Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The far-too-early dawning summer sun was entirely too cheerful about waking Kaeya up. The knight groaned, throwing an arm across his eyes to defend them from the shining rays. “Fine, fine, I’m getting up, now fuck off,” he snarled into the empty room.

Unfortunately, the sun didn’t listen.

Kaeya heaved a deep sigh, then dragged himself out of bed to pull the curtains shut. He was still exhausted, but that didn’t change his duties– there was paperwork to do, and an acting Grand Master to keep from working herself to death. Long practice got him into his uniform, wrinkles in the fabric smoothed, his hair brushed and tied up. A splash of cold water on his face helped him to wake up enough to disguise the dark circles with a touch of cosmetics before tying on his eyepatch. Then it was just a matter of picking up last night’s file and heading to Headquarters.

All told, it was under ten minutes from those first too-bright rays of sunlight to Kaeya’s first step out the door.

Not too many people were on the streets of Mond this early. A few natural early risers, or those working opening shifts. A couple other knights who, like himself, had duties they couldn’t escape of a morning. But at this hour, most were still sleeping off the previous night’s drinking. 

This made for a nice quiet walk each morning for Kaeya, with a smile and a nod here and there, but mostly just a chance to finish waking up for the day. Or try to. 

For the rest, there was coffee.

The wonderful aroma of roasted beans hit the knight as soon as he stepped into Headquarters, and he detoured to collect his first mugful along with a fresh one for his best friend, draining his own on the way to Jean’s office. “Good morning!” He relished the glare he got for his bright smile, and the way it shifted as the blonde noticed the fresh mug of coffee he was offering her. “Figured you’d need a refill by now. And I’ll just take these–”

Jean made a sound of protest as he scooped the nearest stack of paperwork off her desk, but he had danced out of the room before she could get a full word out, whistling on the way to his own office. It wasn’t that he enjoyed paperwork, not in the slightest! But pulling one over on Jean, and lightening her workload? Knowing she’d smile a little more today? That brightened his morning.

Besides, chances were at least half that stack was his anyway. She likely pulled the same stunt before he got there.

─── • ☆ ☽ ☆ • ───

Kaeya had long since lost track of how many mugs of coffee he’d had by the time the sun reached its zenith. The important thing was that he was just setting aside the last of the paperwork when Jean stuck her head in and told him to get his ass out of the building and eat something. She seemed satisfied with his cocky salute, luckily, and didn’t question him.

Which was lucky. Kaeya wasn’t really hungry. He’d head out anyway, though, some fresh air would be nice after a morning stuffed behind his desk– 

Better yet, he ran into Noelle in the hallway. A raised eyebrow and a thumb jerked towards Jean’s office, and he knew Jean wouldn’t be escaping lunch today. Perfect revenge. And then just down the stairs, Klee bounced up to him, and Kaeya’s grin widened. He was getting all the luck today. “Big brother Kaeya! Look what Klee found! It’s colored just like Dodoco, don’t you think?”

He could correct her grammar later. Kaeya didn’t want to spoil the girl’s obvious excitement over the striped rock she was holding up for his perusal. “It is indeed! Where did you find such a perfect pebble?”

“It was right by the gate! Klee tripped on it,” the girl’s smile faded for a moment, but spread across her face again as she continued, “but it was worth it! Klee scraped her knee but found this, so it’s okay!”

“ ‘I scraped my knee’, Klee… wait. Did you see Barbara about that yet?” A true scrape would be more minor than was worth bothering her with, of course, but he’d seen some of the gashes Klee had called scrapes’ and wasn’t taking chances.

“Nooooo….” the evasive tone was adorable, really “... but Sir Guy patched Klee up, so it’s okay!”

Guy was… far from the brightest of the knights, but he wasn’t so stupid that he’d fail to bring Klee to the church if she were badly injured. It was probably fine. “Good thinking, Klee. Are you going to go show that to Jean and Albedo now?”

