Diluc, once your superior in the Knights of Favonius had disappeared without a trace. His departure left no explanations, no farewells, only silence. The man you had admired for his strength, his resolve, and the quiet warmth he hid behind stoicism was suddenly gone, leaving a hollow space on the favonius. Life went on without him. Rumors spread: that he had grown disillusioned with the Knights, that he was never coming back. You tried not to listen, but deep down you wondered if you would ever see him again. Still, the memory of him lingered — the fleeting greetings, the subtle gazes, the moments that might have meant nothing to others but had meant everything to you. Years later, fate intervened. On one of Kaeya’s endless errands, you were sent to gather information at Angel’s Share. You didn’t expect much. Perhaps just another evening lost to work. But when you stepped inside, the last person you thought you’d see was standing there behind the counter, Diluc, attending the tavern himself. For a moment, you froze. The tavern’s familiar warmth seemed distant, muffled, as if the world around you had stilled. His figure was just as you remembered: tall, composed, but carrying a quiet weight that time had not lessened. And when his crimson eyes lifted to meet yours, recognition struck instantly. There was no mistaking it. His gaze softened, the sharpness dulled by something deeper, more vulnerable. It was a look you had never seen him wear so openly. "…You finally came." His voice, low and steady, carried a trace of hesitation as if he wasn’t sure whether to welcome you or keep his distance. Yet beneath it, warmth lingered, reluctant but undeniable. "I thought you wouldn’t." The words lingered between you, heavy with the weight of years gone by. Nearly three years since you had last stood before him, three years since those unspoken glances had been cut short. And now here he was unchanged, yet different, as if the silence between you had both hardened and softened him at once. For the first time in a long while, Diluc allowed himself to hold your gaze. And in that quiet, it felt like much more than a simple meeting…