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“I fail to see what this has to do with me.”
Jean glared at him, but Diluc held her gaze without wavering.
If anyone asked, no, he didn’t like to annoy the Acting Grand Master. And he also didn’t particularly like to let her down. Just because he wasn’t a knight anymore and didn’t think highly of those who were didn’t mean he had stopped caring about the woman. Or about any knight who had a good head on their shoulders.
But he also had his priorities set straight and helping to find a missing Kaeya was not one of those. And that was not any different on his birthday, no matter how concerned Jean seemed to be.
Said woman pinched the bridge of her nose. “You can’t be serious. It’s his birthday and he’s missing!” From the way she looked, Diluc could only assume that the disappearance of her dear would-be Cavalry Captain stressed her out immensely. Wouldn’t he know that she alone was to blame for taking on such a ridiculously unimportant task herself, he’d maybe feel guilty for his reaction.
He shrugged and picked up where he’d left off. Which were a bunch of glasses that Charles hadn’t been able to finish cleaning last night before he had sent him home. “So what?” Jean raised an eyebrow, her voice incredulous. “Really?”
Diluc sighed, breaking eye contact to focus on the glass in his hand, even though the motions had long since been engraved in his mind. He could clean them while sleeping if he wanted to. “I don’t know what you expect me to say. Isn’t it normal for your captain to be gone from time to time?,” he asked, giving the glass a good look over before setting it down and continuing with the next.
“Yes, but-” “There. Mystery solved,” he said nonchalantly, “He’ll be back to celebrate with you in no time.” He could hear her taking a breath to either scold him or calm herself, but to his surprise, she stayed silent. So he raised his head and met her eyes, brows drawn together in what seemed to be confusion.
She opened her mouth, closed it and tried again. “Wait, what do you mean ‘celebrate with you’?” Diluc drew his brows together as well, unconsciously mirroring her. “What I mean with that?,” he repeated slowly. He didn’t quite understand why she was asking that question. Was the stress getting to her already? “Jean, are you alright?” He looked her up and down for any signs that something else was bothering her, but he couldn’t find anything.
Again, she pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly displeased. “Ugh, just…answer the question, please!” Diluc scoffed, but did as she wanted. “I mean the birthday party he throws every year. Surely, you haven’t forgotten about that.” Slower than before - mostly due to his confusion induced worry about her - he set down the glass and grabbed the next.
But when he saw her eyes widen, he halted completely, even if just for a second or two. Because Jean stared at him as if she’d seen a ghost.
“You…don’t know,” she mumbled, just as slowly as he was cleaning the glass. She let the words sit for a moment and then, still without breaking her stare, repeated a little louder, “You don’t know.” Diluc couldn’t help but huff in annoyance. “Jean, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Luckily, his friend spared him the silence. “There is no birthday party, Diluc.” This time, his hands stilled, no, they rather froze. He blinked, words taking longer to take hold in his mind. “Kaeya doesn’t celebrate, he doesn’t even let us take him to Good Hunter or anything.”
Now it was Diluc’s turn to stare. That couldn’t possibly be true. He knew first-hand how Kaeya loved parties and even more so to drink. It didn’t make any sense to him why he should forgo the chance to do that with the other knights, especially on his birthday. “You’re joking, right?”
But Jean shook her head. “No, I’m not. He works through the whole day every year and then slips away when it’s dark. I… I thought you knew.” For some reason, her voice took on something that sounded like…remorse? Shame? The thought alone was absurd, though, so he brushed it aside.
“Huh,” was all he let out as he grimaced, eyes fixating on some point far, far away. He never would’ve thought that Kaeya didn’t celebrate his birthday, didn’t even sit down with at least his closest friends, Jean, Lisa maybe, or Rosaria, to drink and talk. But he seemed to outright ignore the fact that it was his birthday. “That is strange,” he eventually said, eyes coming back to focus on Jean, “But why did you think I’d know?”
“Well, I expected him to come here and drink like he usually does,“ she answered and Diluc had to admit that it was a reasonable argument. A pause, before he replied thoughtfully, “It’s the only day I never see him at all.“
After that, silence stretched between them, both lost in their own thoughts. Diluc still couldn’t really make sense of Kaeya’s strange behavior, after all there were few people who loved to be the center of attention more than he did. And since he was, to his utter annoyance, quite well received by the other knights, the fact that he never saw his ex-brother on his birthday hadn’t made him suspicious. Really, it would’ve been more surprising to him if he would show up all alone.
