The adults could never see through Diluc's innocent façade and the fake smile he would plaster onto his face, but Kaeya knew that it always meant that he was up to no good. It also meant that he was going to be dragged into another one of his antics and get into trouble because of him again.
Such is the case when Diluc looked at the younger boy, that mischievous smile tugging at the corners of his lips as soon as they managed to escape the banquet their father was hosting. Crepus and the guests were still eating outside, mingling with each other, talking about trade deals and whatnot—something the two young preteens cared little about. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked.
Kaeya's face fell. Oh no. While Crepus had asked Kaeya to simply be on his best behavior, he had specifically forbidden Diluc from sneaking a single drop of alcohol earlier in the night, just before the first guests had arrived. "Please don't say you're thinking of doing what I think you're thinking of doing," he replied.
Diluc took his arm and started dragging him toward the back of the manor where the wine cellar was. "I know that you know that I'm thinking of doing exactly what you think I'm thinking of doing." He looked at him with a confident smirk. "It's just one bottle; Father won't even notice it's gone. We'll be in and out before dessert is served!"
He let himself be dragged all the way to the cellar, thankful that they hadn't run into anyone on the way. Maybe Diluc was right. After all, it was much quieter inside the manor than outside, and the people that were inside—more specifically Adelinde and Elzer—were all likely helping the cooks clean up and get everything ready to bring out said dessert.
Kaeya's stomach was still full from dinner, he didn't know how people could eat even more after such a large meal. The kitchen staff had been busy all day cooking a large and wonderous meal for everyone, from sticky honey roast that had been marinating all day to a savory radish veggie soup Adelinde had been slowly simmering since the early afternoon. For dessert, a simple mint jelly and a cake that Kaeya was afraid to even walk by lest the intricate icing be marred on accident lay hidden somewhere inside the kitchen.
He didn't know why they were hiding the dessert, although he had his suspicions. Diluc had been a bit irate since late morning and had become almost unbearable to deal with. He wouldn't be surprised if the poor cooks had to kick him out of the kitchen to keep his notorious sweet tooth away from the desserts meant for the guests.
Kaeya looked around anxiously, making sure that they weren't going to be immediately caught by anyone walking by. He never knew, especially with Adelinde around. She could walk around the entire manor without being heard if she wanted. She'd accidentally scared him more than a few times by doing that. "Father said you aren't supposed to take any alcohol!" he whispered loudly and looked up at him with a frown. "You're just asking to scrub all those barrels!"
The older boy laughed, completely unconcerned by the prospect of spending hours scrubbing the nasty wine-stained barrels in a dark cellar. "Relax, Kaeya. As long as you're on lookout duty, we won't get caught."
He balked at the suggestion. "We shouldn't even be over here!" Diluc looked past him as the sound of a familiar pair of feet started walking in their direction. "'Luc—!"
"Shh, Adelinde is coming!" Diluc lowered his voice and whispered, "I'll sneak inside the cellar, grab a bottle of Dandelion Wine, and you distract her!"
Kaeya nervously wrung his hands together. "This isn't a good idea!" He looked behind them. The footsteps were getting closer, Adelinde was sure to round the corner any second now and if they got caught, well…
He gulped, imagining a livid Crepus staring down at them. While their father rarely ever got angry at them, picturing him being as furious as he was the day he'd snuck all the way to Sumeru made him shudder. He never wanted to see that look again. Kaeya took a deep breath to steel himself. "All right, all right, fine! Just hurry up!"
Diluc gave him a mock salute and ran off to the doors of the cellar just as Adelinde walked around the corner. She paused in surprise upon seeing him. In her hands were a few unused napkins, ready to be put away into the linen closet that sat nearby. "Oh, hello, Master Kaeya," she said. "Why aren't you enjoying the banquet with your father?"
Kaeya stared up at her blankly for a solid five seconds. What is he supposed to say? He wasn't good at making stuff up on the fly! She blinked curiously at his silence before he finally stammered, "U-uh, hey, Adelinde! I just wanted to, uh, go for a walk around the manor. Had too much to eat. How-how are you?"
