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“Kaeya, you're limping.”
Amber's words made him look up: her golden eyes were looking him worriedly up and down. He should've anticipated the question; the whole trip she had been eyeing him like a hawk, but he put too much trust into her to wait until they were alone. Instead, the whole squad stopped dead in their tracks and all eyes were on him. Even Paimon, swirling around the Traveler's head like a curious bee, made sure not to miss out.
“Is Kaeya not feeling well?”, she chimed, flying over to him and circling him a few times, "Paimon doesn't see any injuries."
“That's because there aren’t any”, Kaeya responded lightly, “I appreciate your worries, but I'm fine.”
“I noticed it too.” Jean crossed her arms in front of her and Kaeya sighed. “It started after those ambushes of the treasure hoarders, right? You acted quite reckless there.”
She came closer and Kaeya backed up.
“I must've gotten a pebble in my shoe or something. It's nothing, really. Trust me.”
Amber snorted in the background at his last words, while Jean seemed to have taken the bait … at least for now. There was still concern and worry glimmering in her eyes, as she turned around again and just replied:
“If you say so. But be careful not to overwork yourself.”
“I will.”
Amber, however, still eyed him skeptically, but Paimon's statement that she was hungry and the following debate on what they were going to eat when they got back to Mondstadt was enough to distract her for now. While Kaeya let himself fall back at the end of the group to dodge any further questions.
Sometimes he loathed Amber and her gut feeling with every fiber of his being.
Because she was almost always right.
His leg had been bugging him since the treasure hoarder camp. Not enough to make a huge fuss about it, but noticeably enough to be in the back of his mind. But Kaeya decided to ignore it, they had been so busy the past weeks with fighting off hilichurls and raiding treasure hoarder camps, he didn’t have time to worry. Besides, he probably just rolled his ankle in the heat of battle or did a wrong step while dodging an attack, or maybe he pulled a muscle because his body barely had gotten a break.
So, whatever it was, it wasn’t a big deal.
And after all, he couldn’t afford to be injured. It was his job to function and do his part. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if he couldn’t help anymore.
They finally arrived in Mondstadt after a lot more conversations about favorite dishes and delicious meals and Kaeya felt ready to collapse into his bed. Each step made his ankle hiss out in pain and staying upright took so much energy from him that keeping up a conversation became unbearable.
As soon as they passed the city gates, Jean excused herself to fill in their report of today's work, while their new honorary knight, together with Amber and Paimon discussed whether or not they should pay a visit to the Angel’s Share.
“Are you coming with us?”, Amber suddenly turned her attention to Kaeya, who was just about to blend in with the shadows and quietly and quickly return to his bed as soon as possible.
“Ah … no”, he managed a smile, while carefully leaning against a pillar to take at least some of the weight off his bad leg, “I think, I’ll take the grandmaster as a role model for once and shall fill in my reports as well.”
Amber’s eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms.
“You and finishing your reports on the same day? Never thought that day would come.”
“I never said, I’ll finish them today”, Kaeya replied and it somewhat calmed his anxiety that his signature smug grin easily plastered itself across his lips.
“Kaeya wanting to work, rather than drink?” Paimon mirrored Amber’s crossed arms and the disbelieving look in her eyes. “That’s suspicious.”
Of course, the one time he tried to be obedient and orderly they didn’t believe him.
“Right”, Amber agreed, “You never say no to a glass of Death After Noon. Is it because of you’re limping? Did you get hurt? You should tell Jean and …”
“Okay, okay!” Kaeya raised his hands in defeat. When Amber mentioned that glass of wine it did sound pretty nice, maybe it’ll numb some of the pain. “You got me, I was just kidding. Let’s celebrate our great work today with a nice wine, shall we? And I heard someone has quite a hunger for sticky honey roast and maybe I’m in the mood to lend that someone enough Mora for a whole platter.”
Paimon squealed excitedly, brushing past his shoulder to take the coins he offered in her direction right out of his hand to rush off to the bar. The traveler smiled and followed her, only Amber stayed behind for a moment longer, eyeing Kaeya closely as he made his way through Mondstadt’s narrow streets. Kaeya did his best to ignore her, but her eyes burned a hole into his back and his leg throbbed in pain as he put more weight on it to cover up his limping.
