[But today was not a day to ask. It was always more of a passing curiosity anyway.]
It's a little early for a snack for me, I can never eat so soon after waking up. Tea would be good though. [He twisted around a little to leaning over the beside and dig into his discarded pants from yesterday. He tossed a pack of cigarettes over his shoulder towards Diluc.] Tea and a smoke sound really good right about now. How about it?
[Neither of them smoked all that often, but sometimes they did. When the time was right and it was even better when they were together.]
[Diluc watches the line of Kaeya's spine as he leans over the bed, and reaches over to lightly run the back of one fingernail up the length of it from the base right up to the back of his neck. In the next moment he's catching the tossed cigarettes, looking at the pack in surprise.
The two of them did smoke now and then - Kaeya more often than himself - but he hadn't expected a pack of them to be so readily to hand.]
... Mm.
[He fiddles with the cigarette packet, flipping the lid open and closed, then slides out of bed and pushes his free hand through his hair, ears twitching while his deep red wolf tail swishes idly back and forth.]
Come on, then. I'll make the tea before we go into the garden.
[The stroke along his spine had earned a shiver and a light smack with his tail because wow, Diluc, don't startle him!
He grinned when Diluc agreed, watching him and his wolf ears and tail twitching and swishing.]
Alright.
[He slid out of the bed as well, thick fox tail that was the same blue as his hair but rather than a white tip, it had a red tip. He stretched for moment and set about getting himself better dressed for going outside. His sleeping clothes weren't things he wanted to outside in.]
[That's a mental note to keep while he grabs some clothes and pulls them on, settling for some soft-waisted trousers that won't be irritating while he has a tail, and a haori to keep the chill off. With as warm as he is naturally he hardly needs anything else.
He can still feel his tail swishing in simple pleasure at his current company as he follows Kaeya out of the room, and he links their hands together as they walk across the house.
His tail curls against the back of Kaeya's thigh. He doesn't notice.]
Which tea shall we have? Something strong might be too overpowering this early.
[Kaeya only settled for a wide collared long sleeve top and similar pants. He certainly felt that tail against his thighs and aside from a little satisfies smirk, he said nothing. Instead, he hummed in consideration as he swung their hands lightly.]
I prefer coffee anyway if I wanted caffeine. Why not one of the fruit teas? The mixed berry one is good.
[His large ears twitch lightly as he tilted his head at Diluc, hoping to get a yes from him. Something sweet with a cigarette was actually pretty good. Probably because he always went for the menthols.]
[When these features emerge, it's easier than ever for them to read one another. Not that Diluc has ever found it hard to read Kaeya, even when their relationship was at its lowest. He sends a smile his way as he answers and nods, and fruit tea would be far easier to put together anyway.
He doesn't waste time standing around in the kitchen. Diluc heats some water up quickly with a little application of pyro energy and sets the teapot and two cups on a small tray, ushering Kaeya out to the garden door and the engawa outside.
When they're settled on the edge of the porch, he sighs and hands the cigarette packet back over to the other man after pulling one out for himself.]
Lean in. [Diluc murmurs, and he gently lights the ends of both of their cigarettes where they touch.] Mm. Been a while.
Kaeya took the pack back and pulled out his own, leaning in as told so Diluc could light them both up before settling back with a sigh. He took another draw, sighing it out and watching the wisps of smoke dissipate in the air for the moment.]
Mmhm. Sometimes, this [He gestured to the cigarette between his index and middle finger as he flicked it lightly over the edge of the engawa.] just feels right.
[It wasn't necessarily a habit, he wasn't interested in making it one, but it was still a way to relax some days when wine just didn't cut it. He reached over for the tea, pouring himself a cup and taking a sip. Sweet and hot, so good.]
Diluc draws on his own cigarette, hissing in through his teeth as he lets it linger and burn in his chest. He probably should be coughing, but he lets the smoke out in a steady stream and watches it drift away on the light breeze of the early morning.]
Sometimes. [He murmurs in quiet agreement. Like Kaeya, Diluc is not interested in making this a habit... but it's nice to just sit and indulge in it once in a while.]
Remember sneaking out into the vineyard to smoke so father didn't catch us? [He asks after a few silent moments pass, tilting his attention towards the younger man with a small smile.] And the one time Elzer did?
[They've done it enough times to not need to cough all that much while smoking, anyway. The burn was actually an odd sensation that Kaeya enjoyed, especially with the cooling taste of the menthol. Maybe it was the Cryo talking, who knows.
