Chapter 10: Kaeya

It was a long, hard trek back to Dawn Winery. By the time Kaeya had dragged his barely conscious brother back to the familiar vineyards, the sky was already hinting at the first light of dawn.

It was a quiet journey, save for Diluc's occasional incoherent mumbling. Kaeya was exhausted, both mentally and physically. A part of him regretted putting this plan into motion altogether. Though in all honesty, Kaeya was mostly grateful that he'd finally managed to learn about Diluc's true feelings.

The Winery was locked, and Kaeya ended up having to set his brother down in order to fish through the many pockets on his black jacket in order to find the appropriate keys.

He dragged Diluc up the stairs before cursing when he realized that the door to the master bedroom was also locked. Fumbling with the seemingly never-ending key ring, Kaeya finally managed to open the door.

Not that he would remember much of this in the morning. From the time that Diluc had passed out, the rest of the events of that night were mostly a blur.

Kaeya tossed Diluc's limp body onto the large bed rather unceremoniously. Completely exhausted, he collapsed on the ground and fell asleep almost instantly with his back resting on the wall.

His dreams were dark and plagued. Normally Kaeya would have had several glasses of wine in order to have a dreamless night, but he was remarkably sober. Happy memories of his childhood in Mondstadt would be suddenly replaced by the harsh and unfeeling words of an apathetic older Diluc.

Kaeya dreamt of all the nights when he grasped onto Diluc's dim Vision, wishing he was dead so that he would no longer have to worry about his brother's fate. These memories would shift into the ones of when he first came of age, seeing all the disappointed glances he got from the likes of Adelinde and Charles when he would drink until his sight went blurry.

Eventually, Kaeya began to regain consciousness. His neck was stiff from sleeping against the hard wall, and his face felt sticky, as if he had been crying through the night. He groaned as he tried to shift into a more comfortable position. Slowly blinking his tired eyes open, he could make out some nearby voices.

"Diluc, this isn't a request." Kaeya began to be able to make out Adelinde's firm voice.

"I already told you no." Diluc was already awake as well.

Kaeya finally opened his eyes, seeing Adelinde carrying a tray with some water while seemingly scolding the disheveled man sitting on the edge of the bed.

He had fond memories of the nights they'd spent at the Winery when it was too late to return home to the mansion. Kaeya remembered jumping on the large master bed, rough-housing with Diluc, only to have Crepus half-heartedly tell them off before joining in on the fun himself.

Another memory in stark contrast to the present day. Diluc had somehow managed to remove his heavy coat and vest sometime in the night. His tie was haphazardly wrapped around his neck, and his white collared shirt was wrinkled and missing some buttons.

At any other time, Kaeya would have gladly taken this opportunity to laugh at his brother. But now, Diluc's appearance was more shocking than funny. He looked downright terrible, his red hair a tangled mess and a sickly look on his face. But what surprised Kaeya the most was the state of the few patches of his visible skin.

His hands and forearms were riddled with scars, some from burns, others from cuts or puncture wounds. A fatal looking scar ran from Diluc's collarbone down his chest, disappearing under the wrinkled fabric of his shirt.

How anyone could survive an injury like that was beyond Kaeya. He'd always assumed that Diluc was constantly covered in many layers of dark clothing as a fashion statement, although now he understood that the red head's past was a lot more violent than previously imagined.

The wine tycoon and the maid were locked in a serious staring match.

"If you won't take it yourself, I'll have to force you to, just like how you wouldn't swallow your nausea pills as a child," Adelinde warned.

"I told you, I'll be fine, just this once," Diluc glared back.

Kaeya slowly tried to get to his feet, hoping to slip out undetected. However, as soon as he moved, both sets of eyes quickly turned to him.

Adelinde gave him a fierce look, making the blue haired knight realize he wasn't exempt from her anger, either.

He got up, and made his way cautiously over to the maid.

"What's wrong?" Kaeya mumbled, still drowsy after his restless sleep.

Adelinde shot him another piercing glare before turning back to Diluc. On the tray, Kaeya could recognize the mixture of foul tasting herbs from Bubu Pharmacy that he'd often taken himself to alleviate his own hangovers. Next to it were some compact pills, likely some sort of other prescription he'd never seen before.

"Diluc, I'm not going to argue with you." Whenever Adelinde had her mind set to something, she always got her way. However, this still didn't stop Diluc's stubbornness.

Seeing his brother so vulnerable stirred something deep inside of Kaeya, the brotherly love that had been replaced by pain and anger for so many years.

"Luc, you should listen to Adelinde," he said softly, reaching out to put a hand on Diluc's shoulder.

He instantly regretted this gesture, however, as the red head's eyes suddenly flashed with anger.

"DON'T TOUCH ME," Diluc yelled, swatting at Kaeya's hand with so much force that he actually fell off the bed.

Kaeya stood motionless, shocked at his brother's anger. He'd thought that maybe after least night, maybe they could start to get along…

Diluc slowly pushed himself up on the floor, his entire body shaking.

"Get. Out." His voice was firm, although he didn't even turn around to face the stunned knight.