Warm, slightly stuffy air greeted them when they stepped into the Angel’s Share. The bar wasn’t overly full, but still, a lot of tables were already taken, occupied mostly by Knights of Favonius, who celebrated their shifts with a nice glass of wine. Kaeya avoided looking at the counter because as soon as he passed the bar’s threshold he felt a pair of eyes on him and could almost hear Diluc’s displeased huff over the chatter of the already slightly tipsy knights. Even without looking Kaeya knew what Diluc’s reaction was: he stood there, stoic as ever, behind the counter maybe drying a washed glass and furrowing his eyebrows while staring daggers into Kaeya’s back with a death glare. Not to be overly dramatic, but Diluc was the last person Kaeya wanted to talk to in his current state.
Other than Amber, who had the right gut feeling but didn’t trust it enough, Diluc saw right through him whenever he wasn’t feeling well. When they were kids Diluc often knew Kaeya was hurt or sick before he knew himself. Diluc just seemed to have a sixth sense for it.
Kaeya excused himself from the group by saying he would secure them a good table, while he was just trying to sit down as fast as possible. The lack of oxygen in this place made him feel dizzy and tiredness crept up his limbs rapidly. And avoiding any prying looks or questions from Diluc was a welcomed side effect as well. He found a good table on the far left of the room, almost under the stairs to the upper floor, and let himself fall onto one of the chairs with a heavy sigh. After making sure Amber, still busy ordering their drinks, had her back turned to him. He stretched his right leg out under the table and bit his tongue when his sore muscles protested heavily and the pain shot up right into his hip.
Maybe he should take a day off.
Maybe Amber was right and he should have a talk with Jean about it.
Maybe they’ll finally find the main hilichurl camp tomorrow and he would definitely be needed then. He was one of the best fighters after all and the others counted on him. Probably.
No, they definitely counted on him. Why else would he be here if he wasn’t needed?
His blissful quiet alone time was harshly interrupted just a few minutes later when Paimon, the traveler, and Amber brought their drinks. Amber handed him his glass of wine and Kaeya thanked her while praying to the Anemo archon on the inside that Paimon sat (or rather floated) on the chair opposite of him so he could keep his leg outstretched. It helped a little, the burning pain had faded into a dull throbbing sensation.
“I’m just worried about the whole situation”, Amber continued whatever conversation they had started, “The hilichurls were never this aggressive before. Of course, entering their camps or walking too close past them would anger them, and they would even raid the carriages of food merchants from time to time, but they got more … vicious, don’t you think?”
“They got a lot cleverer too!”, Paimon added, “They used to be so dull and now they’re … now they’re …”
“Organized?”, Kaeya tried to help her, “Disciplined?”
“Yes! They’re pretty organized and disciplined now. Having strategies and tactics and such! Fighting them is a lot scarier than it used to be!”
They were interrupted again when Diluc appeared out of nowhere at their table, holding a large platter with sticky honey roast in his hands.
“I got your food”, he just said, handing the platter of sticky honey roast over to Paimon, though his eyes were on Kaeya the entire time. Kaeya tried to ignore him and stared at the glass of wine in his hands, too tired to tease him today.
“Thank you!”, Paimon cheered, eagerly grabbing the platter from his hands.
“Anything else?”
By the Archons, why did Diluc not just leave? He never showed this much interest in his guests. Normally, Charles was the one to shower you with hospitality. The hair on the back of Kaeya’s neck stood up. Oh no, did Diluc already realize? Did he notice Kaeya’s hurt leg? The Cavalry Captain’s frustration grew as he thought about it, he just wanted to go to bed and not deal with a grumpy Diluc and his probing questions and fake concern.
“No, thank you”, Amber replied, since the Traveller was busy making sure Paimon didn’t drop her platter of food and Kaeya still avoided Diluc’s eye contact.
“Well … just tell me if you need anything”, he added, a bit more quietly before disappearing as fast as he came.
