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

((continued from here))

[Hilda sets her phone down and rises off the couch to get ready for her guest's arrival. There isn't much to prepare: the promised bottle of vodka, ice, two glasses, and a bottle of tropical fruit juice. The juice is mostly for her--even if the liquor is high-quality, she's not able to drink it straight like Kaeya can.

Once that's accomplished, she slips into the bathroom for a few moments to fluff her hair, freshen up her lipgloss, and dab a bit of perfume on her wrists and behind her ears. She knows how these nights tend to go, and it's important to balance the line between gussied up and 'I looked like this already.'

They're not dating, so getting too dressed up would make things weird.

Satisfied with her appearance, she returns to the living room, pours herself a drink, and waits.]

Edited 2021-09-18 05:16 (UTC)

[ No, they’re not dating. Kaeya Alberich doesn’t do the whole dating thing. Sure, he’ll flirt and carry on and charm his way into many a bedroom, but it never means anything. None of this means anything.

Still, he does like Hilda. For better or worse, he sees a lot of himself in her - a shallow and unflattering assessment if there ever was one, so he certainly doesn’t share that with her. They click well. They share drinks and gossip, Kaeya slowly collecting every dirty secret she shares with him, while he’s sure she does the same. He doesn’t mind the exchange, it’s what any good partnership would be built on.

The flirting usually takes a turn before the alcohol can really take the icy edge off his personality and make him say something he regrets, and they stumble their way to bed - or the couch, or the kitchen counter if they’re feeling especially impatient. That’s a part of this partnership as well, a bit of fun and stress relief without strings or messy feelings, or the need to steal away in the dark hours of the morning before the other party wakes.

It isn’t long until an all-too familiar sports car pulls up in front of Hilda’s place, all sleek silvery-blue with black accents, and Kaeya makes his exit. He’s riding the same line between “dressed up” and “I definitely woke up like this” that Hilda is, part of the balance they tend to strike with their interactions. He gives a cursory glance around, no doubt the neighbors have taken note of his frequent visits, but if they want to gawk they’re more than welcome to.

He sidles up to the door before long, giving a quick, sharp knock. ]

Special delivery~ ♪

[Hilda is perfectly content to avoid the whole dating thing herself. Dating brings in complicated feelings, lofty expectations, and opportunities to screw things up. Or, put otherwise, it encompasses everything she's been avoiding for more or less her entire life. It's better for this not to mean anything. So it doesn't.

Not to say she doesn't enjoy his company. Of course she does--they wouldn't keep doing this if she didn't. They're alike in a lot of ways, unflattering as the observation may be, and are in this partnership for the same reasons. With him, she's free to gossip and be shallow and have meaningless sex and indulge in her worst tendencies. Hilda already has a great many friends who make her a better person. Kaeya Alberich doesn't need to be among them.

It's better that he's not, if you ask her.

She hears the knock and takes her time getting to her feet. Eagerness is not part of their partnership.]

Coming~

[After one last glance in the hallway mirror to make sure everything's in place, she opens the door and greets Kaeya with a flirtatious smile.]

Oh good, I was wondering when my order would get here.

[With a wink, she steps aside to let him in.]

Edited (sure hit Enter too early) 2021-09-19 01:26 (UTC)

[ He’s certainly in no hurry, himself. There is a time and place for a certain kind of eagerness, and when he shows up at her door is certainly not it. When Hilda swings the door open, there’s Kaeya looking casual as you please, one hand on his hip, smirk already on his lips. ]

I hope I made it within the “30 minutes or it’s free” window. I was really counting on that vodka.

[ When she steps aside to admit him, he breezes past, turning on his heel to walk backwards a couple of paces as he waits for her to join him. ]

I’m quite curious to learn what quality of alcohol your cleavage is worth.

I think you managed to make it in time.

[Although even if he hadn't, it's not like she has any intention of withholding anything from him. Otherwise, what's the point in having him over in the first place?

