[Perhaps unfortunately for Kaeya, Wave's not about to back down. In fact, when he knocks at her door, he'll find that she's completely prepared for their excursion to the jacuzzi, a towel draped around her shoulders.]
Hey, Kaeya. I wasn't sure you'd make it.
[ :) In case he thought there was any chance of him getting out of this.]
[Frankly, Kaeya has no worldly idea what a lifeguard is but he's now been made painfully aware that they're very, very sexy. Time to bring this concept back to Mondstadt and make some serious bank.
He'll strip down into his beautiful mankini when the time comes, but for now, he eases into a smile and offers Wave an arm to hold onto.]
Shall we? [Don't sass him, lady! You'll only make him like you more.] I make good on my promises, Wave. I won't have you doubting me so easily.
[It's so hard not to laugh, this entire situation is so ridiculous--if you'd told her a week ago that she'd be going on a sort of date that she's not even sure is real or not with a random guy she met in a bar while wearing next to nothing as part of a multi-world dating game, and that the biggest reason she's here is because he was flirting so hard that someone needed to do something about it....
Well. She's got no regrets. The smile Wave shoots Kaeya is very real as she slips her arm into his.]
That's good to know... not everybody can be so upstanding.
I've had far too many men in my life make promises they didn't intend on keeping.
[So when you're walking arm-in-arm with a man, there exists a certain measure of space one must keep for propriety's sake.
We're ignoring that. Wave's not walking right up alongside him by any means, but there's definitely a lack of attention to such things that might show that she's completely comfortable with this situation.]
[You're taking one for the team here, Wave. Someone needs to go on this kinda date with Kaeya, no? Who knows what trouble he'd get up to if Wave hadn't come along to wrangle him in...
...Or something like that. He's a troublemaker through and through, but he's adept at keeping the worst of his behavior under wraps, walking them down to the pool at a casual gait. No need to rush, right? They've got all night.]
Oh? That's a shame, really. A woman like you has no need of men who can't stick to their word, so consider your days of settling over.
[Bold words for someone scared of a hot tub. Oh, and it's worth noting that Kaeya is unusually cool to the touch. Weird? Telling?? Maybe both!]
[Said like she won't enable the hell out of him to cause trouble. But hey, that's a discovery for down the line! Right now they can keep walking down toward the exit, and honestly him being cool to the touch isn't a downside here. It's been kind of chilly overall, right? Or maybe he hasn't figured out the AC yet, there are explanations! (Though "magic" is absolutely an explanation here; Wave's far from unfamiliar, even if her own world works differently.
But honestly, this is so bold a claim that Wave can't help but laugh, eyebrows lifting slightly as she glances to him.]
That's a bold claim to make this early on. Careful, I might start calling you my knight in shining armor if you keep that up.
[She won't. Probably. But the point is there!]
You're right about one thing, though--I'm done settling for things like that. Shall we take the stairs?
[She's letting Kaeya lead, but this is one point where she's going to be a little bit insistent, tugging his arm that way. No elevators, thx!!]
[There's a reason Kaeya makes so few promises— he's wont to do as he pleases, too comfortable to lie and deceive, so he has to keep what few promises he does make. That hardly redeems him, but it's a start, no?
As for the stairs...? Kaeya chuckles, imagining she has some reservations with the elevator. Stairs it is, then, but acquiescing won't keep him from teasing her as they make their way down.]
Not a fan of the elevator? [Kaeya isn't either, but he's not about to admit he trapped himself in it for a good ten minutes while figuring the damn thing out.] If it gives you any trouble, just give me a call. On my honor as a knight, I won't let that dastardly elevator lay a single finger on you.
[At that, he can't help but chuckle. The elderly are often given a hard time for refusing to adapt with the times, so what does this say about them? Life's not easy for a ye olde...]
I've heard those things can fall, trapping you within them... Can you imagine? On a particularly hot day, you might simply burn to death while waiting on your rescuer.
[There he goes bitching about the heat!! Hmm, could this be telling...?]
Still, one does need to keep fit even on a vacation. The stairs aren't a bad way to get your paces in.
