And day two commences. As it turns out, I am on brand as ever.

I do not own Genshin Impact.

Diluc ran along the beach, frantic. He could have sworn that he had seen his brother fall somewhere around here, but Kaeya was nowhere to be seen. He had been running for what felt like miles. His legs screamed at him from the effort of trudging through the deep sand and his throat ached from calling out Kaeya's name.

Dammit, Kaeya, where are you? he asked himself over and over. Diluc cursed under his breath. If only he hadn't bet him that he couldn't make the journey from Starsnatch Cliff to Stormbearer Point on a glider, then they wouldn't be in this mess. He couldn't believe he'd been so reckless. He knew how badly his foster brother wanted to prove himself. Please, Kaeya. I can't lose you.

As he continued to search, he noticed what appeared to be steam puff over an outcropping of rock that jutted into the water. He frowned. Pyro slimes didn't come this close to the ocean, so what could have made that cloud? Unless, it wasn't steam, but…

"Shit!" Diluc sprinted toward the rocks, vaulting over them and finding himself in the center of a family of cryo slimes. They were all facing in the same direction, taking turns blasting something in the water with hyper-chilled air. Diluc didn't have to guess what it was.

"Get away from him!" he screamed, drawing the sword he had been issued as a knight-in-training.

The slimes responded to his yell, turning away from their prey to advance on him. A large one blew a blast of freezing air at him, but before it could touch him, the Vision on Diluc's hip glowed and a violent red streak of fire erupted from his sword, vaporizing the slime in an instant. Then he turned on the rest of the creatures.

Wielding his weapon and his elemental skill with the precision of one much more experienced than him, Diluc dispatched one slime after another, until the only thing that remained of them was a thin layer of ice on the surface of the water. Panting from the exertion, he rushed over to the prone figure trapped within it, punching through the ice so he could lift him from the water.

For all intents and purposes, Kaeya appeared to be dead. His skin was cold to the touch and had a bluish tinge that nearly matched his oddly colored hair, though whether it was from the cryo attacks he had sustained or from being facedown in the water, Diluc didn't know.

Diluc scooped his foster brother up in his arms and ran for the shore. Dropping him in the sand, he knelt to listen for a heartbeat, panic gripping his own when he didn't hear one.

"No. No, no, no. Not like this, Kaeya," Diluc pleaded. "I need you. Don't leave me like this!"

Suddenly, he remembered something that another new recruit, Lisa, had been talking about in the mess hall earlier that week. Something about a process that the pirates from the seas around Liyue Harbor would do when they had saved a crewmate from drowning.

Reaching down, he gently lifted Kaeya's chin and surrounded his blue lips with his own. He pinched the other young knight's nose closed and then blew an entire lungful of air into him, watching from the corners of his eyes as Kaeya's chest rose from the force. Then he moved over and pressed his hands onto his ribs.

"Here goes nothing."

It felt wrong, using so much force to push down on his brother's chest. Kaeya's ribs fractured under the weight of each compression, bending in a way that seemed more harmful than helpful. For several agonizing moments, Diluc thought the worst. He had killed his foster brother, the man he was closer to than anyone else in the world. His father would never forgive him. He would never forgive himself.

Then Kaeya coughed. His whole body spasmed as he retched, and Diluc just barely managed to roll him onto his side before he vomited sea water onto the sand. He beat on his brother's back as he emptied everything he had, only putting him back when he was certain that he was done.

Kaeya looked up at him, his unique blue eyes glazed over from exhaustion. He smiled at Diluc and raised a hand to caress his cheek.

"Hey."

Diluc sighed in relief and shook his head, lifting his own hand to hold Kaeya's to his face.

"Hey."

Diluc opened his eyes, half-expecting to see the all too familiar beach below Stormbearer Point, only to see a smoldering fire and a softly glowing seelie.

Oh. A dream then.

For a moment, he pondered why he would have dreamt about that particular moment of his youth, then the memories of the day before returned to him. As he regained his wits, Diluc realized that his clothes were still draped over the rocks on the other side of the cave, leaving him naked under the woolen blanket that covered him...and one other.

Kaeya's arm was draped over him under the blanket, the tanned skin radiating comforting warmth into his own pale flesh. It had taken a surprisingly small amount of convincing on the cavalry captain's part to get Diluc to share the blanket with him for the night. Afterall, it was the only one in their possession that was dry and Diluc needed the extra warmth to survive the cold night with all of his injuries. Of course, that hadn't stopped him from grumbling about it. He knew that Kaeya wouldn't let him live this down for a long time.

