Chapter Text
The cool wooden door felt soothing against the clammy skin of his forehead. Angel’s Share was long since closed. Kaeya wasn’t even sure why he was here. The path to the cathedral has seemed impossibly long. All those stairs... maybe he should have tried to make it to his apartment at the very least. Instead of lurking outside the back door of his ex-brother's tavern at three in the morning.
Kaeya shifted to turn away from the door, almost going to his knees as pain ripped through his abdomen. His shoulder slammed against the door barely keeping himself upright. A shaky hand pressed firmly against the gaping wound in his side, sending rivets of blood between his fingers and dripping onto the ground.
It wasn’t that bad. All he needed to do was make it to his apartment and stitch himself up. Then he would curl up in his nice warm bed and-
Kaeya gasped as another wave of pain hit him as he took a step away from the door. His vision blurred at the edges, threatening to take him off his feet. Maybe this was a good enough place to sleep as any. He could just deal with this tomorrow. He was so tired...
His knees gave out, cracking painfully against the porch. Kaeya doubled over, clutching the wound in both hands like that might do something to alleviate the pain. Why was it so hard to breathe? He’d certainly dealt with more severe injuries than this.
Tears pricked the corners of his eyes as Kaeya took in a gasping breath. He was dimly aware of how badly his body was trembling. How cool the night air was against his feverish skin.
How mad could Diluc be at him for sleeping here? Customers shouldn’t be coming to the back door, so they wouldn’t see him. The blood would be an issue... He would certainly get an earful for that. But that was nothing he could not appease with the promise of cleaning it up later. Kaeya just wanted to sleep and deal with all this tomorrow.
Light poured out, illuminating the left side of Kaeya’s face. He tilted his head towards it, catching a blur of red standing in the open doorway. “Who the hell is making all the nois-” Diluc cut himself off with a harsh scoff. “Kaeya.”
“Ah...” Kaeya made no attempt to move. “You are still here then.”
“Unlike you, I actually have a reason to be here.” Diluc crossed his arms, glaring down at him. “Tavern’s closed, Sir Kaeya.”
“Oh? My, my, look at the time. I suppose you’re right. I should be going, shouldn’t I?” Kaeya lifted a shaky hand to wall, bracing his arm around his abdomen for the attempt at standing. He made it about halfway before the agony shredding through every nerve of his body sent him back down to the ground.
A rough hand caught his arm before his knees could take even more abuse from the ground that night. “What the hell is wrong with you? Got drunk at home and still decided to come here to bother me? I’m not dragging you back to your apartment. I’ve got better things to do.” Kaeya swallowed down a gasp as Diluc forced him to his feet. “Go sleep it off somewhere els-” The hand holding him up stiffened as the words abruptly cut off.
“I was- planning to...” The strained hiss barely made it past Kaeya’s clenched teeth. The thought of moving sent vivid imaginings of pain through his body, tightening around his chest. He didn’t want to deal with the conscious world or his problems.
Kaeya yelped, stumbling on the lip of the doorframe as Diluc jerked him forward. His trembling fingers dug into the flesh of his abdomen as he squeezed his eye shut against the lantern light inside the tavern. Diluc’s hand under his arm was the only thing keeping him from crumpling unceremoniously to the ground, his legs had long since given up on being in any sort of functional state.
A leather glove ripped his arm away from his stomach after a small fight from Kaeya. “Why are...” Diluc’s eyes scanned over Kaeya’s blood covered clothing, before looking over at the dark stained wood where Kaeya had been sitting before. “Kaeya?”
Kaeya was only dimly aware of the words addressing him. All he wanted to do was sleep. Diluc could wait to yell at him for staining his porch until then. His head lulled forward, the subtle warmth from the tavern was a lot nicer than open night air.
“Kaeya!” A glove fell onto the ground in front of him, a moment later calloused fingers pressed against the side of his neck. “Wha.... pened? You... idio..!” The world tilted, something coming up behind the back of his knees and around his shoulders.
Finally, he could sleep.
