WhIP

by footfungus

nederlands verhalen over mijn otp

235. Chapter 235

perfect circle

alexithymias

Summary:

A vigilante, an arsonist, a spy, a maid, and a mysterious estranged aunt spend a weekend together at Dawn Winery. Nothing unusual about anything in that sentence, don't worry.

Notes:

take a shot (of water!) every time diluc says or thinks 'i'm fine'/'everything is fine', or some variation of that. stay hydrated o7

Chapter 1

Notes:

this is almost certainly going to be the longest and most mindlessly self-indulgent part of the series so far. hope you enjoy :')

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

He'snotavoiding Kaeya.

Just because he's taken on fewer shifts at the tavern, and spent every night patrolling the city, and only stopped by at Kaeya's house once during the week in the middle of the day when he knew Kaeya wouldn't be home–

It's all nothing more than coincidence.

They're not fighting. Everything is fine.

What reason could he have to avoid his brother?

There's many, actually – should we go in alphabetical or chronological order?

He groans loudly and hides his face in the book he's holding–

"Sir? Is everything alright?"

Shit. He forgot he was in public.

"Just fine, Mr Ruschil," he says hurriedly, but it's too late. The shopkeeper's already coming over.

"Have you found something to your liking?"

Diluc hands the book to him before he can think about it too much. "This one seems good."

It's a simple collection of sheet music for violin and piano. Intermediate in difficulty, as far as he can tell from his brief perusal of it. It shouldn't be too tricky to get back into playing with Kaeya even if he hasn't practised in years.

Ruschil inspects the book with a thoughtful hum. "Sonatas from Snezhnaya? Now that's an interesting choice. Most people would prefer something closer to home." He chuckles softly. "As expected of Master Diluc, of course. Someone as refined as you must get tired of listening to the same style of music all the time."

Diluc hadn't been paying nearly as much attention as Ruschil seems to think. He would've steered clear of that particular book if he'd been paying any attention at all–

It's just music. He'll be fine.

Kaeya will definitely comment on it though. Or maybe he'll keep his mouth shut for once.

This is Kaeya you're talking about. When has he ever done that, except when it serves to inconvenience you–

Ruschil is watching him expectantly.

"Not at all," Diluc says with a small shake of his head. "The sounds of home are always welcome."

He smiles kindly, almost sympathetically. Diluc has no idea why. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"Perhaps– just some rosin? I think I'm running low." He doesn't think that. He hadn't even thought to check beforehand, he hasn't needed to check for years – but if there is any left, it's probably gone bad by now anyway. "That's all. Thank you."

"Of course. I'll be right back," he says, placing the book on the counter before heading into the backroom.

Diluc tries not to fidget. It takes more conscious effort than it should to keep his foot from tapping anxiously. He glances around the music shop in search of a distraction.

There's someone else in the store, standing in the corner of the shop, almost hidden in the shadows - a young girl with blonde pigtails, face buried deep in a book. As soon as his eyes land on her, her head whips round and they make eye contact for an agonisingly long split second. On instinct he attempts a polite smile, but that only prompts her to lift the book higher and hide her face entirely. She turns back again before he can even blink.

As far as awkward encounters with strangers go, he's managed worse.

Wait, was she… wearing an eyepatch…?

…He's been thinking about Kaeya too much. Seeing him everywhere he goes is probably a bad sign.

They're not fighting. Everything'sfine.

That silly little argument the other day was just that. A silly argument. Nothing more. Kaeya would tell him not to worry so much.

He's coming to the winery tomorrow anyway. Diluc will have firsthand evidence that everything is completely fine.

His fingers drum impatiently against the counter as he lets his gaze wander around the store again, carefully avoiding the corner occupied by the girl.

It's a quaint little shop, with violins hung up from wall to wall, cellos and double basses lined up on the floor next to them, shelves filled with books of sheet music and other accessories, and a couple of chairs and music stands scattered around. The earthy scent of wood fills the air, and the whole store feels warm and bright with sunlight filtering in through the large windows and bouncing off the multitude of polished wooden surfaces. Perhaps it's a little cluttered, but it's cosy and oddly calming.

Calming, yet he still can't stopfidgeting.

"I assume this means you enjoyed your gift," Ruschil says, flashing him a knowing smile as he packs the book and the box of rosin into a brown paper bag. Diluc hadn't even noticed him returning.

"I– yes. Very much." Right. This is the store that Kaeya got his birthday gift from. "My brother told me about how you looked after my violin after it was sold here. You didn't have to but I… am grateful that you did." He tries for his most genuine smile. "Thank you. It means a great deal."

"Please, don't mention it. It was no trouble at all. I'm glad to see it back in the right hands," he says, sliding the bag towards him. "You know, I still remember that time you and your brother performed at the cathedral, many years ago. You played quite brilliantly for your age."

Is that right…?

He can hardly remember it now. It must have been an awfully long time ago. He can't recall what the occasion would have been. Maybe celebrating the new year, or something.

"Your father was very proud, at least. He couldn't stop smiling the whole night. Praised the two of you so highly to anyone who would listen."

Oh.

Father was–

When was the last time they ever played for him?

Father's not going to hear either of you playing ever again.

He ducks his head and grabs the bag, pushing his payment hastily towards Ruschil before he can reminisce any further.

"Perhaps you two will play together again sometime, won't you? I'm sure the whole city would love to watch you perform."

"That'd be nice. We'll see. Thanks again," he says, nodding quickly as he turns to make his escape.

"Come again soon, Master Diluc," he calls after him, still easy and lighthearted, either deliberately or unknowingly ignoring his sudden inner turmoil. Diluc only raises a hand in a half-wave to acknowledge him before shoving the door open and stepping back into the blistering sunlight, letting it slam shut behind him.

People in Mondstadt just talk too damn much.

"Are you sure you're not hungry? I really don't mind–"

"It's fine. I was on my way home anyway. I'm not staying for long."

How did he end up here?

He really was just going to go straight home after his trip to the music shop. But here he is, sat outside Good Hunter with Jean. Watching her have lunch.

Since when does Jean have time to hang around at Good Hunter anyway? She's notorious for never having a moment to spare.

"Are you… here on your own?" he asks tentatively, eyes darting around the plaza.

"I was here with Lisa. But she spotted someone who has an overdue book and said she had to chase them down now before they got away again," Jean says, laughing a little as she takes another bite of her bolognese. "I'm sure she'll be back soon enough."

He's heard about Lisa's strictness when it comes to enforcing library due dates. Rather, he's heard about Kaeya falling victim to her cruel and unusual punishment as a result of his own carelessness. He can only imagine what sort of treatment those not protected by the title of a knight receive.

He shudders.

"Kaeya told me that he and Klee are staying with you at the winery this weekend," Jean says. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

He tenses. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Klee can be quite a handful – but don't worry, I made sure she knows not to bring any explosives with her–"

"That's– I'm not worried about that. Klee's… not that bad, really."

Jean raises an eyebrow, quietly setting down her fork. "So… youareworried about something?"

"I didn't say that–"

"It's alright, you can talk to me. What's on your mind? Maybe I can help."

Does she even need to ask? There's only ever one thing on his mind these days. One person he's always worried about. And he's not very good at hiding when he's worried. Not like his brother.

"You'll run yourself into the ground trying to help every person you meet," he says, looking to the side at the fountain. Those stormy grey eyes are so full of concern that he can feel it even when he's doing everything he can to avoid her careful gaze.

"You're my friend," she says, like it's a simple and obvious fact. "Friends help each other."

When have I ever done anything to help you?

She refuses to take her eyes off him. She's not going to let this go, is she?

Everyone around him is so annoyingly stubborn.

He takes a deep breath and folds his arms. "I… about Kaeya…"

"Kaeya?" She sits up a little. "He's doing fine. I haven't noticed anything–"

"Not– not right now. I mean– in the past."

He can still clearly recall the things Kaeya said to him, all those months ago, the first time the idea of his brother being suicidal ever crossed his mind.

Kaeya had said that he didn't try to do anything.

Couldn't have even if I wanted to, Jean was always there.

That's what Kaeya had told him. And Diluc – naively, he's still so damnnaiveafter all this time – he'd believed him.

But how closely had Jean really been watching? Kaeya had gotten to the point of writing a suicide note– and getting his hands on a suicide pill– where the fuck did he even get asuicide pill–

Jean wouldn't have let any of that happen if she'd known.

Even just recently – he said he wasn't planning anything. That he never actually tried.

But he was clearly prepared to do it at any time. Everything was ready to go.

All of this, right under Jean's nose–

It's not her fault. Don't blame her.

It's not anyone's fault.

Except–

"The past? You mean–"

"While I was away."

"…I see."

It's Jean's turn to look away now. That solemn dip of her head radiates guilt.

Not her fault.

Jean folds her hands in her lap. She still doesn't look at him.

They're not going to get anywhere like this.

"Jean, I– he doesn't ever talk about those times. I understand that it wasn't exactly pleasant–"

"Do you really understand, though?"

Her voice is quiet and gentle as it always is, soft like a summer breeze. Hardly accusatory – but it feels that way nonetheless.

His mouth is drier than a desert. There's a glass of water in front of him but his arms are trembling too much to reach for it.

She picks up her fork again, but doesn't take another bite, instead twirling her pasta listlessly as she sighs.

"Everything just changed overnight," she says, smiling sadly. "There was hardly any time to adjust. At least, Kaeya never really stopped to adjust. He… he should've stopped. Should've taken care of himself more than he did. But you know what he's like."

She finally looks up at him, and Diluc wishes she hadn't, because those remorseful eyes – remorse that she almost certainly shouldn't feel, but she does anyway because that's the sort of person she's always been – those eyes feel like more of a condemnation than anything else could be.

Not her fault.

Yours.

"I mean, one minute you were there, and the next…" She sighs. "I really did try, Diluc. When I heard he was moving out of the house and– he said he wanted nothing to do with your family anymore– Iknewhe didn't really want that but I just– I couldn't stop him. I'm sorry. He was– he made all sorts of impulsive decisions after you left. Threw himself into his work and didn't stop to think about anything else. Didn't allow himself to think about anything else. I had no idea how to make him listen." She places a hand on her heart. "But I promise I tried–"

"It's okay. I know. Of course you tried." He tips his head back, watching the clouds roll by. The weather is mostly clear today. Annoyingly warm, too. "It's okay," he repeats. "He knew you were there. He's just… not always good at listening to people who want the best for him."

"You're not so different, you know."

He lowers his head to scowl at her. "Don't make this about me."

"This is about both of you. Everything you do is connected, even if you don't want it to be." There's a sudden sternness to her voice, like she's talking down to a child. "All the things he did back then, they were always about you. And I think it's foolish to expect him to change if you won't–"

"What do you mean? Always about– what does that mean?"

Jean goes quiet for a moment before she shakes her head vigorously. "I'm not saying anything was your fault–"

You should be."Then what are you trying to say?"

He doesn't mean to raise his voice. At least Jean doesn't shrink from it. She's never been the cowardly type. Not like him.

"Perhaps we shouldn't speak about this in public–"

"No one's listening. Please, Jean." He can't keep putting off these uncomfortable conversations. Who knows when he'll get another chance to talk to her like this?

She lets out a soft exhale. "You remember Inspector Eroch?"

His blood goes cold.

That bastard–

Did she really think he'd forget?

"What about him."

It's only now that he's asked that, that he realises how little he knows of the whole situation. All he'd heard was that Eroch turned out to be a traitor – big surprise, who could've guessed – and that he was exiled indefinitely.

Jean's eyes are cold and hard, filled with determination. "Kaeya worked harder than anyone else to get rid of him. We were in it together, but– he was the one who did the real work. The investigation, gathering information and getting close to him, figuring out his entire network – I couldn't have done any of that." She glances down, eyebrows furrowing. "It took a long time. And– Kaeya always said that as few people should be involved as possible. That was one thing he never let up on. He didn't even letmeknow what he was doing half the time. 'The less you know, the better', he used to say," she says, smiling bitterly.

That… sounds like Kaeya, alright. Working in the shadows, on his own – it's what he's always done. What he still does.

Even the people he claims to trust never see what he's really up to.

"But none of that should be a surprise to you. He's always been good at that sort of thing. I'm not telling you all this just to reiterate the obvious." She looks back at him again, the intensity of her gaze pinning him to his seat. "I'm telling you this because– you have to realise that he didn't work himself to the bone just for the Knights. He's never cared about them as much as you do– as much as youdid. Or as much as I do. Even if he says otherwise, we both know the truth."

What was it Kaeya said the other day?

I did it for you.

…Perhaps he hadn't just been talking about a change of name, then.

"How long…?"

"How long did it take to get rid of him? I… he was exiled a few months after you left, I think. Maybe a year. I can't quite remember now," she says. "But there were still many of his allies left to deal with after that. People trying to fill his spot. I don't think Kaeya ever really stopped investigating them, even when everything seemed resolved and we'd moved on to taking care of other things."

His brother has always been observant like that. Vigilant even when it seems like he's dropped his guard, fooling people into finally believing they have the upper hand, only to pull the rug out from underneath them at the last second. He spots loose ends that wouldn't look like loose ends to anyone else until it was too late, and ties them up before anyone can trip on them.

Anyone except himself. His blatant lack of self-regard has made itself clear enough in recent times. And yet despite that, he's always stuck watching his own back because herefusesto let others in on his schemes.

The back that was covered in scars?

…

He's bad enough in the present – it must have been so much worse then, if even Jean couldn't get through to him.

This is the only way I can think of to atone for everything I've done,Kaeya had written, in that awful, awful note.

But it doesn't make any sense.

Why would he– after all of that, after chasing out the traitors from their home, helping Jean reestablish the Knights, protecting the city – wasn't that enough for him? What on earth did he still have toatone for?

Did he really feel that guilty? For something that– none of it was even his fault, damn it, why couldn't he justseethat–

"And what became of Eroch?" he asks abruptly.

Because by the sound of it, that man is the reason his brother fell as far as he did.

If it hadn't been for Eroch, maybe Kaeya would've been able to live a peaceful life in Diluc's absence, instead of getting wrapped up in more trouble and working himself nearly to death–

"I wouldn't know. He was exiled, and that was that. We haven't seen a trace of him since." Jean frowns. "Kaeya… wasn't too pleased about that, actually - him being exiled, I mean. He didn't think it was punishment enough. But those were Grandmaster Varka's orders." She laughs, but it's not a very joyful sound. "I think that's the only time I've ever seen Kaeya argue with him."

Not punishment enough?

He can fix that.

Tracking down Eroch shouldn't be too difficult, if Diluc puts a little effort in. He might have to call in some old favours. But a rat like him wouldn't keep his head down for too long, and he's taken care of more than a few rats in the past couple of years–

"Diluc. You'd better not do anything reckless with all this information."

He blinks. "I–"

"He's gone. He got the punishment he deserved. Kaeya doesn't need anyone to get any kind of revenge for him. He just needsyou."

"…I wasn't planning anything of the sort."

"I hope so," she says, sighing. "You're just as bad as him sometimes, when it comes to putting yourself in danger. But you need to be there for him. You should be the one setting an example, as the older brother. He looks up to you more than I think you realise."

The conversation grinds to a halt. A palpable tension hangs over them, but before he can say something to defuse it – or attempt to defuse it, at least – Lisa appears from around the corner with a thick tome in hand. There are sparks of electricity dancing in the surrounding air as she approaches, like a thunderstorm is brewing in her wake.

Part of him wants to be selfish and stay. To keep questioning her, to get every single detail he can out of her about what Kaeya had been up to. But most of him wants to run, like the coward he is. And most of him is aware that the more he hears from other people, the more closely Kaeya will guard his secrets. That's something he can't afford.

Besides, Jean deserves to spend an afternoon with her friend instead of playing counsellor to him. He's not about to get in the way of that. He gets in her way enough as it is.

"I'd better get going," Diluc says quickly as he pushes himself out of his chair, tucking the brown paper bag from earlier under his arm. "Take care, Jean. I'll see you around."

She starts to protest until she follows his gaze to Lisa, and then turns back to flash him a mildly teasing smile, shoulders sagging slightly as some of the tension fades, though her eyes are still as concerned as ever. "She's not that scary, you know."

He rolls his eyes at the suggestion that he might actually be scared of Lisa. "It's alright. You should enjoy your break while you can."

A small frown tugs the corner of her lips downwards, before she relents with an imperceptible sigh and the frown shifts to a faint smile, genuine yet laced with regret. "If you insist," she says softly. "I hope you have a good time with Kaeya and Klee. Let me know if they cause any trouble for you, alright?"

He doesn't miss how she includes Kaeya in the group of people that could cause trouble. "…We'll see how it goes," he says, avoiding her eyes.

The warmth of her smile at his back is hard to ignore as he heads down the steps and out through the city gate. It should be a comforting sensation, but it's borderline unbearable in the summer heat.

Every time he learns something new about Kaeya, he finds a dozen more reasons to worry. As if he doesn't worry enough already.

Kaeya willdefinitelycomment on it. There's no way he won't notice something's up. Diluc doubts he'll be able to resist Kaeya's interrogating either.

…It'll be fine. Maybe for once they'll have a normal productive conversation like normal productive people.

That is the naive hope he'll cling to until his brother arrives at the winery tomorrow to crush it.

"Master Diluc."

Kaeya should've arrived an hour ago. Where is he? Did something happen to him?

"Master Diluc."

Maybe he should go out to look for him. He's with Klee– right, he's with Klee, something could've happened to either of them, he should really go check–

"Master Ragnvindr."

He nearly trips over nothing at all at Adelinde's sudden appearance.

"Adelinde–"

She places one hand on each of his arms. Her touch is featherlight but it's more than enough to hold him in place.

"You've been pacing for nearly half an hour now. Please, take a seat," she says, gently nudging him towards an armchair. The firm tone of her voice makes it quite clear that despite saying 'please', this is less of a request and more of a command.

Doesn't stop him though.

"Addie, Kaeya was supposed to be here–"

"An hour ago, yes, I'm quite aware. But it does you no good to pace about the entrance while you wait. You are only agitating yourself further." She frowns. "Perhaps you've had too much coffee."

"You know I haven't had a single drop today–"

"Have you been taking your medication?"

He clenches his jaw. "You and Kaeya always ask me that. Like you think I'm lying–"

"Of course not," she says, pushing him down into the seat while he's still talking. "It's simply a precaution. Please don't misunderstand our intentions."

What is he doing, taking out his frustrations on Adelinde of all people? She's done nothing wrong.

He grips the armrest tighter, plush velvet upholstery creasing under his straining fingers, and attempts to take a deep breath. His whole body still shakes with nervous energy.

Adelinde presses the back of her hand against his forehead.

"I'm not ill."

"Simply another precaution," Adelinde says, sighing softly. "Please allow me to take care of you, Master Diluc. I am only doing my job. Do not think of it as anything more than that."

"I don't need you to–"

She sighs again, still soft, but loud enough this time to cut through the dizzying spiral of thoughts and force his mouth shut. The room is quiet save for his shallow breathing and stupidly fast heartbeat as she takes a seat on the ottoman near his feet and places a steadying hand on his knee, looking up at him with those tender verdant eyes that never fail to make him feel like a child all over again.

He brings a hand up to his brow, massaging his temples with a low groan and leaning heavily on his elbow. "I'm– sorry, Adelinde. I don't mean to cause you any trouble."

"It's no trouble, Master Diluc." She pats his knee, a commiserative smile on her face all the while. "You've been on edge the entire week. I suppose I should have spoken to you earlier. Forgive me for my negligence."

"It's not– that's not your job. You shouldn't have to deal with this," he says. Mumbles. He's too ashamed of his pathetic behaviour to speak clearly.

"If I only did the things you believed I should do, I think I'd be out of a job," she says, chuckling softly. "Now then. How about we discuss whatever it is that has you so uneasy?"

He drops his hand from his face with a sigh. Her smile doesn't falter as she reaches up to clasp it lightly in her own and massages soothing circles into the back of it with her thumb.

"Is this about your aunt? You agreed to her coming to visit rather quickly. It's quite alright if you still feel uncertain about it all."

Is it about Aunt Edith? He doesn't think so. If he had more time he would've tried to investigate her before she arrived, for his own peace of mind if nothing else, but– nothing stood out in her letter, other than the lack of any mention of Kaeya – but maybe she just wanted to wait to meet him in person before talking about him, or something. Nothing suspicious on its own. Necessarily.

Besides that, it was a bit vague, and certainly unexpected, but she sounded sincere enough. Regretful for not reaching out earlier. And it's just his aunt. Still family.Mother's sister. Father loved Mother very dearly. It wouldn't be right to be so suspicious of her family before he's even met them. Maybe after she arrives he'll regret that–

Perhaps it is about Aunt Edith. A little bit.

"Or… is it about Master Kaeya?"

Yeah, that sounds more like it.

Their stupid argument is still weighing on him. Even though they'refine. They're not fighting at all, they're on good enough terms that Kaeya's coming over to the winery–

Except he'slate–

"I should've known," Adelinde says. "You only ever worry this much when it concerns your brother."

"I worry too much," he mutters, tethering his focus to the sensation of her delicate fingers pressing against his own, an attempt to ground himself in reality. "Kaeya tells me that all the time but I still– I can't ever seem to stop."

"Worrying for your brother is a natural feeling. You shouldn't suppress it," she says. "But neither should you forget that in the end, whether your worry is unfounded or not, it is only a feeling. You mustn't let it get the best of you." She smiles sympathetically. "There is no need to be ashamed of your feelings. Rather than pretend they don't exist, you should acknowledge and accept them for what they are before they overwhelm you."

Why does everything Adelinde says make so much sense and simultaneously sound completely impossible?

She has the unique ability to calm him and make him feel like even more of a mess in comparison to her all at once.

What's it like to live in her mind? She's always so relaxed. So put together. And not in that false way that Kaeya is, but a genuine, indubitable composure that shows through in her every movement.

It's the sort of thing that people expect from him, that Father would've expected from him. He doesn't know how to tell them all that he's very much the opposite.

Was he always like this? Or did something cause it–

"Master Diluc, you're doing it again."

Ah.

His tongue darts out to lick his lips hesitantly. The familiar metallic sting of blood greets him. Wonderful.

"Sorry."

"You needn't apologise to me," she says quietly. "It's a habit you need to break on your own. I can point it out when I notice it, but you have to pay attention to it yourself when I'm not around."

He looks down, losing himself in the intricate pattern of the carpet. "I'm trying."Not just with this. With everything.

Adelinde seems to hear his unspoken words and squeezes his hand lightly. "I know. And you're doing very well, even if it does not feel like it. You are much better off now than you were this time last year."

His mouth opens instinctively to object, but he… can't, really, not without sounding like a fool. Because– embarrassingly enough, they both know very well just how much of a mess he was last year. Barely sleeping, irritable to the point of snapping at everyone and everything and– not to mention the damn Delusion–

Yes. Things are… much better, these days. He can't deny it.

"Only because of you. And Kaeya. I–"

"We are simply helping as best we can. You are the one doing the hard work. Take some pride in your progress, Master Diluc. Your brother and I are certainly proud of you. I'm sure he would agree with me quite enthusiastically if he were listening right now."

He would. Kaeya would have a smug smirk on his face the whole time, overflowing with self-righteousness, and he'd be counting each and every little thing that's changed on his fingers, making a big show of it all and pointedly ignoring Diluc's increasing embarrassment–

He's not sure whether to be glad that his brother isn't here to witness this conversation, or annoyed that his tardiness led to this conversation in the first place.

A sharp series of knocks at the door snaps him out of his introspection, and he's on his feet before he even realises it, ignoring Adelinde calling after him to slow down.

He pulls the door open with enough force to make it creak on its hinges and stands breathlessly in the doorway, chest heaving.

"Morning, brother," Kaeya says, smiling hesitantly. Klee is asleep in his arms, head resting on his shoulder. He shifts a little, glancing down at her for a brief moment before looking back to him. "Hope we didn't keep you waiting too long–"

"Anhour. Where the hell have you been–"

"Keep it down or you'll wake her," he says in a harsh whisper.

Diluc bites his lip and tastes dried blood. Kaeya blinks at him, holding his breath as they stand motionless in the entrance.

"Come in," he mutters, stepping aside to make way for them.

Kaeya glances at him out of the corner of his eye as he enters. He clearly wants to say something. Blessedly, he does not. Diluc has a feeling it would only end in another ridiculous argument if he opened his mouth right now.

"Good morning, Master Kaeya. It's good to see you again," Adelinde says.

"Good to see you too, Adelinde. Sorry for the trouble," he says as she carefully extracts Klee from his hold.

Her eyebrows furrow a little as she looks down at the sleeping knight in her arms. "Is she alright?"

Kaeya sighs, setting down the backpack he'd been holding as he leans against the wall and Diluc shuts the door again. "She was so excited about coming here today that she hardly got any sleep last night," he says with a tired smile. "She'll be fine. Don't worry."

As if she can sense that they're talking about her, Klee stirs in Adelinde's arms, blinking slowly as she wakes. "Kaeya…?"

"That's Adelinde," Kaeya says gently. "We're at the winery now. You fell asleep on the way here."

"Oh…" She looks up bleary-eyed at Adelinde, who smiles down at her affectionately, cradling Klee's head against her shoulder. "You're… not Kaeya's mom, even though you act like his mom. So I'm not supposed to call you his mom. That's what Kaeya said." she mumbles, punctuating her sentence with a yawn and snuggling closer.

Diluc looks to Kaeya. His eye has gone wide and his cheeks are noticeably red, even with his tanned complexion.

"Addie– that was–"

She chuckles softly. "Master Kaeya says all sorts of things, doesn't he?"

"Yup," Klee says, closing her eyes again. Her breathing evens out as she falls asleep once more, having said her piece.

Kaeya hides his face in one hand, keeping the other on his hip as if that's the only way he'll be able to stay standing upright and not crumple to the floor in shame.

"I'll go and get her to bed. She seems quite exhausted indeed," Adelinde says, making no attempt to hide her amusement. "You two needn't worry. I'll look after her until she wakes up again."

"Thank you Adelinde," Kaeya mumbles, still hiding his face.

Adelinde smiles and nods politely before heading up the stairs, leaving them in an awkward silence behind her.

"Kae?"

Kaeya finally lowers his hand and glares weakly at him. "What do you want?"

Diluc uncurls the hand that had reflexively clenched itself into a fist at some point. "Nothing– I just–"

"What's up with you? Everything alright?" Kaeya steps closer, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Yeah. Of course Kaeya was going to notice.

"Everything's fine–" Two heavy hands on his shoulders silently cut him off. "…Why do you bother asking if you already know the answer?"

"Same reason people gamble. Maybe one day I'll win and you'll give me an honest answer without me needing to fight for it."

Diluc drops his head with a sigh.

"Are you that worried about your aunt?"

Of course Kaeya would act oblivious to the fact thathe'sthe source of Diluc's worries.

Maybe it's not an act. Hard to tell with Kaeya.

"She's arriving tomorrow, isn't she?"

"Yeah."

"So set all your worries aside for now. Let's just relax today, okay?" Kaeya squeezes his shoulders. "I'm sure Klee will keep the two of us quite busy until tomorrow, as soon as she's awake."

A whole day of entertaining Klee… sounds exhausting. But there are definitely worse distractions.

"Oh, I nearly forgot. Here."

Kaeya steps back as he searches his pocket for something, and tosses it at Diluc with no warning. He only barely manages to catch it before it hits him square in the forehead.

"Nice reflexes, brother dearest. I was hoping I'd catch you out with that."

Diluc glares at his menace of a little brother before opening his hand to look at whatever it is Kaeya's cursed him with this time.

A circular metal tin, barely a couple of inches in diameter, small and light in the palm of his hand. He glances at Kaeya warily before unscrewing the lid to find… some sort of ointment?

"It's lip balm," Kaeya says, before tapping at Diluc's bottom lip, pressing down slightly on the minuscule scab that's formed there. "It tastes bitter. So maybe it'll help you kick this biting habit and you'll stop looking like you've just been kissed by a vampire."

Kaeya should be grateful that Diluc hasn't tried to bite him. "Kissed by a–what?"

"What, you've never heard of vampires?"

"Why did you have to describe it like that? That doesn't even make any sense."

"You're right. A vampire wouldn't kiss someone as boring as you."

"…Would it kill you to say something that makes sense?"

"Quite possibly," Kaeya says, grinning.

At least he's looking cheerful again. Even if it was at Diluc's expense.

He applies a small amount of the lip balm and bites his lip tentatively. His entire face scrunches up at the sour taste.

"Perfect, isn't it? You'll break the habit in no time at all, if you have to stop and make that face every single time."

"I suppose." He grimaces as he looks up at Kaeya again. "I… thank you, Kae. You didn't have to–"

"You're welcome," Kaeya says. "I hope it helps."

Kaeya's gifts are always so thoughtful. He's so observant, he always knows what would make the perfect gift even if the person themselves hasn't thought of it yet. Diluc hasn't done anything to deserve that level of thoughtfulness–

"Ow." He rubs his arm just below his shoulder, the spot where Kaeya has just mercilessly punched him.

"How is it that I can literally hear when you're thinking something stupid? Gods. You're self-deprecating enough for the two of us."

"Then perhaps–"

"Let's just leave it at that, hm?"

He doesn't have the energy to fight that. So he sighs. He feels like he's been doing a lot of sighing lately.

"Oh my. What do we have here?"

Diluc looks up from his bruising arm to see that Kaeya's made his way over tothatvase, a gleeful smirk tugging at his lips.

"Why are you acting surprised? It's–"

"No no, brother dearest. I mean this."

Kaeya points to the new addition right next to the vase.

Dodo-Diluc is leaning against the base of the gaudy ceramic, his literally knitted eyebrows and grumpy expression a clear warning and deterrent to all who might dare to approach. A reliable bodyguard – even if he's only about three or four inches tall and too fluffy to harm a soul. Still better than most of the Knights.

"How on earth did you convince Adelinde to let this interior decor disaster happen?"

"I don't need to convince her of anything. This is my house. I can decorate it however I want."

"You expect me to believe she didn't argue?"

"Oh, she definitely argued. But I told her it was a gift from Klee and she hasn't said anything since." Diluc feels a smile forming on his face against his will. "She does keep staring at it though, when she thinks I'm not looking. She's probably hoping I'll forget about it so that she can move it somewhere out of sight."

"As if we don't put her through enough on a daily basis, you just had to go and add to her turmoil."

"Are you insulting Klee's handiwork?"

"How dare you insinuate such a terrible thing. I'd never insult the work of the greatest artist of our time."

"Perhaps you're just afraid that she'll turn her explosive powers on you instead."

"Those are not mutually exclusive truths."

Diluc snorts. Kaeya shoves him playfully.

Not playfully enough. Diluc stumbles forward, his hip bumping into the table holding the vase. They freeze, watching it rock back and forth in a horrified silence–

Until it comes to a stop again. Dodo-Diluc miraculously managed to stay upright through it all. Reliable indeed. Must be Klee's magic at work.

They exhale at the same time, then look at each other with matching grins that are half-relieved and half-terrified.

It's a horrible vase. Saner people than him would be happy to see it broken, so they could make room for something that actually looks like it belongs here.

But even if it were literally the ugliest vase in the world, the sentimental value it carries is too great for him to ever want to see it damaged.

Kaeya, ever the enemy of sentimentality, starts to drag him away by the collar like he's some misbehaving child.

"Kae–"

"Come on, then. Let's do something productive before we break something and Adelinde makes us clean it up and lectures us the whole time." They both shudder simultaneously at the prospect. Corporal punishment would hurt less than one of Adelinde's lectures. "Have you had a chance to practise with your violin yet?"

"A little–"

"Excellent. How about we play together? It's been far too long."

"Sure but– can you let go already–ow–"

Kaeya's definitely trying to choke him. Or at least, he's notnottrying to choke him. Barely fifteen minutes into his stay and he's already escalated to attempted murder.

"You're much more compliant this way. I think I'll keep doing this forever, actually."

"I hate you."

"Always such a gentleman, aren't you?" Kaeya says, grinning back at him. "Let's see how much you hate me by Sunday. Maybe you and your aunt can bond over that."

Ugh. He'd almost forgotten the whole reason he'd invited Kaeya down here in the first place. He wishes he could forget again.

"It'll be fine, Luc. I'll annoy her until she leaves if she's really that bad."

Somehow he doesn't doubt that Kaeya is completely capable of that.

Well. Their weekend is off to… a start. He hesitates to call it promising. But Kaeya's here and they're not fighting, so that's already quite the victory in Diluc's mind.

Kaeya's right. It'll be fine.

Things are always fine as long as they're together.

Notes:

back to the writing void i go o7 hope you enjoyed this! i'll be back soon hopefully, maybe klee will be awake by then we'll see

take care and see you soon! thanks for reading so far 3

Chapter 2

Notes:

i think i gave myself more anxiety by writing about diluc having crippling anxiety

anyway. enjoy 3

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

So… perhaps 'being together' isn't quite enough.

"Are you even paying attention?"

Diluc clenches his jaw. "Let's just go from the top–"

"I'm not going from the top again just so you can come in late after having a whole twelve bars to prepare." Kaeya gets up with a huff and stalks over to him, peering over his shoulder at the music on his stand. "Look, they even wrote in the cue for you right there–"

"I'm not blind. I can see that."

"Perhaps you're deaf then, since you don't seem to be listening."

He bites his lip. It tastes like regret.

Kaeya's watching him carefully out of the corner of his eye. Too carefully.

Diluc looks away, back to his music, replaying those accursed starting notes over and over in his mind until he can't hear anything else, fingers ghosting over the strings until he can't think about how Kaeya is staring right through him and picking him and all of his flaws apart with surgical precision.

"We'll go from where you come in," Kaeya says as he sits back down at the piano, though his intrusive gaze doesn't let up. "Lead me in."

Alright. Easy enough. Kaeya's always been good at following him.

He readjusts the violin against his shoulder, brings down the bow and starts to play–

"I saidlead me in."

Diluc freezes, bow slipping across the strings gracelessly, but not with enough pressure to make any sound. At least he manages to keep it from falling out of his hands entirely.

"Eye contact would be nice, or something. And it'd help you as much as it'd help me if you took a breath before you started."

Diluc glances over at his brother. Kaeya's expression is cold, humourless, distinctly unimpressed, his mouth a flat line instead of curved in a signature smirk.

"What's gotten into you? It's like you've completely forgotten how to play with other people."

Diluc lowers his violin, staring blankly at the sheet music in front of him as the neatly printed lines on the page begin to twist and turn and overlap and–

"Luc."

"I'm listening," he says, hollow.

"You're clearly not."

He grips the bow a little tighter. It trembles in time with his hands. "Sorry."

"Don't– obviously this isn't working," Kaeya says to himself. He flips through his sheet music, eyebrows furrowing with each page turn, before he shuts the book with a soft exhale. "Maybe we should take a break and try again some other time."

That's the last thing he wants. "No– we can do this. It's fine. I can do this–"

"This is supposed to be relaxing. And fun. You look anything but relaxed right now."

He's being sostupid.

Kaeya's right. Kaeya's always right, and yet Diluc can't seem to do anything right, ever–

The light tapping of a pencil against his music stand has his gaze snapping forward to find Kaeya scribbling something on his music.

"Didn't even take out a pencil. Honestly. Do I have to do everything around here?" Kaeya says with a dissatisfied click of his tongue. His head is obstructing the view, preventing Diluc from catching a glimpse of his vandalism.

"Kae–"

"There."

Kaeya steps back. The previously unmarked sheet music is now adorned with his brother's familiar scrawl.

BREATHE, he's written above the bar before his opening notes, right where the piano cue is marked. There's a little heart on the end too. And a small doodle of a cat.

Wholly unnecessary.

He opens his mouth to say as much, but the words die on his lips when he looks to his side and meets Kaeya's gaze again. His eyebrows are less furrowed, and the coldness in his eye has thawed a little into something that feels horribly close to pity.

"Should we try again?"

Diluc nods, shaky and hesitant.

Kaeya wants to play with him. He's always enjoyed playing with him, even if he never really said it out loud. It came through in his music.

Surely Diluc is not so useless that he can't fulfil this one simple request for his little brother. Kaeya rarely asks him for anything. This is nothing at all.

He just needs tofocus.

His breath remains lodged in his throat as Kaeya sits down once more. It takes a look back at the sheet music and his brother's written reminder to get him to breathe again. Pathetic.

"You know you don't have to force yourself to keep playing if it's–"

"I want to." He swallows. His throat is tight. "I want to play with you."

Kaeya still has that pitying look in his eye. "We could play something else." He picks up his book of sheet music with one hand, examining the cover casually. "If this music being Snezhnayan is that much of a problem–"

"I wouldn't have bought it if that were a problem."

"So whatisthe problem, Luc?"

"I– I'm just– you know. Worried. Like always. Nothing new," he mutters bitterly.

"I haven't seen you this worried in a while, though."

Diluc doesn't know what to say to that, so he doesn't say anything. Kaeya doesn't press further. Dilucshouldbe grateful for that – but it only amplifies the nagging feeling that he's being pitied, and he hates it.

"From the top?" Kaeya asks, his voice soft. Like he's talking to Klee and not a grown adult.

Diluc inhales sharply and nods, less shaky this time.

He's going to do this. He's going to get through one song with his brother and prove that he's perfectly fine and that there's nothing to worry about.

Kaeya flashes him a small smile as he starts to play. His eye is fixed on Diluc, the weight of his gaze almost oppressive. Diluc looks at the page for a moment, but he doesn't really need to – he's memorised these starting notes now, so he looks back at Kaeya instead, focusing solely on counting the beats in his head and listening carefully as his brother carries them forward at an even tempo.

On the bar before he comes in, Kaeya's gaze intensifies, and he gives an encouraging little nod on the last beat.

Diluc takes a quick breath and plays the first note.

Perfectly in time.

Finally.

The sheer relief of it almost overwhelms him enough to stop playing.

