Chapter Text
This is officially the worst day in Bennett’s life!
Well. Maybe not. Bennett remembers days that were way worse. Being the world’s unluckiest person means having many, many days where one thinks “wow, this is the worst day of my life!” Yet, this one had to place somewhere along the top ten at best. He knows it’s a little dangerous to go on an adventure and come back to Mondstadt at night, when literally everything can jump at him, but…
To start with, he couldn’t settle a camp anywhere— he had absolutely thought he’d be back before the sun set, so he didn’t bring anything to camp. Razor didn’t seem to be around, so, there went his only chance to be shielded by a guy with a pack of wolves. Since there was no chance to set a camp, he simply decided to head back to Mondstadt as best as he could. But of course it started raining.
Secondly, just when rain wasn’t annoying enough, the rain brought a bunch of Hydro Slimes with it. It’s so hard to fight when it’s raining, he can’t see well, and he’s already a bit of a clumsy fighter—it’s a recipe for disaster. So it can’t get worse, right? All he has to do now is to run off.
Thirdly, as he’s running off, of course he tripped and went past a Hilichurl camp, upsetting all of them, and of course some Abyss mages were there to ruin everything—literally, why is everyone awake?!
So everything’s looking a little glum. He’s already injured enough from the Slimes, and there’s basically a whole troop waiting to pounce at him. His stamina can’t give him more, and so—well, this is pretty poopy, isn’t it?
“Stay back!” someone yells as they land in front of him. An angel? A glimpse of luck? “I’ve got this. Head somewhere safe.”
The person’s voice doesn’t really leave room for argument, but these guys are tough— it’d be near impossible to take them down with one person. “Wait! No! I’m an adventurer, I’ll help you out!”
Groaning, the other guy doesn’t reply to Bennett—greatsword in hand, he’s jumping and slashing at the enemies expertly. Woah. Bennett has never seen anyone fight like that. Blinking awake and snapping out his trance, he summons his sword again and tries to charge at some Hilichurls nearby; they’re clearly a lesser threat than the Abyss mages. He turns around a few times, just to check on the other guy, and wow is he beating everyone’s butts! That’s so cool—oh, damn, the brief moment of distraction made a Hilichurl hit him on his cheek. That was definitely leaving another bruise.
It’s a matter of time until everyone’s done for, completely knocked out. Bennett’s new hero jerks his thumb behind him. “Quickly, let’s get out of the rain. Now.”
“Ah—yes, sir!”
That just came out. He’s a little intimidating, okay? Bennett feels the need to be polite. Plus, he literally saved his life!
Once they run far away enough to find an old camp, Bennett sits down and gets a look at his savior. He’s still standing, looking at the field like maybe there are enemies they haven’t taken care of yet. He’s dressed in all black, hair tied up and red as the brightest fire, and the mask—oh. Oh! Oh!!!
“The Darknight Hero!” Bennett exclaims, but apparently, he forgot to include the other person in his train of thought because he looks back, frankly confused. “I’ve just recognized you! Sorry, but thank you for saving me! I can get by myself just fine now, thanks, sir!”
The Darknight Hero’s eyes go up and down. His frown is visible even through the mask—did Bennett do something wrong? Did he piss him off? There was probably no way for the Darknight Hero to know that Bennett is extremely unlucky, but maybe he does, hence why he looks so upset. Bennett is about to be upset when the hero says, “You’re bleeding.”
Bennett briefly looks down. There are a few big scratches on his tummy, and the bandana on his arm is slightly ripped, damped with blood. Huh. When did that happen? Bennett waves the Darknight Hero off, smiling big. “This? Pfft! I’m used to this. I’ll totally be okay. I’m the leader of my group, you know! I’m super strong.”
There’s silence from the hero, as he sizes up Bennett once more. Then, drily, he announces: “You’re coming with me.”
“Where? Huh?” Bennett waves his hands in front of him. “I’m fine! I swear, I’m used to this!”
“The more you say this, the deeper in trouble you are,” he groans. “You’re coming with me. End of discussion.”
W-well, okay, he can’t argue with the Darknight Hero himself, can he?
He follows him quickly, trying to not get ambushed, and praying and praying to Barbatos to please spare some bit of luck. He doesn’t need the Darknight Hero to be absolutely tired of dealing with a million enemies for the night. And he definitely wouldn’t want him to be even more mad at Bennett.
To his surprise, they reach the… Dawn Winery?
The maids quickly assist the Darknight Hero, helping him shrug off his coat, taking off his mask—
“Master Diluc?” Bennett blinks up at him. “Oh—I—Master Diluc!”
Diluc stares back at him, then quickly signals to the maids to come closer. “I need a first-aid kit. As soon as possible, if you could.” Then, he turns to Bennett once more. “You, go sit down on the sofa. I’ll join you in a second.”
Bennett nods, speechless. Diluc is the Darknight Hero? Oh, gosh—he’s tainting Diluc’s winery with blood! He hurries to sit down and stay still. Knowing his luck, he may not just stain his sofa, but also miraculously break it in half. Then maybe break his floor as well. The possibilities were endless.
Diluc comes back with the kit, not really saying anything. He sits down next to Bennett and says, “Extend your arm.”
Is Diluc going to… clean his wounds?! “Seriously, don’t worry about—”
“You said you were an adventurer. Where’s the rest of your team? Injured?”
He’s already treating Bennett’s arm. It stings, but nothing he hasn’t been through before—the pain is familiar at most.