But apparently, he had been wrong. Not that he cared, obviously. It was nothing more than curious news that he wouldn’t ponder about a little before normally continuing with his day and forgetting it. Except that a little voice in his head whispered that he was lying to himself, but he ignored it gracefully.
When the silence became too heavy, Diluc decided to finally break it.
“Be that as it may, I neither understand why you’re worried nor am I interested in helping you find him,” he stated, attempting to get back to work, but Jean’s newfound aggression had other plans.
“Hey, now listen here, young man!” His head whipped around to her. “Excuse me?!,” he hissed, but she didn’t even flinch. Instead, she placed a hand on the counter and fixated him with suddenly burning eyes. “You are the only person who knows Kaeya better than I do and sure, you’ve had a falling out-,” she gesticulated with the other arm, “-but you can’t tell me that you don’t even care the slightest bit about him! So, you are going to help me find him, got it?” Her finger landed on his chest, poking him to underline her words.
Diluc groaned. If it was anyone else, he’d try to argue that surely, Kaeya was fine and just out for a long walk, that he could take care of himself and that she didn’t need to worry, but it was Jean. And Jean didn’t care if someone could take care of themselves or not. It didn’t stop her from worrying all the same. She even worried about Alice sometimes, who truly was the last person whose safety one could be concerned about.
If anything, Jean should rather worry about anyone else’s safety who met that witch.
…and he was definitely not trying to drown that nagging voice at the edge of his mind that was fussing over Kaeya and if he was truly okay if he’d just left like that and hadn’t come back. On his birthday of all things.
“Cat’s Tail?”
Jean blinked.
“What?”
He fought back against the urge to roll his eyes. “Have you been at Cat’s Tail?,” he repeated, and Jean nodded. “Yes, of course!” “His apartment?” “Yes.” “Albedo’s office? The cathedral? Father’s grave?,” he listed, naming all the placed he could imagine Kaeya being at.
“I have been running around the city the whole morning, what do you think-“ Diluc cut her off. “Then that’s all the help I can give you.”
For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other. And he had to give it to her, she really had come a long way since childhood. He still remembered that sweet, a little bit shy and timid girl that had been too scared to face his father because he looked somewhat gruff. Obviously, she’d grown up quickly when she’d had her little sister to take care of, but even then she had been far from having this death stare.
Still, she was the first to give up.
“Hmph. Fine, have it your way,” she grumbled, crossing her arms, “I just wonder what Miss Adelinde will say once she hears that you completely disregarded Kaeya’s safety.” Diluc froze. “Jean-“ But she ignored him. In a swift motion, she turned her back to him and headed for the door. “In fact, I think I’ll go find her right now. She can probably help me find him better than you, anyway.”
The moment Jean had mentioned Adelinde, Diluc had known that he had lost the argument. His Head Maid loved Kaeya like a son, just like she did him, and she would make his life a living hell if she found out that he didn’t jump at the first mention of Kaeya’s disappearance.
Somehow, she just couldn’t accept that they had…gone different ways.
“Okay, okay, I’ll help you!,” he quickly replied, “No need to bother Adelinde.” Jean grinned widely, coming back from the door. “Ah, looks like you do value your life,” she commented, which Diluc only huffed at.
“Well then, any idea where to start searching?”
And so, having been dragged into her business, Diluc followed Jean on her investigation. They split up to ask more people and go to more places, but neither found any hints on Kaeya’s whereabouts. He hadn’t been in Springvale. He hadn’t been at the Dawn Winery. He hadn’t been in Wolvendom or the few spots Diluc still remembered Kaeya liking to spend time at when they had been young.
Only the guards at the gate had seen him. When they asked, Swan told them that the captain had left very early in the morning, barely after he’d started his shift, and he’d been too tired to question him.
When they left, Jean muttered something about having to have a serious conversation about attentiveness at work. So Diluc decided it was probably better not to comment on the man’s behavior himself, even though it was quite hard to hide his annoyance.
After a while of non-stop searching, he finally managed to convince Jean to take a short break. They rested on the wall of the bridge leading up to the city gates, silently watching the birds nearby and each chasing their own thoughts. Diluc was growing more and more tired of running around and searching for that stupid, careless piece of shit, though he couldn’t really ignore the unease building inside him anymore.
