Drunken confessions
OC/Reader gets drunk and doesnt recognize her boyfriend, shenanigans ensues
Tags: Diluc x self insert!OC, early relationship, Fluff, can be read as x Reader, Reader/OC is a Dendro user, mentions of poor health if you squint (has a chronic disease), reader is an herbologist, Alcohol and being drunk (obviously), reader sprouts Champa flowers (in image) on her head like Isabella from Encanto
An: go easy on me please I havent posted fanfiction since there was still a citrus scale lol. This got longer than I expected. The OC's name is Rina Verna. I really enjoy writing Diluc dialogue. Hes a funny guy.
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"Tooo Mondstadt!!"
Her voice was hoarse as it called out with a mug sloshing in the air in the evening rush-heavy tavern, a few drunken voices cheering their mugs with her. Drinking wasnt good for her, her fragile constitution only further weakened under the spell of alcohol, but tonight was one of the few nights she let herself loose a little. There were friends around, all throwing back their own drinks in merry joy of being alive. Kaeya sat next to her, laughing at something Venti drunkenly babbles from across the table, their voices were practically lost to the noise. It was hot, sweaty and the air smelt strongly of wine, all lit under the hazy, dreamlike warm lights of Angel's Share.
Reaching to take another swig, her face falls in devastation as the sight of the bottom of her mug, dripping with the remnants of a dandelion wine long downed. Agony! Destruction! Before she can wallow in her despair, her gaze catches the bar as if just remembering it exists, and stumbles over to it with glee. The blue haired knight keeps an eye on her out of amusement and concern as she tipsily stomps over to an empty barstool and slams her mug down.
"One more round!" Rina announced, too loud for the red haired bartender standing right in front of her. He eyes her carefully, narrowing his gaze at the sight of her flush
"..you shouldnt be drinking."
"Once in a while is fiiine. Who are you my mom?!"
Diluc sighs and shakes his head, taking her mug and refilling it with water cleverly stored in a bottle of wine. Its a good way to get some hydration into patrons who tend to push it, though he hardly envisioned her ever being one of them.
Rina gulps down the cool liquid non the wiser, the drunken stupor loosening her taste buds' inhibitions.
"Hehe...thats the stuff~"
"Mhm. Im sure it is."
"Yknow..."
Rina leans over the bar with her chin a hand, eyeing him up and down in a manner that makes him cautious about her next words, especially when he sees a few white and yellow centered champa flowers sprouting in her hair, petals drifting onto the wood.
"...youre cute."
Diluc freezes, clearing his throat.
"..not here, Rin-"
"But not as cute as my boyfriend."
He pauses, slowly blinking.
"Not your fault, hes kinda impossible t'beat! Unrealistic standard really~" she gulps down more water wine and laughs
"...what on earth are you talking about? I am your-"
"Hehe, i know, a lot of people wanna be him, but nobody can~"
She cuts him off in a sing-song voice and eyes him again grinning
"Youv got cute eyes, but hes got the cuuuutest eyes. Andd..."
At this point he can feel Kaeya and Venti's gazes trained straight at him, and he doesnt need to look at them to know the cheeky grins that must be on their faces now. His attention is brought back when he feels a poke, going crosseyed to her fingertip on the tip of his nose
"H-hey..!"
"Hehe...you even react like him~. But his reactions are- *hic*-..cuter.."
Her hand moves to his hair, as if studying it
"And your hair is red like his...but his is redder..so..so red...like its burning...but its sooo soft..."
Diluc's ears burn redder as he gently swats her hand off
"..stop that.."
"Hehe...yeah, i only wanna pet his hair..hes the besstt...~"
Diluc sets down the glass he was polishing as he stares at the girl, now with her head on the bars counter, drunkenly babbling with a dopey grin and her cheek smushed against the wood.
"Hes sweet..n takes care of me soo much...you couldnt compare..nobody can..hes got the prettiest smile in the whoooole world." Her hands lazily stretch out to emphasize her statement. Diluc is looking around for Charles at this point, realizing she may be too far gone if she doesnt even recognize him, keeping a gradually reddening ear always out for her words
"And..hes soo warm, n when he holds me..Like..hes got a bit of a baby face, yknow? Like..the chubbiest cheeks n the biggest eyes, like an owl. Bit of a baby face...but the BIGGEST-"
In an instant, hes slapping a hand onto her mouth, earning a slurred complaint from her, but he can tell that the three eyes watching the scene heard it, by the way Kaeya does a spittake and Venti bursts into laughter.