“About that…” Bennett lets out a light chuckle. “It’s only me, sir. I’m the only member of my team.”
Would he pity Bennett, then? Knowing he’s actually just by himself, with no one to back him up?
“Who taught you to fight?”
“I’m self-taught.”
“That explains a lot,” Diluc mutters, and Bennett can’t tell if he sounds mad or bitter. Maybe both. He really would rather not bother Diluc, so he attempts to stand up, but Diluc keeps him in place. “I’m not done healing you yet. I saw you back then, in the field. You pull some dangerous stunts when you fight. Why do you fly backwards when you attack?”
“Um, well… it happens!” Bennett laughs. “It’s part of my charm, y’know? No risk, no reward! A little bit of danger always lights up your brain.”
Diluc stops bandaging his arm. He looks at him in both shock and what seems to be—scolding? It’s like Diluc is constantly scolding him. It’s not like his carelessness involves him in any way, but still, it’s almost wrong, in a way. Bennett grows self-conscious by the second.
“Thanks for patching me up,” he says once Diluc is done cleaning the wounds. He hasn’t talked to Bennett since he interrogated him, so he’s trying hard to be a good kid. “I’ll be leaving n—”
“It’s still raining out. You can sleep here, or in a room upstairs. But you’re not leaving the winery. Predators are always most active in the dark—not even the rain can stop their terrible intentions.”
That sure was… a dramatic wording. No way in hell he’d ever tell Master Diluc that, but, wow! He sure can talk dramatically. “Are you sure I’m not bothering you?”
“Do you want a change of clothes?” Diluc asks back instead of answering. That’s either a yes or a no. Bennett’s leaning on the no, but maybe he’s too polite to say. Or… not? He wouldn’t categorize Diluc as ‘polite’, but. “Hm. Actually, go take a shower. You look terrible and your smell is not the best.”
Wow. He’s really bothering him. Bennett nods and hurries to take a shower, and once he’s done, Diluc hands him some clothes.
“Thank you again, sir, you didn’t have to.”
Diluc waves him off. “Get some rest.”
Maybe this isn’t the worst day of his life. Weirdest day of his life? Definitely.
He overslept.
No way.
He slept at the Dawn Winery on the nicest bed in the world and he overslept?! He hurries down the stairs to find Diluc behind his desk, already signing some documents, just… doing his Diluc stuff. He looks up when he hears Bennett. “Good morning. There’s breakfast for you.”
“Oh man. Oh man,” Bennett pumps his fist on the air. “Thank you so much! Really! I don’t know how to thank you enough! I’ll be on my way to the Adventurer’s Guild as soon as I’m done eating.”
Diluc nods. “See you, then.”
Wow… a little cold, but that was okay! He literally saved Bennett’s life!
Not only is the breakfast heavenly, but when he gets to the Adventurer’s Guild at last, Cyrus says there’s a special delivery for him. “Sent straight from Dawn Winery,” he had said. He hurries to open it, and finds his ripped bandana fixed up, along with a first-aid kit.
He smiles widely.
His second meeting with the Darknight Hero isn’t as terrible as the first time. He catches him fighting with a Cryo Abyss mage, so he wastes no time to also swing in with a flaming blade—better to help before their shield regenerated!
Diluc pulls his sword back. “Oh, it’s you.”
“Yes! Hi, Master Diluc!” he grins, giving him a thumbs-up. Swiftly, they take care of the mage, and Bennett has managed to barely get a few scratches on himself. “Aren’t we a good team?!”
“I work alone,” Diluc says, simply. “What do you want?”
“I saw you fighting and just… jumped in,” Bennett explains. “I wanted to help.”
“You—”
“My name’s Bennett, sir.”
“I know,” Diluc says, a tad irritated. “Look, it’s not safe, and you have a tendency to be careless, judging by your scars and endless bandages. You are better off getting some training with someone else. Don’t the Knights of Favonious have advice to give you on fighting?”
Bennett sighs. “They don’t care about me. Trust me, I’ve tried.”
The irritation slowly drips away from Diluc as he turns to look at Bennett. “Hm. I guess you couldn’t expect the bare minimum from them.”
“But sir,” Bennett continues, “you could teach me how to fight! Don’t you think we have pretty similar fighting styles?”
Bennett is aware he’s coming off too strong, a little too excited, especially since it’s his second meeting with him. But he just—there is a connection, he knows. Diluc didn’t have to send him that extra package, but he did, and he’s so cool, and—
“Just how old are you?”
“Sixteen!”
“And you’re all alone, with no group?”
Oh, well, it’s a little ridiculous if he says it. Bennett still nods energetically. “Yep!”
Diluc rubs his temples. “Just what are they feeding kids in Mondstadt…” he shakes his head. “I admit, your technique is pretty reckless, and in a real-long lasting fight, it will only bring more harm than good. You can stick around as long as you don’t slow me down. Understood?”
Bennett could explode from happiness. “Yes!” he fistbumps the air. “Ow, yeah! Darknight Hero, Jr.!”
“Definitely not.”
“Please.”
Diluc starts to walk away. “Are you coming or not?”
Well, maybe one day he’d grow into the Darknight Hero’s shoes. For now, he’s happy to follow along.
“On my way!” Bennett smiles as he jogs behind. “Congrats on being the first member of my team!”
Diluc might have given him a smile. Maybe. Maybe it’s an exasperated one but—but! That’s so much better than no smile!
Oh, yeah. Maybe being unlucky was okay, if it turned into best luck like this!