He let out a sigh.
“Jean, this is going nowhere,” he said, breaking the silence. When he didn’t get a reaction, he continued slowly, “Do you think Venti could locate him?” The thought had occurred to him some time ago, when they had been in Wolvendom and come across the arena of that Wolf King. He hadn’t mentioned it then, knowing how Jean didn’t like to bother their Archon, but since they weren’t any closer to finding Kaeya…
His friend shrugged. “Maybe.” It was almost dismissive, but at least she didn’t avoid the question. “Well, why don’t we ask him, then?,” Diluc probed, and this time the response came immediately.
“No, that won’t be necessary,” Jean declared, arms crossed, “I’m sure we can find Kaeya on our own. If we just-“ But Diluc didn’t let her continue. There was no way he was letting her ramble on about something that wasn’t going to happen. “Face it, we need him. We can’t keep running around completely clueless like this and you know it. Honestly, I think we should’ve asked him from the beginning.”
“But-“
“It’s either that or you put together a search team,” Diluc pointed out, which elicited a sound of defeat from her. “You don’t understand. In my eyes, Venti is still a citizen of Mondstadt!,” she retorted, flinging her arm towards the city, “And it’s my duty as Acting Grand Master to protect him just like everyone else! I can’t just ask for his help whenever I can’t immediately solve a problem.” She met his gaze with fierce eyes. They burned with a compassionate fire, born from countless restless nights, pondering what it meant to know her Archon’s disguise.
For a moment, it threw Diluc off. He hadn’t expected her to put this much thought into her interactions with the god. But he quickly recovered and after clearing his throat he asked, “What about the whole fiasco during last Windblume?” “He volunteered to help.”
Diluc sighed. He loved Jean like a sister, he really did, but sometimes her stubbornness was just annoying.
Huh.
He shook his head and pushed the thought away.
“You might be okay with working yourself to the bone for Kaeya, but I’m not,” he declared, sliding down from the wall, “And you shouldn’t be, either, no matter who it’s for.” They stared at each other, as if in an unspoken challenge, until Jean finally conceded.
“Fine, okay. You win.” She let out a long sigh before she slid down from the wall as well. “I guess it doesn’t hurt to at least ask. He can always say no.” Diluc smiled at her. Seemed like she hadn’t lost all her smarts working for the knights after all.
So again, they went on their way. Luckily, Jean knew exactly where to find that bard, because, as he later realized, Diluc wouldn’t have had a clue. He knew Venti was most evenings in his bar - no, oftentimes he could be found around his bar during the day as well. That drunkard…
It didn’t take long until they arrived at Windrise and the huge tree, symbol of the legendary Vennessa. Just like always, the Statue of the Seven shone with blue light, though it surprised him how soft and almost warm the breeze was around here, despite it being almost December.
Jean seemed to have noticed it too. He could see slight confusion painting her face as she let her gaze drift, looking for Venti on the ground and in the tree. Could the surprisingly warm breeze be his doing?
“I think-,” he started, wanting to talk about his theory, but his friend immediately shushed at him. “Shhh! Do you hear that?,” she whispered, eyes focused, and so Diluc swallowed the reply to comply with her unspoken request and listened.
For a moment, he didn’t hear anything. But after a few seconds, his ears picked up on a quiet melody, just as soft as the breeze and as sweet as the sun, somehow blending in perfectly with the sounds of nature. As if it was a sound of nature itself, as if it belonged right here into this world. As if it was meant to be.
The two of them shared a quick look before quietly following the melody. Carefully, they stepped over the giant roots, circling the tree to the side that was facing the river. With every step, the melody grew a little louder, until they finally came face to face with its source.
“Heya! Been looking for us?”
Venti smiled brightly at them, but neither Diluc nor Jean could share the sentiment. Because, lying in the bard’s lap, was none other than Kaeya himself, seemingly sleeping soundly to the almost heavenly melody of a floating lyre.
Diluc couldn’t help but stare as his eyes darted between them, mind racing with scrambled thoughts. He didn’t believe what he was seeing. How it was possible that they had run all over the city trying to find the missing captain, while he was lying under the giant tree and spending his time with that bard for Celestia’s sake-
No. No, that couldn’t be all. Something must’ve happened. Venti must’ve somehow found out that Kaeya was in danger, or just missing, and had searched by himself. There was no reason why the two of them should spend time together otherwise. Sure, they were drinking buddies, but everyone could be drinking buddies in a tavern.
