Erythrophobia

Chapter 12: The Question

(Chapter theme song is Kuuchuu Buranko by Plastic Tree)
(wow it's been a while since I've done that)

(I meant to get this out way sooner but I kept procrastinating and when I WAS writing I just kept writing... and writing... and now here we are at almost 10k words. Whoops!)

(I put sketches at the end of their outfits for the ball! You can look at those ahead of time if you want :))

—

Pain shooting through Kaeya's skull is the first thing that greets him once he awakes. He groans, rolling over to shy away from the sunlight coming through the window. He grips the blanket and pulls it over his head in hopes of falling back asleep.

That is, until he notices something is off.

The bed feels too... perfect. Where are the pillows at the end of his bed that get kicked around by his feet every night, or the cold touch of the empty wine bottle that he keeps forgetting to throw out?

He feels his heart rate spike as he opens his eyes, shooting into a sitting position before rubbing the sleepiness from his eye. As soon as his eye focuses, he's immediately aware of where he is and he nearly screams.

Kaeya has absolutely no memory of how he got here, but what he is certain about is that he was drinking last night.

That means he must have gotten drunk.

Very drunk.

His body breaks out in a cold sweat as he tries to remember anything at all, but to no avail. He doesn't understand what could have possibly happened. He's been drunk more times than he can count but he's never awoken in someone else's home before—and definitely not here.

The sound of the doorknob clicking open startles him out of his thoughts and he grips the blankets anxiously.

The first thing he sees is that familiar shade of red as the door opens and he freezes up. They make eye contact for only a split second, but it feels longer than Kaeya would have liked.

"Oh, you're awake." Diluc breaks the brief standstill as he steps inside the room and shuts the door behind him.

"Y-Yeah." Kaeya mutters a reply, unsure of what to say in this situation. Deep down, he wants to panic and ask him what the hell happened last night, but he doesn't want to make a scene.

"Are you feeling alright?" Diluc asks, stopping a few feet from the bed.

Kaeya's head throbs as soon as he speaks. "No, I feel like shit." He sighs quietly, sliding his legs over the edge of the bed and letting his feet touch the floor.

"Here's some water. I thought you'd need it when you woke up." Diluc hands him a glass.

Kaeya carefully takes it from his hands. "...Thanks." He says before taking a few sips.

"So, um..." He hesitates, feeling a bit awkward. "How did I... Why am I here?"

"You don't remember?"

Kaeya shakes his head.

"...Hm, I suppose I should have expected this." Diluc sits down on the edge of the bed beside Kaeya. "You were pretty wasted."

Kaeya laughs nervously. "Ahaha... Yeah..."

Diluc puts a finger up to his chin. "Well... you kind of just showed up? I don't know how you walked so far with the state you were in."

Kaeya doesn't like the sound of that. "Did I tell you why I came here?" He gently tugs at Diluc's sleeve, trying not to appear freaked out.