He internally winced at the confusion that flashed across her face before she answered with a smile, "I'm doing lovely, Master Kaeya, thank you for asking."
The cellar door opened slowly and out came Diluc, holding a bottle of Dandelion Wine in one hand and slowly tip-toeing out as he tried to make as little noise as possible. "Great! So, uh, is dessert almost ready? I can't wait to try some of that fancy cake!"
"It's just about ready, I was actually going to look for you and Master Diluc as soon as I put these away. You will be joining your father and the guests, won't you?"
Kaeya was confused as he stared at Diluc a bit longer. Diluc started wildly waving around with his free hand while his mouth opened and formed silent words that Kaeya couldn't understand but thankfully, Adelinde still hadn't noticed he was there. He wanted to ask him what he was trying to say but quickly looked back at Adelinde. An uneasy smile found its way onto his face. "Yes, I will! Anyway, I should probably finish my walk—"
She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Master Kaeya, where is your brother?" she interrupted.
He swallowed apprehensively. He hadn't expected her to notice Diluc's absence so soon. Uh-oh. "Oh, I think he's—um—upstairs? Yeah, he's probably doing stretches. Gotta keep those limbs flexible!" He stretched his arms, trying to mimic the stretches he'd seen Diluc do as well as quietly tell his brother to hurry the hell up and run away before he got caught. "It's not easy swinging a giant claymore around, you know? Wouldn't want him to pull a muscle while fighting! Ha, ha…" He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. The lie sounded awful even in his own ears.
"If Master Diluc is getting into trouble again, I will have no choice but to tell your father."
He shook his head rapidly, convincing no one that Diluc was not up to no good. "Pfft, he wouldn't be getting into any sort of trouble, what are you talking about?"
The floorboard creaked behind her and she immediately turned around. Kaeya held back a sigh as Diluc stared back at her with wide eyes, the bottle of Dandelion Wine out in the open for them all to see. He quickly tried to hide the bottle behind his back and smiled sheepishly at her as she crossed her arms. Nervous sweat began to dot his forehead. "H-Hey, Adelinde," he said meekly. "Wow, this is a really cool meeting spot, huh, Kaeya?"
"Um…" Kaeya mumbled, but nothing else came out.
Adelinde sighed at them and both of them guiltily watched her open the linen closet. "I will need to inform Master Crepus of this," she said.
"That will be unnecessary, Adelinde."
Both boys visibly cringed at the sound of their father's disappointed voice. Kaeya slowly turned around to see Crepus standing right behind him, arms crossed and looking less than pleased. He immediately averted his eye, although he could still feel the disappointment and anger radiating from him.
Crepus didn't move his eyes from either of them as he ordered, "Adelinde, please inform our guests that the boys won't be joining us for dessert. I will rejoin the banquet shortly."
Adelinde politely bowed her head and answered, "Of course, Master Crepus."
Crepus waited until she was gone before his frown deepened. "Diluc, what did I tell you about sneaking into the cellar tonight?" he demanded.
Diluc looked down as well, his arms dropping to his side. "Not to," he mumbled.
"And what did you decide to do?"
Diluc's mouth turned into a thin line before he murmured something under his breath.
"I cannot hear you when you whisper like that."
He visibly winced and then said louder, "I went into the cellar to steal some wine."
Without missing a beat, he nodded and said, "You know where the buckets and brushes are. All of the barrels should be light enough for you to lift on your own. Remember to put them on the rack to allow them to dry properly."
Diluc's face paled. There were at least twelve dirty barrels down there, and it took a long time to scrub even one of them clean. Kaeya went a little pale as well. If their father was going to make Diluc clean all of the dirty barrels down in the cellar, then his punishment wasn't going to be an easy walk in the park, either. "All of them? It's going to take hours to clean them all!"
There wasn't a hint of sympathy on Crepus' face and calmly replied, "Then I suggest you get started now."
