The god's last wish (Zhongli/Diluc x OC)

15

As the night came to pass, and morning came by, Diluc immediately opened his eyes to check if his wife has returned. Only to be greeted by dissapointment when he figured he was still alone in their bedroom. 

He felt the cold as he arose to slip on his working clothes. A cold that he has never felt before. He realized how much his wife's embrace protected him from many things. And now that she was not around, he felt the cold through his bones.

Diluc couldn't be at ease with his wife not returning. If something bad had happened to her because he has left her without a word, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

From morning until sun down, he kept looking, aimlessly roaming around the harbor with anxiety growing in every minute that come to pass without finding her. Not so long after, a downpour has began, and he still could not find his wife.

His tears began to form as the rain trickled down his clothes and skin. The rain was cold, but it was nothing compared to what he felt in his heart.

When he got back to the Pavilion, it was not long after someone came desperately banging at the door. A glimpse of hope sparked at Diluc's heart as he rushed towards it. The Yaksha collapsed on the floor as he opened the door, drenched in rain water, with blood staining half of his clothing.

Diluc's eyes widened, worry overcame  him as he saw his wife unconscious on the Yaksha's back.

"What happened?" He breathed.

"She wouldn't wake up." The adeptus weakly replied.

Quickly, he took his wife from him, leaning her face on his chest as he gently shook her in attempt to wake her up.  "Thea, love, I'm here now, it's time to wake up.." Diluc whispered as his lips trembled.

The Yaksha beside him clutched his wound. Although he has been badly wounded, he still managed to stand on his feet. 

"I'm guessing that she used too much elemental energy. She fought with a harbinger right after waking up from her weak state."

"I shouldn't have left you Thea, please forgive me." Diluc ignored the Yaksha as he caressed his wife's paling face. 

"You're right. You shouldn't have left her. I told everything to you because I believed you could be trusted. And you chose to trust your emotions still."

The Adeptus had a sharp tongue, and Diluc allowed his heart to be pierced by it. He spoke in honesty, and he could only regret his actions as he held his wife in his arms.

"I'm the type of person who prefer to deal with matters by myself, but this time, for her, please, just please, if you know someone, anyone, or anything that could help her, please lead me to them." Diluc pleaded, his sincerity gazing intently at the young Adeptus.

The Yaksha nodded, as if he knew what to do and where to take him.

In the midst of the sky's rage, they braved the foggy paths drenched in rain water, the Yaksha wounded, and the Dark Knight hero carrying his wife. 

At the peak of Jueyun karst, they found Madam Ping preparing warm drinks as if she had anticipated their presence.

"I've been waiting to meet you,  young man, take a rest in my shed as I prepare the refreshments." She accepted them warmly, with her arms open wide.

"You may rest your wife in the cushion I've prepared. I shall look at her condition soon."

Despite the exhaustion they felt, all the two young man could think about was the well being of the unconscious woman.

"Say, madam, if you've anticipated our arrival, have you also foreseen my mother's state?" The Yaksha worriedly asked.

"Can you help my wife?" Diluc followed. 

"Now now young men..." she hummed as she gave both of them a cup of qingxin tea.  "I know you're a ton worried, but you two must also take your rest. The tea shall be enough to mend your wounds"

"To you, Alatus, thank you for protecting your mother's happiness and prioritizing her over your own."

"And to you young man, whom I am yet to know about, thank you for being with her. She has been through a lot in her previous life that it got me worried that she might not allow herself to be happy at her second." The old woman said as she mixed the soup she was making.

"You also know Anthea?" Diluc asked, eager to understand her wife's past.

"Everybody in my time knew her. Though she refused to be bestowed with the powers of a god, Azalea was quite a popular Nymph. She was the Nymph that guided the natural resources of all Teyvat, and during her years, life has been abundant of her compassion towards all creatures."

"Azalea, even thousands of years ago, she had a beautiful name." Diluc breathed.

"Oh yes, and that wife of yours was used to be quite the heart breaker. All the male gods lined up for her, but only one among them prevailed. "

"Zhongli.. "

"You make that jealous eyes of yours too obvious, young man. You're quite a capable man, why does it look like you're threatened by her past?" Madam Ping asked as if she could read Diluc's feelings.

"They shared a love for thousands for years. How can I compete with that?"

"If the weight of love is measured on how long two person have been together, why do you think are there people who resolve to divorce despite the long years of marriage?"

Diluc couldn't answer, he couldn't answer because he's never been in the same shoes. He has never felt something such as falling out of love. Because during his younger years up until now, she has always been the one in her heart.

"Time is just one factor, but it can never be the absolute measurement of one's love. I'm not saying that she's fallen out of love towards Rex Lapis. I just want you to know, that while Zhongli and her have been in love for thousands of years, you have been loving her all your life and her with her new one. It's not that it outweighs the other, but perhaps the intensity is the same."

"What if she wakes up one day with her previous memories and realize that she loves him more?" Diluc asked. It was the thought that has been bothering him for a very long time. The nightmare that has been visting in his sleep. The fear that one day, she'll get taken away.

"Before ruining yourself with the fear of the unknown, reflect first on what you know about her. Do you know her as someone who'll leave you like that? "

Once again, Diluc didn't know how to respond. The Old woman was right, she knew Anthea all his life. And he held unto the love they shared.

"If you still feel jealous, perhaps this would help. Follow me young man. Please be a sweetheart and keep watch of the soup, Alatus."

Although nervous, Alatus nodded as Diluc and the old woman marched towards where he had rested her wife.

Madam Ping sat beside her cushion, holding her hand and feeling her pulse. She smiled as she felt her wrist. "Hold your wife's hand, young man. " She said, gazing at him with a wide smile.

As Diluc held Anthea's hand, his eyes widened. He felt not one but two pulse. That moment, he had realized what the old woman's smile meant.

"Feel the fruit of your love."