IX

"Oh my God I'm fucking exhausted."

"You wouldn't be if you didn't overexert yourself everyday."

"Listen smartass," you turned towards Diluc who was leaning against his claymore very unimpressed. "For whatever reason, the knights are not expanding themselves too far outside the wall." You waved your hands frustratingly. "Which means Springvale ain't gettin' shit and I've been helping them with Stormterror's damages!"

Yeah, two months ago, you predicted that Springvale was gonna get fucked and You. Were. Right! The damages were terrible over there despite Dvalin mainly staying around the city. Food carts and roofs were torn apart, trees had fallen over (one time on a house), and the windmill had been broken. Besides those living in the small village, you were the only one helping them out, the rest of the Knights focusing their efforts in the city. That wasn't a bad thing, as the city did get terribly ripped up sometimes, the bad thing was the complete neglect of the other major town in Mondstadt, the country.

It was annoying but you understood why.

He raised his eyebrow. "How bad are the damages?"

You huffed as you pushed yourself off the ground, dirt sticking to elbows and legs. You swung your claymore, an old one of Diluc's that he lended to you until he thought you could get a custom one of your own, and groaned at the strain in your body. "Bad. Luckily no one's been critically injured but there had been some major scraps, infections, and I think someone broke their arm after getting hit by a falling tree."

"And the knight's truly haven't done anything?" Diluc was frowning and you knew the exact thought going through his mind.

You chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, but I get why. Stormterror's really doing his job of being a menace over there, and they've been focusing on the hilichurl groups getting closer to the city."

"Have they been getting closer to Springvale as well?"

"Yup." You said. "But the groups aren't as big as the ones closer to the city, pretty easy to take out."

"What a brightside."

"Don't get sarcastic with me." You heaved yourself into a fighting position, one that Diluc took a quick look over to confirm was acceptable, preparing for another round of sparing.

Diluc matched you, getting into his own stance that had obviously perfected over the years. Your amatuer skills were so glaringly obvious when standing next to him, but you didn't care, you had improved. At least you could now pick the dn thing up.

Claymore training has been the hardest for you. Both the bow and the sword were fairly light and the motions were picked up easily by you, but the weight of the claymore and the wide swings, contrary to the swift movements of the sword, were difficult to get a hang of. You had been training with Diluc for over six months and you still didn't trust yourself to use it on the harder commissions.

You had taken the first swing in this spar, Diluc dodging expertly, weaving around you in a way that looked far too graceful for his chosen weapon.

Dodging. Blocking. Striking.

Over and over you went through the motions focusing on your feet, the way you squeeze your muscles, your form; all very important things when waving around something of such great weight.

You were no match for Diluc and after keeping the spar going until he could tell you were about to collapse, he knocked the claymore from your hands with a resounding clang.

Not even bothering to pick it up, you dropped to the ground again, uncaring of the dirt that stuck to your skin.

Diluc settled his claymore on the ground, walking over to your form and pulling you up by your arms into a sitting position. You looked up at him with exhausted eyes and heaving breath and he had to stop himself from staring at your flushed face.

"Stretch." He mumbled, gently releasing your arms. "It's important to do so before and after a rigorous activity to keep your muscles loose."

You did so, mindlessly going through the motions of arm and leg stretches to get the lasting tenseness out of your body.

"Come on." You looked at him to see him holding his hand out for you. "We'll go to the winery and get some water for you."

"Thanks." You clasped his rough glove and pulled yourself from the ground, groaning at the fact you're definitely gonna feel this tomorrow.

The trek towards Dawn Winery was nothing terrible, as you and Diluc had been training in an empty field close to the building so afterwards the both of you could get food and water. Sometimes you would shower if you weren't doing anything else dirty for the rest of the day. Today, however, the commissions really kicked your ass and the damages you helped fix were heavy and tiring.

Keeping a hold of Diluc's hand you pulled him back when tried to go. He looked at you strangely. "Carry me please."

A moment of silence passed between the two of you. Diluc stared into your eyes and you stared into his, your faces flat.

"No."

"Diluc please!" You pulled his hand back. "My legs are killing me!" You rested your hand against your forehead dramatically, catching Diluc's intense eye roll.

"Fine." He turned around, his back facing you.

"Yes!" You ran and jumped on his back, wrapping your legs around his waist and your arms loosely around his neck.

"Archons." He groaned, nearly tripping backwards. "You can't walk but you can jump seven feet in the air?"

