no.1 ruan mei fan

“There’s no need to worry about me.” He assures you, but his argument is beyond weak.

You roll your eyes. “Everytime you come back from one of your ‘trips,’ you manage to get hurt somehow.” You lean back, looking up at the sky.

“Speaking of…” You help yourself up using your sword. “You got hurt earlier, didn’t you?”

“It’s just a minor scratch—” Before he can finish his sentence, you cut him off.

Shushing him, you scold, “Shut it. I left some bandages in my bag back there. Just wait here.”

Making sure he understands that he needs to stay put, you venture into the previous area to rummage through your bag. It’s already midnight. Most citizens of Mondstadt are probably already all cozy in their homes by now, maybe with a few exceptions.

Jean is probably still in her office working. Kaeya’s probably in the tavern drinking again…and Diluc is still waiting for bandages. With that thought, you decide to walk a little faster to your abandoned bag.

Bandages in hand, you make it back to Diluc within a few minutes.

“Back,” You say from a couple meters away from him. “Let me see the wound.”

“Back so soon?” His eyes suddenly open; It seems that he was on the verge of falling asleep. You feel just a little bit guilty about interrupting him.

“Aw, did you want me to be away for longer?” You tease.

He doesn’t reply, but you notice a thin smile forming on his face.

“Just show me your wound.” You roll your eyes, gesturing for him to roll up his sleeves. He reluctantly does as he’s told.

“It really is just a scratch.” He sighs, looking away from you.

“Who cares? Just let me help you for once.”

The two of you sit in silence for a few minutes as you finish wrapping his arm up. It may have just been a scratch this time, but he would’ve said the same about a hole in his stomach.

“Alright, there.” You finish wrapping the bandages around his arm, tying a tight knot to secure it.

Before you know it, it’s already the next day. Of course, it wasn’t daybreak yet, but the two of you should definitely head back.

“I have to return to the winery,” Diluc says, getting up from the patch of grass. “You’re heading back to the city, right?”

“Yeah, I have to wake up early tomorrow.” You sigh, picking at your skin. “Extra shift from my boss.” Right as you finish your sentence, you let out a yawn.

“You should go. At least get some rest before you go to work.”

“Trying to get rid of me so quickly? I’m hurt, Diluc.” You tease. “Nothing in return for bandaging you up?”

Diluc lets out a soft chuckle. “Alright, what do you want?”

Giving it some thought for a few seconds, but coming up with nothing, you joke.

“Mm, how about a kiss right here?” You chuckle, pointing to your cheek.

Honestly, maybe it was better you didn’t make jokes like that around Diluc. His sense of humor isn’t known to be the greatest. Because unlike Kaeya, who definitely would’ve flirted back, Diluc’s eyes widened and his face turned red. Incredibly red. And for a second, he looked like he seriously considered it.

You can’t help but laugh uncontrollably, “Did you actually think about it?”

Averting his gaze, he purses his lips.

“I’m just teasing, relax!” You sigh, a grin still plastered on your face.

“Do you want me to?” You look up at him, eyes widening slightly. You didn’t think he would say that. Diluc isn’t the type to joke around about this stuff. No, he would never.

Suddenly, he crouches down right in front of you. “I was joking! I…” You clear your throat, desperately looking away. You’re embarrassed. By Diluc, of all people.

He slides his hand onto your cheek, cupping them, and leans in slightly. You glance back at him and immediately look away again.

You bite your lips. “...If you want to, yeah.”

Instead of responding with a nod or a simple ‘okay,’ he cups your cheek with his hand. Despite wearing gloves, he could probably feel just how warm your cheeks were.

…

His lips were really soft. It was a kiss that lasted longer than either of you expected, but it’s not like you were complaining.

Your heart was on the verge of exploding as you walked home. You couldn’t even tell whether your body was burning because you were exhausted or if it was because you were flustered. It was probably both.

It was only then that you remembered: you told him to kiss your cheek.

“Dear Chief Justice, you can’t possibly be serious.” Is what she had said to him. “You’re in love!” And as stupid it sounded to him, it was the only logical explanation. His cheeks flushed when he saw you, his heart beating at abnormal rates whenever you say something cheesy to him…Yes, it was love.

Typically, humans would be flustered. They were in love? It isn’t to say that he wasn’t flustered at first, but then reality hit him. You’re a human. He’s…not.

