#diluc ragnvindr x y/n
Text
✧:･.☽ ･ﾟ TITLE — something precious in return
✧:･.☽ ･ﾟ PAIRING — d. ragnvindr x f!reader
✧:･.☽ ･ﾟ WC — 5.7k
✧:･.☽ ･ﾟ WARNINGS/NOTES — nsfw. mdni. virgin!diluc. virgin!reader. mutual pining. childhood friends to lovers. light angst to comfort to smut to fluff. outdoor sex at night. flashbacks in italics. SLOW BURN, just how diluc likes it. from his very first time, he's always been such a naturally passionate lover.
here on your stargazing hill, the night breeze is colder than you had anticipated when you opted to bring the thin blanket upon which you presently sit. you’d worn long sleeves, but hadn’t accounted for how much cooler the air would feel against your face once the tears began to flow.
normally you’d be at angel’s share right about now, sitting at the bar and shooting the shit with your best friend while he works. but under the current circumstances, diluc’s presence would only serve to drive the knife deeper: a cruel reminder of the love you could have had if only he returned your affection. then perhaps you wouldn’t be sitting here all alone, holding the broken shards of your heart in your hands because you never even would’ve looked twice at the other guy. instead, now it’s doubly broken - first by the guy who just broke up with you, then by the knowledge that the one you really want - your first choice - would always be just out of reach. you almost resent diluc because he has no idea that every time he smiles at you, your heart skips a beat even as it bleeds for him.
you shiver and pull your knees in close to your chest, arms hugging your legs as you look out at the stars.
“you’ll catch your death sitting out here like this.”
you squeak and nearly jump out of your skin before putting your hand over your heart and breathing a sigh of relief.
“you scared the shit out of me, luc!” you chide as he snickers and drapes his coat over your shoulders. you playfully slap his arm as he sits down beside you. “it’s not funny! don’t sneak up on me like that!”
you quickly wipe your cheeks with the back of your hand, turning his smile upside down as his eyebrows knit. you were hoping he wouldn’t notice you’d been crying, but it’s diluc. he notices things. especially when it comes to you.
“what’s wrong, y/n?”
his body heat feels nice, his warmth enveloping you as you pull his coat tighter around yourself. “shouldn’t you be at the tavern?” you scoff, wishing he would just go away but scooting over to give him more room in spite of yourself. this would all be so much easier if he didn’t care about you so much.
“not when my friend doesn’t show up there on a friday night.” a new hairline crack snakes through your heart at the word ‘friend’. “i haven’t seen hair nor hide of you all week. now, talk to me. why are you crying? do i need to go kick someone’s ass?”
you fight the smile that threatens to betray you, and he notices…of course.
“i feel passed over, luc,” you mutter, looking down at your hands, “like i’ll only ever be second best. i want to be someone’s first choice, every time. forever, not just for a few months.”
your words tug at his heart. if you only knew. “so would it be safe to assume things didn’t work out between you and what’s-his-name?”
you chuckle. even though you dated “what’s-his-name” for almost a year, diluc has always “forgotten” his name no matter how many times you’ve reminded him. clearly he's never thought much of the guy. and for good reason, it turns out.
“seeing as how he dumped me for another girl, your assumption would be safe indeed,” you answer, choking on your last word as fresh tears begin to well up.
“hey now,” diluc says softly, pulling you in, “come here.”
leaning into him, you lay your head against his chest where his voice sounds so much closer, deeper. balling his shirt in your fist, you tuck your head under his chin just like you’ve done since you were both little, and you cry.
outside of family, diluc has always been your most reliable source of comfort. generally speaking, he’s never really been the most affectionate person. but when it comes to you he’s made a lot of exceptions. since his father died last year, not many people get to see diluc’s smile or hear his laugh, but you do. the two of you have pretty much been inseparable since you were 7 and he was 8.
you'd gotten stuck in a tree after climbing it, too scared to climb back down. you sat there and cried for about half an hour when another little girl with long, bright red hair and pretty, big carmine eyes came along and helped you down. you had a couple of scrapes on your knees and elbows and were too shaken up to walk home. so your new friend carried you on her back.
you’ll never forget the way her thick hair tickled your face and made you giggle every time there was a breeze. it was only when you got back home and introduced your new friend to your mom as “she” that diluc’s face turned a shade that rivaled the color of his hair and he said, a little indignantly you might add, “he! i’m a boy!”
to this day you still tease him about what a pretty girl he could pass for, albeit one with a very deep voice. he does not find it funny.
however, at the present moment, neither of you are laughing. with his strong arms wrapped around you, you hear his heartbeat quicken.
“i happen to have it on good authority that you are someone’s first choice.”
“you do? i am?” you sniff and look up at him, your watery eyes following the strong line of his jaw as he trains his gaze on the starry canopy above.
his affirmative hum vibrates against your ear, which is still pressed to his chest. why is his heart beating so fast?
with your curiosity piqued, you lift your head. “who?”
“not telling.”
“how mature.”
a breathy laugh escapes his scrunched-up nose as he looks down at you again. “shut up.”
“c’mon, luc, at least give me a hint! is it someone i know?”
“yes.”
“really?” diluc’s hold on you loosens when you straighten up again. “is it someone i know from the tavern or the winery?”
“both.”
that doesn’t narrow it down much. “is it a guy or a girl?” you press.
“definitely a guy,” he says pointedly.
“what color is his hair?”
“i’ll only answer yes or no questions…”
“why can’t you just tell me?”
“because i’m not so sure he wants you to know.”
you scoff. “that’s stupid. why wouldn’t he want me to know?”
“maybe he’s afraid you won’t want to be friends with him anym-” shit, he thinks, too far. the brief flash of panic in his eyes isn’t lost on you. “in any case,” he says, clearing his throat, “you’re nursing a broken heart so it’s too soon to-”
“diluc,” you interrupt him. “is it you?”
he scoffs, eyebrows knitting. “pfssh…no!” he instantly turns away from you lest you see the blush that he can feel rushing to his face.
“aww, luc! you’re blushing!” you tease, leaning around him to try and see his face. you believed him when he said it’s not him (thinking otherwise would’ve been wishful indeed), but tormenting him a little because of how cute it is that he gets so easily flustered. giggling, you bring a hand to his jaw in an effort to turn his face towards you again. “you’re totally blushing, i can see how red your face-“
before you can finish your taunt, your senses are suddenly filled with diluc ragnvindr. his bottom lip is pressed between yours as he kisses you, the scent of wine-stained oak barrels filling your nostrils. you’re so stunned that you forget to kiss him back and he pulls away, unable to make eye contact.
“fuck,” he mutters under his breath, moving to get up and leave to avoid making things any worse, but you grab his hand. he stops, but doesn’t turn around. he’s still too embarrassed to face you.
“how long?” your voice is soft, almost a whisper, afraid if you speak too loudly you’ll wake up to find this has all been a dream.
“since that night in the water…”
archons, that long? you were barely teenagers that summer.
you’d snuck out of your respective homes to go night swimming. you met at the beach south of dawn winery, near the waterfall, before removing all but your swimwear that you’d each worn under your clothes.
you both stood on one of the boulders and agreed to jump in on the count of three, but when the moment of truth came you chickened out, letting diluc jump in by himself. when he surfaced you were still standing on the rock, looking down and laughing at him. he swam to the shore and by the time you realized what he was doing, it was too late. he was coming right for you but the only escape was jumping into the water.
you put your hands out, still giggling. “n-no! diluc, no don’t do it!”
a dark grin spread across his face as he grabbed your bare waist. you screamed as he tossed you into the water before jumping in behind you.
you surfaced and as soon as you could touch the bottom you pushed your wet hair out of your face and turned towards the laughing boy. you called him a few choice names while splashing water towards his face, but he just ended up tackling you. you’re still not sure how it happened, but you found yourself in waist-deep water, still laughing with diluc’s hands perched on your hips to steady you when he suddenly leaned down and kissed you.
the feeling of lips - his lips - pressed against your own made you feel like you were floating even as your toes curled into the sediment beneath them. you were both inexperienced, neither of you having kissed anyone before. it only lasted a few seconds, but to the two of you it felt like forever, each rapid beat of your hearts lasting lifetimes. but when you placed your palm flat against his bare chest, diluc pulled away and trudged out of the water.
you watched him, confused and still in shock by what just happened. with his back turned to you, he started getting dressed.
you were still anchored in the water, suddenly feeling cold. “luc?”
he balled his hair into his fists to wring the excess water out before looking back at you, but only with a glance. “i uh- i have to go.”
“diluc, what-”
“just…get dressed and let’s go.” he sounded angry. “i’m not leaving you out here alone. it's too dangerous.”
you frowned, hugging yourself as you walked out of the water. your head was swimming, reeling as you slowly made your way towards your own pile of clothes.
he walked you home that night and neither of you have spoken a word of it since.
until now.
“i thought you hated it,” you say, collecting the excess length of his coat sleeves in your fidgeting hands.
“i didn’t hate it!” he corrects you a little too quickly, then lowers his voice. “i…i liked it.”
“then why the hell did you act so weird about it and want to leave?”
he averts his eyes, but doesn’t say anything.
“diluc, why?” you plead, new tears - different tears - pricking at the corners of your eyes.
“i…” he knows the question has been burning at the back of your mind for years. an explanation is long overdue. he lowers his gaze from the stars overhead and mumbles something that you can’t quite understand.
“i didn’t hear you.”
“i got hard,” he repeats.
“you-” did you just hear him correctly? “you got hard?”
he has mixed feelings about hearing you say those words. it’s embarrassing, but also…it sounds sexy when you say it.
“so you’ve been breaking my heart for the past 5 years because you popped a boner?”
his eyes shift to yours before quickly looking away again. “i’m sorry.”
“you’re sorry?” you ask incredulously. “diluc, do you have any idea how confused i was? that was my first kiss and i’ve always wanted to cherish it, but you robbed me of that! you took something so precious to me and turned it into something shameful! all because your dick got hard?”
“i didn’t want you to see it, or worse, feel it. we- our bodies were so close. i didn’t want you to think i was a creep.” his apologetic eyes meet yours. “i didn’t mean to hurt you.”
you hazard a glance at his lap, but his leg is bent such that it makes it impossible to tell. “are you hard now?” your voice is quieter, conveying genuine curiosity.
his eyes snap to yours. “no!” do you really think a peck on the lips is enough to arouse him? “it was just a quick kiss…tch!”
“don’t act so offended! that’s all it took back then!”
“i was 14 for fuck’s sake!”
thing is though, you want to make him hard again. the thought that you’d had that effect on him back then - with just a simple kiss - sends a pang of desire coursing through your core. you get to your knees and inch closer to his side, diluc’s crimson eyes following your every move. putting your hands on his shoulders to steady yourself, you lean in and place the softest kiss on his parted lips.
he doesn’t even feel like he deserves to kiss you again. aren’t you mad at him? why would you reward him with such a sweet gift after what he’d put you through?
you pull back just enough to look at him and whisper, “kiss me, diluc. like you mean it this time.”
he tilts his head, slotting his lips with yours once again as you both close your eyes. your mouths begin to move and diluc’s hand comes to rest on the back of your neck, his warm thumb ghosting over your ear.
your mouths open, breathing each other’s air before slowly sealing your lips together again. you drag your thumbs down the sides of his neck as he cranes it to get closer, kissing you a bit harder. as if reading each other’s desires, the tips of your tongues brush together the next time your lips part and pretty soon they’re swirling in a slow, sensual dance.
diluc’s hands drift down to your waist, pulling you closer to straddle his lap. you settle down, the tiniest of whines leaving your mouth when you feel his semi-hard bulge press into the back of your thigh. your kisses grow increasingly passionate by the second as though trying to make up for lost time.
changing the tilt of his head to deepen the kiss, diluc wraps you into his arms completely. this time, there is no sign of him backing out. his confidence is sexy, his tongue intoxicating. your hands are in his hair where they’ve wanted to be for so long. he grips your back and pulls you flush against him. you roll your hips against him, making him moan in your mouth as you feel his building erection jump against the back of your thigh.
diluc huffs and you find yourself on your back, legs still straddling his hips. your tongues push over and around each other, quickened breaths mixing together when he reaches down momentarily and adjusts himself. in this position his cock is now pressing firmly against your moistening center, making you keenly aware of how close your bodies are, how ready you are for one another.
the sweet, breathy mewl diluc pulls from you when he grinds his clothed erection against your clit goes straight to his dick, making it throb for you in his pants. he ruts again, slowly, willing you to feel him, no longer shy and too far gone to pretend he isn’t aroused. he wants you to know he’s hard for you; needs you to know how badly he’s wanted you and for how long. you have no idea how many times he has whispered your name while lying in his own bed, eyes closed with his hands in his boxers wishing they were yours. more than that, though, he needs you to know how much he cares for you.
diluc ragnvindr has never been a man of many words. but perhaps now, here on this grassy knoll, with your hands in his hair, his lip between your teeth, your hearts pressed together and pounding for one another - diluc can finally show you all the things he’s wanted to say.
one of his hands wanders the length of your waist, gripping your side as he massages his way down to your hip. he squeezes you there, making you sigh and roll your hips up to meet his when his thumb presses into the crease of your leg. you’re both panting into your open-mouthed kiss, lips red and swollen, impatiently trying to get closer and closer as though you can will your clothing out of the way.
but you’re too needy to wait until the fabric barriers can be worn down with time, so you take matters into your own shaky hands and start unbuttoning the collar of diluc’s shirt. with a grunt, he lifts himself up to help things along, quickly removing his shirt before reaching down to help you out of yours. you’re already working your bra off as your eyes traverse the expanse of his naked chest and sculpted abs.
his skin is pale and smooth save for the dips between his muscles and the thin line of red hair beneath his navel. diluc’s fiery mane is draped over his broad shoulders, tickling your chest when he presses his naked torso to yours and recaptures your lips with his. he’s burning up, his blushing skin so very hot to the touch that you almost flinch. his scorching hand massages its way to your breast, squeezing and kneading it gently while he dips down to take the other into the wet heat of his mouth. you gasp, eyes rolling back as you arch your back off the relatively cool lining of his coat, pushing your chest into his touch. your hands are exploring his back, dragging the impressions of your fingertips across his pale skin, digging and pulling at him as if he could get any closer.
blazing a trail of wet kisses along your neck, diluc’s lips find yours once again only to release a quiet moan inside your mouth when your fingers slide inside the front of his pants. he lifts his hips slightly, encouraging your exploration of his body, shivering as your digits thread through his coarse patch of hair before spreading around the wide base of his hard cock. you wrap your fingers around him, sighing at the feeling of his heavy girth in your hand; his hot, velvety skin sliding over the rock hard length of his shaft as you slowly stroke him.
diluc hums, eyes screwing shut as he presses his forehead to yours, mind buzzing at the sensation of your soft hand pumping him. you work your way closer to his tip, pussy clenching at his deep groan when the edge of his glans catches on the opening of your grip. inside his underwear, you can feel the cool slick of his precum against your knuckles as more begins to coat the inside of your fist. diluc swears under his breath, moving his hips more quickly, unable to resist the sheer pleasure of your tight grip around his slippery cockhead.
“mm-y/n,” he whispers, burying his face against your neck. “hhhh shit…”
a few hurried thrusts later, you feel the rhythmic twitching of his cock and with a low, extended groan, diluc covers your hand with his warm release. you slow your pace but keep your fist tight, milking the last of his orgasm from his cock as his hot breaths come hard and fast against your neck.
when he’s fully spent, he jolts out of your grip and huffs out a small laugh, indicating his sensitivity. you slowly pull your hand from his pants, leaving a trail of his cum along his stomach but neither of you care.
“that was really hot,” you muse with a small smile.
nuzzling your ear, he mumbles, “can i touch you?”
your eyes slide closed, sighing. “i really want you to, yes.”
diluc leaves a couple of kisses on the corner of your mouth before raising up onto his knees. his chest rises and falls, still catching his breath as he unfastens your pants. you lift your hips to aid him when he curls his fingers around your waistband and works your bottoms down the curve of your ass and hips before ridding you of them entirely.
you watch as he unbuckles his belt and removes the rest of his own clothing, biting your lip when his half-hard cock bounces out of his cum-stained underwear. he looks down at you, lips parted as his lust-blown vermillion eyes take in every inch of your naked form. feeling vulnerable and self-conscious, you close your legs and fold your arms over your breasts.
“s-stop staring, diluc,” you mutter, looking away with a bashful smile. “you’re embarrassing me.”
you feel his hands on your closed thighs, not pulling them apart but caressing them in an effort to make you feel less uncomfortable.
“i’m sorry, it’s just-” he begins to stumble on his words but presses on, “...the way you’re glowing in the moonlight. you look like a goddess.” he leans down, letting his lips ghost over your skin as he whispers, “please don’t hide yourself; you’re lovely.”
there’s no fighting the smile that spreads across your face at his words. you willingly open your legs and arms, pulling him close for a kiss. propping himself on his forearm, his other hand touches you, roaming your naked body, claiming every peak and valley, conquering you with his hands inch by scorching inch.
he feels you tremble beneath him as the backs of his fingers rake along your inner thigh. you gasp, interrupting your lazy kissing when the pad of diluc’s thumb grazes your clit. he slides his digit down between your folds before returning to your tiny, engorged tip. he repeats the process a few more times, spreading your slick along your pink slit while driving you out of your mind.
he’s dragging the tip of his thumb in little circles over your clit now, swallowing your whines, his full erection returning as you buck your hips for him. with his thumb still on your clit, he presses the tip of his middle finger against your opening, slowly pushing it in a little before withdrawing, back and forth until he’s knuckle deep inside your slippery heat. you’re gripping his biceps, hanging on for dear life while he drinks your moans and sighs, tasting the sounds of your pleasure on his tongue like a fine wine.
