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… oOo …
“Thanks Charles,” Kaeya muttered, grabbing his glass and disappearing into the depths of the tavern. Diluc paused, wondering what he had done to upset Kaeya this time. Kaeya wasn’t a person who ignored Diluc when he had a problem. Kaeya preferred letting his annoyance show through an abundance of prickly and spiteful words. At least if Kaeya had done that, Diluc would know what was wrong. Deciding whether he’d never do it again or use it to needle Kaeya was a problem to come afterwards.
Charles shrugged when Diluc cast a questioning glance in his direction. With a sigh, Diluc turned back to the counter. It was going to be a long night, longer if Kaeya insisted on not annoying him in some way. Venti and Rosaria were likely to stay away in that case too.
Kaeya came back to the counter exactly three more times that night. Each time, his frown grew deeper but his eyes looked straight through Diluc. There weren’t any quibs or acknowledgement of the redhead despite Diluc standing right in front of him and basically handing Kaeya the ordered drinks.
Diluc’s frustration quickly rose and it wasn’t long until he found that any alcohol he tried serving ended up bubbling dangerously in his palms despite his gloves. Grumbling quietly to himself, Diluc relinquished the bar to Charles for the rest of the night, eager to vent his frustrations on the unfortunate souls who decided to take their chances at evildoing within Mondstadt that night.
His mood only soured when he caught a glimpse of Kaeya perking up when he opened the backdoor to leave.
Diluc let the door slam shut behind him.
He was going to get to the bottom of this, whether or not Kaeya spat the problem out himself.
… oOo …
Diluc’s throwing knife flew through the air, sliding into the back of the hilichurl that for once in its short life decided not to announce its attack. Kaeya swung around wildly at the sound of the body hitting the ground. Diluc slid onto his stomach within the bushes, praying the foliage covered the colour of his hair from Kaeya’s sharp eye.
The roar of a mitachurl drew Kaeya’s attention away. Kaeya dodged the arrows of the newly arrived archers. Diluc allowed himself a short sigh of relief at not being caught, before he was once again focusing on the fight playing out in front of him.
It was naturally one-sided, despite the number of mobs within the camp, and Diluc expected nothing less from Kaeya. That didn’t stop him from being drawn in whenever he heard Kaeya’s taunts just in case . Not to mention the closer eye Diluc had been keeping on him to figure out what was going on.
Even if he did nothing but watch, it was still a personal relief to know for sure that Kaeya had walked out of it unharmed. Diluc also knew that it was a relief to Adelinde to hear about some stupid thing Kaeya did but came out of unharmed.
Adelinde’s sigh followed by an exasperated “ That’s your brother, Master Diluc ,” didn’t hide the way the tension in her shoulders eased. It didn’t hide the way she hummed contentedly as Diluc ascended the stairs to return to his room.
It was just unfortunate, though, that Kaeya never strayed very far from the hilichurl Diluc had downed, so there was no opportunity to pick up his knife. With how Kaeya usually weaved between his opponents, there wasn’t a chance to just sneak over without being seen.
The mitachurl crashing into the ground hid the shaking of the foliage as Diluc left. If Kaeya bothered to find his knife and was upset, he would just complain Diluc’s ear off that night. Diluc could just sleep off the resulting headache.
This wasn’t something Diluc was about to change, no matter how many complaints he got.
But it would be a nice reprieve from Kaeya ignoring him.
… oOo …
“Archons, Kaeya! Be more careful!” Diluc yelled in frustration. It was the third time that week that Diluc had been forced to step into one of Kaeya’s fights, which was already significantly higher than usual, but the first time that he had to physically stop the blow from landing. Kaeya was growing increasingly sloppier and Diluc knew Kaeya was a better fighter than this.
“If you don’t want me around, then fine , but don’t do this to yourself!”
After dodging the mitachurl’s shield, and taking that as an opportunity to set the blasted thing on fire, it only took a few more strikes before it fell. A single Dawn razed the rest of the straggling hilichurls and set the camp’s structures on fire. Diluc finally turned back to Kaeya with a scowl.
Diluc could feel Kaeya stiffen as Diluc manoeuvred him.
“ One word of complaint, and I’ll knock you out myself,” Diluc hissed.
Kaeya’s hands fumbled, rising but grasping at nothing until Diluc grabbed them to wrap them around his neck before he stood with Kaeya secured against his back.
“Diluc?” Kaeya asked hesitantly, hands roving between Diluc’s neck, face, and finally tangling in his hair. “It’s really you, isn’t it?”
