Two Birds on a Wire (A Diluc and Kaeya fanfic)

Part 8

Diluc was a little nervous (okay, more than a little) to step foot into the city. He grew up in Mondstadt, he knew countless people here, especially since the Ragnvindr family was so well-known. So far he'd only talked to Kaeya and Adelinde, but he was about to face a lot more people here, and there would probably be more questions and stares than he could handle. He'd never considered himself to be shy (Kaeya had always been the shy one), but he would be lying if he said this wasn't terrifying. Sure, everything looked more-or-less the same from the outside, but he knew there were about to be a lot of changes to get used to. It was weird enough to be around adult-Kaeya, so how would it be seeing Jean and everyone else?

Kaeya said that seeing Jean and her librarian friend was important though, so he had to do this. And besides, if he ran away from everything that scared him, then he wouldn't be a very good knight candidate, would he?

Diluc wondered if Kaeya was a little nervous too for some reason, because he was gripping Diluc's shoulder rather tightly. "Well, are you ready?" They were standing right outside the main entrance to the city, a few feet away from the guards.

"Are you?" Diluc replied, looking up at his much taller brother.

Kaeya looked stunned. "I--" He cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders. "Whatever do you mean?"

Yeah right. Even if Kaeya acted much more confident now, Diluc was positive he was feeling uneasy about this. He wasn't really sure why though, this situation was affecting him much more than Kaeya. "Nothing. Nevermind."

They both took a few steps forward, about to enter the city, only for the guards to straighten up and salute when they noticed them.

"Captain Kaeya, Sir," one of the guards said. "The Acting Grandmaster has been looking for you all morning."

"We were told to inform you that she needs to speak with you as soon as possible, as it's a matter of grave importance," the other guard said.

Captain? Kaeya was a captain now? He definitely didn't mention that. Diluc looked up at Kaeya, a thousand more questions on his mind, but before he got the chance to ask any of them, Kaeya nudged him forward.

"What a coincidence," Kaeya replied to the guards. "I need to speak to her as well. No need to worry, I'm on my way to see her right now." Without waiting for a reply from the guards, he picked up his pace and gently pushed Diluc through the entrance of the city. It was only after they were out of earshot from the guards that Kaeya slowed down back to his normal walking pace.

"What was that all about?" Diluc whispered. He elbowed Kaeya in the side. "You're a knight Captain now and you didn't tell me?!"

Kaeya chuckled. "With all the hustle and bustle going on, it didn't exactly cross my mind to tell you."

"...I guess there's a lot I don't know about you now. It feels like everything's changed."

"Well, a lot of time's passed since you last remember. Things are bound to be different."

"I know, but..."

Kaeya wrapped an arm around Diluc's shoulders and pulled him closer to his side. "I know it will take some getting used to, but not everything is different now. Adelinde is still the head housemaid. Elzer still manages the Winery's affairs." He pointed to the center of the city, where the great statue of the anemo archon stood. "And look up over there; Barbatos is still watching over us. Why not focus on more of the similarities from what you're used to instead of the differences?"

A slight frown slipped onto Diluc's face. Easy for him to say. He didn't have his whole life flip years into the future in the blink of an eye. Though, speaking of which...

"How...How long has it been, anyway?"

Kaeya's face tightened. "That depends, how old are you?"

"I'm twelve. How old are you?"

"Twenty."

Woah, okay. He wasn't sure what he was expecting Kaeya to say, but it just felt...different actually hearing aloud how old he was now. Diluc wrinkled his nose. "Twenty? Wow, I knew you were old, but not that old.

"Hey! Twenty is still quite young, thank you very much. Just as of two days ago, you were twenty-two yourself!"

"No way."

"Way." Kaeya stuck his tongue out at him. Really, and Diluc was the child here?

"So...It's been ten years then?"

"I guess so."

"Hm."

Silence broke out for the rest of the walk to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. Diluc got the feeling that Kaeya's mind was elsewhere at the moment, so he didn't want to bother him with more questions.

---

Kaeya was very stressed right now. Stressed wasn't usually a word he'd use to describe how he was feeling (he much preferred to not describe his feelings at all), but his concern for this situation and the growing problems it brought forth was all he could think about.

He and Diluc were standing on the steps right in front of the doors to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. They'd been standing there for who knows how long, and he probably would've stood there much longer to avoid going in, but he felt Diluc tug on his hand.

"Are you sure you're okay?" the red head asked, looking up at him. "We've been standing here for a while."

Oh, I'm perfect. Just peachy. It's not as if I have to prepare a very big, very elaborate lie and somehow convince everyone in the city to play along with it. And the thought of explaining this to Jean definitely doesn't terrify me beyond all means.

Kaeya gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I was just lost in thought, no need to worry." He clenched his left fist and squeezed Diluc's hand with the other. "Well, here goes nothing."

Together, they pushed open the doors.