He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, a pathetic attempt to hide the red burn blooming across his cheekbones from the two nefarious onlookers. Rina stares at him blankly, then grins, a teasing tone to her voice
"-arms..he has the biggest arms. I was gonna say arms. You didnt think i was gonna say arms, did you? You thought i was gonna say peni-"
"I THINK, its time we get you home" he cuts her off, a stern look on his face that does nothing to mask his burning ears. Rude to interrupt, she thinks.
"What..? Nooo...i dont wanna...."
Her whines are words lost to the wind as Diluc finally spots Charles and instructs him to take over the bar, circling around it to drape a coat over the slumped girl before picking her up in his arms and adjusting her into a piggyback like she weighted nothing- she really didnt weigh much, though hed learnt long back to ignore that fact.
"Nooo..!! Stop, my boyfriend..hes the only one allowed to..to..."
Diluc sighed for the umpteenth time that night, though this one was more akin to resignated fondness than exasperation, especially when her loose punches hit his shoulders.
"Yes, yes. Im..taking you to him..?"
"You..you are...?"
He nods, the soft hope in her voice squeezes at his heart. Was she really that excited to meet him? The first blast of cold air from the mondstadt night is like a breath of fresh air from the stuffy tavern, and for a second he cant help stand near the entrance, just letting the cool air soak in.
"....he does have a pretty big pe-"
"Thats enough out of you."
______
Rina remains perched on his back as he starts walking. Despite not recognizing him, her arms have automatically wrapped around his neck and her head has found rest on his shoulder like its muscle memory, and he cant help sigh in relief at the sensation. shes..safe. warm. Comfortable. Her brain looms somewhere between consciousness and sleep, random herbology facts spewing from her mouth like reciting to herself for an exam, a stark contrast to the excited way shed explain them when shes sober, losing track of her tone til onlookers fear for the witch-like expression on her face. Her legs gently swing in his hold
"I mean..Ashwagandha 's great n all..but people think itll just solve alltheir problems like a cureall..! Doesnt work like that..!"
Her voice murmured quietly against his shoulder. Taverns across the city were still alight with activity, shining light upon them as he walked to the gates and hummed and nodded to her words. Soon enough, the crunch of gravel and dirt under his feet and the soft breeze blowing through the grass is the only sound accompanying their "conversation"
"Is that right?"
"Mhm....Did you know..Spiderwort is good for..inj..injuries? and they..theyre good for stomach aches..."
"I see..."
"So is nightshade..i mean...s..sometimes. but people..people dont see it yknow, cause its poisonous..."
"I hear you.."
"Corpse flowers...poison ivy..they all can have some use..but people misunderstand them sometimes just cause of how they look or smell.."
Rina's hand lazily traces around his chest, soaking in the warmth that only grows warmer with her touch.
"..Kinda like..like my boyfriend.."
Diluc nearly pauses in his steps
"..I'm like...corpse flowers?"
This earns him a sharp but ultimately weak punch to the chest, a sharp frown on her face
"Excuse you!! My boyfriend smells'- hic- smells amazing..!"
"H-hey, thats not what I said..!"
"He smells like grapes..and..and wood and..a-and...some weird..expensive cologne..and lampgrass...!"
Like a second wind, she is once again flailing on his back to exaggerate her point, making him nearly stumble as he tries to stabilize himself
"S-stop squirming, youll fall..!"
"And hes the sweetest and cutest boy ever, nothing like a corpse flower!! So rude-!"
"Youre the one who insinuated that..!"
Hes not sure why hes arguing with her given her clear inebriation, but the way she goes off on a tirade describing his scent sends another wave of heat across his neck and face, making him lose his balance more. Stabilizing his feet, he grips her thighs tighter
"I-i..i get it, I understand, i was wrong, so please stop squirming..?"
"Mm..okay..only cause youre polite..."
Like clockwork, her arms are back around his neck, good. Only a little while more til they reach the winery
"Honestly..just..hold on tight, and try not to cause any more trouble, okay?"
"You even sound like him..just..just like him.."
With the burst of energy gone, suddenly shes back to being deadweight on his back. Hes dealt with many drunkards before, kicking them out, occasionally handing them to the knights, breaking up bar fights, but no matter what, she never fails to surprise him.
"I miss my boyfriend..."
Diluc has to force himself to keep a straight face as he starts walking again
"..if you go to sleep, youll see him sooner."
"I want to see him now..i miss him.."
The sound of sniffles make him freeze.
Like if he didnt move a muscle, it wont happen.
But the first bit of wetness hits his shoulder, and in an instant, hes panicking
"W-wait, hey...dont cr-"
"I..miss him..!"
Too late, the first teardrops are already landing on his shoulder. Hes dumbfounded, utterly and entirely.