Diluc glanced at Kaeya apologetically before he turned around and walked back to the wine cellar.
"And I expect you to put that bottle back where you found it. If I see a single bottle missing, you will wish to wash barrels instead."
"Yes, Father."
As soon as Diluc was gone and Kaeya and Crepus were alone, there was a moment of silence that passed between them. Kaeya didn't dare to look up just yet, shame forcing him to keep his eyes averted.
Crepus let out a long and disappointed sigh. "Why did you lie to Adelinde?"
"I…" He faltered and bit the inside of his cheek, suddenly finding the floorboards very interesting. "I didn't want Diluc to get into trouble s'all," he mumbled.
Crepus hummed. "He dragged you into this, didn't he?" He sighed when Kaeya refused to deny it. "I am very disappointed in you, Kaeya. You're normally much better behaved than this."
He stayed quiet, not wanting to upset him even more by saying something he didn't want to hear. He didn't want Diluc to get into even more trouble because of him. He slowly lifted his eyes to him and nearly crumpled apart when he saw the scrutinizing gaze Crepus was giving him. It felt far too familiar, and made his heart clench painfully.
He hates me. He looked away again, keeping his mouth shut for the time being.
"I want you to go upstairs into your room and start writing lines. 'I will not lie to Adelinde again.' One hundred times."
Kaeya didn't bother hiding a wince. He could already feel his hand cramping just at the thought of writing that many lines. "Yes, Father."
"Now, go upstairs. I don't want to see you back down until you're finished, young man."
"Yes, Father," he repeated quietly and quickly turned around.
Crepus watched him trudge upstairs and when he was alone, he let out a tired sigh and his shoulders sagged. He didn't turn around when he heard someone coming from behind, but he already knew who it was. "What am I going to do with them?" he asked. "Diluc gets into trouble every day it feels like and Kaeya just goes along with it."
Adelinde stood beside him, hearing the quiet scrubbing coming from the cellar and a door closing upstairs. "They are young, Master Crepus. They are bound to get into trouble more than once," she replied with a gentle smile. "There was no harm done tonight. For now, why not finish the banquet a little early and later on, have a talk with them?" she suggested.
He nodded and turned away from the wine cellar. "Please check on Diluc every hour until the guests leave. And don't bring him dessert."
Adelinde gave him an innocent smile. "Of course I won't, Master Crepus."
He couldn't help but to fondly roll his eyes. "Of course not." With that, he turned away from the cellar and headed for the door to rejoin the guests.
-x-
I will not lie to Adelinde again.
Kaeya reached deep inside of the barrel, his arm completely stretched out to reach the bottom of it. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, a mixture of sweat and hot water soaking his shirt and pants as he scrubbed the wine sediments off of the oak.
I will not lie to Adelinde again.
His hands were still cramping from writing so many lines, but he found a strange sort of peace in the monotony of scrubbing the large barrels that allowed him to forget how sore they were. It was mind-numbing hard work, perfect for taking his mind off of not only cramping and bruised arms, but also other things that would normally be bothering him this late at night.
"This is your chance. You are our last hope."
Water shot up and he jerked his head back to avoid getting the wine-stained water into his eye. He sighed and climbed out of the barrel to tilt it down to the floor and dump the dirty water out. He had to hold it with both hands and prop it against his leg to stop it from rolling away, but luckily he had enough strength to accomplish the task. He wasn't as strong as Diluc and was unable to lift it up over his head, but that was all right. As long as he could roll it to the wall, he would be able to fit it into one of the open spots.
The only thing he didn't want to do was drop it onto his toes accidentally again. He watched the water run through the little gaps between the tile toward the drain in the middle of the cellar. His grip tightened a little against the edge.
He wished his father's last words and that look of hope and hatred hadn't distracted him so much so often, but he knew this burden was his to bear. It wasn't just his father that was counting on him, but an entire people. The disappointed look Crepus had given him earlier reminded him far too much of—
"Master Kaeya? Is that you?"
