And I would do anything for you (anything at all)

Chapter 3

Kaeya wakes up just before sunrise to the sound of Crepus yelling, which is surprising. He and Diluc are well trained to wake up without any assistance, though Diluc never looks all that happy about it, so Crepus usually meets them for breakfast downstairs.

Then he bursts Kaeya's room, fully preventing him from getting his last few minutes of slumber. "Where is Diluc?!"

"Uhh," Kaeya grumbles, "in his room?"

Sometimes Diluc sneaks into Kaeya's room, like when they were kids, but recently he has been too busy in the Knights of Favonius to do much more than pass out on his bed as soon as he gets home. Based on that, he might have keeled over in the vineyard after his evening shift the day before.

"He's not in his room, he never came home last night according to Elzer and Adelinde said that you were also late back."

Kaeya was back late because he skipped out on the end of his patrol to bother Albedo on Dragonspine, and the trip back to the Winery is not short. He hasn't seen Diluc in almost twenty-four hours because of that - he can only hope his brother struck out on his own to get out from under Crepus' suffocating control.

He cannot say all that, though, "I'll check at the Headquarters when I go in, but it's really none of your business where Diluc spends his nights."

"He's not eighteen yet." He says that like he'll let up at all when Diluc does ascend into technical adulthood. "Besides, he is supposed to be home today so that we can go on a short expedition together."

"Again?"

Crepus nods, "Varka needs to know how serious he is about his duties, and I will sacrifice as much of my time as is necessary to prove Diluc's commitment."

He is sacrificing Diluc's time too - "You really think Varka will choose a walking zombie as his successor?"

"He can handle the workload." The 'but you can't' is evident without needing to be said.

After he leaves, Kaeya gets out of bed and dresses. His shift is in an hour and, while he tries not to let Crepus know these days, he is possibly just as guilty for involving himself in Diluc's life as he is. Though he veers closer to overprotectiveness and, well, bloody violence, while Crepus sticks to gaslighting and prying.

Diluc definitely needs a break from the both of them, but Kaeya is not about to start giving him space until Crepus starts.

Morning in Mondstadt is quite peaceful, especially as it is a Sunday and many people will be staying in before visiting the Cathedral at noon - not something Kaeya has done since he turned eighteen a couple of years ago. Usually he uses that hour of peace to conspire with treasure hoarders and build up the Knight of Favonius' intelligence network, so that when Diluc needs to crack down on criminal organisations he has a useful starting point.

Kaeya arrives at the Favonius Headquarters and nods at Huffman as he enters, making his way up to Diluc's office and smiling at other Knights along the way. He's popular because he needs to be, not because he finds it a rewarding task to stay in everyone else's good books. He would much prefer to slack off and drag Diluc down with him.

"Knock knock," he says aloud, opening the door to his brother's office. Not surprisingly, Diluc is asleep at his desk with a candle flickering to extinction beside the papers he is laying upon. Every time he breathes in, the flame jumps back to life.

Kaeya shakes his shoulder, concern mounting as he doesn't immediately awaken. He presses the back of his hand against his forehead, expecting some warmth but not the feverish heat that meets his skin. He gets a bit rougher shaking him, until Diluc wheezes back to alertness.