Archive of Our Own

Kaeya is a man in power who really should not have the authority he has. He isn’t a bad leader, not really, but as he sits upon his throne overlooking the throne room, as he watches Diluc Ragnvindr step through the massive double doors alongside his entourage, as he watches this man, his first love, his soon-to-be husband, be escorted right into his clutches, about to be offered up to him like a virgin sacrifice to a malicious god, he can’t help but think so.

Not that he’s complaining, when it’s gotten him everything he’s ever wanted, but he almost feels bad for Diluc, sweet, innocent Diluc, whose hand in marriage is being offered up to a man he’s never met, all in the name of politics. 

Almost, because Kaeya plans to spend the rest of their future together making Diluc the happiest man alive, and he plans for their future to last a long, long time.

Still, he can’t show any of that on his face, not when everyone else believes their own plans are falling into place; Kaeya’s advisors believe Kaeya is finally settling, and the people believe they are getting an alliance. Even Kaeya, unbeknownst to anyone else, is reaping the rewards of his schemes and binding the target of his love at first sight to himself. 

The only one losing out, it seems, is Diluc, and yet there he stands, head held high, but gaze lowered to the ground, dressed in the finest of Mondstadt’s clothing and adorned with the most beautiful of gems and jewels and yet reflecting none of their glow in his eyes.

Kaeya can't tell what exactly Diluc might be thinking, but it's clear to him that, in Diluc’s eyes, all of this is nothing but duty; Diluc is willingly here, allowing himself to be given up for the sake of his nation, and he will do so without complaint because he believes that's what he was born to do, and that's the kind of person he is.

Kaeya plans to change all that, too, but first he has to get through the night, so that he can get Diluc away from all these people chaining him down with expectations and words of duty and everything else that has anything but Diluc's best interests at heart. 

“Gentlemen,” he says. “Diluc.” He tests the name, trying to gauge Diluc's reaction, but Diluc merely lowers his head in greeting.

“Your Highness,” he murmurs, and Kaeya almost feels bad because everything, from the submissive lowering of his head to his soft voice, goes straight down to places most definitely not appropriate considering the current situation. 

He shifts in his seat as subtly as he can and smiles. “That's Kaeya to you,” he says lightly. He stands from his throne and makes his way down to where Diluc is waiting with his entourage. People step back to give him space, and in no time, he’s standing right before his soon-to-be husband and taking his hand. Diluc’s expression is frighteningly unreadable behind his small, polite smile.

A hush falls over the gathered people as Kaeya lightly presses his lips to the back of Diluc’s hand; the people see in their union a future of stability and peace.

It's unfortunate, really, that Kaeya doesn't share the same vision as his people. He’s already thinking of ways he can get rid of all the unnecessary people loitering around, thinking themselves to be important, but he plays his part. He greets the entourage, asks them about their travels, relays hopes that they will enjoy the banquet, and offers them a place to stay for the night.

Soon, the flourish returns to the party. There is food and drink, music and laughter, and many people Kaeya is sure he should recognise come up to him to congratulate him on his union.

Throughout it all, Diluc stands just behind him, head dipped, eyes lowered, and not a word leaving his lips unless prompted. He takes sips of his wine whenever someone proposes a toast, but doesn't touch the glass otherwise.

Kaeya’s sure wine is as common in Mondstadt as it is in Khaenri'ah, so perhaps Diluc’s too nervous to drink. Or maybe he simply doesn’t like the drink. Kaeya makes a note to himself to find out, even as he can’t really address it as it’s happening. Diluc does eat, however, so Kaeya tells himself this is a good thing even as he makes speeches promising a bright future for the union and pretends to care as people clap and cheer.

It feels like forever before the party finally dies down, but once the first guest announces their departure, the rest are quick to follow. Kaeya shares final words of thanks, wishes everyone a good night, and then he almost grabs Diluc’s hand in his haste to leave behind all the prying eyes and just be alone.

The moment the doors to his personal quarters close behind them, the maids descend upon them in their haste to serve, and Kaeya can’t blame them; they’re as excited as anyone else about the union. Diluc is whisked away to the baths while Kaeya is led back to his chambers, where he’s left to his own devices. He spends the time waiting straightening this and that, making sure all his clothes are put away, anything to take his mind off the man currently being prepared for him.

Kaeya isn’t sure how long it’s been before there’s a knock on his door, but the anticipation makes it feel both like an eternity and an instant. He resists the urge to run for the door, but when no one announces their presence as they would usually, he goes to check anyway. 

There are no maids like he’d expected, only Diluc, waiting patiently outside when he opens the door. Kaeya opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.

Diluc’s face is still a little flushed from the warm water, made even more prominent by his pale skin, but Kaeya can tell his hair has been carefully dried and tended to. 

He smells nice.

Diluc lets out a soft cough, snapping Kaeya back to reality. “I—may I come in? I was told we were to share a…a room.”

Kaeya steps back more out of instinct than because he’d thought to. “You’re right,” he says quickly. “My apologies.”

Diluc ducks his head and shuffles past Kaeya with a soft, “Thank you.”

It’s only after the doors have closed behind them that Kaeya spies the faintest hint of hesitation bloom on Diluc’s face. He pauses for the briefest moment before stepping further into the room, and he tightens his grip on his shirt just a little as he does.

Kaeya notices only because he has been obsessively looking at his new husband since he stepped into his throne room earlier in an attempt to learn his tells as soon as possible. He watches, curious, as Diluc slowly looks around the bedroom chambers.

It’s rather tame, especially if Kaeya were to compare it to the rest of the palace, but if Kaeya were to be sentimental, it would be the one place in the entire kingdom that held any sense of his character, the only place Kaeya had coloured with his existence. 

There are books he’s collected over the years on the shelves and trinkets he’s received as gifts on the desk. The sheets are in his favourite colours, and he’d handpicked his own nightwear because he preferred certain materials over others.

He hopes Diluc will come to know all that one day. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, or any time in the new future, because this is Diluc’s life being upturned, not Kaeya’s, but he hopes it happens.

“You can change, then feel free to look around,” Kaeya offers. He gestures towards the folding screen. “Nightwear’s been prepared for you for tonight; you can unpack your things tomorrow and wear whatever you brought if you prefer.”

Diluc nods stiffly. “Thank you.” He slips behind the folding screen to change, and Kaeya busies himself with fluffing up the pillows and straightening the already-straight sheets, anything to try and drown out the sound of clothing sliding off limbs and hitting the floor.

