Second Lead Syndrome || Diluc R. x Reader

Reading Between Lines

The woman sits at the tavern, her head resting in her hand as she leans on the bar. With her other hand, she swirls the wine inside her glass. The warm glow of the tavern lights and the calm bustle of cheery tavern patrons make for a comfortable atmosphere. She relaxes as she takes a sip of the dark liquid.

"Good evening, Ida." A familiar, charming voice greets the white-blond as he takes a seat next to her.

The woman looks over to see the Knight of Favonius her younger sister is friends with. The Cavalry Captain, Kaeya, if she remembers correctly. Ida tucks a lock of white-blond hair behind her ear and out of her face.

"Good evening. Have you seen my sister around?" Ida asks him.

Kaeya quickly orders a drink from the bartender, Charles, before replying to Ida's question. "Not today. It isn't unusual for us to not pass by each other. We don't even work in the same department, afterall." He responds with a small grin. "Why? Looking for her?"

"Well, what am I going to do in an unfamiliar city all by myself without my tour guide?" Ida jokes while taking a sip of her wine.

"You're already at one of the best attractions in the city. I'm not sure if anything will be on par with this tavern." Charles places a mug in front of Kaeya who takes a sip.

"That red-head isn't here either." Ida states, glancing towards Charles.

"Diluc?" Kaeya lightly chuckles. "Do people from Fontaine always address people by their most prominent feature? Or is that just a L/N-family thing?"

Ida smiles. "I think it's a L/N-thing, Eyepatch." She jests light-heartedly.

"You and Y/N must get along well." Kaeya says, though he knows they don't.

Ida gives him a tight smile, looking down at her glass. "Well, we're definitely closer than Y/N says we are." She responds. "You can say that she's...in her 'rebellious-phase'." Ida words carefully. "Though our parents think she's this dramatic and defiant by nature. I'm sure she'll grow out of it."

Kaeya is a bit taken aback by Ida's words, though it doesn't show on his face. The Y/N he knows is actually quite down-to-earth and obediant. She has never gotten in trouble for disobeying orders at work. Kaeya simply lets out a breathy laugh. "Don't you think nineteen is a little late for a rebellious phase?"

"You can say that again." Ida responds, her joking tone leaving her voice. "She better be done with her little temper tantrum before she comes back home. I can't believe mom and dad even allowed her to run away from home like this."

"Y/N is going back to Fontaine?" Kaeya asks, genuinely curious. He heard some rumors back when Y/N first joined the Knights, but after four years, he had forgotten all about them. Four years is quite a long time for someone to run away from home, though.

Ida nods. "The agreement she made with our parents was four years in Mondstadt before she comes back. I believe her fourth year ends around January." She explains.

"Will Y/N be returning? She can't just leave her position at work like this." Kaeya asks.

Ida chuckles a bit. "She'll be quitting the Knights of Favonius soon. She's supposed to be joining the Fatui once she gets back to Fontaine."

Kaeya keeps his composure, but he has a feeling at the back of his mind that there's something much larger going on here other than Y/N simply running away from home. This conversation he had started in order to pry information from Ida has turned into something he was not expecting. Y/N is practically married to her job. There's no way she'd willingly quit the Knights and join the Fatui.

Ida lets out a sigh. "I miss Y/N."

Kaeya looks at her quizzically. "You saw her yesterday." He half-jokes.

"No, I miss the old Y/N. She was so cute as a little kid." Ida says with a smile. "She was such a hard worker and rarely ever argued with our parents. I don't know what happened to her, but all of a sudden, she couldn't even stand to be in the same room with the rest of our family." Ida takes a sip from her drink that she had been neglecting while speaking. "She was so eager to join the Fatui after I joined, but now I can tell she hates us. Hopefully she'll have grown out of her dramatic antics by the time she joins."

Kaeya already dislikes Ida. Y/N has mentioned not being on the best of terms with her family in the past. However, now it is as plain as day. The Y/N that Ida speaks of and the Y/N that Kaeya knows seem like two completely different people. Kaeya doesn't know what Y/N was like back in Fontaine, but surely that doesn't warrant an invalidation of Y/N's feelings. Rebellious phase? Temper tantrum? Dramatic antics? Kaeya can't help but almost feel offended on Y/N's behalf.

However, Kaeya doesn't let it cause him to lose sight of his goal. "Ida, did you really come here for work? Or for your sister?" He asks.

"Of course work. If I wanted to see Y/N so badly, I would have visited a long time ago." She scoffs. "Not saying I don't miss her, but it was her decision to leave us."

"Work, eh...." Kaeya takes a sip of his drink before smirking at Ida. "So, how much longer will you be around then?"

Ida raises a brow at him. "You're a little too young for me." She states.

"Oh come on. I thought you said you're barely twenty-nine." Kaeya responds. "Besides, I asked a genuine, innocent question. Where are you getting all these connotations from, hm?"

"Well, if you really want to know, I'll be leaving as soon as my job is done." Ida says. "Whenever that may be."

"Is your job quite grand? Hopefully it won't be something you can take care of by tomorrow." Kaeya says, resting his elbow on the bar with his head in his hand. "I'd rather you be around for longer."

"I assure you that I'll be here for a much longer time than a day." Ida chuckles. "My job has just barely started and it's all based on an assumption that what we're looking for is here."

"Oh? I thought you diplomats came here for meetings with the Acting Grand Master? Don't tell me the diplomats have some hidden agenda." He adds in a tone that suggests he wouldn't be surprised if the Fatui diplomats had an ulterior motive.

"Don't worry. Diplomats come here for dimplomatic things. Nothing more than a few meetings." Ida states before downing the rest of her drink and placing some mora on the counter. "Don't think I'll be so quick to give out information." She leans towards him, lowering her voice. "I know I've already said enough last night while drunk."

"Of course. You're quite sharp." Kaeya responds with a grin as he watches Ida leave the Angel's Share tavern.

His grin only widens as the door swings completely shut behind her. She's sharp, Kaeya thinks as he finishes his own drink. But not sharp enough. He remarks to himself as he orders a refill. For starters, Ida is on a mission to look for something specific. She also gave away that she isn't with the Fatui diplomats and that the diplomats have no other hidden agenda. Not to mention she said 'we' meaning she's here with other non-diplomats. Kaeya notes. He lets out a sigh as he thinks of having to record all this information for Y/N. Ew, paperwork.