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glaze lilies, unsurprisingly, are hard to procure. the flower has hardly managed to avoid extinction throughout the years, narrowly avoiding being completely wiped out during the archon war. most of the remaining glaze lilies have been preserved over the years by citizens of liyue and as a result, they’re quite expensive. not that the price is a problem, mora is far from an issue for diluc.
attempting to cultivate glaze lilies is a bit… unconventional. or at least, unconventional for diluc. the prospect of singing to the flowers is definitely unique. when he first made plans to start a glaze lily garden he was thrown off by that particular method of care, but it’s been a few months now since diluc began the garden. he has, for better or for worse, gotten slightly more comfortable with singing to the lilies. ‘ it’s for zhongli’, he reminds himself. the reminder helps.
the lilies seldom show response to any songs from mondstadt. logically, it makes sense. the flowers are native to liyue, it’s only to be expected that they wouldn’t respond to songs of mondstadtian origin. that knowledge doesn’t make learning songs from liyue any more of a simple task.
finding songs and ballads of liyue is tedious work, learning them is a whole other level. diluc hasn’t heard most of the songs beforehand, which makes it even more difficult. plus, a good majority of the songs aren’t written in the common tongue — they’re almost all written in liyuean, and while diluc understands and speaks the language, he’s nowhere near confident enough to sing in a foreign language — and translating them would be counterintuitive. but the lilies haven’t shown any signs of wilting or anything else to suggest they aren’t doing well, so maybe his effort is enough.
diluc is starting to regret asking kaeya to help him with temperature regulation in the garden.
for the most part, kaeya does what he’s asked with no questions. they fall into a quiet routine until diluc has finished what he’s doing for the day or until kaeya has to leave.
(knight business, he’d say. diluc never questioned it, never cared to, but he was almost certain that a decent portion of the time “knight business” was just a coverup for “redhead fatui harbinger,” but it wasn’t his business to care about what kaeya did in his free time.)
he could use mist flowers to help the regulation, but it’s easier to have someone with a cryo vision help. mist flowers tend to be unpredictable and it’s not worth the extra stress.
and yet that extra stress is tempting when his brother decides to break the silence and provoke him.
“you know, diluc,” kaeya says from his spot against one of the pillars of the greenhouse, “you’re putting an awful lot of effort into this.”
it’s innocuous enough that a normal person would miss the lilt in kaeya’s tone. unfortunately, diluc grew up with kaeya. he knows his brother is teasing him.
he kneels and pulls roughly at a weed, “so? i fail to see how that matters.”
“i didn’t think you were the type to grow flowers for fun, though these definitely don’t look native to mondstadt.” diluc pulls up another weed, trying to ignore him. “these flowers are native to liyue, aren’t they? if i remember correctly i saw them in yujing terrace while helping out our honorary knight.” diluc can hear the smile in kaeya’s voice. it’s annoying.
“if i didn’t know any better i’d say you’re doing this for zhongli—“
“you know, it’d be a real shame if jean happened to find out about childe from an anonymous source.” diluc turns and throws a weed at kaeya. he’s joking. mostly. he wouldn’t do that to kaeya, but kaeya was making it extremely tempting.
kaeya laughs while stepping out of the way of the weed, “now, now, no need for threats, besides i’d be surprised if jean doesn’t already know about ajax. he’s not exactly subtle.”
ajax . that was new, for sure. he’d only ever heard kaeya refer to the redhead as childe or tartaglia until now. diluc gets the feeling that he shouldn’t have been made privy to that specific piece of information, but that’s not his issue. not now, at least.
diluc’s issue at the current moment is continuing to pull weeds while tactfully ignoring kaeya.
not like that matters.
“you didn’t deny that this was for him, you know.”
diluc glares over his shoulder at the knight. kaeya smiles back at him. it isn’t like kaeya is wrong, diluc knows he’s not wrong. admitting to himself the reason he was doing this is one thing, admitting that same reason to his brother was a completely different story.
“i could still ask you to leave.” it’s an empty threat and they both know it.
kaeya laughs, “you wouldn’t,” he wouldn’t, “but i do need to head out. jean needs me to take care of something before the end of the day, so i’ll get out of your hair.”
