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mylove-iv · 2 months

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❝eyes don't lie.❞

ʚ aged up, botw! link x hyrulean princess, fem! reader ɞ

synopsis: in a sea of people bearing facades, his blue eyes oh so honest enraptures your heart unbeknownst to even yourself.

genres: fluff, romance.

content warnings: implications of mistreatment and a power imbalance, snapping due to frustrations, really messy but pining idiots who've yet to realize that they're pining for each other, longing disguised as helpfulness.

reader specifications: reader was detailed to have rosy cheeks and wears heels.

word count: 2.39k words.

―originally posted on @mydarling-iv, dec. 31, 2023

ʚ masterlist ɞ

The sun warms the skin of your rosy cheeks as it pours from the canopy of leaves overhead. The woods smell of fresh earth as it had just rained prior, allowing the cool air to kiss your nose sweetly.

You've forgone your constraining heels, deciding to go bare foot as you race through the forest, hoping to find a rare herb whose blooming window now only opened.

If you miss such an opportunity, the herb won't bloom until a couple moons later. Such a thought causes you to huff as you continue running, hoping to out run your knight who seems keen on following you.

Besides your soft pants, you hear your assigned knights heavy footfalls. Odd, you think as his foot steps are always so light.

Breaking from the tree line, the morning sun paints you in a golden glow that warms you up, chasing away the chill that was starting to settle in your limbs. You hear the footfalls come closer and you start your sprint once more, being careful with running on a fallen log that acted as a bridge over a small ravine.

"Your highness!" A voice calls out, the familiarity of his voice causes a slight upturn of the corners of your lips.

You're halfway on the large log before you meet sky blue eyes that remind of you clear, cloudless skies that you oh so adore. His cheeks are slightly flushed, his hair windswept from the run from the castle to the forest you've forced him to endure, and yet, his eyes remain kind.

"Ser Link," You hum thoughtfully, borderline coy. "Kind of you to finally join me."

You see Link's nose scrunch slightly, such a small twitch would've gone unnoticed if you haven't been paying close attention as your knight never seems to break character.

Always it seems that he chooses to keep a tight lipped mouth, his face stern, his body rigid as to alway be prepared, and yet, his eyes are such an endless pool of blue that you can read quite well—more likely are allowed to—and only with you, he seems to talk, his words always so soft and endearing.

Even if you cause trouble, like now, where he's to chase after you, or if you were to endanger yourself accidentally, it is never anger or frustration you see in his bluebell eyes, but always worry.

"It's dangerous." His words are curt, yet there's a slight furrow to his eyebrows that will go unnoticed by many. But you aren't like most people, you catch on quick when it comes to his tells and his eyes-

Stars, they're filled with an apparent worry that guilt starts tugging at your soul.

You swiftly turn, resuming your dash to the other side as a flash of lavender and your eyes widen as you see a superbloom of armoranth, a rare commodity even for the likes of the nobility and imperial family as well.

"Princess!" Link calls out worriedly but your feet is already touching the soft grass on the other side of the ravine and only after a few steps away from the log, you turn.

Your eyes widen as you see Link hurriedly crossing the makeshift bridge, his sword strapped to his back as his arms a somewhat raised to help him balance on the log as he hurried to you. His lips are pursed cutely, the furrow between his brows deepening and becoming apparent. Such a sight causes you to smile widely as a sweet laugh tumbles from your lips, being unable to hold it back.

Link's eyes widen as his head snaps quickly to your direction as he stumbles off the log slightly and onto solid ground. You're kind enough to quickly grab ahold of his hand to keep him steady and even kinder to reduce your cackles to soft giggles.

"You must be careful now, Ser Link, I don't want you tripping again." You tease softly as you give him a sweet smile and your knight looks gobsmacked at the sight.

You cough slightly, snapping Link out of his daze before he drops to one knee, keeping your hand in his in a firm yet soft grip that allows you to pull away if you so desire to. He's quiet as his eyes become somewhat sad and you feel bad for teasing him and keeping such a nonchalant facade with him.

┊ ੈ✩‧₊*°࿐ྂ

Palace politics and the nobility were unkind, you and Zelda having not been spared from it as the sole heirs to Hyrule. Having been assigned knights against both of your wishes, Zelda was rightfully angered, feeling more constrained by your father's decision.

In a fit of anger, she had urged you to rebel against your knight as you also shouldn't be controlled even more. You sighed, silently promising yourself that you'd be polite to your knight while trying to maintain a facade of indifference to your knight in hopes of quelling your sisters unhappiness.

It was only when Zelda's showcase of her displeasure and unfair treatment directed towards her knight became so blatant that you are reminded to maintain your promise to yourself to treat your own knight with grace.

You recall of the times Link had saved you from your own stupidity so selflessly and without regards to his own safety and it pushes you to soften your cold facade with your knight as he too is only fulfilling his purpose, a royal guard bound by the king's order whose words is absolute.

After arguing with your father about the medical treatment regarding those affected by a sudden winter blight, or therefore lack of, you stormed out of the throne room in anger.

You then callously snapped at Link for no reason as he simply followed you as he usually does to your quarters. In the heat of your frustration, you became blind to his sky blue eyes faltering, hurt flashing through them briefly.

Later that night, going against your father's orders and not informing Link, you sneak out of your room and into the Applean forest. The said forest is a great deal of distance away from the castle but you had caught wind of a great deal of herbs growing there that would effectively help combat the effects of the blight.

Bundling them a handful in a small cloth, you scolded yourself for your harsh words to your knight and promised to make a healing balm composed of the herbs to give to Link as an apology, and to hopefully turn a new leaf as well.

But as you are starting to make your way out of the forest, a loud squeamish squeal rips through the air and your blood chills. From the corner of your eye, you see the red skin of a bokoblin wielding a wooden club.

Chastising yourself for not bringing Link with you, you break into a sprint, the beast giving chase. Breaking out of the the tree line, your heart pounds against your chest but as you gain a decent distance between you and the bokoblin, a chilling sound of a guardian focusing its laser causes your heart to drop.

You look up swiftly, seeing the reddish glow of a guardian going on the offense due to detecting an enemy. A malfunctioning one, Zelda had mentioned some defects. You cursed, biting your bottom lip anxiously as the bokoblin closes in on you and the guardian prepares to fire its beam.

You berate yourself for your unkindness towards Link in your last moments with him and you are forced to come to terms with your untimely death.

Time seems to slow and just as you see the laser make its away to you, a firm yet gentle arm wraps around your waist as your back lands against something solid and warm. The smell of sweet spearmint and earthy pine fills your nose and your body slackens in relief as you recognize this scent—his scent.

"Link." You murmur softly as you turn your head, bearing witness to his skills that rivals none in the kingdom.

He quickly brings the Hylian shield you had gifted to him during his knighthood ceremony and quickly parries the guardian beam causing the large tank of ancient tech to combust immediately before Link tears his arm away from you, choosing to draw his sword and making a quick work of the bokoblin.

Time between you and Link seems to stand still as you stare at his back. Guilt consumes your heart, you worried him horribly this time. Stars, if anything had happened to you, they would've punished Link and ultimately put his head on a pike.

You open your mouth to profusely apologize but Link is quick to bend the knee in front of you, his eyes never leaving yours and you feel horrible when you bear witness to the clear stress and worry swimming in his eyes.

Link gently grasps your hand, squeezing softly that doesn't hurt you in anyway that seems to reassure himself that you're safe and real. "I-.. I know you despise me for restricting your freedom, but please- please, next time if you wish to go out, please take me with you so I am to safeguard you from harm." He looks away, lips pursed softly as his eyes become sullen.

By some instinct—an urge—you cup his face, softly easing him to look at you in the eye once more. You're to speak yet the earnest look in his eyes forces any words to die on your tongue and you're taken off guard with how kind and true your knight is.

"Ser Link, I'm sorry for making you feel as if I despise you. In truth, I don't hate you at all, yet despite that, my actions showed you otherwise, and for that, I apologize. I apologize for snapping at you earlier, and I'm extremely sorry for worrying you with my stupid stunt tonight."

His eyes widen softly, the stars gleam from overhead making them twinkle and the sight seizes your breath. "I'm sorry, Ser Link, for everything." You murmur softly, bowing slightly.

A gentle squeeze to your hand encased in his brings your attention back to him. Your eyes widen from the sight in front of you, your heart stuttering and breath hitching ever so slightly as you see a small smile grace Link's face. He then leans further to place a soft kiss to the back of your balm, his honest eyes never straying from yours.

┊ ੈ✩‧₊*°࿐ྂ

Guilt ebbs away at your psyche once more as you recall that you've never apologized for your constant indifference towards him and have actually kept it up.

A grimace itches at your face, "I'm sorry, Ser Link, for the incessant teasing." You sigh meekly, your thumb mindlessly rubbing back and forth on Link's gloved hand.

His eyes widen slightly and you hate yourself even more at the implications—stars, of course he doesn't expect a sincere apology from you as you've gone up and ditched him the second time since the guardian incident!

His reaction bothers you more knowing that the reason why you've began to avoid your knight was because of the constant skips your heart would make whenever you and Ser Link interacted.

Stars, he is your knight and you a princess, never mind your reputation, you'd only sully his and make him a court fool in front of the nobility if you're to pursue him-

You lose yourself to the brewing storm in your mind and ever the observant knight he is, Link notices how your eyes become sullen. He gently squeezes your hand, a move you've become familiar with, and it works as your attention moves back to him.

"Princess, I've no need to forgive you for something that doesn't upset me. I- I'm just glad that you've begun to talk to me comfortably." He murmurs softly and you will your heart to not skip a beat because stars-

His eyes are so blue—an endless sea of honesty and softness that you've come to realize that he's granted only you the privilege of seeing—and the sight has your heart pounding.

A small smile tugs on your lips, "It is one of the many things I can do to make up for how cold and indifferent I've acted towards you, Ser Link." You purse your lips, looking away and Link sees how truly sorry your are in your eyes.

He squeezes your hand once more to get your attention on him once more and the pained smile on your face tugs at his heart strings. "I've constantly taken advantage for your unwavering loyalty, Ser Link. I'm-"

Stars, it truly is upsetting. He is only doing what he is ordered to by your father and you punish him nonetheless? How unkind and unjust for you to treat him like that-

How cruel can you be to someone so innocent in royal affairs? The thought is chilling and it overwhelms your control over your emotions.

A choked gasp leaves your lips as he sees your eyes glaze over with unshed tears. Link is quick to rise, his body moving closer as he patiently waits for your signal.

