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Underneath The Peach Tree

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

> pairing: Diluc Ragnvindr x gn!Reader

> genre: fluff, angst not really it’s more of just a vent, modern day

> wc: ~2.7k

> authors note: teehee I wrote this while lowkey upset with my bf-not-bf on boyfriends day so it is not very good lolz

_________

The first time you saw the peach tree, it was barren. Dark branches reached to the sky, barely grazing the clouds that flew high above them, and roots spread deep beneath the earth, keeping the tree rooted despite the fickle storm that raged around it.

You didn’t really want to go there, but the rain was beating down on you hard, and even though it had nothing but emptiness to offer, it was better than nothing at all, right?

So you ran over to it, gripping your umbrella tightly to shield you from the thundering storm and praying that it would be over soon. Your hand fell to your side and grazed against a carving in the trunk. If only you had the time to check it out. Alas, trying not to be blown away by the wind came first.

_________

Your second meeting with the peach tree was in the spring after the storm. The dark branches were now covered in pink blossoms, which cascaded down and danced around you as the wind blew them in a flurry. The ground around it was blanketed with fragile petals, which looked as if they would be blown into dust at the slightest touch.

You walked up to it, running your hand along the wood to try and track down the carving from before. Finally, you came across it once more. But this time you noticed more around it- each one decorated with hearts, and worn with time.

Initials stained the bark, and not a single one was alone. Pairs of letters tattooed the peach tree, confessions of love carved permanently into it’s skin.

Suddenly, the wind blew up in a hurry. The graceful dance of the peach blossoms was replaced with an urgent frenzy around you, like a tornado ready to swallow you up. Flowers were forcefully ripped off of the tree, added to the every growing cyclone.

You almost fell back out of pure surprise, but caught yourself at the last moment, giving a mournful glance to the tree as it returned to how it once was, barren with nothing to show except scars of the past, memories that had yet to fade.

_________

Your third visit to the peach tree was one hot summer night, when things were getting to be far too much to handle. You collapsed beneath the branches, shoulders shaking with each gasping breath.

The air was silent, and much too still. No blossoms danced around you, but instead laid at your side in a melancholy fashion. The tree had finally begun to bear fruit, but it was all rotten and mushy, fallen and in the midst of returning to nature.

It felt like a whole lot of nothing. Like the world had finally given up on you, and this would be your final resting place. Like the peaches, you would lie here and return to the earth. Your gasps gradually died down, replaced by quiet sniffles as you wiped your eyes again and again, to rid them of the last bit of tears before you had to face your home.

Home. The thought rested on your mind like an unsettling flavour. Home meant safety. Home meant happiness. Then why wasn’t it like that? Why was home just so much…nothingness?

The thought weighed heavily on your mind, soaking your thoughts with a tinge of depression.

So maybe that’s why it scared you when you saw the red haired man standing in front of you. And maybe that’s why you broke into tears again as he looked down at you.

“Hey are you ok- Ah, I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong?” His voice was comforting and warm, like hot chocolate and cookies after a particularly terrible trek through a storm.

You tried to speak, but you couldn’t even get out a simple apology through your sobs and sniffles, only shaking your head vehemently to answer his question.

But it was okay.

He just nodded with a soft smile, and sat down next to you. He didn’t say a word as he rested a hand on your head, and pat it, like you were a good little puppy who had just been rescued from certain death, and he was your merciful owner who was rewarding you for being such a good boy.

And it worked. Gradually, you calmed down again, burying your head in your arms as he sat silently. Finally, you were able to speak, croaking out words with a dry, cracking voice.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to- I shouldn’t have- I-“ Your tongue felt like it was tying itself in a knot, tripping over your words as you tried to apologize for what you had done.

“Hey. Don’t worry, it’s okay. Is everything alright with you?” His tone was sincere and welcoming. It reminded you of your grandmother’s cookies, soft and chewy and maybe a tad too sweet, but after all, you had always liked them that way, so it was okay.

And those simple words had done it. You felt like you were at the brink of tears again as you just shook your head and wailed once more, slumping over and pouring your heart out to this charismatic stranger, who had yet to introduce himself.

