The night we said goodbye || Kaeluc/Rewritten

19-It's about time

Kaeya’s office was Diluc’s father’s before he died in that terrible accident years ago, so Diluc never touched it, like all the other things that had a connection with his father.

That was until that unforgettable night that he spent battling on the bridge to Mondstadt.

Kaeya only wanted to not die alone that night, so he didn’t plan for what was to come after if he didn’t intend to live. But, of course, fate decided to let him live until today, thanks to the kindness of the Cryo Archon. That gave birth to a question he always asked himself those past few years: ‘Why was I the only one who survived?’.

He couldn’t find the answer, and although people didn’t notice the grief and sadness behind his eye, this question always reminded him of what he did. But he needed not let that mask he always kept on for the public to see shatter.

In the people’s eyes, Kaeya Alberich confronted the sadness that followed Diluc Ragnivindr’s death by serving Mondstadt as the loyal Knights of Favonius Cavalry Captain and taking over the wine tycoon that the redhead built.

It was a perfect cover for what Kaeya was planning behind the scenes.

Taking over Dawn Winery brought him money and valuable contacts. That was how he found out about The Fatui’s advanced technology, so he never stopped searching for intel until he gathered every little piece of information about them that he could find.

But one day he stumbled over something he was unconsciously searching for. The Eleven Harbingers were seemingly powerful enough that they could even slay Gods. It was a single sentence written on a piece of thorn paper, looking like it was once part of a notebook. It surely didn’t look like a source Kaeya could trust, but there was something familiar about the writing, and something about the meaning of the sentence that piqued his interest.

The way the letters curved, neatly written, easy to understand.

He’s seen this handwriting somewhere else before for sure.

***

“Prince Kaeya?” Dainsleif’s voice interrupted Kaeya’s thoughts.

He turned his back to the window and instead sat down at his neatly arranged wooden desk, propping his head with one hand and looking at Dainsleif.

“Now you’re calling me a prince, huh?” he sighed. “Take a seat, don’t just stand there, staring at me.” Kaeya said in an annoyed manner.

Dainsleif only obeyed and sat down on one of the two cushioned chairs in front of the desk, Kaeya’s gaze following his every move closely. He let his hand fall to the desk, so he could speak easily.

"We have a lot of things to discuss, as you may have expected.” he leaned back in his chair, his eye glinting slightly. “What about trying to talk about the misunderstandings between us first?” although it was phrased as a suggestion, Kaeya didn’t accept ‘no’ for an answer.

Dainsleif seemed calm, not at all surprised by Kaeya’s words.

“Very well.” his voice was even, showing no emotion.

A smirk appeared on Kaeya’s face.

“Well then... About your recent behavior...” he paused for a second, his expression turning cold. “And about the recent events.” 

He reached out for a stack of papers, probably most of the documents from that needed to be signed, and looked through them, until he found what he was looking for. A small piece of paper, neatly written and slightly crumpled, which he put down on the table, in front of Dainsleif.

“You were the one who wrote this, no?”

Dainsleif still seemed unfazed, but Kaeya learned how to read him well in the time they spent together, so he noticed the small widening of his blue eyes. The man took the paper in his hands, examining it, and the dumbfounded look on his face turned to be the obvious answer.

Kaeya waited, studying him with an emotionless glare.

“Why do you still have this?” Dainsleif finally asked after a few minutes in which silence dominated the room.

“Because it was an important piece of evidence.” Kaeya responded matter-of-factly. “You gave me this, but all the other information that I managed to gather until now says otherwise.” he leaned with his hands on the desk, glaring at Dainsleif. “That means that you lied to me.”

Dainsleif didn’t say anything, looking rather tense. Kaeya raised from his chair, walking slowly until he was behind the man, and put his hands on his shoulders.

“I don’t think you understand how much I hate when people lie to me.” his hands moved closer to the base of Dainsleif’s neck, and he leaned forward so he could whisper in his ear. “Traitors are meant to be punished in our homeland, are they not, dear Dainsleif?” and he squeezed his hands as a warning, before moving up, feeling the man’s pulse quickening, and noticing his white-knuckled grip on the armrests of his chair.

A dark smile crept onto his face.

“Oh? Cat got your tongue?” Kaeya asked, his hands high enough that he could choke Dainsleif right then if he wanted. “Or are you perhaps afraid of me?” he whispered.

Kaeya’s grip tightened, and that sly smile never left his face.

“I’m not sure why, though.” he said, letting go of Dainsleif again, but still keeping his hands there, feeling his heartbeat.

The blonde man refused to speak, and Kaeya knew exactly why.

“Why don’t you use that magnificent power of yours to get away from me?” his hands fell on Dainsleif’s shoulders again.    

But you could never let your guard down around Kaeya.

“You know as well as I do that I can’t.” the blonde’s words sounded harsh.

Kaeya was still smiling when he moved to be in front of Dainsleif, still smiling.

“That’s right. You seem to remember that now.” he raised his hands to untie the string of his eyepatch. “But you didn’t seem to think about it last night.”

Kaeya turned his back at Dainsleif, put his eyepatch down on the desk, and when he looked at the blonde again, two eyes were staring deeply into his soul, one golden, and the other one icy-blue.

Dainsleif looked terrified.

“I guess you haven’t witnessed the power of the royal family of Khaenri’ah in a long time...” Kaeya stood tall, and his smile was gone, being replaced by a cold stare that was sure to give shivers down anyone’s spine. “Maybe you only wished for me to show you how it feels to be punished by the one you’re supposed to be serving."

Then, he put a hand on Dainsleif’s wrist, letting ice bind it to the armrest. He stood like that, leaning over him. After a few moments, when Kaeya finally looked at his face, the man’s eyes were blown wide with panic and fear, focused on the source of the chill running up his arm.

“Right?”