OH MY~ ! ᵈⁱˡᵘᶜ ʳᵃᵍⁿᵛⁱⁿᵈʳ ˣ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

υׁׅꪀׁׅtׁׅꪱׁׅtׁׅᥣׁׅ֪ꫀׁׅܻժׁׅ݊

!NON CANON!

"Uhm, sorry for coming in unannounced. But, I brought some ingredients. . . a-and I was just wondering if you'd like to bake something with me?"

"Y/n, I apologize but I'm a bit busy at the moment. If you'd have informed me a day earlier I would've moved around my schedule, but feel free to bake here at the winery."

Your smile slowly faded with each second he spoke. This had just started to happen a while back.  He's always too busy to spend some time with you -- flooding his days with just work, work, and work. Sure, there are a few days when he's free or drops everything just to be with you. But in the end, it made you feel bad.

"O-Oh. . .Alright."

Diluc looks up from his papers, immediately recognizing your sudden change in tone. "I'm sorry," He says. "I'll try to finish quickly to catch up with you in the kitchen." Diluc gives you a small smile to reassure you, giving you some hope.

"Okay." You reply, stepping out of his office and on to bake with whatever you had in mind.

-

You knock on Diluc's office door, earning you a muffled 'come in' from the other side.

"S-Sorry to bother you, but I finished baking and made some danishes. I-I was wondering if you could step out for a moment and maybe try one?" You'd opened the door to find him pressing two fingers to his nose bridge with his eyes shut. He looked stressed.

"Y/n, I really can't right now. I'll try to be out in a bit." He says before scanning his eyes on a document and writing something on it.

"Ah, t-that's okay. Take your time. . . they're still fresh after all."

"Thank you."

-

"I'm sorry for the continuous interruptions, b-but I think I'm just going to head home now. I-I made a big batch, so I stored half for you to try when you have the time."

"You're leaving? I was about to step out of my office to be with you."

Diluc clearly still had more files and documents on his desk. He was leaving his work there to hang out with you again because he had found out that there is nothing better than simply being in your presence to lift his mood.

"No, no. Please continue working, I-I don't want you to fall behind because of me."

"No, Y/n -- Please, it's okay." He stands up from his desk and goes to walk towards you. "We can spend some time if you'd just give me a couple more minutes and then we can-"

"Diluc, just finish. You'll be done soon enough, and then we can have more time." You interrupt him and do your best to smile at him while placing a hand on his arm. You didn't want to be more of a burden than you already feel like you were.

"At least let me walk you home," He intertwines his hand with yours. "It's quite a walk, and I want to make sure you get home safe."

"I'll be okay. It's still light as day outside."

"Y/n, you know I refuse to leave you alone like that, please just let me walk you." Diluc absolutely did not like the idea of you walking home alone. There's always the what if's lingering in the back of his mind.

You could sense his worries, so you bring his head down to give him a kiss on the cheek and he blushes at the gesture. "I'll be okay, there'll be people nearby on the trail I take." You said. This still didn't convince him.

During these past 4 months, he has subconsciously let out signs of overprotectiveness. You didn't mind, of course, he was just trying to make sure you're okay. But there were times when perhaps he goes a little overboard. And we all know that this roots down from the death of his father.