“if that’s the case,” diluc says, standing up, “then i’ll see you out.”
kaeya doesn’t object, thankfully. they’re silent as they walk to the exit of the garden, offering each other polite goodbyes as kaeya leaves. diluc lingers in the exit for a moment, making sure kaeya is truly gone before heading back to the glaze lilies. he clears the rest of the weeds that he finds, disposing of them. a small dendro slime that must’ve snuck in falls victim to a similar fate as the weeds.
diluc double checks that he’s completely alone before letting himself do anything else. no matter how many times he does this, it’s still hard to let himself relax. he kneels before the glaze lilies, taking a deep breath.
diluc closes his eyes as he starts to sing.
he runs into aether and paimon on his way back to the winery. judging from the direction the pair came from, diluc assumes they’ve just returned from a visit to liyue. his assumption is confirmed when aether presents him an envelope with a familiar wax seal on it.
“zhongli asked me to bring this to you,” aether explains, handing him the envelope, “he made it sound like it was something important.”
paimon nods where she floats next to aether, “yeah! and mister zhongli said something like… ‘it’d be best of we brought it to you directly’, and... um… that we’d ‘more than likely reach mondstadt before any postal workers did.’” she attempts to drop her voice a few octaves as she speaks in an attempt to mimic zhongli’s voice. it’s admittedly a poor attempt, but an attempt nonetheless.
diluc scans over the envelope, zhongli’s elegant handwriting a welcome sight. his hands itch to trace the lettering of his name — full name, at that — but he withholds the urge. his gaze falls back onto aether, giving him a curt nod. “i appreciate you bringing this to me. i’ll be sure to reimburse you for your troubles.”
aether opens his mouth to reply, but paimon speaks first.
“ooh! a payment from master diluc, paimon likes the sound of that!” she exclaims, giving a small cheer. aether facepalms and shakes his head at paimon’s reaction. it’s… endearing, to some extent.
“paimon… you don’t have to pay us, master diluc. the winery is on the way to the city anyways, there really would’ve been no reason to refuse.” aether says while ignoring the noise paimon makes in disagreement. she says something about how the walk from liyue harbor had been long, to which aether reminds her that she doesn’t walk, she floats.
diluc raises a brow at the enigmatic duo but doesn’t question it. he’ll find some way to repay the teen, regardless of his evident selflessness. it’d only be fair, despite any protests the traveler may give.
“well… we’d better be heading out, i’ve got something to take care of at the adventurers guild before it gets too late. hopefully we’ll see you around the city before we leave again.” aether smiles, pointedly ignoring paimon’s sulking.
he can’t promise they’ll see each other before aether leaves mondstadt again, but knowing his tendency to find himself in the middle of any sort of trouble it wouldn’t surprise diluc if he did come across the teen again in the upcoming days. they say their farewells and diluc watches the pair depart before heading back to the winery. he’s grateful for the quiet walk back, especially after dealing with kaeya earlier. not that he doesn’t appreciate his brothers company — though he’d be dead before admitting that — but he has the uncanny tendency to get on diluc’s nerves. on purpose.
adelinde welcomes him as he walks inside the manor. he offers her a small ‘thank you’ before he ascends the stairs, heading straight for his private study. admittedly, he’s curious as to what zhongli’s letter contains, considering he asked aether to deliver it to him as opposed to letting it come in time through the mail.
he supposes he’ll find out soon enough, he thinks as he shuts the door to his study. diluc lets himself trace over the elegant calligraphy on the envelope now that he’s alone. zhongli’s handwriting has a certain ethereal grace to it. it’s captivating to look at.
diluc turns the envelope over, taking care to open it carefully, as to not break the wax seal. it wasn’t as if the seal itself had any sort of significance, but diluc found an odd sense of comfort in seeing the seal. zhongli always uses a golden wax, coupled with a stamp of rex lapis’ symbol.
once he gets the envelope open, seal safely intact, he pulls the letter out. a bunch of pressed qingxin fall out of the letter onto his desk as diluc unfolds the paper. he smiles softly at the flower before starting to read the letter.
my dearest, diluc,
i hope this letter arrives to you safely. has your work — both that you do in the light of day and the dark of night — let up any? i recall you mentioning in our latest correspondence that things had been busier and more arduous than normal. i don’t doubt your capabilities, but do make sure you aren’t overworking yourself.