You catch on and nod despite being unaware of his intentions. Yet from the honest look in his eyes, you realize that you trust the man in front of you wholeheartedly. "I'm sorry for every wrongdoing I've committed against you." You mutter, looking away from him in shame.

Link's hands gently cups your face, and like on the night of the guardian incident, he mimics what you had done and makes you look at him in such a gentle manner that intensifies the ache in your chest.

Your lips are pursed, eyebrows furrowed in guilt, and Link smiles softly to ease your worries. You melt, cheek leaning into his hand as he gently caresses your cheek with the soothing motions of his thumb.

Beautiful. Absolute stunning. Link finds the thought at the forefront of his mind as he looks at you.

"It's okay, princess. Just promise me that you'll allow me to stay by your side." Link murmurs, eyes looking into yours with such a softness that could make you melt even further.

You bring up your hands to cup his as the sweetest smile gracing your face sends his heart racing. "I promise, Link."

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a-risk-to-take · 4 months

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….you posted your tattoo (sick) and linked to house of dirk and i read it all and its unfinished. if you hadn’t posted i may have lived my life without getting fanfic blue balled for the first time since 2015. if you have any sympathy for my loss you would give me fanfic recs >:[ /lh

I feel your pain believe me 😭😭 I’m sorry I didn’t warn you at least. I’m low-key hoping the tattoo image gets to imarriedacherub and inspires them to continue the story - obviously not likely but it’s nice to dream!

I got recs for you though! I’ve got hundreds of bookmarks on my ao3 but here’s the HS stuff I love the most:

The epics:

Dayvhe’s Broken Diamond Club and everything by @unda-dsk: DBDC is my personal fave of theirs, and the best treatment of troll culture in any fic ever. If you know HS fic you are probably aware of MC Escher That’s My Favorite MC, and that one is absolutely excellent and completely deserves its status as one of the very best. And then there’s Alternate Universe, which is a perfect and beautiful magic school story. All of these are absolutely top-tier - I cannot stress this enough. They are epic and very long but some of the best stuff I’ve ever read—fanfic or otherwise—and they changed me when I read them. Despite the length, DBDC is very episodic so you can read each chapter as its own story and easily take breaks in between them without losing the flow, so you might want to start there. I promise it’s worth it!!

so we don’t kill the ones we love by @callmearcturus: I’ve never read anyone who can create an atmosphere like Arc can - this one is kind of a John Wick AU but in a really refreshing and elevated way. The characterization is so on point. Lots more I could rave about but I’ll just add that Arc’s Karkats are the hottest and most based out there. Again all his stuff is really good - this one is my favorite, but don’t miss this really cool magic artisan AU also.

The meteorstucks:

Aahhh there’s no way this is gonna be complete because I’ve read like hundreds and I get them confused but these are some that stand out. In case you haven’t notice already this list is gonna be very davekat centric!

Keep It Down by sburbanite - chef’s kiss concept and execution just read it

A Xenological Exploration of Music and Language by superbloom - super fun and well written with neat headcanon - and turned me on to some great music

I’m actually gonna just declare this section unfinished for now - I need to revisit these and remind myself what’s what - stay tuned!

Illustrated

Since you liked HoD you might be looking for more comic-y stuff with art. Definitely check out @chthonicarcher’s amazing davekats! Such as That’s All We Are

Dream a Little Dream of Me by koroke - this is just a little dream bubble comic but it’s simply the loveliest and I’m massively envious of the art style

Gonna Need Some Windex by the End of the Year by magniloquentChanteuse - more artistic storytelling just neat!

It’s About Time by @laurasauras - this is a sweet cute lovely little time travel davekat that I actually sent to a friend to read who knew nothing about HS and successfully led them into the fandom. (Followed by AU by Unda). Laurasauras is prolific and there are so many great fics written by them I can’t list them all here but they are one of my absolute favorite authors. Their understanding of the strider psyche is absolutely impeccable

The Worst Goddamn Movies Ever Fucking Made by writerbot - this fic brought me so much hilarity and joy I can’t even tell you. The Karkat voice is perfect and delightful and the social media interludes are so fucking funny and impressive. One of the first fics to show me how creative and funny this fandom can be.

I’m surely going to add to this - there are so many more meteorstucks and other authors I know I’ll think of after I post this - but I don’t want to spend too much longer on this now when you could be reading some of this great stuff! ENJOY!!

#homestuck fanfics #homestuck #davekat #fanfic recs #fan fiction

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honeyedlashton · 2 years

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“Let me go back to the start. . .”

10 days of Superbloom (Day 7 of 10)

Ashton Irwin via Instagram / Unknown Edit / Unknown Hand Reaching Photography / Unknown Lightning Photography / Literally Just A Blend Between the Two Colors via Unknown / Unknown VHS Word Art (I type this a lot) / Unknown Eyes In Green Televisions / Unknown Painting / Still From the Flim CAKE (2014) by Rachel Morrison

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plasticflwrs · 4 months

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✿ ، With the rise of long-form video essays on YouTube, user GOTHIC GWYN changed the K-Pop fandom with her seventy-five-minute analysis, PLASTIC FLOWERS: BREAKING THE INDIE SCENE. Since it was posted in 2023, the video has reached over 5 million views and GOTHIC GWYN still posts semi-regularly. The video describes the five members of Plastic Flowers, the former members, their relationships with each other, and their role in the multimedia universe created by their entertainment company. This layout was inspired by the lovely myah aka @/venusvity !

This video contains the following trigger warnings: Fighting (Salem); Resentment from her parents, Disownment, Eating Disorders (Serin). Mentions of toxic relationships, but not described as well. Please let me know if anything is missing!

( PART I: I AM FRAGILE AND UNHOLY. OPEN. RAVAGE. EAT. ... MILIN KUEAKULSRI ) ⬭��The story of Plastic Flowers naturally begins with founder and leader Salem Kueakulsri. Though born in Hat Yai, Thailand, she moved to California at a young age due to her father's job and paternal grandmother's growing health issues. Her parents used the "1-parent-1-language" system in her home and she was fluent in Thai because she learned the language at such a young age. Her nickname Salem was given to her by her father when she was born due to her birthday being on October 31. She's always preferred Salem to her birth name, Milin, since it makes her seem more unique and was given to her by her favorite person.

In late 2013, the family moved to Ulsan, South Korea after the funeral of her grandmother and both of her parents wanting to return to their original lives. Her father was given a promotion and that lead him to the South Korean branch of the company. Salem begged her parents to let her attend an Arts High School in South Korea and after passing the entrance exam, she promised to keep her grades up no matter what to remain there. Many students tended to stay away from her given her "resting bitch face" and she did not make friends until the next year when she was approached by Choi Chaesol in their science class. The pair became lab partners and soon Siyoon was invited to join her small friend group, which also included Choi Seowon and Ying Shuhang.

Not long into their friendship, they realized a mutual love for creating music and performing. Siyoon had been learning the guitar in her free time since early middle school and had recently moved on to the bass. As the only member with a background in music—as the other three were just learning to play their instruments—she was promoted to the 'leader' of the group and began songwriting with primarily Shuhang. They would continue with informal practice sessions until their first single was published on Soundcloud and reached limited success.

The band was contacted by many entertainment companies in South Korea and after a heated argument about the band's future, Salem took the name and their songs to Superbloom Media for herself. Without any band members left, she was forced to start from the bottom again in this new era of Plastic Flowers and make connections with these new trainees. She remained the leader and the head of their comebacks until recently.

✿ ، BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION.

Stage Name. Salem ( 살렘 ).

Birth Name. Milin Kueakulsri ( มิลิน เกื้อกูลศรี ).

Born. October 31, 1998 in Hat Yai, Thailand.

Position. Leader, Vocalist, Bassist.

Years Active. 2014 — present.

Label. Supberbloom Media.

Face Claim. Nicha Yontararak.

( PART II: I TALK TO GOD BUT THE SKY IS EMPTY. ... KANG JUNYEONG ) ⬭　Born in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Daegu, Kang Junyeong knew from an early age that he would do anything to get out of there. Most of his neighbors had been living in that town their entire lives and that was not something that interested in. His single father was never able to afford much beyond necessities on his small yearly salary so Junyeong was tasked with finding different ways to entertain himself after completing his school work. While watching the school's talent show, he was introduced to a local dance trope with boys from his grade and decide to reach out after seeing how much attention that they got. From there, he was accepted into the group and learned street dancing, often competing against other groups in Daegu. He loved dancing and saw an opportunity to get out his neighborhood after discovering 1Million studio's video and choreography credits. He knew that if he worked hard enough, they would accept him and he became dedicated to learning every style of dance he could without paying for lessons.

While visiting Seoul for a school field trip, Junyeong was scouted by three entertainment companies based on his good looks even at fourteen years old—YG Entertainment, Jellyfish Entertainment, and Superbloom Media. He auditioned for all three of the companies and despite his dancing abilities, he could neither sing nor rap and was rejected by both YG and Jellyfish, leaving him with only Superbloom. In 2015, the company was in a bad place as they chartered failed group after failed group and needed to take out thousands in loans. In 2017, he was reached out by another company to transfer after seeing his work and when he was considering it, he was placed in the lineup of Plastic Flowers, which he thought was a traditional idol boy group. He was sourly mistaken and forced to learn the drums even after putting up a fight about his role in the group.

Even if it had been five years since then, Junyeong is still bitter about what happened to him. Rather than ever showing off his dance skills and improved vocal abilities, he was stuck behind a drum kit and expected to act like it was all fun. Even worse, many critiqued him playing from the beginning and said Junyeong was only going to keep Plastic Flowers in nuguhell due to his poor abilities. This forced him to work harder to perfect his craft and he's become pretty good at his new position. He refuses to work with the rest of the members on songwriting and producing, instead forcing them to figure out the perfect drum line for each of their songs in protest. Only Salem can tolerate Junyeong, often leaving him separated from the rest of the group despite everything they've gone through.

✿ ، BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION.

Stage Name. Junyeong ( 준영 ).

Birth Name. Kang Junyeong ( 강준영 ).

Born. June 11, 1999 in Daegu, South Korea.

Position. Drummer, Vocalist, Visual.

Years Active. 2017 — present.

Label. Supberbloom Media.

Face Claim. Choi Yeonjun.

tw // childhood trauma relating to jiyeon being treated worse than her older sisters, disownment, eating disorders.

