[Kaeya made a face, if a tired one, at that. More confused than anything else.]
Pull my legs over what? I'm fine like this.
[Even if Diluc was the one uncomfortable with this position, he wasn't sure what his legs would do to help that. Sorry Diluc, he's tired, as you said.]
[Diluc sighs sharply, makes a face, and tugs Kaeya's legs over his lap so he isn't sitting scrunched up on the couch next to him. That's no way to sleep, and it wouldn't be comfortable for Diluc in the long run if he nods off like that.]
Like that. Are you fine there?
[Comfortable? Not fretting he's going to run off? His tone is a little sharp, but there's caring under it.]
[Kaeya couldn't help the warmth that spread over his cheeks. He kept his head down, however, to hide the blush. He wasn't completely in Diluc's lap, but he may as well be with the way he was cradled.]
...y-yes, I'm fine.
[What was Diluc thinking? Kaeya didn't understand what the other man's motivations. Helping him out was one thing, but this? He wanted to ask, but he found the words lodged in his throat.]
[It isn't as if they have never been this close before! Diluc's face is a little warm too, but with Kaeya trying to hide his own blushing they both managed to escape notice.
As far as he's concerned, if it helps Kaeya to feel better faster, then it's fine.]
Good. So am I.
[Embarrassing.]
Just relax and try to get some rest. If you're not feeling more like yourself soon I'll have to ask around how else you can be helped.
I would rather you didn't announce this to the world...
[It's been like four years! And those four years were full of tension and grief!
Either way, Kaeya was a little more awake now if only because his heart was racing. He stared at his feet, willing himself to relax. Honestly, it felt too big to be in Diluc's lap and not because of his age. He was a good few inches taller than Diluc, after all.
He couldn't help it. He laughed softly. Their father used to say he was just all legs and now he certainly felt it.]
[It's a boundary pushed to breaking point and then beyond it. Diluc isn't really sure what he's doing except that it's like pushing a boulder down a hill and then running after it as if it can be stopped. He feels foolish, in a way, but they're here now and if Kaeya really minded then he would move.]
... What's so funny?
[He knows what's funny. There's a thread of clear amusement in his own voice as well, though it doesn't quite break into a laugh.]
A few minutes ago you were acting like you were dying.
[An amused scoff, but his hand tightened in Diluc's grasp again. He didn't want the other man to let go still.]
I'm tired, I feel like an old man whose bones are telling him it's going to rain sooner. But... [He let out a breath and allowed himself to lean against the redhead's chest again. His head dropped onto his shoulder.] I am too tall for your lap. As f-...As I am just all arms and legs.
[He almost said 'father' and that would have killed what little good mood they were in. He did not want that.]
[Of course he did. In hindsight he should have known this would be comical and perhaps on some subconscious level that is why he did it. It feels like a layer of tension has been broken, and not in a way that he minds. For the most part he is just... truly glad that the other man is feeling better, even if he claims he feels terrible.
He gives Kaeya's back an idle pat.]
You've been too tall since we were sixteen. I don't know who you think gave you permission to get taller than me.
[His fingertips dig lightly against Kaeya's ribs, just for a moment. Getting too bold there, Alberich, and he won't stand for it.]
You wouldn't dare. [For... several reasons, probably though one of them is currently being very muddied by the fact that he basically has Kaeya in his lap right now - that one being, it's just too hard to get that close to him anymore.]
[He didn't say he was going to! Just that he could. Geez, Diluc, give him a break here.
He huffed and rolled his eyes.]
Who said I was going to? Taking a joke so seriously, goodness.
[Like he would really attempt it even if he wasn't sick. There was no reason to. He just remembered Diluc getting hilariously huffy when they were younger whenever he did it. It was a fond memory, but perhaps it wasn't for Diluc, after all.]
[It's... not an unfond memory, but Diluc does try not to linger in the past too much when it comes to how things used to be with he and Kaeya. Once the younger man had outstripped him in height he remembers holding out hope that he would some day catch up, but silly thoughts like that hardly seem to matter now.
Right now things are... confusing. It isn't as if he had let Kaeya in here with the purpose of this being how things would end up, and he's sure that Kaeya didn't come here with that intention either.]
You were expecting something else?
[He's obviously not feeling too serious about it, or Kaeya would not still be on his lap.]
