Chapter VIII

Sorry that this took so long! For some reason, I had trouble writing this chapter. But then I restarted it and now I am pretty okay with it. I hope you guys like it too!

I don't own Genshin Impact.

Diluc knew that he should be angry, or at the very least frustrated right now. Diona did break into his room and not only that, she could have gotten herself hurt (yes, he did see Razor at the bottom of the ladder but that was beside the point). But as Diona stared back at him with wide eyes, looking torn from staying silent or saying something, Diluc couldn't even muster up the slightest spark of agitation. He was just relieved that he was able to save the child. And he was confused.

After all, why was she here? Diona, despite being...quite headstrong, was not the type to just break into people's rooms. Well, she seemed not to be the type because even though he wouldn't mind having a decent relationship with her, Diona had wanted nothing to do with him. This made the fact that she broke into his room, and was currently in his room right now even more mind-boggling.

There was also the matter of how she got into his room. Thanks to the storm, Diluc's window had definitely been closed and the only person who knew the trick with the baseboard was...dead.

Diluc gulped as he pushed the memory of him and his brother secretly messing with their windows so they would always be able to enter the other's room out of his mind. He was just going to assume that Diona had some lock-picking skills and leave it at that.

"So why are you here?" Diluc asked, slightly wincing at the slight raspiness of his voice. Luckily, Diona didn't seem to notice as she nervously glanced to her right instead. Diluc turned his head in the same direction and what he saw made him gasp.

"Diona! You okay?" he heard a young voice from behind. Razor obviously must have climbed up the ladder but at the moment, Diluc didn't really care as he walked towards his bed.

His eyes were sorely on the package wrapped with brown paper and a red ribbon.

"Razor, I'm okay-ack! Oh no!" Diona cried as Diluc bent over and gingerly picked up the present. "Wait, Diluc! That's-"

"What's wrong? We did what Kaeya wanted. We gave that to Diluc," Razor said, his voice full of confusion. Diona made another distressed noise as Diluc gently yet tightly clutched his present against his chest.

Of course. Of course, Kaeya had already gotten his present. He...He just hadn't been given the chance to drop it off this time. Had Kaeya suspected that this might happen one day so he left a note depicting his last wish? Or had the present been on his person when he died and someone who knew both about their relationships and birthdays (probably Jean) connected the dots?

Well, whatever the case was, in the end, it didn't really matter. Diluc had one last thing to connect him with his brother.

Though why Diona and Razor-

"We heard of Abyss Order activity by Starfell Lake, so we went to take of it. However, when we got there, we found that Klee, Diona, and Razor were already fighting them."

Oh. How could he have forgotten?

"Um...Diluc?" Diona said anxiously behind him as Diluc took a deep breath. "I...that...I don't know what's in it, but please don't be mad at the Guard Captain. He-"

"It's okay. I'm not mad at him," Diluc said softly before finally turning around to face the kids. "As soon as I saw the present, I knew it had been from him."

"Uh, but-" Diona started to softly say while Razor stared at him with wide eyes.

"Thank you for bringing this to me," Diluc continued. "You...I know you two have had a challenging day. Adelinde has left some steak and grape juice over there on the table. I'm not hungry, you can have some if you like."

"Steak?" Razor asked hopefully.

"We're kids!" Diona suddenly declared angrily. "Why would you offer alcoh-wait. Did you say...grape juice? Your...maid...gave you grape juice?"

"Yes. I don't like alcohol," Diluc said nonchalantly as he sat down on his bed. Diona's mouth dropped open before Diluc's eyes drifted down to his present. His fingers toyed with the red ribbon a bit then he slowly pulled on it, not wanting to rush opening this last gift from his little brother. When the ribbon was completely untied, Diluc took a deep breath.

This was it. Once he took away the brown paper and saw what was inside, Diluc would be given no more reminders that his brother still loved him despite everything that had happened. He would just have to rely on his memory and the other gifts, like the watch he received last year that was in his suit pocket right now.

But this present was essentially Kaeya's last wish. And Diluc was done with pushing him away.

Without another moment of hesitation, Diluc gently pried apart the brown wrapping paper. No words or sound escaped his lips as his eyes took in the red gloves in his hands, the same exact shade as his hair. In the middle of the gloves, on the dorsal side (or back of the hand), there was a beautiful phoenix stitched in with silver thread, rising with spread-out wings like it had just risen from the dead.

As Diluc carefully traced the silver phoenix, he wished with all of his heart that he could tell Kaeya how much he loved them.

Feeling the tears rush to his eyes, Diluc bit his lip as he clutched the gloves against his chest. After a few moments, he rubbed his eyes thoroughly when he didn't feel like he was about to break down and cry again. He then carefully placed the gloves down on his lap before taking off the gloves he was currently wearing and putting them down beside him on the bed. Then he delicately put on his new red gloves and wriggled his fingers.

They fit perfectly.

"Pretty." Startled, Diluc turned around and saw that while he had been opening his gift, Diona and Razor had quietly taken up on his offer of steak and grape juice, presumably to give him some space.

Their thoughtfulness was much appreciated, though Diluc had honestly forgotten for a moment that the kids were even there.

"Feel better? Your face does," Razor continued as he scratched the side of his head, a bit of steak stuck on his upper lip. Diluc was confused for a moment but then he remembered that whenever he cried, seriously cried, it always took a while for his face to stop being red. No wonder Diona and Razor were taken aback when they first saw him.

