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

Part 12

Diluc awoke early the next morning and went outside. He made his way to the back of the Winery, a little past the vineyard. On a typical morning, he would get his sword out and practice against training dummies, or even stop any wild boars that got too close to the grapevines. The Winery had had problems with boars uprooting vines in the past, so he helped stop them when he could.

When Diluc got to his usual spot though, he was a little surprised and a little disappointed to see that his training station wasn't set up there anymore. "Figures," he muttered to himself, looking down at the grass. "Why would future-me bother with training if I'm not a knight."

He took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. "Doesn't matter. I can still train here." There were plenty of hay bales over here now, instead of the dummies. That would do for now. It wasn't perfect and it would make a mess, but he couldn't say he cared too much about that right now.

Diluc went through all of the training exercises he could think of. It was early enough that none of the winery workers were nearby, so he didn't have to worry about disturbing anyone.

About an hour and a half passed. Sometimes DIluc would stay for longer, sometimes for less, but he always made a goal to train for at least a few minutes everyday. He had to commit to it, and he had to work hard and with discipline everyday if he wanted to become a knight. Which, even with yesterday's disencouragement, he still wanted to be.

"I'm impressed," a voice came from behind him. Diluc whipped around, sword falling to his side. Kaeya was looking back at him, one arm resting on a stack of hay bales. "I almost forgot how talented you used to be."

"Kaeya?" Diluc squinted at him. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, I was just taking a nice stroll around the winery. I didn't expect to see you out here this early. Older-you is a night owl. Rarely gets up before noon."

Diluc scoffed. "Yeah, right. I'd never sleep in that late. Stop making things up."

Kaeya shrugged. "Believe what you want."

Diluc rolled his eyes, and Kaeya smirked. The red head went back to what he was doing before his brother interrupted him, practicing his different blade techniques on a very beat-up looking roll of hay.

"You know," Kaeya said as he watched Diluc. "You'd have much more luck practicing against another person than with that." He nodded to the hay.

Diluc wiped away the beads of sweat that had been collecting at his forehead. "What, are you volunteering?"

"That depends. Would you take me up on the offer?"

Diluc grinned. "Dueling with the horseless Cavalry Captain? I'd be honored." Honestly, he didn't know why the thought didn't occur to him earlier. His brother was bound to have countless sword-fighting tips from being a knight.

Kaeya unsheathed his sword and smiled. "Well then, feel free to make the first move."

---

The two spent the next little while out there, sword clashing against sword, then came to a stop once Kaeya heard Diluc's stomach grumble. "I guess that means it's time to go inside for some breakfast," he'd said.

Diluc went to get cleaned up first, taking a quick bath and then getting dressed in a short-sleeved, white collared shirt and knee-length black shorts. It was warm outside this morning, and the temperature was sure to rise. He buttoned up his shirt then raced downstairs, his hair still wet.

Kaeya was already seated at the breakfast table, munching on a piece of toast. He nodded at Diluc in greeting upon seeing him, and Diluc slid into the seat across from him. Only seconds after he did so, Adelinde came over and set a glass of juice and a heaping plate of food in front of him. Diluc thanked her, and picked up his utensils.