He jumped, barely held back a startled yelp, and dropped the barrel. It crashed loudly against the floor and he cursed as it smashed against his foot, causing him to quickly pull his leg away. Gods, he hated cleaning these barrels for that exact reason.
Adelinde gasped and set a fresh bucket of hot water down near the door. She ran to his side, setting the barrel upright as she exclaimed, "Master Kaeya! Are you all right?"
He nodded. The only thing that he'd wounded was his pride. "You scared me!" he replied through clenched teeth. Hopefully he didn't break a toe.
Even in the dim light, he could see her apologetic smile. "I apologize for that, Master Kaeya. Is your foot all right?"
He nodded again and glared at the barrel before he looked up at her. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
She went back to the door and picked up the bucket and wire brush she'd dropped. "I should be asking you the same question. It's long past your bed time."
"Um…" He grunted as he looked at the clean barrels he'd rolled to the wall. "Cleaning the barrels. I'm almost done. I'll go to bed soon."
She examined the barrel and then at the others that lay against the wall. Nine of them sat on the racks, some still draining and others nearly completely dried. Two others stood near them, stained red on the inside and smelled strongly of fresh wine. "Wasn't this Master Diluc's punishment? All you needed to do were some lines."
He nodded and started to rinse out the barrel he'd been working on. "I did them and thought I should help Diluc since I had extra time and because I'm not that tired. He wouldn't have been able to get through all of them by himself before morning. There's only two left now."
She hummed in understanding and then rolled up her sleeves. "Well, perhaps we can get them both done together?" she offered.
"Sure, but why are you down here? You never wash the barrels—usually that's Tunner's job, isn't it?"
"Yes, but Tunner hasn't been feeling well as of late, so this job tends to remain forgotten while he's out ill." She looked around the cellar. "Workers normally come down here to restock, things are moved around so often that people tend to forget to clean the barrels until it piles up like this."
"And Father wanted Diluc to clean all of them by himself? Isn't that a bit harsh?"
"Your father was very upset, but this is not Master Diluc's first time trying to sneak wine. It is understandable that a harsh punishment was needed." She shook her head. "But even then, I think even he knows that Master Diluc wouldn't have been able to finish them all tonight. I came here to help him finish cleaning them, but I see you have already beaten me to it."
Kaeya turned his face away to hide an embarrassed blush. "I just wanted to help him. He has training tomorrow and he would be too tired to finish them all tonight and be all right for training."
Adelinde smiled as she took a seat beside him. "I see."
Together, they quietly cleaned the last two barrels and the only sounds that echoed between the cellar's walls were the sounds of the brushes scraping against the sides of the oak barrels. Kaeya's mind became distracted again in the silence, wandering back to that furious look Crepus had when he'd watched Diluc slowly walk into the cellar.
"Master Kaeya?"
He looked up at Adelinde's voice.
"Are you sure you're all right?"
He looked back down into the barrel. Barely half of it was cleaned, whereas Adelinde had already scrubbed and even rinsed the one she was working on out. "I'm just… tired," he decided to say.
She looked sympathetic and then nodded. "I understand. Why don't you head to bed, then? I can finish washing this last barrel and clean up. In the morning, we can tell Master Crepus that the barrels are all cleaned up together."
Kaeya seemed hesitant but ultimately decided to relent and nodded as he stretched. His arms screamed in objection, sending pangs of pain up to his shoulders. "All right. Thank you, Adelinde. Good night," he said quietly.
"Good night, Master Kaeya. Sleep well."
-x-
Kaeya's hands were covered in dark bruises come morning. His hands felt stiff and his arms and shoulders felt too sore to lift up past his chin. He winced as he tried making a fist with both hands and tried to steady them as they shook a little and uncontrollably from exhaustion and overuse.
A pit began to form in his stomach. How was he going to hide this from Crepus? He didn't want to alarm his adoptive father; while his punishments could be harsh, he was a loving father at the end of the day. He glanced at his wardrobe. Would it be unreasonable for him to wear a pair of gloves all day? It was autumn, he could claim he was just cold if he was asked why he was wearing gloves.
