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Kaeya dragged himself to his feet with a rattling breath, dirt dusting off of him from where he fell. His starry eye lifted upwards, seeking its cousins in the sky. But dark clouds covered the world and the night gave no light to its child. His heart felt empty, his side ached dully, stinging when he moved. The empty Fatui camp lay in shambles around him, torn blue canvas littered with broken splinters and jagged shards of metal. Kaeya mutely tugged at the thick fragment buried in his side before deciding it was smarter to leave it. His head pounded as he began to walk, letting his feet choose the direction.
Kaeya found his mind wandering as his feet did. He remembered the light chill of the night air when his feet first touched the grass of Mond. He'd never seen such lush foliage before. Never seen a tree with all its branches, never seen a stone without scars. But here was a place, so peaceful, so warm, so welcoming. Everything here flourished with life. He remembered looking up and seeing a sky without cracks or broken shards. A sky dusted with the brightest stars he'd ever seen. Real stars.
He glanced up, longing to see them again, his heart aching with a pain greater than the wound in his side, when the clouds glared at him unrelentingly. A drop hit his face, slowly dripping downwards as it curved across his cheek. Kaeya blinked and the rain came down like a sheet, lightning crackling through the heavens. The bedraggled knight staggered on, the warm rain of Mondstadt cutting through his clothes and chilling his skin like ice. His fingers gripped his side, numbness dulling his touch and his mind. His memories swirled upwards and dragged him down.
Rain. It was always raining. It seemed he was so very pitiful that even the heavens couldn't help but cry. It rained the night his dad left him in Mond. The rain came down in sheets that drowned the two Khaenri'ahns, obscuring them from view and muting the few words that ran between them.
Kaeya had told Diluc many lies, but the one he regretted the most was the one about his dad. Kaeya loved his dad. They had been through thick and thin together, and his dad had braved the most horrifying monsters of the abyss to bring him to this place. Mondstadt, the epitome of freedom and peace. Kayan had wanted a good life for him. After they had lost Kaeya's mother, Kayan had never really been the same. After they had lost Kaeya's brothers and sister, Kayan had snapped. It was all he could do to protect his only remaining son. Kaeya had indeed felt abandoned, but as he sat in the pouring rain, cradling his father's broken body, he just felt empty. An empty sort of questioning. Why? Why was Celestia crying for the people it had conquered? His question was answered by Mondstadt's guardian himself. Barbatos held the silent child in his arms and the sky wept.
Kaeya staggered onwards, the rain blinding him and slowing his steps even further. He struggled up a small ridge and found himself at the foot of the archon statue by Dawn Winery. He only barely recognized it. A swell of celestial power erupted from the statue, flooding his body and making him curl up in pain and revulsion. The celestial energy was repelled by the curse that imbued his bones and it tore back through him, returning to its source. Kaeya coughed, coppery red coating the back of his throat and stinging his tongue. He had often watched from the side as others accepted Celestia's blessing and received healing at its hands. It felt horribly right that he would only receive deeper scars from its touch. Kaeya wobbled, his feet stumbling as he only barely managed to right himself. He turned and tried to find the winery. But the rain obscured his vision and memory once again took possession of his mind.
Rain struck his face as the little boy looked upwards. The towering form over him smiled like a bright fire, burning gentle and hot. The cold melted away as he pulled Kaeya into his arms. The little boy looked back and the white hooded white winged figure nodded and then vanished in a swirl of anemo. Warmth surrounded Kaeya. It embraced and welcomed him. It accompanied him everyday, everywhere he went. It smiled at him and held him. Laughed with him and sheltered him. It protected him and defended him, always at his side. And he loved it. He loved it so deeply it hurt.
And then it just hurt. And then it was cold. And the sky wept.
Rain splashed over the ground, the raindrops spinning little circles in the puddles at their feet. Diluc glared at him, a look so deeply hurt and hateful that Kaeya's mouth sealed shut. He never had been good at confronting people. This time was no different. Only this time, Diluc was not protecting him. Kaeya felt the digging pain of the wounds in his hands, the blistering skin no more painful than the bleeding heart that sat in his chest. He looked up at his brother, his mantra repeating in his mind.
Kill me before I kill you. Like I have killed everyone else that I love. My first father died because I was too weak. My second because I was too slow. My mother died because I was dying and she gave me her life. My brothers died because I was ignorant. My sister died because I was late. And you will die too. You will die and leave me behind. So kill me now and let me die with one person left. Please.
Searing heat swept towards him, evaporating the biting rain in an arc of murderous intent. Kaeya watched, numb to anything else, his eye fixed on the bright feathers and elegant talons of the bird that once flew for his protection. Now it's bloody talons sought his life. His sword dropped and the point dug into the mud, the blade hissing as the rain dripped onto it's fiercely heated edge. A brilliant light sparked in front of him and then blazed to life with a frigid fury. Kaeya stared, watching the fiery phoenix break upon the crystalline shield like water upon a rock. But the great bird, like the flood of a strong river, overcame the stone in its path and the shield Celestia had bestowed upon it's ancient enemy shattered, shards of ice and billows of scorching steam colliding together and bursting apart. Kaeya was flung backwards from the impact and the sputtering flames of the phoenix wrapped around him and seared his life to a thread. And the sky wept.
