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The Dawn Winery is silent on this rainy evening and Yelan is thankful for the peace and quiet. The water seems to envelop the house, raindrops crashing on the tiles and sliding along its high windows. No one has said a word in a while, except for the occasional noise of discontent Diluc makes each time he loses at the card game they’re playing.
He’s getting better, although he doesn’t seem to notice it. Yelan predicts that on her next visit, he will manage to best her. But not now. Now, she puts down her last card and watches as he registers that he’s lost, again.
“We’re playing chess next time,” he grumbles.
Yelan doesn’t really care for chess, although the game has its strategic qualities. She largely prefers games where chance has a more prominent role.
“Don’t be a sore loser,” she says, offering him a smile. “You played well.”
Diluc raises an eyebrow, unconvinced. He’s about to shuffle the cards when something shifts in the atmosphere. For a second, Yelan can no longer feel the Hydro energy that surrounds them. The window behind Diluc seems to slash in two as if someone tore into the fabric of space, and it’s just void, ready to swallow him. A portal. Someone’s about to step out of it.
She’s reaching for her Vision when Diluc holds out a hand in a calming gesture.
“Don’t worry,” he says. “I know who it is.”
And Yelan believes him, because his body language is much too relaxed for someone who’s about to have an intruder from another dimension barge into his living room. So Yelan watches, stunned, as a man dressed in dark colors steps out of the portal, and Diluc’s eyes greet him with more warmth than she’s ever seen on his face. It’s a subtle thing, but she knows him well.
The stranger’s frame looms over them both, and it only takes one look at his clothes to confirm his otherworldly nature. The cape draped over his shoulder looks like it’s been torn from a piece of the starry sky, and it is peculiar, but not as much as the mask that obscures half of his face. Or the shape of his pupils.
Who the fuck, Yelan thinks, but she lets the scene play out.
“Hello Dainsleif,” Diluc says, closing both hands around the card deck before he sets it down on the table in a neat pile. “You’re back.”
You’re back? Yelan repeats in disbelief in her mind. Back from where?
The stranger – Dainsleif – turns to him as the portal vanishes.
“Hello, Diluc. I didn’t realize you had company,” he says when his eyes land on Yelan.
“It’s not a problem,” Diluc replies. “This is my friend Yelan.”
Yelan waves at him, pocketing a card while Diluc is distracted.
“Hi, Dainsleif,” she greets him in a honeyed voice. “Pleased to meet you.”
Dainsleif seems to hesitate, questioning Diluc with his eyes.
Diluc speaks first.
“Dainsleif is a traveler, like Lumine. We met about four years ago while I was investigating the Abyss Order. We share a similar interest in destroying them. So when they are in Mondstadt he lends me a hand to deal with them. And he can also rest here whenever he likes.”
Dainsleif seems to relax a little at that. He looks so out of place it’s almost funny. Yelan can tell her presence is freaking him out. So naturally, she decides to make it worse.
“Oh,” she says innocently. “Is the Abyss Order active in Mondstadt right now?”
She’s surely not imagining the slight change in color in Dainsleif’s face.
“They are not. I just finished some business I had in Sumeru, and since it’s been a while since I rested, I thought I would visit Diluc. But if this is a bad time…”
Yelan smiles. “Absolutely not. Take a seat, we were playing a game.”
“Yes,” Diluc says. “I’ll ask Adelinde to brew some tea.”
He puts a hand on Dainsleif’s shoulder before he walks to the kitchens, and Yelan sees the tension ease out of him. Interesting.
“So,” she says as she puts the card away. “You’re from Khaenria’h, right?”
Dainsleif narrows his eyes at her. She’s sure he’s kicking himself for picking tonight of all nights to pay a little visit to Diluc. But it’s too late. Yelan knows many things about Khaenria’h and the curse of immortality, knows a few of its survivors dwell in Teyvat but she somehow did not know about him. That can’t be right.
“Yes,” he answers flatly. “And you must be Diluc’s friend from Liyue.”
Yelan raises an eyebrow.
“So he did mention me.”
Also interesting. Trust is not something Diluc gives easily. It is hard-earned and invaluable. Sure, he didn’t tell him her name, but he was vaguely aware of her existence. She doesn’t waste a second worrying if he told this stranger about her connection to Ningguang because she knows he would never. And she suspects Diluc wouldn’t want her to gut this pretty stranger like a fish.
“He did. Briefly.”
Yelan chuckles. Diluc isn’t exactly the chatty type, but it feels strange for him to never mention Dainsleif in the four years they’ve known each other. He has told her about the Traveler, and many other people he encountered in the past few years but never him. Why?
She is also rather curious to know the exact nature of their relationship. Dainsleif seemed seriously unnerved by her presence when he appeared. Is it what he always does? Appearing out of thin air in Diluc’s living room, and he lets it happen? Welcomes it, even?
When Diluc comes back, followed by Adelinde, the maid greets Dainsleif with a smile.
“Hello Dainsleif,” she says. “I made your favorite tea.”
His favorite tea, Yelan muses. How often is he there that Adeline knows his favorite tea?
She knows hers, of course, because she’s Diluc’s best friend and they’ve known each other for ages. She’s going to have to investigate the matter.
“Thank you Adelinde, you’re very kind.”
Adelinde serves them the tea and Yelan takes the cup to her lips, taking in the aroma. Bergamot. But of course.
“So which room is he staying in?” she asks.
Diluc glares at her.
“One of the guest rooms, of course.”
He always falls for the bait. Oh, Diluc.
“I bet,” Yelan smirks. “I was wondering which one.”
It doesn’t matter, but his reaction was the only thing Yelan was after.
“I will take whatever room is available,” Dainsleif says, looking more and more like he would prefer to sleep in the forest.
“I’m in the second one after the stairs,” Yelan says. “Don’t go through the wrong door. Or teleport, whatever it is you usually do.”
“I won’t.”
“Does it matter,” Diluc sighs. “What are you on about, Yelan?”
“Oh don’t be like that, I’m just excited that there are three of us here. The more the merrier, you know? The card games are going to be much more interesting.”
And not just the card games, she bets.
*
After Yelan has gone to bed that night, Diluc waits for the maids to snuff out the remaining candles and go back to their homes. Then, he makes his way down the stairs and fetches his dark cloak.
Outside, leaning on the sign that reads Dawn Winery, Dainsleif waits for him.
“Mind if I join you?”
“Of course not,” Diluc says.
You are always welcome to join me anywhere, is what he would say if he was someone else. Someone like his old self, perhaps.
But Dainsleif must know what he means, if he keeps accompanying him. He hopes so, because he does not know any other way to say it.
He puts his mask over his face, and they silently make their way through the path that leads to the city.