Is this your way of telling me to shut up and go to sleep?
[That probably came out with a little more bite than he had intended. But perhaps he was a little hurt by all this still. He was really, sincerely, missing this sort of thing with Diluc and he felt like he was just making it worse.
Being sick notwithstanding, anyway. Because he obviously didn't intend to end up in Diluc's lap of all places, which only confused him further. He sighed and lowered his head in defeat.
Maybe he ought to just quiet down and let this touch magic work through him. The sooner he could feel better the sooner he would be out of Diluc's hair.]
Forget it, I'm sure it isn't much longer now. The aches are starting to feel less intense.
[Despite the strangeness of it all, Diluc isn't tense. He glances at the top of Kaeya's head as he lowers it down, then at their hands still clasped together on the younger man's lap, and his fingers twitch in a light motion against the ones curled around his. He sighs quietly, almost as if he meant to say something but the words didn't make it out.]
If anything like this happens again, just come straight here. [He does know that Kaeya said it wouldn't, he heard him, but they still don't know what to expect of this place.
Diluc shifts, propping his chin against the top of Kaeya's head.]
... I don't want to have to worry about you like that again.
[Kaeya did not know what to do with this information, or the feeling of Diluc's head on his. He certainly wasn't of the mind to actually believe it. They were working on their relationship, sure, but he doubted that Diluc actually worried for him these days.]
Tch, telling tall tales is my job, remember? You stopped doing that a long time ago.
[He tries not to. He tries to keep Kaeya as much out of his mind as possible. The distance enforced by communicating via letter has been something he has needed to work out how he feels about the other man without the problem of having him close by all the time.
Slowly but surely, however... Kaeya has been working his way back into Diluc's life, and Diluc has been letting him. It isn't as easy as that to just erase ten years of close friendship, regardless of the things he might say about Kaeya when he's asked directly.]
Do you think I would have let you in here, or any of this would be happening right now if I wasn't concerned about you? [Sure, he could have left the man to struggle, to find someone else... He chose not to do that. But this level of closeness? He wouldn't do that for just anybody.]
Use your head, Kaeya. I don't actually want to see you suffer.
[It was odd, the way Kaeya tried to keep himself relevant yet at the mere hint of Diluc returning that affection he would instantly clam up and try to push the other man away. His heart hoped, but did not want to dare believe.]
No, I suppose you would not be so heartless.
[Diluc always did have a sense of justice. But Kaeya being in his lap was different and not at all what he would have expected Diluc would let happen. No, he was pretty sure not even the Traveler would end up in his lap like this.
But all that did was confuse Kaeya further. He was too tired to think on it. Instead, he allowed himself to lean fully against Diluc's chest and close his eyes.]
Fine. I will come knocking if something like this happens again. But you have to promise to do the same.
[When he feels Kaeya relax and lean against him he relaxes as well, letting most of the tension ease out of him as he settles himself against the couch cushions. He exhales a soft chuff of almost-amusement.]
I'll think about it.
[It isn't a 'no' and maybe as close to an actual promise as the prickly redhead is likely to get right now. Diluc is not intending to allow this to happen to him, but if it did then he has to admit that Kaeya would probably be one of the first people he would think to go to for help if only for the sense of familiarity.]
[Kaeya knew that was close to a promise as he would get, so he let it go. He was too tired to argue. He shook his head against Diluc's chest.]
Off and on.
[The joint pain made it impossible for him to really stay asleep if he ever managed to get to sleep. But now, the ache was feeling less and less the longer they stayed like this.]
He really is hopeless. Diluc knows Kaeya worries about him, that he's concerned about what he gets up to when he's wandering Mondstadt at night fighting gods knows what and putting himself in danger. He knows that the younger man has been keeping an eye on him for the entire time he's been back, and that both of them have been pretending he doesn't know.
... He knows that it stung when he accepted the Traveller's help so willingly, when he would never accept it from Kaeya.]
I won't keep lecturing you. You already know what I think.
[The edge of any scolding is certainly taken off by how he's holding the slimmer man, with their hands clasped in Kaeya's lap and Diluc's free arm wrapped snugly around his back.]
[Honestly, Kaeya sometimes did wonder how long they would keep pretending on a lot of things. But both of them were likely too stubborn and prideful to actually step up and say something. So, the charade continued.
