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dreamerinthemoonlight · 1 year ago

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Scarlet

Summary: Diluc has a nightmare and runs off without a weapon. Kaeya makes sure he survives the night

CW: Violence, platonic cuddling, nightmares, hurt/comfort

Word Count: 1620

Requests are OPEN

Scarlet. The color, in all its myriad of shades, is all Diluc can see.

The color of his father’s hair and the blood soaking through their own clothes as the light faded from his eyes. Blood leaking from various wounds as he and Kaeya clash blades. The intense, searing shade of fire burning enemy after enemy to ash,. Image after image, nothing but scarlet.

With the color comes voices.

You should have saved me.

Please, D. Why can’t you understand? I didn’t have a choice.

Murderer. Assassin.

Unforgivable.

And through it all – the blood and the flame, the voices that he can’t ever escape--the scent of blood and death surrounds him, reminding him that nothing can wash away the past.

Diluc falls to his knees, face held in bloody palms. Please, please. Just leave me alone. I’m doing my best. I don’t know what else to do.

The barrage of sensations and Diluc’s pleading seems to go on forever and yet for no time at all before his body jerks and his eyes fly open.

Diluc freezes for a moment, eyes scanning his surroundings.

There is nothing. No fire. No blood. Only a quiet room, the whisper of wind outside his window, and cold sweat trickling down his back.

The red-head rolls out of bed, pulling his damp hair out of his face before donning a pair of pants and a shirt.

He reaches for his vision and claymore, but the image of Kaeya’s fear and too many bodies turned to ash stills his hand.

As much as it goes against years of training and habit, he just can’t do it. Not tonight.

Instead he turns away.

Diluc pushes his window open and jumps out, landing with a soft thud. The last thing he wants to do is alert Adelinde to his admittedly less-than-wise midnight excursion.

Of all things Kaeya expected to see on a late night patrol (read: another bout of insomnia that he wasn’t going to bother Albedo with), Diluc running away from a mob of hilichurls was not one of them.

Kaeya pinches his arm, wincing at the bite of his nails digging into skin.

No. Now sure that his eyes aren’t playing tricks and that this isn’t some sort of insomnia induced hallucination, Kaeya breaks into a run.

While he hesitated, Diluc stumbled several times, giving the mob a chance to close the gap between them and the red-head.

When Kaeya is a few yards closer, his heart leaps into his throat. Diluc, the ever cautious guardian of Mondstadt, is unarmed.

Kaeya pushes himself faster, trying not to trip over the dimly lit terrain.

If he doesn’t get there in time – the image of Diluc cradling Crepus’s lifeless body flashes through his mind.

No, no, no, no. I can’t lose another family member. Not like this.

As soon as Kaeya’s in range, he throws himself in between Diluc and the hilichurls, taking a flaming club to the chest.

Kaeya’s vision flares white and he summons his sword as his rational mind catches up with his panic.

The ground at the knight’s feet frosts over, a half dozen ice shards impaling the smaller monsters.

Before he can shift his focus and bring his blade up to parry, a mitachurl ax comes swinging down.

But the blow never comes, instead Diluc shoves him to the side, taking a glancing blow to his leg.

Even in the light of a waning moon, Kaeya can clearly see Diluc’s blood staining the frosted earth scarlet.

Kaeya’s world goes white, a blizzard like none he’s ever tried to call engulfing them both. It’s all he can do to cover Diluc’s body with his own, protecting his brother with everything he has.

When the blizzard fades, summer has turned to winter and the remaining hilichurls have frozen, while a pale shield covers the two men.

Kaeya shivers, but shoves the cold aside. He pulls off his cape, ripping it to shreds and binding Diluc’s leg. Despite not taking the blow full on, the wound still bleeds profusely, and it isn’t the only injury the older man has.

“Kae…? Why did….?”

Kaeya finishes tying the makeshift bandage, only to find Diluc staring at him with a dazed look.

Kaeya hurries to stand, maneuvering Diluc so that he’s half riding piggy-back.

“Why did you have to get so big, you bastard?” Kaeya hisses, before starting towards the few lights that still shine in Mondstadt.

The knight curses when the only response he receives is a muffled groan.

The journey is slow. Slower than any Kaeya has undertaken. He talks to Diluc under his breath, promising that they’d be back soon, that everything was going to be alright, all the while praying to each of the Seven that fate would not make a liar out of him.

