CALL ME OUT

[circuitice]

this post for CMO for kaeya. new threads and TLs to go here

Comments

[circuitice]

Maybe I am.

Very well.

[ he downs the rest of the drink, and then sets the glass down with a clink. ]

What if I told you that the Alberichs founded the Abyss Order?

[hotcall]

[ the silence resounds. diluc looks. ]

And if I were to ask you for the source of your information? The Khaenri'an from Sumeru, perhaps?

[circuitice]

Yes.

[ the smile he wears is fragile. ]

[hotcall]

[ like ice on permafrost. but you forget - there is water beneath. there always has been. diluc looks. of course he does. ]

Trustworthy?

[circuitice]

He has no reason to lie.

Are you hoping he is? Because the Traveler seems to trust him.

[ Kaeya recognized his eyes. There was no second guessing. He hadn't even asked for the information. ]

[hotcall]

Your standard for trust goes beyond that. [ but diluc's head dips - a graceful concession. in this, he trusts kaeya. it takes a liar to know one. ] And?

[circuitice]

It answered questions, related to why I was left here, so it wasn't entirely surprising.

[ a mild shrug ]

... I didn't feel like continuing the conversation. And had an appointment to keep.

Are you going to turn me in?

[hotcall]

To whom?

[ diluc finishes the last glass. he lets it sit on the counter for a moment - a precarious balance of glass, before he lets that glass, too, return to its place on the shelf.

he looks at kaeya. ]

I resigned from the Knights of Favonius years ago. I am a mere business owner in Mondstadt.

[circuitice]

... I see.

Then I suppose I escape by the skin of my teeth once again.

[ he chuckles a little, but makes no move to leave. Instead, he sighs once the silence settles between them.

he should give Diluc a harder time, just to annoy him. but for the moment, he's fine to be in the silence between them. the worry, and the fear, have settled and blown away, with that simple confession.

it won't be a repeat of that night so many years ago. ]

[hotcall]

[ kaeya chuckles. the sound is like the fragmenting of ice along the hoarfrost of a mountainside, the chipping of rime from a dragon's teeth. diluc has learned long since to never trust his laugh; diluc has learned to listen. the fact of the matter is: kaeya had gone to sumeru, the place where his people had once been, settled beneath the earth. kaeya had spoken to someone khaenri'ah, with secrets unforetold clenched between starving teeth.

and kaeya had come back.

diluc who hasn't looked away, finally, allows himself to say thus: ]

I am glad you came back.

[circuitice]

Hmm...?

[ he lifts his head, leveling his gaze at Diluc. Studying, like Diluc isn't a known entity to him. But this sort of admission is not the sort of thing that he allows himself to dream of from Diluc. If anything, he feels awkward accepting the meaning at face value.

but deep down, there's a rush of relief. a warm feeling settles in the pit of his stomach. ]

Of course I came back. You didn't think you would be rid of me, did you...?

[hotcall]

[ it's impetus to look away. the issue is, at a bar, the only place to look is racks upon racks of alcohol. there is grape juice in the back room. for once, diluc doesn't have the heart to return with it.

so he picks through his alcohol collection until he finds one that's just slightly below the one slightly below the one slightly above plain grape juice - and pours himself a glass. ]

Hm. [ the mouthfeel goes down like rust. diluc grimaces, and breathes out. ] Perhaps I underestimated your attachment to busywork. The Knights of Favonius does pay well for little effort.

[circuitice]

I really would run away to Sumeru if that were the case.

[ he would do no such thing, and yet, he finds himself leaning towards Diluc, amused at how he's allowed himself the weakest of alcohols. grape juice surely was at hand, and yet. so much for those sharp senses.

He rests his cheek in the palm of his hand again, and calmly takes in what this all means.

and the conclusion-- is alarming. and yet, his mouth propels itself on. ]

But no, that's not it. Though I think you know that, without my saying.

[hotcall]

[ diluc, who is consuming alcohol out of sheer self-defense, looks at kaeya. the line of kaeya's mouth is concerning. his eyes narrow imperceptibly. ]

You would have me guess at what's in your head.

Perhaps you've had too much to drink.

[circuitice]

You haven't asked.

[ another sigh, and he closes his eyes in thought. ]

All of my heritage aside, I barely remember it. How many years ago was it that your father found me at the edge of the Winery?

[ his heart beats a little faster at the thought, but he knows not to let on too much at his implications. Diluc could walk away at any time. And he needed to be alright with that. ]

[hotcall]

[ how many years? how can diluc forget the number of years? he had lived by counting those years from their inception, the day that diluc ceased to be alone - that one became two. a sun and a moon in binary orbit. the long nights had ceased to be so long, once. ]

It was a long time ago. [ but diluc leans into his glass. tonight seems much the same. it is likely folly to think so. ] Did you truly forget?

[circuitice]

No, I just wanted to hear you say it.

[ he opens his eyes, and looks at how Diluc leans, hiding behind the glass. Hididng, but not running. ]

But it's long enough to say that Mondstadt is my home.

[hotcall]

[ surprise carves through him. diluc looks. his fingers stay their lilt along the precipice of his glass. his eyes search kaeya's - a burning brand in the night, for the hint of hoarfrost. for a lie. ]

... Adelinde still sets the table for two.

[circuitice]

[ there's a flustered look that crosses his face, similar to the Weinlesefest. Ah... Another outreached hand. He isn't quite sure what to say to that, like there's a block. There's a catch somewhere that he isn't sure of. ]

Still, after so many years...?

[hotcall]

It's Adelinde. [ with the weary humour of someone sharing a joke passed down since childhood, from hand to hand, year to year, tale to tale - ] Could anyone stop her?

[circuitice]

No, I suppose you're right.

[ a sincere smile crosses his face, as he looks over Diluc again, studying his demeanor with a thoughtful quiet. ]

I'm sure it would make her happy.

[ her. Just Adelinde. ]

[hotcall]

Is her happiness not enough?

[circuitice]

[ and he leans back, pushing away from the bar, thoughtful. ]

I will always give her my regards when I visit the winery, of course.

[hotcall]

[ kaeya leans - first forward, then back, as if balancing on the edges of a childhood seesaw. kaeya is hardly so benign.

he takes another drink. it is as miserable as the first. ]

She has never mentioned your regards. They must not have been memorable.

[circuitice]

Perhaps she knows they are a matter of pain for you. Who can say.

It would do you well to lighten up.

[ his voice is light, but there is distance between them now. he knows, instinctively, he should push past his reservations and admit what he wants. And yet, he can't.

Not for Adelinde, regardless of how much he adores and loves her. Still, he notes... Diluc looks a touch more miserable than he intended. But, perhaps it is a trick of his eye. ]