#its only mentioned near the end

I Had An Interesting AU Idea (Trigger Warning for Sexual Harassment and Horrible Extended Family Members)…

What if Diluc’s extended family (either his father’s side, mother’s side, or both) didn’t approve of Kaeya when they found out about him? If they felt he didn’t deserve to be part of the Ragnvindr family.

In front of Diluc and Crepus, they would treat him nicely only because they knew Crepus wouldn’t tolerate any bad language towards his adopted son. Any other time, they’d whisper about him and make cruel remarks about him, his appearance, and his possible lineage and homeland.

Kaeya endures all of this in silence until Crepus and Diluc catch them badmouthing him outside. Diluc ends up taking Kaeya inside and does everything to reassure him he is family while Crepus stays outside to chew them out and tells them not to come back if they couldn’t respect his son.

Years and a falling out later, the extended family comes to visit Diluc only to find him gone and ecstatic to hear rumors that he disowned Kaeya. They occasionally visit to see if Diluc had returned and to harass Kaeya, saying things like he had never deserved to be part of the family and how he should know his place. They would abuse him by forcing him to basically be their servant during their visits and humiliating him in public.

Though, Kaeya feels the urge to lash out, to scream and cause a scene, tell them to go screw themselves in a very vulgar manor, he holds his tongue. He has long since learned that anything they considered backtalk would be met with punishment. It was better to silently take it.

Any help Jean tried to give was gently but firmly turned down. Lisa always made sure to have a brew of calming calla lillie tea waiting for him after every visit. Albedo never said anything but he never turned Kaeya away when he needed a quiet place to unwind where no one would find him. Even Amber and Eula both seemed to get a little indignant at how he was treated, as strange as the idea was.

When Diluc returns, it doesn’t take too long for his extended family to hear about it. It only takes a month for them to show up, a month of being reminded by Diluc what they had already drilled into his head over the past three years.

Kaeya is nursing a Death After Noon after an already crappy day when they walk in. It takes everything in him not to curse but it just had to be his luck. They immediately swoon over Diluc, telling him how happy they were to see him and his much they missed him. Diluc appears unfazed by their praise, much to their annoyance. Kaeya could tell they were losing their patience.

Then they finally notice Kaeya and dread fills his gut. He wonders if it’s too late to make a break for it.

Diluc’s uncle huffs, asking what a stray mutt was doing at the counter. His wife lets out a haughty laugh that grates on Kaeya’s nerves as she says that he’s probably begging for scraps since he was so poor and his pay had probably been cut again. As they continue to degrade him, none of them seem to notice that Diluc had gone deathly still as Charles looked like he didn’t know if he should run to Kaeya’s aid or hurry to defuse his employer.

Surprisingly, it’s not Diluc who snaps first. Maybe all the bullying had finally gotten to him, maybe all of it plus Diluc’s new harsh and cold attitude towards him caused the captain to snap. Slamming his glass on the counter, Kaeya shoots up from his seat and gets in Diluc’s uncle’s face. He raises his voice, not shouting but definitely loud enough to be heard by the people around them. He chews them out about how they’ve treated him pretty much ever since they met and how sick he was of them.

He then proceeds to drop a bombshell that the uncle and his wife have been cheating on each other, the wife longer than her husband. He even spills how, despite him supposedly being a low, dirty mutt, that the wife had come onto him several times as well as their daughter. By the time he finished the tavern was hushed in stunned silence while the family was flushed red with anger. The father gives an angered shout, calling Kaeya a filthy liar as he charged him, his fist pulled back.

In a blur of movement, the man found himself on his back, the wind knocked out of him. Kaeya is stunned as Diluc rises from his crouched position between him and the wine tycoon’s family. Diluc makes sure to stay between them as he tells them that violence isn’t allowed in his establishment and tells them to leave. The aunt tries to object but the look Diluc gave her probably scared her because she scrambled to help her husband up and the family rushed out. Diluc tells everyone the tavern is closed and, understanding not to argue, everyone silently exits. Kaeya tries to leave as well but is stopped by Diluc calling his name. The look he gave him and the nod towards his seat were all that was needed to get his point across.

Even as he sat back in his seat, he found himself wondering if this was it. Was Diluc going to officially ban him from Angel’s Share for life? A restraining order? When he looks up at Diluc, the man has put his hands on the counter and is leaning forward, he breathing forcibly deep and even as if he was trying to calm himself down. Had he made Diluc that angry? His question is answered when Diluc asks how long they’ve been treating him like that. Kaeya tries to dodge the question but Diluc isn’t having it, demanding to know.

So Kaeya tells him. His mouth starts running and he’s horrified that he can’t seem to stop. He doesn’t tell everything but he gets the general point across. By the end of his rant, Diluc looks angrier than Kaeya thought he ever would, even more than that night. He’s terrified.

All of his panicked thoughts are cut off when Diluc hops the counter and forcibly pulls him into his arms, his fingers from one hand burying themselves in his hair while the other wraps around his back to hold him close as he mutters apologies and promises that Kaeya will never have to deal with them again. Kaeya freezes at first, unable to comprehend the situation (that Diluc would ever hold him like this again, whispering reassurances into his hair, anddear Barbatos were those tears he felt) before he melts and hugs back. He doesn’t bother to hide his tears as he breaks down and only feels safer when Diluc tightens his grip.

He was gonna be okay. Diluc would protect him.