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She stood in the distance, her long purple hair billowing in the breeze. Her lavender dress swayed to the same gentle rhythm as the leaves on the golden trees in Liyue. Her flowing lilac figure stood out from the sea of gold of her surroundings. It was as if she was a divine being that came to grace the land with her presence. To him, she was an ethereal sight.
Diluc tightened his grip on the hilt of his claymore he was cleaning. Lately, he noticed that his eyes always seemed to wander over to her whenever she wasn't looking. He sighed with frustration as he failed to grasp a reason for this occurrence.
Diluc and Keqing were simply just two travel companions assigned together by the Tianquan to accomplish a mission. They had only been traveling around Liyue for about 2 months. To add to that, their relationship had a rocky start where neither were willing to be on friendlier terms with each other.
He remembered how Keqing's amethyst eyes would always look at him with doubt as she treaded around her words carefully. It was presumably due to the fact that he was known as the wine tycoon of Mondstadt and someone of his status held plenty of influence beyond its borders. Perhaps his stoic nature also had a part to play in offputting her.
Keqing, on the other hand, held a high government position and Diluc wasn't sure what the Qixing's intentions were in assigning her with him for the mission. He remembered Ningguang, the Tianquan, stating that it was simply a gesture of improving diplomatic relations between Liyue and Mondstadt. Since Keqing remained formal with him, he did the same with her. She only spoke to him when it pertained to the mission and otherwise, she would always scout the area ahead by herself considering she knew Liyue well.
They remained distant as two acquaintances until "that night." If Keqing had not spotted Diluc sneaking out of the camp he wondered where he would be. Presumably dead. He had had a lead on some Fatui agents who supposedly held valuable intel on the mission he and Keqing were assigned, but he didn't realize that they had an ambush planned for him. Diluc was a seasoned fighter, but even exhaustion and numbers could overwhelm him.
He recalled when one of the Fatui were about to land the finishing blow. Diluc was pinned to the ground with the knife the agent held directly at his throat. He cursed at himself for letting his guard down at the Fatui's plan to ambush him. If only he had brought someone else with him. Even one other person would've been enough to eliminate the last few remaining agents. There were simply too many for one man to take on.
"You were foolish for coming here alone. It's a shame that you will meet your end here," the agent jeered at him as he raised his sword.
Before he could land the finishing blow, Diluc spotted a purple stiletto land in front of him and saw her, a flash of lavender, appear before him. Her electro sword slash managed to launch the red fatui agent back several feet.
Keqing spun around to face him, "You shouldn't go alone if you suspect that they might have some other hidden plan up their sleeve."
For the first time since they've been together, Diluc saw Keqing's face laced with concern. "Thankfully, you don't have any severe injuries, but you should be more careful, Mr. Ragnvindr. I don't want to get on Ningguang's bad side if I let my travel partner die."
The red agent got back up on his feet as the remaining Fatui raced towards her.
Keqing's expression quickly shifted to that of emotionlessness as her eyes narrowed at her targets.
"Nowhere to hide," she said with finality as she unleashed her starword sword on her opponents, sending all of the Fatui agents instantly flying back. She quickly finished them off with a few swift motions of her sword except for the one who had pinned down Diluc earlier. He was presumably the leader since he was ordering the other Fatui agents earlier.
"Tell me where the convict, Yuan, is," she hissed as she held her sword up to the agent's neck.
"You think I will simply answer your question lil' lady?" the agent sneered.
Keqing pressed her sword further, grazing some of the skin.
"Answer my question," she repeated.
"I would rather die than tell you," the agent replied as he rolled his head forward, "You fools think you've got the upper hand."
Keqing's expression remained unchanged. "That doesn't matter. I will ask you once more. Tell me where Yuan is and what his reason is for heading there!"
She pushed her sword in deeper, creating a small cut with the skin. The man wailed and suddenly, his head went limp.
The wound wasn't deep enough for him to faint, so why did he flop all of a sudden? To Keqing and Diluc's dismay, the Fatui agent's shoulders began to shake. He howled with laughter.
"To hell with that! There is nothing you can do to get intel out of me! I already have a plan if we lose!" the Fatui agent shrieked maniacally.
Diluc realized what the man was going to do. When they have no way out, they will choose death. And the swiftest way to death would mean… No, he can’t let it happen. This was their only chance at gathering intel on the convict’s tracks. Otherwise, they would hit a dead end.
Steadying himself with his claymore planted in the ground to rise up, he used it to propel himself forward towards the Fatui agent. Everything within that moment happened in a blur.
"ARGGH!" the agent screamed as he bit down.