Kaeya smiled broadly at the memory, leaning back on his hand as he huffed out a laugh.]
He was more mad that we were too close to the grapes than he was at us smoking. I was honestly so surprised, especially when he didn't tell on us. I was so certain we were going to get a lecture after dinner.
[He took another drag with a contemplative tilt of his head.]
How much you want to bet he'd known the whole time and just never said anything?
[Elzer, along with the rest of the staff, had always been indulgent of the two young man growing up around their feet. Diluc had been aware of this to the point of occasionally taking advantage, though he never pushed it to a point that he would cause any disappointment to his father.]
Nothing happens around the winery that Elzer doesn't know about. [And though Diluc might not say it now, he knows that he could not run the place without him. He smiles, gently bumping his shoulder to Kaeya's.]
[Kaeya laughed with a nod. That sounded about right. There was a reason the winery didn't fall when Diluc had left and Kaeya moved out.
He grunted at the shoulder bump, turning his head away to blow out the smoke and flicking the cigarette over the side again.]
Oh? We? You sure you want me as a business partner?
[Kaeya didn't need to ask to know what kind of business Diluc had in mind. While he may have been out of the game for several years now due to dedicating himself to the Knights, it wasn't like he learned nothing while growing up at the winery.]
[Diluc makes a show of thinking about it. He hums in soft consideration and spends a few moments in contemplative silence as he takes another draw on the cigarette and flicks a little of the ash over the edge of the porch.]
Good question.
[He doesn't give details about what he has in mind because he is sure that Kaeya knows. There's really only one thing that it could be.]
I think I could manage it. The real question is, could you handle working so closely with me?
[Kaeya scoffed in amusement at Diluc's show, taking another drag of the cigarette as he waited for the eventual, true answer. He made his own considering sound.]
You're the one who spent so long just barely tolerating my presence while I more or less brute forced my way back into your life, I hope you remember. Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?
[He even playfully slurped the tea, loudly, while looking over the rim of the mug with a raised eyebrow. Can you tolerate him being a bratty business partner?
Except he wouldn't be bratty, he would take it seriously as much of a greenhorn as he was regarding the actual day to day business. He only remembered so much by this point in time, but he was willing to learn.]
[He shoots Kaeya a deadpan look at that. It's been so long since he moved past simply tolerating the man, and poorly, that the way he chooses to bring it up now verges on jarring. Besides, as much as Kaeya likes to joke around and act the brat he knows full well that he would take business with as much seriousness as he took his work for the Knights.]
You know I had my reasons. Even if they weren't very good ones. [That's something he can at least admit now. Keeping Kaeya at arms length for so long had only served to hurt them both, when the other man's only real crime was poor timing.
Diluc rolls his eyes and takes another drag of his cigarette, sighing out a breath.]
And if I didn't want you to do this with me, I wouldn't have asked. I just don't want you to feel you have to spend so much of your time stuck to my hip if you have other things you want to do.
[He might joke about it later, but it seems he's looking for a serious answer first.]
[Not very good ones at all, but Kaeya wasn't going to dwell on that either. He set the mug down and reclined back on his hand, cigarette back in his mouth. He gave a one sided shrug.]
I don't feel like that at all. My schedule is erratic because of the bounties so having something a bit more consistent would be nice. Besides... [He tilted his head toward Diluc, smiling lightly as he pulled the cigarette from his mouth, putting the rest of it out with a bit of cryo magic.] If you and I hadn't become Knights all those years ago, I imagine this is the thing you and I would be doing by now. Don't you think?
[At the time his reasons had felt perfectly valid and even after they had managed to patch things up with each other he would have still had trouble with admitting that he wasn't justified in how he had reacted that night.
He does see now, though, that it had mostly been the result of a grieving teenager being pushed utterly to his limits by a perceived betrayal of all the values his father had died for.]
Maybe. [Probably. He had always known he would take the winery when his father wanted to retire, though they had both no doubt thought that would be some years in the future when his best years in the Knights were behind him.
He finishes the last of his own cigarette and shakes his head, holding it up for Kaeya to snuff it out as he exhales the smoke.]
[The answer came so easily as Kaeya reached out with frosted fingertips to put out the cigarette with a soft sizzling sound. He took it from Diluc after and set it next to his own.]
When we joined, I only did because you did. I wanted to follow you wherever you went. The Knights hadn't held my attention like they had yours, but I wanted to be with you anyway. It was a risk to join in the first place, but it was a risky choice I was willing to make.
