Work Text:
People say a lot of things about high school.
Out of boredom, the night before the first day of his freshman year, Kaeya decides to google what to expect from it all, landing on a page filled with comments from strangers.
jessicaaaa : i really am enjoying it (current senior, GO RAMS!!!) and love being part of the cheer squad!
debra-85 : High School Was Truly My Formative Years. I Still Wear My Class Ring.
willienelsonfan4 : I met my High School sweetheart in Freshman year of ‘87. We’re still together to this day.
minecraft347 : I WAS SHOVED IN A LOCKER EVERY DAY
Well.
Kaeya doesn't buy any of it, particularly the locker thing. He firmly believes that it will be as simple as another four years of homework, after-school shenanigans, and if he's lucky, maybe a senior year with more free periods than actual classes.
So when the first day of his freshman year rolls around, his dad sends him off with lunch money and a ruffle of his hair, and into the devil's den he walks.
Turns out the most stressful thing is finding where his classes are.
For the most part, the first day is spent with the teachers droning on about the syllabus. Major due dates, late work policies, attendance, if snacks are allowed… It's almost enough to put him to sleep.
At least, until his final period.
A stranger slides into the desk beside him, and Kaeya has to do a double take. He stares impolitely at the other boy, caught off guard and maybe more than a little charmed by his appearance.
His hair is a fiery red, pulled tight into a ponytail, and loose hair frames his face. Perched atop his nose are a pair of thin-rimmed glasses, and Kaeya didn’t know how good glasses could look on someone until just this moment.
He’s… cute, Kaeya thinks.
It takes a solid minute for the other boy to turn and meet his gaze, a curious look on his face. Those big red eyes meet his, and while Kaeya’s never been the romantic type, he’s almost positive Cupid’s arrow just shot directly through his heart.
He doesn’t say a word, just raises a brow expectantly, and Kaeya shrugs, turning his attention back to the front of the class.
His name is Diluc, he learns after the teacher insists they go around and introduce themselves. Diluc Ragnvindr.
Diluc minds his business and keeps to himself, and is always, always the first one done with his work.
It takes three long weeks for Kaeya to get up the guts to talk to him. They’ve gotten some extra time at the end of a lesson, and instead of letting them go early, their teacher has been kind enough to let them use the time to work on the study guide for the section test coming up.
Beside him, Diluc sprawls out the pages of the study guide on his desk, neatly filled out and complete already. Kaeya peers at them.
“You’re already done?” He asks in surprise, reaching out to pull his own study guide out, completely blank.
Diluc raises a brow. “It’s due Monday,” he exclaims, deadpan.
Kaeya laughs and grins. “Nerd.”
Diluc stares at him blankly. Kaeya is met with instant regret.
Oh. That sounded rude.
He’d meant it affectionately, but Diluc doesn’t know him, has never been on the receiving end of his affectionate teasing. Perhaps he should have dialed it back, but it’s hard when all he wants to do is just talk to the damn guy.
“Ah—”
The teacher begins speaking before Kaeya can attempt to explain himself. Beside him, Diluc stares for another long second, then turns his attention back to the front of the class where the professor begins discussing a question someone had asked about the work.
Strike one, Kaeya thinks to himself, willing himself not to slink back into his chair like a kicked puppy. Instead he pushes his pencil around his desk aimlessly, letting the teacher drone on about the answers for the study guide.
And drone she does. So long in fact that Kaeya’s left without another opportunity to speak to the redhead next to him again. The bell rings, and the class stirs, collectively readying to leave — Diluc included.
Kaeya offers him a glance, and Diluc offers no opportunity to converse.
“See you,” he says, and without another word, he’s off, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Kaeya watches him leave in disappointment, still stuffing his own schoolwork into his book bag. He’d hoped to catch him before he left, to walk with him and get to know him a little better, but he’s out the door before Kaeya’s even closed his binder.
Next time, he thinks. Next time for sure.
To his luck, the stars align a week later. It’s the Friday before their first section test, and the teacher has been so kind as to utter the dreaded words “group work”. There’s a low rumble of disdain amongst the class, but Kaeya perks up, the notion of an opportunity to talk to Diluc at the forefront of his mind.
The class begins to stir quietly with reluctant conversation, and Kaeya sits up straight in his chair, clearing his throat as he turns to look at Diluc.
“Wanna be partners?” Kaeya asks, and offers up his most charming smile. Diluc eyes him for a moment, unreadable, before he shrugs.
Step one is a success.
Step two? Charm him.
Kaeya scoots his desk closer to Diluc’s, metal scratching across the floor. Diluc makes a face, and Kaeya only grins in response.
He sighs, taking his glasses off to rub at his eyes.
“Tired?” He asks.
“Long night,” Diluc explains without elaboration.
“Up studying?” Kaeya teases with a smile. “Or partying?”
Diluc scoffs, and a clever little idea pops into Kaeya’s head. He reaches over his desk to Diluc’s where his glasses are perched, and takes them.
“Wh—”
He slips them onto his nose, and tries to ignore the way they make his vision go a little fuzzy.
“How do they look?” Kaeya asks, practically batting his eyes at Diluc, who looks entirely unamused.
“It’s rude to take people’s things without asking,” he says, wholly ignoring Kaeya’s attempts at flirtation. He extends his hand expectantly and Kaeya obliges, handing his glasses back over.
“You know,” Kaeya begins with a sigh, handing him back his glasses, which Diluc snatches from his grip, “you should really look into contacts.”
“I’m fine, thanks,” he replies flatly.
“It would really—” Kaeya trails off.
It would really make your pretty face easier to see.
Hell, well, he can’t just say that. Not to Diluc. If it were anyone else, he might not think twice about it, but those crimson eyes burn into him with expectation and he simply can’t. He feels his cheeks burn hot just at the implication, and he waves his hand dismissively.
“Nevermind.”
The next time he goes to class, Diluc has chosen a seat across the room. Kaeya’s heart sinks. It’s pathetic, he knows, but he can’t help it. He flops into his seat, heaving a sigh, and it earns a look from the person who’s now seated at Diluc’s old desk: his old middle school friend, Jean Gunnhildr.
“You okay?” She asks, sweet as always. Kaeya gives her a little smile.
“Fine,” he exclaims, dropping his bag beside him.
Diluc doesn’t come back to the seat the next day, or the next week, or the next month even, and Kaeya is resigned to doodling little glasses and D.R. on the edges of his notes in disappointment.
Maybe sophomore year will be better.
-
It is, in fact, not better.
It’s worse.
Kaeya has gym class with Diluc.
He fears he may meet his end at a young, young age. It’s all bad enough by itself, but sharing a locker next to Diluc’s might well and truly kill him.
The first day, he watches Diluc change out of the corner of his eye. It’s hard not to, and even harder not to pop an awkward boner in the middle of the locker room like some kind of creep. Kaeya prays his body behaves, and against his better judgement, takes the opportunity to glance at him properly when he turns away to pull his jacket out of his bag.
He stares.
God, is he cute.
He’s lanky, but still a little toned somehow. There’s a hint of muscle in his arms, and Kaeya wants to ask if he does some sports he doesn’t know about.
(Unlikely, considering Kaeya has looked into every after school activity available and Diluc is a part of none of them.
…He’s not weird.)
Kaeya wonders what he does in his spare time, then. Everybody has a hobby, he thinks. He wonders if the cute nerd secretly lifts weights. He imagines Diluc with barbells in hand, covered in a light sheen of sweat…
He’s so deep in thought, he barely notices when Diluc turns around and does a double take, gaze fixing on him. He sees Diluc’s mouth move, but doesn’t hear a word that comes out of it.
“What?” Kaeya finally says dumbly, blinking away his little daydream of Diluc’s pretty pale skin.
Diluc gives him a look. “I said ‘what’.”
“Uh. Just. Nice pants,” Kaeya manages, looking at the other boy’s black, distressed jeans. He kicks himself mentally as he grasps for straws. “Where’d your mom find them?”
What?
No, why would he say that—
Diluc closes his locker.
“My mom’s dead.”
Oh, god.
What is wrong with Kaeya?
