Through Thick and Thin- Diluc x (female) Reader

Chapter 49: The Ocean

As I opened my eyes and yawned, I sat up and stretched. I looked to the side of the bed where Diluc was supposed to be, only for it to be empty. I raised an ear in confusion.
"Morning," Diluc said from the other side of the room. I looked towards the sound of his voice, seeing him sitting in a chair in the corner. In his right hand he held a book, which he glanced up from momentarily. "Did you sleep alright?"
I remembered the feeling of him holding me, wishing he was still beside me. "Yeah, I did," I looked out the window, where rays of sun shone into the room. "What time is it?"
"I'd say... about nine," Diluc folded his book closed with a snap, setting it down in his bag beside him. He looked to me with that small smile. "Where do you think we should start looking for mist flowers?"
I rubbed my eyes, feeling my ears twitch as I did. "Hm... I don't really know Liyue, but mist flowers aren't too rare," I began, pulling the covers away. "Anywhere near a body of water is a good place to start."
"I didn't see any on the side of Luhua Pool that we were camped at, so we should rule that option out," Diluc said, putting a finger to his chin. "But there should be some just north of here, by the ocean."
"You know a spot?" I said, perking an ear.
"Yeah, I came here a few years ago and saw some growing there," Diluc said.
"Well, we can start there," I stood up, walking over to my bag. It happened to be sitting near Diluc, who seemed to be in thought.
As I made my way to my bag, I watched Diluc as his eyes wandered towards the window. The light that poured through the glass highlighted his light skin and brightened his striking hair. It had fallen around his shoulders like water, cascading down his back.
I stopped for a moment, getting caught up in his appearance. That feeling resurfaced, and I felt myself wanting to say something, although I didn't know what. Should I compliment him?
I didn't know what to say, or if I should say anything. After standing there for a few moments, his eyes looked away from the window and towards me. I wish I was better with words...
Giving up on words, I expressed how I felt in the best way I knew how. He raised a brow as I walked up to him, curious about what I was up to. Although, he didn't say a word.
I felt myself go red when I reached him, although it was too late to back out now. Why is it so hard? Usually I have to let him take charge... Timidly, I leaned down and pecked him on the lips quickly.
After, he smiled with amusement. I felt myself get redder the longer I stayed in front of his face, so I leaned back up and went to go back to my bag.
"You don't have to be so shy about it," Diluc chuckled a little. I looked back to him, and he was resting his head on his hand, his elbow resting on the arm of the chair.
"I just... don't know how," I said, referring to my lack in skill of how to express my feelings. "When I should, or how I should."
"That okay," he said, his warm gaze making me feel comfortable again. "For starters, you can kiss me more often. I wish you would."

As we walked towards the beach, my mind raced once more. "For starters, you can kiss me more often. I wish you would."
All this time I had spent, waiting for him to make his move, had he been thinking the same thing? And despite that, he made the move for me.
Had I been all bashful like that for nothing? Thats assuming that I was reading his intentions behind those words correctly. Was he just happy that I could do it on my own now? Or had he really been struggling like I had?
Either way, the words made my heart skip a beat. I wish you would. I felt like I was going to melt. The 'strange feeling', as I had taken to calling it, increased by tenfold when he said those words.
I glanced behind us, the city of Liyue Harbor bustling down below. We were going back up the path that we arrived from, slowly climbing the steep slope.
Diluc was slightly ahead of me, keeping his eyes out for threats and signs that would point us in the right direction. While he kept vigilant, I knew that we weren't at much risk. I couldn't hear anyone nearby, not footsteps or even breathing.
Even still, he kept an eye out. I sighed, catching up with him. Diluc looked over at me as I grabbed his hand, holding it as we walked the dirt path.
"I think we should be there pretty soon," he said, looking back to the path with a slight smile on his face. "After this slope, there's another road that goes to the beach."
I nodded, and glanced at his face again. It seemed to be tinted pink a little, was it because I was holding his hand? To test the theory, I grabbed his arm with my other hand, holding him closer as we walked up the path.
I ignored my own heartbeat, which echoed through my ears, and glanced back up at him. His face was ever so slightly more tinted.
As we continued in silence, I began to understand why lovers in books might intentionally fluster each other. Although I felt nervous when I felt my face go red, watching Diluc's cheeks start to glow made me feel warm. It let me know that I wasn't crazy for feeling the same way.
When we reached the top of the slope and rounded a corner, we saw another path leading down towards the great blue ocean. "Here we are," Diluc said, pointing to the path.
When we reached the bottom, the sand sank below my feet. The smell of the salt stung my nose, and the sounds of the waves gently crashing against the shore made my ears twitch. But, I also heard another thing.
"I hear voices," I said, looking around. There were some rocks by the water, towering over the rest of the level sand. "Over there."
"What are they saying?" Diluc said, suddenly more alert. His eyes darted to the rocks.
"I can't tell, the waves muffle it," I looked back towards the path and then back to the rocks. "Should we check it out?"
"I don't think it's anything we can't handle, how many people do you think it is?" Diluc glanced at me before locking his eyes on the rocks again. He was watching for signs of movement, or people walking away from there.
"I still don't know... maybe three or four?" I said, putting a finger to my chin in thought. "They might not be dangerous, and if they were we should be able to take them."
Diluc nodded in agreement. Together, we carefully approached the rocks, the voices starting to grow clearer. I could hear three distinct voices, all male.
"...can't be that bad," voice number one faded in as we approached.
"They beat an entire camp of us," voice number two sounded more nervous.
"They were with other people that time, there's just two of them now," number one said. I put a hand up to Diluc and stopped.
"Hoarders, they know us," I whispered to him. Diluc went to say something, but closed his mouth again to let me listen.
"Hey, you," number one said, sounding annoyed. "You saw one of em in the city yesterday, yeah?"
My ear raised in alarm. The one who was following me... he was here.
"Y-yeah," said a third voice. I recognized it from the night I was jumped on the way from Dilucs.
"And? Did they look like much?" The second voice said.
"She was the girl," the third one said, sounding nervous. "But I'm telling you, you don't want to underestimate them, especially her."
"Come on Robin, you were sent all the way from Mondstadt because you know these two," the first voice said. "There's gotta be more than that."
"I-I don't know, I only know what she looks like and that's it," Robin said. At least I knew his name now. "Don't ask me why they sent me here. I wanted to stay in Mondstadt, but..."
There was silence. I glanced back at Diluc, who waited nervously.
"Yeah yeah, I don't care," said the first one again. "So that's it? You didn't learn anything from her in the city yesterday?"
"No," Robin said. "She saw me. She recognized me, so she found someone in the crowd. I can't afford to get in trouble here, so I had to back off."
"You let yourself get caught like that?" The second voice pipped up. "You're just lucky she didn't go get the millileth."
"Yeah... I am," Robin said, sounding slightly pitiful. The other two seemed too eager to meet Diluc and I, and this guy was probably terrified of me. I guess I really shook him up that night...
I looked to Diluc, putting my hand on his arm. "We should leave them be, they're not worth the trouble."
"What do you mean? What if they hurt anyone else?" He said, looking back towards the rock.
"No, they're just here for us," I didn't tell him that the one who had followed me was here. I didn't want him to worry. "There's only three, they aren't worth it. We should go find that mist flower."
"Are you sure?" Diluc said cautiously. "If you think so..."
In reality, I felt bad for the hoarder. I had never heard anyone sound more like they wanted to be home more than him. He could have hurt many people for all I knew, and yet... I felt pity.
I've traumatized enough people, I think, I thought, although he was likely the only one on my list. And so, Diluc and I continued down the beach.