Diluc steps out a while later, clutching his day clothes to himself. Kaeya shows him the closet that’s been prepared for him, all empty and ready to be filled with whatever Diluc pleases. While Diluc hangs up his clothes, Kaeya quickly changes himself.

When he steps out again, he sees Diluc hovering by the bookshelf. Kaeya dumps his clothes on the floor beside the bed and climbs into the sheets.

Diluc doesn’t turn around, hands hovering over the books like he wants to touch them, but he isn’t sure if he’s allowed to. “Can I read these?” 

“Of course.” Kaeya lets loose his hair and tosses the tie carelessly on the bedside table. “Though these shelves only carry my favourites. The library has many more books from all over the place, and you’re free to go there at any time, too.” He watches as Diluc runs his fingers over the spines of the books as he looks over the titles, almost as though he plans to grab one now and spend the rest of the night reading it. “Perhaps you can continue that tomorrow,” he suggests with a laugh. “You’ve had a long day, I’m sure.”

Diluc turns around, hand halfway through tugging a book off the shelf. “I—”

Kaeya sees it the moment the flame goes out. His fingers twitch, then he slowly lets go of the book that had caught his interest. He steps away from the shelf. “Of course.”

It takes a moment for Kaeya to understand. Diluc takes that same moment to close his eyes and take a deep breath. Realisation settles within Kaeya in the same instant Diluc opens his eyes again.

At that point, however, it’s too late for Kaeya to take things back or fix them. 

Soft footsteps carry Diluc from the bookshelf to the bedside. He climbs onto the bed from his side and settles next to Kaeya. He leans in, a hand held out to support himself and another settling on the lapel of his robe. “Whatever you want,” he says, and smiles.

In that moment, there’s nothing Kaeya wants more than to tug Diluc into his side. He could grab those thin wrists and flip them over so that he’s on top, and Diluc’s laid out beneath him. He could slip his hands beneath those thin robes and run his fingers over pale flesh, and no one would stop him.

Not even Diluc. Least of all Diluc.

But Diluc’s smile is fake. Anything that happens beyond this point would be fake.

There’s no hesitation. Kaeya pulls back. “We'd better head to bed, so that you can wake up sooner,” he says. “The books won’t run away at night, but I’m sure you’d like to start reading as soon as you can.”

Diluc freezes. His hand slowly falls from the front of his robe. “What?”

“I’ve asked for Mondstadt cuisine to be prepared for breakfast,” Kaeya continues. 

“No, I—”

“I’d love it if you could come to enjoy the food here, but I think something familiar will help as you settle in. If you have any requests in particular, feel free to let me know. Otherwise, lunch is going to end up being a Mondstadt menu I’ve come to enjoy.”

Diluc’s mouth falls open, then snaps shut. He stares right at Kaeya, but when Kaeya meets his gaze, he quickly breaks contact and lowers his eyes to stare at his feet instead.

This must not have been part of the script. Kaeya can’t help but relish in the look of sheer confusion on Diluc’s face.

“What…what do you mean?”

The floundering is utterly adorable. 

“Sleep,” Kaeya says. He grins. “It’s something we do here at night.”

It appears to take Diluc a moment to realise Kaeya is teasing him. He flushes. “I…just…sleep?”

Kaeya nods. He slips underneath the covers, then holds them up for Diluc. “Yes.” As Diluc continues to stare, he can’t help but ask, “Unless there’s something you want to do?” 

Diluc retreats from his side so fast that Kaeya worries for a moment that he might topple off the side of the bed. “No!” he exclaims, louder than he probably intended to. “No,” he says again, eyes wide. “I…I’d like to sleep.”

“Then let’s do that.”

It takes Diluc a while longer to climb under the covers as well, almost as though his body is moving automatically, and his brain is not yet registering. He’s stiff even as he settles, and he stiffens even more when Kaeya reaches over him to make sure the blanket is properly covering them both. He almost jumps when Kaeya whispers a soft “goodnight” right beside his ear before pulling back entirely.

Kaeya doesn’t turn away, but he does leave a respectable space between them. Hoping it might help him relax, he closes his eyes first and wills himself to fall asleep.

Kaeya wants to reach over and pull Diluc into his chest, but he refrains. He considers it a reward when, just as he’s about to go fully under, he hears Diluc whisper a “goodnight” in response.

Kaeya was young when he first met Diluc. It’d happened so long ago that Kaeya wouldn’t be surprised at all if Diluc didn’t remember, but to Kaeya, it’s the moment in his life when he started to live.

Kaeya’d been five, Diluc’d been six, and Kaeya had visited Mondstadt with his father. He doesn’t remember what the visit had been about, but he does remember leaving Khaenri'ah not knowing he’d been missing half his soul and returning knowing what exactly he wanted in life.

Of course, he’d been too young at the time to understand what everything truly meant, but looking back at himself now, Kaeya knows for certain that this had been the moment that led to where he stands today.

Diluc, as a child, had been cheerful and bright in the same way Kaeya had been nervous and shy. Even back then, he’d been all beautiful with pale skin and gem-like red eyes, and everything Kaeya had never seen in anyone his age in Khaenri'ah.

Pretty, Kaeya had thought childishly at the time, only now he realises how lacking such a term had been.

Diluc catches his eye the moment Kaeya steps through the massive gates. He stands at the far end with a man who is probably his father, standing primly with a smile on his face as he’s introduced to people.

Kaeya has to be dragged by the hand to the front, too caught up in his staring as he is, and it’s only when Diluc holds out a hand to him with a bright “Hi, I’m Diluc!” that Kaeya realises he’s standing right in front of the pretty red-haired boy.

Say hi, he thinks, but his throat closes up, and nothing comes out. Diluc falters a little, but Kaeya’s father quickly pipes in with, “My apologies, Kaeya here’s a little shy,” and Diluc’s expression instantly clears.

“That’s understandable,” he says, still looking at Kaeya. “I hear it’s your first time in Mondstadt.”

It is. Kaeya manages to nod, and Diluc’s smile brightens.

“I hope you enjoy your stay,” he says. “If you need anything, feel free to come and find me.”

It’s only later that Kaeya realises that maybe Diluc had been repeating the words he’d been told to say by his father, but Kaeya is also sure that Diluc, even at the time, had genuinely meant them.

Diluc is pulled away soon after, as expected of the young heir of one of Mondstadt’s most prominent families, to greet the many others eager to meet him. Kaeya is also led away alongside his father towards their seats for the upcoming banquet, and he can’t catch even a glimpse of bright red hair, no matter how hard he tries to look.

