Knights and Pirates
(day one: play fight)
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Summers in Mondstadt tend to be mild compared to the rest of Teyvat, thanks to the Anemo Archon's blessing. Gentle winds normally brought cool air to the nation from Snezhnaya but despite that, today was unseasonably warm.
Just past the vineyard and underneath one of the larger trees lining the winery, two small figures lay in the shade to hide from the blistering afternoon sun. While there wasn't much of a difference in temperature, Diluc was grateful for some respite from the harsh summer sun. It was better than being inside the stuffy manor, where the heat was trapped inside and suffocated everyone inside even with all the windows open to allow what little breeze there was in.
He stared at the leaves above him that moved with the wind, its shade partially broken when the branches jostled a little too far to the left. He squinted when he was briefly blinded by the light and then let out a long sigh. "I'm bored," he complained to no one in particular. "It's so hot, even the cryo slimes are hiding from the sun."
He turned his head to look at the younger boy lying beside him. Kaeya looked just as miserable but he didn't speak up about it. He simply stared off into space with his visible eye, quiet as usual. He hardly spoke and tended to keep to himself, but he was practically glued to Diluc's side at all times. Not that Diluc minded, he loved having a little brother, even if he was too shy to talk to other people.
A light tinkling noise came from just above him, and Diluc blinked as he looked back up to the leaves. A little anemo crystal fly was floating above his head, little particles falling from its wings and disappearing in the air a few inches below it. He watched it fly around a bit longer as an idea began to form in his head.
Diluc pushed himself up into a sitting position, the movement scaring the fly away. "Hey Kaeya, do you want to play knights and pirates?" he asked.
Kaeya looked away from the crystal fly as well and he sat up, intrigued. He didn't know what a pirate was, but it sounded just as cool as a knight.
When he nodded, Diluc smiled, ecstatic that the other boy was willing to play a new game. He'd half expected him to reject the idea completely to take a nap in the shade instead. "I'll be the knight that protects the crystal fly and you can be the pirate that's trying to steal it!"
"What is a pirate?" Kaeya finally spoke, his quiet voice still tinged with a slight accent but full of curiosity.
Diluc didn't mind answering his questions but sometimes he wondered why he didn't know what certain things were, like a few days after he first arrived, he'd asked what a horse was. It was weird to Diluc at first, but he'd grown used to it by then. But there were also times when Kaeya would simply stare up at the sky in complete awe and wonder.
It was like he was born under a rock or something.
"Pirates scour the seas and go on loads of awesome adventures to look for all kinds of treasure!" Diluc explained. "They have cool ships and fight huge sea monsters, too!"
Kaeya's starry eye lit up immediately. Now that sounded a lot more fun than being a knight. "Really?"
He nodded. "Yeah!" He pointed at the eyepatch he wore. "You've already got an eyepatch, too! That automatically makes you a pirate!"
He tilted his head slightly but he accepted his logic with a tiny nod. He stood up as Diluc looked around the ground and grabbed the biggest stick he could find. The crystal fly started to fly away from them and toward the vineyard as they moved. The afternoon sun glinted off of its back and caused the tiny particles to shine like tiny mirrors in the sky.
Diluc pointed the stick at Kaeya, a huge, toothy grin on his face. "Back, you pirate!" he cried dramatically. "I'm not letting you get the all-mighty crystal core!"
Kaeya looked lost and then quickly looked around for a stick of his own. He finally picked one up, a little smaller than Diluc's, but it was good enough. He held it up, pointing it at him. "The, uh, all-mighty crystal core will be mine?" he said, unsure.
The redhead looked at him with an unimpressed expression. "You gotta sound more piratey than that." He rose his stick into the air above him. "Say it loud like you mean it! Like this: 'Argh! Avast, that crystal core be mine!'"
Kaeya's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. He didn't know what a pirate was supposed to sound like until now. He mimicked Diluc's stance and raised his stick high above him. "Argh!" he cried.
Diluc smiled and then lowered his stick. He turned in the direction of the crystal fly. "Run away—er, fly away, all-might crystal fly! I'll protect you!" He lunged forward with his stick clumsily swinging at Kaeya.
Kaeya easily blocked it with a smile of his own and pushed him back. He attacked with a cry much louder than the one he made before in an attempt to run past him to get the crystal fly. They moved like they were in a mock play, with Diluc doing most of the yelling and the occasional shout from Kaeya. It wasn't long before they were covered in dust and dirt and before they knew it, they were running through the grapevines amongst the rest of the crystal flies that tended to hang around the winery.
The sticks they fought with smashed against each other loud enough for the noise to echo through the vineyard, no doubt alerting one of the adults that their playing was beginning to get a bit rough. Neither of them cared, stumbling around happily and enjoying the warmest day of the year together.
That is, until Kaeya pushed a little too hard and Diluc accidentally tripped and fell backward into one of the vines. He yelped loudly as he fell onto his bottom, grabbing onto the nearest thing he could in an attempt to break his fall. He felt something oddly soft underneath his hand…
Kaeya's stick was suddenly stuck right in front of his face and he looked up with mild shock. "Yield, sir knight!" the younger boy declared.
