His Return

Yeah it's a really short story barely even a story really sorry

 Diluc's uneasiness grew with every step the horse took closer to his home. He had been away chasing after the Fatui for what they did to his father but now after nearly dying at the hands of the Harbingers, he felt like he needed to see his home again. He had been away for too long, and he needed to see his beloved home at least once more because if he learned anything from the past three years, it was that anything can happen. His nearly fatal injury was not yet fully healed and although the medics of the Guild advised against it he had left anyway. He had been on the horse for several days at this point and had also been neglecting to change his bandages in his haste. But the destination was finally in sight. He passed the waypoint and as he followed the dirt path up the small hill the Winery and its vineyards opened up in front of him. He slid off the poor exhausted horse and gave it the signal for it to return to its masters and it trotted off the way they came. With a deep breath he looked back at the large and majestic Winery that he felt like he hadn't seen in forever, and made his way before the front doors. It was a clear night, the moon shining its pale face down upon the land. He hesitated briefly before knocking and then backing away. Clear footsteps rang out on the floorboards heading towards him and the door opened to reveal Adelinde in her nightgown holding a candlestick. He stood right in front of the overhang with the dark hood of his cape still on his head casting shadows across his face so she didn't recognize him.

"Who do you think you are knocking in the middle of the night?! Some of us have work to do in the morning so if you'll excuse me I'm going back to bed, please refrain from bothering us any further," she said sternly and then turned to close the door but before she could he caught it with his foot and, realizing that she didn't recognize him because of the hood, he pulled it back off his head and in the dim light from the moon and the candle that Adelinde was holding, his tired eyes were revealed. Adelinde gasped and set the candle down before pulling him into a hug and quickly letting go again to usher him inside so she could close the doors. He took off the cloak and draped it on a chair before sitting down heavily in front of the fireplace and wincing because of his injury.

"... Is there anything I can get for you?" Adelinde asked hesitantly.

"Yes actually. Some grape juice would be nice. As well as first aid supplies. And a wrap of clean bandages as well as a small bucket of clean water and a soft washcloth," he replied quietly staring into the empty fireplace. Adelinde nodded and left while Elzer came down the stairs looking frazzled like he hadn't gotten any sleep. When he saw Diluc sitting in the chair he stopped and stared out of shock before making his way over.

"Master Diluc, is that you? Everyone has missed you so much I'm so glad you have returned!" He exclaimed. Diluc nodded in acknowledgment without turning. Elzer frowned. This Diluc was very different from the cheerful Diluc he knew three years ago.

"It's good to be back. However at the moment I would greatly appreciate it if you would give me a bit of privacy."

"Of course, my apologies." So Elzer swiftly exited and Diluc took off his plain shirt and began the process of unwinding the darkly stained bandages. Adelinde walked back in at this moment and nearly dropped the supplies she was carrying at the sight but managed to finish bringing them over. He thanked her and gently cleaned the wound before disinfecting it and taking the clean bandages to rewrap it. Wound now covered up with clean bandages, he took a long sip of the cold glass of juice she brought for him. He could see that she was nearly bursting with questions but he shook his head to stop her from asking any of them.

"By the way, where's Kaeya?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"Master Diluc, don't you remember?" and suddenly the memories from that night that he had conveniently forgotten in his search for the truth around his fathers death came rushing back, "you kicked him out." He sat there turning over the memory in his mind analyzing it somewhat regretfully but the longer he thought about it the more it pained him. He let out a heavy sigh and stood up to announce to Adelinde that he was going to retire for the night. She let go of her worry and curiosity and nodded, moving to clean up and put away the supplies she had brought out while he went off to his room for the first really comfortable sleep in years.