you immediately noticed the golden house through the many trees and the few lampposts decorating the path you were walking on. weirdly enough there were no guards guarding the place.
diluc and you still had your hands intertwined as you two silently walked behind aether and paimon to the destination.
the stonen pavement had slowly turned into a path of gravel as you left liyue harbor, there were more plants and trees and the sun was disappearing behind the cloudy sky as you approached the golden house.
the scenery was rather dark, even if it was around twelve in the morning, the clouds didnt let much sunlight pass through. soon you all approached the doors of the golden house.
the four of you stood there silently, aether inhaled deeply and extended one of his hands to the heavy golden door, putting his palm flat on it.
not to long later he pushed it open slowly, the door making a creaking sound in the progress from the heavy weight of it.
you could only see a little bit from the opened creak but could already tell it was dark inside, what you would do there was going to change your future permanently.
'should i betray them...?' is what you thought for a split second. you felt dilucs grip on yours tighten, he was squeezing your hand.
feeling his grip, you snapped back to reality, you saw aether already went inside with paimon. you tilted your head sideways to diluc and look at him.
your eyes darted over his features, his expression was as stoic as ever, but this time his stare was colder than ever and his eyebrows were furrowed as he looked ahead of himself.
diluc noticed you staring at him and slightly parted his mouth, not realizing his expression could be worrisome. his eyes met yours and his features slowly softened.
the red haired male turned his body to face you properly while still holding your hand, he opened his mouth, "when this is over..." he started saying.
it looked like he was struggling with his words to you, as if he didnt know what words to choose and tell you. he remained silent for a moment as his eyes averted from yours.
he looked to the side, not making eye contact with you while having his usual expression on, "lets.." he continued, his hair moving in the wind as he remained silent once again. his eyes now made their way to yours again and he continued.
dilucs red pupils stared right into yours as he spoke up again, "lets go home together." he said in a soft voice, almost in a whisper but luckily still audible for you.
you felt like tearing up after hearing those words, your mind was blank and you didnt know what to say to him, after every thought you had about betraying him you felt like you made the wrong choice.
never did you expect diluc to turn your entire mindset upside down with four simple words. you stood there silently while gazing at him, your parted mouth closed and the corners of your mouth curled upwards little by little.
unconsciously, you were smiling, even if your ideals were just overthrown. the moment diluc saw you smile was when a smaller smile made its way to his face too.
it all happend in a split second, diluc extended his free hand to your face and held your chin, his index finger under your chin and his thumb holding it in place.
your eyes widened, you had no clue what he was doing but something inside you was eager to find out, you let it all happen without struggle. he was tilting your face upwards with care while still looking at you.
now inching his face closer to yours, you knew what he was going to do. your heart raced inside your chest when he came closer and closer, making the distance less between you two and invading your personal space.
his lips were now less than an inch away, time slowed down and every noise around you faded out, all you could focus on was diluc in front of you.
you felt your face become hotter as he came closer, your cheeks specifically.
his lips made contact with your forehead, giving you a soft forehead kiss. his lips touched your forehead and not even a second later he pressed his lips further against you. dilucs eyes remained closed while he made contact with your skin.
the warmth from his lips spread all over your face, you felt incredibly hot. he slightly squeezed your hand as he was still holding it.
your eyes had widened to its fullest and your lips were slightly parted from shock, yet unable to say anything while your cheeks were burning hot.
his lips felt softer than anything you felt, you wondered how they would feel against your own lips.
it was a short kiss, he parted slowly and brought more distance between the two of you, his lips leaving your skin. the warmth lingered around on the spot and you could still feel it.
he retracted his hand from under your chin as well and let it fall to his side, now with enough distance between you two he studied your expression.
almost in an instant, a grin made its way to his face. he looked at your shocked expression and let out a soft, innocent laugh from your reaction.
his hand that previously held your hand now made its way to the lower part of his face, trying to stiffle his laughter.
"diluc! y/n! you guys coming?" you heard paimon exclaim from inside the golden house, luckily they did not witness the whole scene.
the red haired man removed his hand from his mouth, a small smile still remained on his features as he spoke up, "lets go." he said and turned his body towards the golden doors.
he took a step inside and you followed his figure, that was when you realized,
'... im in love with him.'