( PART III: I WAS THE GIRL WHO NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHO SHE WAS TO PEOPLE ... LEE JIYEON ) ⬭ Lee Jiyeon grew up in a house based around perfection. Both of her parents were traditional doctors and they meticulously planned their live together, well everything expect the birth of Jiyeon in early summer of 2000. She has two older sisters, Jisu and Jihye, both born in the early 1990s and were apart of their parents plan. Because of this, Jiyeon was label as the black sheep of her family and was often treated worse than her older sisters with harsh exceptions about school work and health. Her mother enrolled all three of her daughters into ballet at an early age and given the horror stories about ballet teachers giving their student's body issues, Kim Jinsook was heavily involved in what her children consumed as her health specialty.

Similar to future band mate Junyeong, Jiyeon knew that she was not going to remain in Jecheon for very long. Her older sisters had already moved out by the time she reached high school and there was nothing holding her to the city. While talking with her dance friends, Jiyeon was persuaded to audition for various entertainment companies behind her parents backs. They were expecting her to either follow in their footsteps or go into a similar field. Jiyeon, however, had other plans. She was desperate to get into an entertainment company and move to Seoul, so she began looking up videos to teacher herself to sing before her parents came home and auditioned under the ruse of visiting Seoul with her friends.

In 2015, she was accepted into Superbloom Media and they were the first to give her a decision. Desperate to get out, she took it and was disowned when they heard Jiyeon's plan to become an idol. She stayed in the dorms year-round and was Superbloom transferred her to a local public school. She was known as one of the best female dancers in the company, easily transitioning between styles. However, she was not upset at the chance of being in Plastic Flowers since she had debt to the company and needed to pay it back as quickly as she could. With the help of Salem and Gwyn, Jiyeon learned how to play the guitar and is the third most important vocalist behind the two leads.

✿ ، BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION.

Stage Name. Serin ( 세린 ).

Birth Name. Lee Jiyeon ( 이지연 ).

Born. June 12, 2000 in Jecheon, North Chungcheong, South Korea.

Position. Guitarist, Vocalist.

Years Active. 2017 — present.

Label. Supberbloom Media.

Face Claim. Park Chaewon.

( PART IV: FLOWERS GROW BACK, EVEN AFTER THEY ARE STEPPED ON, SO WILL I. ... OH DEURIM ) ⬭ Oh Deurim was born in the suburbs of Seoul and had grown up attending busking events with her friends after school. As the youngest child of three, she was given the freedom to realistically do anything under her parents supervision. She was gifted in the humanities subjects, particularly finding literature and poetry her favorite pieces to study. Throughout her teen years, she read poetry in any language she could get her hands on and spend hours trying to translate it. She began writing her own poetry at thirteen and that would become the base for her songwriting abilities later into her training career.

In 2015, Deurim was accepted into Superbloom Media as one of the first generation of trainees under Shin Yeonghui's reign. She was slated to debut with Celatum in 2017, at just sixteen years old, however, she was pulled from the lineup right before debut and replaced by Jeong Soomin. There are still pre-debut photos and videos featuring Deurim, making many wonder what happened behind the scenes. The next time fans saw her, she was competing on Superbloom's only survival show, Timefighter, which formed the group of the same name. She began the competition with good spirits and fans easily falling for her visuals and talent. However, after being promoted to leader and showing her colors as a harsh one, her rank dropped significantly and she was never able to recover. As the weeks went on, her rank began to fluctuate between eleventh and fourteenth, however, she just made the adjusted lineup by two places that same year.

Having expressed Plastic Flowers being one of her favorite bands and Salem her greatest inspirations, she was invited by Yeonghui to join the band after they suspended Minghui's contract at the end of July. She was introduced as a new member of the band in May 2022 and was surprisingly accepted by fans quickly.

✿ ، BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION.

Stage Name. Deurim ( 드림 ).

Birth Name. Oh Deurim ( 오드림 ).

Born. July 7, 2001 in Seoul, South Korea.

Position. Pianist, Vocalist.

Years Active. 2021 — present.

Label. Superbloom Media.

Face Claim. Kim Suhyeon.

( PART V: ALL TIME EVER DOES IS PASS AND ALL I EVER DO IS REMEMBER. ... OLIVER SONG ) ⬭　Born in 2001 and the youngest member of Plastic Flowers, Oliver Song is a musical prodigy. His musical talents were discovered at an early age through piano lessons and he quickly moved through the different difficulties of music. Not long after that, he chose to learn the violin alongside the piano while in elementary school and showed the same advanced performance. He continued down this road and learned to sing while he was an active member of the church choir near his childhood home. In 2013, he was even accepted into the Boston Arts Academy and trained for two years before he was accepted into Superbloom Media. His mentors wanted him to attend lower-level auditions to gain more confidence and Superbloom was holding something online, so they filmed and sent in a video thinking nothing of it.

In the fall of 2015, he was accepted into the trainee program at Superbloom and offered a spot in Seoul, South Korea. Oliver, not wanting to miss such an opportunity, looked deeper into K-pop and had a few discussions with the scouting manager for North America about what his future would look like. After this and convincing his parents, Oliver Song moved to Seoul alone right before the new year to begin his training journey. There, he became close with his future bandmate Lin Minghui as two of the only foreign trainees. Oliver struggled the most with dancing and looking confident while performing, which caused him to be placed in more lessons throughout the day and switch to an online high school. Surprisingly, in late 2016, he was added to the new lineup of Plastic Flowers and given the stage name Gwyn right before their debut. While not the original lead vocalist, fans seemed to enjoy his voice more and the switch was made after their 16 month hiatus.

In 2019, Oliver was cast as one of 60 contestants on the talent show Superband and was the youngest at just seventeen years old during filming. Though he had been learning Korean for almost three years at that point, he still struggled with speaking and having the confidence to articulate his own thoughts. Despite that, fans rallied behind Oliver as one of the show's main narrators and his talents. For his introduction stage, he performed a cover of Fleetwood Mac's Big Love which earned him the role of Front Man, meaning he could choose his own bandmates for the next round. His group, which performed Heart-Shaped Box, lost 4:1 and while it was sad at the moment, he was chosen to be part of Park Hyeongjin's winning teams for the next two rounds. He proved himself a top-tier vocalist alongside Isaac Hong in Royals and The Time of My Life, which made him deeply sought by the other contestants when forming their own Superbands. In the end, he ended with original partner Sawyer Lee, Ko Seungmin, and Yoon Taeyun as Death Valley, which earned 45,000 votes and Second Place with their final song Take My Hand.

With the show's conclusion in July 2019, Plastic Flowers released their mini-album Wind and Rain in late August to keep up with his growing momentum. However, given the small fan base of any group from Superband, the Plastics still heavily struggled as fans demanded a return of Death Valley as well. For the next three years, they would continue to miss the mark until Teeth was released in 2020. For three months, you could not go anywhere without hearing Teeth domestically and internationally, even going viral in Tiktok. With that album, Oliver was given the role of producer by the Superbloom representatives and has been working hard to emulate the success of his earlier work. In March of 2023, he also be the first member to make their solo debut.

✿ ، BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION.

Stage Name. Oliver ( 올리버; 2017 — present ) / Gwyn ( 그윈; 2016 ).

Birth Name. Oliver Finn Song.

Other Names. Song Yuhyeon ( 송유현 ).

Born. December 12, 2001 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Position. Vocalist, Rhythmic Guitar, and Violinist.

Years Active. 2016 — present.

Label. Superbloom Media.

Face Claim. Matthew Seok.

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that-student-that-has-homework · 3 months

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You WILL Have my Herbs 05

Diluc / Reader

Previous Chapters: Chp 1 | Chp 2 | Chp 3 | Chp 4 | Chp 5 | Chp 6

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Summary: Listen you just wanted to pick some plants, do some experiments, find some cures, and report back to your mentor. Unfortunately a handsome vigilante puts you in his debt and now you have to fight him to let you make it up to him.

Chapter 5: Burgeoning Superbloom

If you’d been difficult to track before, you were nigh impossible to track now. Not that Diluc had been trying really, at least not nearly as much as he had the previous time. Though sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder if there was something divine preventing him from locating you.

Months passed. Months. Not a word of a sighting, not another informative complaint from Kaeya…nothing. He was almost inclined to believe you’d left, if not for the sporadic letters to Adelinde.

Those letters were the only semblance of a lead out there.

What was truly baffling was how following the trail of the letters led him to all sorts of places. For example, one such letter was sent not too far from a Fatui camp. The courier, who was really an inexperienced adventurer, that delivered the letter had been so proud of himself, bragging about how he’d dodged a Fatui camp. Maybe even hinting that he’d like for Adelinde to tip him.

Whether it was to the adventurer’s fortune or misfortune, Diluc just so happened to be there for that specific delivery.

A few casual questions and the shrewd warrior knew that not only had you paid in full (though you’d bargained to get a reasonable price-much to his surprise), you’d even gifted the adventurer a handy salve as a tip. He’d also figured out where you’d been when you sent the letter and therefore the location of the Fatui camp.

Yes, leave it to you to unintentionally find yourself in a dangerous location. He ought to make sure you never meet Bennett, your disastrous luck together would be of a whole other magnitude.

Either way, the vigilante had vermin to exterminate. It was rather convenient for him that you’d unearthed this poison plaguing Mondstadt. You seemed to have a knack for that: locating problems. Once he eradicated the filth from the land he’d be sure to check on you.

While that rookie adventurer managed to avoid the Fatui, it seems you had not. While decimating their forces the Proud Citizen of Mondstadt discovered a bar of that unique soap of yours. So that’s why the Fatui scum hadn’t smelled as though they wallowed in their own filth as they usually did…and the laundry that seemed to be hung to dry.

There were a number of scenarios as to how the scum could have obtained the soap.

The first one that came to mind had to be that they’d seen you nearby and had gone to attack, and you’d given them a soap bar in exchange for them leaving you alone, then probably ran away when they continued to plunder you regardless. Though knowing you, maybe you’d thought they were humans and had sought out their camp yourself looking for company and ended up at the dangerous end of a nozzle. Which makes that two scenarios. The third scenario…truthfully most of the scenarios he imagined generally resulted in your safety being jeopardized. You were an adept healer but not much of a fighter after all. He could only hope you were a decent runner.

Anyway.

The good news was that he hadn’t seen your pack nor any other traces of you save for that soap. He did make sure to ask one of the Fatui recruits there though.

Just to be safe.

“Where’d you get this soap?” The former knight had a heel to the fool’s chest and a large blade to the side of his neck.

“Soap? You- you want to know about the soap?” The panicked soldier asked bewildered.

To be fair it was a strange inquiry given the circumstances.

