Through Thick and Thin- Diluc x (female) Reader

Chapter 66: Bath

Juniper turned and waved to me as she walked away, clutching Robins hand tightly. He turned and waved too before heading through the Stone Gate.
I breathed a sigh of relief, looking over towards Diluc. "It looks like he was telling the truth after all."
"Paimon's glad he didn't have any plans against you and Diluc," Paimon said, watching the father and daughter set off.
"I can't help but agree," Diluc said, looking back at me. "It seems you got some mud on you when you fell..."
"I did?" I asked, examining my arms. Sure enough, there was splashes of mud on the bandages. I put a finger to my cheek, and noticed there was some dirt there too.
"I have some bandages at the Winery from when I was injured, so we can change those as soon as we get back," Diluc said, pointing to my bandages.
"You did a lot to protect that little girl," Aether said, glancing at my dirtied bandages. "I'm sure Robin is thankful for it."
"He better be!" Paimon said, crossing her arms. Then, she looked to my face, examining my new eyepatch. "Hey, Paimon's been meaning to ask. Is that your new eyepatch?" She tilted her head.
"Yeah, I got it this morning," I said, lightly touching the surface of it. "I was kind of sick of the bandages on my face anyways, so I was very glad to see it come in from the blacksmith."
"Paimon thinks it makes you look tough!" She said, her hands on her hips. A wide smile crossed her face. "Maybe the bad guys'll be too scared to go after you now!"
"With the camps being taken down tonight, they will be off our backs at least for a little while," Diluc said, and then he put a hand on my shoulder. "Let's get back to the Winery. We should get you cleaned up. You wouldn't want any infections, would you?"

Minor nsfw warning ahead!

I glanced back at Aether and Paimon as they continued down the path towards the city. Paimon gave a slight wave before continuing to float alongside Aether.
Turning my attention back to Diluc, who was holding the door open to me, I stepped inside. "Sorry," I said, weary of the dirt I was tracking in.
"Please don't worry," Diluc said, closing the door behind me. "It's been raining around here the past few days, so the path has been muddy lately. Mud gets tracked in no matter what."
"Phew... that was quite a bit of walking, huh?" I said, feeling the bones in my legs aching from the walk. "It's late..."
"Master Diluc, y/n," A familiar face who I hadn't seen in some time stepped into the room.
"Adelinde?" My ears perked as she approached us. I hadn't seen her since before I left for Liyue. "I'm surprised you're awake, it's pretty late..."
"It's my job to be available at all times, even during these hours," she said, and offered a rare smile. "Come, let me run a bath for you Miss Y/n."
"Go on," Diluc said, lightly tapping my shoulder before starting to walk away. "Get cleaned up. I'm going to go to the library for a little."
As he walked away, Adelinde turned her attention to me. Her shoulders sunk ever so slightly as she looked to me. "I'm... I'm sorry, y/n."
"What for?" I asked her, and she averted her gaze. Her guise of professionalism seemed to disappear.
"I asked you to keep him safe and you-"
"That was my own choice," I said, realizing that she was talking about my fall. "I made you a promise. I always keep promises."
"But you... you almost died," Adelinde said, folding her hands together. "I know what I said, but..."
"I would have done it regardless, even if I hadn't made that promise," I said, and she looked up to me apologetically. "Don't feel bad for me, please. Everyone else is already doing that."

