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Diluc loved Bennett, he really did.
But not when 2-year-old Bennett wouldn’t stop crying while they were inside a bus.
With his baby enthusiasm, Bennett had tried to get some wobbly steps by himself — with Diluc holding one of his hands to keep him stable — but with the usual bad luck that seemed to fall on his son no matter what he was doing, Bennett had tripped over his little feet and fell on one of his knees when they neared the bus stop. Diluc had hoisted him up before he could completely fall on the ground, but apparently he hadn’t been fast enough since Bennett’s clothed knee seemed to have scraped against the concrete.
For the first seconds, Bennett just stared at him. And Diluc had a front seat to watch his kid’s eyes turn glassy and how his lips started wobbling until tears escaped his eyes and Bennett started sobbing fully. Bennett has always been an easy crier, ever since he was born, but usually, it’ll only last a few minutes before he calmed down and would get back to his usual bubbly and curious self. So, even if crying fits happened frequently — just like the trips and falls — Diluc wasn’t particularly worried, as he knew it’ll die down after a few hushed and caring words and kisses on top of Bennett’s little head.
Except that, it didn’t die down as quickly as Diluc thought it would. And now, Bennett’s cries were resonating in the whole bus and were no longer muffled by the city’s noises. And Diluc could see and feel the annoyed stares of the people around him. But that wasn’t what mattered to him. Bennett was still crying but Diluc couldn’t understand why. And he didn’t know what to do anymore to calm him down. His knee was fine, not even a scratch nor a bump, and Bennett didn’t seem to be hurt anywhere else.
So, what was wrong?
“Not a fan of public transport?” a voice said, coming from his left.
Diluc turned his head to the side, only to fall upon the brightest and wonderfulest amber eyes he had ever seen. The pinkish red color surrounding them definitely emphasized their color. The man was smiling at him.
“More like a bad fall when we arrived at the bus stop,” Diluc chuckled, looking back at Bennett’s face and wiping the tears with his thumb. “He’s not hurt, though, so I don’t know why he’s still crying.” When Bennett’s lip wobbled again, Diluc gently shushed him.
The man next to him laughed softly, and Diluc saw a movement of tied long hair from the corner of his eyes. The stranger was leaning to look at Bennett’s face. When he whispered a soft ‘hello, little one’, Bennett, bless his soul, only looked at the long haired man with wide eyes, his little mouth falling open in a round shape.
And the tears stopped.
Diluc was pretty sure his face must have looked the same as his kid on his lap. He looked back at the man, flabbergasted.
The stranger only chuckled, apparently taken aback as much as Diluc was. “Well, I guess he’s not crying anymore, now,” he looked back up at Diluc and nodded. “I’m Zhongli.”
Diluc mirrored his nod and introduced himself as well. “I’m Diluc,” the red haired looked back at the now calm Bennett on his lap. The kid hadn’t blinked ever since Zhongli smiled at him. Diluc stifled a laugh and bounced his legs gently, trying to get Bennett’s attention. “Do you feel better now?”
Bennett only looked back at Zhongli with starry eyes. Diluc heard Zhongli huffing a laugh next to him. Bennett extended a hand towards the long haired man, as if he wanted to say hello in his own way. Zhongli played along and shook Bennett’s tiny hand in his larger one.
“Well, nice to meet you…” Zhongli peeked over Bennett’s chain bracelet, where his name was engraved. “Bennett,” he smiled, once again. “A beautiful name for a strong little boy.”
Bennett babbled happily in response, and Diluc had to bite on his lower lip to keep his smile at bay. But, his eyes quickly widened when Bennett started to wiggle on his lap, his little hands already grabbing the fabric of Zhongli’s pants. And, the next second, Bennett was settled on the other man’s lap, looking so happy Diluc felt like he was watching Bennett on Christmas night. Zhongli’s hands had come to stabilize him during Bennett’s journey from Diluc’s lap to his, and were now resting near his butt while the other one was keeping him straight by resting on his little stomach.