He tried to shift further away from the other man, only for his grip around his torso to tighten as the knight buried his nose in Diluc's neck. Diluc's eyes widened at the movement, his entire body tensing. He could feel each breath Kaeya released brush against his neck in a warm puff of air. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling. He sighed.

Dammit.

Being injured and trapped in this cave were already inconvenient enough. He had promised himself long ago that he wouldn't get distracted from his goals. The last thing that he needed was to drag someone else into his troubles, least of all him.

Diluc scowled, knowing that he needed to distance himself before he got too comfortable. After the night of rest, he could probably make his way over to his clothing on his own. It should be mostly dry at this point. The trick would be in getting out from under Kaeya's arm without waking him. He really didn't want to deal with the other man's snark this early in the morning.

Steeling himself, he slowly began to shift away from Kaeya, letting his arm fall onto the bedroll. The cool air inside the cave hit his skin like an ice bath as the blanket slipped off him and Diluc had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from sucking in a loud breath. He gave himself a moment to adjust to the temperature shift before attempting to sit up on his own. In the end, he had to roll onto his right side and use his elbow to get himself upright. Diluc gritted his teeth to keep from making a sound as he struggled to his feet. The sword wound on his thigh throbbed as he put weight on that leg. Luckily, Kaeya had splinted his ankle with some scrap wood, otherwise he would have fallen instantly. Diluc glanced over his shoulder to make sure Kaeya was still asleep and then limped over to his clothes.

If nothing else, Diluc had to commend Kaeya on the care with which he had laid out his clothes. They were arranged as close to the little fire pit as the cave's geography would allow, the fabric stretched to absorb as much warmth as possible. The rocks formed a small wall between the fire pit and the thick ice that obscured the entrance to the cave. As Diluc drew closer, he could feel more of the frigid breeze that slipped through the crack that Kaeya had forced the two of them through. He shivered and hobbled more quickly toward his clothes.

He made it to his underwear first, which was, thankfully, dry. With a little effort, he managed to struggle them on, a chill running up his spine as he leaned against a cold rock. He quickly reached over and snatched up his pants. They turned out to be significantly more difficult to pull on. Between the bulky splint on his ankle and the makeshift sling binding his left arm to his chest, Diluc found himself hopping around the cave as he fought to lace his legs through the correct holes. The rest of the world seemed to fall away as he focused all of his attention on the nearly impossible task. He didn't notice that he'd crossed to the other side of the cave until he felt a pair of warm hands fall on his hips, steadying him before he could fall.

"Need a little help there?" The smirk was audible in Kaeya's voice.

Diluc's breath caught in his throat.

When he didn't answer right away, Kaeya's hands trailed down his thighs until they met the fabric bunched around Diluc's knees. The knight's breath brushed against his lower back as he tugged his pants up, sending thrills through his body. Diluc mentally thanked the gods for the chilled air in the cave and the still cold fabric of his pants, as they counteracted his body's reaction to the gentle touches before he could embarrass himself.

"Thanks," he mumbled, fumbling with the closure with his one free hand.

Kaeya laughed softly, moving around in front of him to help. "Don't mention it."

Diluc clenched his jaw and forced himself to look at anything but his estranged foster brother, his gaze finally settling on the seelie. Its warm, fire-like light flickered softly against the cave wall, creating a stark contrast to the blue morning light that filtered through the ice that blocked the entrance. Even though it didn't have eyes, Diluc couldn't shake the sense that the little spirit was staring at him.

"Admiring our little friend, are you?" asked Kaeya. Having finished helping Diluc with his pants, he stood beside him, resting an arm on his shoulder. "He's not much of a conversationalist, but he sure does light up the room. He's a little judgmental, though."

Diluc snorted and shrugged Kaeya's arm away.

"You two have that in common," he heard Kaeya mutter.

Diluc ignored him, limping over to the fire pit and building a small fire. The Vision at his hip lit up for the briefest moment as he ignited the old wood with a few sparks from his fingertips. Reaching over, he picked up one of the scrolls that Kaeya had left aside for kindling the night before. They must have been in the chest the seelie led Kaeya to, he reasoned. Seelies did love to reward their patrons. With some difficulty, he managed to unroll it, almost laughing as he read the contents.

Use this paper as kindling to start a fire. It's cold here. -Humfrey, Adventurer

"Did you read any of these?" he asked.

His question seemed to pull Kaeya out of some deep thought; he blinked at Diluc and furrowed his brow. "No, it didn't cross my mind when I was trying to save your life. Why?"

Diluc rolled his eyes and held out the paper. "Here."

