Opposites Attract | Diluc x Reader

Greet Her Majesty

“So she returned,” Childe grinned, pure joy painting his face. “I’m sure Her Majesty must be overjoyed.”

“Overjoyed to have her toy back,” Diluc scoffed sarcastically.

When he was on his way to try and stop you from returning to Snezhnaya, Diluc’s mind cleared and he had thought of many reasons as to why she was being sought after by The Tsaritsa herself. After all the different possibilities, one stood out to him.

Maybe the reason for your actions had never been planned but rather it was a game made by fate. There was no way that Diluc would have been dumb enough not to notice if you had any ill-will after all, he was no novice. You ran away and the meetings between you and him had been completely unintentional. From there, the two of you had grown unknowingly closer to each other because despite being opposites, the two of you were also alike.

A feeling of being able to relate to each other secretly and support each other without saying anything. That could have been the reason for the sudden friendliness.

Of course, this was only his suspicions and he still needed to clarify it with you. He needed to know the real story of everything. 

“What do you mean toy?” Childe looked at Diluc with a glare of hate.

“I mean exactly what I mean. Why do you think y/n ran away from here?” Diluc retorted.

“I don’t know,” Childe admitted. “But I do know that Her Majesty treasures y/n like the rest of us do. There is no way that y/n is nothing more than a toy.”

Diluc shook his head. “Can you really say that she is being treasured after seeing her face when she was forced to return to Snezhnaya.”

“I have no idea what you’re going on about.” Childe denied what Diluc was saying.

"You- do you really have no idea? If you really care about her, shouldn’t you have a better understanding of her feelings than me?"

“That’s enough,” Lumine jumped into the argument. “Instead of going on about this in the cold, how about we see what’s actually going on. I don’t want to listen to this go on and on. Let’s just put our differences aside for now and try to figure out what’s going on.”

Childe sighed while ignoring Diluc’s last statement, “I’ll bring you to the Tsaritsa to confirm that what you believe is wrong. The Tsaritsa is a warm-hearted person and she loves y/n like her own child. There’s no way that y/n would have survived had it not been for Her Majesty. This will prove that all you’re saying is a hoax.”

Childe frustratingly guided Diluc and Lumine towards the main entrance of the cryo archons' palace. The moment they made their way through, a chilling feeling radiated from the ice walls of the hallway. Glass chandeliers lit up the hallway as in the distance, two large doors guarded by Fatui agents appeared in the view.

"Sir Tartaglia," the Fatui agents knelt on the ground.

"Open the door," Childe ordered.

"Forgive me but Her Majesty is currently meeting with another."

"And I suspect that is y/n that Her Majesty is meeting with," Childe's eyes turned cold.  "You know how important she is to me. Are you going to stop me from trying to welcome her back home?"

The guards standing in front of the two doors hesitantly walked to the side to let the three people in front of them through. They knew better than to not let a Harbinger through. The 12 Harbingers worked directly under the Tsaritsa herself and received power from her. rs stood under the Tsaritsa herself and were gifted powers unlike any other. One would be an absolute fool not to listen.

The doors opened and in the large and chilly throne room sat the cryo archon herself while in front of her, on your knees, you bowed in reverence. 

“What is it you want?” the Tsaritsa’s voice boomed and echoed through the room as soon as Childe took a step through the doorway.

She looked at the three unexpected companions with a chilling gave befitting of someone with the title of the ruler of ice. Childe straightened his posture and looked down at the ground to show respect.

“Her Majesty,” Childe immediately knelt with his arm on his chest. “Forgive me for my rude interruption but when I heard y/n had returned, I couldn’t help but want to welcome her back home.”

“Childe?” You muttered as you looked behind you after hearing a familiar voice. “Diluc? Lumine?”

“Y/n,” Childe stood up and hugged you, his warmth enveloping you. “Why did you run away? When I heard that you went rogue, I couldn’t believe it. Why would you leave? Aren’t we comrades?”

“I’m sorry Childe,” you dug your head into his chest, tears falling from your eyes.  

As he hugged you, you couldn't help but remember all the fun times that you had with him. He was like the big brother that you never had. Even though life was hard under the Tsaritsa, you still had others around you that made things bearable. Shaking your head, you tried to forget about all the times that you had with Childe and Scaramouche acting as your big brothers to remove the guilt of leaving from your heart. 

Unfortunately, the memories that you had tried to bury came back and you so dearly missed them.

You had run away from Snezhnaya after hearing about the outside world from one of the Fatui agents. Barely letting you leave her castle, the Tsaritsa locked you in her palace as the sword that would never leave her side. That was why you wanted to run. After dealing with the hardships, you couldn't deal with them anymore. She trained you harshly to the point it nearly broke your mind. 

Everything that you had done was done with a neutral face and you constantly acted like it didn't affect you one bit. But in reality, it did. Intensely training from a young age, the stress built up until the point where you needed to leave.

The only thing with being strong is that no one asks if you're okay. You were strong but at what cost.

It was a life that you couldn't bear any more. It hit you like a truck the moment that all the psychological pain you held in couldn't fit in your heart anymore.

"Why did you run away?" Childe asked you as he hugged you tighter after feeling your shaking figure.

Throat clenching up, you looked to the side and couldn't bring yourself to reply.

You were expected to be strong. You couldn't tell them your real feelings for it would be a sign of weakness, something that the Tsaritsa would never accept. You had to hold it in. You had to hide your feelings deeper inside your heart.