Never once did Bennett stop looking at Zhongli.
“What was that, young man?” Diluc asked, albeit more surprised than actually angry. Deep down, Diluc was starting to get mortified . He only got a babble for an answer.
Diluc was about to take his kid back from Zhongli — who was still nothing more than a stranger for now—, but the other man forestalled him in the matter. Except that, Zhongli kept Bennett on his lap and looked at him with a smile instead.
“Are you comfortable?” he asked. A babble. “Good, then.” he nodded. Then, Zhongli turned his head to look at Diluc, his smile turning more sheepish this time. “If you don’t mind, of course.”
Diluc didn’t answer right away, looking between Bennett and Zhongli’s incredibly gorgeous eyes. Eventually, Bennett (finally) turned his head to look at Diluc, and his kid’s eyes were definitely saying ‘put me out of here, I dare you’. He sighed.
“He seems comfortable, so, if you don’t mind holding him...” Diluc answered Zhongli, smiling and shrugging. He gently pinched Bennett’s cheek for good measure. “That’s not how you behave, little guy.”
Bennett only babbled and leaned further against Zhongli. It made the man chuckle again while Diluc shook his head. Always count on Bennett to soften everyone around him and make friends with every stranger he crossed paths with.
“Where do you stop?” Zhongli asked after a minute of silently watching Bennett playing with cords of his jacket.
“Hm,” Diluc lifted his head ahead, to look at the next stop displaying on a small screen at the front of the bus. “The stop after this one,” he replied, seeing the next stop was Springvale.
“Oh,” Zhongli seemed to brighten at the information. “I go down at this one as well.”
“You live in Mondstadt?” Diluc found himself asking.
“Oh no, I usually reside in Liyue,” Zhongli smiled. “I’m just visiting a friend for the weekend.”
“I see,”
“I assume you live in Mondstadt, though?” Zhongli inquired. Bennett was soothingly quiet on his lap, still playing with the strings of the man’s jacket with his little head resting against Zhongli’s chest. He seemed comfortable.
“I do,” Diluc nodded. He stroked one of Bennett’s cheeks, gently preventing him from falling asleep right here and there. When Bennett looked at him through tired eyes, Diluc smiled at him. “I run a business here,” he added, looking back at Zhongli. “Angel’s Share, if it rings any bells.”
At that, Zhongli laughed, his chest moving with the rumble inside it and making Bennett bounce slightly with the motion. He didn’t seem disturbed by it and only babbled.
“I do know that place,” Zhongli sighed, amusedly. “It’s Venti’s favourite place in the city.”
Diluc’s eyes widened. “You’re friends with the musician?” So, did that mean that the ‘handsome yet freaking tall rock-head’ dude from Liyue Venti was always talking about was… Zhongli ? Diluc wanted to put his head in hands. What a small world.
This time, Zhongli sighed again, albeit a bit more dramatically. “I am. How, I don’t know. But we are.” and he chuckled again.
“Well,” Diluc smirked. “His bill is growing longer and longer every day.”
“Why doesn’t it surprise me,” Zhongli whispered under his breath. “Oh, we’re getting there,” he pointed out.
Diluc saw the bus stop coming closer and started to turn to Bennett, holding out his arms.
“Come on Bennett, it’s our stop,” Diluc called him.
But Bennett didn’t move an inch. And Diluc even saw his tiny hands clutching on the fabric of Zhongli’s jacket. The red haired didn’t falter.
“Bennett,” he called him, gently. “Come on.”
Bennett’s little face disappeared against Zhongli’s chest, not looking at him. Diluc sighed and dropped his shoulders when the bus came to a stop. He looked at Zhongli, apologetically.
“Do you mind carrying him until we get outside?”
“Sure not,” Zhongli smiled reassuringly. Readjusting Bennett in his arms, he stood up and walked to the bus’ open doors.
