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The atmosphere in the city was lively as the Windblume festival drew ever closer. It wasn't that Diluc was particularly enthusiastic about it, even though as a child the festival had been his greatest desire.
Now it was simply another laborious day, having to serve all those drunks who couldn't even resist their cravings on a day like this. Perhaps his brother would fall into that category as well.
I haven't seen him in a day, Diluc thought as he washed one of the tavern's jugs. A day might seem trivial to some, but the redhead had grown accustomed to seeing Kaeya more and more often since they'd (almost) completely sorted things out.
"Boss, you seem a bit distracted today," one of the employees said. "Cheer up, the festival's almost here."
Diluc simply grunted in agreement.
"It's boring, it's the same thing every year," the redhead said. But this year was different. This year he could enjoy more time with his brother and perhaps return to the old days when their only concern was getting back to the Winery soon.
When Diluc returned home, Adeline was waiting for him inside with a small plate of food (which, he had to admit, looked incredible).
"Master Diluc! Look what Master Kaeya brought you," the woman said, showing the redhead the plate with such pride that it seemed as if she had cooked it herself.
"Kaeya? Why did he bring it here?"
"He said he had an urgent matter to attend to. You know how a gentleman's work is! One can never rest."
Diluc frowned. Work? As if Kaeya enjoyed that.
"And he didn't stay? We were going to see each other tomorrow. He could have given it to me then." He took a piece of meat from the plate and took a bite. Not bad .
"You know how Sir Kaeya is, never judge his decisions. They always have something to hide."
The next day, Diluc waited for the blue-haired man to appear at the tavern, but he never did. My day off wasted on this .
The redhead let his other employees close up shop and decided to walk to the knights' headquarters. He soon found Jean in her office.
"Are you too busy?" Diluc's voice softened, never being harsh with her.
Jean smiled and gestured for him to come into the office.
"Don't worry, I was just finishing up. Has something happened?"
"Well, no? Um...uh, is Kaeya here?"
"Kaeya? Oh, he had some business to take care of in Inazuma-"
"In Inazuma?" Diluc interrupted Jean, surprised. "Excuse me, go on."
The blonde smiled, nodding.
"Yeah, didn't he tell you? It's Thoma's birthday, and he was invited," Jean looked at Diluc, a little worried at his expression. "Hey, he really didn't tell you anything?"
The redhead shook his head.
"No," there was a slightly awkward silence until he turned away. "Thanks."
"Diluc-"
"Good night."
Now he was really angry, and maybe he was exaggerating and overreacting. But Diluc really thought they were going to spend the festival together and be like before.
It seemed he was the only one who thought that; Kaeya ran away at the first opportunity without even giving his own brother an explanation.
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Perhaps running away a day before the Windblume festival wasn't the best idea. But Kaeya thought it was.
Don't blame him, okay? He simply didn't feel ready for such a sentimental moment. Of course, he was happy that he and Diluc had patched things up, but this was too much.
He was acting like a little kid, as usual. Just thinking about the festival made his eyes well up, thinking about how much fun it was when they went with Crepus and he would buy them any candy they wanted.
Now Crepus wasn't there, he hadn't been there for a long time. And Kaeya didn't want those moments to be ruined in case something went wrong at the festival, in case he said something stupid again and made Diluc leave Mondstadt again.
"Why is this so difficult?" Kaeya sighed as he reread the letter Thoma had sent him inviting him to his birthday party.
It was true that he hadn't seen the blond boy in a while, but accepting the invitation had been impulsive.
He knew that Thoma had many friends in Inazuma, from what he had told him in some of the letters he had sent or when he had returned to Mondstadt for a few days. Kaeya didn't think he'd fit in somewhere like Inazuma.
The blue-haired boy looked at the ship that would take him to that nation; they were about to board.
Thoma has plenty of friends . He'd just be one of the crowd; they don't even celebrate the Windblume Festival there.
Diluc doesn't have many friends . Kaeya crumpled the letter. Was it too late to go back to Mondstadt?
"Damn it, I'm supposed to have learned to make good decisions by now," the blue-haired boy quickly apologized to the crew and ran back.
He was going to get to the festival no matter what. He'd have time to apologize to Thoma later for missing his birthday.
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The atmosphere in the city was lively because the Windblume Festival was today. Diluc didn't go; it didn't make sense to go just to see other families and friends enjoying the day.
He was about to lock the Winery door with his key when it suddenly opened.
"Diluc!" Kaeya bumped into him as he burst into the house. "Ow, crap, you're here."
The redhead looked at him, surprised and annoyed by the bump he'd received.
"And what are you doing here?"
"Well...weren't we going to celebrate the festival together?" the blue-haired boy tried to smile to lighten the mood.
"Jean told me you were going to Inazuma."
Kaeya sighed.
"To Thoma's birthday, yeah. But I changed my mind halfway there. I don't know why I was going."
"Because he's your friend," Diluc frowned.
"Yeah, but you're my brother."
"But—"
"But nothing! Come on, hurry up or the festival's going to be over."
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Kaeya smiled, watching his brother reluctantly enjoy the food.
"Is the food good?"
"Not too bad. You know, um, that dish you made the other day, it wasn't bad"
Kaeya's eyes lighten up.
"You liked it? I tried making something new"
"I said it's not bad, don't get too cocky", Diluc nudged him.
They both laughed.
I must learn to let go of the past . Maybe Crepus won't be there to teach and advise them like he used to when they were little.
Maybe Crepus will never accompany them to the festival again, but that shouldn't be a reason not to enjoy a day like this.
Maybe Diluc and Kaeya can be kids for one more day, and their only worry will be not getting home too late.