But Kaeya smiles brightly at him over the piano and Diluc remembers what he's trying to do, and the rest of the notes seem to almost jump off the page and into his fingers, coming to him as naturally as breathing – and it feels sogood, to finally be time with his brother, his heart lifting with each note he manages to play and each second that Kaeya's smile widens.

It feels so good that he gets completely lost in his own sound, in the resounding melody drowning out all his other thoughts, in the notes in front of him telling him exactly where to go, and then he realises–

Kaeya's stopped playing.

His breath hitches as he glances back in a panic at his brother, only to find him smiling sadly, fingers resting lightly on top of the keys, motionless.

Diluc lowers his bow.

"What– why'd you stop?"

Kaeya shakes his head a little, still wearing that bittersweet smile. "You started racing ahead without me. Took you seven bars to notice. You're still not really listening, are you?"

He– did he do that?

Shit.

"I– sorry– I guess I got carried away," he says quietly, looking back at his sheet music. He has no idea where he even was, what he was playing, when he lost track of Kaeya. He was barely concentrating. Barely listening.

The high of relief fades so quickly it feels like he's falling.

Maybe his brother is right. He's completely forgotten what it's like to work with another person.

Kaeya gets up again and takes the violin from him, his movements so soundless and swift that Diluc hardly even registers what's happening. "Maybe we can swap instruments. A change of pace might help. Let me take the lead for a while."

He makes it all the way to obediently sitting at the piano before Kaeya's words fully sink in. "What– since when do you play violin?"

Kaeya blinks in genuine confusion, eyebrow raised. "Why do you look so shocked? I've always been able to play."

…Is he being gaslit?

"I– but you never–"

"Sure, I never played in front of you, but I'm sure I told you. Don't you remember? You even asked me about it once, when you were looking for your violin after I'd borrowed it. You heard me playing and everything."

This is gaslighting. It has to be. He wouldn't have forgotten such an important detail–

"Wait." A wicked grin spreads across Kaeya's face. "Oh– oh,Luc– don't tell me– you actually believed my story about the mansion being haunted by the ghost of a violinist?"

"…That wasyou?"

"You're joking." Kaeya's grin is so wide now that it looks like his face might split in half. He doubles over, leaning far too heavily on the frail music stand as he laughs breathlessly. "You are too much, brother. Fuck. I can't believe– you actually still believe that–"

Diluc feels like he's about to combust. He wishes he would. "I– obviously I don'tstillbelieve it, idiot– I was achild. What did you expect– why would you even think to lie about that?" He crosses his arms tightly over his chest, looking away even though he knows damn well it does nothing to hide the uncontrollable redness in his cheeks. "If you wanted to play the violin so badly you could've just asked. You didn't need to sneak around like that. And Father would've bought you one of your own without question."

Kaeya's not even listening anymore. He's put down the violin and bow completely, clutching at his chest like he's in the middle of a heart attack, stealing breathless gasps in between wheezes and fits of laughter. He's wiping at his eye too– is hecrying?

His sense of humour is well and truly warped.

In a feeble attempt to suppress the laugh that rises up unbidden, Diluc bites down on his lip.Bitter. The laugh escapes. "It's– it's really not that funny, Kae–"

If Kaeya tries to say something it gets lost in even more laughter. He sounds like he's dying.

"Help," he says, sinking to the floor, still laughing.

"You did this to yourself." That only makes him laugh harder.

"I'm dying," he wheezes. "My stomach–ow–"

"You won't be missed."

"So mean," he whines. "Addie–"

Diluc swings his leg out to kick him. Lightly. Very lightly. Just enough to knock some sense into him.

He sprawls across the floor on his back, looking thoroughly defeated. It does nothing to interrupt his hysterics.

Diluc has no idea how long he sits there, staring at his prone brother, waiting for the giggling to cease, stoutly holding back his own fits of laughter that threaten to spill out the longer Kaeya goes on. It feels like too long before he sighs and goes completely limp, massaging his sides weakly as a final few strangled laughs course through him.

"Are you quite finished?" Diluc says, gripping the edge of the piano bench, fingers tapping impatiently against the lacquered wood.

"Oh, come on," Kaeya says. His smile drops a little as he turns his head to look at Diluc. "Even after all that, you're still so tense. What'll it take for you to loosen up?"

Once again, Diluc doesn't know how to answer that. His mouth stays clamped shut.

"You know what you need?" Kaeya says, pointing a finger up at the ceiling for a moment before jabbing it in his direction. "Exercise."

"I get plenty of exercise. I'm not unfit."

"Never said you were. But this isn't about fitness," Kaeya says, groaning as he sits up again. He looks at Diluc with more genuine concern this time. "You need physical stimulation. An outlet for all that nervous energy. Clearly music isn't cutting it."

When did he get so restless?

"You must have a training ground set up around here, right? Even the Knights–"

"Of course I do. But–"

"Come on then. How about a spar?" Kaeya rolls his shoulder. "Been a while since we did anything like that together."

There's a blatantly obvious reason as to why they haven't sparred in a while.

"…Are you sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Kaeya flashes him a bright smile, warm and trusting with a dash of arrogance for good measure.

Is he really going to make Diluc spell it out?

"Because–"

"It's not a fight. Just training. You're the strongest person I know, and I could use a challenge for once. Goodness knows I've had it far too easy against thoseinefficientknights," he says, more arrogance bleeding into his smile.

It's a smile that's very hard to say no to.

Diluc stares down at his hands. They're already trembling again. He grips the bench harder. There's no need for them to be trembling.

Just a bit of friendly sparring. The sort of thing they indulged in constantly when they were younger, so much that Father and Adelinde would be forced to drag them back inside when it got dark, even when they were well into their teenage years and mature enough to know better.

It'll be fine. As soon as they get started it'll be like nothing's changed at all.

That's what you thought about playing music with him too, and look how well that turned out.

He takes a deep breath and follows his brother outside, casting aside those unhelpful thoughts. He's not about to say no to Kaeya and make him think that something is actually wrong. Because nothing is wrong.

He'sfine.

The sun feels too hot for the middle of May. Sweat is already gathering on his brow and he's barely been outside for a few minutes.

Kaeya tosses a wooden sword at him after they finish their warmup. He almost looks disappointed when Diluc catches it before it hits him square in the chest.

Why is he constantly trying to catch Diluc off his guard? Idiot.

The circular training ground is a few yards wide, giving each of them plenty of space to move around. But somehow the open area feels smaller and more claustrophobic than it ever has.

Kaeya stands directly opposite him at the edge of the circle, too close and too far all at once. He twirls his own wooden sword, swishing it back and forth with unnecessary flair, a taunting, playful smile on his face when he looks up and points it at him.

Diluc glances at the winery, not too far away. He tries not to think about how they were standing over there at its entrance just four years ago in this exact position with their swords raised, real swords, cold steel that would draw blood–

"Ready?"

Diluc holds his breath as he looks back at Kaeya. He's already in a fighting stance, one hand behind his back.

That makes him raise an eyebrow. "Someone's confident."

"If you want me to use both hands," Kaeya says, smirking, "you'll have to make me."

His brother is too damn arrogant for his own good.

Diluc lets out a long, slow exhale and readies himself in a matching stance, gripping the sword probably a bit too tightly.

He puts his other hand behind his back.

"Oh? You don't think I'm good enough for you to use both hands? You wound me, brother."

"Don't give me that. You're doing the same." He rolls his eyes and lifts the sword, looking past the end of it to Kaeya's nonchalant smirk. "We'll see who gives in first."

They stand in silence for a few seconds, each watching the other expectantly. Neither of them make a move.

"What are you waiting for?" Kaeya says at last.

Oh. Right. Diluc's always been the one to strike first.

But he can't.

Not again. Not anymore.

He shakes his head. "You go first."

Kaeya stares him down for a few moments, eyebrows furrowed, before taking a step back with an easy smile. "If you insist. You'd better not whine about not having the advantage when I beat you."

As if I'd do something so childish, he thinks, but he doesn't get a chance to speak before Kaeya lunges forwards.

He brings his sword up quickly to block. But it's a weak block – pathetically weak, so weak that the impact hardly makes a sound – and Kaeya breaks through without even trying. The sword connects with his torso for a split second before Kaeya pulls back. It's not a heavy enough hit to hurt, but it does send him stumbling back a single step.

Kaeya lowers his sword immediately with a scoff. "Don't hold back, Luc. Do you think so little of my abilities?"

"Of course not." His brother is one of the best swordsmen he knows. He's probably better than Diluc, at least when it comes to agility and precision, even if he lacks some of Diluc's raw strength.

"Then show me what you're actually capable of." He turns and goes back to where he started before Diluc can argue. "You first this time."

The sword wavers in his grip.

"Kae– I can't."You know why I can't.

"Sure you can."

Kaeya still looks carefree as ever.

Okay. Fine.

He trusts his brother. His brother trusts him.

Fine.

He takes a deep breath and steps forward, bringing his sword up high in front of him, aiming for Kaeya's shoulder. Kaeya raises his own sword with even greater speed, blocking the strike in mid-air. The hard edges of their swords click loudly as they collide.

"Are you sure you're twenty-two?" Another block. "You're hitting like a twelve year old."

Diluc grits his teeth and swings down. Kaeya blocks effortlessly again.

"You can do better than that, surely."

Another swing. Another block.

He sidesteps to dodge as Kaeya pushes forward, and tries to force him towards the edge of the circle, but Kaeya isn't fazed. He's always been light on his feet, so he's quick to dance around him and move in for another strike.

It's like he can see all of Diluc's moves before he's even thought of them, a step ahead of his own reflexes. Each time he brings his sword down, Kaeya's there, constant and unwavering, his smile never faltering.

He rushes forward to strike again but–

Empty space.

Shit–

His body twists painfully as he rushes to meet Kaeya behind him – he swings up, slicing through the air wildly a split second before Kaeya blinks into existence out of nowhere and thrusts his sword forward. It comes to a stop just a hair's breadth from his chest. A sharp clack reverberates through the air as their swords meet.

Kaeya bounces back, remaining light on his toes.

"Not bad," he says, breathless, before diving to the side and landing a clean hit on Diluc's upper arm. "But not quite enough, brother dearest." He grins as he lowers his sword with a flourish.

Diluc huffs, straightening up and brushing himself off, wiping away some of the sweat beading on his forehead.

It's too damnhot.

He can hardly think.

"Again? Or are you scared you'll lose to your baby brother–"

"Shut up, Kae."

Kaeya laughs breezily. The sound settles his heart just a bit, but it's still beating uncomfortably loud, making his chest ache.

It's been a while since he fought like this.

"Can't help but notice you still haven't used your other hand. I suppose I need to try a little harder then, don't I?"

Diluc grunts in response. He's already trying too hard if he's using his stupid teleportation trick. The casual act only covers up so much.

"Well?"

"Again," Diluc says firmly.

Kaeya doesn't need to be told twice. He springs forward without another word.

They've sparred so much over the years that this old song and dance should feel achingly familiar and routine, second nature and easy to slip back into. But– Kaeya's style has changed. Drastically. Almost beyond recognition.

He's still elegant, but far less restrained than he used to be. His bladework is more dangerous, more ruthless, his steps lighter and quieter, his swings faster and stronger. And somehow on top of that he's more careful than ever, not leaving a single opening, pivoting with lightning speed before Diluc can even register that there was an opening at all. An unstoppable one-man force.

This is the result of years of fighting alone.

Your fault.

Or maybe Kaeya's always been like this. He'd just been hiding it, like he hid everything else–

"Maybe we should've done this earlier."

He barely manages to lift his sword in time to stop Kaeya's hit from connecting with his shoulder.

He's getting distracted.Fuck.

"Because it feels like you've lost your edge, sunshine."

Don't call me that–

He has to leap back as Kaeya swings down, this time aiming for his upper leg. Dust flies up around them.

His other hand comes out from behind his back and latches onto the sword before he can stop himself.

Damn it.

"Finally getting serious, are you?"

Gods, doesn't Kaeya ever know when toshut the fuck up–

Whatever. He's already lost so he might as well go down swinging.

Kaeya's had enough of holding back too, gripping his sword with two hands as he blocks Diluc's next strike.

A flurry of wood and dust and hot air. His ponytail is coming undone, hair falling in his face, but he doesn't have a chance to breathe or do anything about it as Kaeya continues his relentless assault.

They're moving closer to the edge of the ring. They've been at it for a while now – Kaeya's endurance is being tested. He's always been one to end a fight quickly by any means necessary, no matter how underhanded.

He's not pushing Diluc back fast enough anymore, letting him press forward step by step and swing by swing, until Kaeya's foot slips on an uneven patch of dirt and he stumbles away.

Kaeya's grip on his sword weakens for a heartbeat's duration–

But it's enough.

He lifts his sword and knocks Kaeya's out of his hands with a single hit.

Diluc is towering over him now.

That easy smile finally falls away.

Kaeya stares up at him, mouth half-open, eye wide. His face is cast in shadow by Diluc blocking out the burning sunlight behind him.

He's unarmed, defenceless–

Afraid?

Something cold drips down his back.

Father deserved better than either of us–

It's raining.

He's drenched to the bone and it's freezing cold and the flaming steel is heavy above his head so he has no choice but to bring it down–

You killed the wrong person.

"Luc?"

The sword falls.

It lands in the dirt with a light thud. He can barely hear it over his pounding heartbeat.

"Luc– Diluc, please listen to me–"

Something warm and soft embraces him.

It's too warm. The sun's still out– he'ssweating–

He pushes it away and trips backwards. The ground rises to meet him. The impact is soft. Maybe. He can't feel much of anything at all other than the sweltering heat.

A gloved hand reaches out.

Diluc stares.

His chest is heaving but it doesn't feel like any air is actually entering his lungs.

Dizzy. He feels dizzy. Everything is– it's all spinning–

"It's okay, Luc, I'm here–"

That soft thing embraces him again.

"Kae?"

"You're okay. Everything's okay."

Kaeya's arms tighten around him. Diluc thinks that might be the only thing keeping him upright.

His hands are cold against Diluc's back.

It's not raining.

He breathes. Slowly, in and out, like he's relearning how to breathe all over again.

Diluc's own hands are pressed into the dirt behind him. His nails are probably caked in the stuff now. That'll be a pain to clean up later.

Kaeya's embrace is too tight. Diluc gasps as he breaks away from it and shuffles backwards, and Kaeya gives in easily, almost too easily, his wide-eyed gaze following him the entire time.

"Luc, are you–"

"I'm fine."

Kaeya kneels on the ground beside him. He's going to complain later about getting his clothes dirty even though it was entirely his choice.

Icy fingers brush against the nape of Diluc's neck. It should be a calming sensation but something about it makes his heart sink. Diluc anchors himself to it anyway.

"Diluc–"

"Don't look at me like that." He squeezes his eyes shut. He doesn't know what expression Kaeya is wearing right now but he can feel the sheer pity and sympathy in it anyway and it makes his skin crawl.

What the fuck is he doing? What happened to proving that everything was fine?

He keeps doing this– forcing Kaeya to look after him when nothing is even wrong–

"I'm sorry," Kaeya says quietly after several seconds of heavy silence. "I thought this would help. That it'd get your mind off of everything else. I was only trying to–"

"What made you think usfightingwould help?"

His voice shakes against his will. He doesn't know how to make it stop. He's never been able to make it stop.

He wishes that all this noise in his head would justgo away.

"Not fighting. Training," Kaeya says, even more quietly this time, a faint echo of his words from earlier. "You know, helping each other get stronger. Like we used to."

"You clearly don't need my help."You don't need me.

Kaeya frowns. "I'm not perfect. There's always room for improvement–"

"There's nothing I can do to help you."

"Luc– what are you saying?" Kaeya says, with a disbelieving laugh. "Come on. Don't say things like that."

I'm only holding you back.

Even after all this time, he gets stuck in all these old memories and does nothing but cause trouble for everyone around him. He can't seem to let go of the past no matter how much he wants to. He's not even sure if he wants to, because his mind certainly refuses to, like it wants this to keep happening, so maybe he's just destined to be like this forever and he'll never be able to move on–

Everything was supposed to be okay after April 30th.

How much more time does he need before he can just benormalagain?

"I'm not like you," Diluc mutters bitterly. "I can't just put everything behind me so easily."

Kaeya's eye lights up with cold anger. Diluc wouldn't be able to figure out the reason why if his life depended on it.

What did he say this time?

Before he can open his mouth to say more stupid things and aggravate his brother further, that cold light flickers out of existence and Kaeya's head falls forward onto his shoulder with a sad, helpless sort of laugh that makes his heart ache.

"How did we get so out of sync?" Kaeya sighs. "We're never on the same page anymore. Even all our old habits – playing music, or sparring, or even justthis," he says as wraps one arm around Diluc, pressing against the small of his back, "none of it works like it used to."

Diluc wants to argue. But he can't seem to form any coherent argument. He's not sure he would be able to on a better day either.

Everything used to be so easy between them.

Things are never going to be that easy again, no matter how much they try.

That's the truth they're both afraid of, isn't it? The reason they still keep all this distance between them. All these secrets.

Even in the moments when they're actually honest with each other, it's not the same, it'll never be the same. Nothing will ever be as perfect as it was no matter how much they want it to be.

"I wish you'd tell me what goes on in that head of yours," Kaeya says, "instead of making me guess all the time. You're harder to read than you used to be."

"You first."

"Nice try. You're the one who nearly had a full-blown panic attack just now. You first."

He takes a shuddering breath and clutches the back of Kaeya's shirt. "I'm worried about you."

"I know that much. You always are. Such a dutiful big brother," Kaeya says dryly. "Be specific."

He feels like he's choking on the words. He can scarcely tell what he's saying, or where the words are coming from at all. Has he ever even allowed himself to gather his thoughts like this? "I'm worried about– whether I'm doing enough for you. Whether you're okay. About the things you did while I was away and– and things like that."

Kaeya tenses a little, but it doesn't last for long. He sighs and runs his hand through Diluc's hair, twirling the ends of his ponytail around his fingers.

"Luc, you being here is more than enough for me. You're always there when I need it. So don't worry about that, alright?" he says, pulling back to offer him the gentlest of smiles.

Is he really there when Kaeya needs it, though? How much has he missed just because his brother is far better at hiding things than Diluc is at realising when something's hidden?

"And you remember my promise. Whatever happened while you were away – it's well and truly in the past now, so you don't need to worry about that either–"

"Not– this isn't about that. The promise. I meant– Eroch."

"Eroch…?" Kaeya tilts his head to the side with a small smirk. "So you spoke to Jean, did you?"

"She told me a little. About how you two worked to get rid of him." Diluc gulps. "She– she also sounded worried. She said you didn't tell her things. That you weren't taking care of yourself."That you did all of that for me when I did nothing of the sort for you in return. I never even thanked you for any of it.

Kaeya hums, still playing with Diluc's hair. "But thatisall in the past, Diluc. Eroch's gone, and I'm not the same person I was back then. Largely thanks to you," he says with an unquestionably sincere smile, bright enough to almost erase all his doubts. "So there's no point worrying about it now."

You make it sound so easy.

"Are you ever going to tell me about what you did? How you got rid of him?"

"It was nothing as dramatic as you're thinking. Mostly basic espionage. Sneaking around a lot. A little risky, but nothingthatdangerous." Kaeya chuckles. "Yes, I'll admit I probably should've taken better care of myself, I can see that now – but I'm willing to bet it was a walk in the park compared to whatever you got up to."

There it is. A classic Kaeya deflection. Took him a bit longer than usual to get to it.

If his 'basic espionage' was really as simple as Kaeya's making it out to be, then why did Jean sound so worried? She's not the sort to worry without good reason, not like him. She wouldn't have said anything if she thought it was nothing. If she didn't think it was important enough for him to know.

"You don't know what I did," Diluc says.

"But I can see how much it affected you."

"I could say the same for you."

Kaeya laughs. "We could keep going around in circles like this for hours and missing the point." He leans in to hug Diluc tight again, smiling against his shoulder. "The past is in the past. I'm okay now, because I know I've got the best brother in the whole world looking out for me, who's doing more than enough for me, so you really don't need to worry so much, okay? Trust yourself a bit. Trustmea bit."

"But I–"

"I'll tell you myself if there's something wrong, but chances are you'll spot it as soon as I do anyway, or even before I do. You're good like that. You care enough to notice those things," he says. "So let's just focus on the present. On being together. I don't want us to always be thinking about things we can't change anymore. Is that alright with you?"

Kaeya's heartfelt tone, his incessant stream of soft words – he's very clearly not leaving any room for argument, not unless Diluc wants to be the villain and turn this into yet another one of their pointless fights.

Is he downplaying things again? Sweeping all his issues under the rug and hoping Diluc won't question it too much? Or can Diluc trust him this time?

"Luc?"

"Yeah. Okay. I get it." He lets go of Kaeya's shirt and pulls away from the hug. "I'll– try and stop worrying so much."

"It's okay if youdoworry, but just– tell me about it instead of keeping it all bottled up in here," he says, tapping the side of Diluc's head lightly. "So I can ease your mind before it turns into something big."

He doesn't answer with anything more than a nod.

He's saved from having to say anything else by the arrival of Adelinde, with Klee following right behind her.

"Woah, were you guys fighting?"

Klee runs out from behind Adelinde, skidding to a stop mere inches away from them, eyes wide as she looks between them and their discarded training swords on the ground beside them.

Adelinde is carrying a tray with glasses of juice and a large bowl of freshly cut fruit. She sets it down on one of the nearby wooden crates and takes a seat next to it before looking back at them with a polite, mildly concerned smile.

"We were in the middle of some very important training, my dear Spark Knight. Would you like to join us?"

"Can I?" She claps excitedly. "Jean says I'm still too young to use a sword."

How strange, because Diluc seems to recall that Jean at this age used to delight in chasing after him with a sword far too big for her to hold properly–

"No actual swords, I'm afraid. I'm sure you'll get to use those plenty when you're older. But everyone practises with a wooden sword first– although, these are probably a bit on the large side for you…"

"There's old equipment in the box if you need it," Diluc says quietly. "I'm taking a break."

Kaeya looks concerned for a moment, but he waves Diluc off with a smile and turns back to Klee. "Old people get tired out so easily. But you'll be able to keep going for a long time, won't you? With all of that energy you have," he says, ruffling her hair vigorously. "You'll need all the energy you can get. There's plenty to learn–"

"Aren't you old too?"

"Not as old as him," Kaeya says, not missing a beat before he nods towards Diluc. "He'sancientcompared to me, you know."

"I'm only seven months older," Diluc mutters to himself as he takes a seat next to Adelinde. She doesn't hide her smile, and silently hands him a glass of juice instead.

Kaeya starts to lead Klee away to the equipment box, rambling about all sorts of things that Diluc tunes out. They eventually take out what Diluc guesses is the smallest training sword he has, but even that is over half her height. She looks ridiculous trying to handle that thing, but her excitement isn't dampened in any way as she looks up wide-eyed at Kaeya, hanging on to his every word with eager nods and an unrelentingly bright smile.

"Master Kaeya is quite close with that girl, isn't he?" she says, smiling fondly as Kaeya demonstrates how to hold a sword and Klee mimics him as best she can.

Diluc nods, and takes a long sip of his juice. Grape juice.

But it doesn't have that same nostalgic sweetness today.

"I think there's something wrong with me," he says bitterly, staring down at his reflection in the drink.

Adelinde's smile fades as she turns to look at him, placing one hand on his arm. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I– isn't it obvious?" He lets out a sardonic laugh. "Even with all this medicine– I'm not getting better. I'm getting worse and nothing's going to fix it."

The quietness in his mind that he'd started to grow accustomed to, started take for granted, it's

abandoned him in the last couple of weeks. He's right back to his old ways – panicking and worrying every hour of the day and letting the tiniest of concerns swallow him whole–

"But youaregetting better. Did we not discuss that just this morning?"

"Compared to last year, sure, but anything would be better compared to last year," he says, setting his half-empty glass back on the tray with a scoff. "It was getting better for a while, but it's clearly not anymore–"

Adelinde presses her fingers down sharply into his shoulders and he gasps.

She found the muscle knots on her first try?

"Addie–"

"You are incredibly tense, Master Diluc. You have been for a while," Adelinde says, continuing to massage his shoulders before he can squeak out another word of protest. "This is a difficult time of year for you, and you've had more than your fair share of stressful days recently. You should be more patient with yourself. A few slip-ups here and there does not mean that you are 'getting worse'. Recovery is not linear. Few things in life are."

"…I know," he says after a too-long pause, dropping his head in shame. She always says things that should be so obvious to him. He never seems to realise that until she says them though.

"Don't be so quick to give up on yourself," she says softly, still kneading away at his shoulders, working those damn knots with unprecedented precision. "Extend to yourself the same patience and kindness that you would show to your brother."

How manipulative of her, to bring Kaeya into this.

He runs a hand down his face. "I'll try," he says, looking down at the grass and dirt at their feet, carefully avoiding thoughts about the pitying expression that Adelinde is surely wearing.

"That's all I ask, Master Diluc."

Endlessly patient. How does she do it? He'll never understand.

He glances up through the hair falling in his face at Kaeya and Klee, still engrossed in their training. Kaeya's fastidiously correcting her posture and grip, but Klee seems all too eager to break right out of it and go off swinging wildly again. Not too different to when he was a child, he thinks.

He takes a closer look at Kaeya. Smiling softly, not a single hint of a frown in sight as he watches Klee with a look of pure adoration.

Things are always better when they're together.

But being together, and making things better – it takes so much effort. And he's sotired.

Maybe he should just settle for good enough and stop trying so hard before he finds a way to ruin their delicate balance again somehow.

Maybe he just needs some time to himself.

"I'll be in the workshop," he says, standing up slowly, nodding towards Adelinde. "If they ask, you can let them know, but I'd rather not be disturbed for a while."

"It's nearly lunchtime–"

"I'm not feeling very hungry. I'll… grab something to eat later. It's alright."

She's obviously displeased, lips downturned in a sharp frown, eyes narrowed. But she doesn't stop him from leaving. "I'll see you at dinner, then," she says, before turning back to watch Kaeya and Klee.

Hmm. He's going to be paying for the consequences of this for a while. He can already see the gears turning in Adelinde's head as she cooks up ways to overfeed him for the next few days, maybe weeks.

It's fine. He needs this. Patience and kindness towards himself, right?

Just a few hours alone to stopthinking. And then he can go back to pretending that he's a normal person and nothing's wrong.

Notes:

the next chapter is mostly chill... i think... for now... edith is on the horizon but we're not quite there yet. maybe she'll be chill too! who knows

thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed 3 i'll see you all soon, take care until then o7 *hops back into writing void*

Chapter 3

Notes:

it's always amusing to open my daily kudos email and see the same names pop up on every single story in this series after i post an update. like 'haha, another person has fallen into my trap! :)'. that kind of amusement. ehe

(but for real i am deeply honoured and flattered by the fact that people will read any part of this series and then actually commit to reading the rest... *sobs* you are all so nice i do not deserve you)

anyway, dialogue-heavy chapter ahead, hope you enjoy 3 this turned out a lot longer than i thought it would. as it always does. orz

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

"I thought when Adelinde said you'd be in the workshop that it was a euphemism for something. But no… it's actually just a workshop. Boring."

Diluc didn't even notice the door opening.

Kaeya thankfully doesn't comment on the paintbrush that goes flying at him as soon as he opens his mouth. He tilts his head a few degrees to the side and dodges it without breaking a sweat, then crouches to pick it up after it bounces harmlessly off the door and falls to the floor.

He should be grateful that Diluc wasn't holding a screwdriver or some similarly sharp object, because that could've ended disastrously.

Seriously, what is Kaeya thinking, sneaking up on him without any warning like that? Doesn't he know what a terrible idea that is? Doesn't he realise what Diluc is capable of?

"…What exactly would it have been a euphemism for?" Diluc says slowly, forcing himself to take a deep breath.

"Like a secret lair, or a torture chamber, or something. Where you lure your unsuspecting guests and make them talk. Or drink their blood. Or both." Kaeya shrugs. "Who knows with you."

Atorture chamber? Just what sort of person does Kaeya take him for?

He'd never put something like that in such an easily accessible place.

"This is the second time today that you've brought up vampires completely unprompted."

"It's not unprompted. I mean, look – here's a rich man living in near solitude far away from the city who's absurdly strong, only ever goes out at night, and has such an inhuman sense of taste that he unironically prefers grape juice to wine. It's one of the more logical explanations for your existence, to be honest."

Diluc stares blankly before shaking his head. "You read too much fiction."

"Hey, at least I'm telling you this to your face. You should hear the rumours."

"Rumours…?"

"Some people are quite enamoured with the idea of you secretly being a vampire. As if you weren't mysterious enough already."

"…You're the one spreading those rumours, aren't you."

Kaeya grins impishly. "Perhaps."

Diluc sighs. Just Kaeya being Kaeya. He should really expect this by now.

His brother hasn't had enough of being a menace, it seems, because he steps into the workshop and drops the plate he was carrying right on the table in front of Diluc.

"Adelinde's pissed, by the way. I brought this on her behalf to spare you her wrath."

Diluc, quite happily curled up in his chair, turns his head a little to look at what Kaeya's brought him. A generous serving of steak with a heap of steamed vegetables on the side.

Adelinde's cooking is always lovely. But he can't bring himself to stomach it right now.

"I'm not hungry," he mumbles, nudging the plate back towards his brother.

Kaeya pushes the plate forwards again with one finger. "You don't get to complain about me not eating enough and then turn around and do the exact same thing. That's called–"

"I already told her I wasn't going to eat until later." He's not Kaeya. He eats just fine.

"You've been in here for almost five hours now. How much later is 'later', exactly?"

"Kae, I– just leave me alone, okay? I don't want– I need space."

"You've even got Klee wondering about you. She's going to start thinking she did something wrong if you keep acting all miserable the whole time she's here."

Diluc looks away again, fidgeting with the device in his hands. "Don't try to guilt trip me. A couple of hours to myself is nothing."

"A couple of hours turns into a couple of days which turns into a couple of weeks, months,years–"

He shoots Kaeya his sharpest glare. "What do you want, Kae? I just wanted to be alone for a bit. Is that really too much to ask?"

"In my experience, nothing good ever comes from you isolating yourself this way."

The lamp hanging from the workshop ceiling sways a little amidst the silence with a slight squeak that grates at his senses. He should probably get around to oiling it one of these days.

Kaeya leans forward, placing one hand on the table, tapping his fingers loudly against the wood as he stares down at Diluc, his gaze unyielding and stern and much too close to Adelinde's reprimanding stare for his liking. Diluc finds himself wilting in the face of it.

"…You're not going to leave me alone, are you?"

"Not unless there's a fire or something, no. You're stuck with me."

Sounds like a challenge–

"That's not a challenge, by the way. We already have one known arsonist in the building. No need for another."

His whole body deflates as he shrinks further into his chair with a heavy sigh and returns to avoiding his brother's discerning eye.

Kaeya brightens at the apparent victory, smiling and dragging over a chair to sit opposite Diluc. The fact that Kaeya doesn't sweep everything off the table to make room for himself to sit there is surprising. Maybe he's being more considerate than Diluc is giving him credit for.

Something pointy pokes his cheek. Diluc lets out a low growl as he turns to see Kaeya holding a fork way too close to his face.

So much for consideration.

He grabs the utensil before Kaeya can say anything else and stabs it into the dead centre of the steak with zero intention to actually take a bite out of it.

"Don't be difficult, brother dearest–"

"Where is Klee, anyway?" Diluc says sharply, cutting him off. "You're supposed to be babysitting her. You haven't forced her on Adelinde, have you?"

"Maybe Adelinde volunteered. She's a kind person like that."

"Kae–"

"Relax. She's up in the study," Kaeya says, pulling the fork out and cutting up the steak into small pieces.

Archons. Way to be patronising. He's not a child, he doesn't need someone to cut his food for him.

Just how pathetic does he look right now to have Kaeya acting this way?

"On her own?" Diluc says, steeling his voice against the tremors threatening to creep into it.

"She got her hands on some chemistry books a couple of hours ago, and those have kept her quietly occupied ever since," Kaeya says, chuckling.

Klee being quiet? For hours? Thanks tochemistry books?That sounds less plausible than the whole vampire thing.

"Can she even understand them?"

"She's very bright for her age. I don't doubt that she understands at least some of what's in there. And even if she didn't," Kaeya says, his voice suddenly a little softer, "I think they remind her of Albedo. So she's very determined to read them anyway." He chuckles again, a somewhat bittersweet sound. "If I'd known it was that easy to keep her quiet, I might've taken her down to the library more often."

Diluc straightens in his chair a bit. "How come you're stuck babysitting her anyway? Did something happen to Albedo?"

"He's been rather preoccupied as of late. I wish I understood what was so important about his research on Dragonspine that keeps him from spending more time with his little sister–" Kaeya cuts himself off with a sigh. "Well, anyway. He's busy, so he asked me to look after her in his stead. That's all."

He sounds almost resentful. "Do you… mind? Having to look after her?"

"Of course not," Kaeya says, rolling his eye. "Klee's a gem. Besides, at this point I've gotten used to the whims of older brothers who isolate themselves from the world instead of talking to people normally."

Hm. He's usually more subtle than that.

"But enough about Klee. What's my second-favourite Pyro Vision user up to?"

"Nothing."

"What's that in your hand then?"

He'd almost forgotten he was working on something before Kaeya arrived. His hand tightens around the little device he's holding. "It's nothing important–"

"Diluc," Kaeya whines. "I only want to know what you're doing. I don't care if it's important or not. You don't need to be so mysterious all the time. Go on, tell me what it is. Unless you expect me to believe that you spent five hours in here staring at the wall doing nothing."

That's not as uncommon a scenario as you seem to think.

He uncurls his hand with a sigh. How does he even explain this? "It's… probably easier if I show you, I guess."

Where did he leave the Kamera? He spins in his chair and finds it sitting on a shelf behind him, then kicks off the ground towards it.

"Are you– does your chair havewheelson it?"

"Yes?" He glances at Kaeya over his shoulder, who has one eyebrow raised in scepticism.

"What on earth do you need wheels on a chair for?"

Because it's fun to spin in."Makes it easier to move around," he says, shrugging.

"People normally use their legs for that," he says, narrowing his eye as Diluc glides back towards the table. "Did you make it yourself?"

"I– yeah, but it's not exactly a novel idea or anything. Why is that the thing you're focusing on right now? It's got nothing to do with what I was working on." He shakes his head and gestures for Kaeya to get up. "Stand over there, next to the door."

"I told you I'm not leaving–"

"I'm not asking you to." He lifts the Kamera for emphasis.

Kaeya lets out an overly dramatic sigh as he gets up and meanders over to the door, leaning his back against it and folding his arms. "Alright then. What now?"

"Now you wait."

"You're soboring."

Diluc ignores him, setting up the Kamera on top of a box, adjusting it until his brother is in focus. Then he attaches the device above the shutter button and turns the dial on it as far as he can, before getting up to join his brother at the door.

"Smile," he says.

Kaeya stares at him, mouth ajar. "What– Luc, that picture isn't going to take itself–"

His words are mercifully cut off by the crisp click of a shutter.

Kaeya looks between the Kamera and Diluc several times before uncrossing his arms with a quiet laugh and walking back to the table to pick up and examine the Kamera more closely. "What did you do?"

Diluc follows him and grabs the photograph before it falls to the floor. It's a little blurry, and Kaeya wasn't looking at the Kamera, but his expression is obvious anyway – he looks thoroughly confused. What a rare sight. Diluc will have to hold on to this.

"It's… I don't know what to call it," he says, plucking the device off the Kamera. "But it's supposed to let you be in your own pictures. You turn the dial to give you enough time to get in the frame, and then it pushes the button for you."

Kaeya holds out his hand and Diluc drops the device into his open palm, watching carefully as his brother holds it up to the light and starts to inspect it from every angle. "And you made this just now? All by yourself?"

"It's a simple timer attached to a spring plunger. Nothing that complicated." He looks down at the photo. "And it's far from perfect. I think the Kamera moved too much and that's why the photo came out sort of blurry… so it still needs adjustments." Maybe the spring inside is coiled too tight. He probably needs to reduce the pressure, have it unwind more slowly until it presses down on the button, so there's less force and–

"You really are a nerd, aren't you?"

His gaze snaps back to his brother to find a teasing smirk on his face, and that has him dropping the photo on the table with a quiet sigh before sinking into his chair again. "Yes, you've told me that countless times by now. What about it."

"No, I mean…" Kaeya's smirk softens a bit. "I thought you'd only use a workshop for making swords or something, like Father taught you to. I didn't realise you were into this sort of thing. Making little gadgets like this."

"I'm not really into it," he says dismissively. "I just had an idea, that's all. It's hardly of a professional standard or anything anyway, so–"

"It's still impressive. Most people would stop at the idea," Kaeya says, his smile almost encouraging. "How'd you even think of this?"

His eyes wander to the photo again. "I… on my birthday, when we took photos of each other. I thought it would've been nice if we'd managed to get a photo with both of us in it together," he says, a bit of nostalgia creeping into his voice unintentionally.

Kaeya goes quiet, looking down at the device, his fingers curling tightly around it for a second before he tosses it back towards Diluc with a nonchalant grin. "Well then, I suppose you'd better get round to perfecting this self-timer of yours soon, so we don't let our next opportunity for photos go to waste."

Self-timer? Not a terrible name for the device, it describes the function well enough. He nods at his brother, whose grin only widens.

"You know, I don't recall you ever working on this sort of thing when we were younger. Where'd you pick all of this up? Don't tell me you spent three years reading books on engineering, or whatever," he says, dropping into his chair and resting his elbows on the table.

Diluc tries his best not to bite his lip. "The Fatui are far more advanced. I… didn't have much of a choice. Had to try and understand some of what they were doing, if I wanted to get anywhere."

That catches Kaeya's attention. His eye widens just a fraction. "The Fatui…?"

He's said more than he should have. He doesn't want to talk about this. Both of them already know too much, when it comes to the horrors the Fatui are capable of. There's no need to retread any of it.