[Oh, that's gonna get a full-body shudder. Unfortunately she's not picking up on his disdain for the heat, because that sure did just trigger what would be a fight-or-flight reaction, but it's hard to fight an elevator so it'd be more a freeze-or-flight in this case. WOW THANKS SHE HATES IT???]
I'll add that to my list of reasons for avoiding it.
[It's not as easy a response as her earlier ones, but wow we're just not going to think about that at all!!! Shoving any thoughts of being trapped inside a plummeting elevator away, Wave shakes her head slightly. DIFFERENT TOPIC, she's going to latch onto what he said about keeping fit and go from there!]
That all depends on what sort of paces you're talking about, doesn't it? Stairs are sometimes a little too low-key.
[Shameless flirting is a convenient inanity to grab hold of, right?]
[Oh, he'll make a mental note not to tease her over the elevator again... unless he needs to. This is at once a "don't cross this line" and a "use this as ammunition" type of tidbit, but Wave won't give him any reason to tease her so cruelly, will she? Surely not!
For how, he'll allow the topic to change as they make their way down the stairs, humming in thought.]
Too low-key? I suppose so, but the gymnasium here is... [Oh, how does he put this? Kaeya waves his free hand about.] ...Quite a bit different than what I'm used to. So many intricate, complex machines. I wouldn't know how best to utilize them.
[Built she is not, but Kaeya smiles and chuckles regardless. This woman has a fine sense of humor, he can't help but notice.]
Strength comes in all shapes and sizes. You're quite strong-minded, for one thing, and that's of much more benefit than being in peak physical condition.
[Kaeya's lean, but he's not without muscle. Wave will see for herself once they've gotten outside and he's shed his layers, but—]
My work demands that I keep shape, at least to a degree. I'm cavalry captain of the Knights of Favonius, but I'm on foot more often than not.
[Strong-minded? Her? Oh, Kaeya just won so many points, even if she doesn't have much of an opportunity to bask in the feeling that sweeps her. (But that's okay, she can hold onto that for a while and examine it more in detail later.)]
I see my joke about you being a knight in shining armor wasn't too far off, was it? [Heh.] A position like that must have taken a lot of work to rise up to. I can certainly appreciate that.
[Appreciate the work ethic, or appreciate the aesthetic ethic... it is a mystery...]
[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!]
[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.]
[...hello sir is this really funny???? Like she was expecting on the level of "I sent her into town to fetch some coffee and when she got back we were all sitting in the tent with ours"; not. Giving a girl a false sense of hope and then yanking it away????
Lords, she's gotten softer in her years away from the worlds. Or maybe this example just strikes a particular nerve, who knows? But Wave shakes her head, the small smile not falling from her face.]
I see where you're going with the idea, but the execution leaves something to be desired. Was there actually any way for her to be successful, or were you just making her an offer knowing it was a false hope?
[And then that look turns sidelong, eyebrow lifting in a sort of challenge.]
[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...]
[He's not a monster yet, not in her book. He's a dumbass, clearly, and one who needs to learn better how to align what he's trying to communicate with his bullying tactics, but being an ass hardly makes someone a monster. Especially since it seems that all of the recruits under his command know what they're looking at.]
As long as that lesson isn't that next time she should take a break to piss in your coffee before getting back so that it's warm...
[Blunt, but. You know. He's lucky that didn't happen!
Now that they've reached the pool, it's easy to pinpoint which of the pools is the jacuzzi. He was right about the steam, it seems, and how it wafts up from the heated waters.]
Speaking of warm--shall we?
[Maybe he can distract himself with a story, because Wave's certainly not going to be deterred! Come on, Kaeya, let her see that peacock speedo; Wave herself has the matching swimsuit to go with her outfit and turns back to smile toward him once she's stripped down. READY?????]
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.]
Honestly, Wave has to choke down laughter when she sees Kaeya's banana hammock--she doesn't want to make him think she's laughing at him when it's just... wow. Oh, wow. There were decisions made to bring them to that moment and all of them were good ones. And yeah, him stripping down is definitely giving her the chance to appreciate his physique, she won't be very subtle about watching. They haven't employed any subtlety so far, why start now?