“Oooo, yeah!” And she was off. Kaeya shook his head. If he had her energy, his days would be much easier… but coffee was almost as good. He debated grabbing another mugful before heading out, but no, that would give away he had no intention to stop anywhere to eat.

By the time he reached the main street those intentions were wavering. He could swear he could smell a fresh batch of skewers, wafting temptation out of Good Hunter. Maybe he would— 

“Sir Kaeya!” The knight turned at the call to see a familiar bandage-adorned teenager, and smiled fondly. The poor kid didn’t deserve what life had dealt him, but somehow had kept his chin up despite arguably worse circumstances than Kaeya’s own. “I’m glad I caught you! I can’t seem to get that last technique you showed me right. The cross-body slash goes fine, but on the way back my sword always seems to want to go down instead of up– ”

Kaeya spotted Fischl and her parents further down the street and cursed under his breath. He liked the girl just fine, she was imaginative and competent, but her parents just would not stop trying to shove them into marriage vows together. “You have perfect timing, Benny. I have a free hour. Why don’t we head to one of the practice ranges, and I’ll run you through it a few more times?”

“That would be awesome,” the kid enthused, and in no time at all they were out of sight.

─── • ☆ ☽ ☆ • ───

The knight found himself telling his mare, Frosted Glass, all about the impromptu training session an hour later as he tacked her up. “Kid’ll be a master swordsman one day, if he lives long enough. All he needed was a slight angle change and to add some shoulder exercises to his routine. If he could’ve had a dedicated weapons master to teach him…”

Glass nickered and mouthed at Kaeya’s hair, and he broke off with a sigh. It wasn’t as if a horse knew or cared about Benny’s future, he knew, for all it seemed like it sometimes. She was just reacting to his tone.

But who else was there to talk to about such things? Jean was busy, Albedo was rarely interested in what he termed ‘gossip’, and Rosie never had understood why he took the time to teach the kid what he could. Diluc would have understood, once, but, well…

That was a long time ago.

Kaeya swallowed, and shoved aside the painful memories threatening his mind. He had a patrol to run. A moment to quickly run his hands over the tack to make sure nothing was twisted gave him the time he needed to ensure his face remained neutral, and then he was leading Glass out of the Knights’ city stables.

It was clear almost immediately that the mare was feeling frisky that afternoon, so as soon as they were past the bridge Kaeya swung into the saddle and signaled a gallop. He couldn’t help a grin at the way the wind blew past, leaning forward and raising his hips to help her run. Glass knew the way; it wasn’t like he had to direct her every movement on such a routine ride.

Kaeya reined her in after she’d worked out her excess energy, though. It would be a while before they reached the winery, and overworking Glass was not in his plans for the day.

There weren’t terribly many people traveling the road today. Merchants would be more common closer to harvest, or come next spring, and it wasn’t close enough to any festivals for tourists and travelers sight-seeing. Earlier and later in the day would be those who lived outside the city but worked inside the walls. For now, it was just a scattering of farmers and locals, and Kaeya gave them his usual friendly greeting while keeping an eye out for trouble.

By the time he reached the winery, there was just about enough time before dinner to switch horses and do a sweep of the local woods. Glass could easily handle the whole patrol, but Kaeya knew Ravensong, Diluc’s horse– if he ever came back for her– was likely lacking in exercise. She didn’t let anyone but Kaeya ride her these days.

And that hurt. Raven shouldn’t have to suffer because Kaeya had driven her rider away. So he did everything he could for her, when he had the time.

“Here to take Ravensong for a ride? We’d be grateful if you do, she’s been in a mood today.” Kaeya grinned at Willis as he passed him Glass’ reins, giving her nose a rub before heading in. “She always is. She’ll be calmer when we get back. Probably.”

The stablehand scoffed, but was chuckling and shaking his head as he led Glass to her usual stall. Kaeya headed towards the back corner, where Raven now occupied her sire’s old stall. Thunder had been picky about his riders too as he recalled, and had terrified him when he was a small boy new to the household.