[He leaned back on both hands, looking up at the morning sky as his fox ears twitched lightly.]
You and M-... And Father made me feel warm and safe. I figured it would stay that way even within the Knights, should anyone find out. [He tilted his head in Diluc's direction, one ear tilting down.] Seems like I was right.
I'll still follow you, Diluc. Whether you want me to or not.
[They don't often talk about their time spent in the Knights even now, but Diluc listens quietly while Kaeya speaks. Knowing what he knows now, how much of a risk it was for Kaeya to follow him into the Knights and always be at his back was truly a risk... and he had never really thought about it before.
He settles next to the other man, placing his hand close enough to Kaeya's that their pinkie fingers can link together.
Back then, Kaeya had been his best friend, his confidante, always in his shadow but never complaining, always supporting him in everything he could have ever needed. Diluc had been the confident one, charming, always smiling, while Kaeya had always been slightly more eccentric in manner... but none the less well-liked.]
I wouldn't have it any other way. [He replies with a gentle warmth, softly bumping their shoulders together.] And I know... it's not the most pleasant of topics... but did they ever tell you why I resigned?
[Kaeya smiled a little brighter as their pinkies linked and he huffed a small laugh at the shoulder bump. He settled down at the question and shook his head.]
No, they didn't. I figured it out on my own. It's why I took your Vision from them. They didn't deserve to hold onto it. [He probably would have gone to grab it regardless of the truth, but he had been unsure at the time. He wanted to respect Diluc's wishes but at the same time, something had nagged at him. So, being the sly little fox he was, he investigated and figured out the truth himself. It was long after that Eroch had been expelled from the Knights too. Fancy that.] I thought about what to do with it after that. Never came to a decision so I just held onto it hoping you'd come back for it one day.
[Come back to him. But when Diluc did return, he was Sir Kaeya. And the Knights were useless and inefficient. Diluc never called him that, but it certainly had stung as if he had and it hadn't been easy to not take it to heart (he still did, at times).]
[He breathes out the words, almost sighing, and despite what he says he doesn't sound particularly angry now. Of course Kaeya knows already either way, thanks to Amber's excited explanation of her youthful eavesdropping during the Black Fire Incident (something Diluc himself had not been present for, but had inevitably heard about later from Lisa), but he had always wondered if he had been let in on any of it back then. It's no surprise that the resourceful man had worked it out for himself.
Hearing that Eroch had been expelled as a traitor while he was gone had done little to soothe the sharp sting of being betrayed by the Order he had put so many years of his life into.
Diluc smiles, soft and bitter all at once. What would Crepus have thought if he had known that the Knights of Favonius, who he had always regretted never being a part of, had been able to turn their back on him so easily? He could still get angry about it now if he let himself, and perhaps Kaeya might be able to see it coming, but instead of those barbed emotions welling up Diluc simply takes a breath, holds it for a moment, then sighs it slowly out again.]
But thank you, Kaeya... for keeping it safe for me. And for not pushing it into my hands at the first opportunity. [His smile turns wry.] I don't think I would have been able to accept it if you had.
I'm fairly certain one would have been in your shoes.
[Kaeya had been, when he found out. Even contemplating quitting the Knights. Maybe he should have. Would Diluc have received him better? He didn't know. But the Knights were all Kaeya had left at the time, so he stayed.]
I wanted to. But settled for a gaudy vase instead.
[It wasn't that he knew Diluc wouldn't accept it. Because at the end of the day, he hadn't been sure. So, Kaeya kept it to himself for awhile, contemplating and feeling Diluc out. It was then he knew he had to be sneaky about it. Find the opportune moment.]
I hate that damn vase... [The redhead says wistfully, looking up at the slowly brightening sky. He hated it, yet he had never thought to throw it away and it was still sitting on its plinth in the entrance hall of the winery along with a few other slightly out-of-place ornaments.]
It doesn't look good no matter where you put it.
[And yet!!
He's sure Adelinde found the Vision tucked inside the thing long before he did. Diluc wasn't going about cleaning the place after all. She hadn't told him, and eventually he had found it himself. Some consideration had been given to simply tossing the thing right at the man, but by then it had been so long that doing so felt ridiculous to do that. And besides, he'd missed the warm weight of it at his hip.]
[Kaeya laughed as Diluc began to complain about the vase, drinking the last of his tea and setting is aside as his tail swished on the wooden deck from side to side. He lifted his hand and shrugged one shoulder.]