When he offers for her to go first, it may be the one moment all day when Wave takes a little bit of pity on him.]
All right.
[He can have his moment longer living; Wave is carefully stepping down into the water and pausing on one of the seats, water bubbling up around her thighs, to close her eyes and enjoy the sensation of hot water juxtaposed by cool breeze.]
You were right, Kaeya. This is amazing.
[After a moment more she'll step the rest of the way down, submerged up to her waist as she glances back to him.]
Edited (stop and start are two very different things) 2022-10-28 04:47 (UTC)
[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.
[She's only laughing because she's delighted by the sheer audacity of it. It's perfect.]
I think I'd be more upset if you deprived me of the chance to accidentally brush up against you beneath them.
[How's he doing with hiding his true feelings about this? She may have pushed this game of chicken, and she's not ready to back down yet, but she's got her limits, too. It's not fun when it rolls over into pure cruelty.
But that doesn't mean she's not going to let him sweat a bit first. Wave sinks down into the heat up to her neck, leaning back into the jets.]
It makes me think of a town I lived in for several years. There were pools nearby that were heated from below the mountain. ...this smells much better, though.
[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.
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Hey, Kaeya. I wasn't sure you'd make it.
[ :) In case he thought there was any chance of him getting out of this.]
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He'll strip down into his beautiful mankini when the time comes, but for now, he eases into a smile and offers Wave an arm to hold onto.]
Shall we? [Don't sass him, lady! You'll only make him like you more.] I make good on my promises, Wave. I won't have you doubting me so easily.
[There's... still time to back out...!!]
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Well. She's got no regrets. The smile Wave shoots Kaeya is very real as she slips her arm into his.]
That's good to know... not everybody can be so upstanding.
I've had far too many men in my life make promises they didn't intend on keeping.
[So when you're walking arm-in-arm with a man, there exists a certain measure of space one must keep for propriety's sake.
We're ignoring that. Wave's not walking right up alongside him by any means, but there's definitely a lack of attention to such things that might show that she's completely comfortable with this situation.]
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...Or something like that. He's a troublemaker through and through, but he's adept at keeping the worst of his behavior under wraps, walking them down to the pool at a casual gait. No need to rush, right? They've got all night.]
Oh? That's a shame, really. A woman like you has no need of men who can't stick to their word, so consider your days of settling over.
[Bold words for someone scared of a hot tub. Oh, and it's worth noting that Kaeya is unusually cool to the touch. Weird? Telling?? Maybe both!]
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But honestly, this is so bold a claim that Wave can't help but laugh, eyebrows lifting slightly as she glances to him.]
That's a bold claim to make this early on. Careful, I might start calling you my knight in shining armor if you keep that up.
[She won't. Probably. But the point is there!]
You're right about one thing, though--I'm done settling for things like that. Shall we take the stairs?
[She's letting Kaeya lead, but this is one point where she's going to be a little bit insistent, tugging his arm that way. No elevators, thx!!]
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As for the stairs...? Kaeya chuckles, imagining she has some reservations with the elevator. Stairs it is, then, but acquiescing won't keep him from teasing her as they make their way down.]
Not a fan of the elevator? [Kaeya isn't either, but he's not about to admit he trapped himself in it for a good ten minutes while figuring the damn thing out.] If it gives you any trouble, just give me a call. On my honor as a knight, I won't let that dastardly elevator lay a single finger on you.
[Yes. Its dastardly elevator fingers.]
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She pulls a face when he asks if she's a fan of the elevator, though.]
That's putting it lightly. I would sooner climb from the balcony than take that metal deathtrap.
[And that's really all there is to say on the matter!!!]
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I've heard those things can fall, trapping you within them... Can you imagine? On a particularly hot day, you might simply burn to death while waiting on your rescuer.
[There he goes bitching about the heat!! Hmm, could this be telling...?]
Still, one does need to keep fit even on a vacation. The stairs aren't a bad way to get your paces in.
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I'll add that to my list of reasons for avoiding it.
