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The door swung open, and Diluc was sure an angel had just entered his bar.
The angel had long, smooth legs, sparkling eyes, and an eerily familiar ponytail. Diluc had to blink twice to recognize her.
"Jean," he spoke, testing it out like he was trying to verify that it really was her. He had never seen Jean out of her Knights of Favonius uniform before. He always thought she was beautiful, but this... this was something else.
Jean didn't respond, only taking a seat at the bar with a huff. Her skin had a touch of pink, like she'd been in the sun a bit too long. Her ponytail was loose, and on instinct she reached up too fix it. "Coffee, please," she requested.
Ah, still the same Jean. Diluc thought. No matter the outfit, she was still all business. He grabbed a mug to begin her drink, but couldn't resist his curiosity. "What's with the get-up?" He made sure to look busy as he asked so the question would come off as nonchalant and disguise how beautiful he thought she looked.
Jean sighed, having expected the question. "It's Barbara's birthday today. She wanted to have a picnic and said my uniform was unacceptable," she emphasized the last word with air quotes. "She picked this out for me. She said I look more fun now." Jean rolled her eyes.
Diluc smirked, still looking down as he prepared the coffee. He never expected Barbara and him to agree on something. Jean did look more relaxed in the casual outfit, but she still kept her professional mannerisms. Even in a bar stool, she sat with perfect posture. "So where is the birthday girl? Are you celebrating at the bar?" Diluc teased.
Jean shot him a sharp look that said I would never let my precious baby sister step foot in here. Exactly the response he was expecting. "I took the whole day off to spend with her," Jean started. Diluc could hear a twinge of irritation in her voice. "Weeks of organizing and late nights so I could have today completely free for her picnic! Then Lumine shows up for one second, and she drops the whole thing! They're picking flowers in Starfell Valley now." She sighed again, a pout forming on her face. This was another new side of Jean for Diluc, and he had to keep himself from grinning at her unexpected cuteness.
Diluc had been just about to pour Jean's coffee into a mug, but he stopped. "A whole day off, huh? Then how about a real drink?" Jean raised an eyebrow, obviously not sold. Diluc continued. "You know, I don't raise the price for black coffee, so I'm not making any money off it. How many times have you had Knights of Favonius meetings in here? And I haven't made a single dime from you." It was true, to an extent. In reality, Diluc had noticed Jean being the only one without a drink whenever she met others at the Angel's Share, so he added coffee to the menu to give her something to order. She was the only customer to ever order coffee in a bar, so he didn't bother raising the price. He had never thought of pushing her to have a drink, knowing she'd always claim being too busy with work. But Jean had already showed her hand. She had a full day off, and no excuses left to make.
Jean realized this as well, and she panicked as she looked for an excuse. "Well, I- I might have to see Barbara later..." she trailed off. She knew it wasn't true, Barbara would be gone all day, entertained by the traveler. They were probably drinking milk tea in Inazuma by now. Jean gave up. "Maybe I should buy something..."
Diluc smirked in victory, starting to prepare the drink.
"I didn't order yet," Jean butted in.
"No need," Diluc spoke, "I already know just the thing."
Jean huffed and crossed her arms. "Is this some sort of scam?" she raised her eyebrows, "Are you going to force me to pay for some overly expensive drink?"
Diluc chuckled. Of course Jean would suspect him of such behavior. "Don't worry. This first one is on the house." He placed the completed drink in front of her and her face fell. He deliberately chose an overly colorful drink in a fancy glass, knowing it would embarrass her. Such a serious knight wouldn't be caught dead drinking something so childish. "One dandelion breeze," Diluc called out to only her. The drink name didn't exist on the menu, but the drink was a regular. It was a favorite among the young women of Mondstadt for its fruity flavor and deceivingly high alcohol content. Dandelion breeze sounded quite nice, actually. Maybe he would change its name so Jean would come to mind every time someone ordered one.
Jean only huffed again. "I thought I was supposed to be settling my debts." She poked the colorful drink cautiously, like it might be poisonous.
"You will. Only the first one is free." Diluc pressed his back against the counter, turning his head to the side to look down at Jean. "And you can't have just one."
Jean had run out of ideas for resisting. She lifted the glass to her lips, sipping timidly. She placed the glass down with a neutral face. "It's alright," she spoke after a pause. It was delicious, actually, but she wasn't going to let him know that.
Diluc read her straight face like a book, but decided not to tease her any further.