And Kaeya’s identity… Venti had to know. It was probably him keeping an eye on him - as he should. Because Kaeya was a very possible threat to the nation and such an entity needed to be observed closely. Diluc could only agree, even though, somehow, unease grew inside him at the thought.
Luckily, that was the moment Jean found her voice again.
“What in-“ She cut herself off, but she couldn’t fool either of them. Diluc knew from just one quick look at Venti - grinning even wider, of course - that he knew as well as he that she had wanted to curse his name.
Which the woman ignored. “What are you doing here?,” she asked instead, not really hiding the embarrassment from nearly cursing her Archon’s name in front of said Archon. Venti widened his eyes in playful confusion, as if he hadn’t seen that question coming. “Spending time with the birthday kid, obviously. Silly Jean!”
Diluc just rolled his eyes at that. Something he had, unfortunately, picked up from that bard, since he was always so expressive that it had at some point rubbed off on him. Jean on the other hand was able to contain her annoyance - or maybe she just couldn’t feel annoyance towards Venti. He wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.
“…Is…is Kaeya okay…?”
At that, the bard’s grin weakened slightly, but it did not loose any of its brightness. If anything, it seemed even more honest now.
“He’s with me, so of course he is.” His tone was sweeter, warmer, and his eyes flicked down to the man in question before he met theirs again. “Why wouldn’t he be?,” he continued, head tilted in question. Though Diluc was sure he didn’t actually expected an answer, so he decided to get to the point. “Where did you find him?”
Venti shrugged. “Eh, I wouldn’t call it finding him. We left the city together. It was pretty early though, so it’s no wonder nobody noticed.” Diluc lifted an eyebrow. Right. ‘Together’. ‘Nobody noticed’. Both weren’t true, as they knew from talking to the guards at the gate.
Well, he couldn’t be completely sure about the ‘together’ part, now could he? Swan had been way too tired at the time, hadn’t even bothered to ask any questions, so maybe he didn’t notice Venti. Or he had hid, hadn’t wanted to be seen.
Whatever the case, his first instinct to suspect the bard was lying… It didn’t really make sense, now did it? He had no reason to be lying.
But Jean and him, especially Jean, had reason to be…at least annoyed. And it was clear to see in his friend’s face that she was pretty much annoyed, if not angry, even. “I’ve been looking for him all over Mondstadt, I-I thought something happened to him!,” she brought out, voice strained, as if she couldn’t decided wether to be angry at him or at herself, “How was I supposed to know that he’s with you?”
Venti was silent for a moment, gazing down at Kaeya once more. Diluc studied every movement, every sigh that left his lips, trying to read him, trying to figure out what he really thought about Kaeya. But he couldn’t. The God’s eyes shone with emotion he couldn’t discern and it made him want to snatch the captain off Venti’s lap.
“That’s the best part,” the bard finally said, “He didn’t want you to know where he is.” From one moment to the next, he was cheerful again. “Just wanted to spend the whole day with his favorite drinking buddy. Which would be me, if you haven’t noticed, ehe!”
“He…didn’t want me to know…?,” Jean mumbled, clearly shocked, “Why? Did I do something wrong?” Diluc couldn’t stand the look in her eyes, the look of hurt and betrayal, but it wasn’t she who had been betrayed, but Kaeya. Kaeya, betrayed by her, because she hadn’t been a good enough friend.
Which was utter bullshit in Diluc’s opinion, but that didn’t matter right now. He softly grabbed her arm, placing his own around her hip to comfort her. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just messing with you,” he reassured her. Jean looked up at him, her face twisted with guilt, and it was beyond obvious that she didn’t believe his words. “But he said-“
“Jean, dear, it’s not you.” Both their heads immediately turned to Venti. “Well, it is you, but not just you. He didn’t want anyone to know.” The furious comment already on his tongue was washed away when he heard that last part. “That’s new…,” he mumbled incredulously, even though it really wasn’t. Not anymore, after what Jean had told him earlier. Maybe…he didn’t know Kaeya as well as he had thought.
“Venti… I- I know this might be a stretch, but…does…Kaeya know…?”
