xxxv

                                    

                                          
• third person •
                          
This was the second time Kaeya had failed in his duty. 
                          
He stood, frozen, only able to watch as his brother clutched his best friend's body, sobbing, rain pouring down their backs.
                          
He was there the whole time. He heard almost everything. Yet all he did was watch. Once again he let his brother have the moment. 
                          
He turned. There was a certain man behind him, who had only been staring in shock this whole time.
                          
The man stepped forward, examining the lifeless blonde woman on the floor, checking for any signs of life even though she'd been stabbed in the heart. He then glanced at (Y/N)'s bloody body, still dead in Diluc's arms. 
                          
Two figures appeared before him. Childe stood straight. 
                          
Neither Diluc nor Kaeya could pay it any mind at the moment. 
                          
"Sir, you have been called to investigate in Inazuma. La Signora has been executed by the Raiden Shogun. The Balladeer has run away with the Raiden Shogun's gnosis. You have been asked to search for him at once."
                          
Childe stared emptily at the two Fatui before him. 
                          
"Alright," he murmured. The Fatui members looked around. Their eyes widened simultaneously. "Go back to Snezhnaya and pronounce Maria dead. Take her body too. She died in the name of the Tsaritsa, with her last mission being fulfilled. Don't credit me though: I wasn't aware of her true mission."
                          
"Y-yes sir."
                          
"Pronounce (Y/N) (L/N) dead too. And her mother. I wasn't aware of her mother's death. They'll both be happy together now."
                          
"Yes, sir."
                          
"I'll be headed to Inazuma straight away. Go on now."
                          
The two Fatui nodded, taking Maria, before disappearing into thin air. 
                          
Both sisters dying together... that's funny.
                          
Childe glanced at (Y/N). He noticed Diluc's gaze upon him.
                          
There was no hatred in his eyes. No anger, no hurt, just plain grief.
                          
Childe approached them, slowly kneeling down into the bloody grass. 
                          
"Why did this have to happen..." he whispered. Diluc watched silently as he stroked her hair, her skin already falling cold. "I can't even process it. I can't even cry just yet."
                          
"I'm sure it'll hit me hard when I get back home and see your old house, walk around your old room, talk to my siblings who always mention you once in a while... Please be happy over there..."
                          
"I'm sorry, Diluc," he said quietly, avoiding his gaze. "I didn't know of Maria's true intentions. I never would have wished for (Y/N) to die... If I had been here on time, she'd have been killed before she even laid a finger on (Y/N)."
                          
Diluc looked away. He never said a word. 
                          
Childe stood up. He stepped back, taking one last look at the peaceful smile on (Y/N)'s face. 
                          
They watched in silence as he simply walked away.
                          
"Kaeya."
                          
The blue-haired man blinked. He'd forgotten to after a while. 
                          
"Why did you just stand there?"
                          
"She was equally your friend as well as my lover. Just like how Father was equally your father as he was mine."
                          
Diluc felt his stomach churn as his eyes fell upon his hands. Red, stained with red. Dripping with red. 
                          
He stood up, carrying (Y/N) ever-so-gently. Kaeya still could only stare.