𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 | genshin impact

| 08 |: A Chance

Diluc awoke to the gentle strokes on his forehead. Eyelids fluttering open, he then lifted his head from his desk to find (y/n) staring at him with wide eyes, hand paused in mid-action. She let a smile crawl over her lips when they made eye contact.

"Good afternoon, Master Diluc," she said, taking a step back, "I wanted to see you so I went into your office without knocking. I hope that's alright." When he didn't reply and simply stared at her, she folded her hands behind her back and averted her gaze bashfully. "P-please don't stare at me like that."

He immediately snapped back to reality and did a fake cough into his fist. "My apologies. Is there any particular reason you wish to see me?"

She wrung her hands together as she bit her bottom lip. A red tint flitted across her cheeks, her eyes nervously flickering back and forth between him and the bookshelf propped against the wall.

"No... I just missed your company," she quietly admitted, making him arch an eyebrow, "You've been working non-stop since this morning. Please take a break." Before he could say anything against her suggestion, she clasped his upper arm with both hands and tugged him out of his chair. "Let's have a walk around the winery, you could use some fresh air."

Knowing that he can't win against her stubbornness (and strength, as he had come to learn about it...), the redhead relented and let her drag him outside. Adelinde flashed him a mischievous smirk on his way out, and that was when he figured that the head housemaid must have sent (y/n) to his office to separate him from his paperwork.

(Y/n) released Diluc's arm and walked on his left side once the sun greeted them. She then tipped her upper body forward slightly as she laced her fingers together behind her back, looking up at his stoic face through her lashes.

"Isn't the weather great today?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Your social skills are improving," he remarked, turning his head towards her as a minuscule smile appeared on his lips.

The (h/c)-haired female blinked. "Really?"

"Yes. You're getting better at communicating with other people."

More than a week had passed since the red-haired tycoon kept the woman in his home. She didn't complain when she stayed indoors and because of that, he loosened the restriction by allowing her to go outside only to keep her body active by training alone for two hours every day, and to watch the sunrise and the sunset as per her request. He used those seven days to keep a watchful eye on her, and after thorough observation, he came to the conclusion that there wasn't anything peculiar about her besides where she was found. Her past was still a mystery, but putting that aside, he found her to be relatively harmless. He couldn't sense any killing intent from her, and if she did have any, it was directed towards the slimes and hilichurls they'd encounter during their strolls around Mondstadt.

He felt guilty for doubting her in the first place, now knowing that she has no desire to intentionally harm others. She just wants to protect herself and the people that she cares about... like him.

(Y/n) was beginning to live normally with Diluc's help. She's getting better at expressing her emotions albeit awkwardly sometimes, and she's starting to make her own decisions. She seemed... happier than when he first met her, and although her sadness occasionally surfaced, he could tell that she's feeling less lonely than before.

She gave him a closed-eye smile, and the redhead could have sworn his heart skipped a beat at that. Eyes widening, he quickly averted his gaze and covered the bottom of his face with one hand as the other reached up to clutch his chest. The (h/c)-haired female saw the way he reacted and grew a little concerned for him, thinking that he was about to throw up.