Through Thick and Thin- Diluc x (female) Reader

Chapter 32: Chess

We talked for what felt like hours outside before we actual went to play chess. Time gets away from everyone, after all.
As we walked into the library, it seemed slightly dark as an unlit log lay cold in the fireplace. "Well, we won't find the chess set in this darkness, will we?" Diluc said before walking over to the fireplace.
He knelt down to the hearth and set his hand on the log. As he pulled it away, it burst into warm flames and the room instantly lit up. I sighed in comfort as the warm air from the fireplace reached me.
"That's a useful gimmick you've got there, huh?" I said smiling. "Well, we shouldn't have too much trouble finding it now. Where do you think it might be?"
Diluc stood back up, turning around and scanning the room. "Hm... it's been a little since I've played chess. It usually on the table here," he said, walking over to a small table by the fireplace. "When it isn't here, I usually check on top of the bookshelves."
"The top?" I asked, looking around the room. My heart sank a little as I noticed the bookshelves reached the top of the room, at least 10 feet up. "I'm not sure how we can get there..."
"I'll send for a ladder," Diluc said, walking to the door. "It will just be a little."
My ears perked as an idea popped in my head. If Diluc's gimmick could be lighting the fireplace... Maybe I can use my vision to get up there? I wanted to play chess, or at least I wanted to impress him a little.
"Y/n?" Diluc asked, concerned. "Why did your ears... perk like that? What idea did you possibly come up with?"
"Let me try to get up there," I said, pointing to where my vision sat in my pocket. "Remember how I said I ended up in a tree? I should be able to travel upwards again."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Diluc laughed nervously. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt. Shouldn't we test that in a safer spot?"
I shrugged, and got ready to jump. "Just catch me if I fall!" I joked.
Diluc watched nervously as I jumped, my vision activating on instinct. As I felt my senses go dark for a moment, I felt the top of the bookshelf under my fingertips. Grabbing the shelf, I set my feet on a lower surface and secured my location.
"Got it," I said, looking around as my senses came back. I shivered a little as I held onto the bookshelf. "Phew, that's hard to get used to."
"Y/n, are you alright?" Diluc called to me from below. He sounded slightly nervous.
"All good!" I shouted as I searched the top. "Oh hey, I found it!"
I grabbed the box with one hand, reading the words Chess on top. It was an exquisite wooden box, and I heard the pieces shifting loosely inside as I tucked it under my arm.
"You found it?" Diluc said, surprised. "I must say I'm impressed."
I looked down, and my stomach dropped. "Oh... I didn't think about getting down," I laughed nervously as I looked down. Realizing that I couldn't quite grip the top of the bookshelf, I became increasingly nervous as my fingers began to slip.
"W-woah!" I said, falling backwards. Closing my eyes as I fell, I prayed my vision would do what it was supposed to.
I felt my senses blur, the air around me becoming void for a moment. When I traveled like this, I could tell where I was, but I couldn't quite see it. It was a strange sensation, and difficult to describe. It was akin to walking around my room in the dark. I knew vaguely where everything was, I just couldn't see it.
Feeling my body reforming to how it's supposed to be, I opened my eyes quickly to see Diluc staring back at me. I clutched the chess box in my arms, and looked around. Diluc... caught me?
He was looking at me with a brow raised as he held me in his arms. I gulped as I held the chess box a little tighter, my face going red. "I... got your chess box for you."
Diluc looked at me for a moment longer before starting to chuckle a little. "Y/n, you could have used your vision to land upright, correct?" He asked, still holding onto me.
My face got redder. "I-I'm still learning," I was embarrassed, but my stomach fluttered and I got this feeling inside as his eyes glanced down at me for a moment.
His cheeks turned a little red too for a second as he set me back on my feet. "Sorry," he apologized, scratching the back of his head. "I got a little carried away..." Diluc muttered under his breath.
"You were the one carrying me though..." I said quietly. He looked at me for a moment, his cheeks still tinted. "Haha... sorry."
"I'm just... glad you're not hurt," he said, changing the subject. Diluc walked over to the table, pulling a chair out for me.
I kept my heart rate under control as I sat down, setting the box in the table. As Diluc sat across from me, I opened the box and began to set up the board.
"Do you want to play white?" Diluc asked me as he helped set up. "If you haven't played in a while, I don't mind letting you."
"Sure," I said, setting the pieces up on the board appropriately. White on my side, and black on his. "White goes first, correct?"
He nodded as we finished setting the pieces up, the tension beginning to calm a little from the previous moment. I felt relieved to be moving away from it, but the way he carried me made me feel a certain way I couldn't describe. It was a strange feeling.
"You can move," Diluc said, glancing at my pieces.
"Oh, all set up?" I said, trying play it off. I looked over the board for a moment before moving a pawn forward. I knew that it was early in the game, but every move would count.
