Knowing Your Worth {Diluc x Reader}

一 : Expeditions

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"Aether!" You call the young blonde enthusiastically as you run towards him, hand waving in the air. He was sitting at one of the tables outside of Angel's Share. You see Kaeya, Lisa and Diluc sitting with him. You agreed to help the Traveler with his duties today, and you can't help but feel excited since maybe Aether will finally ask you to be in his starting team!

You greeted everyone with a smile stretched from ear to ear, and settled down on one of the vacant seats. You let Aether talk to the others about their tasks as you daydream about what you could do. You've been on expeditions most of the time; gathering ingredients, mora, or materials. You're just itching to go on a real adventure! You can't wait to fly over Mondstat, open chests and fight Hilichurls with everyone by your side, and-

"(Name), I need you to go on an expedition to Dadaupa Gorge for eight hours, to farm some iron chunks."

"...Hah?"

You stared at Aether blankly after he delegated your task. Your happy face visibly shatters into pieces and is replaced with a frown of disappointment. You could've sworn you would be in the starting lineup. But instead, he's asking you to mine some rocks? For eight hours? In a place full of Hilichurls?!

"A-Aether..." you tried to re-construct your smile. "I could be helpful in helping you fight enemies, you know? I may have the least experience in this group, but I'm training hard enough!"

"I'm sorry (Name)," Aether checks the expedition map and quest papers on the table. "I need Kaeya's cryo abilities to get to an unexplored island, Lisa's electro, and Master Diluc's pyro for good elemental reactions."

You sighed in defeat. Of course it would make sense to send a Geo user such as yourself to mine some rocks. It's just that you were expecting something more.

"It'll be fine (Name)," Kaeya, who was sitting beside you, patted you lightly on the back. He knows that you're feeling down for repeating the same old task. "When you get back here, I'll treat you to some Mondstadt Hash Browns, okay?"

You nodded at him slightly before standing up. "Well then, I best be on my way and prepare..." You gloomily went to Katheryne and informed her that you'll start the expedition. After the papers were settled, you left through the city's gates. You walked on the bridge in silence until you stopped dead in your tracks.

You see Aether, Paimon, Lisa and Kaeya by the end of the bridge, talking and laughing with smiles on their faces. Too many doubts start to enter your mind.

I wonder if I'll be able to join them?

Am I really that weak?

Does Aether think that I'm not that skilled?

Your head drops, forcing you to look at the stone floor with eyes glistened with tears. Assumptions continue to ring in your ears, engulfing your thoughts in negativity.

A sudden touch of a hand lands on your shoulder, stopping you from hurting yourself further. You looked behind you and came face to face with a familiar red-haired man.

"Ah, it's you, Master Diluc..." You quickly bowed at him, surprised by his presence. "Do you need anything?" You asked.

"Not really," he nonchalantly replied, crossing his arms. "I just wanted to ask why you stopped walking. Time's ticking, you know."

"Ah, I'm sorry if I'm idling! I..." You force a smile so as to not show your growing misery. Diluc tilts his head to the side as he awaits your explanation. You thought that you should say something positive, instead of opening up these anxieties to him. You wouldn't want to be a bother.

The first thing that popped into your head was your past, happy memories with Diluc. Yeah, that's a good reason! 

"I was just thinking of you! I mean, your teachings. I was trying to recall what I learned from you."

His stoic expression seemed to soften after hearing what you've said. The edges of his lip curved up ever so slightly, and his deadpan eyes lit up.

Nobody knows that Diluc was your mentor; the person who played an important role in teaching you how to become a member of the Knight of Favonius. A few months back he decided to take you in secretly when he noticed that you were struggling to keep up with the strenuous activities of the order. He only taught you for a short period of time since he doesn't want anyone to find out that he's teaching a person that's soon to become a part of the group he came to despise.

Thinking about the time you've spent with Diluc eased your worries away. 

"It reminded me that I treasure those memories and that I'll forever be grateful to you!" 

You enthusiastically exclaimed those words to your mentor as you place a hand where your heart lies. You could have sworn you saw Diluc smile faintly before putting his hand over his mouth, letting out a cough.

"...You don't need to thank me, you know. Anyways, good luck with your work."

"I'll probably thank you many times after this though. Take care, Master Diluc!"

Diluc walks past you, and you notice him glance at you for a brief moment. Your heart skipped a beat as your eyes met with his crimson ones. He paused in his tracks.

"Hey," He sighed. "Don't lie to yourself, (Name). Don't push yourself."

As soon as he said those words, he continued to walk away to join Aether and the others, leaving you behind, speechless.

How could he have known what you were feeling? You can't help but feel vulnerable whenever Diluc's around.

Nevertheless, you slapped your cheeks and breathed out a long sigh. He's right; you can't keep on thinking like this, (Name)! Just do your best for today!