Genshin Impact One Shots

diluc falls in love with someone... and it's not you

He had been acting strangely lately. Very, very strange. In the middle of your shifts together at the tavern, his eyes would often glaze over, lips slightly parted with his long slender fingers resting on the side of his handsome face. When you tried to talk to him he would only answer with half-hearted "uh huh" and that was if you were lucky. He clearly wasn't hearing a word of what you said. You had no idea where his mind was, but you knew it certainly wasn't with you. You examined his elegant side profile as he sat at the bar counter, crimson locks of hair falling in front of his eyes, and a worried expression in yours.

Maybe he was just a little stressed out... or maybe a bit down... or maybe you were just completely overthinking things altogether.

Whatever the case may have been, Diluc had always told you everything on his mind, from the smallest of inconveniences, to his darkest secrets. You were his best friend after all, and to you, so much more than even that. So naturally it bothered you to see him acting like this. You couldn't read him like it was normally so easy to do.

"Diluc!" You raised your voice a bit more, tearing him from the deep state of concentration he was in.

"Huh..." He snapped out of it, his elbow almost slipping off the counter from surprise. You looked at him, slightly annoyed.

"The new shipment of wine. When will it be here? We're running low."

"Oh. It should be here this afternoon. We'll have enough in the meantime." He said, his eyes fixed on the door to the building as he spoke.

Diluc and you had been inseparable since childhood. Through everything he'd been through, you'd always rushed to his side to lift him up when life knocked him down. His father, the knights, Kaeya... everything, and you'd been his shoulder to cry on every single time, only asking for his friendship in return. And when things were happy, they couldn't have possibly been better. Fond memories of mud fights in the vineyard, hide and seek in the wine cellar, and stargazing on the manor rooftop filled your mind. Things were so simple back then. Just kids being kids. But as life went on, and your bodies grew taller, you watched the bright smile slowly begin to fade from his face, heard his sweet laugh less and less, and saw that spark of passion you loved so much disappear from his eyes. Though when he was alone with you, it sometimes made made an appearance, faintly gracing his beautiful face again. Oh, how you cherished those now rare moments.

... And you fell in love. Perhaps it was inevitable with all the time you spent together, or maybe he was truly just meant to be the one to steal your heart, whether he knew it or not, or returned those feelings. But as soon as you turned 16 years old, you saw him in a way you never had before. Instead of wanting to punch him when his gaze lingered on yours, you found yourself with butterflies in your stomach, and wanting to come to the winery for reasons more grown up than the silly games you'd always play. Part of you wished things could stay the way they were when romance was still an icky thought so you could avoid the predicament of having to silently be in love with him, yet not being able to say anything whenever you were with him, but you knew you could never go back, and the thought of him one day waking up and feeling the same way was far too wonderful to even consider it.

The little bell above the tavern door rang, and in walked the last person you wanted to see. Donna.

What is she doing here? You thought to yourself, unable to push down the feelings of nausea that you got upon seeing her.

Everyone knew she liked Diluc, everyone except somehow the clueless man himself, that is. She walked through the door, petticoats swishing, lashes batting at him. His eyes widened, lips parted, and posture straightened. His breathing hitched, and he swallowed hard, suddenly acting uncharacteristically nervous. At first you giggled at him, until you saw his eyes follow her across the room, all flustered... because of her.
Your expression slowly fell into one of horror. Suddenly you felt like someone had just roundhouses your stomach, and tears threatened to spill from your eyes. Was this cause of his sudden daydreaming? Was this really how your dreams of being with him ended? You squeezed the fabric of your shirt so tight you'd thought it'd rip just to keep from breaking down right there.