Vampire Diluc x Reader [REMASTERED]

Chapter 17

-My POV-
I pulled away from the hug and gazed down at the bear again in amazement.

"I can't thank you enough, Diluc. I found so much comfort in this when I was younger, and it makes me so happy to have it back."

"Of course, I'm glad you're happy. It brightens my day to know you don't use me, and that I have a proper friend." He sort of mumbled the last part.

"Why would I use you?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I was only thinking out loud." He replied.
Diluc seemed like he had zoned out for a second.
"Oh, yes, I was going to ask earlier. I have not played a game of chess in a while with anyone, would you like to play a round?"

I put the bear down and smiled.
"Of course. I'm not very good at it, though."

---

Diluc finished setting up the chess board.
"Alright. You go first."

We played a few rounds of chess, and somehow, he won every time.
On the last game, my hands kept shaking. I had no idea why. Maybe because the game was difficult?

"Checkmate. I'll admit, nobody has tested me this much before." He moved a piece of his hair out of his face and smiled at me.

"How do you do it?" I started, starting to laugh a little. "You won every game."

Diluc folded his arms and shrugged his shoulders.
"Perhaps I'm just better than you.."

I glared at him sarcastically - though he was actually correct.

"I'm joking, of course. It's just a lot of practice, you'll get there." He replied, standing up and starting to clear up the table.

"Aha, there will be something out there that I'm better at. Like..."
I thought hard about it - my mind went blank.

"Being sweet?" Diluc whispered. I didn't hear it, but the look on his face gave it away.

"Erm... drinking. I could probably drink way more alcohol than you. I don't like it, but I'd drink it if I had to." I finally decided.

He turned around and lifted an eyebrow.
"Want to test that theory?"

"No thanks. I told you I don't like it!"

He laughed at my weird reasoning.
"Okay then, I will take your word for it."

"Wait, but I thought you'd like alcohol? You're a vampire, so technically it wouldn't affect you?" After thinking about it, I realized that I just sounded a bit stupid.

"Hm... well, I didn't drink at all before I became a vampire, so maybe it's because of that? I'm not too sure."

"Fair enough. Did you even want to become one?"

Diluc was surprised a conversation about it started.
"Not really. I did not want my father to be alone."

I looked down.
"That's really thoughtful of you... but I'm sorry for your loss."

"He appreciated it." Diluc grinned to himself. "When we first turned, he made jokes about it to lighten the mood. He was always that sort of person, who always tries to improve other people's moods."

"Aw, he sounds like a kind person. He's proud of you, too."

He glanced at me.
"I'd like to think that..."

"It's true. He's definitely really proud of you, Diluc."

He sighed and nodded.
"Thank you. It's nice to talk about it, I prefer to think about the good memories rather than the sadness. Besides, he used to feed on the bad people, like I do. He... didn't deserve to die."

I kept quiet, just to let him calm down a little.
"I hope that one day I can truly show my gratitude to him. And I hope that Kaeya will, too."

Diluc walked towards me and took my hands into his own.
I felt my cheeks heat up, but I didn't move. He did it subconsciously.

"I appreciate you letting me talk about him. You really are such a sweet person, Y/N." He told me, before walking out of the room.

I had already found out so much more about Diluc - and I realized he had such a sad and probably even traumatic time in his life. I hoped I could comfort him in some way.