“Master Diluc is acting a bit weird today”, Paimon mumbled, licking the honey from her fingers, “Paimon’s never seen him this shy before.”
“Oh, then you don’t know our dear Master Diluc!”, Kaeya took a big sip from his drink to keep his tongue on autopilot, “He was the cutest and shyest kid around, always holding his father’s hand.”
His father.
Kaeya had always stood a step behind them, watching, observing.
“Really!?”, Paimon interrupted his brain, before his thoughts could spiral downwards, “Paimon can’t picture Master Diluc like that.”
“How about we get back to the hilichurls?”
Sometimes Amber reminded Kaeya too much of Jean, probably because they spent a lot of time together in the past days since Eula was on a mission in Liyue. Kaeya didn't mind the last part though, he and Eula didn’t quite get along and Amber and Eula in combination were company Kaeya dreaded on missions. A too-eager Outrider full of energy and a stoic, know-it-all knight only talking about how the world wronged her? No, thank you. That wasn’t fun at all.
“Hm, you’re right. The hilichurls really are getting scary! The big bulky ones even got spikes on their shields now!” Paimon made a hand gesture to emphasize her words. “Where did they even get them from?”
“That’s a good question.” Amber put her drink down and furrowed her brows in concentration. “Did the hilichurls come up with that idea themselves or …”
“Or did someone put them up to it”, Kaeya concluded her sentence, tapping his fingers on the tabletop, his left leg bouncing underneath. Someone helping the hilichurls, training them to show them their true potential was a scary thought. After all, the hilichurls were large in numbers and the only real advantage the knights had over them so far was that they were scattered across the land, too dumb and dull to pose a real threat.
This was only getting stranger.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kaeya noticed a stranger at a table across from them leaning slightly back in his chair to listen to their conversation more closely. Weird.
“Someone giving them ideas?” Paimon’s eyes went big. “But who would do something like that? Who would want to work together with a bunch of hilichurls?”
“I don’t know”, Amber admitted, while Kaeya took a big sip from his wine and slightly adjusted his leg under the table, “In any case, we should talk with the acting grandmaster about it. This crisis is getting bigger than we thought and we need more help if we want to …”
“You got a hilichurl problem?”
Kaeya flinched. Dammit, he was so caught up on how hot his knee felt all of the sudden and the way the muscles in his calf spasmed, he hadn’t noticed the stranger walking right up to their table.
“Oh no, there’s no problem!”, Amber immediately allayed, Kaeya rolling his eyes behind her, “The Knights of Favonius have everything under control!”
“You should talk a little bit more quietly if that’s the case.” The stranger pulled a chair from another table over, pushed the backrest against their table, and sat down reversed. “Because I could hear you need some help fighting them off.”
“And who do you think you are?”, Paimon questioned, “The strongest fighter in all of Teyvat, or what?”
“He’s a vision-bearer”, Kaeya said, before the stranger could open his mouth again. He had already noticed the hydro vision dangling at his hips.
The stranger blinked at him, a mixture of excitement and curiosity shining in his eyes, which Kaeya couldn’t share at the moment. He sat up a bit straighter and stretched his right leg carefully to test the pain levels. It had gotten bearable again, but now tiredness seemed to be getting a hold of him. The stuffy air of the bar, the delicious taste of some Death After Noon, and the dimmed lights made it even harder to fight his exhaustion.
“Oh, right!”, Paimon’s high-pitched voice pierced his ears and Kaeya cringed on the inside as not only his leg throb, but he could also feel the start of a headache, “So, you are kinda strong!”
“I guess you could say that”, the stranger replied, a smirk on his lips, “I’m just wondering if you maybe need some help?”
“There’s really no need”, Amber quickly cut him off, “This is a job for the Knights of Favonius and we have everything under control. But thank you for your offer”, she added and one of the fakest smiles Kaeya had ever seen crossed her lips. She must be fuming on the inside.
Kaeya liked the audacity of the stranger and on another day, he would’ve surely enjoyed this encounter much more. A little verbal sparring with an unsuspecting visitor after a day of putting hilichurls in their place? Ah, what a wonderful day it could’ve been.
