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[ smirks, and then starts striding toward Kaeya like a predator; his hand coming to rest on the tree beside his head. ]

...there’s nothing wrong with my personality. You just have terrible taste outside of Noctua.

[ if pavo doesn’t shove him away, then he’s going to press closer. ] Have you been thinking about me?

[THIS IS NOT THE WAY THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO GO????

But yeah he's not shoving, just tensing. He doesn't want to look weak by running.]

Now, now. Do you really want to derail this conversation already?

Absolutely. [ tilts his head and smiles at him, gently stroking his cheek with the back of his other hand. ] I didn’t hate you to start, you know. I thought you were handsome and you seemed fun... a break in the boring monotony of folks in this place, a real breath of fresh air. [ but oh how things swiftly changed. ] Do you hate me because I’m not only a Fatui, but also a Harbinger? [ gently taps a finger on kaeya’s lips. ]

[He stares Childe boldly right in the eyes, parting his lips softly...]

That's part of it.

[...and biting that finger. Hard.]

[ he doesn’t seem to mind the pain much, instead trying to shove another couple of fingers into his mouth. ]

What then? If we’re trying to move on, then keep on talking, Pavo.

[It's kinda hard to talk with fingers in his mouth! But Childe obviously knows that. Kaeya's just being teased.

And it's working. There's just something about his voice, the taste of his skin, that's far more captivating than it was before.

But being toyed with is also annoying, so while his cheeks are darkening his gaze is also sharpening, and he lifts a hand to roughly shove Childe's arm away, spitting saliva that's likely got blood in it now into his face.

He'd refrain in the name of patching things up but he suspects Childe just enjoys that kind of aggression.]

I hate you because you dared to use me to provoke him. I'm not a toy, harbinger.

[ and as a literal knee her reaction he’s going to knee Kaeya straight in the gut, stepping back to let him drop and also wipe his face. ]

I never said you were. I just wanted to take his mind off of what was going on at the time and, hey, this shouldn’t come as a big surprise, but fighting is generally how I do that. I didn’t want to hurt you, either of you, which is why I kept our ‘relationship’ to myself, leaving it to Noctua to break it to you.

You’re just didn’t want to see anything that wouldn’t align with a Fatui Harbinger. We’re all manipulative assholes, right? [ oh, how he wants to kick him so badly. ]

[His reaction times are still a bit slowed from all the brain fuckery, so he drops like a stone, coughing with the wind knocked out of him.]

You're... far more straight-forward than that... I'm aware.

[But he definitely does not trust that there was no intention of hurting anyone, because he can't trust Fatui no matter what, honestly! And more importantly he just has a lot of ISSUES about the idea of being a playing piece, but he hates thinking about it.

He is, however, thinking about it.]

But... what I hate more than anything is being used that way.

[sloowly getting back up!]

Whatever you say your intentions were, that's what happened. And if this is how you're going to react to me trying to be honest with you, I don't see a reason to give you the benefit of the doubt.

[ crouches down and stares at him. ]

Need I remind you who started it? Did you really need to bite me and then spit in my face, no? You're the one that's not being agreeable despite saying you'd like to make amends.

I'm not interested in playing nice for anybody elses sake. I don't care about that. What I will agree to is starting over, because then if things don't work out this time then we know it's not for a lack of trying. Things have changed, yeah, so maybe they'll be slightly better.

[He kind of wants to hit Childe again honestly. But a. he'd just have fun with it, and b. Childe is right, actually, and Kaeya knows it.]

...Fine. We'll start over. But you really shouldn't be surprised I'd bite, if you touch me like that without my permission.

Fair. [ gets up and offers him a hand. ]

[He hesitates, but he does take it! And he does, actually, look a little guilty.]

...Honestly, I don't truly understand what about you gets me so riled up.

[It's just... something! Something about Childe's personality that's both attractive and repellant, that makes Kaeya want to flirt but also makes him want to stab him. He can acknowledge, internally at least, that he's been unusually volatile.]

[ helps him up and then takes his hand back and shrugs. ] I'm afraid I can't help you with that one, though perhaps it's because we're not all that different in how we carry ourselves. I suppose that could be infuriating in a way.

But I'm used to being hated. Comes with being a member of the Fatui.

