Second Lead Syndrome || Diluc R. x Reader

Repeat

"Sorry, there's nothing I can do."

Sitting at a small table at the base of Wangshu Inn, silence falls over the couple and the lawyer. Yanfei's blush-pink hair flutters in the bitter wind, her sea-glass-green eyes overcast.

Y/N's expression is far worse. Her eyes are swimming in tears, and her fists clenched on her lap.

Diluc reaches out a hand to put on her shoulder, but an icy grip grasps him by the wrist. He hastily snaps his head up to meet the frigid gaze of his brother. His silvery-lilac eye bores into his soul as a sneer graces his lips.

"You're losing her, too?" He taunts the scarlet-haired man. "You're pathetic, brother."

Diluc wants to retort, but his words get caught in his throat. The scenery shifts, distorting like ripples on a pond's surface.

"Speechless?" Kaeya huffs. "I guess you were always more into taking action." He stands up from the chair as it vanishes. The two are suddenly alone in the Dawn Winery Manor. The furniture is arranged differently--the vase Kaeya gifted him is gone, old paintings of their father hang on the walls, and a pile of Ordo Favonius papers lie neglected on the dining table.

"You would barely speak to me that night," Kaeya lifts Diluc's hand, placing it over his glimmering right eye. Diluc flinches as he meets Kaeya's two silver eyes with his own. "That night, you lost Father, too."

The scenery shifts once again, and Diluc is suddenly kneeling in the grass, blood dripping from his gloved hands as his father lies on the ground before him. Rain washes over his father's face as he turns to Diluc.

"You're going to lose her." He whispers, his face transforming into Kaeya's.

"You're going to lose her." His brother repeats.

"You're losing me." Y/N stares up at him, her eyes holding the same blank expression of his father and brother.

Diluc jolts awake. He gasps, heaving for air as if he had just surfaced from underwater. His hands tremble in his lap as he sits still in the bed as if moving would cause the darkness of the hotel room to morph into Liyue or the manor or the woods again.

The lamp on the side table flickers to life, filling the small room with a golden glow.

"Diluc?" Y/N asks quietly, retracting her hand from the lamp. Her voice is groggy with sleep as she sits up on the bed beside him.

He doesn't respond, turned to stone, eyes fixed on his hands. The hands that Kaeya gripped, that hurt his brother, and held his father.

Y/N places a hand on top of his trembling ones. She squeezes them gently. "You okay?"

Diluc turns to face her, his crimson locks framing his face with eyes that are nothing short of completely shaken. He takes in a deep breath as he looks at her, gaze softening.

"It was just a bad dream," He says quietly, unsure if he's responding to Y/N or reassuring himself. He clasps his clammy hands around Y/N's. "I dreamt about losing you."

"Oh, Diluc," The corners of Y/N's lips turn up into a small smile, and she shuffles closer to him in the hotel bed. "You can't get rid of me if you tried." She chuckles.

Diluc lets out a soft huff at her comment, calming down from the dream as the two lie down again.

"Let's do something fun tomorrow," Y/N suggests. "I can take you to that beach I wrote to you about. Oh, or we could check out a cafe I've been eyeing but haven't gotten the chance to visit..." She trails off with a yawn.

Diluc hums in agreement as Y/N turns the lamp off. If Diluc is being honest, he doesn't care where they go tomorrow as long as he's with her. History seems to repeat itself, but Diluc knows he will not suffer any losses this time.