The rain stopped shortly after dinner, and the night is quiet. Not the sort of quiet that sets Diluc on edge because the normal sounds of the forest are absent, which could mean there are Abyss mages around. This kind of quiet is made of the gentle rustling of leaves, a slight breeze and the distant rumbling of the river. Diluc knows this path by heart, and he treasures this time of the day when everything else that tends to disturb him is quiet.
“How have you been?” he finally asks Dainsleif, as they reach Springvale.
Dainsleif turns to him, and his face is difficult to read behind his mask, but his eyes are always gentle.
“My search for the leader of the Abyss Order seems to be at a standstill since the last time I met them with the Traveler. But I did manage to put a stop to an operation of theirs in Sumeru recently.”
Diluc expected this answer – after all, there is little more that matters to Dainsleif. It would be useless to ask him if he’s well. How could he be? As long as the curse that befell him continues to make him suffer, as long as the Order stands, he will never be well.
Still, Diluc wishes there was something he could do. Anything.
“Well done. You’ve earned a little rest, at least.”
“I suppose I did.”
Dainsleif did not want to admit it, the first few times they crossed paths. Had Diluc not insisted and patched him up, he does not know in which state Dainsleif would be right now. It is a scary thought that perhaps he would be the exact same. That the time he spends here doesn’t change anything.
“You know you can stay for as long as you like,” he says, keeping his eyes on the pathway.
“Are you sure your friend doesn’t mind?”
Diluc turns to him.
“She does not. She’s simply the joking type, I wouldn’t take any of the things she says seriously. Or at least, most of them.”
And even if she minded, it would not be her place to tell you to leave.
“You two seem to know each other well,” Dainsleif comments.
“Yes,” Diluc says. “She can be facetious, but she is one of the few people I would trust with my life.”
“It’s funny,” Dainsleif says. “I have known you for several years now and I realize that there are so many things I still don’t know.”
“You only need to ask,” Diluc says, in the quiet of the night. “I wouldn’t mind telling you.”
Dainsleif knows a lot of things already. Arguably the worst parts of Diluc’s history, just like Diluc knows Dainsleif’s. He tries not to dwell on the fact that he might like to know more, perhaps inconsequential things.
There are things he won’t admit, for the sake of their friendship, though.
Thankfully, Dainsleif doesn’t ask for anything right away but he looks thoughtful for the rest of their patrol. There are no monsters tonight, only the glow of lampgrass and the smell of rain. Also, an impending sense of doom that Diluc feels looming over them, but that might just be his imagination.
*
Diluc is working in the orchard the following morning when a snake slithers in the grass. Yelan approaches with a glass of wine that she no doubt got from his cellar. She loathes being in the sun just as much as getting up before noon, so she’s undoubtedly up to no good.
“It’s 11 in the morning,” he notes, eyeing her glass.
“It is, darling. Have you noticed how early I am?”
“Impressive,” Diluc comments, keeping his eyes on the sunsettias he’s picking.
“So, where’s your friend? I didn’t see him at breakfast.”
“Breakfast was hours ago, Yelan. Also, what’s with the questions?”
He just knows she came here to pester him. The reason for it, though, is lost on him.
“I’m just surprised that I’m just hearing about him now.”
Diluc sighs.
“I had no reason to mention him.”
Yelan leans in inquisitively, like a cat hearing the rustle of a paper bag.
“Really? He seems to stay here often. And you’ve known him for four years.”
“Not that often,” Diluc sighs.
And it’s a pity. Not that he’s ever going to admit it to his best friend.
“He seems interesting, anyway. Mind if I go chat with him?”
“As long as you behave yourself you can do whatever you want.”
“Oh please, I won't embarrass you.”
Diluc gives her a suspicious look. Yelan’s smile is too wide.
“I’m just going to ask about the Abyss.”
“Okay. He’s in the city today so you’ll have to wait for his return.”
“What shall I do in the meantime… Do you need any help?” she asks, insincerely.
“I’m almost done, it’s time for lunch.”
“Perfect. See you inside, I can’t stand that heat.”
Diluc sighs when she returns inside the house. It is only a matter of time before she gets on his nerves. Perhaps it is better to address the elephant in the room while Dainsleif is outside, so that she doesn’t embarrass the both of them further.
“Will Sir Dainsleif have lunch with us?” Adelinde asks him when he returns from the garden.
“No, but he will be here tonight. Thank you Adelinde.”
“Too bad,” Yelan comments as he sits at the table.
“Why are you so interested in him anyway?”
“Because I can’t fathom why you wouldn’t tell me about someone you are so close to.”
He wants to argue.
“I see him once every six months at most.”
“And you sound very sad about it, dear, do you even realize it?”
Diluc pinches the bridge of his nose. He has exercised patience and discipline in order to avoid thinking too much about the matter. He will not let his peace be ruined by his nosy friend.
“Yelan. Let us speak no more of it.”
“Hm,” she sighs, considering it. “Fine, I will let the topic drop.”
“You are free to ask him whatever you want about the Abyss or anything else. Just stop… alluding to things that don’t exist.”
Yelan takes a careful sip of her wine.
“I shall do just that, then.”
They spend the rest of the meal in peace. It is very enjoyable, and so is the conversation as soon as it shifts from Dainsleif to the adventures Yelan has been on in the months since they last saw each other.
“The Knave has to be the most respectable Fatui I have yet to meet,” she concludes. “But alas, I had to steal from her too.”
“Respectable is not a word I would use to describe any Fatui,” Diluc says dryly.
Yelan shrugs.
“She’s playing her own game. I have to respect that.”
“I suppose you do,” he sighs. “Do you want dessert?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course I want dessert.”
Diluc shares a look with Adelinde.
“Master Diluc had a feeling you would say that. He said you enjoyed the Apple Roly Polly so much on your last visit that you went through the trouble of importing Mondstadtian Sunsettias to Liyue. So he asked me to make one for today.”
Yelan beams at him.
“I did. Thank you Adeline. And thank you, Master Diluc,” she winks at him.
“I didn’t make the dessert,” he says.
“But you picked the apples, didn’t you?”
“It was nothing. They had to be harvested anyway.”
Yelan blows him a kiss. She is the single, most insufferable woman he has ever met. But she is his best friend and most trusted ally, unfortunately, so the teasing comes with the deal.
*
Dainsleif returns to the Dawn Winery just in time for supper. He knows Adeline is very strict about meal times and he appreciates her too much to give her extra work.
Diluc and Yelan are playing cards again, sitting by the fireplace. Judging by the slight frown on Diluc’s face, he has not yet managed to best her at this game.
“Good evening,” Dainsleif says.
They both stare up at him, and Dainsleif notices a brief spark of apprehension in Diluc’s eyes. It’s gone in an instant. Yelan, on the other hand, smirks at him once more, like she’s privy to a hilarious secret Dainsleif has yet to uncover.
