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“Lily-livered little rich boy.”
“How dare you.”
“How dare me? How dare you.”
Adelinde had had enough. “Stop it, you two. Stop it.”
“He started it.”
“Did not.”
“Did so.”
“Shut up.”
“Okay, boys. That’s enough. You wouldn’t want me to tell your father, would you?”
“Pft. My father you mean.”
“Master Crepus houses, clothes, and feeds you both, Master Diluc, and you would do well not to forget it.”
“Spoiled little brat…”Kaeya muttered under his breath.
“Sir Kaeya, you watch your tongue.” Adeline physically separated them. “What’s gotten into you, anyway? You two are usually thick as thieves.”
Why indeed. It was a difficult thing to explain. Just that morning, they were skipping stones in the pond and chasing lizards in the vineyard. But later, when they had separated for a time after lunch, only to be reunited in the most unfortunate way—Diluc couldn’t believe his eyes. There he was—Kaeya standing there in the barn with the groundskeeper’s daughter, their bodies joined by the lips. He was shocked, horrified. Jealous but too muted and confused to express any of it. So later, when he saw him, alone and acting like nothing was awry, Diluc held back tears in his eyes and told him he no longer wished to play with him. In order to distance himself, he began to hurl insults—and in his fear and heartbreak, Kaeya likewise returned them. They didn’t mean it, of course, but angsty adolescence and tempestuous budding testosterone drove them to hurt each other in ways only they knew how to pierce.
When they got into a physical fight, the only thing that was able to stop them was the intervention by their maid and acting mother-figure, Adelinde, and that was what started it all, the fissure in their closeness the Christmas Eve of his eleventh year. But with the discord came a great gift by Christmas night—Diluc offering to Kaeya a gift of a single calla lily, and to Diluc from Kaeya, a sole cecilia. They exchanged them with a surprised giggle, for they both had the same idea at the same time to exchange their favorite flower—and it ultimately ended with a gentle, loving kiss behind the secrecy of their bedroom door…
Over a dozen Christmases had passed since then, some good, some bad. The years had brought with them many losses and divides. A memory like this one now seemed inconsequential and rather silly to Diluc who had since lived a gravely serious life full of death and sorrow. And his best friend, the one who kissed that innocent girl so many moons ago, had not spent a festive season with him in half as many. Still, he thought of him often, including each time he saw the calla lilies growing around Mondstadt.
It was on such a night, the night of Diluc’s twenty-fifth Christmas, that he took his spot behind the counter of Angel’s Share, pouring glasses for the lonely townsfolk as well as the festive Favonian Knights, all of whom wished not to be alone on a day meant for family and togetherness.
He was not surprised to see Kaeya in attendance. He was often here, after all, and a season like this, which brought both the cold of the elements and the warmth of loved ones, drew the captain to celebrate with his men inside the tavern in lieu of staying at home alone.
It grated on Diluc’s nerves a bit each time he did—even now, he had to witness the flirtatious power that Kaeya possessed, that charismatic tongue of his, the swagger in his every movement. Still, when Kaeya, drunk on wine and admiration, approached the bar and attempted to speak with him, Diluc automatically closed down. The heat of his Vision was not enough to melt the icy exterior he felt around his heart.
“My, my, Master Diluc~ working hard tonight, are we?”
“What’s that supposed to mean.”
“It means, you’re working hard. Only you could turn such an observation into an insult.”
“It’s rare your words possess little else but hidden meanings.”
“How uncivilized, really.”
“What do you want.”
“I’m here for a top-off, of course.” Kaeya extended his glass.
“You’re cut off.”
“What! Why!?”
“Ah, look how fast the real you shows up when the thing you love the most is taken away.”
“Well, I’d wager we both know a little thing or two about having what we love taken away—”
“Are we done here?”
“Not quite—I brought you a gift.”
“Why.”
“What do you mean, why? It’s Christmas, brother.”
“I’m not your brother.”
“Come now, Diluc, it’s Christmas. Even you could afford a bit of kindness on this day. Archons know you’re wealthy enough…” he muttered.
“Are we doing this now?
“You started it.”
“Did not.”
“Did so.”
“Shut up.”
“Clever. Well, now that I’m cut off, I suppose there’s no need for me to tarry. Here. Do what you want with it then,” said Kaeya, taking an envelope out of his jacket pocket and placing it on the bar next to his empty glass. “I just thought you may be lonely tonight. Far be it for me to indispose his majesty.”
Obviously set off, Kaeya, inebriated and discouraged, exited the Angel’s Share and headed home to the Knights of Favonius headquarters. After he’d left, Diluc, who had been eyeing the envelope in front of him for a few long moments, decided to slide it to the side, unopened, and resume his work.
“Really?” said a female voice then. “You’re really not even going to give him the satisfaction of opening it?”
“No offense, Sister, but what’s it to you?”
“He is your family, isn’t he?” asked Rosaria. “He came here to give you a gift.”
“He came here to drink. And so did you.”
