Chapter Text
The Cavalry Captain, Kaeya Alberich,was currently working. At least, that's how the young knight-in-training/maid Noelle found him.
Sitting behind his desk, with a mountain of paper and files, a pen in his hand and the open inkwell, Kaeya had taken pity on the ton of work that awaited Jean when she had to take 2 days of forced rest. It wasn't the first or the last time he'd done that, especially when he didn't have that many things to be done without cavalry to captain and with few recruits to train. And he knew perfectly well how to imitate the signature of his superior.
The young girl knocked on the open door of the office to signify her presence.
"Mail has arrived for you, Captain.”
Kaeya looked up, taking what Noelle handed her. He recognized some writings, of nobles who probably complained that a knight had passed too close to his property during his patrol, he also smelled on one of them the perfume of a young woman in love with him, whom he was trying to drive away as delicately as possible, but she clung on. And a last whose appearance indicated that it had spent some time in the wild before finding its way to his hands. But he also recognized the handwriting and the paper, which was not common in Mondstadt.
"This letter, Captain, it's been a long time since you've had a letter like this. I mean, this paper is not made in the region.”
Kaeya smirked, making poor Noelle lose her senses.
"It's none of my business, of course. I remain available if you need me, Captain.”
"Thank you, Noelle. Don't worry, you're doing a good job.”
The blushing young woman turned back, leaving Kaeya alone. He examined the other letters first, because if the last one was what he thought, it was probably no longer useful. He would read it later, just for fun.
As he expected, the scented letter was from this young woman who desperately wanted to spend time with him. She expressed her regrets that he could not come to the last performance of the cathedral choir, where Barbara had as always enchanted them with her voice worthy of an angel. She told him that she had seen him the day before during one of her patrols in town during the day and that she had always been amazed by his natural grace and his ease in talking to common people. This woman's life was made up of routines, she punctuated all her sentences with a "as always", and he did not remember having ever seen a "for once" in her correspondence.
Out of politeness, he put the letter aside to answer it later, as it was not directly related to his work, and he had a minimum of professional conscience.
He took one of those he suspected came from a noble person to complain. And bingo! “The knight who passed last night had the audacity to set foot on the gravel that leads to my entrance, avoiding the charge of a boar. Couldn't he take the load, this good-for-nothing?” Obviously said in a little more flowery language. The next one he opened gave him much the same speech. The third however went to join the letter of the enamored young lady, because it was a request for a meeting between him and the daughter of the gentleman who contacted him in order to find her a suitable husband; and a Captain of Cavalry, moreover raised by the late Master Crepus Ragnvindr, was a suitable match, if he “would condescend to meet an influential merchant’s daughter who would bring him a respectable dowry”.
Of course, this gentleman would receive a flat refusal. Especially since he recognized the name and, not only did he sell his own daughter as an object, but he tried to marry her to a man who was twice her current age, and it made him sick. He would try to keep an eye on the girl's marital affairs, but he couldn't do much if her father decided his life for her.
And he left the last letter, the older one, aside. He was expected for lunch.
He had begun to reconcile slowly with Diluc. It hadn't happened in an instant and it was still a bit complicated. There had been a lot of things left unsaid, misunderstandings and false assumptions. They were still walking on eggshells with each other a little, but overall their former bond was gradually returning. But Kaeya didn't want to stop there. He wanted to get back all the relationship he had with Diluc before the dreadful night. It would probably never be quite the same, what they had done to each other was too bad to be completely forgotten, and Kaeya had traces of it on his body after all, but he just wanted to hope it could be possible.
Kaeya arrived at the Good Hunter before Diluc and leaned over the counter to argue with Sara, fully aware of the position he had taken. He perceived a slight change to Sara's face.
"Is Master Diluc watching us?”
"Absolutely, he just turned around after talking with Timaeus and seems to have noticed your posterior, Sir Kaeya.”
"Perfect,” said the Captain, changing his lower support, rolling his hips.
"You'll end up making him pass out. How's it going ?”