He can’t say he’s uninterested, but he remembers Diluc words from the previous night. She’s probably just amused at her own jokes.
“Did you have a good day?” Yelan asks when they sit down to eat.
Dainsleif nods.
“I did everything I planned to do, so I suppose, yes.”
“What plans did you have?” she asks, and Diluc gives her a stern look.
“Yelan, that’s none of your business.”
“Sorry, force of habit. It seems my line of work made me fatally curious.”
“It’s fine,” Dainsleif replies, wiping the corner of his mouth with a napkin. “I was just meeting with a friend.”
Who happens to be Diluc’s brother, but that’s not a topic he particularly wants to bring up at dinner. Diluc probably knows anyway, and Dainsleif knows he doesn’t mind, regardless of how strained their relationship is.
“So you have many friends in Mond, then,” Yelan says. “I can see why you’d pick this house to stay, though.”
Diluc stares a hole into her head, but she’s not even looking at him. She’s gauging Dainsleif for a reaction.
“You’re right,” Dainsleif says. “This house has the best company among all others in the city.”
Although not today, he manages not to say. What is her problem?
Diluc clears his throat and Dainsleif definitely sees the tip of his ears turn red. He is so unlike what people make him out to be. It really is no wonder why he enjoys staying here.
“I can’t say I disagree,” Yelan says with a satisfied smile.
They have tea after dessert, and Yelan finds yet another way to catch Dainsleif off-guard.
“So, now that we’re acquainted with one another…Diluc tells me you’re working to dismantle the Abyss Order?”
“Destroy, yes.”
“The word Diluc used was annihilate. I’m not surprised the two of you get along so well. But back to the topic at hand… I happen to have an interest in the Abyss, too.”
“How so?” Dainsleif asks.
As wariness rises in his stomach, he reminds himself that he trusts Diluc with his life, and so that trust extends, in some way, to Yelan. Next to him, Diluc shifts imperceptibly closer, as if in reassurance.
“I will keep my reasons to myself, but the important part is that the Abyss Order has been active in the Chasm again.”
Dainsleif’s rotten blood boils in his icy veins.
“Are you sure?”
Yelan nods.
“My intel is always correct.”
“It is,” Diluc adds. “She has a lot of informants.”
Dainsleif’s mind is already racing. He planned on staying here for a week or two, at least. But now? He has to depart quickly. Each second he’s spending here instead of tracking them down has a cost.
“Hey,” Yelan says, waving at him. “Are you still with us?”
“My apologies. If what you’re saying is true, I have to leave immediately.”
“Easy,” Yelan tells him. “I have a proposal for you. How about we team up for this?”
Dainsleif blinks at her. He has known her for less than a day. But at the same time, he wouldn’t even be aware of the Abyss Order’s activity if it wasn’t for her. Despite her personality, she sure is resourceful.
He turns to Diluc to gauge his reaction. He seems startled too, but he says nothing.
“Can you fight?” he asks.
Yelan bares her teeth.
“Oh, we’ll see if you can keep up, blondie.”
In retrospect, they decide on that expedition way too fast. But Dainsleif’s urgency paired with Yelan’s apparent hunger for adventure have them bidding goodbye to Diluc the following morning.
He leans in the doorway to the Winery, arms crossed, as Dainsleif opens his portal. He looks as handsome as ever and it’s truly a pity that he has to leave so soon. But it can’t be helped.
“Be safe,” he tells them both, but he doesn’t look them in the eye before retreating into his house.
Dainsleif’s heart lurches, aches to close the portal and ask him what’s wrong. But he has a mission to fulfill.
So he takes Yelan’s arm and into the void they disappear.
*
Diluc is not sulking.
“Whatever gave you that impression is beyond me,” he tells Adelinde as he shakes off his coat and hangs it with the exact amount of force needed, nothing more.
Adelinde raises an eyebrow at him, and puts down the vase she was dusting.
“I don’t know, I thought perhaps you were disappointed that your friends left without you, and so soon after they arrived, at that.”
“I’m not a child,” Diluc scoffs. “They have matters to attend to.”
And who cares if he could have helped them resolve these matters? He, too, has his duty. He has told them so many times, so of course it makes sense that they didn’t pause to even ask him to join them.
“…Doesn’t it?” he wonders later that day as he slaughters some hillichurls that wandered too close to Springvale.
“It sure wouldn’t have hurt to ask,” he thinks, as he walks through Wolvendom in search of Razor, who has apparently gone missing.
“But really, it’s like I wasn’t even there when they were having this conversation,” he seethes, carrying a sleeping Razor on his back all the way to Andrius’ lair.
“I hope they’re having fun without me,” he thinks as he scowls at the scenery behind the Winery’s windows, drinking boiling hot tea. “I can’t assume they are, since there is no way Yelan isn’t yapping his ear off by now. Where are you from Dainsleif? And what did you have for dinner yesterday, Dainsleif? What would she even do with that intel?!”
The most infuriating thing in all this mess, is that nothing happens in Mondstadt in the week that their absence lasts. Every day Diluc wakes up sour and preoccupies himself with mundane matters because not even once does he hear the insufferable chuckle of an Abyss Mage in the forest. He also crosses paths with a few Favonius Knights during his patrols, rendering his presence useless, which is just his favorite thing in the world.
It’s like the whole city’s whispering to him : girl, we don’t need you every single day. You can go on a little adventure once in a while.
Or rather, the soul of the city, who happens to be a drunkard. He will not sink as low as to reply to these whispers carried by the wind, but if he did, they would take this form: I wish, but no one invited me.
It is only by the fifth day that he does something truly unhinged. It’s been raining since morning and once he’s done with his paperwork, there’s nothing much to do besides pacing the halls. A thought comes to him then: Adelinde left Dainsleif and Yelan’s room exactly as they were before they left, since they planned to return once their expedition was over.
Before he can talk himself out of it, he unlocks the door to the first room by the staircase.
Dainsleif takes up way less space in rooms than he does in Diluc’s mind, for there is almost nothing on the surface that even hints at his presence here.
Diluc closes the door and lets out a sigh. Then, he sits down on the bed, smoothing over a sheet that doesn’t need to be smoothed. He often wonders if Dainsleif sleeps at all, or if he just… lies there, staring at the ceiling, regenerating or whatever it is he does.
He told him about that ring he never takes off, his brother’s. Diluc hadn’t wanted to pry, because he had already been allowed a lot of trust. Still, he can’t help but wonder how it works. How Dainsleif works, so to speak.
There is only so much time to be spent in his company, and Yelan is right, Diluc is actually sad about it. Sometimes. Now, in particular.
It is childish, to be so vexed by their departure. It is selfish, how a part of him wishes Yelan had left on her expedition alone instead of whisking Dainsleif along with her when he’d only been there for a day. Who knows when he will come back?