“But if he wants to help?”
Paimon leaned a bit over the table to have a closer look at their new colleague.
“You look pretty strong. Should we not at least ask Acting Grandmaster Jean if it’s okay? I mean the more fighters on our side the better, right?”
The traveler agreed and asked the one question Kaeya expected way sooner. Not from himself, of course, he liked to watch from the sidelines how this would play out.
“My name, oh right, I forgot.” He didn’t, Kaeya could tell by the fire in his eyes and the sly smile. “You can call me -“
“I’m very sorry, Sir, but I have to ask you to leave.”
Did Diluc suddenly figure out how to use teleport points or how did he manage to appear out of thin air? With a grim look on his face, he appeared behind the random stranger like an angry ghost haunting him. Or maybe Kaeya’s brain just simply couldn’t keep up anymore. The headache was in full effect now, muffling his hearing and making the whole room tilt slightly and his vision got fuzzy from time to time, but he still watched how Diluc put a stiff hand on the stranger’s shoulder. It looked quite comical in Kaeya’s opinion.
Diluc asked him again to leave and the stranger offered him a teasing remark, but Kaeya’s brain couldn’t pick up the words anymore. The alcohol had gone straight to his head (no wonder, to be honest, he had barely eaten anything today) and it indeed numbed the pain. His tense muscles relaxed and the bliss of the pain’s absence made Kaeya’s tiredness only worse.
“…ya. Kaeya?”
All eyes were on him suddenly and Kaeya blinked hastily to stop the room from spinning. Amber’s hand was around his arm, holding him upright, while Paimon and the traveler watched him with concerned looks. The stranger was gone but Diluc still stood at their table, a disappointed glance in his eyes.
“I think you had enough to drink”, Diluc huffed, taking away his glass, pausing for a moment when he noticed that Kaeya hadn’t even drunk half, “I’ll bring you some water.”
He disappeared and Amber took his place in Kaeya’s hazy field of view.
“You almost fell off your chair”, she said, her hand still firmly around Kaeya’s arm. Not quite sure if he was fine on his own.
“Oh”, Kaeya straightened his back and hoped the smile he tried was only looking tired, “Must’ve lost my balance. Fighting hilichurls really is tiring, isn’t it?”
The looks on their faces told him none of them bought it, but at least by now, they had the decency to not comment on it anymore. Hm, he thought Amber would be more stubborn.
Diluc returned with his water shortly after and luckily Paimon couldn’t shut her mouth for long and started a new conversation about Dragonspine and the boars there. Kaeya put his head in his hand, holding on to his drink with the other, completely dropping out of their conversation. Under the table his leg ached, urging him to get some rest, but like always Kaeya was stubborn and didn’t like to listen.
“Kaeya.”
A gentle nudge against his arm.
“Kaeya.”
A more insistent push against his shoulder.
“By the archons … Kaeya.”
Someone shook his shoulder hard, and Kaeya shot up in his seat as his leg jostled into a new position. Thousand little needles pinched his flesh and muscles and the pain crashing down on him almost made him lose his balance. A hand caught him by the arm and Kaeya instinctively tried to squirm away. The touch was hot, way too hot, and he was already so unbelievably warm. His hand knocked against something cold and a second later liquid flowed over his pants.
“Hey, are you okay?”
The first wave of pain finally subsided and allowed him to take in his surroundings. He was still sitting at a table in Angel’s Share, water all over his lap from his glass that had fallen over on the table, and a hand still firmly placed around his left upper arm. The hand belonged to Diluc, who looked down on him with a frown on his face. Was that … concern in his eyes? Kaeya shook his head to push the silly thought aside. Just how bad had he been out of it?
The bar seemed to be empty except for the two of them and Kaeya felt his stomach drop when he realized he neither noticed Amber nor Paimon and the Traveler left. He slowly regained his balance and Diluc loosened his grip around his arm a bit. Only now did Kaeya realize that he asked him a question.
“I’m fine”, he mumbled and cleared his throat because his voice was hoarse.