His mouth opens uselessly, cheeks flushing in embarrassment, and before he has the opportunity to apologize, Diluc’s tugging his hoodie over his shirt and leaving Kaeya to stew in self-loathing.
With a groan, he flops down on the bench between lockers and buries his face in his hands.
He’s starting to lose count of his strikes at this point.
-
The rest of sophomore year comes and goes without much of anything to write home about and leads into what Kaeya worries might be a just-as-uneventful junior year.
He’s freed from any more physical education classes for the rest of his high school education, but instead the pain of chemistry has been inflicted upon him this year. At this point, he’ll take that over the stress of sneaking glances at Diluc in gym class.
(Or attempting to flirt via dodgeball. That one went well.)
He and Diluc don’t have any classes together this year, much to his chagrin. It puts a damper on his attempts to get to know him, almost as much as his failure to charm the lovely, nonchalant redhead.
The closest he gets is seeing him in passing between history and chemistry. Diluc has chemistry just before he does, and the class almost always runs long, so he runs into him more often than not.
It’s two months into the school year on an average Tuesday afternoon when Kaeya heads into the chemistry room, ready to work on the pre-lab study guide and he sees Diluc still perched at one of the lab tables, writing away.
“Working by yourself again?” Kaeya asks as he approaches, and Diluc lets out an irritated sigh, dropping his pencil on the table. He hears the tone of his voice a second later, ringing in his head, and knows instantly he’s struck out again.
He meant to be charming, to grab his attention and slink into the chair next to him with a grin, but now, instead it sounds like he’s pretty much calling him a loser.
Diluc just… glowers at him.
“I just mean—”
With that, the bell rings and his attempt to backpedal is cut short.
Diluc’s book closes with a loud thunk, and before Kaeya can say anything else, he’s shoving his chair back and brushing past him.
Kaeya wants to bang his head against the wall.
He turns to watch Diluc leave, wracking his brain to think up some excuse to follow him, when he sees Rosaria meander into the chemistry classroom.
“Luc,” she greets as he walks by.
“Later, Rosa,” he grumbles, and before Kaeya can think up anything else to say, he’s out the door and on his way to his next class.
“Alberich,” she says, slinking into a chair at the table Diluc had just been seated at. “Ready to get to work?”
He waves a hand dismissively, pulling out his chemistry book and taking a seat. “Where’s yours?”
Beside him, Rosaria shrugs. “Forgot it.”
Sometimes he wonders how Diluc and Rosaria are friends.
“Right.”
She drops her bag onto the table with a rattle, then pulls out a folder covered in stickers. “At least I remembered the work.”
Kaeya hums, following suit in grabbing his own papers and laying them out next to the chemistry book, worn and used. And then Rosaria starts talking.
He doesn’t hear a damn word.
“If we get this done today, we get to skip the next lab.”
Maybe he should try talking to Diluc about chemistry class.
“Uh huh,” he mumbles, drawing circles on the table as he thinks.
What if he wrote a script… Maybe he could fit in some chemistry jokes.
“God knows I can’t take another day of Jean going through the instructions—”
It seems like he can’t get a word in edgewise without fucking it up though.
“I think he hates me,” Kaeya blurts suddenly, and Rosaria pauses.
She arches a brow. “Who?”
“Diluc.”
Her confusion morphs to suspicion.
“Why do you care?”
“What do you mean? I don’t want anybody to hate me,” he explains, pointedly leaving out the fact that he very specifically does not want Diluc to hate him. It’s not technically a lie.
“Have you tried complimenting him?”
Kaeya chews his lip.
“I mean, I asked him where his mom got his pants.”
Rosaria stares at him.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” She asks, and Kaeya blinks.
“What? What do you mean? Nothing,” he says quickly. There’s a long pause that stretches between them, and he can feel Rosaria’s gaze studying him. He taps the eraser of his pencil on the chemistry book on the table, waiting until the silence grows too loud and too much.
“What?” He repeats irritably.
“You have a crush on him,” Rosaria exclaims easily. The smug look she gives him makes Kaeya wants to fly off his chair and tackle her, but instead he spins in his seat, giving her a look.
“Who? What? No. I don’t like him,” he argues as the classroom begins to fill up.
“Oh, my god,” Rosaria cackles, leaning back in her seat, hands splaying in front of her on the black desk. “You do. You have a crush on Diluc Ragnvindr.”
“Not—!” He crowds into her space further, ignoring the few wandering eyes that fall on them. “Not so loud, Rosa, god.”
“Is this what you’re like when you have a thing for someone? Pathetic and absolutely awful at speaking?”
“I don’t know! All I know is I piss him off all the time,” Kaeya bemoans, flopping back into the chair next to her. “I think he hates me.”
“He certainly doesn’t seem fond of you,” she offers, not bothering to look up from the stack of stapled classwork she’s flipping through.
“Oh, thanks for the vote of confidence,” Kaeya scoffs.
“What, am I supposed to lie to you? Go to Jean for that.”
“Did he tell you he hates me?” Kaeya asks, leaning across the table with a desperate look on his face. Rosaria’s face screws up in disgust.
“You’re deep in this,” she notes, ignoring his question.
“Rosa,” he sighs.
“How long?”
Kaeya shrugs, crossing his arms on the table and leaning forward against them. “I dunno. Since freshman year.”
“Since—?” Rosaria cuts herself off. “You’re a loser.”
“Shut the hell up,” he snaps, going to kick at her shin under the table and missing entirely, foot colliding with the metal leg of her chair.
“Just tell him,” she says simply, and Kaeya makes a disgruntled little sound.
“It’s not that easy!” He complains.
“Why not?”
Kaeya scoffs at that, shooting her a look. “You act like you’ve never had a crush before.”
“I haven’t,” she replies without missing a beat, and Kaeya can only roll his eyes.
“Liar.”
“Can we finish this? You know the teacher said we can leave early when we’re done, and I want a smoke break,” she exclaims.
Kaeya frowns. “You really should quit.”
Rosaria rewards him with a side-eye and a hint of a smirk. “I’ll quit when you confess your undying love to Diluc.”
“Dammit,” Kaeya whispers defeatedly, staring down at his half-empty pre-lab work. Rosaria sighs, leaning back in her chair.
“But between us… He said you’re kind of a jerk,” she suddenly tells him, absolutely brutally.
Kaeya’s jaw drops open.
That’s it.
He’s so screwed.
His world crumbles around him, piece by piece. He thinks he’s going to cry, or even worse, outright perish. The floor falls out underneath his feet and all he can do is stare at the table in front of him.
“Oh, my god.”
Rosaria ignores him entirely, rifling through her bag.
“Oh, my god, he hates me.”
Kaeya buries his face in his hands, groaning and sprawling himself across the table as if he’s melting. Rosa clicks her tongue at him, pulling out a piece of gum. “You’re so dramatic.”
“How do I fix this?” He asks. “You know him. What do I talk to him about?”
Rosaria lets out a dry little laugh before a smirk twitches at her lips. “Ask him for help on your chemistry homework.”
Something clicks.
“Yeah,” Kaeya says in wonder, as though he’s discovered something spectacular. Rosaria just looks at him before reaching out to flip open her study guide with a sigh.
“Are we going to do this, or are you going to sit here daydreaming? I’m not hourly, you know.”
Kaeya outright kicks her in the shin.
-
Kaeya finds Diluc in the library the next morning, before classes begin.
He paces between bookshelves for a good five minutes, awkwardly peering down the aisle at the table the redhead’s seated at. His attention flicks between a worn text book and a notebook he’s scribbling something in, and thankfully, he doesn’t notice Kaeya stalking the bookshelves like a complete weirdo.
Finally, he stops, steels himself with a deep breath, and approaches him.
“Hey. Diluc,” he greets, sliding into an empty chair next to him with a pleasant little smile. Diluc’s not falling for any of it though, regarding him with a flat look.
“Do you need something?” Diluc asks, glancing up from the book sprawled on the table in front of him.
Kaeya fidgets for a second.
Now or never.
“Do you think, uh, you could help me with my chemistry homework sometime?”
“Why not ask Rosaria?” He asks, crossing his arms and looking at Kaeya suspiciously.