He should be glad to know they’re keeping each other safe on such a dangerous endeavor. Nevermind that he could be there to protect them both, but he had to keep both his feet rooted in Mondstadt for fear that something, anything might happen.
Diluc sighs and lets himself drop on the bed, his head falling on the pillow. He breathes in.
Fine, he might be sulking a little.
He doesn’t realize he’s fallen asleep until he hears Adelinde knock on the door. He startles, registering that it’s dark outside.
“Master Diluc?” she asks in a cheerful tone.
“Yes,” he says, sitting upright. “What is it?”
“I was wondering if you wanted dinner. It is almost seven o’clock.”
Diluc clears his throat, running a hand through his hair, which is in complete disarray.
“Yes. My apologies, I… feel asleep.”
Adelinde’s amused smile is infuriating, but there’s not much he can say in his own defense.
“I could see that. Is your bedding not to your liking?”
Diluc shoots her a look.
“Perhaps it’s the curtains. They’re rather old. I could change them.”
“Enough about that,” Diluc grunts. “The room is fine. And don’t mention it again.”
“Sure,” Adelinde says with laughter in her voice.
*
It takes less than half a day for the spy to drive Dainsleif up the wall. He admits that her contacts in Liyue, her knowledge of the Chasm as well as her…baffling ability to lie and pretend to be someone she’s not saves them a lot of time. But at what cost. At what cost.
“Why do you travel alone?” Yelan asks him out of the blue, as they progress through the caverns of the Chasm.
“It was not always the case,” Dainsleif replies. “What about you?”
“Maybe if you give me a decent answer I will reply to that question,” she muses.
Dainsleif sighs. He is under no obligation to respond, but he sees no harm in it, he supposes.
“My last companion betrayed me.”
“Ah,” Yelan nods. “So annoying when that happens. So it’s out of fear that it’ll happen again?”
Dainsleif should not be shocked by her audacity at this point, but he is.
“Perhaps.”
A few moments pass and he wonders if she’s just not going to tell her own story, but she does:
“I used to have a team. We would explore the deepest parts of the Abyss in search of answers. Until they all died, and I was the only one left.”
“I’m sorry,” Dainsleif says, and he is. Truly.
Yelan shakes her head.
“It was a long time ago. I work best when I only have myself to worry about. But every now and then, it’s nice to have a companion. Someone I trust.”
Dainsleif nods.
“Yes. I’ve worked with Lumine from time to time.”
He doesn’t mention Aether. Yelan doesn’t need to know who betrayed him, exactly. It would be quite a long list.
“Really? Teyvat sure is a small place. I have too. In this very place, mind you. We nearly didn’t escape.”
This story rings a bell. He thinks Lumine might have mentioned it to him, omitting her presence just as Diluc omitted her name when he spoke of her Liyuean friend. For such a shadow, she has a way of making herself known in the room.
“Lumine is a great warrior,” he says.
“You know who else is a great warrior?” Yelan asks. “Our good friend Diluc.”
Dainsleif raises an eyebrow.
“He is. But –”
“I know, I know. He doesn’t want to leave Mond. But maybe there’s still hope that one day, he’ll realize he doesn’t have to protect that city alone.”
“I can only hope so.”
Diluc works so hard and Dainsleif knows his sense of duty crushes him some days. He’s constantly afraid of not doing enough. Dainsleif wonders if the citizens of Mondstadt know how lucky they are.
“Maybe he’d say yes, if you asked,” Yelan muses. “He’s always said no to me.”
Dainsleif could never ask that of him. And also, he doesn’t see where Yelan got that impression.
“Why?” he scoffs. “You’re much closer to him than I am.”
That makes Yelan chuckle.
“Are we. I’ve been meaning to ask what the fuck is happening between the two of you?”
Dainsleif pauses.
“What do you mean? We have a common goal.”
“Sure. What else?”
Dainsleif shakes his head, suddenly realizing he might have walked into a spider’s web.
“We should focus on our mission.”
“Can’t you multitask?”
“I would rather not.”
Yelan doesn’t relent, following him as he resumes walking, just slightly faster.
“I just find it funny that he lets you live in his house. His own brother doesn’t.”
“Kaeya is a completely different – ”
Yelan’s eyes spark with malice.
“So you know about Kaeya too? He told you the whole story?”
Dainsleif lets out an exasperated sigh. He is way too straightforward for such mindgames.
“So you are close,” Yelan concludes from his silence.
“And who are you to him exactly?” Dainsleif counters before he can stop himself.
It is clearly the wrong thing to say but what the hell. He can be curious too, if they’re playing that game.
Yelan smirks at him and Dainsleif is suddenly reminded of why he has spent most of the past five hundred years alone.
“I’m his best friend, although he’ll never admit it.”
Dainsleif has heard him refer to her in many different terms, none of them best friend, but he knew anyway. He knew how much she meant to him. Although he wondered, sometimes, how deep that affection lied. Not that it’s any of his business.
He doesn’t have time for this anyway.
“You really do care,” she snickers. “Don’t worry, I’m not competition.”
Dainsleif scoffs.
“I wasn’t worried. I do not get emotionally involved with the citizens of the Seven.”
Yelan laughs so hard the Abyss Mages probably hear her from the bottom of the Chasm. For such an elegant lady, she laughs like a hyena.
“So you’re leading him on, then.”
Dainsleif glares at her.
“I am doing no such thing.”
He’s not. He’s not, right? He’s never alluded to wanting anything beyond friendship from him. Besides, would Diluc even want him?
He can lie to Yelan, but he can’t lie to himself. It is not the first time such questions enter his brain. He’s just usually far more effective at shutting them out.
Dainsleif loathes that Yelan managed to make him doubt himself.
“Fine, I believe you,” the spy says, shrugging. “You seem emotionally unavailable anyway. He doesn’t need that kind of energy in his life.”
“Yes, I am unavailable, emotionally or otherwise.” Dainsleif seethes. “That is literally what I just told you. Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Oh my god, you fell for it again. You do love him.”
Dainsleif blinks.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I know,” Yelan yawns. “Think about it. I’m going to take a nap.”
Infuriatingly enough, Dainsleif does think about it. He thinks about it as he stands guard while Yelan sleeps, he mulls over it as they track down the Abyss order, and even as they painstakingly dive into the Depths of the Chasm and destroy their operations.
Needless to say, when they drag themselves out of this pit, he’s overanalyzed every single interaction he ever had with Diluc, thinking of the softness in his eyes whenever he offers that Dain should stay and rest at the Winery. How Dain stays longer each time and he’s rationalized it so that it means nothing but it does mean something. It means everything.
And Dainsleif wants to be near him, he desperately wants him. Yelan’s right, he is very much emotionally unavailable, but he wants to make room for him, screw his principles.
