Chapter Text
Kaeya gave a frustrated huff as he dodged another ball of molten rock. This Abyss Lector was getting on his nerves. What was it even doing here?! Stronger members of the Abyss Order almost never showed their faces in Mondstadt. The Traveler had told him they had met a Herald, but it had only been one and it had been at the border between Liyue and Mondstadt.
And it was just his luck that this was happening while Bennett was with him. So much for trying to reassure the kid that he wasn't bad luck incarnate. Now, they were held down by a freaking Lector, Kaeya was bleeding from his side because the Lector had managed to get the jump on them before Kaeya had noticed, and Bennett's Vision was useless against its shield.
It was just the worst possible scenario.
While their odds were not good, it wasn't like they were completely helpless. While not as effective as Hydro, Kaeya's Cryo Vision could chip away at the shield until Bennett could go in for the killing blow. But at the rate they were going, they wouldn't be able to hold out until the shield broke. Kaeya himself was already injured and Bennett was getting tired. They had already been fighting this monstrosity for over an hour and there was only so long their stamina could hold out.
Kaeya knew of a way to break the shield in one go, but it would leave him debilitated and leave Bennett to fight him alone. But it wasn't like Kaeya was of any real help now, either. If he could give the chance to Bennett to at least make it out of here in one piece, then he would do it.
Watching the Lector focus on Bennett, he waited until it had turned its back to him before he put his plan into motion.
Closing his eyes, he did his best to focus on his Vision. He had already been accumulating plenty of elemental energy at the start of the fight. The captain had known from the very beginning that he and Bennett didn't really stand a chance against this monster. If they wanted to take it out, they needed to be quick, they needed to be precise, and they needed a lot of Cryo. The ground below his feet slowly frosted over as it crept outward. When the Lector raised its hands to cast a curse in Bennett's direction, Kaeya struck. Shooting forward, using Cryo to propel himself forward, Kaeya launched himself into the air and above the Lector's head. Bennett caught sight of him and made a face of surprise, likely because he had thought Kaeya didn't have the energy to keep going. However, his surprise had also gotten the Lector's attention. Whipping around, the abomination of the Abyss had a spell at its fingertips, ready to launch it, but was met with a freezing sword to the skull. Kaeya's blade had found its way home in the monster's head. Desperate to not let this chance go to waste, Kaeya took all of the Cryo built up in his Vision and unleashed it all at once. In a brilliant flash of light, the Lector was incased in a thick, spiky case of ice, its shield utterly shattered.
For a moment, everyone was still.
Then Kaeya collapsed.
His grip loosened on his sword and, no longer able to go on, fell from his perch against the enemy. Kaeya knew he was rapidly reaching the point of no return. He could feel the blood caking his side and pooling next to him. He heard a scream but couldn't pace for the life of him where it was coming from. He could still remember that he had come out here with Bennett, but could no longer remember why. Had anyone else come with them? He could have sworn it was just him and Bennett.
So who was that blob of black and red above him?
'Oh, well,' he thought. Whoever it was could get Bennett back to safety. There was no way that Kaeya was making it out of this alive. The wound on his side was too severe unless he found a healer immediately. So, he knew he was as good as a goner. He just wished. . .
He could have spoken to Diluc one last time.
Kaeya felt himself slip into sleep, though he could hear more than one voice seemingly shouting. He couldn't hold on any longer. He had so much he still wanted to do, it was a bit of a shame he was dying now. So many regrets. . .
Then searing fire against his side made him scream.
Diluc had been doing his usual rounds around the Winery when he had eventually decided to widen his route, if at least just for today. He had seem some strange things but nothing that was alarming. Pretty normal for Mondstadt, all things considered. Secret lovers sneaking off away from their families because they had read too many novels bout not being accepted, a bard or two just sitting with their eyes closed, likely hoping to hear inspiration from Lord Barbatos, a few children out and about exploring close enough to home as to not raise any alarms, etc. It was quite a mundane day, nothing out of the ordinary.
