Work Text:
Diluc woke with a pounding head and chains binding him to the wall.
Cracking his eyes open, he groaned. He’d been caught before. The Fatui had managed to grab him once or twice, tried torturing him. He could handle—
“—luc?” What in the stars? He turned his head. Much to his great annoyance, Kaeya was bound to the wall a couple feet to his left. His arms were chained above his head as well. From the look of it, he had more bindings than Diluc did, though. There was an extra band around his waist, holding him to the wall, and his ankles were bound together as well. Blood crusted on the skin around his shackles. Squinting at him, Diluc scanned him over for injuries. There was a long, thin cut on his cheek that had left blood tracked down to his jaw. His eyepatch had been ripped off, exposing a nasty blackened eye. Now, his hidden eye had been exposed. There was a scar, from his and Diluc’s fight that fateful April night—that wasn’t what he was looking at, though. Instead, it was the jet-black sclera and golden iris. The diamond shape of his pupil wasn’t much of a shock. It was the rest of his eye that was, honestly.
“What happened?” Diluc forced out. Taking a slow breath, wincing at the pain in his ribs, he shifted. His arms weren’t chained above him, they were behind him. Still, he didn’t sense his Vision. “Do you have your Vision?”
“We got captured by the Abyss Order, and no.” Kaeya replied. “I think they jumped us outside of the Winery or something. I…I think. I don’t know for sure.” Taking a breath, he glanced around. His gaze apparently fell on their Visions. He sighed.
“Why are you so much more chained up?”
“Probably for the sake of humiliation.” Turning to him, Kaeya shrugged and said, “At least you’re aware of the whole Khaenri’ahn thing. It would be hard to explain to someone else. The Abyss Order is none too happy that their precious hope has been fighting them for years on end.”
“What do you…think is going to happen?” Diluc asked. Breathing hurt. His ribs ached. Wincing, he tried to shift to a more comfortable position. Looking at him, Kaeya glanced him up and down. Then, he bit his lip and started to talk.
“They’re not interested in you, they’re interested in me. You happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. At the moment, I think…they’re probably going to leave you here. I’m going to get taken somewhere else and interrogated, they’ll pretend to threaten you, and then they’ll expect some sort of information. When they realize that they’re not getting anything, they’ll probably demand some way to use the Visions or something. We’ll escape soon enough. No, I don’t have a plan yet. No, you don’t need to come up with one. Yes, you should try to get some rest. Yes, you should stop talking and save your breath. I’ll figure things out. Just let me handle this.”
Diluc watched him for a little while. Neither of them spoke. Then, eventually, Kaeya shifted as much as he could with the way he was bound. Searching him over, Diluc frowned. There was blood spotting Kaeya’s undershirt, staining the white. His corset was gone. His jacket with the fur lining was missing, too. His boots were gone. Escaping would be difficult.
Kaeya began humming.
It was a simple tune, one that Kaeya had sung before. If Diluc had to guess, it was Khaenri’ahn. Tilting his head back against the wall, he closed his eyes. The tune wavered a bit. Kaeya’s voice hitched on some of the higher notes. Then, he paused. He started the tune over again. If Diluc only listened and let himself forget where he was enough, then he could pretend that he was back at the Winery or the Manor when he was younger, and he could just keep his eyes closed, and then—
The door ground open, stone scraping on stone. Cracking his eyes open, Diluc winced at the bright light that showered down on them both. Beside him, Kaeya simply lifted his chin and stopped humming, staring at the approaching Abyss Mage. There were some other soldiers flanking the Mage. If he had the ability to count, he would have. As it was, the world was kind of blurring.
Beside him, Kaeya took a slow, shaky breath. “You’re humming the songs of Khaenri’ah, child.” Floating over, the Mage wrapped their hand around Kaeya’s jaw. He clenched his teeth, taking another breath. Scowling at the Mage, he said nothing. “Are you finally ready to accept your destiny?”
