Through Thick and Thin- Diluc x (female) Reader

Chapter 4: "Sure."

After we had reached the gates of Mondstadt, Diluc and I parted ways. Giving him a wave and thanking him once again, I set off to the Favonius Headquarters.
I sighed in relief as I walked through the doors of the large stone building. Just as I entered, I looked over to see Kaeya walking out of the lab. He turned and looked at me, surprised.
"Oh, you're back," he said cooly. He leaned on the wall next to the door, smiling slightly. "Albedo was just wondering where you were. Sucrose seemed a little worried, too," He said, adding a concerned tone to the last part.
"I... got a little caught up," smiled nervously. "I'll tell you about it tonight, if you're still going to the tavern, which I'll assume is probably usual for you."
"Of course I am," he said, crossing his arms. "Where else would I be?"
"I didn't know you were visiting the lab today. Were you talking to Albedo?" I questioned.
He tilted his head. "Yeah," Kaeya began, slightly confused. "Why?"
I smiled, walking over and putting my hand on the doorknob. "Are you two friends?"
He stood there for a moment.
"Sure."
Kaeya uncrossed his arms and walked away with a slight smile on his face.
What does that mean? Oh well, I thought. I've gotta get these notes to Albedo.
I twisted the doorknob and swung it open, stepping inside the cool lab. I was immediately bombarded by Sucrose.
"Ah! Where were you all day?" Sucrose said, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me slightly. "I was worried!"
Jeez, a little worried, huh Kaeya? "I'm fine!" I said quickly, putting my hands up in defense. "Just got a little caught up that's all!" I hesitated to tell her the full story. "Would you stop shaking me Sucrose? I'm fine!"
She hesitantly put her arms down. "I'm just glad you're okay..." she said. I smiled at her before walking over to Albedos desk.
As per usual, he hadn't even looked up from his desk yet. I coughed slightly, trying to alert him to my presence. He looked up, his eyes widening in recognition.
"Oh good, you're back," he began. He shuffles his notes and set them down, bringing me his full attention. "So?"
I reached into the bag and pulled out the sketchbook and the jar. Albedo examined the drawing closely. "You aren't half bad. And it seems we were right, Sucrose." She rushed up and began to examine the sketch with him.
"So... what's going on exactly?" I said, confused. One of my ears was perked, alert and ready to listen.
He handed the drawing to Sucrose while he picked up the jar. "It seems the mist flowers are growing larger," he began. My ears perked up in surprise. "There seems to be an increase in the energy levels in the ley lines. This could make whopperflowers and regisvines more powerful."
"Really?" I said, grabbing a seat from a lab table and taking a spot in front of the desk. "What could that mean for us?"
"Well," he began, opening the jar and pulling out the flower. "We can make more powerful potions with less ingredients. However," Albedo paused. "This could be quite a situation for travelers looking to take on whopperflowers and such. Sucrose?" He said, and she instantly stood straighter, ready for an order. "Alert the adventurers guild about this right away."
She nodded and grabbed a piece of paper and a quill. As she jolted down the information onto the paper, Albedo said something I wished he hadn't.
"Hm... this jar is cracked..." I froze. Oh great. "Did something happen? You look a little pale." Don't ask me that!
I heard the scribbling from Sucrose stop instantly. "I, uh... I dropped it! So sorry..."
"Y/n?" Sucrose said, nearly rolling her eyes. "Just tell us what happened."
I sighed, sulking in defeat. "I ran into some Treasure Hoarders on the way back."
"You what?" Sucrose exclaimed, planting her palm on the desk. "Did you get robbed?"
"Well, I would have." I said, crossing my arms. "Someone came and helped me though so it's all fine!"
"How did the jar get cracked?" Albedo said. I froze again. Why did he have to keep worrying Sucrose?
"Well," I said quickly. "They tried to steal the jar and dropped it."
"They grabbed it? How did you get it back? " Sucrose asked, inspecting the jar in Albedos hands.
"They saw Diluc coming," I shrugged. "They took off into the woods after that."
I did my best to leave details out. Violence and such would have worried my sister, and she was freaked out enough. She didn't need to hear that I was shoved... or kicked... or restrained... ect.
"Diluc?" Albedo said, returning to his notes. "The winery owner?"
"Kaeyas brother?" Sucrose said.
I tilted my head. "Diluc is Kaeyas brother?"
"They don't get along too well." Albedo said, sliding a piece of paper into the back of the pile he held. "Kaeya rants to me about him often."
"Are you guys friends or what?" I said, utterly confused.
He stopped for a moment, before continuing his reading and switching pages again.
"Sure."
Seriously, what is going on? I sighed before sitting at my desk and grabbing the notes on the edge of the surface.
Grabbing a quill and some paper, I began my work. As I simplified his and Sucroses notes on experiments and observations, I began to pick up some small things I hadn't heard before.

