Chapter Text
Diluc almost crashes his kart when he steps into it for the first time.
It’s the day of his seventh birthday, and he has been begging his dad to let him kart by himself for weeks. His hands feel too small for the wheel, and the smell of oil and flowers sticks to him like honey.
He has been dreaming of this for years, and now that he’s actually behind the wheel, he feels strangely small.
“Come on, ‘Luc!” Kaeya yells at him from the sidelines. There’s a bright smile on his face, and Diluc feels all of his muscles relax. After days of bribing Kaeya’s dad and even writing a handwritten card to him with a contract that explained exactly when they’d bring Kaeya back, he finally let him go with them.
It wouldn’t be his birthday without his baby brother after all.
Still, the kart is almost too big for him without his dad here to hold the wheel for him during the turns.
Crepus just laughs at him when he tells him exactly that, and gestures at the kart. “It’s all yours now, son. I wouldn’t be a driver if I didn’t know how to move my car without my dad holding my hand! Just think of it as your training, and know that you’ll become a world champion one day if you stick to it.”
Diluc grins back at him as he wraps his fingers just a little tighter around the steering wheel. He’s right. If he tries hard enough, Diluc will even make it into Formula One one day.
“Hey!” Kaeya yells at him. “What about me?”
Diluc sticks out his tongue in response. “Don’t know! Papa didn’t say anything about you, did he? I don’t listen to my fans for advice!”
And because he knows Crepus will tell Kaeya that he too can win a championship if he tries hard enough, Diluc pushes down his helmet and drives away. The punch of the motor is absolutely exhilarating and he laughs the entire time up until turn one.
It’s even more fun doing this on his own.
His hands glide over the wheel, and he grips it tightly. “Look, papa, I’m not moving my hands,” he yells, and he doesn’t even need to look to know that Crepus is giving him a proud look.
When he does glance to the side, Kaeya is pouting at their dad, but he waves over as soon as he sees Diluc’s helmet.
He’s not going to give up on this. Diluc knows what garages look like from the inside and what goes on in a motorhome, and he knows exactly why he almost crashed in turn three of the track earlier. He breathes in and brakes hard in turn seven.
He will beat his own track record to start with. And then his dad’s, and then he’ll even beat Zhongli’s record, and he’ll be crowned the youngest Grand Prix winner ever.
Diluc grins as he turns the steering wheel and almost slips. “Watch out, Diluc! Make sure to use those kerbs to their best potential,” Crepus yells, a smile in his voice. “Use every single centimeter of the track, and don’t worry about who’s behind you. They can look out for themselves. Just make sure you look out for you and you only.”
“Got it, papa!” he yells back. He steers just a little too late for the next corner but manages to save it, and he smiles as he drives towards the finish line. He’s going to make it just on time if he manages to drive hard on the straights.
If he could, Diluc knows he would run away and sleep in his kart. He doesn’t need to go to school or do any of his stupid maths homework if that means he can drive on the track and barely beat Kaeya. He can drink the oil and breathe in the smell of burned tyres and flowers and live on snacks that get sold in the vending machine in the cantina, and he’ll be more than happy.
Kaeya grins up at him, bright and clear and so clear of worries that Diluc forgets his own for a second when he lifts the helmet. “You still suck. Furina is at least three times as fast as you.”
“She drives for Oceanid,” Diluc replies, a frown on his face. “I want to drive for Favonius when I’m older, just like dad.”
“And you will,” Crepus laughs. “I can’t wait to see you both racing each other on track when I’m older. Hey, boys? The next season starts in a few weeks, and I’ve got tickets to six of my races. The best thing is that I even already asked for permission from Dainsleif.”
Diluc giggles as he turns around. “You’re going to watch me beat you, Kae.”
“We’re not even going to drive,” Kaeya breathes out, voice full of wonder. “Are you sure, Mr. Ragnvindr?”
Diluc runs ahead to the vending machine as he listens to his dad explain to Kaeya how he’s his dad too. It’s dumb, honestly. Why would Kaeya not be family? His fake dad doesn’t make time for him.
Family consists of people who love each other, so Kaeya is basically already his brother. Diluc knows that they’ll be driving together. It doesn’t really matter which team Kaeya will be driving for, because Diluc knows he’s going to be driving for Favonius.
