Bleeding Purple | Kaeya & Diluc

Diluc's Concerns & Albedo's Lack of Findings

[CW FOR: non graphic mentions of blood and pills]

"Kaeya, you—you trusted me with your deepest secret and I tried to kill you for it, granted your timing was terrible but still!" Diluc shook his head in confusion.

"And your—our father died in your hands, and instead of being there for you I smiled! Then told you I had been sent from Khaenri'ah as a spy!" Kaeya exclaimed, tears brimming his eyes, "I might've done wrong but then—then you tried to kill me and I didn't know what to do, 'Luc I was left with nothing. Then—then when you finally did come back you acted like nothing ever happened and I know I deserved it but it hurt so..so much." He pulled his arms across his chest, holding himself tightly, "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but gods, please I—if you're doing this out of puty give me a chance. I can't—I hate being alone, 'Luc I—" Kaeya was cut off by an abrupt, violent coughing fit. He was barely able to take a small breath between coughs, it nearly felt like he was choking. His throat was on fire, and after just a few moments he could taste something almost metallic on his tongue.

That..wasn't right.

It didn't matter, though, he just had to focus on catching his breath. He closed his eye and inhaled deeply, fighting off the strong urge to start coughing again. When he reopened his eye, looking back at Diluc, he was confused to see that he looked so concerned, scared, almost.

"I—Is something the matter?" He asked, his head felt fuzzy.

"Kaeya..I...I forgive you, I know it must've been hard to come clean and I should have been there for you...Just—right now, please get some rest." His voice was soft, and for a moment Kaeya assumed he must have been hallucinating.

"Why do you look so..pale?" He asked again, and it was true, Diluc's face looked sheet-white. He had always been pale, but this was just confusing.

"Kaeya," he paused, his eyes shifted to look somewhere in front of him, "You were coughing up blood." He inhaled deeply, "You need rest...if you want to, we can talk about this more when you're better but—it's clearly too much of a strain on your body right now."

Kaeya blinked, confused, how had he not realized that? He turned to where Diluc had looked, and sure enough, the bedsheets were stained with a deep red, a stark contrast to their bright white coloring. He took in a shaky breath.

"I...see." He blinked, turning back to Diluc.

"I'll check on you in the morning...if something happens, knock on the wall, or something, my room is only across the hall, it'll probably alert me." He turned, "I know you were sleeping all day, but please..try to get some rest, you need it to recover." Diluc's tone was calm, softer than usual—than..it should be, it made Kaeya feel odd, almost nostalgic. He switched off the lamp as he left, leaving Kaeya in the dark once more.

Diluc stood in the hall for a moment after pulling the door to Kaeya's room near closed, leaving a small crack just in case. There was a dark, sinking feeling in his chest.

Did he really believe this was all his fault?

His footsteps sounded out loudly in the deathly quiet halls.

How could he have been so stubborn as to never notice how Kaeya was feeling?

The signs were there, certainly, he knew that. He could have changed so much if he had just apologized.

But you didn't, these are just the consequences.

Perhaps, this would teach him to stop being so stubborn and realize his own mistakes before things like this happened.

Kaeya had always been reckless, but you know he took a turn for the worst once you left.

Diluc hadn't realized he was already at his bedroom door, and turned the knob to walk inside. The bed was still made nicely, he really did more work in here than he did sleep, didn't he?