Kaeya ran. He wasn't sure how he ran. The wound in his side burned and shrieked, joining the tumult of the phantoms in his mind. The rain turned blisteringly hot and burned as it ran down his back and his face. He ran and ran, yearning for the sweetly warm embrace of the very last person he still arrogantly dared to call his family. He tripped over a tuft of grass and fell forwards, a void splitting open before him. His body became weightless for the briefest moment before he slammed into the ground, his lungs emptying with a choked rush of air. He lay squirming, mindless of the refreshed stream of blood trickling down his side and into the grass. Gradually, painfully, the drowning sensation faded and he lay gasping, staring up into the dreary gray sky. He rolled onto his side, groaning as his body protested, sharp pains shooting through his leg and arm. He climbed to his feet, the monumental effort almost sending him back to the ground in a disordered mess. And Kaeya was a mess. His usually fluffy hair was matted to his face with the soaking rain and his pristine 'uniform' was torn in a dozen places and saturated with mud. His sword had disappeared and his vision was hanging from the snapped remnants of his belt. Kaeya dragged himself between the dark shadows of the trees, the wind curling around his body and driving the rain into his face. He felt hazy, fever burning away his thoughts and melting what little reason he had left.
A light appeared in front of him. A lantern mounted on a post set beside a gray stone wall. Kaeya's body moved on its own, his will guided by the overpowering desire to be…somewhere. Where, he did not know. His world had shrunk. Limited to merely himself, the lamp, and the short stone wall. Kaeya walked numbly around it, deaf to the grinding of the shattered bones in his leg, heedless of the dripping blood that oh so briefly stained the stones beneath before washing away in the scrawling rain.
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Diluc awoke to a scream. He was out of bed before the tail of it faded. Despite the sleep he lacked, awakening in the dead of night came naturally to him. His long years in Snezhnaya had taught him the value of sleeping lightly and even in his years back in Mond, he hadn't shaken the habit. He yanked on his boots and darted out the door, seizing his vision and throwing his claymore over his shoulder, the hard sheath slamming into his back as he ran, leaving what he was sure would be bruises by evening's light. A quick glance at the clock in the hall told him it was nearly morning, dawn only an hour away.
Rushing down the stairs, he passed by servants peeking sleepily out of their rooms and shoved past Elzer as the man hurried towards the front of the house. The front door was open and a maid sat horrified by it, oblivious to the driving rain. Diluc ran past her and stood staring out into the darkness. Elzer fell to his knees and pulled the terrified girl into his arms. She sobbed into his shoulder and choked out a warning right as Diluc saw the object of her terror.
"I-its a- augh- a b-body!" She broke into a wail and Diluc staggered forwards, his crimson eyes fixed on the sodden form crumpled over the front stairs. The tattered white cape was barely recognizable, the white fur muddied and full of bracken. The huddled figure was silent and still and Diluc panicked. No no no no nononono-
He knelt and gathered the fallen knight into his arms, his eyes flicking from bloodstain to bloodstain, cut to cut, bruise to bruise. He tilted his brother's broken body and Kaeya's head lolled in his arms. His face was an ashen gray. Diluc couldn't move, couldn't act. The world spun and warped into a thousand tangled shades of gray and red. Blood mixing with stone. Life seeping into darkness. A hand fell on his shoulder and he snapped back into the present. Adelinde was shouting at him to bring Kaeya inside. The only part of Diluc's mind that wasn't filled with violent flames and his kid brother's terrified face just barely understood and heaved him to his feet, Kaeya cradled in his arms.
Minutes blurred past, bloodstains and bandages flashing in and out of view. Diluc distantly heard someone sobbing and he felt a stab of irritation. Whoever it was should be quiet so Kaeya could rest. So he could heal. It was a long time before Diluc realized the voice was his own, distantly begging Kaeya not to leave him. He covered his mouth with his hand and backed away, his vision suddenly clearing. He dearly wished it hadn't. Kaeya was draped on the couch, still and silent, Adelinde fussing over him with a white face, her hands covered in blood. Someone had pulled off Kaeya's shirt, baring his wound to the open air. The shrapnel had been removed and lay to one side, gore seeping into the carpet underneath it. The gaping hole in his brother's side wept blood like the rain wept outside. Lightning flashed outside the window, the bright white light washing over Kaeya's face. He looked dead. Devoid of the shining spirit that imbued his very bones.
………………………………
Adelinde tugged the thread hard, tying it tight and sealing Kaeya's wound. She clipped it close and washed his skin with a white rag. Then she tossed it aside and sat back on her heels, biting her lip and crying quietly. She looked around and saw Diluc wedged in between a pair of bookshelves, his hand over his mouth, whimpering. She reached towards him and he squirmed backwards. She realized her hand was still damp with blood and hurriedly wiped it on her apron, reaching for the boy she helped raise and pulling him away from the wall. His eyes fixed on Kaeya, unwilling to look away even for a moment.
