To Mend a Heart | Childe x Reader

chapter 3~ love, or lack thereof

HIII IM NOT DEAD!! i had a writer's block and then school kicked my ass but i HAVE A NEW CHAPTER!! i wrote this instead of studying for my maths test ahaha.. :,) im manifesting childe coming home on his rerun banner in 3.2

p.s what did you guys think of sumeru and the archon quests?? 

this wasn't beta read, sorry for any errors!

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A week later...

You couldn't pinpoint the exact date Diluc changed if you tried. You couldn't tell why, either.

It just seemed like one day, he suddenly didn't text you as much anymore. Normally, you'd call or sometimes even go on dates in the evening after your shift. But slowly, those calls got rarer and rarer.

You hadn't felt so lonely in a long, long time. The quietness of your apartment once felt comforting to you, but now it feels terrible. Your bed had never felt so cold, you thought as you stared at the cracks in the paint on the ceiling. 

When was the last time you spoke with Diluc? A week ago? Two? You didn't know. All you knew now was 'sorry, i'm busy' texts from him whenever you asked to meet or call. Of course he was busy, he always was.

Sure, Diluc was never one for super romantic dates or pet names but dating him has always been great. He was caring in his own way, and you made sure to always be there for him too.

But.. something had changed. You didn't know what, the change was so sudden. You texted him whenever you could to check up on him, eagerly awaiting his response but he wouldn't reply until the next day. Even then, his replies were always unenthusiastic and dry. 

You're being selfish, Y/N. He's just busy.

You thought to yourself as you rolled over to your side, holding your phone hesitantly as you embraced the soft fabric of your pillow close to your chest. You couldn't figure out what to do. On one hand, you wanted to try and talk to him but on the other, you didn't want to bother him.

Maybe you should try talking to him, you thought to yourself. But a treacherous voice in your head whispered, what if you were being clingy? Everyone has their off days, right? What if? What if he was cheating? What if he's found someone better than you, someone kinder and prettier than you? Talk to him? Keep quiet? Talk to him? Keep quiet? Your mind whirled endlessly with possibilities until it hurt. 

Conflicted, you opened your phone and tapped on your best friend's contact. It only rung a few times before she answered quickly, which wasn't a surprise. She always answered within the first few rings. 

"Hey! Figured it was about time you'd call!" Lumine's cheery voice rang out from the other end. "How're you doing? Haven't died in classes yet, have you?"

"Hey Lumine," you greeted back, less enthusiastically. "I have a bit of a problem."

"Uh oh," she replied, lowering her voice down and becoming slightly more serious, "What's up? Do I need to go 'talk' to someone?"

You held your pillow close to your chest, "No, no it's just.. well, Diluc and I haven't... talked in a while. I don't know what to do because I don't wanna seem clingy or something."

"So you feel neglected in the relationship?" Lumine sighed when you affirmed. 

"Oh, Y/N you gotta talk to him," you knew your best friend would say that, but you dreaded hearing that anyway. "I know confrontations suck, but you gotta be honest. And don't worry about seeming clingy, you're not. It's important to communicate in a relationship."