as for myself, my responsibilities as consultant have been rather slow since my last excursion with aether and paimon. perhaps i should tell you about it the next time we meet face to face; i fear this letter may become too long were i to try and recount the event to you through written word.
this may be a bit sudden, but i have scheduled a trip to mondstadt in the coming week. or rather, i’ll be arriving a week from the date marked on this letter, to be precise. venti has been rather adamant about having me visit, but i assure you that i will have more than enough opportunities to see you, of course. i will be sure to bring mora with me, just in case venti drags me to angel’s share. i would hate for you to have to deal with the aftermath of his relentless drinking. though i could potentially treat you to a meal sometime while i visit, if you would like.
yours forever,
zhongli
diluc idly twirls the qingxin between his thumb and forefinger as he finishes reading the letter. he understands why zhongli chose to send the letter off with aether as opposed to risking it in the mail. aether has the exceptional ability to cross an entire country in a single day, seeing as the date written was only yesterday. the mail could’ve taken anywhere from three days to a week at best.
he appreciates zhongli’s concern about his work. zhongli was always trying to make sure diluc doesn’t accidentally overwork himself. if the simple notion causes warmth to bloom throughout diluc’s chest then that’s only for him to know.
setting the letter aside, diluc moves to pull out a blank piece of paper to write a response. he’s going to have to rely on the mail couriers to get the message to liyue before zhongli leaves. knowing when the archon is planning on arriving helps. he can adjust his schedule as he needs to, making sure he’ll have time to meet zhongli when he arrives.
he writes that he’ll meet zhongli at stone gate so they can walk to the winery together. normally, he’d suggest meeting at wangshu inn since it’s a decent middle point between their locations, but he gets the feeling that if they meet at wangshu inn they won’t be leaving for mondstadt until the following morning. once he finishes his letter he’ll leave it with one of the house staff so they can get it sent out. hopefully it’ll arrive before the next six days have passed.
stone gate is, admittedly, incredibly boring. diluc is starting to regret not bringing anything to do as he waits. he would’ve, but his work isn’t exactly travel friendly. it’s not as if he could’ve brought the winery or angel’s share with him. he left early to ensure he wouldn’t miss zhongli’s arrival at stone gate — though that would’ve been hard to do, the path from stone gate doesn’t split until you pass the mountains into mondstadt. even then, the winery is in clear sight from the spot the path diverges. he’s sure he would’ve run into zhongli on his way if his timing was off.
he ends up caving into the offer of tea from the old vendor after another thirty minutes pass. liyue’s multitude of teas and blends tend to be hit-or-miss with diluc, compared to those from mondstadt some are far too herbal for his tastes, others seem more suited for medicinal purposes than casual drinking. zhongli tends to know precisely which types of tea diluc would enjoy when he makes recommendations, which makes the trial and error process much easier. admittedly, the tea the vendor is selling isn’t bad but it’s also far from being diluc’s favorite.
another fifteen minutes or so pass. the short span of time is enough for diluc to reiterate his distaste of idle chat. the only notable noise since diluc had gotten tea from the vendor has been from a pair sitting at one of the few tables placed around. diluc has been ignoring them for the most part, but they’ve been here longer than he has and their constant muttering is growing irritating. he’s tempted to leave and wait at a different part of stone gate, he didn’t tell zhongli exactly where he’d be waiting so moving wouldn’t technically be an issue.
movement from his peripherals catches his attention, pulling him from his thoughts. as it turns out, he doesn’t end up needing to move. diluc watches as zhongli ascends the ramp leading to the boardwalk that the vendor’s shop resides on. they make eye contact as diluc stands and a smile adorns zhongli’s features. it’s unfair how easily a simple smile can send warmth throughout diluc’s chest, zhongli looks damn near ethereal and if diluc hadn’t known he was a god his smile alone would’ve been enough to convince him that he was divine.
diluc allows zhongli to take one of his hands into the archon’s own as soon as they’re in a close enough proximity to each other. had there been less people around, diluc likely would’ve opted to kiss zhongli. admittedly, he doesn’t care what others may or may not think if they were to happen upon such a sight.