It simply wasn’t meant to be. Humans are fragile—their lifeline only a tiny fraction of his. Even if you were to return his silly feelings, what then? What would come of a relationship? He doesn’t understand how he could possibly be a good lover, nor could he ever even be loveable at the least. What would become of him once you leave this world? The mere thought of you dying—leaving him—scares him. He lowers his head, gripping his pen harder, staring at the puddle of ink he left on the page.

“That’s right, there’s no use pondering this matter… I’m thinking ahead of myself.” Is what he thought.

Every single day, he reassured himself. If he was the only one that was affected because of his unrequited feelings, then that’s fine by him. He could bear it. So why does he still feel this crushing feeling on his soul—his very being? After all, there’s no chance you could even begin to love someone like him. Someone as awkward, unfeeling as him? There’s no possible way.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine how someone like you could ever—!

No, forget it. Self-deprecating thoughts aren’t any good for him.

“Don’t always think so low of yourself, yeah? It doesn’t do any good.” That’s something you told him. Something you told him.

***

Something you told him. Yet another month had passed, this time, things were drastically different.

Why did you have to make things so hard for him? You could have just kept it to yourself, like he had. So why? Why did you tell him how you felt?

It poured harder than ever before when he saw the look of complete and utter disappointment on your face when he said the words he did. He didn’t think he’d ever feel such despair, but he did.

“It’s okay.” You smiled, pursing your lips.

No, it wasn’t okay. How could any of this ever be okay? He didn’t understand anything, nothing at all.

After all, Neuvillette is far from being ‘human.’

“You’re not wearing much yourself.” He replies. “Aren’t you cold?”

You were, indeed, cold. In fact, your hands turned more and more numb by the second. What were you thinking? Throwing on a coat and calling it a day? You sigh, another puff of mist coming from your mouth. “A little. It’s not super bad though. Anyways—”

Before you finish your sentence, Diluc cuts you off. “Here,” Diluc takes off his scarf and begins to wrap it around your neck. “You need this more than I do.” The scarf muffles your words slightly before you pull it down to speak clearly.

“No, I’m fine. Here.” You begin to unwrap the scarf from your neck before he grabs your arm to stop you. You look at him and he immediately pulls away. You’re met with a quiet ‘sorry’ from him as he looks away.

Now that his scarf is off, his face seems red. You can’t tell whether it’s the cold or something else. “Anyways, we should probably get out of this snow.” You finally say after a few seconds of silence. “You’re heading to the tavern right? I’ll join you.”

Diluc nods, and the two of you begin to walk toward the tavern in silence. A few minutes into the walk, your hands are frozen stiff. With no place to put your hands—since whoever designed this coat apparently forgot that coats should have pockets—your hand naturally migrated towards Diluc’s Pyro vision which emanates a soft warmth, desperately seeking any warmth whatsoever.

Diluc didn’t seem to be affected by the cold, which might be because of his time in Snezhnaya that made him accustomed to the cold, or it might be because of the vision that hung near his thigh.

Despite the numbness residing in your hand, you suddenly feel something soft brush against your knuckle. And again. This happens a few more times before you realize that it’s Diluc’s gloved hand that keeps coming in contact with your knuckle. It wasn’t particularly a long walk to Angel’s Share, but the thought of having to endure this cold made you shudder more than you already were.

Then, you realize. Diluc is wearing gloves, which should make his hands warm, right? Surely he wouldn’t mind if you hold his hands for just a few minutes. Without thinking more, you grab his hand. He flinches a bit as he turns his head to look at you. “…Excuse me.” You clear your throat, not letting go of his hand.

The two of you venture down Mondstadt’s empty streets to the tavern, hand in hand.

You were right. His hands were much warmer.

“Do you want to check it out?” He says, head facing the sky to look up to the stars. When he says that, your eyes light up accompanied by a bright smile.

“Well…it’s true that I haven’t seen one in a while. It wouldn’t hurt to check it out.” You say, trying not to sound overly-excited. You clutch your bag tightly, fiddling with the strap.

“We’re not too far from Cape Oath.” Diluc mentions so quickly that if you hadn’t been paying attention, you would have missed it. Nobody is out this late anyway, so it’d be a nice break from all the battling the two of you have been facing.

“Then let’s go to Cape Oath!” Suddenly, you realize the implications of the two of you going to Cape Oath—‘The Lovers’ Oath’—together.