The redhead shifted more of his weight to his foot that was on the scum, “yes, I’m asking you about the bar of soap with mint in it.”

“We-we bought it off a lady,” he gasped out and Diluc eased up a little. After all, what was the point of an interrogation when the other person couldn’t talk?

Now, was this lady he mentioned a merchant, or was this you ? He would not risk making assumptions on the matter.

“What did she look like?”

“I don’t remember. Friendly, kinda weird, but she didn’t look like she was from Mondstadt.”

Not good enough. Tch.

“How much did the soap cost?”

“If you want the soap you can have it! Just get off me!” The rat squirmed beneath him.

Hah! Did he really think he was in a position to be making demands? The audacity of this filth.

“I don’t want the soap,” Diluc growled, “I’m asking about the price of the soap.”

“60 mora a piece!”

An abysmally low price. It was you, no doubt.

“What happened to this lady after you ‘ bought ’ the soap from her?”

“I don’t know! We just bought the soap and left!” The pathetic scum rambled. “We didn’t do her any harm if that’s what you’re insinuating!”

Ah, it seems he picked the right recruit to interrogate after all. An anxious blabbermouth. Perfect. Bad for the Fatui, very convenient for him, he must be a new recruit. This would be easier than he originally thought.

“Why should I believe you?” The redhead shifted some weight back to the foot holding the captured agent down.

“I’ll take you to her camp! You’ll see she’s just fine!”

“Her camp? You assaulted her in her camp?”

“ No .” Good, he was getting frustrated. “She was cooking up some weird stuff and we followed the scent. It smells amazing for your information. And we found this weird lady mixing some weird stuff like she was a witch. She sold us some soap, and we left.”

“She didn’t offer to give it to you for free?” Did you perhaps know not to be kind to the scum of Teyvat?

“How did you know ?” The Fatui officer was in complete shock.

He knew it. Your generosity would kill you one day. He was sure.

“We, the proud followers of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, would never take something that was clearly labored over for free!” The pathetic little vermin spat at him indignantly. “Don’t look down on us, we’ve got more dignity and honor than all seven nations combined!”

Diluc scoffed, raising a brow at him. Ah yes, how convincing coming from a Fatui operative. The nerve.

“Show me to her campsite,” the vigilante removed his foot, and the Fatuus took in a sharp gasp of air - how dramatic.

“Tch, fine ,” he scoffed.

Diluc kept his sword poised in case the pathetic agent tried anything funny, the former knight waited for the Fatuus to get up. Though the moment he was up, the redhead grabbed him by the back of his neck, he didn’t have time for leniency.

“Is this really necessary?” The agent complained.

“Start walking.”

Thus began the short trek to what would hopefully be your campsite. While it was very convenient that the scum seemed to be seriously leading him towards your campsite, it was also…well…the Fatui agent clearly didn’t trust him, and he could easily pose a threat to your safety, yet this “proud follower of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa,” who had “more dignity and honor- ” hah! “-than all seven nations combined,” still chose to lead him to you . Yes, lead a man with a claymore and a pyro vision, that had decimated the whole camp of trained Fatui officers, to a medical researcher who was clearly untrained in combat, and would likely be helpless to defend herself.

For as far as the Fatui scum knew, you were helpless. That was the initial impression you gave off after all. Though, he found he was of another opinion following your time together in that domain.

You reinforced his opinion when he arrived at where the Fatui claimed to be your campsite.You were not there. Though to the scum’s credit it had clearly been camped in as there were remnants of a campfire. However…

“ When did you say you bought this soap from her?” Diluc readjusted his grip on his captive’s neck.

“When?” He responded instinctually, quickly spewing out responses when he was reminded of the grip on his neck. “M-maybe two? No three…three to five days ago?”

As he’d suspected: you’d likely abandoned this camp shortly after the Fatui had found you. Well done.

Now, it was time to clean up the last of the scum.

-_-

As was the case last time, the tycoon didn’t find you until you came to him. Indirectly.

“Well well, look who we have here,” a familiar voice that usually preceded a headache spoke from not too far away, “say, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen you last. What could you have possibly been up to?”

Diluc afforded the knight a quick glance, only to be pleasantly surprised to find you there. He took a few quick steps to allow himself to observe this exchange.

Your shoulders dropped the tension they’d previously held in favor of drooping in an indecorous manner, meaning you’d likely let out a sigh. He understood your position, truly, he’d also rather avoid Kaeya when he could.

Hence his observing the two of you from this advantageous distance.

You then huffed a sardonic little laugh despite your initial reaction and turned to face the captain more fully with a smile though. He noticed you tighten your hold on the hefty sized fabric knapsack you were hugging. He imagined Kaeya had his usual smile taunting you. That, or an expression that revealed his malicious glee that his current source of entertainment had returned.

“Sir Kaeya,” nerves riddled your smile, “how have you been?”

“Absolutely awful!” He never missed the opportunity for dramatics did he? “I recently had the worst stomach pain and my favorite apothecary was nowhere to be found!”

You huffed a little, smile still in place and knowing, “you drank excessively on a somewhat empty stomach didn’t you?”

“Oh?” He could imagine the grin on Kaeya’s face clearly. “How did you know?”

“You weren’t subtle about your alcoholism,” you shrugged, “call it an educated guess.”

The alcoholic in question let out an actual laugh and Diluc found himself sharing in the amusement.

“Won’t you spare me a moment?” The captain gestured with his hand in a sweeping manner while placing the other on your back.

You flinched and ducked away from his hold on, what seemed to be, pure instinct. Were you perhaps uncomfortable with such contact?

“Please refrain from touching me,” ah, you really were uncomfortable with the contact.

Now that he considered it, you seemed to try your best to avoid having him help you when you’d injured your leg. He’d thought your uncomfortable expression at the time had been due to the pain and what you’d said about avoiding being indebted to him, but, it seemed that you didn’t like the contact either.

“Very well,” the silver-tongued menace raised his hands in a weak surrender and moved to allow for a respectable distance between the two of you.

Kaeya…respecting boundaries? Well this was new.

Then again this could just be a way of loosening your tongue.

The knight began leading you on a walk through the city. The curious redhead followed the two of you, making sure to remain far enough to be undetected, but close enough to eavesdrop. After all, there was no doubt what the everso slippery man was about to discuss. It would be to his benefit to listen to this discussion too.

Kaeya would get his answers, most definitely. Aside from your nature, the knight was also exceptional at drawing intel out of people. Much to Diluc’s ire.

“It’s been so long, I was beginning to wonder if I’d never see you again,” he broke the silence that had settled between you as you walked, “I ran out of that soap you gave me,” he pouted slightly, “a shame really, it worked very well with my skin, and had such a lovely fragrance.”

“I made a new batch! I infused them with cecilias this time!” You perked up, ever so eager to talk about your herbs. “Or would you prefer the same old soap?”

“Oh cecilias? Did you head to Starsnatch Cliff then?” He raised a brow at you as he led you. “Is that where you’ve been?”

“Yes, I went there to collect new specimens for my research,” you nodded, your smile polite.

Small talk. Truly such a tedious thing. Though he wasn’t so closed-minded that he didn’t see what Kaeya was up to. So far the conversation felt like he was asking after an old friend. It was rather pleasant, disarmingly so. Diluc would only need to suffer through this pointless small talk until the knight deemed you were unguarded enough. That’s when he would strike with the more sensitive questions.

“How are you liking your time in Mondstadt?” He inquired.

“It’s been nice,” you answered instinctually, “I’ve been learning a lot.”

“Oh? Would you care to share?”

“Windwheel Asters are excellent against fevers! They also help you obtain necessary minerals that your body requires, it turns out,” you spoke excitedly.

“I see,” Kaeya hummed, “so you’ve been out studying windwheel asters and cecilias then?”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned before that I’m here to study local herbal remedies,” your tone was light.

The knight nodded with a smile, “indeed you did.”

Then, “well while you’ve been out there curing fevers with windwheel asters,” he began, “I’ve been here holding on to a will someone left behind.”

There was a notable pause, as though - perhaps you were considering your words? “The person didn’t think to leave their name on their last will and testament?”

Again the knight chuckled, “oh they did, not to worry I know whose will it is.”

You nodded slowly at that, “well then, I suppose that’s good. Now you can make sure it finds its owner safely.”

“I’ve also been hanging on to some odd letters from the same person,” ah! Finally .

“You-uh-you didn’t go through this person’s private letters, did you?” You took a judgemental and concerned tone, likely to conceal your panic. “That’s an invasion of privacy.”

“My, so quick to accuse me of wrongdoing,” he could imagine the expression on the captain’s face. It was positively punchable. “Do you think so little of me?”

“I’ll take every opportunity to be suspicious of you I get,” your tone flattened, “see how much you like it.”

“My my, have I really antagonized you so much?” Kaeya’s tone was sickeningly saccharine, and Diluc liked grape juice of all things. “And here I thought we were good friends.”

Hah! Though from what Diluc could see of your face, you seemed to take that lie to heart.

“If we’re good friends why are you always suspicious of me?”

“You’re really insistent,” he leaned down into your space and you moved away, “ that’s rather suspicious my dear little apothecary. What secrets are you hiding?”

“W-well…if I tell you, they…they wouldn’t be secrets anymore now would they?”

The knight laughed, and pulled himself back to his full height. From what the redhead could see, your expression only soured at this reaction. Unfortunately your quick-wittedness was only furthering Kaeya’s desire to toy with you.

“What a classic response!” He said as he calmed down. “If you want to be free of suspicion why not be more cooperative?”

“I am very cooperative, thank you very much!” You huffed.

“Then you wouldn’t mind answering a few questions about those letters I mentioned earlier.”

“What letters?” You snapped back at your interrogator clearly still agitated by his prior suspicion.

“Why these letters I found outside that domain near Springvale,” Kaeya resumed walking around and you followed, readjusting your knapsack again.

It took you a moment to respond, “Ah yes, the private letters you’d read - you said you’d read, by invading the privacy of the writer.”

You paused. That sounded long winded.

“I mean the letters- no- well it was an invasion of privacy all the same!”

Another chuckle from Kaeya. Another scowl from you.

“You’re right,” the cryo user hummed, laying his trap, “under normal circumstances I’d be inclined to agree.”

“Under normal circumstances?” And you walked straight into it.

“Yes, had I found these letters in a more common location, then, hmmm,” he drawled off.

You hugged your knapsack a bit tighter, as though seeking comfort from it, while breathing in slowly-it seems you’d figured out what he was talking about, “give-given how Mondstadt had been under attack, I’d assume you’d find all misplaced correspondences suspicious.”

