"...He's a good kid, Luc."
"He is. He's real happy I didn't kick him out, which makes me think people haven't been so kind to him in the past."
Kaeya hummed.
"But we know what it's like to be weird. If he ever struggles too badly with it, let me know."
"I will. Just don't go running with him anymore. His leg needs to heal."
"Right. Sorry."
"Mm."

Kaeya bit the inside of his cheek, lowering his eyes. He had something he wanted to say, Diluc could tell.
"I can keep visiting though, right?" He shuffled his feet.

Diluc raised his eyebrows, and Kaeya shifted his gaze somewhere else.
He never asked that, especially not this anxiously.
He just came over whenever he wanted usually.

This wasn't about visiting Razor, was it?

He nodded, and Kaeya smiled.

"Yeah. Yeah, you can keep coming over."
"Good. Good."

They smiled at each other, just for a second, and Kaeya looked at the door to the tavern.
"Well, Rosaria's probably wondering why I've disappeared. I'll see you?"
He stood up from the wall.
"Yeah. See you around." Diluc nodded.
"Bye, Luc."
"Bye."

And Kaeya left, opening the door to chatter and laughing and closing it again behind him.

The wind blew gently, and Diluc absolutely heard a lyre delicately playing from somewhere.
"Venti, you're not being mysterious." He spoke into the night.
The lyre stopped and he chuckled and went inside, grabbing his coat and saying goodbye to the patrons.

The walk home would have been freezing, but his heart felt a bit warmer tonight.
Maybe it was the alcohol.
Maybe it wasn't.
Either way, he smiled to himself.

That bard could be right sometimes, believe it or not.

Chapter Text

Diluc came in when it was dark. He'd left a few hours ago. Razor was still awake, but he didn't get up. He couldn't be bothered dealing with his leg right now.

The door was opened further than it already was, and he closed his eyes, purposefully slowing his breathing down to seem asleep.

The light from the hallway streamed in and, like a few nights ago, Diluc watched him from the door, his shadow interrupting the light.

It was quiet, and after a couple seconds, the shadow left again. He remembered to leave the door open, but closed it enough that the light wouldn't bother the boy curled up in his pile of blankets.

Razor opened his eyes again and smiled.

-------------

Razor was getting more comfortable with life at the Winery, bit by bit.

Diluc had given him two wooden poles he called crutches that rested under his armpits. They were made to help him walk, and he liked using them to lift himself into the air and see how long he could stay.

The crutches meant he could move around a lot easier by himself, so he'd been going outside and wandering a bit more. Not too far, but to the edges of paths and along short roads he could find.

Diluc was encouraging him to keep doing it. He said that if Razor took care of the rest of his body by exercising, eating well and getting fresh air, his leg would get better quicker. Razor liked that he had a reason to be out, so he agreed and now spent a lot of his day finding flowers and trying to eat them or trying to keep up with carts that were leaving and coming back. He was getting quite good at using his crutches, and his wound was healing, slowly but steadily.

On one of these days, he was making his way up a small path that lead to a nearby statue of the seven. He liked the breeze there, and it was as close as Diluc said he was allowed to Wolvendom. He could see the trees.

He was struggling today. The wound didn't hurt as badly anymore unless he put pressure on it, but last night he'd slept weird and now his knee hurt, so he had to stop every so often to make it calm down before he could go again.

A few merchants went by, all of them giving him looks. They weren't positive. They probably all thought he was a beggar or something.
Whatever. He was used to looks like that.
They still hurt, but he could power through it.

He sighed, resting on a rock. He was barely halfway. He was going so slow.

He felt like crying, a bit. It seemed hopeless to even be trying to walk like this, and the fact that he felt so hopeless about it made him feel pathetic.
His knee ached and he chewed the inside of his lip.

Another merchant passed, and he glared at them. They looked away and sped up.

He felt bad immediately and rested his head in his hands. Why was today so hard? He'd barely done anything, but just crawling out of bed was an issue today.

He sighed again, trying to not cry. It was all too overwhelming.

He missed home.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped, looking up.

"Bennett?"
His best friend's grin shone down on him. He had a tooth missing, and he looked exactly the same as he always did. It was comforting.

Razor smiled a bit. Bennett was here. That made today a bit better, at least.

"Hi! I heard you're staying at the winery! I was waiting for you at Wolvendom all week!" Bennett laughed and sat on the rock next to Razor.
The wolf boy nodded.
"Sorry. Didn't tell Bennett."
"It's alright. You bust your leg up?"
"Um, hillichurl. Big wound. No walk."

Bennett frowned.
"That sucks, man. But hey, cool scar incoming, right?"
Razor huffed a smile and nodded. His mood had lifted almost instantly. He'd found that Bennett had that effect on him.

"Why are you going this way?"
"Statue. Nice place to sit."
His friend nodded, looking up towards the statue.
"It really is. You want help?"

Razor paused, looking at his crutches. They were made so he could be independent.
Did he really want to ask for help so quickly? He'd been taking up so many people's time recently. He felt like a burden.

He hesitated, and Bennett noticed.
"Not sure?"
"Not sure."
"Okay. How about I walk next to you, and if you need help, I'm there?"
That sounded better. He smiled at Bennett, who nudged his shoulder with his own and smiled back.
"Yeah."
"Okay, then! Let's go!"

It took a while, but they got to the statue, and Razor didn't feel like giving up anymore.
Bennett kept running forward and cheering him on, and it made him laugh, which made Bennett beam at him in turn.

