Glaux
Kaeya stood and watched as Crepus kicked the last customers out of the tavern, he should have woken up Diluc by now but he didn't have the heart to wake him up when he looked so peaceful while sleeping.
Kaeya sometimes wondered if the reason he had never approached anyone he knew in his previous life was because he was afraid he was taking advantage of them.
He knew Diluc's favorite food, he knew his sleeping and talking habits, he knew what kind of style he enjoyed the most.
But Diluc knew nothing about him, nor Jean, nor Lisa, nor Amber, nor Razor, nor Bennett, nor Rosaria, nor Adeline....
The list went on and Kaeya felt like a fraud.
During his stay in Liyue he had learned many things, one of them was that he had to accept himself, Hu Tao had helped him a lot in that matter, once he had not been able to stand it anymore he ended up confessing to Hu Tao that he had had a fight with someone he loved, and what had happened.
Hu Tao had listened and had not judged, she had made him see that it was not his fault and that he had not done anything wrong.
Diluc had not really been at fault either, Kaeya had gone there with the intention of angering him so that Diluc would kill him.
Kaeya had wanted to die.
And he had manipulated Diluc to be his executor.
All because he wanted to die at the hands of someone he loved, Kaeya had been selfish.
Yet he was not excusing Diluc, he had grown up and had come to understand that they both had their share of blame.
Yet sometimes Kaeya couldn't help but feel that it was all his fault. If only he had told the truth sooner, if only Kaeya had arrived sooner....
But it didn't make any difference to think about that now, his plan was to save Crepus, and Kaeya was going to do it, no matter what.
Realizing that Crepus had finally kicked everyone out and the bar was empty Kaeya had to face the important decision of whether to wake Diluc up or carry him in his arms all the way to the mansion.
Crepus, seeing how the boy was hesitating, decided to intervene.
-It would be better not to wake him up, my son usually has nightmares so it's rare that he sleeps so comfortably, if you can't carry him, I'll take care of it, don't worry.
Crepus stood and watched as the boy looked at him in horror and started to get up and put Diluc in his arms.
-Don't worry, Master Crepus, I'll take care of it.
"Master Crepus is too old to carry Diluc in his arms! What if he gets hurt?"
Kaeya hadn't realized the detail that Crepus was the one who taught him how to handle the sword while he had lived in the mansion.
Although his first teacher was his father, Crepus had been his second teacher and Varka his third.
Kaeya followed Crepus, pretending not to know the way.
-Kaeya, did you know that this is the first time in years that my son sleeps peacefully?
Crepus knew that his son had trouble sleeping, sometimes he would scream or hit things in his sleep, sometimes he would cry bitterly and when he woke up he didn't remember anything.
He didn't sleep many hours and rarely got enough rest to be at his best on a daily basis.
Kaeya watched the face of his former mentor, the Diluc he knew had started having insomnia after Crepus' death, before that he had always slept well.
Diluc was the one who helped Kaeya sleep when he had nightmares.
-Master Crepus, why are you telling me this?
Crepus looked at the sky before answering.
-I don't know, I feel that you are someone I can trust, maybe it's the fact that my son trusts you blindly having met you only hours ago or the fact that you are just a child, nevertheless, thank you Kaeya.
Kaeya looked away, he knew that if he continued staring into Crepus' eyes he would cry, at least this time he would be able to answer with complete sincerity, for he had decided to dedicate his life to protect Diluc and Mondstadt.
Crepus and Adeline, Albedo and Klee, Lisa and Jean, Bennett and Razor, all were among the people he wanted to protect.
So Kaeya was going to take it upon himself to protect them, even if it cost him his life.
-Thank you very much Master Crepus, I am also happy to have met you.
Crepus let out a snort.
-Look at this child! Twisting my words, though it's not a lie, you're too good at reading between the lines.
Kaeya smiled mischievously while Crepus laughed.
-Well, well let's go home, this old Crepus needs to rest! Not like you youngsters!
Kaeya ended up leaving Diluc in his room and was directed to the guest room, but contrary to what he thought, he was directed to his old room.
Kaeya knew that this room was not for guests but decided to keep quiet as he was in no position to complain.
Still Kaeya couldn't sleep, but he didn't know if he was allowed to take a walk in the corridors.
Crepus had said 'make yourself at home' but what if he couldn't walk at night?
Two hours must have passed when he heard a thump coming from the next room, Diluc's room.
He hesitantly got out of bed and went out into the corridor, after standing for a few seconds in front of the door he decided to knock.
-Diluc? Are you there? I'm going in to make sure you didn't fall and hurt yourself.
Kaeya stayed a while waiting for an answer but Diluc didn't answer, worried he decided to go in.
-Diluc? are you okay?
Using elemental vision Kaeya found Diluc, who was lying on the floor squirming in pain, he must have fallen off the bed but hadn't woken up.
-Diluc?
Diluc was saying something, but he was speaking so quietly that even Kaeya who was able to hear conversations happening two streets away could not understand anything.
Hesitantly remembering Crepus' words he decided to approach.
-Diluc?
Finally closer, he decided to put his hand on Diluc's shoulder.
But Kaeya was not prepared for what Diluc said next.
-Kae? Is that you? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Kaeya didn't understand what was going on but he had to think fast, Diluc was acting strange.
-Hey Diluc, what are you apologizing for? You didn't do anything wrong.
-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, imsorry, imsorryimsorryimsorry
Diluc, still asleep was clinging to Kaeya as if his life depended on it.
-Hey Diluc it's ok, whatever you did is forgiven ok?
Kaeya managed to reassure Diluc completely at the end, whispering to him that it wasn't his fault and that he had done nothing wrong.
Kaeya was worried, he was sure Diluc didn't remember anything but from his dreams it seemed that the memories were buried in his subconscious.
"Tomorrow I need to ask Venti."
At last he finally managed to get some sleep but before anything else he decided to leave a calla lily on Diluc's bed, Kaeya used to get one when he couldn't sleep, although those calla lilies used to be a bit wrinkled as Diluc didn't control his strength.
When he was finally able to sleep it was already three o'clock in the morning.