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The evening was as lively as ever in the Angel’s Share. Drinks were flowing freely and several loud conversations over who was the best fighter in Mondstadt had erupted again. A few overeager voices were shouting from one table to the next to drum up more support for their favourite.
The loudest table contained, as always Kaeya, though this time he had been joined not just by a quietly amused Rosaria but by Lisa and Jean as well. How the purple witch had managed to get the acting grand master to join her for an evening out would always remain a mystery.
In the middle of the tavern Venti and Six-Fingered Jose were taking turns singing songs, and teaming up for a couple of duets. At the moment they were singing a popular Mondstadt drinking song together with at least half the tavern joining in at the chorus.
“If beer were an ocean, and I was a duck
I'd swim to the bottom to drink my way up
But the ocean is not beer, and I'm not a duck
So here's to us, now let's drink up!”
Diluc was tending the bar, switching between pouring glasses of ale and wine, mixing cocktails and cleaning used glasses. Charles was making the rounds taking orders. All in all it was a lively but normal evening for the busy tavern. No fights and no one was so drunk they would not find the door or their way home again. Yet.
Diluc kept a watchful eye on everything but especially the table his brother, the nun, the witch and the grandmaster were sitting at.
He was glad that Jean had finally taken an evening off but was slightly concerned about the sheer amount of drinks the table kept ordering. Diluc also did not like the way Kaeya kept glancing between the still performing duo of bards and him. The song ended with a laughing Jose bowing to Venti and relinquishing the stage. The blonde bard joined one of the tables to a great cheer and was immediately presented with a frothing mug of ale.
Kaeya shot another look at Diluc before glancing back at Venti, who had taken the spotlight again, playing a slower song on his lyre. Kaeya would deny being drunk but the scarlet blush on his cheeks told another story. The cavalry captain took a sip of his customary cocktail ‘death after noon’ and started chuckling, still staring at Venti playing his lyre. “Well, well, what is so amusing about our bard’s performance dear captain?" Lisa asked amused. She was still nipping at her second glass of wine for the night, preferring to stay sober to keep an eye on Jean. Not that the librarian expected Jean to get drunk on purpose, but she knew how fast the sweet Dandelion Wine could go to one's head. Especially if you were unused to drinking it as the ever overworked acting grandmaster was.
At this moment Jean was finishing her fifth glass of wine and had started to tilt slightly to the left. A small blush and a visible smile was on her face as she switched from watching the bard's antics to look at the still snickering Kaeya. Lisa smiled and moved closer to stop Jean from sliding off her chair any further.
Rosaria also finished her cocktail and shifted her attention from watching the crowd towards looking at her drinking buddy.
Kaeya was still chuckling merrily while pointing an unstable finger at Venti. “I just recalled that Diluc had Lyre lessons when we were kids. Do you remember Jean?” Jean thought for a moment before starting to giggle. “I do! He was so good at it too!” She bounced a bit on her chair and laughed, causing a couple of people at other tables to look at her, many smiling at seeing the often stressed acting grandmaster having a good time.
Jean grinned a bit lost in her memories. “Diluc would play songs for us and sing when we were helping out in the vineyard!” Her voice, just a tad too loud, seemed to echo through the tavern.
Venti stopped playing in shock and all conversations ceased as the whole tavern’s attention shifted to Diluc. The bartender had frozen while cleaning a mug, staring open mouthed at the still happily grinning Jean. Kaeya was laughing hard, slapping one hand on the table repeatedly, the steady slaps the only sound left in the room. Lisa was smirking at the still frozen Diluc and Rosaria was staring incredulously at the bartender who was still clutching a mug and cloth in his hands. The keen nun could see the redhead's ears slowly but surely blushing to match his hair color.
“What do I hear? Master Diluc can play the lyre and sing?” Venti asked, truly surprised. The bard had quite the high opinion of the ex knight, he was after all one of, if not the keenest defender Mondstadt had. And Venti appreciated the man’s fierce loyalty to Mondstadt,his unshakable faith, his delectable wines as well as his good looks and well hidden but present good heart. Maybe Venti’s high opinion had morphed into a bit of a crush within the last few months of playing at the Angel’s Share. The bard had gotten to know Diluc rather well, he just never expected the bartender to have any skill in the arts of song or music.
Diluc stared at Jean, eyes full of betrayal, before starting to glare at Kaeya. He just knew this was his younger brother's fault somehow. With his ears burning he turned to the bard who was looking at him with shock in his eyes. Feeling all eyes on him Diluc cleared his throat and answered with great reluctance. “Yes I had lessons when I was younger.”
Kaeya had finally managed to stop laughing and happily yelled into the silence after Diluc’s statement. “Yes and you were sooo good at playing! Why don’t you play anymore, Diluc? You could be the bartender and bard for the Angel’s Share!” The crowd started tittering while Diluc’s glare at Kaeya intensified to a level that seemed to sober up the cavalry captain, at least a bit.
“I will not…” Diluc was interrupted by Venti who had walked behind the bar and was now presenting his lyre to him. “But Master Diluc! I am sure everyone here would like to hear you at least once. Please Master Diluc?” Diluc stared down at the tiny bard looking up at him with wide pleading aquamarine eyes. Shaking his head resolutely he answered with conviction. “No.”
Venti started pressing his lyre to the taller man's chest. “Pretty please?”
Diluc's conviction wavered. “No.”
Venti sensing his targets' resolve faltering prepared to use his most devastating weapon, the ultimate puppy eyes. “Pleaase, Diluc? Just one song?”
Diluc stared into Venti’s deep blue green sparkling eyes and finally gave up. Curse his weakness for cute things and especially for the no good but very cute bard in front of him. He grabbed the lyre from a widely grinning Venti. “One song and never again!”