He let out a deep breath through his nose, relaxing a bit further against Diluc. His eyes eventually drooped shut completely. The warmth the other man gave off was more than just natural human warmth. It was familiar. It was safe.]
...thank you.
[And it was inevitable that it wasn't too much longer after he muttered those words that Kaeya finally let his exhaustion put him to sleep.]
[He knows when Kaeya has fallen asleep when the man becomes a dead weight against him. At least he's getting some rest.
Diluc doesn't move for another twenty minutes or so, then he carefully bundles Kaeya up in his arms and gets up off the couch, putting his unexpected house guest to bed in the unused spare bedroom.
He isn't heartless after all.
Though he does check on him now and then, holding his hand for a minute or two each time, he does mostly just leave Kaeya to get some much needed sleep. In the meantime he stays in the apartment when otherwise he might have chosen to go out, and decides he'll take the day to relax and read a book instead.]
[Kaeya definitely did not know what time it was when he finally woke up from his sudden slumber. He was also very confused and even groggy. He remembered being with Diluc, on his couch, in his lap no less, but he did not remember getting back to his apartment and going to sleep. He frowned, rolling onto his back and scrubbed at his face.
He patted around for his phone but didn't find it so he had no idea what time it was. Finally, he pushed himself up. He squinted sleepily at the open doorway, sensing another presence. He may as well take a chance.]
[He hadn't forgotten that Kaeya was there. The awareness of his presence has been sitting like a small weight in the back of his mind since he laid him on the bed and carefully pulled the door half-closed behind him. Maybe he should have just told him to go home, once it looked like he was doing better. Maybe he should have left him to sleep on the couch and gone to another room himself.
They haven't done something like this for years and he still isn't sure why he acted that way, save for the genuine concern of someone he once cared about so deeply that they were like the other half of him.
Someone he still cares for, as much as he would deny it to anyone who asked.]
[Kaeya was very discombobulated in the mornings, hangover or no. So, despite it not being the morning, he was very much acting like it was. He had bedhead, he was rubbing his eye, and it was only due to the wild hair that his other eye was marginally covered.
There was also the fact that he was not very charismatic in the mornings so realizing that Diluc had put him to bed and let him rest and, apparently, continued to hold his hand if the lack of joint pain was anything to go by, had him feeling awkward and embarrassed.]
Erm... Sorry. [His cheeks flushed lightly and he rubbed the back of his neck, looking to the side.] What... Um, what time is it?
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2023-03-11 11:57 pm (UTC)Pull my legs over what? I'm fine like this.
[Even if Diluc was the one uncomfortable with this position, he wasn't sure what his legs would do to help that. Sorry Diluc, he's tired, as you said.]
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Date: 2023-03-12 01:58 am (UTC)[Diluc sighs sharply, makes a face, and tugs Kaeya's legs over his lap so he isn't sitting scrunched up on the couch next to him. That's no way to sleep, and it wouldn't be comfortable for Diluc in the long run if he nods off like that.]
Like that. Are you fine there?
[Comfortable? Not fretting he's going to run off? His tone is a little sharp, but there's caring under it.]
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Date: 2023-03-12 02:10 am (UTC)[Kaeya couldn't help the warmth that spread over his cheeks. He kept his head down, however, to hide the blush. He wasn't completely in Diluc's lap, but he may as well be with the way he was cradled.]
...y-yes, I'm fine.
[What was Diluc thinking? Kaeya didn't understand what the other man's motivations. Helping him out was one thing, but this? He wanted to ask, but he found the words lodged in his throat.]
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Date: 2023-03-12 02:17 am (UTC)As far as he's concerned, if it helps Kaeya to feel better faster, then it's fine.]
Good. So am I.
[Embarrassing.]
Just relax and try to get some rest. If you're not feeling more like yourself soon I'll have to ask around how else you can be helped.
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Date: 2023-03-12 02:26 am (UTC)[It's been like four years! And those four years were full of tension and grief!
Either way, Kaeya was a little more awake now if only because his heart was racing. He stared at his feet, willing himself to relax. Honestly, it felt too big to be in Diluc's lap and not because of his age. He was a good few inches taller than Diluc, after all.
He couldn't help it. He laughed softly. Their father used to say he was just all legs and now he certainly felt it.]
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Date: 2023-03-12 02:30 am (UTC)... What's so funny?