No one would ever call Glass delicate, but if she were side-by-side with Raven, she would almost look it. Diluc’s horse was a few hands taller and proportionately far more muscled– much like her rider, if she were shorter, she’d be considered stocky. Where Glass’ primarily dark grey hide was splattered with the frost-like splotches that gave the mare her name– like looking out a winter-frosted glass window at night– Ravensong was completely black, with a wavy mane and tail that when combined with the rest made her look like a warhorse straight out of legend.

And she was a bitch.

A lovable bitch, and more importantly, Diluc’s bitch, but a bitch all the same.

Kaeya prayed this was a day when Raven was in the mood for sugar, and pulled a few lumps from his pocket to offer the beast of a horse. To his relief, after a tense moment while she considered the offering, the mare leaned forward and gently lipped the sweet from his palm.

Good. He’d forgotten to grab carrots and apples on the way here, and that could have been… unpleasant.

Now that the niceties were out of the way, Kaeya murmured to the horse softly as he slipped into the stall to check on her condition. It seemed like for the most part the stablehands had managed the basics, but her mane and tail were a woeful mess. He’d have to take care of those when they got back. “Alright, girl, you ready for a ride? I still have part of my patrol to do, and I bet you’re tired of being cooped up.”

─── • ☆ ☽ ☆ • ───

It was nearly dinnertime, by most people’s standards, when they made it back. Kaeya swung by the stables long enough to drop off Raven’s tack and snag a brush, then led her out to a clear area of the pasture to work on the leaf-filled tangle her mane and tail had become. It didn’t take long for Glass to wander over and start rolling in the grass nearby, and the knight let a soft smile slip onto his face.

All that was missing was… 

Kaeya slipped a hand into his pocket, and gently set the round object he found there on a fencepost, watching the steadily pulsing red light within. “See, Raven? He’s still alive, somewhere. I think he had a close call, a few days ago, but he’s still there. Still here, almost, in a way.”

He drifted his fingers over the glass-like surface, remembering the horror and despair he’d felt watching Diluc’s Vision flicker and nearly go out. Curling around it and hoping, praying, even to the archons who had every reason to hate him, anything so long as they just let Diluc live.

Raven’s head nearly knocking Kaeya off his feet interrupted his spiraling thoughts, and he tried to force a chuckle, scrubbing the tears away that had managed to sneak out. “Sorry. I know it’s my fault he’s not here to be with you. Don’t worry, I’ll–”

His words got interrupted this time, as he frantically scrambled to try to keep the massive horse from eating his eyepatch. “Stop that! You’re a horse, not a goat, damn it! Give that back!”

A short tussle later, Kaeya stared at the sodden half-chewed mass in his hand and sighed. This is why he brought a spare every time he left the city. Not because it might get caught in a tree branch, or cut off in battle… but because of Raven. “You’re a bitch, you know that? Oww!”

He rubbed his shoulder, glaring. “Fine. I concede. Now can we get your hair properly braided?”

You would never know Raven had ever been anything but perfectly composed. Suddenly she was standing still and poised, waiting for his fingers and brush. Kaeya laughed more genuinely this time, and set to work.

─── • ☆ ☽ ☆ • ───

It was well after dark by the time Kaeya made it back to headquarters on Glass, grateful his mare had been cooperative with night-riding on the familiar, well-tended roads close to the city. He hadn’t been able to get all the dirt from her roll out of the mane, despite his best efforts, and he made a mental note to take both mares for a bath the next time Jean randomly decided to enforce a ‘rest day’.

In the meantime, he made sure his girl got a proper rub-down before leaving her stall. The stablehands hired by the knights were generally competent, but a rub-down was also bonding time… and Glass deserved the best, before he headed off to the next part of his duties.

He could walk to the Angel’s Share in his sleep, practically, and today– tonight– that was just as well. It had been far too long since Kaeya’s last cup of coffee. He could sneak more in if he could talk Charles into letting him run the bar instead for a bit… the aroma was not terribly disguisable in a purportedly alcoholic drink, but no one thought twice about the barkeep drinking coffee.