She locks the door and moves around him to grab the bottle off the coffee table, handing it to him for inspection. The vodka is a luxury brand from Faerghus, with a blue whale embossed on the front of the bottle.]

Only the finest, I assure you. My breasts are top-shelf quality.

[After a pause and a chuckle, she adds:]

The fact that he's a lordling's son with more money than sense helps, too.

[ True, his visits would get rather old quickly if all they did was sit around and, heaven forbid, talk to each other. The exchange is part of what makes it so exciting, makes him willing to keep coming back here again and again.

He takes the bottle in hand, eye sweeping over the label in appreciation. He’s familiar with the brand, since his dearly distanced brother runs a bar on top of a winery. The price, he knows, is no laughing matter. He lets out a low whistle. ]

I guess you really can’t underestimate a pair of good tits.

[ He passes the bottle back, a silent request for her to do the honors of cracking it open – she earned it, after all.

Something wicked glints in his eye. ]

But a lordling’s son, you say? How scandalous. Tell me more.

Edited (when u notice a typo several hours later don't look at me) 2021-09-20 22:55 (UTC)

[Hilda takes the bottle back and returns to the couch, where she has a seat and pours them each a drink: neat for him and with a splash of juice for herself. She hands him his glass and holds out her own.]

Damn right. Cheers.

[She sees that look in his eye. She loves that look in his eye. After a long drink, she happily responds to it.]

Minor title, new money, you know the type. The family's name is Lere or whatever.

[They both know her flippant attitude about it is an act. Hilda is keenly aware of how the Lere family fits into Fódlan's ever-more-convoluted system of nobility. She's a daughter of one such noble house herself, and despite her carefree life as an artist she's well-connected and even better informed. It's part of why Kaeya's here--she's not so naïve as to believe that this arrangement of theirs is just about the sex, as good as it is.]

Their eldest, Boy Toy, has decided he wants to have a rebellious phase before he takes on the duties of the house.

[His name doesn't matter. Kaeya knows it, anyway.]

I sincerely can't figure out if he sees me as a future wife or as a plaything. I don't think he even knows at this point. Honestly, he's not very good at the 'stick it to daddy' thing, so I'm guessing it's 'future wife that I can pretend doesn't matter right now.'

[She shrugs and takes another sip.]

Either way, I get free stuff.

To an especially… fruitful evening. Cheers.

[ He would wink, but… you know. Instead he clinks his glass to hers and downs his first drink. Damn, it’s good. How much money did he just pour down his throat?

Taking his glass lightly in his fingers, he settles back on the couch to listen. Though his expression is cool and mildly interested at best, he grabs hold of each and every little detail to store away into his ever-growing file of Fódlan’s messy politics.

For Kaeya’s own part, he hails from Mondstadt, the nation of freedom. There are no nobles to contend with, no royalty to impress, but that doesn’t mean Kaeya doesn’t know how to do that dance, himself. Being the adopted son of one of the most affluent families in the region comes with its own share of expectations, as does his holding the rank of Captain with the Knights of Favonius, sworn protectors of the realm in the absence of a ruling class. It’s because of Hilda’s position, and Mondstadt’s proximity to Fódlan’s borders that they can even carry on like this at all. ]

It’s very sweet of you to let him continue to believe he’s the one playing with you.

[ They haven’t even slept together and the man is buying her bottles of vodka that cost more than some people’s rent. She has him right where she wants him. ]

But what will you do if he ever gets it into his darling head to pop the question?

[Hilda laughs and shakes her head in response to his question.]

Ooooh, I have no intention of letting it go that far. Why do you think I haven't slept with him?

[The absence of the word "yet" suggests that she has no intention to do any such thing. A girl has to be careful when playing these kinds of games, and she recognizes easily enough that escalating this particular relationship would be a huge mistake. Boy Toy would be down on one knee before he even managed to get himself off.]

Right now I still have plausible deniability that he thinks we're in a relationship, believe it or not. Once the word "dating" or "courtship" comes up, I'll play it dumb and cut him loose. [She bats her eyes at Kaeya, her expression the very picture of innocence.] He'll be heartbroken, of course, but it'll probably help him get his act together. I'm doing him a favor, really.