He’s going to be a world champion for Favonius, just like his dad.
Crepus said so, after all.
His hands curl around the steering wheel, gripping it just a bit tighter.
Crepus’ new boyfriend has been teasing him about Formula One and karting ever since he started coming over, and Diluc hates the sight of him. There’s no reason he can’t be a champion if he practices often and tries his best.
He rolls his eyes behind his helmet.
He will be the first driver who wins the first championship he’s partaking in, and he’ll hold the Mond flag as he does so. Diluc grins as he hits the brakes just a little too late, flying over the track.
The feeling of the leathery wheel under his hands, and the sound of tyres slipping on asphalt, and the weird smell of oil and heat and flowers and sweat make him feel at home here.
Kaeya is still behind him, trying to catch up to him.
Diluc grins as he turns another corner, focused on hitting the next kerb as well as he possibly can. It works, and his smile deepens.
Kaeya has always been better at straights, and Diluc grits his teeth as he watches him come closer. Just a little more, and then…
He crosses the finish line first, grinning and cheering as he gets out of the car. “Told you I’d beat you!” he yells at Kaeya, his smile triumphant.
Kaeya just sticks out his tongue at him. “Only because of that last corner.”
“You both did very well,” Crepus says, laughing as he tries to stop them from arguing in front of him. “I just know I’m standing in front of two future world champions.”
“One future world champion,” Diluc corrects, smiling smugly at Kaeya. “I already know I’m going to beat Kaeya when we’re finally racing together! I’m better, after all.”
“I want to be on the podium together,” Kaeya shyly says.
Crepus just laughs, hugging them tightly, and Diluc knows exactly what he wants to be when he grows up.
If you ask Diluc, the most annoying driver he has ever met is most definitely Ajax Zaychik.
He knows Ajax isn’t a bad driver. He’s just annoying, and pushy, and weird, and Diluc hates racing against him. Ajax keeps trying to push him off track.
“You never dislike anyone,” Kaeya says, frowning at him as Diluc tells him about it. “Besides, you pushed me off track like literally yesterday. Don’t you think you’re annoying as well, then?”
“I’m your brother,” Diluc argues, a faint smile appearing on his lips. “I’m allowed to annoy you.”
Kaeya just shakes his head at him. “I think you’re jealous.”
That sounds stupid. Ajax is daring and brave, and he has been karting for only a year, which automatically makes him less good at this than Diluc. Experience counts, too. Crepus reminds them of that every time they race together.
There’s just something about the way Ajax drives and dives into it that makes him look like a child.
A spoiled child.
“You’re just pissed because Ajax was better than you today,” Kaeya grins at him, splashing him with water from his bottle.
Diluc yelps before emptying his own water bottle over Kaeya’s head, laughing as he runs after him. There’s a smile on his face when he finally catches Kaeya, tackling him onto the grass. He hits him in the side.
Kaeya thrashes under him, hitting him back with all his might before they lie down on the grass together.
He’s really grateful for Kaeya.
Even when he doesn’t manage to see why Ajax is the most annoying creature Diluc has ever laid his eyes on, he’s always there. Driving with your brother and best friend is a lot more fun than driving on your own.
He then catches sight of Ajax and a frown appears on his face.
Ajax’s dad is yelling at him. It might as well be his manager, Diluc thinks, because Ajax sure has enough money for it. Still, the man looks furious as he seems to explain every single strategy again to Ajax’s face.
Ajax doesn’t flinch.
He just stands there, taking it all, and then tells the man, “Yes, sir,” loud enough that even Diluc and Kaeya are able to catch it. Still, there’s a disturbed look on his face when he walks away, and he briefly locks eyes with Diluc.
His eyes are empty, and full of hate.
Diluc tries his best to ignore the unpleasant feeling in his stomach that pops up at the sight of Ajax’s discomfort.
“I think we can beat him together,” he hums, propping up his head on his hands. “He’s surprisingly fluid on track, easily changing course and planning out new strategies. He’s also not afraid to take risks, is he?”
Kaeya just grins at him, mentioning for him to continue talking.