The knight found he was in luck. Charles hadn’t even arrived yet– as much as the man tried, he’d been late fairly often since his daughter had been born– and the dayshifter was clearly desperate to head home. Kaeya grinned and jerked his thumb at the door, and the man wasted no time tossing him the rag and apron and skedaddling.

It didn’t look to be a particularly busy evening. The dinner rush was already long over, and the only customers at the bar were the regulars who would be there until near closing time every night, quietly nursing their drinks. Kaeya already knew what they wanted, and simply made sure to slide them a fresh glass whenever one lifted a finger.

Lovely. That left plenty of time to start a pot or two of coffee and drink it down.

Charles finally showed up, looking very frazzled, about an hour later, and a very caffeinated Kaeya cheerfully handed him control of the bar and set off for a table near the back. A suspicious-looking group had settled in just a few minutes before, and if he settled in with his back to them, apparently focused on a drink, he could hopefully pick up some interesting tidbits.

The barkeep walked over not long after he’d thrown the rough-looking individuals a smile and sat down, handing him his usual virgin ‘dandelion wine’ and a plateful of skewers. Kaeya opened his mouth to say he wasn’t hungry— 

Well. When Charles had that look in his eye, the knight wouldn’t get any more drinks until the food was gone. So he just smiled and nodded, and set to. The man always made the best skewers in town, anyway, except for Kaeya’s own. And… okay, at this point he was hungry. A little. 

“I see Charles beat me to it tonight,” Rosaria commented, sliding into the seat next to the knight. “For once I don’t need to shove food down your gullet.”

Kaeya glared briefly, “I eat!”

“Really? Since when? Name the last thing you ate that you weren’t forced to.” The nun lifted a hand to snag Charles’ attention, then turned back to Kaeya. “I wager it wasn’t anytime in the last week.”

“Uhhh…..” The knight racked his brain, trying to remember. He could just make something up– if it was anyone else. She always knew, somehow. “I think I had a carrot Raven didn’t want the other day?”

She snorted. “That doesn’t count. You need to have proper meals, Kaeya, or by Barbietoes’ ass you’ll wither away and vanish.”

“Barbatos.” How a nun could get the name of Mond’s archon wrong every single time, Kaeya had no idea. Unless it was on purpose. But he’d rather not draw any archon’s attention, so… “And I do. Between you, Charles, and Adelinde, I’ll be stuffed rounder than an autumn boar at this rate.”

Charles interrupted their discussion bringing Rosie’s usual starter, a Death After Noon and a plate of fresh-carved roasted chicken. He also set another plate of skewers in front of Kaeya, along with what looked like another Death After Noon– though the knight knew his would be completely without alcohol.

It seemed his prediction was accurate. Usually he could get away with just one plate of skewers.

“As if we ever could. I swear you’re still getting thinner, Kaeya,” Rosie snarked, pausing long enough for a bite of chicken. ”Maybe I should drag you to the church for a day or two. I bet the other nuns would make sure you ate properly.”

“Don’t you dare! Do that, and I’ll tell them about your drinking, Rosie!” Kaeya suppressed a grin as the group behind them finally relaxed and returned to their own conversation. This old argument was hardly going to take his full attention- that was the point. He could respond without thinking while listening in, and filing away useful tidbits. “I’ll also tell them about your nicknames for Barbatos— “

─── • ☆ ☽ ☆ • ───

Hours later, when Kaeya was just about the last customer at the tavern, Charles made a show of shooing him out the door. The knight put on an act of being an amiable, staggering drunk for the few witnesses, and kept it up down the streets until he was nearly to the house he was watching for Adelinde. From there– where there was no one to see, in the wee hours of morning– he straightened and walked more normally to Ragnvindr Manor instead.

There was no need to disturb anyone so late. Or early, depending how you counted. Kaeya still had a key, for now, so he let himself in and headed straight for the ground-floor office, pausing only long enough to wave when Adelinde poked her head out to see who had come in. In the office, more piles of paperwork awaited his attention, if not nearly as much as he’d handled for the knights that morning.