The days after pass by in a blur. Kaeya is left to his own devices while his father attends meetings. He spent the whole time hoping to see Diluc, but that didn’t happen. Soon, it’s the last day of their stay, and Kaeya has lost any hope of seeing Diluc again.

Of course, Diluc probably has a lot of friends, and other things he’d rather be doing than wandering around within the corridors for Kaeya to bump into. Kaeya kicks at the grass under his shoes as he cuts across a garden. He’s so caught up in his thoughts that he misses the cries of the baby bird the first time.

He finds the tiny thing at the foot of a tree, definitely too small to be out of its nest. He immediately goes to pick it up, worried someone might not notice and step on it, but once the quivering thing is in his hands, he’s not quite sure what to do.

He’d only read last week that baby birds that fall out of their nests are likely to die because they can’t get back up to their nests. Maybe he should—

“Oh!”

Kaeya whips around, suddenly wondering if he’s not supposed to be here at all, only to see Diluc waving at him from the other side of the garden. Kaeya roots his feet to the ground as Diluc hurries over, fighting the urge to run and hide. “Hello, Kaeya! What are you doing out here? Are you lost?”

Diluc is in front of him. Hadn’t he wished for that to be the case for the entire past week? Kaeya opens his mouth to greet him, to comment on his nice hair and pretty eyes, to tell him about the bird, but nothing leaves his mouth.

Luckily, Diluc takes this all in stride. “What have you got there?”

“Ah—” Kaeya opens his mouth, but again, the words he wants to say refuse to come out. He helplessly holds out the baby bird.

“Oh. He must’ve fallen from his nest,” Diluc says thoughtfully. He looks up towards the tree, shading his eyes with his hand as he does. “There! Look!”

Kaeya tries to follow his gaze. He can’t see anything, but Diluc sounds so certain that Kaeya is sure there’s a nest up there.

We should go and find an adult, Kaeya wants to say, as Diluc gently takes the bird from him. Maybe we can find something to stand on.

“Wait here, okay?” Diluc says, then turns towards the tree, the bird held gently in one hand. Then, with only one hand, he begins to climb the tree.

Kaeya remains frozen where he is, terrified but not knowing what he can do. He watches as Diluc rather nimbly scales the tree. He finally settles on a branch and tiptoes to reach another one slightly further up.

Kaeya still can’t see the nest, but he does see Diluc reach out and carefully put the baby bird down. Diluc says something Kaeya is a little too far to catch, before he slowly inches away. He then turns and waves down at Kaeya, and Kaeya manages to smile, if only out of relief that Diluc made it safely up, and now all he has to do is make it back down, and surely climbing down is easier than climbing up?

Sometimes, Kaeya thinks back to that day and wonders if he’d cursed the whole situation.

Suddenly, the branch Diluc has been standing on cracks. Kaeya gasps, probably the loudest sound he’d managed in Diluc’s presence, and Diluc fails to find new footing and comes tumbling to the ground. He lands with a loud thud that Kaeya can feel ringing through his body, even though he hadn’t been the one to fall. Diluc lets out a pained groan and instantly curls up onto his side.

“Diluc!” Kaeya rushes over to his side, not knowing what to do, unsure if he’s allowed to touch.

Diluc lets out another miserable groan. “I’m okay,” he chokes out. He breathes in through gritted teeth. “Just—just a little dazed.”

Kaeya isn’t quite sure what the difference is between a little dazed and a lot dazed, but he supposes a little is better than a lot. 

In hindsight, there had been a lot Kaeya could have done in that situation, but all he’d been able to manage at the time was sit next to Diluc’s prone, shivering body and clutch his hand like he might be able to take the pain away.

Soon enough, the adults are swarming, checking on Diluc and Kaeya. Kaeya stays beside Diluc throughout it all, not quite able to keep up as people touch this and tap that, asking Diluc if anything hurts as they do.

By the time the crowd of people thins, it’s evening. Kaeya’s father appears in the crowd, and suddenly, Kaeya remembers that this is his last day here.

But he’d finally found Diluc again. He doesn’t want to leave. He reaches out without thinking and grabs Diluc’s hand, wondering what people would do if he just refused to let go.

Diluc grips his hand right back without a moment of hesitation. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

It’s okay, Kaeya wants to say. I’m sorry you got hurt because I found that bird. I hope you feel better soon. I’m glad you’re okay. Instead, however, Kaeya puts all these thoughts into the squeeze he gives Diluc’s hand, and Diluc immediately grins and squeezes back.

“I’ll be fine,” Diluc says reassuringly. “Just a scratch. I’ll be all better tomorrow.”

But Kaeya wouldn’t be here to make sure of that tomorrow. As though to hammer it all in, his father calls for Kaeya again. 

“You should go,” Diluc says. “You can always come back here and visit me, right? Or maybe I can visit you! I’ve never been to Khaenri'ah before, but I bet it would be great.”

That…that is a good idea. Why hadn’t Kaeya thought of that? Diluc could come visit him, and then Kaeya could convince him to stay!

And that is the thought that follows Kaeya as his father comes to fetch him. It follows him as he waves at Diluc and sees him wave back. It follows him as he climbs into the carriage that would take him home, and follows him all the way back across the border and back to Khaenri'ah.

Kaeya shakes off the past and blinks open an eye. Diluc is on his side of the bed, still fast asleep. Kaeya watches the calm rise and falls of his chest, wondering, as he does so often, how that boy, this man, had managed to change his life so much.

Kaeya had made a promise without realising, that day with the bird and the tree and the fall, that he’d get better at speaking so that he could talk to Diluc. He’d become stronger, so he could climb trees for Diluc, and faster, so that he could catch Diluc if he happened to fall out of a tree anyway. He’d promised that he would have Diluc in his home one day, so that he could make this boy, who’d been so smart and kind and cool, the happiest person alive.

Of course, over time, everything changed. The childish dreams of having a friend come to visit and stay forever soon warped into visions of oaths that went beyond friendship to be eternally binding. His desire to have Diluc in his home shifted to images of Diluc in his bed. He began to picture what Diluc would look like under his sheets, naked, making sounds for only Kaeya to hear.

Still, the life he lives today, where Diluc lies asleep in bed beside him, is a result of a single thought that turned into a haunting over the years. He’s planned and plotted, schemed and even dirtied his hands where necessary, and now everything has fallen into place, and his dream has come true.

And now? Kaeya isn’t quite sure what the next step is.

Beside him, Diluc lets out a soft sigh and turns his head towards Kaeya. He looks so calm and relaxed, and Kaeya closes his eyes so that he can resist the urge to reach out and touch him.

