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it-happened-one-fic · 6 months

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Dead of the Night - Diluc (Part 3)

Author Notes: The third part of my Halloween/October fic series for Genshin Impact! Much of what applied to the first part applies to this part as well. I wrote and edited this Vampire! AU series exclusively to "Is this Love" by Whitesnake which did kind of influence how this series came together. As per usual, Reader is gender-neutral. I hope you enjoy!

Type: Gender-Neutral Reader/ Vampire! AU/ pining/ romance/ some drama/ fluff with a touch of angst

Word Count: 1611

{Part 1}, {Part 2}, {Part 3: You're Here!}, {Part 4}

Also available on AO3 (link deleted due to glitches)

Trigger Warning: Reader does get attacked by a vampire, but all is well.

The rest of that night had passed largely in a blur after I got home. I’d almost immediately collapsed into my bed and fallen asleep as exhaustion from everything I’d just experienced kicked in.

The next day came with the ever-present patter of raindrops falling from the cloudy sky. The sun almost seemed like it did not exist as people rushed around the city trying to get all of their work done so that they could hide away indoors from both the rain and vampires that they feared were in their midst.

In my case, the day largely seemed to go by in a blur, with me pondering the events of last night. I’d been attacked by a vampire, gotten saved by Diluc, and found out that more had changed since my childhood than I ever could have realized.

Not only was Diluc no longer rambunctious and constantly getting into trouble, but now he was also a vampire. An undead creature of the night that lived off of others’ blood.

Perhaps stranger still was that he had somehow maintained that sort of gentleness that he’d always had.

Gentleness that was now hidden behind a cold exterior, but that came through in moments like when he would walk me home just to ensure I was safe, or like how he made sure that everyone in Angel’s Share was always comfortable.

A rhythmic knock on my door roused me from my thoughts and brought a frown to my face as I glanced at the clock. It was getting late for visitors considering the time of year, but stranger things had happened. In fact, they’d even happened recently…..

As I opened the door to peer out onto the usually cheerful street that was now dreary with the prolonged rain, I was greeted by Kaeya.

The cavalry captain was smiling, but it was not one of his relaxed ones. Rather, it was one that he used when working that I seldom saw directed at me. One of those crafty ones that could hide any number of things.

“So, I hear you’ve learned of Diluc’s little secret?” My eyes widened at his words, but I pushed my door open a little wider and gestured for him to enter.

Even if I didn’t necessarily care for the slippery tone of his voice, this wasn’t a conversation to be had outside where others could hear. Especially since I was fairly certain that Kaeya was not talking about some harmless secret but rather the one relating to Diluc’s immortality.

“You knew?” I turned to face him as I shut the door back, eyeing him closely and looking for any signs of his all-too-frequent acting. But I needed to be careful, just in case we weren’t discussing the same ‘secret’ that I thought we were.

Kaeya’s lone visible eye glistened as he crossed his arms, totally relaxed, as he replied in a perfectly innocent tone that had me frowning exasperatedly, “Surprised that I knew of Diluc’s exciting but lifeless nightlife?”

His tone was not one of judgment. In fact, there was even a smile on his face as I shook my head at him. Frowning at him as I crossed my arms, “You know good and well that asking him about that timeframe is like asking a wall how it's doing. He won’t talk about it, and I respect that. For all I know, it could have been traumatizing. Especially if he did get turned into a vampire then.”

I walked past him, letting him follow me down the hallway and into a sitting area. At least he had confirmed that he was talking about Diluc being a vampire. I shook my head at his words, though, “I don’t think I would’ve been surprised either way, really…. Do you know when it happened?”

He flopped down in a chair, perfectly relaxed as he crossed his legs, “Shouldn’t you be asking him that?”

I met Kaeya’s gaze, cautiously gauging him for a reaction but he simply nodded. Smiling slightly at my words before answering, “Snezhnaya. It was while he was there. That’s all I know.”

Kaeya’s singular visible eye slid to the side so that he was staring at me, a crafty smile still on his face, “But like I said… You should ask him about that.”

No sooner had those words left his mouth in a characteristically paradoxical tone, than yet another knock sounded on my door. Causing me to narrow my eyes at Kaeya, who just continued to smile at me like he had a terribly amusing secret.

I frowned suspiciously at the calvary captain one more time before taking off down the hallway and peeking out my door.