He might no longer be a Ragnvindr, semantically, but legally he was the only one here with the name. And someone had to keep things running.

The paperwork was soothing, in a way, after a long day. Like when he was a kid, and had sat next to this same desk as Da– Master Crepus– did much the same paperwork. Kaeya traced his fingers over the signature he only used here, Kaeya Ragnvindr, and sighed. If only… but no. he’d thrown that away before he’d ever even had it. He’d thrown it away by being born.

When the last paper was signed and placed in its stack, Kaeya stretched and glanced out the window. It was time to head back to Adelinde’s house and sleep, though as the first hints of dawn streaked the early summer sky, he knew it would only be a couple hours before it was all to do again.

Chapter Text

Diluc couldn’t help staggering to a halt when the main buildings of the Winery came into view. For a brief moment he found himself wondering if this was a dream, but he shook it off and forced his feet moving again. The fields and buildings might look the same as they had years ago, but it was an illusion.

It wasn’t a dream he was returning to. It might be a nightmare, though.

In retrospect, he didn’t really remember travelling the distance between that first sight and the door itself. It was probably a miracle he hadn’t tripped over anything in the dark– he doubted he’d kept to the road, but he hadn’t needed his brain, really. He’d never be anything but familiar with the terrain here; it was as much a part of him as his red hair, as his name. For all it wasn’t his anymore.

And that was why he was standing here in front of the door, wasn’t it? He couldn’t just walk in, not when this was Kaeya’s home now, not his. Diluc knew that the Winery itself had always been intended for Kaeya, who had shown so much more interest and talent in the wines than he had. Father had likely told him at some point, or if he hadn’t, it would have come out when the will was read. Diluc didn’t begrudge him that. He never would.

It was the least of what Kaeya was owed, after what Diluc had done. If he could manage it, he intended for him to have the rest, too. If Kaeya was still— 

The former knight yanked his tired mind away from that line of thought, returning to the question of what to do about the door. He swayed on his feet, staring at the oddly impenetrable wood. He didn’t have the right to simply walk in, that was certain. But it was far too late to go knocking on people’s doors… and if Kaeya was there– which he had to be, Diluc refused to consider why he might not be– he wouldn’t want to see him.

Maybe he should just head to the city. He could get there by dawn. Probably. And surely someone there could tell him how Kaeya was doing. He could learn what he needed to without ever disturbing his bro– without disturbing Kaeya with his existence.

That gaping hole inside him ached at the thought, though, and something like despair tugged at his soul even considering not seeing Kaeya with his own eyes. Not touching his hand or shoulder or hair just once, to be sure he was real, and alive. 

Selfish, as he’d always been. How much would it hurt Kaeya, this insistence on seeing him? But he couldn’t turn away. He had to know.

So he stared at a door in the starlight. A door he’d never in his life hesitated to open and walk through, before now.

A door which, between one blink and the next, went from closed to open– spilling warmth and light around a figure he hadn’t entirely expected to see again. Adelinde– sweet Addy– stared at him in shock for a moment, before whispering, “Master Diluc?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but words didn’t come out. He closed it, and opened to try again, and this time found himself coughing. Adelinde immediately moved to pull him inside and he tried to wave her off, really he did– when had they gotten upstairs? She was urging him towards his old room– 

Diluc finally managed to choke out words. “No.” He coughed again. “No, Addy, I can’t stay here, Kaeya won’t want me around–”

“Master Kaeya isn’t here.” It almost sounded like she wanted to say more, and the former knight’s mind drowned in panic. 

“Not here? Is he–” He grabbed for Adelinde’s shoulder, to look her properly in the face, wound up grabbing her arm instead. He wasn’t going to admit that was probably all that was keeping him upright. “Please, tell me he’s not–”

A warm hand covered his. “He’s fine, Master Diluc. His duties with the Knights usually keep him in the city.” Warm eyes finally managed to catch his own. “Master Kaeya has been worried about you, though he hides it. He’ll be glad to see you’re home safe.”