There was no one else at the bar and an awkward silence soon fell over the two. Jean sipped her drink shyly, and Diluc dried a glass as he leaned against the counter. Both were searching for a conversation to start, not wanting to lose the rare opportunity of free time together, just the two of them.
Jean stole a glance at Diluc, his eyes focused on the glass in his hands. He had been so kind to offer her a drink. It had been quite the miserable week of work for her to get a whole day off, and the sweet, refreshing beverage tasted like a breath of fresh air. Maybe the alcohol was already getting to her head, but she felt like telling him all about it. She knew he would listen. "Um, Master Diluc," she started. His eyes met hers.
Their eyes were torn away in an instant as someone burst through the door. "A whole bottle of dandelion wine, stat!!" it called out. It was Venti.
He plopped next to Jean. His eyes immediately landed on her drink, which she sheepishly tried to hide. "Is Jean drinking?!?!" Venti exclaimed. "Oh man, I gotta tell Amber about this."
Venti was gone and back again in an instant, Amber trailing behind him.
"Is she drunk?" Amber asked Venti excitedly. Jean rolled her eyes. She wasn't even halfway through her drink yet. It was then Amber spotted her clothes and gasped. "Master Jean! You look so cute!"
Jean's face turned red and she tugged on one of her sleeves in embarrassment. Diluc wished he could have been the one to invoke that reaction from her. Amber forced Jean to stand so she could see the full outfit, and Jean twirled shyly. Diluc couldn't keep his eyes from following her.
"If Master Jean is drinking, then so am I!" Amber declared, taking another seat at the bar.
"Me too!" added Venti.
"You were already planning to drink." Diluc chimed in.
Venti paused. "Well, I'll drink twice as much then!" Jean giggled, and Diluc's eyes darted to her smile. Maybe having company wasn't so bad.
The news of Master Jean's drinking party spread quickly, and soon the bar was crowded with curious knights and adventurers. Several knights of Favonius started a toast to Master Jean, sharing stories of finding her working in her office at 3am or the one time she fell asleep standing up. The embarrassment combined with alcohol turned her face a bright red. Kaeya showed up later, and shamelessly complimented Jean's attractive look. His boldness earned him a secret threat from Diluc, which only made Kaeya happier. Albedo also appeared, accompanying Klee who, having heard the news from Amber, had begged him to bring her to see Master Jean's new outfit. Jean quickly shooed Klee from the bar and scolded Albedo for bringing her in.
As the festivities continued, Diluc was busy filling many drinks, including Jean's. As others drank around her, she continued to be encouraged to have another. But she wasn't complaining. Each new refill tasted even more delicious than the last, and the alcohol cleared her head of the worries she had for tomorrow's work. By the end of the night, her stress was completely forgotten and her cheeks hurt from smiling.
People trickled out the bar as it got later, but Jean, as the center of attention, was given no opportunity to leave. Before he knew it, Diluc found the bar to be almost empty, with just Jean and a few stragglers.
Jean was slumped over the counter, her head resting on her arms and her hair fanned out. When did she take out her ponytail? Diluc felt a twinge of anger that all of the guests had left, leaving Jean behind. But, he also knew he wouldn't have trusted most of them to take the drunk woman home. Especially not Kaeya. Mostly, he felt bad he had let her get that drunk in the first place. He knew she'd end up working through a hangover the next day. He made a note to bring her some coffee in the morning.
"Jean?" he prodded, leaning towards her over the counter. Jean stirred and rolled her head to the side, looking up at him with blurry eyes. His heart skipped. "Let me finish cleaning up, and I'll take you home." She only hummed and turned her face back into her arms. She'd probably sleep all night in the bar if he let her.
Diluc cleaned the bar and kicked out the few remaining patrons as fast as he could, anxious to get Jean home. After what felt like forever, things were finally complete. He shook her shoulder lightly, standing beside her. "Time to go," he spoke softly.
Jean groaned and kept her head down. Diluc sighed. This was going to be more difficult than he expected.
He looked at her messy hair. He had never seen her with her hair down before either, and as much as he liked it, he was sure she kept it up for a reason. She’d probably be embarrassed to walk through the Monstadt streets drunk and with untamed hair. At least he could do something about the hair.
Diluc swept the strands of her hair together with gentle hands. His fingers ghosted over the back of her neck, and he could feel the heat from her skin. "Where's your hair tie, Jean?"