Diluc blinked at the sudden question. To him, that thought came out of nowhere. He hadn’t even considered it! Kaeya knowing who Venti really was? He was smart, sure, but Venti was quite good at pretending, so there was no way-
“Oh yeah, he does,” Venti replied cheerfully, leaving Diluc absolutely stunned, “For a while, actually. I think he even figured it out before you two did.” Wait what. “All it took was one good look at me and he was like “yep, that’s the mighty wind God alright”! He’s perceptive like that.” He waved his hand around loosely as if it were a completely normal thing to say.
Diluc though was at a loss for words. He couldn’t really fathom the whole situation and what it might mean for both Kaeya and Venti. It just didn’t get into his head why Kaeya…how Kaeya…
Jean was just as speechless as her stutter showed all too well.
“I- That- How did I not…” She stopped. After a moment of silence, she peeled away from Diluc’s comforting grip, taking a step closer to Venti. “Wait, do you mean to tell me that he’s known about you around the same time when we tried saving Dvalin? Why didn’t you say anything? He could’ve helped as well! Surely, he wouldn’t have objected.”
Oh, that was a recipe for disaster. He couldn’t imagine the hell of a mood he would’ve been in if Kaeya had been in on it.
But despite everything, deep down, he knew that Kaeya wasn’t exactly a bad guy, no matter how hard he tried to hang on to that belief. And he knew just as well how much he cared for Mondstadt. If he had been in on it, he definitely would’ve set everything in motion to help.
To be honest, he wasn’t even completely sure that he HADN’T been in on it.
“As much as I dislike working with him-“
Jean half-growled. “Diluc…”
“-I have to agree.” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the woman’s expression changing into surprise. “Logically, it would’ve been easier if we’d had another member to help from the sidelines.” That’s what the guy did on a daily basis anyways. Doing stuff from the sidelines, or rather, from the shadows, pulling dirty strings left and right.
Well, at least for that he couldn’t exactly hate him or he would be a hypocrite.
When he looked back at Venti, he could see him grimace in what was probably meant as offense, but Diluc really couldn’t take him serious like this. Not with such a young and innocent-looking face.
“Okay, first of all, I only realized after the fact, too. During the next Windblume, if memory serves,” Venti explained, crossing his arms, “And second of all-“ His voice turned, once again, softer, even though a hint of that not-so-offense still lingered on his features. “-could you keep it quiet, please? Kaeya’s sleeping and my lullaby can only do so much.” He gestured to the lyre that had been floating next him the whole time, playing a sweet melody.
Jean took a deep breath. “Apologies, that was out of line.” Diluc had to fight down his disagreeing comment. “And you’re right, we shouldn’t disturb him. He works so much he deserves a day of rest.” An earnest smile spread onto her lips as she gazed at her sleeping captain, who hadn’t made a single noise since their arrival.
“Please, no need to fret, dear. You need rest just as much as him,” Venti argued, voice and face back to their usual tone. Jean answered him, probably telling him that she was fine or some other stupid lie, but Diluc’s mind was already gone.
The way she had basically given up and said they shouldn’t disturb Kaeya… He knew that that was it. They would be going back to the city shortly, leaving Kaeya and Venti behind. Leaving Kaeya with Venti behind. Something that didn’t sit right with him, no matter how much he tried to fight it. He didn’t like it, not these feelings and definitely not leaving Kaeya with Venti. Not in such a vulnerable state. Not with the knowledge that Kaeya knew who that bard really was.
He knew Venti wasn’t a bad guy. He knew that. But he was still an Archon and Kaeya was still from Khaenri’ah.
He didn’t care if he interrupted someone as he spoke up.
“Venti…” He breathed in and out. He could still stop. He could still decide that it didn’t matter to him. He could still ignore his questions. “Could I talk to you? Alone?” But he didn’t.
The Archon met his gaze. Diluc had no doubts that he knew what he wanted to talk about.
“Don’t ask me, I’m not going anywhere,” Venti just replied without breaking eye contact. He nevertheless managed to infuriate Diluc further as he started to deliberately stroke Kaeya’s hair. The air between them was suddenly thick with tension.
Jean, though, didn’t seem to notice. “Of course, take your time,” she agreed, placing a hand on Diluc’s shoulder, which made him look at her, “I’m heading back to the city. You know where to find me.” He nodded, accompanied by mumbled thanks. “See you around, Venti.” A bright smile and a wink from the bard, then she turned and went back the way they’d come from.