If Diluc had more energy, he would’ve snorted at that. He rather doubted it, though it was kind of Adelinde to say. If Kaeya was fine… it likely would have been better if Diluc had never thought to return to Mond.

If he hadn’t lived to return to Mond.

He realized he’d lost time again when he felt a blanket being pulled over him. The former knight immediately tried to sit up, to tell Addy that he should get going, but she held him down with disconcerting ease. He felt so heavy… and the bed was so warm… how long had it been since he was last fully warm?... it was hard to think, to remember… 

─── • ☆ ☽ ☆ • ───

It was the warm sunlight on his face that woke Diluc the next morning. For a moment, he almost thought he heard his father laughing downstairs…

Then reality set in. 

Father was dead. 

He himself had driven Kaeya away.

It would never be like that again.

…Diluc didn’t belong here.

But as long as he was here, he could at least try to make things easier for his bro- for Kaeya, whenever he came back to the Winery. If he spent most of his time in the city with the Knights, there must be a fuck-ton of things that needed doing here. Diluc ignored the spikes of pain from his ribs, shoulder, and knees as he swung out of bed. 

It wasn’t like any of his injuries would kill him, if he could travel cross-country on foot with them– and it looked like it was already past noon somehow. He was already getting a very fucking late start.

Maybe if he moved quickly enough, he could dodge Adelinde…

Diluc moved quietly to the door, and oh-so-carefully opened it to peek out– only to be  hit in the face with the scent of bacon.

Bacon.

How long had it been since he’d tasted that wonderful, flavorful, archon’s choice of meats?

…since he’d eaten anything that actually fucking appealed? Scheisse, that smelled good.

Fuck it. One meal wouldn’t hurt anything. What were the odds Kaeya would be here?

He didn’t even bother trying to hide on the way down. Addie was undoubtedly waiting for him in the kitchen, if there was fresh bacon this time of day, and it would take a lot of circling to avoid going through the kitchen on the way to the dining room.

He preferred eating in the kitchen when he could get away with it, anyway.

“Good morning, Master Diluc,” Adelinde started as soon as he stepped through the door. “Would you–”

“Bacon first. Words later.” Diluc wasted no time grabbing a serving platter full of the delicious, greasy, crisp meat and continuing to the nearest stool. He pretended to be aware of nothing else– honestly, the bacon did hold most of his attention– but he noted the way Addie relaxed out of the corner of his eye. Good. He’d hoped that would reassure her a bit.

It’d be easier on her if she never found out how much he’d changed, these last few years. 

The bacon tasted heavenly. Diluc quickly lost track of everything he’d been trying to notice in favor of eating as much of it as he could, trying to keep the wondrous flavor and texture continually present on his tongue. He managed, for awhile… then his body forcefully reminded him that it couldn’t handle so much rich fare after what he’d been subsisting on. He swallowed carefully, refusing to acknowledge the acid trying to sneak into the back of his mouth.

The redhead eyed the last strip of godly meat in his hand, the very last of the whole platter, and with great reluctance set it back down. It would be greedy to eat it all, anyway.

“Master Diluc–”

“My apologies, Adelinde, but I must get going. I’m sure I have quite a lot of work to get caught back up on.” And quite a lot of questions from her he wouldn’t be able to completely hide the answers to if he let her actually ask them. “Thank you for the bacon, your cooking is as always fantastic.”

Diluc quickly bent to give Addie a kiss on the cheek before fleeing that part of the house. What should he check on first? Preferably somewhere no one would think to look for him– he had no doubt that, assuming Elzer hadn’t left, Addie had already told him to catch Diluc if he saw him.

The horses. Addie might figure that out, but Elzer never went near them–

Scheisse. Raven was going to be pissed.

If she remembered him after this long…

He wasn’t sure which thought hurt more, but neither hurt as much as how Kaeya must hate him, so he dwelled on the possibilities as he headed out to the stables.

