Second Lead Syndrome || Diluc R. x Reader

Strange Mornings

Y/N awakes to the sounds of leaves rustling outside the window and the chirping of birds. The golden sunlight pouring into the room from the open window feels warm against Y/N's skin. Everything is so comfortable that she doesn't want to get up, but it seems she has gotten the most sleep she possibly can. She peels her eyes open and comes face-to-face with a sleeping Diluc.

The rays of the morning sun hits the side of his face perfectly, his strong jaw casting a shadow over his neck as his eyelashes seem to glow in the light. Y/N gulps, unable to tear her eyes away from the sleeping beauty in front of her.

Am I dreaming...? She thinks to herself before realizing the position the two are in. Their noses are almost touching and at some point in the night, their legs had gotten tangled together. Y/N gently pulls her legs out from between his and scoots her face back a little, blush coating her cheeks.

He stirs in his sleep, causing Y/N to freeze. Unfortunately, the man still wakes up, his ruby eyes blinking as they lock onto Y/N's.

Y/N blinks back in surprise, wanting to apologize for waking him, but no words come out.

"Are you just going to stare at me?" Diluc asks groggily.

Oh Gods, his morning voice! Heat rushes to Y/N's face and she turns to her other side so he won't see her blushing. "You wish." She scoffs before swinging her legs out of bed. She glances towards the clock where the hour hand just grazes eight o'clock. "If you're awake, we should head out." Y/N says before getting up.

Diluc watches her figure retreat into the bathroom. As the door shuts behind her, he lets a small smile creep onto his lips. He's a bit taken aback by just how much he smiles around her. It's strange. Diluc hasn't smiled so genuinely in a long time, yet whenever she's around, it takes all the strength in his face to stay expressionless.

Diluc rubs his eyes as he rolls onto his back. Surprisingly, he slept quite soundly last night. This is probably the most well-rested he's been in a while. He doesn't doubt that it's because of Y/N.

He turns to his side to face where Y/N was. The faint smell of citrus lingers on the sheets where Y/N had lain, probably from whatever perfumes or soaps she uses. The scent brings him back to the enounter they had yesterday with the Ruin Hunter. He lifts his bandaged hand over his face, his smile fading. If Y/N wasn't there, I would have been sliced to ribbons. He thinks to himself in shame.

The red-head is so deep in thought that he doesn't notice the woman had already exited the bathroom, fully dressed in her gear.

Y/N stares at Diluc who stares at his hand. "Diluc? You can use the bathroom now." He doesn't respond. Y/N walks over and takes a seat on the bed next to him. She flicks his forehead lightly, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Hello? Anybody in there?" She asks jokingly.

"Oh, sorry." Diluc responds, putting his hand down and sitting up. He contemplates on telling her about what happened yesterday and what happened four years ago.

The two sit in silence for a moment, Y/N watching him expectantly. Diluc takes a deep breath in and gets up, deciding to bite his tongue for now. Afterall, he's never told anyone about what happened that night before, though most of the people around him already know. He isn't obliged to tell anyone. Especially not someone he has only gotten to know recently. It's not like Y/N and him are close. They aren't friends or relatives. In fact, they've hated each other for as long as he's known her. 

Diluc can't help but feel his rationale isn't sitting right with him. Was making friends always this hard? He can't help but to let out a disgruntled sigh as he steps into the bathroom. We aren't friends, are we? He shakes his head as if to respond to his own question. No, we've only gotten this close recently. Though he's sure Y/N isn't a friend, he knows she's special. Different in some way. In what way, though? He doesn't know. What he does know, however, is that no one else can make him smile this much or sleep that well.

Diluc doesn't know exactly what their relationship is.

"You sure are taking your time." Y/N calls out from the other side of the door. "I'd like to arrive at Liyue today." She jokes.

"Okay, okay." He responds, smiling softly. Thinking about who Y/N is to him can wait. Right now, he has an impatient lady wating for him.

-----

"Hillie, get the door, would you?" Adelinde calls out from the second floor of the Dawn Winery.

"On it!" The younger maid shouts back before leaning the mop against the wall and rushing to the front door.

Hillie briefly brushes her hands against her apron before opening the door to see a young man with neatly kept blond hair and blue eyes. He seems to be wearing a simple, white button-up and black pants. "Hello, sir. How may I help you?"

"This is the Dawn Winery, yes?" He asks.

A foreigner? Hillie thinks to herself. The Dawn Winery is a very prominent location in Mondstadt. Most natives can recognize it at a glance. "Yes, this is the winery." She responds.

"Ah, good. I'm actually looking for a man named Igor. He's a little shorter than me with black hair usually tied up." He states.

Hillie stares at him for a moment. It isn't everyday someone comes looking for another person at the Dawn Winery. "Uh, if you're looking to file a missing persons report, you should head to the Knights of Favonius Head Quarters." She replies.

The man sucks in a breath through his teeth. "Well, I'm not too sure if he's missing, per say. He's my brother and he likes to run off for long periods of time." He explains. "Like a stray cat, ha." He chuckles stiffly. "Apparently someone saw him walking over this way."

"I'm sure if he disappears like this often, he'll come back." Hillie says. "We haven't had any visitors here for a while."

"I see..." The man looks down at his feet dejectedly, letting out a disappointed sigh.

Feeling a little sorry for the man, Hillie proposes, "I'll go ask the Head Maid if she's seen your brother around. I don't remember the names of the guests too well, so I might have forgotten."

The man smiles at her. "Thank you, err...." 

"Hillie." Hillie states before closing the door and calling out to Adelinde. "Adelinde? Have we had any guests named Igor before? There's someone at the door looking for him."

Adelinde walks over to the banister of the stairs, peering down at Hillie with a look of thoughtfulness.

"He's a bit taller than me with black hair tied up." Hillie relays the information she received from the man at the door.

"Ah!" Adelinde walks down the stairs. "Remember the guest we let in a few weeks ago? The one you and Moco told all those campfire stories to?"

"Oh!" Hillie's eyes light up as she recalls a man fitting the description who had wandered into the winery one night seeking shelter from the storm. He was quite jumpy and a little paranoid, constantly checking out the windows and leaving very early in the morning. Maybe our ghost stories scared him a little too much. Hillie thinks with a giggle before quickly opening the front door again. "I believe we saw your brother a few weeks ago. He's definitely not here anymore, though." She says to the man still waiting outside.

"Did he leave anything?" He asks eagerly.

"I don't think so." She responds. "If I remember correctly, he came with nothing but the clothes on his back." 

"I see..." The man lets out another sigh. "He was here though, right?"

Hillie nods. "Yep."

"Thank you, Hillie. Have a good afternoon." He states before walking down the steps of the porch and away.

"Have a good afternoon, um...." Hillie trails off, realizing she never got his name. She shakes her head, deciding to let him go before closing the front door. As Hillie picks up her mop again, she can't help but feel a little strange about that man. Something about that encounter does not sit right with her.