Kaeya said nothing.
With a hum, the Mage dropped Kaeya’s face and floated back. They turned to Diluc, looking him up and down. He simply stared back, unable to do much else. His ribs hurt too much for him to even fire an insult.
“Take him to the other room.” The Mage decided. “As for this one…leave him. Have someone stand guard. I wonder if the child of stars will listen if we break his beloved foster brother’s bones.” Scowling at that, Diluc glanced at the Mage, then looked back at Kaeya. He just stared at him as he was dragged away.
Instead of kicking and fighting like Diluc expected, Kaeya simply…went with them. He glanced back once and gave Diluc a reassuring smile. Then, he dipped his head once. Diluc returned it. The doors closed. Diluc was left alone once more.
Closing his eyes, he sighed softly.
Kaeya was returned to his and Diluc’s cell some hours later.
Presumably. He was pretty sure that it had been a few hours, though he’d fallen asleep a few times and there was no real way to tell anyways. He knew some time had passed. Just…not how much, again.
Kaeya was escorted in, a guard holding each of his arms. Brown complexion pale, he looked up. His eyes flicked over Diluc’s form. Immediately, relief washed over his face. There was sweat running down the side of his temple, the same side where that bloody cut from earlier was.
The guards tossed him on the floor, and Kaeya went skidding. A low grunt left him. Then, he just…went still. He sucked in a ragged breath, eyes closed. The guards closed the door, abandoning them both.
“Kaeya?” Diluc croaked out. A few moments passed. Heart pounding, Diluc tried to sit up more. “Kaeya?”
The Cavalry Captain raised his head, then slowly pushed himself up. Again, he grunted. He’s hurt. Something hurt him. Was it the fall? Diluc wondered. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” With an audible wince, Kaeya pulled himself upright. He rubbed at the side that had hit the ground. Then, he raised his head, beaming at Diluc as he raised a hand. “Feel like getting out of here?”
In his hand was a key.
Kaeya scrambled over to his side, quickly unlocking Diluc’s arms and setting him free. Quickly, he pulled away the chains and hoisted Diluc to his feet. He then left him to lean against the wall as he fetched their Visions, returning to Diluc’s side to hand over his Vision. Then, quickly, Kaeya wrapped a strip of cloth around his face. He was getting dressed back up, loosely relacing his corset as he threw Diluc his own cloak. He still didn’t have any shoes.
“They’re always the same. I swear. Happens all the time.” He shook his head. Glancing at him, Diluc frowned. While Kaeya was trying to figure out the door, swinging his sword around like he needed to check and see if he could still use it, he studied him again. He didn’t see anything particularly out of order. Probably just shock and bruises. I’m sure he’ll be fine. Turning, Kaeya grinned at him. “Come on, Master Diluc. Let’s get ourselves back to Dawn Winery. As long as you don’t mind?”
“We’ll see when we make it there.” Diluc replied. Nodding, Kaeya gestured for him to grab his weapon. His claymore felt heavier than normal. Still, it wasn’t unwieldy, and he could survive. He could fight.
Kaeya opened the door, and the two of them lunged for the guards.
The next thing Diluc knew, he and Kaeya were hurrying along the path away from the Abyss Order’s overtaken domain. They hadn’t bothered to fight off the rest of the people inside. Getting out was more important. Getting home alive was more important. Their weapons were tucked away, Kaeya had one of Diluc’s arms thrown over his shoulder, and the moon was shining down on them. They’d either been gone for at least a day, or they had been captured for only a few hours.
He sincerely doubted that it was the latter. The Abyss Order didn’t make escaping from them easy, especially once they were captured. For Kaeya, that had to be even more difficult. They didn’t care about Diluc. They wanted Kaeya. From the sound and look of things, they wanted him badly as well for whatever ends that they had in mind. Whatever that fate they had ascribed Kaeya…he doubted it was a good thing.
