paradoxical | genshin impact

11 : midnight.

"You're such a handful, aren't you?"

You responded to Kaeya's quip with a groan, fingers wound tight around his arm as the Captain served as your guide back home. Your brain had a bit of trouble recalling when you'd even left Angel's Share, but from the lack of the city's nightlife noise, you figured it was late enough as is.

A soft laugh that somehow masked the urge to throw up left you as you tilted your chin to meet his gaze. "Why do I feel like the tables have turned?"

"Mmm? What are you talking about?" Kaeya's feigned cluelessness made you want to kick him in the shin, but you had to worry about maintaining your own balance first. "I'm simply giving help where help is due, as any other Knight of Favonius would do."

"...stop trying to imitate Venti."

"Haha! Caught me red-handed, huh?"

The breeze blew past your face in cool wisps, somehow abating the intoxicated flush that warmed your skin. You weren't so plastered that you could no longer make sense of your surroundings; if anything, the inebriation even sharpened some of your senses. Though your eyesight was blearier than it should be, the embellishments on Kaeya's uniform jingled loudly in the silence. Distantly, you wondered why he was wearing so much. It wasn't that cold in Mondstadt, so why the fur cloak? And what even were those spikes on his wrist guards? He had the most skewed fashion sense out of every person you'd met, and the fact of the matter was only hitting you several rounds of dandelion wine later.

Then again, who were you to talk? Despite feeling like a tranquilized boar, you could still bunch the trailing fabric of your dress in one hand as you treaded forward. Your braids have gone loose and you could have sworn Venti had snatched away the cecilias in your hair once you and Kaeya finally hopped off the tables (courtesy of a very ticked off Charles).

Case in point: if the Captain was overdressed, then that just made two of you.

Descending the steps was easier than you'd anticipated when Kaeya promptly assigned himself as your human crutch. But he spouted his words of encouragement so patronizingly that you would have kicked him somewhere even more painful than the shin, had it not been for your sorry state.

"Alright, we're here. You have your keys with you, sweetheart?"

Wait. Did he just call you—

"No." The realization settled half a heartbeat later, almost snapping you back into sobriety. Great. You fled the royal ball to have fun with the resident troublemaker, but you forgot to bring your damn house keys?

You untangled your arms from Kaeya's, suddenly conscious of how you'd been clinging to him all this time. If your face flushed further, you could blame it on the liquor. But looking like a blushing schoolgirl was the least of your problems when you were locked out of your own home. The lights inside the shop were already out, troubling you even further. Could Marjorie still be awake at this hour? Ugh. Highly unlikely.

"Ah, what a shame. It's a good thing my room at HQ can accommodate two people quite snugly. What say you to a sleepover?"

That made you pause. Your gaze rose up to meet Kaeya's glittering lilac eye—shining so deceptively in the sparse light. Along with prince charmings that made the main character's heart swoon came the rugged bad boys that manipulated every situation to their own benefit. You've read enough pocket romances to be woefully aware of the circumstances that came with the Captain's generous(?) offer, but despite the conniving grin that carved itself on his handsome face, you considered it.

Today has been long—too long, really. You didn't want to worry about where to spend the night when someone was giving you a choice that's hard not to take. Didn't want to harbor thoughts of the man you've loved since you were a child any longer. All you needed right now was the blissful quiet of slumber, and if you had to appease Kaeya in some way to attain that, then so be it.