“Who else do you expect it to be?” Diluc grumbled, hoisting Kaeya up more securely since it didn’t look like he was about to secure himself with his arms. Archons forbid the idiot would somehow manage to add to his twisted ankle by breaking something else.
“You said something grumpy, didn’t you? So I can't hear you either? I guess that makes sense,” Kaeya mumbled into Diluc’s shoulder. “Feels weird to be carried by someone I can’t see…”
Diluc forced himself to continue walking instead of stopping to question Kaeya like he dearly wanted to. If what Kaeya said was true, Diluc’s questions would only go unheard and unanswered, ignored like Diluc had been for the last few weeks. It sounded like a curse. Diluc resolved to visit the library, and perhaps get some advice from Lisa, after he dropped Kaeya off in the Cathedral.
Diluc squeezed his right eye shut as Kaeya’s hand moved to ghost over it, moving up his face and somewhere just above his eye.
“I thought you’d left me behind again!” Kaeya hit Diluc’s head on the spot he had reached, fortunately missing Diluc’s eye. “Then I saw some of your throwing knives in the hilichurls recently, and thought you must just be hiding from me.”
Diluc squeezed at Kaeya’s thigh angrily as he realised that was why Kaeya had been getting sloppier.
“I know I’m an idiot,” Kaeya whined, “but I also knew that if it really was you, you’d show up if only to scold me.”
Diluc refused to deign that with a response. What happened to sending a good old note? Kaeya had certainly been willing to send those when Diluc had been off on a killing spree.
“Apologies, Deaconess. I found this idiot injured,” Diluc said, slipping into the infirmary.
Barbara looked up with a glare that had Diluc pausing for a moment. He was familiar with that expression, but only after he’d asked for Barbara’s help one too many times in the early hours of the morning.
“Back again, Sir Kaeya?”
“Barbara!” Kaeya greeted cheerily. “I can’t see him at all!”
“That doesn’t mean you should throw yourself at every kind of danger you know of!” Barbara hissed, sounding like all she had heard was an unintelligible excuse. “I don’t want to see anyone here every day, and you know this means I’m telling the Acting Grandmaster.”
Diluc carefully placed Kaeya on an empty bed nearby, glad that there was someone Kaeya could actually hear telling him off. Diluc had been planning to let Jean know himself to ensure Kaeya got the full scolding he deserved, but it would sound less like Diluc was purposefully tattling if it came from Barbara. Although… any scolding also often sounded worse coming from Barbara than Jean, in Diluc’s honest opinion.
“Where are you going?” Kaeya demanded, clinging to Diluc’s sleeve as he stepped away for Barbara to get closer. “You’re staying right here! What if you disappear? I’ll never find you again!”
“Sorry Barbara. I hope this doesn’t inconvenience you too much.” Diluc sighed, watching Kaeya relax as Diluc ran his hand over Kaeya’s arm to lay them on his shoulders instead. “And thank you for dealing with this idiot for the last week. I know it couldn’t have been easy.”
“I would like to say it was no problem, but…”
“Wait, are you both bad mouthing me now?”
“Big Brother Kaeya!” Klee exclaimed, skidding to a stop at the doorway. “Are you okay? Klee saw the Weird Grown Up carry you in. Oops!” Klee covered her mouth when she spotted Diluc standing next to Kaeya.
“Klee? I thought you were off in Dragonspine with Albedo?” Kaeya sat up as soon as Barbara moved away. Klee still hesitated by the door even when Barbara passed her on the way out.
“It’s nothing too serious, Klee,” Diluc added. “The Deaconess has just patched him up.”
Klee nodded, finally bouncing closer for Kaeya to pick up and place on the bed next to him.
“Do you think you could keep an eye on him while I go talk to Lisa?” Diluc asked Klee. Klee’s eyes widened, and she nodded eagerly. “If Kaeya asks for me, you can bring him along to the library, okay?”
“I never thought I would see the day that you ignore me for the Weird Grown Up, Klee,” Kaeya interrupted with a dramatically hurt voice. “Now I’m heartbroken. I thought I was your favourite.”
Diluc hoped to be back before Kaeya realised he had left. Klee was a bundle of energy that far eclipsed Diluc’s own. He doubted he would be missed for the period of a brief chat with Lisa. There were a lot of things he was willing to do for Kaeya, but having Kaeya blindly clinging to him all day every day was likely going to drive him mad.
Kaeya must have been far more sensitive to his absence than Diluc had initially expected. Diluc had barely reached the double doors of the outer Cathedral before there was a patter off feet behind him.
“I’m sorry, Mister Weird Grown Up,” Klee called. “Big Brother Kaeya said we had to find you.”
“Where is he, Klee?” Kaeya asked frantically.