Once their operation is over, the first thing Yelan does is to reach for her bracelet. She speaks a language that Dainsleif doesn’t recognize, and it glows a bright aquamarine. A few moments later, she receives an answer in the same dialect, although the person speaking has a less than perfect accent. It’s Diluc’s voice.
They speak back and forth for a minute before Yelan’s bracelet stops glowing.
“I told him we’re coming back.”
“Really?” Dainsleif asks, incapable of repressing his curiosity. “How did you do that?”
“That’s for me to know, and for you to find out,” Yelan replies with a wink.
Dainsleif is not going to miss this woman.
*
Diluc is in a terrible mood when they arrive in Mondstadt. Yelan would ask him who pissed on his shoes, but since they have company, she waits for the dinner to be over. In that sort of ambience, it feels like it lasts a lifetime.
Yelan is kind of worried about what has him acting all pissy, but she can’t help but find hilarious that he still asked Adelinde to set the table for the three of them instead of telling them to go fuck themselves and go dine in the city. Probably his prim and proper upbringing.
She exchanges a glance with Adelinde, who stares at Diluc in disapproval for the entire meal. Oh, what the hell.
Yelan knows how to deal with his best friend, but she feels a little bad for poor Dainsleif, who looks three seconds from killing himself.
As soon as the dinner is over, she pulls Diluc by the arm and drags him to the orchard.
“Out with it. Why are you pissed at me?”
Figuring it’s useless to deny it now, Diluc retorts:
“Why do you think?”
“I really don’t know, which is a first. You can’t seriously be jealous because I took your man to the Chasm, right? Even if he was my type I would never do that to you.”
Diluc’s eye visibly twitches at the mention of his man.
“We are not dating as I’ve told you many times. You have to let go of this obsession.”
Yelan laughs, shaking her head in disbelief.
“I’m obsessed?”
“Why else would you take him with you, if not to mess with me?”
Yelan is trying so very hard not to be offended. She messes with him on a daily basis, for reasons that rarely go beyond her own enjoyment. The notion that she did that particular thing to piss him off is absurd. She’s much, much funnier than that.
“You give me too much credit. I did it because he wants to take down the Abyss order and as strong as I am it doesn’t hurt to have some help.”
“You know who else wants to take them down? I do. And you didn’t think to ask me.”
Yelan blinks at him. This can’t be happening.
“I’ve asked you like, twenty times in the past. You always reply the same thing: you don’t want to leave Mond.”
“Well you could have asked once more. Maybe I changed my mind.”
Yelan crosses her arms with a scoff.
“You do have a working mouth, right? Couldn’t you just say you wanted to come with us? Or is that as difficult as telling that immortal how you feel?”
Diluc points a finger at her, fuming.
“This is what you always do. You come here and you ask me questions I don’t want to answer and you never respect my privacy –”
This is a pathetic attempt at changing the conversation topic. Yelan doesn’t care for it.
“Do you know why we’re friends ? Not because it’s convenient because of our working relationship, but because you alienate everyone you love and they let you do it but I don’t. I don’t, and yet you keep inviting me so actually I don’t think you want me to mind my business. You just need to act like a little bitch about it first.”
“How dare you,” he snarls. “You’re a smug and arrogant little weasel and I’ve had enough of your meddling –”
“I am,” Yelan shrugs. “But you know I’m right. If you didn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Because listen, what I did might have been a little annoying but it made you think, didn’t it? Didn’t you realize Mondstadt doesn’t need you all year long? I bet you were bored stiff, so you had all the time in the world to get mad at both of us for leaving.”
Diluc deflates a little.
“So?” Yelan asks. “Am I wrong?”
“I… No, you’re not.”
“And?”
Diluc sighs.
“Nothing happened in the two weeks you two were gone. I can’t stay here forever, can I?”
Yelan’s face softens. Here it is.
“I’m sorry,” he groans. “Really.”
Yelan pats him on the shoulder.
“If it made you realize that, your little tantrum is forgiven. But on one condition -”
“What?”
“You should probably tell Dainsleif that you aren’t mad at him. I can tell he’s this close to jumping from the roof and since he’s immortal he might be up there trying for a while. Also this is the last time I’ll say it but please please please tell him how you feel. Put him out of his misery.”
“I will apologize to him, and I will choose to ignore the rest of what you just said.”
“Sure, darling. Goodnight. I’m going to sleep until noon.”
They make their way back into the house. Halfway through the stairs, Yelan pauses with her hand on the railing.
“Should we hug? It feels like a hug moment, even though I hate them and you probably do too –”
“No,” Diluc says.
“Thought so. Goodnight.”
*
Diluc finds Dainsleif in the kitchen, after the maids have left. He seems to be looking for something.
“Do you need help?” Diluc asks.
Dainsleif turns to him, startled.
“No, I’m alright. I was just getting a glass of water.”
“I’m sorry, for how cold I was tonight,” Diluc says without preamble.
Dainsleif lets him continue, his face unreadable.
“I was mostly annoyed at Yelan. And she didn’t deserve it.”
“Why?” Dainsleif asks, his eyes gentle.
Diluc wrings his hands, looking everywhere but directly at him.
“It’s stupid, really. But I wish she had asked me to join the two of you in the Chasm.”
“Oh,” Dainsleif says. “What about Mondstadt?”
Diluc crosses his arms, leaning on the kitchen counter.
“Well, nothing happened in your absence. It put things into perspective.”
“I see.”
Diluc risks a glance at his face. He doesn’t seem angry. He keeps going.
“Yelan had a point when she told me I turned her down the few times she did ask me. I rarely feel like working with a team, but if I had to choose two people… it would be you both. And if I guess I felt a little left out, which is stupid. And childish.”
“It’s not,” Dainsleif says, far too kindly. “We could have used your help.”
Diluc still feels like a pouting child but at least he apologized. Maybe that is worth something.
Dainsleif takes a step closer and Diluc looks up, unable to not feel some sort of way about their proximity.
“Maybe you can tag along next time. Doesn’t have to be Yelan either, you could go with Lumine and I.”
“Or just you,” Diluc says without thinking.
Dainsleif blinks, taken aback but not displeased.
“Yes. Or just me,” he nods.
Diluc feels better now that it’s out in the open, but the air still feels charged with something. Something he swore he wouldn’t address. But Dainsleif’s looking at him differently now. He takes a shaky breath as the immortal moves closer still.
“I’m sorry if you felt like you weren’t wanted,” Dainsleif says softly, looking right into Diluc’s eyes.
“It’s fine –”
“Because you are wanted,” Dainsleif continues.
Diluc must have misheard him. Or at least, interpreted it the wrong way. But he can’t be misinterpreting Dainsleif looking at his mouth.
“Am I?” he asks, licking his lips.
“Very much,” Dainsleif says, right before he kisses Diluc.