When they got up to the statue, they sat down on a grassy ledge and Bennett sighed.
"See, you did really well. I'm awful when I get hurt badly, I get real sad and sometimes I stay in my room until it heals. It's good you're getting out."

Razor nodded, and his heart warmed because Bennett approved of something he did.
There were windwheel asters nearby, and a slight breeze sent them spinning.

Razor was staring into the distance now, so Bennett jumped from the small ledge they were sat on and walked over to them.
He picked one carefully and walked back, and Razor looked down at him, taller because of his seat.

The adventurer's eyes were green, and his hair was white, and his smile was nice. Razor knew this.
Right now, though, his eyes were sparkling in the sun and his hair was fluffy and falling across his face and his smile was the most comfortable thing Razor had ever seen.

This happened sometimes. Bennett would get his hair caught in the wind in a perfect moment, or the sun would favour him for a day and he'd be particularly nice to look at. He was always nice to look at, but in those moment he was perfect, in his own disorganised way. He had missing teeth and scars and sometimes he stumbled and tripped, but Razor thought it was all perfect, especially in those moments.

He still wasn't used to it happening. Every time, his heart beat faster and he felt like he had to stare. It would be a waste not to.

Bennett smiled up at him. He moved to rest his right arm against the ledge on Razor's right and his cheek against his arm, holding the flower in his other hand towards the wolf boy.
"A gift, for the new Ragnvindr son."

Razor huffed a laugh and took the flower, sniffing it. Bennett watched him, his eyes shining in the sun.
Flowers smelled sweeter when Bennett picked them. At least, to Razor they did.

"Thank you."
He smiled, and Bennett watched, and they sat there for a second until Razor couldn't handle staring like that and turned away, holding the flower to hide his face.

Bennett giggled and climbed up onto the ledge, nudging him with his shoulder like he always did.
"That flower's too small to hide you, y'know. I can still see you're here."

Razor turned to him, shy, and Bennett just smiled his gentle perfectly imperfect smile and made his heart beat faster just by being.

The wind blew gently again, as if it were encouraging them, and Bennett's hand reached up to pull Razor's down from the flower.
Razor watched at he intertwined their fingers and met his eyes again. Bennett was pink. Razor liked it.

He smiled and nudged his shoulder, and Bennett stared at him in a way he hadn't before. It was still good, but it was... closer. It made Razor pause and then look away, his heart fluttering.

Someone was coming up the path.
Bennett saw first and looked down at their hands, intertwined on Razor's knee.

Razor noticed second and waved at Diluc.

The man waved hello, then paused and looked behind him, as if considering going back.
"Sorry, am I interrupting?"

Bennett cleared his throat, letting go of Razor's hand.
"No, don't worry! Just sat here, being, um-" He struggled for words.
"Mates."

Diluc nodded, laughing a little at Razor's face.
"Right."
Razor had a whole different meaning of mates.
He was staring at Bennett with wide eyes and a red face, and Bennett looked at him then realised his mistake, also going bright red.
"Ah! Not, um- friends! We were just being- friends, Mister Ragnvindr."

Diluc got closer. His hair was down for once, he had no jacket, and he was freshly shaven again. Razor assumed he had just finished work. There was a surprising amount of paperwork in owning a winery.
"Razor, you said your knee was sore this morning. Is it okay now?"

He nodded.
"Was hard to get here, but Bennett help."

Diluc seemed to notice the flower and nodded.
"Right. I don't believe me and Bennett have met officially before."

The young adventurer hopped from the ledge again, starting to bow then holding his hand out awkwardly. Diluc smiled and shook his hand.
"I'm Diluc Ragnvindr. Call me Diluc, we're nowhere formal."
"Um, I'm Bennett, sir. Adventurer's Guild."

Diluc nodded and let go of his hand.
"You and Razor are close, then?"
Bennett nodded, basically stood to attention.
"Um, yes, sir! Since Windblume a couple years back. We got trapped in a cage together in some ruins, and he helped me write some poetry."

The redhead raised his eyebrows.
"Poetry, huh? I'd be interested in reading that, if you're a writer."
"Oh, it was really just a one-time thing. I enjoyed it, but it was really just an assignment I was given. Sir. Plus, it was a while ago, I'm not sure I remember it now."

Razor sat up straight, grinning.
"You and Mare Jivari, so close and so far, one at the edge of world, the other the center of heart. Wolfhook and dandelion, Windblume offering to you." He recited. Diluc noted it was grammatically incorrect. He assumed it was just how Razor remembered it.

The younger of the pyro users looked over at him, suprised.
Diluc looked between the boys. Bennett's mouth was open in shock, and it morphed into a smile.

"You remembered it?"
Razor smiled sheepishly and nodded.
"Bennett poem good. Make Razor happy."
"It's been years, though. How?"
Razor shrugged.
"Read and read and read. Remember."

Diluc felt a bit liked he'd intruded on a date. He wasn't aware Razor had a boyfriend.

He cleared his throat.
"Well, I'm going to head back inside, have an afternoon snack. I'll see-"
"I'll come." Razor said.

Bennett seemed a little disappointed, but he went over to the ledge when Razor tried to slide off of it and held his arm to make sure he didn't fall.
Razor landed on one foot and grabbed his crutches, and then took the flower he'd put down and tucked it behind Bennett's ear, making the boy freeze up and watch his hand move away.

"...Thanks."
"Bennett can come, too." Razor offered, and his friend smiled.
"You're sure? Mr Diluc, you don't mind, do you?" Both of the boys looked over, and who was Diluc to deny... whatever this was from blossoming?

He nodded.
"Just don't break anything."

