Cross-posted on AO3

Day 15: "Run, Don't Look Back"

Diluc swore under his breath as he dodged another annoying bubble that tried to ensnare him. He could hear the Hydro Abyss Mage cackle gleefully somewhere to his side.

"Stay out of my way!" he howled angrily.

The mage merely laughed again.

"I think not Mr. Darknight Hero. We can't have you taking what rightfully belongs to the Abyss."

Even though the creature wore a mask, Diluc knew it was smirking at him. It made his skin burn with the urge to rip its head clean off its shoulders. He called upon his Vision and felt it flare in response, setting his claymore ablaze.

"Ah, ah, ah," the Mage tsked. "you wouldn't want to hurt him would you?"

Diluc growled but looked behind the mage to the person he was trying so desperately to get to.

Kaeya sat on a rundown throne, partially slumped in his seat as his head hung down. His face covered in a mask not unlike the Hilichurls', hiding it from view. His hair was out of its usual ponytail and fell over his back and shoulders in a wild mess. He was so still that Diluc had trouble seeing if he was even still breathing.

"I'm not leaving hear without him."

They had made a promise.

And he wasn't about to break it again.

The Mage laughed before another Hydro Mage appeared beside it, making Diluc curse again. He knew he was at a disadvantage when it came to elements, but dealing with two Mages was pushing his luck.

He needed to find a way to end this quickly.

"Why don't you just run away while you still have the chance?" the new Mage taunted.

Diluc gritted his teeth, ignoring the ache it brought him. He couldn't leave Kaeya behind. He refused to.

"Run. . . Luc."

The whisper was barely audible, but was laced with pain. It caused both Diluc and the Mages to turn towards the throne. Kaeya had hardly moved, though he looked like he had raised his head just a little higher.

"Get. . . out. . . of here." The frail voice was but a plea, desperation starting to leak through.

"I'm not leaving you here, Kaeya!" Diluc snarled. "We're leaving here together!"

He hopes that doesn't sound as pained to the others as it did to him. He refused to give the Abyss Order anything to use against him.

Too late for that, a voice in his head whispered, but he resolutely shook it off.

"Please. . .Luc," his brother choked.

He felt something in him squeeze at the pathetic sound. Kaeya didn't deserve to sound like that. Kaeya was supposed to be the suave Calvary Captain, Quartermaster with a smooth, hypnotic voice that could make anyone spill their secrets. To hear it crack was sacrilege.

"Run. . .and. . . don't look. . .back." the other begged.

"Kaeya…" Diluc's voice cracked as well, just as the verge of a whimper. He was supposed to be protecting his brother.

So why was he turning on his heels and running?

Go back, he screamed mentally. You can't leave him there, go back.

His body didn't listen as his feet carried him further and further away.

Gobackgobackgobackgoback.

He heard Kaeya's pained scream behind him.

Diluc shot up from his slouched position in the chair. His breathing was uneven, frantic and irregular as his lungs gasped for oxygen.

That was wrong.

That wasn't how things had gone. Diluc had stayed, refusing to go anywhere without Kaeya. He had kept fighting until the two Mages trapped him in a water bubble. He had nearly drowned.

He was only alive because the Traveler had shown up with a woman with horns and the feral wolf boy from Wolvendom. They had taken out the Mages quickly the horned woman freezing them with her Cryo while the white-haired teen used his Electro for Superconduct.

The Traveler helped Diluc untie Kaeya and they had teleported back to Mondstadt.

Looking to the bed he had previously been sleeping on, he watched as Kaeya slept. His face was uncovered and smoothed over in sleep, his breathing slow and steady. His body was covered in bandages, the lack of blood showing that they had been changed and that his injuries had long since stopped bleeding.

It was almost like they had never been ambushed at all, like Kaeya hadn't been so close to turning into something he wouldn't have been able to come back from.

Diluc felt the burning in his eyes as he stared at his brother's unconscious body. At the proof of how close he had come to losing him. Burying his head in his hands as he tried to hold back his sobs. The last thing he wanted was to wake Kaeya up and interrupt his rest.

Diluc debated over whether he should leave the room or not when he felt something tug on his sleeve. He sighed, expecting to see Klee having snuck in again, but froze when he looked up to see a familiar lilac eye looking back at him. It was still clouded with sleep, but the smile stretching along the other's face was unmistakable.

"Good morning, Luc," his brother slurred tiredly.

Not bothering with bedside etiquette, Diluc threw himself from his chair wrapped his arms around his brother. The laugh it earned him was weak, but it was real. Kaeya was still here.

And that was all he cared about.

"Please don't ever tell me to leave you again," Diluc choked out. His sobs filled the room and he knew his tears were wetting the bandages on his brother's shoulder, but he couldn't have cared less as relief broke through the dam that was holding his emotions back.

Kaeya's only response was to raise his heavy arms and squeeze back as tightly as he could.

They would be okay.

A/N: This was another one that was giving me a lot of trouble with how to end it. I began writing it on the 19th and finished the ending on the 20th. But better late than never, right? Right?? Guys???

Jokes aside, this prompt actually gave me trouble since I didn't know how to write it, so I decided why not have Diluc dream that he ran away and left Kaeya to a terrible fate and let him believe that was worse than what actually happened (which was him almost dying because he refused to leave).