Both of his hands reach for his face. One is cold, the other is not.
Diluc knew he wanted this before Yelan guessed it. He knew it the second he invited this almost stranger to stay at his home and it was painfully obvious while they were away without him. But he didn’t know exactly how much, how badly he wanted Dainsleif before that kiss, before Dainsleif’s hands on his cheek, before that little noise Dainsleif made when Diluc opened his mouth.
Diluc kisses Dainsleif back so hard, so desperately it’s a miracle that it doesn’t rattle the other man. But no, Dainsleif just hums and matches his fervor, opening his mouth deeper so that Diluc can lick into it.
This desire, this absolute anguish, is it really mutual? It feels very mutual at this instant.
If Diluc paid attention to the beating of his own heart, he would feel it racing. But all he can think about is kissing him more, getting closer. He’s not the type to be kissing someone so senselessly in the middle of his own kitchen, even though the house is quiet at this hour. Archons, he didn’t even think he was the type to kiss anyone at all.
But there he is, his body stuck to Dainsleif’s and his mouth turned ravenous, mad with hunger. He can barely utter a word about moving elsewhere, all he knows is that if he stops for one second, he will fall apart. He needs this and now that Dainsleif has been clever enough, bold enough to end this stupid, long-winded yearning, it seems so pointless, all the waiting. To be ashamed of all this wanting, when what they both want is right here.
He lets out a shaky sigh when Dainsleif moves to kiss his neck, holding onto him for dear life. Thankfully, he’s stuck between the counter and Dainsleif, because he isn’t sure his legs would support him. He bites his lower lip and closes his eyes, focusing on the feeling of Dain’s lips on his skin. He hasn’t realized how much he craved his touch, how starved he’s been for his attention. And now that he has it? He is unraveling.
Fuck, they haven’t so much as held hands before, and now this?
“Dain,” he sighs weakly. “Dainsleif.”
“I’m trying to find a polite way to ask you to take me to your bed,” Dainsleif whispers into his ear. “Please.”
Diluc’s hand finds his and through great effort, he moves away from the counter to lead Dainsleif up the stairs to his room.
*
Dainsleif, stupidly, can’t help but wonder about others who might have crossed this threshold before him. Maybe it’s this irrational jealousy that makes him pin Diluc against the door and kiss his neck, bruising. Diluc holds him close and lets his head fall back with a sigh. He makes a choked sound when Dainsleif’s teeth graze his skin and he registers, for next time, that he likes a little pain. The mere thought of next time is pure greed. He didn’t even realize he could have him once, but twice?
But the way Diluc speaks his name then, Dain, speaks of waiting. Or repressed desire.
The idea that someone like Diluc, who is so adored by everyone in Mondstadt, could have been waiting on him of all people is dizzying. Incomprehensible.
Dainsleif will have to marvel at it later, however, because he’s too busy getting Diluc out of his clothes. There, they undress each other slowly, between feverish kisses against Diluc’s locked door. Diluc wears so many layers at all times, that dark coat, the fine silk of his shirt – it feels surreal to see so much of his skin. Dainsleif feels dizzy with it, mapping the planes of his back, his thighs –
“Dain,” he chokes out under the attention.
Diluc moves away from the door, pulling Dainsleif towards the bed until he can push him onto it and climb into his lap, eager and feverish. Dainsleif fits his mouth in the curve of his neck and Diluc shivers with delight. He laps at the marks he left, paying close attention to the sounds he gets in return. A gasp, a sharp intake of breath. A choked up moan.
Diluc rushes down to kiss him again, the taste of him irresistible. He needs him so badly he barely knows where to begin. Or maybe he does.
Dainsleif reaches for Diluc’s ponytail and undoes his hairtie. Waves of soft, apple-red hair flow down Diluc’s back. He buries his hands in it and Diluc lets out a soft gasp against his mouth. He shivers when Dainsleif runs his hands down his back, caressing every muscle, the relief of every scar he can make out with touch only. And with the way Diluc inhales sharply, holding onto him for dear life, Dainsleif wonders if it’s been so long since the last time anyone’s touched him. They have that much in common.
Dain’s hands reach up to cup his face and their eyes lock. He looks ruined. Dainsleif would like to ruin him some more.
Diluc pulls him up for a kiss, slips his tongue in his mouth. Dainsleif can’t get enough of him, the way he shudders and flushes, and –
“Touch me,” Diluc says. “Please”.
Dainsleif could never refuse him anything even if he wanted to – and he doesn’t. He will give him everything.
His hands smooth down Diluc’s chest, reaching lower until they’re between his thighs. A broken cry slips from Diluc’s mouth when Dain wraps a hand around his cock. He strokes him lazily, keeping his eyes locked on his face, the way his eyes are screwed shut, lips parted, hair everywhere. He’s so beautiful Dainsleif barely knows what to do with himself. It’s so unfair, to be this gorgeous, this delightful in all senses of the word. How is he supposed to leave after this?
Something about it almost makes him angry. It’s like he exists to torment him. Nevermind the fact that he’s brought more warmth to Dainsleif’s existence than anyone else he’s ever known. Does he even know what it means to a lonely traveler of the universe, a survivor from a shattered world, to be offered shelter, food, and company? To be treated like a friend? Dainsleif has been betrayed more times than he cares to count but he feels safe here, with him. He trusts him, despite the many times his heart has led him to bridges that will break.
He groans, then pushes Diluc onto his stomach, against the fluffy pillows. They smell like him.
“Dain,” he sighs. “What –”
“I want you so much,” Dainsleif rasps. “Let me show you.”
Diluc’s pupils are blown wide, and he shivers slightly before he nods.
Then, Dainsleif finally puts his mouth on him.
“Oh,” Diluc moans, a hand flying to cover his mouth.
Dainsleif’s determined to make it good for him, despite how out of practice he is at this. He can do this, surely. He spreads him further apart, fingers bruising the skin in their desperation.
“Fuck,” Diluc pants through the hand clasped against his mouth.
Should he be more gentle? Dainsleif wishes he knew how Diluc likes it, how to make it perfect.
“Dainsleif,” Diluc sobs when he pushes his tongue inside. “Oh, fuck, I’m –”
Is this good enough, Dainsleif worries, even as Diluc writhes against the mattress.
Diluc gasps with every stroke of Dainsleif’s tongue, and he doesn’t relent. He eats him out like it’s an act of worship, for he is the only thing Dainsleif has ever found worthy of worshipping. He keeps going until Diluc shudders, spilling into the bedsheets.
“Was that good?” Dainsleif asks, leaning over Diluc to look at his face.
He finds him nearly as red as his hair, strands plastered to his sweaty forehead, eyes glassy.
“How dare you ask me that,” Diluc sighs, pulling him closer by the hips. “Come here.”