“Please,” Kaeya huffs with a roll of his eyes. “As if she has any work ethic.”
Diluc laughs.
It’s soft and quiet and Kaeya might just mark this day on his calendar.
“You make a good point. Here’s my number,” Diluc gives in, flipping open a notebook to scribble his phone number on a piece of paper before he rips it out, folds it neatly and hands it over to Kaeya.
Holy shit, he’s absolutely marking this on the calendar.
“Really?” He says, far too overzealous, and then laughs uncomfortably. “I mean, thanks. Rosa is no good at getting her work done on time.”
“Tell me about it,” Diluc mutters. “The amount of times she’s cheated off me is unbelievable.”
Kaeya laughs again, practically a cackle, and a loud shhhh comes from the librarian seated at the front desk. He winces apologetically, giving her a wave and mouthing a ‘sorry’ before he turns his attention back to Diluc.
“So I can just… text you… sometime?” Kaeya asks quietly, flipping the little note around in his hand like it’s burning a hole in his fingers. Diluc watches his hand for a moment, then glances up at him, their eyes meeting.
“If you need me,” he says.
“I definitely need you,” Kaeya replies instantly, without a thought. Thankfully, Diluc seems none the wiser.
“Just let me know,” Diluc tells him, shutting his notebook and sliding his history book out in front of him. “Right now I need to focus. Later?”
“Yeah! Yeah. Later. Good luck,” Kaeya exclaims, trying not to sound too excited. Diluc offers him a flat smile before turning back to his work, and oh, Kaeya really doesn’t want to walk away now that they’ve just gotten started, but he thinks it best not to push his luck — this time.
“See ya,” he says with a wave, and Diluc just nods, once again engrossed in whatever he’d been working on. He takes his leave and as soon as he’s out of the library and out of sight, he cries out.
“Yes!!”
-
Later that night, Kaeya settles on his bed after fishing out the neatly folded piece of paper from his bag.
Ten minutes pass, phone in one hand, Diluc’s number in the other, staring.
Where does he even begin? Sure, Diluc gave him his number for, ahem, academic purposes, but that doesn’t mean this can’t be the start of something great. He’s sure there’s plenty of people out there who have begun their foray into a relationship with something so… non-relationship-y…
Alright, so maybe he’s reaching, but still. He has Diluc’s number, and there’s no way he’s going to just do absolutely nothing with it.
He unlocks his phone, enters the number in a text, and types out four different messages before he settles on something.
[ hey what did you get for number 15 on the study guide ]
That’s casual. That’s normal. He takes a deep breath and presses the send button and waits.
And waits.
And waits.
He’s ready to give up when his phone buzzes on his nightstand a few minutes later, and he almost launches himself across the room to grab it.
[ Let me check ]
He’s talking to Diluc. He’s texting with Diluc. On the phone. He replied!
Kaeya may as well pick out a ring at this point.
[ 75.9% ]
Oh. Well. He was completely off on that one, he realizes, wincing at the answer scribbled on his homework.
[ thanks! ]
[ how about 7a? ]
[ i ended up with .0702 mol c ]
The chat bubble pops up, typing, then stops, and pops again before the phone buzzes with another message.
[ Huh, ok. ]
There’s a long pause and then Diluc types out another message.
[ You’re right ]
Perfect.
Now what?
Kaeya absentmindedly drums his fingers on one leg.
Oh. Chemistry jokes. Right.
He types out a flirty message, crosses his fingers for the best, and presses the send icon.
[ you could say we both have chemistry ;D ]
[ You know we do ]
Kaeya’s heart jumps out of his chest, and it takes all of his willpower not to spring off his bed and yell.
[ I’m in the period just before you ]
He deflates. Diluc is a tough crowd.
Instead of letting it get to him, he replies quickly.
[ it was a joke lol ]
[ Ok ]
[ not much of a *reaction* there… ha, ha get it? ]
[ ? ]
Kaeya might just scream at this rate.
May whatever powers that be have mercy on his soul.
-
Come senior year, the pressure is on.
The clock is ticking — not just when it comes to Diluc, but for prom, too. Kaeya has promised himself (and Jean, who he finally broke down to about his crush) that he’s not going to let senior year slip away without some real, tangible attempt at making a move, and what better way than to ask him to prom?
On top of his four year long fumble, there’s the matter of college applications — and there’s only one he’s thinking about: Dawn University, the same as Diluc.
He’s loathe to admit to anyone why, even his father. How does he say, ‘I saw my crush was going and decided to go to’ without sounding like a complete stalker weirdo? He just doesn’t.
So, he keeps his reasoning to himself, and uses the excuse that he wants to stay local, and Jean’s going too. It’s believable enough, and nobody questions him. He’s thankful for that.
He’s less thankful that Jean drags him to more than a handful of extracurricular interest meetings.
Kaeya might just throw up if he has to do one more session with some boring club.
Jean handles it with all the grace of a scholar, though. She comes prepared to each meeting, notebook in hand, scribbling notes the whole time, while Kaeya sits next to her, trying not to doze off.
By the end of their weeklong adventure (experiment, Jean calls it), she’s set up an entire spreadsheet detailing everything about their potential extracurricular activities from how much time each one will take up to how good it will look to a college.
The pros and cons list nearly sends Kaeya to sleep.
“This is really impressive, Jeanie,” he says, eyes glazing over as he attempts to read through it for the fifth time. She smiles as he sets down the spreadsheet on the lunch table, chomping through a baby carrot.
“These two are the strongest,” she exclaims, leaning forward and pointing to the document. “From all of my research, colleges like to see both of those.”
Kaeya peers at it. “Young Entrepreneurs Club and… I’m sorry, Future Farmers of America?”
“Oh, no, sorry, not that one — this.”
Her finger points to another option, one slightly more bearable, but still Kaeya sighs, sliding the paper across the table.
“I’m already in honor’s classes, and I’m working part time. Can’t we just do a fun club?”
“We could do book club,” Jean says hopefully.
“I said fun, Jean,” he teases with a little smile, knocking his foot against her calf under the table. She makes a disappointed noise, reaching for another carrot and munching away.
“You just need one extracurricular,” she reminds him. “Just to demonstrate that you’re capable of commitment and going the extra mile.”
“What about you? Aren’t you already doing three?”
“Two,” she corrects him, holding up her pointer and middle fingers. “Volunteering counts as its own category.”
“All right, overachiever,” Kaeya teases, reaching out to steal one of her carrots. “Surprised you have any time with the theatre stuff you do anyway.”
There’s a long pause.
“Wait,” she finally says, eyes lighting up, and Kaeya hopes she’s struck gold. “That’s it.
“What?”
“Theatre. You can join the musical this spring. Varka wants to bring in some fresh faces.”
“Oh?”
“The director really wants to go wild this year,” Jean explains with a heavy sigh. “Big set, bigger ensemble… which means more props, more tech work, more babysitting. Our tech lead is going nuts arguing with Varka about needing to replace the lights.”
“Who’s your tech lead?”
“Diluc Ragnvindr,” Jean says casually, and Kaeya almost drops the muffin he’s unwrapping.
“I thought he didn’t do any after school stuff,” Kaeya exclaims, and Jean gives him a confused look. “Ah, that’s what he told me at least.”
“He started last year. Varka loves him. He’s hardheaded and willing to argue and I think he respects that.”
An admirable trait for sure, Kaeya thinks, even if that stubbornness has made it near impossible to get close to him. He takes a bite of his muffin, contemplating as he chews.
“Alright,” he says, swallowing. Jean looks at him hopefully, and he flashes her a charming grin. “I’m in.”
-
Whatever the high school theatre director is on, it’s serious.
Kaeya’s not sure he’s ever seen such a perfectionist in his life.
They’re damn close to their first official performance and Kaeya thinks his head might explode at this rate. Despite his lack of experience in theatre, Kaeya somehow managed to snag one of the larger roles, and damn if Varka’s not running them all into the ground.
It’s quite possibly the most fun he’s ever had in his life.
It’s the final week of rehearsals, and Varka is relentlessly running three imperfect scenes back to back to back. Kaeya manages to find some time for a break, and he’s wandering back from the cafeteria post-snack when he’s ambushed by Rosaria in the hall.