Both of the teenagers lit up, and Razor grinned at Bennett.
"Race."

He began speeding off before Bennett could even process what he'd said, and the adventurer frowned and began chasing.
"Hey, wait, you got a headstart!"

Diluc smiled to himself and started following them, his hands in his trouser pockets.
Razor was surprisingly fast on those crutches, even with a sore knee. He laughed at the shouting he heard from Bennett and Diluc sighed.

"Ah, puppy love." Someone else said.
He jumped, pulling his hands out of his pockets, and turned behind him.
"Kaeya."

Kaeya nodded a hello. Diluc rolled his eyes.
"You need to stop sneaking up on me like that."
"It's funny to see you jump."

Diluc smiled, and Kaeya paused, then smiled back.
"I heard afternoon snacks were ready."
"And that's what made you spontaneously appear?"
"Totally."
"I don't know if we have extra."
"There's always extra, in case another lost orphan turns up."

Diluc laughed, and Kaeya smiled wider. His older brother laughed just like he used to, loud and with his eyes closed and at things that weren't really that funny.
He hadn't seen him laugh like that in a while.

"Alright, come on, then."
They walked to the winery side by side, keeping their eyes on the teenagers a bit ahead to make sure they didn't fall over.

Bennett did, twice within five seconds.
Diluc gasped and went to go and help, since he had slid forwards a bit and probably scraped his chin badly, but he just got up, picked up his little flower and kept running, laughing loudly.

"That kid is indestructible, I tell you." Kaeya said with a chuckle, and Diluc nodded.
"I'm suprised he's not always at the church looking for a healer."
"Oh, he is. He's friends with a bunch of healers for a reason."

Razor won the race, mainly due to Bennett falling over twice.
He waited by the door, smiling as Bennett jogged towards him and opened the heavy door for him.
"You win, but it's only cuz I fell."
He snorted. He'd win any day.

They went inside and Razor led Bennett into the sitting room, throwing himself down onto a sofa sideways. Bennett sat on his feet and Razor huffed, moving to sit up properly.

He looked at the adventurer's hands, the red that he hadn't noticed.
The flower, a bit crushed but still intact.

He smiled.
"Bennett keep flower? So many flowers outside. Why?"
Bennett paused, then smiled back.
"I dunno. I picked it for you, I didn't wanna crush it."

Razor huffed again and shook his head, amused.
"Thousands of windwheel asters. Bennett can pick more for me, and I pick more wolfhooks for Bennett.”

The adventurer chuckled and looked down at the flower.

“Mm. I guess they'd all be just as special, huh?”
“As long as Bennett pick them.”
He turned pink and Razor giggled.

“Well. Uh…” Bennett laughed a little, looking around the room and noticing the pile of blankets and pillows near the window. His smile faltered, and he tilted his head.

“Huh? What's that pile for?”
“Bed.”
Bennett turned to him, frowning.
“That's your bed?”
“Uh huh.”
“Does Diluc not have spare rooms? Is he making you sleep down here instead of in an actual bed?”

Razor paused and avoided eye contact.
“He does have rooms, but… Razor find them scary. Second floor, too high up. Can't see moon from window. Here, better. No stairs. Moon. Big window. More air, see moon. Feel more at home.”

Bennett raised his eyebrows.
“Oh. That's nice of him to sort out.”
“Yes. Diluc kind human.”

Bennett stared at him for a moment.
“...If you ever come over to mine, do you want me to do that as well? Make you a bed near a window?”

Razor met his eyes.
“If I come to Bennett house?” He tilted his head.
“Yeah. For a sleepover or something.”

He paused and considered.
“...Think it will be okay.”
“Okay? You don't need a floor bed?”
“No.” He smiled. “Bennett there, Razor feel better. Feel safe. Happy. No need for extra work. Razor can sleep in Bennett bed.”

Bennett's eyes widened a little.
“In my bed…” He whispered, then turned bright red. Razor jumped and moved closer, feeling his forehead.
“Ah, warm! Bennett okay?” He frowned.
“I'm great.” He sounded dazed. Razor smiled and moved the hair out of his face, and Bennett blinked and focused on his face, his cheeks cooling down.

They were close. Razor liked it. He could see his eyes better. They were sparkly and pretty. And he could see the light freckles that were barely there across his nose, and the sort of shocked expression on his face.

“You're real close.”
“Mhm. Bennett is very pretty.”

The adventurer's eyes were flitting about Razor's face frantically, and Razor knew he was doing the same thing he was- finding small bits to love.

Bennett glanced down at his lips, and Razor hesitated. He'd seen humans in love before. If… if he were to try it…

He looked at Bennett's lips. They were slightly chapped, but Razor didn't mind. He ate wolfhooks, and those were spiky.

Bennett saw he was staring and raised his eyebrows, and Razor met his eyes again.

“Bennett… Razor seen humans in love.”
“In…?”
“They do… kiss. Does Bennett want? A kiss?”
“In love..?”

Bennett flushed bright red and grinned like an idiot.
“I- I mean, yeah! Yeah, i-if you- you want to-!”

The door crashed open and Diluc stumbled into the room, Kaeya following and laughing, then stopping abruptly and staring at the boys. Bennett looked like he wanted to die all of a sudden.

“Oh my god, Diluc. You interrupted them!”
“What?! You pushed me!” The redhead turned to glare at his brother.
“I did not!” Kaeya grabbed Diluc's ear and tugged him out of the room. “Come on, don't let us bother you, kids! Come here, you massive idiot-!”
“Owowowowow my ear! Let go! Dickhead!”

