𝐌𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄 | GENSHIN ONESHOTS.

#𝟎𝟎𝟑. 𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒. | flinching in an argument.

𝐃𝐈𝐋𝐔𝐂, ― isn't loud, nor is he abrasive in arguments, but he needs his hands to be doing something, ―anything. He's listening, he really is, he swears it, but looking you in the eyes when you're dissatisfied with him is something he'd much rather not subject himself to. If it's possible to avoid it, he will at any cost. His edges are sharpened when someone looks at him like that, like he's the cause of suffering and hardship... He'll take responsibility, but he's not keen on viewing the fallout, no matter how small.

"Kaeya just wants to see you," you tell him again, "even if all you do is yell at him. He loves you, Diluc! Don't you think you at least owe him a few minutes of your time?"

"I don't owe him anything," the redhead answers flatly, though his heart clenches inside.

These are conflicting feelings for him, and they've been sweltering, boiling, festering inside of him for a long time now. He loves Kaeya, but struggles to say that. He loves him, but he stammers at the thought of seeing him again, alone, just the two of them with no one to intervene. There are a million things he needs to hear from the younger, a billion things more he needs to say, ―but now isn't the time, and he wishes you'd just understand him, even though he hasn't explained it.

That's an unfair demand, he knows, but that doesn't make it any less true.

"You're so stubborn," you sigh, approaching his desk where his hands are skimming over stacks of papers, looking for nothing in particular.

"Perhaps," he acknowledges passively.

But you've known that all along, no?

"Please give him a chance, Diluc," you request, "let Kaeya―"

"No!" He raises his voice, more insistent than you've ever seen him as the papers in his hand smack against the wood of his desk.

The sound is much louder than he could have predicted, and he watches as your hand flinches away from him. His heart all but stutters. He knows they didn't hit you, not by a long shot, and he knows he hadn't been that aggressive in his refusal, ―but the way you recoiled as if he'd made you afraid of him causes guilt and shame pool in his guts like magma.

His eyes meet yours for the first time since this conversation began. You don't look particularly apprehensive... Just worried. Maybe that makes this worse, somehow.

"Did you think I'd hit you?" He questions, volume much lower and tone a hundred times softer.

"H-Huh?" You stammer, "No, I'd never think that―"

"But you..." he pauses, swallows down the lump that forms in his throat before continuing on, "―you pulled away like I'd terrified you."

"The sound," you elaborate, "it was too close. That's all. It was too loud and too close, so I stepped back."

You're sensitive to loud sounds. Diluc has known that for a long while now... But, in the moment, it slipped his mind. He'd jumped to the worst possible conclusion. A breathy sigh of relief passes his lips, and you step forward, filling the gap between yourself and his desk. You don't fear him, and just the idea he's nervous of that has you something akin to dazed.

"I'm sorry," he beats you to the apology, "I'm just not ready. I know that you're right, but Kaeya and I... Things aren't the way they used to be anymore, and I haven't let the past go yet, which isn't his or your burden to carry. I'll see him one day, but now just isn't the time for that. I don't expect you to understand this, though I hope you'll allow me the time to sort through my feelings before I approach him as my brother again."

You meet his fiery gaze as you gingerly place your hand around his own from across the table.

"I overstepped," you admit, "and I'm sorry for that. I just see how much this tension hurts you, even though you pretend it doesn't. As much as I want to see you at Kaeya's side, I want to see you happy above all else. All I want is for you to give his point of view some consideration... The choice is always yours to make, and I'll support you no matter what you decide."