Diluc turned with her, torn between the urge to just follow her and the need to stay and do what he…had to do? Needed to do? …wanted…to do? He didn’t know, wasn’t sure what it was, and it made him feel somewhat insecure. And he hated it.
Behind him, he could hear Venti humming. But he didn’t look at him. He just kept staring ahead, watching Jean go, leaving them behind. She kept getting smaller and smaller, until he could barely make out her clothes, until she disappeared behind a bush.
“You’re scared for him.”
The god’s voice broke through his raging mind. A sigh and he finally decided to face him and his eyes, painted in the most beautiful blue…green - aqua, a voice in his head helpfully supplied - he had ever seen.
Quickly, he averted his own. They darted over to Kaeya’s face, holding on to it as he slowly drew closer. Now that he had a better look, he realized how relaxed he seemed to be. His face was devoid of any nervous twitches or wrinkles, no strained eyebrows, nothing. There was even the slightest smile playing around his lips.
Diluc swallowed. “He looks happy,” he said, pointing out the obvious, but it was the only way he knew how to respond to what Venti had said. Because he couldn’t find it in himself to agree or disagree.
“He does, doesn’t he?” There was no chuckle, no quip, no joke in his voice. Just pure softness, happiness even. As if he were glad to have done something good for someone else. As if there wasn’t anything else buried beneath the words they spoke out loud.
Without taking his eyes off Kaeya, he asked, slowly and carefully, “Will you…do something about him? Is that the reason you’re spending time with him?” Venti huffed. It didn’t sound as serious anymore. “Is that what you think of me?,” he asked back, accusation a little too thick to be earnest, “Master Diluc, you should know me better than that. I’m just a humble bard, and I’m going to stay right here and sing my songs even in the darkest of nights.”
Just a humble bard? Hardly.
And yet…it could only mean…
And the rest…
Diluc clenched his fists.
It didn’t sound like much. It didn’t sound important. Just the ramblings of a hopeless drunkard. But he knew better. He knew how Venti loved to hide his truths in words of poetry.
“So what?” What were his plans if it wasn’t his goal to strike him down or something? “Do you want to atone? Is that it?,” he questioned, bolder this time, because he needed to know the truth, needed to know what was going on with the two of them. With Venti. With Kaeya.
The god did not reply for a long moment. Only when Diluc met his gaze did he spoke again.
“Do we take animals as pets because we feel guilty that we used to eat their kind?”
Were it anyone else, he would’ve thought they were playing with him. Well, not that Venti wasn’t playing with him, but his plays, his jokes, his everything had meanings. He still couldn’t stop himself from biting back. “You have a pet?”
“Pets, children…” Venti made a vague hand-gesture. “We love them all the same.” Now it was his gaze that dropped down to Kaeya. His fingers danced through his hair, intertwining them, locking them, letting them go. The fondness, no, the love he held for him was clear as day. “Some just need a little more attention than others.”
It was that very moment that it hit him.
Venti loved Kaeya. He didn’t love him even though he was from Khaenri’ah. He didn’t love him because he was from Khaenri’ah. Khaenri’ah had nothing to do with the love he held for Kaeya. It was the reason why he wanted to show him that love, it was the reason why he was okay with Kaeya knowing his identity, and it was the reason why he spent time like this with him.
But his love for Kaeya? His love came from a place of honesty. Of kindheartedness. He loved him like he loved everyone else in this city. His city.
Shit.
Venti loved Kaeya. Kaeya loved Venti. They were friends - they could be best friends for all he knew. Whenever they were together in Angel’s Share, they quipped and joked and gossiped with no care in the world. They…took care of one another.
Fuck.
He was such an asshole.
It should’ve been him. It had been him, once. Back then, when they were little. They had been friends - best friends, even. Always together, quipping and joking and gossiping with no care in the world. They had taken care of one another.
But not anymore.
The friendship between Venti and Kaeya wasn’t just unlikely. It should’ve been impossible. They should’ve hated each other for who they were, what they had done. Especially Kaeya. The Archon had participated in destroying his nation, killing his people, burning down all that had stood in their way.
Venti had helped in taking everything from him. But still, he didn’t hate him. And Venti didn’t hate him, either, even though he probably should. Their shared history was so much worse than his history with Kaeya, and yet, there was no hate.