It’s okay, because he has all the time in the world, now; all the time in the world to touch and feel and figure out the next step. 

He matches his breathing with Diluc’s and falls back asleep before he even realises it.

In certain ways, Diluc is everything Kaeya imagined.

He’s kind, greeting all the servants by their names whenever he comes across them. He speaks words of gratitude to all for the smallest of things and is quick to offer help to anyone he thinks might need it.

He follows the birds flying outside with his eyes and slows in his steps to inspect a flower growing from the cracks in the stone flooring. His expression softens the faintest bit in wonder when he tries a new food, and he always tries to hold open doors for Kaeya, though Kaeya has always managed to beat him to it so far.

In others, however, Kaeya finds himself staring at Diluc as Diluc stares elsewhere, expression unreadable and looking at something only he can see, to try and catch a glimpse of all that Kaeya remembers when he first met him.

He’s quiet, soft-spoken even when he does speak, and barely makes any other sounds even as he moves about; he sets down his cutlery after meals without a clatter, turns doorknobs without a creak, and changes clothes without a single swish of fabric.

There are no wide smiles that take over his entire face, and no freely handed out touches of affection. Kaeya doesn’t want to admit it, but he isn’t quite sure just yet if this has been the true Diluc all along, or if something happened since the first time they met.

He doesn’t know which possibility he likes more.

One thing Kaeya knows for certain, however, is that Diluc views their tie as nothing but duty, but that doesn’t change the fact that the man Kaeya wakes up to, the man he falls asleep beside, is the man he has been in love with since before Kaeya became the Kaeya he is today. 

And despite it all, Diluc puts in the effort to make it pleasant for both of them. He answers questions when Kaeya asks, and asks questions of his own, not only about Khaenri'ah, but about Kaeya himself. He tries the foods Kaeya makes for him, and compliments the trinkets Kaeya brings him as gifts, and in all that, Kaeya sees the man he loves, and Kaeya is careful and affectionate with the things he loves.

If something in the past had Diluc building walls to protect himself from breaking any further, then Kaeya will wait until Diluc is ready to bring them down again. And Kaeya sure as hell will make sure Diluc’s life from here on out is full of nothing but love and safety and a space where he can do so.

Soon, they settle into a routine. Diluc is an early riser, while Kaeya likes to sleep in. Diluc spends the early morning reading, and they head out for breakfast together once Kaeya crawls out of bed.

Then, Kaeya spends the day working through whatever requires his attention, while Diluc spends his time in the library. From what Kaeya knows, all he's been doing is studying. 

“There's so much you can only find out about a place once you live there,” Diluc notes over the dinner table one day. “I always expected it, but myths and fables, native recipes, dialects, agricultural records, anything in Mondstadt’s library pales in comparison to what I can find on your shelf alone.”

That Diluc had looked into Kaeya’s home before his arrival is expected; Diluc is just that kind of person. That he’s putting so much time and effort into trying to get to know Khaenri'ah is a very pleasant thought, one that makes him feel all warm inside whenever he catches sight of books on their history, economy, wildlife, anything, on Diluc’s person.

Kaeya has a wide range of books, scrolls, and even tomes brought to his room the next day. Diluc raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything beyond a soft “Thank you” before Kaeya doesn’t see him again until dinner, where Diluc joins him with a certain glint in his eyes that Kaeya hasn’t seen since he first arrived.

Still, it means a lot for Kaeya that Diluc makes his way to the dinner table at night, that he eats dinner with him, when he knows he could have requested food to be brought to wherever he’s tucked in with his most recent book. 

It means more to Kaeya than Diluc could ever know.

After dinner, they retreat for the night. Diluc bathes first, always at Kaeya’s insistence. Of course, Kaeya would love for them to bathe together, but he doesn’t want to make Diluc uncomfortable. 

“Go wash up first,” Kaeya says, as he does every night, and gestures down the hall towards where the bath is. “I’ll be in our room.” 

“I don’t always have to bathe first,” Diluc says, brows pinched in the faintest hint of a frown. “You’re the one working all day; don’t you want to wash up first so you can relax sooner? I can wait.”

This is a common argument.

“But maybe I like coming back to our room to see you half dozing off in the sheets,” Kaeya teases.

Diluc huffs and turns towards their room instead, as though he plans to barricade himself inside until Kaeya admits defeat and goes to bathe first. 

“Unless you suggest we do so together,” Kaeya says. He knows Diluc can’t see, but he wiggles his eyebrows anyway.

Diluc goes still, and Kaeya can’t see his face to gauge his reaction, and for a second, he worries he’d gone too far, that his joke hadn’t been taken as such. He opens his mouth, not knowing what to say but wanting to say something, when Diluc spins around, and Kaeya’s heart stops beating for a second.

Diluc’s eyes are wide. Kaeya watches with fascination as the blush spreads from Diluc’s cheeks to the tips of his ears. It’s the biggest reaction Kaeya has gotten, ever, from Diluc, that, for a moment, his brain refuses to comprehend it.

“I—that was not what I was saying!” Diluc exclaims. He spins around so fast he almost runs into a wall, and hurries away towards the bathing chambers so quickly he might as well have been running.

It’s only after Diluc’s gone that Kaeya realises that that had been exactly what his dear husband had been thinking; there is literally no other reason for Diluc, who is usually so composed and in control of his expressions, to have reacted the way he had. 

Diluc had blushed. Perhaps he’d been thinking of it already, perhaps Kaeya’s words had triggered the thought, but the image of bathing together hadn’t repulsed Diluc or made him nervous; it had made him blush.

Kaeya wonders if he’d imagined it.

He enters their sleeping chambers in a half-daze, and he plops down on the bed, atop the blankets, and stares blankly up at the ceiling.

Kaeya knows what he has are fantasies. He imagines them bathing together, Diluc’s back to Kaeya’s bare chest as they sit in the water. Maybe Kaeya’s hands wander a little, and maybe Diluc slaps them away. In his head, he pictures the sounds and sensations of how Diluc’s smooth, wet skin would feel under his fingers or how he would sound when Kaeya manages to get past his defences and run his hand along where he probably shouldn’t.

He wants to know what Diluc imagined. Had it been the mere thought of both of them being naked that set him off? Or had he pictured something more? The thoughts all come to him one after another, and Kaeya lies stock-still on the bed, trying to think of anything but as he frantically wills his erection to go down before Diluc returns.

Kaeya has never hidden his attraction towards Diluc, and so far, Diluc has taken it all in stride. There’s never been an obvious physical reaction, however, and Kaeya doesn’t want to scare Diluc.