“And I’m pyro slime”, Diluc replied dryly, still not letting go of his arm, “You didn’t even drink that much. How are you so wasted? Did you go to the Cat’s Tail before?”
Diluc didn’t wait for a response: he reluctantly let Kaeya go as the knight pulled his arm away and leaned over the table to pick up the glass. Kaeya sat up a bit straighter and assessed the mess in his lap. Luckily, it was only water. He never would’ve gotten wine stains out of his pants.
“… understand? Kaeya?”
Diluc appeared in his field of view again (when did he leave?), an impatient tone in his voice and his brow furrowed in annoyance.
“Are you even listening? Just how much did you already drink before coming here? I said you need to go, I’m closing up.”
Kaeya felt overwhelmed. His head was swimming and barely contained enough space to focus on his wet pants. Diluc’s words were all jumbled and hard to decipher and Kaeya tried his best to listen but the room was still tilting in front of his eye and his leg felt numb now.
Tears stung his eyes from frustration and Diluc put his too-hot hand on his shoulder again.
“Are you sure, you’re fine? You’re pretty pale.”
Bile rose in his throat.
“I’m good!”, Kaeya insisted and did the worst thing he could possibly think of to prove his point: standing up.
The room spun wildly and Kaeya gripped the backrest of his chair with clammy fingers to help him keep his balance. His whole leg ached when he bent it at the knee and he tried to put as little weight on it as possible. Still, he couldn’t keep a painful hiss from escaping his lips when he finally made it into a standing position.
Diluc watched him like a hawk and seemed to be unimpressed by his little stunt.
“Well, if you feel that great, you can surely help me close up.”
“Sure.”
Oh no.
The words came out faster than he could think about it and it took him a moment to realize what he just agreed to. Diluc knew full well he wasn’t in the condition to run up and down the stairs to put the dirty glasses away. He set him a trap and Kaeya walked right into it. But there was no backing out now, he wouldn’t back down to Diluc.
“Well then, I’ll go and get the glasses. You can already go up and unlock the storage. Maybe Charles also has a spare set of clothing up there, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you borrowing some pants.”
Diluc handed him the keys to unlock the door on the upper floor to the storage room before he turned around on the spot and went back behind the bar. The keys in his hand were cold and grounded Kaeya’s feverish mind. He stared at them for a moment and looked at Diluc, who disappeared behind the counter to grab the boxes with dirty dishes.
Making sure the bar owner wasn’t paying attention, Kaeya limped to the staircase. What a smart move of him to take a table right next to it. Still, the simple wooden staircase never looked so imposing and intimidating before. Kaeya put a hand around the railing to steady himself and thought about how he was going to survive his ascend. His leg throbbed in time with his heartbeat and it shook every time Kaeya tried to put the smallest amount of pressure on it.
He heard Diluc’s footsteps behind him and Kaeya straightened his back.
“What are you waiting for?”, Diluc said with a mocking tone in his voice, “I don’t have all night.”
Diluc brushed past him and climbed the stairs like it was nothing while Kaeya gripped the railing a bit tighter and gave himself an internal pep talk.
It was just stairs. Just stairs.
How bad could it possibly be?
Bad.
Really bad.
All his bravado flew out the window when Kaeya took the first step. His arm trembled as he held himself upright with the railing’s help and his right leg buckled the second it had to carry most of his weight alone.
Diluc waited halfway up the staircase for him and again Kaeya thought he saw a hint of worry in his eyes but he truly must be feverish now.
He didn’t know how but somehow Kaeya made it up the stairs. Sweat was coating his forehead and his breathing had gotten ragged. Dark spots danced at the edge of his vision and he felt like all his blood rushed from his face and limbs into his right leg. Diluc said something, Kaeya saw his mouth move and his eyes roll in frustration but he couldn’t hear him anymore. His head was pounding, so loud that Kaeya thought even Diluc must feel the vibrations.
His vision was flickering and he blinked rapidly to regain a hold of his already slipping consciousness again. In the whirling of lights and dancing black spots, he saw Diluc scowling at him and harshly gripping the keys from his shaking hand. Kaeya made a motion to raise his hand to make it easier for him to take them.
