Home and Reconciliation

“Miss Xue,” Adelinde greeted in surprise as she opened the doors to the manor, seemingly not expecting to see the young lady, “What brings you to the manor?”

Xue, although her awkwardness didn’t escape Adelinde’s eyes, managed to keep a composed facade as she responded, “I heard that Master Diluc has returned. I thought that I should check up on him and see if there’s anything we can discuss.”

Almost immediately, Adelinde couldn’t help but be overjoyed. The moment she heard that Crepus passed away, she had readied herself to look after the four of them in his stead; however, before she could have the chance to do so, Diluc and Kaeya had a physical fight, whereas Diluc ended up verbally arguing with Xue. Although Skye remained by Diluc’s side, she knew that whatever happened that night, along with the rift Diluc had with the two knights, still posed a problem. Since then, the four of them weren’t the same as they were, and Diluc eventually left Mondstadt without a proper farewell. 

So when Diluc came back, ready to call Mondstadt home again, she couldn’t help but long for the day she would see the four of them would completely reconcile.

“A-Ah! Master Diluc’s in his room,” Adelinde said, opening the door wider to let her in, “You can go ahead and check up on him, Miss Xue. I’ll just go prepare some refreshments.”

“That would be appreciated. Thank you, Adelinde.”

With a deep breath, Xue glanced at the manor’s staircase as memories threatened to flood her mind, but quickly shook her head as she finally headed upstairs. With careful and silent steps, she made her way to his room, and without any hesitation, she lifted her hand to knock on the door.

“Diluc, it’s me.”

“Xue…” He greeted in surprise, opening the door, “You’re here.”

“I am,” she answered, lifting her gaze to see how much her childhood friend changed over the past few years when he was away from home, “May I enter?”

Similarly, Diluc was also observing her. Although he thought that the Knights of Favonius uniform was a sight for sore eyes, he was more than glad to see that she was doing well. 

“Of course,” Diluc told her, stepping aside to let her in, “I apologize for the mess, I haven’t had the time to clean up.”

Xue navigated her way around the boxes, knowing full well that he must have been packing some of his things up to move them to the storage, and eventually sat down on the edge of his bed. Seeing this, Diluc hesitated for a second but said nothing, opting to dig through one of the open boxes instead.

“Do you need help looking for something?” 

“Ah, no,” he reassured her, “Just wait for a second, it’s fine.”

Xue nodded, but kept her gaze on him.

“Here…” Diluc said with a whisper, handing her a few items, “I’ve missed out on a couple of your birthdays, didn’t I?”

“I…” Xue was at a loss for words as she looked at the things Diluc handed her, “You didn’t have to…”

“It’s the least I could do,” he muttered, sitting on the other end of the bed, “You don’t have to force yourself to accept any of it, though.”

Hearing this, Xue finally snapped out of it and sighed. 

“Diluc, I know we parted on bad terms, and it would be a lie to say that it didn’t hurt at all,” Xue started speaking as she placed the gifts down on the mattress, her usual blank face now full of worry and sincerity, “But I understand you more than you think. I’ve been through several cycles of death and grief – I’m no stranger to what you have felt that night.”

“I know you’re genuinely sorry about the words you’ve told me, and that’s exactly why I’m willing to put things behind us – not to ignore it, but so we can grow from it. Diluc–” Xue rubbed her face, bowing her head, “–You are my childhood friend – one of my best friends. I care a lot about you, you know that, right?”

“I know, but–”

“No but’s,” Xue cut him off, “As I said, we’re putting it behind us so we can grow from it – to heal from it. No healing is instantaneous, nor is any healing linear. It’ll take us time, but I don’t want to heal from it without reconciling with you first. And… if you’re worried that… that they have managed to become closer than me, don’t you think that the idea of closeness is rather subjective?”

Xue lifted her head again, flashing him a soft smile, “I’m close to you, just as I’m close with Skye and Kaeya. Our dynamics might not be the same as mine with either of them, but by the end of the day, we’re all family, aren’t we? There are things I get along with you the best, and there are things I get along with you the least; there are things I tell you, but not either of them, and the same goes in reverse.” 

“You have nothing to fear, Diluc. Mondstadt had always been your home, just as I had always been your friend. If you’re willing to reconcile with me, then that’s more than enough for me.”

“Have you ever been this talkative?” Diluc asked with a heavy tone, leaning against Xue who had her arms stretched out for a hug, “They really had been a bad influence on you.”

Xue let out a laugh as she hugged Diluc, her heart growing warm at having her childhood friend back by her side, “Is there even any good influence among the four of us?”

Diluc, for the first time in a while, let out a hearty laugh.

“You’re right.”