Kaeya pulled the door shut, slamming it closed, and Bennett met Razor's eyes again.

“Um…”
It was silent. Razor didn't really know what to say.

Bennett giggled a bit and Razor smiled, then laughed too and grabbed his arm to steady himself.
Ah, he was so happy. Today was much better than he thought it was going to be.

The sun set as they began to chat again, and eventually Kaeya and Diluc came back in with some snacks, the golden afternoon sunlight painting the whole room orange.

Razor watched Kaeya telling a story to Bennett, who had crumbs all over his face, and watched Diluc smile and occasionally correct him, sipping his tea every few minutes.

He felt so comfy.
Adelinde came in at some point and stood behind Kaeya, combing her hands through his hair and gently criticising him on his hair care.

Hm. This felt… like lupical. They didn't have much definition between who was what to who. He wasn't exactly Diluc's son, and Diluc wasn't really Kaeya's brother any more, and Kaeya only very occasionally spoke to Bennett, and Adelinde was motherly to everyone but they weren't all brothers. Either way, it felt like family. It felt like lupical.

Razor smiled to himself, red petals crushed in his hands by now.
He liked this relatively new lupical. He liked it a lot.

Chapter Text

The moon is bright tonight. It’s full, pale against the backdrop of the dark sky. Razor stares out of the window, unable to sleep.
The desire to go home is stronger tonight. He misses the wolves so much it hurts. He can’t stay here, even with the windows wide open and with his old clothes and in his comfy nest. He has to go.

Diluc wakes up to the sound of a wolf howling. It shocks him, and he sits up, the blanket sliding off of his chest.
It’s cold tonight, a cool September breeze rushing into the room.
The moon doesn’t reach his window, since he’s on the other side of the house, but it dusts the trees outside like snow, turning them silver and frosted.

The howling continues. He thinks of Razor.
Are they howling for him? He can’t imagine how homesick it must make the poor kid. He’d better check on him, in case he needs comfort. Not that he’s the best at comforting, but it’s better that he tries rather than just going back to sleep.
He puts his pyjamas on and leaves the bedroom, padding down the stairs.

His eyes are caught by the open front door.
A Stab of panic runs through him. An intruder? A break in, maybe? The closest room to the door is Razor’s, is he okay?
He rushes to the room Razor should be in and pushes the door open.

The pile of blankets is empty.
His chest tightens. Oh god. He has to find him, he could be hurt or…
Razor’s boots are gone. He doesn’t sleep in them, but if he got taken, how did he have time-
He ran away. He must have.

Diluc takes a deep breath and holds it as he runs to the coat rack, tugs a cloak on and shoves his boots on. He isn’t leaving Razor outside, not with his leg. It’s still not healed, he could be hurt! He might have tripped, or been attacked and unable to defend himself, or he might have lost his way, or- or-
A hundred fates run through his mind, each one clustered in his brain like the stars in the dark night sky that his torch burns through when he ignites it.

He climbs onto his horse Raven’s back. He doesn’t bother to waste time on a saddle. He needs to find that boy. Now.
His hair almost glows with the light of the torch, blowing in the wind behind him as Raven’s hooves squash the grass beneath his path.
He knows the way to Wolvendom. He knows where Razor will be.

At the edge of the forest, Raven stops. Diluc tries to peer into the thick darkness, but he can’t see anything. They need to go deeper.

He urges her on. She protests. He understands her reservations, but they need to go in.

After a moment of trying, she finally gives in and trots into the forest, her head twitching. She doesn’t like it, and he doesn’t blame her. Neither of them are too used to bareback riding, so she must already be uncomfortable. This atmosphere only makes it worse.
He holds his torch up high.

“Razor! Razor? Where are you? Come out! It’s Diluc!”

Silence responds. Diluc spins his head to catch a shadow, thinking it’s a threat. Nothing is there. The dark behind the trees mocks him, twisted branches reaching for him as if to pull him off of his horse.

A loud, wailing howl sounds out, and Raven doesn’t like it. She huffs and steps back, and Diluc tries to comfort her.
“It’s okay. Nothing’s here. It’s just dogs.” He says, mainly to himself.

They press on, Diluc calling out for Razor every few seconds as they follow the howling.

A light.
Diluc’s ears prick up as he spots a glowing light through some shrubs. Fire? A campfire, maybe.

There’s only one boy brave enough to live in Wolvendom long enough to need fire. He pushes Raven on, and once the shrubs clear-

Razor jumps and turns to see him. He’s sat surrounded by wolves, some of them sleeping. This clearing is obviously used often, judging by the well-established campfire in the centre.

Diluc gets down from his horse. Razor cowers, and a few wolves growl.
“Razor. Thank god you’re safe. What were you thinking? I thought you’d been taken!”
His voice raises a little too loud out of worry and a wolf steps forwards, forcing him to take a step back. He stares at the dog, then looks back at Razor, who isn’t looking at him.
“Are you hurt?”

“Leave.” The boy snarls. His tone makes Diluc pause.
“I’m not leaving. You can’t be out here with your injur-”
”Leave!” Razor faces him, his teeth bared. More wolves begin to get up, growling lowly at the red-haired stranger threatening their lupical. Diluc frowns, stepping back again.

He can't leave. Razor could still be hurt, he can't abandon him. He made a promise, swore to take care of him. He can't abandon that promise.

He steps forwards and Razor growls then shouts, almost like a bark, and suddenly, two wolves leap at Diluc, scratching at his chest and trying to bite his face.
He shouts and stumbles back as they tear at his cloak, pushing at their faces to get them off. One falls to the ground with a yelp and Diluc summons his claymore.