“Well, you’re icy. Cold and sharp on track,” Diluc continues.
“Complimenting me just like that? You’re feeling generous today, ‘Luc,” Kaeya teases. “I must have done something special to deserve this treatment.”
Diluc just hits him in the stomach in return, rolling his eyes as he starts talking again. “And I’m fiery. I’m aggressive and not afraid to back down.”
“Are you sure that’s not just from your hair colour?” Kaeya deadpans, the corner of his lips twitched up in a smile. “Also, your description sounds much cooler than mine. Biased much.”
Diluc huffs, looking away to hide his smile.
World champions need something that sets them apart. It could be like Kiana, who learned to drive in order to protect her little sister from the dangers of Formula One, or exactly like his dad. Crepus is dangerous on track and many drivers respect him for it.
You need to do risky things in order to survive in Formula One, after all.
And yet, Diluc does know the risks of driving like that. He respects his opponents and wants to drive safely and have fun, while also staying first in the championship.
Ajax doesn’t.
“He’s so arrogant!” Diluc snaps, looking frustrated. “He doesn’t even keep to the unspoken track rules, and he doesn’t listen to any of the teams’ suggestions. He has already pushed me off the track a million times.”
Kaeya grins at him in return. “Just how much do you think about Ajax?”
“Shut up,” Diluc mumbles, ignoring the heat that rushes to his cheeks at the suggestion. “He’s just a rude, spoiled brat. He doesn’t talk to us and just pretends he’s better than all of us together. Like we don’t even exist to him.”
Kaeya nods. “So he’s more fun to drive against.”
Diluc just rolls his eyes at him, smacking Kaeya on his leg. “You’re not even listening to me! I’m literally telling you about how annoying he is.”
It’s silent for a few seconds, and Diluc knows that Kaeya is grinning. He can hear it in his voice, even. “I think you should listen to yourself talking. You keep praising him.”
“So?” Diluc hisses.
“Well,” Kaeya says, grinning at him as he gets back up on his feet. “Won’t it be more fun to beat him if he’s good?”
The worst thing is that… Kaeya ends up being right.
When Diluc finally manages to beat Ajax during the race the next weekend, Ajax stares up at him with dark and emotionless eyes. “I’ll beat you next time again, Ragnvindr,” he hisses.
His Snezhnayan accent twists some of the syllables, adding an extra e to the end of Diluc’s last name. It’s somehow satisfying to him, and Diluc laughs.
Ajax just glares at him in return, eyes wild and full of hate.
The sparks that set his spine alight at the sight of Ajax’s anger feel addicting. All Diluc can do is grin at him, the happy smile on his face changing into a cocky smirk. “Stop acting like a baby. Complain less and do better, and maybe you can beat me next time. Child.”
A deep red flush washes over Ajax’s face, and Diluc smiles in satisfaction.
“I’ll see you next time, Childe.”
He doesn’t even look back to know Ajax is still glaring at him.
His second season in Formula 2 somehow passes so much more quickly than the rest. He’s racing Ajax every chance he gets, and while he gets a few more DNFs than he’d like, he and Ajax are still fighting for the final championship.
Diluc grins at Kaeya as they fist bump, trying to cheer each other on before the final race of the season. “Last one, Kae.”
Kaeya laughs, smiling brightly at him. “I’ll make sure to avoid you for the rest of the week if Ajax manages to be faster today. If not, I’m now officially the first to congratulate you.”
“Haha, very funny,” Diluc says. He rolls his eyes, a fond look in his eyes. “Maybe if you would’ve been faster you could’ve been up here with me.”
“I actually am, excuse you. I’m third in the championship,” Kaeya says, glaring at him. “I’ll go tell Ajax that I hope he wins.”
Diluc snorts as he watches his brother walk away, quietly wishing him a good race.
He hasn’t seen Ajax all day, and it makes him feel just a little uneasy. Something urges him to look for him, to wish him a good race.
He finds Ajax crouching next to his garage.
There are tear tracks on his cheeks and unshed tears in his eyes. His face is red and blotchy, and his voice cracks slightly when he speaks up. “Ragnvindr. What are you doing here?”
Something in Diluc cracks at the sight.