Diluc looked over the board as well, and then made his first move. And so, the game began.
"So, you play often?" I asked as the game progressed, each of us moving a piece every few minutes.
"I suppose," Diluc said, his eyes on the board. "I used to play chess often with my father, and then with a friend who came to Mondstadt not too long ago."
"Is that so?" I said, making my move. A plan formed in my mind, although I dared not show that it was. "Who was this friend?"
"The traveler arrived here maybe about a week before you did," he said, watching my move my piece. The traveler? He studied the board, thinking about his move. "His name is Aether, but many in Mondstadt simply call him traveler. He is quite peculiar."
"Traveler?" I asked, awaiting his move. "I think I heard Noelle mention them helping her."
"He likely has," Diluc said, slowly picking a piece and moving it towards me. "The traveler has done a lot for Mondstadt, even for me."
"He helped you?" I said, moving another pawn forward. "How so?"
"It's... quite the story," Diluc said, seeming to avoid the question. "He solved the Stormterror crisis, and then left for Liyue."
"Stormterror?" I asked, looking up from the game for a moment. "That was him? I had heard some about it, but not much."
Diluc nodded, making his move on chess. I raised an ear, as his move seemed awfully bold. He had left his queen right next to my bishop, and I looked it over carefully as I decided what to do.
"So, he went to Liyue?" I said, returning to the conversation. "What for?"
"He's looking for his sister," Diluc said, waiting fir me to make my move. "He plans to visit all of Teyvat until he finds her."
"I wonder if we'll run into him in Liyue," I said, and I grabbed my bishop and took his queen. Although it seemed risky, I had a plan.
"He may be. He only left a few days before you arrived," Diluc said.
Almost predictably, his rook swooped in and stole my bishop right off the board.
"Check," he said proudly. With my bishop gone, there was a clear path right to my king. But, I knew he would pull something like that.
"Nope," I denied him, my queen wiping his rook right off the board.
"Hm..." he thought for a few moments before making his next move. His second rook cleared my queen, and I saw my King in a tricky situation.
Trying to be safe, I moved it a space to the side to steer clear of his rook. I sighed in relief, thinking I was secured.
"And checkmate," Diluc said. I stared in disbelief as his knight came right around and took the piece. "Don't lose track of the pieces, y/n. That is how you lose."
"Oh dammit..." I said, beating myself up inside. I sighed, suturing back in my chair. "And I thought I was doing so well, haha."
"You did do well," Diluc said, his finger on his chin. "For someone who hasn't played in a while, you impressed me."
I blushed a little at the compliment. "You're just being polite, but thank you," I looked around, searching for a clock. "What time is it?"
"Hm. I'm not sure," he stood up, walking to the door. He perked into the hallway, where a clock stood just across the doorway. "Oh, it's seven."
"Seven?" I said, standing up quickly. "No way, we couldn't have been playing that long!"
"Well, we were outside for quite a while and we ended up playing chess for a bit too," he said, looking back into the room. "Time flies, I suppose."
"But where did it get wings like that?" I asked, slightly panicky. "Oh man, it's going to be dark in a few minutes..."
"Do you need me to go back with you?" Diluc asked, looking at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, I hadn't noticed the time flying by so quickly."
"It's alright," I said, trying not to worry him. "I'll just walk back, I can try to avoid any hoarders. I've got good ears!"
I pointed at my ears and wiggled them, smiling. Although, inside I was worried. The last time I had walked outside at night I got jumped. I was lucky that time, since they didn't know about the vision. Now, I would be at the disadvantage.
Diluc seemed to realize this too. "No, I couldn't send you alone, it's not safe. I could go with you."
"Diluc," I said, pointing to where his wound was concealed. "You might be in more danger than I am if you go. You're the one they're mainly after, and you can't fight in this condition."
He sighed in slight frustration. "This is tricky..." Diluc stood near the fire, contemplating. "We have spare rooms, if you must you can stay here. I'll send a carrier pigeon to let Albedo and Sucrose know that you're here."
I thought about if for a moment. "I... suppose you're right," I hated to impose, but Diluc had offered and I sure wasn't going to walk back in the middle of the night. "If you really don't mind, I guess I should take your offer."
He turned back to me and smiled. "It's alright. I couldn't send you out there, it would be irresponsible."
"Hey, have you changed your bandage lately?" I crossed my arms and raised an ear.
Diluc stared at me for a second, and looked away guiltily. "No..."
I sighed, and walked over to him. "Come on, we should change it before bed. It would look much worse infected, I assure you."
"It's not that it looks bad..." Diluc said, although I could tell he was lying. He took one look at my raised brow and he knew I knew. "I've seen... a lot. There aren't many injuries I haven't seen in other people, but when it's on me..."
"It's different. I know, it's okay," I reassured him. "Come on, let's take a look."