If Kaeya flees for the baths faster than Diluc had earlier upon his return, well, Diluc doesn’t mention it, and no one else is around to witness it.

Something changes after that night. Kaeya is a little too nervous to put it into words, lest acknowledging it makes it something that can be taken away, but it’s something he feels for sure in his very core.

The change itself, Kaeya thinks, is as good as it can be.

Because it’s Diluc who changes.

Diluc is more comfortable with him. He accepts his hand when it’s held out to him and allows Kaeya to tug him around by the hand. He once even allowed Kaeya to lay his head on his lap while they were out in the gardens enjoying the sun, though he did run away rather quickly after that.

Diluc is more open with him, too. He visibly rolls his eyes when Kaeya falls out of bed, or spills something on himself, or stubs his toe in his hurry. He’s more vocal with his chiding, too, and sometimes Kaeya feels like Diluc’s son, not his husband, as the redhead painstakingly dries his hair or straightens out his clothes or even finds the paperwork Kaeya was sure had gone missing in less than three heartbeats, all the while saying something about responsibilities, and management, and duty.

Kaeya finds himself sulking under Diluc’s attentive care and wonders if, all this time, Diluc had been seeing him as some sort of incompetent man-child unable to take proper care of himself, only he’d been holding back from saying anything about it.

This, he knows, however, is Diluc’s way of showing love, and Kaeya really does enjoy the increasing attention, so he laughs and waves it off, if only because it makes Diluc more heated in his scolding.

The biggest change, however, is that Diluc now goes out of his way to spend more time with Kaeya.  

He joins him in his office after breakfast, doing his reading in an armchair by the window that Kaeya has brought in for him. Then, whereas they’d had lunch separately until then, they now have that together, most of the time in Kaeya’s office, though sometimes Kaeya has it carried out to the gardens instead, where they have a picnic. After that, they return to Kaeya’s office, sometimes after a quick detour to the library for Diluc to switch books, and they stay there until dinner.

Sometimes, Kaeya finishes work early, but he spends the time until dinner just watching Diluc read. He’s been doing that enough to know that Diluc looks up from time to time to look at Kaeya because their eyes meet, and Kaeya can only grin like an idiot when Diluc quickly looks back down at his book, only to look up again a while later.

This new arrangement means Kaeya is able to spend almost every moment of his day with Diluc, but it never feels enough. He starts putting aside days when he doesn’t head into his office, and can instead spend time with Diluc doing whatever they like. 

So far, Kaeya has taken Diluc out to the city for one of those days, and Diluc has taught Kaeya how to make pastries from Mondstadt during another.

They’d planned on spending Kaeya’s most recent day off lazing around, but something unexpectedly comes up that requires Kaeya’s immediate attention. The servant who brings him the news is very apologetic, and Kaeya repeatedly tells himself that it’s not anyone’s fault as he pulls on his clothes. 

Diluc diligently passes him each article of clothing, then straightens out his robes with an affectionate roll of his eyes when all Kaeya does is haphazardly toss them on.

“I'm sorry,” Kaeya says apologetically. “I did intend to spend the day with you.”

“It's okay,” Diluc says. There's a small smile on his face as he steps back. “Take as much time as you need.”

Kaeya has really come to dislike the way Diluc always puts his own needs and wishes aside, to be buried deep beneath and ignored for anything Diluc deems the greater good.

And almost everything is more important to Diluc than himself.

Kaeya thoughtfully hums. “I'll be back as soon as I can,” he vows. He grabs his robe, discarded and tossed aside last night, and throws it haphazardly over his shoulders.

Diluc nods solemnly. “I'll be here when you return.”

Kaeya cracks a grin. “You know, you can be more upset that I'm leaving.”

Diluc blinks, and he laughs like he’d heard a joke. “Your responsibility is to your people,” he says. “I know I’m always going to be second to that, and that’s okay. I understand, and I don’t expect you to change anything.”

And that’s where you’re wrong, Kaeya wants to say. I’d put the whole world to eternal sleep in the ice if that meant you’d be any happier. But he keeps his thoughts to himself, for now, at least, because Diluc isn’t ready to hear them just yet. So, he hums noncommittally in response, pulls Diluc back down into his chest instead, and hides his smirk in his hair when Diluc shuffles around to make himself comfortable before he settles curled into his side.

He will be, though. One day, Diluc will listen to Kaeya’s words and believe them. Kaeya will make sure of it. 

Despite Kaeya’s best efforts, he only manages to reunite with Diluc at the dinner table, and even that happens only because Diluc waits for him to arrive far past when they usually have dinner.

“You didn’t have to wait,” Kaeya says as he takes a seat.

“I wanted to,” Diluc says, in that soft, firm tone of his that leaves no room for doubt. 

Kaeya tries his best to stifle the silly grin he feels ready to erupt on his face, though he doubts he has to, considering the way Diluc refuses to meet his gaze. “Right, thank you.”

Diluc hums. “...I like eating with you.”

And Kaeya gives up. He grins as he says, “I like eating with you, too,” just as Diluc finally raises his head. Their eyes meet, and Kaeya can only grin wider when the faintest of blushes appears on Diluc’s cheeks.

It happens one night. It’s an ordinary night, a night just like the day before, and the day before that. Kaeya finishes eating first, Diluc finishes shortly after, and then they retreat to their chambers for the night. Kaeya has Diluc bathe first, and at this point, Diluc knows better than to try arguing the order.

The first thing that differs from the ordinary is that when Kaeya returns to their room from his own bath, Diluc is sitting on Kaeya’s side of the bed, legs hanging off the edge, and head lowered enough that Kaeya can’t make out his expression at all.

He’s still in his bathing robe.

Kaeya hurries over to his side, worried that something is wrong. “Diluc?”

Diluc snaps to attention, head instantly looking up. He’s blushing.

Still not fully convinced that nothing is wrong, Kaeya takes a seat next to Diluc on the bed, twisting around to fully face him. Diluc does the same. “Diluc?” Kaeya prompts again. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

Diluc shakes his head. “No—no, I…” He covers his face with his hands and lets out a soft groan. “I…I want to…Please don’t make me say it.”

Kaeya has no idea what Diluc doesn’t want to say.

After a moment, Diluc drops his hands from his face and reaches out towards him. Kaeya freezes, not even daring to breathe, as Diluc’s fingers touch the rope tying Kaeya’s robe together, then trail upwards to land on Kaeya’s chest. 

On Kaeya’s bare chest.

Kaeya’s hand comes up to wrap around Diluc’s so fast that Diluc flinches in shock. Still, Kaeya has to know. “Are you sure?” he asks.

