Work Text:
Crepus occupied the small office of the winery, which was tucked away in a corner of the second floor. He sat on an old padded chair, the originally vibrant red color having faded into a light peach color. The plush surface of the chair had been worn down, reduced to a fuzzy mess. Holes had popped up here and there, as a result of daily use, with bits of stuffing poking out. But Crepus insisted on using the chair, even though the rose fragrance that had lingered on the chair was gone, and the original owner had long since passed.
The rest of the room was filled with items whose master had passed on, from the memorabilia on the shelves to the books on the cabinet. His own files now lined the row beneath the book, detailing each and every account made under the Dawn Winery name. Underneath that was something just as important: the photos of his family, from the oldest ones when Diluc was just born, to the newer ones with Kaeya shyly peeking from behind his leg.
Next to the cabinet sat an old cedarwood vanity. The various brushes and dyes had been stored away but the mirror stayed, covered by a white cloth to keep off the dust. Crepus never built up the heart to remove the desk, not because of the fact that he missed his wife dearly (which he did), but more so because of the items kept inside of the old desk. An entire drawerful of drawings and crafts made by Diluc’s little hands, and now a new drawer dedicated to the works of his youngest son. Kaeya’s creations had a gentler touch to them, lighter in color and warmer in tone, like the lovely rays of the setting sun.
Finally, in another corner of the room closest to the door, was a large and luxurious bed. It looked out of place in the clean office (and Crepus had told her as such), but she explained that she needed a good long nap before she could work. The thick cotton blanket was dyed various swirling shades of red, which she claimed reminded her of his eyes. Of course he had fallen for that claim and bought the blanket for her. The canopy was draped with faded white sheer fabric, giving the overall bed the impression that it was the resting place of some enchantress.
Light streamed through the window behind him, illuminating the room in the soft colors of dusk: a gentle orange with rosey red undertones.
Crepus stared quietly at the accounting books in front of him. He tapped his quill against the pages, leaving little dots of ink, but too lost in thought to notice. Crepus was sure that he had done all of the calculations right, so he couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t adding up. The furrow in his brow got deeper and he sighed. It seemed he would have to go through all the calculations again to make sure he had not missed anything.
But not now. He had enough of adding numbers. Crepus set his quill in its inkwell, and closed his eyes. Leaning back into the old chair, he could almost imagine his wife’s arms entwined around his head, tilting his head back so that she could see his face. He nestled back into the chair, imagining the smell of roses, tucked away in every corner of the house, like some secret only she could understand.
This was an indulgence he would rarely let himself partake in, if only because it made his longing for her even stronger. But he was tired, and he could feel the tension forming on the bridge of his nose and in the hunched shoulders of his back and the knot in his neck. Exhaustion was beginning to set in, not only because of his work as the owner of Dawn Winery, but also because of his dealings with those from Snezhnaya.
They had given him a gift, one that he had requested, wrapped up in a lovely red bow and hidden in a rustic wooden box.
The box sat heavily in his mind. It urged him to open it and take what was inside. The red surface of the crystal inside reminded him of those roses, promising him power beyond imagination to protect those that he loved. But instead, he hid the box in one of his drawers, underneath a pile of invoices and records, then locked the drawer, and finally hid the key in a vase that sat in his bedroom. He loved roses, but the thorns that they hid were…
He heard the door creak open slightly. Crepus opened one of his eyes and peered at the little intruders making their way into the office. A small smile tugged at his lips before he closed his eyes again.
“Shhh, Papa’s asleep!” he heard Diluc whisper. He listened as his boys tip-toed closer to him, the floorboards creaking with each step they took. Then, they stopped about halfway across the room. He heard some drawers being open and shut.
“What are you looking for?” Kaeya asked.
“I think Papa put some of my drawings in here. I wanted to show them to you.” Crepus heard the sound of papers being shuffled through, and more drawers opening and closing.
“You didn’t check that one yet,” Kaeya said.
He heard the thump of Diluc kneeling down, before he heard the clatter of a drawer attempting to be opened.
“It’s locked,” Diluc said, and with that, Crepus’s eyes opened, his heart stuttering as he worried about them finding that thing inside the drawer even though it was locked and he was worrying for nothing but—
“I can open it if you give me one of your hairpins,” Kaeya offered. Crepus leapt out of his chair and stumbled toward the boys, before swooping both of them into his arms. He pulled them up into his embrace and swung them around the room.