Why not a vase? I never said I wanted to be subtle about it. Besides, I doubt you even knew the Vision was in there at first, hm?
[It had taken a bit after Diluc accepted the vase to start showing up with the Vision at his hip. He knew it wouldn't happen overnight, but the amount of time it took let Kaeya realize that Diluc likely hadn't known it was in there. He wondered what triggered to look inside of it, unless it was Adelinde. Probably Adelinde.]
[Not the first time Kaeya has expressed such a sentiment, though Diluc rarely denies it. When it comes to him one must be a little forceful, particularly if trying to get him to do something that he might not wish to. Back then he wouldn't have wanted to have his Vision presented to him and he would not have wanted to feel like he owed Kaeya a debt for keeping it safe as he had, so the younger man had chosen the right course of action in the end.
His own tail swishes from side to side, occasionally bumping against Kaeya's as the movements synchronise.]
I expect that Adelinde found it before I did. She never told me, one way or the other. [The winery's staff had always respected Diluc's wish to not speak about the past and they did not mention it, at least not in front of him.] I actually discovered it in there myself in the end.
[His expression turns thoughtful for a few moments, then he leans a little of his weight against Kaeya's side.]
[Kaeya turned as Diluc leaned against him, he laid his head against the redhead's. It had been a pretty relaxing morning, but of the two them, he was the one that got the more restful sleep since he wasn't the one with the nightmare. So it was understandable that Diluc was still a little tired.]
Sleep a little more then. I can clean up here. Maybe get breakfast started before Lumine takes over the kitchen. Hm?
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It's a little early for a snack for me, I can never eat so soon after waking up. Tea would be good though. [He twisted around a little to leaning over the beside and dig into his discarded pants from yesterday. He tossed a pack of cigarettes over his shoulder towards Diluc.] Tea and a smoke sound really good right about now. How about it?
[Neither of them smoked all that often, but sometimes they did. When the time was right and it was even better when they were together.]
Outside, of course.
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The two of them did smoke now and then - Kaeya more often than himself - but he hadn't expected a pack of them to be so readily to hand.]
... Mm.
[He fiddles with the cigarette packet, flipping the lid open and closed, then slides out of bed and pushes his free hand through his hair, ears twitching while his deep red wolf tail swishes idly back and forth.]
Come on, then. I'll make the tea before we go into the garden.
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He grinned when Diluc agreed, watching him and his wolf ears and tail twitching and swishing.]
Alright.
[He slid out of the bed as well, thick fox tail that was the same blue as his hair but rather than a white tip, it had a red tip. He stretched for moment and set about getting himself better dressed for going outside. His sleeping clothes weren't things he wanted to outside in.]
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He can still feel his tail swishing in simple pleasure at his current company as he follows Kaeya out of the room, and he links their hands together as they walk across the house.
His tail curls against the back of Kaeya's thigh. He doesn't notice.]
Which tea shall we have? Something strong might be too overpowering this early.
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I prefer coffee anyway if I wanted caffeine. Why not one of the fruit teas? The mixed berry one is good.
[His large ears twitch lightly as he tilted his head at Diluc, hoping to get a yes from him. Something sweet with a cigarette was actually pretty good. Probably because he always went for the menthols.]
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[When these features emerge, it's easier than ever for them to read one another. Not that Diluc has ever found it hard to read Kaeya, even when their relationship was at its lowest. He sends a smile his way as he answers and nods, and fruit tea would be far easier to put together anyway.
He doesn't waste time standing around in the kitchen. Diluc heats some water up quickly with a little application of pyro energy and sets the teapot and two cups on a small tray, ushering Kaeya out to the garden door and the engawa outside.
When they're settled on the edge of the porch, he sighs and hands the cigarette packet back over to the other man after pulling one out for himself.]
Lean in. [Diluc murmurs, and he gently lights the ends of both of their cigarettes where they touch.] Mm. Been a while.
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Kaeya took the pack back and pulled out his own, leaning in as told so Diluc could light them both up before settling back with a sigh. He took another draw, sighing it out and watching the wisps of smoke dissipate in the air for the moment.]
Mmhm. Sometimes, this [He gestured to the cigarette between his index and middle finger as he flicked it lightly over the edge of the engawa.] just feels right.
[It wasn't necessarily a habit, he wasn't interested in making it one, but it was still a way to relax some days when wine just didn't cut it. He reached over for the tea, pouring himself a cup and taking a sip. Sweet and hot, so good.]