Adelinde sighed, a concerned look on her face. She set the tray down on the bed, then turned to lead Kaeya out of the room. She turned around at the doorway.

"Those had better be gone when I come back," she said, but got no reply from the disheveled man sitting on the floor.

Adelinde carefully shut and locked the door, then squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her fingers to her temples.

"Adelinde…" Kaeya started, trying to ignore his own throbbing headache.

She looked up at him, her serious expression returning. "I have more of the hangover poultice in the pantry," she told him.

"I'm not hungover," Kaeya tried to defend himself, earning another disappointed look from the maid. "I swear, Adelinde. I wasn't drunk last night."

The head maid eyed him suspiciously, then sighed in defeat. "That would be a first," she muttered.

"Come on," she gestured. "I have the guest room ready for you."

Kaeya followed Adelinde down the familiar hallway, a million thoughts running through his head.

He stood, staring into space as the maid unfolded the bed sheets and placed a set of clean nightwear on the bedside table.

As Adelinde went to leave, Kaeya finally worked up the nerve to ask her his question.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The maid instantly seemed to deflate, pinching the bridge of her nose. She closed the door, then sat on the corner of the bed, looking at Kaeya with a lost expression.

"Kaeya… You have to understand the position I'm in," she said, her voice cracking.

Adelinde took a deep breath before continuing. "When you signed away your rights to your Father's inheritance, told us you didn't want to be involved in his business anymore… I tried my best to respect that, I really did."

"I know you were upset about Diluc selling off most of Crepus' things." Kaeya couldn't look her in the eye, the familiar pain returning as he remembered that he wasn't consulted on the matter.

"I had to respect both of your choices, yours to leave the family legacy behind and Diluc's to keep his life private. No matter how hard it was…"

It broke Kaeya's heart to see Adelinde cry like this. She was always so strong, but even she was cracking under the weight of his and Diluc's ongoing feud.

"I'd just like us to be able to be a family again." She tried to crack a smile but failed, ending up crying even harder.

Kaeya stepped forward to hold her hands in his own, and Adelinde leaned into him, crying into his chest.

"Adelinde… I'm– I'm not who you think I am," Kaeya said, tears of his own finally spilling over.

The maid pulled herself back to look him in the eye. Kaeya kneeled down, still holding her hands, so that he was at eye level with the older woman.

"I'm from Khaenr'iah," he sobbed. "My parents… my birth parents, I mean. They work for the Abyss Order… They sent me here all those years ago as a spy."

He expected Adelinde to push him away, just as Diluc did, but instead, she simply reached up to hold Kaeya's face in her hands.

He closed his eyes, not wanting to tell her any more. "That night, the night Diluc left… I told him the truth, I told him the truth and he tried to kill me for it."

Opening his eyes, he saw that Adelinde's were so full of pain and sympathy.

"Oh, Kaeya… My dear Kaeya," she said. "Your my boy, and nothing could ever change that. Crepus loved you, no matter where you came from, and I'll always love you too, no matter how much you distance yourself from me."

Kaeya sobbed, and collapsed into Adelinde's warm embrace. She stroked the back of his head, soothing him like she used to when he was a child afraid of thunderstorms.

After a few minutes in Adelinde's comforting hug, Kaeya finally pulled back, attempting to wipe the snot and tears from his face. The maid reached out putting her hands on his shoulders.

"I can't excuse what Diluc did to you, and Barbatos knows I don't always agree with his choices," she said. "But he loves you, Kaeya. He always has. You were his everything growing up."

Kaeya ended up breaking down crying all over again. He wanted to believe her, he really did.

"They never told you what happened to Henrietta, did they?" Adelinde asked sadly.

The knight froze. The only topic that was ever avoided in the Ragnvindr household was that of Diluc's mother. He knew that she had died from some sort of illness, but other than that, no one ever discussed anything about her.

"Kaeya… This isn't going to be easy to hear," she started, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Henrietta… she was attacked by Abyss Mages. Their magic infected her, and no one in Mondstadt could heal her. It was a slow and painful death, and Diluc was so young back then…"

Oh. Oh.

As Adelinde trailed off, Kaeya finally understood. He remembered all the times when Diluc had excitedly introduced him to others as his "brother". He thought about how Diluc never wanted to do anything if Kaeya couldn't come, even if it meant petitioning Varka to allow them to patrol together.

Even though Kaeya had always felt like an outsider, like he never truly belonged, none of that mattered to Diluc. To him, they were simply brothers.

So when Kaeya revealed that he was sent to Mondstadt by the same organization that had killed Diluc's mother…

That certainly didn't look good, no matter how he tried to frame it.

"I never… I never wanted to hurt him." Kaeya's voice cracked, and Adelinde pulled him into another warm embrace.

"I know, dear. I know," she said softly, resting her chin on his head as he cried.

"I want you to know, Kaeya, that Crepus would be so proud of you. He knew the risks of taking in an unknown child, but he loved you nonetheless. I have no doubt that he's watching over you." Adelinde rubbed his back to comfort him.

Even as Kaeya sobbed, he felt so relieved to have finally opened up. Here, wrapped in Adelinde's arms, he felt like he was finally home again.