schmooze: (057)

[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-27 10:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh, Kaeya is humble about it at the very least, simply shrugging his shoulders. As a boy, he had Diluc and his competitive streak to thank for his interest in becoming a knight... That's what he'll owe the honor to, but there's an unsavory truth there that isn't a fit subject for their date. Perhaps another time?

But he will admit to this, laughing as he does—]


Certainly, but I'm not so sure they enjoy following my lead. Seeing the fear in their eyes on the battlefield after being given a particularly rough order... A little fear makes you stronger, but no one relishes being put under my command.

[He's been called sadistic more than once, but it's not like he savors the pain of others. He just has an offbeat sense of humor, that's all!]
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[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-27 10:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[She's got him laughing again, more playful than he has any right to be when speaking of the cruelty he unleashes upon his poor knights. He's going to give Wave one of the... less insidious examples.]

Oh, here's a fun one: just the other day, we were carrying out reconnaissance in the snowy Vindagnyr mountains. The chill wind blows all year round at the mountain's peak, but under conditions like those, you'll quickly freeze to death if you fail to keep warm.

During a supply break, I sent Noelle, a recruit who is working oh so hard to become a fully fledged knight, back into town to fetch some coffee. [Sending a poor girl several miles down a snowy mountain to get coffee isn't the punchline. He's getting there.] But with a proviso: if she could reach the peak without the coffee going cold, I'd sign off on her training and allow her to become a true and proper knight.

[And Wave can guess how that turned out. Poor, poor Noelle. She's nowhere near close to being ready to be a knight and it seems everyone but her is aware of that fact, but unlike everyone else, Kaeya's a little too content to tease her half to death.]
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[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-28 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
[Goodness, Wave, your taste! Kaeya's laughing in earnest now knowing full well that he deserves to be admonished for his unabashed bullying, but Wave truly is something else. She's not looking at him like he's a monster at all, but who does that say more about, her or himself? Seems they've both got a bit of a mean streak, but Kaeya can only appreciate that in relation to Wave.]

Not at all. She's a wonderful girl, really, but she's got quite a bit of work ahead of her if she's to become a proper knight. As her superior, all I can do is put her through her paces and hope she learns a lesson or two along the way.

[Oh, but does she really want to hear of all the unspeakably cruel things he's put his poor underlings through? He'd hate to ruin their impromptu date with stories of bloodshed and turmoil, so as they exit into the pool area, he eases back into a grin.]

I've been worse, certainly, but I'd rather not ruin your stellar image of me this early on.

[Hah, as if. But maybe he can distract her with another story if it means he doesn't have to get in the jacuzzi...]
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[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-28 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
Oh my... Let's hope she isn't that creative next time.

[So blunt, but Wave makes a fair point and isn't afraid to say it, is she? It's a good thing Noelle isn't here to take pointers, but she's much too sweet (and easily bullied) for that, so blessings abound.

Alas, all his laughter dries up by the time they reach the jacuzzi. This is how he dies, isn't it... Well, time to commit, stripping out of his layers one by one until he's in nothing but that peacock speedo. He's from fantasy Europe, he's allowed to have questionable taste in bathing suits. As an aside, his physique supports his claims of being a knight, but he's lacking the requisite scars. There are reasons for that, of course, and they aren't a dedicated cocoa butter regiment.]


After you, my dear.

[Just... let him live... a moment longer...!!]
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[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-28 06:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[Laugh at the banana hammock all you want, Wave, but he's choosing to focus on her wandering eyes instead, content enough with her appraisal to grin. The pattern on this swimsuit might be garish and distracting, but that's just how Kaeya likes it.

Besides, with her amused and thoroughly distracted, he can get away with letting his eyes wander over her every curve. He's a proper gentleman up until you catch him staring, but good luck with that!]


You're the very picture of contentedness. I'd hate to hog even an inch of that jacuzzi and deprive you of those bubbles.

[...But if he hesitates any longer, it'll be too apparent that he's not at all excited about trying out the hot tub. All of his sighs are kept internal, stepping onto the first level, then the second, to seat himself beside Wave.





He wants to fucking die.]


...It's warmer than I expected.
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[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-28 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[Now that gets his brows arching. Frankly, he might be able to withstand this wet bubbling hell pit of only Wave's hands were on him. A man in his little peacock banana hammock can dream, can't he...]

By all means, get as close as you like.

