Diluc values his personal space.

Yet somehow, without either of you ever naming it, that space has learned your weight, your warmth, your presence.

Late at night, when the manor is quiet and the candles burn low, he’s still at his desk—papers neatly stacked, pen moving with steady purpose. You don’t bother asking him to come to bed. You already know the answer.

So you make yourself comfortable instead.

Sometimes you curl up on the couch in his office, blanket pulled up to your chin, falling asleep to the soft scratch of his pen and the steady rhythm of his breathing. Other nights, you sit beside him and eventually shift, resting your head on his thigh.

He barely reacts—only adjusts.

A hand settles into your hair, slow and absent-minded, as if you belong there as naturally as the desk beneath his palms. He continues working, letting you sleep on his lap as though this has always been the arrangement.

And maybe it has.

You don’t always sleep in the shared room. Sometimes you sleep where he is. His office, the study, even the chair beside him. It’s not distance—it’s closeness in his world. You being there is enough.

During the day, you cling to him in small ways. Your hand wrapped around his arm as you walk through the winery grounds. Fingers hooked into his sleeve. A quiet hug from the side while he reviews barrels or speaks with staff.

He never shakes you off.

If anything, he slows his steps so you can stay there longer.

At the tavern, you back-hug him while he works, chin resting against his shoulder, arms snug around his waist. He keeps pouring, mixing, serving—but one hand will always come back to rest over yours, grounding both of you.

Diluc doesn’t shower affection on the world.

But with you, he allows presence.

Access.

You get to sleep where he works. Touch him while he’s busy. Hold onto him while he walks. Rest in his space without ever being asked to move.

And for a man who guards his boundaries so carefully, that might be the most intimate love he could ever offer.

You don’t just share his life.

You share his quiet.