When I was done with work, I headed down to the tavern to see if Kaeya was there. I decided I would buy something to thank Diluc for his help. I hoped they would have non alcoholic beverages...
As I opened the door, I saw Kaeya and Venti in the same spot they had been the night before. I began to walk toward them, but stopped suddenly when I heard a familiar voice.
"It's you," Diluc said. I turned to the bar to see him standing there, leaning on the bar with his arms crossed. He smiled only slightly. The smile was almost invisible, but it was there.
"Ah," I said, walking to the bar. "How's business tonight?"
"It's not too busy," he said, standing up straight and observing the tavern. "I'm just worried about those two, they always get into trouble." He said, motioning to Venti and Kaeya.
Venti was immersing himself in the liquor, downing glass after glass. Kaeya occasionally stole glances at me, although left us be to have a conversation.
"Jeez..." I said, watching Venti down another one. "He's so short, where does his tolerance come from?" I said, concerned. "He probably drank half his body weight last night."
"Who knows," Diluc shrugged. "He'll put me out of business if he doesn't pay his tab soon. 60 glasses of dandelion wine alone in the past three weeks."
"Yikes..." I said, surprised anyone could possibly drink that much. "Anyways, do you happen to have any non alcoholic drinks?"
"Yes, we do," He said, and he pulled out a glass. "Wolfhook juice, cider, or something minty?"
I put a finger to my chin, thinking for a moment. "I'll take a wolfhook juice," I began. "Those are my favorite," I smiled as I recalled Sucrose and I picking wolfhooks together when we were little.
"Good choice," he said as he looked to the glass, gathering ingredients from the below the bar. "I don't get to make this one often, you know."
I smiled and looked to Kaeya. I noticed that he had been looking at us again, and he looked away quickly. He seemed to be awfully shifty about Diluc.
"Here," Diluc said, setting the drink down in front of me. That was fast! "One fresh wolfhook juice."
I grabbed it and brought the glass to my lips. Drinking a couple sips, I gave a sigh of enjoyment. "It's really good, thank you!" I said. I reached into my pocket and brought out some mora. Setting it on the counter, I nodded to him as I walked over to Kaeya and Venti.
"You can keep the mora," Diluc protested. I stopped, turning to him. Why would he want me to keep it?
"No," I said in return. "Just take it. As thanks."
I saw Diluc raise a brow as I turned to go sit with Kaeya and Venti, leaving the mora behind. I sat down and watched Venti start another glass.
"How are you going to pay for those?" I said, concerned that he was going to go in debt.
He shrugged as he set the glass down. "With a performance!" Venti raised his lyre before setting it back down. "Tomorrow night, of course. I'm a little tired," Tipsy was more like it.
"What were you talking to Diluc about?" Kaeya asked. "Other than getting the drink, I mean."
I tilted my head. "With Diluc?" I thought for a moment about how to tell him the story. "I was getting robbed by some treasure hoarders earlier today. Unfortunately for them, he happened to be walking by and gave them a good thrashing."
Kaeya put his hand on his chin in thought. "Treasure Hoarders? How close to Mondstadt were you?"
"The woods in between Springvale and here." I replied after finishing a sip of my drink. "It seemed like they were awfully close to the city to me, too," I said as I saw his concerned face.
"What were they trying to take?" He asked.
I shrugged. "Mora, but I didn't bring any. So they tried taking a mist flower I plucked for Albedo for compensation, I guess."
I shuddered as I remembered the mans grasp on my arms when I tried telling them it was of little value. Pushing the memory back, I glanced back to Kaeya to see him in thought.
"It seems like we need up the patrols around Mondstadt again." He said, finishing off the last of his glass of wine. "First the hillichurls and now Treasure Hoarders. It's strange."
"I agree." I said, taking a sip of my wolfhook juice.
Kaeya stood up, carrying his glass with him. "I'll be back. I'm going to grab another drink."
I nodded as he walked off, leaving me and Venti to converse. "Venti?" I turned to him, and he sat up awaiting my statement. "What's the deal between Kaeya and Albedo? They seem close, but they won't tell me anything. Are they friends?"
Venti smiled mischievously before gulping down a large portion of wine. He sighed as he finished the glass, setting it down with a somewhat loud clank.
"Sure."
Seriously? What's going on?
I rolled my eyes. "You are seriously no help." Although I couldn't help but laugh. I wondered if something was happening between Albedo and Kaeya...
My thoughts were interrupted by Kaeya returning to the table. For the rest of the evening, we drank and talked. Joking happily, we enjoyed our evening vastly unaware of what was to come.