“hhhhnn~ luc…”
he moves to your ear as he works a second finger inside you, a pleased hum escaping him when he hears his name, laced with lust and desire, pour from your lips. there’s a deep ache building inside your lower belly that you’ve never felt before. diluc presses deeper inside you, reveling in the sensation of your slick walls clenching around his fingers. it feels like you’re chasing something but you need more. his fingers are providing a delicious stretch, but it’s just not quite enough.
“diluc, please…” you whisper breathlessly, “...put it in.” he raises his head from your collarbone and meets your lust-filled gaze. “need you, luc. want you inside me~”
“you mean…” if you weren’t so drunk on desire, you’d laugh at the almost comical look on his face when he raises his eyebrows. “...my cock?”
you cup his cheeks in your palms and hum affirmatively with a breathy ‘yes’. “i want you…want you to be my first.”
“wait, you’re still…?”
you nod. “i’ve always wanted you to be my first everything.”
his heart blooms, swelling against his ribcage at your confession. with a furrowed brow, he kisses you. “i’ve always wanted the same; you’ll be my first too.” he slowly pulls his fingers out of you and squares his hips with yours, nestling his readied cock between your slick folds. “i’m sorry it took me so long to-”
you bring your fingers to his lips, shushing him. “better late than never,” you tell him with a reassuring smile as you press your lips to his again. your breath stutters when the head of his cock nudges your clit. “claim me, diluc.”
he deepens the kiss with a sigh, his cock leaking to mix with your need, getting slicker with every languid roll of his hips. he reaches between your bodies, his eyes darting to yours, watching for the slightest hint of discomfort or change of mind as he pushes his pink, drooling tip to your opening and begins to push inside you.
you both moan, fingertips curling into one another’s flesh as your tight ring stretches around his thick, virgin cockhead before finally surrendering with a soft pop.
in all his fantasies of this moment, nothing could’ve prepared diluc for the intoxicating texture and heat of your cunt as it spreads around him. “so…” he sucks air between his teeth at your relentless clenching, “...tight.”
meanwhile, you’ve never felt such overwhelming pressure and fullness as his cock invades your virgin pussy. you hold your breath as the young, inexperienced male pushes deeper inside you, digging your nails into the skin of his back. the stretch is too much, too fast.
he halts all movement, crimson eyes widening when he hears the muffled whimper in your throat. “shit. are you okay? does it hurt?”
you wince, trying to soldier through the pain. you’ve heard that if it hurts you have to take deep breaths and try to relax; tensing only makes it worse. “a- a little.”
“maybe we should stop,” he says as he begins to pull out.
“no!” you blurt, hooking your ankles behind diluc’s thighs to impede his withdrawal. “no,” you repeat, more quietly this time, collecting yourself. “just…be still for a moment and i think i’ll be okay.”
“you want me to keep it in?” he’s watching you like a hawk for your reactions. the last thing in the world he wants to do is hurt you.
your eyes slide closed and nod, the pain already starting to give way to a dull, tolerable pressure. diluc waits, holding himself still as he kisses your face, his soft lips grazing your eyelids while he threads his fingers through your hair. your death grip on the flesh of his back subsides as you inwardly remind yourself to breathe. even when you move your hips a little, diluc keeps still, putting your comfort and pleasure ahead of his own feral urges, content to let you guide his pace.
little by little, you work yourself further down his thick length until your clit rubs against the red thatch of hair around his base. the added stimulation sends a surge of pleasure through your core, that new ache returning, making you ready and craving just a little more.
you kiss behind diluc’s jaw, just beneath his ear before murmuring to him, “make love to me, diluc.”
and so, on a cool blanket under the stars and moon, not too far from the vineyard with only the crystalflies to bear witness, you and diluc take something from each other while giving something far more precious in return.
diluc’s hips undulate, rocking back and forth, his butt muscles flexing with each forward thrust. the crimson hair at the base of his dick is shiny with your slick as it rubs your swollen clit. your toes curl, heels digging into his thighs like a jockey spurring on her steed to go faster, faster.
“more- nnhhm- more…”
he’s on his forearms, cradling your back, his hands framing your ears when he opens his eyes to look at you from above. “you sure?”
“please, yes, i need it…” your back arches, eyes closing when you feel your core squeeze him and you’re chasing that unknown something again. “need you to fuck me harder, luc.”
your lover's eyes widen momentarily at your direct, wanton words. he finds it incredibly sexy and briefly wonders how else your mouth might surprise him. he’s pumping his cock into you a little faster now, his hand cradling the back of your neck, the pad of his thumb ghosting along your jawline.
“i need you to tell me if i go too far…”
you nod, and he raises up onto his hands, caging you beneath him to give himself more leverage as he begins to thrust into you faster still. your moans and whimpers travel straight down his spine, urging him to go harder until you can hear the wet claps of skin, sloppy and lewd.
“gods, y/n…” diluc grunts, feeling that familiar coil winding dangerously tight at the base of his spine, searing and ready to snap. “i think i’m going to…” he swears through his moan as his balls tighten.
as new lovers tend to do, he slips out of you unintentionally, his hot seed spurting in long threads over your belly. he’s still rocking his hips, dragging his jerking cock between your folds, smearing his cum along your pussy lips as more of it spills out. he’s sighing, trying so hard to be quiet, but as the last of his sperm dribbles out of his cockhead it catches and slides back inside you. he lets out an open-mouthed groan as your tight heat sucks his sensitive, cum-coated tip back in.
but he doesn’t stop.
his eyes are screwed shut, gritting his teeth to fight the overstim because your warm cunt just feels so damn good, his dick doesn’t soften in the slightest.
you’re keening for him, making his toes curl with how sweet you sound for him, his name passing your lips in broken whimpers. diluc’s inhibitions are almost entirely gone at this point. he’s fucking into you with abandon, sloppy because it’s his first time. threads of his cum connect your bellies, joining you, hot and sticky. traces of it have mixed with your slick, making his thick cock nice and slippery as it drags and pulls at your tightening walls.
that something has been building low, so low in your belly. an ache so dull and so deep, a pressure you’ve never felt before. your squelching walls have been closing in with every delectable tug of diluc’s fat cock.
“ohh…hhnn~diluc?” you keen.
“yeah?” he pants, still thrusting, addicted to the soft, velvety slick of your pussy sucking him in harder.
“h-harder…just a little harder…”
he wants to get on his knees, push your thighs back, and fuck you properly, but this time is special and he would rather stay close to you, even through his haze of wanton lust and unbridled passion. so instead, he bends his knees out beside you, panting with the occasional grunt against the pulsing artery in your neck as he presses hard against your cervix with every pump of his cock.
“gods, y/n,” he whispers, “you feel so…so good.”
he shifts, angling the curve of his cock just right against a spot deep inside you that you didn’t even know existed until now. the last thing you remember is watching the rich boy’s lean abs flexing, sweat dripping down his sides as he humps his slick shaft in and out, in and out, in and out. he drives you right up to a terrible height until you feel...
weightless.
you’re hanging in the air just before the freefall when a sharp heat courses out from your center to the very ends of your nerves at lightspeed. you barely hear yourself cry out for him as your walls convulse and spasm around his length. he watches, wide-eyed as he fucks you through your first orgasm, slow and deep with full, passionate thrusts. the sound of his name falling desperately from your lips, the sounds of all your shared fluids - sweat, slick, cum, tears - they go right to his head as his hips keep right on snapping into yours.
“gonna~ mmnnhh~ make me cum again~” a strangled groan escapes diluc’s open lips.
shame you’ll never get to see just how tightly his little asshole winks while his cock jerks his cum inside your pussy for the very first time, painting your walls creamy white. his thick seed leaks from your tight opening as you continue to glide on his cock from below. you kiss him, his quick breaths catching in his throat as he rides out his orgasm.
your lips graze as you both come down from your respective highs together, noses nudging between lazy kisses. diluc rolls off of you, some of his warm seed oozing out of you when his softening dick slips out. he rests his hand above your hip and pulls you to him until the side of your face is pressed against his warm chest, his heart still thumping at a fast pace. you place tender butterfly kisses against his flushed skin as he presses his lips to the top of your head. you lie there together, basking in the long-desired feeling of being in each other’s arms, two sweaty bodies shimmering in the moonlight as you mindlessly trace your names on the other’s back until diluc feels you shiver.
“come on,” he says, sitting up. “let’s get dressed and go back to my place for a hot bath.”
slipping your shirt on, you hesitate. “but…adelinde and the others…they’ll know.”
zipping his pants before shoving his soiled boxers into his pocket, he says, “they already know. they’ve been hounding me about us for years.”
you look up at him, a wide grin gracing your features. “'us'? really?”
he simply nods with a smirk, holding his coat open as you slip it on again. it’s heavy, but the weight is comforting and familiar, protective like armor. “i think nothing would make them happier.”
you help him fold your blanket before wrapping your arms around his waist. “will you carry me on your back?” you ask, standing on your tiptoes to punctuate your request with a kiss.
“of course,” he chuckles softly, kissing you back before turning around and crouching. “hop on.”
with your legs hooked over his arms, he carries you back to the winery. you prop your chin on his shoulder, catching your scent on him and giggling every time his hair tickles your face in the breeze.
✧:･.☽ ･ﾟ diluc m.list
✧:･.☽ ･ﾟ happy birthday to diluc! it's after midnight where i am, but it's still his bday somewhere! please consider reblogging if you enjoyed reading this. thank you, loves! 💋
#diluc#diluc ragnvindr#diluc x f!reader#diluc x reader#diluc x y/n#diluc x you#diluc ragnvindr x f!reader#diluc ragnvindr x reader#diluc ragnvindr x y/n#diluc ragnvindr x you#genshin x f!reader#genshin x reader#genshin x y/n#genshin x you#genshin impact x reader#genshin impact x y/n#genshin impact x you#diluc smut#diluc ragnvindr smut#diluc bday 2023
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
Bliss (Diluc)
TAGS: Diluc/Dragoness!reader, smut, pregnancy, parenthood, drabble
Ao3 ver.
The world is a dark and tainted place.
Behind its beauty lurked dangers all around, ready to prey upon those who’d lowered their guards enough. Diluc is certainly no stranger to the horrors that hid itself from ordinary eyes, lying in wait for even just a single moment to strike.
He would wake up every single day with trepidation in his chest, constant vigilance being his way of life ever since the day he was awakened to the cruelty of this world. Any day could be his last and any moment could be his final one alive.
That is the reality he has come to grips with.
And yet, as you walk down the aisle with flowers in your ivory hair, so pure compared to his own flame-colored locks, you are a vision wrapped in lace as you neared him at the makeshift altar (hastily yet carefully prepared by his excited servants), Diluc found himself wondering if he was worthy of this happiness.
The Darknight Hero doesn’t believe in fate. Not when fate showed him exactly what it intended to make of his life, one filled with eternal suffering and a never-ending thirst to rid the world of its evils.
He doesn’t think much of the disoriented young lady he finds at the outskirts of Dawn Winery, wearing clothes that didn’t seem to hail from any nation in Teyvat. But when he helps her up off the ground, he is met with a pair of innocent golden eyes and he feels something stir within the deepest recesses of his heart.
Though what it was, he didn’t know at the time.
But now as he kisses you beneath the foot of the statue of Barbatos near Dawn Winery, the scion of the Ragnvindr family knows that despite the darkness and dangers that lurked about, there is still hope. Suffering and sadness existed so that humanity can know what happiness and love are.
And by the archons, he never knew what true happiness was until he’d whisked you off to your new shared chambers within the manor. He knew no other anxiety than that of the uncertainty of tomorrow, but even he couldn’t help but swallow the lump that formed in his throat when you fully bared your body to him for the first time.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmurs, reverently caressing each dip and curve in your body with soft yet firm hands before latching his mouth on whatever patch of skin caught his eye, nibbling and sucking until it turned a pretty pink color. “So sweet and so soft...I could eat you right up.”
And eat you up he did.
The ginger painted your skin with bruises and lovebites, a canvas for his wandering mouth and hands. He made sure that the ones on his favorite spots would take the longest to fade, unabashedly wanting his claim over you to be obvious that only a blind man can’t see that you were utterly his.
“You’re already this excited from my mouth and hands alone? Forgive me for neglecting your most precious place then, my darling. For my negligence, I will make sure to compensate you handsomely.”
You are practically sobbing when Diluc finally relents in his assault and pulls away from you with a final obscene slurp. You could barely look at him straight as he licks off the clear viscous fluid that stained the corner of his lips all the while staring at you with clear desperation and want.
“You taste exquisite, my love. However, I believe it is about time we begin the main act. Shall we?”
And so, the rest of the night was filled with debauched screams, moans, and whimpers of pleasure as your new husband made love to you until daylight peeked out of the darkness. If you hadn’t been draconic in nature you’d have probably passed out by the 2nd hour, but thanks to your other-wordly stamina the two of you kept each other up without trouble.
Thanks to that, it wasn’t any surprise that 9 months after your wedding night, the residents of Dawn Winery welcomed their newest young master.
Diluc sat at your bedside after you and your son had been cleaned and wrapped in new clothes. His eyes never leave you both as you fed your son his first ever meal, marvelling at the sight of this little creature that both of you created together out of love.
“What shall we name him, my love?”
“I like the name Aurick...Aurick Daemon Ragnvindr”
“A splendid name it is”
Diluc smiles and repeats the name softly under his breath.
The taste of bliss has never been sweeter than where he is right now.
#lexsssu writes#genshin impact#genshin impact x reader#diluc x reader#diluc ragnvindr#diluc ragnivindr x reader#genshin impact diluc#genshin impact diluc x reader#diluc ragnivindr x you#diluc ragnivindr smut#diluc ragnvindr x y/n#genshin impact smut
243 notes
·
View notes
Text
how to love
pair. diluc ragnvindr x gn!reader
content: pure tooth-rotting fluff
diluc ragnvindr would never love again. that's what he told himself when he returned from the icy north of snezhnaya.
but there's something in the way he sways you, barefoot in the grounds of the winery with the smell of grapes and crystalflies and the sunset on your face. you're singing and dancing together, humming a tune he's sure you learned from the gods themselves. it's quiet - no one else is here to witness the both of you and you're pulling him into a hug that makes him feel like a boy again.
there's something in the way you jump into the lake surrounding the city, the way you're kicking cold water at him. the way you're slowly smoothing out the crease of his frown. dreamy sighs and kisses, fingers tracing his jaw, teeth knocking, chests heaving; he can feel every exhale that leaves you filling in his own ribcage. your hands are wet and his hair will surely be tangled later, but he doesn't care.
there's something in the way you're tugging him along, sprinting through fields upon fields of dandelions and windwheel asters. he can't even keep up, not with his heavy boots and coat, but he's running nonetheless with you. it's an orchestra of giggles and a symphony of bliss. music blooms in his heart where he thought it would lie silent forever, the steady rhythm of his in tandem with yours.
there's something in the way you perch yourself along the walls surrounding the city, breeze all-powerful as if blessed by barbatos himself. it blows the hair out of your face so he can see you fully. and he's almost certain his heart is leaping into his throat when you lean back, eyes shining toward the heavens. you scream out anything and everything on your mind. "let's have wild boar stew for dinner tonight!" you yell to the sky in a fit of laughter, earning you plenty of strange looks from the knights guarding the gate below you. he can always apologize to them later with his usual professional facade up, but right now he wants to kiss you. he does kiss you. it's freedom - that's what it is with you. he's free.
you're teaching him how to love life again. how to love the world, and how to make peace with himself. how to love the place he grew up. how to love cold water and the thrill of heights and dandelion seeds carried away in the wind. how to love and how to fall in love.
© ALABOADOA 2023 — please do not translate or post my works to other platforms.
#sorry ive been on a diluc brainrot lately#he deserves wholesome fluff#have this teeny tiny drabble#genshin impact#diluc ragnvindr#genshin#genshin impact x reader#diluc ragnvindr x reader#diluc ragnvindr x you#diluc ragnvindr x y/n#— whispers in the wind ✧
152 notes
·
View notes
Text
diluc holding you by your waist
imagine tripping on something while walking with diluc and him holding you by your waist.
diluc is touch starved, that is correct but he is also shy about touching you for two reasons: one, he's not sure how to initiate touch and two, he doesn't want to overstep any boundary you have.
when one of you initiate touching, diluc's cheeks turn so red and it's aborable, he looks away to hide his burning cheeks but it's so obvious.
you two were about to go out to angel's share together to hang out that night. as you two were heading downstairs, you trip on something and lose your balance.
you let out a sharp gasp and shut your eyes tightly, bracing yourself for the impact but you don't fall. when you open your eyes, you have stopped mid fall and you're staring down at the stairs.
thanks to diluc's fast reflexes, he managed to catch you by your waist before you could fall down. his warm hands are gripping your waist very tightly, his fingers digging into your skin.
diluc is very protective of you, the thought of you injuring yourself is very scary to him and he's relieved that he caught you.
you can feel your cheeks flush at diluc's touch, his hands on your waist feels good. the small action is flustering you more than you thought it would.
diluc carefully places you back on the stairs then takes your hand to quickly guides you downstairs without any more accidents happening.
once you get down, diluc's face turns red as he turns his head away to hide it while asking you if you're okay.
despite feeling a little shy yourself, you couldn't help but you cup diluc's warm cheeks to make him face you and tell him you're okay before giving him a kiss.
