circuitice | CALL ME OUT

[ the questioning continues. it's to be expected. two cats squaring off over uncertain territory, and the world simply speeds by. stop lights, lamp lights, the ambient glow of office windows. they fade as diluc takes them towards the freeway. ]

Is this an interrogation? [ a faint flicker of something that might've once called itself amusement. ] I don't kiss and tell.

[ he laughs, as though he were truly surprised by that. but everything in Diluc's demeanor has told him that he would be evasive. perhaps even outright lie to hide his secrets.

and it was more than fair enough-- Kaeya didn't feel like divulging his secrets either. and so, he attempts to dissipate the air with a bit of feigned air headedness.

of flattery, if necessary. ]

Oh my, I suppose I need to be much more thorough in my technique next time, then.

[ and then he glances over. ]

After all, I do like to know how I compare.

[ the insinuation is not lost. the curve of diluc's eyebrows indicate as much. but the existence of bait, however, does not create the necessity to take it. the night is still young.

instead, diluc takes the moral highground. observe: the next red light makes itself known a whole street in advance. diluc, who speeds just enough so that the brakes forces the entire car to screech into a stop.

blandly: ]

Do you, now?

[ really living up to that asshole car stereotype there, huh diluc. ]

Provided I don't meet my tragic end before there's time to assess, I suppose.

[ look, what's the point of owning an asshole car if you aren't going to be an asshole. ]

Do you have issues with my driving? Perhaps you would like to walk instead.

Oh no, who could have issues with such a stellar exemplar of motorist safety? Not I.

[ he's not even the most dangerous driver he's ridden with that day, but also... well, no need to advertise that. ]

The light was clearly red. And we are clearly stopped.

Truly, you are a paragon of safety standards.

[ with an ironic twist of his lips, diluc guides his car forward. the light flickers green. the city continues to pass by. ]

In any case, there is no need to compare.

What do you mean?

[ he asks, glancing back at Diluc, before looking out at the road, tracking the direction they're headed. out of habit. ]

You will have no desire to compare. [ diluc's eyes flash - amusement and steel in one. ] Not after I am done with you.

[ oh, is that so? his lips quirk upwards into a smile at the braggadocio that he's just witnessed. ]

I'll hold you to that, you know. And I'll be unsparing.

[ he inclines his head towards him ]

[ ... ]

... you have changed, Kaeya.

That’s to be expected. We aren’t children anymore.

[ he says it so sincerely, but still studying Diluc’s reaction. ]

You realize you used to be much more cheerful, don’t you…?

And if I said 'no'? Would you regale me with fascinating little anecdotes of it?

Maybe~

[ he laughs, and reaches his hand to rest on Diluc's wrist. ]

The kind of child that drew everyone to him. Why, I do recall some sort of game of playground royalty and you got to be the prince, no?

[ he hums, pleased with that. ]

I was always a little surprised at how willing you were to try to talk to me, even at my worst.

[ kaeya runs cold. this, diluc has always known. the weight of his hand settles upon the back of diluc's hand, still cradling the transmission lever of his car. ]

You never invited yourself to those games. Therefore, I invited you. [ but nostalgia is easy to fall into, for a time. ] You played the villain in that game of princes, or so I recall. Nobody else wanted to.

Well, there needs to be someone to be the "bad guy."

Or else, it really isn't fun.

[ a brief pause, as he realizes that probably is something that should be softened, just a touch, ]

Or else, that's what I felt as a child. And I was never fond of arguments.

[ his touch is light, purposefully so. as if to convey a sense of intimacy-- without any risk of truly distracting him from the road.

perhaps. ]

[ kaeya's fingers skim with the skim of someone used to living lightly. kaeya is a question wrapped in an enigma. he assesses boundaries with the sure hand of a man who knows how to transcend them. it means that when kaeya chooses to remain on his side of the boundary, it is a statement of intent.

diluc considers this. ]

You were fond of surprises. You enjoyed hide-and-seek in the vineyard, when it was summer.

Are you sure that I'm the only one who wants to reminisce?

Ah, it's too bad that our childhood friendship was cut short so suddenly. I wouldn't have minded a few more years...

[ he hums lightly. ]

Ah, but we have now, don't we?

Do we? Have you become the type of man who consistently remains in the lives of others?

Isn't that a little pointed for our first meeting?

[ his finger slides over his skin, as if to distract. And his face is at ease.

truthfully, he knows Diluc has nailed him. and it was impulse that brought him this far, as it were. ]

[ first meeting, kaeya says. something in diluc pricks, like a single droplet of ice upon unfathomable heat. ]

Perhaps. A first meeting between the current shape of you, and the current shape of I.

But it is not our first.

You know what I meant.

[ he sighs softly. ]

Don't be so serious. This is a chance either of us could have predicted, isn't it? Besides, I'd rather focus on the fun.

[ a drawing lilt to that final word, as he teases with something akin to lightness. and then he decides to lean towards Diluc, with ease and confidence, teasing into his ear, ]

And I thought we weren't going to have the desire to compare~?

[ the sheer crucible of diluc's hands, clamped on his steering wheel, ensures that neither of them end up as paste on the side of some gaudy building.

the gaudy building: a fifty-story building with the glitz of a ode to post-modern art, all gleaming windows and elegantly jutting blocks that rise up to tower over the financial district in the heart of the city proper. diluc pulls into the parking garage with nary a sigh. ]

You have a terrible definition of fun. [ but his head cants. diluc peers at kaeya out of the corner of his eyes - and away. the underground parking garage swallows them whole. a preview of how the ascent up into the building: the parking spot is clearly premium, a mere three steps away from a cloistered, private elevator.

diluc parks. ]

You have no second thoughts, then?

[ he raises an eyebrow at the question. There were many ways to read into that, and while he noticed Diluc’s looks, part of him wishes there was that same level of expression as when they were younger.

It had always stuck with him. Waiting to burst forth upon sight of that familiar flash of red. And yet… he hums thoughtfully, ]

I wonder what your definition of fun is, then. Especially since it’s far too early to have regrets, don’t you think?

[ he regretted a great many things. Being trapped in his father’s sphere of influence. The loneliness. The skeletons in his closet that he refused to deal with. All this belies the easy going smile he wears with practice.

Diluc is a fantasy, a hope that maybe he can tackle the loneliness for one night before he escapes back into the gaping maw of the darkness.

Really, he should be asking Diluc if he has regrets. But then again, Kaeya assumes that he receives many entreaties like this. At this rate, he should be practiced at taking what he wants, and discarding what he doesn’t.

So, it’s fine. It’s too early to have regrets. ]

[ far too early to have regrets, says kaeya. thinks diluc - that the terrible has already been done. between the act and the motion is a thousand little thoughts that has passed between diluc and kaeya into infinity. all unspoken; all unmade, because diluc had lost sight of kaeya, once, and hasn't known him since. perhaps regret is just another word for longing.

diluc shakes his head, long and slow. it is not, in fact, the answer to kaeya's question. ]

Upstairs, then.

[ the elevator lifts. floors begin to race them by. diluc's hand finds its way first to kaeya's fingers, and then to the pulse of his wrist.

there's nothing kind about the way he draws him in against the elevator wall, crowds him against the mirrored surface there with an intensity known only to forest fires. ]

Kaeya.

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