circuitice | CALL ME OUT

I was clear as to why I am curious. And no matter where I have travelled, I cannot answer my own questions.

[ but kaeya's reticence is clear. diluc looks to the stars, and continues to walk. the night is long. ]

Fine. Change the subject, then.

Hahaha, very well.

[ small mercies. he would be okay with silence, or he would have once. but now, silence is a quick way to invoke darker thoughts, and he'd lose his will to keep side by side with Diluc if he allowed that.

and so, he brings up the actual topic of discussion that he'd... ostensibly wanted to tease Diluc with. ]

I did have a contact from Sumeru I wanted to give to you. But given your hard negotiations, perhaps I should extract more of a price, hm~?

[ kaeya's voice lilts. diluc prickles up with a hunting look, eyes narrowed - on guard, but not quite sure why he needs to be. the reason becomes clear soon enough. ]

This is about the spiced wine again.

It is. You're a businessman, and this is a business opportunity.

Don't look so serious, I wouldn't ask for something that might wound your pride.

[ probably ]

And yet you seem all too happy just thinking about it. And? Is this Sumeru contact one that I can't find on my own?

Hahaha. I just want a bottle of the finished product.

But, you're welcome to try, and to start negotiations all over again, if my help is that anathema.

You help is typically suspect. Is a bottle all you want?

[ really. ]

Master Diluc, I'm hurt!

I only have the best in mind for you and Dawn Winery!

[ he places his hand over his heart, in a mock wound. how much is an act? how much is truth? it doesn't matter. ]

Surely, repairing the relationship between yourself and the Knights is enough?

[ kaeya's hand shifts. diluc allows his eyes to roll. dramatics. ]

Is that so? My relationship with the knights seem passable tonight.

[ after all, are they not walking side by side? ]

Ah... Is that how it is...?

[ he laughs softly, lowering his hand, and with it, his dramatics. ]

I had always considered 'our' relationship different. But, I see.

Kaeya.

Hmm~? Yes, Master Diluc?

[ a mulish beat. is he going to say this? ... apparently he's going to say this.

scaldingly: ]

I had my tongue down your throat less than ten minutes ago.

[ did this need to be said, says he. and if his ears seem red - well, who can say beneath red hair. ]

[ ah

he really did say it. there's a moment of sincere surprise that Diluc, someone he had pegged as so reticent, would actually try to defeat his teasing with that bluntness, and yet... ]

[ and then he laughs, sincerely, and openly. definitely at least a little at Diluc's expense, and still, he had never thought Diluc would go there. ]

How difficult was that for you to say, Diluc? Even after everything--

[ another laugh, and then he calms himself. ]

I was teasing.

[ the look on diluc's face can only be described as someone having eaten an entire barrel of unripe apples. but the look he gives kaeya is exasperation-made-form, lines of it trailing along the contours of diluc's lips like a river returning to its primordial bed.

diluc slowly shakes his head. ]

You're incorrigible.

And you're easily embarrassed.

But, I suppose that's how it is for someone who prefers innuendo to saying what they mean.

[ he glances over at him, takes in the view of that exasperated look, and forgets himself for a moment. A thaw in the ice surrounding his mask. ]

[ there's a exhale-made-scoff there somewhere. but diluc lets himself look. ]

I thought I was being clear. Were you not the one who prefers teasing to honesty?

I tease out of consideration for your feelings.

Sometimes, at least. Other times, because it's fun.

[ he glances at Diluc, debating, a little too visibly, how crude he wants to be in this moment. but, it's nice to be this open with him. less guarded, while his mind is distracted. ]

[ and other times, diluc knows, to obfuscate what kaeya will not say. but this, neither of them need to voice. ]

You say consideration. I say it's another form of amusement. Do you not have enough things to do to amuse yourself in other ways?

Don't worry, I keep plenty busy on my own.

For now, you should worry about tonight.

[ he dances around answering that question, for a myriad of reasons. To keep the conversation light, to keep himself and Diluc entertained. To never let on his true feelings.

All true. And all, he wanted to forget, as long as they had this brief moment of peace. ]

And to be clear: I did think your invitation had something to do with the fact that you decided to stick your tongue down my throat.

[ worry, he thinks, may not be the word for it. diluc's brow quirks. ]

You made the first move. I merely finished it. [ ... ] Am finishing it, I suppose.

[ another small laugh. And then he hums thoughtfully, ]

Well, if you had refused, I wouldn’t have bothered.

[ and he glances over at him, his eyes searching his face, pensive. Is this the right move? He should have drank more— just to stop any second guessing. ]

Ah, but no matter. It was my impulse.

[ diluc's gaze in turn - steady, like the low flicker of a flame. ]

What brought on the impulse? Sumeru could not have made you miss Mondstadt to that extent.

Why not?

[ if they weren’t walking, he’d continue looking. But one of them should probably pay attention to the road. ]

Isn’t the phrase, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”?

Maybe after two weeks of sterling service and friendly faces, I missed your personal touch.

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