Chapter Text
"Okay, so nothing new about the Abyss. What about the Fatui? Did you find out the reason behind their recent increase in activity?"
It was a warm Wednesday evening, the soft wind gently blew past them and Diluc was having his routine meeting with his informant.
The informant nodded. "Yeah, but you might not like it." she began, as if it was ever possible for Diluc to like anything even slightly related to the Fatui. "According to the info I managed to gather, they are looking for the Darknight Hero." Diluc tensed at the mention of the name. His eyes drifted down to the envelope the informant had in her hold. She noticed the small action and handed over the envelope. "Thought you might be interested in their number one suspect." she said as Diluc slowly tore open the envelope. He pulled out a few papers that seemed to be the copies of conversations between some Fatui members. He then saw the photograph.
It was clearly taken in Angel's Share, the suspect sitting right in front of the counter with a drink in his hand. He seemed to be enjoying a conversation with his companion.
Fatui's suspect for the Darknight Hero was no other than the beloved Cavalry Captain, Kaeya Alberich.
For a brief moment Diluc imagined how he would take this news if he didn't know who the Darknight Hero actually was. Would he have believed it? He wasn't really sure. But he knew that a part of him would desperately try to convince himself that it was the truth so that he could see it as solid proof that his brother was on their side.
"They are after him." the informant let him know. Diluc furrowed his brows at that. How and why were they so convinced that Kaeya was the Darknight Hero? Convinced enough to go after him? He quietly thanked the informant as she told him that was all she had and turned around to walk away.
Now what was he supposed to do with this information? Kaeya had his own connections for intel so he doubted Kaeya would have no idea. Therefore Diluc probably didn't need to go tell Kaeya about this, which he was very grateful for. He didn't want to interact with the man any more than he had to. Knowing Kaeya, he'd probably say something like "Oh, Master Diluc, I'm flattered to hear you were worried about me!" purely to get on his nerves and Diluc would end up saying something harsh and hurtful (which would haunt him for a few hours that night when he goes to bed). That was an interaction Diluc would most certainly prefer not to have.
So, choosing to trust that Kaeya could take care of himself, he went to begin his shift in Angel's Share.
《☆》
Diluc hated the fact that worry was blooming inside him as hours went by and no one joined Rosaria on the table she had settled on all alone. From the way Rosaria's gaze found the door every time it opened, he knew Kaeya was supposed to be here this evening but the man was nowhere to be seen.
'He's probably busy handling the situation.' Diluc tried convincing himself as hours kept passing with Kaeya's absence.
Diluc closed the tavern that night with no sight of Kaeya. Rosaria had gave up on waiting after an hour and a half and enjoyed her drinks by herself. She had left 20 minutes ago with plenty of alcohol and not a single ounce of worry for Kaeya in her system. Diluc on the other hand, probably knew more than Rosaria did so he had good reasons to be worried.
Once he was out of the tavern and on his way to the winery, Diluc had tried to fight the urge to go check Kaeya's house or the headquarters to make sure the man was okay but he failed miserably and began walking towards the headquarters. He would be very glad if he could just find the man burried in paperwork in his office, he really didn't want to go to Kaeya's house. Except, nothing seemed to be working in his favor today. Diluc walked around the building to get to the window to Kaeya's office only to be greeted by an empty and dark room. So with a sigh and rising levels of concern, Diluc made his way to Kaeya's house.
It was Diluc's first time here, even though he had found out the location of the house shortly after his return to Mondstadt. One detail he had forgotten about was the fact that Kaeya occupied the second floor of a two story house. Now that he stood in front of it, he noticed that with no trees nearby, it didn't seem quite possible to spy through his windows. Diluc wondered if this was a trait Kaeya had actively looked for while looking for a place to stay or not. He wondered if Kaeya walked around without an eyepatch at home, now that there was no one to hide it from in the household and the possibility of someone seeing through the windows was almost zero. With many questions he most likely would never be able to ask, he walked towards the entrance.
For some reason, Diluc wasn't surprised when his knocks on Kaeya's door were left unanswered. Call it intuition, sibling bond, whatever you want. About ten seconds after his second time knocking, he was sure that Kaeya was not here and that he had to find him. So, still fighting the loud voice in his head telling him that Kaeya could look after himself, he made his way to the city gates and left the city to expand his search area.