The moon was already hanging in the sky, which wasn’t really surprising since it had been late when Kaeya had gotten here. The moon may have already been visible, and I just hadn’t noticed.

What was surprising, though, was the sight of the red-haired man standing just outside my door, who looked at me expectantly as soon as I opened the door.

“Diluc?” I peered out at him in confusion until I recalled Kaeya’s words, and their full meaning hit me just as Diluc himself explained the situation with a tired-sounding voice.

“Kaeya called me here. He said we needed to explain the situation to you….” He sighed, but met my gaze as he frowned slightly, “He hasn’t said anything strange to you, has he?”

I slowly shook my head as I recalled what all Kaeya had said. He hadn’t said anything strange per se… But he had just confirmed my suspicions about when Diluc had been turned, and I wasn’t entirely sure about how telling Diluc that might go over.

So instead of outing my friend, I opted to instead open my door a little further and step to the side, “Come on in. He’s still here, so you can talk to him if you like?”

Diluc’s eyes went wide at my words, and for a brief moment, I didn’t know why. After all, it wasn’t like he hadn’t ever been inside my house before when I’d been young.

But then I recalled it, one of the whispered pieces of information I’d been given when I was young as a means to protect myself should I ever encounter a vampire: “Vampires can’t come into your home unless you invite them. So always be careful about who you invite in.”

As soon as I recalled those words, Diluc’s reaction made complete sense. He was no doubt surprised that I was so willing to invite him into my home. But in truth, I was still getting used to the idea of him being a vampire, and I’d completely forgotten those instructions up until now.

And even if I had remembered them, I would have invited him to come in anyway.

For better or worse, he was Diluc. And that meant I trusted him, even if he was something I’d been warned about ever since my youth.

He tilted his head slightly as he stepped through my door, keeping his eyes on me as he entered, “Thank you.”

With only those words, he turned and walked down the hallway, almost like he didn’t know what else to say.

It was a thought that made me smile to myself. Diluc always had been a bit awkward when it came to anything that might even appear as a compliment or kind act if one squinted at it.

While I didn’t think hardly a thing of letting him come in, evidently enough, he did.

Kaeya awaited both of us with a smile, sitting forward almost eagerly as we both came in, “I still say you should get a cape and really just go for the whole look of being a vampire.”

His jab at Diluc came almost immediately and had the redhead scowling as he came to a stop in the room, crossing his arms at Kaeya.

But the redhead didn’t say anything to his brother. Instead, he looked towards me, “What all did he tell you?”

“I haven’t said a word,” Kaeya leaned innocently back in his chair, glancing my way with a subtle smile that promised that he would keep telling me about the events of Snezhnaya a secret.

Diluc continued to ignore him in favor of staring at me as I slipped by him to take a seat. Almost as if he were petulantly giving his brother the silent treatment.

“He hasn’t been here much longer than you have, so we haven’t talked much… But what is this all about?” I sat as I glanced between the two brothers. Not entirely nervous, but not totally calm either.

When the two were young, seeing them together usually meant there was a scheme of some sort in the works, and the same could be said now. Even if they didn’t like to admit it, the two still worked together well.

“Why, to talk about Diluc’s special constitution. That’s all,” Kaeya leaned forward with a grin, propping his chin in his hand as he looked at me before his gaze slid over towards where Diluc was still standing.

“You may as well sit. I’m sure Y/n has many questions for us,” With those words, Kaeya gestured to the spot next to me on the loveseat, and, after narrowing his eyes slightly at his brother, Diluc joined me.

And all of a sudden, it was almost like nothing had ever changed, and the three of us were just good friends getting together to chat.

It's just that now we were going to be talking about Diluc being undead and what all that entailed.

For some reason.

@vera-deville

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it-happened-one-fic · 6 months

Text

Dead of the Night - Diluc (Part 4)

Author Notes: The fourth and final part of my Halloween/October fic series for Genshin Impact! Much of what applied to the other parts applies to this part as well. I wrote and edited this Vampire! AU series exclusively to "Is this Love" by Whitesnake which did kind of influence how this series came together. As per usual, Reader is gender-neutral. I hope you enjoy!

