Languish (Diluc x GN!Reader)

Hanahaki

As embarrassing as it was to walk into the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, Diluc needed answers. The only way he was going to get that was if he looked through the library, which just so happened to be located there.

However, he wasn't about to walk in so ashamed. No; He kept his head held high. He had a mission, and his embarrassment wasn't going to stop him from figuring out what was wrong with him.

As he walked into the library, Miss Lisa greeted him. "Oh, Master Diluc. What a surprise to see you here."

He barely spared her a glance. He didn't want to be rude. However, he needed to get to work. To avoid Lisa, who was sitting at her desk, he started on the bottom floor of the library.

His eyes scanned over the titles of books. One name caught his eye, stopping him for a brief moment. He pulled the book out and read through the table of contents.

"'Rare Diseases'? I mean... I've never heard of one coughing up flowers before..." He muttered to himself.

He flipped to a page and skimmed through the contents of it. His usual frown became more prominent on his pale face when he found nothing related to his mysterious illness.

Diluc continued down the rows of books, occasionally stopping to pick one up and flip through it.

After a few hours of searching, he had made it through the bottom floor of the library without finding anything about his flower problem.

His coughing had started up again, and he could now feel the flower petals in his body. He could tell that there weren't many. However, he wasn't sure if they'd continue to grow or not since he had no idea what was happening in the first place.

He sneakily peeked around the corner of a bookshelf to see if Lisa was still sitting at her desk. She was not there, which surprised him. The doors to the Knights of Favonius Library were not quiet, so he assumed he would've heard her exiting if she had.

"What are we looking at?" A female voice spoke from behind him. He jumped slightly, then quickly turned around to see the librarian herself. She hummed questionably.

"M-Miss Lisa... I'd appreciate it if you didn't sneak up behind me like that. Had I not known any better, and had I been wearing my weapon, I would've sliced your head off from your shoulders..." Diluc's quickened heartbeat began to slow down. However, he started to cough slightly.

Lisa chuckled, "I'm not that careless. I would've been able to protect myself in that case."

She sighed. "I couldn't help but notice that you've been here for quite a while. Is there something that you're specifically looking for, Master Diluc?"

Diluc hesitated. Should he tell her? Is it safe to? Has he truly just gone mad? If he has, she'd probably just judge him.

Diluc cleared his throat, "I have this... acquaintance... from Liyue. He... recently wrote to me, speaking of an illness of sorts that he's been having trouble with lately. I was looking for a book that could've possibly helped the two of us learn more about it. He isn't exactly sure what illness or disease he has, and hasn't felt comfortable talking to anyone else about it."

"I'm surprised you even have acquaintances, Diluc." Lisa teased. "I thought Mx. Y/N was the only person you ever talked to."

He faked a bitter laugh. "You're always such a pleasure to be around, Miss Lisa." He said sarcastically.

"Oh, don't be like that, Diluc. I was only teasing. That's beside the point, though. If you don't mind sharing, what type of symptoms has this acquaintance been dealing with?"