Chapter Text
It started out simply enough. A bad storm had rolled into Mondstat from Dragonspine. Just standing out in the vineyard, he could feel the cold winds stirring. Maybe it would mean snow was coming early this year. That could kill the late crop, which while not detrimental, was not ideal either. With a sigh, Diluc turned back towards the manor, and to his employees milling about with their daily tasks.
“Everyone stop,” he called out, walking up the steps to the patio. The chattered stopped and heads turned towards him. “All hands on deck, we need to cover the vineyard before the storm rolls in.” He crossed his arms, “Hilly, grab a few others and find the stash of pyro slime condensate in the shed.” The young maid nodded, darting off to request help from the stronger farmhands.
“Do you think it’ll freeze?” Adelinde asked, clasping her hands in front of her.
“The lake should help keep the temperature up, but all I can see is a cold front building,” he said, glancing up at the horizon. “Make sure everyone gets home with enough time to hunker down.”
“Yes Master Diluc,” she hummed with an incline of her head and a small smile. Diluc dismissed her with a gentle pat on the shoulder and entered the manor to let any remaining staff know. He could easily house some of them, but he knew that wasn’t as comfortable for the staff. He was sure Adelinde would stay, despite having a very nice cottage on property. She had always mother henned him, not that he would ever tell her to stop. The woman practically raised him in the absence of his mother, and she did her best to hold him together after his father’s death and his fallout with Kaeya. He had been a pain in her side, but she never abandoned him, even when he ran off on his own. She waited for him to come home, with open arms.
The next few hours were a flurry of activity. Diluc managed the staff, directing them as needed while keeping an eye on the storm in the distance. By the time they were done, the wind had picked up, shaking the trees surrounding the manor with a great ferocity. It was nearly deafening when Diluc stepped outside to see off the last of his employees. The heavy clouds were rolling over the nearby forest, and he assumed from the direction of the winds, Springvale was probably getting hit first.
He hovered outside, watching with rapt fascination as the storm swallowed up the blue skies of the afternoon. He was shaken from his reverie as droplets of rain dotted his face. Shaking his head, he took a few steps back, hiding under the cover of the front door’s ledge.
“Master Diluc,” Adelinde huffed, opening the door with a sudden force, “Are you trying to take a shower out here young man?”
He smiled wryly and shook his head, “No Addie.”
“Then inside with you,” she tutted, “Already soaked, you’re getting my floors wet.” She continued to grumble as he ducked into the manor, leaving the storm to wreck its havoc. He retreated to his room to change into something dryer and then settled in his office to pour over paperwork, drying his hair by the roaring flames of the fireplace.
“You always scare me with how close you sit to the fire,” Adelinde scolded, bring in a tray of what he presumed was dinner.
“Do actually expect me to catch on fire Addie?” He asked, genuinely curious, “I doubt I would actually burn.”
“I do not want you to find out,” she shot back, “You vision bearers act as if you’re invincible,” she muttered, “Why just the other day Sir…” she paused, “Oh never mind me, silly things you all are.” Diluc glanced up from his paper. The only Sir Adelinde ever mentioned was Kaeya.
“Did something happen to the Calvary Captain?” He said idly, hoping that the anxiety in his chest was well contained.
Adelinde set the tray on the desk, eyeing him, “Sir Kaeya was injured a few days back, rescuing a little girl who had lost her way, up in the gorge. He took a nasty fall if what I heard was correct.”
“I see,” Diluc looked back down at the paper, not reading the words as he forced out, “How far the knights have fallen.” Diluc almost winced at the flash of disappointment on Adelinde’s face, before she smoothed it over. She did not reply, leaving the cruel and apathetic statement hang in the air.
“Dinner will be ready soon,” she said softly, “In the meantime, I brought you something to sip on. Today just… just reminded me of the old days.” She nodded before departing from the office. Diluc glanced over what she had brought, a seething disappointment in himself welled up. She was right, a torrential downpour did remind him of the old days. The days when his father would put away his work to entertain them, letting them build forts in the main hall. He would read them stories and let them preform shadow puppet shows for him. At the end of a day filled with giggles and cuddles, Adelinde would bring out three ornate teacups, and silver pot, filled with rich melted chocolate. Father would pour them their cups, and Adelinde would offer little dishes of toppings for them to add.