“If you’re asking me, then yes,” Diluc says. “If you’re asking because you…you want to not, then we don’t have to.”

He says it so confidently, as though all this time Kaeya had been the one stopping them from jumping into bed. Kaeya chuckles and reaches out, gathering both of Diluc’s hands in his own. “If I ever turn you down, you should suspect I’ve been assassinated and an imposter has taken my place.”

Diluc lets out a short laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He looks down at his hands. “I’ve never done this before, so I…I hope you…bear with me.”

And Kaeya had suspected that would be the case. He knows people like to fool around anyway, to rebel or to know what it’s like, despite the expectations of society, but he also knows that, with the kind of person Diluc is, he would stay untouched until the night he could offer everything up to his spouse.

He’s known this, and yet the knowledge fills him with a giddy warmth. “We’ll go as slow as you need.”

Diluc smiles softly and nods.

“Then, Diluc—” Kaeya lifts Diluc’s hands to his lips and kisses his knuckles “—would you please give me the pleasure of bedding you tonight?”

He must successfully pull off the straight face he’d been trying for, because Diluc bursts out laughing. “Yes,” he says. “Yes.”

Kaeya wants to push Diluc down at that moment and climb over him, but he lets Diluc set the pace. There’s plenty of time to get more adventurous at a later date. 

Tonight is going to be all about Diluc.

Diluc leans back on his hands, then drops onto his elbows, then finally onto his back. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do,” he admits quietly.

“You don’t have to do anything,” Kaeya quickly says. He crawls over slowly until he’s hovering over Diluc. “Can I kiss you?” he asks.

Diluc flushes, but quickly nods. “Yes, I’d like—”

Kaeya is planting his lips onto Diluc’s before Diluc can even get out his words. Diluc gasps, then eagerly kisses back, making up for lack of experience with sheer enthusiasm. There’s a dazed look on his face when Kaeya finally pulls back to breathe that makes him want to dive right back in, but he refrains from doing so in favour of trailing his hand up Diluc’s robe to the overlapping flap of the cloth.

“I’ll stop the moment you ask,” Kaeya promises. 

Diluc looks straight into his eyes for a moment, then nods. “I know,” he says lightly.

No jokes, no clever retorts, no insisting that they wouldn’t need to stop. Diluc’s words, his trust, forces the tension Kaeya hadn’t realised was in his shoulders to instantly vanish.

Maybe Kaeya’s promise isn’t entirely for Diluc, but also for Kaeya himself. Maybe Diluc realised this.

Kaeya goes for Diluc’s robe again and slowly pulls the cloth belt free. Without it holding the front together, the soft material falls open and away from Diluc’s body. Diluc’s arms tense, and Kaeya pauses, in case Diluc changes his mind. When he doesn’t say anything for a moment, Kaeya places a hand on Diluc’s cheek before slowly trailing it down, so that Diluc knows exactly what he’s doing.

“Wait!” Diluc says, suddenly, and Kaeya freezes. 

“Are you okay?” he asks, as gently as he can.

“Can we…” Diluc trails off. He bites his lower lip and curls his fingers into his untied hair. “Um…”

“What is it?” Kaeya leans in, smiling softly. “You can ask anything of me.”

Diluc cracks a faint smile. “Right.” He slowly lets go of his hair. “I know that.” He licks his lips and doesn’t seem to realise at all the way Kaeya’s eyes zero in on the action. “Can we kiss again?”

Oh, his soft, sweet, beautiful spouse. Kaeya swoops in before Diluc can backtrack, and Diluc moans softly as Kaeya’s lips meet his. He pulls back only when Diluc lets out a gasp for air. “You like that?” he teases.

Diluc flushes, but meets his gaze. “It…it feels nice,” he says quietly. Then, “I’ve never done it before.”

Kaeya blinks. “Ever?”

Diluc nods shyly, and Kaeya feels the sudden urge to kiss him again, so he does.

“Guess that means you’ve kissed me today, more times than you’ve ever kissed anyone in your life.”

It takes Diluc a moment to understand, and Kaeya actually thinks it has to do with the dreamy look on Diluc’s face, but he whines and shoves Kaeya’s face the moment his brain catches up. “Don’t say it!”

Kaeya plops a light kiss onto Diluc’s hand in apology. “Want to keep going?”

Diluc opens his mouth, then closes it before any sounds leave his lips. He takes a deep breath, then opens it again. “Yes.”

Kaeya reaches over to the drawer next to the bed and pulls out an unlabeled bottle. Diluc watches curiously as Kaeya uncaps it, then pours an ample amount of oil into his hand.

“What’s that for?” Diluc asks curiously. 

“Lubrication,” Kaeya explains. He caps the bottle and drops it within reach on the bed. “It’s used as part of prep, so that it doesn’t hurt.”

Diluc hums thoughtfully and watches as Kaeya spreads the oil over his fingers. “What do I do?” he asks.

“Lay back,” Kaeya says. “And spread your legs.”

Diluc hesitates for a moment before his legs slowly shift aside. Kaeya settles himself between them, but the moment his hand brushes his inner thigh, Diluc clamps his knees shut. Then he seems to realise what he’s done, and he hastily spreads his legs again. “I—I’m sorry.”

“No,” Kaeya says. “No, don’t apologise. You can be nervous, nothing wrong with that.”

Diluc nods, but he’s nervous, Kaeya can tell. He stiffens when Kaeya places a hand between his legs. 

“Do we need to stop?” Kaeya asks. 

“No!” Diluc rushes out, then catches himself. “Maybe…maybe kiss me again?” he says shyly. “While you…” He trails off, then gestures towards Kaeya’s oily hand.

“Of course.” Kaeya leans over and kisses Diluc. “How about I distract you?” he asks against his lips.

Diluc moans and nods. “I—okay, yes.”

“Okay. Tell me if you need me to stop, okay?” 

Diluc nods. “Okay.”

Kaeya smiles gently, then places his hand on Diluc’s chest. He gently flicks his nipple with a thumb and stifles a laugh when Diluc jerks away from him with a surprised cry.

“What—”

“Did that feel good?” Kaeya asks.

Diluc blushes and turns his head away. “Yes,” he whispers. 

“That’s good to know.” Kaeya leans forward and wraps his lips around the same nipple. 

Diluc lets out a sharp “Kaeya!” and Kaeya feels hands immediately in his hair as Diluc instinctively looks for something to hold onto.

Fingers twist into his hair, and it stings, but in a good way, and Kaeya moans around the nipple he’s teasing.