Klee pointed at Diluc in visible confusion. “He’s right there.”
“Where?”
“He can’t see or hear me,” Diluc explained, slowly walking back.
“ Oh . Okay.” Klee grabbed Kaeya’s hand and dragged him over to Diluc, placing Kaeya’s hand on Diluc’s sleeve. “But how have you been communicating then?”
“I know Diluc well enough that I can guess what he’s saying,” Kaeya exclaimed proudly.
“I haven’t said a word to him since I realised,” Diluc said, sighing as his wrist was once again captured in a vice grip.
Klee giggled. “Klee will help! Mister Weird Grown Up, if you want to say anything to Kaeya, just tell Klee.”
“Thank you, Klee.” Diluc reached over to pat her head, when Kaeya tugged sharply at his arm. Diuc winced as the grip tightened.
“Where are you going again?” Kaeya demanded.
“Big Brother—”
Diluc shook his head at Klee.
“What did he say?”
“Did you tell him I was going to see Lisa?” Klee nodded. “You can tell Kaeya he can lead the way. I think I’ll lose an arm if I try to lead.”
“The Weird Grown Up said you can lead the way to Miss Lisa,” Klee dutifully reported, still eyeing Kaeya’s too tight grip on Diluc’s wrist. It would be a surprise if it didn’t bruise, but it was already too late to be worrying about that.
“Stay by me and don’t wander off, okay?” Kaeya’s grip loosened minisculely. Diluc shook his arm harshly. It would be impossible to wander off if he didn’t want to lose a hand.
Kaeya had the gall to laugh.
… oOo …
Lisa, for her part, looked more amused than annoyed at being interrupted after Kaeya explained as much as he was able. Diluc could only shrug, having been mostly unaware beyond the fact that Kaeya seemed to be ignoring him. And behaving stupidly, but teh latter was hardly uncommon.
“It sounds like a curse,” Diluc said finally, “but with Kaeya’s rather exciting few weeks, I doubt he would have any idea of the source.”
Lisa laughed lightly.
“He’s complaining about me again, isn’t he?” Kaeya grumbled.
“Please excuse me for a moment. I think we will need our Acting Grandmaster for the logistics.” Lisa looked pointedly at Kaeya’s grip on Diluc’s arm. “It doesn’t look like Sir Kaeya is going to release you any time soon, Master Diluc.”
“I can get Miss Jean,” Klee called, already running out of the library. “Big Brother Albedo is going to be looking for me soon too. Bye!”
“I’m not,” Kaeya confirmed after Klee left.
“If he doesn’t, one of us is not going to survive this ordeal,” Diluc repeated flatly.
“I’d rather you were both in one piece,” Jean interrupted. Diluc was relieved when the door clicked closed behind her.
Kaeya gasped. “Is there something wrong with Diluc? We were just at the Cathedral! Why didn’t you have Barbara look at you?”
“... I see your point,” Jean amended. “Master Diluc is perfectly fine, Kaeya. Except maybe for the bruise you’re giving him.”
“Bruise?! Have I been hurting you this whole time? Why didn’t you get Klee to tell me?! I’m sorry! Jeanie, please heal him!”
“Don’t worry about it, Jean. This is just a bruise. It will heal within a few days without help. On the other hand, it’s been maybe two hours since I found Kaeya. I’m exhausted already,” Diluc muttered, rubbing his suddenly free wrist. As if those precious few seconds had drawn all the anxiety back into Kaeya’s body, his arm hesitantly reached for Diluc again. Diluc wrapped Kaeya’s wandering arm over his shoulders, and Kaeya seemed to melt as he relaxed against Diluc’s side. “As much as I hate to say it, there’s no way we’re going to get back to the winery safely like this. I’m hesitant to even attempt getting us to Angel’s Share and back.”
“Does that mean you’re willing to stay in the Favonius Dorms temporarily?” Lisa asked.
“What??? There’s no way Diluc suggested staying here, right?”
“ Temporarily ,” Diluc reiterated. “Until Kaeya is comfortable enough not to have me within reach.”
“I will definitely approve that,” Jean agreed. “I can have a spare bed moved into Kaeya’s quarters later.”
“What did Diluc say?”
“He agreed, Kaeya,” Lisa said helpfully.
“But he hates the Knights. Surely we can go to the winery?” Kaeya argued weakly. Diluc reached up to squeeze Kaeya’s hand on his shoulder in reassurance. It wouldn’t be for a long time. Diluc only expected to have to stay for a few days, maybe a week maximum.