Kaeya strode over and plucked the paper from Diluc's hand, plopping down on the ground beside him. He let out a short, bark-like laugh as he read it. "So much for 'Adventurer's Advice.'"

Diluc allowed himself a small smile.

"Do you remember that poor recruiter that used to hang around the headquarters in Mondstadt?" asked Kaeya, dropping the letter on top of the other one and turning to rifle through his bag. "He wanted us to join so badly."

"I haven't thought about that in years. As I recall, he got pretty desperate at the end."

Kaeya chuckled, placing a wrapped package of bacon and a handful of eggs beside the fire. "I got so many free drinks out of that guy...up until he realized that I wasn't of age."

"I still have the 'Commemorative Adventurer's Guild Multipurpose Pocket Knife' that he gave me," said Diluc. He pulled it from his pocket and turned it fondly in his hand. "It's still sharp after all this time."

"Well, what do you know...so do I," Kaeya said, producing an identical knife. He clinked it against Diluc's as one might when toasting with drinks and then set about cutting the thick bacon strips into smaller pieces.

Diluc watched Kaeya work for a few minutes, his gaze fixed upon the deft movements of the cavalry captain's hands as he prepared their breakfast. "I wonder what became of him."

"Oh, that's an easy one," said Kaeya, placing a thin slab of rock from the cave floor on top of the fire as a sort of makeshift griddle. He held a hand over it, waiting for it to heat enough to cook on it. "Good old Master Crepus drove him off."

Diluc's chest tightened at the mention of his father, but his curiosity got the better of him. "Really?"

Kaeya nodded, placing a couple strips of bacon on the hot stone. "You were off on some training mission, I think. He was visiting the city on business and caught me talking to him. 'No member of the Ragnvindr family is going to waste their time in the guild!'"

Kaeya's impersonation of Crepus was uncanny. Diluc got the sense that his adopted brother must have been on the receiving end of such lectures more often than he had been.

"Anyway," Kaeya continued, "Crepus used his connections to have him transferred out of the city before you returned."

"Oh…"

"I don't think he ever knew that you had talked to him," said Kaeya with a shrug. He flipped the bacon with his knife and pushed it to the side of the rock, making room to crack a couple of eggs onto the heated surface. "But he wasn't going to risk it. Your success was the most important thing to him."

Diluc stared silently at the fire. It somehow hadn't occurred to him that Kaeya's relationship with his departed father would be so different. He was trying to hide it, but Diluc could still detect the slight bitterness that underlied his words.

For several minutes, the only sound that could be heard was that of the bacon sizzling and the occasional crackle of the fire. Kaeya, thankfully, didn't seem to be in the mood to torture Diluc with continued conversation about his father. Instead, he watched over their breakfast, his hair falling into his face, obscuring his expression from view. When he finally deemed their food to be ready, he reached directly into the fire, a fine layer of frost protecting his hands from the heat, and picked up the rock, setting it to the side.

"Breakfast is served," said Kaeya, breaking the silence with a dramatic flourish.

"Thanks." Diluc speared a piece of bacon with his knife. His eyebrows rose as Kaeya grabbed only one piece for himself and then stood, sticking the bacon in his mouth and strapping his sword to his hip. "Aren't you going to eat more?"

"Nah, you need it more than me, right now," answered Kaeya, the bacon still clenched between his teeth as he pulled his boots on. "It seems like the storm has let up a bit, so I'm going to see if I can find more firewood."

Diluc simply nodded in response.

"I'm borrowing these," said Kaeya, picking up Diluc's coat and gloves. "Use the blanket if you get cold."

Before Diluc could protest, Kaeya slipped through the crack in the ice wall and disappeared from view. He stared at where the other man had been for a moment and then huffed softly, picking up another piece of bacon. For as much as Kaeya had lectured him about suppressing his feelings, he wasn't much better.

Diluc ate slowly, past experience telling him that he needed to ration what food they had between the two of them carefully. He let his mind wander as he finished what Kaeya had cooked, keeping the fire lit but low as he waited for him to return. The memory of the incident on the beach below Stormbearer Point that he had dreamt of the night before returned to him. Diluc leaned back against the cave wall, allowing himself to recall the feeling of Kaeya's hand against his cheek and the relief at knowing that he was still alive. In that moment, their relationship had changed from one of familial comradery to something much deeper. If he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could almost feel the coarse sand beneath his knees and the warmth of Kaeya's lips pressed against his own. That day had marked the beginning of a series of secret meetings that no one else had ever known about, least of all his father. To the world, they were adoptive brothers. To each other, they were brothers-in-arms, but also partners. Lovers. Two halves of one whole. They told themselves that they were doing nothing wrong. They weren't related. It was natural for the closeness from their childhood spent together to evolve as they grew. But they also knew the scandal it would cause. He and Kaeya were the son and ward of the great Ragnvindr family; they were meant to be married into families that would bring even greater pride to their lineage. Though, as Diluc thought back, he realized that his father hadn't spent nearly as much time matchmaking for Kaeya. Or worrying about him in general.