"And– I also spent a while in Fontaine. They're pretty advanced too. In more than just weaponry."

A reluctant smile appears on Kaeya's face. What, did he actuallywantto talk about the Fatui? About lethal technology and inhumane experimentation?

At least he allows the change of topic without fighting it. Diluc doesn't think he'd have the strength to shut him down right now. "Pretty advanced, you say?"

Diluc nods. "Yeah. I– Father never took you to Fontaine, did he?"

Kaeya hums. "Not that I can recall. I remember he wanted to at some point, but I think we ended up doing something else that summer…"

"I only went once when I was younger, before you were here," Diluc says. "I didn't pay much attention to anything then. But– everything there is so complicated. It all runs on steam power.Steampower. And all their machinery is so intricate and there are so many moving parts and yet somehow everything works flawlessly. And it's Fontaine, so they're all for spectacle – some of the things they've built over there are insane."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Like– they have this giant wheel– it's made completely of metal, and it'shuge, it stretches all the way up to the sky, and they attached little carriages to it so that you can sit in them, and they carry hundreds and hundreds of people, and the wheel spins and takes you right to the top and from up there you can see the whole city underneath you and it's–"

A tiny laugh escapes Kaeya. Soft, but deafening to Diluc.

His face is on fire. He coughs and turns away, folding his arms. "Never mind."

Kaeya's face falls. "Wait– no, Luc, keep going–"

"It's not– it's really not that interesting. There's nothing more to say. Forget it."

"It was interesting to you," Kaeya says softly. "I think that's the longest I've heard you talk about anything in years." He smiles a little. "I think that's the most excited you've sounded about anything in years, too."

Kaeya sounds relieved, almost. As if Diluc being quieter these days was something that concerned him.

"It's not interesting to hear about." He fidgets with his sleeves. "It… you wouldn't really understand until you saw it for yourself, probably."

"How about you take me to see it, then?"

Diluc looks up at his brother again. "You really want to?"

"Sure, why not?" Kaeya leans back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head as he grins. "A Ragnvindr family trip to Fontaine, with the world's grumpiest tour guide." He snickers. "Doesn't sound that bad, does it? What's stopping us?"

Work. Responsibilities. Us being two of the only things keeping the city from being overrun by the Abyss Order, or the Fatui, or–

"Well, I'm sure we'll get round to it one day, when we can find the time. Another thing for the bucket list."

"I suppose so."

When was the last time they went anywhere outside Mondstadt together? They used to travel fairly often with Father, but even those trips had become few and far between as they got older and more involved with the Knights.

…It'll be strange, not having Father around while they travel.

But Kaeya will be there, so… it'll be worth whatever heartache or sense of wrongness plagues him.

"Maybe your aunt could tag along too. A nice little family bonding trip, hm?"

He attempts to keep his body from tensing. Clearly he fails, because Kaeya's smile drops before he can blink.

"You're worried about her?" Kaeya asks with too much concern in his expression.

"No– I'm fine." He shakes his head. "It's fine."

Kaeya narrows his eye. "Is it really so difficult to admit when something has you worried?"

Wasn't their conversation that morning enough for him? Why is he still pushing for more answers? "I'm not worried about her."

"Just tell me what's wrong. What about her is bothering you–"

"Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine and nothing's bothering me–"

"Luc–"

"You can leave now. I have other things to do. You're distracting me."

"The only thing you're going to do if I leave is keep worrying yourself sick–"

"Shouldn't you go check on Klee or something? You're wasting time here."

"I don't consider looking after my brother to be a waste of time. Do you?"

The silence that follows is so heavy that he can't do anything but sink further into his chair under the weight of it.

He feels sosmallwhen Kaeya looks at him like that.

"Kae, please," he murmurs as he bows his head, unable to look his brother in the eye.

He knows Kaeya doesn't want to leave him alone. He can see how desperately Kaeya wants to argue, the way his lips are pulled into a deep frown and his fist is clenched at his side.

But he only lets out the quietest of exhales and looks away, glaring at him out of the corner of his eye for a split second before turning his back on him.

"You'd better not miss dinner. Adelinde will have your head for it."

That's the last thing he says before the door slams shut behind him.

Diluc slumps. It's like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders and he no longer needs to hold himself so rigidly upright – but he feels weighed down nonetheless.

The clock ticks too loudly in the newly established quiet. Still a few hours until dinner.

A few more hours to compose himself enough to convince his brother that he's fine and there's nothing for any of them to worry over.

How many goddamn hours does it take?

Dinner seems to be a quiet and mostly uneventful affair. Klee scarfs her food down with alarming speed, finishing while the rest of them aren't even halfway done, and runs off as soon as she's able, citing the urgent need to return to her books in the study. She barely gives them a chance to approve before her little legs are carrying her up the stairs as fast as she can manage.

Diluc never expected that the typically rambunctious child would end up so engrossed in some dusty old books when her usual activities include turning entire populations of fish to dust, among other things of a similarly chaotic nature. But he's not going to stifle her newfound intellectual curiosity. She could certainly use a less destructive hobby for a change.

He kind of wishes she'd stayed though, because her immutable cheer had been the perfect deterrent to any and all tension. Now that it's only him and Kaeya and Adelinde at the dinner table, said tension has returned in full force and his head is starting to ache again.

"So your aunt is arriving tomorrow," Adelinde says carefully, as if that isn't one of the only things he's been able to think about the whole week. She smiles a little at his side. "How are you both feeling?"

"Fine," Diluc mumbles.

Kaeya lets out a short but no less derisive laugh and Diluc snaps his head up to glare at him across the table.

"What's so funny?"

Kaeya rolls his eye. "Who are you trying to fool, Luc?"

"Master Kaeya, you shouldn't aggravate your brother–"

"Addie, come on," Kaeya says, turning to her while gesturing rather ungracefully towards Diluc with his fork. "We've both seen exactly how anxious he is." He looks back at Diluc. "What's the use in trying to pretend around us–"

"I'm not pretending. I'mfine–"

"What part of 'tell people when you're worried' isn't clicking? How many times do you need to be told the same damn thing before you finally start listening?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about–"

"Don't I?" Kaeya scoffs. "You say you're only worried for me, but clearly that's not all. Just be honest for once."

His fingers curl tighter around the knife still in his hand. "You have some nerve, talking tomeabout honesty–"

"Boys."

That makes both of them freeze instantaneously, turning slowly to meet Adelinde's eyes, gleaming and narrowed in crystal clear disapproval. She looks between them both, her eyebrows furrowing more with each millisecond she holds their gazes, before she sighs and leans forward to fold her arms on the table, shoulders sagging in resignation.

"What on earth is the matter with you two?" she says, quiet but no less cutting. She clutches at her elbows, wrinkling her neatly pressed uniform, which only intensifies the guilt Diluc feels for making her worry so much. "There is absolutely no need for this sort of bickering. You are not children. You know better than that."

He started it, Diluc thinks, but he knows better than to say that out loud. He doesn't know better than to ignore his brother's taunts though, evidently.

"Can I be honest for a moment? Since that'ssoimportant to dear Diluc here," Kaeya says, doing fuck all to disguise the snideness in his words.

Adelinde shoots Kaeya a flat look that clearly saysDon't say another word. Kaeya, being Kaeya, elects to either mistranslate or completely ignore that and continues on anyway.

"He's obviously worried over Aunt Edith– quiet, Luc, there's no use denying it," he says, holding up a finger to silence Diluc when he opens his mouth to object. "But I don't see why we should care about her anyway. She had years and years to make any sort of contact, and she didn't. Not even when you needed her most. Frankly, I don't think she's worth our time." He looks Diluc straight in the eyes. "Especially if she's just going to make you worry this much."

Kaeya probably doesn't intend it, but Diluc can't help but notice the sickening parallels he's drawn.

You had years and years to make any sort of contact, and you didn't.

Not even when he needed you most.

…Or maybe he does mean it. That's why he's laying it all out like that for Diluc–

No. Kaeya wouldn't– he doesn't think like that. They're past that sort of thing. They're fine.

He tries to take a deep breath, but it ends up shallow and shaky instead.

"What happened to not jumping to conclusions?" Diluc says, doing his very best not to look away from Kaeya's piercing gaze. "I'm giving her a chance–"

"At the cost of your own sanity." Kaeya's voice is cold. "I can't imagine someone who happily stayed away for so long is worth all of this trouble."

Another breath. But there's never enough air.

It's fine. They'refine.

"This is Mother's family," Diluc says quietly. "Father would've–"

"It's always about what Father would've wanted, isn't it? Never about whatyouactually want."

"Master Kaeya," Adelinde says in a low voice, a delicate warning.

Diluc sits up straighter. "I'm only trying to do what's best for–"

"What makes you think he would've wanted this anyway?

Huh?

"What are you saying?" He blinks, confused. "Of course he–"

"If he really wanted your extended family in the picture, why did he never do anything to keep them in your lives?" Kaeya crosses his arms. "No letters, no family gatherings, nothing. You didn't even remember this woman existed until she sent you a letter out of nowhere. Doesn't that strike you as a little bit odd?"

He starts to say something in protest, but any and all words abandon him before they make it past his lips. His brain is scrambled.

Kaeya doesn't look away from him for a second. Diluc only feels more lost the longer he looks into his brother's eye.

Does he have a point?

He hadn't considered any of that until now.

Was he wrong to think that Father would've done the same thing? That he would've wanted this?

Father easily could've ensured that they were close with their extended family, if he so wished. Could've arranged for them to meet in person and stay in touch. Instead of keeping all that information to himself, consigned to old records and never spoken aloud, he could've at least told them a little bit about their relatives, made them aware that there were people worth caring about outside their close-knit circle.

But– hedidn't.

He was never the careless type. He must have had his reasons–

Is Diluc making a mistake?

"Oh, Master Diluc– there now, it's alright…"

A hand brushes against his cheek and he's suddenly uncomfortably aware of the dampness trailing down it.

He's going to be sick.

"Master Kaeya. Apologise to your brother at once."

"Apologise for what? Being honest?"

"Master Kaeya."

"Sorry," Diluc says. He wants to get up and run, but he's frozen in his seat. "I– sorry, I don't– I–"

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Adelinde says. "You haven't done anything wrong. It's alright."

Haven't I?

What if Kaeya's right again and he's ruining things, again, like he always does, like he can't seem to stop doing–

"Look at you two," Adelinde says, her hand still on his cheek– or at least that's what he thinks. He can't really tell. His face feels numb. "Arguing so viciously when you should be supporting each other." She clicks her tongue. "As if your brother wasn't already stressed enough–"

"Addie," Diluc says, shaking his head despite the nausea that simple motion induces, "don't– don't be mad at him– it's okay, he's right–"

"There is nothing right about being so harsh to each other until one of you breaks, just to settle a minor disagreement. You are adults now. Surely you are both capable of handling things with more civility than this."

Well clearly not, seeing how things always seem to end with us fighting no matter what we do–

He pushes himself out of his chair before Adelinde can stop him.

There's nothing for him to do here. He should just go. He should leave before he says anything else and–

Something latches tightly onto his wrist.

"Luc, wait– don't run off again." A pair of arms wrap around his shoulders, holding him in place.

He can't breathe. "Kae–"

"Sorry." Kaeya squeezes him tighter. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"It's fine–"

"You havegotto stop saying things are fine when they're clearly not," Kaeya says, his voice quiet and pleading. "You're making me worry too, you know?"

Diluc doesn't know what to do other than return the hug weakly. Kaeya buries his face in his shoulder with a sigh.

"Look, I just hate seeing you so stressed over someone who's done nothing for you at all," he says, almost bitterly. "You deserve better than that."

"I know," he mumbles.

"Is there something in particular that has you worried? Anything at all? It doesn't matter how small it seems, it's better if you tell us–"

"I– I don't know what's going to happen," he says shakily. "It's not even like I think something's going to happen. I know there's no reason to be worried – but I justam."

Kaeya lets out an imperceptible sigh and rubs his back lightly. "It's okay, Luc. You don't have to pretend to not be worried."

"Sorry–"

"I meant it when I said I'd annoy her until she leaves. I really don't mind telling her to go fuck herself and leave us alone if–"

"Master Kaeya, you will do no such thing–"

"Ifshe turns out to be any kind of trouble. So don't worry. There's nothing your aunt can do that we won't be ready for. Right?"

He's so–

Useless.

Making everyone worry for him like this. Being sopathetic.

He's not usually this bad. Or at least he's usually better at disguising it.

Kaeya always sees through him, but he's gotten too good at that lately.

"Luc–"

"Right. I know." He gulps. "Obviously."

Kaeya finally lets go of him and pats him on the shoulder gently. "Obviously," he echoes, smiling a little.

Diluc zeroes in on the weight of Kaeya's hand on his shoulder. It feels nice. A bit cold, yet still comforting.

But then Kaeya starts to move away.

"I really am sorry for snapping at you earlier. I was being stupid," he says, slowly pulling Diluc back towards the dinner table. "C'mon. You've hardly eaten today. Maybe once you finish your dinner you'll feel better."

His gaze darts towards the stairs. "I should– someone should check on Klee, probably–"

"She'll be fine on her own for a while. Take care of yourself first by eating properly. And then take a bath or something. It'll calm you down. And you need one anyway."

He can't construct any arguments to that, so he lets Kaeya push him into his chair and watches blankly as he takes a seat opposite him again and starts to eat like nothing happened.

Kaeya moves on from things so quickly. Everything slides right off him like rainwater on an umbrella.

He wishes he knew how to do the same. How to react normally for once instead of– whatever it is he usually does.

Adelinde launches into a lecture on language and etiquette, and Kaeya winces a little bit. Rare for him to look ashamed about anything. On the other hand, Diluc can't find the focus to properly listen to her words and ends up tuning them out despite his best efforts.

So much for proving that there was nothing to worry about.

Maybe one of these days he'll actually get even a little bit close to managing that.

Today is very clearly not that day.

His hair is still damp from the bath as he quietly pushes open the door to the study.

It did little to calm him. Or rather, itdidcalm him, but as soon as he'd stepped onto the cold bathroom tiles, everything flooded right back into him and now he's left with a confusing blend of anxiety and exhaustion that he wants nothing more than to sleep off until Monday–

But the child comes first.

Klee's lying on her stomach underneath the big table, legs swinging back and forth in the air behind her as she turns the pages of a book that's bigger than her head. Her face is pulled into a frown of intense concentration like she's committing each and every word to memory. It's an oddly serious expression for a girl who's hardly ever seen without a smile on her face.

She doesn't seem to notice him approaching until he's a couple of steps away and crouching down, which is when she looks up and jumps a little with a surprised yelp. Diluc sticks his hand out to stop her head from bumping into the table above her.

"Diluc! You're so sneaky. Klee didn't even notice you coming in!"

"Hello, Klee," he says, before sitting on the rug and bending forward a little to see under the table. "Why are you under the table?"

She rolls over onto her back and kicks at the air gleefully, her legs still a good few inches away from hitting the wood. "Because it's fun!" She giggles. "And I'm doing something super top secret so I have to hide. You can't do super top secret things in plain sight."

"Super top secret… like reading old science books."

"I'm infiltrating the wine industry so that I can destroy it," she says with frightening tranquillity. "Gathering information is the first step."

…Who's been teaching her that sort of language?

"Good luck with that," he says, bemused, his gaze flicking over to the open book and scanning the complex diagrams on its pages. "What were you reading just now, then?"

"Advances in Phenol Chemistry," she says smugly, as if she wrote the book herself.

"Is it interesting?"

Klee rolls onto her stomach again and reaches for a piece of paper trapped between the book and the carpet beneath them. She presents it with a giggle and a proud smile to him, so he takes it gingerly and studies her carefully etched diagrams, interspersed between doodles of Dodoco and what he presumes are meant to be him and Kaeya, given the red and blue colouring.

"Klee doesn't really get it too much. There's loads of big words in there that I don't know. But I drew a lot of pictures! I'm gonna ask my brother to explain them when he's back. He always knows the answer to everything. And he'sreallygood at explaining stuff. Even super tricky stuff that he says is tricky for grown-ups too."

"That sounds nice," Diluc says absently as hands the paper back. He doesn't know what else to say.

Klee's still smiling as she tucks the paper underneath the book once more, but her smile falters a little when she looks at him again. "Are you okay?" she asks, peering up at him with eyes full of concern. "You look tired. Like, more than normal."

A cutting observation. "I'm fine," he says quickly, wiping at his eyes for good measure. "It's… just been a long day. Actually, that's why I'm here. It's almost your bedtime."

"Already? But Klee's not tired!"

"You did all that training earlier and you've been reading for hours."

"But–"

"You'll have plenty of time tomorrow to read, or do whatever else it is you want to do. But for now you should get ready for bed."

"That's so unfair," she whines.

"You'll live."

"Wait– there's still something very important Klee has to do!"

"It can wait until tomorrow, surely–"

"Please? Pretty please? Just one thing, then IpromiseI'll go straight to bed!"

He sighs. "Alright, fine, just one thing–"

Klee crawls out from under the table with terrifying speed, catlike, and starts running off towards the back of the study, disappearing behind one of the many tall bookshelves. She pokes her head around as Diluc starts to follow.

"Hurry! Klee needs your help for this."

That has him only slightly worried as he picks up the pace to reach her.

He finds her standing in front of a painting with an opaque grey cloth draped over it. She's tugging at the bottom corners of said cloth, trying and failing to pull it off.

He's pretty sure this painting's been covered up as long as he's been alive. He's never even seen what's behind that cloth, at least as far as he can recall. All he remembers is Father asking him not to touch it.

"…There's probably nothing interesting behind there. Why don't we leave it alone–"

"Klee won't be able to sleep if she doesn't know what this is," she says, still grabbing the cloth tightly.

Well… he can't have that, now can he?

…He's trampled all over Father's wishes already. It'd be stupid to get hung up on what is probably nothing more than a harmless painting now.

"After this, you're going straight to bed."

She nods eagerly and then steps aside to give him room to uncover the painting. He has to stretch somewhat to reach the top, but the cloth isn't tied down in any way, so it comes off with little fanfare. He makes a poor attempt at folding it up and settles for dumping it on a nearby table, before finally taking a look at what they've revealed.

He hadn't been expecting anything grand, and what he finds is rather ordinary, all things considered – and yet, it stirs up a conflicting mixture of emotions within him and he doesn't know what he's supposed to feel. He doesn't know if this aching sensation in his heart is appropriate or not.

Half of him wishes he'd left it covered. The other half is annoyed that he never tried to uncover it earlier, even though Father would've been upset with him for it.

Klee only gasps loudly, her eyes impossibly wide as she stares up at the painting, apparently lost for words.

"Is that you, Diluc?" she says at last, breaking the stunned silence, tugging at his trouser leg to get his attention.

"Not me. That's my father," he says. "…Unless you were talking about the baby, then yes, that's me."

"So that pretty lady is–"

"My mother."

Most days he can't remember a thing about her, not even her appearance. She died when he was barely three years old, maybe not even that. It was so long ago. Any memories of her are closer to distant echoes now, little more than mirages, so vague and indistinct that he could dream up an entirely different mother and it would feel more realistic than those faint afterimages he's left with.

But seeing her here, painted in full colour and uncanny detail, has those near-forgotten fragments rushing to the surface, desperately piecing themselves together into something tangible, something worth holding onto.

It's… bizarre. He's never really missed her, not even back when it was only him and Father, the days before Kaeya and Adelinde had arrived. He doesn't remember ever feeling her absence, ever feeling lonely in the slightest. Father had never let him feel lonely.

Maybe Father was right to keep this painting covered. Diluc would've spent hours sitting in front of it and wondering about her, then bothering him with questions non-stop. Maybe it was for both of their sakes, and not solely his own.

Klee tugs on his trousers again and stretches her arms upwards, so he sighs to himself and lifts her into his arms. He has to hold on tight as she keeps leaning forward to get a closer look at the painting.

"She looks like you," Klee says, clutching the front of his shirt in her small hand to keep herself steady.

Now that's something he's never heard. Not even Father ever said anything to that effect. He never spoke of Mother at all, really.

"You think so?"

The woman in the painting is beautiful, but fairly normal-looking compared to Father with his rather striking red hair and eyes. Deep brown eyes and deeper brown hair, falling in luxurious curls around her shoulders. Pale skin and rosy cheeks, a tender smile and dainty features. Her slender hands are both holding a young Diluc carefully in place on her lap. He must have been only a year or two old when this was painted. He looks tiny.

He almost misses the necklace she's wearing – it looks eerily similar to the one he'd given to Adelinde not too long ago. No, scratch that – the cut of the emerald is identical. It's definitely the same one.

…Perhaps it was more important than he realised.

Not like that matters. Even if it was her most treasured necklace in the world, Adelinde would've been no less deserving of it.

"Yeah, you're both sorta…" Klee frowns a little, then stretches her tiny hands up to his face and pats his cheeks gently. "Soft."

"I am notsoft," he mutters, which elicits a maniacal little giggle from her.

"Kaeya says you are. And Kaeya's always right."

His brother really doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut, does he?

"Kaeya says entirely too much, I think."

When would that even have come up in conversation? Unless he's going out of his way to belittle Diluc in front of her. Which… sounds exactly like something Kaeya would do.

"You're so small there," she says, turning back to the painting. "Even smaller than Klee."

"I was younger than you are now when this was painted. Of course I was smaller."

"But you're sotallnow," she says. She reaches for the top of his head and only barely manages to do so, giving his hair a triumphant little pat. "Does that mean Klee will be as tall as you someday?"

"Don't count on it," Diluc says. "I'm taller than most people. It'd be quite unexpected for a girl like you to get this tall."

"But Kaeya's taller than you. Right?"

He very much did not need the reminder. "Kaeya's a special case," he says, trying his best to stop his eye from twitching.

"Oh– Klee forgot. He says I'm not supposed to remind you of that because it would wound your pride… or something. Hey, what does that mean, anyway?"

Kaeya's right downstairs. He could go down there this second and strangle him. The thought is very tempting indeed.

"You know, Klee, sometimes Kaeya only says things to be annoying. You don't have to take everything he says so seriously."

She only giggles and leans against his shoulder, the warning clearly not sinking in. "You're funny, Diluc."

There's no getting through this child, is there? His brother's influence is too strong to be overpowered anymore. Poor thing.

While he's distracted mourning for the girl's future, Klee wriggles out of his hold just enough to reach forward and touch the painting. She pokes baby Diluc on the nose and laughs brightly.

"So small. And red. Kinda like a strawberry."

His breath hitches involuntarily. No one's called him that in years.

An unsteady laugh breaks free despite the sudden pang of longing in his chest.

"If I'm a strawberry," he says, forcing a smile, "you know what that means for Kaeya, right?"

She scrunches up her face for a moment, thinking deeply, until her eyes light up and she giggles. "He's a blueberry!"

"Exactly." He laughs a little, steadier this time. "You really are clever, aren't you?"

She beams at the praise, before looking back at the painting, her smile dimming a bit. "Hey, why isn't Kaeya in the painting too?"

"Kaeya's adopted," he says, hesitant. She knows what that means, right? "This painting was finished long before we even met him. We don't have anything from when he was a baby."

"Oh," she says sadly. "Then what about after you met him? Are there any paintings of him when he was a kid?"

There was one.

I burned it.

Bile rises in his throat.

"We have photos," he says weakly. "A whole album full of them. Plenty of him in there."

"Can I see?"

"Not– I think you've done quite enough for today, Klee. It's time we get you to bed," he says, cursing himself for the way his voice has started shaking despite his every effort to prevent it. "We can go through the photo album as much as you want tomorrow."

She doesn't seem fazed at all as he starts to carry her out of the study at a less-than-relaxed pace, or when the door swings shut with a less-than-gentle thud. "But isn't your aunt coming tomorrow? Won't you be busy?"

Do not freak out in front of the child."I'm sure we'll find time. Don't worry."

Maybe Klee's more mature than he gives her credit for, because she doesn't bother him with any more questions – that is, until they're outside her room. Kaeya's room. She insisted on staying with him.

"Where are your mom and dad now?" she asks.

His hand freezes on the doorknob. His mouth opens and closes several times, utterly useless.

How does he even begin to explain it? Is he supposed to make an innocent child aware of the concept of death?

"Because my mom and dad are away on a big adventure, and sometimes Klee misses them a lot and gets really sad. Is that why you get sad sometimes too?"

"Something like that, maybe," he says quickly. Anything to get her off this topic.

"It's okay! My mom and dad promised to come back, so yours definitely will too!"

Where the hell is Kaeya when he needs him to take this kid off his hands?

"Right, Diluc?"

"My parents aren't coming back from this adventure," he says, barely loud enough for himself to hear. He doesn't mean to say it, but the words are out before he can stop them, his self-restraint clearly frayed beyond repair.

Klee goes worryingly quiet, clutching his shirt a little tighter. Fuck, now he's gone and made her feel bad, when this isn't the sort of thing she's equipped to listen to, when she's achild, for gods' sake, he's supposed to be the adult, the emotionally responsible one–

"Do you miss them?" she asks, looking up at him innocently, nauseatingly sympathetic. "Because Klee would be really sad if my mom and dad never came back."

He swallows to get rid of the lump in his throat that's choking him to death. "I still have Kaeya and Adelinde. So– it's fine. I'm fine. I still have my family. Just like you have Albedo and Kaeya and– and all the Knights, right? So you're never lonely," he says, shoving the door open and hurrying inside to place her down on the bed as gently as his trembling hands can manage.

"And Diluc has Klee and Klee has Diluc," she says with a serious nod, grabbing his sleeve before he can get up again.

This child… is far too much.

Much, much more than he deserves.

"Of course," he says in a voice that's barely louder than a whisper.

Klee still won't let go. She keeps smiling at him softly.

Why do people keep doing this? Not letting him go? Even though he's done nothing to make any of these peoplewantto keep him around–

"Oh, it seems you've done the hard part for me. Thank you, Diluc."

Kaeya always moves so damn quietly. Diluc should be better at noticing his movements by now but he always manages to sneak past anyway.

Diluc huffs as he turns to look at Kaeya over his shoulder, who's leaning against the doorframe with a casual smile. He steps inside as soon as Diluc makes eye contact, crouching beside him in front of Klee.

"You should help her get ready for bed. Don't let her stay up late," Diluc says quietly, finally detaching himself from Klee's surprisingly strong grip and standing up again. "I'll see you two in the morning."

"You're going to sleep already?" Kaeya says, glancing at the clock on his bedside table. "It's still early for you."

"Well, I'm tired." He sighs and massages his temple lightly as he turns to head out the door. "Anyway. Goodnight. Sleep well–"

"Do you want to sleep with us?"

Diluc freezes. "What?"

"Klee, there's enough space in the bed for one more, isn't there? I mean, there must be. What's the point of a king-size bed otherwise?"

He turns around quickly before Kaeya can go any further with this terrible idea. "Wait–Kae–"

"A sleepover with Diluc?" Klee clasps her hands together, looking up at him with those criminally adorable eyes. "Really?"

No amount of massaging his temple will soothe this oncoming headache. "I'm not a child. I don't do sleepovers–"

"Nonsense. You're never too old for sleepovers. Isn't that right, Klee?"

Both of them nod at him eagerly.

He should say no. What is he thinking? He can't entertain this any further. What if something happens? An especially bad nightmare, or a panic attack, or both, or something new and even more uniquely terrible?

He can't subject Klee to any of that. He's a volatile enough mess when he's awake, let alone when he's asleep and unconscious and not in control–

"Nothing's going to happen, Luc," Kaeya says, looking straight at him. "Not with me and Klee around."

His voice is soft, yet strangely self-assured.

Diluc doesn't know how he does it.

He should say no.

And yet he can't seem to get that single word out.

"Okay. Fine. But only for tonight," he says, shoulders sagging in defeat.

Klee cheers like she's won some sort of grand prize. Kaeya grins shamelessly like he was the mastermind rigging the contest to let her win the grand prize.

She has him wrapped around her little finger.

"You'd better get ready for bed quickly," Kaeya says. "Wouldn't want Klee to stay up too late, right?"

This is just his life now, isn't it? Being manipulated by his brother and his brother's explosive sidekick. And there's nothing he can do to stop it anymore.

He huffs and stalks out of the room. "I'll be back soon then."

"Don't forget to bring one of your stuffed animals with you," Kaeya calls after him.

"I donothave any stuffed animals–"

"Are you sure? I seem to recall you having a little owl that you used to drag around everywhere–"

He covers his ears and stomps away faster as Kaeya starts spouting more nonsense. It doesn't do much to muffle his and Klee's laughter behind him though.

Whatever. Let them have their fun. Even if it's at his expense. It usually seems to be these days.

Better that they find some humour in his plight, instead of wearing those horrible looks of pity.

At least if something goes wrong tonight he can blame it on Kaeya.

And if it doesn't– well, Kaeya will no doubt gloat about it for days, but as long as he's happy… that's fine with Diluc.

Notes:

if there's ever a day when i accurately estimate how long a chapter will be, i'll just assume the world is ending. i also can't believe i really thought i would be able to get through this story without having diluc cry at least once. i am a fool from every angle. anyway, stay tuned to find out if he ever gets to catch a break or if i will just keep him in this state of crippling anxiety forever! :''')

off i go into my void again to project more stress onto my favourite boy. i will return with aunt edith in tow. take care until then o7 and thanks as always for reading! 3

Chapter 4

Notes:

i realised while doing my commissions today that there is already an edith in the game (dr edith, the historian who hangs around windrise) so in case anyone was confused (i don't think anyone was but you never know), the in-game edith has nothing to do with the edith in this story xD it's just a silly coincidence as a result of me having the memory of a goldfish

anyway, enough stalling - enjoy 3

edit:here's an absolutely adorable drawing of the sleepover at the beginning of this chapter! thank you Totalloon ;u;i am going to stare at this for several hours while i melt from the sheer wholesomeness of it all orz

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

Of course he wakes up in the middle of the night. Diluc Ragnvindr and waking up at unholy times are a match made in heaven at this point.

It's been a while since he was woken up by a child though. More specifically, a child's too-precise and too-powerful kick right to his stomach.

Klee is so small. Nothing that small should be capable of such brute force.

Or maybe he's just getting weak.

He turns his head a little to the side to look at her. The steady rise and fall of her chest is calming. She's sleeping soundly, limbs splayed on top of the sheets like a starfish, blissfully unaware of the pain she's inflicted on him.

Klee is so small. Nothing that small should be taking up half of a king-size bed.

Given the size of the bed, that wouldn't normally be a problem–

Except for the fact that there is one too-tall-for-his-own-good little brother on his other side, clinging to him like a child clings to a stuffed animal and leaving barely enough room for him to breathe.

Well, this situation is probably better than the reverse. If Kaeya were the one stretching out to his heart's content, Diluc and Klee would've been pushed to the floor by now.

Klee clinging to him as tightly as Kaeya is right now would be easier to deal with though, since she's so small. One arm would be enough for her to hold on to. Kaeya, on the other hand, doesn't seem satisfied even after rendering Diluc's entire body immobile.

"Kae. Get your legs off me."

Silence.

"Kae. I know you're awake. I know you felt Klee kick me. Get your legs–"

"Personal heaters shouldn't talk," Kaeya mumbles, snuggling closer despite how close he was already and throwing his arm over Diluc's bruising stomach, pulling him further into an inescapable embrace.

His legs are still on top of Diluc's, their weight keeping him from moving even an inch.

"When did I become your personal heater," Diluc mutters.

"The moment I was adopted. It was all written down in the adoption forms. You can check yourself if you don't believe me." Kaeya presses his face into Diluc's shoulder, hiding his expression, but Diluc can still feel him smirking. "This is a rather nice arrangement, I think. We should do this more often. Don't you agree?"

He rolls his eyes and hopes Kaeya can sense it despite the darkness. "I'm getting nothing out of this arrangement."

"You're getting Klee's adoration and my love and respect. Is that not enough for you?"

A small smile spreads across his face involuntarily. "I suppose it's–"

"Shut up before you say anything sincere. Now is not the time, you idiot."

You started it."You've got to be the most exhausting man I've ever met."

"Then be exhausted and go to sleep already." Kaeya squeezes just tight enough to force a choked gasp out of him. "Your grumbling is getting in the way of my beauty sleep. Not that I need it, of course."

"Whatever you say," Diluc says with a sigh, resigned.

"You should follow my lead. You definitely need it."

Diluc sighs again. His brother just delights in being a thorn in his side, doesn't he?

They lapse into silence. Diluc forces his eyes shut and takes a deep breath, trying to slip back into the soothing lull of sleep once more, but–

"You're breathing too loudly," he says, tilting his head away from where Kaeya is quite literally breathing down his neck.

"Oh, terribly sorry for that, brother dearest. Would you like me to stop breathing?"

"…No."

Kaeya sits up with dizzying speed and leans over him like a cat cornering its prey. "You hesitated."

"No I didn't–"

"You did. You can't deny it. What the hell–"

Diluc grabs his shoulders and pushes his brother back down with a huff. "Quiet. You'll wake up Klee."

"So now you care about her. Just a second ago you were complaining about her kicking you–"

"I bet she picked that up from you. You always did enjoy tormenting me whenever we had to share a bed. And she's taking up an unreasonable amount of space and forcing us to the side, just like you used to do to me."

"You let August get away with worse."

"August is a cat. Klee is a human child." August would never wake him up in the middle of the night as violently as Klee just did. At least not without good reason–

"And you are a human adult. Show some consideration for your own species first before bowing down to a feline."

"Kae, you won't get anywhere with cats if you don't respect them–"

"Don't talk to me about respecting cats until you learn to give them decent names. I haven't forgotten about Dog. The poor creature. I'll probably never meet it but I feel obligated to apologise to it on your behalf since you don't seem to feel any remorse–"

Diluc places one hand over Kaeya's mouth, muffling the inane stream of words spilling incessantly from his lips, and wonders why he didn't do this earlier.

He realises why when Kaeya's eye narrows mischievously. His ever-reliable instincts kick in not a moment too soon and he pulls his hand away before Kaeya can lick it. His brother sticks out his tongue anyway despite losing his target, the mischievous gleam in his eye intensifying.

Kaeyaknowshow much Diluc hates it when he does that. But of course that only motivates him more.

Gods. He is such a child sometimes. If it weren't for how much he's grown physically since then, Diluc would be hard-pressed to believe that Kaeya is a day over twelve.

Kaeya sticks his tongue out further, shameless as ever.

"Get your beauty sleep already," Diluc says, bringing his arm up to his face and draping it over his eyes, blocking out any last bits of moonlight filtering into the room. "Your nonsense can wait until morning."

"Trying to silence me in my own home? How cruel of you."

"I'm the oldest. What I say goes."

Kaeya squeezes Diluc so tight that he thinks he might break a rib. Or several. He mumbles something incoherent against Diluc's chest, and only relaxes his hold the tiniest amount as his breathing eases into the restful rhythm of sleep.

The way he falls asleep almost on command never ceases to make Diluc envious.

But how does he manage to hold on so tight even when he's unconscious?

Not to mention that Kaeya's legs arestillon top of his. Diluc can hardly feel them anymore.

…This is fine.

There are definitely worse ways to go than being crushed by Kaeya's overly affectionate and only slightly malevolent embrace.

With Kaeya finally asleep again, he stretches one arm out towards Klee, as best as he can manage despite his restricted movement, and gently tugs her closer to the centre of the bed so that she won't roll off it entirely even if she moves in her sleep. She acquiesces easily enough, unconsciously turning over to face him, her head fitting into the crook of his elbow as if it's a pillow designed solely for her. Dodoco stares up at him, held tightly in one of her hands and tucked against her chest, while her other hand sleepily reaches out and grasps the hem of Diluc's nightshirt. Her eyes remain closed but a small smile appears on her face, blinding in the darkness.

It's surprisingly easy to fall asleep like this. Maybe this arrangement really isn't so bad after all.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up?" Diluc says, glaring as he enters a kitchen full of traitors.

None of them seem appropriately intimidated by his glare.

Adelinde only nods at him with a soft smile and a quiet 'good morning', and continues to stir away at a bowl of batter uninterrupted. Klee balances a little precariously on a stool next to her, bouncing on her heels as she peers into the bowl every time Adelinde gives her the chance. And of course Kaeya, notorious for his extreme helpfulness in the kitchen, is leaning against the counter next to the stove, loudly slurping his drink – coffee, if Diluc knows him at all – without a care in the world.

"You needed the rest," Kaeya says, lowering his mug with a smirk. "What's the hurry?"

"How long were you all planning to let me sleep in, exactly?" he says as he crosses his arms and instils his voice with a level of authority that one would expect from the scion of the Ragnvindr clan.

None of them seem appropriately intimidated by that either.

Kaeya only chuckles and sets his mug down on the counter before beckoning Diluc to come closer. Sensing that no one is interested in listening to him right now, he relents with a defeated sigh. He almost pulls back when Kaeya's hands start to move towards his hair, but his brother holds firm and turns him around to fiddle with his hastily tied ponytail.

"You really were in a hurry, weren't you?" Kaeya muses, undoing the black ribbon in his hair before Diluc can stop him. "No need to rush. We haven't been awake for long. As you can see, we're still in the middle of preparing breakfast."

"You say 'we', but I don't see you doing anything useful–"

"Moral support, brother dearest," Kaeya says, running his fingers through Diluc's now-loose hair. "A very underrated aspect of any operation. Aren't I being helpful, Addie?"

Adelinde exhales almost silently through her nose with a short and faintly exasperated shake of her head. "I can think of a few things you could do if you wished to be more helpful than you currently are."

"Hmm." Kaeya's indelible smirk is audible even when he says nothing at all. "Perhaps I'll consider it after I finish my coffee."

"I believe that is your third cup of the morning, Master Kaeya."

"Third– what the hell are you doing, Kae?"

"Language, Master Diluc."

"It's a small cup. I'm drinking far less than I usually would. Now hold still or else I'll end up pulling on your hair and you'll cry." Kaeya pulls lightly on his hair to demonstrate. Diluc bites the inside of his cheek to muffle a yelp.