"Yes!" You agreed easily. You rested your chin atop his head, a smile lighting up your face. He grabbed your thighs to keep you from falling, but you couldn't see the faint blush that creeped on his cheeks. "Now onwards! To the winery!"

Diluc chuckled fondly and you laughed with him, nuzzling your face into the crook of his neck.

The walk was short but eventful as you and Diluc conversed. Making him laugh was hard but you managed to get a few smiles out of him.

At the sight of the winery you jumped off Diluc's back, ignoring the grunt from doing so, and ran to the shower, desperate to get the sweat and dirt off from where it stuck to your skin. You made it quick, and changed into some clothes you kept here for when you chose to shower.

On your way down to the dining area, Diluc was there, as he always was after training, making a simple lunch dish for the two of you to share. You plopped down into a chair and Diluc sat in the one across from you, placing two plates of Chicken Mushroom Skewers that he said another time he learned to make from Sara.

"How's the new apartment?" Diluc commented as you popped the first piece of chicken in your mouth. You chewed before answering, you did have manners after all.

"It's going good." You smiled. You and Ariel had finally found an apartment a couple months ago, soon after Dvalin's first attack. Moving out of the Inn was amazing and having your own place felt exhilarating, despite it only being a rental. "The place is still pretty empty but I'm settling in nice. I'm also lucky I didn't pick an area of the city that's being wrecked by Stormterror, haven't had nearly as much problems as those close to the center or the church."

"That's good. I got something for you to fill the walls with." Diluc tapped his skewer against the plate.

Your eyes widened. "Really?"

Diluc scoffed at you. "Don't look so surprised. I consider you a friend."

You couldn't help the heat on your cheeks and the small 'oh' that escaped you.

Diluc smirked slightly, to the point where you weren't even sure such a sly expression, that was better suited for Kaeya, was on his face, before getting up and disappearing to a random room in the winery. He came back carrying quite a large load and placed it gently on the table.

Your eyes lit up when you realized that one of the objects was a Kamera.

"I saw this Kamera that had come to Marjorie's shop one day having been imported from Liyue." He shuffled around the big parcel to place the Kamera in front of you. "I recalled from a previous conversation that you had wanted one to take pictures of your friends and family and figured it would be a good gift for your new apartment." He shuffled the parcel once more, taking out tons of picture frames, all in different shapes and styles. "I bought these frames alongside it so you had a way to put your pictures on the walls."

You grasped the Kamera with slightly shaking hands. In the game the Kamera simply sent the photos taken directly to the files on your computer or the gallery of your phone. But holding it now you realized it was closer to a large, and heavy, Polaroid. Tears welled up in your eyes at the gift.

"Why are you crying?" Diluc kneeled in front of you.

"It's just-" You sniffle in an attempt to keep yourself together. "It's just really nice and expensive and-"

"I can afford it."

You chuckle wetly. "Yeah I know." You looked at him through your teary lashes. "Thanks." You throw your arms around him and this time he does fall back, causing you to both land in a mess on the wooden floors of the winery.

You both got up and Diluc wiped the tears from your cheeks with the sleeves of his coat.

The two of you sat back down and continued eating, talking about whatever with you very subtly trying to ask about stuff he would like so you could get him a nice gift in return. He merely laughed and told you that you didn't have to get him anything. You were relentless but it didn't count for everything because the man would not break. The more you went on the more frustrated you got and the more smug his smile became.

Eventually you departed, promising Diluc that you'd be back soon for some more training.

The path to the city was rocky and uneven and you couldn't count how many times you sighed whenever you slipped on a small pebble or stepped in a dent that would cause you to nearly fall over.

The sun glared down at you, an uncomfortable heat seeping in your shirt and warming your scalp. You were close to the gates when you heard a call for attention in a familiar voice. Though, it wasn't the familiar in you having heard it over the past year and some. It was a familiar, once only heard through the screen of your computer, a familiar you had been waiting for.

Snapping your head around you saw a petite male figure in green come running towards you. His steps were light and his hair rustled in the gentle winds. The lyre tucked in the corner of his left arm was the last tick for you to know exactly who this was.

"Hey!" He stopped beside you, a bright smile reaching to his eyes was spread across his face. "You're heading to Mond too?"

You nodded haltingly trying to speed run the shock and respond like a normal person. "Yeah I am, you too?"

"Yup!" He slid his right arm through your left. "So why don't we walk the rest of the way together!"

You hardly had time to nod before you were being pulled the rest of the way.