While Diluc’s distracted, Kaeya trails a hand down between Diluc’s legs. He goes slowly, so that Diluc can feel exactly what he’s doing. Despite his ministrations on Diluc’s chest, the redhead still stiffens when Kaeya trails a finger around his entrance.

“Relax,” Kaeya murmurs. He gives Diluc’s nipple a hard suck that has him keening as he slowly, gently, pushes his finger past the tight ring of muscle. “Tell me if anything hurts, okay?” he says. 

Diluc wriggles around a little, as though he’s trying to get comfortable, but hums rather lethargically. “It feels…a little strange, but it doesn’t hurt.”

“That’s good,” Kaeya murmurs. “It’s not supposed to.” He leans down to kiss Diluc again.

Diluc hums a second time. Kaeya gently stretches him open until he doesn’t feel as tight, then slowly presses in a second finger. Diluc doesn’t even seem to notice as Kaeya slips his tongue past Diluc’s parted lips. Diluc gasps at the sensation, but is quick to bring his own tongue up to touch his.

Once Kaeya has two fingers inside Diluc, he begins meticulously spreading him open, trying to get Diluc used to the feeling of having something inside him. Diluc pulls away from kissing Kaeya to gasp when he begins pumping his fingers in and out of him, and he curls his back and moans when he scissors his fingers for the first time.

By the time Kaeya pushes in a third finger, Diluc is writhing around and arching his back in an attempt to get Kaeya’s fingers in further. He’s still a little tight around Kaeya’s fingers, but Kaeya has a feeling he might like it that way. “I think you’re ready,” Kaeya says with a soft laugh.

Diluc lets out a soft moan, then nods. “Okay, yes.”

Kaeya has half a mind to pull his cock out and get on with it, but Diluc is laid bare before him, and he wants to reciprocate the vulnerability. He quickly hops off the bed and, as Diluc watches curiously, strips out of his clothes, leaving them all in a messy pile on the floor, then climbs back onto the bed.

“You should fold your clothes,” Diluc says lightly. He’s turned away, looking anywhere but at Kaeya.

He looked, though — Kaeya knows, because Kaeya had been looking at Diluc to gauge his reaction.

“Later,” Kaeya says. He ignores Diluc’s tut of disapproval, and this time, when Kaeya moves to sit between his legs again, Diluc eagerly spreads them for him. He even watches as Kaeya pumps his cock a few times, lathering it with whatever lubrication is left on his hands, before he lines himself up with his entrance. He does, however, quickly look away again when he sees Kaeya watching him. Kaeya wants to tease, but he decides to save that for another time. “Ready?” he asks.

Diluc nods, then looks up, right into Kaeya’s eyes, as Kaeya slowly pushes in. The moment seems to stretch out forever as they stare into each other’s eyes, until suddenly, Kaeya’s settled fully inside of Diluc, and the warmth, the tightness, all of it comes crashing down on him.

Diluc chokes on his breath, eyes widening and gasping for breath as he’s suddenly filled. Kaeya moans, curling his back as he tries to get used to the suffocatingly pleasurable sensation. 

It’s like the world had given them a moment, before it all suddenly caught up to them.

Kaeya forces himself to remain still, trying to make sure Diluc has properly gotten used to him. He grits his teeth as Diluc squirms a little, then lets out a little moan.

Finally, Diluc takes one long, deep breath, then stills. He slowly raises his arms and wraps them around Kaeya’s neck, then lets out a soft sigh.

Kaeya experimentally rolls his hips, and Diluc gaps. “Ready?”

Diluc hugs him tighter. “Do—do that again,” he pleads.

A soft laugh escapes Kaeya’s lips as he slowly moves. Diluc moans, his hips jerking as though he means to speed Kaeya up.

“Patience,” Kaeya chides in amusement. He slowly pulls out, then pushes back in, keeping a firm, slow pace in case Diluc gives any indication of discomfort. When Diluc lets out a whimper, clutching at Kaeya tighter and burying his face into the crook of Kaeya’s neck, he slowly starts to speed up.

Diluc matches his breathing to Kaeya’s thrusts, letting out soft moans with every gasp of air he breathes out, and when Kaeya quickens the pace, Diluc’s breathing follows. Soon, it almost feels like Kaeya’s punching moans out of Diluc with every thrust, the bed creaking and the headboard hitting the wall behind it as Diluc’s body bounces on the mattress.

“Kae—ya,” Diluc gasps out. He moans. “Kaeya!”

Kaeya groans, lowering his head to bury his face in Diluc’s hair and breathe. He could go faster if he wants to, but he’s using the extra moment to roll his hips, and he’s rewarded with a sharp cry from Diluc when he angles himself just right.

Diluc arches his back for a moment before he collapses back onto the bed, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. “What—”

“You like that?” Kaeya asks softly, and beneath the pleasure clouding Diluc's gaze is an innocent wonder, as though he doesn't quite understand what it is he’s feeling.

“I—yes. Yes.”

Diluc’s honesty, that’s prominent even in bed, where any other might be embarrassed to openly admit such things, is frankly adorable. Kaeya leans in and plants a light kiss on the corner of Diluc’s lips, and is pleased when Diluc eagerly turns his head to fully press their lips together.

Kaeya tries to remember the sensation and nails the same spot again. Diluc chokes out a moan, hand coming up to bury itself in Kaeya’s hair as he clings to him and trembles. Kaeya thrusts against him one more time, pulling another moan from Diluc’s lips, before he pulls back to give Diluc a moment.

“That’s your good spot,” Kaeya says. He grins when Diluc looks up at him, eyes unfocused and movements lethargic, like he’s reacting to Kaeya’s voice and not necessarily what he said. “I plan to memorise your body, down to the last cell, so that I can find all your good spots in my sleep.” 

Diluc is so beautiful writhing in the throes of pleasure that Kaeya feels a rush of heat that has his hips moving faster. He pulls out until just his tip remains inside Diluc, moaning as Diluc’s rim clings onto his cock like he doesn’t want to let go. 

Diluc cries out when Kaeya shoves back in, all the way to the hilt. 

Kaeya feels the fingers in his hair pull as Diluc desperately looks for something to cling to as his limbs spasm, and his moans slowly turn into sobs as he eventually just lies there, powerless to do anything but take it.

Kaeya’s close. He’s been close for a while, but Diluc’s dazed expression and his name being moaned like a mantra do things to him. “Di—”

“Kaeya!” Diluc cries out, and he suddenly sounds panicked, not pressured, and Kaeya jerks to a halt, so suddenly that Diluc lets out a sob and tries to thrust his hips. 