“I think, first we would need to confirm some way for Kaeya and I to communicate while still under the curse. Second, Lisa, would you have any initial idea on what kind of curse this might be?”
“Master Diluc, I suspect the answer to your first question may be simpler than you expected,” Lisa said. She ruffled through her drawers for a second. She dragged out a piece of paper and offered Diluc a quill. “If I understand the situation correctly, Kaeya should still be able to see your interaction with objects around you. Which means that any notes you write should be immediately visible to Kaeya.”
Diluc tugged Kaeya over to try it.
“I really haven’t seen Kaeya this clingy in a long time,” Jean commented, joining Lisa on the other side of the table. “It almost reminds me of when—”
“Jean!” Kaeya gasped.
It’s usually only when he’s drunk , Diluc wrote.
“How dare you, Diluc! I am not this clingy when I’m drunk!”
“That confirms this method is usable,” Jean said, laughing as Kaeya fought to tug the quill away from Diluc’s hand.
“Suddenly, I don’t want to know what Diluc is saying anymore,” Kaeya said. With one arm wrapped around Diluc, he floundered for a different dramatic expression.
“As for your second question, some of the symptoms of the curse sound somewhat familiar. It’s possible I’ve come across it, but it would have been some time ago.I’d like some time to look it up before I potentially send you in the wrong direction,” Lisa interrupted. “I would suggest you take the afternoon to have what you need brought to headquarters, Master Diluc. The library is naturally open to both of you after hours.”
… oOo …
Hands were holding him down, but Diluc refused to stop fighting here. He had to go back. There were people waiting for him. He had to— he had to—
“Diluc!”
That voice.
“ Diluc ! Wake up !”
That voice was familiar and panicked, and the combination was wrong .
Diluc forced his eyes open and a blue blur greeted him. Kaeya seemed to sigh in relief at the stillness. The familiarity of haunting the library into the late evening, then returning to this very room, had apparently sent him straight back to what came right before and after Diluc had left. Drakes and snow and Harbingers chasing him, eager to claim whatever piece of him still remained until there was nothing left.
It didn’t surprise him. This had been the reason Diluc had moved into the master bedroom in Dawn Winery after the first night back. He hadn’t stepped into his childhood bedroom since.
“You kicked me awake. Then the sheets started bunching up and twisting and I knew something was wrong.” Kaeya’s voice brought Diluc out of the hazy memory of his nightmare. Kaeya’s hand hesitantly rested on Diluc’s arm after missing his shoulder twice. Diluc’s other hand rubbed at his face. “Do you—do you usually have nightmares?”
Kaeya waited for a beat.
It would be easy to lie, Diluc thought. It would be impossible for Kaeya to notice any of his tells, and would prevent Kaeya from feeling more guilty than he already did. The guilt that Kaeya had been shouldering should never have been there.
But Diluc didn’t want to start lying to Kaeya over something like this. Not when he was already worried. Not when it would only temporarily delay the guilt. Not when a single question posed to Adelinde would expose the truth.
Not when they had been cautiously rebuilding their broken trust.
Reluctantly, Diluc’s hand dropped from his face to squeeze Kaeya’s hand twice. No .
“Is it because you’re here?”
Three squeezes. Maybe .
“Did you… expect this?”
Kaeya was unfortunately perceptive even with the little information Diluc had offered him. It shouldn’t have surprised Diluc that Kaeya could still jump to the correct conclusions. They had once shared the same mind, or at least Diluc had fully welcomed Kaeya into his.
Once. Yes .
“If you suspected something, why would you agree to stay here?” Kaeya let out a ragged sigh. “We could have figured something else out. You didn’t have to force yourself to come back here.”
Diluc squeezed twice.
“No, you didn’t suspect anything, or no, you’re not forcing yourself?” Kaeya asked rhetorically.
“Smartass,” Diluc said before he could stop himself.
“You’ve just insulted me again, haven’t you?” Kaeya’s brow furrowed. Kaeya’s head slammed into Diluc’s chest and Diluc wheezed, now fully awake where he hadn’t been before. “How rude! Right after I kindly woke you up from a nightmare and in my own quarters too!”
Diluc rolled his eyes. He appreciated the attempt at normalcy. The attempt at a reminder that the times had changed. That the worst of his mistakes were things that could still be fixed.
Eventually, Kaeya rolled back onto his bed, splaying out so he still took up some of the space on Diluc’s bed.
“What if we never figure out what’s wrong?” Kaeya asked into the night. Knowing it was far too dark for Diluc to write an answer for his questions, Diluc knew Kaeya was just venting to a listening ear, but it was a thought that also floated around Diluc’s mind as he fell asleep each night. “What if I never get to see you again because I was careless? I miss seeing you, Diluc. I miss hearing you grumble about silly things. The last thing I would have heard was you telling me to be more careful, and me just dismissing it. The only thing I’m grateful for is that this time, I didn’t tell you to go away.”