“Kaeya,” she greets, and the way her voice lilts expectantly makes him suspicious.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Can you run this up to the booth really quick?” She asks, holding out a manilla folder labeled TECH in bold, black pen. Kaeya peers at it.
“Why?”
She arches a brow. “You’re on your way into the auditorium already.”
“Fine,” he groans, snatching the folder from her. “What is it?”
“Updated lighting cues from the director. Diluc needs them.”
Like the foolish teenager he is, Kaeya’s heart does a flip at the mention of the other boy’s name. He tries his best to not suddenly look eager, but he tucks the folder under his arm anyway.
“Tell your boyfriend I said hi,” she snickers, and Kaeya is tempted to turn around and throw the folder directly at her stupid face.
“Shut up,” he says instead, flipping her off before he meanders away, and he’s almost certain he hears her laughing behind him as she traipses off down the hall.
The trek to the tech booth feels neverending. It’s only a short flight of stairs, but when he gets there, he feels out of breath and even more out of sorts. He stands in front of the door, staring at the handle like he’s about to walk into an entirely new dimension instead of just directly into a high school tech booth.
You can do this.
You can totally do this.
Kaeya takes a deep breath, steeling himself, and then reaches out to open the heavy wood door. A voice comes immediately from the opposite end.
“Hey, I think the left board is broken. Varka’s not going to be happy, but we ought to let him know—”
Diluc looks up and stops dead in the middle of his sentence, eyes fixed on Kaeya.
“Oh. You’re not Razor. What are you doing here?”
Kaeya grins, attempting to put on the charm he desperately needs to use. “What, can’t a guy come visit his favorite lead tech?”
“Ha, ha,” Diluc says, dry as ever, and Kaeya watches him fold his arms across his chest.
“What? It’s true,” he retorts playfully, and he swears he sees a hint of a smile twitch at Diluc’s lips, and oh, does he want to kiss him, but it’s gone as quickly as it came.
He tries not to get carried away at the thought, and instead lifts the folder to wave it around as he approaches. “Rosa asked me to be your delivery boy. New cues.”
He hands it over and Diluc opens it with a hum, flipping through the pages. They fall into an awkward lull, silence stretching between them as Diluc inspects the lighting and sound cues. Kaeya bounces on the balls of his feet, looking around the tech booth.
“I’ve never been up here before,” Kaeya says in an attempt to strike up further conversation. It’s spacious, stretching above the span of the entire entryway to the auditorium. There’s racks of clothes all around, boxes of long abandoned props stacked high between them. “How does props find anything in this place?”
“They don’t,” Diluc replies, sinking into a well-worn chair in front of the board. “Which is why seniors steal something from up here at the end of their last show.”
“Oh, does that mean I can yoink something then?” Kaeya inquires, shuffling over to a cardboard box overflowing with everything from feather boas to plastic chickens. He fishes out a tacky tophat, covered in silver sequins and spins it with one hand.
Diluc eyes him. “I guess.”
Kaeya grins.
Quiet stretches between them again, and it drives him crazy. Diluc looks at him, almost expectantly, and shit, he wants to say something, but what? And is he just going to piss him off again?
“Kaeya!” A voice booms, loud and low, all the way from the stage, and he nearly jumps out of his skin, dropping the sequined hat. He thinks he hears Diluc snicker at him, but when he glances over, he’s turned in his chair, facing out the large open window and peering down into the auditorium.
He approaches the board, leaning over and looking down.
“Yeah?” He calls. He sees Varka standing on the stage, hands on his hips, and even though he’s far away, Kaeya’s certain there’s a scowl on his face.
“Are you finished traipsing around? It’s time for the tavern scene,” the director calls.
Shit, he must have lost track of time.
“Yeah,” Kaeya yells. “One sec.”
“See ya,” Diluc says when Kaeya leans back from the open window, and if he didn’t know any better, he’d say the redhead sounded almost disappointed to see him go.
“Mhm, later,” he bids him goodbye, tossing the tophat back onto an overflowing box. “I call dibs on that one, though. Don’t let anyone else take it.”
“No promises.”
Kaeya sighs. “And here I thought you had my back.”
For the second time ever, Diluc laughs, and it takes all of Kaeya’s strength to drag himself away, out of the booth, and back down to the stage. The only comforting fact is that he knows Diluc is up there, watching, and running the lights to make him look spectacular.
-
The final performance goes off without a hitch.
Well, almost.
Everyone hits their cues, nails their songs, but the tech crew loses a spotlight mid-performance. There’s a hasty panic backstage, and Kaeya never finds out if it actually gets fixed or not.
Regardless, when the curtain falls, he’s not sure he’s ever felt such a sense of accomplishment and elation. The audience, full of parents and family members, begins applauding, and Kaeya just knows they’ve done something magical.
It’s a feeling he thinks he could ride high on forever.
They’re all convened in the foyer — cast, crew, and audience alike — chatting away when Kaeya finally spies the object of his affection in the crowd. It’s distracting, every time he sees him, and his conversation with Jean is suddenly the last thing on his mind.
Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he watches as Diluc wanders away, that bright red hair weaving its way through to the tech entrance on the other side of the foyer.
He swallows.
This is it.
This is the moment.
He’s going to do it.
“I’ll be right back,” he says to Jean, squeezing her hand and offering a smile.
“Where are you going?” She asks, glancing around the crowd filled with family and fellow castmates. Kaeya’s smile just widens, and somehow Jean knows.
He climbs the stairs, takes a deep breath, and enters the tech booth without knocking. Diluc looks up immediately, seated in the worn-out chair he’s been working in for the past couple weeks.
“Hey,” Kaeya says softly, watching as Diluc turns in his seat, slipping his phone into his pocket.
“Hey. Did you need something?”
“No, no. Just wanted to say hey. And ah, you did a great job with the sound and stuff.”
“Thanks. That hat’s still there if you really want it,” Diluc offers, tilting his head towards the box where Kaeya left the costume prop a week ago.
“You kept it stashed away for me?” Kaeya teases. “I’m touched.”
Diluc snorts. Part of Kaeya wants to grab the hat and plop it on, but he thinks he’d feel even dumber popping the prom question to Diluc while wearing it. The redhead stands up, shuffling around to collect the spare scripts laying around, and well, there’s no better time than the present, Kaeya thinks.
He clears his throat, and steels himself.
“So… you going to prom?” He asks, hoping he sounds just vague enough about it.
“Nope,” Diluc replies shortly.
“Why not?”
“Don’t want to.”
“Can’t dance?” He teases, slipping into one of the beat up chairs at the lighting board. He spins back and forth, watching Diluc clean up the area with a jittery sort of excitement running through him.
“I can dance just fine,” he proclaims, and Kaeya finds his defensiveness a little more than endearing.
“I’d love to see that,” Kaeya says, leaning onto the desk. Diluc doesn’t offer him so much as a glance, straightening up still.
“Too bad,” he says, and doesn’t sound a bit sorry about it.
“Aw, come on. Is it ‘cause you don’t have a date?”
“No.”
“Oh, so you do have someone to go with?” Kaeya presses, and oh, even if Diluc has a date already, maybe he can swing a dance at least. The redhead sighs, flopping down a handful of papers and turning to him with an expectant look.
“What do you want, Kaeya?”
“What? I’m not allowed to ask if you have a date to prom?” He asks with a laugh, smiling up at Diluc. He can’t help but imagine the other young man donning a tux, with his hair down, and smiles even wider. “You know, you can be a little prickly, but you’re still cute—”
“Are you done?” Diluc asks firmly, and Kaeya stops laughing entirely. He blinks, looking at the stern expression on Diluc’s lovely face, and frowns, smile dropping away in an instant.
“What? I was just—”
“Making fun of me, I know. Like you always do,” the young man interjects.
“No, I—”
Diluc interrupts him with an irritated noise, brows furrowing tight. Kaeya’s seen him annoyed before, of course, but never quite like this.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?” He asks, frown deepening as he folds his arms over his chest.
Kaeya blinks at him.
“Huh?”