At his side, Kaeya adjusted his grip, lifting him a little bit more. With a pained grunt, Diluc glanced at him. The man’s face was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Except…that didn’t make sense. Kaeya should have been fine, other than the mild head wound. Diluc studied his face again.
“Kaeya. Maybe we should pause.” He urged. They were halfway back to Dawn Winery from Wolvendom. He’d helped Lisa train Razor enough times. Would Razor be able to hear me from here? Should I try and call him in?
“We’re fine—” Kaeya forced out. His jaw was tight. There was pain lining the corners of his face. The strip of cloth was beginning to slip. Behind it, Diluc could see how furrowed Kaeya’s brow was. There was blood staining the edges of that cloth strip. His eye was…bruised? How did I miss that? What happened? “We need to get you back and treated. You’re badly concussed and you don’t look too hot.”
“Neither do you.” Diluc pointed out, stumbling along with him. Getting his feet under him, he steadied himself. Then, he turned to Kaeya. “I can walk on my own. Let me take the lead, I know the way back.”
Looking at him, Kaeya swallowed and then nodded, following after him. He was quiet. Too quiet. Every so often, Diluc glanced back at him.
They kept walking for almost a mile or so. Behind him, Kaeya kept walking and kept quiet. His breathing was audible…and getting more and more ragged. Not good. We need to hurry. He was about to shout for Razor, on the off chance that he or his wolf lupical could hear them. Kaeya needed help. If he didn’t—
Kaeya staggered.
His hand wandered up to his ribs. Stumbling, he gasped again. Diluc glanced at him, frowning. The Cavalry Captain dropped to his knees, still holding his side. A cough shook his shoulders, he had one hand raised to his mouth. Blood dripped between his fingers. He kept coughing. When he pulled his hand away, there was a small pool of it sitting in his palm. Hurrying to his side, Diluc dropped down and touched Kaeya’s shoulder.
“We need to get you home.” Diluc said, looking down at the blood. There were little swirls of black in the red. Nodding, Kaeya flicked his own blood onto the ground. Then, he gasped, grimacing and grabbing his side. “Kaeya, hold on. Let’s—” Glancing around, he patted down his pockets. In front of him, Kaeya curled in on himself, gasping. Why is he going downhill so fast? What happened? He felt over Kaeya’s back, freezing when his fingers found…
Blood.
There was blood all over Kaeya’s back.
Looking down, Diluc paused, frowning. “The interrogation.” Panting, Kaeya raised his head slightly. Diluc continued to stare at him. There was blood beginning to trail from the corner of Kaeya’s mouth, and his teeth were stained red. The bruises seemed more stark against his browned skin than they had moments before. “They beat you?”
“It’s—common. Just worse than—” Kaeya cut off with another ragged cough. Blood dripped on the dirt. Head dropping down, Kaeya let out a groan. Diluc glanced around, then fumbled in his pockets for his dog whistle.
“Okay, okay, let’s—let’s get you laying down.” Diluc got him lying down on his side, cupping his head and folding his jacket to cushion Kaeya’s head with it. When he had Kaeya settled, he glanced around and used the whistle.
The wolves would wake Razor. Razor would come looking Kaeya just had to hold on until then.
“Stay with me, Kaeya.” He said, frantically. There was so much blood on his hands—at least it wasn’t raining. At least it was a clear night. At least Kaeya’s arm wasn’t injured.
Panting, Kaeya groaned and curled in on himself. One of his hands was still pressing to his middle. With a shake of his head, he croaked, “I’m fine. I’m okay.” Diluc pressed his fingers to Kaeya’s neck. Clammy skin. Weak, fast pulse. Shock. He started to strip his shirt off. Kaeya’s eye darted to him. “What are you—”
“You’re going into shock. I can’t give you much, but I can give you this.” He threw his shirt over Kaeya. Looking at it, Kaeya frowned. He opened his mouth, then cut off with a cough. More blood coated his lips. Eye squeezing shut, he dropped his head back against Diluc’s folded-up jacket. His breathing shuddered. “Kaeya, stay awake.”
