zhongluc single dad au part 5 finale!
hiro here to bring y'all the last part of the single dad au series: a cup of you
as promised, here is the finale with a happy ending, and i hope you enjoy!
《♡》
a week passed yet it seemed like forever
the day after diluc told the principle that bennett wouldn't be able to go to school due to his injury, several of his friends and classmates came to visit him
since diluc was busy with accompanying his son in the hospital, jean, lisa, eula, and kaeya had to cover his shifts
for the first few days, zhongli tried to call him but diluc only ignored him since there was only so many things he could take right now
as much as bennett wanted to reassure he was fine he...really wasn't
the fall caused a fracture and he needed surgery (and the aftermath of the screws is...not pleasant) and so diluc was there 24/7 to take care of him and administer the painkillers
it wasn't until another week where bennett would be discharged from the hospital
when diluc expected the cafe to be closed at this hour (it was around 10pm too) he and bennett were greeted with confetti
apparently kaeya, jean, lisa, and eula wanted to welcome them back and congratulate bennett on being discharged from the hospital
kaeya also takes this opportunity to talk to diluc for a bit and tell him to relax and take it easy now that bennett is out of the hospital
he also tells him that if ever he needed some time off for his son they can take over his shifts if he gives additional pay
then diluc proceeds to smack kaeya on the head
on the other hand zhongli meets up with his good friend, venti for drinks
"good friend" when he doesn't get drunk all the time or pry into zhongli's love life so much and makes jokes about making them into songs
right now though he just wanted drinks with the company of friends
when zhongli arrived to the bar, venti was already drinking all by himself (with around 2 or 3 glasses already)
he is already disappointed in his friend
there was a bit of bickering on both ends at first until zhongli orders osmanthus wine and venti comments that he only drinks it when he’s bummed out
the “good friend” part of venti asked zhongli if he was still taking antidepressants the last time they saw each other
he still does but not as much as they used to these days but he feels the need to take them regularly again
as much as venti wants to asks he just drops the topic and talks about work instead
venti is a freelance songwriter for anything and everything due to his so called “musical genius”
they talk and drink for the rest of the night but venti starts to realise that zhongli is drinking a lot more than he’s used to
venti takes this opportunity to ask his dear friend a few...questions
when he asks about the person he likes nowadays, zhongli smiles and tells venti all the things he likes about him
just before he gets into too much detail, venti asks him another question
he asks if he’s happy to which zhongli looks troubled
zhongli mentions that yes, he is happy but lately they haven’t been talking and he blames himself for it
he then becomes dejected over it and venti feels guilty for asking
it was a good thing zhongli’s phone was out (and that venti knew the password) because it was time for them to go and he couldn’t exactly drive all the way back to zhongli’s place when venti uses a scooter
venti decides to call childe since the last message from his was saying that he made calla lily seafood soup for the kids at home
childe was surprised to hear venti’s sober voice since he’s usually the that’s drunk and needs to be escorted home
he arrives on time to see venti taking care of a passed out zhongli and take him home
he asked what happened and venti’s only explanation was that he drank too much
as much as childe wanted to ask more it was already getting late and the bar was closing soon
on the ride home, zhongli mumbled something that childe was able to hear so clearly
“i miss him”
there was no need to guess who it was based on how so fondly zhongli said it
this was the last straw, childe told himself, and decided to pay a small visit to angel’s share cafe the next morning
diluc was taking a break after his shift while kaeya stayed by the cashier when childe stormed in and demanded diluc for an explanation for not talking to zhongli for nearly nearly three weeks now
all diluc could tell him was sorry since he’s still trying to process his emotions first about it
kaeya leaves his place by the cashier and stops childe before he could do anything rash
childe begins to tell kaeya that “this wasn’t supposed to happen” and “the plan was perfect”
diluc catches on and asks what plan they were talking about to which childe covered his mouth and made kaeya sigh
he turned to face his brother and said that he will explain all about it someday
it only took diluc a few moments to understand the whole situation and confirm with his brother if he and childe set him up with zhongli
since the cat’s out of the bag, kaeya mentions everyone who was in on it which makes diluc even more frustrated
kaeya tries to apologies but diluc replies with “don’t talk to me” and leaves the cafe
diluc was on his way to guyun stone park and realised half-way that it will only dampen his mood even more
when he’s about to turn back he bumps into someone who spills their drink on both of them
“what a mess...i’ll remember this.”