"Good on the overall. A little more effort and I could steal him in the face of all his suitors. There are just… still some things to straighten out.”
"I still have the impression that it is not missing much. Whatever happened between you, it must have been terrible to keep you apart like that, even though Master Diluc was gone for 3 years. But that's none of my business and I would never speculate, you have my word. Ah, he came out of his trance.”
And indeed, it was a Diluc who had managed to regain his composure who arrived as if nothing had stopped him just a second before. Kaeya straightened up when Diluc laid a friendly hand on his lower back.
"Hello Sara. Kaeya, have you ordered yet?”
"Not yet, I was expecting you. And I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to swallow today, Kaeya replied grimacing. But I'll still have a chicken skewer and a glass of apple cider, please Sara.”
"And a Pile'em Up for me. A glass of cider too. I would have taken us a plate of charcuterie if your stomach had allowed it, but I won't eat it by myself, so another time.”
"Noted ! Where do you want to settle? There are not many customers at that time, so it is relatively free.”
"The balcony is empty, if you see fit, Kaeya and if it's okay for you too, Sara?”
The two nodded and Kaeya caught Diluc's arm, both to play and to flirt, so that he led them to their table. And Diluc, as a good gentleman, did it perfectly. Playing the game, he even went so far as to help Kaeya sit down by pulling his chair.
"Before you ask the question, I ate a hearty snack yesterday at 4 p.m., Noelle had made her famous pancakes and I ate it all.”
"I will probably never stop worrying about your eating habits. I know what it is, but I don't understand how your body can work. But I know that others are taking care of you, and it gives me some peace of mind knowing that you won't be left to starve yourself, even if you don't do it on purpose.”
"Oh, so many words just for me, what do I deserve the honor for? Kaeya asked with a slight laugh.”
Diluc's gaze fell on the street below them, but Kaeya was pretty sure he saw him smile and start to blush. He was not so calm either, Diluc's concern for him was pleasant and sincere. The little butterflies he had at the bottom of his stomach made him feel like a teenager, when he felt like he was discovering new sides to the red-haired as he treated him in the same way as usual. .
"I received a marriage proposal today!”
"How so? There are people who think that being a Knight of Favonius makes someone a good match?”
Kaeya smirked. He had perceived Diluc's shudder, even if he had tried to hide it by answering so coldly.
"There are people who think that marrying a twelve-year-old girl to a Captain of the Order might save them from being reprimanded by the church.”
"Twelve years ? Poor child,” Diluc grimaced. “Even Lord Lawrence did not attempt to marry off his daughters and nieces until they were 16 years old.”
"Didn't he try to bind you to Eula before she was 16?”
"Yes, because she was, and I quote the conversation he had with Father that day «Unbearable and would really need the firm grip of a man to learn to calm down» but that did not derogate the rules since she was going to be 16 in 6 months, so it was not a big deal to plan ahead for her particular case.”
"I do not remember these words exactly, I remember more colorful terms. Either way, he is irritated now because Eula is an extremely capable Captain and he can't afford some shenanigans anymore because she senses them coming from miles around.”
Sara arrived to bring them their dishes and drinks and left wishing them a good meal.
If Kaeya had no trouble finishing his drink, the skewer remained untouched on the plate. Or almost, as the Captain fiddled with it to occupy his hands. What Diluc did not fail to notice.
"Something bothering you? Don't torture this poor skewer if you don't want to eat it.”
"Mh? Oh, that's not a big deal…”
"Kaeya…,” Diluc growled
"No, no, really. It's just…In the mail I received, there was one of your letters. From when you went around the world.”
"Oh, I didn't know that one of my letters got lost. Important information?”
"I don't know, I didn't open it. Precisely because I don't think this information still has value now. I will see that later.”