#genshin impact#genshin impact hc#genshin impact hcs#genshin impact imagine#genshin impact imagines#genshin impact x reader#genshin impact x y/n#genshin impact x you#genshin impact fanfics#genshin impact fanfiction#genshin impact fanfictions#genshin impacf fanfic#diluc#diluc ragnvindr#diluc x reader#diluc x you#diluc x y/n#diluc ragnvindr x reader#diluc ragnvindr x you#diluc ragnvindr x y/n
944 notes
·
View notes
Text
what could've been | diluc ragnvindr x reader
warnings: use of weapon, slight violence, cheating, lower case intended, spelling and grammar mistakes
summary: there is no one to blame other than himself.
"you are pathetic, diluc ragnvindr." you seethe angrily, the grip on your polearm was deadly. you caught diluc out with another woman, you clearly had been blindsided by this. as far as you were aware, your relationship with the dawn winery master was perfect, he even said so himself just last night. his sheer audacity to look sad and defeated in front of you was insulting to you.
diluc attempted to approach you, but you pointed your weapon to his chest. "not a step closer, ragnvindr." you threatened.
"i'm sorry." he spoke with the last remaining dignity he had.
you laughed, momentarily lowering your weapon before readjusting your stance, causing the tip of your polearm to dig into his chest. you wanted him to hurt in every way imaginable. "i don't need your apologies. i don't need you to explain what the fuck i saw." you began, your eyes not leaving his. he couldn't keep eye contact with you.
"look at me when i'm talking to you ragnvindr."
diluc's eyes hesitantly met yours. he was not used to this person before him. he knew you as soft, loving, and warm. the you standing in front of him was a far cry from the person he fell in love with. pure and unadulterated hatred was evident in your eyes, you may not have a pyro vision, but the fire emanating from you was burning him. he knew that there was no one else to blame but himself. he brought this upon himself. he betrayed your trust and your love. you are only acting accordingly.
"i have nothing to say to you." you lower your weapon, the fire in your eyes never seizing. "i'll be back in 2 days time to retrieve my belongings." you turn around, beginning to walk away but diluc acts hastily and grabs your elbow.
your body reacted for you. one moment your fists were clenched by your side, the next it made impact against diluc's cheek. you were shocked by what you did, but did not make it obvious.
"don't fucking touch me." you spat before finally leaving. leaving behind a pained diluc.
diluc watches as you disappear from his line of sight. the pain of your punch was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. but again, he brought this upon himself the moment he decided to meet up with the other woman behind your back.
from that moment on, diluc watches you live your life from the shadows. he watches you heal and rebulid yourself, with an aching heart, he watches you fall in love again. he watches the life he could've had.
your children live happily, your daughters have a striking resemblance to you. he thinks if his and your children would've had shared features or would they come out looking like you or him. but that's all he can do, imagine what life would've been like with you by his side.
。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°
nov 7 update: I just realized I forgot to add in a warning for the cheating aspect of the story T-T I am so sorry for my negligence.
#diluc angst#diluc x reader#diluc ragnvindr x reader#diluc x y/n#genshin angst#genshin impact angst#diluc imagines#kissingtruth#diluc ragnvindr angst#diluc ragnvindr x y/n#diluc ragnvindr imagines#god i dont know how to spell dilucs last name#genshin imagines#genshin impact imagines
367 notes
·
View notes
Text
i was watching king the land and was suddenly hit by a wave of inspo for some diluc brainrot (utc)
modern au whereby diluc is the new ceo of the dawn winery, a wine-making company famed for its expensive but high-quality alcohol. he had just returned from his six-year-long bachelor's and master's studies in sumeru (according to the press) and had been missing from his office for the longest time during then. no one had seen the ceo, not since his father passed away in a terrible accident when he was eighteen.
enter [f/n], diluc's new secretary. she was newly hired as things began to get hectic in terms of paperwork, and elzer couldn't possibly shoulder all that workload by himself. the tasks were then split between the two secretaries: elzer was in charge of finance and sales, and [f/n] was in charge of networking.
as such, [f/n] spent her time pretty much glued to diluc's side, accompanying him on visits and meals with investors and business partners within the region as well as across the world.
while working closely with his new secretary, he found himself falling for her. she was diligent and compassionate, and had a penchant for taking care of others when they were struggling in either their work or personal life. she was also indifferent to the fact diluc was born rich and showed him how regular people lived. (she once had to show him how to take public transport, much to her amusement.)
and then cue one night whereby the two had to share a hotel room due to a misbooking of rooms, and diluc insisted that she slept on the bed for the night.
[f/n] raised a brow at her superior, "and where will you be sleeping tonight, then?"
"the couch," he answered, and both heads turned to survey the plush sofa that was definitely way too small and narrow to accommodate to diluc's height and wide build.
"that's not happening," [f/n] said with a shake of her head, "you're never going to be able to fit on the couch, let alone sleep comfortably on it."
"i'll sleep on the floor, then," diluc answered.
she snorted, "i don't think you'll find it comfortable, sir." she turned her head to the queen-sized bed, which was big enough to fit two people side by side. she turned to him, "let's just share the bed."
"i don't wish to make you uncomfortable," he shook his head.
"and i don't wish to have rumours going around that i'm bullying our ceo during a business trip," she said, "anyway, it's just for one night."
[f/n] fell asleep quickly, leaving diluc lying on his back stiffly on his side of the bed, his mind spiralling into a frenzy as he tried not to panic. his brain set itself on the grill to fry, however, when [f/n] rolled over and snuggled up against his side.
his face burned bright red as he froze up, his breaths caught in his throat. never had he thought he would find himself in such a situation, where the girl he liked was sleeping on the same bed as him and was now hugging his torso.
he turned himself around slowly so that he was now facing her, careful as to not wake the girl. wordlessly, he reached a thumb out to push some stray hairs out of her face, then cupped her cheek gently. her breaths came out gentle and shallow, fluttering across his neck as she moved her head to rest in the crook of his neck.
gently, he wrapped his arm around her frame and pulled her closer to him. if this was the only time he could revel in his deepest fantasies, then so be it. he would hold her carefully in his arms until the sun rose the next morning, and he would sear this moment into his memory for years to come.
let's just say [f/n] was not prepared to wake up seeing her superior's sleeping face inches away from hers, and she has just about a mini meltdown in her head about this.
awkward blushy episodes ensue where the two would be too embarrassed to be within the other's one metre radius.
will an accidental confession episode happen? or will one of them accidentally overhear the other talk about how they like and cherish the person? idk, we'll see about that!
#💫—qq's nuggets#writeblr#writing#yeah i just love kdrama diluc too much#diluc x reader#diluc x y/n#diluc x yn#diluc x you#diluc ragnvindr x reader#diluc ragnvindr x y/n#diluc ragnvindr x yn#diluc ragnvindr x you#diluc#diluc ragnvindr#genshin impact x reader#genshin impact x y/n#genshin impact x yn#genshin impact x you#genshin impact
62 notes
·
View notes
Text
＃DILUC RAGNVINDR !! ♡ — DROWN ME IN YOUR FLAMES - CHAPTER II: TO DINE ON EMBERS.
#. synopsis! — with diluc's plan set in motion, you venture far outside your comfort zone (and far outside your own reality.) as you rekindle the long-lost spark you had with him in your youth, you realize rather quickly that this place is nothing short of disorienting; and as diluc gears up for his first fight, the arrival of some unexpected guests might just throw everything off its already rocky course .
#. characters! — diluc .
#. warnings! — brief mentions of alcohol presence and consumption .
#. word count! — 4.8k .
#. alt accounts! — @ddollipop (nsfw) @yyolkchi (reblog/spam)
#. others! — navigation & masterlist .
#. previous chapter! — here .
#. taglist! — @cafekiri , @sunukissed , @lez-zuha , @crowleyco , @sunlittsu . (if you'd like to be added/removed, contact me through tumblr dms or simply leave a reply under this post!)
As expected, gaining entrance to a so-called “abyssal zone” was no easy task. Diluc handled the formalities (if you could really call them that) over the coming days, —managed to track down where the next zone would be opening, made arrangements for his entrance under the appropriate moniker of “The Phoenix,” and even managed to find time in the evenings to swing by your family’s bakery and give you the day’s rundown. Those times, however, his presence was much less unwelcome, much more expected, and he actually purchased a few items during his loitering; some of which he would nibble on throughout the conversation, and others he would take back to the winery for the staff.
Your father remained mostly stagnant in his health, which was better than getting worse, of course, but far from what you would have wanted. It only made sense his condition wasn’t improving without the proper medicine, but it didn’t make the reality of it any less hurtful to bear witness to.
The door to the quaint shop opened just before closing time, and in stepped Diluc, hands adorned with those same black gloves that fit so snugly around his long fingers, —thick, brilliant hair pulled back and tied just above the nape of his neck. He really had grown up to be incredibly handsome in every sense of the word. Even the way he walked was alluring, head held upright and proud, boots thudding against the floor in a sturdy rhythm.
“Ah, you again,” you joke with him, “guess my baking skills have really turned you into a regular, huh?”
Diluc breaks his typically stoic demeanor to give you a slight smile.
“I suppose so,” he plays along. “That, and we have a long few days ahead of us, as I’m sure you’re well aware.”
Were you ever.
It was hard to sleep last night knowing just what was approaching. You laid in bed, body quivering under the weight of the anxiety, whispering soothing phrases to yourself as if chanting “everything will be fine” to yourself just under your breath would somehow manifest that actuality. All things considered, something was bound to go wrong. What that something was, well, you’d just have to wait and find out, —and that thought made sleep none the easier to come by.
“Yeah,” you acknowledge, a solemn tone lacing through your voice. “I know.”
In the brief silence that follows, there’s a lingering sense of uncertainty that sends ripples of fear through the space between Diluc and yourself. It’s so thick that you’re sure he can feel it too, and you’re left to assume that’s why he continues on so promptly.
“You’ll be fine,” he says, but swiftly corrects himself, “—we’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it.”
You worry it’s a promise he doesn’t quite have the faculties to keep, but choose not to voice your concerns just yet. If nothing else, starting the journey off on the right foot is likely the best you can do for him, and far be it from you to drag him down into this hellish pit of anxiety with you when it really doesn’t seem to be necessary.
“I trust you,” you say instead, giving him a slight nod.
It’s not just for show, either. Funnily enough, trusting Diluc was the easy part. Maybe it’s the influence of having known him so fondly in the past, —or maybe it’s just the way he carries himself as if he’s never faced an obstacle he couldn’t will himself to overcome. Either way, it was a simple endeavor to entrust your safety to him (perhaps a bit foolishly, and for better or worse.)
He doesn’t say it, but the way his eyes soften ever so slightly upon hearing that sentiment tells you everything you need to know. Diluc may be a bit rough around the edges, but there’s a lover buried deep inside that chest of his, —one that cares and yearns and strives like there’ll never be another tomorrow. That’s how he’s always been, and it’s nice to know that some things really haven’t changed since you were close.
“We’re lucky the zone isn’t far off,” he continues, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “We’ll have no trouble reaching the area before sundown if we leave soon.”
Lucky feels like a strong word, but you don’t seek to correct him.
“I’m ready when you are,” you confirm, mustering up the best brave-face you can.
The evening air makes for an uncomfortable walk, but you manage to keep up with Diluc’s long, deliberate strides. It doesn’t take long at all before he halts you in your tracks, opening his coat to pull a set of plain black Fatui masks from the inner pocket. When he hands one over to you, your face twists in a mixture of disgust and confusion, prompting him into an explanation.
“It’s a requirement for entry,” he states, “—trust me, I’m not a fan of it either.”
With a soft sigh, you slip the mask on and Diluc does the same. If nothing else, it looks good on him, you suppose; though that’s a pretty sorry excuse for self-comfort.
“It makes me uneasy knowing that something like this is happening so close to the city,” you comment.
This area of Windrise is so close that you can still see the soaring windmills of Mondstadt just off in the distance. Lingering shreds of sunlight still cling to the horizon, but the ever-darkening atmosphere feels much too fitting for the mood.
“I wish I could say it doesn’t worry me,” he answers despondently, “but I admit, there are nights it keeps me awake.”
You figure that’s part of the reason he hasn’t sought the help of anyone outside of his spy network. That, and he has a notoriously poor relationship with the Knights of Favonius these days, —not that you have any of the specifics on that (nor will you be asking anytime soon.)
“In any case, how exactly do we. . . Enter?” You ask, pushing the other worries to the back of your mind for the time being.
“Well, obviously I've never done it before," he begins, "but as far as I know, there should be a guide arriving soon enough. We just have to wait for them to show up."
"A guide?" You question. "What, is this interdimensional pocket of mimicked Teyvat supposed to be some kind of tourist attraction?"
Diluc let's out a soft snicker, a smile creeping onto his face just below the edge of his mask. If nothing else, it's nice to banter with him like this again. . . It feels natural in a way you hadn't expected, especially after so long.
"It shouldn't be too much longer now. The sun'll be completely set any minute, and once it's gone down, the zone entrance will open up for a bit. Tonight's the last night to gain entrance to this one, from what I hear," he says.
"How long has this one been open for?" You inquire.
"I got wind of it six days ago, but I'm sure you can tack a few days, give or take, onto that. Most zones stay up for about two weeks their time, —not even a full day in Teyvat's typical timeline. I'm sure there's a range, but we'll know more once we've entered ourselves, so it's best not to make assumptions without proof," Diluc replies.
"How many people do you think will be there?"
"I couldn't say for certain," he shakes his head. "Henley said there was upwards of a hundred in the zone he entered, but I'm sure the number varies for a variety of reasons. At the very least though, it's safe to assume we'll see ten matches across the next two days, —mine included. That's at least two people, fighter and representative, plus who knows how many spectators willing to place bets. . ."
Diluc lets his words trail off, the low whisper of his tone going utterly silent. Through the slits of his mask, you can see his scarlet eyes follow something, —and you swallow the lump that instantly forms in your throat.
"Guide," he mouths to you, and it's then that you realize just how painfully unprepared you'd been this entire time.
It's far too late to turn back, but a part of you wants to run for the hills.
"Hello there," a surprisingly chipper, feminine voice says to the two of you.
Diluc moves to stand at your side, tugging you along by the wrist to turn your attention to a woman with wavy, shoulder-length brown hair, a Fatui mask in a different style than your own covering the top half of her small face. She's dressed in purple with a pair of nice, black dress shoes, and she all but skips along the grass to make your acquaintance.
"Dawn Winery's fighter and representative, I presume?" She inquires, a sickeningly sweet smile stretching across her rather delicate features.
If you'd have met her under any other circumstances, and she'd been void of that mask, you likely would have thought of her positively as a simple optimistic spirit. Here, however, her joyous demeanor unnerves you more than anything else.
"Correct," Diluc answers with an affirmative nod, "I hope we haven't kept anyone waiting too long."
"No, not at all!" She waves her hand dismissively, "—the true show doesn't begin for another few hours. The rest has been the usual mingling of the guests, enjoying the refreshments, things of that nature. Given that it's your first time, I'm sure the both of you will have some exploring of your own to do as well, and I wish you all the fun in doing so!"
You find it increasingly creepy how she speaks as if she's selling you some kind of retreat or an island getaway at a resort in another nation rather than slitting reality open just to send the two of you off to watch people punch each other. Nevertheless, you bow your head in thanks, forcing a smile onto your face that pales in comparison to her own.
"Thank you," Diluc vocalizes for the both of you.
She seems pleased enough with what little chit-chat has gone on thus far, clasping her hands together in front of her chest like an excitable child.
"Well then, I won't hold you up any longer!" She says cheerfully.
It's then that she pulls a pair of daggers from either pocket of her dress, gripping them so tightly that her knuckles lighten in the process. You take a cautious step away out of instinct, heart thundering against your ribcage. If not for the faint, blueish-purple glow of the blades, you might not have been able to spot them so quickly, and the thought of it is anxiety-inducing to say the very least.
"It's okay," Diluc whispers, —and if she happened to catch wind of it, she chose not to react.
The so-called guide raised one hand above her head, but kept the other at waist-position, and with a grunt that seemed to be more for show than anything else, plunged both daggers into something previously unseen. The blades were buried up to the neck, their glow completely stunted, —first by nothingness, and then by some black, oozing substance that you wouldn't have been able to identify even if you'd tried. Face scrunching up in visceral disgust, you fight the urge to take another step back, though the desire to put distance between yourself and whatever that is remains.
"Sorry," she apologizes, but giggles as she does so like a little girl, "—I always forget to warn people that this part can get a little messy."