diluc realises that he bumped into eula and apologises immediately and offers her his handkerchief only to be turned down
she said it was fine since it’s only cold water and will dry soon eventually
eula noticed that something was wrong and asked if he wanted to talk about it since it’s troubling him so much
they then sit on a nearby bench just outside guyun stone park where diluc talks about what’s troubling him but only giving her vague details about it
he admits that he’s upset since they all planned for this to happen and thinks that it’s some kind of sick joke, as if poking fun at his romantic life
eula can’t say much since she’s an outsider in all of this but suggests that he should talk to zhongli about what happened since she sympathizes with him
when diluc gives her a puzzled look she replies with “i know the feeling of being misunderstood and it isn’t a pleasant one”
he didn’t have the right to ask her a personal question so they both just leave it at that
diluc gives it some thought for a few days before calling zhongli again but this time, he’s the one ignoring his calls
it had nearly been a month and they still haven’t talked to each other and it kind of feels like their relationship ended before it even began
when he was thinking of giving up after calling for the umpteenth time, a small fox, no...rabbit? was placed on the counter
he looks up to see albedo carrying his little sister klee and mentions that she’s been meaning to give that to him since he looks sad lately and wanted to cheer him up to thank him for all the delicious treats he serves
this reminds diluc of the gift he got for zhongli on the day he was gonna confess
he hurriedly thanks albedo and asks jean if she could take over since he needed to go somewhere important
with the gift in hand, he bought a bouquet of glaze lilies on the way and made his way to zhongli’s apartment
when he arrived he was greeted by xiao at the door who only closed it as soon as he saw him
diluc tried knocking again and again until zhongli was the one who opened the door and was very much surprised to see him and realise why xiao kept the door closed
“zhongli...”
he stopped the door before zhongli was able to fully close it and requested if they could talk for a bit
it took him a few moments to decide yet it felt like forever. in the end zhongli nods and they go down the small garden where there were barely any people
diluc decides to give the flowers first as an apology for ignoring him the past few weeks since a lot of things...happened
before he could continue zhongli asked how bennett was as if to change the subject and diluc mentioned that his son was fine
going back, he starts explaining what he saw that day and was really confused about it and thought that zhongli already had someone else and then the accident happened with bennett so he had to prioritize his son of course
he also mentions that he should have asked in the beginning and told him what happened instead of rushing out of the park and leaving him to wait for hours
zhongli explained that the man he saw the other day was a dear friend of his and they used to be close
diluc is now dumbfounded after hearing who the man was and feels stupid for being jealous about it
when zhongli wonders why diluc didn’t ask in the first place, the other explained since he felt hurt
“but why?”
“because i like you”
then they both stand there in silence because...finally
diluc confesses that that’s what he’s been meaning to tell zhongli, who cuts him short and kisses him
it was just a short, chaste kiss before he pulled away until diluc brought their lips together again with such need
when they part again, zhongli smiles and tells diluc that he likes him too, but he probably already knew that
they both laugh and zhongli comments that the flowers were lovely
diluc then shows him a box and mentions that we he was also supposed to gift this too him that day
when zhongli opens it, he sees a pocket watch with a mountain and dragon designs on it
“you told me you liked antiques and so i bought it because it reminded me of you”
this time, zhongli pulls him in for a hug and thanks him. he also apologises for ignoring his calls and messages but diluc only reassures him by saying that he deserved it
timeskip to a year later and their relationship has been going well
they still continue to have their weekly dates together (bi weekly if they're considering the ones that they're not with the kids)
on just a few simple occasions, they would all go out together as if they were already a real family
ganyu asks them when they'll get married so she can stop calling diluc "diluc" and start calling him dad
they both blush and diluc explains that it's not their time yet since someone else is getting married
zhongli was at his usually table at the cafe when kaeya happily serves him his drink and gives him his wedding invitation, saying that he wanted to give it before childe managed to do so
he’s surprised that they still managed to print the invitation a few weeks away from the actual wedding
childe and kaeya have been planning for months and yet somehow they forgot to formally invite everyone to the event itself, which was understandable since they were both still busy at work
zhongli was going to be one of childe’s groomsmen while diluc was going to be kaeya’s best man
the ceremony went well and everyone was happy for the new couple
diluc did the honours of saying a speech during the reception to the newly weds and congratulate them both on this new chapter of their lives
when it came to the dancing part of the program, diluc invited zhongli to dance with him and said that he could only slow dance to which zhongli laughs but takes his hand
they both watch childe and kaeya happily dance together (with a few missteps here and there but diluc is also the same) and pondered how their wedding would be like
zhongli adds that he would rather have it at a garden instead and maybe just invite a few friends
diluc agrees and wonders how they’ll be able to share the apartment since diluc’s place was enough for him, bennett, and kaeya, while zhongli’s was the same
zhongli suggested to just buy a house instead and discussed the importance of each of their kids to have their own separate rooms since it “teaches about independence”
they both also comment on having a nice kitchen, space in the living room in case a few guests were over, a table big enough to fit around 6 people since ganyu invites keqing a lot for dinner
which reminds diluc, and asks if xiao and aether were together yet to which zhongli chuckles
“there’s no need to rush,” he smiles, “they’ll figure it out.”
“like us?” diluc adds and gives him a kiss
zhongli nods and smiles even more, pulling them closer to kiss his lover back
《♡》
and that's a wrap!
this all started with a coop with my friend and it all just...descended into this madness
special thanks to @valberryy and @chairagi for listening to my brainrot and helping me beta read this!
thank you for reading this series and i hope you guys enjoyed it as much as i did!!
there will still be a fanfic version of this that i'm gonna post on ao3 soon! and i'll post the link to that fic here as well
thank you again!
be sure to check out the previous parts here:
part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4