Memories bubbled to the surface of his consciousness, memories of nights upon nights in his tavern he had kept under key and lock. And for the first time, he let them. He let them unfold in front of his inner eyes and watched over and over again how fake that smile was that Kaeya put on whenever they argued. The hurt on his face he hid perfectly.
Well. Almost perfectly.
Diluc had barely ever noticed it. It was barely ever there. But sometimes, when Kaeya was just incredibly drunk, more so than on normal days, his facade would crack. The tiniest bit. And Diluc had picked up on it, somehow, but never actively. Never had he let himself acknowledge it.
Kaeya…
Kaeya had never hated him.
He bit back the tears wanting to form in his eyes. Despite that, he couldn’t stop the single tear that ran down his cheek.
God. He had fucked up.
“I should leave as well,” he mumbled, voice strained, dull to his own ears. He turned away, not able to look at Venti, who had no doubt seen his expression change. And the tear.
“Stay.”
Diluc halted in his steps. No, he shouldn’t. He absolutely shouldn’t. He didn’t deserve to. Not here, not in Kaeya’s life. Not when he had fucked up like this. When he had closed his eyes to the suffering his…his brother endured, when he hated him for something they could’ve resolved if he’d been less…less…
…less of an asshole.
Venti had to know that, he had to, so why, why did he want him to stay??
He breathed in and out, forcing his voice to steady itself. “…I see no reason to.” He swallowed. “Wouldn’t want to be a bother. And I have work that-“
“You deserve a little rest as well.”
Diluc wanted to scream at him. That he didn’t understand, that he just didn’t get it. That he didn’t deserve to be in Kaeya’s life, that this couldn’t be fixed, that he wanted to leave, that it was better for him to leave-
But when he turned around and met those shining eyes, the anger vanished as quickly as it had come.
Venti smiled up at him, reassuring, soft and warm, like the unusually sweet breeze in the area. He patted the spot next to him, without breaking eye contact, before extending his hand invitingly.
He did not make another sound. But his eyes said more than thousand words, calming the storm inside of him. And despite himself, Diluc stepped forth and sat down next to him. He let Venti touch his cheek and trace where that single tear had run down.
A sigh escaped him. His shoulders slumped, but not in an exhausted, discouraged way. No. Venti’s touch was somewhat relaxing. Maybe because it was his way of telling him that he loved him, too.
Maybe it was okay to linger and try.
…he was talking about resting. Nothing else. Obviously.
He was still wrapped in that comfortable weight of sleep when he awoke. Quiet music tickled the edge of his consciousness. His mind was beautifully empty, stuffed with soft clouds that left no place for worries.
Long had it been since he’d had such a restful sleep, neither plagued by nightmares nor work- (or alcohol-) induced headaches. At this very moment, there was nothing but comfort and warmth, and as he slowly came back to his senses, he believed that he had never felt this safe and secure.
For a long while, he kept his eyes closed and listened to the soothing melody. Breathed deeply in and out, noticed how his chest rose and sank with every breath he took. There was a breeze that caressed his face, stroking across his cheeks and playing with single strands of hairs. Every little sensation he witnessed and memorized, until he finally blinked his eyes open.
He was met with the gentle swaying of the branches and leaves far above his head, painted with light spots from little rays of sunshine. Behind the thick canopy flashed the blue sky, still as clear as when he had first laid to rest.
It was then that an honest smile plucked on the corners of his mouth.
He slightly turned his head, eyes wandering over to the youngest oldest face he had ever seen. Venti seemed to be asleep, just like he had been moments ago, unaware that he had woken up.
Which was perfectly fine. He wanted to it to stay that way as long as possible, after all, it was him he had to thank for being able to rest like this. If he didn’t want anything in return, well, it was the least he could do to not disturb him for a while as well.
He sighed, fully content, and carefully bent backwards a little, just so he wouldn’t go numb from all that laying around. But when his eyes followed the movement of his head and caught the shockingly familiar person sitting next to them, his brain short-circuited.
The yelp that left his mouth at the sight, together with him abruptly sitting up foiled his intentions. He barely noticed Venti’s disoriented mumble over the pounding in his chest and the realization that he didn’t wear his eyepatch.
His hand reached up and almost slapped his eye.
