summary; dying in diluc & kaeya’s arms. just angst really im sorry ?
go check out @dulcesiabits post for albedo & tartaglia hehe ?
diluc:
it was happening again.
he feels his chest constrict when he sees you, eyes glazed over and struggling to stay upright. your hands bloodied and clenched over your abdomen, trying to hold yourself together. diluc drops his claymore, feet propelling him forward like a marionette.
diluc holds your body close, you are so cold in his touch. your smile is pained as you try to lean into him, absorbing any warmth you can.
“hey, hey stay with me okay? barbara is gonna come heal you and—“ he chokes out, looking around to see if anyone was there that could help. barbara was all the way in monstadt, it would take hours to get there by foot, much longer if he was carrying you.
damn it all, why did he care so much about working alone?
“it hurts diluc,” your eyes are watery as you squirm in place. “it hurts so much i…”
you were slipping through his fingers far too quickly; you, the only person that had mattered to him in a long time. he loved you, did you know that? did he tell you enough times? did he give you all that he could?
weakly tugging at his sleeve, you bring his chin up to look at you.
“please, please don’t leave me alone.” his head is resting in your neck, his whole self bared to you. diluc never sounded so vulnerable, and it stings just as much as the hole in your side did. you wished you could piece yourself back together, if just to make him smile. “not you, anyone but you i–”.
“i’m sorry,” you feel something tugging at you, a fish stuck on the end of a hook, you were powerless to do anything but follow. closing your eyes would be easy, would ease you of your pain; you’re only able to resist for a moment. “please, be happy. for me.”
“tell me how, i…”. he feels you still in his arms and he can’t bring himself to look at you, fearing that when he saw you, now lifeless, he would shatter completely.
he grits his teeth, grief being replaced by an all-consuming rage that swallows him up. diluc was going to find whoever had hurt you and he was going to snuff them out. scorched earth, he would leave nothing behind but corpses of anyone that dare get in his way.
maye that fire would consume him too along the way. maybe at this point he wanted to burn on his own pyre if it meant he could see you (and his father) once more.
kaeya:
he hears you before he sees you, a whimpered cry of his name and then a sickening crunch that makes his body run cold. kaeya is too mortified to look until the situation has been resolved, quickly making work of the fatui agent he had been fighting. then, he glides over to you, taking the enemy by surprise.
he watches the blood drip down his blade before he looks around for you, seeing you thrown to the side, eyes shut and bleeding far too much.
the air leaves his lungs, regret seeping in instantly as he checks you for a pulse. there’s one; faint, but it’s better than nothing.
“can you stand?” he wants to downplay the danger of the immediate situation to calm the both of you. “we need to get you back to monstadt right now. you’re losing a lot of blood.”
you can feel him shaking as he tries to move you, and you wince in pain as he does. your head pounds as blood rushes to your ears. you were going to die here. “no… let’s just stay here for a while.” your eyes are glazed over as you look up at him. “hold me… please.”
and so he does, letting your head rest on his chest as you try to calm your breathing. kaeya had seen many people die, he knew there was nothing that could stop this from happening but he wasn’t ready to lose you. life was never fair to him, it didn’t mean you should’ve been caught in the crosshairs of his misfortune.
kaeya kisses your forehead, he hadn’t cried since he was young, but he feels those emotions come to the surface for the first time in ages. his chest aches, fat tears rolling down his cheeks and onto your shoulder. if you felt them you didn’t speak up.
he sits there and talks with you about the future, things he had never said to you before. how he wanted to take you to the field of flowers near the dawn winery, he tells you about his homeland, his past. why didn’t he tell you this until now? was it selfish of him? or did he know your time was running out and was getting it off his chest? you eventually stop replying, your blood staining his hands but he doesn’t pay any attention to it.
when he feels you stop breathing something in him dies.
the hoarfrost at his core finally solidifies. he had opened himself up once more and he had found himself hurt beyond comprehension. you, the only person who had seen his ugliest parts and loved him all the same. too young, too gentle. the world was a cruel place where sunlight was unable to thrive for long.
he stops grieving after a few days, fully resigning himself to the shadows of monstadt. he didn’t care, really, his duty was the only thing he was loyal to. kaeya was now a dagger, willing to do anything that was needed of him.
kaeya still sees you in his dreams. there, you blame him for not being enough, things he knows you wouldn’t say if you were alive. maybe he deserves it, he thinks.