Then he decided to go by Wolvendom to meet up with a previously planned meet up. Wolvendom was an area of Mondstadt where no one really went to that often out of respect for Andrius and the wolf pack there. Only the people of Springvale and Dawn Winery really went there. Dawn Winery because it was close and the people of Springvale to hunt sometimes, though their usual hunting grounds when they didn't feel like walking the extra distance to the Whispering Woods. It didn't help that Whispering Woods lived up to its name and was a very quiet forest without much wildlife. But it was abundant in herbs that could very useful medicinally and for cooking.
But that had nothing to do with why Diluc was out and about today.
Today was the one day that nothing could go wrong. He wouldn't stand for it. He even had Adelinde worried with his eagerness to patrol before tonight, but he had been insistent. Everything needed to be perfect for tonight. He won't settle for anything less.
He had found Jean relatively quickly at where she had said she would be and they had then exchanged information. She had been part of his plan to keep a certain person busy today. It was imperative that he didn't figure out what was going on. Not only because it was supposed to be a surprise, but because Diluc didn't know how he would react. Would he even be happy about what he was doing? Upset? Condescending? If it hadn't been for Jean and Adelinde encouraging him to go through with it, he wasn't sure if it would even be happening in the first place. But both women had been certain that this was a great idea. He could only hope that their enthusiasm wasn't misplaced.
"Captain Kaeya!"
Diluc's head snapped in the direction of the shout. The voice sounded young and familiar. Was that Bennett? And he had been screaming for. . .
Dammit!
Diluc and Jean looked at each other in dawning horror before they shot off in the direction of the scream. This was the worst possible way for things to have gone today, if what he thought had happened truly happened. Rushing through the bushes, trees, and brush, he found himself halting at a chilling sight. Kaeya lay prone on the ground as what he could only guess were the remains of a creature from the Abyss disintegrating not far away. Bennett kneeled next to him, crying hysterically. And Kaeya. . .
. . .was hurt.
Badly.
With a curse, Diluc ran forward until he was also kneeling next to Kaeya. Carefully, he lifted Kaeya's head just enough so he could get a better look at his face. The captain was pale and was sweating profusely. His side was absolutely soaked in blood and he was clearly struggling to hold on to his consciousness. Whatever the creature was, it looked like it had gotten a good hit on Kaeya before it had gone down. There was also blood pouring from his nose.
"Kaeya! Kaeya, you son of a-," he stopped himself short, his desperation choking him up. How could this have happened? "You better not die on me! Not today of all days. Do you hear me?!"
Kaeya laid still in his arms, his breathing still ragged. He was losing blood too fast. If he kept losing blood at the rate he was losing it, a healer would do him no good.
"Luc."
Diluc's eyes shot to Kaeya's face again and it felt like something snapped in his head. Kaeya's expression had gone from pained to peaceful. He likely didn't even feel the pain from his wound anymore with all the blood he has lost. This situation was getting bad fast. Kaeya needed to be healed now. How had things gotten this bad? Why did this have to happen today? Why hadn't he just stayed with Kaeya today like he had wanted to?
If only he had gotten here sooner.
A hand on his shoulder was enough to snap him out of his frantic thoughts. Turning his head, he saw Jean looking at him with a look that spoke volumes. Now was not the time to panic. They needed to get this situation under control now and stop the bleeding. Time was of the essence in moments like this.
Turning back to Bennett, the boy was still in tears and seemed to be hyperventilating. Just watching him almost triggered an attack in Diluc just by watching him.
"Bennett." The boy initially ignored him, though Diluc thought he saw his eyes flicker up to him for a moment before looking at the prone captain again. "Bennett, I need you to look at me, okay?" The man's soft tone grabbed the adventurer's attention and he finally locked eyes with the wine tycoon. "I'm gonna have to stop Kaeya's bleeding, alright? After I do, I need you to focus on Jean and wait for her signal." Bennett's face seemed hesitant at first but he nodded.
