of the loved and the unloved

siblings

by the time they've finished sparring, diluc is drenched in water and covered in bruises, blood dripping down his nose. childe isn't any better, he probably has a broken rib or something, having taken a swing of his heavy claymore to his side. they're both panting, ridden with labored breaths.

he's on one knee, just a bit further away from tartaglia. the harbinger is now on the shore of the lake, lying down; chest rising up and down from harsh exhales and inhales. diluc shakily gets up, because he's worried he might have somehow crippled childe, and he doesn't need the fatui causing any more trouble for mondstadt than they already have.

when he's standing right next to the ginger's body, the man's expression makes him annoyed. he doesn't look in pain at all despite the blood trailing down his lips. in fact, he looks eerily satisfied, not even a hint of exhaustion.

between his pants, he looks directly at the redhead, "you're amazing. you're leaps and bounds better than you were before. the swings of your claymore were so aggressive it made me have goosebumps. you're amazing."

childe probably doesn't realise he's said, 'you're amazing' twice. he has to face the other way to stop himself from getting red, offering a hand to the other. the harbinger accepts it without hesitation and immediately without a pause goes, "let's do it again. please? just once mo-," an elbow hits against his side and he doubles over with a howl, and yeah, he deserves that.

"that's what i thought." diluc is merciless and tartaglia laughs without restraint, he likes this ragnvindr so much it's stupid. if it had been a few months before, and someone told him he'd be heads over heels for someone, he'd probably call them insane. and yet, here he is, swooning over mr. angry.

"don't deny it. i saw your expression when we were fighting. you were enjoying it. just as much as i was."

"nonsense." throat heavy with denial, he feels his gut clench because he knows what tartaglia has said is true. he was enjoying it, and there is nothing wrong with it, but refusing to spar earlier, it would make him look like a bigot.

tartaglia shrugs in amusement, forehead practically stamped with the words, 'i know i'm right'. he suddenly feels the urge to punch him again, but it dissipates when he feels childe cup his head.

it stings, diluc hisses. he didn't even realise he was bleeding there. "your head is bleeding- shit- i didn't mean to hurt you this bad. are you okay? kaeya is going to kill me. do you have a concussion? should we see a healer right now?"

the barrage of worried and rushed questions make his head ache more than the injury. he wants to tell childe to let him go, but he is so gentle the words die in his throat. he hesitantly grasps the hand cupping his head, trying so hard not to lean into the touch. "childe, calm down. i'm fine, i've been through much worse, i can handle at least this."

"okay, well- hey, i planned a strategic take on this, okay? there's a statue of the seven there so it can at least heal up the worst, so let's go do that." the worry in his voice doesn't let up, and diluc has to bite tongue not to smile. it's like all of the anger he was feeling drained away to nothing, only leaving him and these bubble of thoughts he was so scared of venturing into. he doesn't want to trust tartaglia, but the man is making it very hard to hold his resolve.

he's pulled by the hand towards the statue of the seven, they had to swim a bit, but it doesn't matter. the moment they sat on the heel of the statue, their bodies are surrounded by anemo energy and he feels like he's been brought back to life. this doesn't mean they shouldn't meet a healer, however, it's not like elemental energy alone can mend broken bones.

they continue sitting there, though. childe is staring at the fish below, and he seems so interested in them it's kind of...cute. "they're black-bass fish," he says proudly, and diluc crosses his arms, eyebrow raised. "how would you know?"