"Come, Master Diluc, let's get you washed up."
"No."
"Please. You've got blood all over-"
"No! What if he- and I'm not here- I can't-" Diluc choked on a sob and Adelinde pulled him away, muttering something to Elzer as she went.
………………………………
Diluc stood in the bathroom, the door shutting behind him with a click. Addie had pushed him in here and told him to wash up. He moved towards the sink, numb and unable to stop hiccuping. He turned on the tap and watched the blood run off his hands. Then he froze. There was no sink. Only grass and mud. He looked up and the mirror reflected back at him. Bright crimson eyes awash with tears and a splatter of scarlet that dripped down his chin. It was his father's face. He staggered backwards and his back slammed into the wall. The world tipped and he fell. He lay still for a moment, staring at nothing before his vision faded into blackness.
………………………………
Kaeya's head was full of cotton. He felt achy and exhausted. He tried to move and his side twinged hard. He flinched and lay still, his eyes shut against the light that scratched them. He felt a stirring next to him and a hand tightened around his own. He squinted his eyes open to look and saw the very last thing he expected. Diluc was just waking up, lifting his head off the mattress where it had rested during the night. Lines marked his face from where it had pressed the sheets. His hair was wild, tangled in a thousand knots and snares, his eyes were bleary and unfocused. They fixed on him for a long moment, before suddenly sharpening, an uncharacteristic panic shocking Diluc from his sleepy stupor. Adelinde appeared next to him, probably alerted by the startled sound Kaeya had barely registered. The knight blinked slowly, the world spinning and blurring as his eyes opened and shut. In the back of his blurry, half conscious world, he could hear someone calling his name, worry in every syllable. The ceiling smudged with the bed hangings and then swirled away into inky blackness.
…………………………
Kaeya’s stomach growled. He stared down at the sheets, his hands twisting them anxiously. Diluc sighed quietly and Kaeya flinched.
“I suppose it's time for breakfast, then?” Kaeya looked up sheepishly before he responded.
“...Yes, please.”
Breakfast itself was an awkward and mostly silent affair. Kaeya was in too much shock to really understand what was happening, his false smiles and charming facade crumbling in the face of Diluc’s request. They had talked for what felt like hours after Kaeya had woken up and Diluc had wasted no time. The redhead settled his doubts and fears with a single sentence that rang in Kaeya’s mind for the rest of the day.
Kaeya remained in his room, seated on the bed with a book, or snatching a few moments of quiet rest. What rest he could snatch with Diluc hovering over his bedside. Diluc seemed determined not to leave his side until Kaeya answered his question. Kaeya really wanted some time to think by himself. But when he thought about why, he realized it was because he wanted to run away. He had longed for Diluc to ask that question for so long, but now that he had, he was terrified.
The day came and went. Kaeya suffered through the unbearable silence while Diluc did his best to hide his anxiety. Dinner was a quiet affair, broken only by the clinking of the silverware and a muffled expletive when Kaeya dropped his fork for umpteenth time. Adelinde eventually kicked them both outside and told them pointblank not to come back till they had worked things out. The two estranged brothers walked through the vineyard, breathing in the sweet evening air and gazing at the sunset. Diluc couldn't bear it any longer.
“...so…is that a no, then? I can't imagine your silence could mean much else at this point.”
Diluc had stopped walking. Kaeya noticed and halted as well, a few steps ahead of him. Diluc stared at his back, biting his lip and trying not to panic. The blue haired knight stood still for a long moment and in his thin shoulders Diluc caught a glimpse of a quiet gangly teenager he had once called his best friend and only sibling. Kaeya’s voice came so softly that Diluc would have missed it if he wasn't hanging onto every word.
“Are you sure? That you want me to-...I ruined everything, Diluc. I don’t understand why you would want me back.”
“Kaeya, hurting you was the worst mistake I ever made. I’ve never regretted anything more. Please, please forgive me. Please call me brother again.”
Kaeya was quiet for a long time, but it was that particular kind of quiet that told Diluc he was crying. Eventually the knight’s wobbling voice came weakly back to him, softened by the gentle wind and the fuzz on the grape leaves.
“...ok, Luc.”
“I love you, little brother.”
“I love you too.”
Diluc stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Kaeya’s shoulders, hugging him tightly. Kaeya slowly turned around and hugged him back, trying to hide the tears that slid wordlessly down his face. Diluc reached up and wiped them away, absently noticing how rough his scarred hands had become since the last time he’d soothed his brother’s pain.
After a few moments, a tiny pattering sound caught Diluc’s ear. He looked up and saw the bank of darkening clouds that were slowly awakening in the dark sky, each one doused in the powdery orange of the setting sun. A few drops of rain fell and struck the grape leaves with a pitter patter. Diluc pulled Kaeya gently and they walked back up to the house, closing the door just as the rain began to fall in earnest. The two brothers curled up by the happy orange fire, warm mugs of hot chocolate in their hands, listening to the rain, and smiling. And the sky wept, for once, with joy.