Chapter One
Years ago, the people of Mondstadt could easily recall two equally distinguished young boys. One, with the untamed, wild red hair, whose cheery laugh echoed throughout the city, and the other, with the lightly tousled blue hair who always walked slightly behind and smiled brightly at the red-haired boy. Neither was rarely seen without the other.
Now, they were just a distant memory to the people and to the two whose lives have diverged, and yet still remain intertwined.
The two gentlemen can barely tolerate one another on a good day. As soon as you step into a room with them, you can sense the subtle tension wrapped underneath the surface of their beings, and you can easily hear it from their unconcealed snide remarks to each other.
Despite the hostility, however, their secrets stay between only them. One secret— the mission Kaeya was tasked to carry out and had confessed to Diluc on that dreary night— and the second secret— the identity of one who is hailed as the "Darknight Hero" and who wishes to remain unidentified to both the citizens of Mondstadt and the Knights of Favonius.
Regarding their secrets, Kaeya knows, deep inside, that Diluc would not reveal his secret to anyone. If he were to, he would have done it already when he returned to Mondstadt. But for the reason why Diluc has not revealed it is something Kaeya cannot figure out. No reasoning and thoughts that had circulated in his head made sense.
Did Diluc keep his secret because he still cares? With their fragile relationship and the equally fragile trust between them, Kaeya doubts it. In addition to Diluc always glaring at him or ignoring him whenever he enters Angel's Share and speaks to him, he can't imagine Diluc safeguarding his secret out of concern for his well-being.
So is Diluc withholding it for an alternative motive? Kaeya shakes his head as soon as he thinks of it. There are no benefits in keeping him around. Holding the rank of Cavalry Captain and Quartermaster in the Knights of Favonius, and being close with the Acting Grand Master, he is privy of exclusive information that could benefit the nation he originally hailed from. It would make sense for Diluc to out him out by now, and yet still he has not done it.
So although Kaeya is prepared for the day his secret will be uncovered, one way or another, and although he is prepared for the day he will be tried and executed as a traitor, for now, he trusts in the fact that Diluc has not revealed it to anyone.
One early afternoon, Kaeya lightly taps his knuckles on the door to the Grand Master's office, and with a call from inside to enter, he opens the door.
"You summoned me, Acting Grand Master Jean?" he says as he shuts the door behind him and walks a few steps to the center of the room.
"Kaeya," Jean smiles tiredly up at him from her seat at the desk. She often works late into the night with little to no rest. Kaeya too, but even though they both discourage each other in the shared habit, they still continue anyway despite the exhaustion that lingers on them. She drops the quill she was holding into its inkwell and stands up to address him properly.
"Do you remember the sudden slow incoming of trade and supplies about two weeks ago?"
Kaeya hums to confirm. Mondstadt may not have as much commerce coming in and out of its city compared to Liyue, but it still has good businesses running and its wine industry is prosperous. At least, it was until there was an alarming lack of their usual traveling business partners and most of their usual supplies never making it to the city two weeks prior. Since then, scouts had been sent out along with their only outrider, Amber, to evaluate the situation and to detect anything out of the ordinary.
"Has there been any new information?"
Jean nods. "Some of the scouts returned from their patrol late last night. With the data they accumulated over the past week, they reported an unusual spike of abyss mages. It was only yesterday that they spotted a mysterious group of hooded people on the outskirts of Dragonspine. The increased sightings of abyss mages are most likely the reason why less people are traveling to Mondstadt. I'll dispatch some of our knights to deal with them. But the hooded figures however..."
Jean grabs a rolled-up parchment off her crowded desk, pushing the other books and papers to the side. She opens it to reveal a map of Mondstadt and lays it flat on the center of the desk. She points to a red marked circle that bordered between the cold mountain region and Liyue as Kaeya peers over her shoulder. "This is the location of where they were last sighted. The scouts have tried approaching them several times but they always managed to run off before the scouts could get close enough to them. I have faith that you will have more luck and would like for you to investigate more on this matter. Find out who they are and what they are planning to do. I fear that they may be the reason behind all of this."