“ Oh . Most impressive Miss Apothecary,” Kaeya was having too much fun at your expense, “I do ,” he paused no doubt reveling in your anticipation, “so I’m sure you can imagine just how suspicious ‘ misplaced correspondences ’ outside an enemy domain would be.”

“Very suspicious, no doubt,” you nodded enthusiastically.

Diluc noticed you shake out a shiver that had no doubt ran its way through your spine, most likely in response to Kaeya’s expression. He really did wish he could see the knight’s face…and that he would get to the point already.

“It only gets more suspicious from there,” the knight stopped walking in a relatively empty area of the fortified city, “these letters were addressed to a foreign country and were not only written in the native language unique to the country, but with an advanced cipher.”

You stood before the knight silently, yet Kaeya did not continue. You readjusted our grip on your plants. “So, did you manage to figure out the cipher and read the letter?”

To Diluc’s knowledge: no he hadn’t, that’s why he was here, asking you.

“Not yet, unfortunately,” he lamented.

“I see,” you nodded slowly, “I’m-I’m sure trying to decipher it must be a major headache, would you-would you like more mint oil?”

There was a momentary pause, before Kaeya erupted into joyous laughter. Diluc shifted momentarily to get a better look at the captain’s face, noting the disbelief that tinted his amusement.

In contrast you stood there stiff as a plank, looking, for all of Teyvat, as uncomfortable as an amateur adventurer in Dragonspine. Truly you looked like you’d rather be in a hilichurl camp than here with Kaeya. That in and of itself was amusing, unfortunately for you.

When the blue-haired nuisance calmed down, you smiled at him awkwardly.

“You studied at the Sumeru Akademiya, didn’t you?” He was being really roundabout in his methods today.

“Yes?” You looked as though you were trying to figure out where he was going with this.

He wished the cavalry captain would stop toying with you. Kaeya would have cornered you by now, following the man’s usual pattern. However, with how he’d been laughing at virtually everything you’d been saying, the knight no doubt was finding immense entertainment in watching you dodge his traps as you did.

Ah. This must be it.

The real reason why Kaeya was suspicious of you.

Yes, you were much more adept at tricky conversations than he initially imagined. Neither the captain nor he, had yet to glean anything at all. Diluc would have been significantly more disappointed had he not found some amusement in the obnoxiously adept interrogator’s failure in this interrogation.

“You must have learned a thing or two about ciphers, and maybe even about decoding cipher s while there,” He was drawn out of his musings by Kaeya’s suggestion.

“Well, as you can see,” you lifted your knapsack, and your observer wondered if the tremors in your hands were due to exertion- the knapsack looked rather light though, “I’m an apothecary , so…so even if I did learn ‘a thing or two’ about ciphers, it’s obviously not my area of expertise.”

“Always so clever aren’t you?” Diluc found himself looking to where Kaeya usually kept his cryo vision. It seems like he wasn’t as patient nor as amused as Diluc had thought. “I’m sure you could help me figure this cipher out.”

You looked distraught by the suggestion. Your mouth opened as if you were preparing to say something, then closed, you looked around, then pursed as you looked back at the captain.

“But-but…but,” you stuttered, “do I have to?”

Diluc couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his lips. You sounded like, of all things, that was the last thing you’d want to do. It likely was.

“Now now,” the captain spoke as though placating a petulant child, “weren’t you the one that offered to help with anything at all?”

“I did?” Your face fell. “I did. I’d meant-” you paused, “yes I did say that didn’t I?”

“Indeed you did,” Diluc could hear just how pleased with himself Kaeya was at cornering you, “now then, if you’d be so kind,” he gestured with a sweep of his arm.

Hmm. Oh, it seems he meant to take you back to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. That would be less than ideal.

Perhaps he ought to intervene?

“Right now?” You startled.

“No time like the present,” he could hear the glee in your interrogator’s tone at his victory.

“W-wait-but!” You spluttered desperately. “You said this would only take a moment! I have herbs to sort through! And tests to attend to and research to submit! This conversation wasn’t supposed to take so long!”

“So you don’t want to help me?”

“Sir Kaeya, you wanted to borrow a moment -“

“Why that’s a figure of speech,” his tone was so patronizing, Diluc felt his own ire rise,” I thought you knew.”

“Yes a figure of speech implying a short amount of time,” you returned without a moment to think.

“I’m sure this cipher will be easy for someone as clever as you,” Kaeya moved in and you backed away.

“Ciphers are so incredibly tedious and time-”

“I’m confident this won’t take that much time-”

“Please understand ciphers are not so easy-”

“Given you penned these letters.”

That halted your arguments regarding the nature of ciphers. You stared at the knight for a long moment, your mouth slightly ajar. He’d finally managed to corner you. You snapped your mouth shut, before taking a deep breath, your shoulders sagging, your grip on your belongings momentarily loosening. When the sack started slipping you were quick to readjust your grip on the thing. The ex-knight noticed that you fumbled with the large thing a bit more than he would have expected you to. When you finally had them in a relatively comfortable grip, you met the cryo user’s gaze, your hold tightening on them again.

It seems you understood what would follow this point.

“Ah, so this does ring a bell… hmm ?”

You remained silent; and the real interrogation began.

“What did you write about in your letters that would require you to use a cipher?”

“Personal matters,” you answered after a momentary pause.

“Now now that couldn’t possibly be the whole story.”

“It is,” You took a moment to breathe - likely trying to figure out what your response would be, “those letters contain personal matters I wished to share with my family.”

“That so?”

“Yes.”

Kaeya paused to lean back and fold his arms across his chest, most likely staring you down, and give you time to stew in your anticipation, “rather strange that you thought to include a will in the package we found.”

“Yes well,” you averted your gaze for a moment, “I would like that will back.”

“All in good time,” he continued to press on, “now, what could be so personal you’d have to use a cipher?”

You exhaled, looking mildly pained, “something too personal to share with you.”

The pyro user felt his eyes widen minutely.

“My, this is you being cooperative ?” However, Kaeya was closing in on you despite all your efforts.

Your lips pressed into a wobbly frown. From what the vigilante could see, you were looking at the knight before you as though beseeching him to leave you be, “they’re personal m-matters I don’t feel comfortable disclosing,” you reiterated, expression falling into something poignant.

“That sounds like a very convenient excuse to hide that you were sending out sensitive information,” he observed the knight move closer towards you.

“Only sensitive information concerning my own state, as you know, I know very little about Mondstadt’s internal affairs,” you had a weak smile on your face, with one foot already positioned behind you in case you needed to recreate the space between you.

“If it’s only personal matters, why use a cipher?” Kaeya pressed.

You paused, taking a breath while not looking at the captain. However when you did, “so that people like you can’t read them,” your expression was as he remembered it when you were together in the domain, firm, resolute, “and that the information only reaches those it’s meant for.”

“People like me ?” It’s been a while since he’s heard him sound affronted like that.

“Pray tell Sir Kaeya, are you so bored that-that you find the need to interrogate medical researchers about documents they wish to share with their fam-families?” It seems your patience had all been whittled away.

The winery owner found himself mildly impressed. You’d figured Kaeya out in the middle of all that was happening. Or were you simply-

“Deflecting now are you?” The trembling he’d noticed in your arms earlier returned, or perhaps it had never left - however it was more noticeable now. Your senses were attuning to the rising threat the captain posed to you. “Why would an innocent person feel the need to deflect?”

“You make a good point,” ah were you ceding this argument, “however you also deflected my own question.”

Not bad Miss Apothecary. Huh. He’d never imagined you’d respond in such a manner.

“What were your letters doing outside that domain?”

You hugged the knapsack to reduce your tremors at that question. You took a deep, if staggered, breath and did your best to meet the biting look that the cryo user was no doubt giving you. “I’ve been visiting battlegrounds in the aftermath to produce salves for the knights and-”

“Yes, but the knights hadn’t entered the domain by then.”

“They hadn’t?” That was rather impressive acting. Though with the way your face was scrunching up, had you really forgotten?

You looked back at the knight. “Oh they really hadn’t had they?” You asked in that familiar mildly-stunned, rather sheepish tone. You’d really forgotten then.

“You went into the domain before the knights did,” Kaeya pressed, “you wanted to deliver information that the knights would be coming.”

“What? No. Why would I-”

“Oh? Wasn’t it fun playing savior? I’m sure everyone doted on you, calling you a generous hero, giving you free food and lodging. Why not keep the assault going then?”

Your eyes widened in disbelief, your lips pursed and your trembling worsened. Should he perhaps intervene? Kaeya’s questioning was starting to get out of hand. He knew that the cryo menace didn’t actually believe you to be a threat.

Though to his knowledge he’s done worse before.

“Every time I’ve had the horror of encountering an Abyss Mage, it’s tried to kill me,” your voice cracked, “why would I go to talk to them? No - how would I get out alive if I tried?”

“You’re the only one who’s reported Abyss Mage attacks to your person, who's to say that wasn’t a cover?”

“Who’s to…?” You sneered momentarily before pursing your lips. “Sister Barbara who healed my leg months ago. If she remembers, she can attest to the damage I’ve sustained.”

“You could have given yourself that injury.”

No. Not willingly at least. You had a hand in getting injured as you did, but from what he’d seen of that injury and you, you didn’t have it in you to injure yourself like that, not willingly at least. Kaeya hadn’t known about that injury though it seems.

“You try-” you started before seeming to stop yourself, “how,” you inhaled sharply, “how have you arrived at this conclusion?”

You were trying not to flinch but a tremor clearly went through your body. Had he a better vantage point he’d be able to better make out Kaeya’s expressions.

“You didn’t know what an Abyss Mage was? And you tried to negotiate with it? Not to mention your interest in the Dark Knight Hero that conveniently preceded a report of an onslaught on Mondstadt?” This man . “You don’t need to be a highly educated scholar to put all the pieces together.”

Your mouth opened slightly. Your knapsack rose slowly before falling slowly. Time and time again as though you were working to keep your breathing under control.

“If you trust me so little, why use my remedies then? My soap, my mint oil, my …?” He could barely hear you as your voice struggled to make it out of your throat. "The attacks have stopped, haven’t they?”

Your interrogator paused for a moment. Diluc cursed his inability to see the blue-haired menace’s face. His expression would reveal whether he was pausing to stress you out, or because he’d really not anticipated that response from you.

“Funny how the attacks stopped when you disappeared,” he hummed, “quite an interesting coincidence wouldn’t you say?”

Your expression laid bare your indignation and thoughts. There was a riddling of panic coming in now, however your expression had originally screamed: is this man being serious right now?