However, first thing was first. He needed to get ready to start his day. He was lucky he woke up before Adelinde or Crepus came in to wake him up. He walked out of his room with a tired yawn, noticing that Diluc's door was already opened and empty, meaning he was either downstairs or already halfway to the city for his knight's training.
He shook his head. He'll be starting his Knights of Favonius training in the next few months, so he'll be joining him and likely be just as tired coming home every day. He washed his face and brushed his teeth, and was in the middle of drying his face off when there was a soft knock on the edge of the door.
"Good morning, Kaeya," Crepus said with a smile. Dark bags clung to him underneath his eyes, but the crinkles that dotted his face silently told Kaeya that he likely wasn't as tired as he looked. He wouldn't doubt that he stayed up far too late last night as well doing work that could have waited until today. "How did you sleep?"
"Like the dead," he replied. He pulled his face away from the towel and stared at the towel.
"Good. How does some breakfast sound, hm? I think we're all a little hungry. I thought I heard Adelinde's stomach rumbling all the way from over here." He chuckled, but when he didn't get a response, he looked at him with worry. "Kaeya, are you all right?"
He felt ashamed to be standing here, and all of a sudden something started to tug at his heartstrings. Why did Crepus keep him around? He'd been nothing but a burden ever since he came to live with the Ragnvindrs, always causing trouble and headaches for him. He'd always been taught that burdens were to be thrown away, tossed out like the trash they are. "How come you don't hate me, too?"
He asked it so quietly that Crepus thought he'd heard wrong at first. His eyes widened ever so slightly when he realized that no, he had unfortunately heard right. Too? He instantly knelt down to his level to try and comfort him. "Hate you? No, starlight. I don't hate you. Why would you think that?"
Kaeya bit his lip, hesitating. He kept his eye averted, trying to hide glistening tears that began to form. "Because he would glare at me lots of times, and I got scared last night 'cause… I thought you'd kick me out." He hesitated. He didn't want to say that the look Crepus had given him made him think of his birth father, but he took a breath to try and calm down and instead answered with, "I mess up a lot and get into lots of trouble. I even went to all the way to Sumeru without telling you."
"Those were simple mistakes you made. Sure, I was angry, especially when you ran away to Sumeru all alone, but that's because I was worried about you."
His face contorted with confusion and he finally looked up, allowing Crepus to see the unshed tears in his exposed eye. "You were worried so you got angry at me?"
He nodded and pushed his bangs out of his eye gently. "I was so scared that I thought I would never see you again. I was angry at myself for not realizing you had run away."
He sniffed wetly and quickly wiped his eye before the tears could fall. "You were scared? But adults never get scared."
He chuckled. "Adults get scared all the time, Kaeya. Some get scared when they see a spider, just like you. Even the brave Knights of Favonius get scared sometimes. I, too, get scared—especially when I don't know where you or Diluc are." He looked down. "And I get scared when I see either of you hurt."
He noticed that his father was staring at something and he quickly pulled his arms behind his back. He clasped his hands together to lock them in place and hid the bruises that littered his hands and arms. Crepus lifted his eyes back to his face, allowing the boy to see the unhidden worry that etched his expression. "Kaeya, are you all right? What happened to your arms?"
Kaeya hadn't expected him to see the bruises before he had a chance to play it off as just some dirt and that all he needed was a bath. "I'm fine, Father. Why-why would you ask?"
He looked apprehensive and Kaeya let him take one of his arms, gently turning it upside dwn so his palm faced the ceiling. Dark bruises clashed against his skin, hues of dark purples and blacks littering his arm from where the barrel had slammed into him. "Did you finish scrubbing the barrels for Diluc last night?"
He winced when he was caught. Of course, he of all people in the winery would recognize bruises from cleaning the heavy oak barrels. He was a master vintner, after all. Kaeya should have been wearing a long-sleeve shirt this whole time. He shook his head anyhow. "No," he quickly lied. "They're from doing lines and spilled a little bit of ink. Nothing a short bath can wash off."
