Grape Juice Delights | A Diluc x Reader (OC)

Domain 1: A Night to Remember

By: Lollipopgirl038 (Imani)

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Mondstadt. The city of freedom. Known for its beautiful forests and winding streets. Many who hail from this place know nothing about suffering, nothing about grief. They live their daily lives in peace and harmony, ignorant to the struggles and violence that once plagued this land. Only those who are gifted the power, the curse of visions, can know what it means to fight, what it means to kill, and what it means to live everyday life knowing peace can only be obtained after all the corpses have fully rotted away.

Azul was one of such vision holders, her bright anemo vision secured tightly to her side as she stared up at the evening sky. Even though she had already experienced the horrors of taking another person's life, Azul never focused on the past. She couldn't live through another night of nightmares leaving her to fear and question her existence. The last time she experienced that, Venti found her the next morning in a hysterical fit, clutching her polearm tightly as if anything and everything would attack her. Maybe this was true, but Azul didn't have the will to care anymore. After months of searching, she still couldn't find her sibling and was at a wits end. Once upon a time, she too had thought Mondstadt was a diamond in the rough, a special city that would no doubt lead her to where she wanted to be. However, not all winds are calm, and the storm blew her to an end leading to no return. Venti saw this, and was the only saving grace to keep her from spiraling out of control.

He was actually the reason why Azul was even here now, having told the girl to wait for him underneath the fattest tree ever, or at least that's what Azul likes to call it. She had been waiting for hours now, having nothing better to do with time moving at a snail's pace. Part of her was questioning why she even put up with Venti's antics, the bard having appeared to her out of nowhere the same day she first received her vision. Though he was definitely not by any means the sanest person to be around, she couldn't deny that he was always there for her as a shoulder to cry on when searching for her long lost sibling. Maybe that was why she kept him around, because she felt entitled to do so for all the things he had done for her. While coming to such a conclusion, a wisp of white and aqua green flashed from the corner of her eye. Quickly standing up from the ground, Azul summons her polearm and moves into a fighting stance, her legs spread slightly from one another with both her hands holding on tightly to her weapon with a firmness ready to strike down whatever enemy may come her way. Though she already had a suspicion of who it could be, multiple close calls have taught her to always assume the worst.

Another flash of white and aqua green passes by, disappearing just as fast as the last time it appeared. Now fully alert to another being's presence, Azul turns her head once to the right and once to the left in a ditch effort to try and spot the thing in question. It's only when she begins to calm herself down that two hands reach out and land onto her shoulders, the individual using the force to lean their face forward and whisper into Azul's ear.

"....YAHOOOOOOOOOO!"

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Throwing her weapon to the side, Azul stumbles away from the figure only to lose her balance and fall right onto the dirt patch underneath her. Grumbling curses under her breath, Azul's face contorts into one of discomfort and slight anger, the mysterious individual's cecilia blowing softly in the wind as his cute laughter fills the silent space.

"Ahahaha! You should have seen the look on your face!"

Grumbling more in annoyance, Azul grabs a fistful of dirt from the ground and attempts to chuck it at Venti, said male quickly dodging the small ball before falling into a bigger fit of laughter.

"Hehehe! You know I am too quick to get hit by something as minimal as that!"

"I hate you!"

"And I love you too~!" Venti replies, sticking his tongue out in a playful manner as Azul sighs and slowly stands back up, dusting her clothes off briefly before tilting her head back up to stare at the troublesome bard.

"Yeah, I really feel loved after waiting an hour for you to get here."

Feeling the sting from that comeback, Venti winces before shaking his head and waving her off as if he wasn't over an hour late to their meeting.

"Oh, come on now! You knew I would show up at some point!"

"Right...at SOME point. I could have been waiting here for HOURS, and don't forget that one time where I waited almost an entire DAY because you forgot-"

Venti starts laughing weakly, walking closer to Azul before patting her shoulder in a friendly and carefree manner.

"Now, now! Let's not bring that up again! Unlike that time, I actually have a legitimate reason for being late!"

Azul squints her eyes in slight suspicion. "A legitimate reason? Don't tell me it's because you were on another play date with Dvalin-"

Venti quickly covers a hand over Azul's mouth. "SHHH! You can't say that out loud! You never know who might be lurking around here-"

Pushing Venti's hand away from her mouth, Azul coughs before cutting the short male off. "You mean dangerous bards who scare people because they think it's funny?"

Venti pouts in response, grumbling under his breath cutely before suddenly smiling and grabbing Azul's hand.

"Anyways! I know you have been working really hard recently, so I thought what better time to hit the bar and get some drinks than tonight!"

Azul raises an eyebrow in question. "Don't we do that every night?"

"Sure, but this time I want to make sure YOU have a good time as well! Charles always tells me that you never drink or relax when you go out with me!"

"But that's because you always pass out! One of us has to stay sober, you know."

"Maybe all the other times we went drinking, but not this time!" Venti cheers excitedly, soon breaking out into a run while dragging Azul behind him.

"Wait! Venti, slow down-"

"No way! You're always working yourself too hard. It's about time you start to liven up and enjoy life for all it's beauty!" Venti shouts back, continuing to run carefreely as Azul stumbles and eventually gives up on resisting the persistent little rascal.

Soon enough, the two finally stop in front of a gigantic building, rows upon rows of orchids surrounding its stone pathways as maids and butlers continue to clean and sweep the area. Having reached their destination, Venti skirts to a stop with Azul colliding into his back, the former gasping before pivoting around to catch her from falling down onto the ground...for the second time today.

"Ow...thanks Venti."

Venti just winks at Azul, promptly helping her up before beginning to lead her to the front doors.
"Do you know where we are~?"

"Yeah...." Azul replies, glancing around briefly at the different grape orchids before nodding her head curtly.

"This is the famous Dawn Winery, isn't it?"

Venti smiles brightly at Azul's reply. "That's correct~! I took you here because I wanted you to meet one of my good friends!"

"Good...friend?" Azul replies in hesitation. Even though Venti definitely wasn't the easiest person to be around, she would like to think of herself as one of his closest friends...or at least that's what she reckoned was the case. Maybe it was because of his odd behavior or hard-to-deal with drunken states, but Azul never once considered Venti having other friends besides herself. That's not to say he couldn't make other friends, but they spent so much time together that having other friends that she didn't know of was...almost borderline impossible.

Either not hearing Azul's mumble or choosing not to comment on it, Venti continues leading her into the main entrance of the building.

"Don't worry Azul, I'll make sure tonight will be one to remember~!"

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Word Count: 1391