Cross-posted on AO3

Day 1 Alt: Truth Serum

Manning the bar at Angel's Share had never felt so exhausting.

Diluc sighed in frustration as he wiped down another glass. Business tonight had boomed far more than he had expected. They had put up a limited-time promotion for a two-for-one special for tonight only and the news had seemed to attract pretty much every alcoholic from several miles around straight into his tavern.

They were almost completely packed to capacity.

While he stewed in contempt at his ridiculously increased workload (even if he only had himself to blame), he almost missed the sound of the door opening. When he had looked up to greet the new customers, he felt the words immediately die before they even left his mouth.

Kaeya had come strolling in with his "guest" of the evening. Diluc could immediately tell that ignoring them was going to be impossible as they made their way up to the bar.

"Good evening, Master Diluc," the captain said in his usual smooth tone. Perfect for making people lower their guard. Well, everyone but Diluc. "I'll have a Death After Noon for myself and a Dandelion Wine for my friend here as a starter." His tone was almost mocking, daring his little friend to say otherwise.

"Oh, come now. I can handle more than that!" the man sounds almost petulant, like a child being told that he can't have what he wants. The unsuspecting victim then turns to Diluc and the redhead tries to keep his face blank as the man falls for the trap. "I'll have a Death After Noon myself, Master."

Kaeya made a falsely surprised face, but Diluc could almost feel the smugness rolling off of him in waves. The knight was probably even thinking that his little session with his target was going to go a lot easier than he had expected. Or maybe he was just looking forward to the challenge?

Quickly making their drinks so that they would go away, the two moved to a table closer to the back and began to talk as they drank. Diluc decided that was where his interest ended and went back to manning the bar with Charles. He tried to ignore them as he keeps working, wiping glasses and making more drinks. Sadly, he also can't quite kill his curiosity and occasionally sweeps his gaze over to their table several times.

It isn't until he looks over the fourth time that he notices something is off.

Kaeya is known to not be a lightweight and Diluc knows that it takes a lot more than one drink for Kaeya to be acting the way that he's seeing. Kaeya is almost completely slumped over the table and is having trouble keeping his head, looking almost like he might pass out at any second. The man drinking next to him looked far too smug to not have had anything to do with it.

Before he can even completely register what was going on, Diluc found himself walking around the counter and came up beside Kaeya. The other man looked surprised that Diluc had even bothered to come over and had gone pale. He knew he had been caught.

Gently moving to grab Kaeya's shoulders, he attempted to help steady the captain and barely kept him from falling out of his chair. When the younger man looked up at him, Diluc knew what had happened. Kaeya's oddly shaped pupil was dilated to practically double its normal size and he was still smiling like they were still children and the past few years hadn't happened.

That smug bastard had drugged Kaeya.

He's startled out of his building rage by Kaeya lurching forward and throwing his arms around his neck.

"Luc!"

The old nickname surprised him just as much as his brother's glee. It was at that moment that he knew he needed to get Kaeya upstairs before things got out of control.

"Charles," he called to his employee. The man looked as stunned as he at Kaeya's actions but quickly regained his composure when his boss addressed him. "I'm going to need you to keep an eye on this man and make sure he stays where he is and send someone to get the knights. I'll be taking Sir Kaeya upstairs." The man nodded an affirmative, already calling a waitress over who still looked shaken.

He could hear the whispers behind him and could tell that some unsavory rumors would probably be circulating by morning, but he ignored them as he carried the other man towards the stairs. It took a while, even though Kaeya's body was far lighter he probably should be, but they eventually made it all the way to his private room on the third floor. He only used it if he was too tired to make the trip back to Dawn Winery in the evenings.

After they made it inside, Diluc suddenly noticed that the shoulder of his shirt was wet and that Kaeya had gone from laughing to silently crying. It was more alarming than his little display downstairs. While he had noticed that the man had gone quiet, he had just thought he had finally passed out.

He quickly moved to the bed and attempted to put Kaeya down, but the other merely clung tighter. Sensing that he wasn't going to be able to move any time soon, Diluc sat on the edge of the bed next to his brother but didn't move to lay down, no matter the literal pain in his neck. Standing up would have put too much strain on his back.

That's when Kaeya suddenly got worse as he began to sob and hyperventilate. If Diluc hadn't been scared before, he sure was now.

"I'm sorry," the man hiccuped, "I'm so sorry." Diluc could only watch as he kept apologizing over and over as his crying continued. His face was turning red, blotches covering his cheeks. He was truly in distress over something.

"I know that you want Father here more than me," he whimpered and Diluc felt like someone had poured cold water down his back with the chill that ran up his spine. He often avoided talking about what happened that day with anyone and he certainly wasn't ready to talk about it with Kaeya. But that didn't seem to matter to the man blubbering into his shoulder.

"If I could, I'd trade places with him," he continued, "I'd do it in a heartbeat if it would make you happy." Diluc felt like ripping Kaeya's arms from around him and stomping out the door, but something about Kaeya's words also twisted a knife in his chest.

How long had Kaeya felt this way?

It certainly wasn't the healthiest of mindsets to be in and the drugs currently screwing up his brain was certainly not helping.

And if he was honest himself, he found himself stunned by the admittance and could feel his emotions conflicting with themselves. He had thought Kaeya had hated him for kicking him out, that all his talk of "brothers" were just smart remarks to get back at him. But, with the concoction currently running through his body at the moment, he knew that there was no way Kaeya could lie right now.

But hearing him cry and whimper like a scared child, listening to his new confession – to his feelings – he couldn't help but feel guilty that he was at least partially to blame for Kaeya feeling this way. That Kaeya's feelings were true. Because why else would Kaeya be reacting this strongly if their entire childhood had just been an act?

Finally laying down beside his brother, he pulled the crying man into a hug and used the age-old trick that always calmed him down when he was younger; he ran his fingers through his silky hair and whispered comforting reassurances in his ear.

While he wasn't quite sure if Kaeya would remember any of this when he woke up in the morning, he would be sure to try and do things differently from now on.

A/N: The draft for this was originally written on January 26th, 2021. It was only a little harder to write than the first because I wondered if I should make Kaeya cry or not. Then I figured why not since it is FubuWhump and all.