"Diluc, Diluc," Klee says, finally deeming his presence worthy of acknowledgement as she hops down from her stool to greet him, "do you like pancakes?"

"Of course. Who doesn't like pancakes?"

"Yay!" She claps eagerly, before running back over to climb up onto her designated stool again. "It was Klee's idea to have pancakes for breakfast today."

"A very good idea indeed," Diluc says, resisting the urge to run to a mirror and witness the havoc his brother is surely wreaking on his hair.

"I concur," Kaeya says. "Blueberry pancakes with strawberry syrup. A truly daring recipe. I wonder where she got the idea?"

Children are so odd sometimes. They latch on to the most trivial details.

"Who knows," Diluc says quietly, looking up at the ceiling. "Klee's a creative girl. Maybe it came straight from her imagination."

"Maybe," Kaeya says, sounding needlessly smug. "Quite the mystery."

He knows. Obviously he knows. What is he acting so clueless for?

"Klee wanted to add philanemo mushrooms too but Adelinde said they wouldn't taste nice with the pancakes," she says, pouting a little.

"…Why philanemo mushrooms?" Diluc asks, glancing at them warily out of the corner of his eye.

"Because if Diluc's a strawberry," she says, pointing to him, "and Kaeya's a blueberry," she continues, pointing to his brother, "then Klee's a philanemo mushroom!"

She plants her hands on her hips with a small giggle, looking very pleased with herself.

"…Of course." He knows better than to try and argue with a child who's very clearly set their mind on something. Especially when that child is as stubborn as Klee. "That makes perfect sense."

"That's why Klee wanted to put them all together," she says, her smile falling back into a pout.

"And that's why we made hash browns, didn't we? With that special recipe of Addie's that uses philanemo mushrooms," Kaeya says. "So it worked out in the end."

"Yeah, I guess," Klee says. "Hash browns are really good too. Almost as good as pancakes. So… Klee's still happy!"

Diluc finds himself letting out a silent sigh of relief as Klee's smile returns in full force. Not that he was worried.

"Hash browns and pancakes. What an indulgent breakfast. Rich people really do live differently," Kaeya says, still audibly smirking. As if it's something he's only enjoyed once or twice in his life, and not almost every time Diluc is at his apartment to make breakfast for him.

"You do realise that we're equally rich and you just choose not to–ow– what exactly are you doing to my hair?" Diluc asks, distracted by the sharp tug on his hair and unable to contain his curiosity-slash-fear any longer.

"Making it look more presentable than whatever you came down here with," Kaeya says. "Just a simple braid, nothing fancy. Unless… perhaps Klee has a suggestion–ow. Alright, alright. No suggestions from Klee. You didn't need to kick me. That was uncivil."

"Hmph."

It was a necessary precaution. He's certain Klee would've come up with something she thought was cute but would look absolutely disastrous on anyone other than her. And he's certain that Kaeya would've fought him and knocked him unconscious if he had to, just to fulfil her desires.

Klee is completely unaware of the power she holds. Diluc doesn't know if he should do anything to correct that or not.

He watches as Adelinde pours the batter into a pan and Klee gleefully grabs a generous handful of blueberries and sprinkles them on top. Perhaps too generous, Adelinde's forced smile suggests, but Klee seems immensely satisfied and it smells good already. No such thing as too many blueberries in a pancake if it makes the kid happy.

"How are you feeling?" Kaeya asks, just loud enough for Diluc to hear.

"Fine," Diluc answers after a pause. Strangely, it doesn't feel like a lie.

Kaeya hums, fingers slowing in Diluc's hair for a moment, before he resumes with a smile in his voice again. "The power of sleepovers."

Diluc doesn't say anything to that, allowing the mellow warmth of the kitchen to wash over him instead. He feels relaxed for possibly the first time this week – that painful tightness in his chest has eased a little bit, his mind is a little less noisy, all his movements are a little more controlled.

He wouldn't mind staying here like this with all of them for a while. With his family, on this quiet, idyllic morning, where nothing beyond the four walls of this kitchen matters.

"All done," Kaeya says, bringing him back to reality a moment too soon as he finally lets go of his hair. "Now tell me how good it looks."

"Hm." Diluc pulls the braid over his shoulder, running his fingers lightly over his brother's handiwork. "It's better than how you used to do it."

Kaeya shoves him lightly. "Rude."

"How is that rude? I said it looked better. You've gotten better. That's a compliment."

"You know exactly–"

"Ahem." Adelinde interrupts them with a light cough and a thin smile. "Perhaps you two might like to set the table, if you have nothing else to do?"

There's that tone again, the one that turns even the vaguest of suggestions into irrefutable orders. No one's more proficient in using that tone than her.

"Yes, Adelinde," they say in unison, which makes Klee laugh for some reason.

"Kaeya doesn't even listen to Master Jean sometimes, but he always listens to you," she says to Adelinde, her voice full of sheer awe.

His brother pulls them away with sudden urgency before they get to hear Adelinde's response. Diluc should probably be annoyed by that, but a small smirk tugs at his lips instead. He doesn't do anything to fight it.

Breakfast was nice. The morning was off to a nice start. Everything was just–nice, for a while.

But of course he can't ever have anything nice for too long.

"Here we have the renowned former Cavalry Captain, Diluc Ragnvindr, standing guard at an entrance he really doesn't need to guard. A shining example of knightly excellence. Take notes, Klee."

"She's not the one who needs to take notes," Diluc mutters, not turning to look at his brother approaching from behind.

"Do you really plan to do nothing but stand here all morning until she arrives?"

It could be worse. He's not pacing like he was yesterday. They should all be grateful for that.

"What else would you have me do?"

"A normal human activity with normal humans, maybe. Perhaps we could try music again–"

"I can't." He looks away as Kaeya stands next to him, their shoulders touching. "Can't focus on anything."

"Anything except staring at the door until your aunt gets here."

It sounds even more pathetic when he puts it that way.

"Kae–"

"I get it, I get it. Don't worry." Kaeya tugs lightly at his elbow. "At least sit down. We don't know when she'll arrive. You can stare at the door from your fancy little armchair over there as much as you want."

Diluc lets himself be pulled over to said 'fancy little armchair' and drops down into it without any further protest. Kaeya takes the chair next to him, and Klee… crawls under the table between them, unreasonably-sized tome in hand. It's not as big as the one in the study, but she still manages to fit under it.

"Why are you under the table again–"

"Shh," Klee says in a loud whisper. "This is still super top secret. If I can't see you then you can't see me, okay?"

"That's not how that–"

"Oh my, I wonder where our Spark Knight has disappeared to?" Kaeya says, grinning as he cuts Diluc off. Klee giggles – it sounds like she's placed her hands over her mouth to muffle her laughter, but she's failing miserably. "I simply can't find her anywhere. She's very good at staying hidden. Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to tell the Knights that her going missing was all Diluc's fault."

"Then I suppose I'll have to tell the Knights that their Cavalry Captain is an incompetent babysitter."

"Quiet, Luc, I'm already distraught over losing my favourite Pyro Vision user. I don't need your bullying right now."

Diluc rolls his eyes and looks away from his idiot brother before he can run this joke into the ground. Even without looking, he can sense the unearned victorious smirk on Kaeya's face.

Annoying people to death is his oldest hobby, and time has only made him more invested in it. He never passes up an opportunity to be a menace these days. Years of not having anyone who'll put up with it the way Diluc does will do that, he supposes.

They almost fall into a comfortable silence when Kaeya speaks up again.

"If she grows up to be a nerd, I'll never forgive you."

Diluc scoffs. "How would that be my fault? You said Albedo–"

"You're both awful influences on her. And for some godforsaken reason she actually respects you, even thoughI'mthe only one making sure she grows up normally."

"You have to respect your elders," Klee says, sticking her head out from under the table to frown at Kaeya. "That's what you said."

"And you always listen to what Kaeya says, don't you?" Diluc smiles only a little mischievously when Klee nods back eagerly.

"Look at that. Awful, awful influence. You're turning her against me. I'll never recover from this," Kaeya says with a long, dramatic sigh, slouching in his chair. "Next you'll take August away too."

"The thought is tempting sometimes."

"My favourite Pyro Vision user and my favourite Ragnvindr, all lost in one day. Truly my life is a tragic one."

Diluc rolls his eyes again.

He has a feeling he's going to be doing that a lot today, if Kaeya is as committed to annoying Aunt Edith as he claims to be.

But even as much as he pretends to be annoyed by his brother's antics… he can't honestly say the distraction is unwelcome.

Kaeya's presence always makes the hours pass a little less painfully.

Aunt Edith arrives right as Kaeya suggests they take a break from waiting to have lunch, with so little fanfare that Diluc almost forgets he was worrying about this moment for a whole week.

If someone were to tell him that she'd just stepped out of the painting of his mother that he'd discovered last night, he would believe it easily. Even though that painting was made over two decades ago, and she's not even Mother's identical twin – the resemblance is uncanny nonetheless. Same features, same hair, same eyes, sameeverything. The biggest difference Diluc can pick up on is a few more wrinkles, but even those are hard to spot underneath all her makeup.

She's dressed in extravagant royal blues and silvers, a flashy sapphire ring drawing his attention as she folds away her lacy blue parasol. She hands it off wordlessly to one of the maids holding the door open, and takes several moments to rearrange the long flowing skirt of her dress before finally looking up at him.

Her hands immediately fly up to her mouth to silence a gasp.

Diluc… has no idea what to do.

How are you supposed to greet an estranged relative?

Sure, he'd spent the whole week worrying, but he hadn't gotten anything productive out of it. Maybe he should've channelled all that anxiety into preparing a speech or something.

He coughs to break the silence. "Welcome to Dawn Winery–"

"You've grown so much," she says, laughing under her breath as she moves closer, heels clicking loudly against the wooden floors. Diluc is still processing that as she goes in for a hug, her arms wrapping far too tightly around him. "It really has been a long time, hasn't it?"

How are you supposed to tell your estranged relative that you barely remember them?

He glances to the side to see what Kaeya makes of all of this, but doesn't manage to find him before she resumes talking.

"Why, I believe the last time we met, you were barely six years old. You could hardly reach up to my waist! And look at you now," she says, still laughing. She pulls away just enough to look up at him. "It is very good to see you again, dear nephew."

"I– it's good to see you too, Aunt Edith–"

"Oh please. None of that 'Aunt Edith' business. It makes me feel so terribly old. Just Edith is fine," she says, keeping a firm grip on his upper arms even as she steps back again.

He feels an inexplicable urge to push her away.

"And these two are…?"

"Oh– of course." He gently detaches herself from Edith's hold and moves over to his brother, standing still and smiling quietly a few steps away. "This is Kaeya, my brother. And this here is Klee," he says, gesturing to the child currently hiding behind Kaeya's legs.

…Klee's never shy.

Edith hesitates for a second before extending one hand to Kaeya, who takes it gracefully. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Kaeya."

"Likewise," he says with a polite nod, wearing one of his usual charming smiles. "Although I must say, I never expected to meet one of Diluc's relatives after all this time. We were both convinced that there was no one around anymore. I'm truly grateful to know that isn't the case."

Diluc tries not to narrow his eyes or glare at his brother. He can't tell if he succeeds or not.

What the hell are you playing at, Kae?

Barely two minutes into her visit and he's already getting passive-aggressive and acting suspicious of her, even if he covers it up with politeness and charm. Did he think Diluc wouldn't notice? Or maybe he just doesn't care and he's doing whatever he wants, as he always does.

No – it's fine. Kaeya's always been better with people than him, he knows what he's doing. If there's one person he can trust to properly navigate this bizarre situation with his aunt, it's Kaeya.

Even if his methods are… questionable.

Edith's eyes widen imperceptibly before she lets out a short, slightly strained laugh and withdraws her hand. "Oh, not to worry, I understand. This meeting is rather unexpected for me too – for a while I thought I'd never find myself here again, but I'm glad I reached out," she says, smiling back at Diluc. "Family should always be there for each other, no matter what. Better late than never, right?"

A pleasant sentiment. But Kaeya's smile doesn't get any more genuine. Diluc wonders if she picks up on that or not.

Edith stretches her hand out to Klee, still shielding herself with Kaeya's legs. She shakes the offered hand hesitantly, but their little handshake lasts barely a split second before she retreats behind Kaeya again, clutching at his trousers tightly.

"Dear me, she's certainly very shy, isn't she?" Edith says.

Not usually. "She's quite lively once you get to know her," he says to Edith, though his eyes remain fixed on Klee.

"She reminds me a little of you. Every time we visited, you were always hiding behind your father. And you were so terribly quiet, too. It was a miracle if we heard a word out of you in a whole week," she says, hiding an airy laugh behind her hand.

His face grows warm. Was he really that quiet as a child? That must have been troublesome for Father to deal with. But he never commented on it.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember much from back then," he says, smiling apologetically. "As you said, it's been a long time…"

"Oh, don't apologise, dear," she says, patting his cheek a bit too vigorously. "I wouldn't expect you to remember any of that. I'm only glad to see you've grown out of it now. You're doing quite well for yourself these days, aren't you? People are always talking about how well the business is doing, at least."

"I– yes. Quite well. But none of it would be possible without my staff–"

"And so humble too. You've truly grown into a fine young gentleman," she says, smiling, before gripping his arm tightly again. "But you mustn't underestimate how important a strong leader is to any endeavour. None of this would be possible without you, I'm sure."

"…Perhaps," Diluc says, though it sounds more strained than it should.

He feels like he's heard these same sorts of things from Adelinde before. From Kaeya too, and maybe even from Father, and yet– there's a vague sense of wrongness about Edith's words. About the way she grips his arm so tight and smiles so readily.

She's acting awfully familiar, for someone who's a relative stranger.

But he's being silly. She's known him for years and years, he just doesn't remember it. Their relationship might be a little bit lopsided for now, so he just needs to give it time and things will settle into something normal. A normal family relationship like normal people have.

"You know, this place looks almost exactly as I remember it. It's as if nothing's changed at all since the last time I was here, even though it was a very long time ago indeed," Edith says, letting go of his arm as she steps past the foyer and into the winery proper. "I suppose you and your father share the same taste for interior decoration."

He's still thinking of how to continue that line of conversation when Edith stills, her eyes fixed on something behind him. He turns to see what it is and–

Oh.

Of course.

"Well, I stand corrected. This seems new," Edith says as she walks over tothatvase.

Before he can open his mouth to try and explain the atrocity, Klee dashes out from behind Kaeya, her frantic footsteps thudding against the floor, and runs past them to grab Dodo-Diluc off the table. She freezes for a moment, almost panicked, but quickly recovers and hides behind Diluc, her tiny hands wrinkling the fabric of his trousers as she does.

…What on earth is going on with her? She's been acting strange ever since Edith arrived. Diluc's never known her to be so withdrawn in front of strangers.

"A rather eccentric design, I must say," Edith comments after a long silence, carefully sidestepping the issue of Klee's odd behaviour and focusing on the odd vase in front of them instead, much to Diluc's relief. "Where did you acquire such a unique piece? I've never seen anything like it."

He glances over at his brother, who blinks at him innocently and completely unhelpfully.

"It was a gift from an old friend," Diluc says, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I have no idea where they might have gotten it. I understand it looks a little out of place here, but it has sentimental value."

He glances over at his brother again, who's now staring quite intently at his boots. Diluc doesn't feel bad for him in the slightest. If he wasn't prepared for Diluc being sentimental about it, he shouldn't have given such a gift in the first place. He brought this upon himself. It's entirely his fault.

"You're different from your father in that regard, then. He always favoured pragmatism highly. A bit too highly, if you ask me – but I digress."

Edith's bitter tone pulls him out of his sentimental musings so fast, it's as if someone's just thrown cold water on him. His smile drops away.

It's rare that he hears anyone criticise Father. Kaeya had only done so when he was specifically trying to hurt Diluc, not because he meant it. And even Adelinde's remarks from time to time are firmly on the side of fond exasperation and nostalgia, rather than genuine reproach.

…He's overthinking a tiny detail again. She didn't even sound that bitter, really, did she? He's being too sensitive. A minor nitpick of Father shouldn't affect him this much.

It's not affecting Father, at least. Considering he's, you know, dead.

"There's something to be said for both pragmatism and sentimentality, I think," Kaeya says quietly, his shoulder brushing lightly against Diluc's. An anchoring warmth.

"Perhaps you're right," Edith says after a drawn-out pause, turning to Kaeya with a thin smile. "All things in moderation, of course."

So is being needlessly cryptic just a family trait that everyone else except him inherited?

It feels like they're having a conversation that Diluc isn't privy to. Unfortunately for him, the realm of things that Diluc isn't privy to is where his brother loves to operate most.

She turns back to look at him before her gaze drifts down towards Klee. She steps a little closer, eyeing the two of them cautiously before she speaks.

"Is she… yours, Diluc?"

His mind goes blank. "Pardon?"

"I must admit, I didn't hear about you having a child." Edith's voice lowers. "Is she adopted? Or perhaps… oh, I suppose I can see why you'd keep it a secret if that were the case…"

If…what–

His mind goes even blanker somehow.

How the fuck did you reach that conclusion–

"Klee here is part of the Knights," Kaeya says, coming to his rescue. "Her parents are travelling and left her in their care. I'm just one of the few people who acts as her guardian, that's why she's here with us this weekend."

"Oh, I see," Edith says with a relieved laugh. "I was about to say, you're a bit young to be her father, aren't you? And you're not even married yet." She laughs again. "Though I suppose that could change soon enough, couldn't it?"

Diluc has never wanted to escape a social situation more in his life, and he's had to deal with Kaeya humiliating him in public for years.

It is taking an absurd amount of willpower to stop himself from succumbing to the full-body cringe threatening to overtake him. All he manages is a stiff sort of laugh in response and nothing more.

He doesn't look at Kaeya. He doesn't need to, to know that his brother is planning all sorts of ways to tease him about this unfortunate misunderstanding, and that he will never know peace until he's in his grave, and even that is assuming too much.

Someone help–

Adelinde appears from the kitchen, like the angel she is, and immediately greets Edith with a polite bow. The picture of propriety and grace. He only looks even more hopeless when compared to her.

"This is Adelinde," he says quickly, in the smoothest segue of his miserable life. "She runs everything around here, so if there's anything you need, feel free to ask her."

She says something about lunch. Edith says something about how starved she is. Diluc nods along without thinking about it, too disoriented to pay attention to what either of them are actually saying and grateful for literally any escape from this train wreck of an introduction. He holds in his relieved sigh until Adelinde has fully disappeared up the stairs with Edith to show her to her room.

"That could've gone worse."

Kaeya's smirking. He canhearKaeya smirking. Diluc screws his eyes shut and battles the urge to curl up in a foetal position on the ground and stay there forever.

There's a more pressing matter to attend to.

"Klee, are you feeling alright?" he says, dropping a hand hesitantly on her head and ruffling her hair gently.

"Klee's fine," she says, finally stepping out from behind him, wide eyes darting between the two of them. She clutches Dodo-Diluc tightly to her chest, before quietly padding over towards the vase and putting it back in its original position.

Then she runs off to the table she was hiding under earlier and ducks underneath it without another word, opening her book and busying herself with reading again before either of them can say a thing.

…He's not going to get an explanation for any of this, is he?

Maybe he should chalk it up to childish idiosyncrasy and leave it at that. Klee's just having an off day. Even the most outgoing children have their quieter moments, it's not anything to be concerned about.

Yet.

"Well, go on. Aren't you going to comfort yourdaughter?" Kaeya says, nudging him towards Klee.

Of course Kaeya wouldn't drop it graciously, or have any mercy on him. No, he has to be as vexing as possible in his every waking moment.

"I'm not her father," Diluc says, shoving Kaeya away none too lightly. "Can't we just pretend none of that happened–"

"Obviously you're not her father. Otherwise her name would be July – oh, look at that. She'd match with your homicidal little cat. Charming."

"Why would anyone even assume that I adopted her?" he mutters, ignoring Kaeya's obvious bait. "How was that the first thing she thought of?"

"Maybe she thought you wanted to follow in Father's footsteps and adopt an adorable child to cope with the fact that you have no adorable children of your own."

"I–"

He quickly shuts his mouth upon seeing the verbal trap Kaeya's led him into.

There's no way out. Either he denies that Kaeya was an adorable child, or admits that he himself was an adorable child.

Both are impossible tasks.

He settles for punching Kaeya in the arm.

"I'll let that slide since I'm feeling kind today," Kaeya says, throwing said arm across Diluc's shoulders, still wearing that stupid smirk of his.

Everything about this was a mistake. Inviting Kaeya was the biggest mistake of all–

"So, what do you think of her?"

Diluc hesitates and crosses his arms over his chest, hunching his shoulders. "She's fine."

Kaeya clicks his tongue. "You're a highly educated man and yet the only word you seem to have in your vocabulary to describe anything isfine."

"What doyouthink of her?"

"I asked first."

Diluc bites back an irritated groan. "She seems nice enough." What else is he supposed to say? It's too early to form any sort of judgement.

"Interesting."

Can he not be cryptic foroneday? "Your turn."

"Well, to put it in your words, she's fine."

He is going to strangle this man–

"Not too different from all those stuffy people at the functions we used to have to attend with Father," Kaeya continues, the faintest hint of seriousness creeping into his otherwise jovial tone. "The type with more money than sense. Or the type who wishes they had that much money, at least."

The former is par for the course. The latter, meanwhile… has the potential to be troublesome, depending on the person.

"…You think so?"

Kaeya wouldn't have pointed it out if there was nothing to worry about–

"There's nothing to worry about," Kaeya says. "Just don't expect her to be anything like Father. You'll only set yourself up for disappointment."

"I– I wasn't expecting that at all," Diluc says quickly.

He wasn't. Of course he wasn't. It wouldn't make any sense for him to expect something like that.

He's not a child. He wasn't hoping for something so impossible.

…Was he?

Kaeya smiles sadly at him. "Of course you weren't."

He looks away. "You seem awfully suspicious of her."

"No more suspicious than I am of any other stranger. For now."

"Kae–"

"How about we help prepare for lunch while Adelinde's busy with Edith," Kaeya says, pushing him towards the kitchen. "And then we can impress your aunt by demonstrating what a perfectly functional family we are."

He chews on his lip before realising that he forgot to put on the lip balm Kaeya had so thoughtfully gifted him.

"You're not hiding something from me, are you?"

"The only thing I'm hiding," Kaeya says, pushing him even more insistently, "is the dastardly plan I have to get your aunt to leave if I deem it necessary. And all the contingency plans I have in case that plan doesn't work for whatever reason."

"I still can't tell if you're serious about that or not."

"Part of the fun, brother dearest. You are but a pawn in my schemes, so don't fret and just play your part like the perfect big brother you are, alright?"

Deflecting with humour again. A classic Kaeya strategy. "It'd probably help if you filled me in on your schemes for a change instead of leaving me in the dark."

"The less you know, the better."

He inhales sharply.

Kaeya's just teasing. Trying to lighten the mood, since you won't stop worrying.

Diluc's not sure that it's helping, though. He's not sure anything will at this point.

He unclenches his fist with a slow exhale.

Just a couple more days of this. And then everything will be back to normal and he'll probably forget that anything happened this weekend at all.

Notes:

more shenanigans with edith next time :) maybe it will be wholesome, maybe everyone will cry and be in agonising pain. maybe both? maybe neither. it's a mystery even to me.

there should be somewhere between 2-4 chapters left now, if all goes according to plan. which it rarely does. orz i always jinx myself by writing in these author notes but whatever.

anyway, thank you as always for reading and i'll see you next time! take care my precious readers o7 *disappears into the void*

Chapter 5

Notes:

sometimes something happens to me and instead of reacting to it normally my only thought is 'i can write about this'

i procrastinated writing this chapter so much that i ended up writing for like 3 of the next parts of the series instead so i'm sorry i could've gotten this chapter out earlier i just. Didn't orz but i hope you enjoy it 3

(also mind the tags. sorry in advance)

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

He usually avoids sitting at the head of the table when they sit down for a meal.

But Edith had taken Kaeya's usual seat, and Kaeya had consequently taken Diluc's usual seat opposite her. With Adelinde and Klee sitting next to each of them, that had left only one reasonable place to sit, unless he wanted to make things awkward. And he really is trying to avoid that as much as possible, despite how poorly that's been working out for him so far.

So he'd swallowed his juvenile discomfort and forced himself into that chair anyway, and now he's trying not to think about how he's completely undeserving of it.

Some head of the family he's turning out to be.

It takes Kaeya nudging him gently under the table for him to notice that they've all been sitting in silence for a good few minutes now, and that Edith is watching him closely, as if waiting for him to speak.

While he's thinking of something to say, his gaze wanders to Adelinde – to the necklace she's wearing. The one that he'd given to her a while ago and that he hasn't seen her wear even once until now. It suits her perfectly. She should wear it more often.

…But she just had to start today, didn't she? While Edith was here. The one person who might technically have more of a right to it than any of them, considering it literally belonged to her sister.

Is everyone else in the mood to be passive-aggressive today other than him?

Edith hasn't given any indication that she recognises it though. He doesn't know if he wants her to or not.

"So," he says, finally, twisting his spaghetti in a way that he hopes looks nonchalant rather than lost, "how was your journey here, Edith? I hope it wasn't too taxing."

"Not at all," she says, "it's just a little over half a day's trip by carriage. Nothing I can't handle. I've certainly travelled further to less hospitable places in my time."

"I see." Half a day is fairly nearby. Has she been that close all this time? "And whereabouts are you living these days, exactly?"

"Well, I used to live with my husband a little closer to the city, but he passed away a few years ago, and since then I've been living with my brother up in the town by the port," she says. "Your Uncle Edmond. He has a son a little bit older than you. I don't believe you ever got a chance to meet them though." She smiles. "They're both rather busy with the tailoring business, but I'm sure they'd be delighted if you ever came to visit."

That is entirely too much information to register at once.

So now there's an uncle in the picture too? And a cousin?

And–

"I'm sorry to hear about your husband," he says. She glossed over that so quickly he nearly missed it.

"It was quite a while ago now," she says with a dismissive shake of her head. "He always did have a heart problem. None of us were very surprised when it happened. At least I still have Phoebe."

"Phoebe…?"

"My daughter. She just turned seventeen in December. You must have met her when she was just a baby – but of course you wouldn't remember that, you were so young back then," she says with a light chuckle.

Another cousin? He's barely accepted the fact that he has an aunt, and now there are all these other relatives appearing out of thin air.

Are there going to be more weekends like this? Reconnecting with people he doesn't even remember? This weekend was already stressful enough. Can he really go through that again–

"Girls at that age are so tricky, you know." Edith sighs before he can panic about all the newfound information he's just been handed. "She's turning out to be rather rebellious. It's quite difficult to talk any sense into her these days. Perhaps she'd listen to someone a little closer to her age," she says, giving him a pointed look.

…He's not usually the one talking sense into people. He has the self-awareness to realise that.

Kaeya's definitely got an annoying smirk on his face, he can feel it. They're both thinking the same thing, aren't they? But Kaeya's thinking it in a much more smug tone and with a thousand teasing jabs at the ready if Diluc tries to argue.

He coughs and takes an unsteady sip of water. "Rebellious how?" he asks warily.

"Oh, you know. She's got all these ideas in her head about leaving home and joining the Adventurer's Guild or some such as soon as she turns eighteen. Goodness knows where she got the idea from. She has a perfectly respectable job waiting in Edmond's business, but she'd rather throw all of that away for a little bit of adventuring. It's absurd, don't you think?"

Edith wants him to talk sense into his cousin aboutnotrunning away from home when she turns eighteen?

Does she realise who she's talking to?

At least it's not the Knights, he thinks, but he has a feeling Edith would approve more of that anyway.

"There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" Kaeya says. "If she's got a taste for adventure, she might as well make the most of it by joining the Guild. Plenty of people make a decent enough living from it. It's a perfectly respectable organisation. Even the Knights rely on their help from time to time."

Edith stares like Kaeya's just grown a second head before letting out a short, sceptical laugh. "You may be right, but she's hardly suited for an adventurer's lifestyle. I doubt she could even lift a weapon–"

"I wouldn't mind teaching her," Kaeya says, "if that's what you're worried about."

Edith stares again, clear disapproval tugging the corners of her lips downwards even as she laughs again and shakes her head. "I wouldn't want to cause you any trouble–"

"It'd be no trouble at all, honestly." Kaeya flashes her a dangerously sharp smile. "Besides, family should always be there for each other. Isn't that what you said?"

The worst thing about Kaeya being able to read the room with masterful accuracy is that it means he always knows exactly what is going to bother a person most, and if he has any sort of agenda he is definitely going to push relentlessly at even the minutest of weaknesses until they crack.

Diluc is starting to doubt that Kaeya was only joking about annoying Edith until she leaves. He's doing a decent enough job so far. At this rate, he wouldn't be surprised if Edith walked out on her own before the day's end.

Her eyes narrow just a bit. "Oh, I'm sure there won't be a need for any of that. She's still rather young to be capable of–"

"I know a few people younger than her who are part of the Guild. They do well enough for themselves," Kaeya says with a slightly softer smile than before, then turns to look right at him. "And of course, Diluc here was made Cavalry Captain at just fourteen, as I'm sure you're aware."

Diluc barely manages not to glare back at him.

Don't bring me into your agenda of annoying her, you idiot–

"Well, Diluc has always been a little exceptional, hasn't he?"

Distantly he prays for a miracle. Something like the roof of the winery collapsing in and crushing them all before this goes any further.

Why did Kaeya have to choosethisof all things to direct the conversation to?

Edith continues with renewed brightness in her eyes, oblivious to his turmoil. "The youngest Cavalry Captain in history. We were all quite amazed when we heard, you know. Your mother would've been so proud to see it." Her eyebrows furrow a little and she makes a sympathetic sort of tutting sound. "But you're no longer with them, are you? Whatever happened there?"

A bitter laugh claws at his throat, but he swallows it.

Now is certainlynotthe time. He has to at least try to appear sane. First impressions are important. The last thing he wants is for Edith to witness him having a breakdown at lunch over a perfectly innocuous question. Who knows how she'd react to that? Not in a good way, that's for sure. No one would, unless they were Kaeya or Adelinde and already painfully used to his uselessness.

"I think I'm better off running the winery," he says at last, when the weight of everyone's intense gazes becomes too heavy to resist anymore. It feels like he's choking on every word, even though they're nothing but hollow fragments of an empty lie. "That's what Father would've wanted."

Kaeya and Adelinde are both staring right at him. He wilfully doesn't think about whatever it is they could be thinking about.

Edith makes another sickeningly sympathetic sound, humming as she reaches forward and places her hand over his, squeezing it delicately. "It must have been such a difficult time, for you to make a decision like that."

Her contact burns, but he tamps down the instinct to pull away and tries to offer a reassuring smile instead. "It's fine," he says. "Kaeya's a good Cavalry Captain. Probably better suited than me. It worked out in the end."

She blinks at him a few times before she turns to Kaeya. "You have some big shoes to fill," she says, raising an eyebrow, "considering Diluc here set the bar so high. And at such a young age, too."

Kaeya shrugs. "I try my best."

"I'm sure you do," Edith says, her smile thin like she's talking down to a child playing make-believe.

"Kaeya helped me a great deal while I was still with the Knights," Diluc blurts out before he even realises what he's doing. "I couldn't have done any of it without him. He–"

"I'm sure you did plenty on your own, Diluc, there's no need to be so modest," Edith says, patting his hand again before finally withdrawing it. "You know, I actually heard this story about you fighting off a Ruin Guard all by yourself, and while your arm was broken, no less. Really, quite the impressive feat. You were a very dedicated young knight, weren't you?"

…He does remember that fight, now that she's brought it up. He'd been about sixteen then.

But he also remembers that the only reason he'd survived despite the broken arm was the fact that Kaeya was fighting alongside him, covering his bad side. And Kaeya had pushed him out of the way when the machine had been about to land a fatal blow and he'd been too slow to react.

"That's an old story by now. I'm surprised anyone remembers it anymore. You've certainly done your research," Kaeya says.

…What is his brother doing? Isn't he going to correct her? He was part of that story, and he's going to just let himself be erased from it? He's going to allow his heroic deeds to go unacknowledged while Diluc gets to take all the credit–

Well. That was how it always went when they were in the Knights, wasn't it?

Diluc had almost forgotten how things used to be. He's grown so used to Kaeya soaking up all the attention for himself these days.

But it's not like much has changed. Even now, Kaeya keeps the most important details to himself. He happily lets others take the credit when it matters and tricks them all into thinking his selfless acts are entirely self-serving when that couldn't be further from the truth.

No, not much has changed at all. But now Diluc has very little control over it. Maybe he never had any to begin with.

"Research? I wouldn't call it that. People simply love to tell stories about that sort of thing, you know? Especially when it concerns someone as famous as you, Diluc," she says. "I was simply keeping an ear out for my nephew, that's all."

"How attentive of you," Kaeya says with a smile that doesn't quite reach his eye. "Really, it's quite exemplary for a relative who's been out of touch for so long."

Diluc is pretty sure now that Kaeya's passive aggression is affecting him more than it's affecting Edith. Knowing Kaeya, he'd probably see that as a reasonable price to pay for this stupid game of his.

An awkward silence descends over them until Edith clears her throat with a light cough and speaks up.

"Say, how about some wine to go with this meal? We are at Dawn Winery, after all. It'd be a waste to not enjoy some while I'm here."

"Of course," Adelinde says without missing a beat. "I'll be back in just a moment."

Adelinde returns quickly with a bottle of red wine and fills Edith's glass as she watches on with a polite smile. She takes the glass as soon as Adelinde moves back again, twirling it experimentally in her dainty grasp and watching the wine swish about within it before finally lifting it to her lips.

She's about to take a sip when she pauses and lowers the glass, frowning at him over the rim of it. "Are you not going to drink?"

"Oh, no – I'm fine – please, help yourself," he says, shaking his head.

"Come now, you're an adult, aren't you?" she says, picking up the wine bottle with her free hand and pushing it towards him. "Surely you can share one drink with your aunt. I mean, when was the last time you had the chance to drink with your family? You really shouldn't let opportunities like this go to waste. They grow rarer and rarer as time goes on."

His mouth feels dry.

Wine could help with that–

He shakes his head again and stays her hand as she reaches for his glass. "Edith, I–"

"My brother here only likes to drink on special occasions. He's very serious like that," Kaeya says breezily, glancing at Diluc out of the corner of his eye with a subtle smirk before picking up his glass. "I'll happily drink his share though." He holds it out to Edith. "Would you mind?"

Edith purses her lips for a moment before smiling and pouring out a glass for him. Kaeya returns the smile and silently watches her, unblinking, until his glass is full and she corks the bottle again.

"Thank you very much," he says sweetly, a vague hint of vainglory in his voice. He's still smiling as he takes a leisurely sip and lets out a satisfied sigh.

This has got to be the least passive 'passive aggression' Diluc has ever witnessed.

Is Kaeya even trying to be friendly anymore? Or is he actually committing to that whole 'annoying her until she leaves' thing now?

His brother is hard to read at the best of times, but when he gets like this it's damn near impossible to tell what he's doing unless he specifically lets Diluc in on it.

One day he'll return the favour and show his brother exactly how fuckingannoyingit is–

"Master Diluc, would you like to have dessert now, or should I save it for after dinner?"

He almost says no, until he catches a glimpse of Klee and remembers – she has a sweet tooth, doesn't she? That's what Kaeya said, at least.

Perhaps a little dessert might help. She's been worryingly silent all throughout lunch, so silent he nearly forgot she was at the table with them at all. Which is something he didn't think he'd ever say about Klee, given how she's normally a little firecracker of pure energy and enthusiasm, boisterous and impossible to ignore even in her mildest moments.

Seeing her needlessly timid like this is far more off-putting than anything his aunt could ever say.

"Now would be good," he says, and with that Adelinde nods politely and heads back to the kitchen.

He tries not to fidget in the silence, but of course Edith decides to speak up again before he can get too lost in his own thoughts. She really seems to love the sound of her own voice. At least it means she's not relying on him to carry all the conversations.

"You're rather close with her, aren't you?" Edith says quietly, looking away.

"With Adelinde?" he says, following her gaze to the door that Adelinde's just disappeared behind, before looking back at his aunt. "Of course. She's looked after us for many years now, almost as long as I can remember."

Edith frowns a little and takes a small sip of her wine. "I see."

He doesn't know why those two little words set him on edge. "Is there something wrong with that?" he asks, his voice colder than he expects it to be.

"Of course not," she says with a casual wave, the crease in her brow vanishing instantly, "it's just a little unusual. She's your maid, after all, not your mother."

His jaw clenches.

So what if she's a maid? That doesn't change anything. It never has. He's certain most mothers haven't had to deal with nearly as much as she has due to them.

But no one's ever going to acknowledge any of that, just because of a stupid technicality–

"She's part of the family," he says at last, slowly and carefully, so that Edith doesn't miss a word and his jaw doesn't snap from the tension. "As much as Kaeya or I. The closest thing we have to a mother."

If Edith has any objections to that, she doesn't get the chance to voice them as Adelinde returns with a tray of pink macarons.

Where does she even find the time to prepare all these things? She doesn't let the rest of the staff involve themselves in much of the cooking aside from cleaning up, and yet she always has a perfectly prepared dish for every course of every meal. And she manages to micromanage everything else in the manor on top of that.

Truly a woman beyond mortal comprehension.

He glances over at Klee. She's sitting up straighter again – still quiet, much quieter than he would like, but her eyes are wide with anticipation as she cranes her neck to look at the tray from her considerably lower point of view.

It's nice that desserts can cheer her up effectively, but it's hardly a sustainable method. He's not sure a crash from a sugar high would be any easier to deal with than this. One of them should talk to her, when they get a spare moment.

He didn't think he'd have to worry about Klee of all people this weekend, but here they are.

"How lovely," Edith coos as she reaches for one of the macarons once Adelinde sets the tray down, a lighthearted tone to her voice once more. "You know, Evie used to adore little treats like this."