A little seems like a grave understatement to you, especially when the pitch black goo begins to seep from the open slits like puss. It churns your stomach just looking at it, and that feeling doubles tenfold the moment she yanks the daggers further along, creating a larger gash that intersects somewhere in the middle.
"What is that stuff?" You question, fingers nervous curling around the end of Diluc's coat sleeve.
"Not sure," he mumbles under his breath, "some kind of secretion, it seems like, but. . . I really haven't a clue what it's made of."
The woman then proceeds to pull the oozing flaps apart, her daggers falling haphazardly to the grass at her feet. Despite having been buried in the thick of the goo, they're as clean as they were the moment she jabbed them in, but their glow has disappeared and they register as nothing more than typical weapons now. There's little to no struggle at all as she peels the two sides away until a hole more than large enough to climb through has been left in her wake.
"Don't be nervous," she says, motioning for the both of you to come forward, "just step through! And don't be scared if you experience a little dizziness or nausea at first, it's just your body acclimating to the new surroundings."
Standing outside this weird, gaping hole has already made you dizzy and nauseated all on its own. You really didn't need any artificial help on that front.
"Thank you," Diluc says again.
Before you have the time to utter a single noise, he's walking forward and plunging a fearless leg through the misty entrance of the abyssal zone. He looks back only for you, as if sensing your anxiety before you could put it into words.
"Don't be nervous," the woman repeats herself, "—you're sure to have a good time."
You really don't want to go through with this, but somehow, staying in your everyday reality with her would appear to be a fate much worse. That, and after all the trouble Diluc and his team had gone through to set all of this into motion, you knew the guilt would eat at you much worse than any nausea ever could if you denied him this now when he’d already come this close. Thus, you hold your breath as you step through the blackened slit of the material world as you know it, preemptively reaching out for something to grasp hold of. For a moment, it feels like you’re falling, —like your body has slipped into a state of weightlessness and gravity has relinquished its hold over you.
A soft yelp escapes your lips and you find yourself feeling breathless, even as you meet with solid ground. It’s not so much dizziness or nausea that takes hold of you now, but more of an eerie unease; like your body is in fight or flight mode and you don’t know how to flip that switch off again. A chorus of unfamiliar voices fill the air, speaking words that you don’t quite catch over the reverberation of your thundering heartbeat.
“Y/n?” Diluc says, his softly-spoken call laying waste to the rest of the noise, “—are you okay?”
You look up at him with fear in your eyes, —fear that he wishes he could soothe away somehow.
“. . . Yeah,” you answer after a moment or two, “I’m okay.”
You really are. Mostly, anyway. All things considered, that could have been exponentially worse, and as far as you can tell, the throes of it have ceased for the time being. The two of you are standing in the exact spot of vacant Windrise through which you’d entered, but darkness has yet to overtake this version. The sun still hangs up in the sky, and the isolation of the area as you knew it just prior has been overridden by a barrage of faces that you don’t recognize at all. You can tell by the various styles of dress that many of those standing around are not from Mondstadt, and it makes you wonder just how far some of them must have traveled to be in attendance today. . . Makes you wonder how they managed to get here without raising suspicion somehow, just considering the sheer numbers they've peaked at.
“There's. . . A lot of people here,” you mutter.
Diluc nods, then motions for you to follow along with him. He all but exudes the kind of calmness you wish you could have under these circumstances as he saunters into the crowd, taking quick glances at those around him. You catch bits and pieces of various conversations in passing along the way.
“Last I heard, they were struggling to pay back the hefty sum they lost in the last fight. . .”
“The drinks they’re serving this go around are much better. . .”
“It’s a shame! He was a good fighter, but poor management of finances can kill even the loftiest of businessmen these days. . .”
You’re quick to tune out. When it comes to discussions of the rich and powerful, you’re hardly one with a stake in the waters. Diluc, on the other hand, you know to be quite affluent, and you’re sure he could hold his own much better in such conversations if the need presented itself.
You make a mental note to ask him about that later. Considering how much these people seem to enjoy chatting amongst themselves, you’re sure a time will come when you’ll have to be part of the conversation, and it would likely be best for you to know the basics of it all if nothing else. Like it or not, you have an image to keep up in this place as the face and subsequent mouthpiece of Dawn Winery. Having to talk the talk and walk the walk simply comes with the territory, and you've gotten yourself wrapped up in all of this quite tightly, so it's only fair that you make appropriate efforts.
“Where are we going?” You question.
Knowing Diluc, he has to have some sort of plan. He’s not the type to rush into anything without some form of meticulous planning. Not much has changed about him in that regard, and that makes you happy, though you couldn’t exactly say why.
“To scope the area,” he replies. “Look just up ahead and tell me what you see.”
Right to work it is then, you suppose. . .
Focusing your gaze ahead, you scan the general area with an inquisitive scrutiny. There’s green grass, a few of Mondstadt’s representative dandelion’s bent in the breeze, —nothing you’d consider to be out of the ordinary. You keep pace with Diluc in spite of his longer legs, searching for anything to hone in on.
“I don’t get it,” you admit. “Is there something in particular I’m supposed to be looking for?”
“Nothing like that,” he answers, “—but you’re being too near-sighted. Take a look at the bigger picture and try again.”
Sometimes, Diluc talks in circles. It’s not for the pleasure of annoying you or making you feel less intelligent, even if it can admittedly have those effects every now and again. He does it in order to encourage your critical thinking and spur you to consider all possibilities whenever the option presents itself. Now, you acknowledge, must be one of those times.
Staring straight ahead now, you squint your eyes off into the distance. . . And that’s when it hits you. The closer you get to the oncoming trees and bushes, the less they seem to be fully there. From back where you’d entered, the general blur of the horizon line wasn’t as visible, and Archons knows how Diluc was able to pick up on it so quickly from so far away. It’s blurry now as you come closer to the edge, like the background of a painting that’s been smudged over time.
Diluc takes your silence as understanding and stops just short of the haze.
“If you watch closely, you can see it ebb and flow like water,” he says.
Indeed, he’s right again, and just the sight of it leaves you feeling a bit seasick.
“What does it mean?” You inquire.
“That these zones likely aren’t as stable as anyone here would like to think,” Diluc replies. “Don’t forget, this place is connected to a realm we know little to nothing about. They’re created by harnessing power even the elemental Archons might not have been able to fully decipher.”
Add that to the list of reasons for you to get out of here as soon as possible.
“That being said, we should go back with the others. It’s best not to draw attention to ourselves, and being outliers like this is sure to do just that if we’re not careful about it.”
“I think it’d also be best to stay away from these spots,” you tell him. “I know it might sound silly, but just being so close to the edge has given me chills. I feel like standing here is inviting something dangerous to happen, and I’m sure we’d both rather avoid that at all costs.”
He hums in acknowledgement.
“Agreed.”
You're thankful that he's bothered to take your feelings on the matter into consideration. That's a rather low bar, of course, but it happens to mean a lot coming from someone as capable as Diluc. He's experienced in this area to some degree, —possesses knowledge that you likely won't ever be privy to. . . But he's listening. As if he trusts your intuition on this, even when all he has to go on is your word.
"Do you know how long we'll be here?" You inquire. "A rough estimate, at least?"
"Hard to say now," he replies, sounding somewhat apologetic about it, even when it's clear that you're not upset by his lack of an answer.
The vagueness is something you expected, though you get the feeling that part of it is purposeful on his part. Even if he's allowed you to come this far, perhaps he's still uncertain as to just how much he can trust you. It's understandable, to a degree, but. . . You can't say it doesn't wound you a bit, even if you get it.
"In any case, we have time to burn," Diluc says. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"
"I don't think I could stomach anything," you reply honestly.
It's not so much the nausea you were warned about, or even a general sense of sickness. The anxiety of this situation is the real killer here, and it's clawing away at you with maximum fortitude. Try as you might to keep it under wraps, you're sure most of it has been obvious to Diluc from the start, —and you'd be right about that. He's picked up on your unease and has taken the liberty of squashing as much of it as he can to the best of his ability. You're a simple individual in many respects, so taking you away from the crowded areas and giving you a better feel for the situation was strategic on his part. The fact that it aided in his understanding of the abyssal zone was simply a net positive; —the sweet syrup drizzled atop a stack of fluffy pancakes.
"Fair enough," the redhead says, offering you the glimpse of a smile.
He pauses, as if thinking on what to say next, then utters: "Let's grab two glasses for the sake of appearances. We'll find somewhere to stand and observe."
You're quick to agree. From the long, stretching table sat off to the side, Diluc parts with you for just a few moments to snag two glasses of deep-red wine. As he hands you yours, he takes a small sip from his own, then makes a subtle face.
"Not good?" You inquire as a giggle bubbles up from your chest.
He considers this a win. If you're amused, it means he's at least partially succeeding in making you feel safe at his side.
"Not good," he confirms with a shake of his head.
You take his word for it and leave yours untouched.
"Stand beside me," Diluc prompts, though it sounds more like an offer than a command.
His voice is soft when directed at you, like he's trying to temper your nerves in any way he can.
"That man over there," he begins, "the one in complete Fatui garb. Do you recognize him?"
Surprisingly enough, there aren't many actual agents of the Fatui here. You'd spotted a few thus far, but considering just how many longer around Mondstadt City and the surrounding areas, you were almost expecting a full house of them. Instead, you've found that their presence here is minal, as if donning the masks has made everyone in attendance an affiliate. The thought of it is a bit disturbing.
This agent, however, is pleasantly familiar. It's actually quite the relief to see him here.
"That's Henley, isn't it?" You inquire, keeping your voice low and facial expressions to a minimum in order to avoid suspicion.
Even with this mask on the upper half of your face, you find yourself being rather cautious of what you allow yourself to show so visibly.
"Correct you are," Diluc replies, taking another unhappy sip of his wine. "And the young woman just over there, with the long, black hair? Her name is Eloise. She's also a member of my network, —albeit much newer than Henley. I say this to assure you that no matter what, there are people looking out for you here."
As if sensing that she's been introduced, Eloise looks over her shoulder, catching Diluc's gaze before letting it flicker over to you. She gives you a quick, warm smile, then returns her attention back to the two young men she'd been chatting with. Even from afar, you can tell that she knows how to control a conversation. It seems the two men before her are practically eating out of her palm, and you find that quite impressive.
"I do trust you, Diluc," you say to him. "If I didn't, I wouldn't have had the nerve to come."
He already understands as much.
"And I trust you," he confirms. "Not just to make the calls during fights, —not just to be Dawn Winery's executive official. . . But with all the information I know about these places, and all that I can tell you about the work I've done from the shadows."
You suspect there's a lot of truth to that, but have to question the extent of it. There's quite a bit you've been left in the dark on, and perhaps that information will come with time, but for right now, you're hard pressed to believe that Diluc has told you everything you should know. Still, you give him a small smile in spite of that.
That smile fades, however, when everyone's chatter goes silent. An air of unease overtakes the entire space, as if sucking the oxygen from everyone's lungs, rendering them utterly speechless. Diluc seems much less afraid than you, but you can tell that his guard is up quite high.
It only takes a moment longer for you to understand what all the proverbial fuss is about. From a swirling, blue-purple, portal-like entryway completely opposite the oozing slit you and Diluc had stumbled in from; a trio of well-dressed individuals emerge. The first of the bunch is a raven haired man with rounded glasses and a deceptive smile. You feel chills creep up your spine from having just seen him, even from afar. The next is a much shorter, stouter, aged man who also dons glasses on his face; but these are pure circles perched along his lengthy nose. Below sits a curled mustache that covers his top lip entirely, and on his head he wears a tall hat adorned with many enrichments.
Lastly, a stoic-faced woman with silvery-white hair that bears a section of much darker strands toward the front moves to the head of the small group, her sharp gaze flickering about her surroundings. Even this miniscule gesture leaves your nerves prickling. She commands so much respect from simply existing in this space that it’s almost unreal. The tension that surrounds everyone can be cut with a knife, and you hold your breath without meaning to.
“W-Who are they?” You stutter.
The wine glass in your hand bears the remnants of your fear, the crystalline glass fogging up as a result of your clammy palm.
These three aren’t wearing masks, their faces in full view. . . Henley steps forward from out of the crowd, and you resist the urge to call out to him to beg him just to fall back in line and play along. You don’t know who these people are, but one thing is for certain: you don’t want to get on their bad sides.
The brunet man unsheathes the sword he wears on his hip, stabbing it directly into the dirt between his feet. He falls to a single knee, head bowed in what you can only assume is an expression of respect. The crowd follows in suit, kneeling before the three of them. Diluc pulls you down with him, and you barely manage to keep your wine from spilling all over the grass.
His tone is hushed and urgent, head turning to meet your eyes for no longer than the time it takes to utter a single word in reply.
“Harbingers.”
#diluc#genshin impact#diluc ragnvindr#diluc x reader#diluc reader insert#diluc x you#diluc x y/n#genshin impact x you#genshin impact x reader#genshin impact x y/n#genshin#genshin reader insert#diluc angst#diluc x reader angst#diluc ragnvindr x reader#diluc ragnvindr x you#diluc ragnvindr reader insert#diluc ragnvindr x y/n#diluc ragnvindr angst#diluc ragnvindr x reader angst#genshin impact x reader angst#drown me in your flames#dmiyf
86 notes
·
View notes
Text
champagne problems (diluc's version)
Your mom’s ring in your pocket, my picture in your wallet; your heart was glass, I dropped it.
an ode to heartbreak masterlist: (x)
word count: 8278
genre: fluff, angst (but mostly angst)
pairings: diluc x gn! reader
content warnings: symptoms of depression, drinking as a coping mechanism, arguing, combat, mildly suggestive, spoilers for Diluc's backstory and story quest
additional notes: ngl this is the work I looked forward to writing the most, so I kinda went all out with it. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I did crying over writing it!
want to be tagged when future oth works come out? click here!
Diluc Ragnvindr would like to think he has quite a lot of gifts. He finds that the gift of foresight, however, is not one of them.
In hindsight, he should have guessed that the constant traveling between two places, although expected of an Adventurer, would still take a toll on your body, and that knocking on your door just after sunrise would not merit him an answer. But his muscles had moved before his brain had a chance to process anything, and immediately after his hand had made contact with the wood, regret stabs through him like an ice-cold dagger.
Which is why, after hearing various items being toppled over and crashing onto the floor, when you finally open the door, the first thing that leaves his lips is an apology.
“I was just on my way home and I just wanted to see how you were doing,” he blurts, feeling the tips of his ears rapidly warming at the sight of your groggy and confused face. “And, well, I just wanted to—”
You turn your head slightly, as if to try and hear him better, and it’s only then that he sees the plugs in your ears. Diluc sighs, before motioning to his own ears to let you know.
“Oh,” you croak, and now it’s your turn to look embarrassed as you pull out your earplugs. “Sorry. You would not believe how loudly Charlie next door snores; it’s like his walls are made of paper.”
Diluc only nods, clearing his throat before he continues. “Would you like me to ask him to be a little more…”
You wave your hand dismissively, yawning as you rub your eyes. “He’s been working nights, anyway, so I doubt that asking him to sleep more quietly is going to do anything. Anyway, is there anything you need?”
He opens his mouth to answer, but the smell hits him before he could say anything. Had it not been for his years of experience as both a winery owner and a bartender, he would have instantly recoiled at the scent wafting off your figure. “Have you been drinking?”
“Just a little,” you reply, a little too quickly. “It’s really just to loosen up after work—”
“Bennett tells me you haven’t been at the Guild lately.”
“Yes, well, I took a leave of absence, so…” You pause, suddenly pouting as you fidget in place. “What about it? Am I not allowed to drink? Not everyone enjoys being perpetually sober like you, you know.”
Diluc frowns, before allowing himself a peek through the small crack in your door. “May I come in?”
You blink, taking a while to process his question before you finally relent, pushing your door wide enough to let him enter.
Diluc doesn’t remember the last time he’s been inside your house. It was most likely a time when your father had still been alive, sitting at the dining table preparing the meat he’d caught earlier in the day.
Now, all that’s on the dining table is a clutter of hunting items, empty bottles, and plates yet to be washed. Though Diluc tries to be respectful by keeping his eyes trained on you, it doesn’t help that he keeps tripping on articles of clothing and other items that had been strewn across the floor.
You collapse onto the couch in front of the empty and sooty fireplace, groaning as the sudden movement had most likely aggravated your headache. You attempt to push what seems like a heavy chest out of the way with your foot, but you struggle with the weight until Diluc steps in to help. Sure enough, the chest feels like a hundred kilograms.
“Never took you for a Treasure Hoarder,” he remarks, trying to lighten the mood.
You snort. “That’s not treasure. Well, it kind of is—open it.”
He obliges, popping open the chest to see chunks of luminous ore tucked carefully into a ragged piece of cloth. Gingerly, he lifts one up into the light, and though crudely cut, Diluc didn’t need to be a blacksmith to understand its value.
“It’s beautiful,” he says, as he examines it from every angle to admire its iridescent glow.
“The Traveler came by the other day to drop it off,” you explain, now flat on your back on the couch. “It was something they came across in The Chasm, and couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Paimon said it might strike my fancy.”
“They obviously came to the right person, then.”
“Hah.” You watch as Diluc put the ore back into the chest. “I’m not looking to turn it into jewelry, but I don’t think I’ll let it lie around there and have it oxidize into some dull lump of metal.”