Diluc turned to face Kaeya in the darkness. He would never really understand how that felt. Kaeya had simply always been there , in some place that couldn’t be described as anything other than home . When he had been travelling through Teyvat, it was with the knowledge that he would see Kaeya if he ever returned to Mondstadt. Just the thought, the very idea, of it being any different was filled with a wrong that Diluc couldn’t express and didn’t dare imagine.
Instead, he pressed a kiss into Kaeya’s temple in a memory of nights long passed, when their greatest fears would be soothed by their father with a similar kiss pressed into their hair. It was a promise that they would somehow figure everything out. They always had back then, so there was no reason they wouldn’t in the future. Diluc could hear Kaeya’s breathing hitch at the gesture.
Kaeya curled closer, grabbing at Diluc’s shirt like he had when they were younger. It didn’t take long for sleep to drag Kaeya under, but his words still haunted Diluc. It was a very real possibility with all of Lisa’s leads so far having been dead-ends, and while they waited for replies from her friends at the Academia. They had even approached Mona, despite her specialty not being curses, to try and contact anyone she might know for assistance.
Once, Diluc had believed this to have been exactly what Kaeya would have wanted: to never see Diluc again. If this had happened back then, Diluc was sure he would have just disappeared, never to realise the truth. Had he known Kaeya reacted like this to his absence, would Diluc had left in the first place? Perhaps he would have, fuelled by the betrayal that had filled him at the time, just to spite Kaeya. Or perhaps, he would have seen Kaeya for the reality behind his truth. Perhaps he would have seen his terrified little brother again.
None of that mattered now. Those were choices they had already made that had led them here.
The only thing that mattered now was lifting this curse and getting his dramatic and lively brother back.
… oOo …
“Klee’s come to help!” Klee announced when she found them in the library a week later. “Miss Jean said it looked like there were two zom-zompi? Zom bees ? zombies! in the library that looked like they needed a break. It was helping you or solitary confinement!”
Kaeya spluttered. Diluc coughed a laugh. If Diluc tried hard enough, he thought he even heard a laugh from Lisa upstairs.
“ Zombies ?” Kaeya whined. “Why are we the punishment ?”
“What did you have in mind, Klee?”
“Miss Jean said no fish blasting.” Klee pouted. Kaeya briefly looked like he agreed with Jean’s ban.
“How about we start with lunch? Our ever so kind Master Diluc will pay because I can’t hear a word of complaint!” Kaeya said, standing to stretch.
Diluc rolled his eyes but stood as well, grabbing his gloves from the table. Even if Kaeya could hear him, Diluc was sure any complaints would be ignored.
“Did you hear any complaints, Klee?”
“Nope!” Klee ran to grab the side of Diluc’s coat once he had shrugged into it. Kaeya easily fell to her other side as they stepped out of the Knights’ Headquarters. The gawking at the continued sight of Diluc and Kaeya accompanying each other within Mondstadt had eased into reminiscent whispers that were rarely loud enough to follow them.
They had barely ordered at Good Hunter when a relieved voice interrupted them.
“Master Diluc!” Patton called. “I’m so glad I found you!”
Diluc’s chair screeched against the stone as he stood at the urgency in Patton’s voice.
“What happened?”
“Elzer sent word that a group of difficult to deal with hilichurls have set up camp at the winery’s borders. Enest, Connor, and Wyatt have tried scaring them off, but were attacked and forced to flee back to the manor. Some of the vines have been damaged in the process.”
“Just hilichurls?” Diluc confirmed. “No mitachurls? No samachurls?”
“There was no mention of mitachurls in the note.” Patton offered Diluc the note. There truly wasn’t much more to it, other than a more concrete position of the camp. It also mentioned that no one had been injured while fleeing. Damaged vines were always preferable to injured people.
Diluc looked back to where Klee was regaling Kaeya with a story of a trip with her mother. Usually, Kaeya would be fully engrossed in the little girl’s story, but even from where he stood near Katherine’s booth, he could see Kaeya flicking glances over to where he and Patton were standing.
He still couldn’t coordinate with Kaeya, so there was no way they could deal with a camp together, even if they were just hilichurls. But Diluc also hated leaving such a job to others when he should be perfectly capable of taking care of it himself. It would only take a few minutes, and who knew what kind of damage a random band of Adventurers, or even worse a group of Knights , would leave in their wake.
