mark me with your words - ch. 7
pairing: diluc x childe
genre: angst & fluff/ au-soulmate
warnings: none
word count: 4.3k
summary: “Blue.”
His Fated’s favorite color was blue. They had matching favorite colors.
Diluc laughed, staring at the badly written word.
also on ao3 under the user playfuldreams
ch.1 | ch. 2 | ch. 3 | ch. 4 | ch. 5 | ch. 6 | ch. 7 | ch. 8
enjoy!~
The night of his birthday, Diluc could barely fall asleep. After finally receiving an answer back, Diluc did not know what to do.
He wanted to write back, but felt if he held the quill, he wouldn’t be able to stop writing and have another “ink incident” like when he was little. He was older now, ten years old in fact. He was more mature.
With that mindset, he went to bed and told himself he would respond the next day.
After eating breakfast the next morning, Diluc ran back to his room. He grabbed the ink bottle and his quill out from his drawer and set them on his table. Dipping the quill tip in the ink, he positioned it over his arm.
Diluc hesitated, keeping the tip in the air. What if he didn’t get a response back? He wasn’t expecting an immediate response, but what if Diluc didn’t hear back even after a few days? Or a week? Or even a whole year?
Diluc didn’t think he would be able to handle that. Not after he had learned that he in fact did have a Fated.
While contemplating whether to write or wait to see if his Fated sent another message, a drop of silver ink fell onto Diluc’s arm. Now that his skin had been marked, Diluc made up his mind. He had already sent thousands of messages even when he thought he didn’t have a Fated. Waiting a bit longer for a reply knowing someone was reading his message wouldn’t be so bad.
So, Diluc began writing. He wrote a simple, short message, not wanting to overwhelm his Fated. And from the way his Fated had written his name, Diluc assumed he was still learning how to write.
Thank you for replying. I hope to talk more. Do you have a favorite color?
Diluc reread his message dozens of times before finally getting on with his day.
Now that he had gotten a reply, Diluc was even more paranoid about how his messages sounded. What if his Fated thought it was weird he asked about his favorite color? And he didn’t respond because of it?
Diluc did his best to push aside his concerns and focus on his training. He had done everything he could do. He just needed to trust that Ajax would respond.
After finishing his morning training, Diluc washed up, being careful not to erase the message he wrote, and sat back at his desk to review his notes.
Diluc had his ink and quill out ready, but got distracted and stared at his arm. He waited to see other words appear, but so far, nothing showed.
He pulled his sleeve down and read through his lecture notes, hoping the physical barrier would take the issue off his mind. However, the letters burned on his skin, keeping his mind preoccupied. Unable to focus, Diluc rolled his sleeve back up and stared at it.
He didn’t know how long he stayed like that. He had almost dozed off when he noticed silver lines drawing themselves on his arm.
The sleepiness was blown away as Diluc trained his eyes on the ink.
It looked like a picture, or rather a doodle. The line curved before crossing back over the beginning point. It appeared to be a drawing of a fish, or at least that’s what Diluc thought.
He scratched his head.
Diluc had asked what his favorite color was, not his favorite food. However, he couldn’t find himself to be upset since he had still gotten a reply. Diluc was about to write a new message when more lines appeared beneath the drawing.
Diluc squinted his eyes trying to figure out what letters said.
“B… lll… oow…?” Diluc sounded out. That didn’t sound right, so he tried again.
“B…lll… ooo..” Dilue tried again.
He said it a couple more times before figuring out the meaning.
“Blue.”
His Fated’s favorite color was blue. They had matching favorite colors.
Diluc laughed, staring at the badly written word. His heart fluttered as fast as the wings of a hummingbird.
He did wonder what the fish had to do with the color blue. Maybe to represent the ocean?
Diluc didn’t care. He was just happy he received an answer.
He drew an arrow to the fish doodle and wrote next to it.
Do you like fish?
Diluc heard his heartbeat as he waited. He hoped he would get another reply.
The Anemo Archon must have been on his side since more marks appeared under his new message.
Yes.
It was a short answer, but it didn’t stop Diluc from grinning when he read it.
Me too. But I like meat more.
Diluc waited to see how his Fated would respond.
After a few seconds, a smiley face was drawn next to his message.
Diluc decided to continue his mini interrogation. He wanted to learn as much as he could about Ajax.
How old are you? I just turned 10.
8.