[Pavo... goes quiet, for a few moments. He dusts himself off, adjusts his outfit, but really he's weighing his options. To Childe, doing things for others' sake may not be a factor, but to Kaeya it is. Sometimes.

Noctua likes Cheri. Diluc likes Childe. And so if Pavo continues to be a pain in the ass, it'll only bring trouble to the one person who means more to him than the whole world. So he needs to be willing to reach out and smooth things over.

...Besides. Childe & Zhongli are like, A Thing, and Zhongli was so incredibly good to Kaeya's heart in ways he desperately needed that he's finding he doesn't really want to make trouble for him, either. At least, not while they're in fairy hell.

So yeah he's being fueled entirely by other people and somehow he's warming up to TWO ARCHONS but whatever.]

...You know, before you tried to change the subject to seduction, I was trying to open up to you. Which, by the way, is a privilege.

[ a privilege... hah! childe has to keep from laughing aloud like a heartless asshole. and people think HE has an ego. ]

[ he starts to mill around the area as he folds his arms behind his head. ] I asked an innocent question! since you'd said my face gained some appeal. How could I not be curious about that, hm?

You were about as innocent as every other man who's put me between him and a hard place.

[In other words that was NOT INNOCENT AT ALL.]

Especially given what happened last time I gave in to that "appeal".

...yeah, well, [ a pause and then, ] my apologies for that, if nothing else. I let things escalate a lot further than I had originally anticipated, and I'll admit that certainly did add a significant amount of tension to whatever "relationship" we might have had at the time.

We were both exceedingly drunk, and I'm the one who crossed a line. I don't blame you for what happened there, but I'm trying to be delicate with how I proceed this time.

[Huffs and folds his arms, leaning back against his tree again.]

I was going to ask you if you know why I, in particular, find it hard to tolerate Fatui.

Does it have to do with another Harbinger? [ because, if so, he has an idea, though he doesn't know *all* the details. ]

...mm, well, I also crossed a line, and I don't plan on taking this to that sort of an extreme again. [ he needs to stop using his foul legacy often... ] We should probably avoid getting completely shitfaced during these little... get togethers.

Probably wise. And yes, it is another harbinger, sort of. Your "doctor" caused some problems, though I don't know if he was solely responsible.

...As I've told you. Before being Noctua's lover, I was a ward of his family's house. What happened there is something I will never, ever forgive. I really didn't think he'd trust you more easily than I do, all things considered, but he does, and that... that's probably a good thing. I don't want to see him trap himself in the dark forever.

[ dottore. ] ...not that you care, probably, but most of us Harbingers hate each other. I would never tell him to his face, but that sick bastard freaks me out. [ and he'd probably be delighted to know he makes childe uneasy. but, honestly, childe half expects to wake up strapped to a fucken lab table given that dude's sick obsession with... EVERYTHING. ]

I might be a Fatui Harbinger, but I don't really consider myself a piece of shit. A bit of an asshole, sure, but... there's a difference. [ cracks a small smile. ] Maybe he could tell. [ shrugs. ] If it makes you feel anybody I don't plan to purposely hurt him while I'm here.

...It should make me feel better, but it doesn't. Still, I acknowledge that's my own problem, not a true measure of your honesty. But... I've watched Noctua's back for most of my life, so if he makes a mistake, I'll be there to protect him. So I can't trust you, no matter how genuine you seem.

[looking away for a moment, then back with a sigh]

But, again, that's a Pavo problem. And of course, I don't expect you to trust me. I am a professional liar, after all. But I did want to explain myself honestly this once.

...that’s fair. I mean, I get it, and I certainly can’t guarantee I’ll as play nice when we’re all back home. I’ll have the Tsaritsa and all that to think about. [ and put above almost everything. ] But for now if you’re willing to start over, then I can agree to a truce.

[ a bit of a laugh. ] Oh, I don’t trust anybody. [ not fully anyway. that bit him in the ass once before and he’s only just gotten over it, sort of, but he’s definitely keeping his guard up. ] But I appreciate your cutting the bullshit just this once.

Thank you for acknowledging it.

[Because being honest is fucking hard.]

Now, is there anything else you wanted to get into?

...

[ tries to resist. tries to fucken resist. ]

Your pants. [ THIS IS YOUR FAULT YOU SET HIM UP. ]

[ to his credit he manages to keep a straight face. ]

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