Diluc winced, but regained his composure. Keqing glanced at him to see that the agent had bitten through Diluc's glove, drawing some blood. A moment of clarity appeared on Keqing's face as she realized what Diluc had done. He had prevented the agent's suicide attempt before he could bite his tongue.
"Answer the Yuheng's question!" Diluc said firmly as he applied pyro to the agent.
"AGH! You can't get an answer out of me!" the Fatui agent shrieked with protest.
"You may wish for death, but there is only a certain threshold of pain humans can tolerate," Diluc said as he wrapped his good hand around the agent's wrist.
Keqing could hear the sizzle of pyro as the agent screamed and writhed in pain.
"Hmm, you do have a tolerance higher than normal, but you won't be able to hold off for long," Diluc calmly stated as he grabbed the agent's hand and used his vision to heat it up.
"Stop it! Please! Please! I will tell you!" the agent cried.
Diluc finally removed his hand and the Fatui agent slumped forward. Keqing caught him by the collar and held him upright.
"The man you are looking for...Yuan...is headed towards Mingyun village," the Fatui agent responded as his voice trembled, "He's headed there for an illegal trade of some kind."
"That's all we needed," Diluc stated curtly, "I have no further use for you, so you shall be disposed of."
"W-wait no more pyro!" the Fatui agent pleaded as he cowered in fear.
Diluc glanced at Keqing who stood behind the agent, "He said no more pyro, so would you like to honor his request?" He gave her a sly smile.
Keqing nodded as she gazed down at the agent who was still affected by pyro.
"I guess it's time to meet your end. I will honor your request of not using pyro," Keqing said as she threw her lightning stiletto, burying it in his leg.
Overload reactions began occurring and the man shrieked for a few seconds before he fell silent and became limp.
Diluc and Keqing stood in silence for a couple of moments before Keqing began, "It's about time we headed back to our camp, Mr. Ragnvindr. Your injuries may not be severe, but they still need to be treated."
"Miss Yuheng, I'm alright," Diluc insisted as he started to head in the direction they came from, "I can walk just fine."
He, in fact, was trying not to wince from the pain that shot up his leg every few seconds from the cut on his calf.
"If you say so," Keqing answered, her voice still laced with doubt.
The walk back involved some difficult terrain to navigate through. Diluc cursed under his breath as he nearly tripped over a rock. The ground was very uneven and some places required climbing up ledges. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep walking before he would have to give in to his injuries. Diluc groaned as his foot nearly got caught in a tree root, causing him to stumble to the ground.
“Mr. Ragnvindr-” Keqing began with concern, but was quickly cut off by him.
"I'm fine Miss Yuheng," Diluc grimaced as he tried to reassure her.
"No you're not," Keqing affirmed as she spotted a gash on his leg, "I didn't bring any medical supplies, but this will suffice."
Keqing lifted one of her arms up to tear the fabric from one of her long flowing sleeves and proceeded to tightly wrap it around Diluc's leg.
"Miss Yuheng, you don't need to-" Diluc protested.
"It's fine. This sleeve can easily be mended. On the other hand, I don't want you bleeding out and getting an infection. The walk back will take a while, so you may use my shoulder as support," Keqing said as she offered him her hand.
Diluc took her hand as she managed to sling his arm across her shoulders and grabbed his waist to steady him. He wasn't sure if someone of her small stature could handle his weight, but was relieved to see that Keqing managed to continue to walk just fine. He had to lean down a bit to get on her level which made him chuckle on the inside.
It was the first time he had been within this close proximity to Keqing. They usually remained separated by a distance, exchanging a handshake or two occasionally, but now they were in physical contact. He wondered if they would still remain distant afterwards or at least be on friendlier terms after this event.
"Mr. Ragnvindr," Keqing began as she broke his train of thought, “I’m sorry…”
“What for?” Diluc asked with curiosity as he laid his scarlet gaze on hers.
Keqing took a deep breath before replying. Whatever her answer was must be serious.
“For misjudging your character,” Keqing replied with remorse in her voice, “I was in the wrong when I met you in the beginning. I thought you were simply a lecherous wine tycoon who only cared about mora and gaining a monopoly in the wine industry. Someone who didn’t care at all about the well-being of their people by being so aloof and distant. But after I saw how you helped those villagers and how dedicated you were to tracking down those Fatui agents, I realized you weren’t all that. You are the opposite of what I thought you were. You do care about the people and will go to great lengths for them. You are a good person, Mr. Ragnvindr.”
They stopped walking and only the sounds of the night wildlife filled the silence. Diluc felt astounded by her comment. The Yuheng considered him to be a good person?
“You don’t have to accept my apology because, after all, I have been cold and distant to you,” Keqing added as she looked down to avoid his gaze.
“No, I accept your apology,” Diluc answered, keeping his eyes on her.
