FOR FOREVER
VII ; UNFAMILIARITY
( in where old friends reconcile for the past but realize that they'll never be the same. )
—
you patiently waited at the front of the guesthouse as the morning sun kissed your skin good morning as it always did every sunny morning in the city. the breeze carefully pushing your hair as it moved where the wind did.
"good morning." you voiced, sensing the sudden presence of another person. looking up, you're met with a pair of crimson eyes, so familiar yet so distant at once. he nodded, and followed your lead down the brisk morning streets of liyue harbour.
the only people out at this time are people working down at the docks and few millelith guards on duty. you asked a friend if you could set up a reservation at liuli pavilion before dining hours could start. of course, most people are indebted to you since your two years loosely working in the qixing and ministry of civil affairs.
greeting licai a formal greeting, you head inside the pavilion, taking a seat at the reserved table. "what do you want to know?" you inquired, pouring a cup of tea for yourself and the man sitting across from you.
"your father. who was he?" 'quite the entrance question..' you voiced while taking a sip of the jasmine tea. setting the teacup down, you sighed.
"he was a late harbinger. he used to occupy the 10th slot, but i'm sure that spot has long been filled since his passing. he was called Innamorati from what i can recall." eyes darting towards the table, you could feel the long stare that diluc had been giving you. your legs shifted slightly, mainly out of discomfort you were feeling. "i'm not very sure who he really was. all i knew is that he grew up in fontaine and moved to mondstadt after meeting my mother."
his gaze fixated on your gloved hands, taking some interest in them as they traced the rim of the teacup as you spoke. they seemed to have a 'v' shape as it didn't cover your entire hand. it's been. two years but you've grown so much. "that's it? did you ever get his delusion after his passing?"
giving him a half-assed laugh, you look at him. "what does that matter? you conceal your own vision for reasons unbeknownst to me."
"answer the question, y/n."
"how bossy..." you mumbled under your breath. "i did, surprisingly it doesn't work like how a normal vision would."
"how so?"
"when vision users die, their vision lay dormant and lose its power." you explain. "my fathers delusion did not. it's still well intact and still has power in it." you did some research yourself, and by research i mean taking a few trips to northland bank and paying for a certain someone's meals for information. not like you mind treating this person to meals, he was quite the character and he made dinners lively.
"your tea is getting cold, diluc. cold jasmine tea isn't the tastiest thing in the world."
"right..." he lifted up the cup off of its saucer and took a sip of the beverage. "last one, if you do not mind." you shook your head, pouring another round of tea in your cup. "when did you find out my father had a delusion?"
you let out a soft exhale. "it was the week after i killed my father." you pulled back your hands into your lap as they fidgeted under the table as you choked on your upcoming words. "he told me that he had found it in an empty fatui camp.. but ultimately thats when he found out that my father was one of them."
his gaze softened. it was almost as if he had forgotten that you two share many similarities. "y/n..." he called out. you coughed, regaining yourself.
"never mind." you added. "is that all?"
"ah, will you be returning to mondstadt soon?" somehow this question was harder to answer than the others.
"i'm... i'm not sure. why do you ask?"
"i'll be heading back soon. i was wondering if you wanted to go back-" he paused for moment, thinking over his word choice before it was too late. "er.. if you'd like to accompany me back." you scooted out of your seat, fixing your attire.
"give me the day to think about it. i assume you'd still want to look around the city, do you not?"
"i do."
"then i'll show you around in the evening, you can visit near northland bank if you're curious about the fatui, they're always crawling around here." he seemed surprised at this remark judging by the confusion that crossed his face. "what?"
"do you not have work?"
work is interesting. you're not a permanent resident in liyue, so you're actually not confined to the ministry nor the qixing. you're simply just a person who ties up loose ends for them (you can take that literally or as a threat).
you laughed his comment off, "no, i only come in when i'm needed." which isn't all the time but the pay is spectacular, so you can't complain. "so, sound like a deal?"
the short silence that followed your question was deafening, even if it was for 3 or so seconds. "sure, i'd appreciate that."
"good," you smiled. "don't get into any public brawls with the fatui though, i don't feel like dragging you out of that stuff. it'd be hard to explain to the man in charge."
"why not?"
you shot him an odd glance while pulling out your bag of mora to leave at the table. "we're not best friends, diluc." you bluntly put. "just old acquaintances. don't you forget how much weight your parting words actually had."
"you're still on about that?" he scoffed, getting up from out of his seat. you looked at him, bewildered. "it's been two years-"
"do you know how much it hurt?" you placed the bag of mora on the table. "do you?" you questioned the young adult across from you. "for my best friend to say they never needed me? that's such bullshit diluc, and you know that."
however the latter just stared in shock. you bit your tongue to stop talking.
"sorry." it was bitter. the apology you choked out was terrible. "i'll be taking my leave. i'll have your answer by 7 o'clock." you slipped him a small card with some information. "i'll be at the harbour at 6. hope you enjoy the city." and with those words, you parted ways for the time being.
he glanced down at the small card you gave him. the words reading "ask the consultant of wangsheng funeral parlour if you need me before our meet time."
"funeral parlour?" he muttered, slipping the card into a pocket and making his way out of the restaurant.
-
"aiya... y/n?" a defeated sigh escaped the director who had finished skimming over some paperwork. "would you like to come on a trip with me?" she bounced up to the chair you were sitting in.