After a few seconds, it hit you. “Ah,” You mumble under your breath. “Maybe we should just stay here to watch?” You turn back to him, desperately trying to avoid any misunderstandings and awkwardness. He looks at you and tilts his head innocently, seemingly confused as to why you’d change your mind so fast. He stares at you as you try to explain yourself without making it obvious you were a flustered mess. It doesn’t work very well, as your hands begin to fiddle with the strap of your bag once again. Your eyes dart around as words just seem to pour from your mouth, neverending.

After some more sputtering from your side, Diluc lets out a soft laugh. He clearly put two and two together in the time you tried, and failed, to explain yourself, understanding why you’d want to stay put instead.

“It’s okay,” He smiles at you and begins to walk towards Cape Oath, gesturing for you to follow. You quickly catch up to him, the grass crunching quietly beneath your feet. After several minutes of walking in silence, Diluc points out a light in the sky.

He seemed to frown, “It started already.” Diluc purses his lips, looking back at you. Though, it’s hard to tell when he’s actually frowning since his resting face always seems to be so…somber.

“Isn’t it good that it started so early?” You ask, curiously. You looked up at the sky, shards of space rock shooting down into Teyvat.

He stops in his tracks and turns to you. “You were quite excited to see this meteor shower.” He glances back to the sky, admiring it for a few seconds before looking toward Cape Oath. He seems to be lost in thought, brows somewhat furrowed and squinting toward your destination.

“We’re still seeing it, aren’t we?” You were never a believer in ‘special locations’ that much. Superstitions didn’t make sense to you. After all, is fate really real? What matters is that you live the life the way you want, right?

He stopped in his tracks, finally turning back to you. “You wanted to see it at Cape Oath, no?”

But he was right. Cape Oath was a scenic area, and it would definitely be a better view than in the middle of nowhere. Just imagine: The meteor shower filling the sky with dozens of warm tones as the color is reflected into the large body of water below the cliff as you’re surrounded by greenery.

“Well, yes. But it’s not much of a difference. Besides, you’re here with me and that’s all that matters, isn’t it?” Diluc’s eyes widen for a second and look away from you.

“We can still make it if we run.” He mutters to himself. It was just the beginning of the show, it definitely hasn’t gotten to the best part yet. As the shower continues, you grab his arm out of sheer impulse.

“Then…let’s go.” You weren’t exactly sure why you did what you did, but you did it. You dashed across the grassy plains, feeling the grass crunch beneath your feet. You felt Diluc being pulled along with you before he finally managed to balance himself again, running with you. You felt the wind brushing past your face with each step you took, covering a large distance in a short time. You felt your breath getting irregular and your throat felt dry, but you didn’t stop.

Your eyes weren’t focused on the meteor shower anymore, just on your destination—Cape Oath. You looked back at Diluc occasionally, the two of you rushing toward the cliff with no words exchanged. Perhaps it was to save some breath, or perhaps it was the fact that there were no words left that needed to be said.

Luckily, the two of you weren’t that far from the cliff. It was only a few minutes of nonstop, high-speed running. But before the two of you know it, you've arrived at the cape. Panting from all the running, you immediately fall onto your knees, your legs were provided a somewhat soft yet rough landing by the vast field. A few dandelions surrounded your being, a few crushed under your leg. The broken stems left a trail of water dripping down your lower leg down to your ankle.

Still catching your breath, you finally speak. “You were right, Cape Oath really is a good spot for this stuff.” You lean back, your palms flat on the ground. Diluc gives a quick nod before sitting down again. His breathing is quiet, but he’s definitely panting. You find it a little silly as to how he would try to hide the simple fact that he’s tired. After all, anyone would be.

“Did you make a wish?” You break the silence again, catching Diluc off guard. Your gaze is stuck to the sky, the bursts of colors before your very eyes.

“Yeah,” As you were about to ask what it was, you remember your parents saying that the wish won’t come true if you say it out loud.

“Did you?” He asks, finally turning to look at you.

“I did, but I’m not telling you.” You turn to him as well, giving him a cheeky smile.

“Of course,” He closes his eyes for a split second before they flutter open once again just to take in the view. Together, just near the edge of the cape admiring the spectacle that nature staged for Mondstadt, there’s a comfortable silence that can't be broken between your pair.