“Then turn it into a weapon,” Diluc suggests. “I’m not sure how Wagner would be able to work with this kind of ore, but I’d be willing to check with some of my connections.”
You glance at Diluc, a dopey smile on your face. “What?”
“Always as reliable as ever," you say. "I thought you'd be different after all those years you were away, but you're still that eager little puppy under all that toughness, huh?"
The muscle in his jaw jumps. "I am not."
"Hehe, if you say so." You flop onto your belly, sighing as you fumble around for a pillow to shove under your head. You're barely able to make yourself comfortable before you suddenly sit up. “Sorry, did you want anything else? A cup of coffee, maybe?”
“Feels like I should be the one making you that.”
You harrumph in response and push yourself off the couch, and he keeps a respectful distance as he watches you sway from side to side on your way to the kitchen. While you rummage around in the pantry, Diluc takes it upon himself to dispose of the dishes and bottles littering your kitchen table.
The house is filled with a comfortable silence, insomuch that the fatigue that would have normally hit him later in the day makes its appearance now, as he watches you get the stove going. If he’s not going to be careful, he might as well pass out right there, on your dining table, the last thing registering in his consciousness being the way the earliest patches of sunlight casts your face in a brilliant glow…
Diluc shakes his head, ridding himself of those intrusive thoughts. You’d just gotten out of a relationship, patched up the loose ends that had unraveled during a run-in with the Fatui (and a Harbinger, to boot), and returned home after spending months in the neighboring region of Liyue. He figures you’ve had a lot on your plate since then.
He’s broken out of his inner monologue by the sound of sizzling, and he looks up to see you cracking a couple of eggs into a pan already lined with strips of bacon. He wants to insist that he prepare breakfast, or at least protest the idea of you doing it, considering the way your (rapidly paling) face scrunches up at every sudden movement. But even so, you move with such determination that one would think your life depended on making a perfectly cooked egg, sunny-side up.
Diluc instead gets up to wash the mugs sitting by your kitchen sink, finishing just in time for the kettle to start whistling. You two work in silence, with only the clattering of utensils and the chirping of birds to interrupt the small bubble of peace that had grown all around you.
“Feeling better?” he asks, as soon as you’ve both cleared your plates.
“Much, thank you,” you reply, and he doesn’t miss the way you clutch onto your cup of coffee like it was a lifeline.
“No, thank you for going through the trouble of cooking.”
“It was no trouble at all.”
Diluc lets out a breathy laugh, which you return at the sudden awkwardness of the situation. This is nice, he has to admit to himself. He decides he wouldn’t mind spending mornings just like this; it would definitely beat the extravagant—albeit lonely—breakfasts he was so used to getting.
You seem to enjoy it too, or perhaps that’s just wishful thinking on his part. But still weighing on his thoughts is a matter that he’d brought up earlier, that you’d simply brushed aside.
“You said you took a leave of absence from the Adventurer’s Guild,” he mentions. “Are you feeling ill, perhaps?”
“...you could say that,” you respond. “I just needed a break, that’s all.”
Diluc eyes you carefully. You sigh. “Out with it, Diluc. You’ve never had to worry about being frank with me before.”
“Those were different times.”
“I’m no different than before.”
“...so you say.”
You laugh, almost incredulously. “Well, I will admit that a lot of changes have happened over the past few days, but we could sit here debating about which of us has changed the most until I sober up.”
Diluc sighs, punctuating the silence that had fallen following your remark by sipping from his mug. Out of all the people he knows, you’re probably the only one who knows exactly which buttons of his to push.
No, no, you tied with Kaeya in that regard. He thinks you’re the only one who can push his buttons and get away with it, probably because he knows that you’re right—this time, at least.
“Sorry,” he mumbles. Your features instantly soften, and you seem to retract your words without saying anything at all.
“It’s just not like you to…do this.” Diluc gestures all around him. “Drinking past your normal limits, leaving the Adventurer’s Guild—”
“Not indefinitely,” you argue.
“Not indefinitely, yes, but you know what I mean.” Diluc peers at you over the rim of his mug. “[Y/N], it’s just a break-up.”
You scoff. “Please, Diluc, I’m not that shallow.”
“I would believe you if you looked me in the eye and told me that that relationship didn’t mean so much to you.”
To your credit, you do look up at him, that defiant glint in your eyes just daring him to overstep his boundaries with you. If he were a lesser man, he would have definitely backed down.
But he waits. And waits.
And you say nothing.
Diluc takes one last look at your house—in shambles, a bucket placed under a leak in the roof, items you’ve most likely strung along on your adventures littering every nook and cranny. He looks at your disheveled state, the skin around your eyes sunken and your lips now permanently pursed.
He makes up his mind, right then and there, and stands up. “Come with me,” he says, rounding the table and taking your wrist in his.
You stumble to your feet, tripping over your steps as you try to keep up with him. “Where…where to?”
“You said you needed a break,” Diluc replies. “You’re staying with me for a while.”
“What?!”
“I’ll send someone to get your stuff.” Diluc glances over his shoulder, and spots a portrait of your father sitting on top of the fireplace. He gives it a firm nod. “For now, let’s go for a ride.”
In hindsight, Diluc should have remembered that Varka had taken almost all of the horses in the city with him on his expedition.
He saves the cursing of the Knights for another day and instead focuses on the way your arms wrap around his waist as he urges the horse (that he managed to borrow from poor, sleep-deprived Charlie) forward. He handles the horse with the same ease he had as a former captain of the Knights, and though the thought brings him bitter memories, he can only wonder what thoughts were racing through your mind. Regrettably, he was at the reins facing forward, so he couldn’t really tell.
But he could only hope for the best, as the sun climbs higher and higher into the sky, bringing with it the warm winds of the incoming Mondstadtian summer. He keeps himself on high alert, open to the possibility of any trouble on your way—slimes, hilichurls, the Knights of Favonius—but he puts faith into the work he’d made last night. The way should be clear.
And despite the dark memories that had bombarded him since mounting the horse, he eases into the feeling of peace. Peace, and the feeling of your head moving to rest onto his shoulder.
The first few days, he’d really started to rethink his decision—how on earth was he going to spend time with you, ensure your well-being, in the midst of all his work with the winery? Not to mention, he had his ties to the underground intelligence network and all the time he spends protecting Mondstadt at night. No, no, he would rather feed himself to a slime than to let you get involved in all of that.
So, he spends his first few days with you in his care practically cleaving himself in multiple parts, working as much as he could at the winery and avoiding trips outside as much as he could. Try as he might, but he’d found he could not compromise at all on the threats to Mondstadt—as soon as you’d be snoring away, he would leave to take care of things.
Diluc doesn’t think he’s been this tired in years. But the sight of you padding into the winery’s library, joining him for meals, and keeping him company in his office as he works, and he feels all the fatigue dissolve into nothingness.
So imagine his joy at seeing you make remarkable progress: your face was no longer as gaunt as it had been when you’d first returned home, for one. You’d started to regain your humor, laughing a lot more even while the sun beats down mercilessly on you whenever you help out in the vineyard. To his own personal delight, you’d also started limiting your alcohol intake at his behest.
The days stretch into weeks, then into months, but time seems to slow down for you and Diluc. He catches himself staring at you a lot more often, losing himself in thought as he counts the sunspots splashed across your face. He also takes to initiating contact with you more than he used to, whether it be a hand on the small of your back as he passes, or even pulling you in for a hug after a long day at work.
He remembers the way your face feels cradled in his palm, but he could never really find the time to do it again. That is, until one night, you’d fallen asleep against his chest as he was reading to you in front of the fireplace. It was laughably ironic that he, as a wielder of a Pyro Vision, had survived the heat that would have reduced even the greatest heroes to ashes—but the mere feeling of your cheek against his hand seems to have burned away all the walls he’d painstakingly built over the years as if they were pieces of paper, taking him along with them.
In the roaring flames of what he felt for you, he should have evaporated into smoke. But there he was, letting himself slowly be consumed along with his rationality.
You recover just in time for your leave of absence to expire, and you go back to work as if nothing ever happened. To celebrate, Diluc presents to you the sword he had forged out of the ores given to you by the Traveler. The blade glows with the same strange iridescence the chunks had before they were broken up. If one were to listen carefully, the blade cutting through the wind sounds akin to a segment of an unfamiliar, yet lonely-sounding song. But you handle the sword with ease, and hold your own against Diluc, and for a time, Diluc thinks everything’s going well.
In hindsight, he should have known better.
It should have been a simple operation.
Some Abyss Mages were spotted frequenting the ruins nearest Mondstadt. Even you had been complaining about the number of spooked merchants you’ve had to escort outside the city as a result of the sightings.
Thankfully, you were out on a particularly tricky mission the night he’d decided to check out the scene. The Abyss Mages weren’t anything particularly out of the ordinary, only that they were simply as annoying as ever.
As soon as he steps out of the last of the ruins, however, he finds himself—for the first time in a long, long time—ambushed.
He’s barely able to summon his claymore before the first hilichurl lunges at him, and the club misses the side of his head by the skin of his teeth. But he regroups quickly, taking the first of those who had rushed forward out.
Did the Mages call for backup? he wonders as he picks up a nearby arrow to drive into a hilichurl archer’s front. It’s nothing new, but I’m sure I wiped the rest of them out…
Diluc slams his ignited weapon into the ground, sending a wave of fire down the last line of hilichurls in sight. Now, to figure out—
“Ika yaya!”
He nearly breaks his neck swiveling around to see a hilichurl that had somehow hidden itself within the bushes, a large rock in its hand, moving quicker than he can grab his weapon—
Thump.
Diluc steps back, staring at the arrow that had gone straight through the hilichurl’s head. It gives a groan before keeling over, and dissolving into the ground.
Revealing you crouched behind it, your bow in hand.
For a minute, neither of you speak. Diluc only watches as you straighten up and stuff your bow away, brushing the leaves sticking to you, most likely from the tree that he realizes you’d been watching from.
“That was easier than I thought,” you remark. He couldn’t decipher your tone—were you angry? Relieved?
“What was?” he decides to ask.
You fish around in your pockets for a piece of paper, which you hold up in front of him. “A special commission from Donna,” you say. “She apparently really wants to extend her gratitude to the Darknight Hero, who saved her one night.”
“Hmph.” Diluc puts his claymore away. “You should have known better than to take on an impossible commission.”
“The pay was really good, and Donna makes good Moon Pies. Plus, it’s cute to hear her fawn over you and the Darknight Hero.”
At your words, Diluc clicks his tongue and walks away, ignoring the hammering of his heart. Of course, you just had to trail after him.
“Of course, we received news of the Darknight Hero a long time ago,” you continue. “Nothing more than idle chatter, as you often say. But something urged me to take on this mission…for some reason, I knew I’d come up with answers.”
“Really? How did you know?”
“Just hunter’s intuition.”
Diluc only hums, trying to remain impassive while he figures a way out of the situation. It frustrates him to no end how often it slips his mind that you had once received an offer to join the Knights—and how much it makes sense, considering your intuition was practically second to none.
“The Abyss Mages were a threat, that much was true. But it was a perfect way to draw out all those dedicated to keeping Mondstadt safe. At least, to draw out the ones that mattered.
“I’ve heard the Darknight Hero operates under the cover of darkness, hence his name. He also moves swiftly, so there's a chance I might be too slow to catch him. So, I had to figure out a way to slow him down.”
You hold up one of your arrows. “Seems it worked.”
“Except for one important thing,” Diluc says. “I’m not the Darknight Hero.”
“I had my initial thoughts,” you continue, as if he hadn’t said anything at all. “But it’s been so long since I’ve seen you in combat, I also had to check. Donna says she saw a burst of light, like fire. There aren’t many Pyro Vision wielders that I know of.”
“Sounds like a very simple thought process.”
You shrug. “I considered Klee, to be honest.”
Diluc shakes his head and picks up the pace.
“Okay, chat time’s over.” You grab his arm, and he’s stunned long enough for you to pull him towards you. He’s close enough to you that he can breathe in your scent—had you been at Good Hunter today?
Why the hell am I thinking about that at this time?
“Diluc, this is serious,” you say.
“What’s serious is the lack of expertise amongst the Knights of Favonius..”
“So you are the Darknight Hero.”
“You forced me to listen to your line of thinking as to how you tracked him down, and yet you sound so surprised,” Diluc snorts.
“I didn’t think you’d admit to it that easily,” you confess.
“I know better than to lie to you.”
You open your mouth as if to argue, but you shake your head. “No, no, that aside…Diluc, this whole “Darknight Hero” business—”
“Stop calling me that.” He turns on his heel.
“It’s dangerous!” you shout, grabbing his sleeve again.
“Again,” he says, gritting his teeth. “It will be far more dangerous if we leave all threats to Mondstadt to the Knights.”
Diluc turns to you once more. “Well? Are you going to tell them?”
“I—” You stumble over your words. “I—why would I—”
“Oh, please,” Diluc sneers, coming up to you and looking you straight in the eye. “They’ve been pressed about the Darknight Hero for ages. Can’t handle the thought that someone else is doing their job for them. So go on, go. Tell them. Provide them with intel. I’m sure that’ll send Kaeya straight back into your arms.”
You recoil as if he’d struck you. “Diluc, that’s not fair.”
He doesn’t answer, only walks away, concentrating on regulating his breathing. He’d already said too much; if he’d stuck around for too long, he might really say something he might regret.
He hears you calling out to him, and he only picks up the pace. Already, he is making plans for you to vacate the winery. Surely the workers have finished patching up your house, and if he could just locate the damned invitation he’d gotten from an establishment in Fontaine, he could take some time away from Mondsta—
“Diluc Ragnvindr,” you fume as you dart in front of his vision, blocking his path. “You listen to me right now!”
Diluc’s jaw clenches. “Move,” he snaps.
“Or what, you’re going to leave me behind again?”
His heart briefly stutters.
He did not at all miss the way your voice cracked when you said it, which had otherwise betrayed the fierce expression you were wearing. He does not miss the way your eyes shimmer in the dark of the night, and he’s seized with the sudden fear that you might start crying right in front of him. He’s only ever seen you cry twice in his life—the first, at your father’s funeral. The second, when you and Kaeya had broken up.
Both times, his resolve to build a world that would never again make you cry had grown only stronger.
(In hindsight, he should have known exactly how this world works.)
Diluc sighs, rubbing his face in frustration before finally coming up to you, working up the courage to cradle your face in his palms. Thankfully, you don’t protest; in fact, you seem to melt into his touch.
Here you both were, under the night sky, impeccably close and still so far…where has he seen this sight before?
"Everything I do," he whispers. "Is to protect the city I grew up in. The city I love. The city that you and I call home."
"There are others for that," you protest quietly as you clutch his wrists. "You're not a one-man army, Diluc."
"I've always done things alone," he declares. "So you have to trust me when I tell you this: stay out of it."
You stare up at him, your brows furrowed as you try to make sense of his words. He counts five seconds, six, seven…before your expression finally changes.
"What was that about Kaeya?"
Now it's Diluc's turn to recoil, as if your skin had suddenly scorched his hands. "Forget about it."
"I won't," you persist. "And I won't let you put yourself in danger."
"When I tell you to stay out of it, it's for your own good," Diluc growls. "I couldn't bear it if—if because of the utter incompetence of these—"
"You underestimate the number of people who would do anything for Mondstadt, and in case you've forgotten, I'm one of them!" you shout.
"And if I lose you I won't have anything else!"
Your eyes nearly pop out of your head, and you instinctively take a step back at Diluc's sudden outburst. This was the most unhinged you've ever seen him: breathing heavily, hair disheveled, his eyes looking everywhere else except into your own.
Diluc barely spares you a glance before he takes off down the road.
Foolishly, he waits, but you don't come to stop him this time.
In hindsight, he probably shouldn’t have expected you to.
You move back into your house as soon as the workers give the all clear. Diluc had taken all your thanks (which sounded to him as nothing more than pleasantries at this point) with his back to you in his study, and nothing more than a curt nod and muttered well-wishes.
He doesn't move from his seat, even as Adelinde comes by to inform him that all your belongings had been cleared from the room he'd given you. He hears the curiosity in her tone, and what he thinks is an inkling of sadness. But he doesn't indulge her, and she remains silent, as of course she should.
He doesn't move from his place for a very long time.
Wolvendom was normally quite troublesome, especially with the strange wolves that often traveled its borders.
But today seems to be different, what with the forest unusually quiet save for the typical howling that wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Diluc decides to set up camp to see the area through the night, and if it would continue to be as peaceful as it was today, he decides he'll go back to the winery to catch up on work.
Just as he finishes setting up his tent, he hears the gentle pitter-patter of raindrops making a percussion out of the fabric. He pushes himself further into the cramped space, trying to keep himself as dry and as warm as possible.
Thoughts of you had consumed his every waking hour since he'd left you there on that dirt road, and in between the feeling of frustration over losing his composure so quickly and the mortification at knowing how close he had been to confessing to you, he couldn't help but wonder what you'd felt when you watched him walk away from you again.
