Chapter Text
Lisa, Kaeya, Noelle and Barbara prepared themselves to return to the city shortly after. As she walked up to the waiting carriage, the Deaconess begged for Albedo to take care of Jean until she was fully healed.
“Of course, Barbara. Rest assured” Albedo nodded as he helped her up the steps of the carriage.
“Thank you so much, Captain Albedo… I don’t want to leave, but the Sisters won’t hesitate to send an army of knights to look for me if I don’t show up for morning mass”
“Or even worse, they can send Sister Rosaria” Kaeya added with a smirk as he popped his head out the carriage window.
“Leave before she actually comes here” Diluc rolled his eyes. “Take care, please”
Noelle bowed as Kaeya helped Lisa inside the carriage, the librarian sending a small smile to both Diluc and Albedo.
“See you at the city”
-----------------
“How are they?” Diluc asked as Albedo descended the stairs and came into the main hall. He was helping Adelinde set the table for breakfast, while the rest of the staff cleaned after the party.
“They are sleeping now. Sucrose has a bit of a fever, but she will be fine soon” Albedo approached and grabbed a stack of plates, and started setting them down in front of each seat. “Barbara treated Jean’s wounds, and her hypothermia has completely vanished”
“I am glad to hear that. How about you?”
“I think I am still a bit drunk, if I’m being completely honest” Albedo sighed. “I am not used to drinking, so my body can’t really take it”
“Well, then stay away from Fire-Water, or you will regret it” Diluc nodded, avoiding Albedo’s curious eyes. “Ahem… I may or may not be talking from experience”
The alchemist simply raised an eyebrow, but decided to not question Diluc any further.
“You didn’t let me or Barbara check your wounds” he commented instead. “Why?”
Diluc directed a brief glance to Adelinde, and the maid set down a bowl of fruit before bowing her head and excusing herself, leaving the two men alone at the table.
“For the same reason as you, Albedo” Diluc answered with a small smile. “You too refused Barbara’s help”
“Because I gave priority to Sucrose and Jean’s health” Albedo tilted his head in confusion. “Were you too worried about Sucrose’s talent for being reckless? I find myself always thinking about her wellbeing”
Diluc laughed lightly, and Albedo looked even more confused than before.
“You could say that” he clamped a hand over the alchemist’s shoulder, amused at the younger man’s lack of awareness about his own feelings towards Sucrose, while his mind wandered off to a certain blonde Acting Grand Master.
------------------------
Jean opened her eyes at the smell of food invading the room she shared with Sucrose. She didn’t know what time it was, but she calculated that Lisa and the others went back to Mondstadt almost an hour ago when the sun started to rise, so she knew that it must still be early in the morning.
She quietly left her bed, aware of the sleeping Sucrose next to her, and made her way to the adjacent bathroom. She embarrassedly cleaned her face and her mouth, remembering her totally-not-professional behaviour as she threw up over those hilichurls during her fight against them.
She splashed more water on her face as her dance with Kaeya also came to mind, fragments of their conversation as she warned the Cavalry Captain about puking all over him making her face flush in utter shame.
Way to go, Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. All Mondstadt will talk about that for years.
She suddenly remembered other parts of the night, and she accidentally snorted water through her nose, making her cough.
A bench. A hand on her shoulder and another around her waist. Whispered conversations. A confession. A pair of lips.
An embrace under the covers on a bed.
Her face heated up as her heart threatened to jump out her chest. Not even the cold water could calm down her burning cheeks, and she rested her elbows at either side of the sink, burying her head in her hands.
If the Abyss Order hadn’t attacked them… she would have shared a kiss with Diluc…
Her heart skipped a beat at the thought.
Not only the Abyss Order had almost killed her, but they also interrupted what she had been dreaming about for years.
She loved Diluc. Jean knew as much since even before he left Mondstadt after Crepus’s death. She would never in a million years would have guessed that he returned her feelings.
But the Abyss had to ruin everything.
She sighed. At least everyone was safe, and they succeeded in defending the citizens.
She undid her completely dishevelled bun and let her hair down, trying to comb it with her fingers as her mind started working on future defense plans, in case they were attacked again in the city. However, a light knocking on the room door interrupted her thoughts.
Jean went into the room again and grabbed her heels from the floor, glancing back at Sucrose once again before opening the door.
It was Diluc, and something about the intimacy of the moment as she opened a bedroom door for him in the dim light made her instantly flush.