You let out a huff, “I didn’t leave until after the attacks ended,” your mouth pulled into a scathing smile, “I was attending to the citizens of Springvale, making sure they were all healed,” your eyes narrowed as your smile grew, “I was even in the care of a kind lady by the name of Mrs. Suzanne there, if you wish to follow up.”

Now was not the time to be challenging Kaeya. He would take this and wield it against you.

“Goodness you’ve really given this alibi of yours some thought,” ah he was using that tone that inspired people to violence, “if you’re as innocent as you claim, then why not explain your letters and involvement in the domain to me? Why send me all the way to Springvale instead?”

You hugged your knapsack tighter. To Diluc’s knowledge you’d only entered the domain pursuing him. You’d followed him around the domain much like a duckling would its mother and had been so relieved to see him that it turned into nervous excitement as you proclaimed you’d brought food and water proudly and a little loudly for someone in enemy territory. Diluc would not deny that the water had saved him.

Oh.

He would be intervening now. He couldn’t allow this to go on. Taking care not to be seen just yet he began moving towards you.

“So that I may have the time to sort through my herbs in peace while in the city,” you responded unthinkingly.

Hah! The pyro user halted. Most amusing.

Not to Kaeya though.

“Excuses, excuses,” Kaeya twirled an intricate crystal of cryo he’d produced between his fingers, “but never a straight answer.”

Diluc resumed his careful approach, and found himself halted by your voice yet again, “well you seldom ever give me a straight answer either! And at the time you came to me wanting help with a headache!”

The cryo user chose that moment to drop the icicle he’d been toying with to the ground. You jumped away with a yelp as it expanded on the ground.

The captain followed you with an amused, “Again, if you were truly as innocent as you claim to be, you wouldn’t be deflecting like this, now would you?”

You looked up from the icy ground to the Kaeya who had clearly established himself as a threat to you. Yet…

“My letters are a private matter, and you insist on perceiving me as malicious,” you stuttered out, hugging your herbs to your chest protectively, “and as for the domain, my involvement was related to providing remedies to counter its effects.”

You threw a glance to your side, before, “I’m sorry but I have no more time to spare you for the day. You’ve used up your moment and then some, good day,” you spoke quickly before making a quick escape out into the public eye again.

So much for intervening on your behalf. Seems you’d managed to escape all by yourself.

You’d been pushed to your limits though, if the way your lips quivered or the way your knapsack seemed to vibrate in your hold indicated anything. It would be irresponsible to remain passive in this situation.

Hence Diluc abandoned his stealth in favor of making his presence known to the Cavalry Captain that would have pursued you without a doubt. Call it a deterrent of sorts. He deliberately strolled by the relatively secluded alley you were just in while throwing your interrogator a little glance. Their eyes met for a moment Kaeya’s lips were curling upwards with a little huff.

But he didn’t look remotely surprised to see him. Hmph.

He’d have to make sure Charles worked the bar tonight. If that smile meant anything, the man would be coming by to complain about his eavesdropping. Not to mention, with how poorly his investigation went, he’d likely want to drink. This was perhaps the first time Diluc had the pleasure of witnessing the highly capable captain return with so little success in an interrogation. Well played Miss Apothecary.

Of course those were matters he’d have to deal with later. What was more important was that you didn’t get yourself into trouble following Kaeya’s attempts to amuse himself. After all, of the handful of times you’d met with each other, perhaps one or two of the times hadn’t involved Abyss Mages.

Thankfully pursuing you posed little challenge. Between what he imagined was a stormy mental state, the lack of heavy crowds, and his superior stealth, he’d managed to follow you outside the gates of Mondstadt undetected. He was entreated to the sight of you failing on multiple occasions to place your precious herb knapsack into your pocket dimension, then attempt and fail to climb up a tree multiple times and fail, before finally, you looked around wildly and ran towards the base of the bridge. He was mildly concerned you’d roll your way into the lake when you’d tripped over yourself in your hurry, but you managed to stop yourself in time and didn’t, and you finally made it to the little archway.

It seemed like you wouldn’t be doing anything rash in your upset state. He could return to his usual duties, if he so desired, yet…who knew when he’d be able to see you again. Cruel as it may seem, he needed to get answers from you before you disappeared again.

So, after confirming no one was following him , Diluc made his way towards your hiding place, taking great care to approach you as silently as possible. As he neared the base of the bridge, he could hear muffled sniffling alongside the flow of water.

Shuffling ever closer to the open arch, he heard a choked sob followed by more sniffling and shuddered breathing. Could you possibly…? He peered over the side of the arch, and there you were, biting down on your hand to keep yourself as quiet as possible while tears poured down your cheeks. Your body, now unsuppressed, was shivering violently. In your other hand you held a handkerchief, which he noticed you were using to wipe your nose as he moved back to conceal himself fully so as to not be caught.

..and to provide you with some privacy.

Diluc pinched the bridge of his nose. It would be inhumane to question you while you were in such a state. That damned Kaeya. He poked his head to check on you again, seeing you hug yourself while rocking back and forth while attempting to get your breathing under control, all the while suppressing your sobs.

No, it would be much too cruel to try and ask you anything right now…but it didn’t look like you’d stop crying any time soon either, and he had things to do. He took in a deep breath looking upwards, he could always ask one of his people to stand watch and inform him if you’d left, without invading your privacy any further than he already had.

So he did just that. The ever so busy business man went back to Angel’s Share, found one of his trusted staff, and tasked the fellow with reporting to him if he saw a young female foreigner exit from under the bridge arch before going about his day. And what a day it was, it had started with an interrogation in the late morning after all. The sun was setting by the time he’d wrapped up his most important tasks for the day.

He hadn’t heard from his informant though, so he headed over to the Angel’s Share, only to find he hadn’t returned yet. Lo and behold the man tells him nothing had happened ever since he took his post. At that point Diluc dismissed him in favor of checking on you himself. He approached the archway just as silently as he’d done before…

Only to find you seated right outside the archway, nestled into a crook formed by the meeting of two boulders. With how his form cast a shadow upon your book, you did the first thing any person would do, which is look up, and therefore spot him.

Nothing had happened . He should have asked him to clarify. Then again it wasn’t like his informant would have been able to see you here. Truthfully you weren’t that far from the arch, and he should have proceeded with greater caution.

His eyes met your own, it seemed like yours were still swollen from your crying earlier. Besides that, what was originally a tired, peaceful gaze quickly blew wide with an unhealthy cocktail of alertness, panic, and utter horror.

You had decent reaction time, he rediscovered. As he’d barely opened his mouth to greet you than you’d managed shove the rest of your sunsettia into your mouth; collect a nearby notebook, chuck a knife into it, swipe a handful of handkerchiefs; and bolt away from the rocks while clutching what looked to be a blanket you’d been wrapped up in prior to his arrival.

Of course he also had a good reaction time, so, he was on your heels in an instant. What should he say to dissuade you from running? Or should he just let you tire yourself out and talk to you then?

He’d barely formulated what to say to you when you tripped over your own cover, barely caught your footing and dropped a pen. What was astonishing was how quickly you managed to swipe the thing up and keep going.

But…

“Why are you running from me?” He questioned loud enough for you to hear him.

Amazingly, that worked very well and you halted the moment after his question had registered. Though it was so sudden that Diluc’s own momentum carried him past you. You were decently fast, he’d admit. Turning to face you, he noticed you looked as confused as he was as to why you’d chosen to suddenly bolt from him.

You took a short breath, “I…I’m not sure,” you sounded so incredibly bewildered, “I guess…I don’t think I feel like interacting with people today.”

Your gaze fell to the ground then, hugging your books and the covering draped over your shoulders closer to yourself, much like you had with the knapsack earlier. “Though it was incredibly rude of me to just run from you,” your gaze flickered up to his for a moment, before dropping again immediately, “I’m sorry.”

Yes, well, you weren’t wrong about your response being rude. However, he was aware of your circumstances, and it seems he’d triggered some kind of fight or flight response in you. “No need for apologies,” he shook his head as he took a few steps in your direction, “I wasn’t offended.”

You pursed your lips, your eyes widening slightly, “yes well, it was still rude though, so an apology is due.”

“And you’ve apologized, and I’ve accepted,” Diluc responded, “call it water under the bridge.”

That got a small laugh out of you, you peeked up at him for a moment, “was that a deliberate choice of idiom?”

What? He looked past you towards the bridge you’d been hiding under - ah. “Not particularly, no,” he responded, his tone light.

Your smile faltered, and you righted yourself enough to try and look at him, “well…um…it’s been a while, how’ve you been doing? And Miss Adelinde? And Mr. Elzer? And well…everyone else?”

Oh. That was mildly unexpected. “We’ve been doing well, thank you for asking,” he nodded at you, “and yourself?”

You took another breath, shaking some tension out of your system as you readjusted your blanket as well as the myriad of other things you were holding on to. Actually now that he got a better look at it, that blanket seemed to be more of a cloak. That did make more sense, upon further thought.

“I’ve been well!” You perked up. “I got to do a lot of research so it’s been lovely.”

“So that’s where you’ve been for the last few months?” He followed up.

“Yes,” you nodded gently, “wait you noticed?”

“Well, there has been a notable lack of advertisements for herbal salves, teas, and ointments for a while,” he nodded at you.

“Oh would you like to take me up on that offer then?” You brightened up right then and there. “I have so many new effective treatments that use the native flora of Mondstadt, so even when I’m no longer around you can easily procure and develop these treatments yourself in case you need to!”

Yes, these responses and this attitude right now felt more accurate to what he’d seen of you in the past. The question became: which of the two attitudes he’d witnessed today was more true to your natural being? He was inclined to believe it was what he was witnessing right now, but he’d have to question you himself to find out.

Looking towards the horizon, the astute former captain devised a plan. “It’s getting to be around dinner time,” he turned to look at you, “have you eaten?”

“Oh!” You mimicked his earlier actions, looking towards the horizon. “You’re right! No, no I haven’t.”

“Neither have I,” he’d been rather busy all day so this wasn’t a lie, “would you care to dine with me then?”

You didn’t need to look so surprised. What else would he follow his first question up with? You seemed to consider it, “theoretically would we be dining at Good Hunter then?”

What a curious thing to ask. Ah…yes…he understood, you didn’t want to run into Kaeya again. Well there was always Angel’s Share. “No, we don’t have to dine there if you don’t want to,” you seemed to grimace at that, “I own a tavern, if you recall.”