A grave mistake.
His balance tipped. His hand slipped off the railing and he instinctively took a step back … only to step into nothingness. Oh right, he still stood right at the edge of the stairs. Falling backward, his right foot did come into contact with the steps again, only to have his knee buckle almost immediately.
Kaeya had already accepted his fall, mind too foggy to react in any clever way. When he told Rosaria he would gladly die in Angel’s Share, he thought more about alcohol poisoning or Diluc’s fiery hands and less about the forgettable stairs to the first floor. Well, at least he wouldn't have to worry about disappointing the Knights anymore.
A warm hand gripped his wrist tightly and abruptly stopped his fall.
Diluc hovered above him, an expression on his face that was equally furious and shocked. He had dropped the box of dirty glasses, some stray shards coating the hardwood floor now, as well as the key that was slowly clattering down the steps behind Kaeya.
A thousand different insults shimmered in Diluc’s burning red eyes but to Kaeya’s surprise all that made it out his mouth was a:
“Are you okay?”
Kaeya could only nod. The dizziness was gone suddenly, probably because his almost fall distracted his brain long enough for the fog to lift temporarily. Diluc carefully pulled him back and away from the stairs, he didn’t let go of Kaeya’s wrist when he pushed him toward some stacked boxes and had him sit down.
“You’re warm”, he said and Kaeya already had a snarky remark on his lips, but Diluc didn’t give him time for his signature cocky smile, “Your hands are never warm.”
He had a point there.
Even before Kaeya had received his cryo vision, he notoriously had cold hands that Diluc always made sure to comment on as they grew up. Diluc’s thumb stroked over Kaeya’s skin, making it tingle and Kaeya felt even warmer.
“Do you have a fever?”
And before Kaeya could react Diluc put the back of his other hand against Kaeya’s forehead, careful not to mess up the string that held the eyepatch in place. Diluc’s touch was still way too hot but Kaeya was too stunned to care about that right now. He was still in control enough to firmly withstand the instinct to lean into Diluc’s hand and instead let his back hit the wall behind him, letting out what he hoped was not an awkward chuckle.
“Aw Diluc, I didn’t know you still cared so much about your old brother Kaeya.”
Even the smugness took effort now and Kaeya didn’t like how much he needed to concentrate on the grin spreading across his face.
“I always cared”, Diluc said flatly, his voice toneless and unemotional, but his eyes searched Kaeya’s face for something, “And Jean does as well. Have you told her about your leg?”
He always cared?
Kaeya laughed dryly but it quickly turned into a cough that didn’t stop until Diluc pulled him forward a bit by his shoulder and his lungs finally filled with oxygen again. Diluc’s hand stayed until he settled against the wall again.
“How bad it is?”
“What?”
“How bad is it?”, Diluc repeated through gritted teeth, “Your leg?”
More questions laid on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed them down, finally realizing how close Kaeya was to fainting by his drooping eyelids.
“I don’t know what you mean”, Kaeya whispered, unconsciously pulling his right leg closer to his body. His heel dragged over the ground in the process and made him hiss out in pain.
Diluc’s hands were already working to take off his boot before Kaeya could protest. He couldn't do anything at this point, the cough had taken the last energy he had left. His limbs felt unbelievably heavy and the fever really took off now, making him shiver and sweat at the same time. Diluc’s hands felt hot but weirdly comforting on his skin.
“ … what happened?”
Diluc knew what he was doing, Kaeya would be safe with him, wouldn’t he? This was Angel’s Share, after all, he liked Angel’s Share … because of Diluc?
“Kaeya .. ?”
His head dropped as his vision got darker, the spots at the edge quickly moving to the center. He didn’t feel anymore how Diluc caught him when he slumped to the side.
The pain was gone.
It was the first thing he realized when he slowly came to again. His leg didn’t hurt anymore. The headache was gone as well and left him with blissful tiredness in his limbs. He still sat propped up against something, the hard ground underneath him.
A heavy coat was draped around his shoulders.
Kaeya opened his eye, squinting to let his vision get used to the bright light.