He'd initially thought you'd left Mondstadt again. Gone back to Liyue, or took on any other project that would have taken you anywhere else. He'd feared the worst possible outcomes: that your encounter with him had driven you straight back into Kaeya's arms, as he had dared you to do. And though it makes him sick to the stomach to think it, he'd also considered the possibility that you'd tap into your surprising connections to the Fatui, and that you and the Eleventh Harbinger…
But Diluc's intel had suggested otherwise, and the news had him practically melting into his armchair in relief.
He wonders where you are now—at home, perhaps. Your home, not his. Maybe you're running some reconnaissance reports with the other Adventurers. Or perhaps you were in the library, engrossed in a book on the Seven.
A twig snaps just a few meters outside his tent, and Diluc tenses. He shifts into a crouch, ready to summon his weapon at the slightest movement.
"Diluc?"
His breath hitches. "[Y/N]?"
The front flap of his tent lifts up, and by all the gods, never in his life has he seen a face as glorious as yours, even in the pouring rain.
You shiver. "I knew y-you'd be here."
His body moves before he can think, and it isn't long before he has you in the tent with his coat over you, doing his best to start a fire as the rain outside picks up.
"Well?" he says, as soon as he'd gotten the fire going.
"W-what?"
"Are you going to talk my ear off about how you found me?"
You roll your eyes, but he senses no hostility from you. "I come from a f-family of hunters, you know."
Diluc raises an eyebrow.
You sigh. "I r-ran into Razor on the way home."
He only nods, and presses himself closer towards you—with the sole intention of trying to warm you up, of course.
You spend the next few minutes in silence, and despite what had happened just a few weeks prior, the air between you isn't as heavy as Diluc had worried it would be. He just feels the same comfortable silence that had fallen over the two of you all those months ago, eating breakfast in your house—the same silence that had given him the room to really think about what he feels for you.
You're the first to break it. "I'm sorry."
"...you don't have to be."
"But I am." You wrap his coat around your shoulders tightly. "I'm sorry I p-pushed you too far, and that I yelled at you. And I'm sorry that I couldn't understand. I also made a different story up f-for Donna."
Diluc only looks at you, and pushes the damp strands of hair away from your face. You take a couple of deep breaths, your body occasionally getting racked by shivers.
"Can I…can I ask a question?"
He only hums in reply.
"Well…I think you know what I'm about to ask."
Diluc sighs. He finds himself bold enough to lace his fingers through your hair, cradling the side of your head as if it was the most precious jewel he'd ever come across (and it could very well be the case).
But his voice seems to fail him, what with his heart pounding erratically against his ribcage and making breathing all the more difficult. He isn't sure he has the courage to risk years' worth of friendship with you, and he sure as hell knows he hasn't got the words to properly express how complicated all this was.
The answer suddenly comes to him, clearer than a beacon in the night sky: keep it simple.
"I love you," he says, and the weight of the world is lifted off his shoulders. "I have, ever since we were six. I loved you in all that time I spent away from Mondstadt. I loved you when you were Kaeya's, when you left for Liyue, even when you showed up with the Fatui."
He fiddles with the laces of his boots. "I wish things had been different," he continues. "That Father and I had never gone down that path that day. That Kaeya was never a part of a plan I couldn't save him from. That the Knights are indeed the heroes everyone believes they are to be. Above all, I wish I'd never left you waiting on the dance floor."
You gingerly reach for his hand, and lacing his fingers through yours, he finds the strength to carry on. "But we did go down that path. Kaeya is always going to be stuck between two worlds. The Knights are, well…you know. And I did leave you. I spend nights wondering what could have happened if I hadn't."
Diluc meets your eyes. "But I love you," he says. "I did then, and I do now. Always will."
Your features soften, and you reach out a trembling hand to lightly trace his cheek. For a moment, the sound of the rain is drowned out by the ringing in his ears; his senses shut down temporarily when you shift closer to him.
You were close, so close, too close. He could count each and every drop of water that had collected along the edges of your lashes, and the expression you were making was one that he had only seen in his dreams. Surely, soon, he would wake up, and the feeling of your breath fanning against his lips would only have been a manifestation of his deepest desires…
Was this okay? Was this really okay? Just months ago, you were on the verge of a breakdown, and while his intentions of taking care of you were completely pure, had he always secretly hoped that they would lead to this very moment?
Diluc swallows thickly, trying to control his breathing as he shifts to give you more access to him. You were no longer reacting to the cold now, and yet you occasionally tremble—could this mean—
Snap.
You withdraw sharply, and out of pure instinct, you both reach for your weapons. Diluc reassumes his ready stance, an arm protectively reaching across your figure.
“[Y/N].”
You relax as quickly as you had tensed up. “Razor?”
Sure enough, a mop of wild, unkempt grey hair comes into view. The boy-wolf that Lisa occasionally mentors regards you and him with mild curiosity, completely uncaring that he was soaked to the bone.
“Razor, hello,” you say weakly, your voice undoubtedly tinged with embarrassment. Diluc, for his part, wants nothing more than for the ground to snap him up right then and there.
“[Y/N]. Fischl, waiting.”
“Fischl is waiting for me?” You shrug Diluc’s coat off your shoulders.. “Did she say why?”
Razor scratches his head. “Uh…Fischl says many things. I don’t understand. But purple bird says to find you.”
“Right, right. Thank you, Razor.” You peer out from under the tent, surveying the sky above and the area outside before turning to Diluc. He’d be lying if he’d say he wasn’t disappointed at how quickly the moment dissolved, like a bubble drifting over a lake.
But even so, something changed. He could feel it, see it, even—if the look in your eyes meant anything, at least.
You bring your lip in between your teeth, sucking in a deep breath before letting it out in a breathy laugh. Diluc laughs as well, the connection he’s always felt with you seemingly humming like a tuning fork in delight.
“It’s, um…” You gesture lamely outside. “It isn’t raining as hard now, so…”
“Yes…yes, I see that.”
“I have to see what Fischl wants. Then I’ll go back to Mondstadt, I think.”
He gazes up at you. “May I escort you back?”
You raise your eyebrows in surprise, before putting on a teasing smile. “Fischl can take a while, you know.”
“Precisely.”
You shake your head, your expression as soft as the breaking dawn. “My knight in shining armor.”
Diluc snorts. You laugh, holding your hand out to him, which he gladly takes.
Fischl’s parents had been gracious enough to offer dinner, which allows you and Diluc to walk back home with full bellies and high spirits.
You regale Diluc with stories of your adventures, of your time in Liyue, in particular, as you take the road leading to Springvale. In turn, Diluc finds himself slowly opening up about his missions as the so-called “Darknight Hero”, taking great pleasure at the way you complain about the levels of danger he constantly experiences.
The summer was nearly over, but the heat radiating from the dirt path was as potent as it was in the beginning of the season. But the heat radiating from your touch, which he feels as his hand occasionally grazes yours, is not at all scorching; your touch was warm, comforting. Your touch felt like home.
He dares to link one of his fingers around yours as you near your newly-renovated house, and you indulge him, up until you have to let go to unlock your front door.
“Today was fun,” you tell him.
“It was,” he agrees.
You watch with a fond smile as he reaches for the hand he’d held just seconds prior, pressing his lips on top of your palm. “Good night,” he whispers.
“Good night.”
He turns at the same time you do, and he takes a few steps away before stopping to listen to your front door close.
He counts three seconds. Four. Five.
Silence.
You glance over your shoulder, barely halfway through the doorway. Diluc stands with his back to you, unmoving. Seemingly…unwilling to go.
As if he’d read your mind, he steals a look at you over his shoulder.
You don’t need to say anything—you only crack your door a little wider.
Diluc stares at you for a good while, before shrugging his coat off and following you inside.
“You’re in a good mood, aren’t you, Master Diluc?”
Diluc’s eyes flicker up momentarily, before he returns his concentration to the drink he was making. “Whatever do you mean, Acting Grandmaster?”
“I haven’t seen you this…lively. In forever, it seems,” Jean remarks, stirring the cup of coffee in front of her. “Did the trip to the Golden Apple Archipelago improve your mood?”
“I jumped off a dragon, took an unexpected dip in the ocean, and supervised Klee as she bombed countless fish,” Diluc says flatly.
Jean laughs. “I suppose a lot happened.” She turns to face the other side of the tavern, and Diluc follows her gaze. There you were, groaning as Kaeya gleefully takes all the bets you’d placed on the table.
Diluc sighs. “That’s the fifth drink they’ve had tonight.”
“Might have a tough time bringing them home.”
He finishes up on the orders and spends the rest of the evening slowly getting ready to close up, while making sure to keep an eye on you. Surprisingly, Jean takes her sweet time finishing her coffee; must have been a slow day for the Knights, he thinks.
Seeing as she had more time on her hands than usual, he assumes it wouldn’t hurt to ask…
“Jean, would the Deaconess happen to be free anytime within the next few months?”
“I haven’t quite kept up with the Church’s schedule recently,” Jean answers, lifting the cup to her lips. “Why do you ask?”
“I’m planning to ask [Y/N] to marry me.”
Jean all but spits out her coffee.
Diluc hands her a napkin, trying to maintain his composure despite the burning in his ears and the stares he and the Acting Grandmaster were getting. He glances at you, and sure enough, you regard the sight with a curious look in your eyes; he dismisses you with a small shake of his head.
“My…my sincerest apologies,” Jean manages, her face bright red as she dabs at her mouth. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“It’s fine,” Diluc assures her. “I suppose I should have been more…discreet.”
“Not at all, just…” Jean takes a quick look around the room, fidgeting in her seat as she does so. “Pardon my rudeness, but don’t you think it’s too soon?”
“It’s been a year.” Diluc hands Jean another cup of coffee, to replace the one she’d spilled. “I’ve also known them forever, and…well, it just seems like the next logical step.”
“I suppose so, but…what about Kaeya?”
He fights the urge to roll his eyes. “What about him?”
“You don’t suppose there could be any sort of conflict of interest?”
“Would there be one?” Diluc narrows his eyes. “Is there something I need to know?”
Jean holds her hands up. He sighs. “I have been…thinking of letting him know. But everything between them is history now.”
Jean seems to mull the idea over. “I suppose I could ask Barbara when she’s free.”
“Oooh, you two look like you’re sharing secrets,” you say, sidling up next to Jean. “Can I get in on it?”
“Have your savings run dry already?” Diluc asks.
“I managed to redeem myself in the end, thank you very much,” you assert before sticking your tongue out at him. “Jean, make sure a portion of Kaeya’s salary this month goes straight to me.”
Jean laughs nervously. “I’m sure you two can work something out.”
Diluc looks at you. “Ready to head home?”
“Mhmm.” You hold onto Jean like an anchor of sorts as you shoot Diluc a dopey grin. “Can we go for a ride again?”
“Last time that happened you threw up on the horse,” he replies, handing Charles the rag he’d been holding on to all evening. “Jean, do stay and enjoy yourself. The rest of your orders will be on the house.”
Jean blinks in surprise. Diluc manages to turn you away long enough to give her a knowing look. “I—thank you,” she manages. “Take care on your way home, Sir Diluc. [Y/N].”
“Bye, bye, Jean,” you sing. “Bye, Kaeya! Bye, everyone!”
The entire tavern seemed to bid you goodnight as Diluc ushers you out the door, holding you around your waist.
“It’s so hot,” you complain.
“Well, summer’s almost over, so just hang in there.”
“Don’t want it to end,” you mumble. “I don’t like the cold.”
Diluc raises an eyebrow. “You just said it was so hot.”
You nod solemnly before pulling yourself out of his hold, only to loop your arms around his shoulders, waddling backwards as he continues his pace. “Will you carry me?”
“Absolutely not. You’ll thank me tomorrow morning if you sober up on the way home now.”
Your eyebrows furrow, and you suddenly dig your heels into the ground, forcing Diluc to a stop. He regards your small pout with amusement. “Yes?”
You say nothing, and for a minute he thinks you’re just going to keep pouting up a storm until he gives in. He’s about to, before your expression suddenly changes as you take his face into your hands.
He whispers your name in concern, but you only continue to run your fingers across his cheeks, occasionally tracing the slope of his Cupid’s bow. He presses his forehead against yours, paying no attention to the wine on your breath.
“Is everything alright?”
You give the most miniscule of nods. “It’s nothing. Just…nothing.”
You’d always been a good liar.
Among all the family heirlooms that had been passed down to Diluc, he believes his mother’s wedding ring is the most beautiful.
He remembers Crepus presenting it to him shortly after his mother passed. “This is yours now,” his father had said. “Someday, when you find the right one for you, you give them this. No other promise is as binding; no responsibility is greater than that of having someone’s heart in your possession.”
He had never felt the weight of his father’s words, not until he’s painfully aware of your presence just a couple of rooms away. You’d been called away for work so often recently, that he had only managed to lure you away with the promise of a candle-lit dinner “just because”. Though you’d looked at him warily at his choice of words, you’d agreed, to his immense relief.
Diluc had been sweating from the minute you’d walked into the courtyard, just barely concealing his anxiety as you take in the scene in front of you: a table set up as if for a banquet instead of a simple dinner for two, illuminated only by the candles in the middle and the nearby crystalflies floating around the vineyard.
He’d been so absorbed in his own head to notice that a troubled look had been on your face all evening, which you’d dismissed as your general worry over a concern you’d gotten at the Guild. He could only wonder what sort of problem you’d encountered at work that had you stressing over it, even when you were together. He tries to look back to the first time he’d noticed something was wrong, and only remembers you spending most of your recent time with him reading through a pamphlet you’d gotten from work—a pamphlet you’d never offered to let him read.
But Diluc takes your word for it, and the dinner progresses to its end with ease—well, with as much ease as his thrashing heartbeat would allow him to feel. He’d briefly considered putting his proposal off to a different date and whisking you away into the bedroom anyway, and at the height of the pressure he was feeling, he’d nearly caved.
But one smile was all it took from you; one smile, and a brief brush over the top of his hand. He’s been on the receiving side of your touch multiple times before, and even in much more lascivious situations. Immediately after, however, he’d excused himself, rushing off to grab his mother’s ring from his study.
And there he was, shivering despite the warmth radiating from the fireplace, the box in his hand about to make a permanent dent into his skin. He could stop here, really. Perhaps Jean was right, and it is too early…
But who else would he ever want by his side for the rest of his life? He could finally keep his promise to your father’s spirit, save you from the heartbreak that had brought about a tumultuous turn of events. He could see his father now, nodding in approval, telling him how he’d always known this day would come…
“[Y/N]?”
You jerk your head around at the sound of his voice, following it all the way up to the top of the stairs where he was currently standing. Diluc takes one look at you, the tension practically oozing off your figure, and he’s temporarily brought back to earth.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“I…” You clear your throat. “I don’t know how to answer that.”
“Tell me, please,” he says, coming down the stairs. “There’s nothing we can’t fix together.”
You seem to be in even more of a dilemma than he was, and he wonders just what could be more serious than him about to ask you for your hand in marriage. It couldn’t be that serious, he thinks. The Guild’s never in real danger, and there’s never been an issue you’d never been able to resolve…
He watches as you finally make your move, fishing around in your pockets and finally pulling out a hastily folded piece of paper. When you hand it to him, he realizes it’s a pamphlet—the same pamphlet that you’d been so conflicted over these past few days.
He only needs to read the first line to understand what was happening.
“The Guild has proposed permanently stationing me in Liyue to prepare for a higher position in the Intelligence Department,” you say, your voice now starting to ring in his ears. “I’m quite familiar with the region now, and the pay is much better, so there’s really no reason for me to turn it down.”
Diluc, for the first time in a long time, finds himself speechless. Mouth dry, thoughts racing, heart about to implode. You seem to notice his predicament, and you come over to run your hands over his chest, as if to smooth over the crater that had formed at your words.
“When were you going to tell me?”
You look up at him guiltily. “I tried to,” you reply. “But your head’s been in the clouds lately. When I saw the dinner you’d put up outside, I…well, I panicked a little.”
“Panicked…why?” The ring in his pocket seems to weigh him down like an anchor.
“I—well, I thought you’d figured me out.” You wring your hand helplessly. “When you said you wanted to have dinner, I thought it was to celebrate this. Even though I hadn’t told you yet. Even though…I’m leaving.”
Permanently, he finishes for you, as he wordlessly hands you the pamphlet back. Time, which had always seemed to slow down for him and you, seemed to kick back into the speed that it had always been associated with—uncaring, unmerciful, trampling over plans and visions that even he thought set in stone. All he can feel is the whiplash from the sudden shift in atmosphere, all he can hear are his father’s words echoing in his head, and all he can think about is how Jean and Kaeya and Fischl and all the people you both cared about are waiting in the tavern, expecting the best of news—
“Well,” he manages, reaching over to cup your face in his palm. “I suppose some congratulations are in order.”
You finally break into a smile, the most genuine one he’s seen on you all evening, and his battered heart stutters pitifully in his chest. Despite the chaos in his head, one thought makes itself known to him: that adventuring has all you’ve ever dreamt of doing, and any advance in your career means more opportunities to explore the world.
“I couldn’t have gotten here without you,” you whisper. “If you hadn’t gotten me out of that slump I was in…if you hadn’t taken me out on that ride that day, or if you hadn’t taken me in until I felt better…”
You shake your head, a short laugh escaping your lips. “Who knows? I probably would have been stuck here forever.”
He remains silent as you lean over to press your lips against his cheek, and the action feels more familial than anything else. It was absurd of him to think so, considering you’ve both done so much more, and surely at one point you’d have felt the same way he did…
…to be fair, he never really got to ask.
