(psl) we all got secrets, so are you gonna keep it

[indolentaxe]

Everybody’s got something they're hiding
And the best secrets are the ones you don’t keep

[x]

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[indolentaxe]

[Hilda won't ever admit it, least of all to Kaeya, but she doesn't fare any better than he does over the handful of days he takes to consider. There was always the possibility that he would refuse, and she thought she had prepared herself for it, but the longer he takes the more dread starts to settle in. To try and keep it at bay, she finds no shortage of busywork--to such a degree that one of her Snezhnayan counterparts holed up in the Goth Hotel makes a comment about it, even.

(Despite warnings from several high-ranking people in Mondstadt, Hilda has a pleasant relationship with several of the Fatui diplomats in the city. Sure, their leader sounds absolutely insane, and their methods are kind of evil, but many of them are actually pretty decent people as far as she's concerned. There's a pair of them that she exchanges gossip with whenever she catches them hanging out near the central plaza of the city.

Besides, she's supposed to be a diplomatic envoy to all of Teyvat, not just the parts that Mondstadters like.)

Aside from diplomatic work, Hilda busies herself with contigency plans. Any of the Knights of Favonious could work, although the higher in rank the more likely Holst is to accept it without question. Jean could probably be convinced, eager to assist anyone and everyone as she is, although Hilda would also have to make the much more difficult case to a certain librarian. As such, she puts that option down as a last resort and leaves it there.

Eula is out because Hilda just finds her a headache to interact with. It's too much like talking to Lorenz back when he was an uppity ass. At least Eula generally means well, and Amber has a way of tempering her further with her very presence. Even if she didn't have her reservations about Eula specifically, Hilda doesn't have the heart to insert herself between them. She hopes they figure out how much they're into each other someday.

Hilda has never actually met the Knights' Chief Alchemist, Albedo, but he spends a lot of time in Dragonspine and she heard that he eats spiders. No thanks on both counts.

All this to say... her planning isn't going well.

And if she has to be honest with herself, Kaeya isn't her first choice only because he's convenient. She likes him a great deal more than she knows she should, and she's just as loathe to give up what they have as he is. If she has to marry him to keep it, then so be it. But it's out of her hands entirely, and that is slowly driving her a bit crazy.

-

The next time she sees him, he approaches her as if nothing has changed--a move that immediately has her suspicious. But instead of interrogating it, she responds with a flirtatious smile when he twines his arm with hers. Regardless of his answer, it's clear that they're back to the games they always play while they're in public like this.

Somehow, the lying feels like a breath of fresh air. A weight lifts from her shoulders, and the tension of their last conversation is pointedly pushed far from her mind.]

You are, but I think I can find it in my heart to forgive you for it.

[cicle]

I was hoping you’d say that.

[ Even as the air between them seems to clear while they fall back into old habits, something like nervousness buzzes in his stomach. He’s definitely not used to that. No matter the situation, Kaeya does not get nervous. This is likely a sign of just how far out of his comfort zone he’s about to step, but his mind is made up.

He cannot think about this more than he already has, or he’ll never go through with it. ]

Care to take a walk by the fountain with me?

[ Oh, he’s definitely up to something. He’d wink at her to suggest as much, but… you know. ]

[indolentaxe]

[The wink is implied.]

I would love to take a walk with you. Responsibility can wait.

[The clearing of the air between them is equal parts a relief and a lie. He's up to something, and there's no way for Hilda to know what he's planning--and no way for her to ask him, given the very public nature of their meeting. She has no choice but to go along with him, and that's a level of trust she's not used to giving him. Part of her supposes she deserves to be thrown off like this, given the bombshell she dropped on him a few days prior.

Even with all of the inner nervousness, she doesn't miss a beat with him. She'd be a poor schemer after all these years if she dropped the act now.]

Lead the way, my dearest Kaeya.

[cicle]

With pleasure, loveliest Hilda.

[ He doesn’t hurry them to the fountain – the route they take is winding and leisurely, and he takes that time to engage in conversation with her like he hasn’t been avoiding her for the last several days. It’s nice, in its way, but there is still something lurking under the surface. An air of uncertainty that someone could only spot if they knew them just as well as they know each other.

Kaeya can think of only one other person who might fit that description, and his erstwhile brother isn’t here right now. Good. Diluc would ruin the whole thing, anyway.

Once they reach the square, they find it’s quite crowded. It is a lovely day, after all, and the citizens of Mondstadt are all out and about on various errands and other business. Kaeya guides Hilda to the fountain, all the while keeping up their casual banter. All the while trying not to think about what a huge mistake he’s about to make. ]

Have I ever told you how happy I am that you decided to come to Mondstadt?

[indolentaxe]

[If he weren’t literal countries away, Claude would also see right through them both as they breezily chat during their wandering of the City of Freedom’s streets. At least he wouldn’t be a cranky asshole about it like some people.

Hilda often wonders what her friends back in Fódlan would think of of the people here in Mondstadt. To that effect, she’s almost positive that Claude wouldn’t like Kaeya. They’re too alike, and Claude would see Kaeya’s icy edges and secretive nature for what they are: warning signs.

Hilda isn’t blind to them, or course. She’s just pointedly not heeding them.

The question Kaeya poses at the fountain gets her to raise her eyebrows slightly. That sounds like it could be a lead-in for… no, that can’t be it. Can it?]

I mean, not directly. But I choose to believe that’s what you mean when you buy me drinks and say I’m pretty.

[Her role in this is to keep playing herself, and so she will continue to do so even as she starts silently piecing things together.]