Diluc adjusted his gloves in frustration. He could quickly run off and deal with the camp, claiming to have something to deal with in Angel’s Share. It would give him the relief of knowing the camp had been completely, and safely, cleared out.
With a grimace, Diluc turned to Katherine.
“Miss Katherine, could I place an urgent commission for a hilichurl camp at the north border of Dawn Winery, near Springvale? If possible, could I request that it be assigned to the Traveller if he is available? Otherwise, whoever is able and free as soon as possible.”
“Of course, Master Diluc,” Katherine said, reaching for her quill. “I can send word to the Traveller to see if he’s free.”
“Please send word to the Cavalry Captain’s office once it’s been cleared out,” Diluc added as an afterthought.
“Understood, Master Diluc,” Katherine said, adding a note to the entry, taking the bag of Mora Diluc dropped on her counter.
“You’re not going to clear it out yourself?” Patton asked with a hint of surprise.
“I’m afraid I’m in the middle of something that requires my time to be spent within the city,” Diluc said with a sigh. “You can have Charles send word to Elzer that either the Traveller or a team of Adventurers should be clearing the camp out soon. Have them barricade the area as much as possible and ensure everyone stays away from the camp.”
Patton nodded wordlessly and they parted ways.
“That sounded urgent, Master Diluc,” Kaeya said blandly as Diluc’s chair slid closer to the table. His words cut through Klee’s eager retelling of ambushing an unsuspecting Whopperflower. “I guess you have to go take care of it. Don’t worry, Klee and I can entertain ourselves here for a while.”
Keep an eye out for a message from Katherine for a complete commission tomorrow .
“You—” Diluc watched as Kaeya blinked, read the note, then rubbed his eye to reread the note. “You put up a commission ? You could have told me to send a group of Knights!”
“Knights of Favonius—” Diluc crossed his arms as Sara placed their orders on the table.
“—always so inefficient!” Klee finished, crossing her arms and kicking her feet under the chair cheerily. She eagerly dug into her Fisherman’s Toast seconds later.
“I can’t believe you’ve already corrupted Klee. She’s a knight herself!” Kaeya complained. “All my hard work is going down the drain!”
Kaeya shot a half-hearted glare in Diluc’s direction, only for it to fade quickly.
It was only after Albedo had arrived to fetch Klee and they were heading back to headquarters that Kaeya paused on the stairs. Diluc looked back in confusion.
“I’m inconveniencing you, aren’t I?” Kaeya said. “I know you prefer working with your gloves on, but you always leave them on the table so I can see them because I know you’ll never leave without them on. You’ve been hanging your coat on your chair before you sit down even though you end up awkwardly ruffling through it every now and then.”
Kaeya took a deep breath.
“I know how much you hate having to rely on other people, but you still left whatever the problem was to the Adventurer’s Guild instead of dealing with it on your own.” To Diluc’s horror, Kaeya was sniffling as he awkwardly kicked at the stone stair. “I know that’s all my fault. I’m sorry. I wish I could be comfortable with you promising not to go anywhere, but… I feel so guilty, you know? It’s been more than a month, and you’ve just stuck by my side despite how busy you are. I know you’ve had Adelinde cancel and delay meetings for the winery. But if something happens, I won’t know unless someone else tells me… You could be injured and I would walk right past you with no idea.”
Diluc was dumbfounded. He knew Kaeya had felt a little guilty, Diluc would also feel guilty to pull Kaeya out of his usual schedule for so long, but Diluc had been completely willing for all of it. He had hoped that had come across when he didn’t insist on them moving to the winery and made no move to renovate Angel’s Share’s living space. Was it somewhat annoying? There was no doubt about that, but it was hardly unbearable and for Kaeya’s comfort, it was also every bit worth it. Dawn Winery could recover from some poor decision making and neglect. As his years away had shown, the winery could survive without anyone at the helm.
Kaeya flinched when Diluc grabbed his arm to lead him over to a nearby bench. Diluc pushed him into the seat and folded his arms in front of him, trying to figure out how to get his point across.
“Ahaha, I guess you’re angry now that I’ve pointed it out.”
The urge to just try and smack sense into Kaeya was great, but knowing Kaeya’s mood, he was just going to take it the wrong way.
Instead, Diluc drew Kaeya in, resting his chin on Kaeya’s shoulder in what could never be mistaken for anything but a hug. There were many words Diluc should have said in the past, but now, robbed of the ability to speak them to Kaeya, Diluc could only hope that this would suffice.
For now.
“We’re in public!” Kaeya squawked, wrapping his hands around Diluc instead of pushing him away. “Imagine what people will think? The great grumpy Master Diluc being mushy in public?”
