Chapter Text
Diluc does not expect the Traveler's arrival to Angel's Share, one late evening. Last he heard of Aether, he was going to Inazuma, and then all news of him ceased. And then there was the lifting of some of the Sakoku Decree's restrictions, which he heard from all his patrons asking if he'd be willing to import some of Inazuma's specialty wines—as well as his own sources.
Kaeya also happens to be present, entertaining his third Death After Noon. They've spoken little to each other, with Diluc spending most of his time polishing glasses when he isn't serving drinks to other patrons. As the hours draw toward closing, the other patrons leave, but Kaeya lingers.
Then, the Traveler enters and makes a beeline for the counter, sitting down by Kaeya with one empty chair between them.
Aether looks tired, Diluc notes. Not necessarily physically, but he seems mentally distant in a way that makes Diluc wonder what exactly he went through to change that closed-off nation.
"Why, Aether!" Kaeya says, turning to him with an easy smile. "We haven't seen you for quite a few months now. How've you been?"
Aether hums. "Do you think I can convince Diluc to let me try some alcohol?" he asks airily.
"No," Diluc says. "I'm not serving alcohol to a teenager."
Aether huffs, laying his head on the counter, mumbling something about "older" and "nasty anyway."
Hm.
"What brings you back to Mondstadt?" Kaeya asks. "I've heard you've been causing political unrest as usual?"
Aether snorts. "Yeah, guess so. I just wanted to…" He trails off, eyes going hazy as he looks at something none of them can see. After a few seconds, he shifts so that his chin is resting on his hands. "Hey, Diluc?"
Diluc makes a grunt of acknowledgement.
"Can I see your hand?"
Confused, Diluc sets down the glass he was polishing before offering his right hand, putting it on the counter in front of the Traveler.
"Your other one."
At this, Diluc hesitates. Kaeya exchanges a look with him, but still, Diluc places his left hand atop the counter. While it's stiff as usual with its dull ache, it's not shaking today, hence him taking a shift for the bar.
Aether removes one of his hands from under his chin to take Diluc's hand in his own, turning it over and pressing his thumb to the palm. "Three years," he murmurs.
Diluc tenses. He knows. How does he know?
"I hope you don't get mad at me for this." Aether suddenly grips his hand tightly, and a wave of dizziness washes over Diluc. His vision blurs, and he can't tell if it's a hallucination or something real, but threads of darkness seem to emerge from his hand and arm before rushing into Aether's, disappearing.
He's pushed back, and his field of view is overtaken by blue and white. Kaeya's back, a distant part of him realizes.
"What did you do?" Kaeya says, voice low. Dangerous.
The world refocuses, and Diluc first finds his gaze drawn to his hand. It doesn't hurt. It doesn't ache, it doesn't shake, and every finger moves the way he tells it to.
He next looks up and sees that Kaeya has stood up, one hand extended to push Diluc back, one hand extended forward to grab Aether by his scarf. The Traveler has been pushed out of his seat, Kaeya a human barrier between him and Diluc.
"Kaeya," he calls out, stepping forward and reaching over the bar. Diluc catches hold of Kaeya's wrist. "It's alright."
Kaeya frowns before letting Aether go, sitting down and watching the Traveler warily. Diluc is glad that no others are present right now, or else he is quite sure they'd be staring. "Aether," Diluc starts.
"I just wanted to make sure you were alright. That you'd be alright," Aether says, not meeting his gaze. "I mean… I purified Dvalin, so…"
Diluc supposes it makes sense that he'd be able to purify whatever remnants the Delusion might have left in him, too. It's so strange, though—to suddenly be free of a weight that he's learned to bear with for years.
"It's probably not completely healed just like that," Aether continues. "But, well… you can think of it as me removing a thorn. It should get better with time."
"I… see," Diluc says.
"How did you know?" Kaeya asks—demands, rather.
"I…" Aether looks away. He opens his mouth, closes it, and then takes a step back. "I'm sorry, I can't, I… I'm… going now." He turns and leaves the bar in a rush.
"I'll follow him," Kaeya says, starting to stand.
"No. No, it's fine." Diluc looks at his hand again, clenching and unclenching his fist, holding it up in the air. "It… doesn't hurt," he says.
Kaeya shifts, looking at him with a sharpness in his eye—now clear of any drunkenness. "Did it, before?"
Diluc lets a few seconds pass before nodding. He sets his hands on the counter, and after a moment, he lets out a single, barking laugh. Kaeya looks at him like he's grown another head.