“I don’t know why you get off on being a dick to me, but you’ve been doing it for four years. Do you feel that bad about yourself that making fun of me is the only thing that makes your life better?”
What?
“Why don’t you get contacts? Why don’t you smile more? Why not wear your hair down?” Diluc begins rattling off things that Kaeya’s said to him in passing, counting on his fingers. “How about ‘Kaeya, why don’t you mind your business’?”
Kaeya is absolutely gobsmacked. He opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water, searching for the right thing to say, but instead, he just stumbles over his words.
“Wh… Diluc, I—”
“Do you ever think I don’t care about the things you do? Have you ever considered I’m not as shallow as you are?”
That gets him.
Kaeya scoffs. “Shallow? Just because I said those things to you doesn’t mean I’m being shallow. And if they bothered you so much, then why didn’t you tell me?”
Diluc ignores him, shoving the tech notes into a filing cabinet. He doesn’t bother looking up.
Kaeya frowns. He knew he’d fucked up before, that he’d fumbled the ball with Diluc on more than one occasion, but he never had any idea that the other boy was holding a grudge over his failed attempts to charm him.
“Have you been hanging onto all this through all of high school?”
The redhead gives him a look, and Kaeya’s heart just about falls into his stomach.
He’s mortified, now more than ever. He has to make things right. Diluc can’t be mad at him.
“Diluc, I’m sorry—”
“No, you’re not,” Diluc interrupts swiftly, and Kaeya can only sigh and set his hands on his hips, watching the anger on Diluc’s face.
“How can I convince you otherwise?”
“Just leave me alone,” Diluc says, hastily grabbing his sweatshirt and bookbag. He’s slinging it over his shoulder and pushing past Kaeya before he can say anything else.
“Wait, Diluc,” he starts, going to reach for his hand, desperate to pull him back.
“Get off of me.”
The look on Diluc’s face is nothing short of loathing — so intense it makes Kaeya recoil, something sick roiling in his stomach — and he lets go of him in an instant, swallowing nervously.
“You know what? I can’t wait to graduate so I never have to see you again.”
He watches in turmoil as Diluc turns on his heel and walks away, unable to do anything but let him go.
For the first time in his life, Kaeya cries over a boy.
-
[ Diluc please let me explain ]
[ I’m sorry that I upset you ]
[ Diluc ] — Read
[ Stop texting me ]
[ Give me a chance ] — Delivered
[ Diluc please ]
[ I wasn’t trying to make fun of you ]
[ Diluc ]
[ Diluc??? ]
[ Son of a bitch ] — Not Delivered
-
Kaeya spends the next week in a slump.
He completely blows off his study hall one brisk Spring morning, and retreats to the football field, clambering onto the bleachers to sit and mope in peace. He has a whole five minutes of solitude before he hears the gate to the entryway bang shut, and glances over to see none other than Rosaria, scanning the area for any signs of life.
When she sees him she stops short, and then offers a little nod. He’s not particularly in the mood for company, but he offers her a forced smile nonetheless, which she takes as an invitation, and begins walking up towards the metal steps.
“Hey,” she greets.
“Hey,” Kaeya replies, and he hates the way he sounds so pathetically sad.
“Who shit in your cereal this morning?” Rosaria asks, plopping onto the bleachers next to him with a thunk.
Kaeya, ever dramatic, lets out a long sigh. “The universe.”
Beside him, the girl snorts in amusement, shifting to dig her hands into her coat pockets. “Is this about Diluc?”
“He hates me, Rosa,” Kaeya bemoans, shoving his face into his hands. “He told me he couldn’t wait to graduate so—”
“—he didn’t have to see you again, yeah. This is the fifth time in three days you’ve recounted this story.”
With a flick, she lights up a cigarette, inhaling. Kaeya shoots her a glare, and in response she exhales a column of smoke from the side of her mouth — in the opposite direction, luckily.
“One day you’re gonna get caught,” he complains, waving a hand.
“Maybe. At least I didn’t try to ask my crush to prom and get told to eat shit.”
“He didn’t tell me to eat shit,” Kaeya argues weakly.
“Why are you so worried about it anyway? There’s plenty of other people to go to prom with,” Rosa reminds him, ignoring his argument. “Didn’t you have like, three people ask you already?”
Kaeya purses his lips, picking at a nail. “None of them are Diluc.”
“God, you are pathetic,” Rosaria says, leaning back against the row of bleachers behind her.
“Don't remind me,” he groans, rubbing his face. “What am I going to do?”
“Hopefully you’ve applied to more than just Dawn University,” she suggests, unhelpfully. “I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see you there.”
Oh.
Oh, no.
His heart drops into his stomach at the realization.
“Oh, god,” Kaeya exclaims, and then he’s clambering to his feet, pacing. “This is… I am so unbelievably stupid.”
“Seriously?” Rosa deadpans, watching him. “You only applied to one college? Because your crush is going?”
“I wasn’t thinking straight!”
“When do you ever?”
“Not helping!”
Rosaria shrugs, taking another drag off her cigarette. “I’m sure it’ll all blow over. And Diluc’s a reasonable guy. Have you tried talking to him about it?”
Kaeya frowns. “He blocked my number.”
“Ouch,” she says with a little wince. “Well. How ‘bout a more cheerful topic?”
“Shoot,” Kaeya grumbles, leaning back against the bleachers. Anything to get his mind off of Diluc’s rejection, honestly.
“You coming Saturday?” She asks.
“To what?”
“Childe’s parents’. They’re out of town and he’s throwing a party.”
“Oh, great, him?” He asks.
Rosaria reaches out to ash her cigarette. “Diluc’s going.”
Dumb and eager as ever, Kaeya shoves aside any shadow of a doubt and nods.
“I’ll come.”
-
Kaeya doesn’t drink, but after this week, the countertop sprawled with liquor is starting to look a little more than tempting.
Childe’s family’s place is huge, and there’s far too many underclassmen in the kitchen drinking out of red plastic cups. Kaeya doesn’t recognize more than a handful of them, and he’s not particularly eager to go make new friends.
Rosaria has long since wandered off, likely smoking a joint on the back porch with Venti and Kazuha, two juniors who she’d struck it off with some way or another. Kaeya’s eyes scan the living room, and then the kitchen for her when he sees him.
Diluc.
Kaeya’s breath catches in his throat.
He’s not wearing his glasses. His hair is down.
Kaeya’s fingers itch to run through it. Now he really wants a drink.
He’d underestimated how completely miserable this would make him feel. He’s only here because of Diluc, because some stupid, pathetic part of him wanted to see him, to maybe get some chance to get closer.
But the worst part is Diluc couldn’t care less.
Heaving a sigh, he retreats.
Through the living room, the foyer, and up the stairs until the sound of the music playing becomes a dull thudding through the walls. He turns the corner, wanders down the hall, and decides that snooping has to be a better way to occupy himself than crying over Diluc.
And, well, if he cries a little bit in a stranger’s room, he could candidly tell Rosaria he’s hit rock bottom.
The third door on the right creaks open, and Kaeya reaches out, feeling for the light switch on the wall. A dim table light turns on, next to the bed, and Kaeya closes the door behind him with a soft click as he takes a look around.
He inspects the room curiously. There’s a shelf with medals for track, pictures of family on vacation… The medals are enough to give away that the room is Childe’s, considering he’s the star of the track team, and has been since sophomore year.
Kaeya turns on his heel and finds the edge of the bed, taking a seat, and he takes a deep breath, letting the distant rumble of the party become a dull buzz somewhere in the back of his brain.
Until the door opens.
He glances up, only to see the reason he’s at the party standing right in the doorway.
“Oh,” Diluc says blankly. “This isn’t your room.”
He swallows, and his throat feels dryer than the desert.
Kaeya feels like he’s just been thrown into the middle of a game of chess, and with Diluc? He certainly doesn’t know how to play.
“It’s not yours either,” he replies, choosing his words carefully. Diluc looks at him, but Kaeya can’t tell if he’s really looking at him or through him. His reply must have been acceptable though, because Diluc doesn’t immediately leave. Instead, he closes the door behind him, again filtering out the sound of the party.