He felt tears burn at his eyes, not letting them fall, not deserving to let them fall. He shakily picked up the pot, pouring the hot chocolate into a cup. He did not know if he was happy to remember good times, or utterly devastated at what he had lost. His father and his brother, at the same time. Not that he deserved to even mourn those loses, maybe at one point, but not anymore.
He attempted to refocus himself on the work laid across his desk, but every time he brought the cup to his lips it was like a new memory bombarded him. After a hour of trying, he set it aside, deciding to stretch his legs out. Safely setting his cup on its saucer, he pushed back his chair and meandered over the large bay window. He drew back the thick curtains just a smidge, taking in the rain that assaulted the surface. It was therapeutic in a way, to watch everything wash away without bias.
A flash of movement on the outskirts of the vineyard broke him from his daze. Did someone not go home? He narrowed his eyes and pushed the curtains back more. It was a moment before he saw movement again, something ducked under the big tarp covering the grape vines. Diluc frowned and took a few steps back. He grabbed his coat, not that it would shield him much from the rain, and went towards the front door.
“Master Diluc?” Adelinde called, from where she was sorting through some silverware.
“Someone’s out in the Vineyard,” he explained.
“Everyone went home,” she frowned, “I double checked.”
“I don’t doubt you,” Diluc held up a hand to pacify her, “I just want to see.”
“Don’t slip,” Addie huffed, “I’ll go get the mop.” Diluc let her be and pushed out into the pouring rain. The wind assaulted his bare skin, feeling it chaff under each gust. It was cold, but nothing like the winds in Snezhnaya, nothing like that biting frost that would steal the feeling from your nose in an instant. A red scarf tucked away in his room was a reminder of that lesson.
He covered his eyes as he trekked out into the muddy fields. He could see a tarp shift in a direction opposite of the gale. Gently, he gripped the edge and pulled it up.
“Razor?” Diluc blinked down at the soaked boy. The boy jolted at his name, he was holding his hands out to the pyro slime condensate, warming up his digits.
“Diluc,” he chimed back, over pronouncing his name, not that Diluc ever bothered to correct the child.
“Razor, what are you doing here?” Diluc asked, squatting down so he was partially covered by the tarp, and so that he could hear Razor better.
“Raining,” he pointed to the sky, “Cold, too far to lupical.”
“You were trying to get back to the forest?” Diluc clarified.
“Mm,” he nodded eagerly, “With Lisa before, then rain while leaving. Flood.”
“Oh,” Diluc nodded along, “The roads are flooded, so you can’t make it back.”
“Yes,” he nodded once.
“Well,” Diluc sighed, “You can’t stay out here.”
“Please?” Razor whined, eyes big, looking like the pup his pack surely saw him as.
“No Razor,” Diluc shook his head, “Inside, you’ll get sick.”
“Wait, inside?” Razor pointed to the manor and then looked at Diluc.
“Oh Archons,” Diluc huffed, understanding his confusion, “Razor I’m not kicking you off my property. I just don’t want you to stay in the rain, so I’m inviting you inside.”
“Oh,” Razor nodded, listening to every word avidly.
“Well, come on now,” Diluc raised the tarp, signally for the child to run inside. “Don’t slip,” he echoed Addie. The boy hopped up and darted towards the manor. Diluc dropped the tarp and observed him from a distance. Razor was always dirty to some extent, but he would need a bath. It seemed Lisa had failed her most recent attempt to brush is hair as well, seeing the amount of twigs and burrs stuck in it. He did admire Lisa’s gumption when it came to looking after the boy. He was a bit of an enigma to many, but Diluc liked him just fine. There was a youthful innocence about him. As well as a passion for his wolf family and the human friends he had made recently.
“Addie?” Diluc called, ushering Razor inside, “Can you run a bath?”
“Of course, oh!” Adelinde poked her head from a corner. “Hello Razor! My you must have gotten stuck outside. Oh you poor thing,” she crooned. She wandered over and rubbed the top of Razor’s head. The boy’s eyes closed and he wiggled a bit with each pat. Diluc huffed out a little laugh and pushed off his drenched coat to dry once more.