"Evie?"

Edith stills, her hand frozen in mid-air. "Yourmother, dear. Evelyn. Don't tell me you forgot her name, did you?"

…He should really start thinking before he speaks. Take a moment to connect the glaringly obvious dots before saying something completely moronic.

He winces. "I'm sorry. I just– I've never heard anyone refer to her that way, that's all."

Edith's eyes are ever so slightly narrowed, but she flashes him a small smile as she picks up a macaron. "Not to worry, it's hardly your fault. Though I remember Crepus used to call her that all the time. Did you never hear it even from him?"

He swallows, staring down at his empty plate. "Father… never spoke about her much, I'm afraid."And I never asked. Never thought to.

The way Edith's gaze bores into him makes him feel like he should be ashamed for that fact.

"That is rather unfortunate," Edith says slowly. "Growing up without your mother would have been difficult enough. But to deprive you of her memory as well–"

"Perhaps he felt it was easier that way," Kaeya says. He's not looking at them, too busy dabbing a napkin at Klee's mouth. "For both of them to move on, I mean."

"Perhaps," Edith says after a moment's delay. "It doesn't seem like the best way to handle grief to me."

"Everyone grieves differently," Kaeya says, looking sharply back at Edith. "Grief can bring out the worst in people. Or maybe it's more accurate to say that it makes them show their true colours." The cold gleam in his eye sharpens even further. "They don't often make decisions everyone else agrees with. But who are we to judge?"

His heart skips a beat. Maybe several. He can't think straight.

That's not aimed at you. That's not aimed at you. That's not aimed at you.

He knows it's not, because Kaeya keeps his eye fixed firmly on Edith, and her lips pull into a thin, tight smile that wavers a little under the wordless intensity of it.

It's not aimed at him, but he feels it anyway–

Kaeya's leg bumps against his, gentle but unmistakably deliberate. His head snaps up, but Kaeya is still watching Edith carefully, still maintaining that piercing look, like he intends to unravel Edith's entire history with a few seconds of staring. He's certainly capable of such a feat.

That's not aimed at you.

He breathes out slowly.

So… it's aimed at Edith then?

But what is Kaeya even trying to say? Are they still talking about Mother's death? Did Edith… do something? What wouldsomethingeven entail?

Does he know more than he's letting on? Or is he trying to get her to admit to doing something, because he doesn't know?

Or is Diluc just reading way too much into his brother's snarky commentary that's clearly intended to get under Edith's skin?

…Some straightforward conversation would be greatly appreciated right about now.

His wish is not granted.

The rest of lunch passes in relative silence, save for the occasional compliment about Adelinde's cooking, but nothing else meaningful is said, and Diluc is starting to regret eating anything as the same nauseous feeling that's been gnawing at him quietly all week starts to creep in again.

As they get up from the table and Adelinde clears away the table with the help of a couple of the other maids, Edith suggests that he show her around the house. Something about it being a long time since she was here, and how she never did get to see much of it back then. It seems like a fine enough suggestion, and it's not like he can think of much else to do, so he agrees. But of course that's not all she has to say.

"Oh, but before that – Diluc, would you mind if I spoke with Kaeya in private for just a moment?"

Diluc blinks and turns frantically towards his brother, who looks completely unperturbed by the sudden request and is quick to let go of Klee's hand, patting her just once on the head before making his way towards Edith.

As he passes, he gives Diluc a reassuring smile, a look of practised ease, and doesn't spare him more than a second glance after that.

Diluc lowers his voice. "Kaeya, are you sure–"

"Of course," Kaeya says cheerfully. False cheer, Diluc is sure of it, but it's hard to discern even at this distance, with how fried his mind feels. "How about we take a stroll through the vineyard? A bit of fresh air would be nice."

"That sounds lovely," Edith says with equal cheerfulness – perhaps equal sincerity too, he still can't tell. "Is that alright with you, Diluc?"

His instincts are screaming for him to not permit any of this. Even though it's just his aunt and Kaeya and there is nothing he could reasonably worry about in such a scenario. Not like that's ever stopped him from being unreasonably worried anyway.

But Kaeya narrows his eye at him just enough to make Diluc gulp down all his protests and nod awkwardly instead.

"Take your time," is all he manages to say, his mouth moving out of sync with his thoughts.

They're out of the door before he even realises it. The winery suddenly feels too small and too big all at once.

Part of him thinks he should just stand here until they return. He really doesn't know what else he can do, until a light rustling in the background reminds him of another thing in his vicinity that is more worthy of his worrying.

He walks back over to Klee, still hovering by the table, and kneels in front of her, placing one hand gingerly on her shoulder.

"Klee, what's wrong? You've been so quiet. Are you feeling ill?"

She shakes her head firmly, clutching the hem of her dress as tight as her small hands will allow.

…He's not equipped for this. He needs Kaeya, or Adelinde – but of course they're both occupied when he needs them.

"Klee," he tries again, softening his voice as much as he can, "it's alright. You can tell me if something's bothering you."

"Kaeya says you're not supposed to say bad things about someone's family in front of them," she says, still fidgeting with her skirt. "Because it could hurt their feelings."

The urge to chew on his lip is unbearable, but he fights it for the sake of appearing vaguely like a responsible adult. "So it's something to do with Aunt Edith?" He holds in a sigh when she finally nods. "It's okay. You're not going to hurt my feelings. You won't get in any trouble, I promise. I just want to know what's bothering you."

"I don't like her," she says as soon as he stops speaking. "She doesn't seem very nice."

"What makes you think that?"

"My intuition." She enunciates each syllable of that last word, careful not to stumble on any of it.

It's a simple enough answer. He doesn't know what else he expected her to say, honestly. If he wanted a thesis on every reason to be wary of Edith, he could've just consulted his own mind instead, seeing as it's so fond of spinning the threads of his reality into a never-ending web of anxiety.

But what is he supposed to do with 'Klee's intuition'? He can't very well confront Edith on the mere basis of a child having a bad feeling about her.

Children are certainly known to have uncanny intuition when it comes to the true nature of adults like this – but there isn't really anything he can do here. Trying to kick Edith out when she hasn't done anything malicious would only cause unnecessary trouble for all of them.

And despite how nervous he's been about all of this… he truly does want things to work out here. Even if Edith ends up being little more than a distant relative who only ever pops up once in a blue moon, it'd still be less lonely than what they have right now, wouldn't it?

Surely Father would want this, if he could see them now. For them to be less lonely.

He lets out a soft exhale as he ruffles her hair gently. "She'll be gone soon. She's only here for the weekend. You won't ever have to see her again after that if you don't want to, okay?"

Klee sniffs, but she nods once and stands tall again – or about as tall as a little girl like her can, at least – before tugging lightly on his sleeve. "Can you help me get another book from the study? Klee can't reach the top shelf."

Already well-versed in the art of putting on a brave face, huh?

Or maybe setting her troubles aside in favour of being cheerful comes naturally to her.

He doesn't know if he should be proud of that or not. He tries to push away the unbidden worries springing up from that thought and focus on the child in front of him instead. The child who is only upset because of a situation he created–

"Of course, Klee." He stands up and stretches his hand out to her, and she takes it eagerly, her hand so small that she's barely able to grasp all of his fingers at once. "Come on. I'm sure we can find something more interesting than phenol chemistry for you this time."

'Just a moment' ended up being almost half an hour.

Diluc knows, because he'd spent the entire time watching the pendulum of the grandfather clock on the ground floor of the winery, waiting for them to return from their little stroll.

That swinging motion is still burned into his retina even hours later as they're wandering the house on this half-hearted 'tour', which is less of a tour and more a trip down memory lane. Edith's memory lane, to be precise.

Dawn Winery isn't that big. There isn't much to see.

But Edith, as he's quickly coming to realise, really,reallyloves to talk, and every little detail her oddly observant eyes pick up on seems to lead into a lengthy anecdote. It doesn't help at all that Kaeya seems to be encouraging her to keep talking, throwing out remarks that straddle the uncomfortably thin line between banter and snark, wearing an innocent, affable smile all the while and ignoring any of Diluc's accusatory glares at his back.

The sun is setting by the time they make it up to the study, having just spent an unnecessarily long time in the wine cellar – that Adelinde was very reluctant to let them into, but did so upon Edith's insistence – as she rattled through an unnecessarily long list of opinions about wine in unnecessary detail.

Truthfully, Diluc hasn't been listening to much of what she's been saying at all. Not for lack of trying.

His brain just feels like scrambled eggs. Like his skull was cracked open and all his thoughts were poured out and shaken together until they became an incoherent and unrecognisable mess.

Scrambled eggs seasoned with anxiety, suspicion, and a pinch of panic just to spice it up a little.

He doesn't know what's gotten into him. Every time he thinks he's found his focus enough to follow what they're talking about, he blinks and suddenly they're on something entirely different. Maybe he's subconsciously picked up a few details here and there, but if Edith had stopped him at any point to ask if he knew what she was talking about, all he would've been able to do was nod along and splutter uselessly. Maybe she actually had done that and he can't even recall it.

Gods, he's a fucking mess these days, isn't he?

How did he let it get so bad? What the fuck is wrong with him?

Every time he has the audacity to think that things might get easier, that he might be able to breathe a little bit and experience a hint of normalcy – every time, something justhasto happen to send him stumbling a hundred steps backwards and erase every flimsy bit of progress he'd managed to make.

He tries to remember Adelinde's words. About… non-linearity, or something. But he can barely think above all this goddamnnoise.

Even Kaeya's constant presence at his side, his ever-faithful shadow, does little to quiet his nerves. He feels the tickle of his breath each time Kaeya leans in just enough to whisper in his ear, but Diluc never hears what he has to say – never remembers it long enough to count as hearing it, that is – and Kaeya never presses him for a response.

The sun has only just set, but Diluc is more than ready to collapse in his bed and pray that sleep cures his ailments enough for tomorrow to pass in relative peace.

Something about being in the study seems to have sharpened his focus temporarily. He grabs onto that thin tendril of hope like a lifeline and resolves not to let it go until he's alone in his own room again.

"…quite the setup you have here. I never realised there were so many books even at the winery. Seems like a rather impressive collection."

"It's mostly Father's doing," he says quietly. "He always liked this sort of thing."

"He did, didn't he? Evie loved that about him. She thought it was very charming, the way he was so well-read. Their letters to each other before they were married were so dreadfully long, too. They used to go on and on about all the obscure little books they read. I doubt anyone other than themselves would've been able to understand them."

"So being a nerd is in your blood," Kaeya whispers in his ear.

Diluc hates how that inane comment makes him crack a smile, but it also makes Kaeya snicker a little in return, so he can't be too annoyed.

"I wonder, have you ever seen any of those letters, Diluc? Assuming Crepus didn't throw them away."

His hand clenches at his side without him realising it.

Father wouldn't do that.

Would he?

"I doubt he did." He glances at the door near the back of the study. "But I haven't seen them. They might still be over there in Father's old office, but I've never looked for anything like that," he says slowly. "Why do you ask?"

"I thought it might be a way for you to learn more about your mother," Edith says, flashing him a sad smile, "seeing as there isn't much else left of her, it seems. And she died when you were so young, too… it really is a shame you never got to know her properly. She was so excited to be a mother."

"She was?"

"Oh, most definitely," Edith says as she heads further into the study, her hands absentmindedly trailing along the bookshelves. "All throughout her first pregnancy, she simply wouldn't stop talking about all the things she had to prepare before you were born. I haven't the slightest clue whyIhad to listen to her go through a hundred choices for baby names instead of your father, but once she got going it was very difficult to quiet her down again. Really, I don't think I've ever seen her talk as much as she did when she was pregnant. She was very quiet otherwise. Not too different from yourself, apparently, hm?"

Diluc forces out a strained laugh, but Edith doesn't really pay it any mind, continuing her soliloquy unimpeded.

"And then there were all the things she wanted you two to be able to do together. One of those things being music, of course. She was always rather passionate about it. Another thing she loved about your father. She played all sorts of instruments, and she always hoped you would turn out to be a musician too. You do still play, don't you? I noticed that lovely piano you have downstairs. it would be a shame for it to go– oh, what's this?"

Edith's voice suddenly drops to a hushed whisper and her eyes go wide.

They're standing in front of the painting of his mother again. He's struck once more by Edith's resemblance to her – they really could've been mistaken for twins. It's bizarre.

"Perhaps your father was more sentimental than I gave him credit for," she says, utterly transfixed by the artwork, "to have kept this around. Look at that – you were so young here. You all were. This was so long ago, wasn't it?"

Should he tell her that Father had this painting covered up for literal decades?

Better not.

"Evie was never quite the same after this," Edith says, her words trailing off into a long, morose sigh as she glances back at him.

It feels cold all of a sudden.

"After… what, exactly?"

Edith turns to face him so fast it makeshimdizzy. "You mean you don't know?"

Huh?"Know– know what?"

"Oh, dear me – did Crepus never even tell you this much? I swear, that man…"

Not just cold. Fuckingfreezing.

"What are you talking about?"

As soon as he's asked the question, taken that final step over the icy precipice of anticipation, the familiar chill of regret seeps into his bones.

Edith takes a long, deep breath. It's like she's sucking all the air out of the room.

"Your mother got pregnant again, a year or so after you were born. But it ended in a miscarriage. And after that…" Edith sighs. "Well, it really took quite a toll on her. She was always rather sensitive."

His voice doesn't feel like his own anymore, possessed by some irrational desire for a truth he doesn't think he actually wants to hear. "What does that–"

Edith places a hand on his arm, effectively silencing him. "She ended up taking her own life, just a few months later."

…

That's impossible.

It can't– how could that be true?

All throughout her first pregnancy,Edith had said.

Firstpregnancy implies asecondpregnancy–

It's–

That's not fair.

None of this is fair–

How could something so awful have happened?

How could Father have lived with such a secret for so long?

"You're lying," he says, shaking his head, but Edith only looks on with that pitying smile that he hatesso much–

Kaeya was at his side a moment ago. It was warm a moment ago.

How did this happen?

Miscarriage. Suicide. Miscarriage. Suicide. Miscarriage. Suicide.

Miscarriage.

Suicide–

A pair of arms wrap around him, skeletal and cold.

"You must have missed her so much," Edith says.

His skin is cold. "Not as much as you."

"Oh, I'm fine. It's been years. But I don't think anyone quite recovers from losing their mother, do they?"

His voice is cold. "I'm fine, Edith."

"Poor dear. You're so strong, aren't you? It's alright, Diluc. Your aunt Edith is here now. You don't need to be alone anymore."

Hisheartis cold. "Why weren't you here before?"

"Well, we'd have to ask your father about that, but that's not something we can do now, is it?"

The fraying thread of focus he'd been clinging to snaps, and he falls, weightless,cold.

"I– I'm sorry–"

"It's alright. I'm here now. You can make things right again."

Bony hands dig into his back. If they're supposed to be soothing, they're failing very badly.

"Oh, look at me, getting all emotional like this."

She doesn't sound emotional at all.

But he's not even sure what 'emotional' sounds like anymore.

"I'm sorry. I'd better excuse myself. But let's talk about this later, alright? I'm sure you have a lot of questions, seeing as Crepus kept all of this from you. Don't worry. I'll tell you everything you need to know. You can trust me."

His head nods of its own accord.

And then those skeletal arms free him from their cage, and everything is colder, and there's the quiet thud of a door slipping shut, and everything is colder still–

"Thatbitch."

Kaeya?

He's still here.

Why is it so cold if Kaeya's here with him?

"Luc, are you okay?"

He turns to his brother and finds empty space.

Wrong side.

"Luc, talk to me, please?"

Something warm– cold. Something cold around his wrist. Everything is cold.

He turns to the other side and finds Kaeya's face.

"Luc? You seem pale. Are you–"

Kaeya's face spins sideways.

Everything goes blurry.

And then it all goes dark.

Notes:

if i had a nickel for every time i've ended a chapter on diluc passing out i'd have two nickels. which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice. actually it's not weird at all considering the person i've turned out to be and it might be more but i can only remember two for now and i'm sure i'll end up repeating it in the future somehow anyway

we're almost at the end! two more chapters to go i think, maybe three. i've forgotten how to write about anything outside dawn winery i am Afraid

thanks as always for reading! 3 see you soon o7

Chapter 6

Notes:

perhaps i should have split this into two different chapters. but i didn't. idk why i'm incapable of writing normal-sized chapters i hate myself for it

anyway. don't mind me, hope you enjoy this (hopefully) penultimate chapter that is just several thousand words of diluc's emotional turmoil 3

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

"Luc? Luc, say something–"

"Master Kaeya, please give him some space."

"Addie, why isn't hesayinganything–"

"He will once he's fully awake. Let him breathe for a moment."

Everything feels… cold.

Foggy, murky, cold, like he's drifting up slowly from the bottom of a lake.

His mouth isn't working.

Kaeya and Adelinde are looking down at him. His vision is blurred but he can still make out the concern in their faces. Adelinde's mouth is sealed into a stern, flat line, and Kaeya's lone eye is shimmering the way it does when he's on the verge of tears.

I'm fine, he tries to say, but no sound comes out.

There's something soft beneath his head. He sinks into it as a tingling feeling overtakes the rest of his limbs, silently reminding him that yes, he does in fact have working limbs, and he should probably make use of them before Kaeya or Adelinde get too worried.

He lifts his hand, only to realise he can't. Something is holding it in place.

"Luc?"

Oh. Kaeya's hand. He squeezes it and is met with an even more desperate squeeze in return.

"Luc, can you hear us?" Kaeya's voice is shaking terribly.

Diluc tries to nod, but his head is stuffed full of cotton. The soft thing it was resting on shifts and his head drops a little further, but even that minimal motion feels like endless freefall.

"It's alright, Master Diluc. Take your time. We're not going anywhere."

His vision goes dark for a moment. Something's blocking it, brushing his hair aside – Adelinde. That's… Adelinde's hand, he thinks.

His mind is moving at a snail's pace. Not good. He needs to concentrate.

He blinks. His vision sharpens a little bit, oak shelves and dim lamplight coming into focus.

They're… still in the study?

Why was he in the study again…?

The edges of his memory are too fuzzy to make sense of, so he gives up.

"Kae," he manages to croak out at last.

"I'm here, Luc. I'm here." Kaeya leans in closer, his eye still shimmering and wide. "You were out for a few minutes. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," he says.

Kaeya laughs. It's a short, strangled sound. "I've lost count of how many times you've said that just in the past couple of days."

An apology crawls up his throat, but he chokes on it. The light cough makes his chest ache.

"Master Diluc, do you think you can sit up?"

Of course he can. He's not an invalid.

He fumbles for purchase on the wooden floor beneath him and pushes himself off it as much as his quivering hands will allow. An arm comes up around his back, gentle yet firm – a pair of arms, one bigger than the other, both equally gentle – to lift him into a sitting position even as his head spins, propping him up against the nearest shelf.

Now that he's sitting up straight, the thought of crumpling forward right back into unconsciousness seems dangerously tempting. But Kaeya immediately latches on to him from the side, which rules that exit out.

A glass appears in front of him, half-full of a dark reddish-purple liquid.

"Grape juice," Adelinde says, lifting the glass a little closer to his mouth. "You'll feel better once you drink something."

He takes the glass with his free hand. It shakes in his grip, and Adelinde places one finger at the base to steady it as he brings it to his lips and takes the slowest sip of a drink he thinks he's ever taken. The juice is cold and sweet as it spills down his throat – it should be refreshing, reassuring, but for some reason he can't seem to enjoy its taste right now.

It takes aeons to finish the drink. As soon as he does, Kaeya leans in even closer, his hair brushing against Diluc's jaw. He's alert enough now to discern Kaeya's heartbeat, distinct from his own, gradually decelerating to a resting pace. Very gradually.

"You're… worried," he says, dumbly.

Kaeya laughs into his shoulder. "I just saw you faint on the spot and you weren't even bleeding or drunk this time. Of course I'm fucking worried, you idiot."

"I'm fine."

"If only repeating something over and over were enough to make it true."

Adelinde presses the back of her hand against his forehead, then sighs softly and lets her hand come to rest in his hair instead.

"What happened?" she asks quietly, tucking a stray lock of hair behind his ear. "Do you remember?"

He doesn't.

They were in the study– with Edith, they were in the study with Edith– hold on, where did she go?

He lifts his head to search for her, but his eyes land on–

The painting.

His breathing stutters to a halt.

"Master Diluc?"

His gaze snaps towards Adelinde–

The necklace–

Mother–

"Shit," he chokes out as the memories come flooding back along with a wave of sobs.

He tries to cover his mouth, stifle the pathetic noises at least a little, but Kaeya's in the way – Kaeya's pulling him closer, gripping the back of his shirt so tight he can't even think about moving away – and Adelinde's hand is on his upper arm, massaging it gently in time with her whispers of reassurance–

He wishes they would justleave.

"Edith happened," Kaeya says, still holding him tight. His voice is alarmingly low, openly threatening, and he's making no effort to disguise his disdain whatsoever. "That bitch doesn't know when to shut the fuck up."

Kaeya never curses this much.

He hears Adelinde's automatic admonishment ofLanguage, Master Kaeyain his head. But for some reason she doesn't say it out loud.

"What did she say?" Adelinde asks instead.

"She started going on about how his mother–"

"Don't," Diluc says, shaking his head desperately, even though Kaeya's suffocating hold gives him little room to move. "Don't repeat it. Please."I can't listen to it again.

"…I'll tell you later, Addie. But it was bad." Kaeya holds him even tighter. "She should've kept it to herself. Diluc didn't need to hear it. At least not like that."

Adelinde doesn't say anything. Her hand tenses just a little in his hair.

"I wish I could say she was lying about it too," Kaeya continues, his tone growing even more bitter than Diluc thought possible. "But the only thing she was lying about was how much she cared."

Kaeya has always been good at that. Knowing when someone is lying. Just one look is all he needs. It's impossible to get anything past him.

So… that means everything she said really was–

"Let it out," Adelinde says softly, running her hand through his hair, uncaring of the damage that might do to his neatly made braid. "It's alright. You do not need to hold back in front of us."

He shakes his head again. Bites down on his lip, hard enough to draw blood this time–

The stinging metallic taste has him reeling.

He feels like he's going to be sick. He's been feeling like that for who knows how long now.

Maybe he's just going to feel like this forever.

But he's not going to cry. He's done enough of that already. He's not going to cry over nothing, he's not going to prove that he really is as pathetic as he looks, he's not going to allow himself to be so weak.

He has to bebetter–

"Master Kaeya, would you–"

"I'm not leaving him," Kaeya growls.

"…Of course, Master Kaeya." Adelinde sits back on her heels with a quiet sigh. "I shall see to it that Klee gets something to eat and is put to bed, and return as soon as I can. Will you look after him until then?"

"Fine by me," Kaeya says, completely ignoring what Diluc might have to say on the matter.

"Alright," she says softly, letting her hand fall from his hair at last.

That's all she says before she's gone, and he's left alone with his brother.

They sit together in the heavy silence, neither ready to say the first word, apparently, though whether that's out of trepidation or exhaustion, he can't tell.

Kaeya laces their fingers together, holds his hand firmly, presses up against his side as if he's trying to absorb all of Diluc's body heat to alleviate some freezing cold that Diluc can't feel. Or– no, he does feel a deep chill in his bones, but he doubts Kaeya's feeling the same thing. Normal people don't feel like this, he's pretty sure of that.

"You're not getting enough sunlight," Kaeya says at last.

He might as well have said nothing though, because Diluc can't make any sense of his words.

Diluc stares, before rolling his eyes. "If this is another vampire joke–"

"No, look," he says, lifting Diluc's hand up to his face so that he's forced to examine his own fingers. "The state of your nails. They're chipped. Peeling, even. You haven't started biting them, have you? Do I need to get you nail polish–"

"I haven't," Diluc says with a huff, wrenching his hand out of Kaeya's grip, giving his nails a fleeting glance before looking away again. They're not even that bad. Only Kaeya would notice such small imperfections. "Just because I don't fuss over my nails like you do–"

"How often have you been going out these days? Was your birthday really the last time you let yourself have a break? I swear you're always cooped up indoors, and the only time you go out is at night to do your whole vigilante thing or work at the tavern, and I really don't think either of those things count as a break."

"…I fail to see how that's relevant right now."

"I'm just saying. Maybe it has something to do with why you've been so on edge lately." Kaeya sighs. "The medication won't help on its own, you know. You still have to take care of yourself. That includes taking a break and going outside more often."

He goes to chew on his lip, but Kaeya gives him a reprimanding glare and he stops mid-bite.

"I've just been busy recently," Diluc mumbles, as if such a poor excuse would fool his brother for even a second.

"Sounds to me like you're long overdue for a vacation then. Or you need to switch up your occupations a little bit." Kaeya smirks, and Diluc already knows he's going to hate whatever comes out of his mouth next. "Perhaps you should consider becoming the Brightmorning Hero instead."

…Yeah. He hated that.

"That's even worse than the Darknight Hero. I didn't think it could get worse, but it did."

"Do you see how I feel now when I hear about your latest name for a cat? Will you finally have a shred of empathy for your dear brother–"

"Shut up, Kae," he says with a groan, dropping his head onto his brother's shoulder. The vibrations from Kaeya's subdued laughter are oddly soothing as they resound through his skull.

He almost lets himself get lost in that pleasant sensation.

But there are more pressing matters. There always are. He can't ever seem to stop and just relax, not even when Kaeya's holding him like this and it's just the two of them, alone, with no one else to worry about in the world–

He's getting distracted.

He can feel Kaeya's laughter die out before the question even leaves his mouth.

"What did you and Edith talk about when you were alone?"

"Grapes."

Diluc blinks, then narrows his eyes. "Kae, be serious–"

"Who says I'm not? She was very desperate to prove how much she knows about viticulture."

"You were talking to her forthirty minutes. There's no way–"

"She's a pompous, overly verbose bitch. And there were a lot of awkward silences. It's not that unusual."

Kaeya's lying to him again. He has to be. At the very least he's not telling the full truth.

When does he ever, these days?

"…Stop calling her that," he says, letting go of the question he has no hope of getting a straight answer to right now, and tackling the point he doesn't care nearly as much about instead. "It's rude."

"Oh yes. I'm the one being rude. She's been the paragon of politeness."

"She hasn't done anything that bad," he says, dropping his gaze.

It's just been a little awkward. First meetings are always like that. A little bit of tension, maybe some lingering bitterness that needs to be addressed, but that was to be expected when she was away for so long, and if they just give it time then surely–

"Diluc, are you actually deaf?" Kaeya's eyebrows rise in sheer disbelief. "Have you listened toanyof the things she's been saying? Did you not hear what she was saying to you just now–"

"Stop."

He doesn't need to be constantly reminded of what she said. He heard it well enough the first time.

Kaeya looks like he very much doesn't want to stop, but he holds back whatever tirade he was about to go on and lets out another sigh. "You're too kind for your own good, Luc. She doesn't deserve your kindness."

"She's my aunt," he says with a helpless shrug.

Those words should be enough to get Kaeya to let go of this already, but the way his gaze sharpens makes it seem like it has the opposite effect.

It only lasts for a moment though, before Kaeya's bowing his head and reaching for his hand again, squeezing it gently like Diluc is some fragile thing that he's scared of breaking.

"I'm sorry. I should've told you to send her away earlier, before she got the chance to say all those awful things," Kaeya says. "I had a bad feeling about her as soon as she arrived, but I kept quiet because I thought I'd be able to stop whatever she tried."

Diluc doesn't know what to say to that.

Kaeya sounds so…guilty.

But– there's nothing for him to feel guilty over– it's not like anything's happened, not really, especially not anything he could blame himself for–

"Come on. We should get you to bed, you're exhausted," he says, looking back up at Diluc with a faint, tired smile. "Just go and get the sleep you deserve. Don't worry about anything else tonight. I'll take care of everything– I'll kick her out straight away–"

"You can't just send her out into the night on her own," Diluc blurts out, shaking his head. "It's dangerous."

"Does it look like I care if she lives or dies?"

…Kaeya's overreacting, surely.

He's never usually this cruel unless someone really deserves it. But his judgement is off today. He's usually more level-headed than this.

"She has a daughter," Diluc says, as sternly as he can even as his voice trembles.

"A daughter who would almost certainly be better off without her, it sounds like."

Why is he doubling down on this? "Kae, youcan't. She's family."

Kaeya scoffs. "After all of that, you'd still call her family?"

"She hasn't done anything wrong. I know she hasn't been the easiest to get along with, but–"

"Look at yourself," Kaeya says, almost desperate as he leans in closer, so close that Diluc can't avoid looking him straight in the eye. "She hurt you, Luc."

He shakes his head again. "That's just– this is just me being stupid. Getting worked up over nothing like I always am– like you always say I am–"

"This isn't nothing. You just heard about something traumatic happening to your parents. Anyone with a heart would be upset. Not to mention you were completely unprepared to hear it."

"I'm not upset."

"Luc–"

"I'm not– I'm fine– I swear I'm– I'mfine," he says.

It's probably not very convincing when his words are garbled thanks to the stupid sobs escaping him in their place.

Kaeya sighs, as he's done countless times in this one day alone, and wraps both of his arms tightly around him, tucking Diluc's head under his chin as he rubs his back gently, steady as a rock in contrast to Diluc's violent, unnecessary trembling.

"I don't even remember her," Diluc says. "I don't know why I'm– I shouldn't be like this."

"She was still your mother. Of course it'd hurt to hear about something so terrible happening to her."

A particularly loud sob has him clutching at Kaeya's chest, seeking out that familiar warmth only his brother can provide.

"I don't understand," he whispers. "Why would she– Father was there,Iwas there– why would she still–"

"Luc, don't tell me you're trying to blame yourself for something that happened when you werethree."

"But it doesn't make any sense," he says. He can barely speak, his lips are shaking so much, his voice stuck in some ugly, discordant sort of tremolo that distorts his words even more than the sobs do already.

Kaeya reaches for his hand, draws a circle into the back of it with his thumb, brings it close to his lips and brushes a soft kiss along the knuckles as he squeezes tight.

"What happened wasn't your fault," he says softly. "It wasn't Father's either, it wasn't anyone's fault – well, except Edith's, probably."

Diluc tries to pull his hand away at that, but his brother holds firm.

"Kae–"

"I'm going to kill that woman for letting you eventhinkabout any of this–"

"Kae, please."

He doesn't know what he wants from his brother. He doesn't know what he wants in general, other than for all of this chaos to just quietly disappear like it never happened, even though he knows that's a fool's wish, and such a neat solution to all his problems could never exist. Not even Kaeya could come up with something like that.

Murder doesn't count. That's not neat at all.

Kaeya's just exaggerating. He wouldn't actually kill Edith.

…Would he?

It takes him a while to realise that Kaeya started talking again. He only catches the end of his little speech, too out of it to even try to guess at what else Kaeya had said while he was lamenting his own uselessness.

"Let's get you to bed, before you fall asleep here. Of course I don't mind carrying you, but–"

"Can't we just sit here for a while?"

Kaeya hesitates. "Wouldn't it be better if we just went to your room now–"

"Just– just for a few minutes. Please."

He doesn't know why he wants to stay here. All he knows is that right now, he'll fall apart the second Kaeya lets him go, and he doesn't want that. Kaeya's worried enough as it is. He's fallen apart enough as it is.

"…Okay. Sure. Whatever you want, Luc. Whatever makes you happy."

'Happy' is a strong word. But he certainly feels… safer, in Kaeya's arms, safer than he would if he tried to stand up on his own right now. More like a human being and less like a patchwork mess of emotions that'll unravel if anyone pulls at a single thread.

Just a few minutes. He just needs his brother to be the strong one for a few minutes.

As if he isn't always the strong one. You're always forcing him to be, with how weak you are.

…Just a few minutes. Nothing drastic. He's okay.

He has to be.

He is walking the fine line between sleep and wakefulness when Adelinde makes her way into his room with a steaming bowl of soup. He blinks and slowly sits up just as she sets the bowl down on the table beside him, the scent of her cooking chasing away the drowsiness he was about to succumb to.

"Oh, you're awake. It's alright, you can go back to sleep if you wish. I only wanted to make sure you had something to eat if you woke up later."

"It's okay. I'm awake now," he mumbles, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and cringing inwardly at the quiet rumble of his stomach. "Did… did you all have dinner already?"

"Yes, Master Diluc. I hope you don't mind. I did not wish to disturb you. You sounded like you could use the rest."

Adelinde always thinks he needs rest. That doesn't mean anything coming from her.

But he doesn't voice that thought, choosing to stare into his soup instead. Maybe if he stares at it long enough it won't look so nauseating. It smells delicious – of course it does, it's Adelinde's cooking – but the idea of eating it is just a step too far, apparently.

"Where's Kaeya?"

"With Klee. Reading her a bedtime story, I believe. She was rather insistent that she wouldn't go to sleep without one, specifically from him," Adelinde says with a light chuckle.

Despite the good humour in Adelinde's voice, Diluc can't bring himself to feel the same, the coil of anxiety in his gut too intense to ignore.

"Do you think it was a mistake to invite her here? I only agreed because Kaeya wouldn't have been able to come otherwise, but I– I've been such a mess, so maybe–"

"Not at all," Adelinde says quietly. "I think having them both here has been good for you. Perhaps more than you realise right now."

She didn't explicitly deny him being a mess. She probably would if he brought it up. But it'd be a lie and they'd both know it.

"She doesn't like Edith," he says, still staring into his soup. "She told me so herself. She'd be happier if she weren't forced to be here–"

"But she is still happy to be with you and your brother." Adelinde places a hand over his, quelling the trembling just a little bit. "She is quite fond of you both, and a child's fondness is a precious thing. Be grateful for it."

He… is. Heisgrateful for it, even though he can't fathom why Klee of all people would ever feel any sort of fondness for him–

His vision starts to blur.

Surely he's not about to start cryingagain. Hasn't he done that enough already?

He forces a spoonful of soup into his mouth. A weak distraction, but a distraction nonetheless.

"Master Kaeya told me about what your aunt said," Adelinde says after he's had a few mouthfuls of soup that he can't really appreciate the taste of. "It must have been tremendously difficult to hear. I'm sorry you had to find out that way."

It wasn't difficult.

He'sfine.

"Did– did you know, Adelinde?"

Adelinde smiles sadly. "Your father never told me anything. I asked him once, a very long time ago, but he simply requested that I never ask about it again, and that I never bring it up in your presence, either."

"He kept it a secret all this time," Diluc says, stirring his soup listlessly. "Even from you."

He knows Father was a private, secretive sort of person. He kept many things close to his chest and out of the public eye. But something like this – for not even Adelinde to know…

"Some of the more senior staff must have known, but they were all very careful not to say anything about it in the open. Your father commanded a great deal of respect. None of them would've dared to gossip about something so personal, especially if they knew it went against his wishes."

He forces down another spoonful of soup. It tastes bland and lifeless and not at all like Adelinde's cooking.

Adelinde sits down on the edge of the bed next to him, between him and the headboard – he hadn't even realised she'd been standing all this time. Zero awareness of other people. Typical. No wonder everyone's sick of trying to deal with him.

Quietly she shifts, sitting a little closer than she normally would, and places one hand at the small of his back. She doesn't move, or say anything at all, but her presence alone is overwhelming enough.

"Sorry," he finds himself mumbling. "I'm a mess. I know I am. I'm not trying to be."

"You're trying your best," she says, like she's said a thousand times before, but he never seems to get the message, so he always ends up forcing her to say it a thousand times more anyway. "I'm very proud of you."

I haven't done anything worth being proud of.

He knows he's not supposed to think like that. He's been told the opposite so many times they're all sick of it.

But he can't help it. Not when it's true.

He passes the bowl back to her silently. She frowns, but doesn't press him to eat more. Thank the Archons. He can't add throwing up to the list of pathetic displays of weakness he's made today.

"Master Diluc, I–"

"Oh, Diluc, there you are."

It's only Edith. But Adelinde goes absolutely rigid at the sound of her voice.

Edith doesn't hesitate to approach him, the door creaking on its hinges as it swings shut behind her.

"I was so worried when I heard you wouldn't be eating dinner with us. Is everything alright, dear?"

Adelinde cuts in before he gets the chance to answer, raising her hand in a gesture that gets Edith to stop just a couple of steps away from his bed.

"Master Diluc is resting right now. I'm afraid you'll have to wait until tomorrow if you wish to speak with him."

Edith raises an eyebrow, glancing towards him instead of her. "You can spare a few minutes for your aunt, can't you?"

"I really must insist–"

"Why don't you let my nephew speak for himself, hm?"

Adelinde's eyes are crystal clear and cold, like icicles on Dragonspine. She holds Edith's gaze with a slightly raised chin and a defiant set to her jaw, her hand pressing a little deeper into his back.

"It's okay," he says, nodding weakly towards Edith. "What did you want to talk about?"

Adelinde's eyes narrow like that was the wrong thing to say.

Meanwhile his aunt smiles like she's won some sort of game, her steps long and slow as she draws nearer to the bed and perches on the edge of it on his other side, not an inch of space between them.

Before he can ask again what she's here for, Edith's hand darts out like a viper in front of him towards Adelinde's neck.

A flash of panic overtakes his senses, temporarily blinding him until he sees her slender fingers wrap around the emerald pendant, tugging it forwards slightly to get a closer look. Adelinde doesn't flinch, her eyes remaining trained on Edith, her hand remaining anchored to his back.

"Why, this is certainly a pretty little necklace," Edith says, eyes narrowing as she twists the gem over and back again, watching how it catches the light from all angles.

"Thank you," Adelinde says coolly.

"It seems familiar. Though I can't quite place my finger on where I've seen it before." Her words are a little clipped, and he still can't tell if she actually recognises it or not. He still doesn't know if he wants her to. "Where did you get it?"

"It was a gift. From Master Diluc and Master Kaeya."

Edith's eyes widen, before she glances back at him, her hand tightening around the pendant just enough for him to notice. "You're a very generous young man, aren't you?"