“I was looking for a quiet spot away from all the noise.”
Kaeya leans back on the bed, resting on his hands. “Me too.”
Diluc crosses his arms. “If Childe had asked me to shotgun a beer with him one more time, I think I would have gone nuts.”
Kaeya laughs at that, genuine and bright, and for the first time in four years, he sees Diluc crack a real smile — and because of him. His heart flip-flops at the sight.
“He’s pretty unbearable sometimes,” Kaeya acknowledges. “I didn’t think I’d see you here.”
“I could say the same to you.”
“Rosa convinced me. What about you?”
Diluc leans back against the door. “I’m Rosa’s designated driver.”
Kaeya just nods, and then the pair of them lapse into a silence that makes Kaeya completely and wholly uneasy. There’s a tension that stretches between them, and he can feel a hundred unspoken words on the tip of his tongue.
“Listen,” Kaeya forces himself to begin uncomfortably, running his hands over his thighs. “About… last week.”
He can see Diluc stiffen as soon as he says it, and it’s difficult not to feel a little on edge.
“I might have been a little harsh, but my point stands.”
“I know. I know. And you’re allowed to be, uh, angry with me, but…” Kaeya trails off, then groans, rubbing a hand over his face. What is he supposed to say? Is he supposed to confess, after Diluc’s just stomped on his heart?
“When I’m around you, I just get… stupid,” he says decisively, looking up at the redhead.
“Around me?” Diluc repeats carefully. Kaeya’s stomach twists in knots.
“Yeah. Around you.”
There’s a long pause before Diluc speaks again. “What does that mean?”
Kaeya swallows.
He’s thought about this before — lots, actually. What would he finally say to Diluc if he were to confess?
‘I’m kind of obsessed with you and don’t know how to act’?
‘I’ve imagined our entire future together and I think we should have a summer wedding’?
‘I singlehandedly am keeping the tissue industry running because I can’t stop thinking about the way you might look with my dick in your mouth’?
Kaeya has no idea where to begin.
“Uh—” He awkwardly picks at a piece of lint on Childe’s bedspread. “I dunno.”
“Can’t you ever be honest?” Diluc demands. He can hear the irritation in his voice, full and clear.
“I’m not lying,” Kaeya, well, lies. He has to stop himself from physically cringing.
Diluc sighs, turning on his heel. “You’re impossible. I’m not doing this.”
“Wait! Wait, wait, wait—” Kaeya jumps up from the edge of the bed, arms outstretched. “Don’t go. Please.”
And Diluc actually listens.
He stops, turning back to look at Kaeya, and those stunning eyes fix on him. It’s hard to ignore the way he looks frustrated, the smallest frown on his lips, and Kaeya hates that he finds it so endearing.
“Give me one good reason to stay.”
Hell.
Now what?
The chess game grows harder, and Kaeya doesn’t know what to do with his next move, aside from flip the board entirely and—
“I like you,” he blurts.
Oh.
Well.
That’s one way to do it.
Silence stretches between them, heavy and seemingly endless.
Kaeya wants to disappear, to melt into the floor and become a single celled organism, never to have to feel the embarrassment he currently feels ever, ever again.
The way Diluc’s looking at him doesn’t help, either.
Those red eyes peer at him, owlish and so clearly perplexed, and Kaeya wishes he could say he felt any less confused himself.
At least Rosaria has to quit smoking now.
“What?” Diluc finally says, staring at him.
Kaeya takes a deep breath, steeling himself before he speaks again. “I like you.”
It’s easier the second time, he thinks, at least until Diluc laughs.
“What?” He says incredulously, arms dropping to his sides. “After four years of being a dick, you expect me to believe you like me?”
Kaeya scoffs, throwing his arms up.
“I wasn’t trying to be a dick, I was trying to flirt!”
“By being a dick?”
“Diluc,” he huffs, stopping himself before he gets any more frustrated. He digs his fingers into his temples, rubbing at them as he sighs. “I told you, you make me stupid.”
“And you make me annoyed. So I guess we’re even.”
The pair lapse into silence, and after a long moment, Diluc crosses the room, the bed giving under his weight as he takes a seat next to Kaeya. After a dreadful pause, Kaeya follows, settling in beside him.
“I didn’t mean to annoy you,” Kaeya offers, some attempt at apology.
“You look at me like you want to kiss me and talk to me like you’re trying to bully me.”
Kaeya can’t help but laugh at that. There’s something about it so ridiculous that it makes sense.
“I do want to kiss you,” he admits. “And I don’t want to bully you. But… I don’t know how to talk to you.”
Diluc looks thoughtful, fingers drumming on the edge of the mattress for a moment until he turns to Kaeya with a defeated gaze.
“That explains the chemistry joke then,” he says.
“Wh — you got that all along?” Kaeya exclaims in dismay, flopping himself down onto the bed next to Diluc, who has the audacity to give him a muted little smile.
“I was trying not to get my hopes up,” he explains, and Kaeya’s whole being vibrates.
“Wh — you—”
That muted smile grows into something else, clever and coy, and then Diluc’s hand slips into his.
Kaeya thinks his heart stops.
And then? Diluc kisses him.
His heart definitely stops.
It’s sweet, and soft, and brief, and Kaeya has a hundred questions about it all, but they all die on his tongue when Diluc pulls away, crimson eyes flickering over his face. Without his glasses, Kaeya can see those lovely eyes so much better. He wants to ask where they are but…
Questions be damned while he looks at Kaeya like that.
This time, Kaeya kisses him. Diluc makes a sound against his mouth, lilting into a soft sigh, and Kaeya shudders, his fingers shaking as he gently slides his hand over the redhead’s ribs to pull him closer.
They should talk, he thinks. There’s unsaid words between their lips, but it’s difficult not to get carried away in sensation, especially with the way Diluc feels against him. He’s warm and solid, and kisses so, so sweetly.
“Is kissing me all you wanted to do?” Diluc breathes, breaking away a fraction of an inch.
“God, no,” Kaeya admits, but kisses him again anyway. “But I don’t want to rush.”
“I do,” the other young man says, and hooks a finger in the waistband of Kaeya’s pants. He jolts. “I might have thought about this before.”
“Liar,” Kaeya mutters in disbelief.
“Can I blow you?”
Kaeya’s breath catches.
This feels just like one of his wet dreams, the only time where Diluc could ever be as open and eager, but this is real. There’s no way Kaeya could ever dream up something as good as this, especially not when Diluc looks over at him with his pupils blown wide.
To think he wants it just as much as Kaeya does nearly sends him toppling over.
“I — yeah,” he manages. “If you want.”
Diluc slinks onto the floor between his knees, and oh, god, Kaeya is going to have a heart attack. Slowly, he undoes the button of his jeans, thumbing at the zipper, and Kaeya’s hands shake nervously.
“Oh,” is all he says, taking in the sight of Kaeya’s erection, and then lithe fingers wrap around the base of his dick. He can’t help but stare at Diluc as he leans in, hot breath tickling against sensitive skin.
“Holy shit,” Kaeya breathes, fingers digging into the bedspread beneath him, and he feels himself throb in Diluc’s grip.
“I’ve barely done anything yet,” he says, and in the dim light, Kaeya swears he sees a ghost of a smirk. The look on his face only serves to make Kaeya more aroused.
Before he can reply, Diluc licks a slow, wet stripe up the underside of his dick, and Kaeya’s hips jerk of their own accord. He almost doesn’t know if he can keep it together, but then the redhead’s warm, wet mouth envelops the head of his cock and Kaeya well and truly thinks he might pass out.
He moans, eyes rolling back, and Diluc takes it as a sign to continue, taking more of him, until Kaeya feels the tightness of his throat work at the very tip of him. Again, his hips jerk, and Diluc gags, pulling back and coughing.
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Kaeya manages apologetically, but Diluc just shakes his head, leaning back in to lave his tongue over the sensitive underside.
“You really don’t have to — ohh, my god,” Kaeya cuts himself off with another pathetic sound when Diluc’s mouth wraps around him again, letting out a whine so embarrassing he’s afraid Diluc might stop blowing him entirely just to laugh. Somehow he’s graced with the opposite effect, and Diluc makes what sounds like a pleased little hum around his dick, taking in more.