“Any way you slice it, Kaeya finds you special enough to remember you. Not just on this night, but all nights. The least you can do is open it.”
Diluc paused over her words, embarrassed and slightly humiliated. “Fine. I’m sure it’s nothing—maybe he’s finally paid his tab.”
But he wasn’t sure. And when he finally opened it, he was taken aback by the gesture, for inside the envelope was a pressed flower. An o, so familiar one—though it was now dried and brittle, Diluc had no doubt in his mind that before him was the very calla lily that he had given him so many Christmases ago…
“Kaeya, how did you…” he muttered, amazed.
“Perhaps it’s time to stop serving others tonight,” said Rosaria, taking the last of her drink and slamming her glass down satisfactorily, “and go spend the evening with your loved ones. Whomever they are.”
The snow continued to fall, covering Mondstadt’s rooftops in a blanket of white. There was a chill in the air, but the roused chimneys all across the city were a sign that the hearths inside were faithfully warming the families gathered together as they celebrated a time of giving.
As he traveled through the streets, the night enveloped him in darkness. He was used to it. He was used to the dark, to the cold. He was used to the lonely journey. Diluc stopped and held out his hand, catching the stray snowflakes that flitted down from the sky and landed atop his palm. He knew where to go—but first, a quick detour, not far off Cider Lake’s shore.
The knock on his door roused Kaeya awake. He had fallen asleep in his chair, once again, his boots on and uniform—void of overcoat—still intact and keeping him warm in place of the unlit fireplace in the corner. At first, he thought he heard the noise in error. But when a second knock rattled his door and incidentally reawakened his headache, he sluggishly got up from his chair and made his way to the entrance.
“Aye, Aye, I’m coming…” he called. Kaeya’s head was pounding from too much drink. “Archons, who could it be at this time of night…”
But when he opened the door, any pain or sluggishness he had felt prior was quickly erased by the appearance of Diluc standing there, three sprigs of calla lilies in his hand.
“M-master Diluc… what are you doing here?”
But Diluc’s cheeks matched the color of his hair. “Uh… Merry Christmas,” he muttered, embarrassingly looking away from Kaeya’s eyes. “Just—here.”
“For me?” Kaeya sniffed, motioning to the flowers in his hand. “Diluc, I’m touched.”
“I… I’m sorry.”
“You’re what?”
“I’m sorry. I said it, didn’t I? Just take the damn flowers—” But Diluc’s words were broken off by the touch of Kaeya’s lips against his. “What… what was that for?”
“Don’t you remember? That’s the way we settled matters between us the last time. That Christmas we fought…”
“We were just kids then.”
Kaeya smirked. “That we were.”
“We’re adults now. Which means we should settle things as men do.”
“Eh? What’s that mean, Diluc? You want to fight me?” he laughed.
“It means—” Diluc used his lips in place of words, forcing his mouth upon Kaeya’s more firmly than before, their strong, wet tongues swirled and twisted together at an increasingly rapid pace. “It means, you should invite me inside,” he panted as he clutched onto Kaeya’s arms and pushed him through the door. He then promptly closed it behind them, creating a secret space where they could finally settle the score.
“Can’t handle the cold?” returned Kaeya in excited, broken breaths. He was intoxicated by the scent of his brother’s skin, the softness of his hair brushing against his cheek.
“Allow me,” Diluc then said, stretching out his hand and causing the logs in the barren fireplace to ignite as they continued to crash onto the bed.
“We don’t need the fire. I can warm that cold body of yours…”
“Yeah? I dare you to show me…”
Kaeya unconsciously gripped the flowers in his hand as soon as he felt Diluc’s hand fumble with the seam of his pants. “You know me… I never back down from a dare,” he grunted as Diluc then slid his pants down and reached for the hardness there.
Diluc said nothing, however, only continued to paw at his bulge hungrily, and as if he had been waiting for the favor to be returned, gently pulsed his hips upward in a silent request—one Kaeya was happy to answer.
“A regular Christmas miracle that,” chuckled Kaeya, shocked at the girth he felt between Diluc’s legs. And as he felt the bulge grind against his thigh, the knight added: “I must have been a good boy this year, after all…”
“You talk too damn much…” But the words were weak and fell loosely, for Diluc’s sense of pleasure had taken hold of him.
Hungrily, excitedly, Kaeya began to travel down Diluc’s abdomen and then to his thighs, kissing the entire way. “Diluc,” he asked, “may I…?”
“Just shut up and do it already. I’ve been waiting for this for years…”
Diluc closed his eyes and melted into the feeling of Kaeya’s lips around his hardness, and before he knew it, he had placed both of his hands upon the back of Kaeya’s head and eagerly pushed him further down. Faster. His spine sharpened, the feeling of electricity surging through his entire body and awakening all of his senses.
“Yes, yes,” he moaned, throwing his head back and allowing his long legs to drop to the sides in surrender. “Kaeya…”
He answered him with a tightening of his lips against his shaft, bobbing his head to a ferociously feral rhythm.