The man hummed, clearly not believing him. "Come with me, I want you to try something."
Kaeya curiously followed him. "Try what?"
"You didn't need to finish cleaning the barrels last night, and I didn't expect Diluc to finish it, either." He looked down at him, a small smile gracing his face as Kaeya looked away with embarrassment at being caught in a lie. "Have you ever heard of a drink called sweet cider lake? It's quite a popular drink we make at the tavern."
His brows scrunched together. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember what exactly went into it. "I think I've heard of it before. How come?"
"Because I think that's exactly what you need to start your day." He stepped into the sitting room and kept going until he reached the tiny bar at the back of the building. "It is two parts milk and one part juice, but today, and only today, I will allow you a small taste of our famous Dandelion Wine."
Kaeya hesitated. After spending all night cleaning old wine barrels and smelling stale alcohol, he somehow doubted the validity of Crepus' statement. "Are you sure it'll taste good?" he asked dubiously. It doesn't sound very good."
Crepus chuckled as he grabbed a glass. "You and I both know that those knights give Diluc alcohol, namely Varka. It may not be much, but it's enough to allow him to know what it tastes like and while I trust Varka's judgement, I would prefer that your introduction to alcohol be under my supervision, even if it is just a few drops."
He mixed the drink with the skill of someone who has clearly been mixing drinks for years and Kaeya watched with wonder as he worked. It didn't take long for him to finish making the drink and just as he said, he added just a splash of Dandelion Wine at the top. He offered him the half-full cup and told him, "If you don't like it, it's fine, but trust me when I say that it will help you deal with those sore muscles. It's better than Adelinde's medicine," he added softly.
That alone made Kaeya reach up to take the offered cup. He'd rather try a new drink that take the bitter medicine that seemed to knock him out every time he took it. He looked down at the milky drink and sniffed its contents apprehensively only to immediately pull it away from his nose. Milk and juice mixed together didn't smell that good. "It smells gross!"
Crepus laughed. "At least try it before you decide you don't like it."
He looked up at him, unsure, before he took a tentative sip. Its strange flavors and sweetness hit him first and before he had a chance to savor it, there came a strange bitterness he'd never tasted before. He assumed that this was the alcohol that his father had poured on top, and to be honest, he kind of liked the slight kick. "It's… not bad," he admitted.
He looked down at the odd drink and then back up, only to see Crepus' smug look. "See?" he said. "Now normally, wine doesn't go into this drink. It's called a Sweet Cider Lake, one of the few nonalcoholic beverages we make at Angel's Share. Adding the Dandelion Wine is just a little thing I like to add from time to time. It helps relieve stress on both the body and mind, and it's so low in alcohol content, you don't have to worry about getting drunk or even tipsy."
Kaeya took another sip, a bit larger this time. "I like it. I think you should sell it with the wine more often, then."
He chuckled. "You think so, hm?" When Kaeya finished, he took the empty cup and set it onto the counter. "This was Diluc's first drink, too. He didn't like it as much as you did. Claimed it was too sweet for him." He knelt down to his level again. "Do you feel any better?"
His arms were still sore and bruised, he was still exhausted and his hands hurt to clench them, but Kaeya nodded. Despite his physical pain, he did feel better. "Yes," he answered honestly. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his adoptive father into a tight hug.
Crepus smiled as he hugged him back. "I could never hate you, Kaeya. I'm sorry that I scared you, that was not my intention. You don't ever have to worry about any of us here at the winery hating you or being kicked out because no matter how much trouble you get into, you are stuck with us."
Kaeya giggled into his shirt as he poked his side and sniffled again. "As long as I get lots of Sweet Cider Lake to make me feel better."
He sighed and shook his head fondly. "I think Diluc's influence is rubbing off on you."
"Is that a bad thing?"
Crepus was glad he couldn't see his exasperated expression. "…Just don't go trying to steal entire bottles of Dandelion Wine."