“You with me again?” Someone gently pushed some loose strands of hair out of his face and Diluc’s eyes appeared in his field of view. “Don’t worry you were only out for a couple of minutes.”
Kaeya still sat on the boxes he had been sitting on before he fainted. His right side leaning against Diluc, his back still resting against the wall. His right boot was missing and his pant leg was rolled up a bit exposing his swollen, bandaged ankle.
“Oh.”
“Oh, indeed”, Diluc commented next to him as Kaeya’s hand trailed down his leg to the bandages wrapped tightly around his foot.
“What were you thinking?”, Diluc continued sternly, “It’s not only twisted but the wound had already started to get infected. You need to take better care of yourself.”
He pried Kaeya’s hands off the bandages and instead pushed a glass of water into his numb hands. Kaeya felt more than throwing up than drinking the liquid but the furious look in Diluc’s eyes made him slowly raise the glass to his lips. After the first careful sip made it down without immediately coming back up again, he emptied half the glass under Diluc’s burning gaze.
“Do you want to explain yourself now, why you walked around with a sprained ankle?”
“I didn’t think it was that bad.” It was the truth and sounded dumb enough that Diluc believed him. He handed the glass back to Diluc as his hands began to tremble.
“And I don’t want to let the others down. A knight that can’t fight is useless, isn’t he? They might as well kick me out by then, replace me with someone new and where could I go then?”
He said it lightheartedly, though he was unsure himself if he meant it as a joke or not. Still sitting next to Kaeya, Diluc tensed up and avoided Kaeya’s eye contact. His shoulders went rigid and he busied himself with checking if Kaeya’s hands had messed up the bandages.
“You know that my door is always open”, he murmured after a few minutes of silence, an unsatisfied growl in his voice.
“You have to admit that that doesn’t sound very sincere”, Kaeya teased and let his head hit the wall behind him, closing his eyes. The world in front of him already started to swirl again and he was still so unbelievably tired.
“You need to tell Jean at least next time.”
One of Diluc’s hands rubbed soothing circles just above his ankles to ease the tension the muscles were holding and when Kaeya opened his eye for a moment to peek through his eyelashes, he was greeted by the sight of an openly worried expression on Diluc’s face.
Did he really care?
“She needs to know if you’re out of commission. Imagine what would’ve happened if you fainted in battle. That would’ve caused a lot of trouble for your colleagues. And besides …”, Diluc added as he stood up, “Why would they ever kick you out? Even when you can’t fight, Jean will surely care for your intel and thoughts.”
“Then why did you kick me out?”
By the silence that suddenly stretched for a way too awkward amount of time, Kaeya realized he actually said those words out loud. He didn’t mean to, he didn’t even know where the words suddenly came from. Looking at Diluc’s blank expression and feeling the heavy air between them, his fight-or-flight instincts kicked in.
Maybe it would take Diluc a couple of seconds to realize what Kaeya just said, but once he did, the anger surely would kick in. And Kaeya doubted he would be safe around a furious Diluc in a closed space. His cheeks and face flushed - not only because of the fever still cursing through his veins and he scrambled to his feet. Diluc’s coat slipped from his shoulders and pooled at the bottom of the boxes, almost making him trip. He needed the wall for support but he managed to pull himself upright again. Ignoring the heavy protest from his leg he hastily stammered an apology and a goodbye in Diluc’s general direction. He couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes.
The Angel’s Share needed to be avoided in the next weeks and after that Kaeya would just blame these words on the fever and the pain, maybe Diluc would be kind enough by then to let it slide.
Diluc still hadn’t said a word but he also didn’t stop Kaeya when he limped his way to the staircase.
Oh right, the staircase. Dread pooled in Kaeya’s stomach again but the embarrassment pushed him further toward the edge of the steps.
“Don’t. You’re just gonna hurt yourself.” Diluc’s hands were on his arms again, gently pulling him back. “You … you seem very tired and overworked. I will get you home.”
Yes, tired. Tired and overworked. That was it. That’s why he was acting strange. It didn’t explain why Diluc let his accidental accusation slide so easily but Kaeya’s brain was too foggy to ponder on that thought. He only nodded and thanked Diluc on the inside for the dignified escape he just offered him from the situation.