‘So he was two years younger,’ Diluc thought.
Diluc wanted to ask why he hadn’t answered any of his past messages, but he was afraid Ajax would stop responding altogether. He decided to ask another time, when they had gotten to know each other better.
Diluc continued chatting with Ajax. It was mostly him asking short questions and Ajax responding with one word answers or a drawing. Diluc didn’t know if that was because his Fated was shy or because he was still learning how to write.
Diluc had gotten so caught up in their conversation that he didn’t realize his door had been opened until he heard Kaeya call out to him.
“What are you doing? You’re not coming down for snacks?” Kaeya asked.
Diluc jumped, nearly spilling the ink bottle.
“You know you should at least knock before coming in,” Diluc said as he steadied the ink.
“I did, but you didn’t answer. So I let myself in.” Kaeya smirked.
Diluc huffed.
“I’m busy. I’ll just have some later.” Diluc waved his hand to shoo his brother away. However, Kaeya only walked further into the room.
“What are you so busy with? You even seemed distracted at breakfast.”
Diluc had been distracted. So distracted that he had forgotten to let his family know his Fated had contacted him.
Diluc blinked. He looked down to see if there was any new marking on his arm. When he didn’t see any, he put his quill down and faced Kaeya.
“I got a reply from my Fated.” Diluc stood and walked to Kaeya.
Kaeya’s eye widened.
“R-really?”
Diluc nodded. He grabbed Kaeya’s arm, turning him around, and then pushed on his back, leading him to the open bedroom door.
“If you know that then you should leave me alone,” Diluc said.
“What. You won’t even tell me about them?” Kaeya struggled to stay in the room by holding onto the door edges.
“I’m still getting to know them.” Diluc pushed harder. “And you are getting in the way of that.” He put more strength into his legs allowing him to push Kaeya out of the room.
“I’m hurt. To think you would choose your Fated over your brother.” Kaeya lamented with a hand over his chest.
Diluc rolled his eyes at his dramatics.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll make it up to you later,” Diluc said. He started to close the door before pausing to say one last thing.
“Don’t tell anyone yet. I… I want to tell Father first myself,” Diluc said quietly, staring at the door.
Kaeya gave a soft smile. “Okay. But you better tell him as soon as he gets back or my mouth might just slip.” Kaeya warned. He giggled as he dodged Diluc’s fist and ran downstairs to eat his snacks.
Finally alone, Diluc closed the door and sat back at the desk. He checked his arm to see a new picture had appeared. It was a square next to a fish. Diluc had no idea what that could possibly mean. As he continued to think, a new image of what looked like a line appeared next to the fish. This only stumped Diluc even more. After trying to make sense of the drawings for a couple minutes, Diluc gave up and sent a question mark back.
They were discussing each other’s hobbies. But no matter which hobby Diluc thought of, he could not think of any that matched a square, a fish, and a line. Or perhaps it was a stick?
‘Oh, maybe he likes cooking fish? The stick was what he put the fish on and the square was a plate?’ Diluc thought. ‘He must really like fish.’
Underneath the three drawings, letters appeared. His Fated must have taken pity on him and decided to spell it out.
Diluc sounded the letters out. “I..ce f..fff…ii..sh..ing. Ohhh. Ice fishing.”
‘What in Teyvat is ice fishing?’ Diluc thought. He asked the question to Ajax.
After the explanation, Diluc felt he understood a bit more about Ajax. His Fated lived in a cold place with a warm family. A father who would take him and his siblings ice fishing to spend time while telling stories of adventures from far and wide.
Diluc felt a smile creep onto his face. He wanted to go ice fishing with Ajax. Diluc wondered what kind of stories Ajax would tell him.
After exchanging a few more words, Ajax said he had some chores to do, so Diluc said goodbye. Diluc didn’t really want to stop talking, but now that he knew his Fated would respond, it didn’t feel so bad to say bye. That just meant he could look forward to their next conversation.
It was a little past noon meaning Diluc had missed lunch. He wondered why no one called him down.
‘Kaeya must have had something to do with it,’ Diluc thought.
Adelinde always made sure Diluc had his meals on time since he was a “growing boy,” as she put it.
Diluc skipped down the stairs. He smelled moon pie as he got closer to the dining room.
Kaeya was already eating when Diluc entered the room. He sat beside his brother and waited for his share of the food.
“Are you finished talking to them?” Kaeya asked, chewing on his food.