Oh, god, that vibration—
His orgasm comes out of nowhere.
One second he’s struggling to keep his hips still, and the next he’s spilling into Diluc’s mouth, whimpering like a puppy. He’s so mortified, but the other young man takes it without batting an eye.
He groans lowly. “I’m sorry, I’m — I’m so sorry.”
Diluc pulls off a couple seconds later, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s okay.”
“I’ve been thinking about that since freshman year,” Kaeya admits and in any other situation he would have never let that slip, but his head is still a little fuzzy from his sudden, delightful orgasm.
“What else have you been thinking about?”
“Please don’t make me expose myself,” Kaeya mutters, awkwardly trying to tuck his softening dick back in his underwear.
“You’re a virgin, aren’t you?”
Kaeya groans in embarrassment. “What gave it away, the premature ejaculation?”
“The messy kissing,” Diluc says, and Kaeya realizes that he’s teasing him. He lets out an irritated little noise, knocking his foot against Diluc’s leg.
“Do you think he has lube?” Diluc asks.
“What?”
“Childe,” he clarifies, then leans over to pull open a bedside drawer. Kaeya swallows nervously, watching.
“You really want to — uh, you know — on Childe’s bed?”
“Have sex?” Diluc fills in the blanks, arching a brow as he locates precisely what he was looking for. “We don’t have to go all the way if you don’t want to—”
“No,” Kaeya interjects, too eager, and Diluc snickers on the floor in front of him, a sound he wants to hear more of. “I want to. I definitely want to. I just, uh…”
“Don’t worry,” the redhead says, gently putting a hand on Kaeya’s thigh as he settles next to him on the bed, and the touch feels absolutely electric. “I’ll show you the ropes.”
This time, Diluc leans up for the kiss, soft and careful, and Kaeya has to fight the urge to cling. It’s strange, tasting his own end on Diluc’s tongue, but not entirely unpleasant. Part of him wants to return the favor, but he’s equally as eager to take things all the way.
His mind can’t help but wander back to that elusive smile Diluc offered, and now knowing he’s not a virgin, he can’t help but break away for a second.
“Wait, who?” He breathes. Diluc hums, kissing him again.
“‘Who’ what?”
“Who was it? Or was it multiple people?” Kaeya can’t help himself from asking. Diluc’s fingers hook under the waistband of his underwear, nails scratching over sensitive skin, and Kaeya can’t help the way he shivers.
“Nobody you know,” Diluc informs him coolly. “And don’t think about it. Think about this instead. The here and now.”
“But what if—” Kaeya swallows nervously, eyes flickering over Diluc’s face and falling to his lovely lips for a moment. “What if I’m bad at it? And you hate it?”
Diluc regards him seriously.
“I watched you take directions from Varka like no other,” he says.
Kaeya arches a brow. “Are you telling me I’m a good actor?”
“I’m telling you that you listen well and act accordingly,” Diluc explains. “Just follow my directions, and you’ll do fine.”
“What if I wanna be better than just ‘fine’?” Kaeya groans.
Before he knows it, Diluc’s taking a hand and settling it on the front of his jeans, squeezing Kaeya’s fingers around the outline of his hard dick, and Kaeya swallows nervously when the other young man shudders.
“See how good you’re already doing?” He breathes lowly, and Kaeya already feels his own dick twitching back to life.
“That’s the hottest thing anyone’s ever done in the history of ever,” he mutters when Diluc’s hand slides away. He keeps his own hand where it is, gently squeezing at Diluc’s clothed cock. “Can I kiss you again?”
Diluc nods, and Kaeya can’t hold himself back.
He kisses him like the eager teenager he is, clumsy at first, teeth nearly clacking together, but it only takes a moment for them to find a rhythm, licking into each other’s mouths. Listening to Diluc makes him dizzy — who knew he’d make the sweetest sounds? He moans softly and sighs, grinds against Kaeya’s touch, lets his own hands wander, and all of it makes Kaeya think he should have confessed so much sooner.
“Here,” Diluc says, pulling his shirt off. Kaeya follows suit, tossing his own shirt into some unknown corner of Childe’s room, and then they’re both ditching their pants and underwear until Diluc is laid naked on the bed next to him.
He’s so much prettier than anything Kaeya could ever dream.
“What?” Diluc says.
“Nothing. What do I do now?” He asks, trying not to shy away from the fact that his nakedness makes him feel so, well, naked.
“It would help to prep me, so it doesn’t hurt,” Diluc instructs him. Kaeya watches with rapt interest as Diluc reaches out to grab the half-empty bottle of lube he’d snatched from the bedside table, and parts his thighs wide. “Come here.”
Diluc pulls him in for a kiss, the feeling of skin on skin absolutely electric.
One finger, and then another, Diluc instructs him, and Kaeya follows his directions to a T. With lube slicked fingers, he reaches low between his legs, spreading the liquid against his rim, and Diluc shivers.
“Okay,” he says.
That’s all the permission Kaeya needs, and he sinks his index finger carefully into Diluc.
He had no idea something could feel so hot and tight. It makes him feel light-headed, and he carefully shifts on the bed to angle his hand a little better. One finger turns to two, and then Diluc’s asking for a third.
Then his breath hitches, and Kaeya knows he’s done something right.
“Yeah?” He asks eagerly, feeling a little more confident. Diluc nods shakily. Without hesitation he does it again, curling his fingers and pressing, and Diluc lets out a broken noise, cock twitching.
It’s the hottest thing Kaeya’s ever seen in his life.
“Like that,” Diluc tells him, half-breathless. He’s loathe to disappoint, focusing on working Diluc open just like he pled. Experimentally, he reaches up with his free hand to wrap it around Diluc’s neglected dick.
The moan he lets out is borderline pornographic.
WIthout warning, he grabs Kaeya’s arm.
“Y-you’re gonna make me cum,” he manages, eyes squeezed shut.
“Is that bad?” Kaeya teases, feeling a little more confident. Diluc’s eyes open, shooting him a little glare, and in response, Kaeya redoubles his efforts, focusing on the movement of his fingers. The redhead gasps, and Kaeya feels him squeeze, hips jerking.
“Please,” Diluc says, and his voice lilts with an endearing whimper that makes Kaeya’s dick ache. “I want you to fuck me.”
Kaeya fumbles his rhythm then, blinking down at Diluc, spread out on Childe’s bed below him.
“Yeah,” he breathes. “Yeah, yeah, okay, I can do that.”
Ever so carefully, Kaeya pulls his hand back, fingers slipping out of Diluc, who lets out a whine at the loss — of disappointment or discomfort, Kaeya’s not sure. He angles himself sideways on the mattress, and Kaeya follows, knees dimpling the blanket as he moves between pale thighs.
“Okay,” he begins nervously. “How slow… do I…?”
“Just… easy, okay?” Diluc says, shifting on the bed to spread his legs wider. There’s a puddle of precum pooled on his pelvis, and Kaeya is tempted to lean in and lick it away, to take his cock in his mouth and taste him, like he’s jerked off about for years.
He must let the thought linger for too long because Diluc clears his throat a moment later.
“What?”
“Don’t just stare,” Diluc complains.
“You’re just… hot,” Kaeya admits, flushing.
“You’re hot, too,” the redhead replies, knocking his leg against Kaeya’s hip. “Now, stop talking and do something.”
“Okay. Okay.”
Good to his word, Kaeya clambers between Diluc’s spread thighs, settling onto his knees.
“Wait,” Diluc says suddenly, turning to reach out for the bottle of lube on the far side of the bed. He grabs it and pops the lid open, pouring a generous amount onto his fingers and then wraps them around Kaeya’s leaking cock.
He shivers in response, the cool liquid making him twitch against Diluc’s grip.
“Ready?” Diluc asks and Kaeya merely nods in reply. Difficult as ever, Diluc lets go of him only after a long stroke, thumbing at a sensitive spot on the underside of his dick, and Kaeya’s hips jerk. He can’t swallow down the whine it elicits, but Diluc seems to pay it no mind, leaning back onto the bed and angling his pelvis so Kaeya can see the wet shine of lube smeared across the crease of his cheeks.