“diluc,” after a few months apart, hearing zhongli’s voice brings a sense of relaxation to the winery owner, “it is good to see you again.” zhongli is still smiling and the warmth in diluc’s chest hasn’t wavered.
they correspond regularly through letters, but written word pales in comparison to being close enough to see each other, close enough to touch each other. they’re both tied to their respective nations; diluc as the owner of dawn winery and as the elusive darknight hero, zhongli as a former god and current consultant at wangsheng funeral parlor. meetings like this are few and far too much time passes between them. diluc can’t abandon his responsibilities and zhongli… he assumes zhongli isn’t quite used to having so much freedom after ruling over liyue for over three thousand years, living for over six thousand.
he offers his own small smile, “it’s good to see you, too.” i missed you goes unspoken, but he trusts zhongli already knows.
“i hope meeting me here didn’t interfere with your schedule.”
it didn’t, diluc thinks, i cleared my schedule for you, and i’d do it again, no questions asked. “it’s fine,” is what he settles for instead, because he can’t bring himself to be so genuinely honest with himself, “i had no work scheduled for today anyways.”
zhongli hums in response and diluc decides to take that as a sign he believes him. “anyways, we should get going. it’s still early enough that we should make it back to the winery before night falls.” he waits for zhongli to give some sort of confirmation before they begin walking in the direction of mondstadt.
the instant they pass the empty watchtower zhongli stops. diluc looks at him, question dying in his throat as zhongli takes his free hand and tilts diluc’s chin up. zhongli had thought of doing the same thing as diluc, then. they make eye contact for a mere second, amber eyes pinning diluc under their strong gaze, before leaning in, kissing diluc. it’s gentle, it’s always gentle with zhongli. diluc can feel himself relax. after not seeing each other since the last time zhongli came to visit, this truly is a blessing from the archons. figuratively and literally.
zhongli pulls away first and diluc pretends he doesn’t feel slightly disappointed. “my apologies… i didn’t want to wait until we arrived in mondstadt to be able to do that.” zhongli sheepishly admits.
“no need to apologize,” i wanted it too, “ i don’t mind.” diluc adjusts his hand to better hold zhongli’s. it’s comforting. “also, we’ll be walking for awhile, so as we walk you can tell me about that excursion with aether you mentioned in your letter.”
zhongli’s expression lights up at that. it’s subtle enough that a normal person wouldn’t notice it, but diluc isn’t normal. zhongli starts to talk as they begin to move out again. his voice is soothing, he would make an excellent storyteller if he was to ever give up working at the funeral parlor.
diluc isn’t a fan of idle chatter, but no chat could ever be idle if it’s with zhongli.
the grapevines of the winery are close enough to make out individual bunches of grapes by the time zhongli finishes telling diluc about what happened at sal terrae. it almost seems harsh, but both the fatui agent and the god of salt devotee had broken their contracts. even after being relieved of his duties as the geo archon zhongli still lives by the same ideals as he always has. it’s understandable, and it's admirable.
“and if i were to break a contract would i also be subjected to ‘the wrath of the rock’?” diluc asks once zhongli finishes speaking. zhongli looks at him, seemingly surprised.
“naturally, it is only to be expected that one who breaks a contract would have to face the wrath of the rock.” zhongli’s expression changes from surprised to confused, “but… we do not have any contracts. there would be no need for such a thing.”
diluc suppresses a laugh. zhongli’s tenacious nature towards the literal meaning of things is definitely apparent in his reaction. “of course not, but it’s a hypothetical situation. say if i were to break a contract, what sort of wrath would i face?”
zhongli stills at the question. they’ve stopped directly outside the doors of the manor, diluc watching idly as zhongli mulls over the hypothetical scenario. diluc is almost worried that he’s overstepped some sort of boundary. “my apologies, i… can’t think of any outcome of such a scenario. though, i do hope you aren’t planning on making that particular situation a reality.”
diluc does laugh — albeit quietly — this time. “of course not.” he reassures, smiling softly. a flash of relief crosses zhongli’s features and diluc sighs. the sun is sun is starting to set and diluc ideally would like to show zhongli the garden as night falls. glaze lilies only bloom at night, so it would be a more meaningful sight than viewing them during the day, at least in diluc’s opinion. flowers that experience nyctinasty are fairly common, but glaze lilies do the opposite of what those flowers do. it’s just another thing that makes them unique.