Diluc brushed a kiss into Kaeya’s hair.
I don’t care, it said.
I’m still here.
You’re more important.
… oOo …
Diluc was woken by the click of the window sliding open. Kaeya’s breathing was still deep and even on the other bed. There wasn’t a single person with good intentions that arrived in the early morning crawling through the window with no warning. This Diluc knew from personal experience.
With even breaths, Diluc waited for the person to step closer. Whether they had come for Diluc or Kaeya, Diluc hoped to take care of it before Kaeya woke up. Kaeya shifted in his sleep, and the person paused. Diluc grew ever so much more grateful that he had insisted Kaeya take the bed closer to the door.
Now that the beds were separate again, Diluc’s movements shouldn’t wake Kaeya unless the encounter lasted longer than expected. Once Diluc had determined the person had wandered close enough, he lashed out.
Only to meet the clatter of another blade just a cloud passed over the moon. Diluc fumbled, stepping into the chair he had hung his coat on. He’d walked into the same chair just that morning and had mentally told himself to move it. He hadn’t, clearly, but a twice stubbed toe was the least of his worries. Diluc cursed the fact that he hadn’t taken more care to remember the slightly altered layout of the room as he dodged a swipe of the assassin’s blade.
The moon reappeared and Diluc caught sight of the insignia on the assassin’s dark clothing. A Natlan group, then. Preferred for how difficult they were to trace among Natlan’s many individual tribes – with that anonymity came an astronomically high price. Diluc already had a few ideas on who would think the investment would be worth the prize. Any of them would eagerly have eaten the false news Diluc had spread of his declining health. It was the better option than the truth of Kaeya being cursed.
And Diluc knew the group’s weakness to prolonged combat. They had been at a disadvantage the moment Diluc had noticed them. Diluc was eager to continue pressing his advantage.
A heat seared across Diluc’s back suddenly, deeper at the beginning and lighter towards the end. A surprised gasp left Diluc. He was fairly sure Kaeya had woken with the raucous, but when the assassin desperately threw the dagger in his hand, Diluc didn’t think he wanted to risk being wrong. It was a sloppy, tired mistake not to summon his claymore, or absolutely anything else, to deflect the blade instead of his own body. It sank into Diluc’s shoulder. One of many, Diluc told himself as he jerked back with a wince.
He could keep going.
The assassin took that small distance as an opportunity to slip back out the window and disappear into the night. Had he been alone, Diluc would have given chase even with the injury and the sparks of pain that laced all the way to his fingertips, but Kaeya was suspiciously silent for a person who was awake. Diluc hadn’t noticed an accomplice, but that didn’t always mean there wasn’t one.
Diluc turned around and Kaeya had slid to his knees with his back to the wall, staring in shock at the blood on his blade. The cut in Diluc’s back stung at the reminder of his unintentional injury.
Almost absently, Diluc whistled for Dawn to fetch Barbara. It took barely a moment for her to return the call in acknowledgement. Diluc took a quick detour to ensure the door was unlocked for Barbara before returning to kneel in front of Kaeya.
Diluc brushed Kaeya’s shoulder with his good hand and Kaeya scrambled backwards.
“I nearly—I nearly —I could have—” Kaeya whimpered. “I didn’t mean to. I just saw the dagger and… You warned me. I should have realised.” Kaeya gasped. The blade dropped from his hands. Kaeya leaned forward but hesitated even before his hands fully rose. “It hit you, didn’t it? We need to get you to the Cathedral. I don’t… I can’t tell where it hit you. What if—what if—You could bleed out and I wouldn’t even know!”
“It seems the Cathedral came to you this time, Sir Kaeya,” Barbara said wryly. Kaeya startled. “For once, I was glad not to have to walk all the way to Angel’s Share and back, Diluc. Although, I would suggest taking a break from accessorising with daggers. I’m sure Kaeya can offer better advice.”
“ Barbara ? What are you doing here? How did you get in ?”
“This is an improvement, I hope?”
“Generally, I hope not to be called out at all, Diluc, but yes, you could call this a small improvement. Having your falcon tap incessantly at my window at 3 am is hardly the most pleasant, but I guess we can’t all politely ask to be stabbed at a more normal time.” Barbara set her medical kit on a nearby table. “Kaeya, were you also injured?”
Kaeya shook his head quickly. Barbara’s calm seemed to be easing his panic. “I had barely woken up before… I stayed out of most of it.”
“Good. I know you’re not able to see Diluc at the moment, but I’m going to need your help to get this dagger out of his shoulder. Slowly so I can heal as we go, because Barbatos knows, for whatever reason, Diluc is just going to yank it out.”