[Much as she's loathe to admit it, Hilda's not immune to the games that nobles play. Lere is a vassal to her brother, and making sure the family doesn't fuck things up comes under the responsibility of House Goneril. Holst wouldn't approve of her methods, but he doesn't have to know what she's up to. Somehow, he's the easiest person for her to pull the wool over his eyes.

That's probably for the best.]

Personally, I figured it was because he was lacking in certain… departments.

[ He makes a vague hand gesture, certain she realizes what he means. It’s a joke, of course, because he has realized why she hasn’t dragged the poor boy to bed. Best not to tie any strings one can’t quickly sever - especially when dealing with nobility and the politics thereof.

He’s also certain her brother has little to no idea just how she carries on, which is an impressive feat in it’s own right. Kaeya might go so far as to call Hilda a much more formidable ally than even her brother. ]

So… [ he remarks idly, swirling the liquid in his glass around with a lazy motion of his wrist. ] Are we placing bets on just how much longer this little arrangement will last?

You're terrible.

[But it gets a giggle out of her all the same.]

I'd put my money down on "soon" if I were you. I'm not totally heartless.

[Which is the truth, more or less. The game is fun while it lasts, but after a certain point it becomes too cruel to continue and it loses its appeal. Plus, she has her own reputation to consider--the longer it goes on, the less control she has over the situation and the fallout from when it inevitably ends.

In her experience, the most important part of any scheming is to know when to call it quits. Her old partner in crime would agree if he weren't all the way in Almyra these days.]

But enough about me. How are things on your side of the border?

[ Ah, true. One can only string someone along for so long until things begin to unravel out of control. It’s better – safer – for her to terminate a relationship of this sort sooner rather than later, lest the young lord get any ideas and cause a scandal neither of them can afford. ]

Oh, nothing terribly exciting.

[ He says, in that way that means he still has something to share. He bides his time for another moment by taking another drink, contemplating the taste as it rolls over his tongue and down his throat. ]

There have been rumors about a strange fellow with an eyepatch running around and hunting Abyss mages. [ He holds up a finger. ] And before you ask, it isn’t me.

["Nothing terribly exciting," he says, like that's ever the case. As Captain with the Knights of Favonius, and a nosy bastard besides, he is generally among the first to know what's interesting over in Mondstadt. She listens, tilting her head slightly with interest as she helps herself to another sip of liquor. This stuff really is too nice for how she'd acquired it. Boy Toy's loss.]

Your Darknight Hero hasn't taken to wearing eyepatches, has he?

[It's a sincere question, for once, and one she asks carefully. Hilda's been able to figure out that there's some sort of History between the two, although she doesn't know the specifics. She's all but certain that Kaeya has every intention to keep it that way. While the lack of details is killing her curiosity, out of respect for him and this arrangement they share she hasn't looked any further into it.]

I'm sure you're looking into these rumors, regardless.

Edited (missed a word) 2021-09-21 20:26 (UTC)

[ Diluc would throw a terrible fit if he knew that a foreign noble knows about his habit of moonlighting as a vigilante, but Kaeya shared that little secret with Hilda in great confidence. The identity of Mondstadt’s Darknight Hero was the biggest offering he could bring to the table when they settled into their arrangement, and she remains the first and only person he’s shared that with.

The finer points of their relationship, however, he’s kept to himself. “We used to be close and now we’re not” is all she has, and likely will, ever get out of him. A cursory look into his and Diluc’s past would put the schism between them at the time of their father’s death, but if she knows even that much, she hasn’t mentioned it. ]

Not last I checked.

[ Said easily. It would be impossible to know from outward appearances that Diluc is something of a complicated subject for Kaeya. ]

He’s caught the eye of the local Adventurer’s Guild, apparently, and he’s turned down every single offer for jobs that have been lobbed his way. An intriguing fellow, to be sure. It seems he has a very singular goal in mind and doesn’t play well with others.