“Kaeya!” Diluc repeated, more unhinged than before. He was gripping on to his head so feverishly that a few stray strands of blue hair were wound around his fingers. “Kaeya—wait, I’m gonna—!”
But Kaeya would not stop. Instead, he kept going even more intensely than before. Until, all at once, a spurt of warm, salty, thick liquid exploded in his mouth and broke through the cracks of his lips. As he sat back to enjoy the masterpiece of his consumption, Kaeya whispered, “You think you’re the only one who’s been waiting for that…?” He still had the flowers safely in his non-dominant hand.
“We’re not… we’re not done…” panted Diluc as he began to regain a smoother tempo in his breath. As he said this, he flipped onto his stomach and started to finger and stretch himself, eager for more. “Kaeya—please. You… uh… I want you to—”
The switch in Diluc’s tone amused the cavalry knight. “My, there you are—you’re quite tame once you thaw out a little. Is this why you came here—for your gift?” As he said this, Kaeya happily took his length in his dominant hand and began to toy with Diluc’s hungry, pulsing opening. The more he swirled it around, the more his sensitive tip began to ooze in anticipation.
“No,” he panted against the pillow, “your gift was… perfect. This is… this is more my gift to… you.” There, he’d said it. And fuck Kaeya for making him spell it out. It was embarrassing enough to be lying here this way, to have come here at night this way, to be so vulnerable…
But as Kaeya slowly slid himself in, he leaned down over Diluc’s arched back and whispered the following words into his ear: “Every moment I am around you is a gift enough. This is just a beautiful bonus…” He then began to quicken his pace, feeling the tight walls of Diluc’s body begin to accept in him more and more with each thrust.
Diluc began to grip the corners of the pillow, bracing himself through the intensity of the pleasure-pain being inflicted. How could something sound so good? Hurt so good? Feel so damn good? He rolled back his eyes and surrendered to the wave of pleasure, subconsciously moving his hips back into Kaeya’s pelvis in a matching, sensual rhythm.
Kaeya was careful to keep the flowers secure in his hand as he placed it atop the small of Diluc’s back, yet tenaciously gripping onto his hipbone with the other one. “You’re so sexy, so hot, so gorgeous…” he moaned as he thrust deeper in—faster, faster until the wooden posts of his bed began to crash against the wall.
“You… you feel so… good…” Diluc managed to speak through staccato, desperate breaths. “I want you to—”
“Yeah?
“I want you to—!”
“Say it,” commanded Kaeya, now moving his hand up to Diluc’s hair, which hung highly on his head like cascading fire, and pulled his head back off the pillow. “Tell me again…”
“I want you to cum inside!” Diluc yelled all at once, unable to refrain any longer. And as he did, Kaeya felt the orgasm rise up and breech the tip of his cock, bursting through in forceful white ribbons and filling every last vacancy inside his partner’s body.
Finally, once the heaving breaths settled once more, Diluc flipped over, the wet pool beneath him revealing that he’d came at the same time.
“Oh~? Look at that, Master Diluc—seems I know how to press all your buttons. Not just the bad ones…”
Diluc, red-cheeked, grabbed the blanket and quickly wrapped himself inside. “Shut up,” he grumbled, hiding his nakedness for no real reason other than sudden, inexplicable shyness. It was then that he noticed the flowers in Kaeya’s hand. “You’re still--holding onto those? Why?”
“Because these,” he answered simply, “have always brought me good luck.” Kaeya was beaming, ear to ear. “They have always reminded me of you. But now? Now whenever I see them, I’ll know how much you like me.”
“Tch. Just—whatever,” Diluc grumbled again. “It’s… it’s no big deal.”
Kaeya smirked, satisfactorily. “Okay, Dark Night Hero. Whatever you say. You wanna spend the night?”
“Yeah, sure. Fine.” He was still wrapped in the blanket, avoiding all eye-contact. His ass was hurting, but his pride to admit that fact was stronger than the pain. His pride prevented him from saying a lot. Perhaps that was… perhaps that was— “You’re wrong,” he said finally.
“Oh, you don’t want to stay the night? That’s fine—”
“No, no, not that. I—” Diluc then let go of the comforter, rolled over to face Kaeya, who was now lying beside him, and took him in his arms. As they held each other, they could mutually feel the beating of hearts. The tenderness of skin. “I don’t want you to think that I like you every time you see calla lilies.”
Perplexed, Kaeya breathed in a little deeper. “You want me to think you dislike me…?”
“No,” he tried again. “I want you to know that I… love you.”
Kaeya’s eyes began to water, and he buried his head into Diluc’s shoulder. It took a lot to tongue-tie the Cavalry Captain of Mondstadt, but this time he was void of words. They stayed this way for a few more moments before he felt Diluc ease his face upward, sweep back a strand of his blue hair, and press his soft lips against his forehead.
Finally, the words came to him. Finally, Kaeya, still clutching the delicate, fragrant flowers in his hand, managed to say, breathily, happily, gratefully: “Why, that’s the best Christmas gift of all…”