“Come here,” Diluc gestured towards Razor. The boy turned to him expectantly. “We’ll dry off a bit while we wait for Adelinde.” He grabbed the towel he had been using earlier, and started to dry Razor’s hair, rubbing it wildly. The boy laughed brightly, clearly delight by the rough movements. A small smile worked its way on to Diluc’s lips as the sound increased, filling up the lonely hall.
Once he was done, he pulled away, and Razor looked up at him and then held his hands out. Diluc cocked his head, trying to figure out what the mostly non-verbal boy was asking for. He deduced the towel after a few seconds, and handed it over. Razor tugged on Diluc’s wet shirt, asking him to bend over. Before his knew it, Razor was mimicking his own drying on Diluc’s nest of hair. Diluc couldn’t help but snort as the boy rubbed back and forth with zeal.
“R-razor!” He chuckled, finally having to grab the boy’s wrists to stop him. “That’s good enough, thank you,” he shook his head fondly. His hair was without a doubt, sticking up wildly, just as Razor’s was. Diluc knew if he let his hair get out of hand it would turn into an awful puff ball of frizz.
“My,” Adelinde leaned over the railing, “You two look handsome,” she teased, “The bath is ready.” Diluc rolled his eyes at her and gently sought out Razor’s hand, pulling the boy further into the manor. Razor had been there a few times, but not long enough to know the layout. He often would stop by accompanied with someone else, or to snack on some grapes outside. Sometimes in the hotter months, he would ask the maids for cool water or grape juice. Diluc while not as close to him as Lisa was, would never deny the boy anything. It was worrisome enough that he wandered the woods for food on the daily.
He did understand Razor’s insistence that he stay with the wolves though. He respected that those creatures were Razor’s family. He also respected that they kept the Rifthounds at bay, making sure they never got too close to the Winery staff’s homes. Razor looked up at him with a small tilt of his head, but allowed Diluc to guide him upstairs and to the bath. When he saw the steaming tub of water, he got excited, dipping his whole hand in, and then yanking it out with a whine.
“Let it cool,” Diluc chided. He hadn’t expected getting a child to bathe would take so much effort. Had he been this much trouble for his father and Addie? Kaeya probably wasn’t, not at the beginning. You could have shoved Kaeya down the stairs, and he would have apologized to you the first few months of his life with Ragnivindr’s.
Razor sunk into the tub, seeing how long he could hold his breath as Diluc worked the mud out his hair. He splashed and played, Diluc working around him, feeling a tad bit bad that most of the water in the tub was now on the floor and that Adelinde would insist on cleaning it herself.
“Okay, time to get out,” Diluc jerked his head to the side. Razor whined and sunk into the tub more. “You’ll get cold sooner or later,” he huffed, using a nearby cup to pour a bit of water over his own hair, trying to tame it a bit. He sat there and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally the water seemed to cool to a level of unpleasantness, and Razor grumbled as he exited the tub willing.
Diluc didn’t say anything, but wrapped him up in a towel, rubbing him down with a gentler touch than before. Razor still seemed to enjoy it nonetheless. Adelinde had left new two sets of clothing outside the bathroom. He picked up his own attire, a little exasperated that she had laid out a pair of sleep clothes for him, but he supposed he wasn’t expecting any visitors tonight anyway. Razor blinked and inspected the child sized pjs left for him. Without a doubt they had belonged to Kaeya. The color alone made it easy to tell. He hadn’t realized they had been kept all these years.
Now clean and dry, Diluc pulled Razor over to a couch. The boy plopped on the floor and pouted, letting Diluc work through the knots of his sliver hair. Diluc took his time, noting the the texture was rather similar to his own, and using tricks to keep it from pulling at the young man’s scalp too much. It would have a lustrous shine to it by the time Diluc was done.
“Good,” Razor nodded a few times when Diluc set the comb down.
“Why’s that?” Diluc hummed, running his fingers through untangled locks a few times, scratching at the base of Razor’s scalp.
“No pull,” he elaborated, “Lisa pulls, Lisa has… silky hair.”