I sighed in contempt as I slipped into the warm water. The bubbles covered the surface of the water neatly, hiding the rest of me away. I scrubbed at the dirt on my hands, thankful that none of the mud slipped under the bandages.
My legs were free from mud as well, but plenty of the stuff had collected on my shoulders and neck. I rubbed at my skin, seeing some of the dirt disappear into the water.
I heard a knock at the door, and my ears raised, alert. "Yeah?" I called out.
"Y/n, I brought you a towel and some clothing," Diluc said, muffled behind the door. He was silent for a moment. "Can I come in?"
"Oh! Sure," I said before sinking further into the bath, hiding away.
The door creaked open, and Diluc carefully stepped in. He was wearing his nightclothes already, but was missing his usual oversized nightshirt. My eye glanced over his healed scar before my ear raised in confusion. Why isn't he wearing his shirt?
"I... brought you my nightshirt, since you said you liked to wear it," Diluc said, holding up the wad of clothing. He turned for a second to set the towel and shirt down.
"Thanks," I said, hiding my excitement. I loved to wear that shirt. It seemed he even remembered how comfortable it felt to me, too.
He turned back to me, and I sat there awkwardly for a second. He tilted his head and walked over, and I tensed up in surprise.
Diluc kneeled by the bath, dipping his fingers in the water before bringing his hand to my chin. I flushed as he did, not expecting the action. Diluc turned my face to him, and then wiped his thumb at my cheek.
"You missed a spot..." he said, wiping it clean. He brought his hand away from my face, and then seemed to realize what he had done. His cheeks flushed crimson before he stood up. "Sorry," he said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"It's okay," I said, although my heart was racing. "It's not like you haven't seen me before..."
It was the first time I had brought that day up to him since we got back to Mondstadt. He immediately went red again, and turned for the door. I saw his lips pull into a small smile as he gripped the door knob.
"That's... true," he said, leaving and closing the door behind him.
And then, just like it had in Liyue, the strange feeling resurfaced. What was it this time that set it off? Was it my lack of clothing, his proximity in that moment, or the way he delicately lifted my chin with a finger? Perhaps the mere mention of it inspired the feeling to resurface.
I found myself flushing as I sat in the bath, thinking about that afternoon all over again. His lips softly covering my neck, his hands on my hips, his hair falling over me like a curtain.
The way I felt when he tensed up underneath me, when he let out a groan at my slightest movement. My heart was racing again just thinking about that exhilaration.
My mind was spinning, and more time passed than I had realized. I checked the clock on the wall, seeing how long I had been in the water. Although I didn't want to get out of the bath yet, I begrudgingly did so. No matter how badly I wanted to, I couldn't stay in the clean warm water forever.
I dried myself with my towel, and reached for the nightshirt. When I slipped it on, I sighed as the soft fabric slid over my skin. Even the smell reminded me of Diluc. I looked to the floor for the rest of my clothes, then remembered that Adelinde had taken them to be cleaned when I had left them there.
But... my underwear. She must have sent that off, too. I gasped when I realized. Oh gods... I don't have my underwear!
"It's fine..." I whispered to myself, remembering that it wouldn't matter that much. I mean, Diluc has already seen it right?
I took a deep breath as I opened the door, which led straight to Dilucs bedroom. He sat on the bed, still without his shirt, reading a book. On his nightstand I saw a fresh bandages and a glass pitcher of water. Laying next to them was a soft cloth.
Although Barbara wouldn't be able to do her healing tonight and there wasn't any of that red jelly, I figured I'd be fine. The wounds had closed completely, and the deep scratches had turned to scabs. Some of the scabs were already gone too, so I would be okay for tonight.
"Ah, there you are," Diluc said, closing his book with a snap. "Come, let's get those wounds wrapped."
I nervously walked over to him, noting how drafty it was without my underwear. Thankfully, the nightshirt came down to my knees. I would be just fine.
"Go ahead and lie down, I'll make sure there's no soap from the bath left on the wounds and then I'll bandage it," Diluc said, turning to his nightstand.
I did as he said, laying down beside him. Holding my arm out, I watched him dip the cloth in the water.
He turned to me, cleaning both my arms and then bandaging them neatly. "Did the doctor in Liyue teach you how to wrap it?" I asked curiously.
He nodded. "Yes. Dr Baizhu was very informative, I'm thankful for that," Diluc said, looking up to me and smiling a little. "And I got to meet that Qiqi you had mentioned. She was worried about you."
I sat in awkward silence as he cared for my arms. I thought over if I should tell him about my underwear. Diluc didn't notice my nervousness as he brought the cloth of cool water over my arms and then bandaged them neatly.
"And we're done there. I've got to bandage your legs now."
He turned to grab the cloth again and my heart began to race. I would have to lift the shirt above my thigh, which meant that I was at risk of being exposed. Why am I so nervous? He's already seen it!
"Diluc, I should tell you..." I said, feeling my heart pounding in my chest. "I believe Adelinde sent off all my clothing..."
"Yes, why?" Diluc asked, dipping the cloth in the water.
"All of it. So... I thought I would just tell you," I said, my face red. I clutched at the bottom of the shirt, embarrassed.
He turned towards me, the wet cloth in his hand. His eyes widened slightly has he realized.
"Oh," Diluc said, laughing a little as his face began to glow red as well. "That's alright. I mean, I..."
He scratched the back of his head, looking away a little. He's already seen it, is what I figured he was going to say.
I sighed, lifting the hem of the shirt just above my thigh. My heart pounded in my throat, but I held my tongue. He brought the cool cloth to my leg, cleaning the wounds slowly.
Slowly. Not as fast as he cleaned my arms, I noted, although I didn't pay much mind to it. My head was spinning, and the cloth made its was from the bottom of my leg to my thigh.
As it reached my thigh, I felt the strange feeling erupting again. I watched him as he cleaned the wound carefully. When he was cleaning my leg, I felt the cold cloth brushing the inside of my thigh.
I tensed up, my face red. It made me feel the same way I did when Diluc had kissed me when we...
I cut my own thought off. He was only cleaning my wound. There was no need to make it weird. Diluc looked up to me, his face red. He gazed at me with a similar look that he had that day. A mixture of fascination, curiosity. He glanced at my leg and continued to clean around my thigh.
I held my breath nervously as he did. The water was cold, leaving goosebumps over my skin. When he eyes returned to me to examine my expression, the strange feeling increased by threefold.