~~~
He was floating, only distantly aware he was conscious. A flash of red, the concept of pain, something pressing down on his chest, someone was yelling. All he wanted to do was drift away into the pleasant darkness. Where none of his problems could bother him. Where he wasn’t aware that his brother hated him, or the death of their father didn’t haunt him the moments just before he fell asleep at night. When the dark thoughts didn’t tell him everything would be better if Diluc had ended him that night…
But someone was yelling. Sobbing desperation in their voice. He could distantly recognize the voice. One he never thought would hold that much emotion for him ever again.
He wanted to reach out for the voice. Kaeya hated it when his brother was sad. Diluc had always been an emotional child. He wasn’t like that anymore… so why…?
“K- ..ya! Don’t… dare… -eave…me… bastar-!”
His chest hurt. It hurt so badly, like someone was crushing it. His lungs screamed as they threatened to burst out of him. The red mass in front of him focused into a blurry form of his brother kneeling over him. Fiery red eyes widened with terror and cheeks streaked with tears.
Whatever upset Diluc, Kaeya didn’t like it. His brother hadn’t cried in years. Not even that night when they had fought. He hated that look. It was okay that Diluc hated him and looked at him with resentment. As long as he never looked like that.
~~~
Kaeya was warm. The pillows and blankets cradled him like a loving mother, and he never wanted to leave. Comfort was such a fleeting thing. It was always something he was reluctant to let go of. And just as he expected, it slipped from his fingers as the pain raked its claws over him. It was duller than before but still sent his muscles seizing up and his hand flying to his side.
“Sh-it!” Kaeya gasped, tilting his head back into the pillow. As the wave of pain subsided, Kaeya pushed the blankets down to his hips. His hand had felt a surprising amount of lack of blood, dried or otherwise. Sure enough, his abdomen was wrapped in white gauze. What he wasn’t expecting was the overwhelming agony crushing down on his chest like he had been taken a mitachurl charge to it. He remembered being stabbed, not crushed. Now that he thought about it, this wasn’t his apartment either.
The room was small, only featuring the bed he was currently occupying, a dresser, a nightstand, and the window right beside him. Kaeya dug his fingertips into the window frame, dragging himself up onto his elbow. He was panting by the time he managed it, shoving down the sharp ache in his side.
It was light outside now. The window gave him a view he had seen countless times before, only a lot further away from the ground. He was in Angel’s Share; he could tell that much. The forbidden third floor. The only question was, why the hell was he here?
“You’re awake.” A heavy sigh came from the doorway.
Kaeya’s head whipped around, something he regretted immediately as the pain and dizziness struck him full force. The red blur strode towards him, stopping a foot from the bed before crossing his arms.
“How- long have I been out?” His white knuckled grip on the window frame was the only thing between him and getting eaten by the pillows and blankets again. On the bright side, if Diluc decided to give him the tongue lashings now, he could always throw himself out the window. It was always good to have an escape plan.
“Day and a half. Blood loss hasn’t been your only problem.” A cool hand pressed against Kaeya’s forehead and Kaeya closed his eyes against it. Diluc took his hand away and Kaeya was met with a frown as he opened his eyes. “You should drink some water and eat something while you’re awake.” Tugging his glove back on, Diluc grabbed a glass of water off the nightstand and pushed it into his hands. “All of it. I’ll be back.”
Kaeya stared down at the cold clear liquid. He still didn’t understand why he was here. Why didn’t Diluc dump him on the cathedral steps and call it a day? The cool merciful liquid touched his lips as Diluc’s footsteps retreated down the steps. He wasn’t aware of how thirsty he was until the glass was drained completely.
The glass hit the nightstand with a clink. Jean would be worried that he didn’t show up for work. How exactly was he going to explain where he had been the last day? Ah, yes! My apologies for being late, but you see, I was bleeding out on Master Diluc’s doorstep. He hadn’t been particularly happy about me getting blood all over it.
Kaeya groaned and pressed his forehead against the window. She would be livid. Maybe if he could sneak out of Angel’s Share he would only have to hear one lecture for the day.
The steps creaked, pulling Kaeya’s attention over to Diluc stepping inside with a tray. “This should be something you can keep down.” Diluc glanced over at the empty water glass and nodded his approval before setting the tray down beside it. It held a pitcher of water and a white porcelain bowl of what smelled like potato soup.