Diluc grimaced. “You’re supposed to finish chewing your food before talking, Kaeya.”
Kaeya stuck his tongue out before munching obnoxiously big and loud. Diluc tried to close his mouth by holding the top of Kaeya’s head and pushing his jaw up. Unfortunately, Kaeya put up a fight, so it devolved into a scuffle.
A throat cleared calling their attention. Adelinde looked at them with her “I'm-disappointed-in-your-lack-of-manners-at-the-table” face. Both the boys quickly settled down.
Kaeya went back to eating his food with proper table manners, and Diluc began eating his.
“Young Master Diluc, I hope the extra studying helped you understand the material better. But I do hope you don’t push yourself too hard. It’s important to eat on time and take breaks,” Adelinde said.
“Huh?” Diluc looked up from his food. Studying?
He felt a jab at his side. He glanced in the direction to see Kaeya glance back at him and clear his throat before continuing to eat.
Diluc caught on and quickly answered. “Oh, yes. It did help. Thank you for allowing me to focus a little longer on my studies. I will be sure to keep my health in mind next time.”
Diluc ended with his best innocent smile. It seemed to do the trick since Adelinde gave her own smile before leaving the room.
“I told them you wanted to get some more studying done since the test was right around the corner.” Kaeya whispered, as if there was a chance Adelinde was still listening.
“Thanks.” Diluc smiled, once again feeling gratitude for having a brother who had his back.
“Soooo…. Are you gonna tell me about them?”
Diluc quickly retracted his last thought.
“I’ll tell you when Father comes home.”
“But Father is coming back in another four days! That’s too long!” Kaeya whined.
“That just gives me more time to get to know him.”
“So it’s a boy?”
Diluc glared at his brother.
“What? You’re the one who slipped up. I’m just using my observation skills to the best of my abilities.”
Diluc rolled his eyes as his brother’s response.
“What’s his name?”
“Ajax.”
“Woah, sounds like a warrior.”
Diluc giggled. “He likes ice fishing.”
“Ice fishing?”
“Yeah, it’s when- wait, I said I would tell you together with Father!” Diluc’s eyes widened. His brother had gotten much better with conversing.
“You already started, you might as well finish.” Kaeya smirked as he put another piece of the pie in his mouth.
Diluc wanted to wipe the look off his face. “No. I’ll tell you the rest once Father gets back.”
“And that’s final.” Diluc added when he saw Kaeya start to protest.
“Fine.” Kaeya munched begrudgingly on his food.
The night his father returned home, Diluc followed up on his promise to Kaeya.
It was dinner time. The chefs had cooked a feast to welcome the Master back from his long trip. All the Mondstadt favorites were on the table allowing Master Crepus to truly feel the comfort of returning home.
As they ate dinner, his father recounted various events that happened on his trip and described the different sights he experienced in great detail leaving Diluc and Kaeya on the edge of their seats.
Halfway through dinner, Kaeya brought up what Diluc had been anxious about.
“So Diluc… Didn’t you have something to tell us?” Kaeya blinked his eye with an air of innocence.
Diluc scowled weakly at him.
His father turned to look at him. He put down his cutlery and swallowed the rest of the food in his mouth. “Was there something you wanted to say?”
Diluc glanced at the two before taking a breath.
“I… I finally heard back from my Fated,” He said softly.
Diluc watched a smile spread over his father’s face. He swallowed, letting the rush of warmth run over him.
“Congrats son. I am happy for you.”
“Thank you, Father.” Diluc blushed.
“So… what’s his name?” Kaeya asked slyly.
Diluc shot him a glare. When he saw his father looking expectantly, he sighed.
“Ajax. He is two years younger than me.”
“That must be why he had not responded until now.” His father picked his utensils back up and continued eating.
Diluc nodded.
“Where is he from?”
“I am not sure. He said he lives in a cold place, so I think it is either Fontaine or Snezhnaya.”
His father chewed his food thoughtfully.
“And? And? What else?” Kaeya urged.
“We have a lot in common. His favorite color is blue, and he enjoys outdoor activities. Oh, but I don’t think he knows any swordsmanship. He likes to go ice fishing with his father and siblings. Do you know what ice fishing is Father?”
“I have heard about it from my contacts in Snezhnaya. Ajax must be from there if his family goes ice fishing often. Fontaine is not nearly cold enough to have ice fishing year round”
“He has a lot of siblings too. Six in fact!”