Your lips thinned, “I’m not very fond of taverns if I’m honest - oh and it’s not that I don’t want to dine at Good Hunter, I just uh…I don’t really uhm…the food’s fantastic there it’s just um...”

“Their seating isn’t ideal when you’d like to avoid interacting with people,” he supplied.

“Yes! That exactly!” You brightened at his understanding, before dimming again, “I apologize if I’m being difficult.”

“Not at all, I invited you to dine with me, making sure things are comfortable for you is the least I can do,” he shook his head.

Truthfully, he could also do without any further interactions with people for the day. Well, he had an idea about that. As a lot of his regulars usually did, you could grab a meal from Good Hunter and then head to the tavern to eat. “Well then the second floor of Angel’s Share is generally quiet, we could get our meals from Good Hunter and eat there.”

“So we’d be dining inside a tavern?” You seemed apprehensive.

“Yes, would there be - is that not to your liking?” He quickly corrected himself, you’d lowered your guard but you were still incredibly weary and he couldn’t have you running again.

“I don’t like the smell of wine,” you admitted, “it makes me dizzy. And I become irritable when dizzy, and I don’t like being either.”

“You don’t drink then?” He probably shouldn’t have been so surprised by that, yet he was.

“Oh no. I hate alcoholic beverages,” you looked rather repulsed, “if they smell that awful I can only imagine how they taste,” you looked sick purely by the thought of it, “and it’s horrible for your health and overall wellbeing.”

A moment of silence passed over the two of you as the winery owner considered his options. You seemed to take that as him being affronted by your comment. “Apologies! I didn’t mean to insult you or your business or uh…you’re being very kind and patient with me and I just-”

“Not to worry,” he cut off your rambling, “I don’t like alcohol either.”

You looked reasonably surprised, he did, after all, own a tavern and a winery to boot. He was also aware of the Dawn Winery’s status as a giant in the wine industry internationally. “I don’t like the way it feels on my tongue,” he decided to share with you, “I prefer grape juice.”

“I like lemonade personally!” You volunteered in return. “Especially when it’s infused with ginger! It tastes good and boosts your immune system too! Two birds - a two birds with one stone kind of deal!”

Seems you were finally relaxing, now onto the next phase “I have tables outside the tavern that aren’t too visible to the public, would that work for you?”

“Sure,” you nodded.

Things went rather smoothly from there. You took a moment to put your things away and adjust your cloak on your person before following him back into the city. Unfortunately the tension he’d worked to diffuse returned. The moment Good Hunter was in view you’d picked up your pace, almost suspiciously so. You’d quickly leaned over the counter, a little bouncy, and asked Sara about something. The cook turned and pointed to the side, explaining that what you were looking for should be just around the corner. At which point you quickly turned to him as he arrived behind you and hurriedly excused yourself for a moment.

The redhead followed you discreetly, realizing that all the hurry was because you wanted to use the restroom. He had found you seated by the river, and you had been there since the morning…it all made sense. It wasn’t long before you rejoined him, looking sheepish and apologetic. That didn’t last long though as you put in your orders…and you proceeded to debate him over who would purchase your meals.

“I don’t mind sharing a meal with you but I’ll pay for my own meal,” you argued, “you’ve already done so much for me and-”

“I’m the one who invited you to dine with me, it only makes sense I would pay for the meal,” why must you make things so difficult?

“Even so,” you seemed to understand he was making a fair point, “I wish you would have informed me ahead of time. I wouldn’t have ordered as much.”

“Well then, it’s a good thing I didn’t.”

“It doesn’t feel right to take advantage of your kindness like this.”

“If you’re concerned about the cost, don’t be.”

“But I ordered more than I should on someone else’s mora!”

“Yes, well, this someone else invited you to dinner,” he stressed, “would you insist on paying me had I invited you to dinner at my home?”

He watched your mouth snap closed, your argument leaving you. He would pursue this line of reasoning then. “You wouldn’t appreciate it if I were to fight you over payment had you invited me, would you?”

“I’d be very upset with you if you did that,” you frowned at him, “especially given how indebted I am to you.”

“Well then, given you feel indebted, why not heed my requests?” This would work well when he questioned you later.

Your inner turmoil was written across your face, as you finally conceded with a: “fine,” while looking both disappointed and nervous.

“Oh! Finally settled on who’s paying then?” Sara called from where she was already preparing the meals.

“Yes,” he responded and she came to collect the amount before returning to her work.

The two of you waited for your orders off to the side and relatively out of sight. It was quiet for a bit, until you suddenly began to ask him if he had any new ailments, or if he needed to restock his inventory of remedies. Then you asked him if he’d be interested in mint oil in case he ever had headaches, he found that he was, and you brightened, saying you’d make sure to get some to him as soon as possible, even going so far as to make a note of it in a small notebook you took out your pocket.

Things were silent between the two of you again after that. While he didn’t mind the quiet, it seemed you did. You’d been doing your utmost to mask your anxiety ever since entering the city walls, however while your face looked mostly calm, the nervous energy needed to go somewhere, thus manifesting itself in tremors in your extremities. He took the liberty of pulling your cloak’s hood up to help conceal your identity. You’d look more suspicious, but maybe you’d calm down.

You’d startled and turned to look at him. He gave you a tired look in return, “you’re shivering.”

You looked away immediately, embarrassment ravaging your features as you held your hands together in an attempt to get them to stop shaking. Had he intervened into that interrogation sooner…maybe you wouldn’t be so distressed.

You’d managed to calm down slightly when you were informed that your meals were ready. Then he was leading you towards the table near the backdoor of the Angel’s Share. You took the hood off once the two of you started eating. Given how you were still nervous, he suspected it was a gesture of respect for his company. Though unnecessary, he appreciated it.

Dinner was a mostly silent affair, save for when you complimented his choice of food, given you’d ordered what he’d recommended to you. Your smile, though riddled with nerves, had a deeply appreciative aspect to it. Perhaps now would be the time to ask you about the letters.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” you finished cutting off a piece of steak, “but was there something you wished to discuss with me?”

Another surprise from you. Truly, you were full of surprises today.

“Yes, there was,” he nodded, dabbing a handkerchief to his lips, “what made you think that?”

“Oh,” you clarified, “that you wanted to talk about something?”

He nodded in return.

“Well if my memory is correct, when you came to visit me in Springvale all that time ago you told me,” you paused, placing your utensils down and squinting at nothing in particular, “I think you’d said something along the lines of ‘much to discuss’ or something to talk about at the very least.”

Your gaze met his for a moment before you began fidgeting with your fingers, “also I’m aware our interactions haven’t been the most amiable, and we aren’t all that well acquainted. I’m also not so arrogant as to think you’d seek me out, out of personal interest either.”

That was…rather astute of you.

He looked at you, who had perhaps only managed to get through half of one steak, continue to fiddle with your fingers, your utensils out of use on the plate they sat on. He wouldn’t let you stew in your apprehension any longer; he would get straight to the point.

“I received information that you left a will and letters written in Sumerian with a cipher outside the domain we cleared,” as expected you startled, your wide eyes met his for a second and your fidgeting stopped entirely, so did your breathing, “what did you write about that required you to use a cipher? And who were you writing to?”

Your fidgeting resumed, and you took a slow breath, as though bracing yourself. “I-I was writing to my family in Sumeru,” you began while looking at him, before looking away again.

Swallowing thickly you continued, “you-you’d saved my life before, and-and when I saw you go into the domain, by yourself, I-I,” you wrung your hands together as though weaving your thoughts together.

“It felt wrong-it felt wrong to-uh- to just leave you to…let you go? inside? by yourself,” your fidgeting intensified, with you picking at your nails now.

“You’d saved my life before, and I owed you a debt and it wasn’t right. I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t seen you go in. I couldn’t tell anyone you went in either, given you’d made me promise to keep your identity a secret,” you rambled on, “so I wrote a letter to my parents in case I died after following you in there.”

What?

You weren’t looking at him anymore, holding your hands together to keep from shivering too noticeably, whispering “I said that there was a Dark Knight Hero in Mondstadt that saved my life on multiple counts.”

You paused.

A shiver wracked your body as you raised your head to look at him. Panicked, you added in, “I didn’t mention your name though! Just your mantle of Dark Knight Hero, and no real information that would really allude to you - I mean your real identity! Except that thing about using the Angel’s Share if they wanted to contact you and-”

“No matter,” you’d been writing about him ? “Is that all you wrote in the letter?”

“Oh. Yes. Um sorry. The letter. Well…well in the rather viable case I didn’t survive, I wanted my parents to know why I had died…and that I loved them dearly, and was so thankful to be their daughter..and that I would honor that they raised me to be generous, and to repay my debts, so I would be following my savior into the domain, in hopes of being of help to them,” a violent shiver went through you then.

“I also disclosed that I’d received a vision that I would be using to heal you, and I loved them a lot, and I hoped they’d be proud,” you finished with a small smile before adding on, “oh! And I also told them to come collect my research and give it to my mentor.”

“Your mentor?”

You gave a small smile, “a Forest Ranger by the name of Tighnari.”

You were answering his questions so readily. You were even providing added details, and rambling as you often did. So all that dodging with Kaeya…?

“Then the sensitive information you were hiding with a cipher?” He needed to confirm.

“I promised you I wouldn’t tell anyone, didn’t I?” You looked at him again, looking mildly concerned he hadn’t believed you when you’d promised.

You withstood Kaeya’s interrogation to conceal his involvement and protect his identity? Diluc found himself pinching the bridge of his nose. What made this worse was that Kaeya already knew about his identity. If you’d known, maybe you could have avoided all that strife.

“You don’t believe me?” You sounded positively crestfallen.

You looked equally crestfallen, and your wobbling bottom lip told him you were still riddled with nerves.

“No,” he sat up to look at you, “no I do, I believe you. I just didn’t expect you would go to such lengths.”

“But…I promised you?” You were very clearly offended. “It’s a good thing I used a cipher, of all the knights, Sir Kaeya was the one to find them…”

You seemed to realize something in that moment, given your expression shifted back to horror as you stared at him, “you said you received information…did Sir Kaeya tell you about my letters? Why would he…? Are you colluding with-”

“I work alone,” he cut you off then and there, “there are a few exceptions to this rule and Kaeya is not one of them.”

“Why would he tell you about them though? Do you know Sumerian? Was it Sir Kaeya that told you about the letters?”

“No, and, yes,” that you continued to use Kaeya’s title after what he’d done to you today felt like a testament to your filial piety.

A daughter that hoped her parents were proud of her…

“Then is Sir Kaeya aware of your identity?” Your intuition, or perhaps it was your intellect that led you to that conclusion.