It hits the ground heavily. The other wolf backs off, and the pack all watch, some of them glancing over at Razor, whose eyes have gone wide in fear, in betrayal.

Diluc catches his breath and meets his eyes. Razor takes a few breaths, looking from the weapon to Diluc and back again before standing, wincing as he stands on his bad leg.
Diluc shakes his head.
“I wasn't going to hurt them. I swear.”
Razor doesn't care. The anger in his expression says so.

The wolves around him step back, allowing him room as his vision sparks and his hair stands on end. Diluc sighs heavily.
“I'm not going to fight you.”
“You threaten lupical, I threaten you.”
“Razor, you need to come home.”

“No!”
The sparks around him get stronger.
“Staying here! Not leaving, not tonight!”
Diluc vanishes his claymore and holds his hands up, and Razor growls. The ghostly vision of a wolf above him threatens to appear.

“Come on. Home.”
“It isn't home!” Razor shouts, stepping forward and shoving him. Diluc almost falls, but catches himself on a tree trunk.
“I won't fight you! Stop this, you're injured! You can come here tomorrow, but not overnight! I can't make sure you're okay overnight!”
“Don't care! Go away!”
Razor swipes his hand forwards, and claws materialised from electro almost catch Diluc. He stumbles back, and when he catches Razor's eyes again, he spots tears.

Okay. This can't be handled on his own. He can't let Razor fight him and hurt himself. He needs help from someone Razor trusts.

Razor's shoulders heave up and down heavily, and Diluc turns, rushing to climb onto Raven and start to ride away. He hears barking behind him, and when he looks over his shoulder, a couple of wolves are following them.
The tiny, far away figure of Razor sits down again and is surrounded by dogs, slowly disappearing into the distance. The wolves following them give up and let them go.

The night is cold, biting through Diluc's cloak as he rides back to the winery. He needs a saddle and reins if he's expecting Raven to keep helping, and preferably his actual clothes.

By the time he reaches the city, he has turned the thought of Razor over in his mind. He won't die out there, not a chance, but his injury could limit him, and knowing his recklessness, it could get worse. It's clearly at least a bit of an emotional problem, so someone he knows well will help.
He can't wake that boy Bennett up, he's too young to lose sleep to this. So instead, he needs a figure of authority that Razor will respect.

Jean opens the door in a nightgown. Diluc averts his eyes to the floor and she straightens her posture and clears her throat when she realises it's him.
“Is Lisa awake?” He mutters.
“No, why? Is it important?”
“Yes. It's about Razor. I need her help, he ran away.”
Jean nods.
“Uh, come in. It's cold.”
“No, thank you. I'm alright out here.”
She nods again. He nods back, and she disappears into the house.

“What's up with him?” Lisa asks, her borrowed horse trotting alongside Raven.
“He ran away. Disappeared in the night. I went to find him, since his leg is still too injured for him to be running off, but he tried to fight me and set wolves on me.”
Lisa covers her hand with her mouth.
“Oh, dear. Poor thing must be homesick…”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Well, how bad is his leg?”
“He can walk on it, but it’s clear it hurts. I’m worried he’ll make it worse.”
She sighs deeply. “My poor little wolf cub. I’ll speak to him, and I’m sure he’ll come back, don’t you worry.” She smiles at him, tilting her head. Diluc smiles back and nods.
“Thank you, Madam Lisa.”

“Razor, dear!” Lisa calls. Diluc rides behind her, lighting the way with his torch and keeping lookout.
“It’s Miss Lisa, come out, honey! Where are you?”

The wind blows gently. Lisa presses on, and Diluc follows. Just like last time, a light comes from the shadows.
“Over there.” He says, holding the torch up. Lisa looks over and smiles, turning her horse and finding her way over.
She hops down, fixing her hair and leading her horse into the clearing.

Razor is cowering behind his wolves at first, but upon spotting Lisa, he stands and limps over, his eyes wide.
“Miss Lisa-” His leg almost gives up and she catches him in a tight hug, stroking his hair and slowly kneeling while he buries his face in her arms like a baby.
“Oh, dear. Razor, are you alright? I heard you ran off, honey.” She coos.

Diluc gets down from Raven and ties the two horses to a branch, staying at the edge of the shadows so that the wolves won’t recognise him and get aggressive.

Razor mumbles and Lisa nods, kissing his hair. The wolves around them sniff her, some of them already nuzzling their heads against her. Diluc watches in wonder. She barely leaves the city, how did she manage such a close relationship with the pack already? Is it just word of mouth from Razor?

A noise comes from Razor that slightly resembles speech, and Lisa frowns.
“It is your birthday. Happy birthday, darling. Why?”
Diluc raises his eyebrows.
He didn’t even know this kid had a birthday, he assumed nobody knew it. It’s today? Does she mean the day that just ended? Did… did everyone miss his birthday?

Lisa looks back at Diluc, an expression of sympathy on her face. Razor clenches her shirt in his hands and mumbles and she strokes his hair, shushing him quietly.
“I know, I know. You just got a bit homesick, didn’t you? That’s alright, my dear. It’s okay.”

Diluc steps forwards and a wolf growls, alerting Razor to his presence. He sits up straight, revealing red, teary eyes. Diluc keeps his eyes on the growling wolf until Razor reaches out and pets it, reassuring it that he’s fine.
He doesn’t make eye contact with Diluc, instead wiping his eyes - at least, until a wolf comes up and licks his face and he decides instead to use its fur.