[The secret of Diluc Ragnvindr's vigilante persona is hardly safe with Hilda, but it's absolutely secure. She hasn't breathed a word of it to anyone--not to fellow Fódlan gossips, not to her confidants, and especially not to her brother as he's mused over the question to her. With their territory right against Mondstadt's border (and because he's a sucker for these kinds of stories, let's be honest), Holst has taken a vested interest in learning more about the Darknight Hero. As far as he's aware, Hilda's only input is that she's sick of hearing him talk about it.

She's gleaned from what little Kaeya's given her and what details are easily available that their father's death is the impetus of whatever happened between the two. It's a common enough story in her parts, noble families being what they are, but that doesn't mean it's her place to nose around further. They each have topics that are understood to be off limits--he doesn't ask about her role in Fódlan's recent civil war, and she doesn't ask about his history with Diluc. It balances out.

Besides, it's more fun to talk about other people's secrets.]

Sounds like he's got some kind of axe to grind with them. Obsessed even. I've seen that before.

[During the war she doesn't like to talk about, as a matter of fact. A flicker of something dark breezes over her expression, which she quickly banishes by finishing her glass in a rather un-ladylike swallow.]

Edited (verb tense correction) 2021-09-21 22:06 (UTC)

It does seem that way, doesn’t it?

[ If he notices the shadow that haunts her expression for the barest moment, he doesn’t remark on it. There are boundaries here. Certain things they’ve silently agreed not to talk about or pry too deeply into. It’s only fair that he treats her past with the same courtesy she treats his.

Besides, anyone with ears and at least one working eye knows a great deal about Fodlan’s recent civil war already. It’s a difficult sort of thing to miss when one’s neighbors are at each other’s throats. ]

Our mystery man has me quite curious. A shame I can never seem to track him down myself. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s avoiding me on purpose.

[ But surely not, right? ]

[Hilda is more than happy to rebound from her thoughts of Dimitri and focus her attention back to Kaeya, refilling her glass as she does so. She also tops Kaeya's drink off for good measure. Never let it be said that she's not an excellent hostess.]

That's awfully rude of him, if true. Who wouldn't want to subject themselves to your charms?

[Herself included, even if she sees through the act.]

I'll keep my ears open for any chatter on this side of the border. A topic like that isn't likely to respect national sovereignty. Or the man himself, for that matter. It's not like every inch between Fódlan and Mondstadt is guarded--I wouldn't be surprised if he were moving back and forth in search of these Abyss mages he's hunting.

[ He raises his glass to her with a nod of thanks after she tops him off, then promptly tips it back for a drink. ]

That's precisely what I'm saying. Perhaps he's afraid I might prove too charming to resist.

[ Who can say, really? But with the rumor mill in full swing over their mysterious stranger, Kaeya is a little annoyed that he hasn't been able to track him down himself. He would like to catch a glimpse of him at the very least, but he's proven to be quite elusive. ]

You would do that for little ol' me? I am truly in your debt, Lady Hilda.

[Hilda laughs breezily in reply, expecting no less from him.]

You'd be too much of a distraction from his hunting, probably.

[With that, she leans back into the back of the couch and allows herself to relax a little more, smiling over her glass at him as she takes another sip. The presentation of a problem, the offering of a solution, the effusive flattery as thanks... it's all a part of the insincere games they play. After all, it's the same series of moves she makes when she's manipulating people into doing what she wants. She'd be a fool not to recognize herself as he mirrors that part of her.

She wonders sometimes, in sober moments without him nearby, if the fact that she's wise to him and plays along anyway makes things better or worse. It's not a thought she likes to dwell on.]

You really are. Here I am, sharing my vodka and offering up my time and effort. What would you do without me?

[Her smile takes a turn for the flirtatious. It's not like she gets nothing out of the exchange.]

I'm sure I'll think of some way for you to make it up to me.