How blind he had been to Kaeya's loneliness. Diluc sighed, adding that to his already long list of regrets.

Kaeya deserved better, though Diluc knew that he was no longer fit to give it to him. He had renounced that privilege the day that he threw away his Vision and his future with the Knights of Favonius. He reached down to brush his fingers over the very same Vision that now hung from his hip. Kaeya had saved him in that regard too. He realized that he had never properly thanked him for returning it to him. He would have to rectify that when Kaeya returned.

Diluc opened his eyes as he heard a new noise filter into the cave. It took him only a matter of seconds to realize that it was the sound of footsteps in the snow and unfamiliar voices just outside the wall of ice that kept him hidden. Moving carefully so as not to make a sound, he shifted over to the rocks that still bore his shirt and vest, picking up his claymore that rested beside them. He gripped the handle tightly in his right hand as he knelt behind the rocks, silently praying to all seven archons that he wouldn't be discovered.

The voices grew louder for a moment and then receded, prompting Diluc to breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, his respite was short lived as the head of a hilichurl popped through the crack in the ice. Diluc heard it sniff the air and then its shuffling steps as it came further into the cave. The voices returned to the opening, calling after it. Diluc gritted his teeth as he heard the creature move closer. This was going to be a difficult fight.

The hilichurl paused beside the warming seelie, its back to Diluc as it looked around for the treasure chest that normally accompanied the little spirits. As it turned toward him, Diluc struck. Knowing that he would be unable to lift the entire weight of his claymore with only one hand and several broken ribs, he instead scraped it along the ground, sending a wall of fire hurdling off the blade at the unfortunate monster. The hilichurl's piercing scream echoed around the small cave as it was burned alive, all but drowning out the sound of the crack in the ice wall at its entrance being widened by a large spiked club.

Diluc maintained his position hidden behind the large rocks as three humans and another two hilichurls filed in, Dragonspine's icy wind blowing in behind them.

"What do we have here?" asked a woman, her voice distorted in a way that betrayed the corrupt magic used by CiCin Mages. "I thought we were the only ones on this part of the mountain."

"Clearly, we are not," answered a far too familiar voice. The hairs on the back of Diluc's neck stood on end. It was the agent that he had been tracking the day before. He heard the sounds of a small struggle as the fire-wielding Fatui agent grabbed the two hilichurls and pushed them further into the cave. "You two go in front."

The hilichurls moved cautiously into the cave, muttering to each other in their own guttural tongue as they looked for whoever had struck down their comrade. Diluc counted down the seconds, knowing that this fight would be nearly impossible to win on his own in his current condition. The hilichurls turned the corner and Diluc lunged, summoning a ring of fire around the doomed monsters. Just as the first hilichurl had, the other two screamed as their flesh seared under the heat. However, they didn't suffer for long. A bolt of purple lightning erupted from the outstretched hand of the CiCin Mage. It reacted with the super-heated air around the hilichurls as it passed between them, causing an explosion that obliterated all that remained of their bodies and threw Diluc into the back wall of the cave. His ears rang as he struggled to find his feet, realizing too late that his claymore lay on the ground just out of reach. In a last ditch attempt to defend himself, he threw up a wall of fire, only to find it decimated by a blast of water from the strange tool carried by the recruit that traveled with the mage and the agent.

"I thought it might be you hiding out in here," said the Fatui agent, drawing one of his unique curved blades as he walked over, his feet scattering the ashes that remained of the hilichurls. He placed the blade against Diluc's throat with just enough pressure to knick the skin. "I'm curious to find out how you managed this on your own. Or, perhaps, did you have some help?"

"As if I'd ever tell you," growled Diluc, glaring up at him.

The agent snorted. "Bravery. How foolish."

"I could torture it out of him, if you'd like," said the mage, sounding far too excited for Diluc's taste.

"Perhaps later," said the agent. "Remember, the Tsaritsa wants this one alive. And I have my own debts with him to settle."

He snapped his fingers at the recruit, who rushed over with a length of rope. Diluc did his best to hide his pain as Kaeya's cape was yanked off of him and thrown to the side before his arms were wrenched behind his back and bound in place. He found himself kneeling before his captors, the wounds in his shoulder and thigh throbbing from sudden movement they had been subjected to. The Fatui agent stood over him with his arms crossed as the Cicin Mage dug through his things by the fire.