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Diluc draws on his own cigarette, hissing in through his teeth as he lets it linger and burn in his chest. He probably should be coughing, but he lets the smoke out in a steady stream and watches it drift away on the light breeze of the early morning.]
Sometimes. [He murmurs in quiet agreement. Like Kaeya, Diluc is not interested in making this a habit... but it's nice to just sit and indulge in it once in a while.]
Remember sneaking out into the vineyard to smoke so father didn't catch us? [He asks after a few silent moments pass, tilting his attention towards the younger man with a small smile.] And the one time Elzer did?
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Kaeya smiled broadly at the memory, leaning back on his hand as he huffed out a laugh.]
He was more mad that we were too close to the grapes than he was at us smoking. I was honestly so surprised, especially when he didn't tell on us. I was so certain we were going to get a lecture after dinner.
[He took another drag with a contemplative tilt of his head.]
How much you want to bet he'd known the whole time and just never said anything?
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[Elzer, along with the rest of the staff, had always been indulgent of the two young man growing up around their feet. Diluc had been aware of this to the point of occasionally taking advantage, though he never pushed it to a point that he would cause any disappointment to his father.]
Nothing happens around the winery that Elzer doesn't know about. [And though Diluc might not say it now, he knows that he could not run the place without him. He smiles, gently bumping his shoulder to Kaeya's.]
Been thinking we could open our own place here.
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He grunted at the shoulder bump, turning his head away to blow out the smoke and flicking the cigarette over the side again.]
Oh? We? You sure you want me as a business partner?
[Kaeya didn't need to ask to know what kind of business Diluc had in mind. While he may have been out of the game for several years now due to dedicating himself to the Knights, it wasn't like he learned nothing while growing up at the winery.]
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Good question.
[He doesn't give details about what he has in mind because he is sure that Kaeya knows. There's really only one thing that it could be.]
I think I could manage it. The real question is, could you handle working so closely with me?
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You're the one who spent so long just barely tolerating my presence while I more or less brute forced my way back into your life, I hope you remember. Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?
[He even playfully slurped the tea, loudly, while looking over the rim of the mug with a raised eyebrow. Can you tolerate him being a bratty business partner?
Except he wouldn't be bratty, he would take it seriously as much of a greenhorn as he was regarding the actual day to day business. He only remembered so much by this point in time, but he was willing to learn.]
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You know I had my reasons. Even if they weren't very good ones. [That's something he can at least admit now. Keeping Kaeya at arms length for so long had only served to hurt them both, when the other man's only real crime was poor timing.
Diluc rolls his eyes and takes another drag of his cigarette, sighing out a breath.]
And if I didn't want you to do this with me, I wouldn't have asked. I just don't want you to feel you have to spend so much of your time stuck to my hip if you have other things you want to do.
[He might joke about it later, but it seems he's looking for a serious answer first.]
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I don't feel like that at all. My schedule is erratic because of the bounties so having something a bit more consistent would be nice. Besides... [He tilted his head toward Diluc, smiling lightly as he pulled the cigarette from his mouth, putting the rest of it out with a bit of cryo magic.] If you and I hadn't become Knights all those years ago, I imagine this is the thing you and I would be doing by now. Don't you think?
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He does see now, though, that it had mostly been the result of a grieving teenager being pushed utterly to his limits by a perceived betrayal of all the values his father had died for.]
Maybe. [Probably. He had always known he would take the winery when his father wanted to retire, though they had both no doubt thought that would be some years in the future when his best years in the Knights were behind him.
He finishes the last of his own cigarette and shakes his head, holding it up for Kaeya to snuff it out as he exhales the smoke.]
Do you think you would have joined if I hadn't?
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[The answer came so easily as Kaeya reached out with frosted fingertips to put out the cigarette with a soft sizzling sound. He took it from Diluc after and set it next to his own.]
When we joined, I only did because you did. I wanted to follow you wherever you went. The Knights hadn't held my attention like they had yours, but I wanted to be with you anyway. It was a risk to join in the first place, but it was a risky choice I was willing to make.
[He leaned back on both hands, looking up at the morning sky as his fox ears twitched lightly.]
You and M-... And Father made me feel warm and safe. I figured it would stay that way even within the Knights, should anyone find out. [He tilted his head in Diluc's direction, one ear tilting down.] Seems like I was right.
I'll still follow you, Diluc. Whether you want me to or not.
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He settles next to the other man, placing his hand close enough to Kaeya's that their pinkie fingers can link together.