“That’s a lot of kids. Adelinde can barely handle the two of us. Imagine if there were four more,” Kaeya said, eyes wide.
“Ajax said it’s always loud in the house and they get in a lot of fights, but they always make up.” Diluc laughed.
“I am glad to hear you are getting along.” His father paused before continuing, “Did you want to meet him?”
Diluc looked at his father. “Can I?”
“I do not see why not. I have been looking into doing business there, so I should be able to get a travel permit. Of course, we will first have to find out where Ajax lives in Snezhnaya before departing.”
“I’ll ask!” Diluc exclaimed. Noticing he stood up in his excitement, Diluc cleared his throat and sat back down.
His father chuckled.
“The exam is coming up soon. Do you feel prepared?” His father looked at him.
Diluc swallowed his food before answering. “I think I am prepared enough to pass.”
“If you need more time, I can talk to-”
“No! There is no need. I will take the test on the day given.”
“Alright. If that is what you want.”
Diluc nodded.
“Make sure you focus on your training and review. I know you just contacted your Fated, but with your exam coming up soon, try not to get too distracted. You will be able to talk to him after the exam too.”
“Yes Father.” Diluc straightened his back.
“Good.” His father nodded before taking a bite of the pie.
Kaeya broke following silence with a story of one of his adventures he had with the neighboring kids.
At night, Diluc had a bunch of thoughts racing through his head about his upcoming exam and his Fated. He only managed to fall asleep once the moon peaked.
Since there was a week left before Diluc was to take the test to join the Knights, his schedule was rearranged so that he could spend most of his time preparing for it. A little more than half of the day was dedicated to swordsmanship and the remaining was for reviewing the rules and regulations of the Knight Order.
His father would be staying until his exam was over. This made Diluc both happy and anxious. While he was glad to have his father by his side, he also worried that if he failed, his father would hear about it immediately.
Diluc tried to not dwell on the negative thoughts as much and solely focus on his training. Of course, his mind didn’t always listen to him.
The nights were the worst of it. Diluc would have the small malicious voice whisper to him in the darkness of his room. It reminded him of all his failures in training, running them on a loop to taunt him.
Kaeya seemed to catch on to Diluc’s weariness and decided to sleep beside Diluc in hopes of chasing the dark voice away. The amount of times Diluc thanked Barbatos for giving him such a kind-hearted brother didn’t seem nearly enough.
On the day of the exam, Diluc could barely sit still. Everyone was very supportive. The cooks had made a special breakfast and even packed some snacks and a bottle of grape juice. Both Kaeya and his father would be coming with him to the city.
When Diluc had written to Ajax about how he would be busy the next few days due to the exam, Ajax sent numerous drawings of smiley faces and what appeared to be thumbs up. They helped lift Diluc’s spirits.
And this morning, Ajax had even written a whole sentence.
Good luck Diluc! Hope to call you Sir Diluc soon!
Diluc was sure Ajax had help from his parents, but that only made him smile more when he read the message. It was as if those words were branded onto his skin, warming his body down to his very soul.
Diluc felt as if he could ace any exam. Who knew simple words could have such an impact.
When they arrived at the city, Diluc went into the knight’s headquarters to complete the test. His father and Kaeya chose to roam around the city while they waited for Diluc to finish.
The exam was exactly what Diluc had been expecting. There was a basic written test to cover the rules of the Order as well as an oral exam where he was given certain situations and asked how he would handle them.
From the looks on the examiner, Diluc was sure he passed those with flying colors.
The combat test was a bit harder. Diluc knew he had been well-prepared. However, it seemed the opponent he was assigned was determined to bring out all of Diluc’s potential.
After what seemed like forever, the match was concluded as a draw.
Diluc wiped the sweat on his brow. “Did I pass?”
He panted as he waited for a response. His heart fell when he heard it.
“We have to calculate all of your scores together before answering. You can wait in the lobby and we’ll call you once we have an outcome,” The examiner said.
Diluc licked his lips. He was hoping to get a yes or no, or at least an indication of whether he was accepted. Unfortunately, the examiner stayed stone faced leaving Diluc no choice but to follow their instructions.
While he waited in the lobby, Kaeya and his father met up with him. Their expectant faces didn’t help the rock in his heart.