"R-Rina, im right here-"
"I miss h-his face..n..n i w-want...!"
Her delirious mumbles become incoherent as she weeps fat tears onto his coat, sniffling like a person deeply wronged, deeply yearning
"H-he really is th..the best yknow..???"
"O-okay, okay...i know, I know..."
Diluc panics, realizing he needed to do something fast.
He steps off the path, approaching a tree and sitting down next to it on the soft grass, setting her down as well. Rina sways loosely, wiping her face with the sleeve of her shirt while the other hand fists into the grass
"Shh, its okay. Dont cry.."
Quickly crouching in front of her, he pulls out a handkerchief and starts wiping her face
"Honestly..how drunk are you truly..? That you dont even recognize the person in front of you.."
" ..sorry.."
Her voice, uncharacteristically guilty and weak, makes it truly difficult to be exasperated. He sighs and ruffles her head
"Just...try to calm down and stop crying, okay?"
They stay there for a few minutes, during which time she manages to calm down, leaning against the bark of the tree and letting the breeze fool her face. Diluc eyes the small champa flowers that have begun sprouting around them, wafting a sweet fragrance as her Vision lazily misfires. He brushes one gently with his fingertips, watching as it grows into a thin vine, curls around his finger and blooms the flower up to him like an offering, as if even when she doesnt recognize him, her Vision does. Its a sight that calms him, blooming warmth similar to the flower in his chest. Rina is humming a random tune from the tavern into the air, her voice weak yet still melodious.
"...i wanna see my boyfriend.."
Her voice is less emotional now, more melancholic, breathing it into the air. Diluc watches her carefully
"...im right here."
"No..not you...my boyfriend.."
He purses his lips
"..youll see him soon. I promise."
"I hope so..he gets mad when I drink..."
"You overdid it tonight. its not good for you. Of course he would be upset."
"Yeah..but i just wanted to experience it once.." she giggles, a sound thats both playful and guilty.
"..he gets mad a lot. Its funny and cute when he gets annoyed, but...i know hes just worried."
a breeze rustles the grass
"He never says it, but he does a lot...lot more than he should, probably..."
"..its because he cares about you"
"Yeah..but i dont need him to do all this..stuff..." she gestures around, as if pointing to his acts of kindness, his gifts, the things every day that make her life easier without her even realizing it, every act of affection that goes unaddressed, but not unnoticed, in a classic Diluc fashion.
"He does it because...he wants to. Hes..not always good with words, so.."
"Hehe..I know..hes sweet like that. but I hope..." rina closes her eyes, a smile across her lips
"..i hope he can get a lil better with words.."
"...What would you want him to say?"
"I love you."
The answer flows so simply from her lips that it leaves him breathless for a few seconds. His entire body is frozen, like a muscle twitch could break the moment.
"I. love. you, Rina Verna. Now and forever.." she says, slowly enunciating every word "Like...like a fairy tale, hehehe..~"
her giggle was oblivious to how each word landed like an arrow piercing his chest. The fragile hope she had spoken into the wind felt like it was resting in his hand, like he could break it with a clench of his fist. The flower wound around his finger looked at him as though its tilting it's head at him, realizing hes unconsciously winding his finger around it in turn.
"...and you?"
She tilts her head at him.
"Well, obviously Id say..."
"...I love you too. Now and forever."
"His face would get alll red. Hed probably get annoyed..."
He cant suppress a slight smile. How could he?
"..I think he wouldnt be too annoyed. So.." He leans closer
"Get sober, so when he says it to you, youll remember it."
Rina glances at him, her gaze lingers this time, until her pupils dilate with recognition, and the widest, warmest, dopeyest grin spreads on her face
"..diluc, its youuu!"
Before he can react, shes already draping herself across him, nuzzling into his chest with her arms tight around his torso
"I missed you..~"
"...I missed you too, silly girl."
His arms wind around her in turn, pulling her close into his embrace. As if recognition has finally loosened her entirely, she all but melts into his chest, breathing a sigh of deep relief when the scent shes been smelling the entire time here connects to him. Her eyes close and his hand is automatically cupping the back of her head
"Hey..Diluc..."
"Mhm..?"
"I wann..wanna tell you..somethin..."
"What is it..?"
"..ah..nevermind...I dont want to.."
"You change your moods far too quickly.."
"Dyou....wanna hear it..?"
"..ill always hear it."
"..pro..mise?"
"I promise."
"..."
"I..love..yu..."
A warm brush of softness on her head, before alcohol induced slumber finally grips her, lingering for a moment, then leaving with a breath she doesnt hear, he knows she wont hear it not tonight, at least, but he cant just leave it unresponded to.
"I love you too, my dear."