“Why...” Kaeya frowned as his voice gave out. He swallowed thickly before trying again. “Why are you doing this?” His ex-brother looked disheveled; his hair messily pulled back in a way that suggested he hadn’t bothered to brush it. The redness around his eyes was also something new, maybe he hadn’t slept well?
Diluc breathed a scoff through his nose. “Because you look like you haven’t eaten a proper meal in weeks. You need to learn how to take care of yourself.”
“Funny, coming from someone with a paid staff to take care of him.” The window was his lifeline, and he had no intention of letting go of it to take up the bowl.
That comment earned him a sharp glare. “I’m not the one that showed up half dead, Kaeya.”
“You mean, not this time.” Kaeya shot a smirk back at him.
The anger behind Diluc’s eyes was simmering, threatening to boil over. “You think this is something to joke about? Do you have any idea what you just put me through? You almost-”
Diluc’s mouth snapped shut as Kaeya interrupted him with a dismissive wave. “Yes, yes. And I am incredibly sorry for the inconvenience to you and your business. I will ensure that the blood is taken care of. When will the knights come for me?”
The fiery gaze burned into him; fists clenched at his sides. “They aren’t.” Diluc crossed his arms, forcing out a tense breath. “I told them you were on an urgent commission for me. No one knows you’re here.”
Kaeya blinked. “Why would you do something such as that?”
“Because, Kaeya!” Diluc clenched his jaw, correcting his tone after it had provoked a flinch from the other. “I don’t know what you’re up to. Showing up at three in the morning with a stab wound, why were you even out that late?”
“Oh? Do I need permission from Master Diluc to stay out past my curfew?” Kaeya tilted his head to the side. All he needed to do was press a few buttons until the red head got frustrated enough that he would stop asking questions and leave. Easy enough. It never took much effort to make Diluc sick of him.
Diluc breathed out a slow, deliberate breath. “Don’t change the subject. Do you even realize that you would have died? You-…You stopped breathing, Kaeya... What if I hadn’t been here?” A rough almost choking sound caught Diluc’s voice.
Shock jolted through his bones. He... almost died? Surely a silly little stab wound wasn’t enough to kill him. He was just going to sleep it off and worry about it tomorrow. A memory tugged at the back of his mind. A memory of a flash of red, distant yelling, and a rough pressure on his chest. But he couldn’t quite grasp it. “I guess you would have had a pleasant surprise the next morning…” He managed lamely.
“Pleasant surp-?” Diluc grabbed Kaeya’s face in his hands, digging his gloved fingers into his jaw. Every muscle in Kaeya’s body went ridged as he stared back into those angry, terrifying eyes. A fleeting thought entered his mind, this was the moment that Diluc would finish what he had started that night. But the thought melted away like sand through his fingers. Leaving him to bleed out in the alley way would have been a far more effective way to kill him. And it would have left Diluc blameless.
Diluc’s fingers tightened slightly. “What exactly would have been pleasant about finding your dead body at my back door, Kaeya?! You think just seeing you dying in the middle of the night wasn’t horrifying enough?!” Diluc’s jaw was so tight it was a surprise that he didn’t shatter his own teeth. “Insolent bastard. You are such a fucking idiot!”
Despite his temper, Diluc had always been one of the kindest people he had ever met. On his return he had changed, but he had never lost that. Though that had never been something Kaeya had remained entitled to, it still would have been incredibly distressing to Diluc to find anyone from Mondstadt bleeding out on his doorstep.
Kaeya winced against the fingers digging into his bones. “It was not my intention to drop dead then and there. The... injury was worse than I originally thought...”
With a huff, Diluc released him and crossed his arms again. Digging his fingers into his forearms instead of Kaeya’s jaw. “What happened? Don’t bother lying.”
“I...” Lying would do nothing but piss off Diluc more. Maybe to the point that he would throw him out. Which would mean he would have to go to the cathedral and attempt to give Jean a poorly formed lie about what happened. He suddenly felt overwhelmingly tired again. “I have been tracking the Abyss Order. I had noticed that they were acting... off as of recently. I managed to find myself in some sort of meeting place, though I was reckless. It was a slim escape, but not without finding myself impaled on the way out.”