Diluc sent a mental apology to both Bennett and Kaeya for what he was about to do. Carefully setting Kaeya down, he quickly taking off his belt before he folded it and set it between Kaeya's teeth before taking off his jacket and folding it and putting it under Kaeya's head.
This was gonna get ugly.
Pulling the elemental energy from his Vision, he culminated Pyro into his palm and, without any warning, pressed it firmly into Kaeya's side. Immediately, Kaeya threw his head back as he screamed in agony. The younger man tried to thrash but Jean was quick to grab his legs. Bennett stared for a moment in horror before Jean's actions snapped him out of it and he rushed to grab the captain's arms. Kaeya's screams were muffled by the belt in his mouth that he was biting down on but they were still loud enough that all three of them were rattled by the sound. Bennett resolutely tore his eyes away from the captain and looked at the Acting Grand Master, waiting for her cue obediently. Once Diluc pulled his hand away, Jean immediately drew her sword and Bennett was quick to follow her silent order and stood up. Bringing her sword in front of her, she summoned the healing winds at her disposal. Bennett backed up just far enough that he wouldn't hit anyone and summoned Pyro to his fist. With a jump, he slammed his Pyro-infused fist into the ground and the winds swirled a little stronger, their healing power boosted by Bennett's talent.
Diluc looked down at Kaeya and felt rush of relief. The younger man's face had relaxed into a more peaceful expression and his breathing seemed to have evened out. The wound on his side that he had sealed was also quickly smoothing out, the skin repairing itself. It would have taken longer to heal if they had to wait for Kaeya's wound to stitch itself shut. It was easer to heal burned skin than an entirely torn up side. But it had killed Diluc to do that. He hoped he never had to do this again.
By the time both Bennett and Jean's ults ended, Kaeya's side was completely repaired.
Jean had offered to carry Kaeya but Diluc insisted on carrying him himself. That was a harrowing situation that would leave Diluc shaken for a while. He wasn't ready to separate from Kaeya just yet. Likely wouldn't be for a while. It took a while to make it back to Dawn Winery but they were lucky that there was a steady path they could take that led right back to the winery. It made it so that they wouldn't have to jostle Kaeya any more than necessary. By the time they had made it to the front door, Diluc was almost wheezing. While Kaeya was lighter then he would have liked, he was still a grown man and carrying around an adult for so long was bound to make him tired.
When Adelinde opened the door, the poor woman looked like she was gonna have a heart attack. He could only imagine how he had looked, not to mention Kaeya with blood still likely on his face from his nosebleed that had still not completely stopped, though it had slowed. They would need Barbara's help for replenishing his blood, but what mattered first was getting Kaeya settled. He would send Jean to go get Barbara after Kaeya was laid down. Adelinde followed him all the way up the stairs until they reached Kaeya's room. She helped him get Kaeya off of his back and onto the bed before she had scuttled out of the door in a hurry, likely to get something to clean Kaeya's face. Watching her be such a busy bee brought more comfort to Diluc's heart. Even if he was a mess, Adelinde wouldn't mess this up. She had cared for both of them for the majority of their lives. She knew what she was doing better than Diluc's scrambled mind did at the moment.
Dragging the seat from Kaeya's desk over to the bed, Diluc took a seat next to his sleeping brother. He had no idea when Kaeya would awaken next but he hoped it would be soon. The surprise didn't matter anymore. He just wanted Kaeya to wake up so he could prove that his brother was okay. That was all he cared about. Leaning over, he gave Kaeya a kiss on the top of his head before leaning over the bed and resting his upper body against it. A familiar feeling that reminded of all the other times he had been by Kaeya's side when he would get sick when they were younger.
How nostalgic, he thought sardonically.
"Happy birthday, Kae."
To Be Continued. . .