[ he's a sucker for a good story, mondstadt home to bards of all kinds, well-traveled, learning from their compatriots who sing and tell stories in tea houses in liyue. as the second arrow flies, kaeya leans back a bit, almost so he and aquila are now cheek to cheek as he listens. he glances towards the faint glimmering of a lens beneath the veil, then back towards the sun kissing the water on the horizon, the gloved hands that had drawn his arrows, struck them true.
kaeya lets out a low whistle, taking a swig from the bottle and humming. ]
All's well that ends well then... that's quite the heroic escapade... and on an airship no less... All from a thousand yards away. Nothing to sneeze at.
[ his arm slings behind their neck with ease, laughing. "my — a buncha the guys i worked with" he hums. ]
You're an impressive person, Aquila... I'll tell you a truth, to work with you so closely is such a delight. I'm sure your coworkers were rather delighted at your quick find... managing to save all of those people with but two arrows. I do hope you were suitably rewarded for your deeds.
[ this is patently not.... untrue... if a little ambiguous towards what it's referring to. aquila doesn't bother to explain - why would they? a face behind a veil lends itself to a wonderful amount of enigma, something they already seem to enjoy.
they let kaeya settle with his arm behind their neck, lifting their head a bit to make the space; their other one comes to rest on his lower back, steadying. ]
It's not really about the reward, sometimes. [ a little shrug under his arm; there's some twinkling mischief in their tone, a bird preening that their feathers have been stroked. ] Saved a lot of lives, like you said. The information the fuck spit up was a reward, too.
[ which he figures, kaeya might understand better than anyone else. ] I've always had decent coworkers. Well. Mostly. You're not so bad.
[ there's an expression that briefly flickers in his eye before it disappears. ]
Worth it all in the end, tigers, arrows, and eagles... and some pathetic guy with just the right information.
[ he does laugh a little at that. ]
Not so bad, am I? I hope any future coworkers can follow my impeccable example. Falling through holes in the floor and all. Though I don't know, do you put your fingers in the mouths of all your co-workers?
[ he chuckles, nosing into their cheek (face) through the veil, his eye closed. he doesn't move his hands, lets them stay where they are, accounted for and resting on aquila's chest and shoulder. ]
[ oh don't you start with that. aquila's face isn't visible, but kaeya can likely still hear his disapproval, and he pinches whatever body part is the closest. ] What you're thinking is a non sequitur.
[ he will pitch you into this ocean.
however, he will also gracefully take the subject change when it comes, letting kaeya nose up against his cheek, though - aquila freezes up a bit, and his hand comes up to tug on the veil, keeping it very firmly in place. affection week or otherwise. ]
... [ "do you put your fingers in the mouths of all your coworkers" though
makes him make a face that kaeya can probably feel at that distance like :nyeh: ]
[ all of him is close but it's all cursed regardless of where you pinch unless it's his arm or something. when he does get pinched, he squirms, clutching the bottle and laughing a bit. he perceives cat-no-banana face, though, and that is worth that pinch, okay.
he has no intentions of getting under the veil today. that'd be tacky, asking after it a third time and so soon. he's content with it there in fact, he's already attached enough, he doesn't need to be swayed any further. ]
So there's one in particular you can't stand? Is that what I'm picking up? [ he's behaving, a small smile on his lips as he finally offers the bottle back to them. more stories more. ]
[ wait until you see that aquila's hideous under there. no im kidding
they seem deeply pleased when he squirms like that, though, admittedly, kaeya is currently in his lap and he is just one bird. the hand on his back is steadying, making sure neither of them fall over, at least.
as for their coworkers... aquila takes the bottle, and gently boops him on the nose with it. ] Gossip. [ wow. ] Feels like that's too intimate, doesn't it?
[ wow a nose boop, he nudges the bottle away with the back of his hand playfully. ]
Does it?
[ he chuckles. ]
There's a reason you surround yourself with the people of your choosing... I'm curious. Maybe that's a bit intimate, but... I do like getting to know you more.
[ it's two fingers, skin to skin, slid into his glove to rest in the cool crook of aquila's palm. ]
Nothing untoward. I promise.
[ kaeya's own skin is not cold, not without his vision in any case. by contrast, he's warm, and gently bringing their heads together with a soft 'thunk', hat and all. ]
[ he mutters. please. he's still tense - allowing those fingers, but keeping their hand down, angled away from his line of sight.
... but, allows kaeya to bump their foreheads together if he'd like. the fabric of the veil is soft and gauzy, at least, and he can feel aquila inhale and then exhale through their nose. ]
[ kaeya is literally the "i do not see" meme, his eye isn't even open. he stays this way for a few moments. his own breathing is steady, soft, and his fingers twitch only once or twice, involuntary as he murmurs. ]
[ they don't say anything in response to that - just inhale a little when kaeya does that, and up close, he might hear a tiny huff of something that feels like a laugh.
[ gazes. the fact that you didnt report this? coward.
oh. well.
this is still deja vu, actually. aquila sort of saw this coming (heh) but he holds still and allows it, head tilting just a bit to allow the kiss to be returned. the fabric of the veil is very gauzy and soft, at least, and despite his cold hands, his mouth is warm and soft.
aquila's the first to pull back, and jokes, quietly - ] Feel like a bride on her wedding day. [ as his mouth pulls up into an amused smile behind the veil. ]
kaeya enjoys the kiss for as brief or as long as aquila allows, his eye fluttering back open a bit as he pulls back as well, though remains close to them regardless. ]
A bride, hm?