Keqing glanced up to look at him. There was a hint of surprise and disbelief in her magenta eyes as they widened slightly.
“I also thought wrongfully of you in the beginning,” Diluc started, “I thought you were just a government official who was too absorbed in her work to care about the citizens, but I know that’s false. You wish for the citizens to be able to rely on themselves instead of the archons and not be bound by fate. You want Liyue to be able to prosper with the citizens' own hard work. I guess we have more in common than we think. We both care for our people.”
Keqing let out a tiny chuckle, “I agree. There’s so much we both still don’t know about each other. We shouldn’t let our assumptions get the best of us. I accept your apology, Mr. Ragnvindr.”
He could see the affirmation in her eyes that she meant what she said.
“Diluc is fine. You don’t have to be so formal with me. We’ve been traveling together for a month now,” Diluc said as he gave her a small grin. He realized for the first time, in a long while, he had given a person a genuine smile. His conversation with Keqing had somehow put the both of them at ease.
“Alright, Diluc it is then,” Keqing replied. Diluc noticed even under the moonlight that her cheeks were slightly tinged with pink. He wondered if it was a trick of the light.
She continued, ”And while you are at it, I would prefer to be called Keqing. ‘Miss Yuheng’ always felt way too formal for me.”
“Okay… Keqing,” Diluc said slowly. He liked the way her name rolled off his tongue, but he would never tell her that. Once again, he swore he caught a glimpse of pink on her cheeks, but it vanished quickly.
The two of them continued to chat as they made their way back to camp. They learned more trivial things from each other such as Keqing’s love for golden shrimp balls and Diluc’s distaste for wine.
Keqing had let out a giggle at that tidbit of information. "The owner of Dawn Winery dislikes wine? Now that's unheard of!"
Diluc realized that it was the first time he had seen the Yuheng laugh like that during their time together. Something about seeing her express joy made him smile too. They had exchanged more information about each other from the walk back than the one month they spent together combined.
As they finally reached camp, Keqing found the medical supplies and began treating Diluc’s injuries, wrapping bandages around his leg. Diluc began, “I want to thank you for saving my life back there. If you hadn't arrived, I wouldn’t be where I am right now.”
“You’re welcome. I was just simply doing my job. After all, we can’t accomplish our mission if one of us dies. I would also like to thank you for getting the intel out of him. I don’t like admitting this, but I wouldn't have been able to get an answer out of him and we would've reached a dead end.”
"No need to thank me. I've learned through years of experience that applying pyro or electro works best if the adversary is being stubborn."
Keqing suddenly gazed up at him with serious eyes, “Diluc, promise me this...”
“What is this promise you ask for?” Diluc questioned her, eyes attentive.
“Please don’t charge headfirst alone into battle like that. I know you are strong, but being self-sacrificial like that will only result in you dying in vain.”
Diluc felt a pang of guilt in his chest as he saw the pain in her eyes when she spoke those words. He wanted to assure her he was alright, but her statement was undeniably correct. He often preferred to fight alone, resulting in several close calls in battle at times. What she said also made him recall a near-death experience he had encountered several years ago.
“You are the second person who’s told me that,” Diluc answered.
“So this wasn’t your first near-death experience?” Keqing asked with a look of bewilderment on her face.
“There was a time when I discarded my vision and fought several Fatui Harbingers. You can see how well that went.”
Keqing's mouth gaped even further wide open, "Who in their right mind would-"
"I didn't charge into their stronghold," Diluc interrupted her quickly, "They were the ones that ambushed me."
"That must mean you were an important target to them. We should be more careful in the future. So, is this a promise or not?"
"It's a promise. I won't charge into battles alone anymore,” he replied, keeping his crimson eyes on her as he awaited her approval.
“A promise it is then,” Keqing nodded and glanced up as if she was contemplating something, “Also, may I ask, why did you discard your vision?"
"It's personal..." Diluc said as he looked down, "I prefer not to say."
"It's okay if you don't want to elaborate. Just know that it is unwise to fight without a vision even if you didn't want one," Keqing said with warning in her voice.
Diluc assumed that her statement was based on a personal experience she had had with her vision that she probably wasn’t willing to explain to just anyone. He realized there was still so much they didn't know about each other, but he doubted they would ever be close enough to share such things.
The two sat in silence as Keqing finished wrapping the bandages around Diluc's wounds. "That should do it. It's well into the night, so we should get some rest before we set off in the morning. A couple of hours will do. Ah, but since you are injured we will have to move slowly for the next few days. I will see if I can find better medicine nearby tomorrow."
“Alright, you should get some rest too. Goodnight, Keqing,” Diluc said as he headed towards his tent.
“Goodnight, Diluc,” he heard Keqing call from the opposite side of the camp.