Kaeya gently shushes him, hands coming down onto his hips to hold him still, just in case. “Are you okay?” he asks, and curses himself for sounding so breathless. “Does it hurt? Diluc—”

“No—” Diluc frantically shakes his head “—no, I just…it just feels weird.”

Diluc isn’t hurt. Kaeya forces himself to relax. “Weird?” he asks gently.

Diluc nods shyly. He untangles a hand from Kaeya’s hair, then puts it over his abdomen. “Something’s…something’s tight,” he says. “I’ve never—”

Oh. Oh. Kaeya places a hand over Diluc’s, then carefully starts moving again. Diluc moans, hand going limp, but Kaeya holds it in place as he feels his cock moving inside Diluc’s body.

“You’re about to orgasm,” Kaeya explains. “I’m close, too. Don’t try to hold back, okay? It’ll feel good, so good.”

Diluc nods once, twice, his hand twining out from under Kaeya’s before he links their fingers. Kaeya grips his fingers tightly, reassuringly, and continues to thrust.

Eventually, Diluc climaxes with a cry, his release, warm and wet, splattering over both his and Kaeya’s stomach. He tightens impossibly as his cock twitches, and Kaeya groans as he achieves his own orgasm only moments after, burying himself as deep as he can go as he empties himself.

Diluc moans as he’s filled with Kaeya’s essence. His insides milk Kaeya like he wants more and more, and they stay locked together for a long moment, panting and trying to catch their breath.

Their coupling is an eternal moment.

It’s an eternity, in that there’s a promise of it in every touch and every sound. And yet, it’s a moment, in that reality catches up to them too soon.

Kaeya wants to spend forever just watching Diluc bask in the aftermath, but his arms soon give out, refusing to hold him up any longer, which is a pity because he’d been enjoying Diluc’s expression. He’s careful to fall to the side and not on top of Diluc, who still appears to be in a daze.

The bed shakes as Kaeya faceplants into his pillow, however, and that appears to snap Diluc back to reality. He blinks, then begins to softly laugh. When Kaeya turns his head to look at him, Diluc reaches out to push Kaeya's blue locks out of his face.

“Was that good?” Kaeya asks.

Diluc pauses for a moment, then nods. “Yes.”

There’s a look in his eyes, however, that has Kaeya’s eyebrows furrowing. “Nothing hurt?” he presses. “Are you okay?”

The expression on Diluc’s face is unreadable. He nods, deep in thought. After a while, he smiles a little wryly. “I didn’t know that it felt…” Diluc trails off. Kaeya watches as red climbs up his cheeks. Diluc lets out a soft whine and hides his face with the sheets.

“Felt?” Kaeya prompts gently.

Diluc mumbles something Kaeya can’t make out.

“What?”

Diluc peers out from behind the sheets. He’s scowling.

“I can’t hear you, sweetheart,” Kaeya tells him genuinely.

Diluc huffs. “I didn’t know that it…that it felt good.”

Kaeya turns over, leaning his head against his hand so that he can look Diluc in the eye. “Why wouldn’t it?” he asks, curious. “Don’t you think people would be less enthusiastic about it if it hurt?”

Diluc refuses to meet his eyes, instead fiddling with a strand of hair. “I mean, I knew you’d feel good. I just didn’t think it would be good for me.”

Kaeya sits up, frowning. “I didn’t hurt you, right?”

Their eyes meet for a moment before Diluc quickly shakes his head. “No! No, it didn’t hurt. Maybe a little uncomfortable at—at the start.” He flushes even darker. “But not hurt.”

Kaeya lets out the breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. “That’s…that’s good.” He slowly lies back down, and this time Diluc joins him, curling up into his side and leaning his head against Kaeya’s chest. When Kaeya stretches out an arm for him, Diluc immediately shifts to rest his head on top of it. “You'll never be hurt when you lie with me,” Kaeya promises. “What made you think it’d hurt?”

Diluc shrugs. “I…I’m not quite sure. I just assumed, I guess. I’d heard things, after all, but it was mostly talk from those in your position, not mine, and it never sounded pleasant for the other party.”

Kaeya supposes the intention of intercourse varies from pair to pair, and he knows for a fact that sometimes, mutual pleasure isn't the goal, and that sometimes, all someone wants is to chase their own pleasure without a care in the world for their partner.

Though it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth, Kaeya decides that, for now, he should be glad that Diluc’s belief had come from things he’d heard, not from anything he’d experienced. 

Still, Diluc had let Kaeya do things to him all the while believing it would be painful for him. He’d allowed Kaeya to strip him of his robes, had spread his arms in invitation, and had lain down with Kaeya on top of him, all while believing he would be hurt.

Diluc lets out a gasp and flails as Kaeya grabs him by the waist and almost crushes him against his chest as he draws him close.

“I love you,” he says, and he realises with a start that he’s never actually said those words. Not directly to Diluc’s face, anyway. 

They’d felt heavy, maybe; he hadn’t wanted to scare Diluc away.

Diluc lets out a soft laugh and buries his face into Kaeya’s chest. Kaeya can feel his breath, a little quick and shallow, on his skin. 

“I know,” Diluc says. Then, “I love you, too.” He’s hiding his mouth behind the sheets, so his words are a little muffled, but Kaeya hears him clearly.

There’s no way he’d ever miss those words.

The laugh that bubbles out of Kaeya’s lips might sound hysterical to some. But it just makes Diluc nuzzle deeper into his arms, and Kaeya loves, loves, loves this man.

Maybe I love you isn’t the ending. Maybe it’s the beginning, instead, of even more I love yous to come.

Diluc hides a yawn behind his hand, then soon after closes his eyes. Kaeya watches him do so, knowing that Diluc is choosing to lie in his arms, and choosing to deem himself safe enough to be vulnerable.

He’s choosing to love Kaeya, and this choice — the knowledge of it — means more than any words or actions because, to Diluc, this is a marriage of convenience, a tie orchestrated by outside parties, and yet he is giving to Kaeya the one part of himself no one can force him to give away.

Unaware of Kaeya’s internal turmoil, Diluc lets out a content hum. “Good night,” he says, and Kaeya is reminded of their first night together, when he’d said those words first, and Diluc had returned them, and he realises that even all the way back then, Diluc had been trying to take his hand.

“Good night,” Kaeya replies, and thankfully, Diluc is too out of it to ask why he sounds like he’s about to cry. Kaeya stays up, watching as Diluc’s eyelashes flutter, as he curls up, and as his breathing slows.

He stays up until Diluc is sound asleep in his arms, and only then does he close his eyes.