[ he smiles at him, lips curled into something genuinely warm. he... can't help it. sometimes you kiss the people you respect. ]
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kaeya lets out a low whistle, taking a swig from the bottle and humming. ]
All's well that ends well then... that's quite the heroic escapade... and on an airship no less... All from a thousand yards away. Nothing to sneeze at.
[ his arm slings behind their neck with ease, laughing. "my — a buncha the guys i worked with" he hums. ]
You're an impressive person, Aquila... I'll tell you a truth, to work with you so closely is such a delight. I'm sure your coworkers were rather delighted at your quick find... managing to save all of those people with but two arrows. I do hope you were suitably rewarded for your deeds.
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[ this is patently not.... untrue... if a little ambiguous towards what it's referring to. aquila doesn't bother to explain - why would they? a face behind a veil lends itself to a wonderful amount of enigma, something they already seem to enjoy.
they let kaeya settle with his arm behind their neck, lifting their head a bit to make the space; their other one comes to rest on his lower back, steadying. ]
It's not really about the reward, sometimes. [ a little shrug under his arm; there's some twinkling mischief in their tone, a bird preening that their feathers have been stroked. ] Saved a lot of lives, like you said. The information the fuck spit up was a reward, too.
[ which he figures, kaeya might understand better than anyone else. ] I've always had decent coworkers. Well. Mostly. You're not so bad.
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Worth it all in the end, tigers, arrows, and eagles... and some pathetic guy with just the right information.
[ he does laugh a little at that. ]
Not so bad, am I? I hope any future coworkers can follow my impeccable example. Falling through holes in the floor and all. Though I don't know, do you put your fingers in the mouths of all your co-workers?
[ he chuckles, nosing into their cheek (face) through the veil, his eye closed. he doesn't move his hands, lets them stay where they are, accounted for and resting on aquila's chest and shoulder. ]
Or just some?
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[ he will pitch you into this ocean.
however, he will also gracefully take the subject change when it comes, letting kaeya nose up against his cheek, though - aquila freezes up a bit, and his hand comes up to tug on the veil, keeping it very firmly in place. affection week or otherwise. ]
... [ "do you put your fingers in the mouths of all your coworkers" though
makes him make a face that kaeya can probably feel at that distance like :nyeh: ]
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he has no intentions of getting under the veil today. that'd be tacky, asking after it a third time and so soon. he's content with it there in fact, he's already attached enough, he doesn't need to be swayed any further. ]
So there's one in particular you can't stand? Is that what I'm picking up? [ he's behaving, a small smile on his lips as he finally offers the bottle back to them. more stories more. ]
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they seem deeply pleased when he squirms like that, though, admittedly, kaeya is currently in his lap and he is just one bird. the hand on his back is steadying, making sure neither of them fall over, at least.
as for their coworkers... aquila takes the bottle, and gently boops him on the nose with it. ] Gossip. [ wow. ] Feels like that's too intimate, doesn't it?
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Does it?
[ he chuckles. ]
There's a reason you surround yourself with the people of your choosing... I'm curious. Maybe that's a bit intimate, but... I do like getting to know you more.
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It's very intimate. [ at first. ] But, it's not as if a 'coworker' is much someone chosen, are they? You learn to work with each other.
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In time, sometimes a fondness grows, even for all the irritation, don't you think?
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You could say that.
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Close your eyes?
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Could you even tell if I did or not?
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[ taking one of their hands, fingers sliding slightly underneath the glove. ]
Trust me?
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Kaeya. [ quietly, a warning. don't push your luck too much. ]
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[ it's two fingers, skin to skin, slid into his glove to rest in the cool crook of aquila's palm. ]
Nothing untoward. I promise.
[ kaeya's own skin is not cold, not without his vision in any case. by contrast, he's warm, and gently bringing their heads together with a soft 'thunk', hat and all. ]
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[ he mutters. please. he's still tense - allowing those fingers, but keeping their hand down, angled away from his line of sight.
... but, allows kaeya to bump their foreheads together if he'd like. the fabric of the veil is soft and gauzy, at least, and he can feel aquila inhale and then exhale through their nose. ]
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Then what does worry you?
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[ well, nothing, but the loss of any of their coverage does seem to be part of it. they still, though.
...
and after a moment, they say, quietly: ] They're closed.
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Liar.
[ no venom, only affection. very softly, he brushes them nose to nose now, a brief little press. ]
Keep them closed...
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deja vu. ]
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he will just
hover over their mouth, the veil between them, and press a kiss very tenderly to this bee's lips.
/walks into the ocean, personally ]
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oh. well.
this is still deja vu, actually. aquila sort of saw this coming (heh) but he holds still and allows it, head tilting just a bit to allow the kiss to be returned. the fabric of the veil is very gauzy and soft, at least, and despite his cold hands, his mouth is warm and soft.
aquila's the first to pull back, and jokes, quietly - ] Feel like a bride on her wedding day. [ as his mouth pulls up into an amused smile behind the veil. ]
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kaeya enjoys the kiss for as brief or as long as aquila allows, his eye fluttering back open a bit as he pulls back as well, though remains close to them regardless. ]
A bride, hm?
[ he smiles at him, lips curled into something genuinely warm. he... can't help it. sometimes you kiss the people you respect. ]
What, did I make your heart flutter?
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they - laugh, actually, and put a hand to their heart, flopping backwards against the chair in a mock swoon. ]
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and when they do that, kaeya joins in the laughter, patting their chest in turn, grinning. ]
So romantic, a seaside wedding.
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