[He knows what's funny. There's a thread of clear amusement in his own voice as well, though it doesn't quite break into a laugh.]
A few minutes ago you were acting like you were dying.
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Date: 2023-03-12 02:43 am (UTC)[An amused scoff, but his hand tightened in Diluc's grasp again. He didn't want the other man to let go still.]
I'm tired, I feel like an old man whose bones are telling him it's going to rain sooner. But... [He let out a breath and allowed himself to lean against the redhead's chest again. His head dropped onto his shoulder.] I am too tall for your lap. As f-...As I am just all arms and legs.
[He almost said 'father' and that would have killed what little good mood they were in. He did not want that.]
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Date: 2023-03-12 02:59 am (UTC)[Of course he did. In hindsight he should have known this would be comical and perhaps on some subconscious level that is why he did it. It feels like a layer of tension has been broken, and not in a way that he minds. For the most part he is just... truly glad that the other man is feeling better, even if he claims he feels terrible.
He gives Kaeya's back an idle pat.]
You've been too tall since we were sixteen. I don't know who you think gave you permission to get taller than me.
[Beanpole.]
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Date: 2023-03-12 03:10 am (UTC)[Aiyaya... Diluc, please. He huffed and shook his head. He filled out his beanpole-ness eventually! Don't start.]
What? Still mad I can put my chin on your head?
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Date: 2023-03-12 04:36 pm (UTC)[His fingertips dig lightly against Kaeya's ribs, just for a moment. Getting too bold there, Alberich, and he won't stand for it.]
You wouldn't dare. [For... several reasons, probably though one of them is currently being very muddied by the fact that he basically has Kaeya in his lap right now - that one being, it's just too hard to get that close to him anymore.]
I can't see you thinking it worth the risk.
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Date: 2023-03-12 04:48 pm (UTC)He huffed and rolled his eyes.]
Who said I was going to? Taking a joke so seriously, goodness.
[Like he would really attempt it even if he wasn't sick. There was no reason to. He just remembered Diluc getting hilariously huffy when they were younger whenever he did it. It was a fond memory, but perhaps it wasn't for Diluc, after all.]
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Date: 2023-03-12 09:22 pm (UTC)Right now things are... confusing. It isn't as if he had let Kaeya in here with the purpose of this being how things would end up, and he's sure that Kaeya didn't come here with that intention either.]
You were expecting something else?
[He's obviously not feeling too serious about it, or Kaeya would not still be on his lap.]
I thought you were tired.
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Date: 2023-03-14 01:27 am (UTC)[That probably came out with a little more bite than he had intended. But perhaps he was a little hurt by all this still. He was really, sincerely, missing this sort of thing with Diluc and he felt like he was just making it worse.
Being sick notwithstanding, anyway. Because he obviously didn't intend to end up in Diluc's lap of all places, which only confused him further. He sighed and lowered his head in defeat.
Maybe he ought to just quiet down and let this touch magic work through him. The sooner he could feel better the sooner he would be out of Diluc's hair.]
Forget it, I'm sure it isn't much longer now. The aches are starting to feel less intense.
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Date: 2023-03-14 01:34 am (UTC)[Despite the strangeness of it all, Diluc isn't tense. He glances at the top of Kaeya's head as he lowers it down, then at their hands still clasped together on the younger man's lap, and his fingers twitch in a light motion against the ones curled around his. He sighs quietly, almost as if he meant to say something but the words didn't make it out.]
If anything like this happens again, just come straight here. [He does know that Kaeya said it wouldn't, he heard him, but they still don't know what to expect of this place.
Diluc shifts, propping his chin against the top of Kaeya's head.]
... I don't want to have to worry about you like that again.
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Date: 2023-03-14 02:04 am (UTC)Tch, telling tall tales is my job, remember? You stopped doing that a long time ago.
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Date: 2023-03-14 02:15 am (UTC)Slowly but surely, however... Kaeya has been working his way back into Diluc's life, and Diluc has been letting him. It isn't as easy as that to just erase ten years of close friendship, regardless of the things he might say about Kaeya when he's asked directly.]
Do you think I would have let you in here, or any of this would be happening right now if I wasn't concerned about you? [Sure, he could have left the man to struggle, to find someone else... He chose not to do that. But this level of closeness? He wouldn't do that for just anybody.]