Well, at least he wouldn't have to explain to them why he had been crying.

"Yes, thank you for asking," Diluc said sincerely.

"At least you like it," Diona muttered before she took a sip of the grape juice. "I can't believe I let myself get fooled when Kaeya said that it might annoy you."

Diluc couldn't help but chuckle, though it was completely devoid of humor.

"In his defense, he probably believed that," Diluc answered bitterly as he looked down at his gloves, finding himself wishing that he had been humble enough to display all of his gifts so that Kaeya could know that his efforts weren't in vain.

"You can tell him wrong tomorrow," Razor said innocently, which only made Diluc feel worse as he shook his head.

"Unfortunately, being the owner of the Dawn Winery does not give me the power to speak with the dead." As soon as he finished saying those words, both Diona and Razor's eyes widened.

"...Fynn ran into you, didn't he?" Diona asked with something that sounded suspiciously like horror.

"Yes," Diluc said slowly, confused by the kids' reactions. He opened his mouth to ask why but Razor beat him to the punch.

"Kaeya not dead!"

For the second time that day, time slowed down for Diluc.

"I mean, his heart did stop, so he technically was dead," Diona rambled. "But then I remembered Daddy telling me how his friend was revived by lightning so I told Razor to hit him with Electro and it worked! Kaeya's alive!"

It took a second for the words to sink in. But when they did, Diluc did something that he hadn't done in a very long time.

He smiled.

GI

Kaeya woke up slowly with his eyes closed and someone clinging to his hand. When his brain was aware enough, Kaeya creaked open his eyes to find that Klee was the one clinging to his hand, fast asleep with a small smile.

"She has barely left your side this whole time." Smirking, Kaeya turned his head to the left and saw that Rosaria was indeed the one who spoke.

What was surprising though was that she was sitting on the edge of the bed while sharpening one of her many knives.

"She even ate lunch in here," Rosaria continued calmly as she carefully slid the knife across the sharpening stone. "A few of the sisters were understandably worried that she would make a mess but Klee promised on Dococo that she wouldn't even spill a crumb. And wouldn't you know, she didn't."

"I'm not surprised," Kaeya said. "She does make bombs after all."

"True, though honestly, it wouldn't have really mattered even if she had. It wouldn't be the first time a visitor made a mess in a patient's room."

Kaeya chuckled as he looked around the room, which was just a standard room reserved for patients like himself, complete with a simple but comfortable bed, a small table with calla lilies beside the right side of the bed (that was his favorite flower. Coincidence?), and a small window on his left. Klee and Rosaria were the only ones besides himself in the room but Kaeya wasn't surprised by that.

"I assume Razor and Diona left already?" Kaeya asked, making Rosaria nod.

"They left some time ago, though I did hear Diona ask Jean where your office was. Any idea of what was that about?"

"Oh, I had her run a personal errand for me since I am currently incapacitated," Kaeya said with a sly smile, feeling confident that the kids would deliver the present without a problem. "Speaking of which, I fell asleep before I got into the cathedral. How long am I going to be incapacitated?"

"A few days, but Barbara did admit that you could possibly go home sooner than that if you recover well and promise to behave and rest," Rosaria answered. "Despite your heart stopping, Barbara found nothing wrong with your brain and you seemed to be hearing and seeing things just fine. Right?"

"Yeah. Nothing wrong with my eyes or ears here," Kaeya said hurriedly as Rosaria glared at him. Rosaria kept the glare for a second longer before she nodded with satisfaction.

"Your body will probably be a bit numb or weak for a little while, hence the need for bedrest," Rosaria added. "There is also the necessary Electro burn on your chest that will need some attending to but Barbara is confident that it should go away in a few days."

"That's good," Kaeya said as he lightly rubbed his chest with his free hand and felt the bandages through the nightshirt the Cathedral gave him. "Does Razor feel guilty about the burn?"

"I think he did a little at first, but I made sure to tell him straight up that a temporary burn is way better than having you dead."

"Aw, so you do care," Kaeya said with a teasing smirk. However, instead of rolling her eyes or saying something snarky, Rosaria stayed silent, her face expressionless and her hands finally still.

"Ros-"

"Jean sent a knight to the cathedral to warn us of your...body's arrival before she rushed down to the front gate," Rosaria interrupted him as she put the knife and sharpening stone away. "It...I...you scared a lot of people today. You know that, right?"

Kaeya stayed silent as he stared at Rosaria. Because even though her face wasn't full of emotion, her magenta eyes were.

And they were practically pleading for him to never do that again.

"...I know. Sorry," Kaeya said softly. Rosaria sighed as she looked away from Kaeya.

"Just be more careful next time," she said even more softly. Kaeya nodded, not just because he liked being alive, but because he honestly wanted to never see that look in his friend's eyes ever again. Rosaria then looked back at him, her eyes looking much less vulnerable. "Especially since...well...there is something that you should know."

"And what is that?" Kaeya asked with a raised eyebrow.

Rosaria opened her mouth to answer.

Only to be interrupted by a woman's scream.

So yeah...the storm isn't over yet.

Please leave your comments on your way out and I will update shortly! Till then, see ya, and have a great day or night!