Chapter Text
The first instance was when you wanted to bake him a birthday cake. The moment that started it all. You don't have to cook, or bake, you're not that good at it anyways. You know it, and he knows it. Simply tell Adelinde what you want done and she'd do it. She even offered to help you bake, but you insisted on doing it yourself. Diluc came home to see you in his kitchen, flour all over your dress, and somehow even on your forehead. He watched you from the doorway, as you intently tried getting the icing on the lopsided cake in an even layer, a look on your face that said determination, with the tip of your tongue sticking out, eyes piercing with pure focus. He softly smiles, thinking to himself, "I think I love her."
Secondly, when you patched up his minor wounds after his dark knight hero activities. He had come back home to the winery, and you were in bed patiently waiting for him as you usually stay there on the weekends. He wearily took off his disguise, and you saw a few minor injuries on him– just a few scrapes and cuts. You looked at him concerned, and Diluc could practically feel the worry oozing off you. He insisted he was fine, but you insisted otherwise. You sternly made him sit down so you could clean up his injuries, despite your tone he knew you were not mad, you were just showing care for him– and despite your own discomfort with blood and injuries, you took your time with a gentle, loving hand to properly clean and bandage his wounds. He watched you, seeing the concentration on your worried face, thinking to himself, "I think I love this woman with all my heart."
Thirdly, when he found you picking grapes on a busy day at the winery. He had been stressed lately, the winery was far more busy than usual. He had his own work to attend to, plus now not enough hands on deck to pick the grapes– so he'd have to help with that on top of all his other duties. He had been venting to you about how busy it was, not that he wanted you to help with such hard labour, he just needed an outlet. Later that day, he found you outside in the vineyard without a word said to him about it, one of the staff teaching you how to properly harvest the grapes. He admired you from afar, looking with eyes full of affection as you decided to help around the winery despite not being a staff member. He thinks, "I truly love her."
Fourthly, when you were in bed together both minding your own. You were sitting beside him reading a thrilling book, and unbeknownst to you he was watching the little reactions on your face. He looked away from you momentarily, only to hear a barely audible gasp escape you. Diluc turned his head back in your direction, only to see a few tears trickling down your cheeks, the book having elicited an emotional response from you. He chuckled quietly, and reached over to the bedside table to grab a clean handkerchief, he handed it to you so you could wipe away your tears. He thought to himself once again, "wow, I really do love her..."
The fifth and final instance that made him realize you're the one was something simple, so domestic and mundane. It happened when you helped him put his hair up one morning when he was too tired to do it himself. You had spent the night, and he hadn't slept well, which was no one's fault, he just had too much on his mind. He could hardly shake the fatigue off, and the half-drank coffee in his hands hadn't kicked in yet. He was exhausted, but the day must still go on. He sat on the edge of the bed sipping his coffee, trying to wake up. You placed a chaste kiss on his forehead, before wordlessly climbing onto the bed behind him with a hair brush, a hair tie and a few hair pins. You carefully and meticulously brushed the tangles from his thick hair, and pulled it up into a high ponytail with a loving touch, gently pinning up a few stray hairs as well. In the back of his mind, there was an ever present thought that you're the one, as this moment tugged on his heart strings. So, "I love you," he finally said, now knowing it to be true.