Even after those years of speaking English enough for all of them, Ajax’s accent still sounds prominent whenever he says Diluc’s name. It usually annoys him, especially when spoken to him after bad races, but all Diluc can do now is smile at him.
“I came to wish you a good race.”
It’s quiet for a few seconds.
Ajax’s jaw clenches, and then he seems to completely let go of whatever it was that upset him when he laughs. His laugh sounds bright and beautiful as he nearly doubles over.
Diluc tries his best not to stare too much, eyes widening at the sight before him. This is so very unlike them that he starts smiling as well, quietly laughing with Ajax.
Ajax is still chuckling when he speaks up again. “Bullshit, Ragnvindr. I’m sure that you want to win just as much as I do, even if it’s for different reasons. You’re not like that. I know you well enough by now to see that much.”
“Hey,” Diluc weakly protests, the corner of his lip twisting into a small smile. “I was being nice for once, and this the reaction I receive? Understood, Childe.”
He holds out his hand at Ajax nonetheless, pulling him upright. Ajax’s hand feels small and gentle in his, and Diluc fights the urge to intertwine their fingers.
Ajax is looking up at him with something like wonder in his eyes. The confident look in his eyes falters for a second before he smirks at Diluc. “I’m going to beat your ass, firefly. And then you’ll come look for me and tell me you wish you had never prayed for me to have a good race.”
“Funny,” Diluc drawls, ignoring the way his cheeks flush at the stupid nickname. “I was just thinking that I don’t need your support to completely slaughter you. Don’t worry, I’ll be waving down on you when I’m on the podium.”
There’s a grin on Ajax’s face as he nods. “Challenge accepted, Ragnvindr.”
And oh, Diluc loves a good challenge.
He’s constantly battling Ajax, trying his best to steal pole away from him. He won’t let him finish first today. Ajax is fast and daring, but after this long Diluc has started to memorise his attack patterns. Ajax is usually the fastest before his pitstop.
He doesn’t stay ahead for long, though.
Diluc is mostly grateful for his team when they give him a tactical and short pitstop. He brakes a bit too early in the turns, grinning as Ajax has to try his best not to end up spinning into the wall beside them.
Ajax keeps trying to keep up with him. Still, the distance between seems to only get bigger, and Diluc knows all he’ll have to do is keep driving like this.
It’s during the last lap that he almost gets overtaken by Ajax, but he speeds up just a little more on the straights. He’s going to win this. He’s so, so close to winning his first championship. He can almost taste the fake champagne on his tongue.
He slams his foot onto the pedals, and all he can see when he spots the chequered flag is stars. He did it.
Number 16 just won the championship.
Diluc is soaked in his own sweat and sticky sweet champagne when he stumbles off the podium later, smiling brightly at Kaeya. “Told you I’d win.”
Kaeya just nods, looking proud. “I wished Ajax a good race, so I guess I jinxed it. You won with my help, didn’t you?”
He sounds so serious that Diluc starts laughing, giddy and high on adrenaline. “You did great, Kae.”
Crepus is heading towards them, and Diluc wants to do nothing more than curl up on his lap and soak in his affection like he’s a little boy. Maybe he is. He’ll always be a daddy’s boy, after all.
And yet, the sight of Ajax getting lectured by his team principal in the corner of his eye catches his attention first. Ajax seems to notice his stare, making eye contact.
As much as he has come to accept it, the hate in his eyes is fiery as usual, and Diluc suppresses a shiver. He weakly smiles. “Are you okay?” he mouths at Ajax.
The corner of Ajax’s lips twists into a smile, and Diluc gratefully exhales as he continues walking.
Ragnvindr did win the championship today.
Ajax gets accepted into Formula One before Diluc does.
He got into Fatui, and Diluc grits his teeth as he stares at the announcement post long enough for Kaeya to get concerned. “Did you drown in the shower, ‘Luc?’’ he yells, and Diluc scoffs.
His grip on his phone only relaxes by a tiny bit. “I’ll be out soon, Kae.”
He brushes his hair back quickly, leaving it in a messy ponytail before he almost runs out of the bathroom to make himself comfortable on his bed. Ajax is an official Formula One driver. Diluc breathes in, staring at his phone.