“Razor, I’m sorry.” Diluc says, kneeling. Razor sniffs and nods.
“Birthday… confusing feelings. Miss home a lot.”
“I understand. I didn’t know it was your birthday today.”
“Not… normal birthday.” He says. Diluc tilts his head quite like a curious owl might. Lisa glances between them while Razor fiddles with the wolf’s fur and hides behind it.
“Razor, honey, you don’t need to tell him if you don’t want to.”
Razor looks at her, then nods, going silent.

It’s quiet for a moment. Diluc takes a deep breath.
“Okay, now… I have to ask you to come back, Razor.”
“No.” He mumbles with shocking reaction speed.
“Your leg is still hurt.”
“No. Staying here. Can’t leave tonight. Can’t make me.”

Diluc sighs and Lisa tilts her head.
“Diluc, you want him home to monitor his leg, right?”
“Right.”
“Maybe someone can stay out here with him. He doesn’t want to leave, for reasons that are only his to tell, but you need to monitor him. Doesn’t that solve both problems?”

Razor looks between them, and Lisa smiles at him.
“Is that okay with you, dear? Master Diluc can stay with you to make sure you’re okay.”

Razor looks at the wolf on his lap, then slowly nods.
“Mm. Okay.”
Diluc sighs in relief.
“Alright, good. Thank you, Razor.”
He nods.
“Sleep here, then. No rain tonight.”
“Alright.”

Lisa smiles and reaches a gentle hand out, stroking Razor’s hair.
“Thank you, dear. I’ll go, alright? I’ll be back tomorrow to come and celebrate!”
Razor nods, blinking slowly. He seems tired. Lisa stands, a few wolves sniffing at her as she walks back to her horse and unties it.

“I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
“Goodbye, Madam Lisa.”
She climbs onto her horse and waves as she rides off into the forest.

When Diluc turns back to Razor, he’s asleep, leaning against the wolf on his lap and snoring lowly.
He smiles a little, glad that he can relax, and stands, letting Raven free and coaxing her to lie down.
“It’s safe, don’t worry. Come here, girl.” He whispers, and once she lies down, he sits by her and leans back, keeping watch over Razor as he himself starts to drift off. What a tiring night…

“Razor!”

Diluc startles awake to the sound of footsteps as three teenagers storm into the clearing. His neck hurts, a difficult reminder that he’s getting older.

Bennett rushes over to the now awake wolf boy, dropping to his knees and hugging him tight. Razor smiles and hugs back.
“Bennett!”

The other two kneel by him, and Diluc recognises them as Mika and Fischl. Mika starts to pet one of the wolves and Fischl plants her fists on her hips.
“Tis thine fateful day! The anniversary of your birth, young wolf boy! I hereby demand that good fortune befalls you from sunrise to set, and for the year ahead!”
Oz flies down from the trees and lands on her head.
“She means happy birthday, Razor. And from me as well.”
“And me! Happy birthday!” Mika says, scratching under a wolf’s chin.

Razor grins at all of them.
“Thank you. All my friends, very happy. Very very happy!”
Fischl leans forward and hugs Razor, and Mika and Bennett join in, Razor giggling happily underneath the pile of teenagers.

Diluc smiles to himself, standing and stretching. His back pops and he sighs. He’d better go for a walk to stretch his legs, he isn’t used to sleeping in the forest.

He wanders through the woods, which are noticeably less scary in the daytime, tying his hair up and yawning.
A shadow catches his eye, and before he can react, it pounces on him, revealing itself to be Kaeya. Diluc groans and Kaeya laughs, standing up straight.
“You.”
“Me. Hello!”

“Why are you here?”
“I heard from Lisa what happened. Did you enjoy your impromptu camping?”
“Doesn't matter if I enjoyed it. It was for Razor. My back does hurt, though. Don't use Raven as a pillow.”
“For Razor?” Kaeya scoffs. Diluc frowns at him.
“Yes. Why?”
The younger brother shrugs.

“I don't believe that, is all. From what I heard, he wanted to be out here alone.”
Diluc crosses his arms, kicking a tree root awkwardly. Perhaps it was a little for his own benefit. And maybe he was worrying a bit too much.
“Well…”
Kaeya watches him carefully, a sly smile on his face as if he's figured everything about Diluc out.
“You were always a softie at heart, Lulu.”
Diluc cringes, giving Kaeya an annoyed look.
“Don't call me Lulu.”

Kaeya laughs and looks towards the clearing. The sound of kids laughing floats through the forest, and the quiet buzzing of bugs. It's getting cooler in the year, but today, the sun dapples through the leaves on rocks and tree stumps and warms their backs.

For a moment, both of the brothers stop and look at each other.

Nostalgia lies over them, and it goes unspoken for a quiet minute as they each stare into space, just so they can check how long it will last.

For a second, the laughter feels like it's them. Different voices take over, the voices of four little kids running about in the grass together on a thousand sunny days like this one. Just Kaeya and Diluc and Jean and Thoma, with no hatred between them. No tough feelings, no bitter pasts. No fights in the rain or unsent letters to Inazuma. Just kids, smacking bugs from their arms and dropping ice cream down their nice new clothes.

The moment fades into now, and the sun goes behind a cloud.

They meet eyes, and they know each of them felt that.

-------------------------

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

Diluc groaned as Kaeya screeched with laughter, hitting his hand (scissors) with his own (rock).

Thoma clapped and whooped, and Jean wrote something down.
“Kaeya wins the tournament!”