“Okay. Fuck. Okay,” he breathes, scooting forward, and the bed gives under his weight. The first press of his cock to Diluc’s entrance is careful, and he can’t help but rub the tip over the ring of slick muscle.
He’s warm and wet from the lube, and Kaeya grips his cock tightly before pressing in.
It’s unbelievable.
Diluc is snug and searing, the sight of him a delight in itself. Kaeya groans, squeezing desperately around the base of his cock so he doesn’t prematurely blow his load just from half an inch.
“Shit, Diluc,” he chokes out.
“C’mon,” Diluc encourages him. “I can take it.”
“I can’t,” Kaeya says with an incredulous laugh. “You feel too good.”
“Don’t think about it,” he instructs, and then he’s reaching up to tug at Kaeya’s shirt collar. “Kiss me.”
He follows the movement without a second thought, leaning down to meet Diluc’s mouth with his own, and he slides in more to that snug warmth. They moan in tandem, the sound vibrating against Kaeya’s lips, and then Diluc’s shifting and taking more then suddenly Kaeya’s cock is to the hilt.
“Oh,” Diluc breathes, shuddering below him.
Kaeya groans, barely holding himself up. It’s so much better than he ever could have imagined, having Diluc under him. He feels dizzy from it all—the taste of his lips, his warmth, the smell of his shampoo.
“Move,” Diluc says suddenly, squirming. “Please.”
His voice is desperate, broken and so pretty. It makes Kaeya absolutely dumb.
Diluc feels so good.
Four years of fantasies and wet dreams have nothing on the real thing, Kaeya thinks distantly. He wants to write poetry about it. His brain is in shambles, like he doesn’t know what to do. Instead of thinking, he lets instinct take over and gives a slow, languid thrust.
Diluc gasps.
He’s not perfect. The way his hips move is a little clumsy, fraught with inexperience, but he tries to keep a steady pace. Diluc takes him in like he was made for it, legs coming to wrap around Kaeya’s waist and pull him in deeper.
It’s heaven and hell all in one, the way Diluc feels beneath him, the way he gasps and clings to Kaeya. He never thought he would see him this way, and now that he’s finally been graced with this fine sight, he wants to burn it into his retinas to remember forever.
“Touch me,” Diluc instructs suddenly, though it sounds more like a plea than anything else, and oh, god, is Kaeya eager to oblige. He fumbles a hand between their bodies, fingers tightening around Diluc’s dick and when he does, Diluc squeezes around him.
“Oh, my god,” Kaeya moans, the pace of his hips stuttering. “Diluc, I’m—I can’t—”
“Just a little more,” he murmurs, and then he’s rolling his hips, meeting every thrust. Kaeya silently prays no one is outside in the hall, otherwise they’d hear every slap of his pelvis meeting Diluc’s pert ass.
“Diluc. Diluc, you’re so good,” he babbles, fucking into him like his life depends on it.
“Shit,” Diluc gasps, and Kaeya thinks that’s the first time he’s ever heard him curse. It’s cute, he thinks, watching as the young man beneath him squeezes his eyes shut, head tilting back.
Kaeya can’t stop now. Not with the way he has Diluc moaning. He fucks him as best as he can, sloppy and eager, and he’s sure his technique is far from honed, but the little ah-ah-ah’s that fall from Diluc’s mouth make him think he’s doing just fine.
“Kaeya,” he whimpers, and it sounds like a warning. “Kaeya—”
“Gonna cum?”
Diluc nods violently, teeth digging into his lower lip. Kaeya doesn’t want to finish first, doesn’t want to disappoint, and he strokes Diluc between them firmly.
“Let me feel you,” he murmurs. “Please, ‘Luc. I wanna feel you.”
And oh, does he.
A moment later, Diluc goes taut beneath him, hips stilling, and he cries out, bitten off as he throws his head back and cums.
It’s the most beautiful thing Kaeya’s ever seen in his life, and he can’t help but follow suit, spilling into the boy he’s loved for years as he cums on his cock.
He thinks he blacks out.
Hell, maybe he does, because the next thing he knows, he’s sprawled on the bed next to Diluc, the pair of them catching their breath. His ears are ringing, swallowing air in by the lungful, and he’s never felt so blissed out after an orgasm in his life.
“I think Childe might kill us,” Kaeya breathes finally.
“Like I care,” Diluc retorts easily, and it’s impossible not to laugh. It’s only then that he notices that their hands are laced together.
“Oh,” he murmurs, looking down, and then back up to Diluc’s expectant gaze.
“Are you alright?” Diluc asks softly, and hearing his voice like that makes Kaeya’s heart do something entirely unhealthy. He swallows.
“Are you?”
Diluc’s brows furrow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Kaeya parrots. “I just lost my virginity to the guy I’ve lo—liked since freshman year.”
There’s a long pause and for a moment, Kaeya thinks he’s going to call him out on his little slip up, but he just starts laughing.
“What?”
“You’ve had a thing for me since freshman year?” Diluc asks incredulously, leaning to sit up on one elbow. Kaeya watches as his lips curl into a smile, more genuine than he’s ever seen. He can’t help himself from following his movements and pulling him into a kiss.
Maybe he shouldn’t. Part of him wonders if this was just a one time thing, if maybe that’s what Diluc wanted. The thought nags at him, threatening to spill out between their lips, but then Kaeya says something different entirely.
“Date me,” he breathes.
Diluc pauses, pulling back to regard him with a confused little look. “What?”
Kaeya swallows nervously. “I said, ‘date me’.”
“No, I heard you, I just—what?”
“You make me stupid,” he says.
“And you make me crazy,” Diluc retorts without hesitation.
“I make you crazy?” Kaeya asks with a smile. Diluc flicks him in the nose.
“Why do you think I never wanted to see you again?”
Kaeya grabs at Diluc’s naked waist and pulls him flush to his body. He has the audacity to look sheepish about it despite the fact that they were just fucking minutes ago, those red eyes going wide.
“Cause I made you crazy, huh?” Kaeya teases, finally successfully.
“You looked at me like you wanted to kiss me and talked to me like you couldn’t stand me,” Diluc replies dryly. “Of course you made me crazy, but...”
Uh-oh.
“But?”
“But, I’m starting college in fall, and I don’t think long distance would be a good idea.”
Oh.
That’s good.
It’s so ironic that Kaeya wants to laugh.
“About that,” he begins a little sheepishly. “I may be going to Dawn U, too.”
“Oh. What made you pick Dawn?”
Kaeya flops back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling fan as it spins slowly. He’s already this deep, he may as well divulge the truth.
“Cause it’s where you’re going,” he admits, turning to watch realization dawn on Diluc’s face. His gaze flickers down to Kaeya’s mouth and back up before he speaks.
“Wow,” he says flatly, but Kaeya is beginning to learn that’s not necessarily a bad thing. “Almost sounds like you’re in love with me.”
“I—” Kaeya wants to defend himself, to argue, but simply can’t. Instead, he swallows down his pride, and locks eyes with him. “Maybe.”
Diluc blinks.
He chews on his lip before locking gazes again, and if Kaeya didn’t know any better he’d think he was embarrassed.
“Well. Good. Because I’m fond of you.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” Diluc says.
“Maybe I want to hear it again.”
“No.”
“Aw, come on,” Kaeya prods with a little laugh, watching as Diluc rolls over and sits up, reaching for his pants. “We just banged. You can tell me you like me.”
“Banged,” Diluc repeats in a deadpan, and Kaeya laughs.
“Yeah. Bang-ed,” he exclaims, enunciating in a dramatic way that makes Diluc laugh, and Kaeya’s heart sing from it.
“Shut up,” Diluc manages.
“Listen, if I’d known you were this easy, I would have told you I like you years ago,” Kaeya says and then the next thing he knows, he’s being battered with a pillow. “Ow!”
“You are a dick,” Diluc complains.
“Maybe,” Kaeya manages after wrestling the pillow from his grip, and pinning him to the bed. Diluc looks up at him with a scowl, but all Kaeya can do is grin. “But I’m your dick now.”