"I thought I'd live with it forever," Diluc says. There's a sudden sense of relief, and he plops himself down on the stool behind him, one hand over his eyes, a wry smile on his face. "Every day, I would wake up and wonder if it'd be a better or worse day, but…" He lowers his hands from his face, holding his wrist instead. "I can't quite believe it. Just like that? Nothing I did ever helped, not much and not for long." He's accepted it as his price. His penance, for everything he's done.
"Is that so…" Kaeya murmurs. There's a long silence, and then: "Do you scowl at everyone since you're—or, you were always in pain?"
"No." A pause. "I don't know. There were days I could ignore it."
Kaeya snorts. "Well, I'm glad that you seem to be doing fine. I, on the other hand, am now quite curious about our little Traveler."
"Don't cause him trouble," Diluc says. "He's a good kid, and I'm… grateful."
Kaeya rolls his eye, huffing. "Well, I'll try not to. But I'm sure there's more to him than meets the eye. Our Chief Alchemist seems quite interested in him, too, and it's only… interesting things that draw his attention."
"Everyone has their secrets." He meets Kaeya's gaze. "I trust him, and he will tell us one day, or he won't."
There's a flicker of hurt in Kaeya's eye, and he knows there will be a grain of truth in whatever Kaeya says next. "Oh, how easy it was for an outlander to gain our cynical Master Diluc's trust."
Diluc hesitates. Splays his hands on the counter, looking at the grain of the wood. "Kaeya." He considers what he wants to say.
He knows he's taken too long when Kaeya asks, "What?"
Still, he delays a bit longer. After a few seconds, he says, "I do trust you. Not entirely, and not for everything. I trust that you'll keep Mondstadt safe." He looks up, forcing himself to look Kaeya in the eye. He wonders if he feels emboldened thanks to feeling freed from his pain. "I do not know if you feel the same, but I… no matter what I've said, or done, no matter how complicated it is, I do still consider you my brother. I shouldn't have raised my blade against you. I shouldn't have burned you—" literally and metaphorically—"when I could have accepted you."
Kaeya stares at him, and then knocks back the rest of his drink as if it were a shot of hard liquor rather than a rich wine. He stares at the glass. "Can I have another?"
"No. It's past closing."
Kaeya laughs, low and deprecating. "How cruel you are," he says, and Diluc knows he's not just referring to the drink.
Diluc feels like he needs to say something. Do something. He makes an aborted reach for his—his brother, and Kaeya evidently catches it, sitting up.
"Show me your hand," Kaeya says, suddenly.
Diluc stares at him. After a moment, he takes off his left glove and offers his bare hand to Kaeya. He feels oddly exposed as Kaeya takes it into his own hands, the texture of his gloves and skin so stark compared to the dulled sensations usually offered by the barrier of Diluc's own gloves.
Kaeya traces his palm and fingers, pausing as he notices a slight tremor. Diluc is unsure if it's because of the yet-lingering effects, or because of… this.
"Is it hurting again?" Kaeya asks.
"No. Just… shaking a bit, I suppose."
"I noticed that your hand would bother you sometimes, you know," Kaeya murmurs. "What the hell were you thinking, using that thing? Did you want to die?" He laughs hollowly. When Diluc doesn't answer, Kaeya squeezes his hand tightly for a brief moment, closing his eye. "Right, well. Pain. Tremors. Anything else?"
"Stiffness. Sometimes if it wasn't pain, it'd feel numb, instead. Or I'd feel like my hand wasn't my own." He pauses. "On the very bad days, I would see things."
"See things?"
"Hallucinations and the like."
Kaeya stares at Diluc's hand. He looks up at him with a strained smile. "You're being awfully candid today… brother."
Hearing Kaeya call him that again hits him somewhere deep in his chest. Of course, the only thing that comes out is, "Don't get used to it."
Kaeya laughs. "Of course." He lets Diluc go and slumps, burying his face in his hands. "It's late. I should go." He stands, swaying slightly—he's had quite a few drinks, and it's showing again now that the moment of adrenaline has passed—before turning away. "Hey, if you start feeling weird or anything, tell me. As much as you trust Aether, I'm not taking his word for it."
Diluc nods, and then realizes Kaeya can't see him. "Alright," he says.
Kaeya moves towards the door, but before he exits, he turns his head halfway back. "You've always been my brother, Diluc."
Then, he's gone before Diluc can even start to think of a reply.