“Papa’s awake!” Diluc said giddily as he and Kaeya dangled in Crepus’s grasp, but he could hardly be heard over Kaeya’s happy screeches. Crepus swung them around for as long as he could before he eventually collapsed onto the bed, a bundle of joy in each one of his arms.
They giggled and laughed while Crepus’s chest heaved, his heart full of love. He smoothed away his fear of what was hiding in that locked drawer, and instead counted his blessings that Celestia had given him two lovely children.
He gave each one of his boys a big kiss on the forehead.
“Hehe, Papa, that tickles!” Diluc exclaimed.
“Oh, you think that tickles?” Crepus got off of the bed before turning around and attacking the children with his hands. Diluc squealed as Crepus lightly touched the sides of his abdomen, squirming to get away. Kaeya giggled and laughed as Crepus’s other hand found its way to his stomach. He kicked and swung his arms wildly as he tried to get Crepus to stop, but to no avail.
Diluc took the chance to try and escape, scooting to the end of the bed. However, before he could hop off, Crepus caught him and threw him back next to Kaeya. Then, he proceeded to blow bubbles onto his belly. Diluc shrieked with laughter and he tried to tell his father to stop between each of his giggles. He attempted to shove Crepus’ face away with his little hands, but Crepus simply took the opportunity to grab his hand and blow bubbles onto his arm.
While Diluc laughed breathlessly, Kaeya tried to sneak away, but Crepus caught him before he could escape. He pulled Kaeya tightly into his embrace and gave him the same treatment as Diluc, blowing bubbles onto his body wherever he could. Kaeya squealed and tried to wriggle away from Crepus’s grasp.
A deep laugh rumbled out from Crepus as he watched his boys melt in his arms. His laugh reverberated through Kaeya as he blew bubbles, making Kaeya’s laughter hitch up even higher.
“Papa, stop!” Kaeya shouted breathlessly.
Crepus did stop at that, his mouth slightly agape and his eyes wide. Even Diluc had stopped his stuttered laughter.
“Papa...” Kaeya said, still coming down from his high. His pupil suddenly shrunk as he realized his mistake. “Wait, I meant M-Master Crepus! I didn’t mean to call you that.” Kaeya hung his head and trembled slightly.
Crepus pulled his dejected looking son into his lap and tilted his head up. Kaeya stared into Crepus’s eyes, the same faded orange-red hue of the setting sun.
“Kaeya,” Crepus said, raising one hand to Kaeya’s cheek and gently ghosting over his dark skin. “Can you call me that again?”
“Mmm... Papa...?” Kaeya said hesitantly. He tilted his head slightly and stared back, with his one glistening eye. Crepus felt a warmth bloom in his chest. He smiled softly and pulled Kaeya in a little tighter.
“...Thank you, Kaeya,” Crepus whispered. “You can call me ‘Papa’ whenever you would like, alright?”
“Okay... Papa,” Kaeya said, and hugged Crepus back. He hid his face in the crook of Crepus’s neck to hide the little droplets that were forming in his eye.
Diluc watched the two of them have their little moment, before he decided that he wanted to join as well, and so he squirmed his way into Crepus’s lap, next to Kaeya. He put one of his arms around his father’s neck, and the other one on Kaeya’s back gently patting him.
Crepus closed his eyes and squeezed both of his children tighter. And for a moment, he could almost swear there was a scent of roses in the air.
Later, as Crepus stood outside the door to the room of his two little boys, he could hear bits and pieces of their conversation.
“See? I told you Papa would like it if you called him that!” he heard Diluc exclaim loudly. “What were you so worried about?”
“I was just scared that he wouldn’t think of me as family,” Kaeya murmured.
“Oh Kaeya. We’ll always be your family! From now on, I’ll always be your brother and Papa will always be our father. No matter what happens, we’ll be together.”
“You promise?”
“Yes, I promise.”
Crepus felt tears well up in his eyes. He couldn’t help but smile. He made sure to calm himself and wipe away any stray tears before he opened the door to tell his children their bedtime story and tuck them away for the night.