No matter how he tries to answer that, he feels like it'll come out wrong, so he settles for a shaky sort of half-nod that doesn't really say anything at all.

He feels caged in between them. He could escape if he wanted to, shuffle back and give himself room to breathe, but he doesn't.

Edith takes her time letting go of the necklace, then grabs both of his hands without warning, an iron grip that makes him jolt.

"Are you unwell, Diluc?" she asks, her voice dripping with sympathy and pity.

The ring that had caught his attention earlier that day distracts him again, the smooth circular sapphire gleaming forebodingly in the candlelight.

The silver band is scratched up as if it's been polished by an amateur, and it's a little loose on her finger, not quite sitting right and allowing the gem to slip down to the side, the intricate pointed edge of the setting poking into his skin. A very slight, very inconspicuous sensation, but he can't seem to focus on anything else.

"Perhaps we should call a doctor, you did seem a little pale earlier–"

"No– I'm fine, Edith, really. Just– a bit tired, that's all," he says, shaking his head before she can get any ideas.

"If you say so," she says, flashing him a saccharine smile, letting go of one hand to pat the other with excessive enthusiasm. "Forgive me if I'm being overbearing. I'm simply trying to look out for you. As family should. You know that, don't you?"

"Of course," he says quietly, ignoring Adelinde's conspicuous glare at his side.

"Good, good," Edith says, still wearing that same sickly sweet smile as she turns to Adelinde. "Would you mind giving us some privacy? There are a few personal matters I wish to discuss with him."

Adelinde doesn't move.

Edith keeps up the smile as she turns to him, though it seems to be stretched thinner now. "Diluc, dear–"

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Adelinde too."

Her smile flickers like a candle in a snowstorm, but it isn't snuffed out entirely. "Well then. Perhaps I'll save it for tomorrow. Hopefully you'll feel a little better by then, hm? A whole day's passed and we've hardly had the chance to talk. I'd hate for you to spend the rest of our time this weekend lying in bed. Although – there's always next weekend," she says, leaning in a little closer, gripping his hands a little tighter. "Perhaps I could come round again, if you're willing? There really is so much we have to catch up on. A single weekend could never be enough. Or you could always come and visit us, if you'd prefer. You'd get to meet your cousins, and your uncle too. Doesn't that sound nice?"

It should be an utterly innocuous request. And yet it makes his heart sink like a stone, heavy with dread.

"We'll see," he says weakly.

That's enough for her apparently, as she gives him a bright smile and stands up, finally letting him go. "I won't keep you from your rest any longer then, seeing as you seem to need it so badly. Sweet dreams, dear nephew. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight," he calls after her, and she laughs, waving at him a little too enthusiastically before leaving the room.

The thud of the door as it shuts echoes in his ears for several beats after Edith is gone.

"You don't like her either, do you," he says after the odd feeling of claustrophobia fades and the silence feels more comfortable and less stifling once more.

It's not a question. It doesn't need to be – it's clear as day, which is saying a lot for someone who keeps their opinions as closely guarded as Adelinde.

She hums. "Though I can't say I approve of his choice of words, I think Master Kaeya's description of her earlier was concise enough."

That's probably the closest he'll ever get to hearing Adelinde swear. What a miracle.

He's too dumbfounded by her sudden boldness to protest as she gets him to take his medicine – he almost certainly would've forgotten it without her reminder – and carefully manoeuvres him back into lying down, brushing his unruly hair out of his face and onto the pillow, drawing the blanket up to his chin and tucking him in like he's twelve and not twenty-two.

He expects her to leave after all that with a quiet 'goodnight' or something, but she remains at his side, her gaze a little unfocused, gripping the edge of the blanket lightly and keeping it in place even as he turns on his side.

"You look like you have something else on your mind."

Adelinde lets out a short sigh, then smiles back at him, bittersweet nostalgia clouding her eyes. "I'm thinking about your mother," she says solemnly.

"What about her?" he asks, hesitant.

She takes a moment to answer, eyebrows furrowing slightly even as she maintains the small smile. "Knowing what happened to her… I think I understand a little better now, why your father went to such lengths for me all those years ago. And I think I owe her a great deal more than I realised, for having influenced him so much."

"…What are you talking about, Addie?"

What did Father do?Great lengths? What in the world does that mean?

Adelinde squeezes his hand and looks away. "I believe that is a story better suited for another time, when you're well-rested."

He squeezes back, even though his grip is feeble and childlike and horribly weak. "I– I don't know what he did, or what influence you think she had on him, but– I'm sure he would've done it for you anyway. You don't owe anyone anything–"

"Well, I already owed her an immeasurable debt – she brought you into this world, after all."

Diluc freezes as Adelinde leans in and presses a kiss into the top of his hair, caressing his cheek as she does so, her thumb catching the tear that spills out of the corner of his eye unbidden.

"My little sun," she whispers, lips still pressed against his hair, with a smile as warm as summer, a smile he can't see but can picture perfectly in his mind anyway. "Whatever would I do without you?"

That's my line, he thinks, but his throat is completely congested with sobs, so there's no hope of him saying it out loud.

He can't see anything anymore, his vision fully obscured by the tears welling up in his eyes, so all he can do is squeeze her hand even tighter, pulling it even closer, afraid that it might slip out of his reach entirely if he lets go for even a second.

There's… all sorts of things he should say right now. But he doesn't have the strength or presence of mind to say any of them.

Adelinde doesn't seem to care, though. She's always been able to understand what he's trying to say without him needing to say it.

"Would you like me to stay here until you fall asleep?"

A stupid, childish request. He should reject it. He should let go of her hand, and apologise for causing her so much trouble, and tell her to leave him alone.

But he so badly wants – maybe evenneedsher to stay. So he nods, and squeezes her hand tighter still, so tight that she'll probably be feeling the ache for days – how has he not managed to snap her fingers entirely yet?

Adelinde is stronger than she looks. Stronger than he could ever hope to be.

"Then close your eyes, Diluc," she says quietly, stroking his hair with her free hand. "You don't have to worry about a thing. I'll be right here, and everything will be alright. Your brother and I will make sure of it."

He shuts his eyes.

The last thing he feels before sleep finally comes for him is the warmth of her hand fading from his grasp.

Mother and Father are dancing in the garden, swaying in time with the cecilias all around them. Her hand on his shoulder, his hand on her waist, their other hands carefully intertwined as they waltz through the greenery to a song Diluc can't hear.

Her sunset-orange dress flares out as Father twirls her around and pulls her back in again with a warm smile. He makes eye contact with Diluc over her shoulder and whispers something in her ear that makes her turn around before he can blink.

She looks out towards Diluc, her face instantly lighting up when their eyes meet.

"Look, Crepus, he'swalking," she says, giggling as she leans against Father. Her voice is soft, lilting and melodic, high and clear and bright like a songbird on a spring day.

Diluc didn't even realise he remembered it.

"He's been walking for months now," Father says, "yet you still act so surprised every time."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to it," she says as she lets out a contented sigh.

She lets go of Father and crouches down, stretching both her arms out towards him.

"Lulu, come here," she calls, encouraging him with a radiant smile.

Before he can think about it, his unsteady legs have closed the distance between them, and she's scooping him up into her arms, kissing the top of his head as she stands.

"My little sun," she says softly, kissing him again. "One day you're going to be all grown up. Will you be a better dancer than your father then, I wonder?"

Father chuckles, wrapping an arm around Mother's back and smiling down at him. "I think he'll be better than me in every way, as long as he has you for a mother."

She giggles again. "I certainly hope he'll be better at compliments at least."

"You're setting your standards very high there, my love," Father says, pressing a kiss against her cheek as she laughs.

She turns to say something else to him, but Diluc doesn't hear it, too entranced by the sheer softness of her embrace, the tender warmth enveloping his entire body. Gently, back and forth, she rocks him steadily, and Father's hand finds his cheek and caresses it, and Diluc should be happy but all of this makes him want to cry and he doesn't know why.

He's never felt so… safe.

He doesn't want this moment to end.

He wants to stay here forever–

But the scene shifts against his will, lush greens and tranquil blues melting into dark browns and reds.

Mother's still here. They're in a bedroom now, and she's fast asleep, but she's here.

He crawls closer to shake her awake, to return to that warm embrace. He'd only known it for a few brief seconds, but he misses it already. So he reaches out and grabs her shoulder.

She doesn't stir.

Her sunset-orange dress from before has been replaced by something dyed red as blood.

No – it's not a dye.

It's– warm, and wet– pooling in the sheets, staining her hands,hishands–

Blood.

There's a piece of paper in her hand. It's dripping with blood too.

All he can see is blood, blood everywhere, so much that he'sdrowningin it– and he knows exactly whose it must be but he can't name it– there's so much– no one ever bleeds this much except when–

Father's here.

Where did Father come from?

He's standing at the side of the bed, with his blood-red hair and blood-red eyes, wide, afraid, more afraid than Diluc's ever seen him–

Why wasn't he here earlier?

He drops to the floor with a blood-curdling scream.

Why didn't he stop this?

Blood everywhere. He can't escape it.

Diluc's never heard him sound so pained.

Not even when–

When–

Father–

He wakes with a scream tearing through his throat.

It sounds like Father.

Everything is quiet, except for the blood pounding in his ears.

So much blood everywhere–

He forces himself to breathe.

He has to.

He can't– he's caused everyone more than enough trouble today as it is. He's not going to have one of them find him like this and fuss over him again.

He's fine. He has to be.

Just a stupid dream. Adream– not a memory, not anything real, not anything that matters.

The diary on his bedside table taunts him in the darkness.

He shoves it to the floor, and buries his face in the pillow, muffling the sobs that escape despite his best efforts to contain them in his constricting chest.

He's not fucking writing any of that down.

It's the second night in a row that he's been woken up by a child.

And it had taken him so long to finally fall asleep again too…

Well, at least she wasn't here a couple of hours earlier. She should never have to see anything like that.

Klee blinks owlishly at him as she stands at his bedside. She's so short and his bed is so tall that she can barely see over the top of the mattress.

"Hi," she whispers, smiling at him.

He suppresses a groan as he pushes himself up to a sitting position and looks down at her. "Hello, Klee," he says, his voice still thick with sleep.

She glances down at her feet and leans down to pick something up – his diary? When did that get on the–

Oh. Right. Of course.

He suppresses another groan and pushes away the urge to bury his face in his hands out of shame.

Silently she places the diary back on the bedside table in its rightful place, giving it a thoughtful pat before she turns back to him.

"Are you sick?"

He stares. "Me?"

Klee picks up the bottle sitting on the table next to the diary and holds it out to him. "Do you need medicine?"

He keeps staring, bewildered. She seems to take that as an affirmative response, because she starts to unscrew the medicine bottle–

"No– Klee,no," he says, grabbing the bottle from her before she can open it and hastily shoving it in the drawer, a loud thud resounding through the room as it shuts. "Klee, you shouldn't– let the grown-ups handle medicine, okay? Don't try to open things like that by yourself."

Archons, he's so fuckingstupid, leaving medicine out like that in her reach – what if she'd found it while he wasn't awake and tried to eat it herself, or something–

"Sorry," she says, looking up at him sadly. "Klee was only trying to help."

"It's– I know. It's okay. I'm not mad," he says, ruffling her hair a little with a sigh.

"You don't look sick," she says. "What do you need medicine for?"

He swallows a bitter laugh.

Klee's still so terribly innocent. It makes his heart ache, knowing one day she'll realise the truth, and that she might look back on all these strange interactions and understand what was really happening. See him for what he truly is.

"You can't always see when someone's sick," he says quietly, ruffling her hair again. "There's different kinds of sickness."

"Oh." She bounces a little on her tiptoes. "When will you get better then?"

I wish I knew.

"…Soon," he says. "Soon enough. Don't worry."

This isn't Klee's problem. This isn't something she should ever have to even think about.

She clambers up onto the bed without saying anything else and sits next to him, then tugs on his sleeve, pulling him down. He doesn't quite know what she wants, so he leans down before she can tear his sleeve off entirely with her insistent tugging.

Her next move catches him off-guard. He could blame it on the disorientation from being abruptly woken up, but he knows deep down that he would've been caught off-guard no matter when or where it had happened.

She kisses him on the forehead with a loud 'mwah' before pulling back to smile at him brightly.

He sits up straight again, blinking at her slowly, stunned.

"You can kiss anything better," she says with absolute certainty in her voice, nodding eagerly. "Kaeya said so. And it always works for Klee."

Of course Kaeya said that.

"Did it work for Diluc too?"

She's so sweet, he's going to be sick.

"It did," he says, pulling her closer, allowing himself a small smile as she giggles and wraps her arms around him – or tries to, at least, but she's sosmall, and he's never not going to be in awe of how hard she tries in spite of that.

What has he done to deserve the kindness of such a sweet girl?

It won't last long. Give it a couple of years and she'll go right back to thinking of him as just another one of the weird adults, once she realises he's nowhere near the sort of person he pretends to be for her sake.

"Why are you here, Klee?" he finally gathers the sense to ask. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, yeah." She fidgets with her nightgown. "Um– Kaeya's gone."

"Oh. Okay."

It always takes his mind far too long to catch up to reality when he's a sleep-deprived mess like this. Which is far too common a state for him these days.

"Kaeya'swhat?" His hand tightens on her shoulder, probably painfully, but his fragile restraint has warped into urgency and he doesn't have time to worry about trivial details like that right now.

"He was there when I went to sleep, and then I woke up and he was gone. And he said that I should go to you first if something happened and he wasn't there."

Diluc runs his free hand down his face, focusing on keeping his racing heartbeat in check. He can't lose his cool while Klee's here. She needs him to hold it together.

"That's one of the only sensible things I think he's said to you," he mutters as he stands up. "He's probably just somewhere around the house. Don't worry too much. I'll go look for him. Let's get you back to bed first–"

"No way! Klee wants to help look for Kaeya too."

He holds her fiery gaze for a moment before giving in with a sigh. No point arguing over something that won't get either of them anywhere.

"Alright. Let's make it quick then," he says, holding his hand out to her.

She takes it as she hops off the bed, and is quick to start tugging him out of the room, even thoughhe'ssupposed to be the adult. The one in charge.

"It's like hide and seek," she whispers gleefully. "Kaeya's really good at it. But Klee always manages to find him in the end."

…She certainly brightened up quickly. Was she even worried at all, or did she just use it as an excuse to wake him up so that she wouldn't be alone in the middle of the night?

Whatever. He'd like to know what Kaeya's up to as well. Knowing him, it's nothing good.

"What made you wake up?" he asks as they're descending the stairs hand in hand. "Bad dream?"

"Yeah," she says, casual and unconcerned.

His chest seizes up anyway. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's okay. I don't really remember it."

"Oh. That's… good, I guess," he says.

Very helpful. Why are you still talking again?

"Does Diluc have bad dreams?"

He tries not to let his hand tighten lest he crush the tiny palm that's carefully contained in it. "Everyone does," he says, strained.

"Doyouwanna talk about it?" she says, looking up at him, her eyes bright despite the darkness around them.

He can't help the bitter laugh that escapes him. "It's– I only dream about grown-up stuff. You wouldn't understand it."And I hope you never do.

"Like taxes? Klee knows that's a grown-up thing."

"Yup. Taxes. Big, scary taxes. That's all I dream about."

"That sounds silly."

He laughs again, a little softer this time. "Most bad dreams do, when you say them out loud."

She hums, swinging her free arm back and forth rhythmically, but doesn't answer him.

"Do you even know what taxes are?" he asks, raising his eyebrow.

"Taxation is theft," Klee says seriously with a quick nod.

…Seriously, who's been teaching her that sort of language?

"Don't tell me Kaeya said that." The Knights would be nothing without taxes. Mostly his taxes.

"Not Kaeya. Mona."

Klee is such an impressionable child, yet it seems like she's surrounded by people who impress only the most questionable of ideas upon her.

"Who's Mona?"

"She's an astrologist," Klee says, her eyes glittering with wonder. "She's like my brother – she'sreallysmart. And she talks about all kinds of really cool stuff, and Klee doesn't really get it all the time, but she's so cool!"

"…An astrologist, huh," he murmurs, glancing out of the window at the night sky as they reach the ground floor.

It's cloudy tonight. He can't even see the moonlight, let alone the stars.

Well, there's only one star in particular he's looking for right now anyway.

"He might be in the kitchen," Diluc says, slowly moving towards the room in question. "Sometimes he gets up in the middle of night for a glass of water or something."

Klee follows him without protest, and Diluc's suspicions are confirmed when he hears faint voices through the kitchen door, one of them too low and familiar to be anyone other than his brother.

As he draws closer, he realises the voices are only so faint because the door is closed. There's a harshness to the sounds, subdued but self-evident, and he stops in his tracks, gripping Klee's hand a little tighter.

"Diluc?"

"One moment, Klee."

He lets go of her and carefully approaches the door, pressing one ear against it and straining his admittedly terrible sense of hearing to get the gist of the heated conversation on the other side.

"…knew what she was doing…"

"…do about it?"

Oh.Adelinde. Kaeya's in here with Adelinde.

"…remember…"

"…can't… stupid, selflessidiot–"

"Klee," he says, quickly going back over to the child who's still patiently waiting in her spot, much to his surprise, "Kaeya's in the kitchen. I'll talk to him and get him to go back to bed, so why don't you go on ahead and wait in your room? Don't worry. He's fine."

"Why can't Klee talk to him with you?"

He chews on his lip. "Kaeya seems a little bit upset right now."

"Klee can help with that!"

"No, Klee– I think I just need to talk to him alone. Please? Kaeya would want you to go back to sleep too."

She pouts, but at least she doesn't argue further. "Okay,fine," she says, crossing her arms. "But Klee will come find you again if you take too long."

"…Sure," he says with a hasty nod. "Don't worry. I'll make it quick."

She traipses back up the stairs with a yawn, and Diluc finds himself letting out a sigh once she's out of sight. Then he turns back to the kitchen door and opens it as fast as he can before doubt can get the better of him.

Kaeya and Adelinde are stood not too far from the door, leaning against the kitchen counter. Adelinde has one hand on Kaeya's shoulder, while he stands with crossed arms, glaring at the floor.

Both of their heads snap up to look at Diluc, eyes wide and eyebrows raised in matching expressions.

"Luc? What's the matter? Did you have a nightmare?"

He knows Kaeya isn't trying to be patronising. But the sharp contrast between his snapping earlier and this sudden softness makes it feel less sincere.

"Klee was looking for you," he says, steeling his voice. "She woke up and you weren't there, so she came to get me. I've sent her back to bed. You should go back too. Why are you awake anyway?"

"Just wanted to grab a glass of water," Kaeya says, shrugging as he pushes himself off the counter and stands up straight again.

"What were you two talking about just now?" he asks, glancing towards Adelinde.

"What do youthink, Diluc?"

He shuts the door behind him.

"If this is about Edith–"

"Of course it's about Edith."

Diluc tries for a deep inhale and exhale before he lets himself speak again. "Look– I know you don't like her, none of you do, evidently, but she'll be leaving tomorrow anyway, so–"

"So I don't see why we're tolerating her for a whole extra day when she's done enough as it is."

"She hasn't done anything–"

"Shehurt you, and she knew exactly what the fuck she was doing when she said all those things."

"You don't know that. You're making too many assumptions."

"I saw the look on her face, Diluc, she–"

"She lost her sister tosuicide."

The room goes still until Kaeya breaks the illusion with a caustic laugh.

"So? She didn't need to tell you about it so heartlessly." Kaeya plants a hand on his hip, staring down at him. "Would you have done the same? If it were my children you were talking to? If you had to tell them–"

"Kae– I– what thefuck– what are yousaying?"

He has to grip the counter to keep from falling over. He can't look Kaeya in the eye.

His chest feels too tight. He can hardly breathe.

"Answer the question."

"No," he says, the words leaving him before he's even put together the full implications of Kaeya's question. He's not sure hecando that, not without having a full-fledged breakdown right here in the middle of the kitchen. "I– no, I wouldn't have."

"So youdorealise that what she did was not okay in the slightest. Glad we could clear that up."

He gulps, trying to take in whatever scant bits of oxygen are left in this tension-filled air. "At least she didn't lie to me–"

"You are giving her the benefit of the doubt when she doesn't deserve it, and you know it. I don't see why you can't just accept it and let me do what needs to be done."

"Nothing needs to be done," he says, gripping the counter tighter. "She's just– I want to hear what she has to say. The truth. That's all she's doing, telling me the truth."

"There's a difference between telling the truth and hurting someone," Kaeya says, his lips curled. "I would know."

Despite the oven, the stove, and the multitude of lanterns in the kitchen all being lit, the room feels so cold that Diluc is surprised when his shaking breaths don't turn to mist.

"So which of those would you say you're doing right now?" Diluc says, lifting his chin to meet Kaeya's gaze head on, ignoring the chill that makes him want to run back to his own bed and curl up underneath the covers like a coward.

"…Unbelievable," Kaeya mutters under his breath. "Diluc, don't be oblivious. She knows she doesn't have any decent excuse for her absence, for why it's taken her so long to reach out – that's why she's appealing to your emotions instead. She's obviously taking advantage of you, and your kindness. She's trying to use you. And apparently everyone can see it except you."

"You're all coming at this with your own biases–"

"I remember her."

He freezes. All of them do. Adelinde's eyes go wide, her hand returning to Kaeya's shoulder, though she doesn't say anything.

"Master Kaeya…"

"Kaeya,what?"

Kaeya said he 'didn't remember any Aunt Edith'. Neither of them did. Edith herself said she hadn't seen him since he was six or something, and that was a couple of years before Kaeya even arrived, so–

"She showed up at the mansion in the city years ago. The first winter I spent with you all, a couple of months after the adoption was official." Kaeya looks away. "I wasn't supposed to see her. She was outside, in the middle of the night, arguing with Father, and he was shouting at her. I couldn't understand what either of them were saying."

Edith… tried to visit them? All those years ago?

What did she say to Father? What did Father say to her?

Why didn't she mention that argument at all?

Kaeya wouldn't lie about something like this, no matter how badly he wanted to get rid of her.

"I didn't know who she was back then. Never thought about it again until she showed up today. But that's one of the only times I ever saw Father shout at anyone," Kaeya adds quietly, looking him straight in the eye.

None of this makes any damn sense and he can't fuckingthinkclearly enough to try and make sense of it all either.

Is this what Kaeya meant earlier, when he said he had a 'bad feeling' about her?

What a fucking joke.

"Why didn't you say anything before? If you really recognised her–"

"You were already on edge, I didn't think it would help," Kaeya says, gritting his teeth. "I'm only telling you now because it seems like using Father's memory is the only way to get through to you about anything these days. I'm worried about what'll happen once Edith figures that out."

Is breathing always this difficult?

"What do you want me to do, then?" he says, barely able to hear his own voice above the erratic pulsing of blood in his ears.

"Send her off first thing in the morning, and cut off any further contact with her. Like Father did. Like we should've done as soon as she started talking shit about him."

"She didn't–"

"You have absolutely not been listening if you honestly think she hasn't been trying to insult him every chance she gets."

He can barely remember anything that's happened in the past twenty-four hours.

Maybe none of this is real. Maybe it's all just a very long dream.

He'd really love to wake up from it sometime soon, if that's the case.

"Well?"

"I can't."

"Luc–"

"No. I'm not getting rid of her until I get a chance to talk to her and figure out what's really going on here. What all of this is about."

Kaeya stares, unblinking. Diluc doesn't know if he has the fortitude to beat him in a staring contest right now, but he tries anyway.

His brother gives up faster than he expected, his shoulders dropping with a frustrated sigh as he turns on his heel and stalks towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To sleep. Obviously. Don't worry, I'm not going to murder your aunt, as much as I would like to," he says, flashing him a completely insincere smile over his shoulder.

"Kae, wait–"

"Goodnight, Diluc. You too, Addie. I'll see you in the morning, along with dear old Aunt Edith. Can't wait."

The kitchen door sounds like it's about to break when Kaeya slams it shut.

"Sorry, Addie," he mumbles, his voice hollow. He can't bring herself to look into her stern, adamantly disapproving eyes.

"I am not the one you should be apologising to. It's not right to sleep on an argument. You both know that."

We do.

"Master Kaeya is better at hiding it, but these few days have taken a toll on him too. He only worries for you. Unfortunately you both seem to have difficulty expressing that without snapping at each other."

We weren't always like this.

Adelinde sighs and lays a hand on his shoulder. "Get some rest, Master Diluc. You need as much as you can get."

He doesn't need rest. He needs the truth. He needs anything in this mess of a weekend to make just a little bit of sense.

Tomorrow. He'll find out the truth tomorrow.

One last day of this. One last day to try and figure out what the hell is going on and prove to everyone that there was never anything to worry about and that everything–

Is–

Fine.

Notes:

three kisses in one chapter, i'm out of control. when i said this would be self-indulgent i wasn't joking

the next chapter should be the last one... please god let it be the last one... i'm going insane orz normal people don't write 50k words of diluc being Stressed. this is beyond a coping mechanism now

anyway - thanks as always for reading! i'm still amazed by how many of you have decided to stick with me on this very self-indulgent journey (that's what this whole series is yes i know but that's not the point right now). seeing all your reactions and theories and speculation in the comments seriously makes my day, i'm truly grateful for all the support and encouragement and love 3 i definitely wouldn't have had the motivation to write this much if it weren't for the fact that i knew other people were reading it too.

back to the void i go to try and wrap all this up into an ending... hopefully they all come out of it unscathed, but these boys have a way of getting themselves hurt even when i don't want them to ;-; oh well. we'll see how it goes. until next time o7 take care!

Chapter 7

Notes:

fun fact: up until this chapter the word 'fine' has been used 70 times. because diluc is definitely totally 100% fine :)

less fun fact: i jinxed myself and this is not the final chapter orz i swear i'm not doing this on purpose

anyway. enjoy the (hopefully for real this time) penultimate chapter 3

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

A thunderstorm in the middle of May.

How very auspicious.

Diluc stares up at the ceiling as rain pounds at the window – loud, but not loud enough to drown out the discombobulating thoughts swimming around in his head.

Kaeya thinks he needs more sunlight, but the world clearly isn't keen on giving him any.

A thin sliver of light peeks out from between the curtains – it's dull and grey, hardly light at all.

He draws the blanket back over his head, and wonders for a moment if he might be able to just sleep through this whole day and arrive at a tomorrow with no worries.

Fuck the truth. What good has pursuing it done for him anyway?

All he's managed to do is make things difficult for everyone around him and piss off Kaeya–

Kaeya…

"Fuck," he mutters, and pulls the blanket down tighter over his face as if that might shield him from the memories of last night.

All he ever does is cause trouble for Kaeya. Some older brother he is.

What would Father say?

…What wouldMothersay?

She never got to see him be an older brother. She died too soon to witness it. She died in a bed just like this one, surrounded by her own blood, because no one stopped her in time–hedidn't stop her in time–

No– that– that was a dream. Not a memory. A dream.

It wasn't his fault–

A dream a dream a dream–

Rain crashes against the window. Loud enough to drown out his thoughts this time.

He pulls the blanket down even tighter.

Suffocating himself into a coma isn't working. He tosses the blanket off with a huff and rolls languidly out of the bed, even as his fatigued muscles groan in protest.

He stands up too quickly and vertigo nearly sends him crashing back down onto the bed. He doesn't know how he manages to stay on his feet.

He needs… something. It's on the tip of his tongue, he just can't– oh. Painkillers. A migraine's starting up, he needs his painkillers–

Except he hasn't refilled that empty tin since Father's birthday.

Fuck.

Careless.

The medicine bottle on his bedside table mocks him. It stands there on a foundation of empty promises, knowing damn well it can't help with this.

Well. Perhaps it could. If he takes enough of those pills at once then maybe–

…

What is he thinking?

Maybe he truly is crazy.

He's better than this.

Are you, though?

He has to be.

His head is killing him. Metaphorically and physically. Figuratively and literally.

He should probably get out of this room before he does something stupid.

Not like he won't do something stupid somewhere else. But there are more distractions out there.

The house is still swathed in shadows. It's too early for anyone to be awake, and the storm has darkened the skies enough to stop the typical glow of dawn from brightening up the place.

His feet carry him silently through dimly lit corridors, meandering, purposeless.

He doesn't know what he wants to do. Or what he should do. He just knows that he needs to dosomething–

He's in front of Kaeya's door.

His hand reaches for the doorknob on instinct. He stops himself when his mind catches up to what's happening, and lets his fingers hover a hair's breadth away from it.

Kaeya's probably not even awake. It's early. And he was up in the middle of the night – he's likely exhausted, especially after having to deal with Diluc all day – so he needs sleep more than any of them. He'll be even more pissed if Diluc disturbs him now.

His hand falls away from the doorknob to hang limply at his side.

Kaeya will find him later, when– if he wants to. Diluc shouldn't bother him any more than he has already.

He goes to the bathroom. Splashes some water on his face. Tries to clean up a little, to appear a little less dishevelled. It doesn't make him feel any more alive than before.

His feet carry him silently away, still meandering, still purposeless. But when they come to a stop, he's not surprised at all by where they've brought him.

The study is even quieter than the rest of the house somehow, quiet enough to hear a pin drop. The door doesn't make a sound as it opens and closes behind him. All he can hear when he stands in the silence is his own uneven breathing and a dull throbbing at the side of his head.

Mother and Father are staring down at him.

He moves closer to the portrait. His fingers brush against it before he can think to stop himself, tainting the decades-old paint with his touch.

Father really does look young here. He hadn't even grown out his beard yet. His face is smooth and unwrinkled, no crow's feet around his eyes nor frown lines on his brow. His smile is small, restrained, polite, but there's a youthful sparkle in his eyes that gives it warmth.

Raising a child like Diluc on his own must have aged him a lot.

He's almost glad Father isn't here to see what a mess he's making of things. He'd rather die than see the compassionate yet disappointed expression his father would surely be wearing if he were here right now.

Mother looks even younger. She was barely a few years older than him when this was painted. Barely a few years older than him when she–

When she–

His hand curls into a fist as he leans against the canvas. Flecks of paint fall away from it.

Father had given everything for him. For them. For his sons to grow up safe and happy and loved–

And this is how Diluc repays him. By undoing all his hard work and destroying everything he left behind. Himself included.

All his efforts, down the drain.

"Sorry," he whispers, splaying his fingers out on the canvas as if he could somehow reach his parents through the lifeless paint. "You deserve better."

I can't ever be what you deserve.

He's close enough to the painting that he can make out each individual brushstroke, yet it still looks so lifelike. Whoever painted this was truly skilled. Maybe even more skilled than Father.

He pushes against the canvas a little more.

Mother and Father are happy here. Everything is perfect here. A perfect world and a perfect life, right here in front of him. The only thing separating them is a few layers of paint.

Wouldn't it be nice if he could just… disappear into it?

He wants to be wherever they are. Wherever things are okay.

He pushes a little further.

It's like his hand goes right through it. Like the artwork is pulling him in. He's willing to let it.

The paint melts away underneath him, and he sinks, falling leisurely into that soft darkness, letting all those aged colours wrap him up in that pleasant fantasy–

A harsh tearing noise pulls him right back out of it.

He stumbles back with a gasp.

There's a gaping hole in the canvas– a long tear, right through his parents' faces, a jagged scar disfiguring them forever–

What has hedone?

"I'm sorry," he gasps, shaking his head and stumbling back a step, then another, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm–"

He blinks.

The tear has sewn itself shut. Like it was never there at all.

The painting is intact. Completely undamaged.

More flecks of dried paint drop to the ground. Silent and deafening all at once.

…Yeah.

He's crazy.

There's no question about it now.

It's been quite a while since he had one of these.

Maybe recoveryisnon-linear, but he definitely veered off that winding road a long time ago, and it's definitely too late to correct his course anymore. For all Captain Beidou likes to praise his navigational skills, he's utterly useless in these uncharted waters.

An oak shelf hits him in the back. He tries to stay standing even though his knees are ready to give out. There's no need for a repeat of yesterday.

Another distraction. His eyes dart around the study, away from the painting– he needs something, anything else– anything to stop him from spiralling out of–

…The door to Father's old office has been left ajar.

That's… odd.

Was it open yesterday?

Surely he would've noticed– well. He's been trapped in this daze for a while now. Something that small could've easily escaped his notice.

He inches closer to the office, a familiar feeling of dread settling its cold hands on his shoulders and pushing him forwards.

Maybe it's Adelinde. No one really goes in there these days, so maybe she thought it was a good time to clean, or something. She's the only one with the keys to it anyway.

The hinges creak as he slowly pushes the door open.

"Addie…?"

The person sitting in Father's chair is definitely not Adelinde.

"Diluc! Good morning, dear. What a pleasant surprise – you're up a little early, aren't you?"

Edith smiles at him, putting down the papers she was reading and folding her arms, leaning back further in the chair as if it belongs to her. As if it's always belonged to her.

The curtains are half-drawn, allowing long shadows to dance across the room, across her face. Storm clouds roll on by past the window, uncaring, tinting everything indoors a bleak grey.

Despite the early hour, she's already dressed for the day ahead. A marigold yellow dress with white gloves and a matching white shawl wrapped around her shoulders, almost the opposite of yesterday's outfit. Certainly the opposite of the weather outside.

"Diluc?"

"Good morning, Edith," he says, shutting the door behind him with a shaky hand.

He half-contemplates opening it again. It feels too stuffy in here. Too small for the two of them.

His hand stays on the doorknob. He doesn't look Edith in the eyes.

"How are you feeling? A little better than yesterday, I hope."

Sorry to disappoint you too.

"Come, take a seat. You look like you'll fall over any second, poor thing."

Does he really look that fragile? Even to her? It'd be one thing to hear that from Adelinde, or Kaeya, but from her–

Pathetic.

He drops into the chair without thinking. Edith leans forward, resting her elbows on the desk, and smiles down at him.

He's always felt small sitting in this chair, because it was always Father on the other side of that desk. But for some reason he feels smaller right now than he ever has.

Edith holds out her hand expectantly, still smiling. His hand moves on its own to take it and she smiles wider, gloved fingers tightening around his with a fervent squeeze. Her other hand comes to rest on top.

There he is, trapped between two layers of white silk. Like a firefly in a spider's web.

He had things to say, things he needed to ask – but his mind is blank. The only thing he can focus on is breathing. That's not something he should have to focus on.

What is thematterwith him?

"Diluc, are you listening?"

His head snaps up. Edith's eyes are piercing and dark. She raises an eyebrow. She doesn't let go of his hand, even when it tenses.

"Terribly distracted, aren't you?"

"Sorry," he stutters out, staring down at his ensnared hand. "I– what were you saying?"

Edith sighs, finally letting go of him and reclining in the chair again, crossing her legs. She rests her head on one hand, leaning on the armrest, and glances around the room with slightly narrowed eyes.

"I was asking if you ever used this office. It seems a little small, don't you think?"

He shakes his head slowly. "There's another office down the hall that's larger," he says. "That's the one I use. Father mostly just used this one for storage anyway. For old records and things like that."

"I see," she says, looking down at the desk. "I suppose that makes sense. This seems rather old too, after all."

She gestures to a photo frame sitting in front of her, close to the edge of the desk. He leans forward to see what could be contained within it, and she helpfully turns it towards him.

It's… him and Father.

A much younger him and a much younger Father amongst a field of ripe grapevines, with straw sun hats and rolled-up sleeves. Father is holding himself somewhat stiffly, a flat expression on his face as he stares straight at the Kamera with a basket in one hand, while Diluc is looking up at him, balanced on his tiptoes and gripping Father's other hand tightly.

From the days before Kaeya was here, it seems, given by how utterly small he is there.

The photo is grainy, a little faded, but the frame is free of any dust. Seems Adelinde's been careful to keep this place clean, even though no one uses it anymore.

…Right. No one uses this place anymore. It was supposed to be locked.

"Edith," he says when he finally manages to tear his eyes away from the photo, "how did you get in here?"

Her eyebrows rise a little, and she lets out a small laugh, glancing toward the door. "Oh, it was already open. I assumed that meant it was alright to take a look around."

Already open?

Adelinde wouldn't have been so careless as to leave this place unlocked. And no one else has been here in ages. Hell, he can't even remember the last time he himself was in here.

Did Edith break in?

But–why?

She didn't even try to hide the fact that she came in here. If the door was locked and she somehow picked it open, she's just told a very bold lie, but she doesn't look even the slightest bit hesitant.

What reason could she even have to sneak into an old office like this?

"You don't mind, do you? I mean, you said yourself you don't even use this room."

…Father shouted at her.

She was outside, in the middle of the night, arguing with Father, and he was shouting at her.

Father wouldn't want her in here. In his old office.

Right. The argument. The one Kaeya didn't tell him about until last night. The one Edithstillhasn't told him about.

There has to be a reason she hasn't said anything yet. Some missing piece that'll make all of this make sense.

Should he tell her that he knows? Or keep it to himself until she brings it up?

He wishes Kaeya were here. He's good at this sort of thing. Manipulating the flow of information to his advantage. Knowing when to talk and when to keep quiet. Usually.

Maybe he really should've woken Kaeya up after all–

Edith slides a piece of paper toward him before he can come to an answer to his dilemma.

"Crepus really could be sentimental when he wanted to be, it seems," she says as he takes the paper. "I couldn't find anything from before they were married, but I found at least one letter from Evie in here. The last one she wrote to him, I think."

Mother's last letter?

The paper suddenly feels all too fragile in his hands.

He stares at the page, but the words blend together, ink overlapping ink and becoming entirely incoherent.

"Should I really be reading this…?"

"It's only a letter," Edith says, slowly rising from her seat and moving around the desk to stand at his side instead. She leans a little against the armrest of the chair he's sitting in and threads her silk-covered fingers through his hair, almost ruffling it, but not quite. "I don't think she'd mind too much. You don't seem to know anything about her. I think this is better than nothing."

Her hand feels heavy on his head. Like it's pushing him into the seat and holding him in place.

He looks down at the letter again.

The words are still a jumbled mess, floating all over the place and impossible to decipher. He turns the page over, clinging to the faint hope that whatever's there might be easier to identify.

