OH MY~ ! ᵈⁱˡᵘᶜ ʳᵃᵍⁿᵛⁱⁿᵈʳ ˣ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

𝘹𝘹𝘪𝘪. 𝘢𝘸𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥

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"Here, allow me to carry some," Diluc said.

You know Diluc is a gentleman and all, but you're starting to believe he was only here because he pitied you. It only hurt even more.

"I can manage." You replied quietly.

Yikes, that was awkward. Well, at least you were.
But when are you not? Diluc seemed to probably be doing just fine. He was sort of taken aback by your cold, dry reply, but it's not like you could tell anyway with his usual poker face. Curious, your eyes flicked over to him, only to find him already looking at you. You flinched, turning your head away almost immediately.

Oh how badly you wanted to just jump off a cliff right now.

He just couldn't help but notice the bags under
your eyes, and it made him worry if you were doing alright since the last time he saw you. He never got the chance to check up on you after...that day. And even if he tried to, he couldn't get you out of his head the entire business trip.

As for you, you were crazily uncomfortable and so nervous right now. And to make matters worse, Diluc still hadn't looked away. He could tell by your demeanor how he was making you feel, and he hated himself for it. It almost made him want to leave you alone just for the sake of your discomfort, but he wanted to at least try to fix things.

Diluc cleared his throat before he spoke,
"Why don't we begin within all the areas inside?"

Instead of responding, you took out the paper to check what Jean had written until a strong gust of wind knocked the paper away from your loose grip and towards the other side out of the stone walls.

"Hehe...well, t-that's too bad.." You said, unintentionally sounding suspicious. You were happy you now had an excuse to leave, that is until Diluc opened his mouth again. "There are some places we most likely need to decorate outside. How about we check if the paper landed in the water? If not, we'll improvise on some locations and finish most of the exterior quicker."

"..."

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You and Diluc stared at the soaked paper that he had picked up from the water; the ink of the writing was runny and barely readable. "Well... let's just get started on this area then."

The both of you were out on the dock that was near the tavern. You placed some of the bags down, keeping your distance from him. The air was quiet, and Diluc was well aware of how you avoided making eye contact with him. He didn't want to push it, so instead he bent down to take out the the crafts.

They were carefully made with cute wind-themed designs. You took a bag with you as you began placing them around in plants, within the flowers, and even in bushes. As you were doing so, Diluc spotted the book you have been carrying with you.

It doesn't hurt to be curious, right?

Diluc picked up the book, inspecting the title, the designs on the cover, and a specific gold text that was stuck under the title that said 'Limited Edition'. He flipped the book, reading the text on the back to see what it was about.

'Seems...cheesy.' He thought, but who was he to judge your taste in romance books? That is until, his eyes skimmed over the words 'erotic' and 'steamy'.
Diluc's eyes continue to scan through every word, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

While Diluc was too engrossed in the text, one of the windmills you put up went flying because of the breeze.

Why is it so windy today specifically...?