In hindsight, you’d never really said anything.
taglist:
@izayanna @moraxebodyspray @thetwinkims @cybersnotonline @decaffeinateddragonbananagoth @candyqueen10 @littlefluffbunz-4208 @xuenn @skiue @axerrri @idkwhattonamethis1000 @foelup @rasasvavda @themoonalienhere2000 @catharia-catharsis @catboyjesus @that-jax @xcherriess14 @friend-ofcloud @berryunderscore @kazu-topia @flerpdederp @bugtim3 @kelly339 @pinaplemess1 @ch1och1o @sixetyfive @saeran-g @gloomdoomraccoon @casey8522 @oxptify @the-dreaming-city @nadav-ii @lilydewi22 @blackberri-jelli @lowoluwu @mintyuser @functionalawkward @emobtches @twilightace @cherriesxpeaches @bofqdeeznuts @blackcoffeelovers @lololooooooo16 @skyeackermans @goblinratman101 @lucy-roo
#🍡—dango-works#🎶—oth#diluc x reader#diluc x you#diluc x y/n#diluc x gn reader#diluc ragnvindr x reader#genshin impact x you#genshin impact x y/n#diluc angst#diluc x reader angst#diluc ragnvindr x y/n#diluc ragnvindr x you
296 notes
·
View notes
Text
uhh,,, umm, ah, uhhh, huhhhh huhuhuhhh
I'm.. dying.....
I can't go on,,,, any ,, longer....
Mr Darcy as *cough* Diluc pls save,,, mwee
#art#fanart#my art#genshin impact#原神#(y/n)#character x y/n#genshin x reader#diluc genshin impact#genshin diluc#pride and prejudice#diluc ragnvindr#diluc x reader
7K notes
·
View notes
Text
x : MY DILUC, MY EVERYTHING :*+ﾟ
in which: you tell diluc that klee finds him 'too boring' to be your boyfriend. he can't help but feel like she's right.
warnings: 1.3k words, insecure diluc who needs a little reassurance, mostly dialogue, klee being cute but also a menace, so much fluff with a dash of angst.
a/n: i have not posted anything in so long, but i wanted this to be my first fic of 2024 because i love diluc <3 i hope you all enjoy this little fic!
“What do you mean Mr Diluc is your boyfriend?” Klee asks, tilting her head to the side with an inquisitive look in her eyes as you bend down to her height.
“I mean that Mr Diluc is my boyfriend. My partner. We’ve been together for years now.”
“You mean that Mr Diluc, right?” She raises a tiny hand in the direction where the red-haired in question stands. He’s immersed in conversation with Kaeya and Jean, but from one glance you can tell the estranged brothers are up to no good. Or rather, that Kaeya is having the time of his life provoking your partner.
“That’s the one. I think he’s the only one, Klee.”
Her pointer finger then comes up to her chin in contemplation, and her breath of contemplation materialises as a small cloud, condensating in the winter chill. “Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“Why is he your boyfriend?”
“Well, why wouldn’t he be?”
“No offence to Mr Diluc, but he’s so cold and boring!” She cries, clenching her fists to her chest, as if being ‘boring’ was a crime to humanity. “And he never smiles. He should smile more but I would find him scarier like that… so maybe he should stay the way he is: a total gloomy bum bum!”
You can’t help but laugh at her honest statement, muffling the noise with your hand. She blinks at you and wonders what she said that made you laugh, but you simply tell her that it’s nothing.
“Maybe, but I love that ‘gloomy bum bum’ just the way he is.”
“But… why? Y/n is so kind and knows how to smile! Mr Diluc is too sad and boring for you.”
Over the course of your relationship with the wine monopolist, you were met with resistance from various people who believed they wanted ‘the best’ for him. These were including, butand not limited to, businessmen, his admirers, and old aristocrats with wealth on the brink of collapsing. You never let their passive aggressiveness get to you, their comments burned to ashes by the way Diluc lights the way for you with his undying flames.
Yet hearing a child, who has no real grip of the world beyond explosions and how not to blow up Monstadt, explain that Diluc shouldn’t be with you because he doesn’t know how to smile is… unbelievable. Her intentions are nothing but pure for her knowledge of the world has not yet been tainted by the nuance of human behaviour. As refreshing as it feels to have her support, any insults you hear about Diluc are unpleasant to hear. Though she may not hold any malice, perhaps her judge of character needs to be deepened.
“Sometimes, the coldest people are really the warmest,” you begin, gently wrapping her scarf around her neck. “Mr Diluc is one of those people.”
“Really?”
“Warmer than a fireplace, or a Pyro Crystalfly, or Jumpty Dumpty.”
Her eyes widen. “Really?”
“Yes, but please don’t go blowing one up just to see how warm it can be. Jean already told you about the animals hibernating during winter, you shouldn’t go disturbing them.”
She tucks her hands behind her back, eyes downcast and ears flopped.
“Do you remember when Albedo took you to Dragonspine and when you melted a chunk of ice, crystalflies flew out of it?”
“They were so pretty and became super warm! I wish I caught one of them, but they flew away too quickly.”
“Mr Diluc is just like that ice with the fireflies. You just need to warm up to him and when you do, he can be one of the best people you’ll ever meet.”
“Will he fly away too?”
“You could keep an eye on him and find out.”
She nods, determination alighting in her eyes with the new task you assign her. Although you’re pretty positive she won’t ever succeed with it, you’re just happy you’ve found a way to show Klee that your lover isn’t as terrible as she deems. A flash of familiar red hair appears in your periphery.
“Dear?” He calls, capturing your attention. “Shall we head into the tavern now? It’s too cold to stay out here.”
Sparing one last glance at Klee who regards your partner with fire in her eyes, you can’t help but smile at the pure innocence in her heart. With a ruffle of her hair as goodbye, you take Diluc’s hand and stand, waving goodbye to the rest of the group before heading in the direction of Angel’s Share. Shuddering, you sink deeper into the wool of your coat and the warmth of his Pyro Vision, a perfect combat to the winter frost that’s covered Monstadt.
“You know,” you begin when both of you have arrived at the empty tavern and the red-haired has a fire started in the corner. He urges you to continue with a soft ‘hum’. “The conversation I had with Klee just won’t leave my head.”
“Oh? What’d she say?”
Sitting down on a cold stool, you keep your gaze on him as he walks behind the counter. It seems like he’s preparing drinks and snacks for you: some cheese, crackers, and grapes.
“First of all, she only found out today that I was dating you.”
“Oh? Jean or Albedo haven’t told her before?”
“I guess neither of us appear that much in conversation together. But she refused to believe it at first, being like ‘you mean that Mr Diluc?’, ‘why is he your boyfriend?’,” you laugh. “She thought that you were too gloomy to be with me and that I should be with someone who knows how to smile.”
His cheese knife halts, the sound of metal meeting wood slicing through the atmosphere. However, you’re too engrossed in retelling the story to notice the way he freezes.
“How silly. Kids really have the wildest presumptions and thoughts to match.”
Diluc continues preparing the food, stiff hands moving along the counter. You don’t say more than that, saving further conversation for when he’s done. As he sets the arrangement of crackers, cheese, and grapes down, it’s accompanied by a heavy sigh.
“What if… she’s right?” Asks the winery owner, voice no louder than a whisper.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“I did, but I don’t understand why you think that way too.”
“Well, smiling isn’t my strong suit anymore and I’ve been told by the knights that the children find my expression too scary.”
“You know anyone can smile, right?” You ask jovially. “It’s not like a statistical impossibility-“
“It’s not just that,” he interjects sharply. Your smile fades, acknowledging Diluc’s sombre expression that clarified he wasn’t joking around like you thought. However, seeing the change in your attitude sobered him and that sharp glance fades, turning into something remorseful and softer. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap like that.”
“No no, it’s my fault for not taking you seriously. Please, go on.”
“I’m quite boring, you know.” He fiddles with the ends of his leather gloves. “Did you never think that maybe what Klee said could be correct?”
“Never because she’s not correct. Honestly, Diluc, after all these years of being together and hearing what some people have to say about us, I never thought you’d think like this.”
He casts his gaze downwards. “Because those people don’t know me like you do.”
Two hands come up to cup his cheeks, gently directing him to look up at you and meet your kind expression. All inhibitions he had melt away at the sight of your smile.
“I can only hope they never do,” you reply simply, confidence lacing your words.
Being with him is not easy. He is a busy man, one who manages the entirety of Monstadt’s wine business during the day and takes to the shadows to look after your beloved city at night. Yet, despite working with the sun and moon, he still gives all of him to you. For as long as Diluc will allow it, you hope to be the only person he’ll pick baskets of grapes with, play slow games of chess with, and freely lay out his convictions to.
You’ll be damned to give up your spot beside him without a fight.
Diluc doesn’t believe he deserves the same. “You’re too patient with me. I’ve let you down too much for you to be this forgiving,” he grabs your wrists and gently knocks his forehead against yours. “I can’t give you everything you want.”
“You’re my Diluc, you already are everything.”
© EARTHTOOZ 2024, do not steal, translate, repost my fics and do not recommend my fics onto any other site.
#earthtooz: genshin impact#diluc x reader#diluc ragnvindr x reader#diluc x y/n#genshin diluc#genshin fic#diluc x reader fluff#diluc fluff#genshin x reader
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
Forced / Arranged Marriage Trope
Diluc, Ayato, Pierro, Zhongli x Reader
A/N: this took me ages to write (cough cough ayato) and even longer to edit but i dont care i love this trope... i hope you like it too </3 i love mean m3n! the whole ‘oh i dont think he loves me but he actually does’ is so fun.... so fun
fem!reader bc I like the use of ‘wife’
WC - 3.3k
~~~
Diluc R.
“Where is my wife?”
The echo of Diluc’s demanding tone as he enters the Winery almost makes Adelinde flinch. From all her years of caring for the young owner, she knows too well what a sensitive spot you are for the man. The head maid tends to keep a watchful eye on you both out of the kindness in her own heart even when you and Diluc are in somewhat of a quarrel.
“In your study,” Adelinde doesn’t look at Diluc as she continues to dust a lamp, she works diligently but keeps her ears sharp all the same. Nothing ever slips out from under her nose.
A gentle smile appears on her lips as Diluc passes her and heads straight for the large doors of his office.
“Where were you?” Diluc’s anger is something you’ve come accustomed to lately. Over the course of your relationship from mere acquaintances to forced husband and wife, you’ve never noticed how well you manage to step on his toes.
“Where was I?” You repeat while continuing to flip through one of the romance novels Jean recommended to you. Your husband came in at such an awful time, right in the middle of a scene full of tension and declarations of love. A quiet sigh leaves your lips as you close the book in hopes of picking it up again later.
“We have an arrangement at six o’clock in front of the gates every day,” Diluc does little to hide his frustrations, that much is clear to you as you finally run your eyes over his tensed form. He stands tall in front of you on the opposite side of the desk, his large arms flexed from where they’re crossed over his broad chest. “have you forgotten?”
No, you have not.
Today of all days, you wanted to have a few extra minutes to yourself so you left work early and practically ran home. It’s not that you didn’t want your husband to accompany you like he does most days but, you really wanted to finish your new novel in peace. You never imagined that Diluc would care this much about your absence.
“It appears to have slipped my mind,” You try to give him a kind smile, an innocent gesture but Diluc knows you too well. He sighs before pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ease the headache that is forming.
“I thought something had happened to you,” His outburst surprises you but, you don’t let it show on your face. Diluc’s protectiveness is something you’ve always been aware of yet it manages to catch you off guard every time. As time goes on, you think you’ll start to become more accustomed to it. “you know of the dangers that lurk out there.”
“I am capable enough to make it home by myself, Master Diluc,” You reach for your book again but Diluc is quick to clasp his hand over your own, he pins your wrist down against his wooden desk and tries to keep the anger in his eyes leveled with his fiery hair.
“I told you not to call me that,” There’s a slight defeat in his voice, one that almost makes you feel guilty for teasing him. He hates it. The name makes him sound like a stranger to you, it makes him think that you don’t see him in the same light. Diluc always hoped that you would return a mere flicker of affection in the candle that is his love for you. However, he doesn’t like to fool himself. “do not leave me waiting tomorrow. I will pick you up at six o’clock.”
“Alright,” You sigh and gently place your chin on your palm, elbow resting against his large desk. Diluc looks you over with hard eyes as if he is mentally contemplating his next move. You expected him to head straight for the door and leave, to start the same nightly tasks he always runs off to when he drops you off at home. He doesn’t.
Instead, the winery owner takes a step closer to you and grits his teeth. He bends down with little hesitation and places a harsh kiss on your cheekbone before leaving the study with a soft click of the door. His affection catches you off guard, causing your heart to thump in your chest.
Every day he wins your heart over a little more.
By the time Adelinde pokes her head in a few minutes later, you’re still not sure if you have wiped the surprise off of your face. The head maid gives you a gentle smile as she pretends to dust a book, offering a piece of advice and a grim reminder.
“Lady (Y/N), please try to understand where he is coming from. If something were to happen to you, Master Diluc would lose his family all over again.”
K. Ayato
“Your marriage cannot fail.”
There were many rules and guidelines set for you and the Yashiro Commissioner on the premise of your alliance. Above all, you were sworn to protect the name of the Tri-Commission. The two of you are to maintain the facade of a happy marriage in the face of the Narukami population and the entirety of Inazuma.
The rule itself is very simple but, places an uncomfortable weight on your shoulders. You fear that you’ll one day be crushed by the severity of the situation.
At least, your husband tries his best with you.
“Are you retiring for the evening, dear?” In passing, Ayato stops you as he heads for his office. He offers you a kind smile and a delicate brush of his fingertips against your elbow. You nearly shiver at the contact over the material of your clothes.
“I am. Will you be joining me?” Eight months of being married to him and you have learned not to expect anything. It prevents the bitter heartache that forms every time his face slightly drops and his ounce of affection for you reverts back into professionalism.
“Forgive me but, I will not. I need to finish reviewing a proposal from the Kanjou Commission.” His hand leaves your arm and falls pitifully back to his side. It’s as if the mere thought of being a husband closes him off to you.
“I see.” You know how he despises small talk and would just rather get to the point so you ultimately end the interaction for him. There is no fight coming from your side, no fit that is thrown, you simply continue on with your life.
“Good night.” As Ayato leans down and gently kisses your cheek, he firmly holds onto your bicep with a soft squeeze. It’s a flash of love that leaves your cheeks warm and your heart fluttering as he excuses himself and makes his way toward his office.
No matter how much you want to believe in him, you can’t help but think that everything is all for show.
Sleep doesn’t come easy for you that night, it never does when you’re set to spend it alone. The utter silence of the bedroom causes your boredom to hit an all-time high as you stupidly decide to seek out your husband.
Hours ago you were mentally cursing his existence while simultaneously bathing in his affections and now, you’re reaching out for him again.
Do you want him or not? Do you love him or hate him?
You really don’t know.
“Wife, you’re still awake.” It takes Ayato a few moments to greet you after you enter his office. The quiet noise of his door sliding shut pulls him away from his work for the briefest moment as his blue eyes glance over your body. Ultimately, he looks back down at his paper and then attempts to organize his thoughts and desk by neatly stacking the scrolls. “Are you having trouble sleeping?”
Ayato holds his hand out to you and you hesitantly place your fingers against his own. He takes the inch you give him and turns it into a mile as he tugs you toward him.
You kneel beside him now and through the force of his pull, you begin to lean against his shoulder. Under his touch, you become stiff and it causes your husband to laugh.
Your head starts to hurt at trying to read him.
“You confuse me,” You whisper as Ayato cups your cheek, despite how you keep your eyes glued to his table, he has no problem selfishly forcing you to look at him.
“I confuse you?” He repeats and slightly tilts his head while looking you over, like this his face is inches away from yours. “How can I possibly make myself clear to you?” His quiet murmurs don’t distract you from the way he’s lowering his face. You stop him before he can get any closer.
“That is what I mean, if you touch me so easily I will misunderstand your feelings.” You attempt to move from the tight grip he has on you but, you can’t get free. “Don’t kiss me if you don’t love me.”
Ayato merely hums and loosens his grip on your shoulder. At the chance to put some much-needed space between the two of you, you ultimately fall back against the floor. Your husband follows quickly and once again latches onto you as he places his arms on either side of your head.
His soft lips hover over your ear, brushing along your cheek before he places a soft peck on your jaw.
“I kiss you,” He watches your every move as his hand cups your cheek. The slight of you nervously squirming does more to him than he cares to admit. “because I love you.”
Pierro
“Enough with the unnecessary dramatics.” Scolding you is something of second nature to the first of the eleven Fatui harbingers. He picks you apart and molds you into the perfect shape until that shape no longer holds any value to him. When he finds a flaw, Pierro starts all over again. “Crafting when there is work to be done, have you no shame?”
For as cruel as he acts, your husband is utterly obsessed with you.
He glares down at you, and at the ceramic flower pot you poured your heart and soul into creating for him, with hostility in his eyes. Your caring hands shaped a perfectly sized holder, one in perfect condition and your husband will be sure to put it on display within his office. It will be perfect on his desk and when he misses your companionship, he will be sure to look at it and remember the fondness he holds for you.