As Diluc finished eating, they continued to discuss seemingly light things for those who would see them, but the conversation revolved around the Fatui, the Abyss and the Hilichurls. Kaeya had yet to reveal the latest discoveries about his name that he had learned during his trip to Sumeru, but he knew he wouldn't keep this information for long just to himself, he was just waiting for the right moment. Perhaps the same evening when the Darknight Hero would be on the roofs…
Kaeya felt a pang of sadness when their lunch was over. He extended the moment by accompanying Diluc to the Angel’s Share. When the latter put his hand on the Captain's arm to wish him a good afternoon, Kaeya couldn't resist placing a light kiss on his cheek. Close, too close to his lips, because he had started to turn his head at the same time. He felt himself blushing intensely, though he wasn't sure how much it was showing under his darker skin. He muttered a goodbye before quickly turning on his heels. If he had looked back, he would have seen Diluc's face turn almost as red as his hair.
When he finally got home, night had long since fallen. He opened his bedroom window to let in the fresh air and possibly a certain masked hero.
As he busied himself getting ready for the night, his gaze fell on the personal letters that had been addressed to him and which he had not replied to during his work time. Especially the one he suspected was from Diluc. He opened it delicately, it was very damaged by the long journey, he would have liked to know why it arrived so late.
The elegant handwriting he knew so well was shaky. A certain stain was probably blood. There were many erasures, it had been written in a hurry.
For K.
I have so many things to tell you.
I'm not going home soon.
My home is you.
I'm not mad at you, I swear.
I hope you understand that's why I started exchanging these letters with you. Not just for the exchange of information. Maybe at the start. But it's been a long time
We need to talk in person, but I need to write them to you.
I broke so many things between us.
I was angry, it's true
But not against you
I got it now
I nearly got killed
I need to tell you these things, 'cause I could have never been able to tell you
I miss you K
I'm sorry
You must probably hate me
You may have moved on it would be better
I am not mad at you
I'll understand if you don't want me anymore
Give me a sign, when I'm back, if you agree to if you want me
I love you
With love
See you soon
D.
Kaeya had difficulty sitting on a chair without falling. The letter was not dated, but if he read one of the sentences correctly and correctly deciphered the one that was crossed out just before… “I nearly got killed. […] I could have never been able to tell you” it corresponded to this awful whole week when the vision of Diluc had been flickering to the verge of extinction.
He found it hard to realize the implications that the delay of this letter had in his present life. He couldn't think straight anymore. How would he have reacted if he had received this letter earlier? Would he have been relieved? Would he have been mad at Diluc?
He hadn't stop loving him, but he resented him for attacking him. Was he in his right to blame him? Probably not. It didn’t matter anymore !
Still in a kind of trance, Kaeya approached the letter to the candle flame, and tried to see through the erasures. He couldn't decipher everything, but he let out an uncontrolled sob as he read the barely scratched "I love you".
A rustle at his window and a deep voice were heard. Receiving no response, Diluc headed to the main room where he found Kaeya, wearing one of the red satin dressing gowns that he had probably stolen from him when he left the mansion, sitting on the floor leaning against his desk.
The Captain looked up and his eyes filled with tears upon seeing the red head. He approached quickly, imagining the worst.
"Kaeya! What is going on ?”
In response, he handed him the letter. Diluc didn't have to look at it for long to remember what he had written.
"And you who thought it was not important…”
"Is… is it still valid?”
Diluc knelt down and put a hand on the cheek now wet with tears.
"Yes, Kaeya, more than ever, he said solemnly.”
"We’ve wasted so much time…”
"When you didn't answer that letter, I thought... that you hated me, and that was fine. So when I came back, I just wanted to give you some space.”
"I thought you still hated me, that you didn't completely trust me despite the exchange of letters. But I didn't want to... I couldn't…”
Kaeya finally moved, to simply get closer to Diluc and put his nose in the red-headed's neck and be surrounded by his arms.
"Despite everything that happened, I love you Diluc. So if you want me…”
Kaeya sat up to look Diluc in the eyes. The latter pushed aside the lock that normally hid the eye patch, which Kaeya had already removed, to admire his entire face. He echoed the younger one's words "We've wasted so much time..." and pressed his lips to the quivering ones in front of him.