Type: Gender-Neutral Reader/ Vampire! AU/ pining/ romance/ some drama/ fluff with a touch of angst

Word Count: 1806

{Part 1}, {Part 2}, {Part 3}, {Part 4: You're Here!}

Also available on AO3 (link deleted due to glitches)

Trigger Warning: Reader does get attacked by a vampire, but all is well.

“So what do you want to know about first, Y/n? His eating habits? Whether or not he sleeps in a coffin? Or perhaps how he’s still keeping the winery business going even though he can’t be out in the sun?”

Kaeya took the lead as he grinned at the two of us, who were now sitting side by side with only a slight bit of awkwardness.

Diluc, for his part, looked perfectly annoyed, and I couldn’t really blame him. He practically growled out Kaeya’s name, which didn’t seem to phase the cavalry captain in the slightest bit.

“Well this is important, Diluc. They have a right to know these things, and you can’t blame them for being curious,” Kaeya’s visible eye was filled with utter delight as he glanced towards me knowingly. But then he’d known that the rumor about my feelings for Diluc was far more accurate than I pretended it was for quite some time. Longer, in fact, than the rumor had been in circulation.

Diluc let out a sigh, which seemed to be a common thing for him when around Kaeya, before he twisted to look at me, “I don’t drink human blood.”

I stiffened slightly at his words. Surprised that he’d chosen that topic to start with, but I nodded slowly, “You aren’t starving yourself, are you?”

Diluc’s gaze softened from a mildly annoyed one to an expression that spoke of a certain degree of fondness. The same way he’d always looked at me, and that had never helped the feelings that I held for him.

Kaeya, for his part, was silent as he watched the two of us. But then he often was.

Ever since we’d been young and he’d first found out how I felt for his brother Kaeya had, in his own way, been a sort of helper to me when it came to interacting with Diluc.

Diluc shook his head, completely focused on me and ignoring his brother, who already had a smile starting to creep across his face, “No, I’ve been drinking animal blood.”

“Boars are a big issue for the farmers here, and, after Adeline pointed that out, I’m afraid they’ve been having a rough time,” Kaeya broke in with a grin that had Diluc looking over at him with an almost impatient expression.

But I looked between the two of them with no small amount of surprise, “So Adelinde knows too? Does anyone else, like Jean, or-”

“No. Everyone at the Dawn Winery, Kaeya, and now you. That’s it,” Diluc looked back at me as he explained patiently, and I fell silent. Surprised that Jean, of all people, didn’t know. After all, her and Diluc had always been so close.

“How's it feel to be part of such an intimate little group?” Kaeya’s eye sparkled as he looked towards where I sat. Both his expression and his words promised at least a little bit of trouble, which had Diluc frowning at him.

“Don’t tease them, Kaeya,” I almost smiled at Diluc’s stern tone as he eyed his brother. Because even after all this time, he still looked out for me in his own way. Shielding me from even Kaeya’s teasing, despite the fact that it hadn’t bothered me in a very long time.

But Kaeya shook his head, “Oh no, Diluc. I’m not teasing them; I’m just pointing out the truth. They’re one of the few in Mondstadt who know of your unique dietary restrictions, and I’m quite curious as to how they felt about that.”

He turned to look at me, his eye narrowing as he smiled in an amused fashion, “It does make them quite a bit closer to you than they were before, after all.”

“Nonsense,” Diluc’s single-worded, firm response had both of us looking at him. Kaeya with steadily increasing amusement and me with confusion. But Diluc merely crossed his arms, continuing to frown at his brother as he finished, “I’ve always trusted Y/n, and that hasn’t changed.”

I could feel my eyes steadily widen at his words. I hadn’t realized that all this time he’d regarded me as someone he’d trusted. Especially since it had felt like there was such a vast distance between us for so long now.

Perhaps it really had been me that was keeping their distance from him even, if I hadn’t realized it.

Kaeya shook his head, ever the devil’s advocate, “Things haven’t changed for you, but they might have for Y/n.” Again, he fixed me with a pointed look, and I realized the exact purpose Kaeya had for this entire visit. Meddling man that he was in his own caring way.

“No, I trust Diluc. I always have, and I always will.” I turned to look at Diluc as I spoke. Glancing his way just in time to see him looking at me in surprise. Mirroring my previous reaction to his words.