Eventually the pair makes it to the front gates.

The gate guards start to salute, only to rush to the pair’s side. “Sir Kaeya, Master Diluc!”

Kaeya jerks his head towards the cathedral. “Go. Bring Barbara to my house.”

“But sir---”

“No buts. I need to take D home.”

Lawrence and Swan share a look, but quickly realizes first, that the Cavalry Captain is a bit delirious himself and second, is not going to budge on the issue.

Lawrence races off, while Swan gives Kaeya a concerned look. “Are you sure you can make it there?”

“I have to get Diluc home. I can’t lose him. Can’t let him leave.”

Swan shuts his mouth, swearing that no one is ever going to hear what Kaeya is saying to him.

“Be safe, sir. I can’t leave my post.”

“No, no. I have to do this myself. Can’t leave him.”

Swan waves him by, hoping that another knight finds him before he collapses.

As it turns out, it isn’t a knight that finds Diluc and Kaeya, but Rosaria.

She scowls at the pair, but sighs. “I assume you want to go back to your house.”

Kaeya nods.

“Give him here. You’re not going to make it at this rate.”

“But--”

“No buts.”

Kaeya relents, finally, letting Rosaria shoulder his burden.

She takes a few steps before looking back at her fellow cryo user. “Well? Are you coming?”

Diluc floats in a sort of limbo. As usual, he finds him surrounded by red. This time however, the scarlet hue is comforting.

It’s the warmth of home, his father’s beard framing a bright smile--one he used to share.

It is the fire in winter and the flames of protection, the scarlet that framed his youth. Nowhere is blood to be seen.

Diluc slowly comes to, blinking to clear his vision.

Before he can gain his bearings, a fist slams into his jaw from an awkward angle.

The pain draws him out of sleep fully and the first thing he sees is Kaeya’s face and the fire in his good eye.

Kaeya grips his shoulders, shaking gently. “What in Barbatos' name possessed you to leave in the middle of the night completely unarmed.”

“I---”

“You could have been killed, D! Then what would people have done? What about Adelinde? What about me?”

Diluc freezes the nightmares from before haunting once again. But he can’t find it in him to deflect.

“I couldn’t stay at the Winery, but…”

“But? I need a damn good reason, D.”

“I couldn’t take up the weapon and vision that nearly killed you. That couldn’t save Father. I can’t escape the anger and hate. Or the guilt. I wasn’t intending on fighting, but---”

“You were stupid enough to go out, knowing that the knights can’t take care of everything. Varka could have left some more knights behind, but that doesn’t excuse recklessness.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“At least I brought something to stab someone with.”

Kaeya leans forward and wraps his arms around his brother. For the first time, Diluc notices the bandages wrapping Kaeya’s chest. Notices the red stain seeping

“You got hurt protecting me. You’re bleeding because of me. Again.”

“I won’t say you’re wrong, but I’d also be dead if not for you, so I think we’re even.”

“You got hurt because of me.”

Kaeya watches Diluc’s pupils shrink and his breathing quicken. He rests a cool hand on the older man’s shoulder.

“I don’t care about that, Diluc. You’re safe. You’re home. You didn’t leave me. I can’t lose another family member.”

That snaps Diluc out of his panic. “You…think we’re family?”

“You’re all I’ve got left. My father left me. Crepus is long dead. You don’t like me much, but at least you’re still here. I can still watch your back.”

Kaeya lays back, sighing in exhaustion. “I had shit timing and I’m not the most honest of people. But I swear, I never wanted to betray you. I just wanted to live happily with you and our father. You gave me a home and I never stopped feeling guilty.

Diluc lays back next to him, startled when Kaeya curls up next to him the way they used to, before their life went to hell. He closes his eyes and lets the knight settle, feeling, somehow, that the younger man had likely not slept since they were injured.

“Get some rest, Kae. We’re going to have to talk about this later.”

Kaeya nods. “”Bedo said if we didn’t he was going to rope us into six months worth of assistant duty and that he was going to help mediate. Says he’s not going to let me be miserable because we have bad communication skills.”

Diluc chuckles. “Trust Albedo to not beat around the bush.”

Kaeya’s presence and even breathing quickly lulls him to sleep. This time, there is no scarlet. This time, he finds peace.