“She does, doesn’t she?” Diluc hummed, thinking of the librarian’s hair, “Well I guess that means hair brushing duties will fall to me, hmm?”
“… okay,” Razor nodded again, slowly blinking his eyes up at Diluc, as if he were surprised by it. It wasn’t as if he would stop by for his hair to brushed every day, but if he wanted it done, who was Diluc to deny him?
“Why don’t we go downstairs,” he sighed, “Dinner is probably ready.” At the mention of food, Razor dashed down the stairs like the house was on fire. Diluc let out a little laugh, but watched to make sure he didn’t trip. The boy was sure footed, but accidents did happen, and more likely when Bennet was around. Diluc could hear when Razor reached Adelinde, and he went back towards his office, letting the boy enjoy his meal.
The hot chocolate was long since cooled, coagulated in the cup, no longer very appealing. He picked it up and then glanced over his paperwork haphazardly scattered over the surface of his desk. What would his father say about him now? Would he still be proud of the little boy who declared he’d be a knight, and then threw it away. Would he be proud of the man who kept himself so tightly wound around others, isolating himself from everyone in a form of atonement. Probably not, as much as that hurt to admit.
“Diluc?” Razor poked his head into the office, “Dinner!” He pointed out to the dining room. Diluc’s tense shoulders dropped and he set the tea cup down.
“Yes, dinner,” he agreed, focusing on Razor. Work could wait until tomorrow. That’s what his father would have done, after all. He followed Razor to the dining room, noticing the pleased look on Adelinde’s face. She did always despise him taking meals in his office. Diluc took the lead, dishing out food on to each plate, taking care that the pieces cut for Razor were bite sized. He had never truly seen the boy eat with anything but his hands. Though there had to be some level of cooking skill for him to survive out on his own.
Passing the plate to Razor, and then another to Adelinde, he sat down with his own. Razor, as expected, picked up the food with his fingers to eat. It was oddly reminiscent of a memory long ago. A similar night as well. A drenched child being taken into the family home. He shook his head, as if to clear it, before focusing on his own meal. He was getting to nostalgic, and what would that ever accomplish?
Razor and Adelinde chattered, well, mostly Addie and Razor chiming in with his short responses. He was once a more charismatic individual, but that seemed to burn out of him eventually. There was only so much one person could take until the flames engulfed them, burning them down to their core. His fire was no longer burning. It was a pitiful smolder now, just embers smoking.
“Are you going to continue to work?” Adelinde asked, breaking him from his thoughts.
“No… I thought I might,” he said slowly, “I thought perhaps Razor would like to read a book.”
“Mm!” Razor’s eyes lit up, “Read!”
“Then after dinner I’ll make something warm for you to drink,” Adelinde promised, a sparkle in her eye.
“Thank you Addie,” he said with an incline of his head. She simply smiled and started to clear the dishes from the table, humming softly as she worked. Razor crawled out of his chair and expectantly looked at Diluc, pointing to a wall of books in the main hall. “Yes, yes,” he murmured, “How about something simple to start?” He collected a few picture books, from when Barbra was just a little girl and from when Kaeya was learning to write.
Razor eagerly took each book and inspected them. Diluc gently pushed him to a couch, covered in cozy blankets. He let the boy climb up, and draped the fabric around him. Diluc got cold, but he did run much hotter than others. Jean, when she was younger, would curl up next to him, claiming he was the best furnace. Kaeya had agreed, whining about overnight missions in the Knights being dreadful if he did not have Diluc to share a tent with.
Razor leaned into him, and the two began to read. Diluc doing most of the work, but Razor following along slowly. They paused, talking about each story, and what words meant whenever Razor was confused. It was rewarding, to see how the boy lit up with each new word, with each new story. After more hot chocolate and another stack of books, Razor fell asleep against Diluc. He didn’t mind it, just letting himself doze on the couch, unwilling to risk waking the boy up.
When morning came, they bid their farewell to Razor, and Diluc thought that, that was that. He hadn’t expected more frequent visits from Razor. More requests to read, more requests to brush his hair. For some reason, it felt like a little spark in his chest, trying to relight the embers in his chest.
He couldn’t deny the boy a safe place to rest, not that he would have.