“I came to check on you. On the two of you, I mean” he whispered as he looked over her head at the sleeping alchemist. “Breakfast will be ready soon”
“Y-you shouldn’t have bothered”
“You and Sucrose need it. I am positive that everyone else is already safe in Mondstadt, but I don’t want you two to leave without eating something first”
“I… Alright. Thank you so much” Jean conceded, leaving the room and closing the door behind her. “I will go outside meanwhile, if you don’t mind. I need a bit of fresh air”
“L-let me accompany you, please” Diluc offered as they descended the stairs together.
“Of course, Si- Diluc” she clicked her tongue at her old habit of addressing him as her superior. They were way past that point now… right?
They bumped into Albedo at the end of the stairs. He was carrying two bowls, one of grapes and the other of cookies.
“Jean, you look well. I am glad” he smiled. “Adelinde gave me these to take up to Sucrose, because she could still be weak from her fever. Do you mind, Master Diluc?”
“Of course not, go on. But don’t forget to join us for breakfast afterwards. You also need to eat”
Albedo nodded before going up the stairs, and Jean stifled a giggle as she saw him tripping a bit at the last step.
“Is he still drunk?” she whispered to Diluc as they went into the garden, raising a hand to cover her eyes from the sun.
“I think so” Diluc smiled down at her. “Not that you are one to talk, Jean”
She gasped, mortified.
“I am extremely sorry about everything I did or said while being in that state” she avoided his eyes as they walked side by side into the vineyards.
“Hhm”
“W-what’s wrong? I embarrassed you in front of your guests, right? I apologi-“
“Jean” he stopped walking and grabbed her arm, making her turn to him. “Do you feel sorry for what you said and did while you were with me?”
She gasped again, her heart thumping loudly in her ears. She knew what he was referring to.
“N-no, of course not” she whispered, embarrassed to the core. “I was talking about me acting improperly in front of everyone”
“Then thank Barbatos that we were alone at that moment, right?” Diluc slid his hand from her forearm to her hand, summoning all his bravery as he laced his fingers with hers. “Your only crime was looking so stunning tonight that you almost made me lose my mind”
Jean’s legs trembled, and she had to rest her back against one of the tall wooden poles that held the vineyards in place. She didn’t let go of Diluc’s hand though, so she pulled him to her as she prayed for her legs to not give way beneath her.
“Kiss me” she blurted out suddenly before she lost all ability to speak. “Kiss me, Diluc”
“You don’t need to ask me twice”
He made a step towards her, closing the space between them.
“I hope we don’t get interrupted now. Imagine Adelinde calling us for breakfast” Diluc smirked as he tried to somewhat hide the tremor in his voice.
Jean giggled in response, looking up at him as she cupped his face with her hand.
And neither of them hesitated anymore.
They closed their eyes, their lips meeting halfway as Jean briefly stood on her tiptoes.
Diluc let out a shaky breath, his body trembling as he released all the pent up tension and frustration he had kept in his heart after all these years of pining after Jean.
He surrounded her waist with one of his arms, bringing her body closer to him while Jean dug her fingers in his red hair, massaging his scalp as she pushed his face to hers.
“Let me taste you” she pleaded, brushing her lips with his as she spoke.
Diluc placed his other hand against the pole, just above her head, and he groaned as he parted his lips, eagerly complying to her request.
They kissed hard, passionately. Their bodies pressed together, hidden amongst the tall plantations as they let their mouths silently speak for them. But…
“I love you” Jean said suddenly as they separated for air. She raised her eyes to him, blushing mad at her own boldness. “I-I mean-“
“Are you going to take back what you just said?” Diluc teased, trying to compose himself after what he had just heard. He pecked her lips before looking at her directly in the eyes. “Because I love you too”
Mutual realization and understanding washed all over them in the form of an immense relief, and they immediately pressed their lips together again, unaware of two pair of eyes observing them from one of the second floor windows.
“So that is one of the biological activities people engage in when they are in love, Mister Albedo?” Sucrose asked, popping a grape into her mouth as she rested her tired body against the wall of the room.
“Well, there are various biological activities related to love, but I believe they are not yet prepared for a further step, Sucrose” Albedo answered, rubbing his chin in thought.
“Love is complicated…” she commented, raising a hand to her head as she dizzily staggered forward.
Albedo immediately caught her, and looked down at her just as she raised her golden irises to him. Something unknown stirred up inside his chest, and he felt his cheeks warming up.
“It is”