“Yes,” he informed you, “whether that is to my fortune or misfortune, I’ve yet to find out.”

Your mouth hung open, reminding him a lot of a fish out of water. You shuddered, shaking your head and looked away. Your breathing slowed, then became a laborious task. You were blinking with increased frequency.

“I’d have appreciated knowing that before,” you resumed playing with your nails, “then again it wouldn’t have changed much. Wait a minute…that tip he gave me about the Angel’s Share…”

“You never know what Kaeya’s thinking, don’t trouble yourself with it,” Diluc chose to save you from further agony.

You shook your head again, before looking up to meet his gaze yet again, “is there anything else you wished to discuss?”

Diluc felt his eyes widen. Much like you had earlier while being interrogated, your lips wobbled, and your extremities trembled, yet you sat there before him.

“I’ll save talks of payment for your remedies and services for another day,” why did that statement only increase how nervous you were, “do not try to dissuade me, you worked hard to heal me.”

“Because you saved my life.”

“You mean to say you wouldn’t have healed me if I hadn’t saved your life?”

“No! I mean yes?” You gestured in frustration. “Of course I would still heal you! Even if you hadn’t saved my life!”

“Then, I owe you mora for your products and services,” he insisted, “quite a bit of it from what I gather.”

“You owe me nothing,” you stubbornly disagreed, “besides you said we would be saving this discussion for another day.”

“You entering the domain and providing support was more than enough repayment for a debt you do not owe, yet insist upon.”

“You still had to help me out while in the domain unfortunately,” you were quick with your responses, “ and you saved my life three times, so I have only cleared one count-”

“Adelinde is the one who sheltered you from the rain-”

“In your manor-”

“Winery,” he corrected, “and I would never deny Adelinde anything, she deserves all the credit for that.”

Your mouth snapped shut with how final his argument was. Now for the last count, or rather first count, “I have no recollection of the ‘first time’ you claim I saved your life.”

“You killed an Abyss Mage - Cryo Abyss Mage,” you informed him quickly, pointing off to the side, “not far outside that exit.”

“Exterminating Abyss Mages near Mondstadt is done more in service of Mondstadt than for you ,” that sounded harsher than he’d intended, “that is to say I would have exterminated it either way and you don’t need to feel indebted.”

“Lastly,” he paused for a moment, “you provided a distraction that aided me, and provided intel that aided my interrogation, for that third count, so you’ve no debt to repay,” his lips quirked up slightly, “if anything I’m indebted to you .”

Checkmate.

Your face scrunched up in a way that clearly said: preposterous! He could sense you working to rapidly spin together a counter argument to all he’d presented to you. He had to end this cycle, swiftly.

“How about we agree that all debts are settled between us, and stand as equals?” He proposed.

“I couldn’t possibly-”

“I will abandon the thought that I am indebted to you,” he cut you off, “if you will abandon the thought that you are indebted to me.”

Your brow furrowed as you struggled with that notion. So he decided to help sway you in his favor, “I promise you, you owe me no debts.”

“Then…then if I agree, would you be more willing to solicit my services?”

“Only if you agree to let me pay for them, as a customer of these services,” he answered, standing to offer you his hand.

You stared at him for a moment, before getting to your feet with a huff.

“Very well,” you shook his hand, sealing your agreement.

“Now by that token-”

“Oh no,” you cut him off, withdrawing from the handshake to point at him in warning, “we are starting from zero. That was the agreement.”

“Very well,” well he wasn’t the only person who could get his money to you, “please stop by the winery, I believe I have something that may be of interest to you there.”

“Sure,” you didn’t sound very convincing.

“You’re planning on running from me again aren’t you?”

“Hey!” It was nice to see you were less nervous, with how your responses were. “I-I stopped when you asked me why I was running, didn’t I?”

“Yes, that you did,” he gestured at your plate, “would you like to continue our meal?”

You looked down, before taking a seat, “I think that would be a good idea.”

He returned to his seat as well. Things were silent as you continued to eat. Meanwhile he called Patton over, quietly requesting a couple of glasses and a bottle of grape juice.

“Oh!” You looked up at him. “Master Diluc, um, I promised I wouldn’t say a thing about your identity, but Sir Kaeya seems to think I’m a malicious spy from another nation,” you seemed to struggle with your words, “how can I - may I…?”

“How should you clear things up so Kaeya won’t continue to be suspicious of you?” He articulated for you.

“Ah yes,” you nodded at him.

“Leave Kaeya to me,” the vigilante weaved his fingers together, “I’ll make it so he doesn’t bother you again.”

A moment of silence passed. Drunkards could be heard from within the tavern.

“That sounds mighty ominous Master Diluc,” you commented.

His lip quirked upward at that remark, “Kaeya is bored and in need of entertainment,” he made eye contact with you, “unfortunately, your penchant for running into Abyss Mages, and manner of being, seem to amuse him.”

“What makes you think that?” Your brow pinched.

“The manner in which he informed me of your letters,” he paused to receive the glasses and bottle of grape juice from a waiter, then waited until he’d walked out of earshot, “while your use of a cipher was suspicious, it was clear he was less suspicious and more curious, and mostly because he suspected you followed me in.”

Another shiver racked your body. Ah yes -

“I think you ought to declare your vision,” he advised, pouring some grape juice and offering it to you, “keeping it hidden will only increase suspicions surrounding you.”

“Miss Lisa knows about it, and she’s technically a Knight of Favonius or with the knights” you answered, accepting the glass, “does that count?”

“Does she also know why you want to keep it hidden?” He glanced at you momentarily while filling another glass.

“Vaguely?” You worked to poke a piece of meat and cheese at the same time. “No… I mean yes , she knows. I remember, she figured out about-learned about my discomfort around Kaeya and told me she wouldn’t tell him about it.”

“Either way, make sure Jean knows about it,” he took a sip out of his glass.

“But she’s always so busy, I’d rather not bother her for something so trivial,” you picked up your own glass, taking a tentative sip.

Seems the juice was to your liking if your expression was any indication.

“This is for the sake of your safety, and you’d be saving her a lot of work in the future should you get tangled in messy matters again,” he informed you, “actually it might be better if you have Lisa inform her on your behalf. Given what you’ve told me about her, she’d report things in a way that’s favorable for you.”

“I’ll make sure to let Master Jean know in some way then,” you smiled at him, “thank you. I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Also thank you for the juice! It’s delightful!”

“I am glad it’s to your liking.”

Silence fell upon the two of you again as you continued eating. Refilling his glass, the former knight remembered something.

After calling for your attention, Diluc asked you about something he’d been curious about, “did you sell soap to a group of Fatui while you were away?”

“Fatui?” Your expression fell into something pensive. “Ah! Those men that wear colorful clothing with a flower looking pattern on them?”

“Yes.”

“I did,” you nodded, “they were the last soaps from an experimental batch,” you explained, “I felt bad taking their money, but they insisted on it, particularly the guy in a red coat.”

Ah, that was the Fatuus he’d interrogated if memory served, “did they do anything to you?”

“Not really?” You shook your head. “They questioned me a bit. They thought I was a witch or something. Aside from that one guy I mentioned before, the rest seemed...unfriendly.”

“Yes, Fatui are generally ‘unfriendly’, to put it mildly,” Diluc nodded, folding his arms across his chest, “they’re an organization that uses oppressive methods to force countries to do business in a manner that’s favorable for them.”

”Really?” Seems you hadn’t heard of the Fatui as you regarded him more with curiosity than conviction.

You didn’t look like you were completely convinced by what he was saying, but you didn’t verbally oppose him either.

“Well anyway,” you poked at a piece of potato, “I packed myself up, and the moment my new soaps had set, I was off.”

“A wise decision,” Diluc nodded in approval, taking a small sip of his juice.

“Yes, well, having a group of strange men in the wild know my location isn’t exactly safe, wouldn’t you agree?” You smiled sardonically.

“I would.”

“I’m curious as to how you know about this though?” You asked him.

“The adventurer you sent your letter with was rather loud about Fatui being near your location,” he placed his glass down on the table, “so I dealt with them and discovered some of your soap at their camp.”

You looked mildly discomforted, clearly having an idea of what he’d meant when he’d said he’d “dealt with them.”

“The Fatui pulled some underhanded moves in an attempt to place Mondstadt in their debt.”

Your face fell as you considered that.

“Once indebted to them-”

“They could use that as leverage in future negotiations,” you finished quietly, your gaze downcast

“Precisely,” your knowledge was turning out to be broader than he’d expected, “do you have experience with negotiation?”

“Pardon?” You seemed startled by the new question.

“I’m wondering if you have experience negotiating,” he repeated. Now that he thought about it, you had negotiated that one adventurer down, according to him.

“Why do you ask?”

“You seemed familiar with the leverage tactic.”

“Yes, well, it’s a rather common tactic used by many people in many situations, isn’t it?” You leaned back in your seat, gesturing into the air, “the whole ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours,’ only perverted into a: ‘I’ve scratched your back, now you owe me a back scratching too.’”

“It almost sounds like you’ve been on the receiving end of this,” Diluc mused, “is this where your obsession with repaying debts comes from?”

You paused, as though frozen by an enemy attack, blankly staring at him. When you finally blinked again, you seemed to shake off your trance with a shake of your head.

“Maybe, I think it does influence it partially,” you nodded, “but I also simply hate being indebted. Or only taking and not giving back.”

“Understandable,” Diluc weaved his fingers into each other before him.

A silence passed over the two of you, long enough and empty enough that the vigilante wondered if that would be all for the night. Until you poked a potato with your fork and looked his way again.

“I assume the Fatui plot was foiled by Mondstandt’s most vigilant Dark Knight?” You asked.

“It was a collective effort,” the corner of his lips quirked up at the memory.

“I’m glad you all managed to avoid being indebted to the uh…Fatui?” Your smile fell into a frown.

“I advise you avoid them,” he made eye contact with you, “they can be quick to resort to violence. You were lucky this time.”

“Noted,” you nodded, finally eating that potato you’d poked earlier.

You continued to eat for a little longer, but it was clear you were going to save the rest for another day. You were quick to pack yourself up. Upon finishing your glass of juice you smiled at him, without all the nerves this time, “thank you very much for the meal and everything else Master Diluc,” you took a deep breath, “I feel much better thanks to you.”

“Thank you as well,” he returned your smile with a polite one of his own, “for your efforts in keeping my identity a secret.”

“Like I said,” you met his eyes again, “I promised you.”

You pulled your hood over your head and cast him one last look, “good night Master Diluc, and thank you again.”

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