“we should get your stuff inside,” diluc says, gesturing at the door, “there’s something i want to show you after.”
“of course.”
the sun is barely peeking over the horizon by the time they get to the gardens. the glaze lily garden is an extension of the cecilia garden, one that he had built specifically for the purpose of growing and tending to the archaic flowers. no one other than diluc (and kaeya on the occasion, for better or for worse) had been allowed into the garden. the method of care was meticulous enough that diluc took to maintaining the garden alone. that, and the unavoidable fact that diluc would die before letting anyone witness him sing to a garden of flowers.
an elderly woman from liyue harbor had told him that singing would nourish them and help them grow. based on the state of the garden, he’d say she was right.
“could you close your eyes?” diluc asks, breaking the comfortable silence between the two. “what i want to show you, it’s a surprise.”
zhongli glances over at diluc, curious. he relents, nodding, and closing his eyes as asked. diluc reaches over, gently grasping one of zhongli’s hands to guide him. they lapse back into a comfortable silence as diluc leads him through the garden.
the final rays of sunshine are shining through the garden, day falling into night as they reach the glaze lilies. diluc looks out over the garden, the efforts of his labor had come into fruition. this garden was a testament to that.
diluc had timed their arrival well, most of the lilies had begun to bloom in the sparse sunlight, welcoming the soft moonlight.
“you can open your eyes now.” diluc says, gaze falling back towards zhongli. he watches closely as zhongli takes in the sight before him. there’s a sharp inhale and the grip on diluc’s hand tightens.
“this is…” zhongli starts, and he stops, apparently speechless.
“it’s for you,” diluc clarifies, “though, a gift like this is really only meaningful when you’re visiting mondstadt. in a sense, it’s like having something to remind you of liyue when—” diluc is cut off by a hand cradling one side of his face.
red eyes meet amber and whatever diluc was talking about before leaves him completely. zhongli’s expression is full of pure and absolute adoration and diluc forgets how to think. the only thought crossing his mind is how much he, honest to the archons, loves this man.
zhongli leans in, softly kissing diluc, and diluc absolutely melts under his touch. he pulls away much too quickly, same look of adoration still present. “this is wonderful,” zhongli smiles, thumb brushing tenderly over diluc’s cheekbone before pulling away completely.
zhongli kneels in front of one of the lilies, gently reaching out to touch the petals. “glaze lilies react to human emotions, their environment weighs heavily into their growth.” zhongli explains, and diluc knows this already, he’s read just about any piece of writing detailing glaze lilies he could find. he doesn’t stop zhongli, he’s content to listen to zhongli talk about what he already knows.
“if their environment is joyous and positive, they will bloom joyfully in response, but if their environment is too negative, too harsh, they will wither and wilt.”
“these lilies are most interesting,” zhongli rises from his knelt position, facing diluc once again, “they appear to have been cultivated by affection for another.”
diluc decides to pointedly ignore the heat rising to his face. he glances off to the side. he’s far too embarrassed to make eye contact right now. it’s a relief that zhongli had such a positive reaction to the garden. “i’m sure you can figure out exactly what that means.”
he misses the smile zhongli gives at that. “i can, but would it be overstepping a boundary to ask you to say it anyway?”
diluc glares at zhongli, but there’s no heat behind it. despite his pride, he relents, “i grew this garden for you, and cared for it,” he’s certain he’s flustered at this point, with how hot it feels like his face is burning, “because i love you.”
diluc is about to speak again when zhongli grabs both of his hands so delicately, like the moment might shatter if he’s too rough. diluc doesn’t miss the smile this time, the color adorning zhongli’s face ever so slightly visible in the mellow lighting. “i love you too.” is all he says in response. it’s almost unfair how calm zhongli can seem in this moment, but it’s also just like him.
diluc leans in this time, zhongli meeting him in the middle as they share another kiss.
“perhaps this can give me a reason to visit more often,” zhongli murmurs as they part.
i hope it does, diluc thinks. he would take any excuse to be able to see zhongli more often.
“i would have no objections.” he replies instead.
perhaps one day they would be able to see each other more often, no worries or responsibilities getting in the way. it’s a reasonable goal, to an extent, and diluc wouldn’t mind waiting to see that day.