They kiss languidly, for a while, and Dainsleif revels in the feeling of their naked skins flush together. After a while, Diluc touches his mask.
“Would you mind removing it?” he murmurs.
Dainsleif tenses, unsure. He feels too vulnerable without it. But it’s Diluc. Diluc, who has always welcomed him here despite his otherness, who trusts him, who wants him.
“You don’t have to,” Diluc says. “But I’ve always wanted to see your face properly.”
Dainsleif nods, a little shaky. Diluc’s fingers are gentle when they unclasp it. Dainsleif looks at him, bracing himself for his reaction.
This was a bad idea. He shouldn’t have done that, shouldn’t have revealed how monstrous the curse is. The mask exists for a reason, he shouldn’t have –
“You’re so beautiful,” Diluc says, caressing his cheek with his thumb, tracing over the blue and black skin.
“You don’t have to lie,” Dainsleif says, bitterly. “I wouldn’t want you to.”
“I wouldn’t lie to you,” Diluc says, taking his face between his hands. “Don’t you know that?”
Dainsleif does. It’s just difficult to hear, to believe.
“You’re not the only one with scars,” Diluc continues. “You’ve seen mine.”
Dainsleif wants to tell him that he’s so gorgeous, so beautiful, that he couldn’t care less. The words get stuck in his throat. He’s not unaware of how much clothing Diluc is constantly wearing. Maybe he does understand.
“They're proof that you’re still there,” Diluc murmurs. “That you prevailed over everything that’s happened to you.”
Dainsleif exhales a shaky breath.
“You’re perfect,” Diluc says. “You’re the only one I want.”
And Dainsleif doesn’t understand why that is, but maybe he doesn’t need to. Maybe it’s enough that he believes him.
“Okay,” he sighs, and pulls Diluc into another kiss.
He tastes like things Dainsleif had forgotten, things he didn’t think he had a use for anymore. Warmth. Comfort. A hint of grape juice, too. Enchanting.
“I need you,” Diluc sighs into his mouth, grinding into him and pulling a moan from Dainsleif.
Diluc needs him? Dainsleif would hate to disappoint, especially since he needs him back. Most ferociously.
A few minutes of shifting and rummaging around the bedside drawer and Dainsleif has him pliant, gasping as he works two fingers inside him.
“Talk to me,” Dainsleif murmurs as he adjusts his angle, careful, gentle.
“About what,” Diluc sighs, head dropping on his shoulder.
“Anything,” Dain says.
“I missed you, ah, while you were gone.”
Dainsleif hums, pressing a kiss to his temple.
“I missed you too. More than I wanted to admit.”
“I was so disappointed to see you leave,” Diluc murmurs, arching under his touch. “I’m not…I’m not just welcoming you here out of the goodness of my heart, I like having you here. So much.”
Dainsleif’s heart suddenly feels too big for his chest. How long has it been since anyone missed him? And here he thought he was an inconvenience, overstaying his welcome at the Winery. Looking for excuses to stay a bit longer each time. How wrong he was.
“I like it here too,” he murmurs. “I like you.”
Diluc lets out a soft whine, grinding into Dainsleif’s fingers.
“Then never leave me so soon again,” he murmurs. “Not without telling me when you’ll be back.”
Dainsleif doesn’t know if he can realistically make that promise. He wants to. But can he?
“I will do my best to keep you informed, when I can,” he murmurs into his hair. “I will write to you.”
“I would love that,” Diluc sighs. “Now please, take me.”
Dainsleif catches his mouth in a deep kiss, his other hand sliding into his hair. Diluc all but melts into it. The way he responds to Dainsleif’s touch is so intoxicating, the desire so naked and unguarded it makes him tremble. He’s never, ever been wanted like that, if at all.
But Diluc wants him. He bites Dainsleif’s bottom lip, impatient, and pulls him on top of him, erasing the space between their bodies. He’s so warm, so inviting.
“Mm,” Diluc sighs, thighs parting further so Dainsleif can slot in between them. “What were you waiting for, all this time?”
What do you mean “all this time,” Dainsleif thinks, hysterically.
“Do you know how many people in this city alone want you?” he asks. “And how notorious you are for never entertaining any of them?”
Diluc caresses his cheek, angling Dainsleif’s chin so their eyes meet.
“And yet, you could have had me so easily,” he murmurs. “The moment I invited you here, I was yours.”
A low groan escapes Dainsleif’s mouth. Diluc? Easy? The notion seems ludicrous.
And yet, he’s laying there under him, pulling him closer, desperate. He keeps saying more things that make Dainsleif’s head spin.
“Each time you visit,” he sighs. “I wonder: is this it, is he finally going to snap and have me?”
“You do?” Dainsleif asks, feeling insane.
He will. He will, right now. His fingers shake around the vial. Diluc makes a breathless sound, shifting closer in anticipation.
“Yes,” Diluc sighs. “Please.”
Dainsleif pushes into him slowly, with a small cry. Already, the pleasure is almost too much and they’ve barely started. Diluc’s mouth opens in a sigh, and he urges him on, draping a leg over his waist. Dain drives his cock deeper inside him and moans, his entire body burning. Diluc gasps, his back arching off the mattress and his arms wrapping around Dain’s neck.
“Good,” Diluc pants. “Dain, fuck –”
“Mmh,” Dainsleif breathes against his neck. “Good? What you wanted?”
“You have no idea,” Diluc pants. “Please, move –”
“Tell me,” Dain sighs, hips rolling into his ever-so-slightly. “I want to know.”
Diluc screws his eyes shut with a desperate whine.
“Every night you’re sleeping here I just hope you will, ah, finally knock on my door in the middle of the night, tell me you want me –”
Dainsleif does want him. He rewards him for his honesty, and picks up his pace.
“And,” Diluc sighs. “That you’ll just pin me to my bed and have your way with me.”
Dainsleif groans, fucks harder into him, feeling insane at the thought.
“You know I’d never do something like that,” he murmurs into his skin. “So improper.”
“I wish you would,” Diluc moans.
Dainsleif isn’t the type, he’s really not but he could be persuaded. Right now, Diluc could ask him to do anything and he would.
“Really?” he sighs, before biting Diluc’s neck.
Diluc’s nails claw at his back. The pain is exquisite.
“Yes,” Diluc pants. “You have no idea how much I think of you. How much I – ah, crave you.”
“Tell me,” Dainsleif says, barely coherent but incapable of containing his curiosity.
“I, fuck, I fell asleep in your bed the other day. ”
Dainsleif’s grip against his waist is bruising.
“Why?”
“Because I missed you,” Diluc says, frustrated. “Because I’m crazy about you.”
Dain lets out a broken sound.
“So I lay there but it wasn’t enough, I needed you to hold me.”
“I am,” Dainsleif says, kissing the corner of his mouth. “I am now.”