Perhaps neither of us had known the other as well as we’d thought. He’d surprised me numerous times these past few days, and I seemed to be doing the same to him. But it was only natural that we’d changed over the years. And though we might have grown apart, given enough time, I was sure we could grow back together.

At the very least, I knew I was willing to put in the effort to make that fact. And that was enough for me.

I found myself smiling at him, startling him even more as I tilted my head slightly and finished with amusement creeping into my voice, “A change to his diet isn’t near enough to change that.”

Diluc let out an exhale, almost like he’d been holding his breath, as a small, amused but relieved smile appeared on his face. Flickering across his features before disappearing quickly as he looked towards Kaeya, “Satisfied?”

I grinned at the dry question he posed, amused to find that even after all these years, he could be quite shy about showing gratitude or any other soft feeling in front of others. Especially if that other person was Kaeya.

The cavalry captain grinned though, leaning back into his chair as if he’d just experienced something incredibly satisfying, “Quite.”

Diluc stood, and I wasn’t surprised that he was ready to go. Poor fellow never had handled bearing his soul or showing too many emotions very well. It was a miracle he hadn’t gotten all flushed over the course of our discussion.

“It’s time I left then, I’m afraid I still have things to do before the sun rises.” He paused and twisted to glance down at me. A smile appearing on his face as soon as he was sure Kaeya couldn’t see it, “Thank you for having us over and putting up with Kaeya, Y/n.”

I flapped my hand at him, smiling up at him warmly, “Not a problem. Take care though; I’ll see you tomorrow.”

His eyes widened slightly before his expression softened once more, “Yes… Take care.” He twisted away, and I stood to walk him back down the hallway. Ignoring his protests about how he could find his way, as I led him back to the door.

“Just call if you need anything,” I smiled at him one final time, knowing perfectly well that there was no way he was going to bother me for assistance. Not when he far preferred to be the one taking care of others.

But he didn’t reject my offer; he simply thanked me and stepped out the door before pausing to glance back at me.

But before he could speak, I stepped forward, reaching out and grasping his arm carefully, almost like I was afraid he would run away, “And just so you know, I’m not pushing myself. I’m not afraid of you, and I never will be.”

He held my gaze for a moment, a myriad of emotions flashing through his bright red eyes. The same warm color that had also been a source of comfort to me even when I’d been young.

After a brief moment of seemingly searching for words, he smiled, and his gloved hand reached over to gently cover mine, “Thank you.”

His voice was infinitely soft as he gazed at me, with a certain warmth to his gaze that was so often there whenever he was with me and unconcerned about what others might think. And it was that gentle warmth that gave me the sensation of home and allowed me to place so much trust in this man.

Vampire or not, I would always trust Diluc, and I had an inkling of a feeling that I would always feel the exact same way for Diluc.

How could I respond to him with anything other than overwhelming affection when that was the same emotion I’d always seen within him in our interactions?

He almost seemed reluctant when he pulled away, nodding his head as a final, gentle “Good Night” slipped from his lips and strolled off. His comfortingly familiar form lit up by the moon until he at last disappeared into the dead of the night.

It was then that Kaeya spoke from his hiding spot just by the door, “So you still love him, even now? I smiled at Kaeya's soft-spoken words from where he’d crept up behind me after Diluc left. There was no telling how long he’d been listening just to ensure that all was going to be well.

“Yes, I don’t think that will ever change…” I paused and turned to look up at the calvary captain, who was watching me closely as I continued, “Is that why you arranged for him to come over tonight? To make sure nothing had changed?”

Kaeya let out a hum, telling me that he would never just give a straightforward answer, even as he smiled at me. Ever a puzzle, even as he was watching out for both me and his brother, “Just making sure you won’t go hurting my brother after he did his best to shield himself from his biggest weakness.”

His biggest weakness… Kaeya had already laid out all the clues, and his expression gave me the answer I needed.

Me. I was Diluc’s weakness.

“Are you trying to tell me that he wouldn’t be able to handle me being afraid of him?” I crossed my arms as I looked up at Kaeya, half-smiling at the man who was so like a brother to me, even as he constantly did his very best to set me up with his actual adoptive brother.

“Who can say? I think you know the answer to that, though,” He bumped me lightly on the head with the back of his fist. Chuckling slightly as I frowned at his actions, before he too disappeared. With his matchmaking work done, as he strolled away on the same path his brother had taken.

@vera-deville

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