“Mmph.” Adjusting, Kaeya groaned under his breath. There was blood running down the side of his cheek, to the ground below him. His eye was half-shut. Reaching out, Diluc cupped his face, tilted his head to the side. It had to be uncomfortable. That might have been a good thing, actually. If Kaeya was uncomfortable, he would probably stay awake. “You know…this seems…familiar.”
“Kaeya. Don’t.” Diluc brushed his hair back. Somewhere in the woods, a wolf howled.
“Not going to…ask you to do that. Not for me.” Kaeya murmured the last sentence. Then, sucking in another breath, he added, “Just…thinking. I…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you about…you know. At least…not when I told you.”
Diluc gently moved some of Kaeya’s bangs back again. His breathing had worsened. Lying on the dirt path, Kaeya wheezed in a breath. His eye focused on Diluc, half-lidded and glazed over. One of his hands slipped out from beneath the shirt, and he reached for Diluc. It was hesitant and slow, like he expected Diluc to smack his hand away.
Once upon a time, maybe Diluc would have. Maybe even yesterday, he would have. Now, however, he reached out and tangled his fingers with Kaeya’s. Both of their hands were slick with blood. Kaeya didn’t seem to care, pulling their hands close to his chest. “I’m still sorry.”
“I’m sorry for the way that I reacted. It was unfair to you to do that.” Smiling weakly, Kaeya laughed. He cut off with a ragged, wet sound. More blood came with that sound. Wincing, Diluc brushed Kaeya’s hair back. “I should have been able to realize you were grieving as much as I was. That you were in the same shock that I was in.”
Coughing, Kaeya shook his head. “It could have been avoided if I told you another time. Even if I had told you differently. I…it was a mistake.”
“How about this.” Diluc began, “If you can forgive me for trying to kill you and being a horrible older brother, I’ll forgive you for not having the foresight to pick a better time to tell me about your past and being a pest of a little brother.”
Kaeya smiled bloodily, clasping Diluc’s hand a little bit tighter. “Apology accepted.”
“Also, next time this happens, please come to the Winery.” Diluc began. “I think Adelinde would genuinely kill me if we made up and—do you want to just move back into the Winery?”
Kaeya barked out a bloody laugh. “Sure, for the first part. The second—ah. I think it’ll be a little hard for our nighttime friend to go about his typical activities. You know how light of a sleeper I am.”
Snorting, Diluc glanced around. There was another, closer howl. Then, a familiar young man appeared from the woods. “Diluc,” Razor greeted.
“Razor.”
Looking down at Kaeya, Razor mused, “The air is bloody. What happened?”
“Abyss attack. They won’t come back.” Glancing down at Kaeya, Diluc added, “I need you to go to Dawn Winery. Do you know where it is?” Razor nodded. “Find Adelinde. Tell her that Kaeya has been wounded and I cannot leave him. Lead whoever she sends with you back. We need a cart.”
“Find Blond Lady. Get cart. Come back. Got it.” Turning, Razor glanced down at Kaeya worriedly. Then, he bolted down the trail. He disappeared into the trees. Diluc turned back to Kaeya.
“I like that kid. Reminds me of…well, I was going to say you, but I guess…that’s not true.” He winced. “That was me as a little kid. You were…are like that now. Didn’t use to be, though.”
Horrifyingly, Kaeya’s eyes fluttered.
“Kaeya.” Diluc shook his shoulder. Clinging to his fingers, Kaeya moaned in pain. He didn’t open his eyes (he was passing out, Diluc knew both his eyes were closing), didn’t look at Diluc. “Kaeya, come on. Wake up.”