"One of Venti's braids came apart, so I gave it to him," she slurred, her head raising to allow him to collect her hair.
He smiled softly. Ever the self-sacrificing knight. He pulled the tie out of his own hair and twisted it into hers. He wondered how a sober Jean would react to him tying her hair. He couldn’t imagine she’d ever allow it.
With her head raised and hair back, Jean gained the motivation to stand from her chair. Diluc raised a hand if she stumbled, but it wasn't needed, though her usually confident stride was reduced drastically.
The two were only a few steps out the bar when Jean turned around suddenly. "I didn't pay!" she exclaimed like it was the greatest threat to Mondstadt.
Diluc put an arm around her shoulders to turn her back around. "Don't worry, you can pay me later." Seeing Jean relax and have fun felt like payment enough already. Besides, he had made more than enough money off her party guests. A drinking Master Jean in cute clothes was the best advertisement the Angel's Share could ask for.
Jean quieted and relaxed into his arm. He had only planned to turn her around, but now she leaned into his body in a way that didn't allow him to drop his arm. He let his hand rest casually on her opposite shoulder, her head resting against his chest.
"I had so much fun," she spoke softly.
A small smile spread on Diluc's face. "I can tell," he teased, but secretly his heart warmed at her words. He had worried maybe he had forced Jean into spending her day off in a way she didn't like, but he felt at ease knowing she enjoyed it.
Jean started rattling on about different events of the night and Diluc listened attentively. Jean's voice was slightly slurred but she spoke with girlish excitement. He gazed down at her nestled under his arm. Diluc barely got a word in, but he didn't mind.
They walked like that all the way to the Knight's of Favonius headquarters. After being caught asleep in her desk chair several times, some knights had turned a spare room into a bedroom for Jean. She still got caught asleep in her chair, but less so now.
Jean attempted to steer towards her office, but Diluc held her back. "What do you think you're doing?" he accused.
"I should get just a little work done before I sleep." Jean reasoned, but her droopy eyes and slurred voice betrayed her.
Diluc was shocked. He knew Jean was a workaholic, but this was ridiculous. If she wanted to work when she was drunk and practically falling asleep, how much work did she force upon herself on a regular day? He made a mental note to check up on her more often. "Do you really think you can work in this state?" Diluc pressed. His voice came out louder than he intended, and Jean went silent. She looked down to avoid his frustrated expression.
He sighed and stepped closer to her. He hooked a finger under her jaw and lifted her face. "Jean," he spoke, taking care to soften his voice, "you need to rest."
"But I rested all day today," Jean said weakly. He could see the stress seeping back into her expression.
"You had fun today. You still need to sleep." He pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He wanted to take care of her, to tuck her in and make sure she got a full night's sleep every night. This would have to do for now.
Jean nodded reluctantly and let Diluc guide her the rest of the way to her room. They stopped and faced each other at her door.
"Goodnight, Jean." Diluc looked down at her with a soft smile. His hair flowed over his shoulders and Jean recalled how he had tied her hair for her. With her head buried in her arms, he hadn't noticed how she had blushed when he did it. She tugged the tie out of her hair and Diluc extended a hand to take it. He kind of hoped that she would have forgotten and held onto the hair tie. Maybe he could have spotted her wearing it another time. But oh well, that may have been too much to hope for.
But Jean didn't place the tie into his hand. Instead, she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck to collect his hair herself. Her body pressed against his, her face hovering just above his shoulder. Diluc froze in place. He felt her breath against his neck as she focused on tying his hair. She was doing a lousy job. Diluc could feel the several strands she missed. It made his heart warm.
When she was done, she didn't pull back. Her arms dropped, letting her hands rest on both his shoulders. She stayed there, her body still against his. Diluc took the risk and wrapped his arms around her waist, slowly, timidly, giving her plenty of time to back out if she wanted. Jean only melted into him. Her face pressed fully against his chest and her arms moved to wrap tightly around his neck.
"Goodnight, Diluc," she spoke into his chest, her voice barely above a whisper. She had never called him just his name before. She had also never hugged him before. Today was full of firsts between them.
Jean pulled away and snuck into her room in an instant, only giving him a moment to register the pink blush on her cheeks.
Diluc left still feeling the ghost of Jean's warm body pressed against his. He wondered if he had missed an opportunity to kiss her. No, it was probably best he didn't. Afterall, she had been drinking. He'd find another opportunity to do that.