[It's not as easy a response as her earlier ones, but wow we're just not going to think about that at all!!! Shoving any thoughts of being trapped inside a plummeting elevator away, Wave shakes her head slightly. DIFFERENT TOPIC, she's going to latch onto what he said about keeping fit and go from there!]
That all depends on what sort of paces you're talking about, doesn't it? Stairs are sometimes a little too low-key.
[Shameless flirting is a convenient inanity to grab hold of, right?]
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For how, he'll allow the topic to change as they make their way down the stairs, humming in thought.]
Too low-key? I suppose so, but the gymnasium here is... [Oh, how does he put this? Kaeya waves his free hand about.] ...Quite a bit different than what I'm used to. So many intricate, complex machines. I wouldn't know how best to utilize them.
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I know exactly what you mean. In this case, you might have been right when you said there's an elegance in simplicity.
But I might have to try to figure them out. I like the idea of being stronger.
[She's being honest, but to soften it she lifts her free arm to jokingly show off her bicep. Which. Wave's not built lmao.]
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Strength comes in all shapes and sizes. You're quite strong-minded, for one thing, and that's of much more benefit than being in peak physical condition.
[Kaeya's lean, but he's not without muscle. Wave will see for herself once they've gotten outside and he's shed his layers, but—]
My work demands that I keep shape, at least to a degree. I'm cavalry captain of the Knights of Favonius, but I'm on foot more often than not.
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I see my joke about you being a knight in shining armor wasn't too far off, was it? [Heh.] A position like that must have taken a lot of work to rise up to. I can certainly appreciate that.
[Appreciate the work ethic, or appreciate the aesthetic ethic... it is a mystery...]
Do you like leading your men?
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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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Really? Give me an example of one of those orders; what sort of things are you ordering them to do?
[It's still playful, but she's definitely curious--especially because he's right about fear making one stronger.]
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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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Lords, she's gotten softer in her years away from the worlds. Or maybe this example just strikes a particular nerve, who knows? But Wave shakes her head, the small smile not falling from her face.]
I see where you're going with the idea, but the execution leaves something to be desired. Was there actually any way for her to be successful, or were you just making her an offer knowing it was a false hope?
[And then that look turns sidelong, eyebrow lifting in a sort of challenge.]
I bet you've been more creative than that.
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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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As long as that lesson isn't that next time she should take a break to piss in your coffee before getting back so that it's warm...
[Blunt, but. You know. He's lucky that didn't happen!
Now that they've reached the pool, it's easy to pinpoint which of the pools is the jacuzzi. He was right about the steam, it seems, and how it wafts up from the heated waters.]
Speaking of warm--shall we?
[Maybe he can distract himself with a story, because Wave's certainly not going to be deterred! Come on, Kaeya, let her see that peacock speedo; Wave herself has the matching swimsuit to go with her outfit and turns back to smile toward him once she's stripped down. READY?????]
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[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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This is for Noelle.Honestly, Wave has to choke down laughter when she sees Kaeya's banana hammock--she doesn't want to make him think she's laughing at him when it's just... wow. Oh, wow. There were decisions made to bring them to that moment and all of them were good ones. And yeah, him stripping down is definitely giving her the chance to appreciate his physique, she won't be very subtle about watching. They haven't employed any subtlety so far, why start now?
When he offers for her to go first, it may be the one moment all day when Wave takes a little bit of pity on him.]
All right.
[He can have his moment longer living; Wave is carefully stepping down into the water and pausing on one of the seats, water bubbling up around her thighs, to close her eyes and enjoy the sensation of hot water juxtaposed by cool breeze.]
You were right, Kaeya. This is amazing.
[After a moment more she'll step the rest of the way down, submerged up to her waist as she glances back to him.]
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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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I think I'd be more upset if you deprived me of the chance to accidentally brush up against you beneath them.
[How's he doing with hiding his true feelings about this? She may have pushed this game of chicken, and she's not ready to back down yet, but she's got her limits, too. It's not fun when it rolls over into pure cruelty.
But that doesn't mean she's not going to let him sweat a bit first. Wave sinks down into the heat up to her neck, leaning back into the jets.]
It makes me think of a town I lived in for several years. There were pools nearby that were heated from below the mountain. ...this smells much better, though.
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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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