Diluc huffed.
“Not fair, you only let him win ‘cause he’s the baby!”
Kaeya frowned and bashed him on the head, but he wasn’t all that strong so it didn’t hurt very bad. Still, Diluc clutched his hands to his head and shouted.
“Hey!”
“I’m not a baby!”
“You’re tiny! You’re only 4!”
“I’m grown up!”
“You’re the baby!”
“You act like a baby!”
“I don’t!”
“Yeah you do!”
“No!”

Jean sighed and Thoma crossed his arms.
“Hey, we were playing! Stop arguing! You’re both babies!” He pinched Diluc on the cheek. “At least, you argue like them! Now shut up!”
Diluc rubbed his cheek and sighed, and Kaeya pouted, tearing up already. Jean looked between them.
“Both of you apologise for arguing.” She said, and Diluc sighed. Kaeya looked down at his hands, twirling his thumbs.
“Sorry, lulu.” He mumbled, sniffling.
Diluc’s heart panged with a sudden guilt, and he shuffled over and hugged Kaeya. His little brother looked shocked at first, but quickly grinned and hugged back tight.
“I’m sorry too, Kaeya. You’re good at rock paper scissors, I didn’t mean it.”
Kaeya nodded, holding tight to his big brother. His little hands gripped at Diluc's jumper, getting dirt on it, but he didn't mind. If Kaeya needed a hug, he didn't mind one bit.

-------------------------

Diluc clears his throat and looks at the ground. Kaeya suddenly finds an interest in the leaves above them as they both try to ignore that weird nostalgia that just hit them both in the face.

“...I didn't even know he had a birthday. I thought he just turned up. He didn't want to leave at all last night.” Diluc looks back at him. Kaeya's smile fades a little, and he notices, his eyebrows twitching into a frown for a moment.
“I understand.” Kaeya nods, his hands in his pockets. He takes a deep breath, as if he's bracing himself to say something strange, then turns to Diluc.

“Varka picked his birthday.”
Diluc raises his eyebrows.
“What?”
“I found some old letters. Ones Varka wrote for Razor to read in the future, back when he first found him. Today isn't his real birthday.”
Diluc looks to the clearing.
“What is today then? A random date?”
“It's the anniversary of when he was found and brought to the city for the first time. Apparently he was terrified, and it took hours to stop him from hiding under the library table. That's when he met Lisa for the first time.”

Diluc crosses his arms.
“That explains why he didn't want to leave.”
“Mhm.” Kaeya exhales slowly. “It felt bad to know that and not tell anyone.”
“Well, thanks. For telling me.”
Kaeya shrugs and walks toward the clearing, not responding. Diluc waits a second, then follows him.

Razor is distracted, rolling about and kicking at Bennett while the adventurer tries to tickle him. A few dogs watch, and a couple of them take them as an example and playfight a few feet away.
“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Mika chants.
“For your honour, Razor!” Fischl shouts. Razor laughs, and Bennett finds an opening, taking his chance and tickling Razor's sides. The wolf boy screams and starts giggling louder than ever, trying to wrestle Bennett off of him but being weakened by his laughter.

Bennett giggles back, sitting atop him and receiving weak slaps to the face that can't hurt much at all.
“Stop! Stop! Time out!” Razor squeals, and Bennett holds his hands up to relieve him of his torture, allowing Razor to sit up and wrap his arms around him, prodding at his back and snorting when Bennett gently slaps his shoulder.

Fischl and Mika share a pointed glance, and so do Kaeya and Diluc, who feel a bit like they're intruding.
Razor leans his head against Bennett's chest, and the adventurer fiddles with his hair.
“I win, then.”
“Nooooo, I win.” Razor mumbles.
“You surrendered!”
Mika nods.
“You did surrender, Razor.”
Razor shrugs.
“I win, ‘cause is my birthday.”
Bennett tilts his head, looking down at him.
“Hmmm, fine. But we're doing a rematch tomorrow, then you won't have your birthday shield!”
Razor giggles. “Birthday shield.”

Kaeya walks up to the teenagers and Mika visibly fixes his posture when he notices, as if he's clocking into a shift.
“My apologies for the interruption, but I've received word that Adelinde has prepared food for you all back at the winery!”
Razor frowns. The other three spot his apprehension and glance at Kaeya.
“Uhm…”
“But we don't need to go back to the winery!” Kaeya quickly course-corrects. “Diluc and I can go and get the food and bring it here! For a picnic!”

Razor sits up straight, still holding onto Bennett like an (un)lucky charm.
“Yes!”
Bennett grins and nods, and Mika gives a tiny thumbs up.
“A brilliant idea, Herr Alberich!” Fischl says, and Kaeya chuckles.
“No need for that. Just Kaeya is fine, Prinzessin.”

Diluc wakes Raven up and gets her to stand, and Kaeya taps him on the shoulder.
“Do I get a ride, or am I expected to walk?”
Diluc huffs.
“Fine.”
“Ah, the hospitality of Master Diluc! I really don't know how people don't see it, or where all those rumours come from!”
“What rumours?”
“Did I say rumours? Ignore me!”
“Gladly.”

As they ride off, Bennett and Razor turn back to each other, Bennett’s hands combing through Razor’s hair affectionately.
Fischl leans over to Mika and whispers in his ear, and he nods.

“Uh, where’s my crossbow?” He says, faking feeling his pockets as if it’s there.
Bennett and Razor look over.
“Aw, man, did you lose it?”
“It should be in the forest somewhere.” Mika sighs. Fischl stands up.
“I shall look with you!” She declares, and Bennett and Razor look at each other then stand too.
“Yeah, we’ll come too!” Bennett says. “It might be real hard to find!”
Fischl and Mika glance at each other, then nod.
“Alright, uh, how about we split up? If we all have someone else with us, then we can defend each other if we get attacked by hillichurls. I’ll go with Fischl, and you two go together!”