Back then, Kaeya had been his best friend, his confidante, always in his shadow but never complaining, always supporting him in everything he could have ever needed. Diluc had been the confident one, charming, always smiling, while Kaeya had always been slightly more eccentric in manner... but none the less well-liked.]
I wouldn't have it any other way. [He replies with a gentle warmth, softly bumping their shoulders together.] And I know... it's not the most pleasant of topics... but did they ever tell you why I resigned?
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No, they didn't. I figured it out on my own. It's why I took your Vision from them. They didn't deserve to hold onto it. [He probably would have gone to grab it regardless of the truth, but he had been unsure at the time. He wanted to respect Diluc's wishes but at the same time, something had nagged at him. So, being the sly little fox he was, he investigated and figured out the truth himself. It was long after that Eroch had been expelled from the Knights too. Fancy that.] I thought about what to do with it after that. Never came to a decision so I just held onto it hoping you'd come back for it one day.
[Come back to him. But when Diluc did return, he was Sir Kaeya. And the Knights were useless and inefficient. Diluc never called him that, but it certainly had stung as if he had and it hadn't been easy to not take it to heart (he still did, at times).]
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[He breathes out the words, almost sighing, and despite what he says he doesn't sound particularly angry now. Of course Kaeya knows already either way, thanks to Amber's excited explanation of her youthful eavesdropping during the Black Fire Incident (something Diluc himself had not been present for, but had inevitably heard about later from Lisa), but he had always wondered if he had been let in on any of it back then. It's no surprise that the resourceful man had worked it out for himself.
Hearing that Eroch had been expelled as a traitor while he was gone had done little to soothe the sharp sting of being betrayed by the Order he had put so many years of his life into.
Diluc smiles, soft and bitter all at once. What would Crepus have thought if he had known that the Knights of Favonius, who he had always regretted never being a part of, had been able to turn their back on him so easily? He could still get angry about it now if he let himself, and perhaps Kaeya might be able to see it coming, but instead of those barbed emotions welling up Diluc simply takes a breath, holds it for a moment, then sighs it slowly out again.]
But thank you, Kaeya... for keeping it safe for me. And for not pushing it into my hands at the first opportunity. [His smile turns wry.] I don't think I would have been able to accept it if you had.
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[Kaeya had been, when he found out. Even contemplating quitting the Knights. Maybe he should have. Would Diluc have received him better? He didn't know. But the Knights were all Kaeya had left at the time, so he stayed.]
I wanted to. But settled for a gaudy vase instead.
[It wasn't that he knew Diluc wouldn't accept it. Because at the end of the day, he hadn't been sure. So, Kaeya kept it to himself for awhile, contemplating and feeling Diluc out. It was then he knew he had to be sneaky about it. Find the opportune moment.]
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It doesn't look good no matter where you put it.
[And yet!!
He's sure Adelinde found the Vision tucked inside the thing long before he did. Diluc wasn't going about cleaning the place after all. She hadn't told him, and eventually he had found it himself. Some consideration had been given to simply tossing the thing right at the man, but by then it had been so long that doing so felt ridiculous to do that. And besides, he'd missed the warm weight of it at his hip.]
Why a vase of all things? It's hardly subtle.
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Why not a vase? I never said I wanted to be subtle about it. Besides, I doubt you even knew the Vision was in there at first, hm?
[It had taken a bit after Diluc accepted the vase to start showing up with the Vision at his hip. He knew it wouldn't happen overnight, but the amount of time it took let Kaeya realize that Diluc likely hadn't known it was in there. He wondered what triggered to look inside of it, unless it was Adelinde. Probably Adelinde.]
One must be a little forceful with you.
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[Not the first time Kaeya has expressed such a sentiment, though Diluc rarely denies it. When it comes to him one must be a little forceful, particularly if trying to get him to do something that he might not wish to. Back then he wouldn't have wanted to have his Vision presented to him and he would not have wanted to feel like he owed Kaeya a debt for keeping it safe as he had, so the younger man had chosen the right course of action in the end.
His own tail swishes from side to side, occasionally bumping against Kaeya's as the movements synchronise.]
I expect that Adelinde found it before I did. She never told me, one way or the other. [The winery's staff had always respected Diluc's wish to not speak about the past and they did not mention it, at least not in front of him.] I actually discovered it in there myself in the end.
[His expression turns thoughtful for a few moments, then he leans a little of his weight against Kaeya's side.]
I'm still tired.
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Sleep a little more then. I can clean up here. Maybe get breakfast started before Lumine takes over the kitchen. Hm?
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