“Fucking finally,” Diluc sighs. “So good. And all mine.”
Dainsleif buries himself deeper inside him and Diluc moans so sweetly, tangling his fingers in his hair. It’s so good. He’s so good to him.
“More,” Diluc begs, hiking a leg high over Dainsleif’s waist.
“Anything you want,” Dainsleif murmurs, shifting his angle just right, enough to make him cry out.
He’s so beautiful like this, red curls everywhere on the pillows, sticking to his skin, even to Dainsleif’s mouth when he leans in to kiss his parted lips.
“Dain,” Diluc whines, so close Dainsleif can feel it.
He splays a hand over his stomach, the skin so warm, the muscles straining.
“I’ve got you,” he says, driving hard into him. “Always.”
Diluc lets out a breathless sound and comes all over his stomach, shuddering around him, perfect.
Dainsleif fucks him through it, shoving his tongue in his mouth so that Diluc doesn’t let the whole house know what they’ve been up to. He shudders through his own release, unraveling so hard he nearly blacks out, the pleasure almost too warm and real for him to handle. A miracle.
“Don’t let go of me,” Dain says and hope it doesn’t betray that he has been let go of once too many times before.
“I won’t,” Diluc says and Dainsleif, ever the fool, believes him.
They lie here for a long time afterwards, Diluc’s head resting on his shoulder, his breath warm against his cheek. A comfort he would have never dreamed of a week ago.
“Paimon asked me what my favorite place was once,” he murmurs. “I couldn’t remember, at the time.”
Diluc’s hand takes his, intertwining their fingers. Reassuring.
“But here,” he continues. “I feel at peace. At home, if you might forgive the presumption. And for a long time I thought of it as just the place but it’s you. It would feel like nothing without you.”
And he is sure many people in Mondstadt feel the same way.
“You will always have a place here,” Diluc murmurs, speaking the words into his skin. “With me.”
*
They wake up late, pleasantly rested.
Diluc knows he shouldn’t get used to the feeling of Dain’s arms around him but it’s so easy to long for it. He can’t help it.
“So,” he murmurs after a good half an hour of trading soft, lazy kisses. “How was that mission? I was so rude I didn’t even ask.”
Dain sighs against his skin.
“At one point, we were wondering how deep a pit was. She said “You’re immortal, right?” and she pushed me into it.”
“If only you’d stopped for five minutes to ask for my opinion before you wandered off with her,” Diluc says. “I could have told you she was insane.”
“Don’t be like that,” Dainsleif murmurs, trailing kisses over Diluc’s shoulder. “I couldn’t make love to you with a clear conscience with the Abyss Order still causing chaos in the Chasm.”
That is an insane thing to say but it surely says something about Diluc that it makes sense to him, somehow.
“You’ll have to make it up to me,” he says instead.
“Didn’t I do just that last night,” Dainsleif hums, his hand trailing over Diluc’s abdomen. “Not that I would mind a repeat performance.”
Diluc is about to drag him into a kiss when he hears a shrieking sound downstairs. He stills.
“What was that?” he murmurs.
“It sounds like…a hyena laughing with a crow,” Dainsleif says.
Diluc listens again and he can definitely see it.
“That’s incredibly well-put.”
They exchange a look, as the laughter – if it can be qualified as such – continues.
“We should –” Dainsleif begins.
“Do you –” Diluc starts to say at the same time.
They sigh.
“Yes, we should get up,” Diluc says. “It’s way past breakfast.”
Dainsleif hums. They both start dressing – Dainsleif in his clothes from last night, since he isn’t in his room, and Diluc with the first shirt and pants he finds.
“Do you want one of mine?” he asks.
Dainsleif hesitates.
“It’s nearly 10 in the morning,” Diluc says. “If you’re worried about anyone knowing what we were up to, I fear it’s too late.”
“I couldn’t care less,” Dainsleif says. “Do you?”
“I suppose I should, but I don’t,” he says, stepping closer to catch his mouth in a kiss.
Dainsleif takes the shirt he hands him.
*
Two cat-like smiles greet them when they go downstairs.
Yelan and Kaeya are sitting in opposite armchairs in front of the fireplace, each holding a glass. Diluc’s finest Northland Valberry Liquor is sitting, uncorked, on the table between the two of them.
“By all means, help yourselves,” he says flatly.
“You’re far too kind, dearest,” Yelan chuckles. “Had a good night?”
Diluc doesn’t dignify that with a response. He will judge his hedonistic friend for day-drinking after spending the morning in bed with his lover if he so pleases.
“Hi, Dainsleif,” Kaeya says with a smile that has no business being so self-satisfied.
Why is he even there?
“Hi,” Dainsleif says, before draping an arm around Diluc’s waist.
Oh, what the hell. Diluc might need a drink for the first time in a decade, if they all decide to test his sanity.
He knows he’s blushing, there’s no trying to hide it. Still, the gesture makes his heart go wild in his ribcage.
“Breakfast?” Dainsleif asks, pressing a kiss to his temple.
“What the hell,” Kaeya mutters, nearly spilling his glass on the carpet.
“Breakfast,” Yelan nods with a grin.
Adelinde gives Diluc a satisfied, smug smile when she brings the breakfast to the dining room.
“Thank you, Adelinde,” he says without acknowledging her insolence.
“You’re welcome, Master Diluc,” she replies with a grin.
“So what’s on the horizon for you now, Dain?” Kaeya asks as they eat. “I hope you’re not planning to leave too soon.”
Kaeya is very lucky that Diluc is in such a rare, exceptionally good mood. The nerve, to invite himself here and mention the prospect of Dainsleif’s departure.
“I’m going to stay for a while,” he says, putting a hand over Diluc’s, which makes his face heat up once more. “But after that, I’ll keep hunting down the Abyss Order.”
“And you, Master Diluc?”
Diluc puts his teacup down.
“I’m going to help him.”
“Oh? You would leave Mondstadt?”
“Temporarily. I’m sure you Knights can fend for yourselves…up to a point.”
“I should write down this compliment,” Kaeya says in disbelief.
“Do what you want.”
“I’m happy for you both, I really am,” Yelan says. “But I will say one thing: you’re unbelievable for making me ask you fifty times, only to say yes to Dainsleif on his first try.”
“You should have tried my method,” Dainsleif says, and Diluc wants to disappear into the ground.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“For the love of Barbatos –” Diluc grunts.
“You’re so easily flustered,” Yelan comments, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.
Dainsleif has the audacity to chuckle at that and Diluc turns to glare at him.
“Did you just laugh?”
“Sorry,” Dainsleif says. “She’s kind of right.”
“I’m so glad you two are such best friends now,” he grunts. “Truly, that week in the Chasm must have really brought you together.”
“Oh Archons no,” Yelan says at the same time that Dainsleif mutters: “Certainly not.”