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You didn’t like Valentine’s Day.
The disgustingly sweet chocolates, the repulsive smell of freshly cut flowers, the handmade cards that littered every storefront. Every February, Mondstadt turned into something out of a cheesy romance novel and you, frankly, hated it.
And it didn’t help that you had to sit back and watch every woman in town approach your lover with eyesore upon eyesore of heart-shaped boxes, bouquets of roses, and stars in their eyes.
Like now, with your body hunched over the upstairs railing, you curse everytime the bell above the door chimes because it means an unsuspecting young maiden had just entered the tavern. When you glance down below, you’re right, as a woman is handing Diluc a bouquet of lamp grass and windwheel asters. You grip the railing once before briskly turning away from the scene.
“My, my, someone is in a sour mood.”
Your eyes shoot to the side and you jump when you see Kaeya has reclaimed the empty seat at the table. You force a smile onto your face, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Kaeya seems to be enjoying himself. He’s in the middle of opening a gift of candy and he hands you a heart-shaped chocolate (which you decline – you have better things to do than indulge in this holiday). “I’ve already received so many gifts,” Kaeya continues casually, “And you?”
You narrow your eyes and lie, “Plenty.”
A chuckle leaves the Calvary Captain’s mouth. “You can talk to me,” He continues, “I’m your confidant, your loyal friend.” His eyes gaze at the railing and a cheeky smile creeps onto his face, “Could this have something to do with the popularity of your partner?”
You say nothing, averting your gaze, “Captain, I advise you to shut up.”
“Very well.” Kaeya reached for another candy and this time, you snatched it out of his hand.
Truthfully, Valentine’s Day made you feel defeated. The thought of all these women drooling over your lover was ghastly and you found your eye twitching with anger. But who were you to walk up to them and demand them to stop? Diluc was too kind to brush them off, though you wished he would already.
“I meant to ask you,” Kaeya said carefully. Your eyes drew back to him, “What did you get him?”
For a moment, it felt like all the air got sucked out of the room. You visibly stiffened and Kaeya noticed, raising his eyebrows.
“Nothing special,” You said quickly, snapping back into reality.
Kaeya peered at you. He didn’t believe you in the slightest. “Really, now?”
That was all it took for you to come undone. You slid into the wooden chair and pulled your bag onto your lap, lifting something out of it. You set the object on the table and instantly your hands reached up to cover your face.
“What. Is. That.”
In front of Kaeya was a mangled mess of a teddy bear – if you could ever call it a teddy bear. “I wanted to do something special,” You cried, “I’ve never sewn anything before.”
Kaeya could see that. The teddy bear was sewn together with three different colors of fabric, was barely stuffed, and its eyes were falling off. If he hadn’t known any better, Kaeya would have assumed the stuffed animal was from a wreckage somewhere. No wonder you were feeling so bad about Valentine’s Day – this was your gift.
The bluenette chose his words carefully, “I’m sure…Diluc will love it.”
You glared at the man across the table, “He can put it right next to his mountain of expensive chocolates and flowers.” Your hand came down and you weakly punched the teddy bear, the stuffed animal falling over pathetically. Checks out.
“Oh, come on,” Kaeya continued, “It’s a gift from you. Diluc won’t care that it looks like one of Klee’s test subjects.”
Deep down, you knew Kaeya was right. And it was too late to go out and buy him something better anyways. You figured giving Diluc the teddy bear was better than giving him nothing, right?
Eventually, the tavern started to clear out and you made eye contact with Diluc down below. He sent you a warm smile, beckoning you to join him downstairs, and you took a deep breath. You grabbed the teddy bear, shoved it inside a bag, and walked down the stairs at the speed of a turtle. You needed to figure out what you were going to say.
Hey! I made you this disaster from the Anemo Archon above, do you like it? Or, sorry this teddy bear looks like a piece of shit. Hope it’s good enough! Or, I made you this door mat!
“Y/N?” A voice broke you out of your trance and you looked up. Diluc was standing on the other side of the bar, raising his eyebrows at you. “I asked if you wanted a drink.”
“Oh,” You said. Maybe a drink would help ease your nerves. “That’d be great.”
Diluc made your drink and placed it in front of you before stepping back to give you a sympathetic smile, “We’ve been so busy today. Sorry I haven’t been able to spend time with you.”
You shrugged and lifted the drink to your lips, “Don’t worry about it.”
He rummaged around behind the counter for something and you peered behind the glass. A small, red box was set beside you and you placed the glass down. “What’s this?”
“Your Valentine’s Day gift,” Diluc chuckled, “What else would it be?”
“Right.” Your hands left the security of the glass and you nimbly lifted the box. It was the size of your palm and was wrapped so neatly – the packaging alone put your own gift to shame. You unravel the ribbon with delicacy and lift the top of the box off, revealing a single gold chain. Your button lip jutted out when the light caught on the necklace, the metal shining brilliantly.
Diluc scratched the back of his neck, “I know you don’t like flashy jewelry so I thought this was subtle enough but if you don’t like it then I can just –”
You interrupted him, “I love it.”
You wanted to smile, wanted to grin and laugh and embrace Diluc from over the counter, but you could only frown. Diluc caught sight of this, “Then why do you look so unhappy?”
A sigh left your lips. “My gift to you isn’t anywhere near as good as this,” You said, your voice trailing off. You motioned to the pile of gifts behind him, “It isn’t even as good as those.”
“Oh, nonesone,” Diluc shook his head, “Anything from you is better than that.”
A sad smile graced your lips, “Promise not to laugh, okay?”
“I promise.”
You lifted the gift bag onto the counter and pushed it towards Diluc. His gloved hands slowly reached inside and you watched his expression change from curious to confused in a matter of seconds. Diluc pulled out the teddy bear and was silent for too long for your liking.
“I know it’s terrible,” You mumbled before Diluc could get anything out. “I can just give you some mora as a gift instead…I don’t have much on me but…”
You were expecting Diluc to throw the teddy bear onto the ground, collect his much-better gifts, and walk away. You weren’t expecting him to chuckle.
“Sorry, sorry, I know I said I wouldn’t laugh,” Diluc stammered between laughter, “Mora? Really?”
Your face felt hot and you looked down at your lap, “Well, I gave you a shitty gift.”
A few moments later, a soft hand was reaching underneath your chin and you were looking into the eyes of your beloved. In his free hand, Diluc held onto the teddy bear. Diluc’s thumb brushed your cheek until his gaze was bearing into your skin and you needed to look away. His hand fell but quickly found yours.
“I adore this,” Diluc said simply. “This is the best gift I’ve ever received.”
Your eyes snapped up, “The best gift?”
Diluc hummed in response, “No one has ever given me such a thoughtful present before. This is so much better than any chocolate or flowers.” Finally, your frown lifted. Diluc sealed the deal with a gentle kiss, reminding you that no matter how horrible your gift giving skills were, he would love you either way. He quickly added, “You’ll just have to make me a better one next year.”
You didn’t like Valentine’s Day. But Diluc made it bearable.