[ There's something about the way they act around each other that echoes the way they dance carefully around politics and expectations in their everyday lives, but perhaps between them, it's worse. Insincere in an obvious way, cold and mean in earnest. When an echo bounces back and forth too much, when the cave walls are too close, the chasm too deep and dark, what comes back can be a distorted mess - something far worse than what was cast out in the first place. Funny how something so tangled can strike closer to the truth.

For his own part, that oh-so-small crack in his usual mask is all he's willing to show, but even that much is something of a relief. The last person he tried to bare his soul to came at him with a blade and wreaths of flame. Fine alcohol and good sex are much, much more preferable. ]

Why, I would simply wither away without your generosity.

[ His eye tracks her movement as she settles back, catching that shift of her expression. In answer, something like fire ignites in that icy gaze. His tongue darts out of his mouth, making a pass over his lips as if to presumably catch some remaining vodka at the corners of his crooked smirk. ]

I have an idea or two, if you're amenable.

[The discordant tone of their worst selves pressing up against each other always sounds exhilarating to her in moments like this, on the precipice of making the same mistake they always do. Noble, veteran, informant, mark... none of who she is means anything once passions flare and clothes start coming off.

This doesn't mean anything.

The look in his eye doesn't escape her notice, and Hilda chews her bottom lip in response to it. She shifts her position a bit, ostensibly to get comfortable but really to arch her back just so to give him a better view of her body.]

Oh, you know me. I'm flexible.

I know very well.

[ It comes out of his mouth in almost a purr. He’d be loath to admit it, to himself but especially to her, that there are times when this is the part he enjoys the most about their meetings. There’s something to be said for peeling away physical layers, even if the metaphorical ones stay firmly in place.

He leans forward, sliding his glass onto the coffee table, and in the same motion he slips into her space, his knee resting between her legs on the couch cushion. Long fingers deftly, lightly travel the length of her arm to wrap around her own glass. Their fingertips brush for a fraction of a moment as he relieves her of her drink.

Rather than set it aside, he brings the glass to his lips for a slow, languid drink, before he finally closes the distance between them to slot their mouths together, the taste of alcohol and fruit juice fresh on his tongue. ]

[His voice practically courses through her, settling itself deep in the warmth of her core. If she had any shame left in her, she'd be embarrassed at how little it takes from him to get her excited. But shame has never been a part of this partnership, and she knows from experience that he is quite good at this. He has her where he wants her, but he's also exactly where she wants him to be.

Her body remains still as he helps himself to her personal space, her gaze following the trace of his fingers up her arm and to the drink in her hand. He helps himself to that, too. The power move isn't lost on Hilda, and she files it away to make him pay for it later.

For now, she parts her lips against his and presses her tongue into his mouth to get a taste of the drink he just stole. She reaches up with one hand, burying it into his hair and gripping onto it firmly. It's a warning. And a promise.]

[ In terms of sheer strength, Hilda easily has him outclassed. His Vision might give him an edge in most things, but not here, not now. That’s part of what makes this so thrilling, taking her iron strength and making it pliant with heat and touch and want. It’s a private little game he likes to play when they get like this, silently betting on who will come out on top in any given encounter.

Her fist tightens in his hair, and he knows the warning for what it is, prompting a heated murmur of approval against her open mouth. At some point, he was able to maneuver her glass safely onto a flat surface, freeing his hand, while the other keeps him braced against the couch. He draws his fingers along the exposed skin of her midriff, remapping familiar curves with teasing touches. ]

[Sometimes, Kaeya is able to temper and bend Hilda however he needs to. Other times, she loses her patience and takes control of the situation, slamming him down and using her strength to her advantage. Either way, the fight for control is part of what makes sex with him so damn satisfying. It's much more fulfilling than the coquettish performance that most men expect.

She hums softly in response to the familiar sensation of his fingers against her skin, her body arching slightly into his touch of its own volition. She rewards the effort with a sharp bite to his lower lip before she pulls back, a wicked grin spreading across her features as leans in to do the same to his ear.

Her hand doesn't loosen its grip on him.]

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

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how did this happen i'm sorry

I mean, same tho

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