Use your head, Kaeya. I don't actually want to see you suffer.
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Date: 2023-03-14 02:52 am (UTC)No, I suppose you would not be so heartless.
[Diluc always did have a sense of justice. But Kaeya being in his lap was different and not at all what he would have expected Diluc would let happen. No, he was pretty sure not even the Traveler would end up in his lap like this.
But all that did was confuse Kaeya further. He was too tired to think on it. Instead, he allowed himself to lean fully against Diluc's chest and close his eyes.]
Fine. I will come knocking if something like this happens again. But you have to promise to do the same.
no subject
Date: 2023-03-16 01:41 pm (UTC)I'll think about it.
[It isn't a 'no' and maybe as close to an actual promise as the prickly redhead is likely to get right now. Diluc is not intending to allow this to happen to him, but if it did then he has to admit that Kaeya would probably be one of the first people he would think to go to for help if only for the sense of familiarity.]
Did you get any sleep last night?
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Date: 2023-03-16 02:20 pm (UTC)Off and on.
[The joint pain made it impossible for him to really stay asleep if he ever managed to get to sleep. But now, the ache was feeling less and less the longer they stayed like this.]
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Date: 2023-03-17 10:36 pm (UTC)He really is hopeless. Diluc knows Kaeya worries about him, that he's concerned about what he gets up to when he's wandering Mondstadt at night fighting gods knows what and putting himself in danger. He knows that the younger man has been keeping an eye on him for the entire time he's been back, and that both of them have been pretending he doesn't know.
... He knows that it stung when he accepted the Traveller's help so willingly, when he would never accept it from Kaeya.]
I won't keep lecturing you. You already know what I think.
[The edge of any scolding is certainly taken off by how he's holding the slimmer man, with their hands clasped in Kaeya's lap and Diluc's free arm wrapped snugly around his back.]
no subject
Date: 2023-03-18 12:49 am (UTC)[Honestly, Kaeya sometimes did wonder how long they would keep pretending on a lot of things. But both of them were likely too stubborn and prideful to actually step up and say something. So, the charade continued.
He let out a deep breath through his nose, relaxing a bit further against Diluc. His eyes eventually drooped shut completely. The warmth the other man gave off was more than just natural human warmth. It was familiar. It was safe.]
...thank you.
[And it was inevitable that it wasn't too much longer after he muttered those words that Kaeya finally let his exhaustion put him to sleep.]
no subject
Date: 2023-03-18 02:06 am (UTC)[He knows when Kaeya has fallen asleep when the man becomes a dead weight against him. At least he's getting some rest.
Diluc doesn't move for another twenty minutes or so, then he carefully bundles Kaeya up in his arms and gets up off the couch, putting his unexpected house guest to bed in the unused spare bedroom.
He isn't heartless after all.
Though he does check on him now and then, holding his hand for a minute or two each time, he does mostly just leave Kaeya to get some much needed sleep. In the meantime he stays in the apartment when otherwise he might have chosen to go out, and decides he'll take the day to relax and read a book instead.]
no subject
Date: 2023-03-18 03:25 pm (UTC)He patted around for his phone but didn't find it so he had no idea what time it was. Finally, he pushed himself up. He squinted sleepily at the open doorway, sensing another presence. He may as well take a chance.]
Diluc?
no subject
Date: 2023-03-20 05:05 pm (UTC)[He hadn't forgotten that Kaeya was there. The awareness of his presence has been sitting like a small weight in the back of his mind since he laid him on the bed and carefully pulled the door half-closed behind him. Maybe he should have just told him to go home, once it looked like he was doing better. Maybe he should have left him to sleep on the couch and gone to another room himself.
They haven't done something like this for years and he still isn't sure why he acted that way, save for the genuine concern of someone he once cared about so deeply that they were like the other half of him.
Someone he still cares for, as much as he would deny it to anyone who asked.]
It's about time you woke up.
no subject
Date: 2023-03-20 05:51 pm (UTC)There was also the fact that he was not very charismatic in the mornings so realizing that Diluc had put him to bed and let him rest and, apparently, continued to hold his hand if the lack of joint pain was anything to go by, had him feeling awkward and embarrassed.]
Erm... Sorry. [His cheeks flushed lightly and he rubbed the back of his neck, looking to the side.] What... Um, what time is it?
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