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The man slammed his glass on the bar counter, loud enough to make Kaeya flinch, and Diluc roll his eyes.
“Bartender! Another round for us!” Kaeya gave a drunken laugh at the man's demands… he wasn’t quite drunk, but he was certainly getting there, having paced himself to interrogate his new “friend”.
He downed the rest of his drink, sliding it over for Diluc to refill. “...another death afternoon?” Just as Kaeya was about to answer, the man sitting beside him piped up, “Boo! Try something neww!” Kaeya shook his head; there weren’t many wines that he hadn't had yet.
“Yeah, just get me something new.” Diluc gave a brief nod before heading into the back. “Not a man of many words, huh?” The man said with a smug look that made Kaeya’s eye twitch, “No.. Master Diluc’s always been like that.” Kaeya wasn’t sure what Diluc had seen on his travels, but whatever it was had left him with a type of… muteness?.. One he certainly didn’t possess beforehand.
It wasn’t anyone's job to comment on it, but Kaeya had taken it as a job to defend it. After all, no one is allowed to bully Diluc except him... and maybe Jean.
Diluc returned with a new wine bottle and poured it into his glass, it had a red and orange tint to it, certainly not something Kaeya had seen before, perhaps a new brew?
Kaeya hadn’t expected him to bring out a whole new wine for him… but he supposed he already had drunk all the wine that he had. Diluc poured the man something different, likely not wanting to waste the new wine on him. “Cheers, hm?” The man said, and Kaeya gave a curt nod,
“HEY-” His head snapped to a corner of the bar where a fight had broken out, “WHAT? NOT SO BRAVE NOW HUH?”
Kaeya squinted his eyes at the volume, already feeling a headache coming. Diluc can handle that.
He turned back to his “friend” noticing how he was slowly sipping his drink, but before Kaeya could join him- his glass was rudely snatched out of his hand, by none other than the one who poured it.
Kaeya looked up at Diluc, who was glaring at the man beside him, and the fight that broke out. Kaeya sat utterly confused as to why Diluc had taken it, and so harshly too? That was when he was left even more concerned than confused when Diluc downed the entire glass in one swing, slamming it down on the bar, a scowl on his face as he went to deal with the fight.
Now that was unusual… Kaeya looked at the now empty glass, noticing small specs of something left behind on the glass.
His head snapped to where the other was sitting, just to find him gone. His glass left half empty.
Well, that's not good.
...
Wait…
Diluc's alcohol tolerance...
The door to Angel’s share slammed open, and Kaeya watched as Diluc threw two idiots out by their collars,
“...Fight, outside.” His words were spoken slowly, as if he was forcing them out the same way he was forcing those patrons out.
Kaeya quickly stood from his chair as he saw Diluc stumble when closing the door, “Hey, what was all that?” Kaeya placed a hand on his back, guiding Diluc behind the bar and into the back room.
“...s’methin’ in th’ drink..” Diluc’s words were slurred as Kaeya set him down on the lone chair that was hidden in the corner. “Then why’d you take it?... We both know you can’t handle your alcohol, so it would've been safer for me.”
Kaeya took one of the spare water bottles Diluc kept on hand to sober people up, but when Diluc didn’t grab for it, Kaeya knelt down and raised it to his mouth, “Drink it, you need to get the alcohol out.” Diluc opened his mouth for a moment before falling into a coughing fit.
Kaeya moved quickly, placing a hand on his back until the coughs subsided. “..did you get tha’ person?” He turned to look at Kaeya over his shoulder, “No… when I turned around, he was gone.” He heard Diluc curse under his breath before he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, moving to stand up, only to stumble onto the floor,
“Diluc. Why did you take the drink?” Kaeya was tired of pretending he didn’t see what he did; even for Diluc’s sake, he couldn't keep up the lie.
“...It had a type of poison... or drug in it, one I’m… familiar with.” Kaeya froze where he was moving to help Diluc stand.
It wasn't like he didn't know the drink had been tampered with, but he was hoping Diluc didn't know.
“Familiar with?.. ‘Luc, what do you mean?” He recovered from his shock and knelt beside Diluc, helping him back into the chair.
“It’s… a long story.” Diluc sighed into the chair as Kaeya leveled him with a glare, “Well? It's not like we’re going anywhere.” What Kaeya wanted to know most was the side effects. But considering Diluc's lack of urgency, he can only hope they aren't severe.
“...It’s not lethal, at least, not in small doses...” Diluc blinked at him wearily, looking like he was trying to clear some fog that wouldn't go away.
“Go on…” Kaeya prompted with a flick of his wrist, “..Do I h’ve to?.. It’s not... like it’ll kill me.” Kaeya sighed, placing both his hands on Diluc’s shoulders,
“Diluc. Whatever you tell me will stay in this room. I promise, nothing can change how I see you, how I’ve always seen you.” Kaeya added on for good measure, not wanting Diluc to think he saw him as anything less than his brother.
“You're st’bborn.. yu’ know that?” Diluc sighed, hanging his head low as he started explaining, “...When I was ‘way.. and a few times since I’ve been back… There have been some… people.. that d’n’t appreciate me… living the way I was?..”
Kaeya knelt down beside him, holding his hands in his, when it seemed Diluc was about to start grabbing at his hair, or hide away in the safety of his hands. “And so… they tried to... ge’ rid of me.. when I first.. took notice, I… started taking th’ drugs in small doses… not enough to kill… but ‘nough to hurt…”
Diluc’s grip on Kaeya’s hands became more insistent, “And- and, over the years.. It became a habit… ‘til I built up an immunity...” Kaeya narrowed his eyes as the growing feeling of where this was heading grew closer,
“So… I’d increase the dose.. since they’d increase until it killed me… I increased my tolerance more...” Diluc let out a breath that shook his whole body, making his arms tremble in Kaeya’s hold,
“I.. haven’t ‘ept up on the doses.. so it hur’s more than I though’ it would..” Kaeya moved Diluc’s hands to be held in one of his as he brought his other to brush through Diluc’s hair,
“Do you know of any cures? or remedies to help?..” Diluc shook his head, “n’t like I had a d’ctor in Shn’zne’ya” and Kaeya supposed that was a good point, though he didn’t like the idea of Diluc poisoning himself alone, without a cure… in the snow, far away from home… while Kaeya was making new friends in Mondstadt…
“Alright.. do you know the ingredients at least?” Diluc shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut like the movement pained him. “...And I assume you don’t want to go get help?”
Diluc slumped forward, resting his head on Kaeya’s shoulder. “J’st need ‘leep..” and suddenly he went slack, falling into unconsciousness in his brother's arms.
“...Please don't do this again, ’Luc.” Though his words fell on deaf ears, he felt they had to be said. Kaeya leaned Diluc back against the chair, brushing the hair from his face before turning to take over the night shift at the bar.
His drink-mixing skills could use some practice after all.