"Tell me, Mondstadt trash, do you remember doing this to me?" asked the agent, lifting his shirt to reveal a gash to his side that had been crudely stitched closed.

"I would have done more if you hadn't hidden behind those hilichurls." Diluc smirked defiantly. "Coward."

The agent's hand struck the side of Diluc's face so hard that it propelled his head into the cave wall behind him. As he attempted to steady himself, the agent backhanded him again. Blood filled Diluc's mouth as his lip split against his teeth. He forced himself not to flinch as he saw his assailant wind up for another blow when the mage interrupted him.

"Sir, I've found something." She walked over, glancing at Diluc through her mask, and handed the agent the letters that Kaeya had pulled from his bag the day before. He noted how electricity crackled between her fingers as she looked at him. She was going to make his life hell later.

Diluc watched as the agent glanced over the papers, his mouth turning down in a frown. He suddenly reached down and grabbed his captive's hair, lifting him until he was at eye level.

"How did you get letters written in Fatui code?" he growled.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" asked Diluc, trying to keep his voice steady even as his toes barely scraped at the ground. He had only just begun to decipher it, but he wasn't about to let these fools find out.

The Fatui agent snarled and threw him into the puddle of water left by the recruit's device. Then he snapped his fingers at the mage. "Do it."

The CiCin Mage giggled like an excited school girl, veins of electro energy arcing from her fingertips and into the water. This time, Diluc couldn't help but to cry out as the electricity coursed through his body, leaving him twitching in the cold water.

"Let's try again," said the agent. "Where did you get these letters?"

Diluc coughed. "Screw...you…"

The agent snapped his fingers again and Diluc screamed as more electricity ran through him. The mage maintained the current longer this time, laughing as she watched him writhe at her feet. When she finally relented, the ringing in Diluc's ears had become unbearable and he could feel blood filling them, his nose, and his mouth. He coughed again, noting through spotty vision how red now swirled in the puddle he laid in.

"You'll have to do better than that," he rasped, glaring up at his captors. "I survived the Harbringers, you think I can't survive you too? Your precious Tsaritsa must be more desperate than I thought."

The agent bellowed, swinging his leg back to deliver a brutal kick to Diluc's stomach. The force sent him flying to the wall, the pedestal of the warming seelie's court stopping him as his back collided with it. The seelie chirped at him as he laid on the ground, gasping for air. He mentally cursed himself. He needed to be more cautious if he was going to survive this encounter. The Fatui agent advanced on him, flames flickering along the edges of his swords, murder in his eyes.

"You'll pay for that comment," the agent said, his voice low. He stood over Diluc, his sword raised. "You'll wish you were dead by the time I'm done with you."

Diluc closed his eyes as the sword began its descent, but it never met its mark. A sudden blast of freezing air came between them. Diluc opened his eyes to find the agent's sword caught in a wall of ice just before he heard an all too familiar voice scream.

Kaeya was a blur of turquoise hair and silver ice as he sped into the cave. He dispatched the recruit first, chilling the water tank on his back until it exploded, freezing him in place long enough for the cavalry captain to slash through his chest in a long diagonal motion. The CiCin Mage began to chant some sort of incantation, electro energy sparking around her, but Kaeya removed her head from her shoulders before she could finish. Diluc saw her head bounce onto the cave floor just as the Fatui agent's hand gripped his hair once again.

"You're coming with me," he muttered, dragging Diluc toward the entrance of the cave. Diluc struggled as best as he could, but was too dizzy to put up much of a fight. His exposed skin erupted with goosebumps as they left the warmth of the fire and the warming seelie. With as little clothing as he had on, Diluc doubted that he would survive the trip to wherever the Fatui were hiding out.

Just as they reached the barrier between the inside of the cave and the rest of Dragonspine, Diluc heard a loud whistle. The Fatui agent stopped and spun toward the source of the sound on instinct, only to be suddenly thrown backwards as Kaeya's sword buried itself in his chest, pinning him to what remained of the ice wall that had hidden the cave. He dropped Diluc, who grunted as he landed in a quickly accumulating pile of snow. He tried to sit up as he heard Kaeya approach, but it was no use.

The black spots that had been clouding his vision since the agent's first strike to his head expanded until he couldn't see anything, and Diluc lost consciousness.

To be continued...

Please let me know what you thought! Testing season is upon my students, which takes up a lot of my time and energy. As with so many other writers, your feedback is a huge motivator. :)