[Kaeya is— not as inclined to lean back and relax, remaining perfectly stationary where he is, buuut draping his arms out over the cement to get some relief from the heat. That leaves Kaeya's arm splayed behind Wave, but she won't mind, will she? Please don't call him out.]

A natural hot springs of sorts? They're popular in Inazuma, but I've yet to find the time for a trip out East. A shame, really.

[Nnnnnnot really, actually.]
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[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-28 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[The water isn't as unforgivably hot and bubbly as it could be, and that thought is what sustains Kaeya, keeps him from visibly sweating. Thinking is another increasingly difficult task, his answer coming with a moment's delay and a smile he has to fight to keep afloat.]

It depends, really. On a good day, I might get a several hour stretch all to myself to enjoy, but normally—

[—Wave's fingers find his hip, and he knows the jets are not to blame. The heat's clearly begun to take hold, Kaeya's reaction time considerably slowed, but he won't go down without a fight...! Fingertips spidering along Wave's shoulder, he allows them to curl around the tips of her hair, 100% fine and in total control of himself. Oh no, he's not dying at all!!]

...Sorry, where was I? Mm, actually, I'd be more interested in hearing what a woman like you does in her free time.
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[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-30 01:13 am (UTC)(link)
[So much fun, if you just ignore the way Kaeya's eye is beginning to swim in and out of focus, each response more delayed than the last. He's just totally relaxed, you know? Nothing to worry about!

Phew. He doesn't catch himself audibly exhaling pants until he is, redder than a lobster. He's aware of those slender fingers playing along his hideous mankini, but that's about it, all those words streaming in one ear and out the other. Her touch makes him bite his bottom lip, a fact he realizes too belatedly to catch and correct.]


...Ah. [Ah. Buffering...!] Then you'll stay here? I'm... not sure our gracious host will let you.

[Alright, maybe he should get out of the water like. Soon.]
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[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-30 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah. He jolts at the touch of a finger on his bottom lip, but blessedly, it brings him back to reality... just enough to take her hand and follow her lead out of the hot tub. Thank gods.]

So you admit you were aiming to make me suffer? [kaeya, you did this to your own dumb ass,] I wouldn't have taken you for a sadist.

[Case in point: he doesn't think twice about letting her lead, so when that decision backfires and he's abruptly hauled into the pool alongside her, he's full of regret?! Oh, wow. He's never experienced a system shock quite like this, coming up for air with his breaths seizing in his throat and his eyes blown wide. Shock is a rare look on Kaeya, so take it in while you can, Wave.]
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[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-30 04:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[Ah... Saw through him all along, did she? Honestly, Kaeya is surprised. Pleasantly so. It isn't often someone catches onto his nonsense, much less as easily as Wave had, but then again? Perhaps he wasn't subtle with his hot tub hatred. A bit of both, most likely.

Once the shock wears off, he's back in a smile, following Wave to the edge of the pool but remaining in the water for now. The cold really does suit him much better, arms folded and draped on the tile separating the pool from the hot tub.]


In a word? Enlivened. [Oh, but not by the pool or the system shock granted to him by it. His eyes are squarely on Wave.] I've never met a woman so bold as to call me out, catch me off-guard, and dunk me in a cold pool of water all at the same time. I'm not even mad.

[Obviously not. He's rather intrigued, actually.]
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[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-31 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Now he's the one being read like a book, but she's right, isn't she? He shrugs, pulls on one of those smarmy grins, but he doesn't hide from the truth. Not this time.]

You can't win if you don't try. Who knows? Maybe the hot tub could have awoken some hidden love of the heat within me.

[He snorts a laugh because yeah, right. As if. Reaching over, the tucks a stray hair back behind Wave's ear and smiles wider.]

It did. Thank you for the new experience. Still, it did distract me from something important— the matter of your not wanting to go home. What's all this about other worlds?
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[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-31 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh? Kaeya likes her more and more by the minute. They have more in common than he would've guessed...]

You say it so nonchalantly. With no place to call home, you have the freedom to go wherever you want. That's not too bad.

[Spoken just as blasé, because in a manner of speaking? Kaeya's been there.]

You're welcome to swing by my world and stay as long as you like. My door's always open.
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[personal profile] schmooze 2022-10-31 09:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh? The very idea of undoing such a thing is intriguing. Kaeya can only imagine what hell his own world would become if that were possible, but anyway...]

Of course. I can't promise it'll be in a timely manner, what with all the work I've got waiting for me back home, but it will happen. [His smile tips askew.] Unless you're offering to assist me with my fieldwork?

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