"A strange group of people, huh? For them to have remained undetected from us until now..." This was concerning. It did make things more interesting though. After the Stormterror Incident, Mondstadt had many peaceful days. He's relieved that there had been no real danger save for the usual minor crimes. Nonetheless, the slow pace of uneventful days have made Kaeya feel a little too comfortable to his liking. So with this new information, he's more than ready to partake in the investigation.
Jean hands the map to Kaeya. "You might be able to meet up with Amber on the way there. She should be around the area and have an update on the situation."
"That's great. I do hope she joins me." Amber is responsible and efficient in her duties, and he enjoys working with her. Mostly because he likes teasing her but nevermind that.
He takes a moment to inspect the map, skimming through the small written notes on the margins made by the scouts before rolling it back up and tucking it in his jacket. "I'll see to it that this goes smoothly and report back as soon as I return."
"Thank you Kaeya." Jean sighs and leans back slightly on her desk. "Although Mondstadt can manage a delay of supplies for a few weeks or even months, I worry about how it's affecting families."
"Fret not, I'll get to the bottom of this, and then we'll be back to our usual business in no time." Kaeya reassures her with a smile.
"I hope so. And please do be careful."
"Don't worry about me Jean."
"Despite you telling me that, I'll still worry."
He salutes her playfully at that, and she shakes her head with a smile on her face, before he turns to leave the room.
Stepping out of the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, he shields his eye at the midday sun.
"I wonder how Dawn Winery and its owner is handling this setback." He says aloud to no one in particular. He knows they'll be alright— Diluc can easily manage situations like this. Still, Kaeya can't help but wonder how he's doing sometimes.
He then takes the stairs down towards the direction of the main gates.
Dawn Winery.
The most distinguished, and reputable winery in Mondstadt and daresay, the entirety of Teyvat. Known for their dandelion wine, which is cultivated on the vineyards near the Manor itself, it brings in many business partners and alcohol-loving customers far and wide to Mondstadt. Since all their grapes are grown on the winery's grounds and the water needed is drawn from the nearby lake, their production output is unaffected by the current circumstance. Nevertheless, the wine business is slow because of the lack of customers outside of Angel's Share and Mondstadt itself.
Being a part of the underground intelligence network he had joined shortly before returning to Mondstadt, he made many connections as he climbed the ranks. He's aware of the increased number of abyss mages and coming to the conclusion that they are the cause of the scarceness of people coming into Mondstadt, Diluc isn't going to risk any of his staff to travel outside of Mondstadt to distribute the wine as per their normal schedule. He instructs his staff to stay indoors and to only leave the manor for necessary errands. He also tells them to not worry about the production process for now until the situation is resolved.
Another pressing issue is the strange group of people near Dragonspine and Liyue. He's informed of their existence but there's little information about them. There's nothing on their travel patterns or if they carry any weapons, or even how big this group is. With what information gathered, they wear long black-worn cloaks with their hoods over their heads, and scurry into hiding at any sign of someone approaching.
Their purpose for lingering in Mondstadt is unknown and they could be a possible threat to Mondstadt. Knowing the Knights of Favonius and how inefficient they are, he decides to investigate on his own before the possibility of the mysterious group moving to a different location.
"Adelinde?" Diluc calls. He has a hand on the rail of the staircase and is about to ascend the staircase to his bedroom. Discerning his call, the head housemaid arrives at the foot of the stairs.
"Yes Master Diluc?"
"Watch over the winery for me. I have something to do, and it may take a few days."
Understanding what he is about to do, Adelinde simply nods. "Of course. And Master Diluc? Please be careful out there."
"Thank you."
Diluc takes on his persona of the night just before the sun sets.
AN:
Inspired by the prompt: "I don't expect a happy ending. I just want an ending."
This is my first diluc & kaeya fic, and genshin impact in general. Btw just to inform y'all, this is a brother reconciliation fic, not a kaeluc one!
The angst and hurt/comfort will come later in the story, but I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I'm not sure how long the story will be but I hope you can look forward to the next chapter :)