The dawn winery mascot

The mascot

a/n (ayo, in no way is this a ship fic! If you really wanna perceive it that way then that's okay w me but I don't ship it and this story isn't meant to be a ship story also i have way too many stories that I'm in the middle of writing gods help me but i got all inspired and wrote this so I hope you enjoy it!)

(AETHER POV)

We were walking down the narrow lanes by the winery. It was nice to have a solid conversation with Diluc. It was a rare occurrence, really, but nevertheless, he was nice to talk to. If you could really get him going, I could see faint traces of his old self in his eyes.

"And then-" he paused, "I'm blabbering, aren't I?" I nodded sheepishly.

He chuckled. "There I go again. Sorry about that."

"It's alright, Diluc. Really. I-" Something caught my eye and I stopped mid-sentence. "What is that?"

Diluc turned his eyes towards where I was looking.

"Is that...?"

I nodded. "I think so."

We inched forwards to get a better look. A small grey kitten looked up at us from where it had been sleeping in the bushes. Diluc looked bewildered. 

"How did it get in here?" He looked down at the kitten with great concern.

I stared blankly at him.

"How am I supposed to know?"He chuckled softly, and shook his head.

"You're right. I suppose you wouldn't know, would you. Anyways, I-"

The small cat crawled up to his hand and nuzzled it.

"It seems to really like you, master Diluc." I pointed out. "You should keep it!"

"W-what? I can't keep it!" He sputtered. "I don't know how to take care of an animal!"

"But what about your bird?" He blinked at me.

"He basically takes care of himself, Aether. I hardly do anything for him." He looked down at the cat. "I wouldn't even know where to start with this." I smiled sympathetically at him.

"Still, you should keep it." I said. "It might be good for you. Besides, you don't necessarily have to take care of it." He stared at me, obviously confused. I was quick to explain. "You see, you have maids, right?" He looked at me. "Well yes, but-" "So," I interrupted him. "They can care for the cat while you are away!"

He nodded. "This could work. And we can't just leave it here..." He nodded. "Yes. We will do that." He picked up the kitten and it nuzzled against his chest.

"Well, look at that, master Diluc, it likes you!" He smiled softly. "Shall we take it inside?" I nodded.

~three weeks later~

I was just in the area around dawn winery doing my commissions, so I figured I would go check on Diluc.

When I walked into his office, a feeling of warmth and happiness rushed over me. He was sleeping with his head on the desk, the cat asleep on his arm. 

I smiled, and closed the door behind me as I left. It felt nice to know that we had made the right choice leaving it here.

a/n (TYSM FOR READING MY STORY! I like cats a lot, and i saw a picture on pinterest and wanted to write a fic about it! btw, the picture is the cover of the story

ANYWAY I HOPE YOU ENJOYED)