The honesty took what little strength he had left. His grip slipped from the window, and he braced himself for the incoming pain from hitting the bed, but it never came. Diluc’s arm moved around his shoulders, his knee pressed into the mattress. His mind must have been fuzzier than he realized if he hadn’t noticed Diluc moved.
“And of course you went alone.” Diluc gently lowered him into the pillows. A frown pulled at the corners of his mouth as he brushed the hair away from Kaeya’s face.
Kaeya breathed a laugh. “It would certainly be a lot harder to explain why I can understand the abyssal language, now wouldn’t it?”
Diluc moved back from the bed. He worked his jaw as he kept his eyes turned away from him. “And why didn’t you ask me?”
Kaeya raised an eyebrow. “You? Now, now, Master Diluc. You really must be careful. I might get it in my head that you are concerned for your dear old brother.”
Preoccupying himself by pouring another glass of water, Diluc shot him a scowl. “I would have helped you.”
“I do not interfere with a certain Darknight Hero’s nightly activities, as you should not interfere with mine.” He turned his gaze back to the window. Whatever this was, he hated it. He hated how his chest ached with a need he could never supply it with. He hated how desperately he wanted Diluc to care. But he had learned his lesson time and time before. Diluc wanted nothing to do with him.
“Kaeya.”
Kaeya’s eyes fluttered open. He wasn’t exactly sure when they had closed. “Mm?” Diluc was standing in front of him holding the bowl and spoon.
“You need to eat before you sleep again.” The redhead’s gaze had softened into something Kaeya wouldn’t dare call concern. Pity maybe. “You lost a lot of blood...”
“Ah...” After he made no indication he was going to move, Diluc moved his arm behind him and helped him sit up. Kaeya choked back a grunt of pain. It was embarrassing enough as it was that he needed his ex-brother's help at all. “’ve got it...” Kaeya mumbled.
Diluc sighed and set the bowl aside before sitting on the bed behind him. “I can see that.” He propped Kaeya up against his chest before picking up the bowl again.
Kaeya closed his eyes, leaning back into the natural warmth of his brother. A cool hand came up and pressed against his forehead again and he frowned. “Why’re hands not warm..?”
“Because you’re burning up. Come on.” Diluc dropped his hand and nudged him. “I need you to eat this before going back to sleep.”
Kaeya turned his head into the side of Diluc’s neck, his body melting into the redhead’s. He could almost forget everything. Father’s death, their fight, Diluc leaving. It was just him and his brother. His brother still loved him, still held him when he was sick. The same brother that promised they would always be together, and he would always protect him no matter what.
Until Kaeya told him who he really was.
“..ya. Kaeya!” Another sharp nudge sent his eyes fluttering back open. Diluc was staring down at him, one hand still holding the bowl while the other pressed against the pulse point of Kaeya’s throat.
Everything slowly tuned back into focus. “’m f..ne...” He was dully aware that he felt awful. His head ached and he felt like he had been squeezed out like a wet rag. Probably a common feeling when you lose half the blood in your body.
“I need you to eat. Now.” Diluc lifted him up a bit more, moving one of his arms under Kaeya’s armpit to keep him properly propped up. A spoon pressed against Kaeya’s mouth, which he obediently opened. After about half the bowl was gone, Kaeya turned his head away and pressed it back into the nook of Diluc’s neck.
The redhead sighed and set the bowl aside. “Good enough.”
A small sound of protest came from Kaeya as Diluc started to pry himself away to get up. At some point his fingers had tightened around the front of Diluc’s shirt, crumpling the fabric in a white knuckled grip. Fingers moved to his, starting to pull his hand away but seemed to give up without much of a fight.
“You better not complain about this later...” A gruff, soothing voice murmured against his ear. The hand returned to his forehead for a moment. “If you remember this at all...” With a heavy sigh, strong arms wrapped around Kaeya’s middle and shifted them into a lying down position.
Just as Kaeya was drifting off, a kiss was pressed onto the top of his head. “Hang in there, little brother.” The hair was brushed away from his forehead. “Annoying pain in my ass...”