The negative thoughts began to swirl in his mind like a storm. All he could think about was what to say to everyone if he failed. Everyone had helped him so much, and if he failed to follow through, all their expectations would crumble.
He jerked when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see his father gazing at him.
“You gave your best. No matter what happens, we still care for you all the same,” his father said.
“Yeah! And besides, there’s always next time!” Kaeya beamed.
Diluc felt the whirlwind inside his mind calm and took a breath to clear his thoughts.
“Thanks,” Diluc said softly.
They waited for another ten minutes before the examiner finally returned. Except they weren’t alone. A tall middle-aged man bearing the knight’s crest walked in front of the examiner.
“Oh! Who’s this?” The man asked.
“Varka.” His father nodded.
“I’m surprised to see you here, Master Crepus. I thought you’d be too busy to come.”
“Well, it is an important day for my son. Of course, I would set aside some time for him.”
“Hmm… I see. From what I’ve heard, Dawn Winery has been quite popular these days. And Mondstadt certainly has been doing better because of it.”
“It’s only thanks to the knights for keeping our city safe that the winery has been able to grow so well.”
Diluc glanced between his father and the Grand Master as they exchanged looks.
He was surprised when they both laughed and hugged each other.
“It’s good to see you again. You should try to show your face more often,” Varka said.
“I spend plenty of time in the city. It is you who is always galavanting about on expeditions.” his father retorted.
Varka laughed. He turned to face Diluc.
“I must say, the Ragnvindr bloodline runs strong. You must be Diluc.” He turned to look at Kaeya. “And you must be the one Master Crepus took in.”
“My name is Kaeya, sir.” Kaeya introduced himself, following the etiquette perfectly.
Varka opened his mouth to say something else, but his father cleared his throat.
“I am sure you did not come down to simply chat, Varka. Do you have the results of Diluc’s exam?”
“Of course, how could I forget.” Varka lightly tapped his head. Looking back at Diluc, he smiled.
Diluc’s heart beat faster, and he felt cold sweat drip down his back. He took a deep breath to prepare for the Grand Master’s next words.
“Congratulations Sir Diluc. You are officially a part of the Knights of Favonious.”
Diluc stopped breathing.
His blood rushed through him as his heart began to beat wildly. He did it.
He did it.
He… did it! He made it into the knights!
Diluc looked back and forth between his father, Kaeya, and the Grand Master, beaming.
Kaeya tackled him into a hug, while his father patted him on the back.
“I was honestly shocked by young Diluc’s results. He managed to answer all the questions on the written and oral exams perfectly, and his swordsmanship was on par with some of our intermediate knights. It looks like the Order’s future is bright.”
“As expected of my son,” his father said proudly.
Diluc felt his eyes sting and quickly blinked away any forthcoming tears.
“Is Kaeya interested in joining as well? We are always looking to accept new members,” the Grand Master said.
“That is up to him. Kaeya is still young and has time to decide.” His father looked down at both the boys. “But I am sure he would also make an excellent knight just like Diluc.”
Varka laughed.
“Well, I simply wanted to meet our promising knight in person. I still have some more work I have to attend to, so you’ll have to excuse me.” Varka turned to Diluc, “Congratulations again, Sir Diluc. I look forward to seeing how far you go.”
And with that, the Grand Master walked off leaving the three alone with the examiner.
“Sir Diluc, congratulations on passing. Here is your official copy of the Knights handbook as well as some paperwork. Also, if you could come in next week to get measured for your uniform that would be most helpful. You will be given your weapon along with your uniform, so you can pick it out when you come to get fitted. That is all for now. Enjoy your celebrations.” The examiner swiftly handed everything to Diluc and walked back in the direction of the training arena.
Kaeya grabbed Diluc’s shoulders. “Well, Sir Diluc, what do you want to do now?”
Diluc looked between his brother and father. He licked his lips, going over his options. There was probably going to be a congratulatory party at his home, but he wanted to spend a little more time with just his father and Kaeya.
He turned to face them. “Can we get a pie from Good Hunter before going back?”
“Sure. Did you want the mixed berry pie?” His father asked.
Diluc nodded.
“Ooh, can we get whipped cream on top?” Kaeya asked.
“Oh yeah! That will taste good!” Diluc agreed.
“Okay, we can get the pie with whipped cream,” Crepus said.
Both boys cheered. Diluc could not wait to tell Ajax all about today when they got back.
A smile spread across his face just thinking about the smiley faces he would get in response.