You didn’t mind though, because it was better for him to remain nameless. That meant that when it came time to part ways, you wouldn’t be nearly as upset. That meant that it would be okay for you to cry to him and then forget him the moment he left. Because in all honesty, you were never going to see him again. This was a one-time occurrence, and you were okay with that.

So you wailed and pouted and cried and sobbed, and told the red head everything that was troubling you, and everything that didn’t trouble you, and everything in between. You told him about the aches of your heart, and the long lost memories of home that you wished would come back. You told him about the wilted peach blossoms that flew across your vision, and the rotten fruit that made up your lunches. You told him everything and nothing, anything that waltzed into your mind.

And he nodded and listened with a smile, offering his opinion occasionally but mostly just letting you spill your guts out to him. He patted your back as you heaved, and held you with a sympathy you had never felt before. And just like that, the evening had fallen into nighttime, and the moon began to cast it’s shadow over the world.

“And I- I- I have to go! It’s getting so late!” Your mother would be so angry if you got home too late. And with the moonlight raining down on you like this, it felt like you had no chance of making it in time. You got up in a hurry, wiping your eyes one last time with your sleeves and looking at the stranger with a mournful smile.

“Thank you. I’m sorry.” And before he could get another word out, you ran off, not even looking back so as to wipe every moment of this experience from your mind. It was for the best.

_________

And like that, summer had come and gone, and you were back at school again. The monotony of repetition began to set in, like a brick on top of a bowl of jello. It took its time, but was gradually sinking in deeper and deeper.

Sitting in the dull class, your mind began to wander. Pink blossoms danced across your memories, clouding them with petals. You thought of that day, which now felt like many moons ago, when you had done what felt like the most embarrassing thing in your life- that is, tell all your troubles to an absolute stranger.

But whatever. It was in the past, and you would most certainly never meet that man again, right? The peach tree and it’s mysterious man were long gone now, perhaps withered away to nothing. It was silly to spend any more time thinking about them.

Though, try as you did, you simply couldn’t shake them from your mind. The roots of the two were ingrained in your mind, reaching far too deep to be weeded out.

So you did the only thing that made sense. That is, you went back to the peach tree. If you can’t beat ‘em, may as well join ‘em, right? At least, that’s what everyone always said, as far as you could recall.

The day was crisp and clean as the bell rang to dismiss you, like a shiny apple freshly picked from an orchard. The peach tree was where it always had been, vigilantly stationed upon that hill, as if it was a dragon protecting a secret treasure.

For now, there was no one else there. But you could wait a bit, you had the time. You held your coat closer to you and plopped down underneath one of the outstretched branches.

Autumn had clearly had it’s toll on the tree, now devoid of blossoms with only frail leaves left to be offered to you, and even those were slowly being stripped from the tree, picked off one by one by the relentless winds. It’s thick, gnarled branches were outstretched as if in prayer, begging for it’s beauty to be returned.

You sat there, enduring the chill of fall, for what felt like days, months, years. Finally, you gave up. You had wasted your chance, and now he would never return again. What a terrible predicament this was. But what could you do? You just packed up, letting out a heavy sigh as you trudged back home.

_________

The stifling tension of depression had set in once more. There was nothing left at home for you anymore. It was the place where your heart had thrown up, and then shattered into a billion pieces. So you went to the only place you knew.

In the dead of winter was when the peach tree looked the most majestic. Thick snow blanketed it’s branches, mimicking the clouds that stormed relentlessly above. It was held in stark contrast to the pale winterscape around it, a dead black compared to the sickly white.

You could see your breath as you walked up to it. Tainting the clear air, creating small clouds that fogged up your vision. Every heartbeat was as loud as a drum, a painful reminder that you were still here, alive, and stuck in a flurry.

Your heavy boots left deep footprints in the snow, a trail leading to where you collapsed, head resting on a soft cushion of snow as you simply laid there, mind alive with thoughts, yet dead with silence at the same time. Emptiness enveloped you. Not sad, yet not happy. If anything, it was void of emotion, like a robot, although you doubted robots could ever experience the heart wrenching pain you were going through now.