《☆》
Diluc wasn't sure for how long he could keep aimlessly walking around in hopes of somehow running into Kaeya or anything that could lead him to him. He had walked around a few fatui camps he knew the locations of. No sign of Kaeya. He had walked around some more to hopefully run into other camps. He had found 2 more camps, which was a very lucky amount considering he was just walking around without a lead. However neither camps had been helpful as the young man was still nowhere to be found.
He was trying to convince himself Kaeya was fine wherever he was and that he could go home when he was pulled out of his head by someone's voice cutting through the night.
"Got lost on your way home, Master Diluc?"
Diluc turned around with a startle, his hand tensing up, ready to summon his weapon. Once he saw the face of the man in front of him, the panic went away as quickly as it came and he relaxed his hand (not without feeling a little ashamed that he didn't recognize his voice immediately and almost made him face his claymore for the second time).
"Kaeya!" he exclaimed with relief even though he had told himself he was going to keep his shit together and not portray his worry for the man once he found him. "Why are you here?" he asked Kaeya, his expression once again under his control — devoid of any emotion. After everything that had happened, after what he had done to him, Diluc felt like he didn't have the right to express concern for Kaeya's well-being like that.
Kaeya shrugged. "Taking care of some personal matters." he replied nonchalantly, as if being targeted by the Fatui for something he wasn't even responsible for was no big deal. "Why are you wandering around Starfell Valley, Master Diluc?" He asked with his brow raised.
"I was looking for you." Diluc admitted after a few seconds of hesitation. "I heard things. But I suppose you already know, considering that you ditched Sister Rosaria and came out here in this hour." Although a slight confusion seemed to appear in his face Kaeya kept his silence, encouraging Diluc to keep talking. "I heard the Fatui is after you. That they think you're the Darknight Hero."
"Rosaria was waiting for me?" Diluc sighed. "That's like- that was the most unimportant thing to focus on from what I told you." Kaeya crossed his arms. "In my defense, I didn't tell her that I would be coming to the tavern tonight. Even though I'm flattered, she had no reason to be waiting for me." Kaeya said, seemingly ignoring Diluc's words. "Sure." Diluc replied, rolling his eyes.
"Anyway, back to the bigger issue. Yes, I know about the Fatui targeting me. And yes, that's why I'm out here right now. But I still don't understand why you're here."
Diluc had no reply for that. Afterall, he wasn't so sure either. Had he genuinely been worried for Kaeya? No, he didn't think it was possible to worry about someone you had tried to kill with your own hands. He had just found it hard to ignore the issue as there was a possibility that he was the only one to know about it. It had nothing to do with Kaeya, it was just Diluc being a responsible person. Right? Yeah, it had to be.
"I felt the need to let you know, just in case you didn't." he said. "Well if I'm missing then it means I already found out one way or another, no? You're smarter than that Master Diluc." Kaeya replied, his eye squinted in a judging way.
Diluc sighed, his brain working as fast as it could to come up with an excuse that would convince both Kaeya and him. "We both know you're not the Darknight Hero. It would be irresponsible of me to let you deal with this alone." he finally said. "That's what brings me here. I see why you'd struggle to understand that, as inefficient knights like you might be a little unfamiliar with the concept of responsibility." he added, his voice and gaze unnecessarily sharp like a blade.
Although his annoying grin hadn't faltered, Kaeya rolled his eye at the remark. "I see you're as lovely as ever." he then turned around and began walking away without an explanation.
"What the- where are you going?" Diluc called out. Kaeya turned back around. "Well, Master Diluc, although your efforts were in vain, I appreciate you coming here to let me know. Now that you've done that, it's time for us to part ways, no?"
Diluc sighed. He was right afterall. Kaeya knew the Fatui was after him, and he was more than capable of dealing with this situation alone. He didn't need someone –especially Diluc of all people— to help him. That's what his logic told him. But his heart screamed otherwise. So he reached forward and grabbed Kaeya by the wrist before he could walk away once again.
"Let me help you."