Diluc huffed defiantly. "Never! The all-mighty crystal core will never fall into a pirate's hand!" he countered. He put his hand on the ground to push himself up and stopped, finally recognizing what was underneath his palm. "Uh-oh."
Kaeya paused, sensing the change in his temperament. He leaned over to see what happened and he winced at the squished bunch of grapes under his hand. Were they going to get in trouble for breaking some of the grapes? "Sorry," he mumbled guiltily.
Diluc lifted his arm and wiped off the squished grape juice from his palm against the side of his shorts. "Do you think Dad will notice?" he asked, picking up the partially squished berries.
Kaeya looked around to see if anyone was near them. Luckily, it was just the two of them and he shook his head. No one would notice a single bunch of grapes go missing. Besides, this was a winery. There were countless other grapes around here.
The older boy looked down at him. Diluc was taller and older than he was, he knew he should make a good example so what better way than by making him a deal? Neither of them wanted to get into trouble and he knew a way to keep themselves out of it. He plucked one of the grapes and offered it to him. "I won't tell if you won't."
That earned him a nod as Kaeya accepted the grape and plucked it into his mouth. He moaned in pleasure as the sweet juices briefly satisfied his thirst. Kaeya pointed to the tree with his stick. "Hide from Dad," he suggested.
Diluc understood what he meant. There were too many gaps between the vines to sneakily eat the grapes in the middle of the vineyard; someone would eventually see them. "Yeah, we should hide this from Dad. Let's go back to the tree," he said. He led the way back to the tree as quickly as he could with the younger boy hot on his heels.
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Crepus stretched his arms straight into the air, groaning as his shoulders popped and elbows cracked. He was getting too old to be sitting at the desk for more than a few hours. He probably should go out for walks like Adelinde suggested, but there was simply too much work. It was the middle of harvesting season, he couldn't just get up to go for a walk whenever he felt like it.
He looked up from the paperwork that was piled on his desk when he heard a pair of little feet pounding against the floor as they sprinted toward his office. The door was flung open without a knock and Diluc, ever the mischievous ringleader of the little duo, ran forward with a huge smile while Kaeya followed right after.
"Dad! Look what we got!" Diluc said loudly. He then turned to Kaeya. "Show him!"
Kaeya lifted his arms and dumped something on top of the desk. "Caught it," he added proudly.
Crepus looked at the crystal core that now rested on top of the papers he had been going through with a chuckle. Leave it to these two to bring a crystal fly core inside. "Wow, good job, you two!" he said with a smile. Then he paused as he took in the state of the boys.
He loved his kids, he really did, but how they always got so messy is beyond him. When it was just Diluc, he didn't get into nearly as much trouble or make as big of a mess as he did now. He was a little soft-spoken and clung to him like he was his own little shadow. He didn't get along with as many other kids his age and preferred the company of their animals than other people.
Then Kaeya came into their lives. Now the two were hardly ever seen apart and those around the manor, especially Elzer, learned that if one of them is alone, the other is close by and getting into some kind of trouble. Honestly, it could get tiring but despite that, the manor felt more alive than ever before.
Crepus still didn't know how they got dirt everywhere. He stared at them in disbelief, seeing the dirt that covered them head to toe with leaves sticking out of their now wild and messy hair, and there was a bit of grape juice stuck to the side of Diluc's shorts. Was that a stick in Kaeya's hair? If he hadn't known any better, the two looked like they had been running and rolling around in the trenches of a little village. "How in the world did you two get this dirty?" he asked.
The boys looked at each other and silent communication passed between them. They simultaneously looked back at him and Diluc replied, "We were playing knights and pirates. I was the knight and Kaeya was the pirate!"
That was a new one. Normally it was knights and dragons, or knights and magic, or just knights. "That sounds like fun."
Diluc nodded rapidly. "It was really fun! Kaeya is a really good pirate!"
Kaeya nodded as well. "Argh!" he shouted with a smile as he pretended to swing a sword around.
Crepus chuckled. It was nice to see the boy coming out of his shell, but that still didn't mean they could run around the manor dragging dirt all over the place. "You two need to get yourselves cleaned up," he tells them. "You're going to get into trouble with Adelinde if she catches you."
Both of them froze. They knew how the head maid got when she had to clean up after them. "Don't tell Addie!" Diluc cried.
"No Addie!" Kaeya begged.
Crepus glanced out the door into the empty hall. "If you go now, she won't catch you."
"Run!" Diluc shouted and turned around. He sprinted out the door and a tiny cloud of dirt fell off of his shoes as he ran.
Kaeya immediately followed him and a leaf fell from the stick in his hair on his way out.
Crepus glanced at the floor with a sigh and then chuckled fondly when he heard their playfully distressed cries a few seconds later when they were inevitably caught by Adelinde. He pushed his chair back and stood up, heading out of the office when Diluc shouted for his help.
Taking care of two kids was unexpected and difficult, and despite all the hardships that came with them, he wouldn't change it for the world.