He almost gives up that hope until a word jumps out at him.

Diluc.

It shouldn't be so surprising that Mother mentioned him in a message sent to Father. But he still freezes when he sees those five letters etched in that dainty, elegant, completely unfamiliar script.

Diluc is only two years old but he's already so caring. He follows me everywhere – you should see him trying to go up and down the stairs with me. It's the most adorable sight, I can't get enough of it. He seemed so upset that I wouldn't be able to carry him at first, but now he just tries to hold my hand every step of the way and he never ever seems to get tired of it.

I can already tell he's going to be the most wonderful big brother in the whole world.

…Mother wrote this while she was still pregnant.

She didn't know what was about to happen.

She'd be so disappointed if she could see him now. See the sort of big brother he is.

But she'd probably adore Kaeya. He hopes she would, at least.

It could've been the six of them. Mother and Father and Adelinde, himself and Kaeya and an even younger sibling.

They're down to half of that.

If only he could convince himself that he doesn't share at least half the blame for how things have turned out.

He glances back down at the page.

Growing up with a sibling can be hard sometimes, but I think it'll be good for him. I never want him to be lonely. If there's ever a time where neither of us can be there for him, at least he'll have them, won't he? I can't be sure that it'll be enough, but we have to–

Edith tuts, prising the letter out of his trembling grip. "Look at that. She really was always such an anxious woman. Always worrying about the most extreme outcomes," she mutters, narrowing her eyes at the page, not looking at him. "I wonder how Crepus managed to tolerate her sometimes."

He stills.

That's your sister you're talking about, he thinks, but he can't seem to say it out loud. His mouth is frozen shut.

His aunt swings between sweetness and bitterness so quickly that it gives him whiplash. Every time he thinks he has a handle on what she's thinking, her demeanour flips like a switch and he's left scrambling to make sense of it again.

"You're not like that, are you?"

His voice is small. "Pardon?"

"You know, all nervous like this," she says, gesturing vaguely at the letter. "It's a wonder she managed to make it through that first pregnancy without succumbing to a heart attack. She was always fretting over something or other back then." She looks back at him expectantly. "I hope you're more sensible than that. You don't get so easily carried away by little things, do you? Your father was certainly less neurotic than she was, at any rate. Perhaps you've taken after him in that regard."

It's like sheknows.

He doesn't say anything. Doesn't know what to say. Trying to lie here would only make him look weaker than he probably already does. She'll make one of those sympathetic sounds that makes him sick to his stomach and he might just actually be sick, right here in Father's office, in the midst of all this claustrophobic familiarity.

Edith ruffles his hair despite not getting a response, a note of approval underneath her light chuckle. He'd almost forgotten her hand was still there.

She leans forward and puts the letter back down, before reaching for a notebook from the small stack of books on the desk. It's one of the old ledgers, a little worn around the edges, the pages faintly yellowed. The handwritten label on the front indicates that its record stops about ten years ago. Makes sense, the latest ledgers are in the other office where they're more relevant–

What does any of this have to do with Edith?

What does shewant?

"How did you find these?" he asks, looking between her and the stack of ledgers, gripping the armrest when his arms tense up inexplicably.

She laughs. "There's no need to look so tense, dear. You're acting like these are highly classified, when they were just sitting here in these drawers for anyone to find. I simply got a little curious, that's all."

He clears his throat with an awkward cough. "You could've asked me if you were curious about anything. It would've been easier than trying to make sense of all these old records on your own."

"Of course, I was going to eventually," she says, ruffling his hair again. "But I wouldn't expect you to know much about how the business was doing while Crepus was in charge."

…Why does that matter?

"The winery is doing very well these days, isn't it? I've heard only good things about it ever since you took over."

"It's always been doing well," he says, somewhat hesitant as Edith opens the ledger and turns the pages carefully, skimming over lines and lines of numbers and shorthand. "I'm only continuing what Father did for years. He laid all the groundwork for me."

Diluc's job is pathetically easy. He really has had everything handed to him on a silver platter. His job is so easy, and he has all the time and money and resources in the world to do what most people cannot–

And yet it's never enough.He'snever enough.

Anyone else would be able to do more than him if they were in his position.

"You're so young, and yet you're managing all of this by yourself so brilliantly," she says, lifting her gaze from the ledger for just a moment to smile down at him, wrapping one arm loosely around his shoulder. "It must have been so difficult not having anyone else to guide you. After all, I can't imagine Crepus taught you everything you needed to know before he passed."

"…He taught me enough," Diluc says, staring down at the floor, at the long shadows stretching all the way from the window, past Father's chair and desk, to where he's seated. "And there's plenty of people helping me–"

"Still, without a parent to guide you through all of that…" Her hand comes up to caress his cheek. He doesn't have much space to avoid it, so he doesn't. She sighs softly. "You must have been so dreadfully lonely."

She keeps coming back to that idea. Him being lonely.

It should be a nice feeling, he thinks, that someone worries about that for him–

But instead it only stirs a strange sense of unease within his chest.

"I heard about the winery doing well, but then I also heard that you'd sold the mansion. The one you used to live in, up in the city."

He lifts his head slowly to look at her. "How did you hear about that?"

"When I was trying to reach you with my letter, of course. Imagine my surprise when I was told the Ragnvindrs no longer lived at the Ragnvindr Mansion. And that there was no such thing as the Ragnvindr Mansion anymore! It was quite the shock, let me tell you that."

He tries not to fidget.

He's found himself regretting that impulsive sale more and more often these days. Ever since he and Kaeya started getting along again. It was important to both of them, and he'd tossed it aside like it was nothing.

Some days he thinks about trying to buy it back. Wonders if it would be worth the hassle.

But that's a decision he'd rather leave up to his brother.

"You weren't in any trouble or anything, were you? When you sold it?"

"Oh– no, not at all."

"Then what on earth possessed you to get rid of it? It was a lovely home. Hadn't it been in the family for generations?"

He looks away, at some shadowy corner of the room, avoiding Edith's oddly intense eyes. "I– Kaeya wasn't living there anymore, and neither was I, so it seemed easier to just sell it. Less work that way."

"Oh, I see… I was worried, you know," she says, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I thought perhaps something had happened, some sort of financial emergency. I really couldn't think of another reason you'd sell something so valuable."

He almost wishes his reasons had been something as logical and practical as that. No, unfortunately he was just acting with all the impulse control of a self-destructive teenager, as if he hadn't grown a single iota since the day he left Mondstadt.

Edith sighs, and gives him a brief sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "We had to sell our childhood home as well, not too long ago. A shame. We were all rather attached to the place, but we didn't have much of a choice."

He swallows. "I'm sorry to hear that."

She chuckles a little. "It's embarrassing to admit, but we weren't doing too well, financially speaking, before Evie and Crepus were married."

She's appealing to your emotions. She's obviously taking advantage of you, and your kindness.

"It was difficult enough for your father to cut us off from our own sister's family while we were all grieving. Even setting aside the money, we weren't even allowed a visit to our dear nephew. That, on top of everything else… well, you can see how it might've been a rather painful time for all of us, can't you?"

She's trying to use you.

Kaeya had said all those things about Edith, but–

She lost her sister, and her family was struggling. How is he supposed to respond with anything other than sympathy?

"I'm sorry." He grips the armrest of his chair perhaps a little too tightly. "I– that doesn't sound like something Father would do–"

"The fact of the matter is that hediddo that, dear."

He must have had his reasons.

But that seems like something he shouldn't say to her.

"I… I don't understand. I don't know why he did any of that."

"Neither do I, I'm afraid. None of us could make any sense of it. Of course we understood he was grieving, but really, that only excuses so much."

All of this talking in circles and he still hasn't gotten a single step closer to figuring out why Father decided to ostracise them so completely.

"You'd never do something like that, would you?"

Huh?

"No, of course you wouldn't. You understand the importance of family. And when you get married I'm sure you'll treat your in-laws with the respect they deserve, won't you?"

He looks up at her, a spark of panic setting his nerves on fire. "I don't think I'm getting married any time soon, really," he says with a small shake of his head.

"Is that so? But someone like you must have dozens of admirers waiting in line." She lets out an airy laugh. "I know people like to joke about you being married to the winery, but surely you don't intend for things to remain that way forever, do you?"

He's not completely oblivious. He knows what people think about when they see him, and all his wealth, and his status – he knows what they expect. What they hope for.

"It's not a priority at the moment," he says, stiffly, and foolishly hopes that that'll be enough to get her to drop the subject.

Somehow it seems to work. She makes a little humming noise and wraps her arm around him again, then exhales deeply.

"You should really come visit us sometime soon. I think you and Phoebe would get along splendidly. She can be a bit abrasive, but I'm sure someone like you would be able to soften her up a little."

What an abrupt change of topic.

"Maybe," is all he manages to say in response.

The revelation that he has all these relatives that he probably now needs to make contact with still has his head spinning. Part of him just wants to keep putting it off forever. He's allowed to do that, isn't he? They'd lived without any contact for decades with no problems. The balance of his life is delicate enough as it is.

But– he's the head of the family now. Things like this are all his responsibility now.

If he has the chance to reestablish some sort of bond with his extended family – if he can find out and fix whatever it is that had convinced Father to drive them away in the first place – then he should, shouldn't he?

Maybe it was just that Father had been too close to the whole situation to see a solution. But he can make things right–

Do you actually want that? Or are you just letting your aunt's words get to you?

Edith's flipping through the ledger again. A small frown has appeared on her face.

"You know, the reason I brought up how the winery was doing, and was wondering if there was any trouble… well, I remember a time when it wasn't doing quite as well as usual."

She passes the ledger to him, tapping at the page it's open on.

It's a record of profits and losses from a long time ago. Around… thirteen to fourteen years ago, according to the dates running down the page–

…The year Kaeya arrived.

A few of the numbers have been circled and underlined. He flips through the pages, skipping a few years forwards and backwards through the records, before returning to the page she'd pointed to.

The profits in this one year are noticeably smaller than those of previous years. Not enough to put them in the red, nowhere near that – just a small dip in the grand scheme of things, honestly – but when business had been consistently growing for years… he might've been worried too.

"I tried to visit that year, you see, because there were rumours. People were talking about the winery potentially struggling, and I wanted to talk some sense into Crepus, to make sure he was doing alright, thatyouwere doing alright… but he wouldn't hear any of it."

"You tried to visit?" he asks, feigning surprise. Not that he has to try – heissurprised, but probably not for the reason Edith thinks.

"Of course. I was worried about you, my dear. We all knew Crepus hadn't been quite the same ever since Evie died, so I had to make sure you were doing alright for myself."

He glances down at the ledger again.

…It's not that drastic a difference. Surely not enough to have people worried about Father. It could just as easily be explained by a bad harvest that year or something.

Was that truly the reason she showed up on their doorstep all those years ago?

"I really did want to be there for you. But Crepus said no, so I decided to wait until you were an adult and could make your own choices. I thought surely at leastyou'dbe open to meeting the rest of your family, even if your father was more interested in pretending we were never there at all. But then– well, then he passed, and I found out you'd left the country altogether, with no plans to return, and I… gave up hope. But now you're back.I'mback. So everything will be alright from now on, won't it?"

He opens his mouth to answer, but another voice cuts in before he can speak.

"Ah, the whole family's here. How convenient."

Both he and Edith turn with frightening speed to look at the doorway only to find Kaeya standing there, leaning against the frame with his arms folded nonchalantly across his chest.

"Morning, Luc. Good morning to you too, Edith," Kaeya says, with a smile that suggests he's wishing her anything but a good morning.

He locks the door behind himself with a harsh click that echoes throughout the office.

Edith's hand drifts up his shoulder, closer to the crook of his neck.

"What's the matter? You seem so serious all of a sudden." Kaeya takes a step into the room, hands in his pockets as he strolls past them and towards the desk. "You can continue whatever conversation you were having before I arrived. Really, it's fine. Just pretend I'm not even here."

"My nephew and I were having a private conversation," Edith says, her hand settling a little heavier on his shoulder. "Isn't that right, Diluc?"

Maybe the sudden iciness in the room can explain why his mouth is so slow to cooperate with his mind. "It wasn't that–"

"Well, there's no secrets between mybrotherand I," Kaeya says, leaning against the desk with one hand, the other still in his pocket. "So anything you say to him will end up being heard by me eventually. Right, Luc?"

He tries to nod, but he can't tell if he manages to or not. His body is stiff and rigid, a puppet with strings he can't control.

He feels like prey caught in some convoluted game between two predators. Except said predators are his family and family isn't supposed to be this intimidating.

A furtive glance up at Edith does little to enlighten him about what could be going through her mind. Her lips are pursed and her eyes are narrowed as she stares straight ahead at Kaeya. She has to lift her head somewhat to look him in the eye, even though he isn't standing up straight. He could easily tower over her if he wanted to.

The silence is long, heavy, horribly uncomfortable, but none of them say a word. Kaeya has an insouciant smile on his face all the while as he waits patiently. He doesn't even resort to tapping his fingers against the desk or his feet against the floor – he's utterly calm, utterly still.

"Well, speaking of private conversations," Kaeya continues after what feels like hours, ignoring the way Edith tenses – he must notice, this isKaeyathey're talking about, he has to be deliberately ignoring it – "there was something I wanted to discuss with you, dear aunt."

Edith tenses even further. Diluc can picture the light purple bruise her grip on his shoulder will leave behind as a result.

"Luc, would you mind giving us a moment? It shouldn't take too long."

What is with everyone and wanting to talk in secret lately? Why can't they all just say what they mean out in the open like normal people instead of– instead of whatever farce this is supposed to be?

He glares at Kaeya.

What are you planning?

Kaeya stares back – not quite a glare, but almost piercing enough to be perceived as one.

Please.

He resists the urge to scoff. As if he's going to let Kaeya – or Edith, even – keep any more secrets from him. He's done with being out of the loop.

A minute shake of the head is all he has for his brother.

Kaeya stares for a second longer. Then he sighs and stands up straight again, spreading his arms as he shrugs casually and steps behind the desk. That block of wood acts as a barrier, separating him from them, but Diluc has a feeling it won't do much to lessen the impact of whatever it is Kaeya has up his sleeve.

"Alright then. Family discussion it is. How exciting. Can't remember the last time we had one of these."

The way Kaeya falls into Father's chair looks practised, rehearsed. He drapes himself across it with an easy elegance, smirking at them, before he swings his legs up and drops them onto the desk with a quiet thud, crossing one on top of the other, watching them from between his long lashes with an aloof, wintry eye throughout it all.

Father wouldn't approve of that. Adelinde definitely wouldn't.Feet off the table, Master Kaeya, she'd say if she were here – or maybe she wouldn't. She's been oddly lenient in matters of decorum over the past day or so.

To most people, Kaeya would look relaxed right now. Too relaxed, they might say, considering the other people in the room.

But Diluc isn't most people. Diluc can see the tension pulling his muscles into taut, firm lines, the effort he's exerting to maintain this posture of arrogant, effortless indifference.

He's always had more control than Diluc, so he doesn't shake. His lips don't quiver, his hands don't tremble, and he doesn't look down. He's not a coward. Not like Diluc.

Kaeya relishes the scene in front of him for a moment, his gaze dragging across the room with painstaking slowness, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper.

He unfolds it with a flourish and brandishes it towards them like a sword.

The corners are stained with dark red splatters. Wine red.

No –bloodred.

In the shadows, with the way it flutters a little in Kaeya's grip, it's like blood is still dripping from the page.

Diluc's seen something like this before. In a dream. A dream he wanted to do nothing more than forget–

A dream?

Or a memory?

Kaeya looks at him for a split second, not long enough for Diluc to decipher the emotion beneath his careful facade, before he turns to Edith and flashes her a knifelike smile. Maybe the sharpest smile Diluc's ever seen.

"Now, Edith," Kaeya says, teeth glittering like a dagger in the light of a full moon, "do you want to do us all a favour and explain what this is? Or shall I?"

Notes:

hhh i hate writing edith SO MUCH she makes me feel evil and wrong.

if the next one isn't the last chapter then i will simply Die of shame/regret/self-hatred/all of that all at once orz

anyway. see you soon o7 *backflips into the writing void*

Chapter 8

Notes:

i've definitely crossed some sort of line here... i hope you all like long chapters... 10k... i used to struggle to just write 1-2k. man. what happened to me

shoutout tothesetwoace attorney soundtracks for keeping me (relatively) sane while i wrote this monster that had the audacity to call itself a single chapter. also i've never wanted to put kaeya in a coma so badly before. holy shit this man talks somuchbut never when he needs to! he is on the thinnest fucking ice right now. *shakes him*

anyway. here's the actual last chapter for real this time. it's a long one, but i hope it's good - enjoy 3

(this picks up right where the last one left off btw, in case you need the refresher)

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

Diluc holds his breath as he waits for Edith to answer his brother. Maybe they're all holding their breath, given the impermeable silence hanging over them, but he can't focus on much else beyond the constricting confines of his body.

Kaeya's here now. There's no need to worry.

He just needs to trust his brother.

Everything's going to be fine–

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," Edith says, scoffing slightly as she looks down at Kaeya.

He's unfazed, as he always is. "Really."

Edith doesn't say anything else. She just clamps down on both of Diluc's shoulders, her fitted silk gloves wrinkling from the force of it. She leans down as if to whisper something in his ear, but he doesn't hear it.

Kaeya's eye narrows at that, but if he has any objections, he doesn't voice them and only lets out a silent sigh instead.

"So that's how you want to play it, hm? You sure about that?"

Kaeya glances back at the bloodstained note.

It's covered in uneven creases, the stains brown and faded – but all Diluc can see is the bright vermillion of fresh blood seeping out of it, the pale hand that had been gripping it tightly with its dying strength–

"Let me make one thing very clear up front," Kaeya says, his voice cold enough to send a chill down Diluc's spine. "The only reason you're still here is that my brother is Celestia-sent, and he believes in giving his family endless second chances, even when they don't deserve it. Unfortunately for you, I'm far less generous than he is. And far less inclined to treat you as a part of this family to begin with."

He can practically hear Edith glaring, even if he can't see it.

Something tells him he should take this opportunity to push her hands off his shoulders and get away from her. Too bad his entire body is frozen in place, glued to the chair and incapable of moving even an inch.

He doesn't have to, though. Edith moves away on her own.

"I don't have to listen to this. Come, Diluc–"

She only manages to take a single step before a thick layer of frost blooms across the lock on the door in the blink of an eye.

Kaeya's still wearing that same smirk, rolling his wrist flippantly as if he didn't just trap them all indefinitely in this too-small office.

"No one's leaving here until we get to the truth."

Maybe Diluc should've taken him up on that offer to leave earlier. He's not sure how much more of this claustrophobic feeling he can handle before he explodes–

But leaving Kaeya alone with Edith feels more wrong. That half-hour yesterday had been excruciating enough.

She returns to his side again. Drops her hands on his shoulders again. Freezes him in place again.

Kaeya's smile cracks.

"If you have any vested interest in the continued functioning of your hands, you'll keep them off my brother."

The sharpness of Kaeya's voice makes Diluc flinch. It makes Edith flinch too, her hands instantly jumping away from his shoulders as she splutters.

She doesn't seem to know what to do with them; they hover around him uselessly while she tries to speak. "Diluc, dear, surely–"

"Kaeya," Diluc says, trying to keep his inexplicably shaking voice in check, "what's all this about?"

His brother watches him with an expression Diluc can't read, before his eye darts back to Edith. He gestures to the note once more with a casual flick of his wrist, the delicate rustle of paper echoing loudly throughout the room.

"Last chance, Edith."

She folds her arms across her chest and doesn't say a word.

Kaeya shrugs. "Suit yourself."

He looks at the photograph that Edith had pointed out to Diluc earlier. Something about it softens his gelid stare for just a fraction of a second, the nonchalant smirk nearly slipping and shattering the illusion he's working so hard to maintain. Nearly.

"If there's one thing I know about Father," Kaeya begins, just as Diluc's about to tell him to stop stalling, "it's that he was a family man. Anyone who knew him would agree that he was a rather exemplary father. Anyone, it seems," he says, shooting a pointed look at Edith, "except you."

It's hard to see her expression from this angle. But Diluc can make out the clench of her jaw, the subtle tapping of her silk-covered fingers against her garish yellow sleeves, the slight slip of her shawl as her shoulders hike up just a fraction.

"But who could blame you for that?" Kaeya says with exaggerated sympathy. "After all, he cut you and the rest of your family out of his life for no reason, seemingly for good. How could anyone think of someone like that as a family man? Is it really possible that he managed to fool the entire city, and you were the only one who ever saw his true colours?"

Edith lifts her chin to stare down at Kaeya from an even greater height. "Obviously–"

"–not. That'd be an absurd conclusion to reach, wouldn't it?"

His smile was already sharp, but it grows even sharper when Edith shuts her mouth.

Maybe Diluc's imagining things, but he can hear Edith's teeth grinding against each other. It's not a pleasant sound, and it doesn't sound like she's going to stop any time soon, either.

At this rate she's not going to have a whole lot left of her teeth, not if Kaeya drags this confrontation out for as long as it seems he's intending to. Why wouldn't he, when he's clearly enjoying this? A bit too much for his own good, Diluc thinks.

"Father wouldn't have cut you all off without a good reason. That's the more obvious conclusion." He holds up the note to the faint bits of light breaking through the storm clouds outside the window. "And luckily for us, he kept his supporting evidence safely stored under lock and key – in case something like this ever happened, I assume. He always was a bit of a pragmatist." He lowers the note and smirks at Edith over the top of the crumpled paper. "You didn't like that about him, did you? I can see why. It must have been a great inconvenience."

"You shouldn't speak of things you don't understand," Edith says slowly.

"I think I understand well enough. This little piece of paper here told me pretty much everything I needed to know."

Kaeya makes a show of passing the note to his other hand, raising an eyebrow as he feigns interest in reading whatever's on that bloodied page.

Cut it out with the dramatics and get to the point–

"It's almost funny how much this explains. It doesn't get much clearer than an explicit indictment from your own sister.This is all Edith's fault, it says so right here – and how desperate she must have been, to write something so–"

"That is not what it says," Edith snaps. "I won't stand for these lies–"

Kaeya grins. "So youdoknow what this is. Finally had enough of playing dumb, have you?"

She draws her hand back with an imperceptible gasp. Diluc hadn't even realised she'd moved her hand at all.

"I should thank you for the little tale you told us last night, honestly. I never would've thought to look for something like this otherwise. But as soon as I heard what happened to Diluc's mother, I knew what was missing from this whole story." He leans his head on his hand, his smile somewhere between mournful and mocking. "No good suicide is complete without a note, after all."

Diluc really is going to be sick. Nausea plagues every inch of his body.

He can't look his brother in the eye. Good thing Kaeya's busy staring right through Edith's soul, too occupied by their barbed exchange to focus on Diluc's growing unrest.

"This is what you were looking for, wasn't it? The last words of Evelyn Ragnvindr." Kaeya lets out a sigh, but it's firmly on the side of mocking this time. "How careless of me to have left the door open after I came in here and found it before you could. I suppose you wasted your time because of me. Terribly sorry about that. I'll try not to let it happen again."

SoKaeya'sthe reason the door was open?

Did he… plan all of this? He knew what Edith would do, that this was going to happen, and he prepared for it in advance? Even though it's only been a few hours since–

…

Just grabbing a glass of water, huh?

Diluc braces himself against the chair. Now's not the time to snap at his brother for keeping things from him yet again. He's tired of being in the dark, and Kaeya's offering the only way out of it that he can see, sinuous and twisted though it may appear, so he doesn't have a choice.

He just needs to trust his brother.

Everything's going to be fine–

"You have no business reading my sister's suicide note."

"And you have no business snooping around my father's office. So let's agree to call it even, hm?"

Edith looks like she very much doesn't want to agree. But she only lets out a short huff and glares at Kaeya, who continues on being completely unbothered by her increasing fury.

"You knew that what your sister wrote here was enough to make Father cut you off, so you had to find it before Diluc did – before he could read it and pass the same judgement." Kaeya rolls his eye. "So predictable."

Must he keep throwing in unhelpful remarks after every other sentence? Aren't there more pressing matters that they should hurry up and get to already before Diluc actually falls apart–

"So, how exactly did your sister end her life? All the blood on here suggests it was a rather violent affair."

"I wouldn't know," Edith says, folding her arms even more tightly than before. "I wasn't exactly there to see it, now was I? I would've stopped her if that had been the case–"

"Would you truly have done that, though?"

Her eyes are as cold as the unthawed lock on the door a few feet away. "What are you insinuating here?"

"I'm just saying. This is all a little strange. I can't help but wonder," Kaeya says, narrowing his eye, "if it was really a suicide at all."

What?

What the hell is Kaeya trying to say?

He can't be saying what Diluc thinks he's saying.

"Your poor sister, already weakened from a miscarriage, devastated physically and mentally – it wouldn't have been difficult to overpower her, even if she put up a fight. The perfect excuse was right there, too – no one would've been too surprised, would they? Forging a little note like this to go along with it would hardly have been a challenge either. That would've been all you needed to make her tragically early death look like a suicide, when the truth is that you killed her in cold blood. And everyone would've been none the wiser."

Diluc looks between him and Edith desperately.

There's no way– that's just too much– it was already too much, butthis–

Her laugh is cold and cruel and devoid of any mirth whatsoever. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Hm? I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," Kaeya says, not a trace of sincerity to be found in his voice. "Care to enlighten us?"

Any restraint Edith had retained until now evaporates all at once. She slithers forward and places her hands on the desk, silk sliding across sleek wood as she leans down towards Kaeya.

"The audacity you must have," she hisses, her voice almost too low for Diluc to hear, "to evensuggestthat I would do something so vile – it's simply–"

"–another absurd conclusion, of course."

Edith freezes, her next words disappearing into an unsteady silence. She stands up straight again, her movements slow and needlessly cautious, but her fingers are still curled around the edge of the desk in a grip tight enough to splinter the wood.

She glares at Kaeya, as she's been doing ever since he entered, but his smile is unyielding. Colder than anything Edith could ever hope to muster.

"You'd have to be quite the unforgivable monster to do such a thing. You wouldn't still be here if that were the case. Father would never have let you walk away from this place alive. He had the power to get away with it too, if he wanted to. Cutting you off from the family would've been a mercy you didn't deserve, and he was an excellent judge of character – there were very few people he was willing to extend mercy to who didn't deserve it. Somehow I doubt you were one of them."

Kaeya's definitely enjoying this too much. When does he plan to end this little game of cat and mouse and quit toying with Edith?

Toying with both of them, at this point – Diluc is definitely too tired for whatever this is. Just the truth, that's all he wants. But he should've known that something so straightforward was too big an ask for his brother.

"Diluc, my dear, how long are you going to keep entertaining this drivel?" she says, stepping away from the desk and turning back to him, shaking her head. She stretches out her hands towards him, as if she's about to caress his cheek or hold his shoulder like before. "All he's doing is accusing me, youraunt, of all these terrible things, slandering me–"

A shard of ice zips past his ear.

He doesn't dare to breathe as he glances to the side at Edith's hands, just an inch or two away from him, stock-still in mid-air.

There's a pencil-thin line right across the palm of one of the previously pristine gloves. The fabric has split just enough to allow a sliver of pale skin to peek through.

The line turns red. A microscopic bead of blood forms in the centre of it and trickles down the silk, unhurried.

"I hope you didn't forget what I said earlier." Kaeya shrugs as he lowers his hand, wisps of Cryo energy still dancing about it. "Consider that your final warning."

He still doesn't dare to breathe. Edith doesn't breathe either.

"Let's go back to this, shall we?" Kaeya waves the note at them and smiles brightly, enough to make up for the sheer lack of sunshine in here – though it's a bitter sort of brightness, glaring like the reflection of winter sunlight off the snow-capped peaks of Dragonspine.

Being trapped on Dragonspine would feel less daunting than this.

"I know you didn't kill her – didn't stage her suicide, at least – because the handwriting in the note matches the letters she sent to Father, and it's quite different from the handwriting in the letter you sent to Diluc," Kaeya says. "And I doubt you were clever enough to arrange an elaborate forgery after all these–"

"What does it say?" Diluc asks, leaning forward in his chair, shoving down the bottomless trepidation that's been keeping him silent all this time. "The note. What exactly did Mother write?"

Kaeya's gaze meets his own in an oddly intense stare. His eye is wide – almost fearful.

Why doesKaeyalook afraid? He's been carrying himself with such self-assured smugness all this time–

Edith looks back at him, and the laugh that leaves her when she turns to Kaeya once more is unquestionably derisive. Kaeya keeps his head down, staring at the note as if he has some power to change what's written there just by looking at it for long enough.

"Go on. Tell him what it says. There aren't any secrets between you, right?" Edith laughs again, placing one hand on her hip.

Kaeya's mouth doesn't move.

"What's the matter? You seem so serious all of a sudden," she says, a contemptuous echo of Kaeya's words from earlier. "Are you finally coming to your senses?"

"This is why I wanted you to leave," Kaeya mutters, his eye flicking up to Diluc for just a second before he averts his gaze, too quick for him to figure out what any of this means.

"You see, dear?" Edith moves closer to him again, though she keeps a reasonable distance this time. "All he wants to do is attack me with all these awful lies, and he cares more about that than about whether you would be hurt by it. Your mother never would've wanted you to read her suicide note, now would she? I'm simply trying to protect you–"

"Let's not forget who brought all of this up in the first place." Kaeya's voice cuts right across Edith's, and Diluc doesn't know how he continuously makes it sound colder than before every time he opens his mouth, but he does, and it does nothing to settle Diluc's nerves. "It could've stayed dead and buried if you hadn't decided to use it to emotionally manipulate my brother. Don't pretend for even a second that you were trying to protect him."

"You're very keen to place all the blame on me, aren't you?" she says.

"Someone has to." Kaeya's grip on the note tightens, crumpling it even further. "Someone has to, on your sister's behalf."

Edith sneers. "As if there's anything to blame me for–"

"Yes, that is what she said, isn't it?" Kaeya places the note on the desk, his hand splayed out over the aged paper, effectively obscuring any of the faded writing from Diluc's view, even when he leans a little further forward to read it upside-down. "You mustn't blame Edith– that's what she wrote."

"Exactly," Edith says, an undercurrent of triumph beneath her words as she smiles back at him. "See, Diluc? I'm not the monster he's making me out to be, your mother said so herself–"

"You mustn't blame Edith," Kaeya repeats. "She was right. I can't be the mother Diluc needs. He'd be better off without me."

It's like the floor is falling away beneath him. He's weightless and heavy at the same time, sinking into fathomless depths while floating up and out of his own body, unable to do a single thing.

Unable to change the facts.

He glances over at Edith. Even she looks shocked at what Kaeya just said, her eyes wide. Like she wasn't expecting him to go that far.

Like maybe–

"Mother didn't actually write that," Diluc says, his mouth moving of its own accord, like it always does when he's on the cusp of an awful truth that he doesn't want to hear.

He clings to the tiniest hope that maybe, just maybe, his brother is lying. Maybe it's just a ploy to rile up Edith again, like he was doing before, maybe it's just another part of his scheme–

Kaeya's gaze is apologetic. Enough of an answer on its own.

He wants to cry.

Gods, it's pathetic, but he just wants to scream and cry and yell at someone–anyone– maybe even Kaeya, since he's the one bringing all this shit to light–

But none of this is his fault.

All of this started long before Kaeya was around.

"She was unwell when she wrote that note," Edith says, her voice dragging him back into his own body against his will. "Clearly she was, she killed herself right after. Only a fool would take her seriously. She came up with all that nonsense on her own, I never said anything of the sort–"

"Was she unwell, or was she of sound mind? Do we trust her or not, when she says you aren't deserving of any blame?" Kaeya's face is stone cold as he looks up at Edith. "You're contradicting yourself, dear aunt. I suggest you pick a story and stick to it. Not that it matters, really. The truth is clear enough now, isn't it?"

Edith keeps quiet as she slowly turns her head towards Diluc, ignoring Kaeya's question.

"Do you always let him run his mouth this much?" she says, gesturing dismissively towards Kaeya with one hand, a disbelieving, callous, bitter smile on her face.

A wave of revulsion courses through his body, but he can't seem to say a thing when she looks at him like that. When Kaeya doesn't even flinch at her words, the mask of neutrality never slipping.

"All that's clear," she continues, looking back at Kaeya before Diluc can work up the sense to say anything, "is that Evie never had a clue what she was talking about. She always was such a flighty, anxious thing. I'll never understand what Crepus saw in her–"

"How could you say something like that?"

Diluc's staring at the ground when the words leave his mouth. He doesn't know how he manages to get them out when he can barely look at his own brother, doesn't know what's enabling him when he was so helpless just moments earlier, but they spill out before he can stop them. He grits his teeth, clings to the armrest like it's the only thing anchoring him to reality.

"Diluc, dear–"

"Stop that." His voice shakes so much he can hardly make out what he's saying himself, but the words push past his trembling lips anyway. "You keep– you act like you and Mother were so close, but then you keep saying things like that– it's like you don't even love her, like youhateher–"

"Of course I don't hate her," she says, her voice sickeningly sweet, as if she's talking down to a child, "but I will not pretend she was perfect. I'm only being realistic – she had her flaws, everyone does–"

"So let's return to yours."

Kaeya finally gets up from Father's chair, a spring in his step as he swings his legs off the desk they were resting on all this time. He's careful to fold the note up and grip it tightly in one hand before stepping around the desk to stand at Diluc's side.

His other hand comes down on Diluc's shoulder – it's cold, like it usually is, but the simple touch still fills him with an incomprehensible warmth, and Diluc chases it shamelessly, grabbing onto his brother's hand before he can think to move it away. Kaeya gives his shoulder a firm squeeze in response.

It's an apology and a promise and the only thing that makes any fucking sense right now.

Kaeya holds Edith's gaze as firmly as he's holding Diluc's shoulder. He only looks away when she does, following her eyes back to the desk. To the letter that she'd been showing Diluc earlier. The last letter Mother wrote.

"So you were going through her old letters, were you? Was that the only one you could find?" Kaeya holds him a little tighter. "That was a rhetorical question. Of course it was. You didn't honestly think I'd leave everything for you to find just like that, did you?"

Diluc distantly wonders how much sleep Kaeya got last night, if he'd been messing around this much in Father's office. He seems bright-eyed and completely awake right now. Maybe Adelinde had let him get away with more than three cups of coffee this morning.

"I took the liberty of going through some of Evelyn's last letters to Father. Apparently, he had to go on quite a few business trips while she was pregnant, so there were a lot of letters to go through. And you were with her for much of that time, weren't you? She mentioned you making the trip down from your family estate to be with her whenever Father wasn't – until, mysteriously, any mention of you disappeared entirely. Almost like she was avoiding talking about you at all.Youdisappeared entirely from her life, only to reappear in her last moments. In the last, most tragic thing she ever wrote."

Kaeya says all of that as he marches around the back of the chair to his other side, and interposes himself between Diluc and Edith.

"All of that leaves me with just one question." He crosses his arms and stares down at her. He's nearly a head taller than Edith, even taller than that when she shrinks back from his scrutinising eye. "What in the world did you do to her?"

She remains tight-lipped. Any tighter and her skin might just snap under the tension.

"Funny how you're so talkative right until someone asks an important question," Kaeya says, cocking his head to the side. "But it's fine if you don't want to say anything. I have a theory of my own anyway. Would you like to hear it?"

Edith's lips curl into something close to a snarl. "If it's as nonsensical as everything else you've been saying–"

"Sorry, that was another rhetorical question. I'm afraid you really don't have a say in the matter. Thought you would've realised that by now."

Distantly – very distantly, none of this feels real, it's terrifyingly easy to convince himself that he's only watching a completely incomprehensible situation happen to some other unfortunate soul – Diluc wonders which one of them in this accursed room is going to snap first.

He's not sure if whatever Kaeya's doing counts as snapping or not.

"I think you and your sister were never that close, were you?"

Edith inhales sharply. But she remains suspiciously quiet.

"Diluc's right. You keep pretending otherwise, but the way you talk about her makes it impossible to believe. Even your sister didn't believe it – in all her letters, any mentions of you were so clinical, so brief. Like you were nothing more than an obligation, someone she had to acknowledge simply because you were family."

"You can't claim to understand anything about us from a few simple letters–"

"I wonder," Kaeya presses on, unheeding, "if you only visited so often so you could enjoy the privileges of the Ragnvindr estate for yourself – a taste of life in the lap of luxury, under the pretence of caring for your sister. I wonder if she could see that. If she tried to put distance between you two because of it, and you couldn't stand it. So you lashed out."

He watches Edith closely. Tries not to think about the dread coiling around his heart as her face shifts into something impassive and heartless, haughty and self-righteous and just plainwrong.

"Maybe it was violent. Maybe you pushed her, caused her bodily harm. Or maybe you just wore her down with words until the stress made her snap. Either way – I think you were a not insignificant factor in her miscarriage, weren't you?"

Edith doesn't say anything for countless overwhelmingly long seconds. Then she lets out a slow exhale, and glares at Kaeya, her flat expression giving way to a frown tainted with pure disdain.

"You think you're very clever, don't you, Alberich?"

Kaeya's smile doesn't falter. "I never think anything without enough evidence to back it up."

"Evidence? You call lies constructed from a handful of lettersevidence?" She scoffs and turns to him. "Diluc, you mustn't believe–"

"Which parts are a lie, then?" he asks quietly, his voice wavering in a most unwelcome manner.

All this time– he just wanted her to begood.

And now there's– all ofthis– if it's all true, if Kaeya's right– she hurt Mother– didn't just hurt her, she all butkilledher–

"She's not denying it, Luc. You know what that means."

Kaeya's always right.

"Edith," he pleads, "just tell me–"

"So what if we had a fight?" Her voice rises sharply, tinged with a familiar mania. She throws her arms out wildly as a torrent of bitterness rushes forth from her lips. "It's hardly my fault that anything happened to her. That she couldn't handle a little fall down the stairs. It was an accident. She should've been more careful."