Before he knows it, he’s scrolling down the Fatui Twitter account. They’ve retweeted Ajax’s post about it as well, and the text next to the picture makes him snort all the same.
It’s graceful and kind and lovely in the way he knows Ajax isn’t. His off-track personality is something the fans still seem to speculate about 24/7, and they couldn’t be any more wrong.
Ajax has posted a selfie of him with a Fatui cap, smiling at the camera in a weird angle. He looks weird. There’s a certain illusion of age to him, like he’s so much more grown-up than Diluc is, even though he’s younger than him.
And taller than him, still.
He frowns at his screen, trying to ignore the fluttery feeling in his chest. Ajax’s smile is nice. He looks properly happy, not at all angry at the world like Diluc remembers him to be.
Kaeya just sounds happy when Diluc tells him, grinning as he doesn’t seem to be jealous at all. “Good for him. Don’t worry, ‘Luc. We’ll be up there soon with him.”
And maybe they will be, but in that case, Diluc has to try and learn everything he possibly can. He’s still in Formula 2. Ajax is standing there, living his absolute dream, and Diluc is still stuck at home as he watches Formula One.
It’s a bit embarrassing.
He watches every single race. He watches back races whenever he has to race himself, a silent prayer to Barbatos in his head that Ajax will win this time.
Diluc isn’t one to drink, but he still goes out the day Ajax almost scores his first points and then crashes a lap before the finish. The boy he kisses tastes like pure regret, and Diluc bitterly smiles into it before going home and liking Ajax’s latest Twitter post.
He watches the qualifications, too, and watches every single pre- and post-race interview with Ajax in it. Only on the Snezhnayan channels, since they’re the ones who focus on Ajax every single time.
And well, no one is there to judge him if he replays that one clip of Ajax taking off his helmet one more time.
Because Kaeya and Crepus don’t know.
Kaeya would just tease him endlessly about it, so Diluc makes a private Instagram and Twitter account with a fake name and stalks Ajax’s posts from there.
The fans have started to know him as this sweet and smooth person that Ajax isn’t, not really, and Diluc scrunches up his nose as he reads the comments under his posts. Ajax replies to some of them, too.
The flirty replies seem to rile the fans up even more.
Diluc quietly snorts at the comments about Ajax being the sweetest man alive, and knows they’ve never been face-to-face with his anger. Still, he likes the comment.
He also decides that he’s definitely not jealous when Ajax does reply to the comment he leaves on his fake account, but not to his real one.
It doesn’t take long before TikTok discovers him too.
Diluc doesn’t look up the edits, not really, but they get on his For you Page and he can’t seem to scroll past them without watching them at least a few dozen times. Ajax flirts with the camera in his post-race interviews, and the edits zoom in on his hungry stare from under his helmet.
He swallows hard and turns his phone off the first time he sees it.
Ajax is everything he isn’t, and Diluc tries to push down the bile that rises in his throat at the thought.
Still, he continues to watch the races and continues to watch every interview that Ajax is a part of. Kaeya texts Ajax occasionally, congratulating him on good races, but Diluc can’t bring himself to do the same.
They’re not really close.
And yet, he still watches every interview. It’s late and he has just gotten back from training, and they’re halfway through the season when Ajax announces something during a press interview.
“I would like to be called Childe on track from now on,” Ajax on-screen announces, voice flimsy and distorted through Diluc’s phone. There’s a light blush on Ajax’s cheeks, and the way the camera zooms in on it shows that they know just as well as Diluc does.
It’s almost mesmerising.
The press asks him the question that lingers on Diluc’s mind, too – does he remember?
“What is the reason for this request, Childe?” the press asks, voices loud and chatty in the otherwise quiet room. Ajax doesn’t falter and keeps the smile on his face, although Diluc can see him force himself to be polite.
Diluc waits, and waits, until the press has calmed down enough for Ajax to actually reply to their question. He’s holding his breath, although he isn’t quite sure why. His heart hammers in his chest when Ajax finally replies.
“It’s a nickname I got during my karting days, and I guess it just always stuck.”
He closes his laptop, breathing hard, and promises himself he’ll be sitting right next to Ajax during the upcoming season.