"where? i have business at 6." you said, flipping through some old paper documents. "nothing farther than wangshu inn, director. oh, and absolutely no promoting." however, she just chuckled.
"nothing of the sorts!" she huffed. "there's just some disturbance near a burial site. you know how the spirits get when they're disturbed when i'm about to send them off." you glanced up at the eccentric young woman who looked at you with her starry eyes.
"alright, i'll come with you." not like you had anything else to do in the meantime. "mr. zhongli, take care while we're gone!" you shouted as hu tao practically dragged you out of the parlour before you could even get an answer back.
rushing out of the funeral parlour, hu tao pointed eastwards to mount tianheng. "the burial site is near there, c'mon!"
"director, stop pulling my arm..."
"huh? oh sorry, sorry!" she chuckled, pulling her arm away as she pranced across the wooden bridge. "it's a habit i picked up when mr. zhongli comes along."
"hey! hey, diluc can you slow down? stop pullin my arm, i can walk on my own!"
"you're just a slow walker. come on, there's a surprise waiting inside hq."
"eh? y/n?" waving her hand in front of you, she pursed her lips in a pout. "maybe i do have to drag you there if you space out like this."
"sorry," you replied shaking your head. "just.. some sort of deja vu, thats all." it was odd. you never experienced these sort of memories replaying back ever since you left for liyue. maybe your meeting with the man had struck something in your mind. you let out a soft sigh, letting the director guide you along the trail out of the city where treasure horders had remained and dug around for something of value. apparently the client was quite well off so they probably assumed he would be buried with some treasure.
-
diluc stood at the port, watching the sun slowly cast over the city of liyue. it was quite a gorgeous place, plus the sights were definitely one to remember. he checked his pocket watch that read exactly 6 o'clock. he caught site of the flowing ends of your coat the with gold accents on them. you observed the calm swaying of water as the boats from afar had started making their way back to the port. he took note of your black dress pants and a top that resembled a changshan top, obviously fit to the liyue culture. it was white with lighter purple designs embroidered specially to the wearer.
you turned your head to face him, giving him a subtle smile. "you didn't cause any trouble, good job." walking up to him, he lowly hummed.
"how'd you know i didn't?" he questioned, still overlooking the ocean ahead of him.
"i have ears everywhere here, diluc. it would be odd if i didn't know what was going on in the city." you answered, following his eyes to the distant rock pillars out in the distance. "guyun stone forest. rex lapis had thrown large spears at opposing gods and cast them down in the ocean. those spears are those mounds of rocks you can see."
he glanced at you curiously, observing how the sun had shone on your face and your impurities. your front h/c strands had been clipped up by a golden hair pin which resembled some sort of dragon or serpent.
"how was your tour around the city? did you enjoy?"
"it was satisfactory." he muttered with a slight cough. "the sights were quite gorgeous, the food is quite contrasting with mondstadt cuisine but still very tasty."
"gorgeous, huh." you smiled. "it is really pretty here."
"so," he turned to you. "what's your answer?"
you match his eyes. they're full of secrets and his eyes don't shine like they used to. his journey across the continent must've shown him some grotesque sights. "i'll go." you answered. "i'll go back to mondstadt with you."
he almost looked surprised as if he was expecting the opposite answer. "really?" he breathed out, not convinced.
"i haven't been home in a long time. and i ended up running into my boss earlier, she encouraged me to go home until i was urgently needed here. i've already selected my replacement anyways. it would be a shame if i didn't go."
"right.. we can leave right at the crack of dawn." he said. "i have some unfinished business outside the city." diluc added, fixing his tie up.
"okay. i'll meet you at the city gates when the time comes." you waved, going on ahead of him. "i have to pack up some belongings before i go anyways."
"oh, and y/n?"
"hm?"
diluc paused, wondering if it would be in character for him to say such a thing to her after two years of no communication. "its.. it was nice seeing you again after this time." he frowned, avoiding eye contact with you.
you were taken aback from the sudden statement. "y-yeah.. whatever." you scowled, unsure of how to feel after that so you forced yourself to put on the face you had been accustomed to. you hastily bid goodbye to the red-headed man. he watched your figure disappear from sight as pedestrians past by him.
"hey hey, l/n dàrén knows him? he's quite handsome..."
"l/n dàrén knows everyone though... he's probably one of them."
"you're right.. but i see something between them! more than just colleagues."
"seriously... mèng yáo, it's none of our business. you know what happens when we meddle with someone who works directly under the tianquan and does the dirty work for the qixing."
"right! let's pretend this didn't happen and go get dinner."
for once, diluc finally had felt like an outsider in your life. for you, someone who grew up with middle class status to have to befriend a upperclass man like himself had people always questioning your relationship. but now as adults and in a new environment, he found himself being surrounded by being just a somebody in the crowd of everybody.
he is simply just a somebody.
but still, it's better being someone in your life rather than nobody.
so he came to terms with it.
the fact that you have grown to be a liyue big shot and people don't even dare utter your name when it comes to gossip. unlike how it was years ago when people didn't care to throw your name around. it was like this at the gala as well as you accompanied the yuheng.
and how he didn't mean as much as he used to in your life.
so the stinging feeling remained in his heart as he departed the harbour with his hand clenched over his chest as his heart tolled from his feelings. why did he feel such anguish? such saudade from the past that he knows will never come back. why did he long for something worth more than just acquaintances?
why.
why.
why.
-------- ≪ °✾° ≫ --------