Diluc was here. Diluc was sitting next to them and-
Kaeya spun around. Diluc’s eyes were closed, face relaxed and he didn’t show any signs of being awake. His arms were crossed over his chest, just like always, but in this state, he didn’t look annoyed like usual.
It helped him to calm down. But only when he felt Venti’s soft touch on his shoulder did the sudden burst of thoughts in his head calm down to make way for more rational thinking. The melody of his lyre slipped through and reminded him to breathe, sealing the cracks in his psyche.
“Sorry, I didn’t wanna wake you. I just…” He took another deep breath. The shock still sat in his bones, but the delusional fear that had overcome him was gone. “Heh, you know me,” he said, instead of coming up with a stupid excuse. Venti would’ve seen right through him anyways.
As expected, when he found the Archon’s gaze, he was met with nothing but understanding. So he continued, “What is he doing here?” Venti shrugged almost nonchalantly. “They were worried about you.” “They?” “Diluc and Jean.”
Kaeya blinked. He let the information sink into his brain for a moment, but nothing of this made sense. Firstly, why would Diluc be worried? He always made clear that he hated him, in one way or another. Besides, if he overlooked that particular aspect, neither of them should’ve had any reason for concern in the first place. After all, he had written a note for Jean that he’d taken the day off.
…
Unless…
He narrowed his eyes, piercing Venti with his gaze. “Veentiii?,” he asked, dragging out the Archon’s name, “Did you put my note on Jean’s desk?” Venti didn’t need to say anything for Kaeya to know the answer. The smile, or rather the smirk he gave him was enough.
“Oops, guess that slipped my mind,” Venti claimed, pretending to be ashamed, but he was so obviously lying, even an equally blind and deaf person would’ve realized the truth.
Kaeya buried his head in his hands and groaned. “You are such an ass!” He just couldn’t believe this! Venti hadn’t just ‘forgotten’ to get his note to Jean on a whim, no, he was pretty sure that he had never planed on delivering it at all. Maybe he had calculated everything, from taking him on a walk through nature before resting on Windrise, to Jean and Diluc searching for him-
He paused.
Wait. Diluc. It wasn’t surprising that he had been the one Jean had gone to to ask for help. But how had Venti managed to make Diluc stay? After finding that Kaeya wasn’t in any immediate danger, he should’ve gone back to work. Not stay here. And while Venti could be persuasive, even he wouldn’t be able to accomplish something like that.
He raised his head to look at the chuckling Archon. When he noticed, he tilted his head questioningly. “Are you actually mad at me?,” he asked, giving him puppy eyes. Kaeya could only shake his head in amusement. No matter what, he could never be angry with him for long.
“You know I’m not,” he replied, corners of his mouth twitching up, “I mean, I’d like to because you are a little piece of shit.” He jabbed his finger at Venti’s forehead to underlined his words. “But no. I’m not.” Though it wasn’t like his questions suddenly vanished because of that. So he decided to not give Venti any time to change the topic. “Still. I wanna know what you said to Diluc. You know. To make him stay.”
To his surprise, Venti stilled at his. He regarded him with thoughtful eyes, seeming almost unsure. For a moment, he stayed like this, leaving Kaeya disbanded in the air, before he nodded.
“I didn’t have to persuade him that much, actually,” he said. And then he related what he and Diluc had talked about. That he had been scared about Venti’s and Kaeya’s relationship. That he had feared that Venti would smite him because of their respective identities. That he had questioned his intentions, just like Kaeya had at the start of getting to know each other.
And that he had believed to be ‘a bother’, to essentially be undeserving to stay. It took Kaeya’s breath away. He didn’t consider for a second that Venti might be lying, because he just knew he didn’t. Venti would never lie to him about something like that.
He felt tears forming in his eyes. Tears of…yes. Tears of hope. Something he had thought he’d lost long ago.
Venti pulled him into a gentle hug and so Kaeya wrapped his arms around him and buried his head in his shoulder. He smelled of Cecilias and wind and freedom. And he smelled of hope.
Maybe Venti was right. Maybe he wasn’t a lost cause. Just like he had told him before. Just like he told him now.
“You’ll see, everything will work out in the end. It always does.”
He broke the hug to smile at the Archon. Venti returned the smile, as comforting as always, and so Kaeya lay down again, closing his eyes, and letting his personal guardian stroke his hair.
Venti hummed. It was the sound of a gentle breeze blowing through leaves.
“Happy birthday, Kaeya.”