Diluc followed suit, trying really hard not to meet this old lady’s eyes who was fondly smiling at them. And who has been doing so for basically the whole ride, by the way.
Except that… even when on the ground, Diluc was met with the same problem as before… Bennett didn’t want to let go of Zhongli.
“Bennett, baby, come on now,” Diluc was really getting frustrated, but he would like to avoid another crying fit. Maybe he should have let Bennett fall asleep back in the bus…
The baby only looked at him with glassy eyes, and Diluc could feel himself panicking in his very core. Everything but another crying fit , he prayed. Bennett whined and hid in Zhongli’s chest once again. Diluc sighed, both relieved and immensely frustrated.
Zhongli tried to hand him Bennett, but to no avail. Benett was clutching on to Zhongli for dear life. Sighing once again, Diluc lowered himself to Bennett’s eye level.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Bah!”
That didn’t lead him anywhere.
“We have to get home, you know,” Diluc said. “Zhongli too.”
Upon hearing the name of the other man, Bennett perked up and even looked at the long haired. The picture would have been pretty funny if Diluc wasn’t hoping that it was finally it. Zhongli smiled fondly at Bennett, eyes closing and crinkling. Eyes which comically widened when Bennett slammed against his chest with full force, apparently decided that he was not going to move anytime soon. Diluc heard Zhongli choke on air at the impact.
Diluc’s shoulders sagged in defeat meanwhile Zhongli’s laugh filled his ears with its harmonious music. As he watched them, Diluc had to admit… the picture was pretty cute.
“I guess you love my jacket, huh?” Zhongli whispered to Bennett, as the baby started playing once again with the cords.
“Oh, he loves more than your jacket, trust me,” Diluc added, before he could think twice about it.
Zhongli only looked at him with a smile. He readjusted Bennett against him and looked around him, brightening up when he seemed to have found something. His flaming amber eyes met with Diluc’s fierce red ones.
“There’s a café on the other side of the street, do you want to perhaps sit there for a while until he falls asleep?” Zhongli suggested.
Diluc took his time to observe the man in front of him and study his face. Not that he didn’t have all the time in the world to do that during the bus ride. Zhongli’s face was devoid of mischief, only filled with guinness and maybe a bit of sheepishness as well, but Diluc definitely didn’t feel any twisted intentions coming from the long haired man. Neither did he since they sat next to him on the bus and Bennett got a baby crush on him when he saw Zhongli’s smile for the first time.
Well, Diluc guessed a few more minutes spent with him wouldn’t hurt.
He nodded as an answer and, feeling a bit bold as they started walking towards the coffee shop, he smirked at Zhongli. “Are you sure he’ll want to let go of you, though?” Diluc asked, gesturing to Bennett with his head. “Who knows, maybe you’ll have to walk us back and join us for dinner as well.”
Diluc didn’t turn back to look at the wide eyes Zhongli was giving him, nor did he see the faint blush creeping on the other man’s cheeks, but Diluc definitely didn’t let the smirk wash off his own face.
The next day, as Diluc was finishing cleaning the table and Kaeya — who unceremoniously invited himself for lunch under the excuse that he missed his nephew when Diluc perfectly knew why he was there in the first place — was playing with Bennett on his game carpet in the living room, Kaeya decided to open his lovely mouth once Diluc was done recalling the events of the day prior.
“Smooth,” he commented. Diluc didn’t need to look at him to know he was smirking. “Very smooth, dear brother, I didn’t think you had it in you,”
“Shut up, Kaeya,” Diluc sighed. “Go back home and annoy someone else, Rosaria for example,”
Kaeya scoffed, mockingly offended as he put a hand against his chest. “What a low blow,”
The blue haired was about to add something when Bennett looked up for his car toys enthusiastically.
“Tup!”
Kaeya and Diluc looked at each other, mortified.
“It’s your fault, get out,” Diluc accused.
“It’s not me, you’re the one who said it!