He can't look at her. He knows he'll be sick if he tries to comprehend the expression on her face. The truth behind her words.

Kaeya raises an eyebrow. "She waspregnant–"

"She would've ended up the same way no matter what I did, whatanyonedid, because she wasweak– I didn't do anything wrong. You're acting like I killed her when that couldn't be further from the truth–"

"Maybe you didn't kill her directly. But you hurt her, and then doubled down on your cruelty when she was at her weakest, telling her how she'd failed, that what happened was her fault and hers alone, that she wasn't enough – you did all of that instead of being there for her," Kaeya says, the glacial tone of his voice enough to overpower the indignant heat behind Edith's outburst. The note he's still holding onto like their lives depend on it is crumpled almost beyond legibility now. "You planted the idea in her head, the metaphorical knife in her hands. You pushed her until she broke – and even after all these years, you still don't feel guilty about it in the slightest, do you?"

Diluc holds his breath. Thinks that maybe Edith will object– will tell Kaeya that he's got it wrong, that shedoesregret what happened, that she really was trying to make things right here–

But she says nothing.

"Maybe you didn't kill her directly," Kaeya says, his eye narrowing until all Diluc can see is that crystalline starry pupil gleaming coldly amongst the shadows on his face, "but that's all just semantics. You might as well have. Father knew it. I know it. And now Diluc knows it too."

She maintains her silence. An infuriating silence, when she has so much to explain– when all of this is so fuckinghorribleand none of it makes sense–

"Edith– I–why?" He hates how broken his voice sounds. He shouldn't feel so broken up about this. None of this should matter. He wishes none of it mattered. "Didn't you care about her?"

How could she be so cold– so cruel– to Mother– to her ownsister–

"Oh, I see," Kaeya says, his voice too light and breezy for the situation they're in. He takes one last glance at the note before folding it up and placing it back in his pocket, and then he meets Edith's eyes once more, unperturbed by the incandescent anger in them. "You were jealous, weren't you?"

He sounds almost sympathetic. But not a kind sort of sympathy. Closer to pity, mixed with utter loathing and a sense of superiority–

And a hint of… understanding.

"Jealous of your perfect big sister, with her perfect life, her perfect new family – you were jealous that she had everything you wanted, and angry that she could see right through you. And you're still jealous to this day – you treat everyone in your life with such disdain. All you can see in them are things you want to take for yourself."

Kaeya leans against the armrest of the chair Diluc's sitting on, almost entirely blocking his view of Edith. Or maybe he's trying to block Edith's view of him. Or both.

"I suppose that explains why you did all of this, even after so much time had passed. If it had just been about the money, there were so many other ways you could've gone about it. You didn't need to weave some lie about wanting to reconnect. You could've just asked him up front – no sob story required, just tell him that his aunt needs money and he probably would've made the trip out to you to deliver the cheque himself and make sure you had whatever you needed. He's wonderfully generous like that.

"But it wasn't just about the money, was it? No. That'd make you the same as everyone else, but you're a thousand times worse. You didn't just want the money – you wantedhim. You wanted to control every aspect of his life and take everything he had for yourself, because you failed to do it with his mother or father. You did all of this, because deep down you're nothing more than a jealous, insecure, soullessbitch."

Kaeya sounds so triumphant. Diluc feels anything but.

He shifts to the side a little, to catch a glimpse of what the fuck Edith's reaction to all of this is. She's been unusually silent throughout Kaeya's whole soliloquy.

She looks like one of those tacky figures in a wax museum, her face contorted in a caricature of shock and horror, pinned in place by the ceaseless and precise stabs of his brother's words.

"Father could see past his wife's grief, past his own grief – he saw how much you'd hurt her," Kaeya says. He has so much to say. Diluc wishes it would stop. "And he knew you wouldn't quit even with your sister gone. You'd move on to a new target, because people like you are never satisfied. Maybe it'd be him. Maybe his son. So he had no choice but to get you out of their lives."

Kaeya's voice shakes just enough for Diluc to notice. He glances back at Diluc for a split second, then pushes off the chair and stalks towards Edith, a predator finally cornering its prey.

"Honestly? He let you off easy. Perhaps he was more merciful than I thought, because if I'd been in his place, you'd be nineteen years dead and counting." Kaeya leans in until he's just inches away from Edith, and Diluc's never been more grateful to be his brother rather than his enemy because he knows he'd crack instantly under that lethal smile. "But hey. Better late than never."

Edith stumbles back a step, clutching at her chest with a gasp, pulling the shawl around her shoulders a little tighter as if it could protect her from anything Kaeya's thinking of doing. "Are youthreateningme?"

"You're smarter than you look," Kaeya says, smiling innocently.

"Diluc," she says, her voice dripping with desperation, "surely you won't stand for such–"

"Enough."

He pushes himself out of the chair.

He's let this go on long enough.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do– or– no. Kaeya's done all the explaining," he says, stepping a little closer to his brother – whether to shield him or be shielded by him, he can't tell right now. Maybe there isn't a difference. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Diluc, there's nothingtosay. You're really going to trust him and all his baseless accusations over me?" she says, still intent on keeping the saccharine, sycophantic act up, apparently. "Yes, perhaps my relationship with Evie wasn't always the best, but I still cared for her – I still care foryou, my dear, my nephew. Don't let him fool you. He doesn't know a thing about me, he just wants to turn you against me – against yourfamily."

You're doing the same thing.

He trusts Kaeya completely. He made the mistake of not trusting him once. He's not going to repeat it. Not now, not ever– not for her, not for anyone–

She's still family. Are you really going to cast her aside for mistakes she made in her past? Haven't you done enough of that already?

No– no, no, no, that'snotthe same, what is he thinking? None of this is the fucking same, he just needs toget a grip–

"Persistent, aren't you? Like a weed. Parasitic, too."

Kaeya sighs deeply, shaking his head like a parent would at a misbehaving child.

"You know, I really didn't want to have to do this, but if you insist on being that stubborn, you leave me no choice."

He reaches behind his back, almost like he's about to summon his sword, or fashion one out of Cryo, and Diluc is hopelessly paralysed–

But the thing Kaeya presents is very much not a sword.

"Seem familiar?"

Edith's ring glitters brilliantly in the dim morning light.

How did Kaeya get his hands on it when she's–

Oh.

Edith's wearing gloves today. Not the ring – she hasn't worn it since last night.

She gasps and lunges forward. "That belongs tome– youthief–"

"Now, now, hold your horses," Kaeya says, stepping back and holding the ring out of her reach. "I'll be quite happy to return this to you as soon as you answer a few questions."

"I don't have to answer any of yourquestionswhen you just stole my property–"

"Answer him," Diluc says, with all the authority he can summon.

She goes still, her voice dropping to a hesitant whisper. "What?"

"You heard me."

Kaeya doesn't give her a chance to protest before he speaks again. "We spoke about this yesterday, but I can't seem to recall right now – remind me where you got this from again?"

"It's a family heirloom," she says, her voice laced with bitterness.

"Of course. It belonged to your great-grandmother, and has been passed down all the way from her to you. That was the story." Kaeya tosses the ring up in the air and catches it in a single smooth motion before smiling back at Edith. "Silly me. Details like that just slip my mind sometimes."

Who is he kidding? If a detail slips from Kaeya's mind, the world might as well be ending.

"So. A family heirloom, you say. You must be intimately familiar with it then, seeing as you've been in possession of it for so long. I hope that means you'll be able to explain… this?"

Kaeya holds the ring out to her. With one thumb, he flicks it open.

He… what?

He opened the ring?

Heopened the ring–

And now they're all staring at a tiny pool of reddish-purple liquid swirling about in a silver container, dark and ominous, a sharp contrast to the glittering light of the sapphire that had been there moments ago.

A poison ring.

That's what that is, right?

…What thefuck–

"That's– but that's impossible– this is some kind of trick," Edith snaps, glaring at Kaeya. "He's setting me up, Diluc, you can't trust him–"

"What trick? This is your ring, isn't it? Are you saying you don't know what this is? You didn't put this poison in here?"

"Of course I didn't– it was empty last I checked, I hadn't put anything in there yet–"

"Yet, you say?"

If the world wasn't spinning before, it definitely is now.

Everything is silent and deathly still. No sound, no air, not even a twitch of a muscle to indicate any life.

All the implications come crashing down on him at once.

He grips Kaeya's arm to keep himself steady. He doesn't look Edith in the eyes.

She hadn't put anything in there… yet.

Kaeya smiles as all the colour drains from Edith's face, and then a short, raucous laugh breaks free from his lips.

She can't do anything but watch, it seems, as her body trembles and she remains rooted to the spot. Diluc almost feels sorry for her. She looks more pathetic now than she ever has.

"Oh dear. I shouldn't find this funny, but Archons, it's just too easy. Laughably so. Everyone falls into the same trap, don't they? I'm almost disappointed. I didn't even have to try."

He brings the ring closer to himself again, out of Edith's grasp, a strange blend of pride and disgust swirling about in his eye as he observes it, just like the poison in the ring.

"This really was a last resort, you know. I was fully prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt, pretend that there was nothing more to you than old family drama – surely she isn'tthatcunning, I thought. But you're full of surprises." Kaeya snaps the ring shut, his smile taking on a dangerous shine, matching the sapphire in his palm. "So, you were planning to put something in here eventually, were you?"

She shakes her head urgently. "No– of course not– it was a mere slip of the tongue–"

"A very convenient one for me, I must say."

"You– Diluc, please, you can't listen to him–"

"What was your plan, I wonder?" Kaeya rolls the ring between his fingers lazily, as if it's just another piece of jewellery and not a potential accessory to murder – literally. "Not to use it on yourself, I assume. Were you going to kill Diluc as soon as he let his guard down? As soon as you convinced him to marry your daughter – nice work there, by the way, very subtle indeed – and you were firmly reinstated in the family again? Or maybe you were going to poison him slowly, quietly, play the long game until he was completely dependent on you and you had him in the palm of your hand, ready and willing to give you anything you asked for?"

"I– I wouldnever– you simply have some vendetta against me, making all these outrageous claims when I've done nothing wrong–"

"The game is up, Edith. At least have the decency to accept your loss with grace before you embarrass yourself completely."

She looks like she's forgotten how to breathe. Her face goes from corpse-like and pale to flushed red – from anger or shame, Diluc doesn't know, and he doesn't particularly care, either.

"You haven't got any proof," she says, weak and woefully lacking in any sort of conviction. She can't even look either of them in the eyes. Pathetic. "I haven't done anything– all you have is circumstantial evidence– it's all just baseless speculation. I'm innocent– I won't allow you to treat me like some sort ofcriminal–"

"You're right," Kaeya says, shrugging helplessly, though his voice doesn't sound helpless at all. He's been in control this whole time, of course, he wouldn't slip up now. "There isn't much else I can do from here. Legally speaking, I mean – it'd be rather a lot of trouble to prove any of this, considering that you technically haven't committed a crime yet. Much to my dismay."

"So you–"

"Family doesn't operate by traditional rules and laws, though. So I think we have to defer to the head of the family's judgement here, don't you agree?"

Both of their gazes snap to Diluc at the same time and he's pretty sure he deserves some sort of reward for not crumbling under the sheer combined weight of it all–

But that's for later. He has to take care of this mess now before it spirals any further out of his control.

Edith softens her voice, as if she really thinks she can win him over at this point. "Diluc, dear, please– youmusthear me out. All he's done is lie, and try to make me look like some sort of villain. You don't really believe him–"

"You haven't given me any reason to trust you over him," Diluc says. "You won't ever find a reason for me to do that, so quit while you're ahead. Don't dig yourself a deeper grave."

Please just let this nightmare end already–

"You don't understand, dear. You're falling for the same thing your father did– I'm only trying to help you, like I tried to help him, can't you see that?"

She reaches for him, but he grabs her wrist before she can get any closer, holds her at a distance even as she tries to squirm out of his grip. He's probably holding her too tightly. He can't bring himself to care.

He could break her wrist right now if he wanted to. It'd be so easy.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asks, narrowing his eyes.

"You really are like Crepus, aren't you?" She laughs hysterically, looking at Kaeya and then back at him. "No wonder he's won you over so easily, he's using whatever tricks he used back then, preying on the same weaknesses–"

"What is that supposed to mean–"

"Crepus only adopted him to make up for the child he lost," she spits. "And he only hired that maid of yours to replace Evie– he was willing to do all of that while completely ignoring hisreal family, don't you see the injustice in that? They wouldn't evenbehere if it weren't for us–"

Diluc is this fucking close to snapping each and every one of her fingers as he shoves her away, her back colliding sharply with the wall as he does. "You wouldn't know a fucking thing about what a real family is, not after what you did to your sister–"

Her hysteria is incessant. "Look at him, Diluc. Your father was going to run the winery in the ground just to accommodate him– he was going to throw away everything he'd worked for, all the connections he'd formed, over some child that no one gave a damn about– and I tried to protect you back then, because he was going to ruin both of your lives for thisstraywho calls himself your brother when he's anything but–"

Diluc sees red.

People in Mondstadt–

Just talk too damn much.

And then he sees white and marigold yellow, mixed with pale flesh, as he lets go of Edith's wrist to grab the shawl hanging around her shoulders.

He wraps it around her fragile little neck and tightens it until her lips turn blue and she's screaming but no sounds are coming out and she crumples to the ground and doesn't move because she's dead–

She's finally fuckingdeadand he doesn't care, he doesn't know why he waited this long because that's exactly what she fucking deserves after everything she's done to all of them–

He blinks.

She's still standing in front of him. Her hand is shaking in his grip.

His knuckles are white. As white as the shawl that he is on the verge of strangling her with–

But he hasn't killed her yet.

Pity.

The tremors in her voice fill him with a sick sense of satisfaction. "Diluc, please–"

"Go fuck yourself."

He can't tell if he shouts it or whispers it, but he knows he's said it with enough vitriol and fire nonetheless when her pupils dilate and her eyes are damn near popping out of her skull, and she shrinks back against the door as far as the laws of physics will allow.

"I don't care what you want from me, or what you wanted to do to me – no one gets to come into my house, disrespect every member of my family in the same fucking breath, and get away with it unscathed. And you're a fool if you ever believed otherwise."

"Iamyour family–"

"No you're not." The laugh that leaves him is ugly and vicious and cruel, but it's perfectly fitting here. "If you were, you'd understand why Father gave up whatever he did for Kaeya. You'd understand that he's my brother, and he always will be, that he matters more than any amount of Mora the goddamn winery could give us, and nothing you say will ever,everchange that."

He can feel Kaeya's gaze burning into his back. It only bolsters his righteous fury.

"That's how we do things in this family. But you wouldn't know that, because you're not a part of it, and you never will be. Not as long as I'm alive, and not even after that. I'll make sure of it."

She chokes out a strangled laugh and it only makes him want to follow through and actually strangle her.

"After everything you did," he growls, "you really had the fucking nerve to try and pretend you ever cared about me? About our family?"

Another strangled laugh. She's wasting all the precious oxygen in this office. "Evie wouldn't–Iwouldn't have raised you like this–"

Flames rush to his fingers, and he does nothing to stop them. "Too bad neither of you got the chance because of–"

Something pulls him back and he turns on his heel without a moment's hesitation to fight off whoever's trying to get in his way–

But it's Kaeya.

Kaeya grasps his fist in an icy hand, and the sudden drop in temperature freezes the molten anger running through his veins, extinguishes the sparks of fire that had been dancing around his hand.

Why the fuck is his brother stopping himnow–

Kaeya pulls him back a little further, and throws an arm out in front of him, preventing him from getting any closer to Edith.

"I'll take a page out of my brother's book and give you a second chance," Kaeya says slowly, not looking back at him. "A final chance. If you don't take it – if you don't get the fuck out of this house and leave us alone for good… well. I hope you like the sound of being buried six feet below our father, because I can promise you that's exactly where you'll end up."

I could save us both the trouble and put an end to all of this right now–

Edith scrambles to stand up straight and her hands fumble around for the lock–

Oh. It's not frozen over anymore.

He's not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved.

She manages, somehow, with her trembling, useless hands, to unlock the door. But after it opens with a deafening click, she doesn't move.

None of them do.

Kaeya moves his hand away from Diluc, no longer obstructing him.

That seems to inspire some urgency in her.

"Get the fuck out," Diluc says.

She swings the door open at last and tumbles out of the room. Her shawl slips from her shoulders as she does and she nearly trips as she runs, but that doesn't stop him from advancing ever closer, staying just a step or two behind her to make absolutely sure she doesn't eventhinkof turning back–

"I'll– I'll tell the others about this," she says, her voice shaking wildly as she stumbles down the stairs with whatever the opposites of poise and grace are. "They won't be pleased, when they see how you treat your own aunt–"

"Good. Fine. I don't fucking care."

He takes the steps two at a time, just to keep Edith on her toes, just to watch her run even faster in those stupid flimsy heels, to see the hem of her garish dress impede her own feet as she fights so desperately to escape the hell of her own making.

"Tell whoever you want – tell them all exactly what you did, and tell them exactly what I thought of what you did – and if any of them are on your side, maybe they'll have the common sense to stay away. Or maybe I'll get to demonstrate exactly what'll happen to you if you ever try to set foot on these grounds again."

He can hardly hear himself over the blood thundering in his skull and his ears, the infernal heat washing over him and pushing him onwards, the flames following in his wake as he chases Edith all the way to the front door. There's a coldness at his back too –Kaeya, he thinks in the back of his mind, but he doesn't stop to acknowledge it.

So entrenched in his own anger is he, that he doesn't even register Adelinde's presence until she appears out of thin air, like the angel she is, to press Edith's luggage into her hands. Her pleasant smile is a delightful contrast to the fear twisting Edith's face into something hideous and grotesque and utterlypathetic.

"The carriage is waiting for you outside," she says in that perfectly poised, perfectly graceful tone that she's always been a master of. "Please see yourself out."

And don't ever come back, he thinks.

He doesn't need to say it. The way Edith's eyes widen tells him she already knows.

And she doesn't need to be told twice – she pulls the door open, the heavy oak testing the limits of her strength, and lets it slam shut behind her as she hurries down the winery steps and out of their lives.

For good, this time.

Diluc doesn't intend to go back on his word.

The sound of the door shutting rings in his ear for several beats after it's stopped moving, the quiet rattle of the doorframe and the subtle squeak of the hinges all much louder than usual, resonating through the entire foyer.

The silence that follows is so blissful and serene it feels alien. Like he's stepped into a dream world, and reality has ceased to exist.

Somewhere behind him, he thinks he can hear Kaeya saying something to Adelinde. But blood is still pounding in his ears and compressing his skull from every angle, and he can barely feel his own limbs, let alone sense anything going on around him.

He presses his forehead against the door. Slumps against it, just a little, and closes his eyes. Just for a minute or two.

It's cool and smooth to the touch. The invigorating heat of anger slowly, gradually fades away, allowing more coherent, less welcome thoughts to appear in its place.

So. There really was a reason they never kept in touch with their extended family.

Fuckingidiot. Of course there was. He should've known. What was he thinking, ignoring Father's perfectly sound judgement? IgnoringKaeya'sjudgement? What the hell was he hoping to get out of all this?

He doesn't know anymore.

It's not like it matters. Edith's gone. Everything she did is in the past and it's gone and he's never going to let her get close to any of them ever again.

He half-wonders if he should just chase her out the door and kill her anyway. Just to be safe.

But– Kaeya had stopped him, up there in the office, for whatever reason.

He doesn't get it. WhyKaeyaof all people would go easy on her, when she'd been nothing but cruel to him–

But Kaeya's… probably right.

Killing her would be more trouble than it's worth. Probably.

Damn if he doesn't want to do it anyway.

He takes a deep breath, and savours the coolness of the wood for a little while longer.

Disowning family isn't always that bad, huh?

…He's not going to indulgethatthought any further.

He opens his eyes and takes a step back with another deep breath.

The storm has passed.

Warm morning sunlight has broken through the clouds and now spills into the house from each and every window, casting a golden, bright glow over everything in his sight.

It's like Edith took all the shadows with her.

He hopes they follow her to the end of time.

Another step back, and Adelinde is there at his side. She reaches up and brushes his hair over his shoulder for him, tucks a few loose strands behind his ear without a word – he hadn't even thought to tie it that morning. He must have looked like a right mess throughout this entire ordeal.

She follows his gaze to the door. He can't seem to look away, his eyes keep snapping back to it no matter what else he tries to focus on. She pats him on the back gently, her touch warm and gentle and familiar.

He doesn't mind standing here for a while. Just– watching the door. Being with Adelinde in this blessed quiet, embracing the fact that she understands how much he needs this quiet after everything.

Yes. This is nice. This is good.

Edith could never comecloseto the woman Adelinde is, not in a million years.

"Quelle connasse," Adelinde mutters under her breath, breaking their divine tranquillity.

Out of all the things that have happened this weekend, this might just be the most shocking.

That's– it's been a while since he heard something of that nature, but he's pretty sure that's Fontainian slang. Incredibly vulgar slang, at that–

He chokes on air and splutters helplessly. He coughs into his hand to mask it, but of course she notices despite that.

"Are you alright, Master Diluc?"

Not at all. I think I've actually gone insane now. This can't be happening.

He never thought this opportunity would arise in his lifetime.

He turns to her and raises an eyebrow, an uncharacteristically gleeful grin tugging at his lips. "Language, Adelinde."

She raises an eyebrow back at him. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I– you– just now, you said–" He shakes his head. "I can't repeat it. You'd tell me off for it."

"Is that so? Just what sort of foul language have you been learning over the years, young man?"

…How is it that Adelinde was the one swearing, and yet he's the one getting in trouble?

She's trying very hard to look stern, narrowing her eyes at him like that, but they're alight with mirth. She obviously knows what she's doing. Kaeya inherited his unstoppable deflection abilities from somewhere.

They're both going to be the death of him. And yet he loves them anyway.

"Addie," he says, grabbing her by the shoulders, "have I ever told you how wonderful you are?"

She doesn't seem at all taken aback by his sudden boldness, and offers him a small, warm smile. "Plenty of times–"

Her reply is cut off with a quiet gasp when Diluc picks her up in a deathly fierce hug.

"Master Diluc, please put me down," she says, though her voice is toneless and heavy, like she's already resigned herself to her fate.

"Father truly was an excellent judge of character, to have kept you around," he says, squeezing Adelinde even tighter, ignoring that half-hearted protest. Maybe too tight, but she'll live. He needs this right now. "To think that we could've had someone like Edith in our lives instead of you. What a horrible thought."

He sets Adelinde back on solid ground again, his grin stretching his face so wide it hurts. A good kind of hurt, completely different to what he'd grown accustomed to over the past few days. It feels foreign after all this time.

It falters when he turns to check on his brother.

Kaeya's smiling too – but it's an absent, distracted sort of smile, the kind he wears when he's not quite living in the same moment as the rest of them.

He's staring down at the ring, his eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. He flicks it open and closed repeatedly with his thumb, waiting for the metallic click to completely fade each time before he moves it again.

He flicks it open one last time.

And then hepours the poison into his mouth–

Diluc lunges forward and shakes his shoulders. "Kae– what are you doing?! Spit that out right now–"

Kaeya swallows.

"Kaeya,no–"

You promised–

"Relax, Luc, it's not poison – that was all a setup, remember?"

Huh?

He– what–

Right– yeah, he remembers– does he?Fuck–

"Blegh. Might as well be, though. Tastes like cough syrup, and not the sweet kind," he says, sticking his tongue out in a show of blatant disgust. "It's wine from Connor's experimental shelf. Second bottle on the right – promise me you won't go forward with that one, please. You'll kill half the city if they drink even a drop of this stuff."

He feels faint.

The image of Kaeya blurs and for a moment there are two Kaeyas in front of him and he shudders at the thought.

"Luc, I– youdoknow this was all fake, right? You can even ask Adelinde, she helped. Didn't you, Addie?"

He turns to Adelinde without taking the time to breathe.

She sighs, rubbing her forehead as she looks between them. "It was the third bottle on the right, Master Kaeya, not the second."

"You sure?"

"Quite."

"Hm. Well, there you have it. Adelinde said so. Nix the third bottle on the right. Cavalry Captain's orders."

He shakes Kaeya's shoulders, more roughly than necessary – or maybe not roughly enough. His brother's a goddamn idiot. Maybe he needs more violence to actually get through to him.

"Don'tfuckingscare me like that again. Ex-Cavalry Captain's orders."

"In my defence, you really had nothing to be scared of–"

"Kae–"

"Yes, alright, whatever you say,sir," Kaeya says, grinning when Diluc lets go of him with a huff.

Yeah. Definitely going to be the death of him. He's so very difficult to love.

But Diluc loves him anyway.

Kaeya's still staring at the ring, like he's silently interrogating it for more answers. Answers to what, Diluc has no idea – but there are a few answers he should probably get out of his brother while he has the chance.

"How'd you know about the ring?" he asks, his voice more hesitant than he expects it to be.

"Hm?"

"You said she wasn't planning to use it yet. So how– if she didn't do anything with it, how'd you know it was a poison ring?"

"Lucky guess," he says with a nonchalant shrug.

As if."Kaeya, be honest."

He seems to pick up on the seriousness in Diluc's tone as he lets out a sigh. "I recognised it from a case I worked on a while back," he says, waving his free hand, gesturing at nothing in particular. "It's a bit too distinctive to forget."

He… recognised it.

"You knew what it was from the beginning?" Diluc tries not to chew on his lip. "But then– why didn't you do anything earlier–"

"I did. I checked to see if it was empty when I shook her hand yesterday. Checked again when we were talking outside – empty both times. She even took it off later, like it wasn't anything important, so I figured maybe she was simply using it as an accessory and didn't know what its true purpose was. I wouldn't have thought anything more of it if she hadn't gone and acted the way she did later."

"…Oh."

Kaeya… had done an awful lot behind his back, hadn't he? All without saying a word or alerting him to any of it.

This would've been so much easier if you'd just told me something was up from the start.

But that's not how Kaeya's learned to do things. That's not how Kaeya's ever done things, and Diluc's never noticed or cared enough to do anything about it – he's let them continue this way for years, so he doesn't have the right to complain now, does he?

Still. He'd thought he was getting better at seeing through his brother's lies, noticing when he was up to something.

Seems he still has plenty to learn, if he truly wants to keep up with his brother. If he wants them to be a proper team.

"…What case?"

It can't have been anything in the past year, he would've heard about it, surely. It's something older. Something from the times Diluc knows painfully little about.

"Not an important one–"

"No–stop. Tell me the truth. I'm done with people keeping secrets. Where's this ring really from?"

"You should remember it too." Kaeya looks away and sighs again. "But I don't blame you. It's been a while since you saw it. Saw him. And it's not a terribly important detail in the grand scheme of things, of course you would've forgotten about it after all this time."

"Who–"

"This was Eroch's ring."

Eroch's ring?

…Shit.

No wonder he'd felt uneasy looking at it. No wonder it didn't seem to fit her.

Fuck. He should've– there's no excuse for missing something so obvious other than plain forgetfulness–

You didn't even know that ring was anything special. It's not like recognising it would've helped–

He can picture it clearly now, how it had gleamed menacingly in the shadows when Eroch had given him those unforgivable orders minutes before he resigned. How its shine had suited the traitor's supercilious smile.

But wait– that means–

"You're telling me she's connected toEroch–"

"No." Kaeya shakes his head firmly, patting him on the shoulder as an extra reassurance. "I would've found out well before today if that were the case. She's got nothing to do with him. The ring is just a coincidence, that's all. Funny how things come full circle, don't they?"

"But then– how did she–"

"That ring was on his finger until the day he died. She couldn't have gotten it from him – she just bought it from a pawn shop. She lied to me about it being an heirloom, presumably so I'd stop prying. Or maybe so I wouldn't realise how desperate for wealth she was. Hard to tell."

Just when he thought they'd unravelled every mystery surrounding Edith – of course there was more to it. And Kaeya wouldn't have even told him any of this if he hadn't gathered his senses enough to ask.Damn it.

"I'd wager she didn't even realise what it really was until after she bought it, and that's what inspired this convoluted plan of hers. She saw a means, and decided on an end."

He feels lightheaded again. Maybe breakfast is in order soon.

…Until the day he died.

Jean said she didn't know what happened to Eroch. That no one's seen a trace of him since he was exiled.

Jean said that Kaeya didn't think that was punishment enough.

"Kaeya?"

"What now?"

"Did you… kill Eroch?"

Kaeya rolls his eye and looks away. "Always jumping to the most extreme conclusions–"

"But did you?"

Kaeya hesitates, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the silver band of the ring, still not meeting his eyes. "Does it matter?"

A nervous laugh makes his voice crack. "A little bit, maybe–"

"What would you say if I did?"

He has a feeling his next words are going to matter a lot to Kaeya, and for a long time, so he takes a deep breath – or tries to, at least, but he has to say something quick before the moment can slip away and his brother gets the wrong idea.

"I'd say… I wish I could've been there to see it."

A heavy beat of silence follows, and Diluc feels his chest tighten at the thought that maybe that wasn't the right thing to say after all–

But then Kaeya laughs softly and throws his arm around him, pulling him into something that isn't quite a chokehold, but is close enough to have him gasping anyway. Diluc brings an arm up around Kaeya's back in a weak attempt to regain some control and return the favour, which only makes Kaeya laugh again, his grin unrestrained and impish.

"We're a real fucked-up pair of brothers, aren't we? What would Father say?"

He might be disappointed. He tried to raise two upstanding knights. Not… whatever it is that we've become since his death.

But, right now–

"It doesn't matter."

As long as you're here with me, nothing else matters.

He wraps his other arm around Kaeya and pulls him close into a real hug. Against his shoulder, he can feel Kaeya's devilish smirk fade into a genuine smile. He mutters something that ends up muffled and lost in the fabric of his clothes – probably another jab at Diluc being overly sentimental, if experience can be trusted. Diluc smiles anyway.

Adelinde's voice jolts them out of that brief moment of serenity. "Klee?"

Both him and Kaeya turn in unison with frightening speed to find Klee hovering at the top of the stairs, rubbing her eyes sleepily as Adelinde hurries up towards her.

"Oh dear– it's alright, you can go back to sleep, you must be so tired– it's rather early in the morning for a child to be awake–"

"It's okay," she mumbles, oddly pliant when Adelinde lifts her into her arms. "I already woke up a long time ago 'cause of all the shouting."

Oops.

He glances at Kaeya out of the corner of his eye, and knows that the sheepish expression on his brother's face must be perfectly mirrored on his own.

"Sorry, Klee," Kaeya says quietly as Adelinde carries her down the stairs. "You weren't scared, were you?"

Klee shakes her head, still nuzzling against Adelinde's shoulder, eyelids drooping as if she's about to fall asleep again any second now. "Klee's a brave girl."

"That you are. The bravest girl I know."

"Aunt Edith's gone, by the way," Diluc adds. "So there's nothing to worry about."

That has the girl on high alert in an instant and her eyes fly open, wide and beaming with excitement. "Really?"

Wow. She really didn't like Edith, did she?

Clever girl.

"Yeah, really."

"That means Klee's plan worked!"

…So did everyone have a plan for getting rid of Edith except for him?

And notoneof them deemed it necessary to share any details of said plans with him?

Does him being the head of the family mean nothing to them–

…He knows the answer to that.

He drops his head with an exasperated sigh. "And what was your plan, exactly?"

She points over towards the vase– no. Towards… Dodo-Diluc.

"I told Dodo-Diluc to scare the mean lady away with his grumpiness. He looks nice but he can bereallyscary when he wants to be. And it worked! Klee knew he could do it."

…He needs stronger medication to deal with whatever this is.

He walks over to the vase. Towards Dodo-Diluc.

He picks up the creation that has perplexed him since the moment its creator put it in his hands, and stares at it blankly. It stares back, grumpy as ever.

Hm. Yes. He can certainly see how this existential dread he's feeling might have contributed to Edith's departure.

He clears his throat. "Thank you for your assistance, Dodo-Diluc-"

"SirDodo-Diluc."

He looks back at Klee. He hopes it's not a glare, but his self-restraint has been worn worryingly thin by recent events. "Since when is Dodo-Diluc a knight?"

"Knights protect people! And Dodo-Diluc protected us from your aunt, so now he's a knight."

…And now he's outnumbered by the Knights in his own home. How did he let this happen?

"Perhaps there's hope for the Knights after all," he mutters to himself as he places Dodo-Diluc back at his post, guarding the vase.

He didn't quite mean for anyone to hear that, but he knows he messed up when Kaeya snickers loudly behind him.

Adelinde puts Klee down just as Diluc walks back to the group in shame, and the ever-energetic child doesn't hesitate to tug on his sleeves to get his attention.

"Can we go through the photo album now? You said we could do that yesterday but then your aunt came and you guys were so busy."

He'd almost forgotten all the things that had happened before Edith arrived. It feels like a whole year has passed in the span of a day.

He's exhausted. He doesn't really want to do anything else today other than sleep.

But the way Klee's smiling at him is too precious. He can't very well deny her such a simple wish.

"Sure, Klee. We've got the whole day ahead of us. We can do whatever you want."

Klee giggles brightly. It's a lovely sound.

He should've gotten rid of Edith so much sooner, if she was preventing them all from hearing Klee's laughter.

What the fuck was he thinking?

"Whatever you want to do can wait until after breakfast, I hope," Adelinde says, giving him a pointed look. "We're all awake too early as it is. I won't allow any other disruptions to your routine."

"Can we have pancakes again?"

"Pancakes two days in a row? Careful, Luc, she might get used to this," Kaeya says. "Poor Noelle will never hear the end of it. Jean'll definitely have a thing or two to say about balanced diets, or something. You're dealing with that, not me. I am not taking responsibility for anything that happens in your house."

He shoves his brother lightly in the ribs. "Pancakes would be wonderful right now, Klee. Good idea."

She hugs his legs tight. She's very fond of doing that. Even though it makes movement rather difficult… he doesn't mind.

He looks up from Klee and finds Kaeya and Adelinde both smiling at him, their eyes crinkled around the corners with the same fondness and lit up with the same amusement.

They almost look… proud?

…Nothing they do makes any sense to him.

Nothing he does makes any sense to himself either.

His arms come up around each of them before he even realises what he's doing, gently tugging them into a hug that neither of them resists. They return the hug with zero hesitation and equal strength, affectionate laughter erupting from each of them when that only makes him pull them in closer.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs, when their laughter has settled into muted smiles. "I should've listened to you all earlier – you were right all along–"

"It's okay, Luc," Kaeya says quietly. "You're always trying to see the good in people. Can't really blame you for that. One of us has to, I think."

"Still– I should've–"

"None of that now, Master Diluc," Adelinde says, massaging his back with a light hand. "You did what you had to in the end. That's all that matters. Let's not worry about it any longer, alright?"

…They're both far too kind to him. Even when all he's done is make their lives needlessly more difficult–

But… they don't care about that. They never do. They continue to be kind to him anyway.

Perhaps he doesn't deserve it right now. That means he'll just have to keep working at it until he does. Until he's worthy of everything they give to him.

A long-term goal. Very, very long-term.

He thinks he can manage it, though. As long as they're here.

"Maybe I should just bring August up here next weekend," Kaeya says, an audible smirk in his tone. "Now there's a member of the family I think we'd all be happy to see."

He wouldn't mind that at all. August running around the winery would be a welcome sight.

"She can scratch up your furniture for a change, and maybe then you'll finally see that she's a little devil–"

"Shut up, Kae," he says, laughing into Kaeya's shoulder.

"I'm sure she's not as bad as you make her out to be," Adelinde says, sounding only a little exasperated.

"Oh no, she's worse, Addie. Diluc here won't ever admit it, but you have to trust me on this one."

Diluc laughs again. His chest feels strangely light.

That persistent tightness that had been suffocating him for so long has faded, if only for a moment, and the sheer relief coursing through him now is dizzying. More intoxicating than any wine could ever be, he's sure of that.

He feels so warm.

Of course he does, when the people he cares about most in the world are right here beside him, laughing and smiling with him. When they're all safe, all together, all happy.

He's… happy.

His arms form a perfect circle around his family.

An unbroken, unbreakable, perfect circle.

He's never going to let them go for as long as he lives.

Notes:

tfw the longest story in the series doesn't even feature the titular cat. now that's some good clickbait :)

i have to come clean. this story was entirely constructed around two things and two things only:

diluc rambling about ferris wheels

diluc telling someone to go fuck themselves on kaeya's behalf

that's it. that's the whole reason any of this started. this is what i believe the kids call Unhinged

but enough about that. let me gush about how IT'S FINALLY DONE! this got literally twice as long as i meant for it to be. i'm so bad at estimating these things. i thought i was getting better but every time i hit a new low instead. i'm glad we stopped at eight chapters though. 8 is one little circle on top of another. very appropriate. also i'm just realising that it took me nearly a month to finish?! wtf i'm never writing anything ever again

i have some Thoughts… but this end note will get longer than the fic if i go through all of them lmao. it's already too long, i talk too much when no one keeps me in check. i might just end up rambling in the replies instead. apologies to the people who get bombarded with said rambling xD you could type one letter and get hit with me overanalysing the meaning of that letter in the context of this fic, i'm not sane

i cannot overstate how immensely grateful i am for all the people who stuck around to see this through to the end with me. waking up to so many comments with all your reactions and theories every time i updated was like an overdose of serotonin, idk how i survived it tbh but you guys have been so so wonderful and lovely ;u; if it weren't for all of you reading, these stories would just be stuck as half-baked ideas in my head, so thank you for being here 3

anyway. i'm gonna go pass out for like a day or two and go back to writing something of a normal length like normal people do, instead of turning three days into 60k words or something unhinged like whatever happened here. maybe it'll be wholesome. we can dream :')

thank you so much again for reading, commenting, leaving kudos, all that good stuff ;u; i appreciate it more than i can ever adequately put into words. take care! hopefully i'll see you all again soon o7

- alex, vice president of the edith hate club (kaeya is the president)

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