Not you, too. Please, please not you, too. I can’t—his breath was speeding up. In Kaeya’s hand, Diluc could feel his foster brother’s grip loosening. He checked his pulse, pressing his fingers uncomfortably into Kaeya’s neck. There was something, at least. Not much. It was weak, and shaky. Kaeya’s chest was barely rising and falling.
Somewhere off in the distance, he heard wheels rattling against dirt and horses snorting. Panting, Diluc grabbed Kaeya’s shoulder and shook him again. “Kaeya. Come on. You need to open your eyes.” His heart was pounding in his throat. Hands touched his shoulders. The horses were right next to him, Elzer’s hands were on him, he was being pulled away. Kaeya was being picked up and carried to the cart. Whipping around, Diluc gasped in a breath.
No. Please. I can’t. Adelinde was there, suddenly. Her green eyes burned into his own. Brushing a hand over Diluc’s hair, she touched his cheek. Something pricked his arm. He glanced down as the world wavered. “I’m sorry, Master Diluc. But you give me no choice.”
Diluc didn’t even remember closing his eyes.
The first thing he registered were the sheets beneath him.
The second thing was Adelinde’s cooking. He could recognize it from a mile away. Probably further when he thought about it. When he had the chance, he should wake up Kaeya and—
Kaeya.
Shooting upright, Diluc flailed and literally fell out of bed. His shoulder slammed into the ground beneath him. Pain shot through his head, and through a couple other bruises he hadn’t even realized he’d had. Shoving himself upright, he stumbled for the door.
He didn’t know for sure that Kaeya would be in his room. Still, something just…led him there to Kaeya’s bedroom. He reached for the doorknob. Pausing, he shifted on his feet. He could be dead. One side of him thought abruptly, leaving him with his heart pounding.
Kaeya? Dead? Another side of him laughed. I couldn’t even kill him with a Pyro Vision. If the gods want him dead, they’re going to have to try a heck of a lot harder than an Abyss Mage and some guards.
He opened the door.
Kaeya was in bed, unsurprisingly. Looking over, he met Diluc’s gaze and smiled weakly. There was an IV tube taped to his hand, leading to the stand by his bed. “’luc. They got me on the good drugs.” There was a hoarse chuckle to his words. Then, he nodded at the window. “There’s a bird out there. It’s been staring at me for a while.”
Diluc strode over to the chair next to his bed and dropped down. Shifting over on the bed, Kaeya glanced at him. Then, he turned back to the window. Diluc followed his gaze. Sure enough, there was a bird sitting on a tree branch and staring at Kaeya.
It was a leucistic morph red-tailed hawk, and not one of Diluc’s own like Dawn, Twilight, or Midnight. The hawk tilted its head to the side. The only red feathers on its body were the tail feathers. All the others were snowy, ghostly white. Its eyes were a bright red. Is that normal? I don’t think that’s normal.
What also wasn’t normal was Kaeya slapping his arm.
Looking over, Diluc met his gaze. Kaeya continued slapping his arm. There was no force behind it. Honestly, that wasn’t a shock, either. He was wrapped in bandages, and he’d lost a lot of blood. So, he was weaker than he normally was.
“Yes?” Diluc prompted.
Pouting, Kaeya explained, “You’re too far away. Come here.”
That also made sense. As soon as Kaeya had discovered it was okay to ask for attention, he had become as clingy as a slime when he was sick or injured. Which, when he was younger, happened a lot. Kaeya had the immune system expected of a malnourished orphan abandoned in the middle of a rainy summer night.
With a sigh, Diluc pulled himself up into the bed, careful of the IV as he got into the bed beside Kaeya. He took a book from Kaeya’s bedside table, flipping it open to a random page. Kaeya would fall asleep any second now (he was halfway asleep even as he curled up in Diluc’s side now, slipping beneath his arm). When he did, Diluc would be stuck for a good few hours or so; he might as well have some entertainment.
At the window, the red-tailed hawk settled down on the branch like it was its nest and watched him.