Diluc stepped out from behind the bar to the cheers of the tavern’s patrons who knew that they were witnesses to something truly unique.
Diluc positioned the lyre in his arms with ease, muscle memories accurate even after such a long time. Giving his silently anticipating audience a look, some might call it a glare, the redhead slowly started playing a few notes.
Kaeya smiled softly, taken back to afternoons spent working in the vineyard with Barbara, Jean and his older brother. The small group of children often ended up eating more grapes than they actually harvested. They enjoyed the sun on their backs and when the ‘work’ grew too heavy Diluc would cheerfully start playing songs to keep everyone motivated. Kaeya could still see Diluc sitting next to the half full baskets of grapes, lyre in his arms and playing and singing with a sunny grin on his face, a tiny Barbara trying to sing along.
Jean, a bit tipsier than she had expected, was leaning on Lisa with a gentle smile on her face. The acting grandmaster was back in the vineyard with Kaeya, Diluc and her little sister. Only picking the grapes after they all had a few as a taste test. Back when the greatest crises of their days had been a spider landing on Diluc’s head while he harvested a cluster of grapes.
Lisa was smiling at Diluc though it was less of a soft smile and more like one a mouse might see in its last moments before the cat pounced. What good fortune it had been to manage to convince Jean to head out for a night at the Angel’s Share today.
Rosaria was trying and failing to look neutral, an inquisitive look in her eyes. She could not for the life of her imagine Diluc Ragnvindr, the Dark Knight Hero, playing songs to motivate his friends while picking grapes, even as a child.
Venti was standing in front of Diluc smiling encouragingly, eyes soft. What a picture kid Diluc with his lyre must have made. Even his bard’s imagination was just barely up to the task of imagining the picture Jean’s shout had conjured. The thought of contacting Buer and ask the Dendro Archon if he could take a look at the memories stored in the Irminsul had crossed his mind, but for now he was very much looking forward to hearing the adult version of Diluc sing.
The rest of the tavern barely breathed, waiting for the song to start.
Diluc sighed and started playing an old and well known love ballad. After a few moments the redhead closed his eyes and began to sing in a smooth dark voice.
"You are the spark to my fire
That lights up the darkness that looms
You are the sweet scent of the flower
That in my heart blooms"
"It’s said silence is golden
And darling I believe it’s true
Because in the golden silence
My only thoughts are of you"
Soft astonished murmurs were heard around the tavern, certainly none of the Angel’s Share patrons had expected Master Diluc to sing quite that well.
Venti clasped his hands together and suppressed a delighted gasp. His voice is beautiful! Oh I wish he would sing like that for me alone. He was tempted to close his eyes to imagine the redhead was really singing just for him but did not dare to miss even one second of the vision in front of him.
"You are the stars that shine and sparkle
In the cold dark sky above
In this golden silence Dearest
You are the one I truly love"
"It’s said silence is golden
And darling I believe it’s true
Because in the golden silence
My only thoughts are of you"
Jean leaned more heavily on Lisa’s shoulder quietly starting to sing along with a voice barely above a whisper. Lisa’s smile had softened, who would have thought the rigid Master Diluc could put so much soul into a song.
Kaeya felt his eyes growing a bit misty. He remembered the first time Diluc had sung that particular ballad. A small celebration for Adelinde’s birthday with cake and much laughter. Their father had gifted her a new silk scarf, Kaeya a picture he had painted for her and Diluc a performance of her favourite song.
Rosaria nudged the cavalry captain, shaking him out of his memories. The nun whispered softly with a smile in her voice “Look at Venti.” Kaeya looked and suppressed a laugh.
The small bard was standing in front of Diluc, hands clasped together and hearts in his eyes. He could not have looked more enamored with the singing redhead if he had tried. Oh that is going to get interesting.
"You are my calm, my storm, my sweet delight,
My refuge at nightfall
And in this golden silence
My angel I love you most of all."
"It’s said silence is golden
And darling I believe it’s true
Because in the golden silence
My only thoughts are of you"
The last notes of the song rang out and Diluc slowly opened his eyes, locking eyes with Venti standing directly in front of him. Venti felt his cheeks growing hot, for once left speechless.
After a moment of silence the tavern erupted in thunderous applause, people standing up from their chairs clapping and calling for one more song.
Jean and Lisa were among the people standing, the acting grandmaster calling out Bravos while the librarian joined the chorus of patrons calling for an encore.
Rosaria was applauding in her usual measured manner, though a small smile was visible on her face.
Diluc ignored the crowd, for this one moment he only had eyes for Venti standing still speechless in front of him. After a moment he stepped forward and gently handed Venti’s lyre back to him before looking at the still cheering crowd.
The bartender lifted a hand and called for silence, the applause and cries slowly trailing off. “I said one song and no more.”
Kaeya shifted from enthusiastic cheering to equally enthusiastic booing, quickly joined by more patrons. “Oh come on Diluc! You can’t just stop now! Do you want to disappoint your audience?!”
Diluc glared at his younger brother, still sure that the whole thing was somehow Kaeya’s fault. “I am sure they will get over it. A round of drinks on the cavalry captain’s tab for everyone!”
The resounding cheer of the rest of the tavern drowned out Kaeya’s shocked shouts. Rosaria clapped Kaeya on the shoulder and yelled out her drink order to a smirking Charles while Jean collapsed in giggles with Lisa.
Savely back behind the bar Diluc started preparing drinks when he saw Venti slowly siding up to him. Cheeks still pink, the bard looked up at the bartender. “That was very beautiful Master Diluc. Is there really no way to get you to sing another song?” Diluc looked into the shining aquamarine eyes and gave the bard a tiny smile. “If the right person asks I may be convinced to give one more private performance.”