Even if you hate him all the same.
“What work do you expect a lonely housewife to be doing?” The fire in your eyes rivals the flames that once burned his nation to the ground. Despite the fight in your soul, Pierro will have no trouble shaping you back into order. You grit your teeth at him, nearly barring your anger and the harbinger finally puts his paperwork down to look at you.
You’ll never understand him and he’ll never understand you.
All this started because you wanted to give him a stupid gift that you now deeply regret. You thought that if an ounce of kindness could touch his heart then maybe he would show a drop of affection, a mere plop of something that isn’t disappointment towards you.
“I expect you to keep this house in order.” His voice is hard, set in stone, as he shifts his shoulders back to sit up even straighter in his head chair. “You can’t possibly be doing that when you are distracted by irrelevant tasks.”
“You are a stupid old man,” Your glare is fierce as you curse him and mentally curse the Tsaritsa for setting your fate. This is a loveless marriage, a misalliance. How could she have done this to you?
Pierro’s eyes narrow towards you as he waits for you to finish your tantrum, it ends with a loud slam of his office door. You have, no doubt, retreated to the room you call your ‘own’ despite being forced to share a room with him. The man would lock your door if he could, to keep you out of your room and instead by his side. But, above everything, your husband does deeply care about you and tries to respect your space.
His affection has since grown for you after he met you, months before he lifted the veil off of your face during your marriage ceremony. Only the Tsaritsa could have blessed him with such a gift, a treasure that he will be sure to spoil until the end of his days.
No matter how strongly you fight him, how much you resist, his love will never dull. If only his feelings were strong enough to get through to you.
Later in the evening, Pierro finds you again. He discovers you curled up under your blankets, a pillow hugged to your chest and another pressed against your back. He has no issue ripping the pillow away from you as if the offending piece of furniture was daring to hide you from him. There’s little struggle in the way he picks you up in his arms, scooping his large forearms under your thighs and back to hold you against his chest.
He doesn’t blink as he walks past stationed Fatui subordinates to your shared bedroom, he doesn’t even flinch when you jolt awake and then sulk in his arms. Without a fight, you let him place you on the right side of the bed before he heads toward the door and locks it.
While Pierro gets rid of his daily attire, you choose to glare at the duvet. Your frustrations don’t last long when you catch onto his armor now painting the floor. The sensual drop of each article catches your attention quickly and you don’t hide the way you stare. Anger be damned, you want him.
Your husband has to pretend not to notice your lustful gaze. Somewhere in his chest, his pride surges at the way your eyes run over his tanned skin. He teases you and takes his time with finding his spare clothes for sleep.
But before the harbinger can even think about getting into bed, you’re already behind him and wrapping your arms around his thick waist. You don’t shy away from your affections as you press your face into his muscular back and dip your hands down towards the front of his pants.
It’s as if the beloved and feared Tsaritsa knew exactly what she was doing when she paired the two of you together. Through love and hate, she made the perfect match.
Zhongli
“Please get those glaze lilies out of my sight.” The beautiful flower, delicate and pure, reminds you of all the things you are not. You can’t stand to see them paraded in a vase, decorated by your husband as he tends to the flowers more than he has ever tended to you.
Zhongli freezes at the harsh tone coming from your lips, he turns to you slowly with confusion etched into his features. His hand which was once gently holding onto the petal of the flower falls to his side.
“I don’t understand.” Although he tries to read you and figure out where you are coming from, he simply can’t.
“I am tired of those flowers and I hate looking at them.” Resentment pours out of you in buckets, years and years of self-hatred boils over at the mere glance of a petal. You accepted that you would be stuck in a loveless marriage the second the Adepti arranged this misalliance. In their eyes, and all the eyes of the archons, you are nothing more than a tool. Almighty Morax needs to produce offspring, who better to satisfy him than a healthy human?
But, much to your relief (and despair), you’ve never once spent the night with the man yet. Not in all seven years of your marriage have either of you gotten as close as a kiss. There must be another in his heart, someone he cares for but could never have, you’re sure of it.
From the beginning, you accepted that he would never love you or cherish you the way you secretly wish that he would but, that doesn’t mean you can stand to watch how he fawns over fucking glaze lilies.
“Where is this hostility coming from?” Zhongli rises from the floor, from where he was on his knees tending to his beloved bouquet. Anger courses through your veins and causes the tips of your fingers to shake. How could you ever explain it to him?
“Are you married to those flowers?” Your question makes the archon tilt his head before he glances back at the large vase.
“I am not.”
“Then why do you touch them more than you touch me?” Through your frustrations, you missed the slight widening of your husband’s eyes. For a mere second, he finally got through to you. “You love those flowers more than you love me!”
If you’re getting this upset because of him, feeling jealousy and envy to the point that it nearly swallows you whole because of him-
“Does this mean that you have feelings for me?” Zhongli calmly looks you over but, he is anything but calm on the inside. Nothing about him right now is rational as he mentally fights back the primal need to have you. He has adored you since the second he laid eyes on you, not that you would ever notice.
You look absolutely revolted by his question and you try to swat it away with the back of your hand.
“What?” Nothing about you is prepared for this situation or the way Morax is closing in on you. For each step that your husband takes, you take a step away from him until your back hits the window built into your wall. Zhongli towers over you and braces some of his weight on his hands placed on either side of your head.
“Do you love me, wife?” He shifts his head forward, tilting his face down so that his hair covers his eyes. You hold your breath. His sharp nose runs along your jaw before guiding your head to tilt back. “Do you acknowledge me as your husband, finally?”
You place your hands flat on his chest to try and push him away but try as you might, Morax does not budge.
“W-Why would I love you? You don’t even love me?” Your scoff and lies do little to hide how fast your heart is racing, to hide the flustered state you are in.
“I don’t love you?” He murmurs before his fingers come up to cup your jaw. “You were the one who picked those flowers for our wedding, it is through my love and my love alone that they’ve been preserved for so long.”
“Your love for another.” You confirm with hard eyes and the sight, along with your answer, makes Zhongli click his jaw. He tightly presses his lips together before letting out a quiet and defeated sigh.
“My love for you.” At long last, the truth is out. The secret Zhongli has cultivated and tended to for years is revealed because of your childish outburst. “Don’t you understand?”
You can’t form any words back as all you do is gape at him like a fish out of water. Zhongli takes the matter into his hands furthermore. His fingers tilt your chin up and force you to look up at him. There’s nothing but pure adoration in his bright eyes.
“If I may, allow me to show you, dear wife.”
#diluc ragnvindr x reader#Kamisato Ayato x reader#pierro x reader#zhongli x reader#genshin x reader#diluc x reader#ayato x reader#pierro x you#zhongli x you#genshin x you#genshin x y/n#genshin x female reader#diluc x fem!reader#ayato x fem!reader#pierro x fem!reader#zhongli x female reader#sad another idea I loved writing and then hated when I read it back LMAO
12K notes
·
View notes
Text
the flushed head of diluc's cock barely pokes out of his pale foreskin when he's hard. smooth except for a few dark blue veins, the thin membrane stretches around his girthy tip, the shape of its prominent ridge protruding from within. he hovers over you, thick red hair falling over his shoulders and pre drooling from his peekaboo tip when you reach down and guide him to your needy opening. "need you, luc," you breathe, making him twitch in your hand just before pushing inside.
#should i be ashamed?#idk about that BUT i do know that diluc has a pretty d/ck#so so pretty#you wanna worship it like a statue of the seven honey pls#diluc#diluc ragnvindr#diluc x reader#diluc ragnvindr x reader#diluc x you#diluc x y/n#diluc ragnvindr x you#diluc ragnvindr x y/n#genshin x reader#genshin x you#genshin x y/n#genshin impact x reader#genshin impact x you#genshin impact x y/n#diluc smut#diluc ragnivindr smut#diluc thirst#diluc ragnvindr thirst#genshin thirst#genshin impact thirst#genshin men#genshin impact men
786 notes
·
View notes
Text
freckles & blades & helping hands
✎___ husband!diluc × spouse!reader
✎___ a/n: domestic fluff (literally just a soft scene of diluc shaving his scruff), i aged diluc up a bit i think. use of the pet name honey. somewhat inspired by @/mmmairon's art of beefy, gentle, kind diluc :> 730~ words, not proofread; art by ary scheffer.
"do you need any help?"
legs swinging on the counter top, you lean in & stare, eyes glazing over the handsome lines of your husband's face on the mirror. he has a few crow's feet near his temples. whenever you point it out, he'll always say the wrinkles are evidence of you, you who make him smile & laugh & chuckle until his stomach hurts. it's evidence of a life laughter, he'd say.
the sharp stipple of the razor cuts through the silence.
"no, honey," he says, turning his head & angling the blade to the scruff on his jaw. "it's alright."
the words are spoken softly. it was jarring a few years ago, hearing words of buttercream & sweetness come from a man such as diluc, hulking, dignified, broad-shouldered, almost always with a dour expression on his face.
there was a handsomeness to the gloom before. the sharpness of brows, the bite of his frowns, the particular wrinkle when he scrunches his nose... but you have to admit, the allure is multiplied tenfold when he's all honeyed & dewy-eyed, softer than a cloud.
"i could do it for you, you know?"
his eyes never leave the mirror.
"i still don't understand this... fixation you have," he angles his face in an almost-quarter turn. "i'm just shaving, hon. it's no event you have to witness."
"of course, it is." you lean a little closer. "it's like an unveiling. my husband is showing his true face, one without scruff or stubble."
"an unveiling― ?" his shoulders shake & he puts down the razor for a few moments, small bouts of giggles floating through the room.
he rights himself.
"behave. i'm never gonna finished in time." his stern voice is all for show. he's smiling as he says the words.
a beat passes.
"but isn't it though? they'll finally see all your face. happy wrinkles & all."
he's struggling to fix his lip into a line, unable to stop it from curling into a smile. he's repeating your last few words, mouthing them out as he brings down the razor.
the silence after then is sweet, filled with curious looks towards his face filled with foam & other little chuckles.
"so..." your voice cuts through.
"so...?"
"could i do it for you?"
he taps the razor on the marble sink, shucking hair & foam off the blade.
"you don't know how..." another swipe of the razor.
"you could teach me." tap tap.
"i've..." swipe. "already started." tap
"just the basics." swipe. "an impromptu lesson, yeah? against the grain & all that?"
"it's with the grain, honey."
"right, yeah... i knew that... so are you gonna teach me?"
"hm..."
"oh? usually it's a big, disapproving hrrrnn..."
"you've catalogued my grousing?"
"yup yup, because i am a good spouse who tends to the needs of my husband."
he laughs at that, quietly. another wrinkle on his temple.
"alright, alright... here..."
he gives the razor, grasping it in your hand. he's gentle, careful, righting your hold of the blade.
"okay... here's how it should be..." he guides your hand towards his cheek, speaking in soft murmurs. "just like how my father taught me. listen."
he pulls down, a swipe against his face. hair & foam give way for his pale skin.
"there. let the blade do the work, honey. don't push too harshly."
he makes another swipe, his hand still guiding yours.
"here, just like this." swipe swipe swipe. "you wanna try?"
your small palm finds the back of his neck, pulling him close. brows furrow in concentration as the razor anticipates the next swipe.
"careful, honey, okay?" the warmth of his hand leaves. "i trust you."
shaking fingers steel themselves. the blade goes still before landing on the softness of his skin. it coasts across his jaw, cold metal kissing warm flesh. the line is carved against the shaving foam, no longer obscuring his face.
the swipe is finished. the trust was not betrayed. the result of your work is there upon the blade, as patches of coarse hair & crisp shaving foam.
"how was that?" you murmur.
"wonderful." he's staring into your eyes, not at the razor like you expected. "would you like to keep going?"
"yes, please." you poke at his newly shaven jaw. "i've never noticed your little freckle here."
"i have a few." he pinches your nose. "let's keep going. maybe we can find a few more."
#my fic.#diluc x reader#genshin x reader#diluc x you#diluc x y/n#genshin impact fluff#genshin impact x reader#genshin impact drabble#diluc ragnvindr
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
I was so busy this month. Here some diluc doodle
Husband!Dilue x reader < Pre-Wedding >
#fanart#art#genshin fanart#genshin x reader#genshin x y/n#diluc x you#diluc fanart#diluc x reader#genshin diluc#diluc ragnvindr
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
“𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡”ᯓ ᡣ𐭩
synopsis: diluc using you infront of the other maids
tags: exhibitionism, fr33use, vulgar, explicit, i’m not getting into heaven
wrd cnt: 640+
a/n: lord have mercy on my SOUL.
Being Dilucs maid is the best thing that could have happened to you. He wanted you and you fully. Sure, he had plenty of other maids but they could never posses him with the same feelings you gave him. And he made that quite clear.
He’d check your work every now and then, and tonight he was watching as you swiped the dining table. A few other maids were cleaning around the place, some in the lobby, or the wine cellar, and some replacing the wood in the fireplace.
He walked up behind you, inspecting your work.
He took a finger and swiped it across the wood, “Good girl,” he murmured, his fingers trailing up your thighs. “Now, I want you to bend over the table and lift your skirt.”
The boldness of his words left your face in a deep rouge of red. Everyone was in the room, yet you did as he said, the cool wooden surface pressing against your stomach as you lifted your skirt, exposing your lace panties to the room. You could feel the other maids' eyes on you, but you couldn't bring yourself to care as Diluc's hand came down on your bare skin with a loud smack.
“I think it’s time you took a small break”, he growled, his hand coming down again and again, the sting turning into pleasure with each strike. “Do you want that dear?.” He pulled your panties off and left them at your ankles, one large hand on your ass while he played with your folds, spreading them apart and coating his fingers in your juices.
You moaned in agreement, your arousal dripping down your thighs as he continued to spank you, the other maids' gasps and whispers only adding to the heat in your core. But Diluc seemed unfazed, his attention solely on you and the pleasure he was giving you.
“You did such wonderful work for me today.” He says, “You’re so wet, do you like it when they watch you? They’re all staring at your wet cunt.” He whispered against your ear, hunched over and grinding his clothed cock on your rear.
You can only nod and drool around the fingers in your mouth, sucking on them as you look behind you to meet his eyes, the same ones he just put in your hole moments ago.
He chuckled, reveling in the sight of your sluttiness.
“You want them to watch you take my cock?” he asked, his voice husky with desire.
You nodded, bracing yourself as he positioned himself behind you, his hand gripping your hip as he pushed into you with one smooth thrust. You cried out at the feeling of his size filling you, your head spinning with pleasure and the thrill of being used by him in front of others.
“I expect the rest of you to keep working.” He announcement, the flock of women turning their faces and moving their dusters around.
Diluc's pace was slow and steady, his hand on your hip guiding you as he slammed into you over and over again. You could hear the other maids mumbling behind the tables and overlooking down from the stairs or second floor, but all you could focus on was the intense pleasure radiating through your body.
His words only added fuel to the fire, and you could feel yourself nearing your release. You dug your nails into the wooden table, trying to hold on as Diluc's thrusts became more urgent.
“You’re close aren’t you,” he growled, his hand reaching around to rub your clit. “Cum all over my cock, I know you want to. You’ve done it plenty before. Show them what a little slut you are”.
And that was all it took for you to come undone, your body shaking with pleasure as Diluc continued to thrust into you, riding out your orgasm. He soon followed, his body tensing as he emptied himself inside you in a deep guttural moan, fucking all his cum inside your hole before watching it drip out onto the floor.
He picked the first maid he could see hiding behind the curtain to clean it up.
whimsic4alwasab1 ™ - do not copy, translate, modify, or claim any of my work as your own.
#jo’s posts#diluc#diluc smut#diluc ragnvindr#genshin diluc#diluc x reader#diluc x you#diluc fanart#diluc x y/n#genshin impact#genshin#genshin smut#genshin impact smut#genshin fanfic
704 notes
·
View notes
Text
how the genshin men kiss you pt 1
Diluc - Cheek kisses
this man isn’t the type to show affection out in public one because he’s not comfortable and two because he wants to keep up his image
but when someone in the tavern start to get too handsy with his wife Diluc can be a bit passive aggressive.
lay a hand on her and i’ll kill you
Wriothesley- shoulder kisses
weirdly they’ve become his favorite types of kisses
especially when he’s working late night or more likely over night shift in the fortress of meropide and you off to stay with him.
this mostly consisted of you stand or sitting on his lap while he works.
you could be standing there minding your business and then wrisothesley wraps his arms around your waist and presses a soft kiss on your shoulders.
Zhongli - hand kisses
he is a gentleman through and through
he will slay great his partner the way they should be treated which is with love and respect
he values his relationship and love to show off how important they are whether they are in public or in private.
#diluc x reader#diluc ragnvindr#genshin diluc#diluc x you#diluc fluff#diluc x y/n#wriothesley#wriothesely x reader#wriosthesley#wrio x reader#wriothesley x reader#zhongli#zhongli x reader#zhongli x you#zhongli x y/n#genshin impact x you#genshin impact x reader#genshin x you#genshin impact#genshin x reader
841 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
chloe-clegane
1 Cat Per 200 ft.²
ask-the-king-of-time
Second Chance
raerodart
I Draw What I Like, And I Like What I Draw
albumenplumbob
Albumen Plumbob