The stairs were still a nightmare but nothing compared to the awkwardness Kaeya had created. Hand clutching Diluc’s arm tight, the other one gripping the railing for dear life, Kaeya descended the steps or rather he staggered them down while Diluc had to put an arm around his waist to keep him from falling multiple times. When they finally reached the bottom of the stairs, Kaeya was tired out. His muscles protested with every movement and without Diluc’s steady presence by his side, he would’ve already collapsed.
Diluc led him to one of the tables, a certain urgency in his steps that Kaeya’s legs had trouble keeping up with and he had to close his eye because the world was spinning so wildly in front of him that he thought he might get sick. Without a word, he pushed Kaeya onto one of the tables so the knight had to sit down on the tabletop. He moved away then and Kaeya couldn’t suppress a somewhat needy sound escaping his lips. The pain might be gone but his head and body were still swimming and Diluc had been the only thing to give him some stability.
But he didn’t need to worry because just a moment later, Diluc grabbed Kaeya’s arms to put them around his neck before he urged Kaeya to lean forward. Before he knew it, Diluc took a hold of his thighs and Kaeya found himself pressed against Diluc’s back and being carried. It took Kaeya’s brain quite some time to fully process what was happening and by then they already exited Angel’s Share. Cold wind stroked his face as Diluc stepped into the night and the gentle rocking off his steps was calming enough that Kaeya didn’t care much about being carried like a little kid.
And he didn’t have to worry about his leg anymore.
And Diluc’s back was nicely warm against the harsh wind.
It was quite nice, Kaeya had to admit.
“Do you remember when I fell out of that tree when we were kids?” The thought had crossed Kaeya’s mind suddenly and the memory made him smile against Diluc’s collar. “And how you carried me hom- back to Dawn Winery just like this?
“Your flat is closer”, Diluc replied dryly, “I’m not carrying you all the way to Dawn Winery.”
“Aw Diluc, I was looking forward to a scenic view of Mondstadt’s wildlife at night.”
“Then walk yourself.”
They continued to bicker back and forth as Diluc made his way through Mondstadt’s cobbled streets to Kaeya’s apartment. The familiar quarrels eased Kaeya’s mind. They argued until Kaeya’s chin dropped onto Diluc’s shoulder, his cheek pressed against his neck, fast asleep.
Or unconscious, Diluc couldn’t quite tell.
Just rounding two corners later, Diluc reached the house with Kaeya’s flat and let himself in with the key he took off Kaeya earlier. He was unsure whether the knight noticed or not. After two flights of stairs, he finally opened the door to Kaeya’s small apartment.
Kaeya didn’t even stir when Diluc, a bit rougher than he meant to, dropped him onto his bed. Since it wasn’t unusual that Diluc had to get the knight home (it happened often enough after all that Kaeya overestimated his alcohol limit), he knew where to find a dry pair of pants and felt no embarrassment anymore to rid Kaeya of the still slightly clammy ones he was wearing.
Carefully making sure the bandages around his ankle stayed in place.
He didn’t bother to try taking off the godawful blouse as well, he still hadn’t found out how you were supposed to take it off and at this point, Diluc didn’t care. He hung the jacket over a chair by the bed though before he moved back to a still out cold Kaeya.
As Diluc tucked him into bed, pulling the blanket up to his neck, he put the back of his hand against Kaeya’s forehead and frowned when the skin underneath his fingers was still burning up. Well, that wasn’t good. He thought the medicine he gave Kaeya earlier would have already gotten rid of the fever. Maybe he had to look for Barbara in the morning, just to be sure the infection wouldn’t cause any more problems.
Kaeya mumbled something in his sleep and leaned into Diluc’s hand. His brows furrowed in pain and Diluc pushed some sweaty hair strands out of his face. The idiot really didn’t know how to take care of himself. He never did, not even when they were kids. Especially not when they were kids.
So Diluc made sure to stay the night and watch over Kaeya’s fever dreams.
Because he cared, even after all these years.