Diluc came back to the present and pondered over where they were now. Since that incident, they conversed more from time to time and were more cautious of their movements so as not to be fooled by the enemy easily, but nothing else had really changed. Diluc remembered that he and Keqing were simply travel companions assigned on a mission together by the Tianquan. There was nothing more between them.
"Diluc, come here! I know where we should go next!" Diluc felt himself snap out of whatever trance he was in at the sound of her voice. He could see from the distance by the large golden tree that she was now facing him.
As he approached her, he could see Keqing’s eyebrows were scrunched as she gazed at the map she was holding.
"So, Diluc, I have decided that we should take the bend around that pass up ahead instead of-" Keqing began before she abruptly glanced up at him.
Diluc was baffled by this as the Yuheng usually did not have her train of thoughts be interrupted by anything. Her magenta eyes were locked onto his as they darted quickly over his face, examining him. Whenever something was amiss, Keqing would always catch it. Even the smallest of details couldn't escape her which was why Diluc wondered if there was indeed something wrong with him. Besides this strange feeling in his chest, he felt fine.
"Diluc, are you feeling well? You might have a fever," Keqing said, eyes filled with concern.
"No, I feel perfectly fine," Diluc replied before Keqing continued.
"You must be lying. Your face is a little flushed."
Immediately, Diluc became aware of how warm his face felt. He was so focused on Keqing that he forgot about the heat creeping up on his cheeks.
"I can assure you Keqing that I do not have a fever. I do not feel any fatigue and I can wield my claymore just fine," he quipped.
"I think not. You are in need of an examination which is why I will perform it myself," Keqing said as she removed one of her gloves.
"Keqing, you don't need to…" Diluc started, but trailed off. Trying to get the Yuheng to change her mind would only be futile.
He watched as she went on her tiptoes and reached her hand up towards his face, but to her chagrin, she stumbled forward. Diluc quickly reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her. In his grip, she felt small, almost making him want to pull her closer to him. No. He shouldn't think of nonsensical things like that.
"I'm fine, Diluc. I'm not the type of person who falls over easily," the petite woman said as she briefly avoided eye contact before she finally fixed her magenta gaze on him.
“May I?” she asked as she sheepishly raised her hand.
“You might as well,” Diluc answered, relenting to her.
He felt his breath hitch as he could feel her hand gently glide across his forehead brushing the scarlet hair away from his face. Something about the way Keqing did it made him crave more of her contact whether he wanted to admit it or not. He felt her hand, cool to the touch, meet his forehead as Keqing briefly felt it and then removed it to press her own forehead. Unbeknownst to her, this simple action only made Diluc feel more flustered.
"It is indeed warm to the touch, but your face appears to only get redder every minute. If it's not a fever, what else could it be?" Keqing wondered as she placed her thumb on her chin.
Diluc wasn't sure what to say as he wasn't aware of what caused it himself, so he said the first answer he could think of.
"Allergies," he blurted out quickly.
“It seems only today that you’ve got these ‘allergies’ then. I wonder if there is some unknown substance causing it. Care to elaborate?”
“I am known to be allergic to some of the pollen flying around which is the reason why my face turned red," Diluc explained. He knew this was quite a flimsy excuse, but it would be better to put the Yuheng at ease knowing she would try to find a cure if he didn't say so otherwise.
"Alright then. It must definitely be allergies. Unfortunately we don’t have anemo to blow the pollen around here away, so you will have to bear with having a red face for now. This leads to my next question, why are you still grasping my shoulders?"
Diluc felt his face flush even more. He was sure it was probably as red as his hair by now. He noticed that a light pink faintly dusted Keqing’s cheeks. He wasn't sure what would cause it. Perhaps she too had mild allergies. He had seen her cheeks turn pink several times in their journey already, so that definitely must be it.
"I'm so sorry," Diluc said as he immediately removed his hands from her shoulders and took a few steps back, "Please forgive me for my behavior. I do not bear any ill intentions towards you."
"You don't need to apologize Diluc. I'm sure you did not mean it and besides, you were just simply trying to help me. Let's continue our trek now," Keqing said as she motioned her head towards the path that snaked around the tall rock structures.
Diluc was relieved that Keqing brought their attention back to their journey and, for now, he didn't need to agonize over why he felt strange whenever he was with her lately. He hoped that maybe, eventually, he would be able to figure out what was the cause of this emotion.
Diluc knew that they were simply travel companions on good terms with each other. Deep down, however, there was a voice in his head telling him he wanted to get closer to her. He wanted more with their relationship, but he would never tell her that. It was better for the both of them to stay the way they were now. They were simply travel companions with nothing more between them.
here's some chibi fanart of them I made!