What Kept me Awake

The Way Home

The lights of the lanterns on stage faded out and the curtains closed. The show was over, but you could still hear Itto's incomparable laughter echoing along the clapping of the other visitors around me.

"Typical idiot...", I chuckled for myself while shaking my head, as I slowly turned away from the crowd. The Irodori Festival attracted people from all over Teyvat, some of them had even traveled all the way from Mondstadt. I looked around on my way back to the tea house, my arms crossed behind my head, constantly feeling watched by something... or someone. As soon as I reached a more quiet place, I started noticing footsteps behind me.

"So... how much longer are you planning on following m-", I quit my sentence the moment I turned around and recognized the familiar face a few meters behind me. The long, tied up red hair was unmistakable.

"Diluc...?"

As expected, he remained silent as he slowly approached me. He didn't seem amused, which wasn't anything new, but even after not seeing him for years, I could tell that there was something else.

"What on earth brought you to Inazuma? Don't tell me you turned into a bookworm", I curiously asked with a playful smile on my face, ignoring the negative feeling for now.

"Business.", he shortly replied.

"Taking care of orders yourself nowadays, hm? If I knew I could get drinks delivered by the Master himself, I'd have already ordered some a long time ago.", I giggled as we both continued walking. He didn't react to my joke, but I didn't mind it at all, as I was still too excited to see him.

"Whatever it is, I'm glad you decided to show up. Really.", I silently added, yet again without getting a response. After a moment of silence however, I noticed him looking at me from the angle of my eye.

"So... is this guy someone you've been around with since you're here?", he suddenly asked in a serious tone.

"Hm?"

"Mister muscle."

"Ahahah... Oh, you must be talking about Itto, I guess. Did you watch the performance too?"

"Itto...", he mumbled to himself, completely and successfully ignoring my question. "How close are you two that you call him like that?"

"Heh-?"

I stopped walking while staring at Diluc with a confused facial expression, repeating his questions in my head until I slowly understood where they were coming from. I rubbed my fingertips against my forehead and let out a silent sigh. Diluc turned around to me and crossed his arms in front of his chest, patiently waiting for an answer. I would've never expected something like this to be the first topic we'd talk about on the day of our reunion. Neither that, nor the fact, that trying to read him has always been difficult, made it easy to think of words. Was he jealous?

"Listen", I said after a short period of collecting my thoughts. "It's not like we hang out or anything. In fact, I don't even know him at all, just ran into him once yesterday. The only thing that's common knowledge is that Itto means trouble, which is why Lady Ayaka-- I mean, my boss, asked me to come and check out the situation."

"Lady Ayaka? Now who calls their boss by their first name?", he hissed with an arched eyebrow.

"Diluc, please...", I sighed once again, making a step towards him. He waved his hand at me and let out a silent chuckle.

"No worries, this one wasn't meant seriously. I'm not even surprised either, since you've always been a social butterfly."

"Neither am I about your questions, since you've never liked sharing me.", I winked at him. He immediately turned his head away to hide his pouting face, but I could still see the slight blush on his cheek. We continued walking in silence for the remaining few meters to the tea house.

"C'mon, let's get inside.", I smiled.