“Diluc, I—are you sure —?”
Barbara sighed, summoning her catalyst. “I’m not prepared, or awake enough, to deal with the pair of you at this hour. Diluc, you owe me for this.”
Diluc rolled his eyes, making a mental note to increase the priority of creating that spicy, non-alcoholic drink. It wasn’t going to be popular with anyone other than Barbara, which was why he had frequently been convinced to put it aside. Taking Kaeya’s hands, Diluc wrapped them around the dagger in his shoulder. Barbara waited until the shakiness in Kaeya’s hands faded into a firm grip on the handle.
“Ready?” Barbara called. Her healing Hydro was already gently soothing the cut Kaeya had given Diluc. Kaeya nodded and gently eased the dagger backwards and out.
Diluc’s eyes opened when he heard it clatter on the ground. He slumped backwards to lean against Kaeya’s bed, tiredly rotating his shoulder.
“Thanks, Barbara,” Diluc and Kaeya muttered almost simultaneously.
Barbara let out a short laugh, then a yawn. “If you two don’t mind, I’m going to head back and try to get a short nap before choir practice.”
Kaeya scrambled to his feet to follow Barbara out. Diluc was half asleep by the time Kaeya returned after locking the door.
“Diluc?” Kaeya asked. “You’re still here, right?”
Diluc groaned. He reached around blindly for the first thing to come into his hand, and threw that at Kaeya in answer.
“Did you—did you throw a sock at me?” Kaeya asked a second later. Diluc squinted to see Kaeya staring at the sock in his hand. Diluc patted around him to find the matching pair. He heard a few other odds and ends shift in his search. “No, no, I didn’t mean for you to find the other to throw at me. I just…” Kaeya let out a slow exhale, slumping slightly. “I guess we should get to cleaning this place up, huh?”
Diluc sent a shot of silent gratitude to Adelinde for always shoo-ing him off whenever something like this happened in the winery. He’d clearly been spoilt by her. Scrubbing blood off the floor and furniture was not a job Diluc wanted to repeat any time soon.
“We’re… You’re really okay, right?” Kaeya asked into the silence. Diluc took a moment to flick Kaeya’s forehead. “Ow!”
… oOo …
Diluc could feel Kaeya’s hands idly running up and down his forearm and hand as they worked. Kaeya had frequently been repeating the motion as if to reassure himself that Diluc was there. He didn’t hold his arm as tightly as he did in the first few hours of that morning, but Kaeya still reached out as if he expected Diluc to just disappear, which was fair considering his shock from last night.
Perhaps he also had the dreadful, unspoken thought that the curse could become stronger and even touching Diluc would be impossible. It had certainly become a concern in Diluc’s mind with how long it was taking to find the cure. Alice hadn’t given them a straight answer when asked, only insisting that they both already knew the cure.
He wouldn’t want to wake up one day to a panicked Kaeya who could no longer find the reassurance that Diluc was right there next to him. With no way to reassure Kaeya, it would be just as torturous for Diluc.
Kaeya paused mid-motion. Diluc watched him think something over.
“Diluc? Close your eyes.”
Would Kaeya know whether he did or not? Diluc wondered, but closed his eyes anyway.
“I don’t know how you do this so easily. It’s embarrassing,” Kaeya muttered, stepping closer.
Oh ? Embarrassing? Diluc was definitely interested now. He blindly reached for the ink to put his quill down and waited eagerly.
Kaeya’s hands wandered up Diluc’s arms and across his shoulders. Then Diluc’s head was being pulled closer to Kaeya.
A soft kiss was pushed into Diluc’s hair, and oh —
Diluc turned, wrapped his arms around Kaeya, feeling his eyes burn. He hadn’t—Not since—
“I’ve never done this before, have I?” Kaeya asked shakily, his hand brushing through Diluc’s hair. Diluc shook his head into Kaeya’s stomach. “You and Father always comforted me like this, but I never thought… For you to take to it so easily, so eagerly , you must have truly appreciated it yourself. I just never noticed…”
“You didn’t have to,” Diluc said, not caring that Kaeya would probably never hear it.
“But I should have anyway.”
Startled, Diluc looked up and Kaeya was looking straight at him, not through him.
“I can see you again.” Kaeya smiled. His starry eye looked equally watery, but it was difficult to tell with how blurry Diluc’s vision was.
The tears that had barely been held at bay were released with his sweeping relief. Diluc buried his face into Kaeya’s stomach.
“I’m glad,” Diluc mumbled between hitches of breath.
“Mmmh. Me too.”