─── • ☆ ☽ ☆ • ───

Entering the family stables was like stepping back in time. The warm scents of leather and horse and hay– hardly ever horse shit in here, the stablehands were good at their jobs– pulled Diluc into the glow of memory for a moment, and he almost, almost was able to believe for a moment that he was still seventeen. That his father was still alive, that he’d never done something so fundamentally fucking stupid and wrong as he had that night—

He shook off the memories, walking further into the stables, softly greeting horses he knew and introducing himself to ones he didn’t; new acquisitions and those born while he was away.

He wasn’t avoiding that one corner. No, of course he wasn’t. He was checking that all was right in the stables, as he should.

Unfortunately, all was right here, and there really wasn’t anything for him to do. Those employees in charge of horse care seemed to be as competent as ever, despite his absence. So there really wasn’t anything for him to do, except to go reintroduce himself to…

Ravensong. And Frosted Glass.

Sucking in a deep breath and straightening his spine, Diluc turned to the far corner. It was hardly hidden away; really, those were the prime stalls, well-lit and ventilated, and right by the entrance to the pasture. Nothing but the best for the mounts belonging to the two– 

Stop it.

It didn’t matter any more.

….the stall for Glass, Kaeya’s mare, was empty… Of course. He was likely stabling her in the city, to avoid the regular painful reminders this place must bring for him. Diluc couldn’t blame him for that, could only be relieved that his bro– that Kaeya had kept the mare he had raised by hand. Glass would have been devastated otherwise, and Kaeya deserved the comfort his horse could provide. 

Tearing his gaze from the empty stall, the former knight forced himself to look at his own mare. Well, assuming she’d still tolerate his existence, after he’d abandoned her for so long.

A soft nickering and a dark head stretched in his direction reassured him, and he quickly made his way to Raven, let her reacquire his scent, felt her over to ensure she was healthy– 

His fingers met the intricate braids at the same moment Raven’s nose found his pockets.

His empty pockets.

Fuck.

“I’m sorry, Raven, I didn’t get a chance to grab anything, I swear I’ll make it up to you later– OW!!” Diluc was pretty sure she’d taken half his hip along with the remains of his coat pocket. Which she was now chewing on. And staring at him. 

Sighing, the redhead grabbed a brush and started giving her an extra grooming. Not that she needed it, someone had clearly done an excellent job of it recently–

He was not going to think about who had the skill to do that braiding.

Kaeya must have taught someone else. Why would he take care of the horse of someone he hated?

─── • ☆ ☽ ☆ • ───

Diluc did eventually escape the stables with his skin intact, though it was a close call. Talking down Raven had taken long enough that the search for him had likely gone beyond the main house, at least. 

Which meant he could tackle the paperwork associated with the business and household. He knew a lot of things couldn’t move forward without a Ragnvindr signature– a safety measure, in case of someone trying to scam the family or an employee trying to embezzle. Not that anyone had tried in generations, they were careful who they hired, but… Regardless, it meant there were a number of things that had likely been sitting there going stagnant for years.

Slipping from shadow to shadow, carefully checking doorways, hardly raising his feet to ghost over floors without a sound… dodging everyone forcefully brought back memories of his childhood, of games with his little bro– with Kaeya. Of coordinating to snitch snacks, or to avoid Addie seeing them covered in horse muck before they could get it off. Diluc blinked frantically, trying to ignore the way his eyes were watering. 

This was not the time or place.

Not that anywhere was. He had no right to grieve what he had thrown away so forcefully.

What he had destroyed.

Diluc made it to his father’s old office without being seen, which made it easier to pretend the tears that had escaped didn’t exist. He hastily wiped them away and started digging through the papers and cabinets, looking for the papers that would need his signature.

There weren’t any.

Not because the papers didn’t exist, but because– 

There was a hole tearing through his gut, but his heart swelled and the air felt too thick as Diluc looked at the signatures. Kaeya Ragnvindr. On paper after paper, sheet after sheet, contract after contract. Kaeya Ragnvindr.

His brother hadn’t given up the name.

Had taken the time to take care of the family homes and business.

Had…

Diluc curled around the papers in his hands and sank to the floor, finally giving in and sobbing. He might have a chance. He might be able to get his brother back.