You could feel tears pooling up in your eyes, creating a sheen that shielded your view from the world. The thick feeling of sadness fell into your throat, blocking off your air and making it feel like you would suffocate at any moment.

The sound of crunching snow filled your ears, interrupting your self-loathing for a moment as you frantically sat up and wiped off your tears, sniffling and trying your best to make it unapparent how much you’d been weeping only moments prior. You were met once more with a view of the red haired man from before, as he smiles regretfully down at you.

And then suddenly, it was okay. Well, not really. And yet it was. You could feel yourself choking up again as you tried to muster up words to explain yourself but- nothing. You only let out a few choked sobs, before curling up and pulling your knees to your chest. It was too much to handle right now.

And again, he didn’t say a word. Instead, he sat in the snow next to you, placing a hand on your shoulder as you tried to keep yourself from breaking out into tears again.

But it wasn’t enough. It never is, is it? No matter what you might do, the storms returned in full force, snuffing out what little flames of hope may have remained.

You fell onto him, at this point crying heavy tears that stained his shirt as you curled up into his side, trying to rub your eyes and nose clean of the snot and tears that refused to leave you alone. You couldn’t even get a single word out, only a few whimpers in between the wails of agony.

And he just nodded, and put his arm around you as you sobbed, gently patting your arm to reassure you. Everything would be alright.

Yet the question ran through your mind, like a comb running through hair, over and over to get every last knot out. Would it be alright? How could he say that, when he knew so little of your plight? How could he know everything would be alright, when so far everything has been exactly the opposite? Everything wouldn’t be fine. It couldn’t.

Still, you laid there in his arms, listening to him as he comforted you and began to pat your head once more. He started off talking about how everything would be okay, and how things had a way of fixing themselves and all that crap. Once he saw that it wasn’t helping in the least, though, he changed his tune. He began to speak of seemingly whatever, telling you tales about his idiotic brother, and stories about what his father taught him when he was younger.

He stroked your hair and talked in that warm voice of his, soft like a cloud and smooth like honey. His touch was gentle, pulling at your hair just enough to not hurt it as he combed his fingers through. He even removed his gloves, leaving his hand free to the biting cold, though he didn’t seem to mind.

Finally, the winds died down and the world was quiet again. Your mind was silent, although not empty, as his words filled the void that was once there.

Eventually, he stopped talking. The moon was hanging low in the sky at this point, as the last few rays of sunlight bade farewell to the land that they had been bathing. You looked up, eyes finally dry, with a bit of confusion, only to be met with a soft smile as he placed a hand on your head again.

“Diluc. Diluc Ragnvindr. You didn’t ask but, I felt you should know.”

And finally, your vow of silence broke, as you mustered a smile of your own, alongside a response.

“y/n.”

_________

Since that day, you and Diluc had become inseparable. Every moment you weren’t with him, you were texting him, or thinking about him, or writing about him. Your mind became flooded with thoughts of him, your days serving only to pass the time until you saw him again.

The peach tree was your place of sanctuary, where you two would meet every friday, whether for a picnic or just a small chat, in rain or shine. The tree itself grew older by the day, filled with blossoms and juicy peaches, perfect for the most luxurious of pies.

And eventually, your names joined the menagerie that had been situated there. Carved within a heart, just another reminder of a couple that the peach tree has blessed.

And then, one spring night, it finally happened.

The wind was softly blowing, pushing your hair out of your face, and throwing his hair into your eyes. The sun was just dipping beyond the horizon, sinking as the sea of nighttime enveloped it.

Blossoms fell and flew around the two of you, creating the perfect storm of pink petals. And finally, he did it. You felt his lips lock with yours, like a pair of puzzle pieces that had been reunited after far too long.

The kiss was warm and buttery, like your grandmother’s cookies. You melted into it, savouring the sweet sensation. It was perhaps a bit too sweet, but after all, you had always liked it that way, so, for once, everything was okay.

-The End-