The boys nod, and Fischl grabs Mika and runs off. Once they’re behind a tree, they peek around to spy on them.
“You think they’ll realise soon?” Mika whispers. Fischl shakes her head, watching Bennett chat and come up with a plan to search with Razor.
“They’re oblivious.”

“So, we’ll go this way!” Bennett grins, wandering off into the forest. Razor nods and follows, a couple of dogs looking over, realising Bennett is with Razor and letting them go.
Razor takes the responsibility of sniffing for Mika’s smell while Bennett keeps alert to their surroundings. At least, he’s supposed to.

“I don’t know how he lost a crossbow. It’s massive-” He yelps as he collapses to the floor, having tripped on a tree root. Razor jumps, then pulls him to his feet, pushing his hair out of his face to inspect him for bruises.
“Bennett okay?”
Bennett looks a little disoriented, shocked by falling and being picked up so fast, but quickly gains his wits again and nods.
“Ah, yeah, I’m fine! I just fell. Ah, it hurts a little…” He rubs his forehead and Razor frowns. Bennett notices and jumps to reassure him. “But it isn’t anything I’m not used to, haha!”

Razor tilts his head, still worried, and Bennett puts his hand over his. “I’m okay,” He says in a soft voice. “I just fell, I promise I’m alright.”
“Bennett is sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Look, to stop me from falling, you can hold my hand!” He links their fingers, a wide smile on his face, and Razor cheers up, nodding and squeezing gently.
Bennett takes a moment, staring at Razor for a little too long.

The sun through the trees illuminates his red eyes beautifully, and they shine like Bennett’s pyro vision, filled with all the warmth of Razor’s beautiful smile. His hair looks soft, falling over his eyes slightly, and his smile is infectious, making Bennett want to stay here, Mika’s crossbow entirely forgotten to him and replaced with only the thought of Razor.

Razor notices how he’s staring, his cheeks dusting a light pink as he remembers the last time they stared at each other like this. Bennett clenches his free hand nervously, his eyes suddenly restless and unable to focus.

“Uh… We should keep look-”
Razor grabs his face and kisses him, pressing their lips together hard for a moment before he pulls away, bright red, and tugs Bennett along to keep looking.

Huh?
HUH??

Bennett might just melt. He just- did that?! Out of nowhere?! He’s pulled along past trees and rocks, his mind and heart racing.
Razor doesn’t even look back at him, only his very pink ears visible.
“Razor-”
Razor grunts as a response. Bennett stops walking, tugging at his hand to make him stop too.

Razor turns to him, but doesn’t make eye contact.
“Uhm… I sorry. Shouldn’t-”
“No!” Bennett shouts, a bit louder than he meant to, then covers his mouth. “I mean… no. I, uh, I liked it.”
Razor’s lips quirk into a little smile.
“Really?” He mumbles, only meeting Bennett’s eyes for a fleeting moment, the embarrassment stopping him from spending a second longer looking at him.
“R-really!” Bennett nods, then steps closer, squeezing his hand. “I, uh… I actually wanted to do that for a long time.”

Razor grins, holding eye contact for much longer all of a sudden, and Bennett laughs awkwardly.
“Then… do it again?”
“Uhm! Yeah!” He’s sure he’s going to melt into a puddle, and becomes more sure every inch closer that Razor gets until he kisses him once more, much less hurried and much softer.

Their hands squeeze again, and Bennett runs his thumb over Razor’s glove.

Each of them are sure, just for a moment, that they’re made for each other. It feels awkward, but it warms both of their hearts, which beat relentlessly fast in their chests.

“Razor! Bennett!” Kaeya calls out, leaves crunching under his feet. The boys pull apart, Bennett looking in the direction of the voice and Razor looking at him, a mixture of giddy excitement and absolute adoration in his expression.

Bennett looks back to him, the giddy, floaty feeling taking over him as well and making him start to laugh. Razor laughs, too, and the crunching of Kaeya’s shoes gets closer.

“What are you two giggling about?” He asks, popping out from behind a tree, and Razor can’t help but laugh harder.
“Noth-Nothing, Mr Kaeya!” Bennett giggles, and Kaeya tilts his head, but brushes it off, glancing between them and to their linked hands.

“Alright… well, we brought the food, come on.”
Bennett takes a deep breath to try and calm down, unable to wipe his smile away anyway. Razor moves closer to him, pushing their arms against each other, still unable to stop laughing every couple of seconds.
“Did- Razor, stop!” Bennett desperately tries to not laugh again. Razor just finds it funnier. “Did- Heheheheh! Did Mika find his crossbow?”
Kaeya smiles, confused. “Did he lose it? He had it just now.”
“Oh, uh…”
The boys share a look.
“Nevermind, then!” Bennett shrugs. “Let’s go!”

Kaeya nods and turns around, and the boys give each other a quick smile, a little acknowledgement that what just happened really happened, even if nobody else saw. That’s enough, that it happened at all. Whatever happens next doesn’t matter.

Kaeya has his suspicions, and keeps glancing at them, piecing together what he sees. If he figures out what happened, he doesn’t say anything. Who is he to interrupt young love?

As they get closer, hand in hand, they hear chattering from the clearing, and Razor’s heart fills with warmth. He knows now, this is his favourite birthday yet. He can tell. Bennett’s hand in his can tell him that, and the conversation he can overhear with his favourite few people can tell him that again. He’s truly happy, truly safe.

This year is going to be good.