Archive of Our Own ^beta

Steam and the warm scent of clean clothes swirled in air as Adelinde pressed a hot clothes-iron over an intricate red suit. The scent of soap was delicate and homely. Diluc always asked her to use the same scents - the ones they had used since he was a child; the ones that reminded him of his father.

Adelinde had set up the ironing table outside, to enjoy a bit of fresh air and the sunny day. It was not something she could do when washing and pressing the outfit of a certain dark vigilante, but with this she could. She had a familiar look of concentration on her face, eyes squinting at the details of the coat, but all the while humming idly.

“I don’t understand why he has such a detailed outfit to go fight monsters.” Adelinde mumbled.

“Perhaps it is his armor?” Elzer volunteered. He often joined her whenever he could, their conversations being a common yet treasured part of their routine. The winery was calm, with the maids cleaning inside and the rest of the staff occupied with their own tasks.

Originally Elzer had approached with two tea mugs, but upon receiving a deathly glare, he had immediately started folding the laundry Adelinde had finished ironing. They worked as a well-oiled machine while birds chirped around them, entirely ignoring the seriousness of folding sleeves properly and matching the edges of the sheets while folding them without letting the fabric touch the ground.

Once Adelinde got to the red coat and other pieces of that garment, however, Elzer finally had some time to sit and relax. After all, they both knew she was going to take a while smoothing that out and making sure it looked perfect.

“Then he should wear actual armor!” She grumbled. So much time had passed since Elzer’s comment, that he was momentarily puzzled by her answer, but she was so lost in her own thoughts that to Adelinde a mere moment had passed.

“This…look at this.” She pointed at the coat. “He hasn’t worn it in ages, and I had washed it before putting it away, but it still had tears…and a bloodstain right here, when I took it out of the laundry basket.” Could it be he had worn the suit since that last time and never told her?

“Also, look at all of these metal bits, I can’t iron that, what does he want with this?” Her growing levels of annoyance were amusing. “He looks very handsome wearing this, but also like he’ll take a left turn and this *thing* will claw into someone’s shin.” She waved around the sharp triangular metal chains hanging down the back of the coat.

Elzer could not help but laugh. “I think he wanted to make a statement…Look threatening.” The man sighed.

“He should just show monsters what he looks like when he wakes up in a foul mood. Or when someone mentions marriage to him. That’d set all monsters off running.” Adelinde carried on with her tirade. She did not like this coat too much, but she knew him bringing it out now had meaning.

“He was fighting some dangerous things at the time.” Elzer tried to calm her with his logic. “I am not sure if this outfit helped scare enemies or helped him fit in with them, but it did its job. He came back in one piece.”

Adelinde tucked her hair behind her ears to be able to lean in closer to the suit and smooth out the tricky corners without damaging the fabric. “I never liked this outfit of his…It always meant danger. Or him leaving us.” She looked up at the man sitting close by, pausing her task for a moment, her hand resting a little too close to the hot iron in her mindless worry. “You don’t think he is leaving, do you?”

“Adelinde, do be careful.” Elzer stretched enough that he could push the iron away without having to get up, chuckling at her startled gasp. “And no…” He sighed. “He is different now. You have noticed it too, have you not? He lets people in a bit more easily. He has friends, even if he will not admit to it.”

Adelinde nodded, though the worry-lines on her brow and around her eyes remained tense.

“And he cares too much about Mondstadt,” Elzer continued. “He might say he does what he does because the Knights are incompetent, but in truth…he knows he has value as a fighter, as a protector. And he wants to take care of everyone. Even those inefficient knights.” The man snorted.

“That’s true. He does a poor job out of pretending he hates them. At least to us.” She smiled. “And I suppose facing our own past can be…healing. Perhaps he still needs some sort of closure to get this relic out of the closet.” She set the iron aside and held the garment up, making sure it looked pristine.

“But I do wish he would stop risking himself so much. Even Master Kaeya has settled down a bit…Wouldn’t it be nice if Master Diluc someday had his own family to fill the winery? He could marry…have children.”

“Ha!” Elzer could not help as he nearly choked on his tea. “You just said it yourself he runs from marriage like the plague. I am sure he would sooner have kids than settle down.”

Adelinde considered the words for a moment, then nodded. “I wouldn’t mind if he adopted a few little ones in need of care. We could help. Maybe someday.” She sighed as smoothed the fabric of the red coat, still mildly annoyed at how much metal interrupted her idle gesture. “One would think he wants to attract lighting in a storm wearing this out in the open.”

“You treat him as a child sometimes.”

“Well, he acts like one sometimes. And feels a bit like my own by now too, I suppose.” Adelinde shook her head. “The boy deserves some joy. I wish he would stop seeking trouble.”

“Speaking of trouble,” Elzer paused as he took a sip of his now tepid tea. “Isn’t Master Kaeya stopping by to pick up some food today?”

“Oh! Goodness, yes. He did ask me to make him some food to go. I think he has a busy week ahead. And he wants to impress that blond alchemist boy too.” Adelinde chuckled. “Master will likely invite him to stay for dinner out of “courtesy”, so I made his favorite skewers.”

Elzer sighed and shook his head and tapped his foot. “I honestly don’t know why Master Diluc and Master Kaeya still bother acting like they dislike one another’s company. Even to themselves sometimes. I never exchanged letters and messages or even visits that often with my enemies.”

“Oh yes…and don’t forget the mandatory weekly meetings to discuss…what was it again? The quality of grapes? Or unearthing abyss-order hideouts? One would think Master Diluc hired a new informant.” Adelinde grinned, though. She did not mind, at all. She just hoped whatever Diluc needed this outfit for once more, Kaeya would continue to watch out for him. She knew he always did.

“This reminds me, Master Diluc left some instructions on how to receive guests while he is away. I even have a script on words to exchange with Master Kaeya if he shows up. I need to memorize it. But I think some improvisation is welcome too.” She nodded to herself. After all, she set the rules of the Winery more than even its official Master, it was not like she was about to follow rules to the letter. Just the important ones, of course.

“Adelinde? Is my coat ready?”

The well-known deep voice rang in the nearby area. The woman looked up at attention. “He is home early it seems. I should take this to him.” Adelinde gave the coat a sniff, and satisfied with how it smelled - clean and new - she inspected the smoothness of the fabric she had painstakingly ironed.

“Coming, Master Diluc!” She picked up the coat, trousers and other parts of the outfit, hugging them to her chest with one arm as she pointed at the pile of folded laundry with her free hand. “Would you be so kind as to take these inside for me? And the ironing table too. You could use some exercise, sitting at the desk all day is not good for your health.” She smiled winningly at her friend. Elzer would not dare protest.

As she rushed off in the direction of Master Diluc’s voice, Elzer could still hear her mumbling under her breath,

“I bet he needs help to tie up that high ponytail. He always gets it crooked.”